Stourbridge -> Glasgow -> Stourbridge -> Goodbye's Are Hard

     We've spent a lot of time with the youth, the kids and the adults of Stourbridge and we've grown rather attached to all of the people here. Tomorrow we're throwing a going-away BBQ with free food and games and have invited as many people as we could on Facebook about it. Friday, August 1st, will be our last full day here. We have to catch a train leaving for South London at 9:30 a.m. on August 2nd. It's a hard reality that's only just settling in. This past Sunday we've had to say goodbye to some people for the last time. Today we had to say goodbye to our mentor - and very probably one of the interns we've been working so closely with for the past month and a half - for the last time. We were so rushed to catch the train due to leave Glasgow for Preston that we didn't really have time to register any emotions. Everything has been so rushed here at the most inconvenient times and I was hoping the goodbye's wouldn't be one of the things that got rushed. We said goodbye for the last time to a few people at church on Sunday, too. If some of them aren't able to show up at the BBQ tomorrow we're not going to see them, again. In a way it's helpful to say goodbye to a few of them at a time, instead of all at once. I've learned, though, that no matter how I feel after a relationship ends I need to be fully invested in the relationship while I'm there. God can work in the smallest of moments with each person and I can't let my fear of being hurt keep me from being used in those moments. I'm glad - and proud of myself - that I may very well cry when I leave some of these people and that they will cry in return. I love them all and I'm not afraid to show it.

     After the Mississippi team left a lot of the youth were rather intrigued and wanted to go on a mission trip to Mississippi. I believe they're letting Andrew (one of the other interns in charge of Youth) decide on the missional aspects of the mission but they have the hotel down and where they'll be eating. It's been really cool to see how they interact around people with southern accents. So many silly questions were asked by the southerners and so many words repeated by all just because everyone liked each others accent.

     During mission week we had a great turn-out for the BBQ/family fun day! It was really exciting. I got a mustache and Union flag painted on my face. Found out that it's only called the "Union Jack" flag when the flag is on a ship. In either case it was painted, expertly, right on my face by one of the Mississippi team. Jonathan, one of the other interns working with youth and worship, was a tiger. One of the homeless people we've been working with came, too, which was exciting! He's been coming every Sunday, as well. From not talking to anybody the first couple of weeks to being chatty and willing to come to church and open up his heart with us. It's been a huge change in the amount of time that I've been here, praise God! We had a bunch of kids we've never seen before show up and have fun. It was a long day ending in worship and some preaching from Andy Hodson, my boss while I've been over here. We went to Nando's (a really good restaurant if you love chicken possibly mixed with lots of spice) with them, too. It was great spending time with the team and learning more about the culture that they come from. Going to a castle, eating a terrible lamb sandwich that, despite the sweet chili sauce it had on it, tasted like absolutely nothing, riding with an American driver who wasn't that terrible at driving and hiking up a "hill" to see a gorgeous view all in a day. It was fun but I think we slept about 11 hours after they left.

     We were excited to go to Glasgow for the missions opportunities. We were sad because we also knew that it would mean having to say goodbye to some people earlier than we would have liked. Going to Glasgow, inevitably, meant that we'd be able to spend more time with Andy and Andrew, the intern as well as get insight into exactly what it is we'll be doing when we go to South London in a couple of days. It's called "holiday club" it's basically VBS (Vacation Bible School) - what we have in churches across America for our kids. It's big in Scotland and it happens a lot in England, as well. I didn't realize how similar the two were until I was in a room full of kids and they were doing dancing, story time and games all split up into teams (seemingly based on age).

     I learned more about the situation with kids in Scotland after talking with one of the workers at the church there. I never learned the name of the church we were at. We were only there for about an hour but it seems like I should've asked seeing as it's only polite. This particular worker wasn't working directly with the church but was working with Youth For Christ and she said that a lot of the kids in Scotland have parents that don't really now how to be present with them. These parents come from backgrounds of/deal with, personally, alcoholism as well as unemployment for 2 or 3 generations at times because the social system is so good over in Europe. If they went to get a job they'd be poorer than if they stayed on benefits (or welfare, basically) so a lot of them just don't get a job. They have issues in Scotland where, if they have more than one child, they'll leave the older to look after the younger. In some cases the "older" child will be older primary school age - not even a teenager, yet. It's become such an issue that they've started teaching basics so that the kids know how to care for their younger brothers and sisters and for themselves. Teenage pregnancy is also a huge problem in Scotland. After hearing about some of these things I went into the room where they were having holiday club (we went to two, this was the first holiday club we went to on Tuesday) and I almost cried. I was overwhelmed by how much not only these children need hope, but their parents and grandparents need hope. Please pray for workers to be sent there with a desire and passion to help families and those struggling as there is a great need there.

