Athol and I cannot thank you enough for all your prayers and email responses following our prayer request for Greg and his family. Please keep the prayers and emails coming - we are printing them out and will begin reading them to Greg within the next few days...
We were able to spend about 2 1/2 hours at the hospital on Wednesday evening, which was the day of Greg's surgery, and were very shocked to see him in such a bad way. At that stage, the doctors and nurses were telling us that every hour he survived was a good hour. He was on the ventilator and in a medically induced coma, attached to a plethora of IV's and different monitors. There were nurses in the room and working on him the whole time we were there.
Yesterday, they stopped all visitors and wanted him on complete "brain rest", with absolutely no stimulation, so we did not get to see him. Athol and I have just arrived home from the hospital, and are so excited by the change and progress we have just seen. We are blown away by the miracle of prayer, and how our prayers are being answered as each hour passes and more and more positive progress is made...
The doctors started decreasing Greg's level of sedation this morning to see if and how he would respond. When we got there, he was breathing on his own and responding purposefully to commands. His eyes are still swollen and closed, but he tried to nod his head in response to our questions, and kept raising his right hand and giving us a thumbs up when he liked what we were saying. When we told him we would be picking up his parents at the airport tomorrow morning, and that we would be bringing them straight to the hospital, he even mouthed "thank you" ! As we prayed for him, he even lifted his right hand in a posture of receiving. He knew who we were, and even nodded that he remembered our conversation and visit from Wednesday, even though he was in a coma at the time.
Greg still has a long road to recovery ahead of him, and will still be in ICU for several days. So far all his movements involve the right side of his body, and he is not moving his left arm or leg. His parents arrive tomorrow morning, and Athol and I will be hosting them here on campus for as long as they need to stay. I will be printing out all the emails and prayers we have received in response to our blog posting, and will have that in his parents room to encourage them when they arrive. We have told Greg just how many people are praying for him around the world, and got a huge thumbs up in response. So thank you, on behalf of Greg as well!
Thank you so much for your prayers. We just heard that
Greg has made it through the surgery and doctors are now saying he has a 50/50
chance of survival. Praise the Lord!
What an awesome God we serve, and how marvelous that we can all
stand together as a Body of Christ and uphold a stranger and his family in
prayer!
Our blog has been such a help in allowing us to share prayer requests, and we are so honored to have a team of prayer warriors who lift us up daily in prayer. This morning, I have an urgent prayer request, and we would treasure your prayers for a friend and his family.
Athol and our staff are doing an 8-day course called Immersion, through the International House of Prayer (IHOP) here in Kansas City. On Monday, he texted me just before coming home for lunch, and said that he'd met a fellow-South African at the course, and was bringing him home for lunch. Turns out Greg went to the same primary (elementary) school as I did, and was a year ahead of me at school. We had a fun time catching up on all our teachers and friends. We couldn't believe that the Lord had re-united us some 35+ years later, and in Kansas City of all places.
Yesterday we found why the Lord wanted us to meet, and how the circumstances were completely orchestrated by our Father Himself. Towards the end of class yesterday afternoon, Greg collapsed and had a major seizure. He was unconscious and taken to the hospital by ambulance. Nobody at the course knew how to find a contact person or get in contact with his family in South Africa. As a result of our conversation over lunch the day before, we were able to find his church in South Africa, speak with a the pastor, and eventually get his parents phone number. By the time we spoke with his parents, Greg was conscious and in good spirits and awaiting further testing in the ER. We went to bed last night with a positive report - that he was in ICU overnight for observation, but was still conscious and in good spirits. The CAT scan had showed a bleed on the brain, but he was considered fairly stable and would have an MRI this morning.
Athol called me a few minutes ago with another update. Greg had a turn for the worse and is in surgery as I type this. The prognosis does not look good, and the doctors predict about a 25% chance of survival. They are now suspecting a brain aneurism, and should he pull through the surgery, he will be in a medically-induced coma for some time.
Please stand with us as we pray for Greg and his family. He is not married, but his parents are still in South Africa and trying to get tickets to get to Kansas City. Please also pray for wisdom for Athol and I as we walk this with Greg and his family once they get here. Our meeting was no accident or co-incidence, and we will continue to trust the Lord for guidance as the situation proceeds...
Recently Christie had to write a Creative Writing short story as part of her 4th grade school work.
Below is what she came up with. We are flattered that she thinks of us as, King and Queen, but it is so precious we simply had to share it with the world.
Once Upon a Time
There was a Queen and King and one pretty Princess they
were such a happy family,
Every body loved them.
