Hello Friends,
As our departure is imminent a lot of things have become clear to me as to what I hope for this trip. Firstly, for the last 5 or 6 weeks I've had a myriad of health problems. The relentless and sometimes random nature of this makes me think that the bulk of this must be a spiritual attack. While this is distracting, irritating and sometimes painful, it makes me think that perhaps we're on the verge of something big. I've felt for some time that Scotland would mark a new turning point in my life, perhaps the end of an old chapter and the beginning of a new. I feel very strongly that I'm very close to a new breakthrough in terms of my spiritual journey. My hope from this trip is that I'll be able to put all these distractions aside, perhaps wrestle with any additional internal elements I'm not yet aware of and push through towards the prize. I can't imagine what this will look like as a result, but I have the feeling that it could be big.
All that being said, I think this trip will be remarkable in other ways as well. For the first time we will have a group comprised of people returning to Scotland as opposed to making their way for the first time. The time seems ripe for God to really let loose both in our lives, and also in the lives of those we will be ministering too. Having group consist of four men will also focus the energy of the trip more. If all goes well, I foresee breakthroughs in the entire teams lives in monumental ways. Please continue to pray for us. The Money is in; we are heading out, but now the real work begins. And now the need for God's will to be made clear to us becomes most necessary.
Yours in Christ,
John
28 May 2013
20 May 2013
Hey friends, we're back! That's right, Scum of the Earth is heading back to Glasgow for the 5th time! & we've got people returning other than myself, Ben Mercer! Tyson Rasmussen from the 2011 team and John Favara from the 2012 team are coming with me, as well as Matt Kingham being the one & only newbie this time across the pond :)
We have our tickets, we have our visas, we leave two weeks from today, and we're so excited to see old friends and make new ones!
As per last year, we'll be posting here a few times a week and sending out prayer emails a little less frequently. If you'd like to receive the prayer emails, please send us an email at scumkids.in.scotland@gmail.com and we'll be sure to add you.
Thanks for checking us out and they'll be many more posts coming soon!
Ben Mercer
PS: We're still looking for prayer partners & financial donors. If you'd like to get bi-weekly prayer updates, please email us at scumkids.in.scotland@gmail.com and we'll add you to our list.
If you'd like to donate, you can do so online at http://www.scumoftheearth.net/SOTEC/Ben_Mercer.html.
PS: We're still looking for prayer partners & financial donors. If you'd like to get bi-weekly prayer updates, please email us at scumkids.in.scotland@gmail.com and we'll add you to our list.
If you'd like to donate, you can do so online at http://www.scumoftheearth.net/SOTEC/Ben_Mercer.html.
07 July 2012
returning to Colorado...
Hello from Denver! We are back. Our team arrived back in Colorado on Wednesday, July 4th, just in time to see a few fireworks. It has been wonderful seeing familiar faces and getting to tell about our experiences in Scotland over the last month. I just wanted to say thank you so much for keeping up with our blog and being interested in reading our thoughts and about our various adventures throughout the country. Your support has meant so much to us and we are so thankful to have you in our lives. Additionally, I think it has been good for each of us to have documented bits and pieces of our journeys along the way. It has been helpful to go back through and read and be reminded of the things we have gone through and all that God has done in our lives and all around us.
We were blessed to have met so many incredible people along the way, including staff, volunteers, and clients at Glasgow City Mission, staff and members of Glasgow Mosaic Church, Re:Hope Church, Queens Park Baptist Church, Carbrain Baptist Church in Cumbernauld, and various others. The amount of encouragement and welcome that we received was completely humbling and really blessed us during our time in Scotland. We were also invited over to several homes to share a meal together, which meant a lot to us all. As well, I know the work at the mission that we were able to participate in was very impacting on all of our lives.
Thank you again for all of your support, thoughts, prayers, questions, and time spent following our trip in Scotland. It has been and will continue to be invaluable to us. And if you would like to hear more about any part of our time, please ask us, as we would be happy to tell you more!
