freie umarmung

my deepest apologizes for the lack of update... so i'll cut out the small talk...

last friday evening i hitched to hamburg. God is always faithful. the time there with dominik was filled with farrys, treasure hunts and tourists...!
we took a bahn back and made our way to the wg (vey-gay).
the hamburg base had some guys from oral roberts visiting and recording.. so dominik brought them to berlin to show them the other side of germany... my favorite side...

on monday nights einsatz (outreach) at boxy.. i experienced some of the best times in berlin yet!
i held up a big sign in the shape of a heart that read "Free Hugs." i do admit.. at first it was a bit awkward holding the sign walking down the sidewalk with people staring and no hugs... but after a little while i felt the benefits of loving hugs!!!
there were incidents where people went out of there way to share the joy. another asked to film a little.. which purked the curiosity of a couple young lads.. if nothing else... more than most who saw this take place grew a huge smile on their face.. which was just as satisfying as the hugs from others.
after we switched locations... we found a busy corner with much much more candidates for umarmungen (hugs). it was more than amazing... it opened up so many doors for conversations. many of the others had the opportunity to chat with people about God and why we were doing this.
the highlight of the entire time of hugs was unmistakable... as one man came up his words were "thank you.... i needed this."
it made it all worth it.
today moema und ich went to boxy...
it was such a blessing... again!!!
we sat for a long time with our newly found friends of friedrichshain...
shared fresh bread from a bakery...
played music...
talked...
laughed..
and just enjoyed each other!

i love these guys so much.

thank you Daddy so much for Your heart for this place. if i can love these guys so much.. i can't imagine how much you must love them. bless them and please show them Your love. surround them with support and encouragement in times of trouble lead them to Your Kingdom! please show them Your heart!
thank You again so much for them.. and for dying for all of us!
Du bist wunderbar!
in Jesu name.. amen.

what a wonderful night...

how great is our Papa!?

thank you all for keeping updated on where God is taking me and for all the prayers.

we, as a dts, leave for nicaragua on june 26th and come back sept. 5th. most of us still don't have the money. thank you to all who continue to pray and support me. please don't stop.
all of you are amazing and i pray our Father blesses you for your effort, time and love.

i cannot express all the blessings God continually showers me with without writing a never-ending blog... so..... just trust me...

thank you for the care packages... so much!

some things that i am in need of are: contact solution, crest pro-health tooth paste <-super good stuff, costco trail mix...(more want than need), and of course granola bars!
all fan mail is welcome too and of course support is always a need.

seriously thank you all for your prayers and enduring my long blogs!
you are all blessings!

Father, please continue to bless all who have stepped out to bless another... and may You show them how loved they are! please bless them with Your highest good!
amen.

....addresses....

financial support...

israel boyce
3741 canyon lake dr. 2-307
rapid city, sd 57702


...all else... i.e. carepackage, fan mail, baked goods....

israel boyce
c/o JMEM Berlin
sandino str. 11
13055 Berlin Germany



much love and blessing...
please keep in touch!

israel

Vaterherz Gottes

every donnerstag/thursday we go to gorlitzer park in kreuzberg.
it is a super good time and tonight was the best yet.

jullian got to hang out with a bunch of people ranging from homeless to drug dealers.
michael and i made new friends as we played swedish chess... and others sang some worship.

but this didn't compare with the best part of the day...

this morning, the guys in the wg/flat/apartment woke up late, so we all missed breakfast. we had quiet time and joined with the others for worship before lectures started.
the topic of the week is Father heart of God... and had left me frustrated because though i know He loves me, i have yet to have a revelation of it in my life.
but as worship happened, i found myself mad and frustrated. i wanted everyone to be zip-it and go away... i kept thinking how worthless i felt in the kingdom of God and just wanted to leave.
and as worship ended i was crying from my frustration.

a couple days ago, i spend some time with God in a nearby park. as i walked around i saw a man for the third time since i had been there. so i decided to try to talk to him. i could not understand his german and mostly just laughed as if i understood... i asked if he had hunger and gave him a granola bar. we eventually parted and after a while, i realized i didn't ask him if he wanted to pray. deciding that maybe i spaced it for a reason, i kept walking and made my way to the street. i saw a man on a bench and asked how he was. as we started talking, i found out that he was in the ddr and by his attitude and words, didn't understand why following God was worth anything. as i tried to explain, i felt like i was trying to sell him something.... something i wouldn't even buy... it was super frustrating.