One day God told Princess Christine that she was going
to have a baby brother she was so excited, she went to tell her parents. Her
parents couldn't believe what they heard so they all prayed together. Queen Debbie
worked as a nurse for the village, the village was
called "BarnesVille" they loved that
name.
King Athol, owned a bicycle shop for the villagers so
they could ride to the store. Princess Christine stayed home with her friends,
her friends are the best friends she could ever have. They were so wonderful,
her friends names were Tatum, Anna and Sarah, there sisters, and Logan, Rachel, Bella,
Casidy and Ashly there also sisters, and Abby she had lots of friends. One day
God told Princess Christine that she was going to have a baby
brother.
So she prayed with her friends the next day the nurse
called the Queen, they talked for hours, today was Monday God told Princess
Christine that her brother was coming today so she told her mother and father.
After a few minutes they got a call from the Hospital the nurse said do you want
to adopt a baby boy? Princess Christine was so excited that they said "yes" so
they went to the Hospital and adopted a baby boy. Princess Christine was so happy
that she asked Jesus into her heart that day.
You ask what happen to the Princess and Queen and King
and the new baby Prince?
well Princess Christine well she's now 10 years old and
Prince Joshua is 5 years old and what happened to the Queen and the King well
they are now teach people how to believe in Jesus so they can tell people about
Jesus and the villagers are builders who build churchs for people who need help
from God.
And there now in
Kansas
City
This story is about how Athol and Debbie
adopted Joshua barnes
One month ago today, we arrived in Kansas City - still jet-lagged from our time in South Africa, shell-shocked from having to buy a car in a hurry, stressed from having to consolidate and pack up our things in 3 days in Georgia, and tired from 2 days of driving a 26 foot truck and trailer through 4 states to get here! We were still living out of boxes when 5 days later, Athol was on a plane and headed back to Hawaii for 2 weeks.
Athol had an amazing time in Kona, and had the privilege of debriefing our students as they returned from outreach. Since outreach is the pinnacle of the DTS experience, it is always so rewarding to hear the stories of how our students put into practice everything the Lord has taught them during the lecture phase. Our Philippines team was able to share the gospel with almost 6000 people in the Philippines, plant 1 church, pray the prayer of salvation with and then disciple almost 150 new believers. They were also able to build a well in a rural village, thanks to training received in Kona, and work closely with the Nehemiah Safe House while ministering to those involved in the sex trafficking trade in the area. Our South African Team was able to share the gospel with over
a thousand people, many of them children. 81 people committed their lives to Christ, and they saw over 20 physical healings. Some of our team members also invested personal money sowing into the lives of families in the local community, and have pledged to return to South Africa to follow-up and continue ministering to these families. One team member has not only provided the finances to cover a teen's high school fees, but also took her to the high school to help with her enrollment, provided her school uniform, books, etc. The team was able to minister to this teen's family as a whole, and really shared the love of Christ with them in both word and practical ways. We were incredibly blessed to be in South Africa at the same time as our team, and to be able to meet with each student in a one-on-one setting, as well a join them for team and ministry times.
Although the last few months have certainly had their challenges, God was ever-present, and always faithful - to us individually, and as a family. There were times where Athol or I would hang our heads and wonder what we were doing, when the Lord would speak to us clearly, either through scriptures or those around us, and confirm yet again that we were on the right path and being obedient to what He was calling us to do. It was these moments that kept us going, and gave us the strength to continue.
Before arriving in Kansas City, we had a general idea as to why the Lord was calling us here. It was only after our arrival, and within a few meetings with Mark Anderson, that we learned the scope of all that God doing here in Kansas City, and what we are now a part of. Call2All, partnering with YWAM Campaigns, Impact World Tour and the Back to Jerusalem Project is expanding at a very rapid rate. Just today, we confirmed our lease agreement on this property for the next 10 years, which will allow us to expand our training facility and base as needed for our rapid growth and development. The school which Athol and I will be leading in June will be the second I2I (Intimacy 2 Impact) school run here in Kansas City, and we are expecting about 30 students. By September, we will be running 4 different schools on campus, including a Church Pioneering School, A Korean DTS, an English DTS, and a City Impact School. God is bringing about a marrying of the prayer and missions movement right here in Kansas City, with a united goal of reaching the unengaged, unreached people groups in the world and thereby completing the Great Commission. As you can imagine, it is tremendously exciting to be a part of something so big. Even more exciting is the fact that each of our prayer warriors and financial supporters get to be a part of what we are doing as we walk this journey together...
Psalm 37 v 3-5
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
Praise Items:
God's protection during our travels
A new place to call home!
