The Stan(ter)berry Tales

Post Furlough Wrap Up

2011-12-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

A thousand apologies for my post furlough blog occurring so long after returning from furlough. I feel as if I sort of hit the Sheffield ground running. Part of me had forgotten how full our Autumn schedule typically is, and I think I've settled back into the routine now. Thank you for the prayers that I'm sure you sent heavenward on my behalf. Also, many thanks for sharing your lives with me, your time with me whilst I was back in the States, your support, your prayers, and your friendship. These are things that I don't take lightly.

An electric kettle in America!

First time climbing outdoors, thanks to my new friends!

Looking back on furlough from this point, it seems like a million miles away. The last part of August was a blessing. I got to visit Christ Fellowship and all my lovely friends there. It was a joy to worship with old friends and share what God has done so far in Sheffield. The following day, my housemate Sarah came to visit for the first part of her sabbatical. We visited TCU, the Stockyards, and some of my favourite American restaurants. When I visited some of the Christ Fellowship small groups, Sarah tagged along as well. She was my real life British connection. Thank you all for making her feel welcome, for welcoming me back, and for your earnest support of God's work through me in England.
I am truly blessed :).

England meets America in Waco, TX (Sarah's on the right)

The 'mother ship' as one of our Sheffield church members refers to Antioch Community Church Waco, also welcomed me for one Sunday. I was privileged to be able to visit their Children's ministry. It's always good to see how other people are teaching their children. I loved meeting with their children's ministry team as well as with the children's pastor from Christ Fellowship. When I was in graduate school, one of my clinical supervisors told me that it's good to ask questions, even necessary. You can probably figure most things out on your own, but how much faster you can learn if you glean from the wisdom that others before you have obtained. Now for the wisdom to apply what's learned. Only by the grace of God, only by God's grace.

Fajita making and Games Night for the new Uni students

God's grace is enabling me to wait patiently for my new visa to come through all of the bureaucratic hoops. Application, check; fingerprints, check; final approval, in process. I'm hoping to hear that all has been approved sometime this week, so that I can purchase a plane ticket for my older sister's wedding on New Year's Eve. God brought all my financial provision in whilst I was on furlough, and He is not daunted by immigration policy and procedure.

My Gram looks good for a woman in her 80s! Happy Birthday!

My time back in Sheffield thus far has been full but fun. We've been meeting in our new building for three months now and the work still continues. The sanctuary is carpeted and our heater has been installed. Our multipurpose youth and kid's room is coming together slowly but surely. The colder weather has left the building a little chilly, but liveable, and the gatherings have seen many visitors, much joy, and a sense of belonging. We even have a couple of new team members joining us. One is returning from the States after working in Waco for several years to start a disaster relief and social justice charity here in Sheffield. He's called Tim and he has asked Lara, one of our long-term and faithful church members and leaders to help pioneer the ministry.

Balloon Makers Extraordinaire

Additionally, we had several new lifegroup leaders at our Autumn lifegroup leader training. We are excited about what God is doing! The Sheffield City Council even let us come and do jewellery making and balloon modelling for the city's Halloween extravaganza for younger children. We had a queue (line) of 10 children for balloons all afternoon long. Our training school students are another constant source of inspiration and also a source of learning how to pastor people well. Sometimes what they need is not what I naturally give. Praise Jesus that He is my strength where I am weak. :)

I want to get some news out to all of you even though much has occurred even as wrote this blog. Over Christmas I'll tell you about our Re:fresh 'staycation', the Carol service, puppies visiting Launch Pad, my older sister's wedding, and India. I hope that all of you had a lovely Thanksgiving and are eagerly awaiting the celebration of Jesus' birthday.

Furlough Edition #1

2011-08-23T10:46:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to ME!

Hello my fabulous blog followers!

I'm writing to you from Fort Worth, TX on the third and final leg of my furlough. I have been so blessed by my time in the States. I have been able to visit friends, family, and supporters, rest a bit, drive a lot, hike, hear what God is doing in the US, help my sister buy her wedding dress, see my nieces and nephew, and observe some fireworks. And, things seem to be running smoothly in Sheffield in my absence. Where do I even begin?

Fabulous Fourth Fireworks

At the Met with my Sis-in-law

I landed in New York on 30 June. When my sister-in-law picked me up from the airport, I tried to get into the wrong side of the car and had to remind myself a time or two that she was in fact driving on the correct side of the road for this country. From the Metropolitan Museum to Highline to Coney Island Beach, I saw a lot of NYC with my niece and sis-in-law. A definite highlight was watching the 4th of July fireworks from the roof of a building close to the Empire State Building. To top it all off, I met a guy in the building where my brother's church meets from Liverpool of all places. He was a recovering alcoholic, and I hope my sis-in-law's and my words about Christ's love will ring in his heart through the coming months.

My lovely niece

After I left NYC, I flew into Colorado for a few days to see my grandmothers and to collect my mother for our road trip to Austin, Memphis, and Mobile. Whilst I was in Colorado, I had the privilege of appearing on a local Bible study television program. I was the first woman to appear on the show, and I got to share about Sheffield and the amazing things that God is doing in the UK. What an adventure we embark on with God! You can check it out if you like. Grassroots Television Aspen, Serving God, John Chapter 11.

This is the gigging boat (that's spearing fish)

I caught the little one in the middle

That week was a bit of a whirlwind week that ended with a road trip to Austin, TX for my friend Vicki's wedding. Vicki and I used to lead lifegroup together when I was at Christ Fellowship. It was a beautiful ceremony, and God even brought rain just before to cool off the air from 104 degrees to 86. Praise the Lord!

The next day we travelled to Memphis where I got to see my sister, brother-in-law and niece and nephew. They're getting so big! My niece and nephew that is, not my sister and brother-in-law. We even went to the zoo and had some famous Memphis barbecue, before heading down to Mobile to see my older sister. It was my first time in Alabama, and I went shrimping and gigging with my sister and her fiance. The kids loved the beach, and I got to see my sister purchase her wedding dress and experience some of Betty Mullek's famous trail mix.

On the shrimping boat with Evie and Grandma

'I like this sand stuff!'

Independence Pass, Colorado

At the end of the trip, my mother, grandmother, and I crawled into the car for one last long road trip back to Colorado. It crawled up to 116 degrees in Tulsa, rained and thundered in Kansas, until we finally alighted on Denver where I got to check in with one of my supporters at REI. It was lovely to be back in Colorado and to see some of the church members that I've known since I was a little girl. Coincidentally, it was their week for Vacation Bible School and Thursday night was Mission's Night. When I offered to help, they asked if I would speak, so I was able to share with the kids about Sheffield and God's heart for them and for their lives. The theme was, "Pandamania: God is Wild About You." It was a great experience and reminds me why I love to work with kids.

Meanwhile in Sheffield...our training school students and staff went on an outreach trip to Musselburgh (pronounced musselboro), Scotland. They spent three days sharing Jesus on the streets and praying for healing. What a great class and we are excited to have 8 students joining our current 4 during the Autumn term. We've also had a construction team over from Antioch Waco. The team took their holiday time to install our kitchen, stage, sound desk, and disabled toilet in the new building. We even had our first service in the new building on 21 August! I'm quite excited to see what God will do in this building in Sheffield. Taking new ground for the Kingdom! Please continue to keep Sheffield in your prayers this summer. :)

Our new building for our first service

My friend Zeida and her handsome sons

I would heartily appreciate your prayers as well. God has blessed my with a place to stay and an automobile for at least the first two weeks of my time in Fort Worth. I've had the opportunity to meet with some of you, to say thanks for touching the lives of people in Sheffield through me and for partnering with me in this venture, and to update you. Thank you all! If any of you know of a car available for the first few weeks of September, let me know.

Please continue to pray as I'm looking for some new partners to add to my prayer/support team both on a monthly basis and from special gifts. I'm needing $400 a month and am looking to cover visa costs and a car to the tune of $6,000. If you know of anyone who might like to hear about Sheffield or if you would like to hear more, please let me know. I believe that God has people in mind that can touch the people of Sheffield through me. Please help me believe for those connections! I hope to spend some quality time with some more of you soon. Thank you for reading my blog, for caring for me, and for your prayers. I feel them every day. HUGS!!

Look, Sheffield isn't the only place they do cutlery art

Wowsers, The Pre Furlough Edition

2011-06-30T01:05:00.002-05:00

Holiday Club Win!

Wowsers. I say that because so much has happened in the last month or so and because I will soon be in the States for my first furlough. When last we spoke, I mentioned that we were putting on our first ever Holiday Club. Even though we didn't have the 20 kids that I was hoping for, we did have five children from outside our church come to the club (10 total). We had great conversations with the children and a lot of fun. One of my favourite parts was probably the family service that we invited everyone to on the following Sunday. God is definitely moving in the hearts of the children in England, one of our girls even preached the gospel, in a sense, on the street corner. "Jesus loves you!" It has been a really good learning experience, and we look forward to running one again next summer.

Everybody love icebreakers

Story Time Thespians

Straight after the holiday club, the church staff and other church planters in Europe and the UK met together in Slaithwaite (pronounced 'slauwit') at a Christian retreat centre for AMI Europe. It was our first ever regional conference and a great time to connect with other church planters. The weather was lovely, and we all had a great time praying for each other and encouraging each other. One relationship that was formed there was with a couple leading a church in Musselburgh, Scotland, and our School of Transformation students are going up there for their first outreach this weekend.

AMI Europe kids

Fun in Slaithwaite

I'm sad not to be able to join the staff and students of the School of Transformation as they venture northward to Scotland (did you try to say it with the accent?). The school is going amazingly well, and we even have 10 people interested in signing up for the next term! We've been busy building relationships and hearing awesome teaching, which has been challenging for me as I hear some things for the second time. On our last Saturday, the students went around a local park talking with people about Jesus and asking if they'd want prayer, then we surprised them with a fun afternoon at a local lake.

School of Transformation FUN BOMB!

God has brought many such encouraging times into my life over the past months. Yancy Smith, one half of my pastoral support from the U.S., came to see me on his way back to Texas from Israel. He encouraged me, asked me the questions that I needed to hear at the time, and was a brilliant speaker at our training school. I'm so grateful that Jesus hasn't made us to live our lives in solitude.

Yancy arrived at the beginning of a three week stretch of outreach with 17 training school students from Elevate in Waco, Texas. The students came to encourage, to assist, to tell people about Jesus, to pray for the sick, and to connect new people with the church. Whilst they were here, they completely cleaned our new building and helped with some of the beginning construction projects, they met and began to form relationships with over 30 people, and they saw 21 people give their lives to Jesus! We were immensly blessed and refreshed by their time here.

Elevate Team

Some lovely ladies from Elevate

You may have noticed that I mentioned that construction has started in our new building! In fact, we moved into the offices portion of the building last Monday. Various members of the church have gotten really involved in the process. We have three or four people that have a lot of skills and expertise in the area of construction. Plus, one of the men from the Elevate team, a bulider, will be returning at the beginning of July to stay for a month, and a team of experienced builders, plumbers, and electricians are coming over for a week at the beginning of August to help out as well. It's so exciting! My colleague Kate and I also applied for a grant of £3000 from the Sheffield City Council. We had to present for 3 minutes and win enough votes to be awarded the money. Eight groups received money, and we received the 8th highest number of votes. Praise Jesus!

The New Offices

Sarah showing just how big our new sanctuary is

Brilliant helpers in our new foyer

I know what you're thinking, there couldn't possibly be more good news. But there is. Three church members have volunteered to cover the Children's Ministry responsibilities while I'm in the States on my furlough and two others are covering the hospitality. Please be praying for Will, Bex, and Emma as they step into a new level of leadership in the Launch Pad. And please being praying for our application to sponsor foreign workers. I recently travelled up to Leeds to visit Mosaic Church; they currently sponsor me to work in country. Thanks to all of you who prayed for my interview with the UK Border Agency! It went really well as far as I can tell.

Grant Presentation Winners

Furlough Update

As I type, I'm realising this will be my last blog from Sheffield in a few months. I'll be in the States from 30 June through 20 September. It's a time to reconnect with family, friends, and supporters, to raise any additional support needed, to get some rest, to reconnect with my sending church, and to meet with other children's pastors to glean from their wisdom. As I come, I'm looking forward to seeing as many of you as I can! I do have some needs that with which you may be able to help.

When I'm in Texas, from about 14 August til 20 Sept, I need a place to lay my head (doesn't have to be for the whole time, doesn't have to be a bed, I'm happy to housesit)
Also in Texas, I'm in need of an automobile. If you are away on holiday, or have a car that would be free for a few days, it would significantly bless me. I am a very safe driver and will put gas in your car ;-).
I want to see you, let me know when you are free, preferrably via e-mail.
I'm needing to raise about 5-10% extra in support a month just to come back to my budget. If you know of people who might be interested in hearing about an opportunity to reach the children in England for the Kingdom, I would love to meet them.
Please pray for a time of peace, rest, and hearing God anew

I love you all, am so blessed by your support in my prayers and can't wait to see you!

Saints Alive!