Love in Jesus,
Katie/Eagleslayer :)
We were blessed to have met so many incredible people along the way, including staff, volunteers, and clients at Glasgow City Mission, staff and members of Glasgow Mosaic Church, Re:Hope Church, Queens Park Baptist Church, Carbrain Baptist Church in Cumbernauld, and various others. The amount of encouragement and welcome that we received was completely humbling and really blessed us during our time in Scotland. We were also invited over to several homes to share a meal together, which meant a lot to us all. As well, I know the work at the mission that we were able to participate in was very impacting on all of our lives.
Thank you again for all of your support, thoughts, prayers, questions, and time spent following our trip in Scotland. It has been and will continue to be invaluable to us. And if you would like to hear more about any part of our time, please ask us, as we would be happy to tell you more!
Love in Jesus,
Katie/Eagleslayer :)
Honey, I'm home!
Hello, everyone.
As you probably already know, we have returned from our month-long trip to Scotland. I want to thank all of you who have kept up with this thing over the last month. It's a blessing just to know that you care about us enough to read about what was on our minds and hearts. It truly has been, and continues to be, a great encouragement.
Just as a sort of wrap up of our final days in Scotland, I will share a few things with you.
On Monday night, a few of us stayed up way too late. At face value, this seems like a decision of poor judgment. I believe otherwise. The four of us that stayed up and talked shared more about what God had been showing us. Of course, we had been doing this pretty regularly in our nightly debrief time, but this late night talk may have been even deeper. I know that I definitely shared more about what God has been opening my heart to over the past six months, especially during the trip. On Tuesday, we finally cleaned up after ourselves. After our cleaning fiesta, we went to Wes and Cindy's (Glasgow Mosaic) flat to have a meal and talk with them about their ministry as well as our experiences in Glasgow. We had a wonderful meal, chat, and prayer time with them. It was definitely one of the many highlights of the month. Later on Tuesday, we all went to a pub to say our goodbyes to staff and volunteers from the mission. Talk about humbling. The amount of wonderful people that took time out of their day to come and see us is mind-boggling.
If you did anything to support our trip, thank you.
Please continue to pray for us as we are still processing through the trip and how it has changed us.
I love you all.
In Jesus,
Jerred Olen Powell
As you probably already know, we have returned from our month-long trip to Scotland. I want to thank all of you who have kept up with this thing over the last month. It's a blessing just to know that you care about us enough to read about what was on our minds and hearts. It truly has been, and continues to be, a great encouragement.
Just as a sort of wrap up of our final days in Scotland, I will share a few things with you.
On Monday night, a few of us stayed up way too late. At face value, this seems like a decision of poor judgment. I believe otherwise. The four of us that stayed up and talked shared more about what God had been showing us. Of course, we had been doing this pretty regularly in our nightly debrief time, but this late night talk may have been even deeper. I know that I definitely shared more about what God has been opening my heart to over the past six months, especially during the trip. On Tuesday, we finally cleaned up after ourselves. After our cleaning fiesta, we went to Wes and Cindy's (Glasgow Mosaic) flat to have a meal and talk with them about their ministry as well as our experiences in Glasgow. We had a wonderful meal, chat, and prayer time with them. It was definitely one of the many highlights of the month. Later on Tuesday, we all went to a pub to say our goodbyes to staff and volunteers from the mission. Talk about humbling. The amount of wonderful people that took time out of their day to come and see us is mind-boggling.
If you did anything to support our trip, thank you.
Please continue to pray for us as we are still processing through the trip and how it has changed us.
I love you all.
