Being Faithful

Sorry it has been so long in writing on the blog but we have been quite busy these last weeks. For the last 10 days or so we have been "living on the edge" of the statelines that is. :) Washington one day, Idaho the next, then back to Oregon, and back to Idaho for another concert. But thankfully amidst all this driving and traveling the Lord has kept us safe and has been choosing to use us for His kingdom work. The other day we were all in a coffeehouse and we began talking and sharing what the Lord is working in us. It was incredible to listen and reflect on the work the Lord is doing in us and through us. As I sat there, I was hit again with how this year really isn't about what we are doing but instead about being faithful to God's call and living our lives glorifying and praising Him. He has chosen to bring us to prisons, schools, churches, outreach groups, and college campuses in order to share His love with those He wanted to bless this tour. It always amazes me when I think about the fact that God chooses to use us despite the fact that we are broken and sinful people. We as a team have nothing in ourselves to offer but only God's love and His message of grace for everyone. May we be faithful in sharing that message with whomever God places in our path whether it's on-stage or off.

Tomorrow we are driving back to Montana and preparing for our last weekish of being on Fall Tour. Thanks so much for the prayers, support, and encouragement... it means so much to us all.

Faithfully Answering the Call,
Carrie (and 1421) :)

P.S. the photo just shows how we have been able to bask in the beauty as a team as well... God's creation is simply stunning!

On the road again!

Wow! Can't believe that we have already came back from Honduras and on the road again.

It's only been couple days since we began our tour, and God has already worked in amazing ways in and through our team.
We got to share the love of God with the kids at a detention center, worship with the ladies at a women's prison, celebrate Bo's return at his home church in WA, and see the world's largest buffalo. =)

Please keep us in your prayers:
-Health and safety: the weather is getting colder everywhere we go, and we still have long travel times here and there.
-Team unity: that we can be open to one another and love one another with the love from Christ.
-Focus: may we continue to focus on God, not on ourselves.

Thank you very much for all of your support! We can't do this without you!!!

And here's the world's largest buffalo:

14:21 Off on Their Fall Tour

Team 14:21 left before dawn this morning on their Fall Tour. They will be heading to the Northwestern Part of the United States and spending a few days in Manitoba, Canada on this tour.

They will be doing quite a bit of driving over the next few days (They'll be in Spokane, Washington by tomorrow [Friday] evening!), so please remember them in your prayers!

Check back soon for updates on what God is doing in and through these team members on their Fall Tour.

- Paul, on behalf of team 14:21

I know the thought that keeps running through my head is, "A little over a week ago, we were in Honduras." And now we're back in the US and about to leave for our Fall Tour on Thursday. Life is so crazy and it's all going by so fast!

I think my team would agree with me when I say that I don't want to forget the lessons that I learned overseas, and how my perspectives of so many things were enhanced. This year has a better definition to me now and I feel like God was taking me out of myself and replacing my own desires and love with His. To think that we were given the opportunity to go to Honduras at this time and play in so many schools, churches, a factory loading dock, the YFC camp and so many other places, is unbelievable, and I feel so blessed to have met the YFC staff that were huge examples of Christ's love to me, and to have experienced everything that God had in store for us there. We played 40 concerts, overall, in three weeks, and were able to share the Gospel at every single concert except for one. What else can we say? It's such a privilege to even call our God Father, and we know He is so good and gives such good gifts to His children. He is so faithful.

Even in times when we feel like we can't go on, that we are completely inadequate to share the Gospel or to be called His own, He gives us His strength, and we find joy in the Lord and in His promises, that He is always faithful and that He has chosen us to live for Him. That's why we live like we do, why we cry out for God's heart to replace our own and why we count everything else in this world as a loss compared the glory of knowing our Savior. We are set apart, renewed, and changed by His love that surpasses all others. In the process of seeking His heart, we find utter joy in Him. And we learn how to live and how to change. That's one of the many things that I learned in Honduras and not by my own actions, but by His grace. He keeps showing me what's really important in life, how I can be less and He can be everything, and then I learn how to seek His face more every day. His faithfulness surpasses our understanding-our God is so, so good.

I have so many pictures that would tell the story of our time there but these are just a few to give you a hint into our lives during the last weeks spent in Honduras. The black & white one is Mauricio sharing the gospel with the 400 students at a school. The next is some of the beautiful children we got to play for... i love their smiles. The other ones are of us getting prepped to go to the futbol game which was incredible, and then us at one of the most fun schools as far as audience participation goes. The last one is of our bus that we rode around everywhere in and fit down streets and alleys that I thought no bus could ever go. :)












































All this said... our lives were changed and impacted greatly by the people and places in Honduras. As we prep now to continue our stateside touring I ask that all of you not only keep us in your prayers but YFC Honduras as well as they continue the work that God has for them down there!

