The end is nigh...

Quite a lot of time has lapsed since my last post...so much has happened in between that its hard to know what to write. Currently im sitting in the airport about to leave Iceland...the tour was amazing, very different to Turkey but still amazing...the purpose of this trip really seemed to inspire and encourage Icelandic churches and christians to be more bold for Christ. While we didn't see as many people saved as we say in Turkey, the fruits of this trip are undoubtable. Tommorow we play our last show. The show is in downtown Berlin, and weather permitting should be amazing. Its in Mauer park, a popular area in Berlin during the summer. I want to thank everyone and anyone who has been following what ive been doing on this tour. Your prayers and support have been hugely significant. The tour has been proof that God can use an ordinary show to do amazing things, in Antioch alone over 400 people gave their lives to God.
thanks again, and i'll see many of you soon
-ben

From Hot to Cold...

i can´t remember what i wrote last...and im too lazy to check so i will just write and since no one really reads this, im sure the gaps will go un-noticed.
As the title suggest, our trip has resulted in a drastic climate change. I am sitting in a church in the capital of Iceland..Rakayavic (spelling?)...but before i get into all of that, a little turkey recap...the last two shows in turkey were crazy...our second to last show was played in a beach town called samandag (i think, or something close to that) this place was sureal...anything but a nice coastal town. Upon arrival your hit with the overwhelming amount of trash EVERYWHERE! seriously the place was decrepate...we end up playing our show on a flat piece of concrete right next to the beach litterally...the show despite all odds and serious winds went amazingly well...about 500 people surrounded us literally as we played...the whole night a riot seemed imminent and yet some how God kept the whole thing together. Following the alter call about 100 people came foward, and the next few hours was spent praying and talking to the people who had come foward. its really hard for me to describe how amazing this night was...for so many people to respond in this hard core muslim town is simply amazing....
anyway i could write more but i suddenly feel lazyiness overcoming me....
thanks for all your prayers...God has been so obviously present and he continues to amaze

Ancient Antıoch

when i posted last i was feeling thoroughly relaxed from my turkish massage/beating. sınce then much has happened. We had our fırst concert ın Istanbul. we played a showed ın an old armenıan church. Ultımately, around 140 people showed up, and despıte the locatıon, the crowed was predomınately secular. The show went relatıvely well, quıte a few techınıcal ıssues, but overall ıt was a good nıght. Most ımportantly God moved ın the lıves of many people there. After the concert my dad spoke to three guys from Iran who were workıng ın Istanbul and came to the concert after seeıng a poster. When the concert ended the approached my dad and very serıously asked how they could know Jesus. Together wıth these three men my dad knelt on the church floor and prayed that God would come ınto theır lıves. After they had prayed they gave my dad theır contact ınformatıon, askıng that he only communıcate to them ın englısh for fear of the consequences ıf people back ın theır cıty dıscovered they had converted. God ıs amazıng, and contınues to break through ın peoples lıves.

Today we were supposed to have a show ın Antıoch, but ıt got cancelled...so tonıght we are goıng to advertıse on the streets for our other shows here...

please pray that God wıll contınue to open and close doors ın accordance wıth hıs wıll

-ben

Bathing in Istanbul....

The Kyrgzstani leg of the journey is officially over...it was amazing, by far exceeding my expectations...after our last show in k-stan, we drove straight to the airport and flew through the night arriving in Istanbul early in the morning. That day we pretty much slept...the next day we were given a free day to explore Istanbul...and explore we did! bright and early this morning we awoke, eager to take in the sights, sounds, and smells that Istanbul had to offer...although it was tiring and hot, the day was great. We saw all the main sights, the blue mosque, the hagia sofia, etc... The day was capped off by a visit to a traditional Turkish Bath...which included no less than a full lathering, rub down, and rinse, as well as a good beating by a balding behomath of a Turkish man...
the day was great...i have left out many details, but i will share them in person to those wanting to here...
tommorow we have a show here in Istanbul, and than we hit the road..
peace out
pierce

Last day, last show...

