Happy Tuesday! Tuesday is for us here at Pais Southport, a long day. Probably the longest day we have. Most of us go to the early morning prayer meeting (7:30am) and then go into the office. In the morning we do our daily Bible study and ministry prep, and then we spend the afternoon in schools. We do one lunch club, one reading club and one after-school club. Then we go home. For about two seconds. Then we all go do stuff for our churches in the evening.
After a late night last night with my girls (Luisa and Sarah) fellowshipping and ministering to each other, I knew that today, our long day, could be...well...not so great. But as I was in the shower praying this morning, I felt encouraged by the Lord to be expectant for the day and what He had for us. And it was good! At Tuesday morning prayer, a man I don't know but who knows who I am really encouraged me, asking me how I was and assuring me that I'm in the right place. I have known that all along, but in the past couple days I have not actively remembered that; I needed that reminder. He also said specifically that he knows sometimes a day feels like a fortnight, and that is honestly how I feel right now. It's only Tuesday, but Sunday feels like it was two weeks ago! I know I am in the "settling in" process and it is going to take a while, but he encouraged me to have grace for myself as I walk through that process. I needed that exhortation.
And the clubs today were great! The children were obedient and responsive. Of course after school they were a bit wilder, but that is completely expected. Under the circumstances I was pleasantly surprised!
All in all, it's been a good day. This evening I have a dinner meeting with a vicar and a reverend and then I get to plan Sunday morning's youth ministry, which I am SO excited about! Woohoo!
Tuesday 28 January 2014
Sunday 26 January 2014
Weekly Wrap 3
I cannot believe it’s only been a week since my last Weekly
Wrap! I feel like I’ve been here forever! My teammates say they feel I’ve been
here forever too. I think that’s a good thing…
Below are a few pictures to help you visualize what life is like for me here. Enjoy!
I had a very busy week, to say the least! My team and I were
in the office doing ministry prep as well as working on Recruitment Week for
Pais. I mean, what better way for an organization to recruit than by having
those working for them tell others how great it is? And it is great! Pais is an
amazing opportunity for any young (or like me, not so young) person who loves
Jesus and wants to see others grow in the knowledge of God.
In addition to that, throughout the week, we held several lunch clubs and after-school clubs in order to share Biblical truths with these young people. Also, I didn’t have an evening free until Friday! Monday night I went to an engagement party. Tuesday night I met with the leaders of New Generation, the kids club I’m working with, in order to plan for Wednesday. Wednesday night was New Generation, which I loved, followed by a dinner invitation. Thursday night was another social engagement. Friday night I wanted to hang out with friends, and even got David (who works with us) to organize a get-together, but I hit a wall and ended up in my pajamas watching a movie in bed by 8pm. Saturday was a girls’ brunch, followed by coffee at Starbucks with my vicar. (Yes, I now have a vicar! Sonya, she’s great.) And today was church and a lunch invitation. So, yeah, I've been busy!
As much as I have loved meeting new people and spending time
with them (which I honestly have!), I know life will not continue this way. I
will settle into the rhythm of Pais life in Southport and hopefully soon.
However, I also realize I will be busy. There is a lot of work to do here and
we have only scratched the surface! In addition to that, throughout the week, we held several lunch clubs and after-school clubs in order to share Biblical truths with these young people. Also, I didn’t have an evening free until Friday! Monday night I went to an engagement party. Tuesday night I met with the leaders of New Generation, the kids club I’m working with, in order to plan for Wednesday. Wednesday night was New Generation, which I loved, followed by a dinner invitation. Thursday night was another social engagement. Friday night I wanted to hang out with friends, and even got David (who works with us) to organize a get-together, but I hit a wall and ended up in my pajamas watching a movie in bed by 8pm. Saturday was a girls’ brunch, followed by coffee at Starbucks with my vicar. (Yes, I now have a vicar! Sonya, she’s great.) And today was church and a lunch invitation. So, yeah, I've been busy!
Below are a few pictures to help you visualize what life is like for me here. Enjoy!
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| My lovely house |
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| My teammates: Trey, Luisa and Sarah |
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| Our work stations. Please note the beautiful yellow walls... |
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| The view from my room. The church is where our office is located. |
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| David, the Schools Worker who is essentially our team leader, and Sarah leading an afterschool club |
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| Girls' brunch held by Luisa (not pictured), two of the girls are Albanian and here working with the Master's Commission. The girl on the right is Hannah, who, along with her husband, leads the kids club I help with. |
Saturday 25 January 2014
Something Is Different
Something is different...in me.