     The second holiday club we went to we experienced more of just because we were there for a few activities that they were involved in. The game they played was interesting. They had to form a line and do all of this in three minutes: run to a table, put a spoonful of sugar in their mouth, take a bite of a lemon, take a swig of water and run back to where their team and a jug was waiting for them to do 5 jumping jacks and spit it out into. Whichever team had the most "lemonade" in their jug was the winner of the most points and you get a prize at the end of the week if you're on the winning team with the most points, I'm assuming. It was a joy to work with the kids these last couple of days. I'm just happy that, since I missed VBS at our church, I don't have to miss VBS altogether!

     On Monday we hiked a mountain called Ben A'an. Or rather, they did. I made it most of the way up and couldn't finish it because my foot was hurting me (along with everything else) and I was having a hard time catching my breath. I got some beautiful shots of the surrounding mountains, though, since I was really very close to the top of the mountain. I talked to a girl named Stephanie, too. She was the last one in her group as well. She's Scottish and has been to Harry Potter world. I told her I was jealous. God was really showing me, in that moment, that even though I'm slower than others, that I'm detail-oriented and I think things through (sometimes much more than I should), God still works through me. God can still use me as a missionary - as a Christian. I don't have to be super outgoing, graceful, funny, intelligent or whatever I think of when I think of "successful" Christians who are able to open up their homes and hearts to people. God has made me who I am and He can use me the way that I am. After we hiked the mountain we went for lunch and went to Loch Lomond. We saw swans, people that got rescued from their boat because it just stopped working (apparently), skipped stones (I tried but failed) and took pictures. The lake was beautiful and it was nearing sunset so it was even more beautiful. Sadly pictures can't do that scenery justice but they can give you an idea, at least.

     Last night we started playing Nertz with some of the people. Tiffany, one of the other interns with GEM (for 9 months in Scotland), Rachel, my flatmate, and I knew how to play but no one else did. Soon we got Andy and Andrew involved. I will just say that Andrew (the intern - I call him "Drew") is hilarious when he's angry and when he's flustered. Andy, however, got very good very quickly. We knew he would. He's the kind of guy who learns quickly and he has to stay moving - very active - so in a fast-paced game like Nertz we figured he'd be good. We even played partners for a while but Tiffany and Andy were so good it was like they were cheating, really. So this morning when we played it he played separately.

     We got back at 8:30 tonight. Which might seem strange to some of you as you might be reading this before 8:30 tonight. We took about 5 different trains (almost missed 2 or 3 of them), got re-routed once, skipped a step because we just happen to be able to (otherwise it would have been 6 trains), and got picked up by Andy's lovely wife, Isobel. Sweetheart of sweethearts, she is. Amazing cook and great person.

     Please pray for the situation that caused our train to be so delayed, though. A man was threatening to throw himself on the tracks and it took police about half an hour to talk him down. Please pray for him and for his family. Pray that someone who loves and follows Christ would enter his life and show him peace.

     We'll be having our BBQ tomorrow as well as the homeless ministry and the youth come on Friday. Please pray that our last days here would be fruitful and that we would show love to the people here, even though we might not see them again. Please pray that we wouldn't let our sadness overtake us but that we would allow our love for them to show all the more - that they might see in that how much Jesus loves them.

    As a P.S. I would like to note that I would have put photos up here to show you some of what I mean when I say they painted a mustache on my face and we took pictures of Loch Lomond. The problem with this is that I cannot find my iPhone cord at this moment so I'll have to update this blog later with pictures. Thank you for all the prayer! I love you guys a lot and I'm coming back to the States soon! August 8th (late at night) I'll be back. I'll start to see everybody August 9th. I'm gaining 5 hours so I'm hoping the jet lag won't hit me as hard as it did when I came over here.

Differences in Culture

            So it’s been three or so weeks since my last update and a lot has happened. I’ve been keeping a list of things that are different from America and England since I’ve been here for about a month. The list is long but as much as I’ve seen different I’ve also been reminded of how much is the same.

            They say, spiritually, when you go to England from America you’re going about 10 years into the future. I’m not sure if America is following in everything else and it seems, at least in fashion, we’re not trailing so far behind in everything but the spiritual aspect is the biggest thing, I think. It’s why I’m here in England, at least.

