Update!
Hello everyone!!
So I just realized it has been awhile since we have posted a blog so here is a short update!
We have been home since November working on a new album, we had a great Kickstarter campaign (thanks to everyone who donated), and we were on a great roll recording our CD.
But during our studio time our board started messing up and could no longer work properly, right now it is in the shop and we are waiting for it to be fixed so we can finish this CD!
We have decided as a band and community to get together every morning for prayer and worship. It has been an awesome time seeking the Lord together and coming together in agreement every day! We are only in our 3rd week of doing this together so it's a little rocky but please continue to pray with us to become a stronger community and more unified!
The Lord is doing different things this year and is putting us in a new position to do his work. We aren't exactly sure what this summer holds for us but we are diligently seeking his voice and we are ready to move when he says move.
Please pray with us as we wait on the Lord and his perfect direction, as we record our new CD, and get ready for our busy Summer!
Thank you so much for your support, we love you ALL!
Men As Trees Walking
By: Saphraine Nelson
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
West Coast Update
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Following is a recap of what the Lord has done this last week.
Friday, Sept 3rd in Diamond Bar
The Whosoevers are family and are great at showing their love and support for us! We played a huge Labor Day weekend show with The Arrows (thearrowsband.com) and relationships were strengthened and alliances formed! The Arrows are from South Africa and we quickly found that we had much in common and felt one in heart. We felt that this was a strategic appointment to share the stage with them that night.
After the show, Corin challenged me to pray for a girl with a cast on her foot. Though we didn’t see immediate results, Elizabeth left with a touch from the Lord. When I got back to our hotel, I had a facebook message from her.
“i was at the whosoevers friday nights this night. you and your brother came up to me and prayed for my fractured foot. guess what!?! my foot is healed. i got home and left my crutches and walked. it didnt hurt. im sorry if i didnt show much appreciation when you both prayed for us but i was just amazed of how god works in our lives i was left without words. brought me to tears. thank you so much for your prayer! god blesss you”
I had tears in my eyes knowing that God used us to minister His healing power to Elizabeth and her family. Thank you for praying and standing with us to see His Spirit move for that night!
Saturday, Sept 4th at Dreamcenter: Hope for Homeless Youth
It is always a blessing to support the Dreamcenter ministry and be apart of giving to local outreaches. One way our ministry serves in this way is offering all merchandise for “Pay what you can.” The spiel goes “We do ‘pay what you can’ so those who have can give, give; and those who can’t can still get something.” This is when the rubber really hits the road. On Saturday, a young man in the homeless discipleship program gave a bag of pennies for a t-shirt. When I saw the bag I was so humbled and remembered the widow’s mites.
Mark 12:43&44 (NKJV) So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
Sunday, Sept 5th at the Nursing Home in Pasadena
Being at this nursing home is really a testing for us. The testimony of us returning to worship with His beloved was a huge witness to the couple that does it every week. They were so grateful and we strengthened the weary hands of the local body.
Sunday, Sept 5th in Hermosa Beach
We really pray and believe that God hand picks the right ones to come to every show. Sunday night we were a smaller and intimate group but had an anointed time of worship and prayer with the congregation. In return, we met our new hosts Jason and Lonna. It was a refreshing and peaceful time for us to spend the weekend on the beach in their beautiful condo. We thank God for every provision!
Friday, Sept 10th at Epic in Ventura
On Friday, we played at Epic in Ventura with 3 local churches for a canned food drive. God was at work bringing unity in the body as they crossed different denominational backgrounds to attend this one event. It’s so exciting that Mikee, the founder of Epic, has a heart to see the Body join together in worship as they actively serve the poor and needy in their own town.
Prayer Requests
We’ve been having difficulty finding accommodations in Seattle for Sept 20-24. Please pray for the right doors to open and that God would take care of our needs in abundance (including food, laundry facilities, and real beds)!
A congested, runny nose, cold has been going through the band. Julien has his first cold so please pray for the health and restoration of all of our bodies!
Here’s what coming up:
Wednesday, Sept 15 – Medford , OR
The Smiths were an amazing family that rescued us off the side of the road last year, along with other members of their community! We look forward to seeing them again and worshipping with their church.
Thursday, Sept 16 – Portland , OR
Backspace Coffee House will give us the opportunity to be stripped down and unplugged. Pray for favor and breakthrough for the night.
Friday, Sept 17 – Private Shabbat in Portland
We will be having our first REAL Shabbat this tour with the Rodgers. Friends and family with gather around the table to learn the Jewish traditions of Shabbat and how to apply these values to their own family.
