Ecuador: Home Stretch

We are almost there!  Help us launch the Go International.tv South American Base by joining the Operational Support Team.  Be one of 21 people to join the team in the next 21 days and the team will be complete!

Since we first announced our plan to move to Ecuador and launch a mission base last April so much has been accomplished.  We liquidated the majority of Go International’s office equipment, leased our home, sold a large portion of our possessions, and have had many people step up and join the Operational Support Team to help us launch the base.  We are now right at 3 weeks away from our arrival in Ecuador!

We are very excited about this new season we are about to step into!  Of course it is full of many questions (as can be expected when moving overseas) but we are confident that this is the right step for us and Go International.tv.  Over the years we have had much success experimenting with various outreaches to engage people in conversations about faith and we look forward to experimenting with how best to engage with a foreign culture on a daily basis and point people to Jesus.

When we first launched Go Internship and Go Missions, we  also faced many questions and unknowns, but as we took daily steps of obedience we charted our way and we are confident we will do the same in launching this base.

Since the beginning of Go International.tv, it has always been bigger than Greg & Christa Baca.  We have always seen ourselves as fellow journeyers with partners, staff, interns, and friends seeking to proclaim the name of Jesus and shine His light in the dark.  The same is true today, this move is not about the Baca’s and can only happen with a team of people joined together to see the Gospel shared throughout South America.  Will you consider joining with us to launch the South American Base by committing to partner with us on a monthly basis for a term of one year?  There are 21 spots that remain on the Operational Support Team before funding is complete.  Many of the spots are available at just over $1 a day.  Thank you for your help in charting out this new season for Go International.tv.

Journeying Together,

Greg & Christa Baca

Below is a chart that represents our total funding to date.  Choose which spot you would like on the team by clicking the banner below:

Dreams Take Flight

Go Friends, I'm writing to you from about 20,000 feet in the air. Christa, Zion, and I just spent a week with her family to attend our brother Sean's wedding.  It was great to spend time with the family before we make our move overseas.

There has been much progress made since we first announced our big move. We have leased our house with a one year contract, liquidated most of our office furniture/equipment, sold much of our household items, and made a huge dent in our funding campaign!  In addition to this we concluded a year long contract we had working with a local church, Sanctuary.

All this, to say we have systematically been uprooting our lives as we prepare to establish new roots in a new country. It has been quite the process to sort through all the stuff we've acquired over the years. Perhaps the most difficult thing has been emptying our Go storage unit and sorting through the remnants of all the various campaigns, events, and trips we've been involved in over the years.   To anyone else it would seem like an old brochure on the ground but to us we remember the first meeting we had with our staff deciding where we should go, and what the trip should be named, and what kind of design we were going for. Every item we saw had a story attached to it and cumulatively our warehouse of "stuff" represented thousands and thousands of man hours put in by our amazing team!  In the end that is truly what the hard part of this move is, leaving behind so many great people who have made Go what it is. I came to Tulsa 13 years ago knowing only one person and I leave having established so many incredible relationships I will take with me the rest of my life.

We feel somewhat like Abraham in this move.

In the same way God instructed Abraham to lay down his dream of being a father to many nations by sacrificing his son Isaac, we feel that God is asking us to lay down a dream he had given us many years ago by ending our internship program. We feel a new dream being birthed and while we are excited about what lay ahead, there is temptation to hold on to the past.  We know however that our future is not in the past so we forge ahead into this new season!

There are a few lessons that I've been reminded of in this process that I will pass on to you.

• Be fully present and engaged in your current season for you never know when you will transition into another

• "Things" are just "things". It is the people in your life that are of true value.

• A God given dream must never become bigger than the God who gave you the dream.

• "What" you do is not nearly as important as "how" you do it or "who" you are.

• Life is not static, it's dynamic. Don't miss today's opportunity by holding on to yesterday's.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us. We will spend the next few weeks visiting family and completing our funding for the year. We fly to Ecuador oct 8!

If you would like to join the Go International Operation support team you can do so for just about $1 a day. Click here to help us launch the South American mission base.

God bless you all

Greg, christa & Zion

After creating a variety of innovative campaigns...

Over the years we have sought to challenge ourselves with innovative ways to proclaim the Gospel message to the world.  It has been a blast experimenting with new methods of engaging in conversations about faith with various cultures around the world.  Whatever our method, the goal has always remained to point people towards Christ.  Below are just a few of the outreaches and campaigns we’ve developed over the years.

