Games are underway

Update from Olympic London- the city is all abuzz with the Games! Please lift us up in prayer as tomorrow as we have guaranteed ticketed entry to a BT Live Site at Hyde Park... one of several such live broadcast Olympic viewing events. These are free events but have limited capacity, making tickets for entry necessary.
Please pray for conducive weather, as we are looking forward to the opportunity to mingle in that exciting atmosphere with thousands of people from around the world in an official venue. We plan to be in the Park outside the Live Site later this week as well;  please pray for God's guidance... and once again, for the weather!! 

let the Games begin!

Counting down to the 2012 London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony... just a couple hours left! The church is all rearranged with a giant screen and we are helping throw a huge party for the congregation and community. When you watch the opening ceremonies, know that I am ever so near that great stadium in Stratford... its just a couple stops down on the underground line! I can hear the helicopters and i say the blimps... the Games are about to begin!

Tonight is more that the opening of the Olympic Games, however: its also like a starter gun going off for a great burst of outreach activity for both All Saints and my team (and many others in London). I hope to continue keeping the blog up with stories and testimonies- but be patient as we will be pulling some long days these next couple weeks!

Thank you again for your prayers!

no dichotomy

I've been trying to really reinforce in my team that living as salt and light is a Christian thing, not just a missions thing. We have been teaching about aspects of this in our Summer Mission School that we've run at the church here: things like availability, open lives, and obedience. Even as they have prepared material and helped teach the group these things, I have been reminded constantly to help them step out in this awareness of God's purposes as a lifestyle- not an activity. This means that there isn't a dichotomy between things like our weekend away, and the nudge from the Holy Spirit to pray for a homeless person. And thats exactly what we took time for during our visit to Dublin. We were just there to sightsee for a few hours before we caught our flight back to England (where our "official" ministry is) but when I noticed a young man and an old woman that both looked rather downtrodden, i knew we needed to participate in God's purposes in their lives. It wasn't a prayer walk or evangelism outing. It was just a layover, pretty much. But thats exactly the point- when do we go "off duty" from responding to the Holy Spirit?! We must be so careful not to live with a dichotomy between our day to day life and our "ministry", "outreach" or christian activities. Its tempting to put it in compartments. But i think salt and light were analogies that the Lord used for a purpose. Salt just is salty. Light just shines. They do it by nature wherever they are placed. They don't schedule in time to do what they do. Its how they naturally affect everything they interact with. Does this mean that we have no boundaries? No time  off to rest? No, of course not. We don't just make ourselves available to the colossal and unending need of the world 24-7... it will mercilessly drain us. We make ourselves available to God 24-7... and He is not a slave driver:) Thats why we must be in relationship with Him, abiding in fellowship- so we can act in obedience... not just react to need need need need all around us day and night. We can walk in obedience and, with needs still out there, lie down to sleep at night knowing we gave all we were called upon for by the great Lord and steward to whom all our life and breath are owed. This is the opposite of burn out- this is freedom and a life without dichotomy.

Here, seen through the slats, with her back to the camera is a woman that Aimee and I stopped to pray for. Her english was limited but she readily welcomed prayer, crossing herself and praying in her own tongue. There were tears in her eyes as we prayed God's love and blessing over her. Kent prayed for a young man on the other side of the bridge and ended up giving the man his waterproof Nike jacket.

An unplanned stop along the bridge became a highlight in our half day in Dublin- just because we were available.

the lasses go out to sea

 Maybe we were rebelling against the weather. Or maybe the sea just drew us in- despite the cold. Regardless, one of our  final late afternoon beach strolls in Northern Ireland ended in Aimee and I throwing off our coats and shoes, and tearing off into the chilly ocean. The tide was far out, so there was vast flats of wet rippled sand, and a a great expanse of shallow calm sea stretching out into the bay. We ran straight out toward the horizon until we fell down, then  frolicked in the sand and sea till we were quite worn out. Happily, we hardly felt cold as we walked (wringing wet) five minutes back to my friend's house. We arrived to find hot tea and a bonfire in the back garden... it couldn't have been more perfect. 

