Hello (Scottish accent implied)! As I think of our three weeks together, I smile. I miss you all very much.
While I sat at the Atlanta airport Sunday for 8 hours I had a lot of time to review our trip, pray, read my journal and write. The biggest thing that stuck out to me was answered prayer. All of my requests had been answered during the trip. I prayed we would have safety and we did. I prayed we would unite and we did. I prayed we would see someone come to know the Lord and we did. I prayed we would all be challenged in our faith and to grow and I am pretty sure that happened too. Also, I prayed we would bless our hosts. I prayed that God would be glorified and He was! We have much to be thankful for. God blessed us tremendously.
Now, that we are back in the States the tendency is to go back to our normal day to day life to go back to being independent of God, to stop listening, to stop reading our Bible, to stop ministering. I know that some of you have done that already. I know some of you have already passed on your time with God to watch television or use the internet. But God’s mercies are new every morning. At any moment we can get back on track to choose life in Christ rather than existence in the world. I encourage you not to be forgetting what God has done, to forget to be thankful and to move forward in your new self in Christ. The Christian life is not easy it requires daily sacrifice, daily laying ourselves down and choosing to be a thankful slave to Christ.
I challenge you not to lose heart or discipline or focus. Continue on you the path that you started in Scotland don’t forget what God has done and forget to thank Him by sacrificing yourself to Him. Whatever sacrifices you think that you are making they do not compare to the blessings we receive by following the Lord.
By His Blessings Alone . . . ,
Joshua
He who has created a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.
Posted in A Trip Update by Kristen Huey on 7/26/2010
I know that we are back in the states now and everyone has settled in at home, but Amber had written a great blog about her experience in Scotland, so I wanted to make sure it got posted. Amber feels called to go back to Scotland in the future, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. =)
BLOG by AMBER RENTERIA
Scotland is amazing and I love it here. Ive learned alot about myself and still have more to learn. The people are so desperately in need of God. Their faces show desperation and longing for something they do not know and I want to do something about it. I just kept asking God why I was here and he kept saying, "The people!" But I would say, "I know that"! and he would say, "No you don't because if you did, you would be doing something for them." I realized my mind was focused on my own self! I realized my fault and God asked me what I was going to do, and my reply was, "why have you brought me here?!" I sat for a while thinking and praying, hoping I would know what to do. God impressed upon my heart, "Love them as I do".
God has been revealing to me things that were never brought to my attention before. God had revealed something to me through another person on my trip and I sit here still praying about it and I just keep getting conformation and I pray this is what God wants, not me. I could go on about all I have done and how my heart has changed for the people and the ministries here, but I want to share another thing with you that has helped me see how amazing God is, and how I need to change my heart to be like him!
Ephesians 3:8 "Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given to me."
This helped me completely humble myself before God and not see myself as better than anyone else. Before this trip, when I thought of people "lower", I thought of children and the homeless. But being around all of them made me realize that I am not above anyone. That we are alike in Christ and all fall short of the glory of God. I need to be completely humble. I need to lay myself down and pick up my cross and follow Jesus.
My question is why do you go to church? Is it because it is routine? Why do you love? Is it because its what you have done? Well I encourage you to to break out of routine and search for God and really ask what he wants you do to. I had to! I got my awnsers. Yes, more than an awnser was given. I have been seeking his face and when you do, you find yourself in an amazing place! So I would like to encourage you to seek God, because when you truly ask him "What is it that you want me to do?" the doors will open for you to just walk through. So yes, Scotland has been a great experience, I have seen so many new faces and making new friends, and now I am at the place where God can use me . It is all about HIM! When this trip ends I will not be the same and even though hard times come upon us all I know that Gods arms are where I can rest easy! I love Scotland and the people!
Posted in A Trip Update by Amanda Bryant on 7/23/2010
Hey, Everyone!