Learning to love deeper,
Carrie & 1421

Team 14:21 Arrives Home Safely!

Team 14:21 arrived home safely late last evening. They had spent the whole day traveling and had a pretty lengthy layover in Miami, so they were happy to see the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.

I've only heard a few of the many (I'm sure) stories of God at work in and through the team members, so check back soon for updates from the team members themselves.

All of their equipment made it safely and their travels went very smoothly!

- Paul, on behalf of 14:21

Update from the Field

Carrie (Team 14:21's leader) called this morning from Honduras to update us. The team has not had internet access for several days and may not have it again prior to their return to the U.S.

She reported that the team is doing great! They are ministering in the area surrounding the YFC's camp in the Copan region of Honduras. They have been averaging 1-2 outreach concerts per day. In their free time they have been seeing much of what the country has to offer, with Mauricio (YFC National Director) as their guide.

They'll be leaving the camp early on Saturday morning to head back down to San Pedro Sula. From there, the team will catch their flight back to the U.S. on Sunday!

Check back for updates on the team's arrival back in the U.S. and for stories from their time abroad!

- Paul, on behalf of Carrie and Team 14:21

To Love - the greatest commandment

I know it has been a whole week since writing and we apologize but we haven't had a moment to stop and reflect and I don't have much time now but wanted to fill you all in a bit. Each day has been so full of concerts and new experiences. We have been loving it and being reminded daily that it's not about us and what we have to offer but instead about loving God above all and sharing this love with those we meet. So far we have played 18 concerts in the last 9 days and when we aren't playing a concert we have been doing things like climbing waterfalls (lesson in trust), watching futbol games (lesson in joy), swimming at the beach(reminder of God's beauty), or riding on the bus(reminder of God's sense of humor). :) But through all of this I have been reminded of one thing that is the most important of all. We are called to LOVE. There is no greater thing than to love God with all we are. And when we learn to focus our lives on him then we can pour out that same love onto others. And with all the different concerts and interactions with the Hondurans here we have been given many opportunities to love them and learn how to love one another on the team better as well.

So thank you for all your prayers as we continue with our last 9 days here in Honduras. Tomorrow we head to Copan where Mauricio has a camp which is his pride and joy. We are really excited to see it and be able to spend some time with him there "in his element". We won't have internet so we won't be able to update again but keep praying for us and for YFC here. And may we all be reminded to LOVE God with all we are and LOVE other likewise because when it comes down to it that is the greatest commandment.

Pouring out Love,

Carrie on behalf of 1421 :)

Hola from Honduras

Hola everyone!!

We are safe here in Honduras. So far we have already played 5 concerts, and even though the weather is pretty hot, we have been enjoying ourselves with our contact Mauricio (who is the head of the Honduras YFC).

Thank you so much for your prayers! Please keep praying for us as we will be playing 3-4 concerts a day, and will be meeting many people everywhere we go.

And as a bonus, we are going to the Futbol game of Honduras vs. USA! We decided as a team that we will cheer for Honduras, and Mauricio was kind enough to buy us all Honduras jerseys for the game, what a blessing!!!

Thank you again and God bless you!!

Kylie and Bo

Team 14:21 Reports Safe Arrival in Honduras!

Team leader, Carrie VanderHorst, called this evening to report the team's safe arrival in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The team met up with Mauricio (YFC National Director) and have settled in at the YFC base.

Their equipment made it safely and there were no hiccups in their travels at all!

The team will be splitting their time in Honduras between San Pedro Sula and a camp that the YFC has built in the Copan region of Honduras.

They are excited to play their first concert tomorrow morning!

Check back in the coming weeks for updates from the field!

14:21 Checks In Safe and Sound!

Team 14:21 had a safe smooth check in this morning at MSP airport.
Check back soon for news of their arrival in Honduras as well as
updates from their time overseas!

Honduras

Hello everyone!!

We are about to leave and head to the airport today. Our flight to Honduras will be 6:30AM on Monday.
I am very excited, but at the same time a little nervous about being in a different place for 3 weeks.

If you could please keep the team in your prayers:
-Please pray for smooth check-in process
-Please pray for safe travel and safety in Honduras
-Some of the team members are sick, if you could pray for speed healing and recovering, also health for the whole team while we are there
-Please pray for team unity
-Please pray for FOCUS on God
-Please pray for our hosts (YFC), people we are going to meet, and ministry opportunities

Thank you so much for your love, your prayers, your time, and your supports.

