We have 5 more days in the UK before we come "home" to the U.S. for a few months. But before I get all sentimental on you, I think I should give you a little update on what has been happening in our last 2 weeks in Rotherham, England. Have you ever heard of Rotherham, England? Me neither...
Honestly, the last 2 weeks of outreach were the hardest for me. A lot of comfort that I take for granted (like hot showers, a bed, heat, etc.) were taken away in Rotherham. Once we arrived, they showed us where we would be staying: in the basement in the church. Without heat. On an air mattress. Ben and I actually got a good deal and slept in the flower closet! And there were a few heaters we were allowed to turn on at night, so things got a bit better in the comfort area. I also like to be clean...and the shower broke the first week we were there. I went 6 days without a shower! 6 DAYS!!! I ended up buying baby wipes the 3rd day because I was starting to feel hopless about the situation....
Now you see that people really DO suffer for Jesus in a country like England. You never know do you? Ok...now to get to the real stuff we did while we were there....
We had a crazy busy schedule and were involved in so many things that my head felt like it was spinning most of the time we were there. We did dramas that we had prepared at several different places: Salvation Army, Kids Club, Church services, etc. There were lots of testimonies and preaching, etc. Actually...I preached for the first time in my life! Growing up, this wasn't something I was familiar with but I quite enjoyed it!
A favorite outreach moment in Rotherham
My favorite thing from the outreach was a conversation I had with a new friend, Paul. We met at Shiloh ministries, a feeding ministry for the poor/homeless. Paul had been sober for 3 days when I met him, and was seriously considering going back to the drugs/alcohol because his life was looking rough. No heat or electricity in his house, no food, that sort of thing. He has several piercings and tattoos. Maybe some would have been fearful to talk to him but the moment I saw him I knew that me and my friend Andrea would be a good team to talk with him.
Lucky for us, the Lord had already been working this past week in Paul's life and speaking to him. Some others had already planted some seeds in his life. I love it when the harvest is ready! When I meet someone that desperately needs the Lord but someone else has already done the hard work. Its refreshing, isn't it? Because usually we are the ones moving rocks, pulling weeds, getting the soil ready to receive the truth. Ahhh....love it!
Paul shared his life story with us and Andrea was able to relate to him with her testimony. He sat and listened to every word, which surprised me. I really felt the Lord telling me to give him a specific verse in Galatians so I told him about it. He was really astounded. So much that he said, "Wow, I really need to read my Bible. There's some good stuff in there". Anyway, it was really encouraging and I ask you to be in prayer for Paul. We also reminded him of Paul in the Bible and his story....which he really related to!
What now?
Now we have arrived back in London for our last week before graduating from our training. Friday night is graduation night! Whoo hooo! On Monday we will be flying to Iceland and then to NJ. We decided to spend the 2 nights in the hotel near the airport in NJ to rest (yay for some points I had earned for free hotel stays! What a blessing.) If we feel up to it, we might take the train into NYC for the afternoon since Ben hasn't ever seen NYC. We will take the Amtrack train on Wednesday from NJ to VA where Ben's parents will pick us up. We'll be in VA until the end of May and hopefully coming back to the UK in June. We will be coming to Nashville March 15-24 so mark your calendars! And I get to go see my sister in Venezuala (again...thank you frequent flyer miles!) on my birthday which will be fun. We have a more concrete idea about what we will be doing but are still waiting on some things to be confirmed. We'll keep you updated....
Things you can pray about
* our friend Paul in Rotherham. Pray he stays sober and that God continues to speak to him and he realizes it is God and not just coincidence.
* clarity and confirmation on what we will be doing after our few months in the U.S.
* Safe travels on Monday to the U.S. and safe travels from NJ to VA on the train on Wednesday. We are traveling with 5 pieces of luggage and our carry on so it will be interesting...
Important announcement!
Since we are coming back to the states for a few months we will be changing our Paypal back to our personal account. This means if you give us a donation the next few months it will not be tax deductible. We'll let you know when it changes back (probably in June). SEE YOU SOON!
My favorite thing from the outreach was a conversation I had with a new friend, Paul. We met at Shiloh ministries, a feeding ministry for the poor/homeless. Paul had been sober for 3 days when I met him, and was seriously considering going back to the drugs/alcohol because his life was looking rough. No heat or electricity in his house, no food, that sort of thing. He has several piercings and tattoos. Maybe some would have been fearful to talk to him but the moment I saw him I knew that me and my friend Andrea would be a good team to talk with him.
Lucky for us, the Lord had already been working this past week in Paul's life and speaking to him. Some others had already planted some seeds in his life. I love it when the harvest is ready! When I meet someone that desperately needs the Lord but someone else has already done the hard work. Its refreshing, isn't it? Because usually we are the ones moving rocks, pulling weeds, getting the soil ready to receive the truth. Ahhh....love it!
Paul shared his life story with us and Andrea was able to relate to him with her testimony. He sat and listened to every word, which surprised me. I really felt the Lord telling me to give him a specific verse in Galatians so I told him about it. He was really astounded. So much that he said, "Wow, I really need to read my Bible. There's some good stuff in there". Anyway, it was really encouraging and I ask you to be in prayer for Paul. We also reminded him of Paul in the Bible and his story....which he really related to!
What now?
Now we have arrived back in London for our last week before graduating from our training. Friday night is graduation night! Whoo hooo! On Monday we will be flying to Iceland and then to NJ. We decided to spend the 2 nights in the hotel near the airport in NJ to rest (yay for some points I had earned for free hotel stays! What a blessing.) If we feel up to it, we might take the train into NYC for the afternoon since Ben hasn't ever seen NYC. We will take the Amtrack train on Wednesday from NJ to VA where Ben's parents will pick us up. We'll be in VA until the end of May and hopefully coming back to the UK in June. We will be coming to Nashville March 15-24 so mark your calendars! And I get to go see my sister in Venezuala (again...thank you frequent flyer miles!) on my birthday which will be fun. We have a more concrete idea about what we will be doing but are still waiting on some things to be confirmed. We'll keep you updated....
Things you can pray about
* our friend Paul in Rotherham. Pray he stays sober and that God continues to speak to him and he realizes it is God and not just coincidence.
* clarity and confirmation on what we will be doing after our few months in the U.S.
* Safe travels on Monday to the U.S. and safe travels from NJ to VA on the train on Wednesday. We are traveling with 5 pieces of luggage and our carry on so it will be interesting...
Important announcement!
Since we are coming back to the states for a few months we will be changing our Paypal back to our personal account. This means if you give us a donation the next few months it will not be tax deductible. We'll let you know when it changes back (probably in June). SEE YOU SOON!
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