Saturday, 24 January 2009
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Abby asked Jesus to be her "friend"
My little princess niece Abby asked Jesus to be her Saviour last week, and I had the privilege of being a part of it! Somehow I wonder if this tense period of waiting and hoping back here in the States that has had me so frustrated, might all make sense. Perhaps I had to be here if only to see one little soul closer to Him.
I was babysitting and we were listening to a kids praise cd and dancing around, both Abby and Emmy and I, and I just happened to say something like, "Do you know, girls, that Jesus loves it when we sing to Him? Even if we sound horrible, He still loves it!"
That got the little wheels in Abby's head turning round and round. Soon she asked something like, "Auntie? How do I see Jesus?" If you want to challenge a recent Theological degree graduate, just ask her to answer such a question to a 3 year old...
Thankfully, I know Abby and I know how her mind works, so I started telling her stories about Jesus. I told her about how He came from Heaven and lived here on earth before He went back to Heaven. I told her about the time the men He worked with tried to keep the little children from bothering Him because He was so busy with important work and how He put His important work away and told them to let the little children come to Him and how He played with them and cuddled them and swung them up on His shoulders and chased them around in tag. She was so impressed she kept repeating the story back to me. "He pushed [insert forceful arm motion here] His work away and said, 'Let the little children come play with me!', didn't He, Auntie?"
We just carried on an open conversation about Jesus all afternoon while we coloured and played dress-up and danced and played games.
When her question of, "How do I get to Heaven?" came, I felt my answer of, "You just have to tell Jesus that you believe He is God and that you want Him to be your friend," was so inadequate-- but I knew she'd been freaked out when my sister had encouraged her to "ask Jesus into her heart" before and was very wary of using language Abby could understand. I thought, "Okay, so this is the point where I ask her if she wants to repeat a prayer after me..." but before I could even ask, she was talking to Jesus right there in front of me, telling Him she believed in Him and asking Him to be her friend for all her life....
And just like that I witnessed a miracle :)
We continued talking about Jesus all the rest of the day and at random moments she would sometimes burst into giggles and exclaim, "I asked Jesus to be my friend!" She had so many questions and, in our 3-year-old sort of way, we managed to cover topics such as redemption, salvation, discipleship, evangelism, and eschatology :) Admittedly, she seemed most concerned with things like what colour "beautiful princess dress" Jesus would have for her in Heaven :) Oh, but it's a start. We had cake after supper to celebrate and we called Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jonah so Abby could tell each of them her news. "My daddy's going to be so proud of me and he's going to hug me so tight!" She declared happily as we awaited her parents' return.
I have prayed hard over this child since she was a tiny baby, that she would grow a radical heart for the Lord along with growing up healthy and strong. How beautiful of Him to orchestrate it so that I was the one to witness this first step... Great encouragement in the midst of a discouraging time. But then, He's pretty good at great encouragement, isn't He?
When I called her mom to tell her what had just transpired, she was slightly sad that she was away when it happened, but mostly just pleased. It turns out her bible study that week had been on leading your kids to the Lord and she'd been praying that Abby would grow curious and ask by her own volition-- since before she'd been freaked out by the suggestion that a grown man should live inside her heart :)
I was babysitting and we were listening to a kids praise cd and dancing around, both Abby and Emmy and I, and I just happened to say something like, "Do you know, girls, that Jesus loves it when we sing to Him? Even if we sound horrible, He still loves it!"
That got the little wheels in Abby's head turning round and round. Soon she asked something like, "Auntie? How do I see Jesus?" If you want to challenge a recent Theological degree graduate, just ask her to answer such a question to a 3 year old...
Thankfully, I know Abby and I know how her mind works, so I started telling her stories about Jesus. I told her about how He came from Heaven and lived here on earth before He went back to Heaven. I told her about the time the men He worked with tried to keep the little children from bothering Him because He was so busy with important work and how He put His important work away and told them to let the little children come to Him and how He played with them and cuddled them and swung them up on His shoulders and chased them around in tag. She was so impressed she kept repeating the story back to me. "He pushed [insert forceful arm motion here] His work away and said, 'Let the little children come play with me!', didn't He, Auntie?"