Night of Refuge: It was on the Mystery Trip in Bangkok, Thailand when we first conceived of the Night of Refuge.  While there, we were told that there were over 10,000 sex workers in a square mile radius.  Many of these girls were not there by choice but had been sold into the brothels of the city by their families in outlying rural areas.  When you first hear news like this it is shocking and somewhat paralyzing.  Where do you begin?  How can you possibly make a difference?  As a team we talked it over and decided that while we may not be able to reach all of these girls, we could reach some of them, so we purposed to do whatever we could.

After several hours of brainstorming we came up with Night of Refuge.  The concept was simple.  We thought, “These girls are being purchased by who knows what kind of men every night, and being used and abused.  What if we could purchase them for the night to introduce them to a man named Jesus that could take their guilt, shame, and burdens from them?"  This was not to be a “church service” but rather a party.  We rented out a banquet hall and had food catered in.  We then ordered flowers for each of the girls and planned a night full of games and fun which would conclude with us sharing the Gospel with them.

This first Night of Refuge went better than we could have possibly imagined.  We were able to pay for 31 girls to participate in the banquet and 17 of them made a decision to follow Christ that night.  We worked with a local ministry that provided a safe home, and vocational training for women who were seeking to get out of the lifestyle they were in.  For one sweet girl we were her very first "client" and she made a decision that night not to return to her new profession.

This last summer we held our 2nd Night of Refuge while in Cambodia.  This event was even bigger than the first as we rented out a party boat and had over 100 women join us for the night.  Check out the pictures of our Cambodia Night of Refuge above.

Click Here to read an article on the Cambodia Night of Refuge.

Dream Campaign We created the Dream Campaign in 2009 for our annual Mystery Mission Trip. Knowing that traditional “drama in the streets” would not work; we began looking for a non-cliche way in which to provide ministry outlets for our upcoming trip to Europe. It was from this that the dream campaign was born. Since it’s inception, the Dream Campaign has taken place in Rome, Paris, London, Panama, Haiti, South Africa, Thailand, Cambodia and the United States.

The Campaign is simple; simply go somewhere where there is a lot of people and ask them to take part in an art campaign and write down their dream, then take a photo of them holding their dream. On the back of the “Dream Sheet” is a short inspiring message which encourages people to live their dreams and has a short prayer that they can pray to begin to get to know the one who gave them their dream.

World Wide Canvas

As a global civilization, we are faced with many staggering problems and escalating uncertainties. With the threat of war, racisim and economic challenges; it's easy to find reasons to be divided. It is with this in mind that we have created The World Wide Canvas Project.  The World Wide Canvas Project is a global art project that will span the globe.  Renowned artists will travel to various nations to paint a larger-than-life mural depicting the love of God.  Our first canvas was installed in June, 2009 in collaboration with live4this art studio in Panama City, Panama. Future World Wide Canvas projects will continue this global mural in other nations around the world.  The result: an international canvas project, when pieced together, will depict a powerful message of love, unity, and hope. Our hope is that through each installment of the mural, this project will join nations across the globe using a medium that touches the entire human race; the love and appreciation of art.  Check out some highlights from our inaugural canvas in Panama:

Orphan for a Night

Orphan for a Night is an event that was birthed out of the desire to bring change to the realities of global orphans. During our travels, we saw a need and felt as if it was our duty as believers to fill it.

OFN, a thought provoking event, calls individuals to leave the comfort and warmth of their homes to spend a night in the elements and share in the reality that the most destitute of orphans face each day: homelessness.

Groups gather together with a goal of raising $3,000 to build an orphanage that will house ten orphans who are in need of a home. Each person who pledges to be part of the night raises funds to participate in the event.  We have held Orphan for a Night's in several states across the country.

You won't believe what's next...

It has been our great joy to be part of reaching so many people though these creative campaigns.  Always what is so impacting for us, is seeing how these campaigns effect not only the lives of the people we minister to but our own lives as well.  There are many faces and stories of people around the world who will forever be engrained on our hearts.

There are many new ideas stirring in our hearts for this next season of Go and we CAN'T WAIT to share them with you! But, we will have to wait until Friday, April 27th at 9:00pm CST for that!  If you want to be the first to know what's next for Go International be sure to  subscribe to the Go E Newsletter by clicking on the banner below.

There’s still a whole lot of ideas to come,

Greg and Christa

After More Than 20 Different Trips...

