God's Waiting Room

Creative Birthday

Winter seems to have swept in rather quickly here in Sheffield. November was reasonably warm, so the freezing temperatures are a bit of a shock. I hear that the weather in Texas has been mild. I'll try to send some winter your way ;). Our flat is preparing for a Christmas in Sheffield; soon we'll have our Christmas tree decorated, and we're preparing for the Carol Service next week. The kids are doing a short funny nativity scene, and they're really hamming it up for the service. Hopefully, we'll be able to merge together the fun of children and the reverence that we reserve for the birth of Jesus!

He is coming soon! I love that Advent is about the waiting, the longing for the Saviour to arrive. But I can hardly believe Christmas is so near. It has been an eventful couple of months. In October, my friend Julie turned 30, and we celebrated with a creative arts evening. In lieu of a gift, everyone brought a performance piece or two to share with the group. What a way to discover hidden talents that people have!

LifeGroup

Many of our ATS students were in attendance, and we've started incorporating monthly outreach into our curriculum. One such outreach is termed, 'Healing on the Streets.' Several churches in Sheffield join together outside a small garden in the city centre and ask passerbys if they are in need of prayer. Our first Saturday out, we saw eleven people give their hearts to Jesus! Jessica, one of the students, and I had the privilege of leading two young women to Jesus. One even asked to be baptised in the fountain! We've been back twice to help out and have seen two other people come to Jesus and a number of people healed. Sometimes, it's just an opportunity to speak the truth that Jesus loves people.

Integrate

Our YoPro section has started something new as well; we're calling it Integrate. It's a chance for both Lifegroups to come together and re-up on the fundamentals. The idea being that we want to be able to chat about things like discipleship and community and apply it to our lives with accountability. Last week we even had an open and honest discussion about how we're really doing as a LifeGroup. It seems to be going well.

PILE-ON!

What is going well is our Kids' LifeGroup that we started a few months ago. We've taught the kids about what it means to be a LifeGroup, and they came up with their own vision. It's GLEAM. Grow, Learn, Enjoy, (Be) Awesome, and Meet new friends. They're doing a great job of leading the group, with just a bit of help with crowd control. The first night they wrote and performed their own worship songs, and we've just done a Christmas drama for the Carol Service. They're amazing!

Bonfire Night

40s Party

It hasn't been all work and no play. We took our ATS students out for a fun bomb (a surprise fun night of class) for Bonfire Night, 5 November. It's one of my favourite British holidays, with giant fires and fireworks galore. Then I attended a 40s-themed birthday party. All the ladies looked lovely, but I have to say that the hair styles are more difficult to achieve than I realise. I love the dancing from the era though. And I've been able to worship dance a few times in the Gathering. It's the fulfilment of one of the promises that God gave me before I came to the UK.

God is a keeper of promises when we walk in His Spirit! That is a paraphrase of the theme for Re:fresh, our annual church retreat, this year. Our friends from the north, the Brennans, spoke about walking in the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, and being in God's waiting room. It was powerful. Together with Charis, a sister church that meets in our building on a Sunday morning, we had 130 people. The kids learned about being 'Empowered' and really enjoyed worshiping, especially Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

I'm really enjoying getting to know my new nephew, Ian, albeit via Skype. And my older sister is making me an auntie for the fifth time sometime in June! It has been an exciting year, and I look forward to the one coming.  Thank you for all your prayers, financial support, and encouragement. These four years would not have been possible without you, and you certainly have a share in the inheritance! Happy Christmas to all of you and I look forward to chatting with you in 2013!

Isn't Ian a cutie?

On Your Marks...

I tried to think of a pithy or clever way to begin this most recent blog, but this clumsy sentence was the only start that came to mind. At times I can sit for some minutes searching for inspiration to begin my missives, when maybe it's just best to begin and see where the words take us. These last few months have been exciting and adventurous. The last weekend in June our School of Transformation students and staff struck out for Scotland and the short term outreach. In a week full of pouring rain, the skies cleared for our evening barbecue/youth outreach. Unfortunately we arrived late due to train delays; 3 hours on a train waiting for flood waters to be cleared from the tracks made for an interesting journey. 

Boredom Busting on the train

Scotland is known for being rainy

Our School of Transformation students did brilliantly, and we were able to make meaningful connections with many of the people we prayed for in Musselburgh. One of the men we prayed with had been away from church for a while, and we were able to encourage him to make church a priority again. The interaction touched me, and it was bittersweet to see the 7 students graduate in July. Now we have 8 new students. Their class started 8 September, and I'm looking forward to getting to know, instruct, serve, and learn from a new batch of world changers!

