Musically Multiplying...

In an effort to continue in multiplying my musical side I have purchased or am purchasing a few new items and thought I'd share because I'm excited.  I will blog later more of why I am doing this but for now the details...

1st purchase, to be delivered today:  Dual Direct Box!

This will allow me to plug my Guitar and 1 other item 1/4" into this but then run XLR (mic cable) out of it into the sound system directly.  The church has a few when I go there but some are old and this past weekend I had to swap out twice.  Other gigs I've played I haven't had one and had to borrow or just not use it. I got a Dual Direct Box so I could plug in my guitar and maybe this...

2nd purchase, which is en route from Arizona now, so I'll have it early next week:  Stomp Box!

This Stomp Box is pretty self explanatory but I'll elaborate.  It's a box...and you stomp on it... Ok, I'm just messing.  There is a trigger inside of the box that has a 1/4" plug that when you "stomp" on it then it sends a Bass Drum sound like it would if I had a bass drum.  This will allow me to keep a steady bass beat while I play guitar.  I currently have a Tambourine for my foot that I use...I may use both some.  This would be for when I play alone only.  I'm pumped though.  Didn't know they existed and almost bought a bass drum because I saw Avett Brothers or Mumford & Sons do it but then in Ireland I saw a guy with one of these!

3rd purchase, which will take place tomorrow in person:  Acoustic / Electric Ukulele!

What?  Yep!  I didn't even know they made Aucoustic/Electric Ukulele's until a couple weeks ago.  I don't know how to play this but since I've started playing guitar I wanted to learn.  There are a couple soft songs that I think would be awesome with this.  Also could start the song with this and then go to guitar.  Matt knows how to play and is going to teach me.  It is such a good deal that I can't pass it up and it is in Rossville so I get to see it before I buy it.  But as you can tell from pics...it looks great!!

4th purchase, which I'm in a bidding war but have already found a back-up plan:  A/E Bass!

This Acoustic/Electric Bass is soooo sweet!  It's a steal if I can keep the bidding down on Ebay...if Not I've found another like it with a solid price that is still good but it isn't Green Wood Grain.  This caught my eye after going to Ireland.  ha.  Again, I don't know how to bass but was picking up on it pretty good about 4 years ago when Matt tried teaching me.  Now that I can play guitar Matt says this would be much easier.  I would still play guitar mostly but we had a gig last month where I could've had 2 guitar players beside me but no bass.  If I learn, even simple bass and nothing fancy, then I could play it and invite the 2nd guitar player.

I am super stoked about these current and future purchases...not only for increasing my musical awareness but for what it will allow in future situations.  More about that later when I post:  Rubicon Revived!  Check back later!

In Christ,

Kyle

Amendment:

I didn't win the Irish Green Acoustic Electric Bass but I'm not giving up on finding a good deal on one.

Also, the Stomp Box didn't work as well as I had hoped.  So I'm going to sell it and have already purchased it's replacement...the real thing:

An Acoustic 16" diameter x 12" deep Bass Drum and Pedal, made by Pulse!  I will have for real bass sound now when I play.  Will get this stuff possibly by the weekend or first of next week.  I love internet shopping!

Back in the saddle again!

After a full week back at it and now mid way through second week, I can comfortably say that I'm back in the saddle again.  Work has been steady but not overwhelming.  I had the opportunity to book 4 jobs while I was out of the country, which was good.  I have a few more that are pending too, which is great.  If you don't know what I do then the simplest explanation is a Salesman for a company that designs and builds Assembly Lines for mass producing products, usually including Robots.  Ok, maybe that wasn't even simple. I always dread explaining my job.  I just realized though that in 3 weeks I will be celebrating 16 years with this company...whoa!  Next year, if I make it ha, I will be celebrating 17 years here...I was 17 when I was hired.  That is crazy to think of...I will have worked here exactly half of my life.  It has been a roller coaster, changing departments several times, but finally finding my way into Applications which I've loved the most.  Pray for me as there are a few strange things here that need some tweaking and God will have to do it.

Ministry wise it has been good getting back into things.  This past Sunday leading Kids Live was awesome!  I always enjoy it but this week it just went so well that I loved it.  Played Guitar and sang 3 songs before I taught about Zacheus, acting the story out.  Had a great time.  Pray the kiddo's got something out of it!