so as worship ended, tears were dropping to the floor and i didn't know why i was even trying...
ever attempt to tell people about Jesus, God or anything worth dying for just ended in frustration on my end. it never felt like anyone cared to hear what i had to say.
i felt like a failure...
as lectures started... i didn't move. i sat on the couch and cried.
eventually erik.... mein klein gruppe leider came over and put his arm around me.
after much time, i finally emptied my nose from all the tear influenced snot that now blocked the airway and served as a distracter to everyone everytime i sucked in air... and just sat and listened.

break eventually came and i joined the others for tea and snacks... i talked with toby and ron(the speaker for the week) about what happened. they both encouraged me to ask God what has been blocking me, or what lie have i been believing that has been keeping me from really feeling God's love....
i agreed and walked away feeling the same as before, but now with curiosity of what it could be...
i walked into the bathroom... sat down... and it hit me....
the lie...

the lie that i had adopted as truth...

tears build up in my eyes and instantly i started understanding why i felt so worthless... on top of loads of other things...

i exited the bathroom and pulled ron aside... explained to him what happened.... and just stood there...
maybe out of awkwardness...he began to pray.
we prayed against the lie... and thanked Him for bringing it to surface...
and after... i walked to the otherside of the room.... sat on the couch... and cried...
but they were different tears this time...
for the first time... i understood that God loves me... and called Him Daddy with all my heart.

it is by far the best thing that has happened yet on this dts...

thank You Father...

i pray and ask God to shower you with His love like He did to me today... and i pray that it will continue... and increase as you humble yourself in His majesty...

thank you for hearing my heart and for all of your prayers.

thank you all who have blessed me with finaces or other things over the past couple weeks...
and thank you all who continue to love everyone they come in contact with...

may your hearts be broked for the broked world you live in.


on a whole other note....

outreach is decided...

Nicaragua.

it is not what any of us had expected, but better than we could have asked for.
we are all learning spanish and praying for guidance as we prepare for this opportunity to trust and spread God's hugs!

and what another great opportunity to see God change our faith levels...
outreach is going to cost between 1600-2200 euros... and i still owe over half for tuition of the lecture phase....
so...
i need your help.
obviously we are not all in the situation to give...
pray.
tell others...
say...'hey, i got this cool person in doing a dts but is broke.... wanna hook him up?'...
you are all a huge blessing to me and i thank you for caring enough to endure these blogs...
please continue to pray. your prayers are being answered... daily.
if you can give, i encourage you to do so.
i know many say that God will bless those who reach out in faith and help others....
well....
HE DOES!
so step out.
even if it's not giving to me...
step out and trust Him. bless others.. and build His kingdom in whatever way you are good at.
you are a valuable part of His kingdom... an irreplaceable person.

i still owe 1000 euros for lecture phase... which comes out to about 1400 usd.
outreach is 1600-2200 euros which is... 2200-3000 usd.

you can send money to my mothers place...

israel boyce
3741 canyon lake dr. 2-307
rapid city, SD
57702

and of course everything else to...

israel boyce
c/o JMEM berlin
sandino strasse
13055 Berlin Germany


i will end with one more story....

this last week, the topic was cross, sin and repentance...
we had five speakers come in from england... a team...
that wednesday we had food made up and found out they were not eating with us... so we had a load of food that was mouth watering... and not enough people to eat it.... so we all decided to go outside and invite people to come and eat...
the first person we saw.. and asked turned us down... but a little later, someone else asked invited him and he went home, dropped off his dog, and got his wife... he mentioned how he thought we were only kidding when we asked him the first time...
we had seven people join us for dinner...
3 kinder, a young couple.. and the man and his wife..
it was super good.
we saw the man again today walking His dog...

