Posted in General Articles by Angela Tibbo on 11/2/2011
My team and I left for East Africa with as much excitement as one could imagine for a summer backpacking trip through 3 countries. Day 1 in Uganda, we were introduced to the beautiful and vibrant continent while rafting and bungee jumping over the Nile! A good release after all the months of preparation to get there. Our summer was one adventure after another as we went from the traditional Ugandan countryside, to the Maasai Tribe in Kenya, to a beautiful, Spirit filled orphanage in Tanzania.
I hadn't thought too much about Benny all summer. Except that the honor with which he shared God's thoughts about me, lingered in my heart. I may have thought to myself on occasion, 'who is this guy??'.
About 2 weeks before returning to Atlanta for our team debrief, I had a dream that caused me to really begin pondering the depths of God's desire to bless His children. In the dream I was given an engagement ring, but I didn't like it. It didn't represent any of my heart's desires and left me feeling like i had to find something to make up for my disappointment. I thought, maybe I could use my mother's engagement ring, but as it appeared in the dream, old and dirty, it only made my heart long for more. but before anguish could set in, my Dad burst onto the scene. Light was beaming from his face and life spilled out drenching the surrounding scenery. "WAIT, WAIT! No, my daughter deserves the best!" and he presents me with a ring of divine magnitude. I was in awe at the beauty one piece of jewellery could hold. It touched the depths of my heart not only because it reflected the beauty I felt bubbling up inside of me, but also because my Dad's heart was bursting at the seams to reveal his daughters worth. This representing the Father's heart towards us. Out of the abundance of His own heart speaks the desire to reveal the value deep within that He sees being formed in us.
The ring... a pearl.
A very intimate detail of the dream. Jesus used the analogy of a pearl at one point in my journey on the World Race to explain the process of healing, wisdom and beauty that He wanted to walk me into. I'm not going to go into details about the pearl and it's oyster, that's a whole other blog... oh but look, somebody already wrote it!! click here for the best written blog about oysters ever! seriously, a beautiful creature and a must read!
Well, after that dream I was deeply moved by God's thoughts for me, however I had a bit of a guarded hope in reading too far into the fact that He used an engagement ring as a focal point. It's funny because I don't think I have ever stopped for even a moment to daydream about an engagement ring, I'm also the kind of girl who never put much thought into her wedding day either. I assumed one day it would happen and was sure that it would be nice... end of thought. My mind was a bit more on the mystery guy ;). Anyway, with that dream I had something to chew on for a few weeks.
After arriving in Atlanta and sending my lovely kiddos home to wreck their parents lives with their new discoveries of the Holy Spirit, the world and themselves, I bumped into Benny in the hotel lobby. He said he had something "crazy" to tell me. We couldn't actually sit down to talk until the next day and so until then I kept going over in my mind, 'I thought we already did 'crazy'! He took a big risk 2 months ago when he told me some secrets about my own heart and future husband... but he says now he's getting crazy on me?? where is this going? haha, this could be fun or disastrous'.
Well, when the conversation was said and done, he had shared more things that God had told him about my heart and the new season that God was leading him into, and then he invited me to come to his hometown... in Michigan... this Fall. lol what?? Apparently he had been in conversations with Jesus that challenged him to be courageous in Spirit and ask me to come be a part of his community in Marquette. Now, normally this kind of conversation would raise red flags for some... I however, could sense in him a depth of relationship with God that was familiar to me. Part of that familiar depth had come about by the numerous situations and conversations I have had with God in the past year that challenged my willingness to abandon my cultural mindsets and expectations. I've been challenged to learn how to live outside of right vs. wrong, culturally appropriate vs. not, and instead living from a realm that is based more on choosing what brings true Life vs. what causes death in spirit. So when Benny shared this invitation, I recognized his self-abandoned pursuit of Jesus and I had peace about letting God speak to me about the invitation.