The Scotland team has made it safely to Atlanta! They have all of their luggage and are currently at the hotel resting. We look forward to hearing their stories--and we know you do too!
blog by Ashley Jimenez I don't know where to begin. This trip has been a time of growth for me, not only spiritually but emotionally as well. Scotland is so beautiful, but there are things hidden and buried deep beneath the beauty. Some of my teamates and I went and picked up trash in the woods off of the main road. From the street it looked breath takingly beautiful but once we got past the wire fence it was such a mess. It was devastating. Mason compared this to a human being. On one side of the fence it was beautiful, but the deeper we went, the more garbage we found. A person may be absolutely gorgeous and put together on the ouside but inside they're a wreck. Just like the garbage in the forest wasn't going to get taken care by itself we need help from God to clean the junk out of our hearts.
The second day we were in Scotland we went on a prayer walk through Paisley. There is so much history here you can see God in everything, but the one thing I did not see God in was the people. When we first got to Paisley we were greeted by twenty-four people that we would be staying with for the next 17 days and they were glowing, you could just see God in them. When you look into the eyes of the people in Paisley you see sadness and depression. It's like they are searching for something but can't find it no matter how hard they try. What I've learned is God is always right there waiting to pick us up when we stumble. No matter how hard we try to run away, He is always there waiting for us to want Him and yearn for Him the way he yearns for us every second of everyday.
I'm also learning it's okay to ask for help. it is not a sign of weakness. Everybody needs somebody and it's okay to ask your leader or teamates for help, because that is what they are here for, but ultimately God wants us to lean on Him. He wants us to be able to share our burdens with Him and our teamates and leaders. I tend to take on everyone else's burdens, but bury my own because i feel like they are mine to carry and I don't want to put that heaviness on anyone else. But I've realized I can't carry my burdens and everyone else's as well. I need help. I'm working on giving my burdens over to God and it's getting better everyday. He is breaking me down day by day and I can't wait until those walls come tumbling down. Well that's all for now until next time, love you all.
Blog by Jen Wahlers The past few weeks have been an adventure for all of us. One of the most difficult adjustments for me is leaving the familar and venturing into something completely unknown; a different enviroment, different people, and new experiences. Stepping out of my comfort zone made me lean on the only familar thing left, God. It has given me the chance to truly open my heart and listen to what He needed me to hear. Waiting and listening have always been difficult for me, I like things to move quickly and happen in my own timing, but of course it never works out that way. This morning I finally sat down in silence, praying and listening and after a while something popped into my head "orphanage". I paused and then began to pray and found myself having a conversation with the Lord. Through this conversation I figured out that the Lord wants me to pursue my desired career in social work, but He also wants me to travel around the world helping children in orphanages. I will continue to pray and seek God's direction regarding the future he has for me. I ask that you pray as well. It's amazing what can happen when you open your heart and let the Lord walk in and consume you.
Blog by Andrew Bennett
It's been a week and a half since many of you have heard from me, and a lot has happened in that time. God has shown me many things about who He is, and who I am in Him. I have learned I need to forgive others, as well as myself for things that have happened in the past. I also have learned I can move on from the past and I don't need to stay caught up in self pity and personal brokenness. I can be repaired from that brokeness and become a better person in Christ. Also, we have been doing a lot of ministry here in Paisley, Scotland that has really helped me grow and learn more about overseas missions. We have done some outreach work with a few local churches and ministered to the homeless and teens here in Paisley. It has been awesome!
Love you, miss you, God bless.
Blog by Christina Young This trip has answered many questions that I've had about my life. Scotland has also made me answer questions that the Lord has put on my heart. Since I entered the Stanley House I have asked Him to removed all the walls and distractions from my life. When I return home I pray that temptations and old habits will not arise. A song that really sums up this category of life is "Hurricane" by Jimmy Needham it states that I need God to come into my life like a hurricane and tear all my walls down. It says I am His now. He is the eye of the storm that has complete control over everything.
