God is good! :)

Friends

Just wanted to inform you that our prayers have been answered: Randell's Visa has been approved and all five Visas are making their way to Denver as I type this up!

Sergei and Tanya of Passport Visa Express have been a huge help in the process of getting our Visas as quickly as possible and if you ever need help with Visas, please contact them.

I want to share a little story of the crazy way God works:

1 piece of Randell's information arrived at Passport Visa Express today while the rest was already at the Embassy, waiting for this 1 piece. The PVE agent carried it to the Embassy to drop it off to be added to the packet already there, which would then be processed within the next few days.

When the PVE agent arrived at the Embassy and explained the situation, the Visa person decided to go ahead and process it right then and there, bypassing the pile of other packets to be approved. Randell's Visa was approved, an email sent to him, which he forwarded to me. The Visa was picked up by the PVE agent and is now winging it's way to Denver!

God is so good! :)

I don't have the picture from Randell's Visa but here are the photos from the rest of the team's:

Struggle

Hey I have been told to write on here and so I thought I would give a little introduction about my self. My name is Tyson, and I live in Denver. I have been going to Scum of the Earth Church for a few years now and really enjoy the community that it has allowed to be involved with. I live in a house with several other people who go to Scum and through that house we are trying to do a lot of ministry. We are seeking together to serve the neighborhood that we are in and that Scum is in seeing that our house is just a few blocks away from the church. I really enjoy the idea of living in the same neighborhood as your church and being able to walk to church. Serving this neighborhood means serving everyone in it. That includes the people who own the house down the street, the people who rent the apartment across the street and the homeless person who sleeps behind your dumpster.

That’s where this trip and my life line up. In Glasgow we are going to be working a lot with the homeless and it will be an invaluable experience that will allow me to be a better servant to people who live in my neighborhood. I fully expect it to be tough and challenging. But God has been teaching me a lot about challenge lately. I used to run with the phrase “pursue something till God closes the door.” But recently it seems like God has been “closing doors” just so that I can learn to kick them in. I read a quote the other day from a Jesuit missionary named Father Lallemant who said “we must be weary when things are going too smoothly. That is the time when no progress is made.”

The build up to this trip has had a lot of struggle. We got surprised with expensive visas and have somewhat of hard time fundraising. But though it God has been constant and I feel as though I am at a place of greater reliance on Him because of the hardships and stressfulness in this time than I would have been if things had gone completely smoothly. It feels as though it’s been a testing process for what God has in store.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and has been supporting us in this process. I am incredibly thankful to the community that has been surrounding us and lifting us up. Please continue to do so as we go a week from tomorrow, and spend 28 days serving God in Glasgow.

Prayer team letter

Friends

Just wanted to give you an update on where we are with our trip to Scotland: We've had to get Visas to get into Scotland to do the work God is calling us to do which was not planned for. 4 of the 5 of us have our Visa and we are waiting on the fifth which should be completed Wednesday. Please join us in praying that Randell's Visa comes through with no hitch and all Visas make it into our hands in plenty of time.

We had a great meeting yesterday speaking out our doubts and fears to through which we were able to seek God, encourage each other, and build a level of unity which will be an incredible benefit to as we seek to to minister in Scotland. I believe that this unity is what Jesus talks about in John 13:35. Please pray with us that these fears and doubts would build faith and persistence in us and that this unity will grow so God can use it to glorify and draw people to Himself.

Finally, we are still raising support to be able to do all we want to while in Scotland! God is so good, having already provided so much and we trust that He will continue to provide for us! Please join us as we praise Him for His provision and generosity!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support in this!

...ben mercer

Finally!

Hey friends!

Just wanted to update this so it's got the new information:

Tyson Rasmussen, Amanda Morley, Randell Cameron, Ali Goossens, & Ben Mercer are heading to Glasgow from 6 June 'til 4 July 2011 and we're so excited! As of right now, we know we'll be working alongside Glasgow City Mission, hanging with the folk at Glasgow Mosaic church and Stuart Gilmour and the crew from To Write Love on Her Arms ~ Scotland.

This will be the place to check up on us to see more about what's happening and what we're experiencing. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek to serve God and the people of Glasgow!

Thanks!

...ben mercer