2011-04-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! The saints alive is in reference to Valentines and St. Patricks, which have both passed since last we spoke. My blog has been on the to do list for far too long, almost embarassingly long. At first it seems I was looking for inspiration in a 'slow' time then for space to write in a busy one. Either way, I'm sorry you've not heard from me. Thankfully, I'll get to see most if not all of you this summer as I'm back for my furlough! I'll let you know more information as the time approaches, but I'll be Stateside 30 June - 19 September. If you or anyone you know may have a car that I could borrow, especially in August when I'm in Texas, please let me know!

Swan I saw on my first rambling adventure

And now back to Valentine's Day. I think our church body is finally getting the hang of 'pot luck'! We try to eat together as a community once a month or so. This month we even took communion together at the meal. It was really fun to remember Jesus somewhat like I imagine the early church did. I sometimes struggle to converse with people while wondering if there's anything that needs to be done, but it's probably good for me. Training of a sort. :)

In February, we had a training for our lifegroup leaders and for anyone interested in leading a group. We spent a Saturday morning and early afternoon teaching about prayer, vision, and ways to work in a team. After breaking for lunch, we had a question and answer session and finished praying for our different lifegroups. Three new people even came to learn about lifegroup. That was exciting considering we didn't know if there were any new people that were interested in leading when we discussed the topic the week before. God is faithful to raise up new leaders!

I suppose there should be a photo of me

Have I told you about the Holiday Club that I've been planning? A holiday club is the equivalent of a Vacation Bible School. Ours is the first week of Easter break. It's called Xpedition Force. We sent out letters to the nearby schools, and I have a great team of volunteers! We're going on an expedition, climbing a mountain with the children, as well as taking the kids on a journey through the book of Matthew through the last supper, Jesus' death on the cross, and the resurrection. We had our first assembly at the school across the street from the church. Now we just need more kids! I'll let you know how it went in the next update.

Awesome Volunteers!

Speaking of kids, I recently had the opportunity to take the girls in the older class to see the film, "Tangled." I've wanted a chance to spend some time with the girlies and their mums for a while. Maddie actually suggested it in a way. I was saying how much I wanted to see the film and Maddie said she wanted to see it too. Thus the plan was hatched. Two of our regular church going girls brought some friends and their mums came too! It was a lot of fun, and the film was good as well. I hope to get to spend more time with these girls. They're so precious to their Heavenly Father. Little princesses.

One of the younger girls is called Darby. She loves princesses and everything pretty, always asking if I'm wearing earrings and commenting on necklaces. We've starting singing a new song at the Gathering called, "Blow, Mighty Breath of God." Darby's mom reported that she was singing that song the morning after in a loud clear voice. Same song, just more creative lyrics. "Blow, Mighty Breakfast God, Blow, Mighty Breakfast God." God is the God of breakfast, so I suppose her lyrics fit as well. I'm sure there's I can learn a thing or two from Darby's simple song.

School of Transformation games

Antioch School of Transformation has four students that have applied to learn a thing or two about church planting and to help develop Godly character and grow deeper in relationship with God. Our school started with a Saturday orientation and teaching. I'm excited to see God work in the lives of our students and myself and the other staff members through the school. I know God has spoken to the students through the teachings we've had so far. Please be praying for our students!

Baby Dedication

Let's see, a few little updates to finish up. We're about a week away from signing a lease on a new building! And, I sat in as a second on my first sozo. Also, we welcomed five new babies into the church with our very first dedication! We dedicated the babies on British Mother's Day and finished with a community meal. Exciting things are afoot in Sheffield and the UK. We're expecting a team from Antioch in Waco; seventeen Elevate students for twenty-one days. I'll keep you posted. I love you all my friends! Many thanks for your support on this adventure, and I can't wait to see you this summer, although I'm not looking forward to the Texas summer heat. Thank God for air condition!

New Faces, New Places

2011-01-17T08:47:00.016-06:00

(Yorkshire sunset)

Happy New Year! I'm so thankful for your partnership in prayer and support this year!! I realise that we are now twenty four days into the new year, but I believe this is the first time I've wished most of you the sentiment. Truly, I hope this finds you well and enjoying 2011. I've been enjoying the increasing length of the days. Every 21st of December, I celebrate inside because the shortest day of the year has passed. And we've had a lot of sunshine this January :). Sometimes I feel like the sun shines just for me.

(Angels visit the shepherds and sheep)

Of course, that's silly, but I take joy in it anyway. And there are a few things to update you on since Thanksgiving. We had a great Carol Service this year. The kids performed a live nativity. I call it the no gloss version of Jesus' birth, and they were adorable. The Carol Service always has an evangelistic tone, and this year was no exception. We had eighty people in attendance and one man decided to, as he put it, "Give this Jesus thing a go." All told, that's eight salvations this past year, and we're expecting an increase in the year to come. In fact, the following week, we had a celebration meal at a local pub, and we occupied three long tables.

This Christmas, I drove in London for the first time. I managed to navigate the one way streets 'almost' without incident. My brother and sister-in-law's plane was delayed, so I went to church with my good friend Pip. It was the first time I've ever done a pub quiz in church. (Pub quiz night is very popular here). All in all, with the jet lag, it was a nice quiet Christmas and Boxing Day with the exception of a little snafu with the rental car.

(Christmas cracker fun)

One of the highlights of the Christmas holidays (there were four days off this year), was a trip to Cambridge. My sister-in-law used to spend her summer holidays there, so we drove up to visit, stopping off in a village called Isleham (ice-lum) to visit her old pastor. He's called Paul Hedger, and he and his church are building the largest green oak timber church in the UK. He showed us the sawmill and shared about his church. The new building will have a sanctuary seating up to 600 people! It was faith-building for me to hear about other churches in the UK that are growing and seeing God move. Isleham isn't exactly a booming metropolis; it's a village really, but about 250 people are going to this church!

(Mr. Hedger's House)

After our visit with Mr. Hedger, we drove to Ely and visited the Ely Cathedral, the longest cathedral in the UK. One morning, the rector woke up to find the roof had caved in and a chap called Alan of Walsingham so liked the way the light flooded in, that he endeavored to build a ceiling that would allow the same to occur. It's definitely worth a google images search when you get a free minute.

(Ely Cathedral)

I had some free minutes over the Christmas to New Year's break, but there's also been some busyness. We moved out of our offices on Rockingham Street to save some money as we work on a deal for a new building. The whole church is going to visit the building on 6th February. Until then, we are functioning without offices. That has put Sarah and I in our flat more often. Our third flatmate is planning on moving out soon and we are praying for a new flatmate. So far we haven't had a lot of prospects. To top it off, we've discovered that we need to have the floor in our bathroom replaced. The shower has been leaking into the flat beneath ours. It's a good metaphor for not letting things in your life fester. The earlier you deal with it, the less rot can form. But I digress.

New Year's is a natural time to look at the past year and rejoice and look to the year to come and ask God what's coming. At our staff planning time in early January, we got some really good promises for the year to come. I've been working to run a holiday club during the Easter break. We've decided on the Xpedition Force theme, the gospel of Matthew with a military twist. I'm also working with a team of people to start our first church planting, discipleship school, the Antioch School of Transformation. Students spend a year learning how to disciple, building character, and applying the basic principles of church planting.

(Marble Slab in Sheffield!!)

God is doing new things all over the place. We've had new visitors at the Gathering, two couples getting married this year, lifegroups getting ready to multiply, and new building prospects. My housemate Sarah and I and a few friends popped down to Red Ruth, Cornwall for my former housemate Fliss' wedding. When I say popped down, I mean we drove six hours, an epically long car journey in UK terms. But the highlight of this past week is a tossup between a 3-year-old birthday party or one of our youth's recounting of her time ministering to a group of kids and the amazing way God used her story to speak into their lives. Good things are afoot this year. Climb onboard, hang on, and enjoy the ride!

(The beautiful bride)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-16T10:22:00.016-06:00

(Feet, post race)

Sadly, Thanksgiving is not a holiday here in Sheffield. However, next 29 April when the prince gets married, we'll have an extra public holiday. Go figure. But back to where we left off. I know I mentioned that I had been training for a 10 mile adventure race. I knew it was going to be tough, but had I known there would be so many hills, I would have run a lot more of them. I remember thinking part way through the race that I wasn't as muddy as I thought I would be. That's then the really intense section of the course began. A very determined scrub was required to wash the mud off at race's end, and I had cuts that I didn't even remember getting. But the important fact is that I FINISHED. I may have come in 179th, but cross the finish line I did. And for those who are considering something similiar, it's best not to ask how much distance remains at any point along the track; believe me, you don't want to know.

(Slightly muddy running conditions :))

You don't, however, want to miss the photos below of the kids in the Gathering. Recently, one of the mums had some flags made, and the kids love waving them in worship. Here they are marching with their banners to the song, "The Overcomers." The lyrics go something like this:

I see a people, changing the nations,
Now rising up to take their place,
I see an army, righteous and holy,
filled with the Spirit and unafraid.
They carry a banner, written Jehovah,
Lion of Judah, the King who reigns,
Christ the Redeemer, He is our Master,
And we've conquered all in Jesus' name.
We are the overcomers, we are the overcomers,
We have overcome in Jesus' name.

(The Overcomers!)

I had tears in my eyes while I was marching with the kids. They are the overcomers. We recently did a series with the kids about healing, and the kids came into the service to pray for people who were unwell. One woman got her knee healed, and the kids loved it! One of my favourite parts of children praying for people is their lack of pretense. The lead in of one of the girls is, "What's wrong?" And then she prays. Have you had a child pray for you lately? It's awesome!

(Bouldering in the Peaks)

A little less awesome is the need to say goodbye to good friends! My climbing partner and friend Pip got a great job in London, so we had to say 'see you later.' I was really sad to see her go and not just because now I have to find a new climbing partner. She was part of lifegroup, a super friend, and she will be missed! Guess I'll just have to visit London more often :). I will miss my friend.

(Capture the Flag!!)

Saying 'see you soon' to old friends brings with it the challenge of making new friends. In the meantime, I spent some time with the youth playing Capture the Flag out on the Devonshire Green, a local park. My team won and we met a couple of new friends. Two Uni students and two younger boys joined in on the fun as well as a girl called Alex that we had met during Re:create, the youth arts camp. I had loads of fun, but need to get back in sprinting shape. Plodding out ten miles works different muscles than sprinting to release someone from jail. My favourite score probably belongs to the little boy called Ritzim who just walked the opposing team's flag across the line while the rest of us were tussling over our flag. It was a classic moment. Never underestimate the small people!

(Sparklers!)

And never underestimate the simple pleasure of fireworks and sparklers. My second 5th of November has come and gone. We had a churchwide party watching the fireworks from the top of Bole Hill. Then, when we couldn't stand the cold any more, we went back to a church member's house for hot chocolate, toffee apples, conversation, and games. We even had a large group of Uni students come, friends of one of the Uni students we met on the Dev at Capture the Flag. That same Uni student even visited one of our lifegroups. It's neat to see how one event can lead to another. I hope that he visits again. Indeed, that many people visit that we meet. :)

(Worship with Logan)

This November marked two years in Sheffield, and my third Re:fresh, our annual weekend away. We had 71 attendees including one of the gentlemen that is doing our Alpha course! I spent the majority of the weekend with the children teaching them about what it means to be awake to God and His purpose for our lives. With the little ones, we explored themes including, Wake Up...My Heart, Ears, Eyes, and Hands & Feet. The older children explored Wake Up...And Listen, Love, Live, and Go. Elsewhere, attendees learned about power evangelism, church planting, and were encouraged to take risks for the gospel. The weekend was a success as people left refreshed and envisioned. Next time I'll discuss our Carol Service and the two foot of snow that feel here two weeks ago. Until then, I hope you all had Happy Thanksgivings, that your Christmas is truly fully of Christ, and that the New Year brings new life, new adventure, and new intimacy with our King.

(Re:fresh friends)

Shooting, Sozos, Students, and Celebrations!!

2010-10-05T08:25:00.006-05:00

(The view at Chatsworth)

Hi friends,

It's been ever so long since we've talked. How you been? I've been doing well. Keeping busy and joining in the excitement of the Autumn season. As most people were away during my birthday and a friend was getting married a few weekends after, I didn't celebrate my birthday until the 25th of September. And I celebrated in style. Camo jumpsuit, camo ski mask, helmet, boots, goggles, and...you guessed it, a paintball gun. There must have been about a dozen of us who went out on what was my very first paintballing experience. It was intense! And yes, those little round balls of paint hurt when they contact flesh. I had four bruises/welts to prove it.

Soon after, I helped out and experienced a sozo. It deals with less visible wounds, those we receive from others and choose in the course of our life. Sozo is the Greek word for saved, healed, and delivered, or as my Dad likes it, redeemed. The idea is that Jesus meant for salvation to include more than just eternal life and forgiveness of sins, He meant for us to be healed from wounds in our past and delivered from the demons that irritate and lies we believe. In short, a sozo is a time of healing prayer. You can check out bethelsozo.org.uk for more information.

(Padley Gorge, The Peaks)

In addition to celebrating my birthday, Antioch Community Church Sheffield celebrated 5 years. We had a roast dinner, cake, testimonies, and celebrated what God has done over the past five years. Old friends were there with some new, and it was truly a time to thank God for five successful years in Sheffield. We had about a hundred people show up for the event. Here's to five more!