When I first looked at the website for Pais and began to figure out exactly what it is and what Pais apprentices do, I was hesitant. I knew there would be challenges involved, especially for me. Part of what we do requires public speaking and even, dare I say it, drama...I am the world's worst actress and being the center of attention has always been my idea of torture. Hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at me in expectation...in expectation that I bring something worthwhile to the table...that scared me.
But as I've been here, during training and in my first week in Southport, I find I don't mind so much. I find, actually, that I do have something worthwhile to bring to the table. I have words of Life. During my preach assessment and now in lunch clubs and in the (very near) future when we do assemblies, I know I have something valuable to share. And it's not about me. What people think of me really doesn't matter at all. It's about what I have (Jesus in me!) to give. And it's about the people who will receive that.
In an earlier post entitled Eight Months Later I wrote about how the Lord broke me, and now, at this point, I am growing in the realization that not only did He break me, but He is putting me back together differently than I used to be, which makes complete sense. Why would He break something just to re-build it exactly as it was? No, He breaks to re-build in a better way. Being broken is painful, but the rebuilding process is amazing. I am finding that I am able to do things I have always been afraid to do. Things I absolutely did not want to do before, I find myself wanting to do. And the biggest example of that is the fact that I am a missionary.
When I was young, the last thing I wanted to do was be a missionary. I was afraid all growing up that if I gave my life to Christ, I mean absolutely surrendered it to Him, that He would make me a missionary and send me to Africa. I was afraid to talk about Jesus with people because I knew I didn't have all the answers. And I was also afraid because, honestly, I didn't really know Him. I didn't realize at the time that I didn't know Him, but looking back I can see, I didn't know Him.
But now, now I know Him. I have had experiential knowledge of this Man Christ Jesus who is my Saviour and my best friend and my absolute favorite thing to do is talk about Him. He makes me happy! So here I am, a "missionary." Yeah, you can call me that. But really, I am just a lover of Jesus who has been so blessed to be able to come to England (my favorite place!) in order to talk about Jesus! And my desire is to see others come to the knowledge of who He is, fall in love and surrender their lives to Him as well. Yeah, that's why I am here.
P.S. The Lord did actually send me to Africa. But He didn't make me go like I was afraid He would; He gave me the invitation to go. And I'm so glad I did because I loved it!
When I first looked at the website for Pais and began to figure out exactly what it is and what Pais apprentices do, I was hesitant. I knew there would be challenges involved, especially for me. Part of what we do requires public speaking and even, dare I say it, drama...I am the world's worst actress and being the center of attention has always been my idea of torture. Hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at me in expectation...in expectation that I bring something worthwhile to the table...that scared me.
But as I've been here, during training and in my first week in Southport, I find I don't mind so much. I find, actually, that I do have something worthwhile to bring to the table. I have words of Life. During my preach assessment and now in lunch clubs and in the (very near) future when we do assemblies, I know I have something valuable to share. And it's not about me. What people think of me really doesn't matter at all. It's about what I have (Jesus in me!) to give. And it's about the people who will receive that.
In an earlier post entitled Eight Months Later I wrote about how the Lord broke me, and now, at this point, I am growing in the realization that not only did He break me, but He is putting me back together differently than I used to be, which makes complete sense. Why would He break something just to re-build it exactly as it was? No, He breaks to re-build in a better way. Being broken is painful, but the rebuilding process is amazing. I am finding that I am able to do things I have always been afraid to do. Things I absolutely did not want to do before, I find myself wanting to do. And the biggest example of that is the fact that I am a missionary.
When I was young, the last thing I wanted to do was be a missionary. I was afraid all growing up that if I gave my life to Christ, I mean absolutely surrendered it to Him, that He would make me a missionary and send me to Africa. I was afraid to talk about Jesus with people because I knew I didn't have all the answers. And I was also afraid because, honestly, I didn't really know Him. I didn't realize at the time that I didn't know Him, but looking back I can see, I didn't know Him.
But now, now I know Him. I have had experiential knowledge of this Man Christ Jesus who is my Saviour and my best friend and my absolute favorite thing to do is talk about Him. He makes me happy! So here I am, a "missionary." Yeah, you can call me that. But really, I am just a lover of Jesus who has been so blessed to be able to come to England (my favorite place!) in order to talk about Jesus! And my desire is to see others come to the knowledge of who He is, fall in love and surrender their lives to Him as well. Yeah, that's why I am here.
P.S. The Lord did actually send me to Africa. But He didn't make me go like I was afraid He would; He gave me the invitation to go. And I'm so glad I did because I loved it!
