Silas Watkins - The World Race 2007

Time to take a stand!!!!

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

It's time for our generation to stand and change

the world. God can use you! Just step out and

take a leap of FAITH. Please watch this video and

pray about what God is doing in your life...

(This is a new video from Fall Out Boy. It shows

the life of a child soilder in Uganda.)

Feels like Today Part 1

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Late last night I realized something. I'm on The World Race. I know it is crazy to say that now. For the past six months I have been on the Race. I think it takes a while to let it sink in. Some people (like me) like to take their sweet time realizing some of these things. I think if you do anything for six months it is bound to change you. Not always drastically, but still it will help to form you nonetheless. I want to tell you what has happened in my life and my heart in the first six months of the race.

First and foremost, I have learned that God is Good. If you had been here with me, you would know that that's kind of my go to motto. I say it quite frequently. Sounds like something that should be a given to anyone who is a Christian. It's just that being out here, seeing the things we see, living this life, I don't feel like it is said enough.

Living in Community, Living in Community, Living in Community. What a crazy thing. 22 Girls-4 guys. Who would have thought an only child from East Tennessee would some day live with 25 people. The thing about living with 25 people is you live with 25 people. Morning people, night people, talkative, quiet, really really really clean and messy (I'm not only a member but also the president). 26 different personalities, all receiving love differently. We all have different pasts and all of our experiences in life are different. However, the one thing that brought us into this community is all the same. The Good God that I was talking about before. He called us to a life that is different. A life where we are constantly being stretched. A life where you have no choice but to love. Love those 25 other people because you begin to see that when you strip away all the externals, all the things that in the end really don't matter, talkative, shy, morning, night, clean or messy, you see Christ. Christ in them. Changing who they were into whom they were made to be.

What is MANISTRY really????

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Tell you some things about MANISTRY!

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Sorry I tried to put text with the video but it didn't work. MANISTRY is dangerous, rugged and untapped. Very scary and few guys are up to the challenge. So please put the little ones to sleep, sit down, but on your seat belt and enjoy the ride.

Thank you so much!!!!!

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I just wanted to say thank you. It is amazing how God can use people to really bless you from across the Atlantic Ocean. In the past week I have been able to raise $2,500.

I have one more prayer request. One of my friends on the race in need of support, immediately. If she does not have $1,500 in her account by the time we touch down in Asia she will have to go home. Please read her blogs and keep her and her finances in your prayers.

Thank you again so much.

Mrs. Cobb, Elvis has not left the building

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

It's amazing how good God really is. I know that it is so easy to say that God is in control of everything but it is another thing to truly believe it with your heart. Here is one story about how God is using this race to help me to truly learn that I have to walk by faith.

We have been staying in a little town in Botswana called Maun. It is a very touristy city that has a lot of people fly in and out of it, because it is close to the delta and all the good safaris. We were having a team day and the girls and I decided to have lunch, look around the city, and go to a local American restaurant and have some dessert. Lunch was great, but if you have ever been on a long mission trip you know that it's all about the dessert. After the apple crumble I knew it was time for shopping with the girls. Like it usually does, shopping really wore me out. So I told the rest of my team that I was going to leave a little early to go home and take a nap. Seeing as I don't have a car, I could not just go home, I had to catch a ride on a Combey or take a taxi. What I didn't know was that I was really close to the place where everyone is picked up and dropped off so catching a ride was impossible. EVERYTHING WAS FULL!

So I started walking. I tried to flag down everything that drove by, public transport or not. I got lucky after I had been walking for about 20 minutes; someone said they would take me 2 KM up the road. I was excited because I thought that I would almost be home. Boy was I wrong. So he gave me the ride and dropped me off, and I still had a very long haul in front of me.

So I started walking. I walked about 1 more KM and I noticed that it seemed like I had a new friend next to me. (One thing that I am learning on this race is that our God puts people in your path, so speak up!) So I said hello. He told me his name was Elvis. The King? No not quite, but a great walking partner. We talked about Botswana, soccer and our Faith. He told me that he was heading to a hotel about 2 KM away to watch a soccer game and wanted to see if I wanted to come.

