Outreach Week!

God is so amazing! He is glorious! All honour and glory belongs to Him and He is worthy of all! Praise the Lord that in Him we live, breathe and have our being! He holds all things together in the palm of His hand! How wonderful is that! He is so big that He holds ALL things together in the PALM of His hand! Sorry God for all the times I've made You small in my mind, may You continue to magnify Yourself in my heart. Oh that we would all have such a magnified vision of our Lord!

If I could sum up the outreach to London it would be "Mind Blowing". God blew up my vision of Him and how great He is! He showed me more of how He works and chooses to work. He showed me how He orchestrates all things for His glory because all glory belongs to Him! He basically showed me more of who He is and what a blessing it is to see more of God and to understand more of Him not just with my mind but in my heart of hearts. And this trip really ministered to my heart of hearts.

A couple of nights before we left, we got together as group (Colleen, Carlee, Mike and I) and just prayed and shared with each other for like a good 2 hours. It was awesome just how the Spirit moved during that prayer time, we were all so blessed! We shared what was going on with each of us and any prayer requests etc and that opened us up to each other and I think that was when we immediately felt our bond of unity. God instantly united us and bound us with chords that couldn't broken. It was really interesting how quickly we united because Mike wasn't originally on our team. The outreach team was originally meant for 4 people but only Carlee, Colleen and I signed up (and we originally didn't plan on going to London but all the outreaches we wanted to go on were full so we ended up reluctantly signing up for London... But all the while... God had a plan! I love it!). A few days before we left, Mike felt that he should go to London with us. And it was totally the Lord because his presence added a much needed dynamic to the group! The Lord definitely put us all together and we were a strong team of leader-type people and spiritually we are on the same page so that made things so good!

And to build more unity amongst us, the day before we left we (Colleen, Mike and I) woke up at 6am and went for a sunrise walk down by the sheep fields beyond the river. It was beautiful and we had some sweet fellowship!

So we left really early on Thursday 23 March and took a coach down to London Victoria. We got to share the gospel with our taxi driver who was Catholic and obviously doing a lot of soul searching. He was hungry but he didn't understand what for. His name was Mike. Please pray that God would continue to reveal more of Himself to him and that He would be saved.

Our coach ride was interesting, to say the least. We didn't have the safest driver but praise the Lord we made it there in one piece! Dan (the intern) met us Victoria Station and we got our oyster cards for the next 5 days and we were on our way! For some really weird reason I love using the underground so I really enjoyed getting around in London! This was about the 5th time I'd been to London but this time it was with a different purpose and that made it even more exciting!

So the outreach was with Calvary Chapel Docklands which is in Canary Wharf East London. And it is by far one of the most beautiful places in London. Half the time you don't even feel like you're in London! The weather was gorgeous that week and praise the Lord because we had earnestly prayed for good weather. So we arrived in at the pastor's house at about midday and they had lunch prepared for us which was a huge blessing! They live right near the dock so they have a magnificent view of the Thames from 4 rooms in their house. And it was such a blessing for me personally to wake up to that view in the morning because I absolutely love bodies of water and anything to do with water! And it just reminded me of the beauty of God's creation and being able to experience it with all my senses fully functioning is definitely something to be mucho grateful for!

So after a lovely lunch, we sat down with Marshall (the pastor) and he gave us the schedule for the week and we had an awesome time of prayer where the Lord united us immediately and His Spirit was just so evident in it! It was amazing! We were of one mind and filled with the joy of the Lord... what a good combination!

The main purpose of the outreach was to build awareness of the church's location in a library in the city centre. I guess most people didn't know that there was a church that met there so we were handing out invitations with maps and the gospel on the back to people in the streets and in mailboxes. It was such a great opportunity for not only the people to become aware of the church but just for the gospel to go forth. And it was mind blowing for me to think that for someone that could be the first time they ever hear the gospel. So on thursday afternoon we started putting the tracts through people's doors in the surrounding neighbourhoods. It was a blessed time as we just fellowshipped and got to know one another while we walked around. We had split up into 2 groups so as to cover 2 different areas. Marshall, Mike and I went one way and Dan, Carlee and Colleen went another way. It was cool just talking to Marshall and hearing how the Lord called them out there and how the Lord has been using them to reach the people in Docklands. So I told him how I don't feel a particular calling yet and that kinda scares me because I feel like I should feel called to something or somewhere by now. And he really encouraged me by saying that God probably hasn't put any new desires in my heart because He's not done with me where I'm at right now. Isn't it funny how we're always seeking the Lord about the next step and sometimes all He actually wants us to do is stay where we are and continue in Him.

Once we got done handing out the tracts we went back to the house and had dinner and just hung out for a couple hours. Then we had the church prayer meeting which meets in Marshall and Debbie's home. Again the Spirit was moving and it was just such a blessed time of prayer and intercession for the people in the city and in the church. My heart was just burning with a passion for the people there. And it was great because I honestly can't remember the last time my heart burned that much for people. So many people are just bound up in materialism and intellectualism that they think they don't have time or room for God in their lives. It's sad because He is the only One that deserves our time and our lives yet He is the one that so many people cannot make time for. How that must break the Father's heart - the people He breathed life into so openly reject Him and refuse to know Him.