more of our wee Irish weekend

beside the wide grey sea

This weekend, we went to North Ireland to visit my long time friend Anna, who I staffed with in Maui years ago. She is living outside of Belfast, in a salty little seaside town called Bangor. The weather was even cooler than England, and as grey as all get out- still it was lovely to be by the sea...and with an old friend, to boot! She and her fiancee were wonderful and hospitable in every way and spending time with them was a pleasure. I was blessed and happy to have that refreshing weekend- and the team was stoked to meet my lovely friends and have the opportunity to see more of the UK. It was a great little trip.

continued investment in Woodford and All Saints

Aside from reaching out in central London, our time here in Woodford (out in the northeast boroughs) has been outstanding. Besides participating in a host of church activities, and spending time investing relationally with youth and interns, we continue to host the Summer Mission School course. Our numbers are increasing as attendees bring friends and spread the word; we're really enjoying getting to know the regulars and seeing God impact everyone who drops by for even a single session!

Today I taught the session again- a variation on our theme of opening up our lives so that the "salt and light" of our life in Christ can affect those around us. Fairly simple and straightforward, but the Holy Spirit really used it to challenge a lot of the habits and patterns we all have of treating people around us as scenery rather than engaging them as people. We also addressed being better listeners (so we can discern what God is doing in someone and then join Him) and better question askers (so we can take conversations beyond the surface banter about sports, tv series and weather). Some people felt at dead ends with talking to acquaintances, but received encouragement by cultivating simple skills like asking why questions, not just what questions (for example, not just asking what someone is studying, but rather why they chose that field- this opens up the realm of values where you can interact about what matters to people and allow them to share what motivates their lives.) I continue to enjoy the vulnerability and honesty of the group, all of who have sincere dedication to the Lord and are eager to grow in their faith and witness. Such a privilege to host them in this course, and to see the Holy Spirit at work in their lives, even when the course was put together so last minute. I am SO glad God gave us this opportunity to invest in All Saints Woodford Wells!

Downtown Woodford- not exactly a metropolis but there is a grocery store, coffee shop, and of course the tube station connecting us to central London- so we come through quite often. We have also had good conversations here in the community with everyone from muslims to eastern cult members.

This pic is from an earlier Summer Mission School session- we have had more attendance people join us lately but i've been too busy hosting to take pictures:) Glad to be a part of equipping the church to reach their community!

He notices them and knows them by name

Another highlight for me today was when I stepped out of a clothing store downtown to wait for my team (we were looking for more warm clothes) and I saw several homeless folks sitting against the building. I hugged my sweater more tightly around my shoulders and commented "Its been an awful cold summer, hasn't it?" Soon I was sitting  on the chilled pavement with Roderica (from Romania) and Junior (a Londoner), and after several minutes of empathy and conversation I asked if I could pray for them. Holding Roderica's hand, I got to do so. They thanked me warmly and Junior said he "fancied that prayer". Afterwards,  I explained that I was sleeping on church floor myself so didn't have a room to offer, but asked if they had everything they needed- offering to get them warm drinks and such. I spent less than ten minutes with them, but it was probably the best part of my day- getting to tell these precious people that God loves them and getting to demonstrate that truth. 

Please pray for Roderica and Junior. 

prayer mob

Today my team went to eat breakfast at the home of a friend from the church here. We got lost and in the meantime, the skies let loose and absolutely drenched us. We were comically wet. Soaked completely through. We found our friend's house eventually- and praise the Lord, she had a clothes dryer (rather unusual in this country). In the meantime, all of us girls wore her sweat pants and flannels. Haha- a rather off start to our long day out. 

We met up with Jonatan, a Maui friend and an intern here at All Saints, and headed downtown (now somewhat less damp) for a prayer flashmob. Accordingly, at 2pm we stood in Trafalgar Square in downtown London wondering who else was there to pray. We didn't have to wonder for long- soon we saw white papers with worship song lyrics and a prayer itinerary circulating among the throngs of people passing through the plaza. So people huddled in groups and started to pray... periodically pressing nearer together to sing in unison, or at one point, to kneel together  in prayer. As if the cold was not enough, it began to rain- and still hundreds of people from churches all over London knelt in the square and lifted up their voices to the God who hears. It was wonderful to participate in this event with such a diverse gathering of believers, all moved with God's heart to touch the nations in London this summer. I think it was also an exercise in boldness for my team, as tourists stopped to stare or take photos. Personally, I had a moment that reminded me why we are in London during this time: I got to chat with people from Saudi Arabia about why we were praying and who we were praying to. The nations ARE in London this summer!

