Okay...So I actually started to write this blog last week but didn't get a chance to finish before I left on the youth mission. So this was actually two weekends ago. I will post more about the mission, soon. It was amazing. Pictures are hopefully coming, too.
Well, it's been another amazing couple of weeks in London! The Lord continues to show up and I am continually blessed by the power of what he can do when he moves! This last weekend I went on the LIFE weekend away. LIFE is the name of the group for the older kids attending Christ Church. It ended up being a weekend where we had four kids and five adults. It was absolutely crazy. The world would say that it would be pointless to take four kids away for a weekend. That's not a youth group. I am learning so much about how the world focuses on numbers and the Lord focuses on lives changed.
Four was the absolute perfect number for the weekend. This was a weekend about establishing relationships between the youth and the leaders. The crazy thing was that, not only were there only four kids, but they were all boys! I am actually really starting to enjoy being a part of these young men's lives. It was a really powerful weekend. We played lots of fun games. We had a teaching time on worship and even did some prophetic worship together. We were in Margate which is in the southeastern part of England (I think). We were right on the water. It was beautiful; a bit cloudy, but we never really got rained on. The boys were so fun. The great part was watching them come together as a team. These are not boys who normally hang out with each other, so it was fun to see them start to go deeper in friendships. The thing I love about God is he is all about relationship. He longs for us to not only have an amazing relationship with Him, but he loves for us to have deep relationships with others, too. The other great thing about this weekend was the fact that I got to know the leaders better. I am really enjoying getting to know Rachel, Andrew's wife, and Jo, another female leader. I feel like there was good male bonding going on with the boys and the leaders and that we, women, also had a chance to really get to know each other. I am excited about having deeper friendships with these people.
The highlight of the weekend was definitely Saturday afternoon. We had a time of prophetic worship. It was incredible. It almost felt like I was at home with all my good friends worshiping and praying to the Lord. I am amazed that the Lord is using me to teach about intercession and prayer, but I am blown away by the fact that he is also using me to teach about incorporating worship into all of this, too. It blows my mind that this thing that is so fresh and new to me is something that I am now helping to share with the other side of the world. The Lord has been revealing that having this knowledge come from me is good because it's a good reminder that you don't have to be an amazing musician or singer in order to take part in prophetic worship because I am not super at either of those things. Two of the boys we took along with us are incredible musicians and so they were really into it. They did a great job! After a little fear was broken, these young men went deep after the Lord. One young lad does not think of himself as musical (although he actually can sing), but the Lord used him to bring in a powerful piece of scripture to enhance the time. When he spoke out this scripture was really when the worship began to go deeper. It was amazing. Please be praying for these young people as we begin to dive deeper into prayer and worship. I know that the Lord has an even deeper level that He wants to take them. This prophetic worship time has led to other stuff, too, which I will mention when I talk about the mission trip that I just got back from.
Again, I am reminded that the Lord is good. I am really enjoying being a part of firmly establishing the LIFE team. These are a great group of young people and the Lord is using them powerfully. This weekend was just another step in growing in unity and trust and ripping down any barriers that they may have up. It was quite a joy to spend my time with them. I am so excited for the next few months to really get to know these young people, as well as the leadership team! I feel very blessed to be exactly where I am right now!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Another Week in London
Well, the last week has been very busy. I have been up to the Cotswolds – a totally beautiful part of England. I was there for two days in a small town called Broadway. It was little and quaint. When you think of stereotypical England, this is the place that you think of! It’s absolutely perfect. I got to go on a ministry trip with Stuart Lees, the vicar of Christ Church, and four other people. Stuart taught on freedom principles and then we had a chance to pray for people. We did DNA and strongholds. DNA is so much fun! I love it! It was for a group of ten vicars from the Birmingham area. These pastors were from all different denominations – we had Anglican, Pentecostal and Baptist preachers meeting together. It was such an amazing picture of God’s heart for unity in the church. These men, although they may not agree on the nitty-gritty issues of faith such as infant baptism verse adult baptism, still loved each other and they love the Lord. It was such a pleasure to meet them. It gives me hope for the unity that God has planned for his Bride! They were so nice to the young American girl who came to pray for them. Most of these men had daughters my age. Their humility was astounding. It was also so fun to travel with Stuart and get to know him better. He is such an amazing man of faith!
