Newsletter
Tim Scott
Semana Santa

Angeles, Pampanga Province — Philippines: The dense tropical air hung heavy, thick with the metallic tang of fresh blood mingling with sweat. Under the scorching 100-degree heat on the streets of Angeles we followed a procession of catholic penitents. These masked men with exposed backs, now stained in blooms of crimson subject themselves to ritual self-flagellation. Tasseled whips lashed bare skin in reverberating tin sounding hits, trailing arcs of scarlet with each agonizing stroke. Children followed the columns, eyes wide, sweat beading on brows as they held small buckets of water. Periodically the bloodied penitents would dip their flagella into the pails, diluting it before resuming their lacerating rhythm. At the front, men shouldered heavy wooden crosses, leading the groups through the side-streets of Angeles city. With each lurching step, flecks of gore splattered outward, misting the ground, walls, and any bystanders with a ghastly red overspray. We were not spared the errant spatter, and immediately wiped away the warm blood that clung to our exposed skin and camera equipment.

Semana Santa
Newsletter
Tim Scott
Supernatural

Witness: In a world obsessed with human logic, philosophical reason and biased scientific theory, the truth of the supernatural and miraculous is often dismissed or ignored. But as believers, we know we serve a supernatural God who transcends the natural realm. Throughout Scripture, we are reminded that the supernatural is REAL and it is an integral part of true faith. In fact, it is impossible to truly have a relationship with Christ Jesus if you do not believe that He is the Word made flesh, that He died for our sins, is risen and will come again. Unfortunately, many modern day churches neglect speaking about the supernatural nature of God because it goes against the mainstream ideals of the world. However, when you read the Gospels they are marked from beginning to end with a documentation of miraculous events from the life of Jesus. This is why the apostle Peter emphatically declares, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).

Supernatural
Newsletter
Tim Scott
Spark

Spark: How often do we underestimate the power of a single spark? It takes only one struck match to start a blazing fire. One encouraging word might renew fading hope. One act of kindness can shift a hardened heart. One truthful conversation might plant the seed of salvation. One phone call at just the right moment could prevent tragedy and despair. One prayer lifted up in sincere faith unleashes heavenly power. One decision to surrender your life fully ignites a radical transformation. And like a glowing ember fanned into a flame, a divine spark, though it may seem insignificant at the time, can blaze into a sweeping move of God that changes everything. Here are a few examples of historical sparks that impacted the world.

Spark
Newsletter
Tim Scott
Lordship of Christ Jesus

Christ the Lord and Savior: The foundational truth upon which our faith stands is that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior. As prophesied in Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” When Jesus walked this earth, He demonstrated His lordship through teachings that astounded the people (Matthew 7:28–29). He displayed authority over sickness, nature, evil spirits and even death itself. After willingly laying down His life on the cross to atone for our sins, Christ proved His supremacy as Savior and Lord through the resurrection. Jesus lovingly calls those who follow Him not merely believers, but friends (John 15:15). Yet we must not lose sight that He is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). As Savior, Jesus bestows the gift of salvation upon all who call upon His name. As Lord, He rules our lives and demands our unwavering allegiance. Christ alone must occupy the throne room of our hearts.

Lordship of Christ Jesus
Newsletter
Tim Scott
Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms: In life’s journey, it’s extremely valuable to have a loyal companion to walk alongside you. As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9–10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” There is strength, support, and blessing when we stand together with true friends and partners. In Biblical times, the closest of friends and allies would formally establish a “covenant of brotherhood” with one another. We see this between David and Jonathan: “Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself” (1 Samuel 18:3). Their brotherly pact meant they were committed to stand by each other no matter what struggles came their way. In life, we too need similar loyal company to form our own band of brothers. But building true friendship and trustworthy partnership does not happen overnight. It takes time, shared experiences, and tests of loyalty. David’s mighty men for example, were warriors who had fought side by side with him. It says in 2 Samuel 23:8–39 they had followed him through thick and thin. By weathering hard times together, they forged unbreakable bonds. We all need that person or group of loyal friends who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us through adversity. And when we find them, we must also strive to be the type of loyal ally that we wish to have, extending generosity and support freely to others.

Brothers in Arms

Full Episodes

Monsters Lurk at Night

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6p1sIo3fBI&rel=0] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PblrQHB4_X4&rel=0]

Once again on our journey along the Amazon food must be hunted. This Croc we caught alive, so we shut the snout with a rope. Just before this video was taken the massive reptile lashed at me (Tim). This area of Brazil has been a blessing to travel as there is such a movement for the Holy Spirit.  We also came across an Assemblies of God in Tefe that was building a new church the size of a small stadium. The shocking thing is Tefe is only 80,000 in population. This must mean a large percentage of people attend regularly. Praise God!

The croc was cooked later in the day and fed 15 people. We were on river for 4 days at this point. No showers, hot sun, but good food. Praise God!

Lab Destroyed!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0_SIDQUZtA&rel=0]

Explosives set, and safely from the LZ we blow the lab. Blackhawk descends to extract team.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-28JqmmPweA&rel=0]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSwpdmLq5Us&rel=0]

From the air you can see the magnitude of blast. Also near end of video you can see the second team blackhawk circling below. Mission was successful and all members back safe. Three days before this operation, three eradicators team members were killed on a mission we were supposed to be on.