We just carried on an open conversation about Jesus all afternoon while we coloured and played dress-up and danced and played games.
When her question of, "How do I get to Heaven?" came, I felt my answer of, "You just have to tell Jesus that you believe He is God and that you want Him to be your friend," was so inadequate-- but I knew she'd been freaked out when my sister had encouraged her to "ask Jesus into her heart" before and was very wary of using language Abby could understand. I thought, "Okay, so this is the point where I ask her if she wants to repeat a prayer after me..." but before I could even ask, she was talking to Jesus right there in front of me, telling Him she believed in Him and asking Him to be her friend for all her life....
And just like that I witnessed a miracle :)
We continued talking about Jesus all the rest of the day and at random moments she would sometimes burst into giggles and exclaim, "I asked Jesus to be my friend!" She had so many questions and, in our 3-year-old sort of way, we managed to cover topics such as redemption, salvation, discipleship, evangelism, and eschatology :) Admittedly, she seemed most concerned with things like what colour "beautiful princess dress" Jesus would have for her in Heaven :) Oh, but it's a start. We had cake after supper to celebrate and we called Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jonah so Abby could tell each of them her news. "My daddy's going to be so proud of me and he's going to hug me so tight!" She declared happily as we awaited her parents' return.
I have prayed hard over this child since she was a tiny baby, that she would grow a radical heart for the Lord along with growing up healthy and strong. How beautiful of Him to orchestrate it so that I was the one to witness this first step... Great encouragement in the midst of a discouraging time. But then, He's pretty good at great encouragement, isn't He?
When I called her mom to tell her what had just transpired, she was slightly sad that she was away when it happened, but mostly just pleased. It turns out her bible study that week had been on leading your kids to the Lord and she'd been praying that Abby would grow curious and ask by her own volition-- since before she'd been freaked out by the suggestion that a grown man should live inside her heart :)
And all of Heaven rejoiced along with this Auntie's heart.
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Stand with Me...
The long-awaited News!
I am wildly, passionately, fabulously, and at the risk of all else in love with a Risen King of grace unfathomable and love unalterable. He has set me on a journey that I would love to invite you along on...
You might have noticed from the last post that when I left Sweden in November, it seemingly was not going to be a long absense :) Those of you who have come along with me on the journey into world missions in Europe that God set me on at 18 (well, from the day I was born, really!) will remember what a worrisome mystery the whole concept of "what comes after college" has been all the 3 years I spent studying my degree in Theology and Mission. O Leah of Little Faith-- Did you really think worrying about it would get you there any faster?? I cannot tell you how wonderfully pleased I am to be able to write this post for you!!! Are you sensing any excitement here? :) (Perhaps the uncontrollable over-use of smileys gives it away! :))
I have a place in the world :)
In my final year of college I did a mission placement with a non-profit in Gothenburg, Sweden-- Rescue Mission Ministries-- and more recently was back at the end of my summer to spend a few more months working with and learning from my missionary friends who run this organisation. This has been all-around on-the-job training in every aspect of running a ministry in post-modern, secular Europe! And, naturally, all-around, on-the-job refining of my faith, as the Vine nurtures one of His branches... Everything from office work, to pricing and displaying and working behind the counter at the ministry's Secondhand shop, to working in the church in nearly every role (the more uncomfortable it was, the better, apparently!), but most especially, investing in people, building relationships, and magnifying Christ. As is the way He works-- as I'm forever discovering-- I'm convinced as much as He used me there, I came away far more blessed and more of a whole, God-glorifying person through the work! I have discovered that the more I surrender to serving others, the more I get to see of His heart... And I am addicted to that heart :)
They've asked me back, longer term, and God confirms this next step again and again and again. Thus far I've lived with my missionary friends, and stayed with various friends in the church at various times. But for quite some time God has been birthing in me a vision for a flat (or, to speak American, an apartment) to live in with another young woman whom God's at work in from my Rescue Mission Church. We envision it as being God's space in a spiritually dark country, and hope to expand what Rescue Mission is already all about-- reaching out in Christ-- to the international student community in Gothenburg, and anyone else drawn by Christ. Gothenburg is a bustling port city-- with the largest harbour and the largest University in all of Scandinavia-- and the international presence in Gothenburg is huge; making up nearly 20% of the city's population. I discovered while BEING an international student and living with international students in England, that I love working with internationals! And there is such room for ministry in this realm as we, as internationals, are so vulnerable and can feel so lost in a culture which is not our own and with everything so unfamiliar. Team that with being a student, in that phase of life which is an especially seeking one, and you might find hearts open to the gospel of Christ in ways that others aren't. My calling from His heart is to pour my life out to love people to that Christ.