Gott ist gut!

viel spaß (have fun)

israel

shouldn't it be the other way around???

yesterday was may 1st. in berlin, it is the day when the nazis and the punks collide.
it is the day when people have fun with the polizei/police. and it's a day of usual chaos.

midday we had a worship service in Kreuzberg, where everything gets crazy after the sun sets. some others from the dts went to the nazi demostration. all around there were signs of 'Berlin against nazis' or 'nazis pig disease.' it was obvious that the german don't want nazis in their nation anymore.

after the service, some of us roamed around Kreuzberg until six, when we all met for prayer at a teen challenge prayer room.
the day was fun. loads of people, from all over the world. food. a different genre of musik on every corner... literally. the smells... sounds... faces... laughs... needs... joy... it was all so real.
at one point we joined a circle with some muslims and danced!

as we approached another circle, helio pointed out something... he mentioned how the place is so full of life, people laughing, having fun, food everywhere...dancing... then he took note of how our worship service wasn't anything like this. shouldn't it be the otherway around???

after a day of walking and enjoying the differences of people... we met with the others and the real chaos began.

most everyone went out to walk and pray around the area of Kottbusser Tor, the location of the demonstration for the right wing (punks, or those against capitalism).
and some of us stayed behind to pray.
it kept coming up that we were not fighting a battle of flesh and blood, but against the lies and schemes of the enemy.
rocks were flying, people yelling, police chasing, bottles breaking... and prayers prayed!
tension filled the air, and fear followed. however, as we prayed, i could feel the fear in myself begin to leave.
as loud as the roars from the crowds were, i could imagine how much louder the praises of God were. the foundations of the earth will tremble! all that the enemy could do is throw some bricks and break bottles.
talk about God's victory!

we finally left around 11p.m. to go home. the street were not nearly as full as they once were, but it was obvious the night wasn't over for many.
i'm more than thankful for this experience and the opportunity to pray for this city. i believe God loves this place and has victory in this place.

thank You Father for all that You did yesterday and everyday. we claim Your hope and peace for this place, for berlin, germany. bring Your unity to the people. may Your love be shown to people from all places. and send Your presence. make us part of Your plan!
thank you for all the support in this, for hearing and answering our prayers. we praise and trust You.
amen.

thank you for all the prayers.

be blessed as you seek Him.

tschüss, israel

they prayed for 100 years

twas a week of adventure.

our dts took the bahn to Herrnhut for the dna conference with Loren and Darlene Cunningham and other speakers. the entire conference lasts three weeks, but we only spent a week there.

Herrnhut is a klein Dorf close to the border of poland and czech. the name translated is God's hut. it has more meaning than realized. the base in Herrnhut is amazing. it's a water castle that was added to the ywam family by God's grace and leading. and the history of the village of Herrnhut is something else too!

the village is the central point of where the first evangelistic missionaries were sent out from. they went to st. thomas, an island in the carribean. over the years, the village was the place of the 24-7 prayer movement. it stood for 100 years. for more information, please pursue it....

needless to say, God put the base there for a reason and it was a blessing being there learning more about it, and ywam.

i had the priviledge of hearing Loren and Darlene speak (the founders of ywam). they are a cute older couple, but still on fire for the Lord.

most of us slept in big tents for the first few days, until the heating went out and the temperature dropped below 20 farenheit, -6 celsius. then everyone was moved around....

i think it was the second night we were there, dominik, tanja and myself hitched to czech.
hitch hiking in europe is so different than in the states. three of us were picked up within ten minutes. our new friend took us just over the poland border. there we walked about 3-4km over the border to czech and into the first town. we enjoyed some food. dominik and myself danced crazy in the hallway to the toilette because the wall was a giant mirror!
on the way back, i felt an impression to get on the road because our ride was coming. looking behind us there was no cars... and i felt it again, so i walked across the street, dominik following. looking back, a car started coming. we stuck out our thumbs and our ride pulled over. it was a huge blessing! he took us all the way to herrnhut, because there was no more bus's from zittau. another huge blessing!
our experience does press my heart to ask you to be praying for a child we met in czech. he was young and under some influence of something. it was weird and a bit hard to see.