Now, I got home to Canada and allowed myself a few days to adjust before even asking God what He thought about Benny. I wanted to take it slow. However Benny was apparently losing his marbles and couldn't wait the 10 days he said he would give me to pray about things, and he called me within just a few days. He wanted to re-invite me. This time with more boldness and clarity about his intentions. He wanted to pursue me, and had given God permission to use his whole heart to do so regardless of the direction things went. He also gave me permission not to respond to him right away but to simply give him grace while he walked this out. Well, grace was something I was learning to live for so it was my pleasure to give it.
Over the next 2 weeks I remained pretty quiet in conversation as Benny called a few times to share more of his heart. He shared in detail his life story, struggles and victories, and more details about who God says I am. Not once did i feel obligated to reciprocate any of these things. Even though God was telling him many things about my heart, I remained somewhat of a mystery to him for a while. But again that didnt stop him from opening his entire heart to me. At one point I realised all that I had to give Benny in response was a 'blank piece of paper' that I was patiently waiting for God to write on. The timing of His writing didn't really matter, we both trusted that His timing and what He had to say to me would be good and in the meantime I was consumed with peace, joy and an observant spirit that kept drawing me towards Benny. It was also that peace that made me confident in my decision to visit Benny in Marquette a couple weeks later on my way out west to Winnipeg.
My visit... hands down, the best 9 days of my life! more on that next...
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Posted in General Articles by Angela Tibbo on 10/23/2011
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this blog , After returning home
from Brazil I found myself weary, and in need of an intimate touch from the
Father. That's when He called me 'Grace'. I was relieved to feel as though there would be some grace for me in this struggle. I had a couple weeks to rest in His peace before I the struggle came back full force.
Now, I have no desire to go into the details of this fight,
that's not the point of this blog, this is a love story ;) However, I want to highlight what God was
doing deep inside. Here's the jist of it; after a slew of junk had been sent to
steal my hope I found myself grieving choices I have made, abuses I had
suffered and treasures I had lost along my journey. Every filthy piece of shame
that I had ever felt was brought to the surface, one more volcanic time. But to
make this time different, no matter how much I physically hid or isolated
myself, I could not hide from my Lover. His eyes burned for me, and He wanted
in on my junk. He spoke tenderly to my heart while I lay naked before Him
(remember back in Part 1 when He was wooing me to that place and how
excited I was?? Ha. I had no idea the kind of pain that would produce that intimate
place). He spoke of a day when I would
see that I have lost nothing. A day where there would be far more Life than
death, a day when I would see my beauty without blemish, without shame. My inheritance
would be received in full.
Grace. Oh how you bring such sweet redemption.
With His tender words tucked on the inside of my heart I had
the hope and Grace I needed to face the giants that were still waiting to suck
the life out of me. In the weeks and months following, I still made poor
choices. I fell into old habits again and at times played with the idea of compromising
and settling for less, especially when it came to men. But I fought, I hung on
and I refused to go down when situations tried to redirect me back into the
shame that God said was no longer there. I knew that if I held on long enough
to get to Georgia to lead my summer Expedition team, I would be safe. I somehow
knew that would be home plate for me (is that another baseball reference?? Dang
Benny, check me out! You like me a lot right now don't you?? :p ).
When I arrived in GA, I took a deep breath and thanked Jesus
for his grace that got me through. I used our leader training time to rest in
His presence and reflect on the deep things He was reordering on the inside of
me. God kept sending people to encourage me. One of which was another leader,
Benny :)
He simply wanted to share a song with me that he kept hearing play in his head
whenever I came around. It was Misty Edwards song 'Rushing River'. You can read
the beautifully written lyrics here, I had never heard the song before
but the part that hit me the deepest was, 'He makes all things beautiful, just
in time... it's just a matter of time'. I thanked Benny for the encouragement
and moved on in the embrace of my Lover.