(5 Years of Fun)

We've celebrated some other changes this past month. Two new babies were born into the church congregation, and we've had a 12-year-old girl visiting with one of the families. She has a mild case of autism, so it's been interesting to interact with her. It's exciting to have new kids to introduce to Jesus! I've also starting leading one of our smallgroups in lifegroup. The lifegroup as a whole rotates on a two week system. One week in lifegroup and one week reaching out to people in your social network. It's started slow, but it's great to see people reaching out to and even thinking about how to reach out to their friends who don't yet know Jesus. I hope to see a lot of fruit and new lifegroups started out of our efforts.

(Baby Bea)

This coming year, ACC Sheffield may have a new building to welcome these people into. We've looked at a property that would definitely be a fixer-upper, but is a fairly good location. Please be praying for us as we negotiate terms of lease and just that we hear God's voice clearly. Obviously we don't want to walk out where He's not leading, but we felt as a staff like He was calling us to step out in faith to believe for a building this year. It would be exciting to have a place to call our own. I'll keep you updated as things unfold.

(Fun in my Flat)

Speaking of updates, I did get my visa sponsorship and managed to get my application posted just in time. The package had to be mailed on Sat 23 October and I got my certificate of sponsorship on Friday evening. Talk about needing to trust God and His timing! Now it's a waiting game. Well, mostly a praying game. They take my photo and my fingerprints and they make a decision. I'll continue to update you.

In other news, late September is the time for universities to return to session. We've had many new students visit. One girl even came all the way from Colorado :). One exciting visitor is an international student. He brought his friend to lifegroup, and she has recently given her life to Jesus. Hooray! Plus this girl has already invited two of her friends who don't know Jesus to lifegroup. Isn't that exciting? And one of the women that a teammate and I know from conversation club has also given her life to Jesus. God is one the move; jump on board. Talk with you all soon!

August Youth Extravanganza

2010-09-06T09:07:00.010-05:00

(Autumn has begun)

As you can probably tell from the title of this month's blog, August has been a month chock full of youth events. Almost as soon as we returned from the ICON Conference in Colorado, a group of 9 youth and 2 leaders came to Sheffield. The team came from a church in Houston called Calvary to help with two of our major annual youth events: Re:create and Soul Survivor.

(Arts in the Park)

If you remember from last year, Re:create is a youth arts camp that we've run the past several summers. Last year, it had a serving Sheffield focus; the idea being a literal recreation of the city. This year we spent four days partly spent in the City Centre meeting youth and largely spent exploring questions of faith, identity, and God's truth through various artistic mediums. We got to have great conversations with the young people about who God says they are versus what people say they are and to speak the truth of who they are. And, it was a great pleasure to hear the youth team share their testimonies. Some of them as young as fifteen.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in peace, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. I Timothy 4:12

Throughout the camp, we had various visitors and finished off with a youth-led Gathering on Sunday. Kate spoke about the importance of truly surrendering our lives to Jesus, and the youth performed a drama highlighting the life and death importance of choosing Jesus. Two of the visitors got saved at the service! Please be praying for these two new believers and for the youth both from Sheffield and Houston.

The following Wednesday, 5 drivers and 25 youth gathered into cars for the journey to Soul Survivor. This year, I had the privilege of being amongst those 5 drivers. So at half eight that morning, we started off to join 10,000 other youth at the Royal Bath Showgrounds outside of Shepton-Mallet. It was my first time driving past Birmingham, Nottingham, and Bristol. I even came really close to Wales. Along the way, one of the cars on the journey had a breakdown and ended up leaving Sheffield at 4pm instead of 8:30am.

(Packing up and setting up Camp)

The journey back and forth both ways was definitely worth the outcome. Our young people met with God in the presence of 10,000 other youth, heard great teaching, and saw 500 young people give their lives to Jesus. Our youth were shattered (tired) on the journey back, but full of the presence of the Lord. We finished off with a barbecue at the McGinnis home and sent the team back to the States with tear-filled eyes. Time together in Heaven will be sweet indeed.

Much less sweet although still an accomplishment will be the finishing of a 10 mile adventure race I'm training for. For those of you from Fort Worth, the race is similar to the Marine Mud Run, except a bit longer and less obtacles, more mud. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it should be fun. I'm running with several people from church, so it's a great time to build relationships.

(My housemate Jenny and I)

I ran 9 miles this past weekend, and I'm looking forward to the run in a few weeks. I promise to post some pictures in my next update and also to tell you all the exciting things that have been happening in the merry month of September. Thanks for all your support and prayers. And an extra special prayer request this month is for my visa. The UK Home Office has recently tightened some of it's visa category requirements. Please join with me in praying for favour with the Border Agency! See you soon with September news.

Psalm 130:7, 142:10-11

2010-08-03T08:33:00.008-05:00

O (Sheffield),put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption.

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of man; the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.

Hello my faithful friends, supporters, blog readers,

There's been a big delay between this post and the last. I'm considering reformatting the way I post and posting the highlights of my months in smaller bits. We'll see. For now, here I am coming at you on the frontside of August 2010. My 28th birthday is a mere skip, hop, and a jump away, and today the sun is shining. A week ago, during staff prayer, the word hope popped into my head, and the above verses seemed to resonate with my soul. With the Lord is unfailing love and the Lord delights in those who put their HOPE in His unfailing love. Pretty good promises if you ask me.

(Boy band pic from Keystone)

If you ask me what I've been getting myself up to this past month and a half, I would start with my trip to observe the gentleman who goes in to share small dramas at local schools. We, his name is Mike, and I visited two schools early one morning. A primary school and a preschool. Mike has been going into schools within riding (motorbike) distance of Sheffield for the past 15 years or so. He tries to visit each school 6 times a year sharing Bible stories with the kids, and it was a good introduction seeing as I'm hoping to serve in some local schools at the start of the coming school year. The story of the day was of Mark losing his tunic as he ran from the soldiers chasing the disciples after the arrest of Jesus. It was great to be able to share with the kids the power of prayer. Mark prayed for God's help, and God answered.

(I couldn't get over the size of American sodas)

God answered in a big way in a service we had in June. The Randy Clark Healing Conference took place in Sheffield and several church members attended, as well as a fellow church planter.
At a service the following Sunday, the church planter shared some exciting stories of people healed and saved in his country. During that same service, five people were healed and one of our youth gave her life to Jesus! The faith of the whole church has increased through the experience.

(With the fam after iCON)

That same weekend, a church member who's father had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, asked Daniel and this church planter to come out and pray for his father. The church member shared the gospel with his parents for the first time since he was saved. (He was saved on an Alpha course about a month before). Then the three prayed for the man. At his 6 months check up, the doctor told the man that he didn't need to come back for a check up until Christmas - his scan was clean! God is SO good!!

(The view from the top of Keystone)

Can we remember all the good things God has done for us? I've been challenged to recount what He has done in my life. It was one of the challenges at our bi-annual International Conference (iCON for short). Six hundred church planters, including the children, descended on Keystone, CO for a week in July. It was a great time of teaching, fellowship, restoration, refreshing, and fun. And, it was a great opportunity to see our first ever entirely British-led Gathering. Though small in numbers, it's nice to see the people that we are discipling and training take their place in leading the church in the UK!

This summer we've also taken a break from the normal routine of a weekly Gathering in order to let the small groups that meet weekly get to know each other better. Young professionals met with students, youth met with families, and vice versa culminating in a time of eating together and singing songs of worship the final week. As much as I loved spending time with the families, it made me realise how much I enjoy seeing everyone together at church on a given Sunday.

(Frisbee at LG Gathering in the Park)

I enjoyed seeing my family in Colorado and some great friends, and I enjoyed a break in routine this summer. I like change, but I don't like change. Funny, huh? Balancing boredom and discomfort, spontaneity and the desire for order. As I process all that I learned and received at iCON, I hope in the unfailing love of the LORD to find that balance. Just so you know, all of you are part of the history of good things that the LORD has done in my life that I'm recounting! Thank you for your support!! May you experience the unfailing love of the Lord today as you put your hope in Him.

Cheers

Divine Discontent

2010-05-15T07:49:00.018-05:00

Twice in the last few months, I've been told that divine discontent can be a positive indicator. It's one way that God leads us to new things. We get in a state where we want something more; we know that there must be something more, and what's more, we need there to be something more. I was walking through the Rivelin Valley on a footpath near my house with a friend, when she shared the same thought. At the time, I was wanting to meet more people and find new ways into the community. One conclusion I had was that maybe I just needed to ask God to send more people my way. That very same evening we passed a Uni student drinking alone and the Holy Spirit led us to stop and chat, to make sure he was all right. We had a 40 minute conversation about God. Prayer answered. Bring it.

(Freedom and joy in Worship!)

Many other things that we've been praying for, we've been seeing. I know, I know, I shouldn't be surprised when that happens. But I like to see how God works it out. In Lifegroup, we had a discussion about living life without fear. One common fear that people had was being afraid of what people think. At the Gathering following the discussion, we had more joy and freedom in worship than we've had in a long time. Deciding that fear was not going to rule brought freedom. Other prayer requests we've seen answered include a finished Child Protection Policy, a member of our Alpha group giving his life to Jesus, and the children dancing in worship at the Gathering.

('40s themed Volunteer Appreciation)

The kids have been learning about the Parables of Jesus. We took a break from our study of the Supernatural for the Summer. They have really grabbed ahold of the stories of Jesus and enjoyed making the stories Jesus told into stories of their own. This last week we learned about the story of the Seeds and the Sower, and the kids taught the adults the motions they had learned to the song, "Everlasting God." It was as much fun to watch the adults worshipping with actions as it was to watch the children leading them.

('You comfort those in need...')

The church also took two weeks to pray for the children in schools through an organisation called 'Pray for Schools.' We prayed for the children that are taking qualifying exams and dreamed big dreams about what it would look like if all the children and teachers and administrators knew Jesus. I found out about the fortnight through an organisation here in Sheffield called "Christians and Sheffield Schools." Basically, they're interested in knowing about any Christians that are doing work in the schools in the area. I met a gentleman who goes into schools and does drama from the Bible. This month, I'm going to go to a few schools with him and see what he does with the purpose of discovering how I can help out with a few schools myself. I'll keep you posted.

(Most recent staff photo)

Elsewhere, Sheffield is getting ready to say goodbye to its Uni students for the summer. Several of them will be staying around during July, August and September. One of the Uni lifegroups has been praying this term about a way to reach out to the community. They felt called to serve the neighbourhood where our church building is located; it's called Broomhall. Going door to door, they eventually met a Pakistani man and his family they were able to serve, and they've built a relationship with the Pakistani community in Broomhall. It seems that God is giving us new inroads into the community in many new areas.

(Cross in the Clouds by Hana, a youth at ACC)

Maybe divine discontent is a good thing. Not always comfortable, but it gets us to ask questions and puts us in the position to go search for the source of our peace. This month it led us to that conversation with the Uni student, to more freedom in worship, and to serving new friends in Broomhall. I guess it keeps me from remaining in my comfortable box, safe yet boring. I would love to hear how God is calling you all out of your comfort zones! Thank oodles and tons for your prayers, encouragement, and support. May your divine discontent lead you on a road to revelation of what God is calling you to do next (in the words of Yancy Smith). Cheers!

A New Song

2010-04-27T06:23:00.012-05:00

(Yorkminster)

"I waited patiently upon the Lord and He inclined and heard my cry.

He pulled my up out of the miry clay, He set my feet upon the rock.

He gave me beauty for ashes and joy for my mourning and praise for heaviness.

He put a new song in my heart and a crown upon my head, He gave me life forevermore.

He's been so good, so, so good to me, so good, so, so good to me, so good, so, so good to me, Jesus.

He picked me up, and He turned me around and placed my feet on His solid ground

Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Now I've got love, joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit.

Oh Yay." (Cory Asbury "So Good to Me")

I know I've told you that I'm constantly looking for blog inspiration, and this time someone suggested that I start out with a poem. It resonated with me probably because I've kept a book full of quotes, poems, and inspiring stories since I was a teenager. Hence the song at the beginning. It's good to remember how good God has been to me. April has been a busy month, full of joy.

(Becky's 18th)

I attended my first 18th birthday here in the UK. The legal drinking age is 18 here today, so it's a big birthday. Amid the little boy who knew the moves to the Michael Jackson songs, the can-can contest between the men and the women, and the 90-year-old grandma who boogied on the dance floor, was a sweet family blessing their daughter on her big day. Becky is a sweet part of our youth group at church, going hard after God and challenging us to do the same.

(Re:create Stomp Session)

Becky and some of the other youth participated in Re:create Preview Day. Re:create is a youth arts camp aimed allowing the young people in our city to express themselves whilst giving us a chance to build relationships with them and find out where they are with God. The day was full of fun - we all did our own unique artwork - and more fun - we staged our own rendition of "Stomp" - and building a new relationship with a local girl. I'm believing God will do great things in her life.