The second focus that I have asked God to reveal to me is what should I do now that I have graduated. But everything comes in time. So, since I have no idea what I want to do I have given it to Him to show me when the time is right. The song "Here I am, Send me" by Matt Papa explains everything that I wasn't able to give God. It says that I will go wherever you want me to go, I will give up my dreams and my selfish plans to follow Him. In order to devote my whole self to God, I have to put off all worry and anxiety about my future. The one thing that my heart wants the most is to have a family that is devoted to God, but now I know that I need to put my dreams and desires aside to full heartedly follow Christ. If that means giving up my own plans and desires for Him, than so be it. Giving up those dreams is something that I struggled with before this trip. But I think that is something that is going to help me stop worrying about my future and just focus on the current moment.
Ruth 1:16
Blog by Kayan Dunnigan This trip has been really good for me. I've gown spiritually and I really feel closer to God. I can tell that this team been hand selected by God. We all work together really well and have accomplished many things as a team. We've been growing non-stop lately with our work. It's been awesome I've talked to all sorts of people and have learned all sorts of things about different circumstances the Lord can deliever us from. This entire experience has made me really want to go into missions in the future and to live my life for God in the most direct way possible.
Blog by Zack Wooster Oh goodness, I'm suppose to write about something I've learned so far but I've learned so much it's hard for me to decide what to talk about. I have on moment that was really amazing to me that i'd like to talk about. It actually happened in taining camp. One morning Kenny was leading worship and just told us if we felt like God was putting on our hearts that we should sing it. Then a leader stood up and asked if we were truly worshiping God with all our hearts. Then people started going to the mic to sing and move around and truly get out of their comfort zones. I found myself in the front yelling out lyrics that I didn't even know. People started even sharing over the mic what was on their hearts. And then I had a crazy moment and decided to pick up the guitar and start playing with everybody. Everyone in the room felt God movig there that day. I think we experienced true sincere worship.
Blog By Mason Mangum
What I have learned from this trip is that a lot of times things do not seem as they appear. Like Scatland for instance, when you think of Scotland most people think of the beauty of it, but after living here you see things that are not so beautiful, like paper and bottles on the side of the road. You have to look deep sometimes to see these things though. You have to look under the beauty. Under the beauty, you see the things you would not expect from such a beautiful place. What this showed me is that we are like Scotland in this way. We look beautiful on the outside covered up by good looking objects of this world but when you go deeper, that's when you find the person hurting on the inside. What i noticed is that Scotland cannot clean itself. It needs people to go in and clean the inside, where the problem is. We need someone, God, to come in and go around our appearances and work inside us and clean up the mess. We cannot do it by ourselves we need help and only God can do that.
Posted in A Trip Update by Kristen Huey on 7/14/2010
Hey Friends and Family!! Just dropping in to give you another update. Thank you for your prayers and encouraging words on the blog! We can feel the love all the way from home. :) Joshua is getting around much better today, and everything is running smoothly around here despite the set-back. We are having a great time living in community and spending quality time with other believers from around the world. God is doing great things among our team and is blessing us in our ministries.
Here are some pictures of a few of the ministries and fun activities we did last week.
Group at the airport on the way the Amsterdam!
Handing out sausages at PIG
Some of the team with our Scotish friend, Nichole at PIG
TEAM SHOT at PIG
Zack, Mason, Courtney, and John practicing at CREATE
The Castle in Edinburgh we visited on Saturday
the Group participating in a traditional Scottish Dance, "The Ceilidh" after church Sunday
Today we will be participating in the P.I.G event again (if the weather holds out) and going to feed the homeless at the church in Glasgow this evening. A few of our students will be giving testimonies and participating in worship tonight as well. Please keep these ministries in your prayers throughout the day!!
Hey all!!
So sorry that it took so long to update you on our trip! We have been super busy from 7am-11pm every day this week, but we are loving EVERY minute of it! =)
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!! Ashley helped 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.
