Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We got into Scotland on time without any trouble on Tuesday around 6pm-just in time for a delicious home cooked meal. We are staying in Paisley, just outside of Glasgow in a community house with 25 other Christian men and women (37 total!!). There are 3 families (with little ones too), YWAM interns, and DTS (discipleship training school) students all living under one roof. The house is absolutely beautiful and fits all of us very comfortably. We couldn’t have asked for a better living environment. It’s great! I hope to have pictures up soon.
I’m sure you are wondering, “What exactly is my child doing over there in Scotland for three weeks??” Well, I’m glad you asked! Here are a few of our weekly ministries that we are a part of:
1) P.I.G (Paisley Is Great): Every Thursday afternoon the YWAM team travels to the center of Paisley to hand out free sausages to the community and show the love of Christ through generosity and kindness. This was such an awesome experience for us on Thursday. We got the chance to communicate and talk to many locals from the community and tell them a little about our group and why we are here. Paisley’s citizens often commented during the event that Paisley is not a good place to live and that we were crazy to be positive about it. Our Lord brings hope to us and to all who listen. May we have been a light of hope to their community.
2) Feeding the Homeless: This past Thursday evening we assisted in feeding the homeless at a local church in Glasgow. We were able to see God’s hand at work as we met both the phyiscal and spiritual needs of the people. Courtney, Zack, Ashley, Christina and Mason stepped up to lead worship at the event and prepared a few songs for our guests and handled an unexpected missing piano in stride. It was great!! Kayan and Christina also shared their testamonies and read scripture they felt God placed on their hearts. It was quite impactful! We pray the Lord was glorified and we were a help to those that serve these people every Thursday.
3) CREATE : Every other Friday evening YWAM puts on a free open-mic-night in a local church for area teens to have a safe place to express their creativity and talents. Last night, teens from all over the city came to play and listen to music. Zack, John, and Courtney prepared a few songs to perform last night at the event. Courtney led with vocals and played the piano, while Zack played the acoustic guitar and John the base. They did a fantastic job!! Ashleyhelped with student check-in, Jen assisted with the sound board, Andrew and Amber were in charge of taking photographs of the event, Kayan and Christina were on the information distribution team (handing out flyers and talking to students), and Mason was assisting the musicians in the equiptment/practice room. Thoughout the night our youth got the oppurtunity to talk with their Scottish peers. It was exciting to see our teens take the lead as they ministered and interacted with a purpose. Next Friday we will be back in action, but this time the focus will be on drama and performing arts.
God is really doing great things through our team here! We have gone on prayer walks to pray for the city of Paisley and spent time in creative worship and fellowship with the DTS students and interns. Ministry in Scotland is very much about building relationships and trust with people and creating a presence in the community through meeting needs and offering support, much like in the U.S. Through our ministries, daily devotionals and team times, we are developing skills that will prove very useful for ministry in the states.
Today we got the chance to go to Edinburgh, Scotland for our free day. We took a tour of the castle and spent the afternoon getting coffee and doing some shopping. LOTS OF SILLY PICTURES! After such a long week, it was GREAT to get some time to play and have fun!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and comments on the blog! The kids get so excited when they receive your comments, so keep em’ coming! 🙂 Everyone is doing great right now, but its been rainy and a bit chilly here, so please continue to pray for our health. Also, pray that God gives us the energy and strength to do what He has called us to do here in the next two weeks.
Further, as a team we are continuing to build unity and learning to lay down some of our own priveledges for the benifit of our ministry and testimony. Joshua and I have been blessed to have them in our care and are blown away by their deep passion for Christ.