Youth stuff has been really good. I feel like I am totally surrounded by boys! It’s so funny – I know all of you out there who know me well are laughing at the humor of the Lord. There are a few girls that I am connecting with, but it seems that most of the youth meetings are predominantly boys. It’s a little frustrating, and definitely stretching. Life, the group of older church kids, was all boys last week. Their hearts are so incredible. We spent time in worship, and it is such a rare thing to see 15, 16, 17 year old boys, passionately, on their faces worshiping the Lord. They were even worshiping to some of the songs that Misty has written! It blessed me tons. I am also learning so much about the power of worshipping to CD’s. I think it always just feels like it should be the guy, leading on the guitar up front. But, wow, does the Lord meet you in worship, even when it’s just you, a bunch of kids, and a CD player!! I love it! This weekend we are taking these kids to a beach town called Margate. Please pray for even more radical intimacy with Jesus! Sanctuary, the inner city youth ministry, has been proving to be tough. They just moved, and the kids are not handling the new space super well. They are pressing the limits! They remind me so much of my students. It’s been fun to watch the team learn to set boundaries and keep them, even if it means sending all the kids home early. Week one was rough, week two was better, they lasted longer, but still had to be sent home. Still, I love them. I love the fact that they are real. They hold nothing back and express everything exactly as it is! If they don’t like something or they don’t like you, they express it! If they like something, or they like you, they are also quick to let you know! I love it! The group where I often feel most comfortable (not always the best) is the Oxygen kids, probably just because of their ages. They are 10 to 13. I love it. They are sooo sweet. They run in the door and want to give you hugs. They are eager to tell you about their weeks and they just love each other. They are all so sweet!!! How refreshing they are!
I have also spent much of the last week with Isabel, the little girl I am living with. Her mom hasn’t’ been feeling well, and so I have had the opportunity it play with Isabel. We have gone to the park, I have been walking her to nursery and we have played many different games. It’s such a joy to be able to serve the family in this way. Building work has also started on the house. It’s a little chaotic, but things seem to be going well so far. A highlight of this week was Lunch with Christy, Rory and Anna on Sunday. It was so refreshing. Rory and Anna even prayed for us, which was great! So, that’s all the news about this side of the world. I hope that everything is going well! I miss and love you all!
Youth stuff has been really good. I feel like I am totally surrounded by boys! It’s so funny – I know all of you out there who know me well are laughing at the humor of the Lord. There are a few girls that I am connecting with, but it seems that most of the youth meetings are predominantly boys. It’s a little frustrating, and definitely stretching. Life, the group of older church kids, was all boys last week. Their hearts are so incredible. We spent time in worship, and it is such a rare thing to see 15, 16, 17 year old boys, passionately, on their faces worshiping the Lord. They were even worshiping to some of the songs that Misty has written! It blessed me tons. I am also learning so much about the power of worshipping to CD’s. I think it always just feels like it should be the guy, leading on the guitar up front. But, wow, does the Lord meet you in worship, even when it’s just you, a bunch of kids, and a CD player!! I love it! This weekend we are taking these kids to a beach town called Margate. Please pray for even more radical intimacy with Jesus! Sanctuary, the inner city youth ministry, has been proving to be tough. They just moved, and the kids are not handling the new space super well. They are pressing the limits! They remind me so much of my students. It’s been fun to watch the team learn to set boundaries and keep them, even if it means sending all the kids home early. Week one was rough, week two was better, they lasted longer, but still had to be sent home. Still, I love them. I love the fact that they are real. They hold nothing back and express everything exactly as it is! If they don’t like something or they don’t like you, they express it! If they like something, or they like you, they are also quick to let you know! I love it! The group where I often feel most comfortable (not always the best) is the Oxygen kids, probably just because of their ages. They are 10 to 13. I love it. They are sooo sweet. They run in the door and want to give you hugs. They are eager to tell you about their weeks and they just love each other. They are all so sweet!!! How refreshing they are!
I have also spent much of the last week with Isabel, the little girl I am living with. Her mom hasn’t’ been feeling well, and so I have had the opportunity it play with Isabel. We have gone to the park, I have been walking her to nursery and we have played many different games. It’s such a joy to be able to serve the family in this way. Building work has also started on the house. It’s a little chaotic, but things seem to be going well so far. A highlight of this week was Lunch with Christy, Rory and Anna on Sunday. It was so refreshing. Rory and Anna even prayed for us, which was great! So, that’s all the news about this side of the world. I hope that everything is going well! I miss and love you all!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Power of Prayer
“If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.”