World Changers Pt 1

World Changers Pt 2

The view from the Olympic Beach Volleyball Stadium

World changers would definitely describe the church planters that gathered in Colorado in July for the International Conference. As I heard stories of the moves of God that are happening all over the world, I was so touched and proud to be part of SLNI and AMI.  We now have 65 church plants in 25 countries! Thanks to everyone who gave to help make it a reality. And a bonus was that the conference was in Colorado, so I was able to see some of my family and friends. God really is at work all over the world. Please keep praying for the labourers for the harvest is plentiful!  That's what we're declaring every morning here. We've seen 4 people pray to invite Jesus into their lives in the last two weeks!

Gotta love the Colorado sky!

Fourteen kids came to our children's holiday club. On Your Marks, get set, freeze. That was our attention grabber for the club which ran in August. Of the 14 kids, 7 were from outside the church and one didn't yet know Jesus. Please pray for Jasmine's life to continue to be touched by lovers of Jesus. Three even came from the school where we did the assembly. We had a great time learning a little about what it means to be on God's team. The kids had a little bit of fun too ;). We told stories of amazing faith, tossed water balloons around in the wind, ran relay races and prayed for the children.  One of the boys who came was the son of a woman I met whilst treasure hunting last year!  I couldn't have done it without 8 marvellous volunteers either.

On Your Marks kids and helpers

Water Bomb Fun

ACC Sheffield has been blessed with 6 volunteers for the next 6 months. A SERVE team has come to help with our Snowdrop Project that is addressing a gap in services to people who have been trafficked and to disciple local youth. We're excited to have them join us!  Finally, one of the new training school students is our very own Izzy. She went to Uni in Sheffield and took a gap year to serve youth in her hometown of Walsall.  Now she's back, and she wants to help with the children's ministry! Incredible blessing all over the place, both from all of you for your prayers and support and from the people here. I'll end with a word that one of our children heard from God two weeks ago.  She saw a picture of a seagull having difficulty taking off in a storm, but landing safely on a beach. The interpretation: God doesn't always promise us a smooth take-off, but He does promise us a safe landing. May God bless and keep you all!

It's Rickshaw Time

School of Transformation in Bangalore

 Hello everyone! The sun is shining, and it's a beautiful day. I've learned in my three English summers to greatly appreciate when the sun shows its face. The first summer here, I gawked at the Brits who bared a lot of skin usually to the point of sunburn on the first 'hot' and sunny day of the year. Now I understand, and while I'm not out there baring as much skin as the Brits, I don't sit inside all day if the sun is shining. June has been rainy in Sheffield, almost as if the English weather didn't get the memo that it is supposed to shower in April according to the childhood rhyme.  However, the power of blue skies, warm breezes, and sun-kissed skin on a day like today never ceases to amaze me.

World Mandate Europe Theme

How are all you fine folks? I hope you're well.  I've seen that the weather in Texas has been blessedly stormy, while my dad reported that it has been quite dry in Colorado when I chatted with him on Father's Day.  Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there, old and new!  My brother-in-law will be a dad again in October, and I'm always thrilled to be an auntie again. But enough of me, you're probably itching for news of what's been happening in Sheffield over the past few months. They've been a bit crazy!

World Mandate

At the end of March we hosted our very first World Mandate Europe! Jimmy Seibert and Kevin Johnson from the AMI headquarters in Waco, TX were our main speakers, and it was powerful. Over 100 people came with some coming from Scotland, Poland, Ireland, Germany, and Portugal. It was a great time to share more vision for the nations with our local church members and to worship with people from many tongues, tribes, and nations. And our School of Transformation students had the privilege of prayer from all those people before our international outreach to India. Blessed.

They take their Taco Bell seriously in India

The Monday after World Mandate concluded, Dustin, Julie, John, Ira, and I together with two children and 11 students boarded a plane for Bangalore, India. The trip is the last requirement for the ATS students and an opportunity for them to apply some of the teachings in a practical manner. Each student rose to the occasion and took to sharing the gospel, treasure hunting, praying for the sick, ministering to the poor, and asking God for direction during the course of each day. We saw multiple people healed from skin diseases, back pain, knee pain, full body pain, corns, headaches, and heel pain, and at least 10 people responded to the gospel. One man was a cricketer who was saved and baptised in a local bar. The students also found favour in a local restaurant and a small neighbourhood nearby, and we even got to finish off the adventure at a vacation Bible school! It was truly a life-changing experience for everyone there!

I'm not sure you can read it, but the brand of toilet is "Hindware"

Playing with Kids in the village

Baptism Night

April was a month for travel, and the weekend after we returned from India, I travelled with our sozo team to Glasgow, Scotland for Advanced Sozo Training. It was my first time to Scotland, and I loved it!  We made some great connections with other sozo teams and got to hear testimonies directly from people who have been changed by specific advanced sozo tools. In May, we celebrated our volunteers at church with an Oscars' themed event. And June was filled with Diamond Jubilee (a celebration of the Queen's 60 year reign) events as well as a Nigerian wedding (two people in my lifegroup got married), and two lots of baptisms. Five kids from the children's ministry were baptised! Now we're preparing for our summer Holiday Club, 'On Your Marks,' an Olympic-themed event.  Please be praying for our upcoming assembly in a local school. 