Saturday, Sept 18 – Vancouver , WA
MacArthur Christian Church is a new venue for Men As Trees Walking. Please pray for partnering with this expression of the body and for the Lord to move in signs and wonders!
Monday, Sept 20 – Seattle , WA
We are excited to come back to and look forward to seeing GTS alumni! Our heart for this night is to encourage one another in our journey with the Lord and strengthen these relationships.
The next week is very full so please pray for grace and the renewing presence of God for each show! We thank each and every one of your for your prayers!
Love and blessings,
Xaundelle for Men As Trees Walking
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
End of the 3 month tour at Cornerstone
Our last event of a three-month tour ended with a BANG! In one way, literally, since there were fireworks set off at Cornersone 2010, and in other ways spiritually as time after time we saw evidence of the Holy Spirit moving in people’s lives!
After 11 weeks on tour, Men As Trees Walking arrived at Cornerstone. We were tired, we were drained, our bus got stuck in the mud (again) at our parking spot so we were mired in one place, and we were anticipating God moving while at Cornerstone — a festival Allan has attended for 20 years now. Spencer Woods from our church also traveled to Cornerstone to help us with sound. It was great to know that someone who knows our music and our strengths and weaknesses was there to help us sound great!
More than ever the fact that we truly draw our strength from the Lord was evident as we continued to fast and pray and read the Word throughout the week. Even though our bodies and minds were so tired from the long tour we were concluding, our spirits were rejuvenated daily and God went before us.
While sitting at the merchandise booth, we took the opportunity to pray for people with obvious ailments who walked by. It was so exciting to see health restored before our eyes! One girl had a swollen, red eye and was wearing an eye patch. As Xaundelle and I prayed for her, we watched first the swelling go down and then the red dissipate. It was pretty cool to see. We also prayed for a young man who had gotten into a patch of poison ivy and had an angry rash running up his arm. Although we didn’t see it immediately disappear, he said the itchiness and tingling stopped as soon as we began praying for him. And we saw him later at another tent and the rash was gone!
Corin prayed for a man who had just badly sprained his ankle at a show, and the ankle was immediately restored. A group of us prayed for a woman who was just out of the hospital for an infection and who looked as if she was suffering from heat stroke along with an obviously high fever. When we began praying for her, I was sure that she was going to faint at any moment. Within an hour of us praying for her and the band performing an acoustic set, she was sitting upright, conversing intelligibly and looked as if she was well on the road to recovery.
I could go on and on with other stories. There were so many testimonies of God bringing healing to hurting bodies, and even more of the healing balm of the Holy Spirit on hurting hearts and minds. More than any other time of attending Cornerstone, we were confronted with the demonic, and yet the authority that God has rested on us was even more evident. Time after time we brought peace to searching minds, and each time it was with the personal, loving touch of an all-knowing God.
We had a Shabbat meal on Friday with about 50 people, some we had invited and some who had heard we were going to do so and asked to be included. From the very first note of the first prayer, the peace of God fell on our campsite, and it was like a breath of cool, fresh air for all of us who had spent such busy, hard-working days in the week before. Allan blew the shofar after the Sch’ma, and our crowd lifted a shout to the Lord…AS ONE!
Then Saturday was upon us, and the last day of the fest was also the one with the most blessing for our little band. We first played an acoustic set at the Asylum Tent (the goth tent) and were gratified to see some of the people we had spoken with throughout the week worshiping with us there. We took some time for people to share testimonies of ways that God had met them while at the festival, and it was encouraging to hear from people we’d never met or met only briefly talk about receiving a personal word or touch from the Lord.
Next, we went straight to the Underground Tent (the hardcore/punk rock tent) where we played a “plugged-in” set to an enthusiastic and appreciate audience. Again, we saw people we had begun to build relationship over the festival week, and who had seen Men As Trees Walking at other stages, also attend this set for a time of praise.
And then after the Underground Tent, we went straight to the Jesus Village Tent (more acoustic/folk tent) to set up for our last performance of the festival. I don’t know how to even describe what happened here at the Jesus Village. It was like a crescendo had been building throughout the week and crested at this performance. We began with intimate worship with people dancing in adoration before the Lord. Slowly, the set built up until we ended with Adonai is He and the entire tent was dancing and whirling and praising God with all their hearts and energy.
It was a fabulous end to a power-filled festival, and we were uplifted and encouraged and looking forward to moving on into the next thing that God has in store for us.