Tuesday 21 January 2014
Unity
This
morning I went to the "Tuesday morning prayer group," where about 60
people from different congregations from around Southport weekly gather at
7:30am for an hour to pray for the town and the needs in it. I was SO
blessed!
The
Lord is doing an awesome thing in this town and bringing unity to the body of
Christ here. I have never seen so many different churches come together to
worship and pray before. It really is something special. The enemy, of course,
absolutely hates it and will sow (and is sowing) discord where he can. You are
welcome to pray that the Lord would have His way in this town and the people in
it—all of which/whom belong to Him! My desire is that His heart for this place
would be made manifest and that He would continue to unite His people in this
place, that they would come together, without hindrance, to worship Him in
spirit and in truth!
Sunday 19 January 2014
Weekly Wrap 2
Oh my goodness, so much has happened this week!
Monday through Thursday the Januaries and I were busy with training, which ended with a "preach" assessment, each of us preaching for five minutes and receiving feedback from the national directorship. I spoke on thoughts and the battlefield of the mind and was told that my preach was quite poetic and that they could tell I was a good writer. There's no doubt I blushed.
Friday was commissioning, but because there was such a small number of us, it was very informal and was worked into the normal Friday routine. But I was truly honoured as my team came from Southport to support me and take me back to Southport with them following commissioning.
It's about an hour drive from Burnley to Southport, so we packed into the car and were off. We had lunch which was followed by a photo shoot (sounds so professional, doesn't it?) and then I got to go to my new home.
My hosts (the Milligans) have been so gracious from the moment I met them. They have a large house by American standards and a massive house by British standards, which, conveniently for me, is just a block from the Southport Pais office where I will be working every day, and it is also within walking distance to the town centre and all of the churches I will be working with. Two of my teammates are not so blessed, so I truly appreciate the ideal location of my host home.
Saturday, my first full day in Southport, I attended a meeting with my Pais team for something called Resolute Youth, which is a monthly gathering of the Christian youth in Southport, led by different youth leaders from various churches around the town in an attempt to bring unity to the younger generation in the body of Christ here. I got to meet some great people my age who love Jesus and have a heart for the youth of this city. I felt really blessed and cannot wait to work more with them. Afterwards, we hit KFC and ate a lot of chicken because it was Chicken Day! (inside joke) and they gave me a walking tour of Southport which I very much enjoyed. Then last night I was invited to Canning Road, the church whose youth group I will be working with on Wednesday nights, for a party, where I got to meet a bunch of people.
This morning I attended All Saints, the church I will attend regularly on Sunday mornings and whose youth group currently consists of two 14 year old girls who would probably rather not be there. But my job with All Saints is to cultivate relationships with these two girls and do what I can to encourage them in the Lord and possibly grow a youth group there. The average age of the congregation at All Saints is probably about 75, so I have a challenge ahead of me, but I am ready to embrace it! And once again, I met a bunch of people.
I have just now returned from a unity service (also held at All Saints) where members of several congregations gathered for worship and to hear what is going on inter-congregationally in Southport. We have several great things going right now--Street Pastors, Southport Area Schools Work Trust (who work with Pais) and a community-wide Tuesday morning prayer meeting. They prayed for and commissioned me, and once again, I met a bunch of people.
Tomorrow begins Pais work. I will be in the office with my team doing ministry prep and out doing lunch clubs all week. My evenings are quickly filling up as I am meeting people who inevitably invite me to various functions (I'm going to an engagement party tomorrow night...). I also have a youth night prep meeting and a youth meeting to go to this week. Yep, I am busy!
So, to sum up, I have met a lot of people! But they are all absolutely lovely and I feel incredibly welcomed here. They are warm, considerate, hospitable and caring. And the more I am here in this place, the more I know this is where I am supposed to be. Over the summer as I was praying about the next step in my life, I asked the Lord to put me in the best place for me, wherever that was. No really, wherever! It didn't matter to me; I was willing to go anywhere. And He has put me here. I am continually encouraged that this is indeed the best place for me and I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me to give and to receive here in this place.
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| The Januaries with the National Training Director |
Monday through Thursday the Januaries and I were busy with training, which ended with a "preach" assessment, each of us preaching for five minutes and receiving feedback from the national directorship. I spoke on thoughts and the battlefield of the mind and was told that my preach was quite poetic and that they could tell I was a good writer. There's no doubt I blushed.
Friday was commissioning, but because there was such a small number of us, it was very informal and was worked into the normal Friday routine. But I was truly honoured as my team came from Southport to support me and take me back to Southport with them following commissioning.
It's about an hour drive from Burnley to Southport, so we packed into the car and were off. We had lunch which was followed by a photo shoot (sounds so professional, doesn't it?) and then I got to go to my new home.
