This blog tells the story of John Caton and his miraculous healing from a rare immune disease! Be encouraged, be inspired...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
"Who is this motley crew" I hear you cry? :) Well Jesus told us in prayer to have a birthday party for him in the very center of Boston and that we did! We have gift wrapped bibles, cake, hot chocolate and a Live Nativity! We sang, we danced, we laughed and most importantly we told people that Jesus loves them!
It was a chilly day but our spirits were high with anticipation. We have never done an outreach quite like this. We put on our costumes, all from the thrift store and we laughed as we saw each other transform into the Nativity characters (although the biggest chuckle was reserved for when we saw our huge cardboard sheep- Larry the Lamb as he became known). We piled all our stuff into the van and off we went, in all our costumes, over all our layers to keep warm! I was admit-tingly a little scared but excited! After all our God is pretty funny so we knew we could go in confidence.
As soon as we arrived the strange looks began! We set up and started the party! At first I felt a little embarrassed approaching people looking crazy but I soon mellowed and began to enjoy the reactions of people. If I don't mind looking a fool for anyone, it's Jesus! I got to share the gospel with people, the Christmas story and simply pray and bless people :) So many were so happy we were there; many laughed and smiled as they came to us asking "Who are you? What are you doing here? This is so cool"
God's spirit filled the city that day! The singing seemed to resonate loud down the streets and even over busy traffic many turned heads to hear our praise.
To God be the glory! Merry Christmas and blessed new year to you all!
I love Christmas! There I said it! I am unashamed of my childlike love for this season. It just makes me giddy! I love the gift giving and receiving, I love the decorations, I love the parties- all the material stuff which sometimes as Christians we can deem as unimportant really matters to me! And do you know why? Because Jesus loves fun! He loves parties! He loves smiling and laughing! He loves giving and receiving! You better believe that our Lord became fully human, just like us! It amazes me still that Jesus who was in Heaven; the most pure, fun, happy, peaceful place for all eternity left to come to this world- He left the party. He left to come to us. He went from eternal joy with no sadness to a harsh and cruel world. He went from being fully accepted to rejected the moment he entered this world. He was illegitimate, rejected by his hometown, he was hated by the religious establishments, he had many followers but few who were friends, he never married, he never had money (he even had to borrow to pay tax!), all those he healed, befriended and loved betrayed him when he needed him most; not even one stood by him and to top it off he died the most humiliating death reserved in those times for most obscene crimes.
And do you know why?
So we could go to the party, so we could experience joy, acceptance, fatherly love and all the blessings He never had.
He came for us, He died for us.
So we don't have to be solemn this Christmas; whatever is happening in our lives, God still reigns and He will never leave us or forsake us! So this year I want to challenge you who read this to go to as many Christmas parties as you can and be joyful! Be the guest who stays the latest, dances the most and laughs the loudest because if you know Jesus then you have something to celebrate. And if there are people at the parties that don't know Jesus, tell them! Tell them why they have a reason to celebrate!
Our outreach team is going out into Boston on Saturday and we are having a birthday party for Jesus with music and cake and even a nativity scene! We are going to dance and laugh and sing and invite all those around to join us in celebration!
It was certainly a strange Thanksgiving, just the two of us in a apartment. We broke with tradition again and got a duck! :) We had a wonderful time together and joined with some friends in the evening.
It got us thinking about just how great this holiday is, history aside how wonderful it is to just sit with people you love and be thankful. Can't every day be Thanksgiving I thought? Can't every nation celebrate this? We have so much to be thankful for. A good friend of ours always says the devil cannot touch a thankful heart and how true this is. There is something about being thankful that opens our eyes to see outside ourselves and to the goodness in our world and the glory of God our creator. If John and I sat and listed all the things we are thankful for it would take a good while! John's very life is a miracle this year! I believe if we, as believers, started each day with thanksgiving we would drastically improve not only our internal selfs but also the world around us! "Enter his gates with thanksgiving"the psalms command us! We need to be thankful. It just works.
We at YWAM Boston now enter a busy season until our Christmas break. This week we have an outreach team from New Haven, Connecticut who we will be training in Evangelism and taking out onto the streets of Boston and on Thursday we will host a worship night for all the people we meet!
Also on an exciting note we have our first date of our North East Tour of our full stage production 'Encounter'- Our first show is in Raymond, NH on January 22nd 2010! We have an open dress rehearsal at Cambridge Dance Complex on January 15th 2010. John and I have a real passion to reach the lost through theater and this is especially exciting for us; we have been dreaming with God about this for so long. This kind of ministry is when we feel most alive- please pray for our preparations, much needs finishing before we take this show on the road!