So we started walking. It's amazing how God can use your childhood sport as a bridge to talk about your faith. He told about his favorite team, I asked if he knew Jesus. He said he was a goalkeeper; I wanted to know if we went to church. By the time we made it to the hotel I felt like we were pretty good friends. We walked into the hotel, ordered a Coke and sat down. Elvis had bad news though; the game was not on because the hotels satellite was broken. So we finished our Coke, exchanged numbers, and I invited him to church on Sunday. I had found out earlier that he didn't have a lot of friends in town or a local church.

So once again I started walking. I was almost home by now. I could see the sign for the road we were staying on off in the far distance. So I figured why not just try to catch a ride for the rest of the way home. WHAT LUCK! I waved down the first car that passed me. We made small talk and I asked her how far away we were from town. She told me about 8 KM 4.5-5 miles. I thanked her and went back home to the rest of my team who had been home for about an hour waiting for me.

So I started walking, by faith. That means lifting those who God puts in my heart, loved ones, old and new friends, up in prayer. Praying that my friends will truly know the God that I serve, and praying that Elvis would come to church on Sunday. Praying that blind eyes will finally see the light.

It's amazing the God that we have. When you pray for the blind, they see. Elvis came to church! LADIES AND GENTELMEN ELVIS HAS NOT LEFT THE BUILDING!

One week left in Africa!!!!!

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

One week left!!! The world race teams are about to embark on the second part of our race in South East Asia in about a week. I am so excited to see what God has planned for us all once we arrive on the new soil. I have a few huge prayer requests that I want to ask all the people who read my blog to join me in. I am currently $8,000 short of my goal to finish the race. I pray that the money for that will come. I also am praying for the $1,500 I need in the next week to stay on the race to be provided. If you can keep me and my prayers in your prayers that would be a huge blessing. Thank you and God Bless.

Can anyone hook a brother up!

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I am just writing to tell everyone that is reading my blogs thank you so much for following me and supporting me along the way. I have been blessed to have the chance to be a part of so many amazing ministries. God is really teaching me that you can be Jesus any where you go, all you have to be willing to do is listen to his voice. I would love to be able to stay on this journey, and see where God will take me in the next eight months. Currently I have 5,000 dollars in my account. In order to finish the race I need 8,000 more dollars. I trust that God will finish the work that he has started in my life. I am willing and always listening to hear where his voice will call me. I love you all and God bless you.

Another day in the neighborhood!

Thu, 9 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Sorry that it has been so long since my last update. I will give a cliff notes version of what we have been up to. We spent the two weeks after my last blog working at VBS camp. It was amazing; we had the chance to work at two different schools. The first one was at a wealthy school right next to where we were staying. The kids were great. They spoke great English and you could tell that they had a seed in there heart for God. After the first week we were told that we were going to go to another school about an hour away. I was excited because that meant I had the chance to have some nappy time on the way there and back. I was mistaken, because a few days before the camp was going to start someone asked me if I had ever driven on the other side of the road. I said no. Then they asked if I new how to drive a stick. I had that one. So I signed up to be the driver for my team. It was a fun experience. Have you ever thought about this? America invited the car and the interstate system and everyone else in the world drives on the other side of the road. What's up with that? Ok back to camp. The next week was amazing. This time the kids did not speaking English at all and they knew very little about our savior. I felt like that really gave God the chance for God to break my heart for the people in that community. Even though I was not able to talk to the kids the way that I would have wanted to, I feel like God was able to use me to help them to really know who Jesus was. I prayed, played, and tried my best to just get to know them. After the camp was over I felt like the last week was the most rewarding. Even though there was less communication with that group than the others.