The next week was crazy busy and super exciting with our
teams arriving and getting prepared for the mission ahead! The evening before
my team's departure for Africa, Benny pulled me aside for a quick minute. We
hadn't spoke much at all before this and so my mind was racing with what he
could possibly want to say to me. I worried that I had done something wrong,
offended him... was he about to give me feedback?? I couldn't quite read his
tone. He asked me how well I could guard my heart because he had some things to
tell me that he felt God had been sharing with him for a few days now. I gave
him permission to go on "...the Lord sees your heart, your faithfulness, and
obedience to Him... you have been cut from the finest fabric... so has your
husband, this is why it is taking time for you both to find each other because
God is creating the finest beauty in you both... " he went on to describe how this relationship would make me thrive like
never before. As he spoke, I remember feeling these words hit some of the
deepest chords in my heart. I've longed for this to be true, not knowing
whether I was hoping for too much, but longing for it and now another person
has seen it and heard it on my behalf. Could this really be true? When he
stopped talking, I knew that the purest response to all of that would be to say
Thank you, and walk away.
I went straight to meet with my team, we had so much to do
before leaving in the morning for Africa. My heart smiled at Jesus and I quietly
said to Him, 'we can talk more about this while I'm in Africa...'
In my next blog you'll see how Benny makes his way back onto the scene ; )
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Posted in General Articles by Angela Tibbo on 10/23/2011
After some recent and beautiful changes in my life, it's
time for me to dust off this ol' blog and begin writing again. So much has
happened in the past year since I last posted... most of which was too weighty
to process here. None the less, let me share the most recent news, then I will
back track a bit and share how it all came to be...
... my heart has been captured, and set afire
for Benny V.
This all kinda came out of left field for us (is that a
baseball expression?? Cuz Benny would be proud of me for incorporating sports
into this love story ;) hehe) and yet this has all been perfectly
timed by the One who created us.
So, let me set the stage and fill you in;
(be sure to check Benny's blog here, he is also telling the
story from his side!)
Since coming home from The World Race back in 2008, I have
been steadily going back out to the nations leading Real Life teams for AIM.
This season has greatly impacted and shaped my desire to know Jesus more
intimately, and to lead others straight into His heart. I have discovered some
deep strengths within and I've gotten a glorious taste of what it looks to walk
by His Spirit daily. It's been a season of fine tuning my ears to his tender
voice.
Within this longer season of a few years, I have gone
through many mini seasons, highs and lows, dark nights and beautiful sunrises. In particular this past year, the dark nights
and beautiful sunrises have been magnified in their beauty.
I came home from the Real Life Expedition trip in Aug. 2010
with a peek into the Lover's side of God's heart. I was enamored by Him. I knew
that He was calling me to a place of being completely known by Him, I mean
completely, naked and unashamed. The draw to that place felt so good, I had
desired this for so long and yet I had no idea what it would take to get me to
that place, but I chose to follow.
I went straight to Brazil with a team after the expedition trip.
I was excited to bring my anticipated joy of the "Lover's" season to this team.
And then I did a face plant straight into disappointment when I was barraged by
an army of lies, memories of shame from the past, and the fear that tried to
hold it all under the surface. These battles were magnified by circumstances
among our team and ministry site. At the end of the 3 month trip I found myself
bruised up and battle weary.
I called out for God's mercy. I was waving my white flag of
surrender because I just couldn't take anymore battles at this point. I longed
for His intimacy, His closeness. I began to lose hope that He would fulfill my
longing to know Him as my Lover. This in turn began to steal my hope of finding
a husband who would be willing to know and love me completely. This is when
Papa called me 'Grace'. I breathed deeply with relief, but only long enough to
catch my breath before the real battle began.
to be continued...
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Posted in Brazil w/Real Life by Angela Tibbo on 12/5/2010
Wow. My apologies. I realize that I am not very good with communicating frequently through this blog... um please pray that I change this habit! My heart is to keep my friends and family in the loop at all times. I want you all to see what's happening through my eyes out on the field.
This fall I led a Real Life trip to Brazil, as I mentioned in my last blog. Our team's main focus was on the construction of a Missionary Training Center outside of the city Belo Horizonte. In my previous blog I shared a bit about what that looked like for us, go check it out!