We love you all, thanks for reading , more news soon...
As Fall gives way to Winter and the warm coats come out it is hard to believe another Autumn has gone by! We shall miss the crisp nights as they give way to frost filled mornings :)
However, even with the temperatures dropping we are still seeing many people stop in and see us when we go out to the streets to worship.
This last week we went to Copley Square, right in the center of Boston, to simply share Jesus with people; we again had free coffee and we sang worship. As John drew the crowd playing his Saxophone I went out to ask how I could pray for people; so many people were broken and hurting.
She insisted she did not need prayer and life was all good. She did want a free coffee though. As we talked I asked her about her life. She told me she was addicted to drugs and had no home. I asked her if she ever prayed and she said sometimes. I told her that Jesus had not forgotten her and she asked me to pray for her. We prayed God would provide a place for her to live; she wanted to believe for this but confessed she found it hard to trust -Maureen
God works in so many ways. Sometimes he leads us to people who are ready to receive Him, who hear the gospel and are instantly renewed. Sometimes he leads us to plant seeds with those who are losing faith, like Maureen and other times we are simply placed there to listen and love people.
Who knows what a simple "God Bless" spoken to in love does to a person who just strolls past? Who knows what hearing worship does in a persons heart as they run by? We serve a mighty, awesome God whose plans are so far beyond anything we ca perceive or imagine.
Next week we are going to Connecticut to speak at a young adults group as well as leading a youth group service in Worcester; please pray that we would be open to all God wants to do. We will keep you posted...
What a privilege it is to share Jesus! What an honor we are given in the Great Commission to "Go into all the world and share the gospel with every living creature" (Matthew 16:15).
Last week we performed worship on the streets of two areas of our city. Cambridge, the home of Harvard and Somerville, a town close to Boston Center. We always say as a ministry if you can reach Boston, you can reach the world and this proved true. We got to share Jesus with people from Paris, Italy, Belgium and Haiti! All in one night :)
People are drawn by the worship, approach for our free coffee and stay to talk about Jesus. Many approach surprised! "What are you doing here?" they ask; when they hear that we are hear to bless and pray and share Jesus with them they are astounded! So many have questions, so many have deep needs, so many are touched that someone cares.
I approached a man called Wallace this week. He went to walk by but was stopped by the music and he stood and listened. I asked him if he needed prayer. He looked at me and said "Recently I have been searching, I have been feeling guilty because I know I sin, but I don't know what to do, will you pray for me?" We prayed. We talked. I shared the gospel. He confessed he had many questions but said today was a turning point.
The photo above is John playing music with a man he met on the streets. The man was so compelled to worship with us!
There are so many stories to tell just from these two outreaches!
God is working in this city, bringing people to Him. We see desperate and hurting people every week put their trust in Jesus. The kingdom is advancing in New England.
Thank you for partnering with us in this. Your prayers and contributions are truly making a difference.
And what a month it has been! Who needs 'Days of our Lives'? We have been a living soap opera. But in all seriousness this month has been beautifully and painfully wonderful where our love and understanding has grown immensely.
Most of you know the story but now we want to tell you our journey.
It all started on Friday the 18th September 2009. This day started well, waking up happy seeing my best friend Steph from the UK, who arrived the day before! On my way to work John called and calmly told me he had been coughing up blood and was on his way to the ER. I panicked but he calmed me down telling me he felt fine and he was sure it was nothing and he would see me later. That evening we planned to take Steph into Harvard and we were all excited.
As the day wore on John was on my mind and we decided to go and stay with him as he waited in the ER. During this time I saw how much blood he was coughing up and my heart began to sink...this was not normal...this was not ok. The doctors decided to keep him overnight but did not seem to suggest it was anything serious so Steph and I went home and slept...little did I know this was my last blissful sleep for a long time.
I awoke to a voice mail telling me John was in the ICU after another massive bleed; I cannot describe my emotion- helpless and confused I tried to call and speak to someone. The nurse told me she would call when I could visit.
I waited.
In an effort to keep sane I folded every single item of clothing I owned! I never understood why my mother would obsessively do housework while my dad was in hospital and finally I understood- at moments like these any control you can grab keeps you sane. After this was done I despaired and decided I would no longer wait and I would just go to the hospital.
By the time I got there the nurse had called and told me his location.
The man I saw was hooked up to tubes, IVs and he was unconscious. I had full knowledge of John's health problems and I had prayed against seeing this many times but now here he was and here I was with him. I stood beside him and spoke to him; the nurse said he could hear me.
(below John and Ian, his brother)
As I wept over him he woke up and seeing my face beamed the biggest smile I have seen him smile. I told him he was going to be ok.