(Our banner)

I think I told you that we've been going through a book by Mike Seth entitled "Here Comes Heaven" with the children in the Launch Pad. We recently created a banner with our lesson about our role as ambassadors of Heaven. Maddie took the lesson to heart and taught the actions from Launch Pad worship of "Superhero" and "Everlasting God" to two classmates. Her teacher asked the girls to perform for the class and then for the entire school. And "Superhero" doesn't mince words either. The entire population of Malin Bridge Primary heard, "Jesus, Your my superhero, You're my Star, my best friend." Beautiful!

(Alpha Weekend Away)

ACC Sheffield has been running an Alpha course with great success. Part of the course is a weekend away to build community and teach about the power and presence of the Holy Spirit then allowing the participants to experience that power and presence. It was a great success, and God totally came through. Sarah and Todd had no idea how many people would be able to attend and didn't even have a venue until a week before the event. God came through in a miraculous way. Discussion groups have changed since the weekend and one man especially is very close to giving his life to Jesus. Whoop whoop!

(Baptisms Yay!)

One of the Alpha attendees along with a woman who was saved on a previous Alpha course were baptised this month. The baptisms occurred on the same night that we installed our first set of elders as a church. We had a community meal and many visitors including a sweet family from Malaysia. As a church, we've seen many new visitors this past month, and it's exciting to see new people coming to the Gathering. One of our previous visitors and now regular church attendees, Sarah, an asylum-seeker received here indefinite leave to remain. She will now be able to seek employment. We celebrated with a party and her favourite song at church. Her testimony is awe-inspiring, and God, God has been good to her.

As we said hello to our friend Sarah, we said goodbye to our teammates the Roberts. They have embarked on a 3 month long furlough to reconnect with family and friends, raise support, and share what God is doing here in England. I miss them already, but am excited to see them in Colorado this summer for our organisation's biannual conference called ICON. I booked my plane tickets just the other day and am excited that three of our English staff members will be able to come. Please be praying with us for God's financial provision for the journey and see the instructions at the bottom of my blog if you would like to give.

(Wall entrance)

I'll leave you with some photos of a recent trip I took with some of the Uni girls to York. The day was meant to include a training session about reaching university students, but we unfortunately miscalculated the duration of the journey. Not one to waste time in a lovely city, we walked the streets. Especially impressive was the Yorkminster. It's the largest church in the north. Equally enjoyable were the walls around the city. You can walk on top and appreciate that people really are a lot taller now. Plus, I was able to visit a small shop down one of the alley-like streets and purchase some genuine American root beer. A special treat.

(Training exercise)

I pray this finds you well! Here in England we are getting used to a coalition government, hung parliaments, volcanic ash disrupting travel, and a chilly May. We've starting searching for a permanent building and are looking forward to achieving charity status. Daniel has turned in the rough draft of his thesis, and the Roberts are expecting their third baby. May we choose to walk in the love, joy, peace and righteousness from the Holy Spirit. Let's talk soon!

Uninspired, Unexpected, Undeterred

2010-03-23T11:42:00.009-05:00

(Games in the Peaks with the Youth)

Usually, when I sit down to write my blog, I wait for something to pop into my mind that has inspired me. An event, a song, a silly saying, a picture. This month I found myself feeling a little uninspired. And I didn't think the song, "Natural Woman" was a good basis for my blog. But I digress. In its own way, my lack of inspiration became my inspiration. Don't get me wrong; many hopeful and exciting things are occurring here. I think I've just been getting down about finances. I've been needing the verse from Philippians 4:6-7 on a regular basis. Be anxious for nothing. Be thankful in everything. By prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace that passes understanding will guard your heart and mind. And I say it again to myself.

I guess it's really all about faith and trust. Which is exactly what I've been teaching the children. We've been going through a book called Here Comes Heaven in the Launch Pad. It's exciting to be teaching it, and challenging to be living it. We're calling it "Catching Heaven." And as I teach it, I'm catching it as well. The kids seem to love hearing about the power of God and journaling to Jesus. Oh, there must be still more. We've been talking about believing what we see with our 'faith eyes' and praying what's in Heaven down on the earth.

(Heavenly Sheffield rainbow)

A nearby church had an exercise in that very thing. The tale is a bit sad, but hopeful. A young woman, my age, was exercising and collapsed, dying instantly. Her husband of three years asked the hospital if they could delay the postmortem so that the church could pray for her to be raised from the dead. They fasted and prayed for 4 or 5 days. The woman had an intermittent pulse and the coroner could find no obvious cause of death. Hundreds of people were in and out of the hospital praying, and everyone on staff noticed a difference in the atmosphere. The young lady did not rise from the dead, but the faith of the entire church body in the city has been raised. The Church in Sheffield was unafraid to ask for impossible things and expect them to happen. That's catching heaven.

Nello, our Italian friend and lifegroup member has caught a bit of heaven and taken it back to Torino (Turin). Before he left Sheffield to return home, he wanted to be baptised. His testimony of his faith being strengthened and meeting the Holy Spirit is amazing. Nello even wants to start a lifegroup in Italy. And Nello's younger brother Christian asked us to pray for him to encounter the Holy Spirit. All due to a meeting in a stairwell in a group of flats in Sheffield. Who can say that there won't soon be a church plant in Italy? Sometimes you find fruit in the most unexpected places...

(Nello, Julie, and I at his leaving do)

Antioch Sheffield has had other visitors from other nations. Kate, our youth pastor, invited an Afghan woman and her son to the Gathering. It was the woman's first time in a Christian church. Will she return? I don't know, but she has been introduced to worshippers of Jesus. And she told me that she thinks perhaps we are not quite so different as she once believed. May her heart be turned to the One who is Father and Love!

As a church staff, we've been asking the same for those who've come along on our Alpha course. Asking that they too would be drawn to Jesus. We've had a consistent group of 8 or 9 attendees and their hearts are soft. For some, it's a chance to ask questions, for others a chance to experience Jesus, and for the rest, a chance just to realise that Christians aren't as nutty as we're rumoured to be. At least not in the ways they think we are (wink). Coming up 23-24 April is the Alpha Weekend Away. It is usually a very pivotal point in the course. God has supernaturally provided a venue due to a last minute cancellation, and we're asking that no one would leave the weekend without experiencing God's love. Let's just see what He will do.

I'm glad that God doesn't rely on our inspiration or expectations to work. I mean, to a great extent our faith is a large part of the equation. Maybe that's why He puts us in community. Chances are slim that all of us will lack inspiration at the same time. And when we all have inspiration at the same time, amazing things can happen. I've wanted to assemble all of the children's volunteers that have want to be more involved with the children's ministry since the end of the last year. Just a fortnight ago, five of us met to discuss vision for the children of our city. The amount of vision in the room was inspiring and a bit daunting. It will definitely be Jesus that accomplishes what we dream for in our children. Little men and women who love Jesus and walk in power, passion, and purity. God help me to figure out how to walk it out with You, remaining undeterred even whilst lacking inspiration. I'll keep you posted.

(My Tea, Tots, & Thoughts Peeps)

Thankful for you, praying for you, believing with you!
xx

New: Year, Decade, Life, Nephew

2010-01-20T08:12:00.010-06:00

The weather this Tuesday has been a mixed bag - sunshine and snow. Reminds me of the weather in Colorado. Maybe I am becoming more British; I'm starting out a conversation with a discussion about the weather. The next thing I should say is, "well, at least it's not raining!" ;) Don't get me wrong, I will take the sun however I can get it. There were a few bleak weeks in January when I stared longingly at a photo of Sheffield drenched in sunshine. Gives new meaning to the verse, the Lord is my light and my salvation. It's from one of my favourite chapters in Psalms, the twenty seventh.

(Wedding ladies)

Speaking of favourite things, I love how God works surprises into your life. My plan for the year was to return to the States for the first time in February, but God had other plans. My brother decided to get married on Boxing Day (26 December for you non-Brits), so I made a whirlwind Christmas trip home. Snow in Colorado and sunshine in California made for a lovely holiday. It was a blessing to see my family and to testify to what the Lord is doing in Sheffield. It seems that God is into redemption of the sacrament of marriage. I'm looking forward to hearing my brother and new sister-in-law's testimonies in the years to come.

(Snow in the Peaks)

Upon returning to Sheffield, it promptly snowed for a week straight. More snow than Sheffield has seen for some time. It was fun to get out and walk in the Peaks on New Year's Day and play in the snow. My friend Emma helped me see the beauty through new eyes. Her childlike enjoyment of God's creation was infectious. Much like the love of Jesus.

(Emma's enjoyment)

This was evident on 28 December as two of my teammates gathered a number of internationals for a Christmas celebration meal. Our time with the English conversation clubs for asylum seekers and refugees has garnered many friends. We are looking into more intentional time with our new friends to dialogue about the Bible. I know of one who has joined the family of God, and I expect that we will see more.

We've seen God begin to do more as we branch out into new forms of evangelism. Last Tuesday we had our very first Alpha course. For those of you who've never heard of Alpha, it's a ten week course that explores the Christian faith. Topics such as "Christianity: Boring, Irrelevant, Untrue?" and "Who is Jesus?" are explored through a short teaching and then small group discussion spins off of the topic of the video. Alpha is meant to be a safe place for people to come and ask questions, even hard ones, about God, the church, and spirituality. Tuesday saw 14 people at our taster session at the local Starbucks. That's fourteen potential new believers!

That's only slightly more exciting than the "Believing God" Bible study I've been facilitating. Our third round of equipping classes started up at the beginning of February with the continuation of the series. This week we studied the concept of "Believing God to Get You to Gilgal." The idea being that at Gilgal the Israelites came full circle and were given a 'redo' at their entrance into the promised land. It was exciting to see women set free from the labels they may have had placed on them from the past as they believe God for a victory and a new start. I pray that the last two weeks of our study will be life-giving as we look at places in our lives where God has intervened and walk out in the new truths that we are learning.

(My adorable niece and nephew)

As for the children, we just finished our recent look at our identity in Christ. I think the adult volunteers had as much fun as the kids did. One identity in particular comes to mind, "I am a Champion." This particular truth had the children and the workers dancing in the hall for 20 minutes after the service with their gold medals of victory. The foundation of identity for the children has allowed us to reach a point where we can start learning about prophecy, healing, and the power of God. Next on the agenda, taking the book Here Comes Heaven and breaking it down with the kids. We'll focus on topics such as: Our Royal Mission, Faith, The Kingdom and the Spirit, and Signs and Wonders. I'm looking forward to it.

(Fort Worth friends!)

What else am I looking forward to? Moving into our new flat. After 6 weeks of searching and much praying, we found our new home. It's a great place that has awesome views of the city and the Peaks as well as a nice lounge perfect for lifegroup and other gatherings. God was gracious to provide us with a place that is warm, comfortable, and fulfilled our wishes. Isn't He good? He's good to bring us to a place of a 40 day Negativity Fast as a church for Lent. He's good to bring me a handsome and healthy new nephew. He's G-O-O-D! Thanks all of you for your support in prayers and finances. I know it's not easy. It was lovely to see some of your faces at the grand opening of Christ Fellowship's new building and a blessing to spend time with my niece and nephew. May you be blessed in your comings and your goings.

Lots of love!

(Fun with Family:))

Super, Extra-Large, Special Edition

2009-11-25T09:52:00.011-06:00

Wowsers, the last part of October and the month of November have been forces to reckon with. Forces for good. I can't believe it's taken this long to get back with my blog audience, but when you read what's been happening, perhaps some grace will be extended.

(Derbyshire sunrise)

First, some VERY good news! I passed...my driving test. There was such grace and peace and the favour of the Lord on my second test. And my lovely pink driving licence has arrived stating that I was born in the United Kingdom. A little snafu that I'm in the process of fixing. Thanks for all of your prayers!! I totally felt a difference between this test and the previous one and can even say that I'm a better driver for my failure. I needed to be reminded that it's okay to fail and even a natural part of our walk on this planet.

(Bonfire Night fun)

A little less natural, but still beautiful part of the English walk is Bonfire Night. The 5th of November is a night where all of Britain comes together to celebrate the capture of Guy Fawkes, a man who organised a plot to blow up Parliament. So they make giant fires, burn effigies of the man, and shoot off fireworks. Honestly, I think most people have forgotten what it's originally about and just come out to satisfy a little pyromania. The Students and Young Professionals met on Bole Hill and then had cocoa at Stephen's house. It was an opportunity to share with Stephen's neighbours and build community. I definitely recommend!

(Beautiful Koh Samui)

A little less physically fiery but not unfiery spiritually was the AMI Women's Retreat in Koh Samui, Thailand. Sixty missionary women from around the world came together to worship and minister to each other while being refreshed in the Lord. It was an amazing time of restoring and rebuilding faith and maybe having a little fun on the beach. But probably the most exciting part of the trip was the welcoming of a new Thai brother into the Kingdom. The man who served us tea and coffee gave his life to Jesus! WoooooHooooo!! His words were, "I asked the God to come into my heart and I changed!" and "When you sing, the hair on my arms stands up." Thank You Jesus for our new brother in Christ!