            I was thinking about one thing a lot, actually, on one of my Saturdays when I was supposed to be “off”. We went back in to London in order to see “Once”, a musical on the West End, and we “crashed” the Gay Pride Parade. It was very interesting seeing the community of people and one of my flat mates made a very interesting point of how we don’t have the same community in the Church as they do. Denominations really separate us more than they should. What really broke my heart was when we passed a man with a sign with some Scripture on it. He had a huge crowd around him, giving him lots of space to speak, and two policemen that were speaking to him, as well. He wasn’t speaking grace and peace from the Gospel, though; he was saying that God hated gay people and how it was his responsibility to tell the people. It was very difficult to watch the policemen take him away. I don’t agree with him – let me say that outright. I do, however, feel like in America he would have had the opportunity to be able to say what he wanted to say with all of the people yelling at him and no policemen taking him away. I’ve heard similar stories that happened here where people were preaching the Truth of God and, because it was offensive to people, they were arrested. We’re only 10 years behind England, spiritually speaking. What happens when we start arresting people because we think they’re being offensive to us?

            On Saturday I was out by the lake (the one the church is named after but that it’s not actually super close to). It was a beautiful day outside and I wanted to just take the time and pray and worship God so I did that for a couple of hours. I started out with listening to a sermon my pastor had preached 2 weeks previous about The Church. The biggest thing I think I focused on was how big God is, how good He is and, despite these things, how willing He is to love people like us and how that shows how merciful He is. I got wrapped up in worship and remembered, again, why I like to be alone so much so I can pray. I realized I hadn’t been alone a lot on this internship – rooming with two other girls and all – but I’m going to try and find some time every so often so I can pray by myself.

            The VBS (a.k.a. Vacation Bible School or Venture Quest) seems to slowly be growing. This is a good sign! I don’t think anyone really expected us to have 50 kids the first night. Ministries and new ideas take time to grow. I hope that it continues to grow. Even if we only minister to the one family that came tonight, though, it means we’ve ministered to a family and that’s a huge thing. We have shown the love of Christ to the kids and to the parents so it doesn’t matter how many come. God will bring whom He will and we will love whomever He brings!

            I felt a bit discouraged, earlier, because there doesn’t seem to be a heart for children’s ministry here. It’s understandable because it’s a hard job but I felt like I needed to make that happen for them because they didn’t have it. There are so many people here who haven’t heard of Jesus and/or don’t know any of the “basic” Bible stories like Adam & Eve, Noah, Moses, Saul/Paul, etc. If they could learn it at a young age then maybe they could even teach it to their parents! But, really, those things take a lot of time and there has to be a heart for that kind of ministry or else people will get burnt out quickly doing something they do because they feel like they have to. Ministries are to be joined out of joy and worship to the Lord, not out of obligation. I don’t want anyone here to feel like they “have” to do anything. That’s not the point of a relationship with Christ. I talked with a great friend of mine, though, and she encouraged me in this. That it isn’t my job to start a children’s ministry or to start a Sunday School. It’s my job to love people like Christ would. Not only is it my job it is my privilege, honor and joy! Ok, maybe she didn’t say that last bit, but it’s true. My purpose in coming here was not first and foremost for that purpose and perhaps it will still happen but I can’t let that be my primary goal. I am glad that I’m not so worried about it, anymore and I’m really grateful for friends who can say just the right thing at just the right time.

            There’s a team from Mississippi here, too. 34 new Americans I have to remember the names of. To be fair I can’t do that so I’m just going to end up calling most of them “you”, “lady” or “guy” if I need to talk to them. They’ve been a huge help since this week has been unofficially deemed “missions week”. I think since the team is here we’re able to do more stuff so this is the week we’ve decided to cram as many ideas in as we can. Basically, what can we do to love our community and our people? Ok. We have 6 days. Let’s do it all! It’s been really fun but kind of tiring so far. I think for them, mostly, but it’s only Monday (or, I guess, Tuesday now over here) we still have 3 days left. The rollercoaster is only half over.

            Please praise the Lord that He has been faithful through this long process in dealing with me and my heart. I am learning and I am grateful to a God that not only saves us from where we were but teaches us how to be better. Also, please pray for me as I try to create relationships here. It can be difficult since I’m leaving in a month but I’m hoping that I can show them Christ for the short period of time I’m over here. Please pray that I wouldn’t hold back my personality or my heart from these people because I’m afraid to be genuine friends with them because it will hurt when I leave. Lastly, please pray for Church in the Community: Lakeside (CitC). Pray for the Christians in it and their spiritual growth as well as for the non-Christians that they would come to faith in Jesus. Pray for the children that come to the church as well as those in the community – those who are younger to those who are older kids. Please pray that everyone would be discipled effectively. In this context (being in Europe) it can be difficult to find someone more spiritually mature than you if you don’t really know where to look or you’re not great at making friends, etc. even if you are looking and praying for it. Few in England have grown up in the church and many are new Christians so spiritual maturity can be few and far between.