We have a new Address!! (Please email us for this)
much fruit from our outreach teams
New vision and expectancy for the future
Prayer requests:
We need to urgently sell our house in GA
New support for our increased living expenses
Wisdom as we build out the ministry here in KC
For Visa's and provision for our incoming team members
Thank you so much for all your prayers and partnership throughout this busy season.
It has been a very busy 2 ½ weeks since leaving Kona and we
are struggling to adjust to the changes in weather, time zone and location -
our minds may be willing, but our bodies are taking a while to catch up!
The Call2All Global Congress in Long Beach, CA was amazing, and
well worth the months of hard work, planning and preparation. It was a huge privilege to serve as
volunteers and to expose our students to so many Christian Leaders from around
the world.We hit the ground running,
arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport as 5:20am local time (2:20am
Kona time), got to our hotel at around 10am, and started volunteer training for
the congress 3 hours later! Our students worked really hard, putting in long
hours each day, and Athol and I are really proud of them.When not on volunteer duty, we were able to
sit in on the main or plenary sessions and workshops being offered to congress
delegates, or browse through the many missions-focused booths and
exhibits.Our family's personal favorite
was the Innovations booth, where we got to experience the Flying Car, click here to view video in previous blog posting...
A highlight of each Call2All Congress is the Commitment
Ceremony, where Christians and Leaders are asked to consider what commitments
the Lord would have them make that relate to new thinking and new
directions.
The commitments we celebrated following this
Los Angeles Congress were as follows:
The establishment of 70,310 New Houses of Prayer around the
world
The adoption of 1,410 Unengaged, Unreached People groups,
The establishment of 46,448 New Oral Bible Teams to reach
those unable to read or write,
The planting of 217,829 New Churches around the world,
And the commitment to evangelize to 584,645,463 people
through New Evangelism Exposures
Praise the Lord!This
is why we love working with Call2All and believe in its purpose - which is not
to replace existing ministry, but to network, train and focus the body of
Christ to fulfill the Great Commission...
From the Congress, we moved our team to a house in Pasadena
for the final week of our lecture phase.Although exhausted from the congress, this week became the highlight of
their DTS for many of our students.Without the distractions of being in Kona, on a campus with hundreds of
other students, we were able to focus on being a family, and the sense of unity
that developed was incredible!Our speakers
were amazing and even Christie and Joshie were mesmerized by the teaching,
sitting in on most of the lecture sessions. Our topic for the week was evangelism, which fitted in perfectly with our outreach preparation, and we were able to do some practical community outreach in the Pasadena area.
We celebrated the end of the lecture phase on Friday night
by spoiling our staff and students to dinner at a local restaurant, our way of
thanking them for their hard work since leaving Kona.On Saturday, our first outreach team left for
the Philippines, and on Sunday our second team left for South Africa.
Athol, Christie, Joshie and I arrivedin Atlanta late Sunday night, and are so
excited to be back home again for the first time as a family in 2 ½ years.The Lord blessed us with a very special early
Christmas gift, and we have been given a house, all to ourselves, for our time
in Atlanta.A special thanks to Eastside
Baptist church for blessing our family in this way, and allowing us to stay in
their missionary house!We have worked
hard and been involved in 5 different Discipleship Training Schools since
arriving in Kona in June 2009.This next
2 weeks is going to be a very precious time for our family as we review and
process everything the Lord has blessed us with, and brought us through during
the last 2 ½ years.
As always, thank you so much for your continued prayers and financial support of our ministry with Call2All - it is your commitment to us as a family which allows us to continue serving the Lord in this way.
Wow, it's hard to believe that we're starting week 5 of the Call2All DTS already! The Lord has blessed us with another amazing group of students this quarter, and we are so excited by the personal and spiritual breakthroughs that have taken place in so many lives already. We have a group of 28 students and 11 staff from 11 different nations around the world, and an age rage of 18 to 53. We have a very full class schedule, and spend at least 6 hours in the prayer room each week with our students. This really helps our students to grasp the concept of Call2All being a movement which marries both missions and the prayer movement.
Christie and Joshie are doing really well, and thrive on being the center of attention with all our students. We did have to increase Joshie's dose of anti-seizure medication after the neurologist visit when his labwork came back and showed that he was in the low range of normal as far as therapeutic levels of the medication. Dr Abe wants him to be well within that therapeutic range in light of all our upcoming travel. Christie had a bad fall on campus last week and we spent Friday morning in the ER, having x-rays of her ankle. Fortunately, there were no broken bones, and she is doing well with her crutches and splint.