My hosts (the Milligans) have been so gracious from the moment I met them. They have a large house by American standards and a massive house by British standards, which, conveniently for me, is just a block from the Southport Pais office where I will be working every day, and it is also within walking distance to the town centre and all of the churches I will be working with. Two of my teammates are not so blessed, so I truly appreciate the ideal location of my host home.
Saturday, my first full day in Southport, I attended a meeting with my Pais team for something called Resolute Youth, which is a monthly gathering of the Christian youth in Southport, led by different youth leaders from various churches around the town in an attempt to bring unity to the younger generation in the body of Christ here. I got to meet some great people my age who love Jesus and have a heart for the youth of this city. I felt really blessed and cannot wait to work more with them. Afterwards, we hit KFC and ate a lot of chicken because it was Chicken Day! (inside joke) and they gave me a walking tour of Southport which I very much enjoyed. Then last night I was invited to Canning Road, the church whose youth group I will be working with on Wednesday nights, for a party, where I got to meet a bunch of people.
This morning I attended All Saints, the church I will attend regularly on Sunday mornings and whose youth group currently consists of two 14 year old girls who would probably rather not be there. But my job with All Saints is to cultivate relationships with these two girls and do what I can to encourage them in the Lord and possibly grow a youth group there. The average age of the congregation at All Saints is probably about 75, so I have a challenge ahead of me, but I am ready to embrace it! And once again, I met a bunch of people.
I have just now returned from a unity service (also held at All Saints) where members of several congregations gathered for worship and to hear what is going on inter-congregationally in Southport. We have several great things going right now--Street Pastors, Southport Area Schools Work Trust (who work with Pais) and a community-wide Tuesday morning prayer meeting. They prayed for and commissioned me, and once again, I met a bunch of people.
Tomorrow begins Pais work. I will be in the office with my team doing ministry prep and out doing lunch clubs all week. My evenings are quickly filling up as I am meeting people who inevitably invite me to various functions (I'm going to an engagement party tomorrow night...). I also have a youth night prep meeting and a youth meeting to go to this week. Yep, I am busy!
So, to sum up, I have met a lot of people! But they are all absolutely lovely and I feel incredibly welcomed here. They are warm, considerate, hospitable and caring. And the more I am here in this place, the more I know this is where I am supposed to be. Over the summer as I was praying about the next step in my life, I asked the Lord to put me in the best place for me, wherever that was. No really, wherever! It didn't matter to me; I was willing to go anywhere. And He has put me here. I am continually encouraged that this is indeed the best place for me and I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me to give and to receive here in this place.
Tuesday 14 January 2014
Break Time!
I love the Januaries!
We had a little extra break time during training today, so what did we do? I will tell you. We didn't all sit around with our heads buried in our phones. We didn't break out the pool table and play games. We didn't lie down and take naps. Nope, we thought it would be cool to record Rose's testimony (a very powerful one at that!) and have Gabriel translate it into Portuguese to share with his and Samara's churches in Brazil. This is not a video of her testimony, although I would love to post that sometime soon. It's just a very short, random clip of Gabriel encouraging Rose as she shares her story while Samara throws in some much appreciated silliness with a relevant song. Notice I am sitting in the corner studying my Bible ;)
Monday 13 January 2014
The Januaries
"The Januaries," as we (the four January intake apprentices) are apparently referred to, have now entered the second (and final) week of foundational training. Training has been good, and I am certainly thankful for it and for those who have taken the time and put the work in to facilitate it. However, what has been the biggest blessing has been the time with these people, the Januaries and our hosts, outside of training. We have fellowshipped, we have prayed, we have laughed, told stories, shared our hearts and encouraged each other, and I am pumped! I am reminded that the Lord knows exactly what we need and gives us what we need in His perfect timing. I have truly needed this, and I am thankful for these people and the time He has given me with them. I am also sad thinking that on Friday I have to say goodbye to them (I am really sick of saying goodbye to people!). However, they will not be so far away, and I know I will see them in February and am actually planning to hopefully hit the continent with one or more of them during our long break in April. These people have been a gift to me, and I am truly grateful. Something interesting? Well, I am realizing that, as much as I have lived in England, I have never before now, lived with English people. And something that has completely shocked me (other than the warm and friendly hugs, which honestly was a huge surprise!) is that, at least in this neck of the woods, when they do the washing up (which means, when they wash the dishes in the sink) they don't rinse them before they dry them! Whaaaaaat??? I know, right?! So this evening when I did the washing up, I decided to be British and not rinse the dishes. I fully expect soap suds to accompany my coffee tomorrow morning.
