No Raven Nation Broadcast Tonight

There will be no RAVEN NATION Live Broadcast tonight as we remedy some tech problems with our server. We will be back LIVE next week with in-studio guuests: Pastor Terry Shuff and "Raven" Deb from Raven West Coast.

They are here as part of our week-long Daytona Bike Week Outreach and will be on the "air" with us as we come to you next week at 9:00 PM EDT

Blessings!

More News ot Follow

Pastor Troy

On the road to New Orleans!

We are on the road to New Orleans! If you need to reach us between now and the 22nd, you can call my cell phone at (504) 202-0939 anytime.
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Please be praying for our trip, that we will have no car troubles and God will keep all of our teams safe as they travel from around the Nation and Canada to converge on New Orleans for our 11th Annual Mardi Gras Outreach.

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We are expecting a team of over 100 Urban Missionaries who are geared-up, prayed-up and expectant for an awesome time of Harvesting of Souls for the Kingdom of God!

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So that you can pray for some specific needs: Friday will be in the Jackson Square area which is the home to the vast majority of tarot card readers, psychics, and voodoo practioners. This also serves as a hangout for many of the homeless and the traveling "gutter punks" too.

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Saturday we will be conducting an outreach to the Iberville Housing Projects in Downtown New Orleans. This is one of the few New Orleans' proper projects now open for residence and it is an epicenter of crime, drugs and violence. We will be taking the team there to minister to the many residents and their families, cook enough to feed 1,000 people and have some fun things for the children along with prizes.

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Saturday Night we will be back in the French Quarter area around St. Peter and Royal-Bourbon. This is a very, very busy party area that is also primed for harvest!

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Sunday Morning we will be at First Assembly of God with Pastor Daniel Flanigan. I will be preaching and our team will minister in song. We will then serve their body a lunch of boiled crawfish and jambalya!

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Sunday Afternoon we'll head back to the streets and stay out in the Quarter until midnight. We'll have food brought out to feed the team and the homeless as well.

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Monday we will be in the Decatur Street - River Walk areas witnessing before the HUGE-A-MUNGOUS praise rally on the moon walk amphitheatre where about 1500 Christians will gather for a "Holy Ghost Party."

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That evening we will be back in the French Quarter with team on St. Peter between Bourbon and Jackson Square.

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Tuesday many of our team will be loading up and heading home. Melanie, Kayla and I will be headed back to Daytona Beach on Wednesday after getting the camp tore down and all of the equipment loaded into the bus, van and trailer.

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We can still use your financial support for this outreach. As of this posting we are about $1200 down from what we need to cover all expenses. A dear friend from Arizona called last night and sent $1,000!! She said--"I am just being a good steward of what God has blessed me with. I love what Raven does and want to do my part to help!" Her gift took us down to the needed $2200.

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You can give through our PayPal account by clicking the 'Donate' Button on the right hand side and we can have access to the funds immediately.

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Many blessings to you and we'll keep you informed from the streets!

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Pastor Troy D. Bohn

Raven International

P.O. Box 1897

Daytona Beach, FL 32115

Our first (6) cases of Family Bibles arrived here today! These are awesome Bibles that are the “family record-type” for those that lost their homes in the recent Florida tornados. We felt that this would be something good to give to those we are ministering to in the most effected communities for a couple of reasons:

First, we know from our experience with going through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans that the Word of God is the only thing that we can truly look to for comfort and assurance during times like these.

Secondly, having had our home wiped out by flooding twice in our marriage, Melanie and I know that it is the sentimental things that it hurts to loose the most. Many families have kept family Bibles for generations to record births, deaths, weddings and special events. We are going to minister “a new beginning” to those having to start their memories over from scratch.

Thank you who were so kind to help us get these Bibles to give away to the families. We’re taking them—not only in the name of Jesus, but also with the love, prayers and generosity of people across the nation who truly care.

“Bob” from Lady Lake should also be coming tomorrow to pick up the van that we have donated to him. We spent this week getting it all ready for him! We had the oil changed, the fuel injectors cleaned and serviced, the gas tank is full, the tires are new, we washed it and shampooed the carpets and when I told him that we also had an additional $300 to complete the other needed repair—he was speechless!

You could just feel his appreciation for this and he was so grateful to everyone that was so kind to help provide his family with a vehicle to get to work, school, etc. I told him, “Brother we have just been caretakers of the van that God knew you would be needing!”