Father, we lift this child up to You, and all others that are in the same circumstances. please show them Your love and fill their needs with Your answers. may Your will be done in this place... in the world!

upon arriving back, the rest of the week continued to be a joy as we made friends, worshipped and enjoyed mass fellowship with others.

i do admit, most of the lectures or topics they spoke on, i feel went over my head. there was one topic in particular that hit hard though.
Darlene spoke about comparing ourselves to others. whoa.... talk about hitting home.
she compared it to an orchestra... some are playing a bass, others a piano and maybe you are playing a flute. if you are too busy paying attention to the bass player, you are going to miss your notes. you need to continue on playing your part. alone, you can't do it, but together, with all the others, it a beautiful thing! so play your part and don't worry about the others.

it was hard saying goodbye to everyone and i do desire to go back. i was also blessed with many invites to other places across the world... so we'll see what God has!

on the way back at one of our places we switched bahns, i went off by myself and was taking photos when a frau, about my age, approached me with her dog. we chatted a little and she showed me the pictures of her friends on her camera. she told me how she was on her way to help her oma (grandma) in dresdan and how the privious day she partied all day with her friends.... (as the pictures revealed). i looked up and my bahn had arrived so i had to leave, but i really wanted to ask if i could pray with her. it was then, along with the privious weeks adventures, that my heart was pressed with something deep. i feel God is giving me a glimse of what He may want to do with me in the future. i know that God is amazing, and i will continue to seek Him on all of it before i continue to go on, but please keep me in your prayers with all of it.

today was good. i slept for 11 hours and went to church. i really enjoy the kids here. after the Easter retreat, there is an ongoing joke of "Guten Morgen" no matter what time of day it is. so upon seeing them, there's a "Guten Morgen" greeting following and followed by a huge smile and hugs.
after, i went to eriks (staff and my small group leader) and spent time there. we picked up this weeks speaker from the airport and had a nice chat with a british man on the way there, a drunk polish man and a man handing out stuff about sick children. dinner followed sometime later and now this blog.

i look forward to this weeks lectures and this friday coming up is a huge day too!
may 1st.
when the nazis and the punks collide.
so please keep us with your prayers, that we would be sensative to what God would like to do, for the city and minimum riots.
God is bigger and we are not fighting against people, but rulers, spiritual enemies and the plans of the enemy. let's stand up and claim the victory we already have. let's claim that same victory for God's children who are caught up in this world and it's lies. God is bigger. so much BIGGER.
prayer works. so please pray for these strongholds of the enemy to be broken and for release of His Spirit on the people here. i look forward to telling you all about what happens!

thank you.

to be completely honest, i still need things.
i'm short for tuition by $2,000 yet. it was due already.
it's seems big, but i am still filled with a peace.... but still short.
i also need other things. they don't sell v-necks here... haha, i know what you are thinking...
and yes, i am asking for a package of medium v-neck t-shirts. i am low.
i could also use a digital camera. i enjoy film, but it's not as social as a quick snap shot here or there and i can't develope them until i'm back in the states... among other things are deoderant... (old spice....clear solid).... they only sell spray here... and some trailmix..... if possible :)

thank you all for the prayers. i'm so stoked for what God is doing and i'm seriously looking forward to all that He has coming up, even 5 minutes from now.

i suppose my last two requests before ending this novella type entry.... are, if you live in rapid city, call my mom, drop by, or send her a letter and tell her that she is amazing. i love her and miss her. give her a hug for me. even if it's in a letter! and the rest of my family too! if you know them, tell them i love and miss them.
and last but not least... pray that i will learn german. it's till hard for me to understand it as others speak so that can create a hinderance trying to speak to random people on the streets. i ask that you would keep it in your prayers. it's been an amazing progress so far, so all praise to God. so i look forward to more too!

addresses....

for financial blessings, or encouragement to my mum... please send to my moms...

either
israel boyce or Kim boyce
3741 canyon lake dr. 2-307
rapid city, sd 57702

i was also encouraged to use paypal... so if you want to send some that way, let me know.... they will charge me a fee.... so be aware...

and for all other blessings....

israel boyce
c/o JMEM berlin
sandino strasse
13055 Berlin, Germany

thank you again for everything!

may God bless all of you with His absolute joy and light of His grace.
don't give up...and don't be comparing yourselves with others.
you are you for a reason.
and you are loved, blessed and here for a reason.
i love and miss all of you.