2 Chronicles 7:14-16
The power of prayer is something that I have known in my head for so long, but after two weeks in London, I see that my faith is so incredibly small. In my religion, I have made so many things so complicated. They really are quite simple. When we have faith to step out and believe that God is good, he shows up! The people at Christ Church have blessed me during the past week with their simplicity and their compassion. Sometimes our prayers are so methodical; we pray like a “well oiled machine”, yet sometimes I think that in my machine mindset I lose track of the person sitting in front of me. This week has been about rekindling my passion for people. The people at Christ Church have such gentle natures and loving touches. When I heard about thirty minute to two hour prayer times, I thought, “Why haven’t they sped things up. Where’s the efficiency?” Wow, how quickly criticalness steps into my life. After receiving prayer from a team at Christ Church, I see it is not that they are wasting time; it’s that they are taking time to truly love people. I am quite convicted. My life has been so changed by a simple touch of Jesus! They are a people of great faith who are experiencing miracles in their midst simple because they believe that their God will come through and because they have experienced his love and know His heart for His people.
This week has been a week of learning greater humility and learning to keep going even when I am really tired. I feel like I have had many late evenings. I have had the opportunity to get to know so many kids. This weekend I got to see the power of intercession and how answered prayers can come forth in the immediate. He longs to heal the land. On Saturday we had a KICK Day. This is a form of outreach to the community. We played football (soccer – I am working on my British terminology). It was in Sand’s End, and it was to a group of completely unchurched youth. They were fresh and real. They spoke their minds even when it wasn’t super pleasant to hear. I fell in love with them instantly. We spent a significant amount of time in prayer prior to the day, and it was cool to see every word the Lord spoke come into fruition. Kids were changed! I was the “Craft Lady”. This is sort of funny because I am not super crafty. Still, I had the opportunity to touch many girls. There were a few in particular who kept coming back to do art. We spent most of the day talking. The first things out of these girl’s mouths were, “Do you believe in God? I don’t! I hate God. I don’t believe in your God!” Still these girls stuck around all day long. It was amazing. There was a little boy who didn’t want to play football either, so he was sort of my little helper. He was ten and his heart was still pretty soft. (As usually, there’s always one that I want to take home with me, Jonny was the one that I wanted to bring home from this event! I can only hope to run into him again!) The kids made fun of my accent, and we bonded over our strange words. The amazing thing was that after football, they came for the meal that evening and all the kids that I had spent my day with received prayer. What joy to be able to begin to tell these kids a piece of their DNA (How Jesus created them). The Lord lavished truth upon these angry kids and we began to see them soften. Almost all the young boys who had come for the evening (about twenty of them) received prayer. They all left with little pieces of paper and a whole lot more joy. It was such an incredible day. The Lord was good to show up and touch lives. Most of the kids were new and we hope to see them all at Sanctuary (the church created for Sand’s End youth) next week. To those intercessors reading this, I would ask that you prayer for my new friends! They can each use a touch from God.
The Lord is teaching me so much about the power of yes and the power of simply blessing people. I never knew that binding books for a Living Free Class could be fun, but when a good friend is sick and you get to help her out for the day, it brings joy. It’s fun to ask questions and see people light up as you begin taking interest in them. I have learned a lot this week about my own self-preoccupation and how much I really think about myself. I just want to have my eyes on Christ. I am so excited for this next week. The Lord keeps teaching me more and more! It’s such a joy. My goal for this week is to find an intercession group to join and to meet up with some kids outside of youth times.
Here’s some personal, yet random facts about my time so far: Having no internet access is hard, but I am learning that my addiction to the internet is probably not healthy. I have been learning to find other ways to amuse myself. Having no car has made me become much more dependent upon the grace of others. The Lord always seems to provide a ride late at night without me even having to ask. What a blessings. It’s also amazing how much you can do in London without a vehicle. Having no cell phone has also been a little difficult, but I am managing and believing that the Lord will take care of each call that needs to be made and provide me with ways to make each one. So, things are definitely different. Sometimes it’s a bit lonely, but I am learning more about how much the Lord’s presence is real and how I am never alone. He meets me daily. Christy is also a huge blessing. What a joy to have a friend and fellow adventurer! I pray you are all well! I miss you like crazy! Lots of Love from London!