Melanie, Kayla and I will be loading up and heading to New Orleans for our annual Mardi Gras Outreach next Tuesday afternoon. Please pray that we’ll have traveling mercies and that we’ll see a great harvest of souls for the Kingdom of Heaven as our team gathers from across the nation to share the Gospel.

Your giving helps us to go and spread the Good News of Salvation and the love of Jesus to the lost, hurting, sick and wounded. Thanks for being such a blessed part of this ministry to people for Him. We still have about a dozen urban missionaries who could use some help with sponsorships for the outreach in New Orleans. The cost for each is $165 and covers all meals, lodging, local transportation, tracts, etc. for the week.


Blessings,

Pastor Troy D. Bohn

Raven Ministries International
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, Florida 32115
(386) 682-4141

Mark 4:37-39 “And there arose a great storm of wind...and they said to Him, Master, do you care if we perish? And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said... Peace, be still and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

As we watched the weather reports throughout the night last Thursday, it was like reliving our experiences from just 18 months earlier in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Someone called and asked me, “Pastor does disaster follow you or are you just following disasters?” I guess the same question could be asked of the ministry of Jesus as He always seemed to find Himself in close proximity to not only disasters, but also to hurting people.

As of this newsletter, twenty people have lost their lives as a result of the storms that swept though Central Florida. Hundreds of houses, a local church and many other buildings were literally ripped apart during this storm where there were reportedly four tornadoes on the ground.

Melanie and Kayla stand in front of what was the Lady Lake Church of God in Lady Lake, Fl

Melanie, Kayla and I immediately knew that we had to go and help in some way. With both of our vehicles experiencing mechanical problems, I told Mel, “We have AAA, and if we happen to break down, we’ll have them tow us to the disaster site.” We prayed for the van, hooked up the trailer, and headed to Wal-Mart for supplies and finished loading up about 3:30 AM before getting about four hours of sleep before heading out to Lady Lake, Florida where a local church was reportedly completely destroyed.

In Lady Lake, we distributed chainsaws, oil and extra chains to cut through the trees and debris that covered what was left of the now destroyed homes. We came up to the house above and met the owner, “Bob.” He and his wife and three children huddled in the bedroom where you see the group praying. He said he was, “Laying on top of my family and holding on to the carpet to keep them from getting sucked away. When I looked up, the room around us was gone!”

As we talked, he said that he not only lost his house, but also his livelihood. He is self-employed in heating/air repair and utilized the van that you see him standing next to for work. He added, “I told my wife after seeing our van destroyed, at least we have the other one in the filed that we can use—then we saw that it had been destroyed too.”

I told him, we will be praying that God will supply your need for a vehicle to work to support your family and to help rebuild your lives. Then as we loaded up to leave, the Holy Spirit spoke to our hearts saying, “Give him your van.” When I went and told him, he was overwhelmed as I told him that it was the Lord who heard his cry and was meeting the need. I told him that we drive the van every day, but it has a few things that need to be fixed—then the Lord spoke to us and said “Give him the money to get it fixed!” So—that is what we are doing! Praise the Lord for Bob’s new van!(Pictured Below)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.” Isaiah 61:1-2

Bill was standing on the porch of what is left of this house when I approached him. He had just been released from the hospital following his harrowing experience from the night before. He, his wife and child were gathered together in the spot marked by the arrow above when the tornado ripped their modest home from around them. The family escaped with little more than their lives as his face bore the stitched-up six inch gash delivered by the collapsing roof.

Just beyond the outside wall, a neighbors Cushman and a pickup truck with the trailer still attached where picked up and deposited on the top of his parked vehicle. We were able to give him some dry t-shirts (all of his clothes were gone) and them were able to share the Gospel and minister Jesus to him. The men (below) utilize the chainsaw that we took them to cut away the trees that covered up their home. The roof was almost entirely ripped off and the floor was buckled from end to end. It appeared to be a total loss.