Bis später!

-israel

Öster Freizeit

the Easter retreat was amazing. we took die Bahn (train) along with a tram and bus... which took about three hours to get there. along with God filled Lobpreis (worship), we enjoyed brauts, vollyball, two baptisms and an intense fußball game! i'm still a bit sore.

during the time there, i bonded with most of the youth, and can hardly wait to see them on Sonntag (Sunday). yesterday was a day of rest. a couple of us went into town and ate some indisch (indian) food and searched far and wide for currywurst... we took some photos and enjoyed a short chat with a man from israel on the tram home.
i do admit, yesterday was a needed awakening of my need for Jesus in all i do. sometimes i sicken myself with the behavior i have. i am thankful though that God is more than enough.

this week the lectures are on hearing the voice of God.
last week was intimacy with God.
and next week we travel to herrnhut for a conference with Loren Cunningham.

today i have the dc talk song titled, in the light, stuck in my head. and there is a part of the song that goes... what's going on inside of me, i despise my own behavior. this only serves to confirm my suspicsion that i'm still a man in need of a savior...
that's how i feel and it's rather comforting.

thank You Lord for being my savior. we need You always. please continue to guide us in Your light, that we could shine for You! thank You Jesus!
amen.

thank you all for your prayers. it's obvious that i am in constant need of it. may all of you know how much i miss and love you, and look forward to hearing from you...
i will send out e-mails soon.... and more postcards! YAY.... POSTCARDS!!!!!!

oh.... and i'm stoked to say thank you to anyone who has supported me either financially, prayer or contact! i believe God will provide the rest of the funds..... so... feel free to keep sending! :)

much love, israel

seeking the face of God

so....berlin is indeed different. i can't say i don't enjoy it though.

upon arriving, i found out my luggage was lost, but over the next few days it was amazing to see God provide all i needed.... including toothpaste, clothes, deoderant.....

it was astonishing to see the views from the airplane... the undescribable image of flying over the ice cap with half the sky nighttime with stars and the moon, and the other half with colour from the beautiful sunrise taking place. all the while looking down upon land masses covered with ice, and a select few people who choose to make life an adventure, still shining their lights into the dark night around them.

enough describing what won't do justice....

berlin is beautiful. and the people are different than i have ever imagined. 

obviously they have their differences from americans, but it's evident they have had a hard life, though at the same time, there is a joy that shines from the hope that God brings.

a quick description of the place....

the area of berlin that the base is in is called Lichtenberg, the neighborhood being Hoheschönhausen. Lichtenberg is famous here in other countries because it is where the belated location of stasi headquarters.... secret police. and some of the elders who live in the now high rise flats located here, may very well have been a part of this organization in their earlier days. 

when the flats (apartments) were build many years back, they made it a point not to build any churchs, and discourage any church activity.    but for some years now, a recent cafe has been the building for the church here. it couldn't be in a more perfect location. last year there was a revival with the youth here in Hohenschönhausen, where many felt the presence of God for the first time and accepted Jesus in their hearts, but since then the  majority of them have back slid. It's obvious that God has a heart for these people, and that their is another set of spirits here instead. 

so...

if you would like anything to pray about, pray for God's presence to rest on this place. for His Spirit to fill this place. pray with expectation that it will happen, and that it will happen soon!

shortly from now, the other JMEM (YWAM) students and i, along with staff, are joining up with the Jugend Kirche (Youth Church) for an Öster freizeit (Easter retreat) for the weekend. i believe that God is going to lead us to His moving Spirit! and i'm stoked to see how God will continue to move in the hearts of everyone here.

being here has been a struggle, with growth of course. 

i am the only student from america, which makes it hard sometimes to be included in on coversations, but i have been blessed with God in this position. the language barrier is being torn down, and humbleness is being brought forth. 