Its hard to believe, but today is our last show in Krgyzstan. Last night we played in the same Jazz club for the second time, and again everything went really well. Before the show started, the owner of the club asked my dad if we would not translate his words during the show, believing them to be too provocative. My dad explained the importance of it and ultimately she agreed. Amazingly, after the show she end up giving her life to God, and has now committed to helping No Longer Music get connected all over the country...God is amazing...
tonight we play our last show...its been an unbelievable time here in Kyrgzstan...the people have been amazing, and its definitely going to be hard to leave.

-pray for the show tonight, that God touches people as he's done in every show so far
-pray our upcoming tour in Turkey, that God will move as powerfully in Turkey as he did here

since my last post, the health of the group has significantly improved. Most notable, Cocke's knee is much better.

thanks for your prayers
-ben

Outdoor in Tokmok

Hey Guys,
Since my last post we had two more shows. Both shows were in the city in which were based,Tokmok. The first show was in an old soviet built theater hall, and the second was an outdoor show in the main city square. In both shows we've seen God do amazing things, and as with the whole trip so far, the response has been great. The whole trip has been really surreal, and its hard to believe that this leg of the trip is almost over. I'll give more details when i have more time, or can speak to you guys face to face.

please pray for quick recover for several of our group who are sick
please pray for cocke the other guitarist who woke up last night with a swollen knee and can barely walk
pray for the two remaining shows that we have in the capital Bishkek

it is clear that satan does not want us to be here, and opposition has been strong, thankfully we serve a God who makes little work of satan, but still pray that He will be with us..
-ben

Hello from the Center of the World...otherwise known as Tokmok

Hey Guys,
Im sitting in a small internet cafe in a small town in Kyrgyzstan (i finally learned how to spell it!) called Tokmok...its about an hour outside of the capital Bishkek.
Its really hard trying to figure out a way to summarize this experience so far. Thus far we've had two shows, and we have another one tonight. The first two shows were about a two hour drive from here...the first show went really, about 150 people showed up, and despite several technical difficulties, it went well. Most important of all about 50 people responded to the alter call and in front of everyone stood up, and asked God to come into their lives...the next day we another show...and as much as i would like explain how crazy this day was it would take too long...long story short, we lost power after a huge storm and had to do our show acoustically, nevertheless God used the show and again around 50 people accepted Jesus into their lives...i would like to go into more detail but i simple can't..just know that God is amazing, and he continues to prove that he uses the weak things of this world to do amazing things...we have 5 more shows here and than we go to Turkey...

things to pray for:
-health for our team..there has been a lot of people sick so far...
-that God would continue to touch people in Kyrgyzstan
-that the shows in iceland and turkey that are up in the air would be confirmed

thanks for your prayers and support
-ben

Sweet shoes and Euro Trunks!

hello everyone...im in an internet cafe in berlin, i didnt expect to be online so soon, but its cheap and i thought why not...the trip thus far has been great...we arrived in berlin this morning...and we leave for kyrgistan tommorow morning...today has been a very touristy day and will most likely be nothing like the rest of the trip...
one piece of exciting news...i was walking by a store near the main square in berlin when something caught my eye, what was it you ask? it was a rack full of EURO TRUNKS, now for those of you who know my passion for swimwear you can imagine my excitement...as if the story can get any better, they were only 5 euro!!!!!!!!!
so i bought two, one red one blue...i will definitely be getting a few more pairs on the way back....dudes simply post me a comment and ill pick you up a pair....as for the ladies well your pleasure will be witnessing this fashion revolution sweep the nation....

anyway...its good to finally be on the road...i miss you guys already, but im uber excited for the remainder of this trip

please continue to pray that many lives, including ours, will be changed

tell next time...
ben
oh yea i got some sweet shoes too

wow i suck at blogging...

So here we are almost a month after my last post...by now no one probable reads this, nevertheless i will proceed forth. 4 more days and im out of here, by here i mean Burnsville, Minnesota, and let me just say, im very excited about getting out of here! lets just say suburban USA tends to wear on ones soul.