(Our Thai friend)

Ironically, whilst in Thailand, I celebrated my one year anniversary in Sheffield. It has been a fabulous year, and I'm amazed at what God has done in me and in Sheffield. Praise the Lord for He has done great things for me and I am filled with joy! I can't wait to see what He'll do in this next year. I've experienced Treasure Hunting and learning a new job and loving on people of a whole new culture and finally feeling like I'm starting to get it. I'm also starting to get a little tired of my own words. But I want to tell you in pictures about our annual weekend away, called Re:fresh. It was my second time at the retreat and the kids enjoyed learning about the Kingdom. Here are a few of the highlights.

Coming back right off the back of the retreat, I made a whirlwind trip down to London to visit Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Oxford. When I got back, some of our uni students had organised a day on campus called, "Love Your Uni." We got to give out free hugs, pray for healing, and Treasure Hunt. Two people got healed and we prayed for countless others. God is so good, there are not enough words to say how good. I'll tell you more about it next month. Happy Thanksgiving all!!
J-

(Where's Janette?)

The Good, The Bad, and The Holy

2009-10-19T06:02:00.007-05:00

Leaves are blazing with hues from golden to purple, and overcoats are coming out festooned with scarves in every shade of the rainbow. That's how you know it's autumn in Sheffield. I'm headed out to the Peaks for a short personal retreat this week, so I'm exciting to see the splashes of colour on the landscape. I think everyone should take a day or two once a quarter to get refreshed in God. I've noticed that it's been increasingly difficult to get myself out of bed on time and I've felt a little tired in general. But I feel energised when thinking about spending a day with Jesus, resting, getting fresh vision, and enjoying what it means to be a child of God.

The last part of September and first part of October have been a tug-of-war between the good, the bad, and the holy. Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Then we can focus on the the good and the holy. Thanks for everyone who prayed for my first driving test. Yes, my first is indicative that there will be a second. According to the examiner, "I'm afraid you have not been successful this time." Raise your hand if you like failing? I don't, so it's been a test of my character to fail and have to do it again. Test number two is scheduled for 28th October. I'm considering fasting in addition to prayer.

(The car I hired and drove the day before the test)

My brother was in town visiting the week before the test, and we had a great time driving out in the Peaks from the cliffs above Calver to the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest. He also joined me for the first of my djembe classes. Drumming is fun, hard on the arms, and another place of humility. Sometimes the hands just don't work the way you want them to; such is life. It is okay to not be skilled at everything. How else do we learn?

(Sherwood Forest with my bro)

Let's see, other good things: I'm officially volunteering with the adult head and neck cancer/voice therapy section of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital. I start 2nd November. It's mostly paperwork, but twice a month on Monday mornings I get to keep up my speech and language therapy skills or at least be close to speech and language therapy. I also look at it as an opportunity to meet more people and share the gospel. And, I got to go to my first English wedding. Fewer attendants, the bride and groom sit during the sermon, and the fudge cake literally has fudge in it. Mr. and Mrs. Hazell couldn't have asked for lovelier weather. Jesus likes weddings! Oh, and fun, Jesus likes fun. For our monthly staff fun day, we played a little Wii, and enjoyed each other's company in a lovingly competitive manner. Nadia took to sword fighting quickly:).

(Sitting during the wedding)

In the world of Treasure Hunting there's good, bad, and holy. This past Saturday we took a few of the Synergy students out for the first time. Synergy is an organisation on the University of Sheffield that brings Christian students together. They do an Alpha Course, Agape - an outreach to clubbers, and other events. So another member of staff, Todd, and I did a short training and then took the students out to hunt in the City Centre. The idea is to start Treasure Hunting on campus. I think it's holy to want to see more every time we go out!

(Maddie & Stephen :))
In the holy category, I've been working on an Identity series of curriculum with our older kiddos. I'm loving watching them learn who they are in Christ. To date we've covered I am loved and valuable, I am a friend of God, and I am chosen. I've also been working on a Training Manual and a Child Protection Policy for our second children's volunteer interest meeting this coming Sunday. I feel like I'm finally, after nearly a year in Sheffield, starting to figure out this Children's Pastor gig. That's exciting, because I feel like it will be a jumping off place for new things like outreach and more creativity and volunteer involvement. God is building His church and it's a joy to be a part in the good and the bad, but especially, the Holy.

(Student's Ultimate Spoons)

Faith, Hope, and Love

2009-09-16T07:54:00.009-05:00

Usually I find something in my week or past few weeks that inspires me. That becomes the impetus for my title and away we go. But sometimes, you just gotta keep people updated on what's been happening. So that's what this month is about. Not that I'm not inspired about what's been happening in Sheffield. That's good news. Great things have been happening here.

(Russia Team)

I think I wrote last about our team that we sent to Russia. A team of eight university students and one church staffer went to Irkutsk, Siberia. They ran a week long sports camp in the absence of running water, ministered to children in an orphanage, and spent some time reaching out to the people on the street. The students shared their testimonies, and 20 kids decided to give their lives to Jesus! Sheffield, Russia, and the ends of the Earth...

(Nadia stealing the show)

Didn't go quite that far to celebrate my 27th. Yes, I'm comfortable saying I'm 27. Not much you can do about the progression of time, eh? But to celebrate, I, and about twenty friends and families from the staff went out to the Peaks. Specifically we ate at a pub in High Bradfield with spectacular view of the valleys and hills. It was good fun, and Julie even invited some new friends from the Middle East. Not bad for my first birthday in Britain. Nadia was the star of the show though. What a cutie!

(27th in the Peaks)

Twenty-seven promises to be a year of, well, great promise. I met a woman at the conversation club from Cuba, and now I have someone to practise Spanish with. Keeps my skills from getting rusty. I'm also starting an African drumming class as a new way to meet people. So thanks for praying for new outlets into the community! And thanks for your prayers about the driving test. T minus four days and counting (25 September 2009 11:21am GMT). Everywhere I walk, I keep declaring in faith that I will park without hitting the kerb, I will check my mirrors the appropriate amount of times, and I will know the different between my left and right.

(Getting my driving on...)

I guess it's suitable that a girl who confuses left and right in a pinch is in children's ministry. I'm much more suited to working with children than say a job in the army, left, left, left, right, left. And what's new with the children you ask? We've just wrapped up our series called "Back to the Basics" and this Sunday we'll start our Autumn and Winter series called "Identity." I'm super excited to be teaching the kids who Jesus says they are. Also on the horizon is starting a toddler group and family Alpha Groups. Should be an exciting Autumn. Maybe we'll even have 15 children again this week. I'm hopeful. Bring them on!

(Goodbye McElroys-You're Missed!)

We did say goodbye to two children this week. Our team members the McElroys, who have been here since the beginning, are taking a year in the States to pray about their next church plant. Stephen, Cheri, Jonathan, Timothy, Michaela, and Destiny will be missed! As the McElroys move on, two English staffers are coming on full time. Sarah, my housemate and on of the Uni pastors, and Kate, the youth pastor. Ah, people come and go; that's one reason Heaven will be so great. No more goodbyes. On that note, I will sign-off. Not goodbye, simply, see you later. Love you all! Faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.

A Whirlwind Of Activity

2009-08-11T11:05:00.004-05:00

(Tower Bridge)

I have decided this year that instead of proceeding with the addition of years on my birthday, I will embrace subtraction. Twenty-five here I come ;). Just kidding, 27 should be a great year. I only wish that I had been able to savour this past month, the last month of 26, a little more. Busy is not bad, but running past the roses without smelling them concerns me.

(Mel & I at Mr. Darcy's a.k.a Chatsworth)

Don't get me wrong. It has been a great month! My friend Melaney came to visit, I saw London in greater depth than ever before, and my older sister dragged my mother and I on a whirlwind, crazy, four day excursion to Crete, Greece. Late July and August are a time of holidays, so everyone feels more relaxed in their work. It makes sense to me, because I've been working in the school system. But it takes some getting used to, taking a holiday when your co-workers continue to work. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

(Mom & Kim shivering because Sheffield is SO cold :))

I hope I never get used to seeing God move. What I mean is, I want to be excited every time. This month has been chock-a-block full of opportunities to encounter God in large groups. We had a ministry called Ministering to Jesus come for a weekend. The woman's name is Jenny Mayhew and her heart is a call back to worship, the kind of worship that is without agenda, simply loving on Jesus. We spent three days focusing on different attributes of God and scriptures, all without saying a single word. There's music, but the opportunity to respond is in your heart. It takes a little while to get comfortable, but in the end it was really cool. God delights in being worshipped. And we are changed by Him. But you know that.

(Re:create Sunday)

The next opportunity was Re:create. Kate, our youth pastor, organised the youth of our church to be a force of change in our city. Friday night was worship and prayer, Saturday homeless outreach, treasure hunting, and clean-up, and Sunday fun in the park. We had our first salvation on the street, and I watched this sweet Jamaican lady who sings on the streets round up eight teenagers to tell them about the love of Jesus. It was great!

(Crete at sunset)

We also sent teams to Irkutsk, Russia and Soul Survivor. I can't wait to hear the testimonies, but I'll share one with you already. Dustin, the young professionals/intercession guy on staff went to help oversee the boys, and in the big tent meeting had his knee miraculously healed! I don't have all the details, but he'd been injured in an Ultimate Frisbee game a few years ago and hadn't been able to run. A visit to a physio-therapist here revealed that the injury had caused Dustin to walk in a way that had affected his muscles. He felt his muscles shaking and his trainers caused him to get a blister because his walking stance has changed. AMAZING!

Somewhat less amazing, but still good, is I've passed the written portion of the driving exam. The 45 minute practical looms, but I can do all things through Christ, right! Things like reaching out to international women who are asylum-seekers and refugees and doing volunteer speech and language therapy with the National Health Service. As the children come back to school for the Autumn term, we'll be starting to teach the children about their identity in Christ.

I'm grateful for the chance to re-examine the past month with you all. It's good to look back and remember what God has done when you're looking forward to the work that needs to be done. Thank you for all your prayers and support!! I keep all of you in my heart even though I'm far away. Heaven is forever.

J-

The Un-Fourth of July

2009-07-08T07:35:00.010-05:00

(Faith, Hope & Love)

It is my hope that my readers will not become weary of hearing about my year of firsts. It's not that they don't have a fourth of July in Britain; it's just that they don't have a Fourth of July. It would be a little interesting to celebrate the day that one of your colonies declared independence from your tyranny. Needless to say, July 4th was a day much like any other. In hindsight, it would have been an excellent day to host a barbecue as an outreach. There's always next year. But it remains to be said to all of you, "Happy Fourth of July!"

(One of my kids playing an Oompah Loompah)

While we haven't been having fireworks and barbecues with potato salad and the works, we did host an American-themed party for a group of international students. Julie, one of my teammates, is finishing her Master's at Sheffield Uni, and she attended a no alcohol, end of term party where she met several Pakistani and Indian women. Ira, another teammate decided to throw a similar party with an American theme. It was an amazing time of loving on these ladies through friendship and a little Dance, Dance Revolution. We even learned a new card game, but the most amazing part was testimony time. Ira got to share her life story with the girls, and we gave each of them a Bible. Julie is reading through the Bible with one of the girls, and another told Ira that she had always wanted a Bible. I get goosebumps and watery eyes just thinking about it.

God is so good, and He is moving in the international community in Sheffield. Julie, Ira, and I have started attending an English club run through an organisation that assists asylum seekers and refugees. It is a great way to connect with the nations that are in Sheffield and ask God to show us those who are hungry. I even had a two-hour conversation with one man about the existence of God! This occurred after the leader told us that the participants might not want to discuss religion or politics. I was floored and am praying for the man that I spoke with to find Jesus.

I'm also praying for my driving instructor. I don't know if he knows Jesus, but I'm hoping for an opportunity to discuss something besides my inadequate turns-in-the-road. If anyone is feeling like the Lord is wanting to teach them about humility, I recommend taking driving lessons in the UK. There are so many things to think about, so I just pray during the whole session. Never fear, I'm having fun facing the challenge. Hopefully that will be my attitude during the 40 minute driving exam! It's good to not take yourself too seriously:).

(Pyramids in the Peace Gardens)

This summer has brought some opportunities for fun as well as work. Summer is a slower time for children's ministry as many of our families have holidays planned. Praise the Lord, I still have people offering to volunteer to be in the Launch Pad, our Sunday children's ministry time. This is a blessing as many of the students that volunteer throughout the year are home for the summer or are leaving for a 2 week mission trip to Russia. Please be lifting up the nine students who will be in Siberia from 31 July to 16 August.

(I love my team!)

I'll leave you with some photos of our recent Staff Fun Day and strawberry picking time from last Sunday. We did a photo scavenger hunt throughout the city, and I had a great time creating the list of silly things for us to do. Strawberry picking was a more spontaneous, after-the-Gathering, quality time with the students and youth of the church time. Just watch out for the stinging nettle, but enjoy the hunt for treasure if you ever go. I'm looking forward to my first visitors and the outcome of the meetings that we have been having in order to evaluate what we are doing as a church. Thank you all for your prayers and covering. I couldn't do it without you all; You're Champs.

Hugs,

J-

(Strawberry tast..er picking)

When Did It Get to be June?

