Endings

Yesterday was the last day the team did an assembly at a Primary School.  School just got out today for their Summer (what they call "Holiday").  It's sad knowing we're not going back.  It has been a great time to come up with neat stories that kids will love and tie in something that is very applicable to their lives.  I know I'll miss those times.

The neat portion of yesterday was before our we did our little "skit" in front of the kids.  There was a man who came in and talked to the kids before us.  He was one of the Olympic torch runners for this year.  When the torch was taken through Scotland He was one of the people who was allowed to run it!  He brought the torch with him and allowed all the kids to look and touch it.  Then...he let the interns hold it!  I got to hold one of the Olympic torches. 

Once in a life-time opportunity?  Yep.  So cool!  I would have taken a picture with it, but didn't have a camera on me since we're not supposed to take pictures of the kids.  It was wonderful and I'm so thankful to have been able to experience it!

Unstoppable

On Sunday, the team went to a mass communion service in a town hall.  Congregations from all around came together for worship (there were probably about 200 people there).  The service was so refreshing and encouraging to me (I was feeling pretty lousy that day) and I was so needing to hear the sermon preached, and to be able to partake of the elements.  God really knew what I was needing that day.

Our mentor preached the sermon that night on the parable of the great banquet as found in Luke 14:12-24.  The sermon was great.  Two things stood out to me and convicted me.  

First, is the phrase "Be for the world." As Christians we're called to be in the world, but not of it.  Often-times we have this idea that if we're living differently in the world, then we're all good.  But the reality is, we should be fighting for the world.  Fighting for the truth of God to be the standard and for the world to believe in our Savior.  We aren't to be apathetic.  We are not to be unconcerned with the fate of the neighbor two doors down from us or for the young girl involved with sex-trafficking in Thailand.  We are called to care and to love.  I'm more convinced of that fact every single day.

The other point that was incredible to me was this:  God is unstoppable in chasing/coming after people. He wants us to be in His fold so badly that He throws His own Song out and allows Him to die so that we can enter in to His fold.  God chases after people.  He wants to love more and more people.  That is incredibly profound, and deserving of an immense amount of thought.  

Our God wants us.  

Refreshment

Inverness was a good thing for the team.  It definitely wasn't easy.  In fact, it was probably one of the more difficult times for us.  But it needed to happen.  We needed to have these certain things come to a culmination point so that we would actually be forced to sit down and talk through things.  It was good and healthy.  Not easy, but necessary.

The best portion of our holiday in Inverness was Wednesday afternoon.  The two other teams from Scotland met up with us for a couple hours.  "Woo...big deal," I'm sure many of you are thinking.  Really though, it was a big deal.  I needed that time.  The three other girls on my team needed that time.  The guy on our team desperately needed that time with the two guys from one of the other teams.

We needed refreshment.  Desperately.  The teams for the two other cites were all friends we had made at pre-field, which is why we were all so excited to see one another.  It was such a blessing to see familiar faces, who we genuinely love, and sit and talk for a while.  We didn't have to share our life story, or tell more and more about ourselves (which is a good thing, it's so important, and I'm so thankful for it, but it is exhausting).  We just sat and talked, like fairly normal people.  Blessing.

Refreshment.

A blessing from God at the perfect time.

Sick

We're in Inverness, Scotland.

It's a beautiful city, and I'm loving it.

Minus the fact that I'm sick.  And laying in a bed in a hostile.

I really am just wanting to be home (Lochalsh) and in my bed.

But, today we get to see the teams from the other two cites in Scotland and I couldn't be happier about that.  I am genuinely excited about this, for me, for my team, and for the other teams.  I know we're needing this time so badly, and I'm absolutely ecstatic about it.

Please be praying that I don't get much more sick and that I get better quickly, and that the rest of my team stays well.

It's All Relative

The team is currently on holiday.  We're in Inverness, Scotland.  The five of us are holed up in a Youth Hostel for the next couple nights (we'll be back in Lochalsh Wednesday night).  I'm loving it.  There's something about being in a totally new place and then staying in a place like this...and then being surrounded by new people from all around the world.  It's incredible.