We are now home in Dallas waiting with anticipation the birth of Saphraine and Hunter’s first child as we also wait on the Lord for His next directive of where we are to go next.
Cristina
for Men As Trees Walking
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Safe and Sound
I hadn't realized when I wrote the last update and mentioned the increase in spiritual warfare that it was going to increase exponentially from that point!
Little did I know that less than 24 hours after writing that note, we were going to be inches from nosediving off of a cliff, getting stuck in a 180-degree hairpin curve in the process.
Here's the timeline/scoop:
We had been invited to play in New Castle, Delaware at Crossroads church. We arrived, set up, and immediately were blessed. Tiffany, the pastor's wife, made us an amazing fajita dinner complete with VEGETABLES and Spanish rice and black beans. It was like eating a piece of heaven.
Then Men As Trees Walking led a worship set with some spoken word by Allan. Wow...from the very first note of the very first song (Freedom Cry) the Holy Spirit invaded that room. And He just kept pouring and pouring and pouring out. I think the rendition of "Listen with Me" was the best I've heard it so far. The sound system was great and the sound was perfect. Everything about the night was blessing after blessing after blessing. We even left with our pockets full, and we were praising the Name of the Lord as we drove down the highway.
And drove...and drove...and drove.
Our next engagement was at a Messianic congregation in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and we were all excited and looking forward to what God was going to do there after the amazing night we had just had!
One by one, the band members went to bed while Allan drove with a navigator. As we arrived in Monroeville, we carefully followed the directions given to us by the GPS, who we have named Maggie. When Maggie said to turn left, we turned left, etc.
As we made a right turn that Maggie instructed us to do, both Allan and I felt a little niggle of, "This isn't right," but we dutifully followed the map. Then, as we entered a very narrow road, Maggie said, "When possible, conduct a legal U-turn." Well. Turning a 55-foot rig around isn't easy under the best of circumstances. On a narrow, winding road, it's almost impossible.
We began to be on the look out for a turn around when the road veered sharply down and to the right -- waaaay right -- almost 180-degrees to the right. And then we were looking at a cliff, and I was outside in the rain trying to determine if we were going to clear the guard rail, and when we realized we wouldn't Allan was clearing the bus, because suddenly the brakes weren't catching or holding and Judah was slipping ever forward towards the cliff.
People were woken up in their bunks by, "We're not going to clear it! We're going to go over the edge! Everyone needs to get out," and feverishly grabbed whatever clothes they had near them and piled out of the bus.
Allan did manage to get the brakes to hold -- by this time, I was also grabbing the windowsill of the driver's window as if I was going to stop the bus by own puny strength! -- and he exited the bus as well.
We were in a pickle, and the police were soon called, which put us in a bit of a larger pickle since Judah's tags are expired (due to us not having the paperwork yet since the final payment is due). The city's tow trucks came and first towed away the trailer and then hauled Judah up the hill (thereby breaking the air brake in the process) where Allan was then able to reverse Judah back up the winding road we had traversed earlier where we were reunited with the trailer.
At this point, we were given a large towing bill plus a few tickets and told by Monroeville's finest that we would not be able to find parking at the church we had been heading to and that we needed to leave town.
We took the hint, and left town.
I think in the space of 12 hours we went from a mountain peak to the valley, and the valley gave us a pretty big hit.
Please pray encouragement for us. That we would continue to stand firm, and, although we no longer have the money that we made on Friday night, that we would not be robbed of the incredible blessing that Friday night was!
Thank you for your continued support!
-Cristina
for Men As Trees Walking
Friday, June 04, 2010
East Coast
Our New Jersey/New York run is coming to a close. One more place to play tonight, and then we move on into Delaware and beyond.
The spiritual authority that God has granted us has been increasing along with the spiritual warfare!
We recently played twice in Lakewood, New Jersey. Lakewood is home to the world’s largest Yeshiva, and the church where we played is surrounded by a large Orthodox Jewish community. The leadership at the church told us that they had been unable to minister to the surrounding Jewish community and were not sure how to bridge the gap, so to speak. I stood in that church parking lot, looking across the street at the large neighborhood housing the Orthodox Jews, and my heart broke for the community. How God loves His people and His heart yearns for them to know their Messiah!
Since it was Shabbat (Saturday), we saw quite a few Jews walking to and from Synagogue. We basically spent most of the day interceding for the Jewish people and trying to explain to the Christian community exactly why we should be interceding for them and loving them. During a time of prayer among the bands, Allan was asked to pray for the surrounding neighborhood, and as he cried out for mercy for them and for us, it seemed that some of his heart for the Jews was imparted to the bands that were with us in the time of prayer. We can only hope so!