 But besides all the painting, a lot of great surprises happened along the way, for example, we had the opportunity to teach at a school in the slums for a week! We absolutely loved it! We slept in the classrooms at night and welcomed the children around 6:40am, everyday! Seeing their smiles every morning made our day. We had 2 groups of about 20-30 kids each. Half came for the morning and the other for the afternoon. The school is actually a community program that seeks to keep young children off the streets when they are not in school.  In Brazil the elementary school system runs on a half day schedule so the young ones have a lot of free time. The School, named Casa De Samuel is committed to caring for these kids and continuing their education during this period of the day. The staff of Casa De Samuel have found a special place in our hearts. They do not get paid for the committed time at Casa De Samuel, they have to raise financial support through friends and family. They too are missionaries.
During out time at Casa De Samuel, our team learned about giving 100% in all we do. The days were long and the lessons sometimes hard to plan for and teaching through translators was not easy. But these kids deserved our whole-hearted love and attention. Many of them come from poor and broken homes, they long to be known and loved. We worked hard at memorizing their names and learning as much Portuguese as possible! We most definitely fell in love with them!
A great bonus to our 2 ½ months in Brazil was the depth of community that we were able to reach within our team.  We did not have a hired cook so our meal preparation time involved many bonding moments, like the time we cooked an entire meal, set it out on the table and then realized our pasta noodles had been infested with bugs! One would think that the meal was ruined... nope, we just added more sauce and ate up! Our team really knew how to have fun and bring out the best in each other. Along with that we made time for pouring into each other through prayer, prophecy and one on one bonding time too. I love adding to my Kingdom family!
You should take a look at Team Brazil's trip Blog! There you'll find their personalized stories of life's challenges and Love's rewards. Click here to read more!
As I am settling back into life at home in Canada, (I'm currently in Winnipeg visiting my brand new niece, but will be in Halifax shortly) I am praying about what this next season will look like. I am working on a well project that has come out of my Real Life Expedition trip this past summer. As the details come together in the next few weeks I will be sending a complete detailed update! Get excited! In the next couple weeks, I could use some prayer in the area of vision, passion and support raising. Updates coming soon!
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Posted in Brazil w/Real Life by Angela Tibbo on 10/1/2010
Brazil -
that's where
you'll find me.
If you have been following my blogs these past few years you'll know that there's really no telling of where I'll end up next. I guess that's the way of the wild, untamed Holy Spirit. You don't know the destination of a seed carried by the wind until it is planted. This is my life, or at least how its been playing out for the last few years since I began this journey in "missions". I'm using these quotations because this fall trip to Brazil is already challenging my team's perspective of missions.  I'll elaborate in a minute... first let me tell you how I ended up in Brazil (for those of you who missed my update at Real Life Community church a few weeks ago). I had plans to stay in Nova Scotia (my home province), pick up a job for the fall and have a break from traveling. This plan lasted for about 2 weeks after getting home from leading the expedition trip in East Africa. I was asked to lead another Real Life trip to Brazil, pronto! And la la la, here I am.
Team BRAZIL consists of 8 members in total - Ryan (my co-leader), John, Josh, Alissa, Erin, Brittany, Alie and myself. We are currently living with a missionary couple in the mountains near Belo Horizonte. This couple owns a large countryside ranch that they are converting into a missionary retreat/training center, and yes, we are helping them achieve this goal! There are lots of buildings to be painted, indoors and out, many things to be destroyed and rebuilt, sanded, varnished, and touched up. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Their project is currently 1 year behind schedule due to a lack of labour workers. And so here we are to help our brothers and sisters reach their Kingdom vision.
Except that...
it's been a long haul to get to the point of truly believing that that is why we are here... to build a training center for other missionaries whom we will never meet. We had originally expected to be ministering in the slums, orphanages and drug rehab centers of Brazil. We expected to build relationships, love on the hurting, bring hope into dark places, preach and evangelize like we knew what we were doing, and chase satan out of the lives of God's children - a real "mission" trip... yeah?
So, here's the thing... the word "missions" gets to be in quotations for this blog because our definition is being challenged. I find myself wondering, is God really up there saying, "hmm, I think I'll send so and so on a mission trip so they can go get something accomplished in this world..." or is He actually saying, " My child, I want to show you something, follow me..." . So often and easily our definitions of success or accomplishment is wrapped around us, shaped by our perceptions, mindsets and expectations. We want to see a finished product, an end to a story, the fruit of our labour... whether it's finishing a practical project for the needy, or bringing the masses to the foot of the cross, we want to be the ones to see the goal reached.