2 Chronicles 7:14-16
The power of prayer is something that I have known in my head for so long, but after two weeks in London, I see that my faith is so incredibly small. In my religion, I have made so many things so complicated. They really are quite simple. When we have faith to step out and believe that God is good, he shows up! The people at Christ Church have blessed me during the past week with their simplicity and their compassion. Sometimes our prayers are so methodical; we pray like a “well oiled machine”, yet sometimes I think that in my machine mindset I lose track of the person sitting in front of me. This week has been about rekindling my passion for people. The people at Christ Church have such gentle natures and loving touches. When I heard about thirty minute to two hour prayer times, I thought, “Why haven’t they sped things up. Where’s the efficiency?” Wow, how quickly criticalness steps into my life. After receiving prayer from a team at Christ Church, I see it is not that they are wasting time; it’s that they are taking time to truly love people. I am quite convicted. My life has been so changed by a simple touch of Jesus! They are a people of great faith who are experiencing miracles in their midst simple because they believe that their God will come through and because they have experienced his love and know His heart for His people.
This week has been a week of learning greater humility and learning to keep going even when I am really tired. I feel like I have had many late evenings. I have had the opportunity to get to know so many kids. This weekend I got to see the power of intercession and how answered prayers can come forth in the immediate. He longs to heal the land. On Saturday we had a KICK Day. This is a form of outreach to the community. We played football (soccer – I am working on my British terminology). It was in Sand’s End, and it was to a group of completely unchurched youth. They were fresh and real. They spoke their minds even when it wasn’t super pleasant to hear. I fell in love with them instantly. We spent a significant amount of time in prayer prior to the day, and it was cool to see every word the Lord spoke come into fruition. Kids were changed! I was the “Craft Lady”. This is sort of funny because I am not super crafty. Still, I had the opportunity to touch many girls. There were a few in particular who kept coming back to do art. We spent most of the day talking. The first things out of these girl’s mouths were, “Do you believe in God? I don’t! I hate God. I don’t believe in your God!” Still these girls stuck around all day long. It was amazing. There was a little boy who didn’t want to play football either, so he was sort of my little helper. He was ten and his heart was still pretty soft. (As usually, there’s always one that I want to take home with me, Jonny was the one that I wanted to bring home from this event! I can only hope to run into him again!) The kids made fun of my accent, and we bonded over our strange words. The amazing thing was that after football, they came for the meal that evening and all the kids that I had spent my day with received prayer. What joy to be able to begin to tell these kids a piece of their DNA (How Jesus created them). The Lord lavished truth upon these angry kids and we began to see them soften. Almost all the young boys who had come for the evening (about twenty of them) received prayer. They all left with little pieces of paper and a whole lot more joy. It was such an incredible day. The Lord was good to show up and touch lives. Most of the kids were new and we hope to see them all at Sanctuary (the church created for Sand’s End youth) next week. To those intercessors reading this, I would ask that you prayer for my new friends! They can each use a touch from God.
The Lord is teaching me so much about the power of yes and the power of simply blessing people. I never knew that binding books for a Living Free Class could be fun, but when a good friend is sick and you get to help her out for the day, it brings joy. It’s fun to ask questions and see people light up as you begin taking interest in them. I have learned a lot this week about my own self-preoccupation and how much I really think about myself. I just want to have my eyes on Christ. I am so excited for this next week. The Lord keeps teaching me more and more! It’s such a joy. My goal for this week is to find an intercession group to join and to meet up with some kids outside of youth times.
Here’s some personal, yet random facts about my time so far: Having no internet access is hard, but I am learning that my addiction to the internet is probably not healthy. I have been learning to find other ways to amuse myself. Having no car has made me become much more dependent upon the grace of others. The Lord always seems to provide a ride late at night without me even having to ask. What a blessings. It’s also amazing how much you can do in London without a vehicle. Having no cell phone has also been a little difficult, but I am managing and believing that the Lord will take care of each call that needs to be made and provide me with ways to make each one. So, things are definitely different. Sometimes it’s a bit lonely, but I am learning more about how much the Lord’s presence is real and how I am never alone. He meets me daily. Christy is also a huge blessing. What a joy to have a friend and fellow adventurer! I pray you are all well! I miss you like crazy! Lots of Love from London!
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