Sunday 12 January 2014
Weekly Wrap 1
Oh, so much to share and so little time!
Well, now that I have a moment to sit down and catch my breath, let me update you on the first week. Lots of training has been going on. There are four, count them, four new apprentices for the January intake which means we are getting to know each other well! We spend all day together, studying Kingdom principles as well as practical Pais training issues and discussing life in England as we adjust (more of an adjustment for some than others) and often have church/youth events planned in the evenings (home group, youth group, youth worship, etc.). When we don't, because our hosts are all friends, we see each other on our nights off as well. I'm not complaining. I love my new friends!
It truly has been a blessing getting to know these amazing people, hearing their stories and learning more about them. The sad thing is that Friday is the last day of training, which means we are all off to our respective cities! However, that means a new adventure is on the horizon for each of us, and we are all looking forward to what the Lord has for us in these new places. And we are looking forward to the SWAP conference in February when we can all come back and see each other again! As for me, on Friday I am off to Southport. I have met my team leader as well as three leaders from the three churches with which I will be working. I was honoured on Wednesday as they all made the trek to come and meet with me, to introduce themselves and talk with me about the work they would like me to do in Southport. I was actually shocked when they all greeted me with hugs! I don't even hug people I haven't met before, and this absolutely defied my idea of English people. I am learning there are big differences between people from the south and north of England. BIG differences. But they were very warm, friendly and welcoming and are excited to have me come work with them and their youth; they even included my picture in my host church's bulletin to announce my arrival and ask the congregation to pray for me! From speaking with them I can tell there is significant need in Southport, and I am anxious to get there and begin working!
Yesterday our hosts took us (just the girls) to Wycoller, a tiny historic town that the Bronte sisters often visited. Wycoller Hall (now in ruins) is thought to be the inspiration for Ferndean Manor in Jane Eyre.
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| If I look happy, it's because I am! |
Sunday 5 January 2014
Day Four
UK Day 4
Well, if I had any doubt that this is where I am supposed to be, I no longer do. Church this morning in Burnley was such a comfort to me and the Lord used the service to confirm to me three things He has been speaking to me for months. In addition, my hostess has been so welcoming to me and my new friend Samara (from Brazil), inviting us to hang out with her friends and family. I have met so many new people and this isn't even where I will be living!
Tomorrow Foundational Training begins. There are five new apprentices this intake--me, two Brazilians, an Indian and maybe another American--and we will spend two weeks with the national directorship preparing for whatever it is we're about to walk in to :) I'm looking forward to it!
Random fact: Since Samara showed up last night, I have somehow reverted to what I fondly refer to as "Ash-speak" where, in trying to communicate with people who are not native English speakers, I unintentionally invert words and pronounce them very differently than I normally would. For example, earlier today I inadvertently walked to the wrong side of the car to get in (imagine that) and said to Sue, "Why you didn't tell me?" Oh dear... :)
Well, if I had any doubt that this is where I am supposed to be, I no longer do. Church this morning in Burnley was such a comfort to me and the Lord used the service to confirm to me three things He has been speaking to me for months. In addition, my hostess has been so welcoming to me and my new friend Samara (from Brazil), inviting us to hang out with her friends and family. I have met so many new people and this isn't even where I will be living!
Tomorrow Foundational Training begins. There are five new apprentices this intake--me, two Brazilians, an Indian and maybe another American--and we will spend two weeks with the national directorship preparing for whatever it is we're about to walk in to :) I'm looking forward to it!
Random fact: Since Samara showed up last night, I have somehow reverted to what I fondly refer to as "Ash-speak" where, in trying to communicate with people who are not native English speakers, I unintentionally invert words and pronounce them very differently than I normally would. For example, earlier today I inadvertently walked to the wrong side of the car to get in (imagine that) and said to Sue, "Why you didn't tell me?" Oh dear... :)
Friday 3 January 2014
A New Life
I arrived in Manchester yesterday morning after an unexpectedly pleasant plane ride sitting next to an adorable ten-year-old British girl who enjoyed talking, and was promptly driven to Burnley where I now have the pleasure of staying with a lovely lady named Sue who is taking very good care of me. She is passionate about Jesus and constantly talks about Him and what He has done for her and in the lives of others, and I find that so encouraging!
Tomorrow night a Brazilian girl will join me here at Sue's house. I am looking forward to meeting her and maybe using the little bit of Portuguese I know. And on Monday, training begins. I have no idea what to expect as far as training, but I do expect to be challenged and encouraged. For now though, I am looking forward to the new--a new location, a new position, new friends, new experiences, a new life.
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