So, FINALLY armed with a much prayed for specific vision for ministry, a missionary couple with a ministry organisation willing to invest in me and train me up as a younger missionary, a church community awaiting me, and a heart more keen and ready to follow Him in faith than perhaps ever before, I take steps to move to Gothenburg, Sweden and dig into life there pursuing and proclaiming Him with this ministry...
But I can't do it without you.
You've probably all heard at one time or another the mandate of "The Great Commission"-- Go into all the world and make disciples in His name. But chances are most of us haven't been given a specific call to leave our home countries and home cultures to live for Him. As He has been confirming over and over again in my passion for and experience of Europe, I have this call and this specific grace for cross-cultural ministry. But I cannot be enabled to do what He has made me for without the help of you doing what He has made you for.
Realizing I was reaching this stage of the journey into full-time mission work, I initially panicked at the thought of having to ask people to support me!! Most Christians I know are already supporting many ministries and missionaries and I instantly think, why in the world would they want to support ME?! But God breaks in with, "Leah, this is MY business, this is MY work. You can trust ME to provide through MY people for MY work..." And so I can calculate the costs and feel it's all impossible as much as I like, but in the end He expects me to follow Him in faith, do my part, and watch Him work. So, I don't know how often I'll make my needs known to all of you and how often I'll only tell my Abba, but I am earnestly praying for some monthly supporters to join me in serving Him in this corner of the globe. I'm new at this, but I know instinctively I will need prayer warriors, I will need financial partners, and I will need help with the practicalities of serving overseas on this end (some kind of administration and guidance on financial issues, insurance, taxes, etc!). Really, I'll need friends, who have a passion to serve as much as I do, but who need to be enabled to do it from Stateside!
The Life-Changing Love of God
I have already watched in wonder as He has changed lives through Rescue Mission Ministries. In my first month there back in Jan/Feb, I had the privilege of getting to know and eventually to pray with a muslim man as he committed his and his family's life to Christ. In my last few months there, I have had the joy of seeing them firmly rooted in the body of Christ and growing!! And it all started with them wandering into the Secondhand to find some things for their flat :)
Some of my favourite (if I'm allowed to have them!) growing relationships have been with Romanians who've immigrated to Sweden (which, I suppose, is no coincidence since God planted a piece of my heart in Romania after falling in love with my gypsy babies those months in Bucharest!). The Lord has swung open some doors in my friends' hearts even in just the past few months and I've watched and prayed and loved with joy as we've worked together, played together, prayed and praised and grown in Him together!
His grace is still setting people free as they take in and believe that Christ has made the way through His death for us to stand in the presence of God; even holy and blameless and without a single fault in His grace-filled eyes (Col. 1:22). His love is still transforming lives and minds and hopes and dreams and He's calling each of us to be a part of it, to stand firm in believing this truth and proclaiming this truth to anyone who will believe the Good news (Col. 1:23).
Stand with me in Europe. Stand with me in Sweden. You've heard it said that we are the only Jesus some will ever see. In Europe it's estimated that only 1.1% of the population are active followers of Christ. God's love and longing for these people so caught up in their self-serving lives, so fed up with religion but so aching for relationship, is vast and He's pouring it into me to overflowing! Pour it out with me...
His (and yours) home for the holidays in the good ol' USA,
Leah
Get in touch!
"By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life." -- 2 Peter 1:3
I am wildly, passionately, fabulously, and at the risk of all else in love with a Risen King of grace unfathomable and love unalterable. He has set me on a journey that I would love to invite you along on...