2009-06-12T11:43:00.005-05:00

It's been a whirlwind of a time here in Sheffield over the past couple of weeks. When I think about it, it's hard not to ask myself where the time has gone. I enjoy being busy, but hate feeling like I'm not living life to the fullest in all the busyness. Thanks to everyone for your prayers as I'm sure they've helped in times when I just wanted to bury my head in the sand. The whole experience of Mission Sheffield has been a blessing. We've done everything in the city from worshipping God at the top of our lungs in a club to picking up rubbish to praying half the night to standing in rivers of water whilst Treasure Hunting.

It all started out with a half night of prayer to prepare the ground and our hearts for what God was wanting to do. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head were part of the show as we used them to pray for the full armour of God and protection. The group that we sent to reach out in the club and bar scene saw some amazing testimonies of God's love. My housemate Fliss works in a university bar and after praying through the place, two of her staff members said they wanted to come to church or talk more about Jesus. It didn't stop there because two of the girls riding home in a taxi got to pray for the driver. It's a much better story than I am able to relate in the space I have here!

Every day of the week we were able to spend focused time in prayer and then we either went out for Treasure Hunting or served the area around our church building by picking up rubbish. Our intention was to knock on doors and ask if there was any work to do, but no one took us up on the offer. We did get to meet an older Christian couple and their friend who had just accepted Jesus. So that was a great connect. This couple gets together with seven other churches in the area to pray. How encouraging!

Nearly as encouraging as Wednesday treasure hunting. We'd prayed for good weather all week, and up until Wednesday and thereafter, it didn't rain. However, in our last few minutes of Wednesday Treasure Hunting, the sky opened up and it began to POUR!! One of the girls in our group asked, "How much do we want it?" So we went chasing after a white and red stripey umbrella down the main walking street. It's a popular place for charities to catch people and try to stir up money. So, one such fundraiser asked if we wanted to hear about orangutans and he said he would hear about God. We spent 20 minutes in the rain, standing in water covering our shoes, praying for this gentleman who had studied Bible at the University of Sheffield. It was so cool and totally worth it. Four umbrellas clustered together, praying in the streets!!

I don't know how many people we prayed for or chatted with, over 50 I'm sure. And on Sunday we had one person give their life to Jesus! We also learned some good lessons about what doesn't work in Sheffield. Like a barbecue in the car park asking people on the streets. We had fun, but few takers. Now it's a matter of figuring out how to maintain consistency of outreach. In fact, as a church we're praying through everything that we do and asking for wisdom. What to continue, what to stop, what to change, and what to start... We've even done a survey. Lord, give us wisdom.

Enough of what's happening at work, now a little bit about what's new with me. I've yet to meet the princes, but I do have a new housemate moving in soon. It was sad to see Kate go, but God provided a great Christian girl to take her room. Sarah's actually on staff with the church. And, one of our staff families is headed back to the States as their four year commitment is up. Change, change, change - gotta love it.

(Housemates Sarah & Fliss)

Like driving on the opposite side of the street. That's right. Drivers of Britain beware, Janette Stanberry is taking her first driving lesson this Wednesday. Last night I even had a dream that I forgot which side of the road to drive on in which country. I think it will be fine and exciting. I'll let you know if you need to feel sorry for my driving instructor. I'm also going to volunteer for the National Health Service. It will be a chance to do volunteer speech and language therapy whilst I'm here. Hmm, last but not least, my first visitors are coming! My friends Melaney and Priya and my mom and older sister will visit Sheffield in the next month. I'm excited to see them and wanting prayer to cover the visits. I don't want anything to interfere with what God is doing, so it should be interesting.

July and August are quieter months in Sheffield. Our Uni students are home for summer break and the children finish school. Come rain or shine, God is on my side. Someone asked me the other day if I was thriving and encouraged. I'm getting close to thriving and almost always encouraged. Life isn't always coming up roses, but God is with us through it all. I pray you find Him close and His love fresh today. A great big hug!

Six Months Out

2009-05-13T08:04:00.008-05:00

Sometimes it seems as if time has passed of which you're not really aware. Or maybe I just really don't know what six months 'feels' like. But I reached that milestone last week. Six months in England. I look back and consider them to be good months. These six months have been months that leave me longing for God to do more both in me and through me. Some days I don't even feel like my job is work and others, well, we all have those days. I can joyously report more of the first than the second!

The weather around here has been a bit nutty lately; it reminds me a bit of the spring weather in Texas. Whereas generally the rain falls like a mist or drizzle, we've even had thunder. There's a lot of rain in England, but not much thunder. So, it was an exciting occurrence. Of course it happened to rain on the day we had planned an appreciation barbecue for the Lifegroup Leaders, so we ended up grilling in the rain. Daniel, the head pastor, grilled chicken with a spatula in one hand and an umbrella in the other. It was a good time of blessing those who have poured their lives and prayers into the small groups at church.

The weekend before, all the ladies of the church gathered for a Women's Day out in Killamarsh, a sort of suburb of Sheffield. We met at a house called Westthorpe Hall, and it was amazing. The garage was tidied and decorated and everyone ministered to. Several of the youth girls and two of the younger girls came and we praised and learned about being daughters of the King and made jewelry and cards to hand out to the prostitutes that two of the ladies in the church are reaching out to here in Sheffield. Good food and good fellowship and excellent pinnies, as they call aprons.

Remember, I asked if everyone would be praying for the crazy season. Thank you for your prayers. It's halfway over and there is much grace from God. Sometimes it's just remembering to rest in Him. Hard thing to do. I'm grateful for reminders that He is the King of the World. We completed our scheduled prayer gatherings (church services where we focused on worship and prayer) with a Nation's Night. I got to paint flags on the children's faces; it's really hard to remember how all those flags look. More than one child had Romania instead of France or the like. The church with the older children included lifted up the persecuted church, war torn countries, nations that we felt called to pray for, and rejoiced in what God is doing. The persecuted church portion met in the stairwell and whispered and hummed their prayers. My favourite was probably the rejoicing station. First we would read out what is happening in different places in the world and then choose a way to thank God. Everyone else got a good start when we thanked God with a ROAR!

And the children, well they loved it. They're loving learning about salvation and baptism and communion this week. I call it Back to the Basics. The younger children are learning all about the things and people that God made. We have three children who want to be baptised and in June we have about 10 days of focused outreach to the city. It's called Mission Sheffield, taking a mission trip to your own city. We're praying for great connects as we prayer walk the city, treasure hunt, serve the community surrounding the church building, and have service in the park. Pray for sunshine!!! God is moving, can you feel it? Six months out and six months into God's work. More God, I ask for more!

And I haven't forgotten the story of repentance. Most of us know that it seems really hard to get up in front of a room of people and repent, but that's exactly what Daniel did. The team here has had a bit of a rocky history, and Daniel felt like God was saying that repentance would bring many things to the church including revival. So, he stood in front of the whole church and explained what had been happening and repented for his shortcomings in it all. We as a staff repented for a lack of unity, and the whole church prayed. It was powerful stuff. If repentance will bring the life and renewal of God, let's start doing it more often! What if we were known as a people of repentance? What then? God knows I've got a ways to go. You are all in my heart! Be blessed this spring :).

When Last I Wrote...

2009-04-29T05:23:00.005-05:00

Happy Monday to all. I hope you all enjoyed a small glimpse into English daily life. The flowers here are in full bloom, and I think we received enough rain today to spruce our garden back into greenness of life. A season of new beginnings, that's Spring for you. Since last I wrote, Easter has come and gone, but Jesus is still risen!

Many of the university students return home for Easter holidays, so it's been a quiet couple of weeks. For my Easter holidays I spent a day hiking with two of the families from the church, a day brunching and Easter egg hunting, and a very American evening of tacos. It was great to get to know some of my kiddos better on the hike. One of the families trains hunting dogs, and I got to watch the wonder of well trained puppies.

Brunch was a church affair. A mismash of everyone who didn't have Easter plans or didn't go home for the holidays. It's was great to get to watch little Nadia's first Easter egg hunt. She was distinctly less interested in finding the eggs than in the joy of walking. For taco night, we played games and enjoyed guacamole and all the fixings. Minus the queso mind you. They haven't mastered the art of Fuzzy's queso here yet.

After Easter it was back to business as usual. As usual as we get here. We learned about salvation on Easter and then proceeded back into our Worship theme. So far we've learned what worship is and why and how we do it. This past week there were 14 kids in Launch Pad. It was as if we suddenly bloomed. Like Spring came in the children's ministry. As long as God promises to be with me and give me wisdom, I think we can keep blooming and blooming.

Two of the girls have been coming with a gentleman who walked into church off the street four weeks ago. He had been drinking, but came in to check out the service. One of the guys in the church got to talking with the man and prayed for him. Turns out he used to be a pastor and fell into alcoholism. But you wouldn't even know he's the same man from four months ago. That's the power of Jesus Christ. Sometimes I need to remember how powerful the gospel is, even though I'm submersed in it everyday. New beginnings, new beginnings.

I nearly forgot to mention our trip to Our Cow Molly. It's a farm in Dungworth that makes ice cream. It was great fun playing with the animals, swinging on rope swings, shepherding sheep, and, of course, consuming ice cream. This week, I'm heading down to Cheltenhem in the Cotswolds for a short trip/personal retreat. I'm excited to see a new part of this country that is slowly becoming my new home. It will also be a good chance to spend a whole day with God, being refreshed by His presence.

God is doing great things in the UK. Next time I'll share a cool story of repentance, but I'd better sign off for now. I pray this finds you experiencing new beginnings even amidst the turning up and replanting of new ground.

A Day in the Life

2009-03-31T05:58:00.010-05:00

I was inspired this time to talk about an ordinary day in the life of a Sheffield missionary children's pastor. It may not be as exciting as previous blogs, but you'll get to see where I live, work, and play. Above is my bedroom. I live in the top floor of a terrace house. Terrace houses are kind of like duplexes, except usually attached on both sides to other houses. Our house is attached on one side and then there is an alleyway on the other. But the attics of all the houses on our street are attached, so I got to hear when the neighbours decided to renovate. Many attic rooms have a sink, especially since there is usually only one loo/toilet/bathroom. So I get the sink in my room. And the third photo is my pet Gerber daisy. I've managed to keep it alive and reflowering for 4 whole months. Exciting, I know. Living in the attic has it's ups and downs. I have a great view of the city and my own little getaway, but I also hear the rain and wind. Mostly, I think it's great. Sometimes I hit my head on the slanted roof...

These are the stairs that go down from my room to the middle floor. People here call it the second floor, but in America we would call it the first floor. I am proud to say I have only slipped down the stairs once, but it can get a little tricky especially whilst carrying awkwardly shaped, heavy objects. The next photo is our loo, and the photo is tiny because the loo is tiny. But we have a full tub, which is great. Making your way down to the first floor is another set of stairs. I have friends whose stairs are steeper than ours, but not many. They were built at a time when people's feet were smaller too, because my whole foot doesn't fit on the step. Normally, I don't use the hand rail when walking down stairs, but I do for my steps at home. Gotta love pink carpet!

And this is my lovely kitchen. You'll notice that the washer and dryer make their home in the kitchen. I'm so thankful for the pair because many houses don't have dryers, or they have a washer/dryer. One of my teammates has one and she affectionately refers to it as the 'washer/less wetter.' This is where I come for a cuppa tea or to grab my breakfast and lunch on the way out the door to work. The picture on the wall was done for me by some of the children in the church, a sort of prophetic, feed my sheep piece of art. The last photo is my back garden. It's pretty good size, and I've laid out watching the stars before. Previous tenants have used it as a fireworks launching pad as there are no fireworks restrictions in the UK, especially on Bonfire Night.

This is the office where I work on most days. We were very blessed to get it, right in the city center with good sized rooms for uni lifegroups and prayer nights. I decorated the staircase at Christmas with holly and ribbon! And the loo was previously painted a horrid turquoise and teal, with avocado fixtures. I rescued it with some brown and cream paint. Slightly odd to mention the loo twice in a blog, I promise I won't be mentioning it any time in the near future.

At the top of the stairs is the conference room where I spend the majority of most Thursday mornings for staff meeting. Next door is the prayer room, where on Mondays we prepare for treasure hunting and on Wednesdays we have a prayer lunch hour. This Friday we'll be in there for a Good Friday time of worship and prayer. And last but not least is the office room. The sun shines in on my desk, which is looking typically neat and tidy ;). It's the first one in the room, right next to the radiator. I like where I work!
Things are otherwise going smoothly. I found a climbing gym, and got to climb a 15 meter wall. Yikes! But it was really fun; I even seconded and did a lead climb. And, I had to remember how to tie a figure eight. With the coming of spring, spirits are lifting. The whole nation is praying for revival and we are gearing up for a mission trip to...Sheffield. That means a focus on evangelism in the sermons, and this week the kids are learning about the Easter story in the context of salvation. Then we're making heart books, so they can share with their friends. Last week at the prayer night the kids got in front and tore, punched through, and generally shredded some of the strongholds on the nation - alcoholism, spiritual relativism, teen pregnancy, and materialism to name a few. It was awesome and powerful. God is doing great things for us, and we are filled with joy!