After marrying in the spring of 2003, doing missions work as a vocation was never a question in the minds of Christa and I, it was after all, our passion.  As young single people we had already ministered in a combined eleven different nations, in fact, it was while leading a trip to Ecuador together that we first became friends.

I'll never forget Go International’s very first mission trip, which was to the nation of Peru.  I was a young, newly married, 22-year-old man with big vision, a dream in my heart, and absolutely no idea how to actually do it!  So naturally, we just ran at it as if we had done it 100 times before.

We knew that to pull off our first trip it would take a lot of focus, sacrifice, and dedication.  We promptly resigned from our 8-5 jobs at another ministry and took on night jobs so that we could have the business day to do Go.  I worked as a server at a local restaurant, and Christa managed a small graphic design company out of our house.  Money was tight but we were launching our dream.  I remember being so proud of our little office which consisted of a cheap desk (purchased with a Target gift card from our wedding), a donated fax machine, and over time we finally saved enough to get a bookshelf.  Yeah, we were pretty big time. ;)

That fall we took a pre trip that would proceed the summer team trip.  As I said, we didn’t know exactly “how” to do what we felt in our heart we just knew we “must” do it.  Lucky for us, God’s grace was on us as we took steps of action.  I remember we traveled to four Peruvian cities in just eight days, scouting out which city we would return to with the team.  A few of these cities we didn’t even know one person in, and as destiny would have it, that was exactly the case for the city we chose.

As the plane touched down in Cusco, Peru an expectancy filled our hearts.  We sensed there was something special about this place.  Armed with a folded piece of paper, containing the scribbled name and number of local pastor Willy Mont, which was handed to me by a friend as we boarded the plane from Lima, we set out to plan our very first trip.

Upon checking into our hotel room I removed the piece of paper from my pocket and dialed the number of Pastor Willy.  “Here goes nothing”, I thought, as the phone rang.  Pastor Willy answered, and I introduced myself to him and asked if we could take he and his wife to dinner that night.  Shockingly he said “Yes.”!  We walked into this little restaurant and I remember thinking, “He’s going to think we are little kids, he’ll never work with us.”.  But after spending several hours talking, dreaming, and shedding a few tears over dinner we were all convinced that this encounter was of God.  Prior to our meeting, Christa and I had felt that when we returned in the summer we would like to do; an evangelistic campaign, a youth concert, and a children’s festival.  To our surprise, Pastor Willy and his wife Jessica, had been praying that a team would come to Cusco to do these exact things, in order to help them launch their newly founded church.  This was confirmation that we were on the right track.

The next day we traveled to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu to see if it would serve as a good free day for the team.  While waiting in line to enter we struck up a conversation with a really nice man.  He eventually asked us where we were from, and we of course responded “Tulsa.”.  “Tulsa?” he exclaimed!  “I used to live there while I was a student at ORU.  What are you guys doing in Peru?”.  We told him about Go and how we planned to return with a team that summer.  “That’s interesting” he said.  “I am a Pastor in Pennsylvania and I have been looking for a team to send my church with to Peru this summer”.  Once again as destiny would have it, this ten minute conversation indeed led to Pastor Craig Nanna bringing his team with us that summer.  If only all of our “marketing campaigns” had been that easy!  Once again we saw this as God’s grace not only on this trip but on the very existence of Go.

It turns out that these confirmations would prove to be critical in our journey in the months that followed.  The task of paying for all of the outreaches we had planned was challenging, especially on the budget of a server, and just a handful of partners (mainly our families).  As contract deadlines approached for deposits for the band, stadium, and other necessary expenses, there came a day where we simply had no more money personally.  We had sent all we had.

Unfortunately this led to one very cold winter night.  That’s right, our electricity was shut off because we just didn’t have the money to pay it.  (Now to all of those who are thinking, “That wasn’t very responsible you should have paid your bills first”. You are probably right but none the less, that’s not how the story went.)  I remember throwing extra blankets on our bed and cuddling Christa in the dark, and through the silence I begin to hear Christa choking back the tears.  “Shouldn’t it be easier than this?” we asked.  But it was in that moment that something powerful happened that would set the course for how we lived our lives and operated Go in the years that followed.

I remember asking Christa, “If you were a Peruvian woman who was sleeping in the cold with her family tonight, alone, desperate, and without hope, wouldn’t you pray that someone would spend a night in the cold for you to have a chance to hear the Good News of Christ?”  We committed from that moment on that we would pay the price to proclaim the Gospel to the nations of the word.  That summer as our first team converged on the city of Cusco, and was saw the lives that were changed through the campaign, concert and children's festival, we knew that all our sacrifices had paid off.

