Sold Out!

When playing places like the Pasco Farmers Market in Washington State, we have to be very careful not to “preach”. Obviously in today’s culture most public venues are very cautious about this so we need to pray and be sensitive as well, especially if we want to be welcomed back. Our goal is to share the message of Jesus by using methods that are not commonly associated with “preaching”.

After an hour or so of music, I took a break and pulled out the bag of salvation bead bracelets that Kayla made for this year’s Great Circle Tour. (Read more by following the link below to our April 3, 2010 post). Bev, our trusty area coordinator and promoter, along with Pastor Dan, a former hippie from Southern California, joined me in sitting on the curb next to Howie’s music.

Our goal was to sort through the bracelets and divide them by lengths. Little did we know that this activity would become a platform to share the Gospel message with most everyone at the market that had children.

It started as one couple walked up and asked “What are you doing?” The door opened and we shared the meaning of the beads and gave them each one. One after another came up and before we knew it, we had shared the message over 50 times.

An elderly woman, Mary, was particularly touched by the music and the beads. With a big smile she began to point children our way to get their “free” bracelet and hear the message.

My concluding thought is this: many places, like the Historic Downtown Mall of Charlottesville, VA, have an ordinance that forbids approaching a person to hand something out. But, if they come to you, that gives you freedom to share what you wish. Having supplies on hand, gathering in a public place and making the bracelets is a great way to open doors.

Debbie

PS: We were invited back!

Read “>Kayla and the Salvation Band Project:

“In the 30 plus years I have lived here I have never seen it rain so hard”, said Marge, talking about the down pour just after we followed her to Howard Amon Park for our concert Friday night. Here in Richland, WA the rain is never torrential, but last night it was.

Howie has a way of praying. Our friend in Redwood, NY said on facebook,“ lol…God and Howie have this ‘Let’s see how we can wow them today’ club…” And yes, it happened again.

He prayed the God would allow us to minister there that night and the Lord opened the clouds.

As we arrived the rain stopped and Howie commenced to sweep the puddles out of the bandshell. Rain continued to hammer the entire tri-cities area, but above the Howard Amon Park there were blue skies.

By the second song a group of teens gathered and Howie testified that God hears and answers prayers. As it turned out the teens were Christians and we invited them up to sing some praise songs.

Even though there were not “huge” crowds, people milled about, we prayed and laid claim to the place for the upcoming weekend events, we met some cool folks and the sun shined for a while at “The Fingernail”

Ps: “The Fingernail” is what folks here call the bandshell!

Read exciting news for our Great Circle USA Missionary Journey by clicking on the image below! Your PDF will open in this window.

Traveling through what seemed to be “No Man’s Land” in Northern Arizona we wondered if God would open opportunities for us to witness for Him.

The Hopi reservation was rocky and harsh. This was quite the contrast to the people that live in the land. At the cultural center we met V***** a DJ from WYI Res Radio, who shared with us that Hopi means “Peaceful People”. We also began to realize that our “Wayfarin Strangers Amped” CD would be well liked here on the Reservation.

As the Great Circle USA 2010 takes us through Navajo Country the desert sun is hot and the nights are cold. This is perfect for sleeping in the van.

The roadway was dotted with venders selling their handwork. Howie wanted a leather and turquoise decoration to hang from his guitar neck and we hoped to find it Navajo made.
The Lord lead us to J*****a who was happily equipted for the challenge of designing a piece for Howie.

As she worked Howie suggested that he serenades the vendors. His suggestion was received with many smiles. As the Navajo woman put her finishing touch on the piece by tying her work to the guitar neck, he offered her and the nearby vendors copies his CDs: The Good News of Christmas, Colonial Meditations and Thank You.

R* said liked R&B, so Howie invited him to our van to listen to some of “Wayfarin Strangers Amped”. He loved it and we promised to send him a copy as soon as it is released.
The conversation segued nicely into Jesus as Howie shared his story, then R* shared his story. God has placed us in the right place at the right time to minister to a native man who has a great need. We were able to pray with R* and leave him with a Gospel of John. Soon he will have our new CD as well as a letter from us.

As the time approaches for the release of “W S Amped” my excitement grows. Wait ’till you see the artwork Seamus and Debbie just produced. Awesome!

This CD includes an old spiritual, some original songs, and a couple jam tunes. A 60s motif was definitely called for and that is exactly what we have. Seamus certainly was inspired to draw a really cool design, using elements from our current lifestyle: music/traveling. Then Debbie took his artwork and added the right color to bring out that ‘Woodstock’ era feel. The result? Well, you’ll be blown away. It’s more than groovy; it’s cool, man.

Peace, love, dove,

Howie

Shea's creative design with Debbie's Woodstock colors

Our new music CD is ministering already and it’s not even out yet! As amazing as that may sound, it’s true.