This evening, we were out walking about, and then ended up sitting and talking to a man we had run into.  We met a man named James.  James is in his mid-twenties and is a father to a young girl outside of marriage.  We were able to sit and talk with him for a while and get to know him.  Eventually we began to talk about God.  We talked with him about his story, what he thought about God, heaven, etc. It was fascinating.  I'm quite amazed at the people here.  He doesn't believe in God.  He believes that people who live good lives will go to heaven.  James believes morality is all that matters.  Not only that, but also that morality is relative to the individual.

I'm finding that that is more and more the case here in the UK.  If I can venture a guess, I would say that it's becoming more and more the case around the world, and especially in the US.  I am grieved by that more and more.  This idea of relativism is so far from what is true.  There is a true standard and it is set by the Word.

Be in prayer for James.  Pray for more of the Gospel to be poured into his heart.  Pray for this place, and for the world, pray that truth would go forth and sink into the hearts of people here.


Prayer Requests

1.  Pray for rejuvenation for the team, and also for the family of our mentor.  We're all quite exhausted and needing time to be in rest.

2.  Continue to pray for the team.  We're all growing more comfortable with one another, and the exterior of "always being in a good mood" is gone.  We're at the point where we're starting to see what makes each of us tick.  Things can get ugly.  Pray for us to remain united and then on top of that to deal with everything head on.

3.  Pray for James.

4.  Pray for us to remain rooted and grounded in the Word.

The Tiny Service

After our normal morning church service in Lochalsh, the team made our way out to a very small town for an afternoon service.  I went into this particular service knowing that there would be about as many of us as there would be of the "congregation."  That proved to be absolutely true.  

Six of us Americans were there (me, our mentor, and my teammates) along with the pastor of the church in Lochalsh and an elder of the church.  There were, I believe, six people who attended from that town.  Six.  

This was by far the smallest church service I have ever been too.  I'm still soaking in all of the service.  That being said, I think it was one of the more beautiful moments of my time here.  Fellowship with the people was very slim, the people were extremely quiet and left almost right after the service.  But, church can be as small as twelve or thirteen.  It can be smaller.  It can be larger.  The number of people determines very little.  These people were there for their monthly church service and it didn't matter that it only happened once a month, or that there were hardly any people there.  They just wanted to commune with God, and to be refreshed by the Word.  

One moment that brought me to reality was in the midst of singing a Psalm.  I paused to breathe, and instead waited, and just listened.  There was singing, and glorifying God.  It was beautiful.  

No matter how small or large, God will meet with His people wherever they may be.  Praise be for that!

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there, and especially to my Dad!  He's the best, and I love him dearly. 

Dance Wherever You May Be

I've been fighting for joy the last several days.  For whatever reason, I was struggling.  I was struggling with team members, circumstances, and life in general.  I've been burying myself in the word, and praying constantly.  Asking God to lift this vail from all around me, really just asking God to return my joy to me.  

Nothing happened.  Walking through day to day activities became harder and harder, being around people who are my new family was difficult.  I was in a place of being broken and crying out to God asking Him to fix this pain; and then I realized I wasn't really trusting that God would or could actually fix this brokenness.  I'm not trusting.  I'm failing to remember that God is holding all things in the palm of his hands.  He knows the past, present, and future.  And.  He takes care of all things.  He will take care of me.  My God knows what I'm going through, He knows why I'm experiencing it, and He knows what will happen in the end.  In fact, God has orchestrated all of this for my benefit regardless of  how it hurts.  I'm reminded of how precious I am to Him:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 

                       Matthew 10:29-31

Along with that scripture, amongst quite a few other passages, God reminded me of His sovereignty and preeminence yesterday in a primary school the team was at.  I was smacked in the face, almost in tears.  Our team had finished performing a skit of a Bible story (Jesus calming the sea) and were about to sing a song with the kids.  I'm going to be honest, the children's song for the day at first glance looked ridiculous and extremely silly.  I have no idea what the song is called, but these are parts of the lyrics:

(chorus)  Dance, dance, wherever you may be

               I am the Lord of the dance, said He

               And I lead you all, wherever you may be

               And I lead you all in the dance, said He.