God bless,
Kylie

A snapshot of training tour

Ahhhhhhhhh.

We are back in Willmar (as of two hours ago) and are about to embark on a week of training for our overseas adventure starting next Monday (October 5th). Training tour was absolutely fabulous while it lasted, and now we are pumped for a week of overseas preparation and then leaving again! A huge thank you to all of our hosts, contacts, schools, churches and gazebos: we love you all and we can't thank you enough. You gave us amazing memories and inside jokes that we will be using for the next month at least, I'm sure :)

Here are some pictures from the past three weeks! Enjoy :)

Our Hosts, Thank you!

We are really grateful for all our hosts, and we are very thankful for all their hospitalities. I (Kylie) personally feel so blessed that we get to meet new people everywhere we go. The stories we have heard from our hosts and the relationships we have built are so valuable and precious.

So, thank you so much our host families!!! You are amazing!

Picnic with the hosts at Pella, IA.

We girls with our host at Milwaukee, WI.

SEEK HIM... FIND HIM

Last night we had the privilege of for playing at Ascension Lutheran in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. Now we had driven from Pella, Iowa after leading Pella Christian High School in a time of worship and came into the evening a bit tired from the 6 hours in the van. But we loaded out and set up ready for action. Julie, who is the youth director, asked us to be a part of the youth group's time before the concert and wanted us to share about ourselves. We answered the question of which animal we would choose to be and after many laughs and such answered a bit about why we were with CTI. When we had each finished answering the questions Julie hit us with a deep question. "You all shared about how God made it clear to you that CTI was your next step, but HOW does God make it clear to you?" Whoa, how to answer that one. Chris stepped up to the plate and shared the verse, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). Then shared with the kids how we need to first seek God and in the end His desires will be planted in our hearts and our "fleshly" desires will fade. When we seek God with all we are His desires becomes our desires and we will be able to follow God as He leads because when we seek Him with all our heart we will find Him. (Duet 4:29)

Now you may be wondering why I'm sharing this but it just hit me last night how often I just say things like "God made it clear" or "I just followed His call" without really thinking through HOW I know that or WHY I follow His lead. So I've been thinking more deeply about the whys and hows of following and listening to God's leading. Sure it's not always clear as day, but I am learning what it means to seek Him with all my heart and the joys that come when I am able to find Him and make His desires my own. I have a ways to go, but don't we all??

So thanks to Julie for prompting me in this thought and may we all begin to SEEK HIM with all we are so that we will be able to FIND HIM and follow those desires that will be planted within us.

Learning to Seek,
Carrie Joy :)

"One Way... Jesus!"

~chris

Leading morning worship for Pella Christian High's retreat

~chris

Go Bulldogs!

1421 takes in a high school football game in Boscobel,WI before playing an evening concert sponsored by Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

In His freedom

well hey there (:

We are officially in Wisconsin at this very moment. And I say officially because for the last couple of days we have been border hopping between Iowa and Wisconsin to find meals or a cherished cup of coffee. We've been playing in the curious little town of McGregor, Iowa, since Saturday and we moved on to Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, yesterday. So far, life on the road is wonderfully sweet and we are enjoying it very much. Not to say that it hasn't come with lessons and craziness also, because it definitely has. We got the privilege of spending four days in McGregor, being able to minister to two churches, a happy group of people in a park (while we played from a gazebo, of all things!) nursing home residents and several other individuals. God is so good to us and we can't express that enough and how thrilled we are to be meeting all these wonderful people who have blessed us so much. Many of us have already expressed certain lessons that God has been embarking on us in the short time that we have set off on this journey, and already we can see similarities and bridges between these new changes that are happening inside of us. I think one of the main prayers of our team is that God would become more in our lives, our devotions, our ministries, our van, our conversations and our music, and that we would become less. I find myself being too much in my own life; trying to pour out love without being filled or having nothing to pour outside of myself, is impossible. We as 14:21 have a desire for the knowledge of God and how to be models of Phil. chapter 2. So while some of us are very far from home and others are just a few states away, God has been imparting huge lessons on us of worth and of breaking strength. In Christ we are finally satisfied and ready to pour out from His love. Christ's love has completely and utterly overwhelmed us and takes away any scars we might have had before. As one of songs states, we have "received another name" and are worthy to receive Christ's love. Knowing that we are free and that the lie of guilt has been cast off is one of the biggest freedoms I've ever experienced. In turn His love empowers us to go out and pour His love into other people's lives. In His freedom we choose to live, and our prayer is that this year He would fill us up, ready to pour us out and that we would make Him everything in our lives, diminishing ourselves to absolutely nothing without Him.

Ahh, the road...

Day one, on the way to Iowa...