Learning.

Hi folks! Time is moving so fast! I have been in Scotland for more than month now. How cool is that?

Paisley! 

I love it in Paisley. It’s so strange when talking to the young people here to have them tell me they don’t like it. It’s such a unique place, and one I believe has a lot of hidden beauty. As I walk through town, I know God is moving here. The atmosphere feels different than it did last year…lighter maybe. I don’t know if I can fully explain it other than saying that I truly believe God has good plans for Paisley, and He is using YWAM and other ministries in Scotland to empower the young people to begin making changes.

         This week is a big planning week for us because on Sunday about 15-20 young people are going to move-in with the 20 of u!. Adding twenty more is kind of crazy! I am so excited though.  I mentioned in a previous post about Create Change. It’s a week-long program for 14-18 year olds in Paisley.  The theme for this year is Justice and how we can empower the young people of Paisley to Create Justice in themselves, in their relationships with others, in their city, and in the world. 

One of the bands from Friday's CREATE

The week will start off on Sunday night and continue until Saturday morning. This past Monday night we spent about three hours planning out different aspects of the week, and it got me so excited for the week to come. I think it is going to be such an incredible experience for these kids.

         One of the girls who is leading the week was telling us that most of the kids who are coming are “unchurched” youth meaning they have little or no biblical knowledge. It’s neat that these young people will get a chance to ask questions and that we will get an opportunity to pour into kids who maybe have never heard the gospel before.The week hopefully will challenge them and allow them to figure out what they stand for.

The mass of kids waiting to get in CREATE Friday night.

I am so excited to get to be a part of Create Change. I am going to be helping lead some of the activities and discussions. Honestly, it feels like I am going to be working at camp again for a week. However, I really like the idea that these kids are moving in with us and will be a part of the rhythm and community of this house for a week.

 I would appreciate your prayers as we prepare for next week. Specifically, pray for the young people coming that the Jesus would open up their hearts to Him and that they would truly understand the message and the Jesus of the Gospel and not the Jesus they may have heard about on TV or through their friends but really meet Him.  Also, please pray that things would go smoothly and that the discussions we have with the young people would be challenging and fruitful. Yeah, if you guys could pray for that I would be so thankful.

In other news, Tea and Toast went good on Monday. Daniel is doing well. He is still dealing with his brother’s death. Apparently, there were some guys that saw his brother after he had overdosed and left him for dead. Daniel is struggling to understand how to forgive those guys and even struggling with why he should forgive them.  So just continue to pray for him. I also ran into Natalie and her new husband on Monday. I mentioned her in a previous post, but she is doing really well. I also met a few new guys at Tea and Toast and just got a chance to chat with them. It’s heart-breaking at times because you see these men who are just struggling with addiction or have just fallen on hard times and knowing there is really not much I can do for them except to listen. I think what has really sustained and encouraged me when meeting with these guys is that the Lord is sovereign. I can’t fix other people’s lives, but the Lord is big enough. He loves each one of those men just as they are and so that’s what I am trying to do as well. It’s definitely draining and hard, but the Lord continues to give me strength each time I meet with them.  

Also, on Saturday it was a beautiful, glorious day in Scotland so some friends and I started walking.  We were hoping to find Johnstone Castle, but we didn’t take a map with us so we ended up walking farther than we intended. We ended up in a little town called Howwood, which is about 8 miles from Paisley. However, Scotland seems to have an abundance of castles, so we were able to finish off our adventure with a different castle. It was great and such a fun day.

Then Sunday afternoon after church, a group of us headed to Greenock. They were holding an event for people to come and view the Tall Ships that were docked there. Apparently, these Tall Ships race around Europe and this is the first time in twelve years they docked in Scotland. It was so neat to get to see the ships. They were huge and it was such a beautiful day to be near the water.

Thank you guys, again, for your support. Being here has been so incredible, and the Lord is continuing to use Paisley to mold and shape me into the woman He wants me to be. Keep Create Change in your prayers. I will definitely keep you guys updated next week on how everything goes!