               

               I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame

               The holy people said it was a shame

               They ripped, they stripped, they hung me high

               Left me there on the cross to die.

               Dance, dance, wherever you may be

               I am the Lord of the dance, said He

               And I lead you all, wherever you may be

               And I lead you all in the dance, said He.

               I danced on a Friday when the world turned black

               It's hard to dance with the devil on your back

               They buried my body, they thought I was gone

               But I am the dance, and the dance goes on.

               Dance, dance, wherever you may be

               I am the Lord of the dance, said He

               And I lead you all, wherever you may be

               And I lead you all in the dance, said He.

               They cut me down and I leapt up high

               I am the life that will never, never die

               I'll live in you if you'll live in me

               I am the Lord of the dance, said He.

I was almost in complete tears at the end of the song.  God completely reminded me of the Gospel in the song and reminded me of everything I needed to hear. 

God is taking care of me.  He's pouring into me through scripture and through other people.  He's loving me.  

Prayer Requests


1.  Please be praying for continued unity amongst our team.  Pray for us to bond more and more and become more of a family.  We're all getting along fairly well, but we are always in need of more prayer for this.

2.  Pray for humility.

3.  Pray for encounters with people.  Pray that we might meet people.  That's a big prayer right now.  We're meeting people in the church and building relationships with them, but we have yet to meet many  outside of the church and are desiring to know others better.  We're wanting to reach people.  Pray for people who do not know Christ who might be led into our paths.

4.  Pray that we might also be an encouragement to the people within the church.  The people here are absolutely wonderful.  Pray that we might be able to encourage them in their faith.

5.  Pray that we would radiate Christ, that His love and the hope we find in him would be evident to all who we encounter.

6.  Finally, pray that we might be finding encouragement in Christ.  Pray we seek Him in His word and in prayer.

Chasing After God

My heart's been heavy as of late.  Walking through a whirlwind of change in the last few weeks has caught up with me in the last couple days.  The ache of my heart crushed me last night and carried over to today.  

I am exhausted.  I need refreshing.  I need Jesus.  More and more every day.  The good news is that He wants me.  He is jealous for me.  God chases after me each and every day...

...and i fail to chase after Him...

...every day.

I fail to seek my refreshment in my Savior and in the Word on a daily basis.  Oh, I may read the Word, and I may be in prayer daily, but am I really going after Him?  Am I truly diving into the Word and really feeding my soul when I feel so empty and needy?  Not really.  I've learned lately that there is a fake exterior of people in the South especially in concealing the "bad" of life.  I know that happens everywhere, but in the time I've spent in Southern America, it happens a lot.  A.  Lot.  So many people put on this exterior to please everyone, and they aren't genuine.  Not just in everyday life, but even in the Church.  There is an exterior of "Everything's okay; I'm not going through anything difficult right now; I'm not struggling."  As much as I hate to admit it, I'm guilty of that.  I'm guilty of not letting in my brothers and sisters in Christ, into my life and actually being honest with them.  That has to stop.  That wall has to be torn down.  

We are supposed to live in community with one another.  How can we do that when we can't even be honest with each other?  Through Christ we can.  Only by His grace can we tear down pride and formality, and really be honest with each other.  I need to pray that for myself as much as it needs to be prayed by other people. 

I want to chase after God.  I want to chase after God with the community of believer's He has surrounded me with.  That is my desire.  That is my prayer.

 

Perfection in Weakness

The last few days have been very busy and draining (both physically and emotionally) days, but I've been blessed through them.  The last few days have looked like a Prayer Meeting Wednesday night; a School Assembly Thursday morning and visits to church members Thursday afternoon; and then Friday involved us helping out at a cafe, along with lots and lots of walking, celebrating a birthday, finally ending out day with time at a "Ceilidh."  It's exhausting just looking at all of that!