street pastors

This past weekend we worked with a local ministry called Street Pastors. They are teams of church workers and ministers that have trained with police and other community organizations to help care for people in rough shape on the streets around the time the bars and clubs close. We went out from 9pm to 3am to patrol nearby South Woodford. My team was issued observer /prayer team status and were partnered with the trained street pastors. We got to participate in conversations and aid situations with everyone from cabbies to bouncers, street people to drunk teenagers. It was a good experience, and eye opening for my team. Some of the things street pastors focus on: getting girls home safe that are drunk an left alone by friends (therefore very vulnerable), removing potential weapons from the streets (glass bottles, etc) and helping women that can't walk on their stiletto heels anymore by giving them flip flops. I thought that last bit was silly until i spent a night on the street- its a real and valid ministry tryignt o get these girls home. One girl couldn't even get off the sidewalk- our group got her up, got her drinking water, found her friends, got her vomit off the sidewalk and gave them bus fare when we got them to the bus stop. It was a really intense compassion and community care ministry- I am stoked we got to take part in it and may have opportunities to join them again in the future. 

come awake

Really great so far in the Summer Mission School- loving the involvement and earnest discussion of the participants that have turned out for these past couple sessions. I love seeing young people engaging matters of faith that really matter to them- the honesty is precious. I want to see each person in attendance come awake in areas of their witness/heart/life that lie dormant. Its exciting to see that prayer already being answered. Today one young woman in particular was on my heart- she wants to know how to live in real life with God, and even after a lifetime in a vibrant church, she struggles to know really how to pray or read the Bible or be in that relationship she hungers for. We spoke together a bit and are planning to meet together outside of class times to give opportunity for some discipleship (aka mentoring people in following Jesus). I find her honesty stirring and hope to be able to participate with what God is doing in her life. 

Rainy days notwithstanding

Nope. Summer still hasn't arrived. At least not in my book. Everyone keeps telling us how outrageous it is that it keeps raining like this and how summer really has not come... but then comments on how relieved they are that its still nice and warm. But evidently we differ in our use of those adjectives: their nice and warm is my "I'm going out to buy a pea coat". 

But rainy days and spongey ground not withstanding, my team is pressing into God's purposes for us here... from prayer walks and talking to people we meet on the street, to facilitating and teaching a summer missions school at All Saints.

The summer outreach ministries coordinator at the church asked if we would be willing to serve the congregation by putting on a three week training course, equipping believers to reach out and be an effective witness in their daily lives. (Apparently past teams they've had here have only stayed for short periods and while having a deeply encouraging focus on evangelism, haven't gotten to invest as much in the church itself.) We gladly received this opportunity as a direct answer to prayer: in Maui we asked God to open a door for us to somehow really invest in the church that would be hosting us, and pass on to them any equipping we have received that could benefit them. We wanted to really partner with their growth and discipleship, not just stay in their building and participate in some of their programs. So now we clearly have that opportunity, not only via conversation and relationship, but in a more formal capacity as well! Praise the Lord!

The idea for the program was handed over to us with a general format suggestion, and an advert was put in the bulletin. Wow. That left just a couple days to actually frame up content for the course and delegate the teaching. (Good thing i helped frame up the RefGen seminar at the base last year- that was great experience for throwing this together pretty much overnight!) So i spent an afternoon brainstorming nine coordinating sessions (the course is Tues-Thurs/ 9:30am-3pm/ for the next three weeks) and framing their basic content. I am teaching three sessions and my students  are slotted for two each. Each session involves a teaching, prayer time, project/activity, and a debrief/integration time (where we have open discussion about how the content of the teaching and experience of the project/activity translates to being relevant and useful in their daily life). 

I opened up the course today - It was encouraging how responsive the group was!  This was clearly a conversation they have been needing to have. So the discussions were honest and rich. All the feedback was outstandingly positive so it was a great start to the course.

A clip of my session:

"We often live our days settled into our routine- and so many people, situations and relationships become little more than scenery to us, a backdrop to the routine we play out on a daily basis. When we think about “God moving” in some way or another, we look  church-ward... towards conferences, events, programs, mission trips. We don’t look at the day we have in front of us. Nor the supporting actors, as it were: our coworkers, peers, friends- how much less the extras: the walk on parts like the guy next us on the bus. We just play our role and get on with it. This is a closed life. 