it's fun to see everyday things that are different. for instance, people here don't seem so fixed on style... they have it!, but it doesn't run their lives. people walking down the street are paranoid and look confused when they hear a hallo or guten tag from a complete stranger. it seems that everyone has a small dog, and they poop everywhere (not as bad as it sounds). it's very very beautiful here, and the birds sing extra loud when you take note of them. the squirrels have pointy ears with fur on them that look like tall feathers, and are a red-brown. and a billion other things that i won't list for the sake of your eyes! but i do enjoy seeing local and frequent Bäckerei for fresh yums. 

the keyboard i type on now laughs at me because of my stumbling to find the keys that aren't where i'm used to them being. 

public transportation here is great, and ford does still make the fiesta.... but only Europe. 

a few days back a couple of us decided to go swimming at a lake here...   es war sehr kalt!

i couldn't breathe due to the temperature.... but the weather wasn't as cold as it was before we went in. then we enjoyed some swiss Schokolade from die Schweiz. Mmmmmm...

thank you all for your prayers, and thank you for following!

i'm sending out some Postkarten noch mein blog. 

oh... and still short on funds, it's amazing to be so encouraged to continue to believe for the rest of the funds needed. 

and here is my new address too!

israel boyce

c/o JMEM BERLIN

Sandinostrasse 11

Berlin, Germany

13055

please send support to my mom's address, but all yums and smiles is strongly encouraged to go straight to me! 

Father, may our eyes be kept on You. help us see the bigger picture. i pray for Your Spirit to move in this place, in the lives of these kids, and across the globe. You have us here for a reason, make us part of Your plan. 

thank You for providing and caring for our needs. help us grow in You as we seek to see Your face! please be with all who are hurting and lost. 

I want to see Your face.

amen.

tschüss und viel liebe, israel

treats letters and even drawings

the clock is ticking and i can hear it. 

it sits above the refrigerator and is slightly blocked by a plant.

i don't mind.

at the time, all i can really think about is how good God is.

i even started writing a different blog, but got a bit deep and couldn't tie in

any actually events to update you. over the past several hours, i have been faced with struggles, ones i never thought i would need to deal with.. but in the darkness of it all, the light kept flooding the rooms.

i do thank all of you for your prayers. 

please continue to keep my family... as well as yours in prayer.

i wouldn't want to do any of this adventuring without them right there with me.

of course i can't fit all of them in my rucksack, but at least i can think of them as i am reminded through something silly, or as i miss them to the extent of tears.

it has been an amazing time here in spokane, and i will miss the people as well as the noises, smells, and lights of downtown.

i hope the only thing that ever changes about this place is an increase of friends....

i will admit, going to ywam still feels like a dream, and it probably will until i step on that plane to london where i connect to berlin where someone will be waiting for me to take me to the base.

even as i am typing this, probably the most unbelief stirring inside of me is the peace i have about only having a few hundred dollars to my name in contrast to the couple thousand dollars that i will need to have for tuition once i get there.

but if this is God's will, i really have no need to worry, but instead every right to claim the peace and faith that He showers on us.

may His will be done.

tonight we had brauts, with the traditional german yums + cheese and carrots!

i enjoyed a chat with my mother, brother, and dad and look forward to one with my sister tomorrow morning as well as another with my mom.

my plane is scheduled to leave from spokane at 330 pacific time, and will get to berlin after a couple connecting flights around 345 european time... 845 pacific, on thursday. 

here's my address to berlin in case anyone would like to bake me a treat..... or send me a letter of words and thoughts... or even drawings...

israel boyce

c/o Pfarrkircher

Landsberger Alle 219 B

13055 Berlin

Germany

if you send any support it would be easiest to send it to the spokane address, and my gracious friends tim and sal will deposit it....

israel boyce 

427 W. Kiernan Ave.

Spokane, WA 99205

thank you all for keeping up, and the prayers. 

Father, i pray and ask that each person who reads this would be encouraged and filled with awe at Your works. may they be crazy enough to do the impossible for You, and reach out to those only they can influence in positive ways. may our hearts be opened to Your works and be sensitive to Your timing. 

thank You for providing all we need at just the right time. help us get past ourselves.

Jesus, we believe we are forgiven and choose to live in that gift.

we love You, and thank You for Your love first!

in Jesus name, amen!

i hope you choose to trust in Him and believe with me that we can bring heaven to earth in every decision.

He always provides.