Now nine years into Go, we have led teams on more than 20 different trips, and traveled to almost every continent sharing the redemptive message of Christ.  We’ve learned a thing or two since our early days but we have realized no matter how much we grow, or how talented we become, nothing replaces the grace of God.

We are honored and humbled to have the opportunity and privilege of demonstrating God’s love to the world.  We are so thankful for every single person that has linked arms with us along the way.  The price and sacrifices you have made are not in vain.

To all of you who are starting out on a new journey and have a dream in your heart, don’t quit.  The world needs what you have and who you are.  Work hard, trust God, rest in his grace, and never forget to enjoy the journey.

God Bless,

Greg & Christa

PS  Only two more days to the big reveal of what’s next at Go!  Be the first to know sign up below.

After Creating the Mystery Trip...

 

I still remember the fall day that Christa and I were huddled around a table at Panera Bread talking with our first two Go Apprentices, Lauren Morris and Regan Saunders.  We spoke about how cool it would be to organize a multi-country mission trip where participants had no idea where they were going and would discover their destinations by following clues and completing challenges.  It sounded like something right out of a reality TV show; an Amazing Race meets world missions adventure.  We laughed and joked and imagined all of the cool things you could do on a trip like that.

Suddenly, my day dream was interrupted by two very excited Apprentices saying, “Can we do it?”.

Woah, I was just imagining how cool it would be; not actually considering doing it.

I thought, “Well, why not?”.  That was the conversation that started the ball rolling on what would become one of the central pieces of the Go Internship and open doors to some of the most impacting ministry I’ve ever been a part of.

What I love about how this began, is it is so reflective of daily life at Go;  everybody putting their two cents in, dreaming together, then as a team running at a goal.  I think the general public would be shocked at the level of influence the Interns have had at Go.

There have now been four Mystery Trips that have taken teams to a total of eight different nations.

1. Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Manila
2. London, Paris, Rome
3. Cambodia, Thailand
4. Johannesburg and Cape Town South Africa

Now, a lot of people ask, “Why make it a mystery?”  So here are a few reasons why we believe in the Mystery Trip:

• Why not?  This may seem sarcastic but literally, why not?  If we were going to be planning an exclusive Go Intern mission trip anyways, and doing all the work that goes with coordinating international ministry, travel schedules, etc... why not work a little harder and provide a once in a lifetime experience for these interns who were investing a year of their life to receive training and serve the world?
• Traveling to multiple nations within one trip allows the interns to come face-to-face with multiple cultures in a short amount of time, allowing them to see that people face many of the same challenges and share many of the same basic human needs regardless of culture.  We would literally be in the trendy streets of Hong Kong having conversations with college students one day, and a few days later be in a Thai village playing with children.
• Our goal from the beginning of Internship was to train up leaders that had a heart for the world.  We realized early on that this was easier said than done.  With the Mystery Trip we sought to make a mission trip more appealing for first time missionaries by offering some adventure with it.  This was strategic because we understood that regardless of what the motives for participating on this trip were, that every student would return home changed.  As TL Osborn once famously stated, “Look into the faces of another people and you will never be the same”.
• Another unforeseen advantage of the Mystery Trip is that it became the “outreach lab” of Go.  Since we were traveling with such a creative group of people and we all knew each other so well it allowed us to test and experiment some new ministry concepts that proved to be transformative.  It was on the Mystery Trip that the following outreaches were birthed; Dream Campaign, Message in a Bottle, Love from Above, Night of Refuge, Go on your Own, Light the Night, and more.  All of these were successful campaigns that sought to move us from simply performing dramas in the streets to engaging in intentional conversations of faith.

The reasons listed above are just a few of the reasons why we believe in the Mystery Trip.

Click the side banner to browse through some of the previous Mystery Trip Posts.  Check back tomorrow as we continue to take a look back at the history of Go in preparation of the new phase that will be launched on Friday.  Please help us spread the word and link to this article and don’t forget to subscribe to the Go E Newsletter which you can do by clicking on the banner below.

More Mysteries to Come,

Greg & Christa

After 9 Years of Ministry...

 

It is hard to believe that in just a few weeks Go International.tv will celebrate our 9th year of ministry.  It has been quite the journey, filled with triumphs, trials, innovations, adventure and friendships that will last a lifetime.  It has been so amazing to watch “Go International” morph from being simply a line in the journal entry of a young Bible school student into an international organization that has worked in more than 20 nations of the world.

