A Landmark and Christmas! :)

Holy Christmas crackers

Happy Christmas season friends and family! I know it has been ages since my last update. Sometimes, when I'm busy making decisions, I feel a certain paralysis. What do you say when you're not sure what the outcome will be? Only what you know, I suppose. But I'm waxing philosophical. Basically, I've made it to five years in the UK!  That's a milestone, a landmark, a natural time to be thinking about what's next. And I don't have all the answers yet. So, I'll tell you what I know :).

2013 has been a year of change. I've been working through Beth Moore's 'Breaking Free.' This past week one of her questions had to do with loss. Have you experienced a time where you seemed to be dealing with one loss after another? I read the question, laughed out loud and put the book down for a few days. A new pastor, a return to singleness, the loss of two dear friends, countless friends moving away, relearning how to work as a team, changes in the children's ministry...a lot of learning how to grieve. Not just death, but change. And learning to take risks again and not be afraid to fail. Maybe even learning new definitions of success and failure.

My Old Housemate Jenny's Wedding

I'm am so blessed by my friends and family. Thank you for supporting me for five years! I am overwhelmed by your support, your prayers, your kind thoughts, your encouragement, your perseverance. Through your kindness, I was able to take some time to visit The Haven in Portugal and spend some time reflecting, praying, and leaving behind the weight of some pain. Our former teammates, the McElroys, came and helped us to process some of the grief from the loss of Stephen and Mandy and the pastoral change. God provided almost all the funds that I needed for the residency application. Blessed.

Portuguese Point of View

The McElroys :)

God has gifted us with some amazing University students. They had planned on coming back from their summer break early to be on mission to their city. Mission Sheffield. Then Steve died, so we didn't know what to do. But the students said they wanted to come back and do it in his honour. So we did a week with them, blessing the city. Praying for people we met. Praying for 5 people to start the journey of a relationship with Jesus. They are part of Steve's legacy, and through them we have seen several students join our church, including a large contingency of Chinese and Singaporean students. Thus we sang some karaoke at our student Christmas party.

Student Christmas Karaoke

Change doesn't mean that you've failed. This autumn we've relaunched our LifeGroups. We moved from an age-based to a regional approach and included the Uni students. And we're doing monthly training. We have four strong LifeGroups as a result that are growing in God, in community, and in number. I'm very blessed to lead with three solid guys. Last week we shared answers to prayers that we've prayed as a group. One girl had her Uni tuition paid for by a distant relative (we prayed for £2000 to show up from thin air), another got a permanent job, one guy got provision for his non-profit work, and another guy is finding it easier to talk about his faith with his flatmates.

LifeGroup Walk in the Peaks

Good Friends

God wants to show up and bring His refreshing when you need it. Our annual weekend away, Re:fresh, was truly refreshing this year. Izzy, a former member of my kid's team, her husband Ben and two of their youth came out to help with the kids. The youth girls who came were such quality girls, with a really mature faith. God is moving in the next generation in deep ways. And many were touched by the worship and encouraging words. We got to get away this year at Smallwood Manor, and it was a blessing to get out of the city. We needed Him to bring some restoration.

God is in the business of fresh starts. I know I've told you before about a girl I was discipling who came out of an alternative lifestyle. God has led her this year to a rehabilitation centre where she can learn to be free of other problems that keep her from freedom and abundance, eating problems, addiction problems, self-harm. I didn't tell her she should do it; God gave her the gentle nudge to turn her life around. I'm excited to see what comes from this sacrifice of a year of her life. Please be praying for her with me.

Change doesn't mean that you've failed. Does that sound familiar? We've also made some changes to the children's programme recently. We're moving to morning services, which is really exciting! We're expecting more families will visit. The focus on kids this year has made me look really closely at what we've been doing and realise that things need to change. I've asked for feedback where I used to be afraid to receive it. I've cried because change is hard sometimes, and it can feel like failure. We're having the kids in Antioch Kids for all of the Gathering, which means 45 minutes of extra time to shape the kids. We launch 19 January; will you pray with us?