The project of painting and building this  missionary training center fulfills none of those desires. We are barely skilled enough to see all the projects through to completion. Hello, we are not plumbers, nor are we electricians. We paint like real amateurs aaand I haven't the strength to lift anything above a ¼ my body weight ... I know, pathetic. We will never meet the people who will be blessed by this place some day and we might as well be in some North American countryside because we are so secluded that some days, well most days we forget that we are even in a third world country.
"My child,
I want to show you something,
Follow me..."
The Kingdom of God is here. Here as in, where ever it is that you are. It's not a series of accomplishments, projects, teams and programs. Instead it's a series of abandonment of self for the desires of God's heart and HIS great plan to reveal Heaven to Earth.
 "Paint these walls. You will never know the heart felt prayers that will echo between them, but I already know. Build this shelter. You will never know who will find true refuge and rest under its roof, but I already know." Our hearts began to cry out for God to show us how to serve when there is nothing in it for us. We should gain nothing from this trip, and give God everything. We don't have the right to good "mission" stories to tell, but we have the privilege of walking the streets of a Kingdom built on true servant hood, illustrated by Jesus himself. Is this a "mission" trip, or a "Kingdom" trip"? Since releasing our expectations and receiving understanding about servant hood, we vote "Kingdom" trip. And we plead with God to show us more about this whole following Christ thing.
Just so you know, we have a very patient and loving heavenly Father - I know this because I am pretty sure that this is the 10th time in the past 3 years that God has reminded me/taught me about what His Kingdom looks like. Thank you Jesus.
Now, get this... since team Brazil has discovered these things aforementioned, our schedule has quickly changed again to include opportunities of ministering in the slums and orphanages of Brazil... ahaha, really?? And so does this negate all that we just walked through and learned?? Nope, because the Kingdom virtue of servant hood applies here too - serve, love, give everything. We choose this as a way of truly living, not a mission. Missions have a beginning and an end, the Kingdom of God does not.
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Posted in Africa Expedition by Angela Tibbo on 7/7/2010
To check out the Team X Blog with Video's go here...
God is doing great and wonderful things among this community of ordinary radicals!
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Posted in Africa Expedition by Angela Tibbo on 6/7/2010
Team eXpedition is about ready to take off for East Africa!
Last Friday, my team of 8 expeditioners arrived at the ATL airport anxious to begin their 2 month mission trip that will take them through Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania! We have been at training camp since then, along with 8 other teams who will be dispersed among the nations! Training camp has been about equipping these college students to embrace community, surrendering to the Lord, and seeking God's heart for the nations. It is soo amazing to see a group of young, energetic adults passionately seeking the face of God on behalf of a broken world.
As part of our team building, we participated in an activity that took us to the streets of Atlanta, ministering to the homeless. Team X excitedly took up the challenge of  listening to the Holy Spirit, then obeying. The first 2 hours were tough! We thought we had heard things in prayer and tried to obey, but each time we stepped out, people would literally walk away or ignore us. We tried more prayer and worship, but it seemed as though this activity wasn't really going anywhere. We decided to begin walking in the direction of where we would be spending the night and hope that something would happen along the way... that's when we met Michael. A man who was sleeping on the street that night. Michael was drunk and terribly discouraged about his life and where it was going. It seemed as though he was new to the streets, and was scared. Team X ministered to Michael and as they did, more  and more people gathered and stopped to see what was going on. The team ministered Christ in a way that changed the atmosphere, people stopped because they saw the spirit of God hovering in that place. We saw people rededicate their lives to Christ, we saw hope restored to broken hearts, and we saw walls come down that allowed people to see the heart of God and that it beats passionately for them! As we were finishing up, or thought we were, Michael, who was now up and dancing because of the Love he had just experienced, said, 'I need to be baptized".... so you betcha, we gave Michael a water baptism right there on the sidewalk! The team witnessed a physical change in Michaels face as he walked into freedom and the possibility of greatness for his life!