Over the years, there have been hundreds of people that have participated on international outreaches with Go, and countless lives have been affected.  The thing that has been true about Go from day one, is that it has never been (and will never be) about Greg & Christa Baca, it has from its inception been a collaborative experiment to see just what could happen if a group of creative, committed, loving people united together to touch the world.  We stand in awe of the people God has brought across our path that have contributed, shaped, and influenced what Go is today and will continue to be in the future.

To all of the supporters, missionary alumni, internship alumni, parents, ministry partners, and friends of Go we say thank you.  Go International would still be only a line in the journal had you not invested your time, money, energy, and talents to see a dream become a reality.

There have been many phases in the evolution of Go, including the launching of; Go Missions, Go Internship, Go Apprenticeship, and Go Causes.  Today we find ourselves once again forging into another phase which has yet to be charted.

In January, we began to sense transition was on the horizon yet again.  We took some time to pull back and assess what exactly it was that we were feeling in our hearts. We considered many things, even relocating our headquarters to California, but upon further reflection we realized God has something else in store.

We are very excited about what we feel in our hearts regarding this next season...you won’t believe what’s next!  Over the next few days we will take a look back and celebrate some of the high points and successes of the previous phases we’ve walked through together, and on Friday the 27th of April we will reveal just exactly what this next step is.  Check back daily to catch a glimpse of where we’ve been.

We invite you to donate a status or 2 to help spread the word about what’s next!

God Bless and Stay Tuned,

Greg & Christa

Photo of the Day

These beautiful faces impacted the lives of our team this summer during our stay in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. Every day these orphans would greet our team with beaming smiles that took your breath away. If you would like to be a part of bringing change to the lives of these orphans- Join us in the 120 Campaign.

Photo Credit: Lindsey Eryn Clark

One God.

One God. Four simple words ignited the beginning of a beautiful story that would forever change human existence. "Let there be light". God spoke these words in the beginning of time. Have you ever taken time to just think about the fact that our God spoke these words and voila' it happened! Our God continued on creating everything that we see around us merely by SPEAKING it into existence. Our God's power is eternal (Romans 1.20) and his power is beyond our comprehension. His power and love not only created the heavens and the earth, but also saved us from the penalty of the law. Romans 5.6-7 says, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, through for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him".

God's might and power is also demonstrated in the life of Abraham. With all odds against Abraham, God told Abraham that we would be the father of many nations by bearing a son. The odds of this actually happening were so outrageous that Abraham's wife, Sarah, actually laughed when she heard the angels tell Abraham this news. However, our God is faithful and powerful to follow through with his promises even against all hope. "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening his faith- he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead... Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised" (Romans 4.18-21). Through Abraham's life we learn that we ought to never let the circumstances around us determine what God can do. God has the power to come up against all hope and fulfill the promises that He has made.

Since we have been saved by grace and been adopted into the family of God as his sons and daughters we have access to what is the Father's, including his power. In Colossians 1.12-13, we discover that because we have been "rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of the Son" we have been therefore qualified "to share in the inheritance". We have access to the same power that brought the earth into existence and to the same power that conquered the natural and allowed Abraham to bare a son and become the Father of the nations.

There once was a time in my life that this simple concept did not seem so simple. I understood that I served a powerful God, but because I did not fully understand His grace and love I was incapable of understanding what was really mine as a child of the Most High God. I saw Jesus was making an impact in people's lives through conversations, miracles, and just by His mere presence. I began to evaluate my life, and I came to the conclusion that I wasn't creating an impact around me through any of those three areas. I set out on a journey of some sorts to become more like Jesus and to live a life like Him, one of influence and impact. Along my journey I realized the depths of God's love and grace for me, and I came to an understanding that as His child, I have access to the same power that Jesus walked in. I realized that I was limiting God in so many ways, I was putting a limit on His love, grace, and the inheritance that He wanted me to have. I remember being in Thailand when all this came into perspective for me, I was talking to a group of girls involved in the sex trade, and all of a sudden it was like "whoooosh" and everything began to make sense to me. God's love, grace, and the inheritance all became something that I took ownership of from that day on. I started living differently, I started living with an understanding of everything that the Lord had for me. I made the descion to walk in the power of God. I came back the states, and started breathing life everywhere I went. I was finally understanding that the power of God resided in me, in my presence, and in my conversations. Upon my arrival to the states and my new found understanding of God's power in me, I had a conversation with a girl I went to college with, we were talking about life and the future. She was telling me she wasn't at where she wanted to be in life, and out of no where my mouth started moving and I just started speaking life into her. The words that came out of my mouth that day were not my own, I knew in that moment that the power of God was pouring out of me. I had stopped limiting what God could do through me, an ordinary person, and was allowing myself to be a vessel that the Lord could use to work through. I allowed myself to see myself as He did, as His child, and took hold of the inheritance He has for me. I took the limit off what He could do through me and began asking the Lord to work through me whatever that looked like, whether through laying hand on people, through conversations, or my presence. Jesus walked the earth as an ordinary man, He was no different than you and I. He was simple. He was nothing great in the eyes of his peers. Yet, everywhere Jesus walked He impacted someone's life. He understood the power of God lived in Him.