While in Memphis, Debbie and I were blessed to join Pastor Ronnie Johnson at Miracle Baptist for worship and testimony. After a wonderful time of music with Greg, Anthony and Eddie, we sat down for lunch. Across the table from me were two young men in their twenties. They were brothers and one had a Bible. We hit it off immediately and I was able to encourage them in the Lord. As we were loading out I played some of the new CD. They really liked it, playing air guitar and enjoying the message in the songs. One of the guys said: “Somebody is getting into it.” I looked over at a middle aged lady who was moving to the rhythm. I asked her later how she liked Wayfarin Stranger and she said she loved it.

It is truly a blessing to know that the music we were given by the Holy Spirit has the ability to reach across all sorts of man-made barriers and really minister. Not only do the words bear testimony of the Lord, many of them Scripture, but the music itself touches young and old. The music opened the doors for me to encourage and pray with these young men.

I can’t wait ‘till you hear this new CD, and we will certainly keep you posted as the release date draws near. I have put in a couple “all-nighters” recording and mixing it. This recording is the closest representation of what we sound like as we travel. So far I’ve recorded and mixed in three states, in five different locations, with headphones and speakers, and it’s getting very close to completion. Each mix brings it a little closer to what I’m hoping to end up with. Basically: it rocks! But better than that: it ministers!

With less than two weeks into the Great Circle Mission USA 2010 we have already experienced some very interesting backdrops to minister Jesus Christ. Check out the pictures below-

Please help us keep going!

Click&Pledge is a shared ministry site with Bray-Missionaries.org. Please scroll down the page and select Howie and Debbie Campbell Music Ministry

Saturday we had a wonderful opportunity to play an outreach concert on Orange Mound in Memphis, TN. I have read that Orange Mound was a neighborhood formed in the late 1800s to provide refuge for the black community. Strangely enough it was just over the tracks from the KKK stronghold. For years it was billed as the largest black community in the USA. And though that may no longer be true, I would safely say that most all of its residents are still of African American decent.

These days Orange Mound is dotted with boarded up windows, gangsters. Drugsters and hookers with all that lifestyle brings. Among all of this you find children. Many, many children. But the Lord is using Rev. Reggie Tucker and his wife, Mary to make an impact in this part of Memphis inner city. Forming the Orange Mound Outreach Center, their slogan is “Lord, do what you do” with the vision of “taking our children back”.

We arrived at Orange Mound at 11AM to set up in the lot next to the outreach center. With a backdrop of a chain linked fence topped with razor wire, Howie and I set up the sound system. Howie had planned ahead of time to have a keyboardist, drummer and guitar player join us, as we often assemble pick up bands for events like this, but as the day arrived each one was unable to join us. The Lord knew our plans, but He had other plans.

As the final microphone was in place and the guitar was coming out I noticed two vans pulled up really close to where we were. Actually, I wondered why they didn’t park on the street like everyone else. Then these guys get out, say “Hi” and start pulling out drums and a keyboard stand. The funny part was we didn’t know who they were, or how they knew we could use a band….

Taurus, Henry, Andrew and Tye were from the “Praise is What We Do” ministry located in the next hood over. They had heard about the event the night before and decided to come down, support the Tuckers work and were eager to sit in. I love it when God knits his family together for the common cause! Quickly we set up 4 extra mics and soon we were ready to roll.

Unity and Diversity: Memphis has long been known for its racial tensions and hatred. This was probably most clearly displayed when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4th, 1968. In fact, when we first moved to Memphis from New York State in ”93 I was shocked by this tension, on both sides, how obvious it was and how folks seemed to view it as the norm, even within the church at times.

A lot of kids were there. It was really cool that the kids got to see a mixed racial band playing together. Actually, as Howie said, we are brothers and sisters. We have the same spiritual Father! This is a powerful message to the children today. Jesus unites across all differences!
Reggie had his cooker out and was barbequing up chicken, burgers and hot dogs. It was so tasty and the smell brought in folks from all directions.

For a moment of time, in this space on Orange Mound, color did not matter. Together we celebrated the day, uplifted the name of Jesus, enjoyed food and good music.

The name of Jesus was strongly proclaimed and the forces of darkness were pushed back. We continued to pray that God will “do what he does” and that the children will be spared from a life of addiction and hatred. May the Lord turn the city right side up, one heart at a time.

When we returned from our Great Circle 09 Mission Tour, Kayla heard our presentation at her church. We told the story about Joshua’s Piggy Bank for God and how that one project impacted 300 children across the United States. This story about a 7 year old really made an impression on Kayla.  She began to think of what she can do to reach children this year.

Having taken three mission trips in the past, Kayla, now 16 years old, remembered how the “salvation bands” worked so well to teach Romanian children the salvation message.