We are transitioning over the next month into a new curriculum which I'm helping decipher and put together for the Worship/Teaching portion while Joel, my friend, is in charge of the classroom part.  Both of us under Billy & Bethany of course who are in charge of Kids as a whole.  I'm pumped about this new curriculum:  Gospel Project thru Lifeway!  I will be going through the videos and the teaching material and sift / condense / add to / subtract, etc. depending.  There is a 1st and 2nd grade material as well as 3rd thru 5th but we do 1st thru 5th right now together, so I have work to do.  I'm excited about this though.  Pray for me in this!

My mens Small Group was set to meet tonight but Calvary is having a special prayer service (3 Wed in a row actually, tonight being the middle).  The youth pastor, Kenny Engals, wife has cancer and they aren't giving her much hope without a miracle.  So we are praying so!  There are other needs in the church and with people in the church which makes this a necessary wonderful opportunity.  Please pray for Christi and Calvary Chapel Chattanooga!

Last thing i'll mention is my friend Candi has asked me to assemble Rubicon for a Youth Conference her church in Tunnel Hill GA is having next Friday night.  I'm pumped about this and am praying God is exalted!  Some of the ole Rubicon guys aren't available but God is working on who He wants.  As of right now I will be playing acoustic and singing lead, Chris Morrow playing lead guitar and singing BGV's, Candi will play keys and sing lead/BGV's, and my brother Kevin will be playing drums.  Looking for a Bass player.  Also Paige will be going with us to perform one of her Sign Dramas!  We are pumped and pray God opens more doors like this.  We'd like to maybe do this type of meeting once a month until God brings who He wants together and then see where He takes it from there.  So pray for us!  I'll let you know how it turns out!

Thanks for all the prayers past, present, and future.  Feel free to email me with prayer requests or if you need some encouraging words.  Let me know you are reading these or praying for us!

In Christ,
Kyle
preacherhawk@gmail.com

European Adventure Re-Cap!

So as I've been back in the states and now finished 2 days of work, I've had time to reflect on the Adventure that just took place.  It was a very interesting, very fun, very productive trip.  Though the productivity wasn't exactly what I expected I feel that it was good.  Let me explain!

At one point while in Dublin the girls expressed a little bit of disappointment in the trip to that point.  I understood their point and agreed to an extent.  Their disappointment was because we weren't getting to do as much "Ministry" as we thought we would be able to.  I was encouraged by their disappointment as it shows their heart was truly about serving God and not just a vacation!

The original intention of the trip to Ireland was to take 3 musicians and 3 drama people and to get involved in ministries and churches there as well as do street ministry.  This had to change some as 3 of the 6 of us couldn't go at the last minute.  So since I'm so new at the guitar our musical opportunities were limited.  Mainly just one day did I play the guitar around the city.  Since we couldn't do much street ministry due to limited resources and due to weather it made it nearly impossible to pull off any kind of dramas with the girls.  Thus their disappointment in one sense.  We also planned to get involved in a church and in at least one ministry Dublin Christian Mission.  In this we saw opportunities for both Music and Drama.  Well once we were there we realized that DCM had actually taken kids from Dublin a good ways off for a camp, so they weren't even in Dublin in order for us to help.  This was a bit of a let down but we were able to contact them and establish at least the interest and find out how we might be able to help them next summer, as God leads.  The same thing with the church.  We had a 2 hour long meeting with Paddy, from Core Church.  He let us know what the church was doing in the community and what his ideas were.  At the end of the conversation I was able to share my heart and burden and in turn we discussed leading a Youth Camp with them next summer.  Now what God does with this, I don't know but these two conversations meant more than I had even realized.  Let me explain.

After having this discussion with the girls, we sat down with Jim and Laura (the missionaries living there) and they enlightened us even more on Ireland in general and this conversation tied everything together.  They let us know that ministry in Dublin is very different then some places.  There has to be relationships built before ministry can be done.  If we just showed up and stood in the streets and forced Jesus in their faces then we would've probably done more harm than good and it would've even hurt the Pettit's ministry there as they are trying to build relationships and will continue after we are gone.  They assured us that what they had envisioned for us is what we did and that we even exceeded it by building the relationships with CORE and DCM that we did.

So this trip, originally thought to be a hardcore evangelistic mission, turned out to be a Scout Trip with us getting to know the culture and build relationships for future trips.  Not that God will allow us to come back but because we were willing to sit back and let God guide our steps we were asked to come back and do things that we were not going to be allowed to do otherwise.  So I'm very excited to see what God does through this "mission" trip!