We too must make the decision to walk in the power of God. We, as sons and daughters of the Almighty God, must truly realize that we have access to the power that separated the red sea, calms the storms, moves mountains, and heals the sick. When a son or daughter is adopted into a family, they have access to all the things that the father provides; food, security, the family name, wealth, and the inheritance. This simple concept is the same for us with God. God has adopted us into his family, which means we have access to everything that is His, even his power. In 2 Samuel 5.10, it says that David 'became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him". The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so if He was with David, then He is and will be with us, causing us to become more powerful as long as we allow Him to work in and through us. The Word says, that we are His hand's and feet, the vessels which He is wanting to use in order to accomplish things on the earth. The Lord is beckoning us to begin speaking with the power He has given us, and stop being intimidated by the natural circumstances. He is waiting for us to begin speaking life into dead and empty places. Just as Jesus walked in the presence and power of God, so can we. Our mere presence can bring healing to the people that we encounter, we must just understand this and believe.

What would happen if we, the sons and daughters of the King, began to function as Jesus did and walk in the boldness, power, and presence of our God? If we actually started living and believing in the power that lives in us? I believe, that the presence of God would be too strong for people to deny. I believe that we would see drug addicts being freed from their addictions, sons and daughters returning to their fathers, the deaf ears opened, the blind eyes would see, the cancer would be cast out, and so on. The power of God is already in us, so I challenge you in this moment to start functioning in the power. Stop hoping and wishing that you could see miracles happen, and start believing that what you speak into existence will be, because our God who spoke life, resides in us.

Written By: Lindsey Eryn Clark

Photo of the Day

While in South Africa on Mystery Trip 2011, our team roamed the streets of the Cape Town with a mission: to bring love from above to the people of the city. Walking along the coast, our team ran into this sweet man who had traveled the world and had a story to tell. All he wanted was a listening ear. Our team sat down on the beach with him, listened to his stories, and introduced him to our Lord and Savior. It was on this day, that the love of Christ touched this man.

Photo Credit: Lindsey Eryn Clark

Photo of the Day

After a series of clues and challenges our interns found themselves on Cambodian soil on Mystery Trip 2010. For many of them, it was their first time to be in Asia. It didn't take long for the team to fall in love with the beautiful people. Everyday our team would go to the orphanage and this little girl would great our team with her playful spirit ready to play. Photo Credit: Lindsey Eryn Clark

Photo of the Day

Februray 2011, our team traveled to South Africa on the Mystery Trip. We had the opportunity to throw an event that gathered hundreds of village children to one central field. During the event we played games, had a talent show, and passed out soccer balls. After a full day of playing with our team, these little boys headed back to their home.

Photo of the Day

Our team saw this sweet women walking down a little dirt Cambodian road to meet our team.

Photo Credit: Dodge & Bel Pangburn

Photo of the Day

In June 2011 our team headed across the world to Cambodia, it was in this nation that our hearts were tugged. The people of Cambodia are hungry for a truth to cling to. In a little village outside of Kampong Thom, Matt Arbo, found a little girl who captured his heart. This little girl stuck by Arbo's side the whole time we were in her village. As the carnivals were going on, you could see Matt and this precious little girl dancing together.