I want to specifically highlight Thursday and Friday.

Thursday we went and visited with a couple different people in the church.  Our team split into 2 groups, my group was of 3 of us and the other group was of 2.  Each group went and visited 2 sets of people.  That afternoon, my group went and visited an elderly couple and then a widow.  What an encouragement this time was.  It was such a blessing being welcomed into their homes, offered tea and biscuits, and being engaged in conversation.  I learned a lot about the people we visited and in turn, I know they learned quite a bit about us.  

Thursday was lovely.

Friday.  Open Door Cafe was in the morning for about 4 hours.  People in the community will come in and will buy some food that is made on the spot, along with tea or maybe some coffee, and then will sit and chat with others from the community.  Everyone knows about it, and loves to be there.  Our team, along with a good deal of our mentor's family went on Thursday to help out.  That translates too, about half the team sitting with people, chatting with them and getting know them.  The other half of the team will work in the kitchen.  Some served soup, others served plates of food coming straight from the kitchen, someone would help with dishes, a couple others helped by taking orders and money, and one of us helped directly in the kitchen making the food.  I helped in the kitchen this week.  I was making food alongside the lady who usually does all the food.  It was busy.  Friday was one of their busier days as a result of several other factors (people had come from all over to sell things, and the community knew about it, and in turn flocked to the cafe).  I was exhausted after that was over.  My feet were tired, my body was tired.  

In the midst of being exhausted and coming back to the flat and face-planting on the couch, my heart was happy.  Serving in that capacity (handling food for people) brings me quite a bit of joy.  If you ask me to explain that to you, I would probably fail, but for now, I'm going to give it a shot and see what comes of it.  I enjoy preparing/serving people food because of the bit of joy it brings people then brings me upon seeing that joy.  I enjoy working with my hands in that capacity.  I enjoy creating something delicious with my hands and watching someone partake and enjoy.  There is something about creating something and seeing it's goodness being put to good use (that makes me think of God right after finishing the Creation).  

We celebrated a birthday on the team Friday night as well.  Such fun!  Us four girls, went out for Indian food in celebration.  The birthday girl hadn't tried Indian before, and wanted to give it a shot!  She loved it!  Apparently, here in Scotland, Indian food is a big deal.  People LOVE curry.  You won't hear me complain.  I love curry.  

After curry, we loaded up and went to a Ceilidh (that is a Gaelic term, which you pronounce like you would the name "Kaylee" or however you might spell the name).  A Ceilidh is a dance.  At the particular one we went to, several children would sing, or play an instrument in between dances.  It was so interesting.  Children would sing in Gaelic or would play a harp, or some other instruments.  The children here who are musical are incredibly talented.  I am amazed at the number of instruments they can play and their level of skill.  Then would come the dancing.  At the hall we were in, there was a group of musicians who all played together (fiddles, pipes, guitars, accordions, bass).  One of the members of the group would stand and explain a dance and then people would get up and start dancing while they played.  It was so neat.  Yes, I did participate, but please don't ask me to explain...I will definitely forget it all once I come home. 

Submersion in culture.  It was beautiful.  I loved seeing the people's love for their heritage.  Not only that, but these beautiful people were so welcoming to us.  They accepted us in and wanted us to participate in what they did.  It was wonderful to be apart of and to see take place. 

This week has been exhausting and draining, but beautiful and incredibly encouraging.  As I've been exhausted, drained, and feeling ever so weak,  2 Corinthians 12:9-10 came up in my devotionals, and has been so encouraging to me:

               

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  

               

In these times when I am weak and feeling inadequate, I'm constantly having to remind myself that even when I am in this place of exhaustion God can work wonders.  He can work through me no matter what, no matter what the situation is, and because of that I can rest in Him and know He is all powerful. 

A Cry for Humility

Yesterday, was a day of serving the community.  The team, as well as the mentor and some of his family, went into a neighborhood here, and cleared a portion of unkept and forgotten land that was filled with brambles, bushes, weeds and trash.  While we were doing this, people would walk by with a fairly stunned look on their face and or would stop and chat with one of us about what we were doing.  We were seen, our presence is known.