As the set time began and bands played, the Orthodox homes across the street remained locked up and closed to the street. Even as other bands played, I faced the neighborhood and prayed for the Spirit of God to pierce the atmosphere around them and open their hearts and ears.
Men As Trees Walking began their set with the sch’ma, and we saw a gate open across the street. The band then went into their reggae song about making Aliyah (to ascend into Jerusalem), and four Orthodox boys came out from the yard and watched intently. As the set continued, the band began playing specifically to them, intercession began specifically for them, and these four boys slowly made their way to the sidewalk, and then to the neighbor’s yard closer to where we were, and then closer until they were as close as they could get to us without crossing the street. They danced with the music and clapped at the end of each song.
A former pastor from the church told us later that he could see adults in their windows listening. He was thrilled and said that it was the most interaction he had ever seen with the Orthodox community from the church’s side reaching out to the other side of the street.
From there, we moved on to a church in Staten Island. As Men As Trees Walking began their set up, two young boys – 12 or 13 years old – approached the side of the stage where Allan was and began sucking their thumbs, glaring at Allan in an oddly intent way. Immediately recognizing the mocking spirit, Allan rebuked them, and they backed away.
Throughout the time we’ve spent on the tour, we have had the opportunity to meet other bands and to speak into their lives. There have been many instances where we’ve stayed up to 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. with bands. We’ve encouraged, prayed for, corrected and been available to over 40 young men and women who have chosen to play music as a livelihood. There have been some tough times and some great times, and we feel as if our family keeps growing and stretching and becoming richer.
In the meantime, our final bus payment is due immediately, which is almost $3,000. We also need to reorder t-shirts and postcards. As you know, we are “selling” our merchandise for whatever people can afford, and oftentimes that means $3 to $5 and sometimes just a few cents.
We believe that there are people who are called to sow into our ministry just like that one woman from Florida who spent two weeks looking for us after she heard from the Lord to track us down and write us a check!
Please remember you can go to http://modernday.org or http://menastreeswalking.net/donate to donate towards the bus or merch or general needs.
Thank you for your continued prayers! They mean so much to us out here, and we know that your prayers are the reason why we have been blessed as we are.
Cristina
for Men As Trees Walking
Monday, May 24, 2010
On the Road -- Week Six
I know we are so overdue for a blog! Going into our sixth week of tour, and there is so much to tell! I don’t even know if we can squeeze it all in or remember it all.
After the long drive from Dallas to Nashville, we participated in The Objective during “non” GMA week, now known as Dove Week or something like that. Allan was able to lead some mentoring groups with bands as well as speak in some of the workshops.
While there, we became a part of the Come & Live artist family. (comeandlive.com) We’re very excited to support and be supported by this great organization!
Traveling through Georgia, we led worship at a couple of Messianic Congregations as well as an Assemblies of God church. The rabbi and pastors had been praying for a fresh wave of the Spirit to blow through the church, and we were honored to be a part of it! These were such powerful times of worship for us and the congregations. Even though we played some very small churches, we were humbled and amazed at the provision that God gave to us through these wonderful people. We’ve made some deep, lasting new friendships in Georgia.
Next we hooked up with The Extreme Tour in Lake City, Florida where we saw some friends of ours that we had met years ago on The Extreme Tour 2003. It was so fun to reconnect with this great group of people. We relaxed and hung out in a beautiful home, too, so it was nice to have a break from the bus!
One of the places we played in Lake City was the Marion Street Café, where we made instant friends with the owners, Joshua and Garret. What great guys! We have kept in contact with them and are so blessed to know that the love that we lavished on them is continuing to grow in their lives.
We also led worship at a church in Lake City on Sunday morning. The Spirit poured out in restoration and we were so honored to be a part of that.
While in Largo, Florida, we stayed at a church with a beautiful house of prayer. We all spent as much time as possible in this beautiful, peaceful room. Our first night there, there were four other ladies praying in the room who asked us about Men As Trees Walking before they left the prayer room.
We left Largo and played several other Florida cities. In spite of the bugs and the heat and the humidity, we found some great moments! We played a beach pavilion in Clearwater. While there, we met Simon and his family. Simon is from England…he’s a Grammy-winning recording engineer/producer…he engineered one of Crass’s first albums…he was so fun to meet! He even came out to a church where we played a “Celebrating Recovery” dinner and took some pictures and hung out for a little while.