In Jesus,
Jerred Olen Powell
02 July 2012
Bitter Sweet
Hello from the Scotland
Well, this is a tough one to write. This was the last day serving at the mission. It has been very sad to say goodbye. But God has been moving even in the midst of us preparing to leave. Today we finished up as much of the construction we could. We were able to get the sewage line ran for the new toilet, and started dry walling the former toilet (New Office). We also had amazing talk with Andrew (Chief Exec, at GCM) at lunch. He has been knees deep in the mud during this construction task. But today during a home made lunch of Chili and Cornbread, he told us his story and how God has brought him through some terrible times, but has blessed him so much. His story was able touch many of us on a very personal level and allowed him to speak into some of our lives. We then went to serve at our final night meal. This was very tough, we have grown to really love the volunteers, staff, and clients here at GCM. There is such a presence of God in this place, its hard to leave. But our final night was amazing, a volunteer John prayed for a couple of other volunteers with shoulder pain, and they were healed. He also prayed John Favara. He said he felt a weight lifted off of him, and had peace in areas of his life he was struggling with. John also said this allowed him to feel Gods presence in way has not for years. This has been sort of a theme on this trip, at least for me. As God has brought me back to him, and felt his presence in ways I havent in years also. There has been so many prayers answered on this trip. Well agian i am writing this at 1:30am, so i need to get to sleep, we have a long day ahead of us, cleaning the housing site, having lunch with Wes from Mosiac, then we have our going away diner, where people are coming and saying goodbye, well night (well mid afternoon back in the states)
Well, this is a tough one to write. This was the last day serving at the mission. It has been very sad to say goodbye. But God has been moving even in the midst of us preparing to leave. Today we finished up as much of the construction we could. We were able to get the sewage line ran for the new toilet, and started dry walling the former toilet (New Office). We also had amazing talk with Andrew (Chief Exec, at GCM) at lunch. He has been knees deep in the mud during this construction task. But today during a home made lunch of Chili and Cornbread, he told us his story and how God has brought him through some terrible times, but has blessed him so much. His story was able touch many of us on a very personal level and allowed him to speak into some of our lives. We then went to serve at our final night meal. This was very tough, we have grown to really love the volunteers, staff, and clients here at GCM. There is such a presence of God in this place, its hard to leave. But our final night was amazing, a volunteer John prayed for a couple of other volunteers with shoulder pain, and they were healed. He also prayed John Favara. He said he felt a weight lifted off of him, and had peace in areas of his life he was struggling with. John also said this allowed him to feel Gods presence in way has not for years. This has been sort of a theme on this trip, at least for me. As God has brought me back to him, and felt his presence in ways I havent in years also. There has been so many prayers answered on this trip. Well agian i am writing this at 1:30am, so i need to get to sleep, we have a long day ahead of us, cleaning the housing site, having lunch with Wes from Mosiac, then we have our going away diner, where people are coming and saying goodbye, well night (well mid afternoon back in the states)
01 July 2012
Miracles and New Family Members
Hi all,
We are now winding down our trip. There is only two days left before we leave to return to the States and its been a flurry of activity. We've been squeezing in every last moment we have with seeing all the people that we've developed friendships with, and all of it has been both wonderful and incredibly sad. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to so many wonderful people who've blessed us so much and have poured so much into our lives with both their experience and their time.
Today I'm going to remind us a little of what this is all about. The church we've been working with, Mosaic, has recently had a new addition to its body of believers. Ali comes from a Muslim background and has been going to Mosaic for about 8 months. But in that time he's had some lifechanging things happen. The first thing he noticed about Mosaic was that one of the pastors was wearing shorts. This was so incredibly strange to him as he's spent so much time witnessing the conundrum of people dressing up for church. But if that wasn't enough he was immediatly enveloped in a big hug when he walked in. Ali is no stranger to hugs, but there was something different about the hug from Mosaic: he could tell that they really cared.
For a long time Ali spent his time in a strange place. He felt so incredibly different at Mosaic than he felt anywhere else. There was a strange and permeating sense of peace as well as new realization that he just couldn't place his finger on. There was something altogether different that didn't make sense. He spent most of that time in tears, and he didn't even know why. But what he really cherished about this time is that the people of Mosaic left him to figure it out on his own. They helped him up when he needed it, and were friends, and made him feel that it was altogether safe to go about investigating this in his own way.
It wasn't long before Ali found his way into a bible study called 25th Hour led by a Romanian named Ovi. Ovi's passion was to use film, story and art to try and find ways of connecting with the bible. Ovi and Ali quickly became good friends, and Ovi was able to come alongside and help Ali wrestle with many of the tough questions he had. And all the way the realization that this was just a better form of life than he'd ever had, that it was real and strange was growing inside Ali. It was a difficult decision. Ali loves people, and he loves his family especially. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt them or cause them pain, but he knew the decision he had to make. Today Ali shared that he has given his life to the Lord, knowing fully what it might cost. He's asked for the support of the entire community of Mosaic because of the overwhelming way in which they've loved him.