Already, we are serving in a small and practical manner, and people are being noticing.  As we were working my heart was humbled more and more.  Many of you know, I am not someone who enjoys work in the outdoors.  There are certain things I'll enjoy outside, but for the most part, I'm not a fan; and that's okay.  But I did our work anyway.  I sung out to God in the midst of it, and then would pray, and then cry out in song again.  It was like a time of worship.  It's was beautiful to commune with my Savior in the midst of our work.  No one complained, until the "Miggies" came along (I'll tell you all about them some other time), and even then it was short.  Honestly, I was really surprised.  I expected to hear grumbling and complaining, but instead heard whispers of humility and signs of the servants amongst us.  God was present.  He's made an incredible mark on the hearts of these people, and I'm glimpsing that already.

I'm humbled.  I'm seeing God's love and hope manifested in the people I'm serving with already.  I'm so excited to see everything that transpires as the time flies by.

In the same way, I'm humbled by the congregation we are serving.  The people of the church are incredibly hospitable and generous people.  I'm overwhelmed by their love for us.  On Saturday evening, my team (the 5 interns: Jim, Kathryn, Danielle, Rebekah, and myself) arrived by bus, being picked up and walked to our living spaces by our mentor family and the Pastor's wife.  First of all, the flat the four of us girls are in, is beyond nice.  It's beautiful, comfortable, and close to pretty much everything.  We are so richly blessed.  On top of that, the Pastor's wife made us a meal for when we arrived (believe me, we were all exhausted and so hungry for actual food), it was marvelous.  Members in the church also had gotten together and have brought food over to us so that we would have meals for the next few days so we could rest and get comfortable.  These people are generous, and I am thankful for them already.

As the last few days have gone by, other people have brought over more food for us.  Not because they have to, but because they want too.  I am humbled.  Here we are, ready to serve in whatever way needed, and these beautiful, wonderful people are serving us.  God really does things like this to break us down a little bit, and to make us new people with different perspectives.  Not only am I being challenged to be a servant and to be humble, it goes the other way.  The people of this community are also being challenged to be humble and accept what we are doing, as well as to serve us (which honestly, they're do extraordinarily well at).

All of this being said, I'm being brought to questioning whether or not back home we're humble.  How much do we actually struggle with being humble?  From what I've seen here so far, we struggle with living humbly all the time.  We as a people are not humble, and it is breaking my heart to realize that.  I'm realizing I am not humble.

My prayer for myself has been asking God to make me humble.  To bring me low.  I know others on my team are crying to God asking that as well.

Are you humble?  Are you really living a life of humility?  Is your natural tendency to be humble?  Let me boldly venture a guess and say no.  Considering the pride of humanity and the sin nature we all grapple with, we are not normally humble.  Make your prayer be for that of humility.


Prayer Requests:
       - Prayer for our unity to grow
       - Pray that we grow in humility constantly
       - Pray that we might reflect Jesus in all that we do and say
       - Pray for us as we go to a primary school on Thursday to share a Biblical story with the children there.

I'm Here

I'm here.  I'm laying here in my bed in the flat the four of us girls are staying in, in Lochalsh, Scotland.  How incredible it is to be reveling in the beauty of this place.  Just being here is a blessing in and of itself, but then on top of that to have been already so blessed by the people just adds to everything immensely.

We're here...the five of us are finally here.  We've made it through the Visa issue, the Pre-Field Training, traveling, the setbacks in the midst of us traveling here, and the long bus rides of getting here.  God is faithful.  I'm reminded and then in turn encouraged by my God through all of this.  I'm humbled by His control over all of this and my lack of control, given incredible peace by the Spirit in the midst of our adventure, and reminded of how much I need my Savior.

We landed in Glasgow,  Scotland, and then promptly began our travels to get to Lochalsh.  Traveling through the country, I was amazed by the beauty of the place and drawn to all that it will hold.  I'm falling in love with this country even now.