It amazing how much God has changed me in the first two months. I have been able to drive on the wrong side of the road, eat wild warthog, play soccer with kids at eight in the morning, and preach the gospel of Jesus without saying a word. Thanks to everyone who helped with the camps. They were amazing and I was so blessed that I had the chance to help out with them. What an amazing God that we have. I get to wake up every day and do his work and feel like I am truly following the dreams that he put in my heart. My prayer is that the world gets set on fire for who He truly is and seeks Him through any circumstance.

Feels like home

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I have felt so blessed to be a part of this ministry. Every second that I spend in Africa it feels more and more like home. I can't wait to see how God is going to wreck my heart for the people around the world over the next year. Here are a few pictures that can help to explain what I have been up to for the past month.

T.I.A.

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

So this is South Africa. What a great adventure. We left Swaziland at 10 Am. It was supposed to be a four hour drive to our new location. Four and a half hours later we were about half way there. Fun Fun. It was a great bus ride. I got to have quality time with some of my new teammates.

When we arrived I was so happy to hear that the guys were going to be able to sleep in beds. For the past two weeks my tent and I have really become acquainted. I named her Susie. When we woke up in the morning I felt so blessed. A great night's sleep, a prayer session, and kids playing soccer everywhere. We got right to work after breakfast, cleaning out rooms and helping them cut down bamboo for a fence. We were finished with our work by four and then it was time for fellowship. I know that this is just a short explanation of my day but I had to tell you that to tell you this. I feel like I am truly falling in love with this place. The sights are amazing, I love the culture, and everywhere you go you can find a smiling face that is happy to say sombona (hello).

Please keep me and this place in your prayers. I will be posting new blogs with tons of pictures very soon. I love you all!

P.S. Watch The invisible children on utube. It's a little long but worth it. Educate yourself on Africa!!!!!!

U turn!

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The first day on the trip of my life. It was a great one! Long stay at the airport. Huge bag on my back, and airline that said that we were not going anywhere but home (AIM headcounters). What a blessing, it gave me a chance to let the nerves that were killing me just fester some more.

The amazing thing about God is that he has perfect timing. It seems that he is never late. I am just sometimes really early. In the stillness of the day after we were suppose to leave I had a great opportunity for quiet time. It's been a crazy couple of days so it was a great chance to catch up with my Lord and Savior.

While praying and reading I started to think about not having a home, to be starving and have no place to lay my head, to be DISPLACED, hungry and uncomfortable. Can that happen? Does that still happen? We put men on the moon and have self winding watches, surely not in the 21st century. Not in the XBOX, yoga, mp3 player world that I live in. My prayer for this trip in not to see what is happening in the world and be saddened by it, but it is to be transformed. I no longer want to be Silas the boy who walks down the path of life. I want to become Silas the man who runs by faith in Jesus Christ.

Silas Watkins' bio

Sat, 20 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Here goes! I am an only child who grew up in K-Town, Knoxville TN. I live
with my roommate who has a dog named Sam and a cat named Payton "Go Vols".
I have amazing parents when it comes to me following what God has in store for me. 100% support. I go to The University of Tennessee and only have 21 more hours until I am free.

I grew up in a house that went to church but I didn't follow the Lord with my whole heart until I was in High school. It was my Young Life leader BT that helped me to see the love that God had always had for me. I guess you could say that I was or am a Young Life kid. I had the chance to travel to Colorado Springs CO to serve as a Work Crew member at Frontier Ranch a Young Life camp. That was an amazing experience that opened my eyes to missions.
In the years to come I had the chance to travel to two different parts of Venezuela.

Hobbies I have a few. I grew up playing soccer. Played in Elementary,
middle high, and college I guess you could say that it's in my blood.
Other than that I am your average 23 year old. I love to hang out with my friends play video games, go for long walks on the beach, Ahhh never mind about that last one.

I am really excited to be a part of this body of believers. I can't wait to see the amazing things that God has in store for all of us over the next year and a half. I pray that his will be done in all of us and when he calls our names we have the heart to hear and serve him.