It was incredibly special to see this event happening in our midst. God is truly a God of miracles. Even on Friday I was myself feeling caught in despair seeing so many people trapped in the bondage of bad decisions, alcohol and even just guilt: unable or unwilling to make any kind of decision that would lead them to a new and better life. To see Ali quickly and powerfully drawn to God just proves that He is still very much active. But it also shows the value that the church has and what a community of love can accomplish.
Best,
John
We are now winding down our trip. There is only two days left before we leave to return to the States and its been a flurry of activity. We've been squeezing in every last moment we have with seeing all the people that we've developed friendships with, and all of it has been both wonderful and incredibly sad. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to so many wonderful people who've blessed us so much and have poured so much into our lives with both their experience and their time.
Today I'm going to remind us a little of what this is all about. The church we've been working with, Mosaic, has recently had a new addition to its body of believers. Ali comes from a Muslim background and has been going to Mosaic for about 8 months. But in that time he's had some lifechanging things happen. The first thing he noticed about Mosaic was that one of the pastors was wearing shorts. This was so incredibly strange to him as he's spent so much time witnessing the conundrum of people dressing up for church. But if that wasn't enough he was immediatly enveloped in a big hug when he walked in. Ali is no stranger to hugs, but there was something different about the hug from Mosaic: he could tell that they really cared.
For a long time Ali spent his time in a strange place. He felt so incredibly different at Mosaic than he felt anywhere else. There was a strange and permeating sense of peace as well as new realization that he just couldn't place his finger on. There was something altogether different that didn't make sense. He spent most of that time in tears, and he didn't even know why. But what he really cherished about this time is that the people of Mosaic left him to figure it out on his own. They helped him up when he needed it, and were friends, and made him feel that it was altogether safe to go about investigating this in his own way.
It wasn't long before Ali found his way into a bible study called 25th Hour led by a Romanian named Ovi. Ovi's passion was to use film, story and art to try and find ways of connecting with the bible. Ovi and Ali quickly became good friends, and Ovi was able to come alongside and help Ali wrestle with many of the tough questions he had. And all the way the realization that this was just a better form of life than he'd ever had, that it was real and strange was growing inside Ali. It was a difficult decision. Ali loves people, and he loves his family especially. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt them or cause them pain, but he knew the decision he had to make. Today Ali shared that he has given his life to the Lord, knowing fully what it might cost. He's asked for the support of the entire community of Mosaic because of the overwhelming way in which they've loved him.
It was incredibly special to see this event happening in our midst. God is truly a God of miracles. Even on Friday I was myself feeling caught in despair seeing so many people trapped in the bondage of bad decisions, alcohol and even just guilt: unable or unwilling to make any kind of decision that would lead them to a new and better life. To see Ali quickly and powerfully drawn to God just proves that He is still very much active. But it also shows the value that the church has and what a community of love can accomplish.
Best,
John
29 June 2012
Brick, Braun, and Blessings
Hello friends on the intarwebs! Thanks for checking out this blog.
This last week has been a mixture of sentimentality, spirituality, and sweat.
Recap: Saturday we went to Stirling and saw the historic throne of Scotland and the multi-storied, spiral staircased Wallace Monument. Sunday, I went to two church services and met Stuart Weir and his wife Esther. Mosaic church was a meal and talking about the intersection of film and spirituality. Their focus is to reach modern people through the media that they connect with. Next we went to Re:Hope. I was slightly judgemental at first, then the truthful message about unity in Ephesians 4 completely blew my initial thoughts away. I loved hearing about the pastor's faithful and inspiring journey of starting a church in Glasgow.
