Asbury Update From Spring, Summer, to Fall Taylor M. Pool
HEY ASBURY, I'm not for sure what you have heard from me last. But I will now give you a brief overview of what I've done this spring and summer and what I'm heading into the fall.
First of all, my mission statement is : "To disciple all people from any culture or background with their relationship with God, and to train people how to combine arts and missions by bringing the Kingdom through their talents, giftings, intentional community, and discipleship." My focus is on Europe and occasionally in the year I go to Africa. I am still a part of YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and inside YWAM I'm full time working with an inner ministry called Pick ministry.
A Pocket.
I’m also full time pursuing photography and using that as a part of my
Roma/Gypsy family outside their house. Photo taken in Sighisoara, Romania, April 2012 / Medium Format Film.
In April, a small team within Pick A Pocket went to Eastern Europe on a faith trip. We felt like God asked us to go to Eastern Europe because He was wanting to show us new ministries to start within our base. We felt led to go to Slovenia, Croatia, and Romania. The people groups we were specifically feeling to minister to were artists/punks in Slovenia, the church in Croatia, and the gypsies in Romania. We called this a faith trip because we had no contacts in any country, not enough money for us to do this trip, and no housing set up in each city we were visiting. We really wanted to see God provide everything, and in our two weeks of traveling and praying over cities and into new future ministries, God did provide for every single meal, night w/ housing, and new contacts/friends.
In June I went out for one month across the east coast of the US with a band named Liz and the Lions. I am the band manager for Liz and the Lions and serve them logistically with booking tours and with communication/ online promotion. Liz and the Lions is a missionary band based out of YWAM Herrnhut and Pick A Pocket. They use their music to raise awareness of extreme poverty, ministries that we've started in Africa, and to challenge people in our generation to do something with their talents and passions to bless others around them. In this one month tour from PA, TN, NC, SC, GA, and FL, we saw the Holy Spirit move among the people at our shows. We were able to share openly who and what we believe in, prayer over people for healing/new dreams/ open doors w/ their passions, etc. We were able to raise over $1,300 for our longterm Ethiopia project called The Koshe Project on this tour, and we also called 3 people into missions! www.facebook.com/lizandthelions
Roma Teenagers , Sighisoara, Romania, April 2012
In July, Pick A Pocket went to London for the 2012 Olympics.
We were in England for one month to connect with other YWAM ministries and partner with them as we worked in London together. During this time Pick A Pocket was able to have their artwork in 6 different galleries in London for 2.5 weeks during the Olympics, and Liz and the Lions had 1 or 2 concerts per day in different locations for 2.5 weeks. We saw God use our art and music to bring challenging conversations with others who visited our galleries and concerts. Mostly we connected with so many other ministries across the globe to partner with them in the future. I personally had an art gallery showing for 2.5 weeks in downtown London.Â
Now this fall I am planning another trip to go back to Romania in November with a small team. I want to revisit a gypsy village I went to in April and take as many family portraits as possible to bless the families there. The gypsy families rarely ever get a chance to have their family portrait taken cause they do not have enough money and it's not guaranteed that some of their children will live past the age of 10. I want to spend 1.5-2 weeks in Sighisoara, Romania. In October Liz and the Lions and Pick A Pocket was invited to go to Shanghai, China for a gallery opening. There's an American missionary there in Shanghai and God called him to start a gallery, but he had no artwork to have in this new gallery of his. God led him to our Pick A Pocket website and now he has invited our team to come over and show our artwork at the opening of his gallery. Then in December I will head back home to Wichita, KS with my girlfriend for 2.5 weeks.
Metelkova District, Ljubljana, Slovenia, April 2012
I will continue to travel around the world with Pick A Pocket as we share the Gospel through our art, raise awareness of extreme poverty, and help others become passionate about Jesus. Right now we are expanding in our ministry by starting a new cafe in our hometown of Herrnhut, Germany to reach out to the community and share Gods love to those passing through. Thank you so much for your partnership the past 4 years. It’s been an incredible blessing to have Asbury Church praying and supporting me financially. I hope for continual support from you and excited to see where God will take us. Taylor M. Pool www.piratepool.com piratepool@gmail.com
www.piratepool.com www.pickapocket.net www.ywamherrnhut.com