We also met Chas and Monica, whom we immediately bonded with. What an awesome couple! They traveled to several of our shows in the area, sometimes driving over an hour one way in a motorcycle and sidecar — and it rained! We feel like our family has gotten a little bit bigger with Chas and Monica.
While in Tarpon Springs, Florida, we were parked in front of a church when a lady driving by saw the bus. She pulled over and began banging on the bus doors. Nobody answered, and so she asked inside the church about us and where we were or would be playing. They gave her the information, and she showed up at the park that evening and found Allan. She was one of the four ladies in the house of prayer from Largo! (See three paragraphs above.) She told Allan that when she left the house of prayer after meeting us that the Lord told her to sow into our ministry, but she didn’t know where to find us. (If you look for us on our website, you’ll see a lot of TBA notes. The way The Extreme Tour is booked is that we get our information about where we’re going about 24 hours before we’re supposed to be there. That’s why we can’t put anything but TBA on the site.)
So suddenly seeing Judah parked in front of a church on the street where she lived was an exciting shock to her! So two weeks after the Lord told her to sow into our ministry, she found us! She had never heard our music, never seen Men As Trees Walking play, but she wrote us a check as Allan went to get her a CD. She had a previous appointment and so she left after handing us a folded check. As she walked away, we looked at the check, and it was substantial! WOW God is so faithful to provide. What a great boost to our faith.
We are all fasting and praying about our final bus payment that is due the end of MAY — that’s right, THIS MONTH — and since it’s rare to make money on The Extreme Tour, we knew it had to come in other ways. While this lady’s check did not provide all the funds needed for our bus payment, it was a significant amount towards it, and a tangible reminder of God’s provision.
Now we’re here in North Carolina. One of our scheduled shows was canceled, and so we were able to make time to see some old friends of ours from years past. When we arrived, we heard that a woman from their church had called them about a week before we made plans to come by and told them that she had a vision of a van or a large truck traveling quickly to their home with trees inside. We have begun to be called “The Trees” on tour, and so here we are! Lord, use us in whatever way you would!
Over these past six weeks we have seen restoration of relationships and supernatural provision. We have seen the Holy Spirit move over congregations and in the lives of many band members on this tour — both ours and other bands. We made some great new friends, and are so excited to see our boundaries stretching and expanding.
We still have a ways to go before turning towards home. The exciting news is that as we go out in August, we’ll have our complete family with us — Xaundelle as well as baby Julien will be joining us on the road!
Please continue to pray for us. The bus has some minor issues that we need to address including an alternator for our generator that is needed to run the air conditioner as well as the refrigerator and electrical outlets. Also, although we wanted to get new tires before heading out, we were unable to do so. Please pray that the tires we have continue to hold up! We’ve only had to replace one so far. We also need continued prayer for provision as the bus payment is due and we have to put diesel in the bus to get from town to town.
Thank you for all your support! If we’re going to be near you, come out and say hi!
Cristina
For Men As Trees Walking
Friday, April 23, 2010
God is Good!!!
Hello everyone!
I'm sorry I have been slacking on the updates! But we have some GREAT news!
We are back on the road!! God is SO good!! My parents (Allan and Cristina) went out to Oregon in faith that they would have the rest of the money we needed.
Arriving at the workshop they were $2400 short, but within an hour they had it to pay for the bus!!
And they were off headed for Texas! They took a 10 day vacation visiting friends on the way but made it home safe and sound!
About 10 Days later we were heading out on tour! It took us some time to clean the bus and get it ready but we did it!
We still need quite a bit of money to pay off the bus, and pay people back that loaned us money.
So please be praying with us as we are trying to raise those funds.
Our first stop was Nashville Tennessee where GMA used to be held. We came to Nashville to meet up with Ted Bruun and help out with the Objective a ministry that is supporting christian bands and helping by mentoring them and teaching them about how to include God in their music.
It was about 5 days long and we met some GREAT people! We hope to see them all again!
Thursday we headed out towards Georgia where we have a show at Temple Bethor Friday night and Saturday morning. We had never met the Rabbi before but he was very open to having us come and minister, we were welcomed with a great meal and great fellowship! We know God has a lot for us here and we are very expectant to see what he's going to do!
After our weekend here we will be meeting up with the Extreme Tour in Macon GA, and we will be playing a few shows with them.
God is surely showing himself faithful and He is providing for us every step of the way! He is a good God!
Please keep us in your prayers! We are planning on being out on tour for 12 weeks so please keep us in your hearts!
If you would like to donate please do so at www.menastreeswalking.net/donate