Photo Credit: Lindsey Eryn Clark

Photo of the Day

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Photo credit: Lindsey Eryn Clark

The Story of Champei: A Child Slave

My name is Champei.I’m 15 years old and the oldest of 5. I have four younger brothers and sisters, I do not know where they are, but I know they are somewhere in the world. When I was 6 years old my mother died, several months later my father remarried. My stepmother did not like me very much, she used to beat me and tell me that I was “no good”. She had a “special” stick that she would beat me with til I was black and blue with bruises and bleeding. After my beatings, she would force me to do all the house work. Eventually, my father and his new wife started having more babies. My family was poor, so my step-mother convinced my father that he should hire me out to families who needed field hands. The families worked me hard- and some of them beat me. I had dreams that one day I would grow up and marry a rich man so I wouldn’t have to work so hard. When I was 10 years old a man moved to our village. The man approached my parents, asking if he could buy me, he was in need of a servant. Without much hesitation, my parents said yes. I suppose they thought it’d be one less mouth to feed if the man took me away. At first, the man was kind to me. He seemed charming. However, his “charm” didn’t last long, it wore off within a few hours of me being in his home. My first day at his home I was demanded to do all the house work, cook, and work in the fields. As night approached, the man grew angry and started drinking. I’ll never forget that night, it was the night that everything changed. Once I was done with my chores for the day, I went out back to bathe and wash the dirt off my body. My body ached from working so hard all day. In the stillness of the night, I could hear the white man coming home. I heard clashing coming from inside the house, curiosity overtook me as I peeked through the cracks of the wood to see the commotion inside. Anger was written all over his face. The stench of alcohol coming from his body was so strong that it was unbareable. I moved away from the house to return to my bathe, it was then that I felt his his rough hand grasp my neck. He dragged me inside the house as he yelled meaningless things at me. As I tried to calm him down, I felt the back of his hand collide with my cheek. Frightened, I attempted to crawl away, however, my attempts were useless as he trapped me and began beating me. That night, he had his way with me- I cried, pleading for him to stop because he was hurting me. But my cries went unheard. That night, I went to the shabby mat that was my bed, and as tears welled up in my eyes, I felt ashamed of who I was. With my head down and holding back my tears I thought to myself “How did this happen?” On the eve of my 11th birthday I had become a slave.This is just one story of one girl. However, today, there are 27 million others who are living a story similar to Champei’s. Let me break it down for you: The number of humans enslaved in the world today is double the 12 million Africans that were estimated to be enslaved in the 400 year history of transatlantic slave trade.But here is the truth: At one point, all of us were enslaved, however, Christ came and rescued us.

As children of God, we have been called to freedom and have been rescued from the things that have enslaved us. We were called to walk in freedom and to be imitators of Christ. Christ rescued us through His great love, allowing us to experience freedom. So here is my thought: What if we were rescued, so that we could rescue others?

The Lord beckon’s his people to “live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2.12). It is time for us as children of God to be so enraptured by the love of God, that we cannot help, but be a part of a beautiful movement to rescue the world. There is power in love, Christ was an example of this. Songwriter, Paul Klein, once wrote, “We will be the answer to Redemption’s call... Love conquers it all, cross all boundaries, and breaks down the walls.”

So I leave you with this- Will you be the answer to Redemption’s call? Will you let the love of God move through you to rescue others?

Join us February 2012 as we become the answer to the call and work with children who have been rescued out of child slavery. For more information please visit: www.gointernational.tv/trips/haiti

Written by: Lindsey Eryn Clark

Photo of the Day

Mystery Trip 2011 our team went to South Africa. During our time there, our team had the opportunity to host an event on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The event brought hundreds of children from miles around. It was an amazing time to share the love of God through games and dramas. Scanning your eyes through the field, you could see the children following team members including founder of Go International, Greg Baca.

Photo Credit: Lindsey Eryn Clark

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas.

It’s the season of giving, yet it seems that most the time, people end up more stressed than filled with good cheer. What if this season, we took the focus off ourselves (and filling up the space underneath the Christmas tree) and took time to bring good cheer and make a difference in the world around us?

Today starts the 12 days of Christmas, Go Style.

Over the next twelve days, we will be releasing 12 ways that you can spread good cheer  and make a difference in your local community and globally.

Day 1: Go Volunteer at a homeless shelter.

Get outside of your comfort zone, go volunteer at your local homeless shelter. Be a listening ear to those who just need a friend this season.

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done." Proverbs 19:17

Day 2: Cards with purpose

Give a gift that matters. Make a donation in honor of your loved ones and help spread the message of Christ in the world. With each donation of $25 we will send you a four pack of Christmas cards that you can in turn give to friends and family indicating that a donation has been made in their honor. Order Now. All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Matthew 28.18-20

Day 3: Inspire someone to dream today; give them a Top 100 book.

