Biscuits

I’m sitting at home…by myself.  That’s quite a phenomenon considering I’ve been surrounded by my teammates constantly since I left home about 7 weeks ago.  I’ve realized that I dearly love the people I came to Scotland with.  Granted, the girls are all living together and my dear brother lives just a bit down the road, I love all of them dearly.  Today, I sat and thought about all of that. 

Wednesday through Friday I am living alone, while my dear friends are in another place working at another week of Holiday Club (VBS).  Those same days I have my dear brother and friend working alongside me, doing Door-to-Door ministry, working in the Open Door Café, and being in the community. 

Door-to-Door has been very difficult.  Even in the difficulty of it, I’ve been very blessed to have the opportunity to go with the Pastor here, and see his view of how it should be done which actually is incredible because it’s almost so easy…but yet it is so difficult.  We’re inviting people to a barbecue and then asking people simple questions about their views of the church here, about Christians, about religion, etc.  Really, that’s so simple.  But to go up and talk to someone at their house and ask those questions is incredibly difficult, and it terrifies me.  There is something beautiful about it.  I am excited to see what the next several times of going Door-to-Door will bring. 

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Wednesday evening rather than having a prayer meeting, the church had a night similar to our small group evenings back home.  We had tea and biscuits*, prayed, discussed the church and Christians in the world, and talking about Mark 2:13-17.  It was wonderful.  I loved sitting and listening to people toss around ideas about what living out our faith looks like.  Not only that, but also looking at what it really looks like to love people and love people who aren’t Christians.  My mentor led the discussion tonight.  Something that he has said earlier in our time here has been extremely convicting for me, and I hope that it burdens you just a bit.  We’ve all heard the phrase “Christians are to be in the world, not of the world.”  My mentor wants to tack on this phrase to the end, “Christians are to be in the world, not of the world, but be for the world.” 

Be for the world.  Am I really for the world?  Do I desire to see the world changed?  Do I really want the people who are all around me, who I pass in the street to know God and be saved?  Honestly, sometimes I don’t even give it a second thought.  Other times I think how can they even make that jump?  I don’t actually love people nearly as much as I should.  If I actually loved people with the love that Christ has for us, and that we are supposed to have for other people, I would care and love people down to the core.  Down to the soul.  That being said, I would care about the people of the world, and I would be for the world. 

I want to be that way.  I know people who are that way.  I want that in my heart and in my actions.   Sometimes I succeed at loving people, and all to often I fail at it.  Someday, as God works and changes me (sanctifies me) I’ll care so much more for the world and the souls of the people in the world.  I pray that that’s the case in my life.  I pray that God might stir your heart in that as well.

Prayer Request

1.           Pray for health amongst all of us.  A handful of us have been sick off and on throughout our time here, and that’s been quite stressful and difficult.  As we’re going into our last couple of weeks here we want to be healthy.

2.          Pray for the Door-to-Door ministry in the days to come; for good conversations, for boldness as is needed, and for seeds to be planted or watered.

3.          Pray for the remainder of our time here.  We, as a team, love this place.  We love the people here.  Please pray for us to be wise with the remainder of our time here, to love the people here with every ounce of our being and to really be in this place.

*Biscuits:  here, biscuits are not biscuits as we think of them.  We think of biscuits as being doughy and having jam or gravy on them.  When I say we have biscuits with our tea, what I’m actually saying is that we are having cookies, cake, scones, etc. with our tea.