Oscar's Night Hosts

I'll be Stateside at our bi-annual church planting conference this July.  If you're in Colorado, send me a message. I'd love to see your face!  I pray all is well. Gia-normous thanks for all of your prayers, support, and friendship.  God is on the move :).

A Prayer For India

Hi guys, I definitely meant to send this out before I left for India, but better late than never, right? The Antioch School of Transformation, 11 students, 5 leaders, and 2 children, have been on the ground now here for five days with five remaining. We've seen some awesome miracles. People totally healed of skin disease and pain, people inviting us to interrupt their days, and a few salvations. One lady even had a dream that four people were going to come to her house this week! Please continue to lift us up in prayer. Pray that people would respond to the truth of the gospel. Pray that we would see even more healings. Pray that we would remain healthy. Pray that we would love the people here well. Pray for wisdom for us as leaders. Pray for continued unity. Pray for us to be bold and to step out of our comfort zones. Thanks guys! I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out.

To Infinity and Beyond

I recently watched the Muppet film at the cinema, and the short before the film was a Toy Story short.  Prehaps that is why 'to infinity and beyond' came to mind for the title of this blog.  Or maybe it would be more aptly titled, "To India and Beyond" as the School of Transformation students and staff are doing our outreach in India this Easter and have been busy planning and fundraising for the trip, which will cost each student £900.  Last night we hosted a Bollywood themed night with costumes, curry, and dance lessons.  It was a blast; we even made the paper.  (Check out the article Here)  While there, the students, staff and I will get a chance to minister to orphans and to participate in other ministry to the poor.  There'll be some information at the bottom of the blog if you'd like to give to myself or any other students. 

The 'ladies' on the Re:fresh hike

But enough of India, let's go back a bit.  I promised to tell you about some other exciting Sheffield events.  Like Re:fresh.  Re:fresh is always a great time building community with people's hearts more open to God.  Because we'd spent so much on our building, we decided to stay in Sheffield and enjoy it.  Joe Ewen from Scotland spoke, and Saturday night we experienced the presence of the Lord especially powerfully.  The kids joined us for part of the ministry time where we prayed over each other; they loved it.  And, I loved sharing the experience with the kids because ultimately, I want them to know that God is real, powerful and wants to speak to them and know them.

Kid's Theme at Re:fresh

Many exciting things have happened in the Children's Ministry this season.  Bex Ellis, one of our volunteers has joined us as an intern.  She is a blessing because she helps keep me organised and reminds me when I've forgotten different tasks I'm meant to do.  Please keep her in your prayers as she grows in this role and in July as we have another Launch Pad volunteer who wants to join the team and work with the kids and families.  I have been praying for this for 3 years!!!  Also, 15 kids have visited the church the past two months along with a puppy friend.  The puppy came to visit to help socialise him for work with other really ill children.  Watching children with a puppy, I challenge you not to smile.

There has been a lot of smiling this winter.  Our LifeGroup watched 'A Christmas Carol'  for our Christmas party, inviting friends and bringing snacks.  Singing along was optional, and one of our members has a cinema in the basement of their building.  I knew a lot of the lyrics to the songs.  I also had a bunch of ladies over to make Christmas goodies, something I haven't done since I was 12 or so.  It was fun to share American Christmas goodies with the British and vice-versa.  It also meant I had some snacks to bring to our annual team Christmas party complete with "Mr. Bean's Christmas" and white elephant gifts including brussel sprouts.  Only at a British Christmas.

ATS at Wesley Hall

Boxing Day with the Bundocks

I spent Christmas with my friend Lara and her family in Skipton, north of Sheffield in the Yorkshire Dales.  They welcomed me as one of their own, and I felt truly blessed.  Lara even took me to the train station at half six for my flight back to Alabama for my older sister Kimberly's wedding.  It was a New Year's Eve event.  The Mullek family, Kim's new surname, are great fun.  During my time there, I won the 5K fun run, caught the bouquet, and met a young couple doing mission work in South Africa.  It was great fun, but good to get back to Sheffield as well.

 Our YoPro LifeGroup has successfully multiplied into 2 groups, we had 116 people at our Gathering last night, we're planning a World Mandate Europe for the last week of March with guest speakers Kevin Johnson and Jimmy Seibert, and I'm looking forward to a children's ministry conference in March.  God is working in Sheffield.  As always, thank you so much for your prayers and your support!  I truly loved being back with you this summer and am thankful I got to see my uncle Ray as he passed away last week.  But he knew Jesus even in the midst of health trials.  Please keep my father, aunt, cousin, and grandmother in your prayers. 

Sister, sister

**As promised, if you would like to give to myself or one of the other students for the trip to India,  you can send money into SLNI, 5023 Trail Lake Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76133.  If you put in a note with my name and India on it, it will get to the right place.  Let me know if there is anyway I can be praying for you.  Big hugs!