You might have noticed from the last post that when I left Sweden in November, it seemingly was not going to be a long absense :) Those of you who have come along with me on the journey into world missions in Europe that God set me on at 18 (well, from the day I was born, really!) will remember what a worrisome mystery the whole concept of "what comes after college" has been all the 3 years I spent studying my degree in Theology and Mission. O Leah of Little Faith-- Did you really think worrying about it would get you there any faster?? I cannot tell you how wonderfully pleased I am to be able to write this post for you!!! Are you sensing any excitement here? :) (Perhaps the uncontrollable over-use of smileys gives it away! :))
I have a place in the world :)
In my final year of college I did a mission placement with a non-profit in Gothenburg, Sweden-- Rescue Mission Ministries-- and more recently was back at the end of my summer to spend a few more months working with and learning from my missionary friends who run this organisation. This has been all-around on-the-job training in every aspect of running a ministry in post-modern, secular Europe! And, naturally, all-around, on-the-job refining of my faith, as the Vine nurtures one of His branches... Everything from office work, to pricing and displaying and working behind the counter at the ministry's Secondhand shop, to working in the church in nearly every role (the more uncomfortable it was, the better, apparently!), but most especially, investing in people, building relationships, and magnifying Christ. As is the way He works-- as I'm forever discovering-- I'm convinced as much as He used me there, I came away far more blessed and more of a whole, God-glorifying person through the work! I have discovered that the more I surrender to serving others, the more I get to see of His heart... And I am addicted to that heart :)
They've asked me back, longer term, and God confirms this next step again and again and again. Thus far I've lived with my missionary friends, and stayed with various friends in the church at various times. But for quite some time God has been birthing in me a vision for a flat (or, to speak American, an apartment) to live in with another young woman whom God's at work in from my Rescue Mission Church. We envision it as being God's space in a spiritually dark country, and hope to expand what Rescue Mission is already all about-- reaching out in Christ-- to the international student community in Gothenburg, and anyone else drawn by Christ. Gothenburg is a bustling port city-- with the largest harbour and the largest University in all of Scandinavia-- and the international presence in Gothenburg is huge; making up nearly 20% of the city's population. I discovered while BEING an international student and living with international students in England, that I love working with internationals! And there is such room for ministry in this realm as we, as internationals, are so vulnerable and can feel so lost in a culture which is not our own and with everything so unfamiliar. Team that with being a student, in that phase of life which is an especially seeking one, and you might find hearts open to the gospel of Christ in ways that others aren't. My calling from His heart is to pour my life out to love people to that Christ.
So, FINALLY armed with a much prayed for specific vision for ministry, a missionary couple with a ministry organisation willing to invest in me and train me up as a younger missionary, a church community awaiting me, and a heart more keen and ready to follow Him in faith than perhaps ever before, I take steps to move to Gothenburg, Sweden and dig into life there pursuing and proclaiming Him with this ministry...
But I can't do it without you.
You've probably all heard at one time or another the mandate of "The Great Commission"-- Go into all the world and make disciples in His name. But chances are most of us haven't been given a specific call to leave our home countries and home cultures to live for Him. As He has been confirming over and over again in my passion for and experience of Europe, I have this call and this specific grace for cross-cultural ministry. But I cannot be enabled to do what He has made me for without the help of you doing what He has made you for.
Realizing I was reaching this stage of the journey into full-time mission work, I initially panicked at the thought of having to ask people to support me!! Most Christians I know are already supporting many ministries and missionaries and I instantly think, why in the world would they want to support ME?! But God breaks in with, "Leah, this is MY business, this is MY work. You can trust ME to provide through MY people for MY work..." And so I can calculate the costs and feel it's all impossible as much as I like, but in the end He expects me to follow Him in faith, do my part, and watch Him work. So, I don't know how often I'll make my needs known to all of you and how often I'll only tell my Abba, but I am earnestly praying for some monthly supporters to join me in serving Him in this corner of the globe. I'm new at this, but I know instinctively I will need prayer warriors, I will need financial partners, and I will need help with the practicalities of serving overseas on this end (some kind of administration and guidance on financial issues, insurance, taxes, etc!). Really, I'll need friends, who have a passion to serve as much as I do, but who need to be enabled to do it from Stateside!