To my surprise we managed to hand out quite a few tracts and it was purely by the grace of God. People just usually aren't that receptive or willing to take things in the streets but so many reached out and received a tract from us. In essence they reached out and received the words of eternal life. And even though we don't know of anyone who got saved that week my prayer is that people did come to know the Lord just even through those little cards. God's Word is powerful and I believe that He is able. He is mighty to save and His hand is definitely not shortened that He cannot save.

After the prayer meeting we hung out and just talked and then all retired to bed. It had been a long super blessed day!

Waking up early the next morning was lovely. It was beautiful and sunny. And I remember sitting down on the carpet in the living room and having the sun on me, looking out the full length window at the Thames and reading 1 Timothy. It was one of those moments that are just pure bliss.

So we had breakfast and then a super blessed time of worship of prayer. It was so Spirit filled and anointed. The Lord truly prepared us for the day and gave us His directive for the day. We first went to Greenwich College of Music which is just across the river from where Marshall and Debbie live and we planned on handing out tracts but didn't actually manage to because there was no one around really. They must all have been in classes! So we had look around and they had a church there and this cool hall (I forget what it's called) then after a few hours we headed home for lunch. After lunch we took a trip to the British Museum and took a tour that Marshall compiled himself. It was so great to look at things from a Biblical standpoint. It still blows my mind how much history ties into the Bible and vice versa. I had done the tour before but with a lot more people so it was great having the smaller group. Then after the tour we went to Mcdonalds for din-dins and that was good (i think?!). Then we hung out at starbucks for a bit before heading over to the Prayer Room in the mall where the Friday evening service is held. The Prayer Room is a Room in the mall that all religions are free to use for whatever purposes. So Marshall managed to get it for the Friday night slot so they could have services there. The service was great and it was great to meet the people in the church. Even though they have a small congregation (20+) it is so cool to see how they all just love Jesus! We had an awesome time in the Word and then an awesome time of fellowship afterwards.

We headed home after the service and hung out then we decided to watch "Evan Almighty". It was really good just to relax and watch a funny clean movie. Then we woke up early Saturday morning as well. After breakfast and another awesome time of worship and prayer (and then extended worship) we went out. Then we went into Greenwich and handed out tracts all morning! We had some really good conversations as well - PTL! I spoke to this guy called Luke and he had been thinking about finding a church again. He had stopped going as a young man but now he felt that God was calling him back. So I was able to encourage him just to get plugged into a church and I invited to Calvary Chapel. He didn't show the next day but I know God is working on his heart and He is drawing him back. Pray the Luke would surrender all to God and allow Him to save him.

Then at lunch time we went to eat at this really neat little place. It was an international foods place. It had a bunch of caravans serving foods from different countries all around and then deck chairs and table in the middle. It was a beautiful sunny day so it was great to eat outside in the sun! While we were eating we met these 3 American guys who were travelling around the UK. We got talking to them and they told us they would be going up to York. So we mentioned in passing that they should come up to the coffee shop that the Bible College runs while they're in York. Then later on that day, we were walking around in a marketplace still in London and we bumped into them again. How ironic huh! We talked to them for a bit again and then we parted. Then later on we bumped into them again in a park in Greenwich! How bizarre right?! By this point we kinda got that God was setting us up with them (if that makes sense?!). So we invited them to church and they said they might come but they didn't. They were also blown away that we had bumped into each other 3 times in one day in London!!!

So after handing out tracts and having lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon sight seeing in Greenwich! It was soooo breathtakingly beautiful! Dan was so lovely and he showed us around everywhere and hung out with us the whole time we were there! God bless his heart for just giving of himself. His heart for the Lord is just so beautiful and encouraging to see! Then we went back home and had dinner. Brian Kirik from Gospel for Asia was coming to teach on Sunday morning so he stayed at Marshall and Debbie's Saturday night. So we all had dinner together and hung out. Then Mike and I watched Pride and Prejudice. It was quite interesting because even though it was definitely the shorter version, it took over 2 hours because after almost every scene he would pause and have me explain! He thoroughly enjoyed it and he says he loves it now so I guess it was worth it! LoL. Then we all just talked and hung out with Brian. It was cool to just hang out and talk!

Sunday morning after breakfast and prayer and worship we went into town and handed out invites to church. The church service starts at 12:30 so that gave us about 2 hours to hand out invitations. The service was moving and challenging. Brian Kirik challenged us not to live as lukewarm Christians but instead live passionately for the Lord! And it was great to meet more people in the church and just be able to encourage them in the Lord! It was super awesome too because one person came as a result of a tract they got on the street! Praise the Lord!!!!!

After church we went to lunch at Nando's and that was really good! Then Dan, Ayo and Richard took us into central London and we visited a mega church there. It was interesting to visit a different church and especially one with such a big sphere of influence. Without being judgemental, there were a few things I didn't completely agree with but at least they were preaching Christ and His Word was going forth. How they do it is between them and the Lord and they will have to answer to Him ultimately. But like Paul in Timothy I rejoiced that Jesus was being taught despite the manner in which it was being done. Anyway to cut a long story short I was really convicted about being too judgemental of churches that don't do things like Calvary Chapel does them. Calvary Chapel is not the way, the truth and the life... Jesus is!