And its easy for our life to close. Its easy for us, at least, to let bits of it close. Our goal in this summer course is to offer grips and handholds to those who have been stirred to pry open their lives. Our desire is to recognize and grow in areas we find we have knowingly or unknowingly closed our life, or been otherwise immobilized or muted in our full life witness. Sometimes its as simple as having felt ill-equipped. Other times we just lack experience or a model. Other times we have hurts or failures that get in the way. During the next couple weeks, and starting today, we will invite the Holy Spirit to open up our lives so Christ can be seen in us where we are. We aren’t looking for more Christian activities to take us away from our daily life- most of us are busy enough. We don’t need more to do. Instead, we are looking for tools to pry open our Christian life so that His light can shine through us in the life where He has already placed us as His beacons. We want to  be made more effective where we already are."

Please lift up my team and myself as we prepare and teach these upcoming sessions. I taught this morning despite waking with a painfully sore throat- pray that we all remain well enough to serve and teach...as the teams health is less than ideal at the moment! Thank you!

Outing to Bond Street, London

The girls and I went on an outing to central London the other day to pick up some additional cardigans and jackets, since the weather seems to lurk in the low 60ºF's here regardless of all the talk of "summer" being afoot. We hit Bond Street, one of the busiest shopping streets in London- rather overwhelming and intense. In my prior visits to London I have never seen such a massive flow of people in one place so it was a bit of a shock... but we braved it and made some purchases before heading back out to our relatively quiet base camp borough.  Quite the introduction to the city for my students that had not been before- but we've managed:) 

With these pictures, it finally looks like we are in London- but does this look like summer? Good thing we aren't here for the sightseeing and weather! Even so, alot of the pictures I will post may be a bit touristy as its a bit difficult to have pictures of the ministry we are doing. For instance yesterday we were prayer walking around the Woodford area, and spend nearly an hour talking to a muslim man about his beliefs and got to pray for him. But its not like i am going to whip out my camera and take a snapshot, you know? But to keep the reading of such stories interesting, i will post pics of my team and I out and about... its always good to see the setting where all of this is unfolding over the "summer".

All Saints Woodford Wells

Just a quick look at the place my team and I are staying- All Saints Woodford Wells, in northeast London. The church has both a rich heritage (as evidenced by the historic building) and a missional outlook (as evidenced in the new Annex which serves and engages the diverse community of Woodford). The building is obviously just the setting for the church itself though, the church being the hospitable and passionate people that have welcomed us in wholeheartedly. They have been such a blessing and its a real joy to be partnering with a church fellowship so committed to seeing their parishioners mature in faith and their neighborhood engaged with the gospel. But more on the lovely folk of All Saints later. This is just a quick update to give you a picture of where we are at- the backdrop of our base camp for the summer here in northeast London. 

We are staying in the aforementioned Annex (which is the brick structure toward the back of this bottom photo) which is so new it still smells of paint. So blessed to have this space- it even has a small kitchen where we can self cater- helping our food budget enormously! Praise the Lord!

jet lag and coffee

First afternoon after arriving, one thing was on the agenda: coffee. We had to get a bit creative, since there wasn't a coffee maker... but we managed with pots and a strainer and paper coffee filter. The team is slowly getting on the right time zone- please pray for them though, that they could sleep the proper amount of hours during the proper hours of the night.

London calling

I made it! I arrived in London safely and spent a day getting all the logistics in order for the arrival of my team. I was greatly helped with wonderful folks, the Keans, from the church we are partnering with here- such a blessing. My team arrived on Saturday night and is still trying to get over jet lag- they are troopers, really stepping out and engaging the congregation here. We just love All Saints Woodford Wells, the fellowship that is hosting us here... and its also great for me to see a past student of mine, Jonatan from Sweden, that is an intern here. A familiar face is always welcome:) As a team we are sensing clearly that we have a calling not only in London, but also here at All Saints. Such a blessing to have been led to serve alongside a church glowing with worship, diligence, hospitality, and a missional outlook on life.

We are heading into central London in about an hour- our first trip downtown together. My team is pretty excited:) The weather here is very cool (and typically overcast and sometimes raining) so we will be picking up light jackets whilst downtown... the cardigans aren't cutting it.

Pictures will follow soon- just had a bit of trouble with the wifi since arriving.