"In God's family some are primarily senders/givers while others are primarily goers/receivers. Each is equal in His family. For you to be able to do what God asks of you as a goer/receiver, others need to do what God asks of them as senders/givers. It's how God funds His family business."-- Myles Wilson, Funding the Family BusinessGod has challenged me so very much over these intense years of study and these intense months of working with Rescue Mission to give from what He has, not from what I think I have. Because I was pretty sure I had nothing of value to give to His work. He has been painstakingly teaching me to draw from all that He is, to fill whatever I am, to do whatever He places before me. As you read this post, I pray that you too will be compelled to give from what He has, not from what you think you have, in whatever way He stirs you to be involved! Join me in making the whole focus of your life to use everything He has given you in the best way you can to ensure that people hear, see, and feel this extravagant, life-changing love of God...
The Life-Changing Love of God
I have already watched in wonder as He has changed lives through Rescue Mission Ministries. In my first month there back in Jan/Feb, I had the privilege of getting to know and eventually to pray with a muslim man as he committed his and his family's life to Christ. In my last few months there, I have had the joy of seeing them firmly rooted in the body of Christ and growing!! And it all started with them wandering into the Secondhand to find some things for their flat :)
Some of my favourite (if I'm allowed to have them!) growing relationships have been with Romanians who've immigrated to Sweden (which, I suppose, is no coincidence since God planted a piece of my heart in Romania after falling in love with my gypsy babies those months in Bucharest!). The Lord has swung open some doors in my friends' hearts even in just the past few months and I've watched and prayed and loved with joy as we've worked together, played together, prayed and praised and grown in Him together!
His grace is still setting people free as they take in and believe that Christ has made the way through His death for us to stand in the presence of God; even holy and blameless and without a single fault in His grace-filled eyes (Col. 1:22). His love is still transforming lives and minds and hopes and dreams and He's calling each of us to be a part of it, to stand firm in believing this truth and proclaiming this truth to anyone who will believe the Good news (Col. 1:23).
Stand with me in Europe. Stand with me in Sweden. You've heard it said that we are the only Jesus some will ever see. In Europe it's estimated that only 1.1% of the population are active followers of Christ. God's love and longing for these people so caught up in their self-serving lives, so fed up with religion but so aching for relationship, is vast and He's pouring it into me to overflowing! Pour it out with me...
His (and yours) home for the holidays in the good ol' USA,
Leah
Get in touch!
"By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life." -- 2 Peter 1:3
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Just a Quick Catch-up!!
Hej då Sweden
I can hardly believe my 2 months in Sweden have already drawn to a close! Nor can I believe how truly difficult it was to leave. God has woven my heart in to the fabric of the place and the people now and I can't wait to get back!! In my last week we had many little goodbye get-togethers and He lavished me with such precious times just basking in His love poured out through His people of my little Rescue Mission Church. I just never would have written this into my own story if I was holding the pen. Perhaps the sheer surprise of belonging makes it all the more precious.
Thankfully, He knows best and is Himself the Master-poet because though I wouldn't have thought that Sweden might be the place for me more long-term, He knew what He was doing all along. It makes sense now how He, from the beginning when I first tentatively sought Him about mission and ministry at age 18, insisted that it wasn't a specific country that I was to cling to, but Him and His heart for His people. Let me tell you, His heart is all over and all through and all around these people, and many more I have yet to meet who have and will come into contact with this Secondhand shop, and I've been asked to come back to Rescue Mission Ministries...
And so, as I head home for the holidays and a time of sorting out my next move now that I have a destination for my step, a whole new leg of the journey on this adventure of following Him into world missions commences... And I am breathless with excitement, bubbling over with joy, trembling with fear, and infused with Love.
(Photo gallery of my time in Sweden: here)
Hello Again England!