Anyway then after that we walked around central London and just had fun! Then we headed back home and played some games which was fun! Then we just literally just lay down on the carpet and talked and played games etc. It was just such a sweet time of fellowship!

I seriously could not express how blessed we were by Marshall and Debbie and their wonderful hospitality, gentle spirits and just spirit filled hearts. It was such a blessing to see how they just rested in Jesus and they were not striving at all and the Lord keeps pouring out His blessings on them and their ministry! They were living epistles to me and they truly depict the love of Christ in the most beautiful ways. It was such a blessing to be part of their ministry for those few days and I truly thank the Lord for that opportunity. God blessed us with such unity, joy and sweet fellowship that I felt more ministered to than the people I was ministering to! How great is our God?!

Then the next morning (Monday) our coach back to York was for 9.30 am. Colleen, Mike and I were going back together but Carlee was meeting a friend and then getting on the 13.00 coach. But we left the Alnutt's house together. We left at about 8 am and that gave us plenty of time. BUT as we approached the underground to take the jubilee line to victoria a bunch of policemen stopped us and told us the underground was closed and we had to make alternative arrangements. By this point I was getting the feeling the Lord didn't want us on the 9.30 coach. Anyway thanks to Mike and his wonderful skills (which the Lord blessed him with of course) we figured out an alternative route. All the trains were crowded what with the underground being shut so it was a squeeze! Plus Mike was carrying Carlee's huge bag as well as his. So Carlee got off at her stop and we continued on to try and catch our 9.30 coach. We arrived at Victoria train station at 9.20 and we started to run to victoria coach station but Colleen's bag broke so Mike had to carry it (we later found that it had wheels and could easily have been wheeled... but then we might have made it had we known that!). Then as we're running my legs start cramping... like when do they ever do that when I run?! So we finally got to the station at 9.35 and of course our coach had left on time. So we had to buy new tickets home. This could had stolen our joy but we refused to let it! And God filled us to overflowing with His joy! So the tickets we ended up getting were for the 13.00 coach - the same one as Carlee... so we would all travel back home together as a team!

So Colleen, Mike and I now had about 3 hours to kill! So we sat in this cute little park for a while cause it was a pretty sunny day, then we went and had coffee at Costa. It was cool just to hang out and talk about the Lord and what He was teaching us. Then we headed back to the coach and had lunch at Burger King :? LoL. So we're waiting for our coach at 13.00 and it was delayed by over an hour. But here is where it all came together... We shared the gospel with these 2 people. Carlee and Mike got to share with this guy called Ed and Colleen and I shared with a lady called Tozama. And what was interesting was that they were the ones who approached us. Ed was from London going to look for a job in York and Tozama was from Portsmouth going to visit a friend in York. It was so great when we realised they were also going to York after we had just shared the gospel with them. So I sat with Tozama all the way and shared the love of Christ with her. She is from South Africa and has had such bad experiences with fake Christians so I was encouraging her to look to Jesus and not to man. I was glad just to be able to listen to her cause she had a lot on her heart and she ended up telling me a lot about her and her life. I strongly trust that the Lord did something in her heart that day and I continue to pray for her!

So we got back to York excited about what the Lord had done in and through us in London! He magnified Himself so much to us! And He showed us His intimate concern for each individual. Seriously we basically missed our first coach so we could share the gospel with Ed and Tozama! And it was totally worth it! I just love the extent that God will go to to reach just one person. He is such a personal individualistic God and there is no one who can care for us like He does!

So on the Tuesday after we got back, Mike and I were in the church prayer meeting and we were thanking the Lord for the outreach and praying for the people we'd talked to. And just then one of the teachers taps me on the shoulder as says the very people we had been praying for were in the coffee shop. So we run over and lo and behold the 3 American guys we saw 3 times in one day in London were now in our coffee shop in York! So we hung out with them and talked to them about God. It turned out one of them (Matt) was a Christian, Gregg was Catholic and Lee was just Lee. So we talked and laughed with them then Colleen and Carlee went out with them later on and shared the gospel with them. It was super mind blowing how God kept bringing them into our lives. Matt is now super interested in coming to Bible College because he knows in a sense that he's back sliding. So please pray that Gregg and Lee would seek God and find salvation in Him and draw Matt back to Himself! He is more than able! He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above what we could ever think or ask! My God is a great big God!!!

So thanks for all your prayers for the outreach! God was glorified! And a few days ago I got an email from Marshall saying that 2 more people came to church as a result of a tract they received! Praise God!!!!

Lord may outreach week never end in my heart! May this passion continue to flow as I continue to abide in You. Oswald Chambers said,

"It is the dull, bald, dreary, commonplace day, with commonplace duties and people, that kills the burning heart unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus."

And oh that is so true! Teach me oh Lord to abide in You always. To find my habitation in You. To dwell in the shelter of the Most High. To Abide under the shadow of the Almighty. To find my refuge in You.