Great Kids

It's okay to not know what's next.  I feel like this next season has been an invitation from God to explore some of my dreams. To see what else I'm passionate about besides kids. So I'm trying out some new things, like figuring out what my dreams are, small or big. Maybe some counselling or helping families in a holistic manner. For now, I'm in Sheffield working with the church and exploring. I got registered here as a speech therapist. I'm living a year at a time I guess. This year in Sheffield...thank you for continuing to join with me on the journey.

What has God been teaching you this year? I would love to hear. I believe there's great power in stories. I'll leave you with a picture from our Carol Service this past Sunday. A record 144 people, 25 of them kids. They did a great job singing 'Away in a Manger' and providing comic relief via nativity photos.

Candles and Carols

For now I'll leaving you with prayers for a Happy Christmas. I'm thankful for YOU!

The Time In Between

This post has seemed especially difficult to write. I sometimes feel the pressure to tell you only the good things that are happening here in Sheffield. To mine out all that God is doing so that you can see that your prayers and financial support are accomplishing something. And they are. God is moving in our city, in our church, in this nation. But the past several months have also been difficult. Learning how to grieve well, helping to pastor others through their grief, dealing with difficult questions, choosing to say that God is good even when you don't understand and holding on to the promises that Scripture say accompany suffering. Sometimes I achieve my goal and sometimes I fail. Some things can't truly be understood until you go through them yourself. I cling to the only Hope and Anchor for my soul when truly all around seems like shifting sand.

First I'd like to say that I am so thankful for all of your kind words and prayers. Since the deaths of Stephen and Mandy and little baby Josiah, we have all been trying to figure out when life looks like. It's a new normal. But not one that we really ever wanted to experience. It's the time in between the tragedy and things settling into a new normal that is the most challenging.

When last I wrote, we were preparing for a team from the Glasgow Prophetic Centre to come for a weekend of teaching and prophecy. What an amazing time with the Holy Spirit. Such encouraging words about the new season for the church and for the city! And then I got a phone call at 7am on Sunday morning with the news. I'm not sure I'll trust early morning phone calls for a while. I'm so grateful for the community God has given me here. We were able to come together and offer solace and comfort, a word from the Lord, and good memories.

Izzy, my children's team helper, got married

Saying bye to a friend at the zoo

God was gracious to us. We had a team from The Harbour in Boston that had come to do mission in Sheffield and a couple from Antioch Dallas. They helped us to staff the Gathering as we made ourselves available to comfort and grieve with the congregation. I felt a new kind of closeness to God during that worship set. Sarah, Emma and I opened up our flat for worship and as a place for people to gather. Families that might not normally socialise, grieved side-by-side. A friend of Steve's came and later shared that the way that we turned to God caused him to take his faith more seriously even affecting his family and friends.

Michael Joseph

The weekend following the deaths, we said goodbye to Kate, our youth pastor. She is following God's calling to marriage and Texas. I had already planned to visit the States for my friend Colleen's wedding and to meet my new nephew Michael Joseph and my other nephew Ian. It was a good time to see family, but also a little surreal. Grieving for my friends whilst celebrating my nephew's baptism and my friend's wedding seemed incongruent. But perhaps suffering enlarges the soul, enabling one to feel joy and pain at the same time. Some new context for the verse, rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.

Wedding Reflections

Sadly, I was not able to mourn and rejoice at Mandy's memorial, but one man gave his life to Jesus at the event. He has been attending a LifeGroup here, and his life has been changed. Beauty for ashes. I did get to attend Steve's service. It was a beautiful time of celebrating his life and a gathering of friends from afar.

Ian

Steve's loss necessitated staff re-planning. Our church planting team has decided to stay in Sheffield until the church is stronger. We have a new plan for upcoming term, but that meeting wasn't easy. We mourned what was to be even as we tried to determine what was to come. It's led me to start dreaming with God, to ask myself again, 'What am I passionate about?' As I look to my five year mark, I think it's an important part of the process. I plan to apply for residency in October and to continue to serve the children here as I figure out my next steps. Residency costs £1051, that's about $1600. Would you pray with me for favour and consider helping out financially to cover that cost? You can give online at www.christfellowship.org/engage/missons.

Park Outreach

Thanks for considering giving :). I was a bit surprised when I looked at the cost. There are a few other things that are causing me to be pleasantly surprised. Instead of a week long holiday club, we decided to do a month of weekly outreach. Every Thursday, we have taken some children to the local park to play and to start conversations with parents and children. We've met several families that we hope to make greater connections with in September, two Chinese families, an Egyptian family, and a family from Mexico. Pray for God's Kingdom to break into their lives and for families to be added to our church.