Day Hunt - Into Jungle for more food.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABG4pDay4PM&rel=0] Five mouths to feed and long distances to cross. We needed food for our journey because we would float at night.  We stalked the jungle for two hours before we had our first opportunity.  Then we got it!  Praise God!  One interesting story we were told from our guide was when we came to a mysterious small clearing in the jungle.  The guide got spooked and we asked him what was up.  He said, "this area is where a demon lives."  Then he told us the story of what the locals believe.  He said the demon will appear to people and trick them as he takes a familiar form.  Like someone you might recognize.  He will tell you to follow and then take you far into the jungle.  Once you are good and lost he disappears.  The guide also said if people say something bad the demon will tell the animals to go away and you wont have any food to hunt.  Strange thing is even the Christians hold onto this story and fear the demon.  Well, we all prayed to ourselves as we passed the area and rebuked the demon.  Let´s see what the greater will inside of us will do we thought.  One hour later we got a monkey, and then immediately after the monkey shot, a group of wild pigs came near us, which is very strange because after you fire everything runs.  Our guide thought that was very odd, but we all praised God for the harvest of animals and food to eat.  No demonic power can stand to the power of the Almighty!  Back at camp, after returned with our kills a small storm rolled through and a bolt of lightening struck 10 feet from us!  It was the loudest noise we had ever heard, everything went white, and smoke billowed out of the ground.  It gave us a scare, but we laughed about it and ten minutes later and packed up for our night float.  Brings to mind the scripture where Satan was cast out of heaven like a bolt of lightening.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDwVu5rTTP4&rel=0]

Monkey meat very chewy.

Night Hunt on the Amazon

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksMeZK_iVDQ&rel=0] Expedition down river will take you through some remote parts before you emerge to another village so hunting for food and basic survival takes a large part of your day.  (The follow videos of hunts took place in between villages and along the most isolated parts of the small river/creek.  This is a view into every day life between ministry efforts and what it takes to get to remote peoples, or even to the next major city along the Amazon.)  As we passed through this area we were two days from any village so hunting for food was necessary.  You cannot see much in this video, but the moon was full and as we floated down river it was so peaceful.  We spotlight hunted on this long float.  The most dangerous parts to doing this type of float at night are slamming into fallen trees on the small creek, running aground, and low hanging poisonous snakes that dangle over the creek on tree branches (we encountered two on this journey and it gave us all a scare).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQKKtI-Enpg&rel=0]

Shot the Cayman, but body went under water.  We thought it was dead but the once it came back up we had to lance it with a spear.  It shook violently and not until we practically cleaved the head off with a machete did it stop thrashing.  We were all happy to get this meat and as it turns out it was our favorite meat on the whole journey.  Think Chicken texture with a faint fish taste.  Really good stuff.  Cooked next morning for breakfast.

Piranhas for Dinner

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3ANVryYN1E&rel=0]

Journeying down river we had little food because you can only bring essentials. Caught a few after this video was taken. Piranhas are mean little fish and two days later our guide caught a huge one that made us glad we never took a dip in the water.

Hillsong in Spanish

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skYlDoucs8Q&rel=0]

Recognize this song?  Yep that is Hillsong in Spanish.  The influence of media is amazing. To see how far even a simple song can reach shows how media can reach and impact the lives of others.  We need more Christian Media!  Because it can go to the ends of the earth and make an impact.

August '09 Newsletter

Dear Friends, Greetings in the Lord!  Over the past months we have been very busy, working in Colombia and Ecuador, and our journeys are full of many testimonies.  We are so grateful to each of you for your prayers, as it has kept us going and protected us in every way.

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Most recently, in Colombia, we have once again entered the front lines of the drug war and been witnesses of this evil industry.  Some might ask, "How does the drug trade and those areas relate to the work of the gospel?"  The answer for us is much like the statement the Apostle Paul said in Romans 15:20-21, "And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation; but as it is written, "THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE, AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND."  You see, our mission is to preach Christ where He has not been named and to areas deemed to difficult to reach.  The jungles and valleys where coca farmers and narcotics traffickers live and conduct their trade are just such places.  We look at those areas and imagine what would happen if a revival broke out!  But how can they hear without a preacher?  This is why we go.  We want to tread where no one has gone before and deliver the message of the Gospel to those who have not heard.

Picture 1

So with that, for the past weeks we have been actively traveling with the Colombian anti-narcotics police to some of the most dangerous states across the country.  FARC rebel activity has been high in every area we have set foot, but praise God we have been protected and suffered no injury or kidnapping.  This is due to your prayers, and as you pray doors have been opened for so much more.  We have been on medical missions and urban outreaches and we know that the drug war can be overcome.  Your support in this is vital as it allows us to reach people in need and make a lasting impact.

Picture 2

Now, as we continue the same theme of Romans 15:20-21, we are preparing an expedition to traverse the entire continent of South America via the Amazon to its mouth on the Atlantic coast of Brazil.  We are calling this expedition, "Out of the Belly."  For we believe, like John 7:38 says, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." This mission is metaphorically the same.  We believe that from the belly of the Amazon, as Christ is preached, it shall flow rivers of living water and souls that praise the name of Jesus.  Praise God we believe it!

This expedition will include many river journeys and unreached work.  Our goal will be to effectively reach remote people groups, coca farmers, and loggers along the mighty river.  We will be joined by a full time interpreter and we will need to hire guides, boats, gear, and assist local ministers to help us in this effort.  We will float, trek the jungles, and take any means of transport to reach those who haven't been reached before.  It will be a daunting journey, but a necessary one, as it might be the only opportunity some will have to hear the gospel.

Picture 3

Picture 4

Our estimated time of this journey will total more than two months and cost roughly $8300.  We sincerely and prayerfully ask you to join with us in this journey.  No matter large or small, whatever you can do to support this expedition will be treasured.  Your monthly and one-time gifts are needed above and beyond, but we know together we can achieve great things for the Kingdom of Heaven.  Let us attempt to complete the great commission and say to the Lord we have given our best effort.  Thank you and you are with us always!  May the Peace of the Lord be with you!

In Him,

Tim and Will