I know now how to pray for Ireland, the people there, the missionaries, the missions, the church (CORE and others).  I met lots of people and got email addresses of people who aren't Christians that God may use me to lead to Him via email and conversations.  I even met a wonderful couple from Paris France who invited us to come stay with them which is yet another beautiful opportunity to share Christ and maybe a door for future ministry in Paris, that was never there before.

So to re-cap and to be honest:  The Mission and Ministry that we intended on doing there did not happen but what God wanted to happen and what needed to happen did.  We all were taken out of our comfort zone, we all learned to live among other cultures, we all built relationships which may blossom into something more, we all learned that God's ways are not our ways and that He takes care of His own.

So was this a Mission trip?  Yes it was!  Was it what I had envisioned?  No, but it is only the beginning!

We thank you for your prayers and how you stuck with us through the trip.  Now go to my Facebook page and begin seeing the pictures of these beautiful places that God allowed us to see!  Pray for Ireland!  Pray for Jim and Laura Pettit, as they serve God in Dublin!  Pray for CORE Church as they serve God in Dublin! Pray God does amazing things in Rubicon now that we are back and are fired up about serving God in Chattanooga!  Pray about maybe going next year to Dublin yourself, with or without me!

In Christ,

Kyle Hawkins
Team Rubicon

London to Munich... belated too!

Here I am sitting in the London Airport awaiting our flight to Munich.  Had a wonderful experience in London the last 3 days.  Didn't really have Wifi in order to update blog, therefore I'm writing now.  We stayed in a hotel in Paddington area of London.  It is next to Hyde Park, their Central Park of NYC, which is beautiful.  We stayed there because it was one of the only hotels in London that had vacancy.  It was more expensive than a Hostel as originally considered but well worth it for the accommodations.  Also we stayed there as one of my best friends, Dan & Marcy, were staying there too.  They currently live in Oxford but were down to see some Olympic events and Apartment search as they are moving to London soon while Dan finishes his PHD at a school in Geneva Switzerland.  He just finished his 3rd Masters Degree at Oxford.  Clearly the smart one in the friendship.  Ha.  

Funny God story about them.  He emailed me and said meet him in the lobby at 5pm but we didn't get there until almost 6.  Once we got in room I decided to go outside while the girls freshened up.  We were on the Basement level so I had to go up to Ground.  Almost took the stairs but last second pushed Lift button.  The Lift was going up from ground but for some reason came down first.  When the doors opened it was Dan & Marcy who had left but came back for a jacket in their 4th floor place.  Such a provident meeting it was insane.  We then walked around with them until after midnight.  Got to see some awesome night life spots and ate at a BBQ restaurant which is the only one in London and it was good.

Tuesday we bought an all day Underground pass which allows us all day access to the Tube or Subway which saves a lot of walking time, though we still walked miles and miles still (or it seemed).  We got to see the tail end of the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, The Eye, London Bridge, A Huge Military Ship, A Tall Ship (Pirate Style), Towers Bridge, and St. Paul's Cathedral.  We used the Underground to cross some of the ground between places.  We then walked to the British Museum, which is free to public, and stayed there for a while touring all of the awesome stuff they have...such as the actual Rosetta Stone, Parthenon Statues, Egyptian Ruins, and much more.  We then slowly made our way back to the hotel, which was miles away.  We stumbled upon a free Olympic event in Hyde Park.  They had 4 huge theater style screens with seats and tables in front of them for people to watch different events.  It was so awesome and a great way to experience because you're in a huge crowd of passionate sports people.  One had Boxing, Two had Girls Soccer (which was Great Britain beating Brazil...we stayed til the end and got to experience the eruption of the crowd), Three had swimming (which we got to see Phelps get his magic Medal), and the fourth had Badminton (which we stopped and watched cuz it is intense).  Met a lot of awesome people along the way too. What an amazing day!!

We had a slight change of plans to save travel time which actually may not but it did save some money.  We were to take a train to Paris and then to Munich which ended up being more than twice the price of this plane ticket.  The train would've taken about 10 hours straight where the flight is only 2 hours.  Why we aren't saving much time is we had to check out of the hotel at 12 and the flight isn't until 6pm and is a 2 hour flight.  So technically this travel is 8 hours but at least we saved money.  HaHa.

