Update 10/17/11

Hello Friends,

First and foremost, I must apologize for not blogging in over a month. I realize many of you are praying for what we’re doing here- with very little to go on. So, to correct this, I am going to try and give a very detailed update plus a few extra tidbits of my time here in England. It’s all labeled so read what you’d like and enjoy!

Ministry Overview-

The term “life on life” seems to describe what we are trying to accomplish here. God has made it very clear from the people that He is bringing into our lives that we are to encourage and disciple the believers living here. The way we try to accomplish this is by living life next to these people and being involved in their lives directly.  This is quite different from what I was expecting and even sometimes frustrating because I really thought we would be working with non-believers all the time. England is not America. It takes a long time to even come to a place where you can talk to your neighbor and the English are not very open to evangelical Christianity. Some believe they are “okay with God” because they went to Church of England school growing up or their mums forced them to go at Easter. In a sense, this seems similar to the “cultural christianity” we experience in the south. On the other hand, many of the English people we are meeting have never thought about God and just don’t believe in a god at all. This is when we ask them, why exactly are you following the rules? Many don’t have a good answer.

I’m learning that on the mission field, we are only temporary workers for God. If we don’t help build up the local body of believers, then what happens when we leave? My term is short. Four months is a blip of time in the lives of the people here- so I had to ask myself, what would make the biggest difference for the Kingdom of Christ? Ultimately, we have to trust that we are only vessels of God and He will continue to work with or without us, but who can continue on? The nationals- the locals, our friends- that are learning and growing into mature Christians.

Now, you may be saying—Jackie, that sounds great but we are still called to “go and tell the nations”. And, I would have to agree with you. The amazing part of getting into the lives of students here, is that most of them have only been Christians for a short period of time—and guess what that means? They have loads and loads of non-Christian friends. These non-believers are seeing the transformation God is making in their lives and asking questions as a result. We have an amazing opportunity to speak truth when they ask and share the Gospel with our words and our actions.

So, what am I up to?

Hold on, here we go! Here is a typical weekly schedule so you can kind of see what we do day-to-day.

Monday-

-Evangelistic outreach at a pub in city centre- free dinner and Gospel presentation.

 Tuesday-

-Meet with supervisors- Reading “Gospel in Life- Grace changes Everything” by Timothy Keller  and have mentor time with our lady supervisor

-Local Christian Union Meeting  (like our BCM, Campus Cru, Wesley etc. on campuses- we go to 2 different ones)

Wednesday-

-Small group meeting with women from the church we attend- we’re going through women of the bible

Thursday-

-Spend time with our friends- typically we do dinner

Friday-

-Theological Discussion lunch- Wayne Grudem systematic theology breakdown

Saturday-

-We have a film night at our flat  

Sunday-

-Church in the morning- church lunch following

-Bible discussion group- at night- we cook dinner and go through topics. This week we talked about dating and relationships.

**Typically the times not scheduled are spent hanging out with friends and doing life with people! Eating together, playing Frisbee, going for walks, hanging out at a coffee house, having tea or just watching movies and talking.

Other Events/Projects

-       We do a Starbucks event once a month. This is where we rent out Starbucks and invite local artists to come and play. The main goal is to set up a coffee shop feel- where people can connect and ultimately conversations can take place. We have one this upcoming Saturday- 

-       I am working on promo videos for our ministry here.  Our supervisors will be heading stateside for 6 months at Christmas and we are trying to produce some videos that show the needs here, and also what we are working to accomplish.

Personal Update-

So, I am doing well. I feel like I am learning more than I ever imagined possible. We spent some time in Germany at a missionary conference and it really challenged my ideas about lifetime ministry work. I do have days where I would do anything to be at home but then I remember why I am here. I’ve been wrestling with my willingness to be obedient in my life. Some days, I do well. Some days, I don’t. Ultimately, my desire is to say YES to God, with no questions asked.  We have to ask ourselves how far are willing to go, to be used by God. What do we have to give up and let go? I’ll let you know when I get there- might be a while :)

It’s amazing to see how God has used my passions for ministry here. I adore women teaching and helping other women. I have an amazing supervisor who mentors me and pushes me to grow. And, we have an amazing group of young women who meet together to learn how to be Godly women. It’s spectacular and I am still in awe of it. In other news, I am still working on figuring out my plans for the spring/summer. It’s been hard, I won’t lie. There are things in my life I never expected to happen and while they are distractions, they are blessings as well. I’ve learned a lot of things about myself. Some things are good, and some places in my life need work but God is good and faithful. He is constantly pushing and challenging me to step up and become more like Him. No one ever said being a Christian would be easy and I’m learning that first hand. Now don’t misread me. I am rejoicing in the trials in my life for they bring me closer to God and teach me more of Him.

I really do love being here. Yes, I miss home. Yes, I miss football, my friends, chickfila sweet tea and my family…. But I love waking up each day with a purpose far greater than my own.

Prayer Requests-

-       Continue meeting new people

-      

-       The physical health of my team- we’ve all been sick off and on for 3+ weeks now.

-       Boldness to share the Gospel always

-       Continued guidance and wisdom from the Lord

Alright- 3 pages later this is a proper update. Thank you for the prayers! I will try and write again soon!

To see more pictures- please check out
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.941275968483.2376072.23215576&type=1&l=fcffa228ab