More Park Outreach

God is at work in Sheffield, in Antioch Sheffield. He has a plan to reach the lost and hurting people in our city, and He is inviting us to be a part of it. As we grieve and process and heal, we also dream and listen for God's strategies and reach for the evidence of God's ways that are present hoping to see His way govern this city. Romans 8v18 (my birthday reference) says that, 'I consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will revealed in us.' Let it be.

A Change Will Do You Good

Michael Joseph Jr

Not so long ago, I found out that I'm an auntie again for the fifth time. I even get to see my nephew in a few weeks when I visit the States for a friend's wedding. This will mean a big change in the life of my sister and brother-in-law. It seems that change is in the air this year. I shouldn't be surprised as God told us it would be a year of transition when we asked Him what He was saying about this year at our planning time in January.

Can you read the caption?

Peter and Paul met here

The first major change was to the date of our ATS international outreach. We planned to go in August, but one of our couples found out they were expecting, so we changed the date to April. God led us to Lebanon and a Persian Gulf State for our trip, and He is at work in the hearts of the people of both nations! Five staff members, two children, and 4 students took off for the Middle East. (One of our students had trouble getting into Lebanon, and the two others found out the baby they are expecting is missing it's kidneys and bladder. Please be praying for little Josiah.) The nations are hungry for God's love and truth! We sowed many seeds of love and Jesus with the people and saw two people saved and many people healed.

Helping at the Gypsy school

Hearts for Lebanon food packing

As people were led to new life in Christ, we celebrated two new lives in our church body. Little Alex and Eloise were dedicated to Jesus on 21 April. It was a sweet time of praying for the families and the parents and exhorting the church to be part of the process of supporting the parents and children. I'm excited to see these children grow in relationship with Jesus and to see the parents grow in wisdom and trust.

Baby Eloise

Passing the baton

Antioch Sheffield has done some of its own growing in wisdom and trust. We had our second board meeting recently. Kevin Johnson, Danny Mulkey, Susan Peters, Joe Ewen and Yancy Smith travelled in to be a part of the meeting, and big changes were discussed. Daniel and Jeannie McGinnis, our leaders for the past 7 nearly eight years have felt God moving them on into a new direction. Thankfully, Todd and Lauren Roberts have decided to step into the senior pastor role here at Antioch Sheffield. They officially took the baton from the McGinnises on 19 May. The church and staff are excited about the change. Todd and Lauren have a pastoral and prophetic gifting with a heart for prayer and the nations. The handover Sunday was a time to celebrate what God has done through the McGinnises in the past and what He will do through the Roberts and Antioch Sheffield in the days to come.

Thank you for your prayers in this time of transition. It has been a very busy season. I had three events in one week. The Forge Gathering is a children's ministry conference that brings together children's workers from all over the UK to hear what God is doing in children throughout the nation. The best part for me is bringing a problem or question and sitting down with five other children's workers to brainstorm solutions. We even have a little fun. Just for your information, in case you were wondering, the string on a bow can really hurt as it snaps forward. Not that I have any experience with that.

I promise I worked at the children's conference ;)

World Mandate Europe artwork

In that same week, we welcomed back Kevin Johnson and some of our workers from North Africa for World Mandate Europe. They shared powerful testimonies of God's work, and many hearts were stirred for the unreached peoples of the world. One of our students who came to the church a year ago without much vision for church or discipleship said that he now wants to be a church planter!  At the same time, many of our church planters from Europe came together to fellowship, encourage, and problem solve. It was exciting to hear what is happening in Europe and to get some perspective.



The children have been helping me get perspective recently. We've started a series with them called '20 Questions.' Basically, the children have gotten the chance to ask questions they've always had about God and the church. It's been very stretching. Kids ask some tough questions like, 'Why did Adam and Eve sin?,' 'Why is sin bad?,' 'Why are there bad things in the Bible?,' and 'What is hell like?' I feel like I've had to do some theological study just to answer their questions, but it has been fun. They particularly enjoyed talking about what God is like.