So, upon leaving Sweden I headed back to England to quickly repack and reprioritize all the things I've left here in the Austin-Sparkses attic and see as many friends as could be seen in about 2 days time!! It has been a whirlwind and I'm exhausted, but so so blessed as He has again revealed His heart in the hearts of these people I get to love here in my 'European home' of England. It has been precious to come together and catch up and to share our hearts and know that wherever living for Him and loving Him takes us all, His spirit does bind us together and we truly have family in one another all across the world...
Coming Home for the Holidays!
I'm arriving back to U.S. soil after nearly a year of being away completely on Monday, November 17th and I am so excited to spend the holidays with my family, and a few weeks sorting out my return to Sweden, seeking for God to make straight the paths for His purposes...
What I'm needing prayer and advice for now is:
* Praise with me that He's bringing me home! And please pray with me that I might be a real blessing to my family throughout this long visit
* Please pray for support partnership opportunities-- will you please pray with me that those God is raising up to partner with me in mission will be keen to step up and let me know how they feel called to help (in taking care of practical things for me back home when I'm abroad, in committing to pray for me and to be in contact with me about prayer needs, in committing to helping to raise or to give financially, etc)?
* Please praye for wisdom and courage within myself as I step into this new and difficult terrain of support-raising-- but praise with me that even in a 'credit crunch', He still owns the cattle on a thousand hills and knows just how to shift finances around to glorify Himself in our lives!* Praise with me that He has revealed a next step to walk toward!! And pray with me that He will continually strengthen my faith and my trust of Him and identity in Him as I look toward this vision for ministry, that I will not be discouraged or lose heart concentrating on what little I am instead of how great He is and how His power is made perfect in weakness!
* Please pray for earning opportunities for my 6-8 weeks back in the states-- does anyone know of any temp jobs I might take on during my visit to my family in Northern MN?
* Please thank God for travelling mercies!
Oh, the list could go on if I let it!
Continue to expect a proper detailed explanation of Rescue Mission Ministries and where I fit in, and how God has moved to keep me there as soon as I stop moving countries and continents for long enough to sit down and take a deep breath!!
You are so loved...
His (and yours) in England tonight, America tomorrow, Sweden yesterday--
Leah
Monday, 10 November 2008
"Your covenant with death will be annulled;Your agreement with the grave will not stand."
-- Isaiah 28:18
This verse jumped out at me from Isaiah today...
Somehow it means to me freedom. He's paid my debt with His life and bought for my soul eternal life and in that truth lies everything. But He's also died that I might have abundant life here and now. I am not a captive to circumstances or mindsets or insecurities so ingrown in me that I can hardly imagine a life without them dictating to me how to live. He has broken that covenant; He has torn up that agreement.
Praise You, Holy One.
Please teach me how to live outloud this truth of Your love, of your sacrifice. Teach me not to fear in any capacity, Lord, except for the right and just fear due You in Your awesomeness...
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Hej från Sverige!
Hej Kompisar!
(Hi friends :))
So I've finally got all the photos I've taken here so far uploaded to an online gallery so please do check them out! This city is so very beautiful and these people in my life here so very special. I'd love to share it all with you :)
Gallery of photos here
These 2 months in Sweden so sovereignly given by God are quickly drawing to a close. I came here really, really low, and wondering what in the world I was good for-- if anything-- especially in mission and ministry, and yet sure as ever that He'd coaxed me into ministry in Europe for a reason, despite everything looking like it requires so much more than I have, both within me and without me. Working in this special Rescue Mission Secondhand, God suddenly gave me a day-to-day purpose, working with the lovely Rescue Mission Church, God suddenly gave me a beautiful extended family from all over the world to share life with, learn from and minister to, and living with the Van Weidens, God suddenly gave me a home (complete with a fabulous family whom I adore :)) and a secure place to work through issues and challenges, and learn to rest in Him (I'm constantly taking it all on my shoulders and feeling inadequate for the job, but OF COURSE I'm inadequate :) I'm not meant to do this myself!)... I feel like after 22 years of Christian exposure, I should have this faith thing down, but this patient God is forever stripping it down to the roots and building it up again as I seek His face. He's refining and shaping my faith every day, and I'm endeavoring to live the process wide open, that He might spark something in anyone I meet along the way... He's using my life in Sweden to teach me more of His boldness, more of His confidence, more of His grace... and I watch Him wide-eyed.
