1st Weekend

Hey friends, Ben Mercer here.

I hope this all finds you well!  

This weekend was wonderful!  Yesterday morning, headed over to the Ha'penny Bridge House just outside the Botanical Gardens, where we helped Friends of the River Kelvin set up tents for their gala.  A fund-raiser they put on every year with a band and various booths for people walking along the Kelvin River.

Mosaic has been working with FORK for years now, cleaning up the Kelvin once a month.  God has blessed Mosaic through this partnership, giving them a chance to share the gospel with people they wouldn't normally come in contact with and inviting them to their Sunday gatherings where these friends can partake in the greater Mosaic community and hear more about God's love for them. I have met a few people at Mosaic who have begun to follow Jesus because of this partnership so it was awesome to support Mosaic by helping them support FORK!

Later that day, Stuart and Linsey Gilmour came by and took us to their flat in Falkirk where we bbq'd and had marvelous chat with they, Graeme, and their friend Steven.  I've known Steven for years but never had much of a conversation with him so it was good to connect more with him.  It's so cool to see him geek out about the Star Trek: TNG/Dr. Who comics crossover :)

We spent the night in Falkirk and had such an amazing time partaking in the incredible hospitality of our friends!  It was so encouraging to all involved to just share life with these dear brothers and sister!

We woke up and went to Carbrain Baptist where we got to see Graeme and our own Matt lead worship.  During communion, Matt sang a song on his own which was incredibly moving.  I realized that I'd never heard him sing on his own before.  He has an amazing voice.

The message the pastor, Grant, preached was on the royal law of love.  Thinking about Jesus as king in the middle of a monarchy gave me a new perspective on God's authority.  The sermon was also a good reminder that love is ultimate and if we do absolutely ANYTHING without it, whatever it was that we did is worthless.  If this trip happened without love, it would be completely pointless.  I'm so glad that God has provided some wonderfully loving guys for this trip!  It's hilarious to see how different our expressions of love are, but each of these guys are so filled with God's love that is spills out of them and I'm honored to lead them!

We brought Stuart, Linsey, and Steven with us when we met up with Mosaic.  We watched the West End Festival parade together and had chat and BBQ again this afternoon.  We got the opportunity to introduce Stuart to Chris McKenzie, Linsey Wells, and Mark McDade from Mosaic leadership which was something I'd been wanting to do for quite a while!  We also got to see Saied and meet his wife and daughter!  I've been praying for their reunion since we first met him in 2012!