Haircuts and Hilarity

2009-03-11T17:02:00.006-05:00

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Are you wearing green? I am, but I'm not yet sure whether that is just an American tradition. I haven't seen many Brits sporting the color. Today it's a bit gray outside, but for the past week it has been sunny and fairly warm, with blue skies. There's a market set up on the main walking street in honor of St. Pat, and the delicious aromas wafting from the food booths were enough to mildly distract our group of treasure hunters yesterday.

I don't know if I've told you about treasure hunting yet. Simplified it's waiting on the Lord for clues about people we expect to find out on the streets and then going out and finding and hopefully praying for them. It's been about 8 weeks since we started, and God is doing really cool things. The first week was very slow and we got our share of rejections from people who can't think of a single thing they may need prayer for, not a single thing. But God is beginning to show us that He is moving. This past week we got to pray for a woman who'd been in a car accident and a pair of international students from Hungary and Japan. It's so fun to see God lead us to people who are in need. Still waiting to see immediate healing, but God is good and faithful, so it's coming.

(Mmm Chili's)

God moves in other ways as you know. I went to get my first English haircut and had the most interesting conversation with my hairdresser, James. He was intrigued about the church and what we are and aren't allowed to do. He asked if I was allowed to get married, or marry more than one fellow, or if I needed to wear special clothing, if foreigners were allowed....he wanted to start a controversial discussion. I think in the end God just gave me a bigger heart for him. James ended up sharing that he was recently divorced and didn't really speak with his daughter. I think I may go back to him to have my hair cut again just to be able to tell him that God loves him.

Another first for me in Sheffield was my very first children's ministry interest meeting. I'm really excited to get to know and work with the fifteen odd man and women who came to the meeting! Having been praying for a team of people to join me in reaching the children, I was pretty overwhelmed by the response. I now have just over a dozen people who have a heart to see children experience God so powerfully while they're children that they will never want to turn away. Now I just have to figure out the organizing and training. I think in this journey I'm learning that everything seems to take a little longer when you're church planting. But praise God that I'm am not alone!

(Big Ben in the sunlight)

I felt that more than ever at this weekend's Worship Central conference in London. People all over the UK are feeling the call to prayer, fasting, and worship this year. One member of our team went to a prayer meeting that was host to leaders from every denomination in the UK, and they spent five hours repenting and praying for the United Kingdom. Powerful! This past Saturday the worship team (I qualify under the status of children's worship pastor ;)) travelled down to London (no, not to visit the queen :)) to attend Worship Central. Imagine nearly 2,000 people passionate about worship and leading people into the heart of worship. We got to eat a meal at Chili's, too. Present were Peter Grieg - the 24-7 prayer guy, Tim Hughes, Al Gordan, Ben Cantalon, praying with drumming, prophetic rapping...heaven is going to be such a cool place.

Let's see, what else have I been getting myself into - I list because it's nearly time to sign off. Training for the Sheffield half-marathon, getting burgled, tube surfing (pronounced tyube), starting a new unit with the kids on worship, having fun at the office observing my co-workers sporting attire from the dress-up bag, playing at the coolest park in Sheffield with built-in trampolines, sampling food from the first Sheffield Market of the year...life has it's ups and its downs. In it all, GOD IS GOOD. May He bless you and keep you in His kindness wherever you may be in your day!

Loads of love!

Bringin' it, Bananas, and Berlin

2009-02-24T05:21:00.012-06:00

Warm greetings from Sheffield. I know it defies what some think of England, but today I actually walked about town without a jacket. Temperature is 8 degrees Celsius, 46 degrees Fahrenheit. We're having a heatwave! It made me realize that, while I enjoy winter, I was not made for climes where 3 feet of snow grace the ground for more than 3 months :). Speaking of snow, I'm sure you all saw the news about the snow falling down here in Sheffield. In fact, I wrote about it last time. It's all gone now, but I got some awesome photos from my bedroom window. It's great living on the third floor...except when you have to climb two flights of stairs with heavy things. Good for my fitness level I suppose.

Thinking about things that are good for me makes me think about the sermon that I preached last Sunday. I know it was good for me to do something that took me completely out of my comfort zone. I managed not to faint, trip over every other word, or to be terribly unclear. It's a very great thing that God is so good! I simply spoke about what I feel God's heart is for children, and He did the rest. It was fun, stressful, and is honestly a relief to have completed. Generally speaking it was a good experience, but I'm glad it's not my job every week. Usually we put the sermons on the website (antiochsheffield.org), but I'm not sure if mine was recorded. I'll let you know if it gets put up because I know you'll all want to hear it (wink).

(BYOB)

I know you're asking yourself, what else is new in Sheffield. Well, the answer is, BYOB. Some of you may be concerned, but I can assure you. BYOB stands for Bring Your Own Banana. One of the freshers (first year university students) thought it would be a good idea to have a time of getting to know Janette better. I mentioned my love of peanut butter banana smoothies, and the idea took off from there. All who wanted to could bring a banana, and I would introduce them to the joy of Janette's smoothie. It was good fun to see the reactions of people who politely drank something they weren't quite sure about:). It warms the heart.

(Victory Column)

Travelling to another country and finding people who love Jesus also warms the heart. That was the experience of these last four days in Berlin, Germany. I left on Thursday for World Mandate Berlin with my housemate Fliss, the student pastors Sarah and Stephen, and one of our student lifegroup leaders Lara. Also in my company were the four or five German words that I knew. Thursday evening was spent tromping around the city in the snow seeing the sights. Friday we climbed 282 steps to the top of the Victory Column in Berlin (Siegessӓule) and saw the remnants of the Berlin Wall. You can't look at it and not think about how something so physical must have had a profound emotional impact of the ethos of the nation.

(Lara, Fliss, Stephen, & Sarah) (Giant Lego Giraffe)

(Portions of the Wall)

The wall doesn't seem to have affected the food or music of the city. World Mandate Berlin worship was spectacular! I even loved singing in German. Let's see, other things I loved about Berlin and World Mandate in no particular order:

- Dunkin Donuts

- Litter free streets

- God is Good to All (awesome song!)

- Enormous four level train stations

- Finding friends in God even if you don't exactly speak the same language (Jesus is a heart language after all)

- Spending 4 days straight with great English people

- Walking the streets of Berlin and getting a bigger heart for the nation

- Hearing a 26-year-old German pastor with a huge heart for his nation to know Jesus (with the help of a translator of course)

(East meets West)

It's good to be back in Sheffield, but I recommend Berlin to anyone who's thinking about visiting, and you should definitely check out Antioch Berlin if you go there. They have an amazing worship band. Now it's back to work figuring out the volunteer's rotation for children for the next month, working on the children's workers training day this Sunday after church, and working through the logistics of splitting the children into two classes! Our new team members, John and Ira Book arrived last Wednesday with their 13 month old Nadia and we have a new family coming to church with a 13-year-old, 11-year-old, and 9-year-old. Praise the Lord! Better get to work...ta loves

German vocab lesson

Hallo - Hello

Danke - Thank you

Bitte - Please

Entschuldigen - Excuse me

Schokolade - Chocolate (the most important word!)

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

2009-02-02T14:44:00.010-06:00

When last I wrote, I was getting ready to jump into the children's pastorship with both feet. It's been an interesting ride so far. As a church body we have a focus on prayer, so the first lesson the kids and I did was on the different kinds of prayer. We had a great chat about 'what' prayer is and I got to hear some great testimonies of answered prayers and what God has been speaking to our children. The position feels a bit like Spiderman. You know in the film where Uncle Ben tells Peter that with great power comes great responsibility. Makes me rely on the Lord more.

(Swanwick)

God is moving in the hearts of the children of the UK. And He's moving in the hearts of the 180 children's workers who attended the New Wine Kids Leader's Conference last week. Imagine 180 adults who just want to see children grow up loving Jesus and living out their destiny. Then you can get an inkling of what my time in Swanwick (pronounced Swanick) was like. In a sentence, I was reenergized, revisioned, and ready to return to the kids in Sheffield. The speakers gave practical and exciting ways to lead

children into worship, their identity in Christ, praying for healing, and prophecy. Can't wait to see what God will do with hearts that are hungry for more of Him.

(My housemates)

I came back from the conference with a renewed sense of purpose and to a weekend of fun and intercession. My grandma was asking me the other day what I do for fun besides drinking tea, so I thought I'd share a bit about that. My housemate's birthday was Saturday, so we bought a large chocolate cake and I prepared to meet all her lovely friends. She's quite the social butterfly and I had a blast meeting some new Brits and munching on Italian food. Sunday we had a prayer and intercession night at the church before heading off to watch Lost with my Lifegroup. It was great fun listening to the kids pray for their parents and their city. After Lost, I watched the Super Bowl with some friends. I know it seems like I'm watching loads of telly, but really it was a cultural learning experience. Did you know they have Cajun Squirrel flavoured crisps (chips) here? Seriously, I couldn't make that up if I tried.

Nor could I eat them if I tried. Not that I want to...ick.

(Lifegroup after LOST)

Now there are worse things that I can think of than Cajun Squirrel flavoured crisps, but not many things are better than half a foot of snow! You should have seen the way that snow brings people together. I had a snowball fight with my friends and a couple of kids from the neighbourhood. It's my opinion that the world would be a little more peaceful if there were more snowstorms. At least the kind that make you want to go outside and be a kid again. Maybe we'll get one on Thursday as forecasted:). I made a snow dinosaur. Pity the head wouldn't

stay on properly.

This weekend we have Danny Mulkey from AMI coming into speak and for a pastoral visit. Next week, I'll be preaching at the Gathering (anyone fancy being on their knees from now until then to pray for it;)?). Isn't God good to take us out of our comfort zones?

I hope to cast some vision for the children's ministry and stir up a team of people to help reach these kids. We'll see if World Mandate Berlin will be a similar adventure. That's February the 20-22. After that, maybe life will fall into some kind of a rhythm...

Love you ALL,

J-

A Day Late and a Dol..er Pound Short

2009-01-12T04:42:00.008-06:00

I realize that the title of this fortnight's blog may seem a little negative or depressing, but it just came to me, so I went with it. It really is in reference to the feeling of being behind before I even start. Let me explain. I've been waiting nearly 6 months to be a fully functioning children's pastor in Sheffield, England. Now that the torch has been passed - Sunday was my first official day in charge - I've had a new revelation of the amount of work to be done before it's running semi-smoothly. I know I should be taking life one day at a time, and inevitably I will, all I have is one day at a time. However, I once again am fighting with the desire in my soul to be good at things on the first go around. How God must laugh! He takes delight in me you know. And in all of you. :)

Thanks all of you delightful people who prayed for the staff planning retreat and prayer days. They went really well and I'm really excited about vision for the new year. ACC Sheffield will be focusing on prayer, evangelism, and community this semester, and on reaching out to the mission field that is the city and the United Kingdom. This will include things like weekly "treasure hunts," community meals after the weekly Gathering, and a specific time of prayer and fasting. I'm excited to see what God will do!

At the retreat I got to present some vision for the children to the team! Yay for children being given the opportunity to be as spiritually mature as they can be for their age, for teaching us adults how to worship, and for just being kids in all the joy of the Lord. This week in Launch Pad (kid's slot) the kid's learned about God speaking to them through dreams. The kids have been learning about the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, and this week was the Flight to Egypt. I loved their high energy, but it was a challenge to keep their attention for the hour and fifteen minutes. Aren't first times always such great learning experiences?

(New Year's Hogmanay with teammate Julie)

Kind of like the first time you lock yourself out of your house in a new country... A lot of doors in the United Kingdom lock behind you, so you want to be sure that you have your keys with you. On New Year's Eve, there was a bit of snow at the top of Crooke's (the hill where I live), and it had covered the spider webs. The effect was so fantastic that I wanted to take a photo. So I walked into my house, took off my gloves, set down my bag (keys and mobile inside), and took my camera outside. The instant I pulled the door closed, I knew I was in trouble. Oh no! You'll be glad to know that my house cannot be broken into; I tried for 20 minutes before walking back into town and calling my housemate. Ah, small, joyful cultural differences. I'm sure I will learn many more in the days to come.

(Isn't the spiderweb pretty?)

I really enjoyed reading all of your e-mails and little updates about what's going on in your lives!!! And thanks for the Christmas notes and encouragements. It's amazing how God uses a simple phrase to speak to where you are. For everyone who's off to World Mandate Waco, have such a good time! I'll be in Germany this year for World Mandate Berlin. I'll be chatting with you all soon.

Lotsa love,

J-

British Vocabulary Lesson #2

Plasters - Band-Aids

Rubbish - Trash

Squash - Fruit Juice Concentrate

Biscuits - Hard Cookies

Creche - Nursery/Young Children's Class

And God Bless Us Every One! Reflections on 2008

2008-12-23T04:34:00.008-06:00

Wow, okay I thought for sure that it hadn't been nearly 3 weeks since last I wrote. I could blame it on moving and the holidays, but I honestly should have looked. I know so many of you live and breathe for my blog update (wink). Well, here you have it then.

The past three weeks have been comfortable. I moved into my new house and am enjoying having my own space and my two new housemates Fliss and Kate. I'll be hitting up IKEA in a few weeks for a few accessories. So far I've been able to figure out most English appliances. Like for instance, the fan ovens over here should be set 20 degrees below the estimated cooking temperature and may cook sugar cookies in 4 minutes, not 8. That is a good thing to know when baking Christmas biscuits for your life group. Never fear, the smoke detectors in my house are fully functioning.