Week 1 - Just Getting Acquainted

     I'm now in Stourbridge after 5 days of living in London. The difference between the two atmospheres is astounding.

     London is so full of people rushing about at 20 mph (which is fast for walking) trying to get the tube to wherever and back again. The tube was a very tight space during rush hour times. Your face would inevitably be in someones' armpit and you'd have a hand accidentally touching some part of your body at all times. We fast-walked about 7-14 miles every day we were there. Only some of the fancier places have air conditioning over here, because this is summer but there's generally not a need for it, so we were quite sweaty pretty much all day when we were in London. The city is so beautiful, though. We went onto the Eye and saw the view from up high. We went through King's Cross Station and saw the clock tower that housed Big Ben. There were a lot of things that we saw and I took a lot of pictures. The people there were so nice, too, even having been so rushed to get places. London culture seems to be a big mash-up of Spanish, French, Middle-Eastern, Irish and tons of other cultures. The beautiful thing about it, though, is that they're very much still expressive of their own individual culture while still being in London. There's tons of amazing food here that'd be hard to get back in the States. As far as missions they've found that it's a great place to be a missionary because you don't have to go to all of these different places to show them Christ and to talk about Christ with them. You can just talk to people that are new, 1st or 2nd generation Londoners, instead, and they would talk about it with their families back home.

     Stourbridge is about an hour and a half or so away from London. It's somewhat small, though there are houses everywhere. We haven't been here very long. I'm staying in a flat with Rachel (a girl from Virginia Beach) and Deanna (a girl from Las Cruces, NM). We just went grocery shopping today at an Aldi's. Fruits and veggies are a lot cheaper here than at home so we got a ton of those. There's a place called Lye (not sure if it's a street in Stourbridge or it's a town right outside) but it's got a huge Muslim population. If you would please pray for them and that the men here would be willing to create friendships with them. As it stands, I think, there's worry here about going down there because it's a bad neighborhood, too, and that's where Christ is needed most, you know? In the midst of the hurting and people that are in need of love. There aren't a lot of Christians here to begin with so there's still a need here, in Stourbridge. It's interesting that there's also worship going on in schools here (public and private) - specifically Christian worship - but so many aren't Christian and don't know anything about Christianity despite this and some schools will have songs that aren't overtly Christian.

    Anyway we're right next to the church we'll be helping with and right above a convenient store so I think we're good on food! Thought the groceries would be more expensive than what they were. I'm counting the fact that the American dollar is worth half what the English pound is. There are turn-abouts in England, too, which make riding in a car in England very interesting!

    I will say, also, that two of the interns that were supposed to stay couldn't and had to go back home. Their information card to get through border control (yes, I'm saying it right, "border control") had different days they were going back and so they detained their passports, they got held for about 17 hours or so and then were released but only for the training week (until Sunday). They were going to go to Kosovo, instead, but can't do that now so they're back home and can't come back without a visa for a year. Also, one of the girls here can't get her debit card she got (and we all got) specifically for this trip to work since she didn't fill out all the necessary paperwork and they didn't tell her they needed it before she left so it just kept getting declined. I got sick with some sort of viral thing and my ear started hurting so went to see the doctor and that took 3 hours because the first doctor we saw was full and then we found our way to a walk-in next to a hospital. They didn't give me anything, of course, because it's a virus but they  recommended some over-the-counter pain meds and stuff to help. It was crazy to see the difference in American health care and European health care. Didn't pay anything and waited about as long as I'd wait in an American hospital. Especially praying through whether or not I should be a nurse it was a good experience so I'm very grateful I got sick. God showed me a lot through it. Plus I went on a little trip with Darci, one of the leaders there, and it was nice to be able to chat with her a bit. There was just a lot of stuff, major and minor, that kept happening and God was good through all of it!