So now on to Munich to see what we can see and what God might do.  Thanks for praying for us.

In Christ,

Kyle

Dublin to London...belated!

Here we are on the train, viewing the beautiful country side of Wales.  After having a most glorious week in Dublin and surrounding areas we are on to the next part of the adventure...London.  
Our week in Ireland did not end up looking exactly like we had anticipated but realize God is in control and He allowed what He wanted and not one thing more or less.  I wasn't sure how much actually ministry (or mission work) that we would be able to do but was hopeful to be able to stay covered up with opportunities.  We quickly realized after arriving in Dublin that in order to do ministry there has to be some relationships established, for many reasons.  That is exactly what God ended up doing with our visit.  I cannot say that I had the opportunity to lead someone to the Lord or even get to that depth of a conversation but I can say that I was able to invest some time in some people I met there, 3 different occasions throughout the week specifically, that only God knows where He will take it as we exchanged email addresses.  I'll describe the occasions in more detail later.  We were definitely able to see and actually live in the Irish culture and see where they are and how we could pray for them and those that will stay behind, like the Pettit's, who will be able to better minister to the Irish than we could in 1 week.  Prayer can do so much more than we could ever.  Also a time to really get to know the wonderful Pettit's better was amazing.  Their hospitality and heart was very awesome and such a blessing to get to see first hand.We were also able to have a meeting with Paddy from CORE Church in Dublin.  This was an amazing talk that not only let us know where the Church was in the fight, how they are ministering to the community, but also how we could participate in this in the future.  Paddy talked about wanting for years now to have a Children/Youth Camp through CORE Church but he hasn't been able to yet.  After we talked about our passions we discovered an opportunity for bringing a team next summer to help lead their first Camp.  This would involve Drama, Music, and Teaching minded people.  Honestly this 1 hour conversation was worth the whole trip.  I don't know if God will allow me to come back or the girls but this was a pivotal moment for American Mission work.  So we are super excited to get this news back and see where God takes it.So as you can see, though we had thoughts of tons of Drama and Music opportunities we didn't have many to any but still had a very fruitful Scout trip.  A much needed rest and relaxing time for me was definitely had and I am very thankful God allowed that.  The opportunity to get to know Dublin City Streets and even forms of transportation intimately and to see some of the most beautiful places God created was amazing.  Even now as I type this I am amazed by the sights:  Huge Hills with beautiful colorful houses in the green valleys to my right and the Sea to my left...just passed a Castle...what??  Gorgeous!!God is so good and gracious and knows exactly what we need way more than we do.  Continue to pray for us as we walk in The Way in London for next few days.  We may be stopping in Paris next on the way to Munich Germany, our final destination before retuning to America this Saturday.  Please continue to pray for us!

In Christ,

Kyle

I hear music in the streets of Dublin...