We leave Kona in a little over 3 weeks time and will travel to Los Angeles with our staff and students on the evening of Thanksgiving Day. It's hard not to be overwhelmed by all that we still have to do before we can leave, so please remember us in prayer over the next few weeks. We will be in Los Angeles with our students for a little over 2 weeks, before flying to Atlanta on the 11th of December. We will be in Atlanta for Christmas, and will fly to South Africa to join our outreach team around the 26th of December.
Our car died about 3 weeks ago and is not repairable. This was a huge disappointment to us, since we were hoping to sell it to cover the cost of at least one our plane tickets. We have donated it to the auto shop and mechanics on campus so that they can use it for parts to bless other families on campus as needed. We were going to sell all our stuff to help with our moving expenses, but the Lord told us to give it all away. It is bringing us much joy to be able to bless other families with everything that the Lord blessed us with over our 2 1/2 years on the island!
Thank you for your continued prayers for our family and ministry. We have a number of prayer requests regarding our upcoming move, and would treasure your prayers for each of them.
Prayer Requests
that Joshie would continue to be seizure-free throughout our upcoming transition, especially in light of the stress and disruption to his normal routine
that Christie's ankle will heal rapidly
that Christie will transition smoothly from the Learning Center on campus to being home-schooled until she can begin school in Kansas City in February
for an Ipad for Christie so we can load her home-school curriculum and not have to carry paper, multiple text books etc with us when we travel
that our house in Georgia will sell quickly and at an acceptable price
for the finances to cover our upcoming travel
for the finances to purchase a vehicle in Atlanta
If you would like to bless us with a special financial gift at this time, please click on the "support us" tab in the main menu on the home page of our blog. This will take you to the National Christian Foundation where you can make a secure credit card or electronic check payment. Alternatively, you can send a check to the National Christian Foundation, 11625 Rainwater Drive, Suite 500, Alpharetta, GA 30009. Please make checks payable to the National Christian Foundation, and write in check memo: Fund: Call2All A Barnes
I had to fly to Oahu yesterday for Joshie's check-up with the pediatric neurologist. It was an awesome visit! Dr Abe was very happy with Joshie and pleased with his response to his anti-seizure medication. Since he has only had 1 seizure since our last visit, and none since we increased the dose of his meds at that time, Joshie is now considered stable on his medication. This means that Dr Abe has lifted Joshua's travel restrictions. As you can imagine, this is huge for us with all our upcoming travel! In June they asked us to limit his travel because of the frequency of his seizures. Now they have lifted that restriction. They have given us the medication that would normally only be available in an Emergency room setting for us to take when we travel. This gives us enormous peace of mind for our upcoming transpacific and transatlantic flights. These flights are long and obviously have no way to get us to the ER should Joshie have a prolonged seizure in the air. It also gives us the freedom to travel to areas in the world where there are limited medical facilities. We are so excited by the progress!
Thank you so much for your prayers for Joshua. As you can see, they are working! Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray, and we ask for a special prayer covering over the next few weeks and months, as we wrap things up in Kona and transition to Kansas City.
As you know, Call2all will be holding a global congress in Los Angeles from November 29 to December 3 this year. We are taking our school there to serve as volunteers and to be a part of this extraordinary gathering.
You may remember that I attended the global congress in Hong Kong two years ago, and how much of an impact that made on my life and so many others. This year I will be much more involved, our school will be serving as a part of the large team of volunteers. Along with the volunteers, I will be overseeing the exhibit section of the congress. We decided some time ago, that it would be imperative for a Call2ll Discipleship training school to be a part of this significant global gathering.
Attending the congress will be Christian leaders from all spheres of society including, Missions, Church, Business, Compassion and Prayer.
We would love for you to join us, to get a first hand view of what we do and what Call2all is all about. Please consider joining us and being a part of this incredible event.
Also at the congress this year, Steve Saint will be displaying the Flying Car. It will be a chance for you to get a first hand look at this amazing innovation that will enable us to get the gospel to so many unreached people groups. Please watch the video for more information.
One month ago today, we arrived in Kansas City - still jet-lagged from our time in South Africa, shell-shocked from having to buy a car in a hurry, stressed from having to consolidate and pack up our things in 3 days in Georgia, and tired from 2 days of driving a 26 foot truck and trailer through 4 states to get here! We were still living out of boxes when 5 days later, Athol was on a plane and headed back to Hawaii for 2 weeks. 
The Call2All Global Congress in Long Beach, CA was amazing, and
well worth the months of hard work, planning and preparation. 
exhausted from the congress, this week became the highlight of
their DTS for many of our students.