     I'm happy that we're able to rest now in Stourbridge and tomorrow seems a bit crazy. I'll be off for now. Sleep well, you guys! Thanks for reading all my ramblings :-)

- Sara

Closing the Gap: Pre-Adventure Adventure

I've been thinking a lot about what I should post first and I realized that I tend to constantly remind myself how wide the chasm is between me and Christ. I don't mean to prove myself to Him - as if I could - but that there is so much to know and that the more I know the more questions I have. I also mean that I find in myself so many things I need to change (whether it's sin, state of mind/heart, etc.) that before I had never noticed. The more I know of myself the more I realize I am nothing like my Christ. But when I started this blog for my mission trip to England I found a blog that I used to have from four years ago still attached to my Google profile. It contains philosophical quandries and terrible poetry. I remember myself from back then and I am nothing like what I was. God has been shaping me to be more like Him this whole time, no matter how little like Him I feel like I look. So I wanted this first post to be about what I was and how Christ saved me and some of the statistics driving me to go to England - another first-world nation. I will say the statistics for America are staggering, as well, but the heart and culture in England is very different to that of America with regards to religion.

Testimony

     I don't remember much of how I became a Christian because I was young when it happened (maybe about 7 or 8). I was very close with my mother and looked up to her a lot so when I saw her praying and crying in her room one day at about the age of 6 I was confused and decided I should ask her about it. She explained prayer and God a little bit, but not really anything about Jesus, salvation or the Bible. I started praying, too, every day and sometimes multiple times a day because it's what my mother did. Very soon God became my best friend, partially because I wasn't very popular and didn't have many friends. My grandmother, who wasn't Christian, thought it'd be adorable to get me a Bible. She got me a very pretty New Testament Bible that I didn't read for a couple of years.

     I finally got curious about my friend that I'd been praying to all this time so I started reading the book my grandmother gave me and found I couldn't stop. It was the second time reading it through - while I was reading one of the passages where Jesus explains that He is God and He came to save people from their evil nature - that I realized that Jesus was God's son. Jesus was my best friends' son who died because I wasn't good and He was. I had only just started praying to Jesus because I didn't know that they were both God before I started reading the book. Now it clicked that He, also being God who I'd been talking to this whole time, died so that people like me could be considered good. God died for me and what had I done for Him? What could I ever do for Him that would be enough to repay Him? I confessed that I was not worthy of His forgiveness but asked for it anyway then, in my bedroom, and told Him that I would follow Him the rest of my life as not just my best friend but as my King.

     I'd always cried when I came to the part when Jesus died because He didn't deserve it at all and He clearly went willingly. I realized after reading how He died for about the 10th time that God allowed that to happen and wanted it to happen because God is merciful to people like me. I knew I wasn't a great person and I knew that God had been faithful and kind to me every day, even when I would yell at Him or blame Him because my parents yelled at me or I felt alone, and He gave His life for mine. He was, and still is, the best friend I'd ever had and showed me that He loved me more than anyone else ever could though there were a lot of times I didn't show love to Him or anyone else like He said to. I was overwhelmed by how much He loved me and how much He loved people and that all I had to do was recognize that love, recognize my own inability to do anything about the distance between us because I wasn't good and He was, and ask for help.

Stats for England (and Wales)

-"The number of people describing themselves as having no religion rose from 15% (in 2001) to 25% (in 2011) of the population." (BBC) That is a quarter of the population - 1 in 4. With a 7% rise in population between 2001 and 2011.

-"In a poll conducted by YouGov in March 2011 on behalf of the BHA, when asked the census question ‘What is your religion?’, 61% of people in England and Wales ticked a religious box (53.48% Christian and 7.22% other) while 39% ticked ‘No religion’.
Less than half (48%) of those who ticked ‘Christian’ said they believed that Jesus Christ was a real person who died and came back to life and was the son of God." That's a little over a quarter of the population.
-"In 1990 5,595,600 people, representing 10% of the UK population, regularly attended Church, by 2005 this number had reduced to 3,926,300, equating to 6.7% of the UK population. By 2015, the level of church attendance in the UK is predicted to fall to 3,081,500 people, or 5% of the population." (BHA) It's 2014 now.

 <http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-20675307>
<https://humanism.org.uk/campaigns/religion-and-belief-some-surveys-and-statistics/>
*There is about a 6% difference between the YouGov Survey Results and the UK 2011 Census with regards to the Christian population in England and Wales*

Stats for America

- "One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling." (pew)

-"The number of Americans who currently say religion is very important in their lives (58%), for instance, is little changed since 2007 (61%) and is far higher than in Britain (17%), France (13%), Germany (21%) or Spain (22%)." This is religion in general but we are on the decline even in this statistic. (pew)

<http://www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/>