Needless to say, Team X was rocked for Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who ministers through us! We are more than excited to go on the wild goose chase of following the Holy Spirit and ministering along side Him in the nations of East Africa!!
We leave tomorrow afternoon, please pray for travel mercies, and a continued passion and energy for falling in Love with Jesus everyday. To keep up with Team X and their stories, visit
www.expedition.adventures.org
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Posted in General Articles by Angela Tibbo on 5/8/2010
So here's the scoop - I have some (or a lot of) support raising to do before I leave for my trip on the 1st of June! I will be spending 2 weeks at home in Nova Scotia to help facilitate some of this raising of the funds!
Here's the break down of where I am at financially right now:
For the 2 month Real life trip in June I currently have $805 towards my goal of $2000. I still need $1195 by May 31st.
For my yearly salary I have an estimated $3510 pledged towards my goal of $18,000. I still need partnerships to raise the remaining $14,490.
If you feel led to partner with me in my ministry t serve AIM, for any amount (every bit helps), below is the address for my home church in which you can mail in checks (and post-dated, if you want) and donations. Bonus - its tax deductible and my home church will issue you a receipt! Be sure to write a separate note indicating your intentions to support me!
C/O Real Life Community Church
114 Whitehead Rd. Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3V 1B4
Canada
If you would like to meet up for coffee while I am home, send me an email!
Much love and prayers!
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Posted in General Articles by Angela Tibbo on 5/7/2010
My heart is delighted. This morning I had a wonderful reminder of why I am where I am today, and why I do what I do...
A beautiful woman of God and WR staff, sent an encouraging and thankful email to the rest of the AIM staff this morning. She highlighted a blog by Courtney Folwick, a current World Racer. Courtney is experiencing freedom in Christ in a powerful way...
excerpt from email:
" I think sometimes we have become immune to these words. We hear them all the time, but have you let it sink in lately?
her.life.is.changed.
gone forever is insecurity, fear, rejection issues, and so much more.
changed. forever.
because of Jesus and the World Race.
real, honest-to-goodness life change is happening out there. real people with real problems are finding real freedom.
It is not a marketing ploy, a catchy phrase we throw around as WR-language, or an exaggeration. it is her real life."
I read Courtney's blog and was moved to tears. I remember being in that sweet spot of unleashed freedom. I remember seeing team mates on the World Race, and team mates on Real Life find that spot too. It is life altering. And it's not just a personal experience... people- friends, family and strangers around them- are affected by what God is doing in their hearts, its a ripple affect thing.
I have an incredible passion for ministry to the nations, but even more so, the impartation of God's heart to see my generation discover freedom in Christ, has conquered me. I help with program logistics because I believe in mobilizing my peers. I lead trips because I believe in serving through discipleship. I run after Christ with every part of my life because I believe that in doing so, lives will be changed and freedom will invade the hearts of men and women around the globe.
Psalm 24 "... This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your Face."
Today I am thankful for everyone and everything that has brought me to this unique position of serving God and His Kingdom. I am realizing how truly blessed I am to be a part of this undeniable movement of God- loving, radical, world changers! I get how blessed I am to be able to explore the world and also be a part of the background force that mobilizes people to break free of the norm, and find God in a life altering way through missions. Today I am thankful.
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Posted in General Articles by Angela Tibbo on 4/16/2010
Mark
your calendars.
August 30 - September 2, 2010
We'll give you three hints
and only ONE guess as to where we are headed...
Hint #1 - you might see rainbows with pots of gold.
Hint #2
- there will be little green men - or at least we're told.
Hint #3 -
it's the birthplace of Guinness - the beer of old!
IRELAND.
Yes. Believe it.
And... if you come, you might just
be able to worship to the musical stylings of...
JONATHAN DAVID HELSER.
The Awakening is a Prophetic Worship Experience & World
Race Alumni reunion.
We're planning for over 500 in attendance
at this year's event - current World Race squads, World Race Alumni, and
friends & family of Alumni are all invited!
Check out www.theworldrace.org/awakening
for more information and to begin planning!
More details to
come. Stay tuned and spread the word!
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