We all have dreams and adventures that we want to go in life. Today, encourage one or two of your friends to pursue their dreams. Reassure them that the dreams they have deep down in their hearts are God given dreams. Give them a Top 100 book so that they have a place to right down all the dreams that they have. It’s been said that if you write down you’re dreams, you’ll be more likely to accomplish. So go out into your world and inspire people.Click here to get your Top 100 book now! 1 Thessalonians 5.11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.

Day 4: Be a voice to the voiceless and bring hope to the nations. Sign up for a missions trip with Go International. 

We live in a world that is searching for hope; that is in need of a light to cast out the darkness. This year come be a light to the nations. Join Go International as we travel to the nations bringing the message of Jesus Christ.Click here to learn more about Go Missions. How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns”. Isaiah 52.7

Day 5: Buy a gift certificate of $5-$25 in value from a grocery store and give it to someone in need.

If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. Deut. 15:7

Day 6: Join the 120 Campaign

Buy a parcel. Build a farm. Individuals across the country are partnering with Go to build a farm for an orphanage in Cambodia by purchasing 1 parcel of land for $100. The farm that is built will have the ability to support and sustain an orphanage of 80 children.Today, be a part of creating lasting change in the lives of Cambodian orphans by purchasing a parcel for land this Christmas for $100.“Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1.17BUY A PARCEL

Day 7: Gather your old clothes and donate them to a charity organization. No matter who you are, you probably have clothes that you don’t use anymore. Instead of letting them sit in your closet, donate them to charity. Get your friends and family involved too.Those who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. [Psalm 19.17]Day 8: 10 for 10 Campaign 

The 10 for 10 campaign is a simple campaigned designed to raise $100 for orphan projects. Ask ten people you know to sponsor you in this campaign for $10. The money you raise will go directly to making a difference in the lives of Cambodian and Haitian orphans.

Isaiah 1.17

Learn to do right! Seek justice! Encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Day 9: Sticky Inspiration 

We all have those days where we could use a little random encouragement. Get some post its and write some encouraging or inspirational notes on them-- take them and post them around your town in random places that people will find them.

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13

Day 10: Light the World

Help bring light to the darkness and buy a Light the world T-Shirt to support global missions.

Want to make a global impact this Christmas? Purchase a Light the World T-shirt that will help bring the message of Jesus to the nations.

Click here to purchase T-Shirt now. 

Day 11: Memory Lane

The easiest way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loudly for all to hear. The world is full of lonely people. Go to a local nursing home today and spread some Christmas cheer. Pass out cookies, flowers, candy, or sing carols to the residents. Strike up a conversation and reminisce with the residents about their favorite Christmas memories.

Day 12: Change for Change Take the day, next week, or even next month to collect loose change for global initiatives. Go around your community and ask those around you to donate their spare change to support global orphan projects.

"Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!"

Proverbs 31.9

Photo of the Day

Psalm 29: 3-11

God thunders across the waters, Brilliant, his voice and his face, streaming brightness— God, across the flood waters.

God makes his people strong. God gives his people peace.

Photos taken in South Africa

Photo Credit: Lindsey Eryn Clark

The 120 Campaign

Buy a Parcel of Land. Build a Farm to sustain an Orphanage of 80.

The Issue. 163 million orphans will wake up this morning, many of them with no food to eat. In the next 120 seconds- 24 children will die because of hunger related issues. 9 million children will die before their 5th birthday.

The Facts. On average, sponsoring an orphan for a month costs $45. The cost to sponsor an orphan for a year is approximately $540. If a child was sponsored from birth to the age of 18 the cost would be $9,720. Sponsoring 80 orphans from birth to 18 would cost $777,600.

The Farm. Today, join individuals from across the nation and partner with Go International to build a 120 parcel farm in Cambodia to support and sustain an orphanage. This $12,000 farm will not only sustain 80 orphans, but it will also allow these orphans to have three meals a day.

Get Involved. One parcel of land is $100. Be one of 120 individuals across the nation to purchase a parcel of land and together we can build a farm and create lasting change in the lives of Cambodian orphans.

BUY A PARCEL » Upon buying a parcel of land you will receive a certificate that states you have purchased

Photo of the Day

February 2011, for the first time ever Go International stepped foot on African soil as we traveled to the nation of South Africa on the annual Mystery Trip. During our time there, our team was able to co-host a crusade right outside of Jo-berg. With a stage set up in an empty field, the team waited as thousands traveled to the crusade. That night, restoration came, as many who attended the crusade received Christ in their hearts and also healing in their bodies. This woman, stood in the sea of people receiving every word that was being spoken that night. Healing had come.