Some updates:
1. its now official that we are playing seven shows at our first destination Kyrgistan...in fact we will be playing seven shows in seven days, so needless to say thats gonna be crazy
2. As for Turkey...a lot of stuff initially fell through, however (and i havent had the latest update) but slowly shows have been coming together.
Most notable we have been invited to play in a big secular festival on the border of Syria in southern turkey! this unprecedented, and its safe to say that the rarity of this opportunity is immense.
3. Iceland is looking real good...we got permission to play in the biggest nightclub/concert venue in Iceland known as Club Nasa...this is a big deal, other than that we are still waiting word whether we are able to play in the main square in the capital of Iceland (im not even gonna try to spell it)

so there you have it...the build up for this tour has been long, and its safe to say im ready to go

your prayers are hugely important...

pray that:
-God opens or closes doors in accordance with His will
-for safety, especially in Muslim countries (Kyrgistan, Turkey) as we proclaim Jesus' hope to the lost there
-that God may use us to radically change the lives of those we encounter

that is all
love you guys
-ben

Cornerstone!

Well it's sunday, its a pleasant 80 degrees out...more importantly it's the day after the day after Cornerstone. For those of who you who don't know, Cornerstone is one of the biggest Christian Music Festivals in the US. About 40,000 people come everyear, and some of the biggest Christian bands in the world play there. This year No Longer Music had the priveledge of playing in the Underground Tent. The Underground Tent held about 2,000 people, and as its name indicates, was predominately an alternative/hardcore venue. We played at midnight on friday, and it went really well. The music was a little sloppy, but God was not. Following the alter call at the end of the show, about 20 people came foward, many of whom were visible impacted by God. I personally prayed with a guy who came foward to rededicate his life to God. He told me he was tired of living 'half-way' for God and believed tonight God was calling him to surrender control. God continues to blow me away. I'm so impressed that he can use an ordinary band like No Longer Music, to make such an extroardinary impact. I firmly believe that Cornerstone is just a small glimpse of how much God is going to move through the show.
Thanks for all the prayer and support!

Rockin the Salvage Yard...

Last night was our first show/dress rehearsal performance at the Salvage Yard church in Minneapolis. It was the culmination of about 3 weeks of intense practice. I will have some pictures up soon! The show went really well. There weren't any major glitches, and it was good to practice with pressure. While the majority of the audience were Christians, I have no doubt that God moved in the hearts of a lot of people that were there last night. This show has really got me excited about the next few months....
so next up is Cornerstone in exactly a week from today.....im pumped and I expect great things.

All black and blue!

Well i recently underwent a rather dramatic fashion change. My hair, once streaming brown locks, is now mostly black with random pieces of blue in it. Surprisingly, it really doesn't look all that bad...in fact its pretty rockin! Besides I was a necessary change if i was going to play my part in the show....so yea. Nothing new to report, still working hard, rocking hard, and loving life right now....

So what am I doing?

Just a quick introductory update...most of you know the basic info about me, so I won't bore y'all with all that...as for the potentially new info relating to the present and the immediate future...currently I am enjoying having just graduated from Bethel University. I officially have a BA in History, and yes...I have absolutely no future in money...that being established, I am currently in the middle of rehearsals for the upcoming NLM tour. I will be playing guitar, along with Cocke (an amazing guitarist from Chile, i emphasize his 'amazingness' to calm the fears of those who are aware of the lack of mine) yes this is a big step for me musically, i have been preparing for this all year, and have been working my fingers to the bone in order to get up to scratch. Nevertheless, this is a big undertaking, but one which i feel called to, and consequently ready for.

The tour will begin in Kyrgistan (spelling?!?), go on to Turkey, than to Iceland, and end in Berlin. Its going to be amazing, and I anticipate that God will do incredible things.

So that's what i am doing, preparing, preparing, preparing.... its rigerous but i wouldn't want to be doing anything else right now!

your prayers are, and will be huge

The Post to No-one!

If you just checked this out...welcome, I hope to use this as a way of informing, anyone who may care or is interested in what's going on in my life. So brace yourself for all the excitement to come...