On November 12th, I'm headed back to England for a few days to repack and say some goodbyes (Nov12th-17th.) Then it's home for the first time in a year to spend the holidays with
my family-- and I CAN'T WAIT to see them!!! (Nov 17th to January). From there, God is slowly revealing the next step and I'll soon reveal to you what I can! It started with a bright blue dressor last Jan-Feb when I worked for a month at this same Rescue Mission Secondhand for my mission placement for college :) And it's been fueled by the earnest statements of two missionaries here that I deeply respect, and many church friends. God just may be sending me back to Sweden for my first few years in European mission...
But for now, thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement. You are used of Him in this scary life of learning to trust a God who is more faithful than I know whether you realize it or not... On that note, would anyone be interested in getting involved in a missionary support team? I'm praying that God will raise you up for me!! Perhaps you've been wanting to get more involved in world missions or in ministry of some kind to serve the Lord, or simply want to be a help and a blessing to me and haven't the funds to financially support mission? (Or, of course, you could always do both!) Regardless of whether this interests you, will you please join me in praying for the right people (or even a willing person) to step up to form a team that can handle all the practical issues for a missionary overseas? Thank you!!!
'May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you...'
--2 Thessalonians 2:16
(Hi friends :))
So I've finally got all the photos I've taken here so far uploaded to an online gallery so please do check them out! This city is so very beautiful and these people in my life here so very special. I'd love to share it all with you :)
Gallery of photos here
These 2 months in Sweden so sovereignly given by God are quickly drawing to a close. I came here really, really low, and wondering what in the world I was good for-- if anything-- especially in mission and ministry, and yet sure as ever that He'd coaxed me into ministry in Europe for a reason, despite everything looking like it requires so much more than I have, both within me and without me. Working in this special Rescue Mission Secondhand, God suddenly gave me a day-to-day purpose, working with the lovely Rescue Mission Church, God suddenly gave me a beautiful extended family from all over the world to share life with, learn from and minister to, and living with the Van Weidens, God suddenly gave me a home (complete with a fabulous family whom I adore :)) and a secure place to work through issues and challenges, and learn to rest in Him (I'm constantly taking it all on my shoulders and feeling inadequate for the job, but OF COURSE I'm inadequate :) I'm not meant to do this myself!)... I feel like after 22 years of Christian exposure, I should have this faith thing down, but this patient God is forever stripping it down to the roots and building it up again as I seek His face. He's refining and shaping my faith every day, and I'm endeavoring to live the process wide open, that He might spark something in anyone I meet along the way... He's using my life in Sweden to teach me more of His boldness, more of His confidence, more of His grace... and I watch Him wide-eyed.
On November 12th, I'm headed back to England for a few days to repack and say some goodbyes (Nov12th-17th.) Then it's home for the first time in a year to spend the holidays with
my family-- and I CAN'T WAIT to see them!!! (Nov 17th to January). From there, God is slowly revealing the next step and I'll soon reveal to you what I can! It started with a bright blue dressor last Jan-Feb when I worked for a month at this same Rescue Mission Secondhand for my mission placement for college :) And it's been fueled by the earnest statements of two missionaries here that I deeply respect, and many church friends. God just may be sending me back to Sweden for my first few years in European mission...But for now, thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement. You are used of Him in this scary life of learning to trust a God who is more faithful than I know whether you realize it or not... On that note, would anyone be interested in getting involved in a missionary support team? I'm praying that God will raise you up for me!! Perhaps you've been wanting to get more involved in world missions or in ministry of some kind to serve the Lord, or simply want to be a help and a blessing to me and haven't the funds to financially support mission? (Or, of course, you could always do both!) Regardless of whether this interests you, will you please join me in praying for the right people (or even a willing person) to step up to form a team that can handle all the practical issues for a missionary overseas? Thank you!!!
'May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you...'
--2 Thessalonians 2:16
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