Yesterday was a most amazing day here in Dublin City! It started off with a great morning or Devo and prayer before the others awakened. We enjoyed a beautiful breakfast, thanks to Laura, filled Crepes, sausage, toast, and fruit (I filled mine with Banana's and Nutella). We then walked to St. Catherine's Cathedral, which is now the site of CORE Church where the Pettit's attend here in dublin. A beautiful old building (AD 1769) but modernized a bit too. I love it. We met with a member of the staff, Paddy, who has been involved in ministry in Dublin (where he has lived all his life). He told us all about the church and what all they are doing in the church as well as outreach to Dublin as a whole. We talked about Rubicon and what we are about as well. It was a very encouraging conversation as we encouraged each other for Christ. After we left there some big things took place. It was a beautiful day of partly cloudy/partly blue skies with the sun shining through (nearly 180 from day before, filled with rain). As we walked from the Church, heading towards a huge park where loads of people are, I decided instead of carrying the guitar that I would just play as we walked. We had a blast, as did others around us. I was making up songs about our environment or people that we were around. I know what you are thinking "Oh, Lord Kyle" which you know could be dangerous for me but it was received unbelievably. One guy was sitting on some stairs drinking coffee and eating a Snickers so I made up a song about him and how I was jealous of his Snickers bar. He and his friend loved it. While standing at a stop light a guy stood next to me with headphones in. I told him that if he would play his music then he wouldn't have to worry about batteries. We laughed and talked for a while. God kept opening doors thru this random act, more than I could've ever thought or have done just walking up to them. People were engaging with us as a result too. As we got close to the Park there was 2 young guys playing traditional Irish music: 1 with a guitar and 1 with a Ullian Pipes (Elbow small version of bag pipes) but sitting on a Cajon (a box drum which I use at home). As they saw me with the guitar they called me over and asked me to Jam with them. I told them I couldnt hold my own on guitar but would love to play the Cajon. 30 minutes or more later we had played some Irish & some American music building quite a quick friendship/bond. We exchanged email addresses and encouraging words (though his had some words I won't repeat) and we moved on. We later saw them 2 more times and they made me come play drums with them. Such a God thing, as these places were so far removed from each other and random that we even passed. We finally made it to the park, after seeing such wonderful acts throughout this Creative Arts city: Accordians, Banjo, Violin, Australian Juggler on a 9 foot tall unicycle, and amazing guitarists. There was a large fountain in the center of the park where we made our home. I began to just play simple chords, no singing, and some people came and sat near to listen. One woman and what was probably a 1 year old boy walked by but the boy stopped, stared, and then began to dance. It was probably the cutest thing ever...we have video! They are from Dublin, she later said it was the first time they have been in the park that the boy had sat still (technically he was standing and dancing) but she thanked us and we had a good talk. Several others began to come around until a pretty decent crowd gathered...which of course brought the police to break it up and ask us to leave. They were very nice about it though, I'll give them that. More of the same on the way back to the Apt and even later in the evening. It was such a beautiful day but seeing God use us made it the most beautiful day yet on this trip. Thanks for your prayers! We are taking a train to the coast this morning to see what God will do in us and to see some amazing sights. Sorry for the long note but as you might be able to tell, I'm on cloud nine! In Christ, Rubicon!!

Day 1 and 2 Dublin!

Can't believe we are already finishing day 2 of Dublin. Yesterday was a gorgeous day here. Very warm and sunny. We toured a huge part of the city, just walking everywhere of course. The missionaries have not driven here since they moved over a year ago. No need everything is within walking distance or they have good public transportation. So we walked around getting familiar with the city and seeing where the places of ministry could take place. After hours of walking around the girls headed back with Laura, the missionaries wife, to the Apt via public transporation while Jim and I slowly made our way back on foot seeing more places and event he church they are attending/helping at: CORE Church. The CORE Church was St. Catherine's Church said to have been built in 1769. Very beautiful old building. After we got home the Pettit's had a previous engagement so as the girls rested I practiced up on the guitar. We later strolled around close to Apt, ate dinner, and went to the Market (like GreenLife) for some groceries. The Pettit's have a beautiful Apt and have been so accommodating to let us stay here. The girls have their own room with a nice large bed and bath. I am staying in the living room on a palet of cushions I made from the couches but am more than satisfied considering the arrangements I've had on other trips like this. Ha. Today we got up and after devo, practice on guitar, and breakfast we took off with Guitar in hand and ready to see what God had in store and did we... It was a thick mist almost to the point of rain but really wet regardless. We looked and it was 80% chance of the same all day, so I brought back the guitar and decided to just chance it on foot. Well other than maybe an hour, 12 hours later, it is still raining steady. So we braved it on foot and tried to seek out opportunites for conversations along the way. Got to see some wonderful sights and meet some cool people along the way. Went to St. Patrick's Cathedral (AD 1192), Christ Church Cathedral (AD 1030), Dublin Castle (AD 1204), Jonathan Swift's place (Author of Gulliver Travels and Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral at one time), and finished in Temple Bar (which is a Bar but they call a 4-square block of the city Temple Bar for some reason). We only saw one street musician the whole time, the one hour it didn't rain. We had dinner at a place that had authentic Irish music played live. They noticed "we weren't from around here" and we had fun with that. They ended with "Country Road Take Me Home", not sure if that was for our benefit or not. Haha. I had a good conversation with them after their set, offered to help them carry out their stuff. They thanked me 3 different times for the kindness and talk. I pray God shines on them in the days to come. They are playing again Thursday so I'm going to try and stop by, if just for a second to follow up with the talk. Pray for us. The weather tomorrow seems promising comparitively, 20% chance of rain. So the plan is to get up and do some ministry around town until we meet with someone from the CORE church to discuss ministry in general and how we could help each other this week and in the future. Don't know what God has after that. Will let you know. In Christ, KYLE