(Below) Pastor Troy makes his way towards a family gathered outside of their decimated home in Lady Lake, Florida

After leaving Lady Lake, we made our way to Paisley, Florida where sixteen people lost their lives in the storm. We dropped off food for 150 and left filled propane bottles, cases or water, and drinks to a makeshift cook tent situated outside of the local fire station. While there we were able to minister to those that lost loved ones in the storm and gave them our contact information for any further ministry needs that they may have. After leaving Lady Lake, we made our way to Paisley, Florida where sixteen people lost their lives in the storm. We dropped off food for 150 and left filled propane bottles, cases or water, and drinks to a makeshift cook tent situated outside of the local fire station. While there we were able to minister to those that lost loved ones in the storm and gave them our contact information for any further ministry needs that they may have.

The Paisley/Lake Mack area suffered the most loss of life as the tornado ripped through a mobile home park which was the home to many seniors. Gordon lost his 88 year old sister, Bernice, to the storm as her trailer was destroyed while she slept.

Bryan lost his mother who had moved to Central Florida to escape the hurricanes that had wreaked havoc on Southern Florida in recent years.

One of the things that we learned having gone through the Hurricane in New Orleans is the need for pastoral ministry and counseling. Because most families lost everything, we thought it could be good to provide a new Family Bible to all the families that we can. This will allow us to also minister into their lives during this time. We can purchase large-sized Bibles like the one above for just $20.00 each. If you would like to sponsor a Bible for an affected family. Please send your gift and the number of Bibles you would like to sponsor. Also include a personal note to a family and we'll put it with the Bible(s) that you sponsor as we deliver them to the families.

“This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:8

Dear Friends, Family & Servant of the Lord Jesus,

This year has definitely started out with a “Bang!” We knew coming into 2007 that it would be a year like no other in that we would have more opportunities to see God move than ever before.
As you noticed, the newsletter was a few days getting posted this week as a result of our area being hit by several deadly tornados. Several counties had a destructive swath cut through them as many as four twisters claimed many lives and millions of dollars in property.

We were planning to travel to witness to the Super Bowl crowd in Miami this weekend, but the pressing need of the storm victims changed our plans and we instead loaded up and took off for the areas most affected by the storm.

The Holy Spirit spoke to us during our season of fasting and prayer that this year would be a year of the “Super Natural.” When you hear those things from the Lord, there is usually no way that one can ascertain what exactly that entails— until events unfold that reveal things to you. In order to see the Super-Natural, you must first find yourself in the realm of the Impossible! Anything that is possible for you and I to accomplish in the natural does not require God to allow us to flow in the super-natural. So to facilitate and effectively elevate our faith and expectancy—He will allow us to find ourselves in truly impossible situations!

Already this year we have been forced (gulp!) to function in at a whole new level of faith. It is unfortunate that we find ourselves being “forced” into anything relating to the Kingdom of God—but many times that is the only way that we’ll realize our true destiny in Him. God-sized answers are only necessary in God-sized situations. He is increasingly placing us in those types of situations that He might graduate us to a new level in Him.

Just this year (and really in the past six months leading up to this year) we have truly found ourselves operating in unchartered territories. Some might find that hard to believe because of all the places and situations that we minister in—but I knew that turning 40 would be the time when I TRULY entered the ministry that God had called me too so many years ago. Everything up to this point has really just been a time of equipping and preparation.

Just a few of the situations that have come up include:

—We are in need of a new vehicle (I always feel VERY uncomfortable using the word “new” in this situation and have utilized the term “another” vehicle in the past—but the Lord has impressed upon me that for where we go and what we do it will require something “new” and not just something with a little more life than the old one) To get my attention, He had me give Melanie’s van away to a victim of the tornados AND instructed me to either have all needed repairs done or to give the family the money to have them done! This was the car that I was going to trade in on something!

—He has instructed us to GO FURTHER than we have ever gone in 2007 (Europe, Africa, Australia, Canada, and across the USA) while our financial support seemed to disappear over the past 9 months! He has shown me that he is transitioning us from “Ministry Supporters” to “Kingdom Supporters”. The difference being the ministry supporters are those that love us and what we do verses those that are committed to rapidly expanding His Kingdom in the last days.

Some of the people may be the same, but the motivation is moving to a whole new dimension.
These are truly exciting times for the Body of Christ. Please know that we pray for all of you and believe the Lord Jesus that He would strengthen, equip and anoint you to be a World Shaker and a History Maker for His Glory!

Please keep up in prayer as we passionately seek Him and compassionately work to reach out to others for Jesus.

Blessings,

Pastor Troy

“When you see it like He saw it, you’ll do it like He did it.”