The doctors had discovered an artery had a hole in it and so they have blocked the bleed; or at least they hoped they had. If he bled again it would be fatal, said the doctor. And so we waited.
The next morning, after a night in the ICU waiting room, John's family arrived. All together we held each other up; kept each other strong when one was weak. Friends also came in waves, at just the right time they would come and hold me up.
During this time I cried out to God; sometimes with overwhelming sadness, other times with confusion and often in anger. I had so many questions. Each time I ended my prayers on my knees submitting to His will; He was in control and I was not. God had never let me down before. He had spoken so much over John and I about our future and clinging to these truths was often hard but I knew I had to trust. The second night I was awake, alone and God told me to worship- a mixture of anger and confusion came again; "How could you ask me to worship you right now? John could die and you want my worship; what about me? What about what I need?" God told me "This is what you need". No feeling drove me to put my ipod in my ears and listen to worship except the deep down knowledge that at this moment worship would be the only thing that would make sense. I listened to songs about Jesus love and faithfulness and the truth of who God was overtook me; in particular he led me to a song called 'I Have Found' by Kim Walker. I have included a link.
Over the next week I listened to this over and over. That night I submitted the situation to God; I did not know how it would end but I knew whatever happened would be God will.
Two days later I finally felt ready to leave the hospital for a little while, to shower and get things. During this time John bled again. This time the doctors said they would need to operate immediately to remove the upper right lobe of the lung due to a massive fungal infection that had not only compromised the artery but would continue to grow and damage him if it is was not removed. During the early days in the hospital John had signed me over as his health proxy so the decision landed with me. With the support of his family we decided the decision to operate was the best one. Within minutes John was gone to surgery. He awoke just before we left and we explained what was happening and told him to trust us.
During the 4 hour wait I had total peace from God, not that John would be OK but just that God was in control; whether John would stay with us or not was up to God and I knew whatever happened He would take care of me. I finally understood fully what God meant in Phillippians 4: 7 "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"
Since that day John has been improving to the amazement of his doctors. He was released from hospital the Tuesday before the wedding and on the Saturday there he was to meet me at the altar. Strong, healthy and getting better every day!
Now we are back at work, serving our gracious, merciful and healing God! Seeing His kingdom advance in New England and so excited to be part of it.
Our lives are Christs, we owe all to Him and as we sang at our wedding we truly want Him at the centre of our lives.
Thank you to all who prayed and helped us during this month! We were so blessed
Thank you so much for visiting the blog of the (very near future) Mr and Mrs Caton, serving with YWAM in Boston. We created this blog for many reasons; one is that the Lord is doing so much here in New England and it's so hard to tell all these stories in our newsletters; two is that we want to share and encourage you in your walk with Jesus with stories of his grace and provision in our lives as well as the people we meet. Thirdly we want to be open and real with you about all the Lord is doing in us personally and the journey he has us both on; walking into marriage and still journeying in ministry together is challenging and wonderful and we hope by sharing this we will encourage you to also share with us so we can lift each other up in prayer. The word instructs us to "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13). As brothers and sisters in Christ let us lift one another up, share with one another, and encourage one another in love.
Anyway :) That was not meant to be the start of a mini sermon but I got carried away. So what has been happening since we returned from Indiana?
Jesus answered our prayer and has provided a building for our ministry; up until now we have had buildings but none have really fit our ministry and what we need. Two weeks ago we leased a wonderful office space; we have space for our band to practice, to host community worship nights, not mentioned office space so we all have a space to work! :) A blessing considering many of our offices used to be in our homes! So praise God for his provision :)
Another answered prayer wasJohn and I found an apartment! :) It is lovely and small and a total gift from the Lord :) Our staff at YWAM Boston has increased 19! 6 came 3 years ago and the Lord has multiplied us not only in numbers but also in the gifts they bring and the impact we can now have in New England. As things change, we are all in transition. Our next DTS will be running from the Fall 2010 and until then our ministry will be experimenting with new ways to reach our city for Jesus. It is an exciting and risky time! We will keep you all posted Thank your for reading
Greetings to one and all! We hope the summer is a refreshing and blessed time for you. In order to be able to share more about what we are doing here at YWAM Boston we have decided to start this blog that we will update every few days with stories of all God is doing here; in the lives of people we meet, churches we work with and also what God is teaching and showing us personally through this exciting time in our lives. We just completed a busy few months of ministry and we look forward to sharing our many stories with you over the next quieter summer months. Right now John and I are in Indiana, PA taking a few days vacation, relaxing with family and friends and being refreshed and renewed in the Lord. More to come...