I'm not sure the same can be said for the radiators in the church building that we rent for the weekly Sunday gathering. But the carol service went extremely well anyway. Sometimes I think the English are accustomed to being slightly chilled at all times. But we had many visitors and during the children's story time, Weslie, wonderful jumble of two-year-old-girlishness that she is, danced around the front of the stage whilst listening to the book. Isn't it a joy to see children bask in the joy of life. Dostoyevsky says that the soul is healed by being with children. I quite agree.

(Weslie)

I wasn't really worried about Christmas, and I don't know why. As long as I had a place to belong, it made it easier to be away from my family. God is my sustenance on most days, so I figured He would take care of it. And He did. Christmas Eve, I spent with the Fanchers, a couple on the church-plant team, and a varied group of internationals. Ironically, we only had one Brit present. We read the Christmas story with two Chinese girls who had never heard it, a Romanian girl, and a Nigerian who is a strong believer. There's something different, holy, or 'other' about sharing the story with people who've not heard it before.

(Tolu and Nora)

Christmas morning dawned and I even had a present to open:). I spent the morning with the lovely McElroy family. They even bought presents for me (and yes one can go through four boxes of Amazing Spiderman candy sticks in one sitting-they're small boxes). Destiny, the youngest McElroy child, had asked me earlier in the week if I would come for Christmas. I thought I might go to a Christmas morning service at the Anglican church by my house and she said, "Aw, we wanted you for our Christmas." Who can argue with that? That evening I dined on a very traditional meal - enchiladas and chicken soft tacos. Apparently my sopapillas were a hit; they even made their way into the sermon on Sunday. I may be making loads this coming year.

Who can even believe that it will be 2009 in a mere few days? Apparently I will be celebrating Scottish style. Although, I'm not sure that I can stomach haggis. I'll let you know:). A new year and a new job in a new country. We'll be having a staff retreat at the beginning of the year, so I've planned to talk with the rest of the team about vision for the children's ministry. I even have my first volunteer! And I got to dance in the back of the sanctuary with the children this last gathering of the year. I know children's ministry is not all fun and games, but I am so

blessed in the calling of the Lord. Holding babies is in my job description (well it should be).

(The Darbster)

Thanks for all who sent Christmas cards! I love to hear updates from all of you. Please let me know if there are ways I can be praying for you all. You never know what God will do in a year...You never know what God will do...Thanks be to God for all that He has done and will do!

J-

The Hoity Toity Angel

2008-12-03T14:18:00.007-06:00

It's been a pleasantly full, but not too crazy past two weeks in Sheffield. I realized today that tomorrow marks my one monthiversary. I've felt the time pass, but it's been a comfortable passing of time. From putting up the Christmas decorations, to traveling to a concert with a carload of English people, and finally attending one of the children's Christmas plays, it's been quite a fortnight. My time of stay with the team leaders will be drawing to a close within the week, and I will move into my new flat. I'm excited to be thrown in the mix of life with two British girls and will certainly have more insight about cultural differences:). We'll see what Christmas brings.

I LOVE Christmas! It's a time when Christ is a little closer on our minds and hearts and people are more open to hear about the helpless babe that came to save the world. So putting up the tree was a real pleasure for me. I even wrapped the banister myself!

And, we put it all up before Thanksgiving, as they don't celebrate it here. We've included some English in our celebration, and I think they quite like it:).

One month, and I now "know" many people. I say that, because I want to know these people more intimately, to walk and grow with them as we become more like Jesus. That said, I hopped into a snug, five seater with four Brits to travel to Derby (no 'e' sound in there) to see Jason Upton in concert. It was a sweet time with the Lord and with some new friends. Jesus is moving in the United Kingdom! I am so blessed to be a part of what He wants to do in this nation. So, I keep hoping and believing for restoration in some of the uglier parts of culture, like televised assisted suicides and a thriving pornographic industry. May the world of our children be different, better, because of our prayers and relationships!

(Luke, Phil, and Victor at Jason Upton concert)

The children are such a blessing! I'm not fully in charge of them yet, but I got to go in as the surprise guest on Sunday. It was a free-for-all question and answer session. Of all the questions the kiddos asked, I think my favorite was, "Do you pick your nose?" Children are awesome! They are learning about Jesus coming to Earth. Maddie, was even in a children's nativity called, "The Hoity, Toity Angel." Although the play took place in a secular British school, it was all about Jesus. Praise the Lord for His hand in the lives of our children!

This upcoming Sunday is our carol service, and it is an outreach for the community. Families that might not otherwise come to church, will often come for Carols and Christmas puddings. The children will hear the "Tale of the Three Trees" and then learn about how God wants to use them, too. Prayers are greatly appreciated. May your holy-day season be full of the love of Jesus, who came to this world in innocence, so we can be restored to the Living God! Happy Christmas!!

A Very Merry English Thanksgiving

2008-11-23T06:03:00.015-06:00

It's a beautiful thing to see the creativity of a team when items that are typical in one country are unusual if not impossible to find. This past week, I've been looking forward to the team Thanksgiving dinner even as I've been settling into the routine of Sheffield. We celebrated Saturday night with turkey, homemade cornbread stuffing (no Stove Top here), mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade green bean casserole (no Durkee's French Fried Onions either), apple pie, pumpkin pie (cans brought from the States), homemade rolls, homemade chocolate rum brownies with buttons (Cadbury chocolate not found in America), and Schloer (a fizzy fruit juice drink that I wish we sold in the States). There was a serious game of Boggle and much thanksgiving for the Lord in our lives :).

It was an amazing testament to the goodness and provision of God. In a way it made me even more excited to enjoy the wedding feast of the Lamb when Jesus returns. I think it fitting to thank the Lord for all of you who have set out on this journey with me. THANK YOU!! And my heart is thankful for all that He has done even in the week that I've been here.

Re:fresh

ACC Sheffield hosted the fourth annual church retreat entitled Re:fresh. We had a great time worshipping the Lord, fellowshipping over very English meals, playing interesting games, and loads of other things. You should see the sheer flexibility of some of the members of our congregation! I got to help out with the children on Saturday morning, and they are

learning about being God's workmanship. They even presented two dances to the congregation about being the hands and feet of Jesus!

Saturday night the presence of the Lord fell! We had people receive physical and emotional healing, freedom from depression and spiritual breakthrough, and we ministered from 7:30 til 11. Yay Holy Spirit!

My Week

I have been able this past week to set up a bank account, purchase a mobile phone, get a charger for my laptop that is UK friendly, and find a place to stay. Hallelujah! I will be living with two British girls who are believers. Praise the Lord! Looks like I will be moving in by mid-December.

Lifegroup for the Young Professionals is on Tuesday night, and it was a blessing to have a group of like-minded believers in my season of life! Then on Wednesday, I was able to help finish painting the new church offices in preparation for the staff meeting on Thursday. Friday looks to be my sabbath, and I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Interestingly enough, they don't really make a lot of cookies here.

The sum of my week recalls to mind I Chronicles 16:8-36, which begins, " Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done." May you and yours me blessed with hearts full of thanksgiving this season!

British Vocabulary lesson

Jug = Pitcher

Jumper = Sweater Jacket

Trainers = Tennis Shoes

Trousers = Pants

Toilet/Loo = Bathroom

Safe and Sound in Sheffield

2008-11-12T13:44:00.007-06:00

It's been a whirlwind of activity from the time I flew into DFW from Denver, until just about now. Maddie and Aiden McGinnis (children of the team leaders with whom I am currently staying) are off to bed, and the house is quiet. It's still fairly surreal that I have arrived in the UK. I'm not sure that it will really sink in until after a few weeks. But I wanted to recount a little of the journey over here.

I arrived in Fort Worth on Saturday and immediately started organizing for packing, after grabbing a quick bite at Chipotle. Had to get some last minute Mexican food! Sunday dawned bright and Jamey preached a killer sermon on worship. It was a great way to end my last Sunday for a while at Christ Fellowship! I have been so blessed to be a part of CF for the past four years.

After church we had a great time in the park celebrating four years and friendships. There was tea, scones, and for my friend leaving for Hawaii, a good dose of pineapple and papaya. I didn't get nearly enough time to chat with everyone, but that's the way it is. Thanks to everyone who came and I missed you if you weren't able.

Monday was a whirlwind of activity from running errands all day to attempting to pack three suitcases full of my belongings into two to joining some friends for my last ice cream in the States. Pumpkin with chocolate chips from Marble Slab. Mmm! The place was overrun by high school kids, but it was a good time. And it rained in honor of Sheffield. I then ran home and finished packing.

I found out the hard way that Tuesday was Veteran's Day when I tried to ship my box from the closed post office. Check for holidays before leaving for overseas! Then, upon arrival at the airport, I realized I didn't know from which terminal my flight left. Check for gate information before leaving for overseas! So, we drove around four terminals before my sister saved the day and told us the gate. We were laughing after every turn. It was a great way to leave the States.

In the airport terminal, I got to chat with a gentleman who's daughter is a bilingual speech-language pathologist and has done mission work. It was a great conversation. Thank You Jesus for helping to pass the time. The flight was also a lot shorter than I remembered, but I was able to sleep. When I arrived at the airport, I couldn't locate my ride, but thankfully the gentleman sitting next to me let me borrow a mobile to phone the team. My ride had been stuck in traffic for 2.5 hours! But the sun was shining, and I didn't even need to use my jacket. The drive through the Peaks over Snake Pass was beautiful - leaves turning and winding roads with green hillsides dotted with sheep and a thin river alongside. God does good work!

I arrived in Sheffield in time for the team lunch to welcome me and then I took a short nap. By the time I woke up, it was dark outside; the sun sets around 4:45. It's still very surreal being here, but as I get to know the city more, I'm sure it will start to sink it that this is longer than a holiday. And, I can't wait to hang out with the kiddos this weekend at Re:fresh, the annual church retreat. Thanks for all your prayers, support, and encouragement. My missionary magnets are in, and Vicki is helping to pass them out in Texas, my mom in Colorado. Hopefully, you'll get yours soon! Love hearing from you!

Talk to you all soon,

J-

Preparing for Departure

2008-11-03T20:06:00.004-06:00

My pulse increases a bit at the thought of Sheffield. In fact, when I pressed the 'purchase' button for my airfare, I prayed beforehand and closed my eyes before clicking. But, after praying, support raising, and preparing since March, I finally have a departure date. November, 11, 2008. I like the fact that it is 11/11.

The past week has been a whirlwind of activity. I reached 100% of my funding and immediately starting praying more fervently about a departure date. Turns out that Antioch Community Church Sheffield's annual church retreat is November 14-16. I'm looking forward to a time of getting to know the church members, worshipping with English nationals, and being a part of the vision-casting for the coming year. 2009 in Sheffield.

In light of all of the preparation, departure still seems surreal. Even as I put my thoughts down, I cannot believe that Friday I flew to Colorado to spend a week with my family, and Saturday I return to Fort Worth for a Bon Voyage party before my flight on Tuesday afternoon. My time with my family has been blessed so far, thanks for all your prayers! Oh, but it was so hard to say goodbye to my twin sister and niece. Thank God for technology :).

I know I am trusting in God to see me not only through this pre-departure time but post-departure as well. Thank you to everyone who has made it possible through prayer, support, advice, hugs, encouragement, and MORE prayer. I hope to send the next post from Sheffield on November the 12th. Until then, I hope to see your beautiful faces at the Bon Voyage party, on Skype, or in my prayers.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!

Beginnings

2008-10-17T22:30:00.004-05:00

My brother told me that I needed to join the 21st century for my trip to Sheffield, so here I am. For those of you who just glance at the blog or who haven't heard, I will be leaving as soon as the visa is approved and all of my support is coming in, for the lovely city of Sheffield, England.

Sheffield is about 3 hours north of London by car, nestled in the heart of the Peak District, and rife with Robin Hood legend and stainless steel. Antioch Community Church in Waco sent a church plant to Sheffield in June of 2005, and I will be joining the plant as the children's minister. The people of the city are hungry, whether they yet know it or not, to have Jesus come and transform their lives. I am ready for the same to occur in my own life, for Jesus to continue the transformation through learning to trust in Him. What an adventure to rely on Jesus and to trust in Him to walk this path with me!

This journey has only been made possible through the grace, prayers, and encouragement of many supporters. You are all in my heart and prayers! Thank you for taking this journey with me. Truly, the children of Sheffield are being impacted through you. May Jesus fill you more on this journey.

Tonight and tomorrow I will be at a 'Cell Explosion' weekend hosted by Joel Comisky. When I started the process of preparing to get to Sheffield, I thought for sure I would be there before the conference. As I sit here and put my thoughts on paper, I'm glad for the encouragement that I received tonight from Joel. God's timing is so perfect. I need to keep saying it and remember it, so I am encouraged. My support raising has risen to 95% and my visa application is in process. When both come in, I will have a better estimate for a departure date. I appreciate your prayers for this.

He who has begun a good work in us is faithful to complete it. He equips those He calls. And we are never alone. May you remember the Father's love for you as you go about your week!

Hugs and Prayers,

J-