RAVEN MINISTRIES INT’L
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, Fl 32115
(386)682-4141 office
(504)202-0938 Pastor Troy
www.BigGrace.com
PastorTroy@BigGrace.com

HIGHER STANDARDS
“When the enemy shall come in like a flood,

the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”
Isaiah 59:19

In the town square of Donetsk, Ukraine stands a tall bronzed statue symbolizing this communities greatest and most decorated hero. The statue is not that of Lenin, Stalin or some other Soviet-Union era architect of Communism, but instead of a track and field athlete who “set the pole” higher for himself, a generation of vaulters, and more importantly for a people who had suffered the oppression of their occupiers for a decades.

The statue dominating the central business district of this community is that of Ukrainian-Born pole-vaulter and world-record holder, Sergei Bubka. The base of this bronze memorial sits 20 feet 1 3/4 inches off of the ground below; a number equal to the world record that he established.

This 8-time gold medal winner (including six World Championships) set and established world records 35 times during his career—most of the records that he broke were his own! Utilizing a technique that would later be called by his name, Bubka utilized world-class sprinter’s speed to attack the launch pad unlike any of his competitors.

His rivals would typically rely on “planting” their pole in the launch pad and exerting the maximum amount of force in the initial “bend” of the pole before they ever left the ground. This technique, sought to flex the pole downward and then to “ride the force” of the pole to the height of the cross bar that was set before them. While this would certainly “elevate” the vaulter above the ground—because all the energy of the vault was exerted at the initial point of contact, the vaulter could only “hope” that his momentum would somehow get him over the bar.

Bubka developed a technique that was far different that his competition and obviously produces greater results. His approach to the launch pad was lightning quick, but instead of relying on a lighter, more flexible pole—he chose a heavier pole and gripped it at a much high position than his rivals. This allowed for a couple of things:

First of all, instead of just relying upon the momentum of the initial “push” to carry him over the bar, the heavier pole allowed him to plant and then continue to generate constant momentum throughout his rise towards the cross bar.

Secondly, his higher grip would allow him to press at the last minute to achieve levels that others could only watch and see him achieve. (It obviously worked, seeing that he is the only valuter to ever clear over twenty feet).

Most Christians today prefer the first method—lighter pole (less responsibility), give all your efforts at the beginning (conversion) and hope to ride out the momentum to the end of the jump, and flexibility (compromise) but never becoming a spiritual Record-Breakers.

I believe that the Holy Spirit is calling us to pick up a heavier pole (greater responsibility to reach the world) and generate power throughout our spiritual jump so that we will not just be competitors, but VICTORS. Let’s press towards the mark of the high calling!

Pastor Troy D. Bohn– Raven Int’l

Change of plans...

TORNADOS RIP THROUGH FLORIDA
Most of the devestation was just west of us 20 minutes

The storm that ripped through Central Flordia last night was a little "too close to home" for Melanie, Kayla and I for a couple of reasons. First of all, the concentration of the damage happened just 20 minutes west of our home---secondly, the images of the destruction evoke memories of the devestation that we suffered just 1 1/2 years ago in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Tonight we are headed to WALMART to load up our van and trailer with relief supplies to carry to the families effected by the storm. We know personally how they must feel today in the wake of such sudden destruction.

I was scheduled to leave at 6:00 AM to witness outside of the stadium in Miami, Florida during the Super Bowl--but I told Melanie today, "So many came when we needed them, we have got to go where they need us." We'll spend this weekend taking food, supplies, prayers and the only comfort that truly makes a difference in these situations---prayer and the presence of the Lord.

Please pray for us: This is a VERY emotional time for us having experienced the same things ourselves and now reliving it to a certain degree. Pray that we will be strong for those who have lost everything--including their children, family members and neighbors.

Also--pray for our trip over there. We have been having some serious car troubles and are praying that the van makes it. I told Melanie, "We have AAA and if it breaks down on the way, we'll have them tow us to the disaster site." I'm serious. I believe that God will allow us to go and do what needs to get done in Jesus' name!

If you would like to help out financially, that would also be much appreciated. You can give through PAYPAL by clicking on the icon to the right and designating your gift "distaster relief." We're taking all that we have and doing as much as we can. Anything will be very appreciated.

Blessings,

Pastor Troy

"Out of the mouth of babes"