Flat Stanley came to visit

That very same God is moving in Sheffield. I believe I've told you about The Snowdrop Project. They are part of Acts of Mercy, the relief and development organisation we partner with. They help women who have been rescued from human trafficking find a place to live, deal with government agencies, and get experience, etc. The purpose is to help the women integrate into British society and avoid being re-trafficked. This past month, the leaders were given the privilege of speaking with the Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking and relating to them the lessons that they have learned. They have the chance to influence policy and possibly receive funding from the government to train others and aid more women.

Snowdrop Goes to Parliament

It has been an exciting season. I'm looking forward to what is coming as I learn to hold onto the hand  Jehovah Shalom in the midst of all the change. I will keep you posted as the changes unfold. I realise that I've been here over four and half years. This season is also a time of praying and seeking God for wisdom as I come near the five year mark. There's an opportunity to apply for indefinite leave to remain coming up. Exciting things coming up :). What about for you? Is God changing things in your lives? I would love to hear about them. Thank you for walking this journey with me!

God Loved the World So Much...

Growing up in Colorado, we had a saying; March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Looking out the window here in Sheffield, I feel that saying doesn't hold true here. It's been so mild here so far. I've just arrived back from a holiday in Colorado. The International Conference has always been in the summer, and after four years, I longed to see the snow and to ski. I'll share more about that later.

Look - they have tea timers here!

Christmas Story

Last time we spoke, I told you about the amazing time we had at Re:fresh. Now Christmas seems far in the past. Though it was mere few months ago.  We had a great time telling the Christmas story to women at the International Conversation club and rolling out loads of cookies. For our annual Carol Service, we worked with the Kids' LifeGroup, which is going really well, to plan a sort of pantomime. Pantos are very popular here in the UK and are similar to our melodramas. To be fair, most British pantos also include men playing women's roles, but we steered away from that. The panto was a huge hit! Herod stole the show with her evil laugh, and everyone was able to enjoy the fun that the children bring.

Christmas Biscuits

God has brought a new family to our church as well. They are a fun and energetic addition to the Launch Pad. This season has seen many new faces. A team from Antioch's SERVE project has been here nearly 6 months. They have been invaluable in helping with the youth, the children, and with the Snowdrop Project. We will miss them loads! Other new faces have been seen at my LifeGroup. Since we started back after Christmas, we've had four visitors. Two of the visitors are Master's students from China. I hope to be able to get to know them better and to be able to say their names. It's exciting to have visitors; on Pancake Day we had 14 people crammed around the table. There nearly wasn't enough space for everyone.

Creche Cuties

 Other areas in the church have been lacking space for growth. Our creche (nursery) were meeting in a smallish room. With some shuffling, we're able to move the toddlers into a larger room. Which is very good, because we have three little babies getting ready for the creche and a new one on the way. I'm excited for the next baby dedication on 21 April! I'm also excited for the finish of the latest series we've been doing with the older kids. It's called 'Toolkit,' and the kids have been learning different responses to different situations. What to do when I'm tempted, when I lose, when life is unfair, etc. The kids seem to be getting it, and I hope they do. I can't imagine what tools I would have had if I had learned not to compare myself with others when I was 8, 9 or 10 instead of 27 or 28.

ATS Fundraiser Prep

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying being 30. It has been an exciting year so far. Our School of Transformation class has been a joy to help lead. We're preparing to take our international outreach over Easter break. The class, 14 of us in all including children, will be visiting Lebanon and another Persian Gulf state. We'll be helping out at New Horizons Centre. They serve Bedouins and Gypsys as well as widows and orphans. Each student is needing to raise £1250 for the trip and we are more than halfway there. If you would like to support our trip financially or through prayer, let me know, and I'll send you the information.

Ski Aspen

It's hard to believe that the trip is coming so quickly. I've just returned from a ski trip in Colorado. I really wanted to see the winter again. So, my friends Bex and Jess and my boyfriend David came with me to my parents' house. We had perfect conditions on the slopes, and it was great to see my parents, grandmothers, and the folks at Sonlight Foursquare Church. Now that I'm back in the UK, we the real work begins to get ready for the trip and for World Mandate Europe in early May. I'm sure I'll have pictures and exciting testimonies from both events! Until then...