This ambitious young lady wasted not a minute. She got busy gathering donations of pony beads, leather, and key rings to make bands for us to take this year.  Then, the appointed day came for her parents to invite a couple families over for a Sunday luncheon.  Actually, it was more than a Sunday luncheon, it was an important ministry that took place around the table.

Kayla seized the moment and provided bowls of colorful beads and instructions for all to follow. Everyone was involved, young and old. Within an hour the bags were full.

Thank you Kayla and helpers. 685 children will not only hear the message of redemption but will have something to take home with them to remember Gods plan of salvation.

The Message

Black – Sin – Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

Red – Blood – 1 John 1:7 – But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Blue – Baptism – Romans 6:4 – Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

White – Purity Psalm 51:7 – Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow

Green – Eternal life – 2Peter 3:18 –  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen

Gold – Heaven  – John 14:2 – In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Greetings Dear Friend, in the name of Jesus Christ,

Howie and I have just returned to Virginia after ministering throughout America. Ten months is a long time to be on the road, but the Lord and His saints have been good to us. “The Great Circle USA 09 Tour” never really came to an end as it flowed nicely into the Christmas Advent tour carrying right over into the New Year.

As I look back over the past year I see God’s miraculous provision of a van to minister from, live in and take us so many long miles. I see how the Lord is opening doors in some very needy parts of the nation: a Lakota Sioux Reservation in South Dakota where poverty is the norm; New York where the name “Jesus Christ” is the cuss word of choice; Vermont where at least two towns permit public nudity; and Memphis, TN ministering in Orange Mound, a community created for African Americans back in 1890! These pockets of need in our country are the very places where our “musical missionary” style of ministry slides in past the defense lines. We are seeing results and doors are flinging open like never before.

Having lived on the road “homeless” now for 2 years, we are commonly asked two questions:

1. What is the pulse of the nation, and how do you see God working?”

2. How do you survive living in a van?

What is the pulse of the nation? Let me try to answer this one first. Everywhere we go we see a couple common trends. One is a growing restlessness within the Christian Community with the “status quo”. There seems to be a hunger among many for more of the Lord. Sunday and Wednesday meetings are no longer enough. People are seeking a lifestyle that is filled with the Spirit of the Lord. That speaks of revival happening on a grassroots level.

Within the secular community we saw a trend beginning this year that we have not witnessed in the past. More people are attending, and they are staying until the close of our events. You might say: “Well your performance must be better.” No, I believe it has little to do with performance because typically as soon as the name “Jesus” was mentioned and people got the drift that we were singing about Him, there would be a mass exodus. Not now. It appears that God is positioning hearts for an awakening. This is all the more exciting considering we have an entire generation (speaking of those not in the Bible Belt) who have no biblical teaching nor have any idea who really Jesus is.

Any of you who have been around Howie for any length of time have heard him say “Now is the time! I am compelled to go and share Jesus”. The results we are seeing are in direct answer to prayer and entirely the Lord’s doing.

In 2009 we received enough financial support to have kept us on the road for 10 months non-stop. We are so grateful for those who have heeded the call to “monthly for missions”. You have provided a financial lifeline as we go.

Now for the second question: What is it like to live on the road for Jesus?

Quite frankly, at this moment, I am worn out and fatigued and would like a quiet “hiding place” to call my own to be refreshed. But generally speaking, the Lord’s provision is abundant so we thank God for these blessings:

• We travel in the Sprinter van that gets nearly 20 miles to the gallon; we have a single mattress that is comfy to rest upon when the road is long (considering it’s not too hot outside to do so);

• We have an entire sound system, instruments, office, kitchen tools and suitcases that are showing miles of wear. And, of course, we have our survival water filter that is gravity feed and provides quality water wherever we are.

• We eat lots of raw fruits and veggies and have managed to maintain good health thus far, except for some back issues.

Even with all of this, I do often think of a home. When the traveling goes on for month after month, sleeping in a different bed every night and constantly with people, I think of home. Naturally, I consider heaven my home, but lately I am sensing that we just may be more effective in the future with a home ministry base.

Here in Charlottesville, Howie is busy ministering to the music community and scheduling our 2010 missionary trips. We are excited about connections made on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Also there are amazing opportunities opening in Vermont, Memphis, Michigan and Washington, as well as many other places. Please keep these in prayer and check the calendar on our web site as the bookings develop.

As we go we do depend on you to sometimes carry us, sometimes house us and sometimes go with us. I can’t praise God enough for your faithful financial support. Know that while we are here preparing to move out again and setting up the next tour, we do need your “Monthly for Missions” gifts.

The ground is being plowed and seeds sown. The harvest is beginning to show itself in our land. Pray. Spring is coming. It is time to call the workers and bring the harvest before the Lord.

With Christian love,

Debbie

P.S. Please send your tax-deductible support for our missionary ministry to: Howie and Debbie Campbell, PO Box 8334, Charlottesville, VA 22906. Make checks payable CIS, INC. Thank You!