This week we started working at Glasgow's Child and Family Center doing manual labor. It was a nice change of pace and fond memories flooded my mind of working in Brazil three years ago. Yesterday we had a strenuous day of digging through six unexpected layers of brick under a layer of concrete and rubber in order to dig a trench for a sewage pipe. Little did we know that directly under our noses was a pipe that was covered for over 20 years that was nowhere to be found in the buildings original plans. This pipe was exactly the pipe that we were trying to build already laid in the ground. The chances that the solution we were working so hard to accomplish ourselves was already accomplished in the exact spot that we needed. The work was done for us. It seems too good to be true, but amazingly it is. I can only accept this as a gift from God. Although we spent most of the day digging five feet deep of brick and clay, without first finding what was below the earth, we would never have known about the blessing. Jerred saw how this relates to the Christian experience. We prepare for the worst, bleed and sweat digging in one place when the answer is just under our nose. God's blessing and wisdom is right there waiting for us though we strenuously search in the wrong place. When we find it, it is exciting and makes so much sense but we never would have found it without the hard work.
This is a gift because our time can be used for more things and the CEO of the Glasgow City Mission gets to spend time with his family this weekend. Our team can focus on the things that we need to before leaving.The most powerful person at the mission is covered in mud, sweating in the rain with us, a perfect example of the first being last. Robert, who singlehandedly makes up the maintenence department at the mission, was directing us as well. He has an amazing story of how he came to Christ, overcame an earthly life, redeemed his status as a father, and came to work at the Mission. He is a joy to work with and keeps us laughing.
Its funny how in the last week before we leave I finally feel more confident and comfortable with Glasgow as a city, the mission and its staff, volunteers, and clients. I feel ten times more effective than when I started. I found people to invest in and feel the Spirit leading me to pray for specific people. Leaving reminds me that all good things must come to an end, it's dangerous to become comfortable, and it's time to apply what we have learned at home in Denver.
Thanks for reading about how God has been blessing us even in our last days in Scotland! I'll leave you with this verse from Deuteronomy 6: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on yhour children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
We are praying for rain and safety for families in Colorado!
In Christ,
Ethan Sares
This last week has been a mixture of sentimentality, spirituality, and sweat.
Recap: Saturday we went to Stirling and saw the historic throne of Scotland and the multi-storied, spiral staircased Wallace Monument. Sunday, I went to two church services and met Stuart Weir and his wife Esther. Mosaic church was a meal and talking about the intersection of film and spirituality. Their focus is to reach modern people through the media that they connect with. Next we went to Re:Hope. I was slightly judgemental at first, then the truthful message about unity in Ephesians 4 completely blew my initial thoughts away. I loved hearing about the pastor's faithful and inspiring journey of starting a church in Glasgow.
This week we started working at Glasgow's Child and Family Center doing manual labor. It was a nice change of pace and fond memories flooded my mind of working in Brazil three years ago. Yesterday we had a strenuous day of digging through six unexpected layers of brick under a layer of concrete and rubber in order to dig a trench for a sewage pipe. Little did we know that directly under our noses was a pipe that was covered for over 20 years that was nowhere to be found in the buildings original plans. This pipe was exactly the pipe that we were trying to build already laid in the ground. The chances that the solution we were working so hard to accomplish ourselves was already accomplished in the exact spot that we needed. The work was done for us. It seems too good to be true, but amazingly it is. I can only accept this as a gift from God. Although we spent most of the day digging five feet deep of brick and clay, without first finding what was below the earth, we would never have known about the blessing. Jerred saw how this relates to the Christian experience. We prepare for the worst, bleed and sweat digging in one place when the answer is just under our nose. God's blessing and wisdom is right there waiting for us though we strenuously search in the wrong place. When we find it, it is exciting and makes so much sense but we never would have found it without the hard work.
This is a gift because our time can be used for more things and the CEO of the Glasgow City Mission gets to spend time with his family this weekend. Our team can focus on the things that we need to before leaving.The most powerful person at the mission is covered in mud, sweating in the rain with us, a perfect example of the first being last. Robert, who singlehandedly makes up the maintenence department at the mission, was directing us as well. He has an amazing story of how he came to Christ, overcame an earthly life, redeemed his status as a father, and came to work at the Mission. He is a joy to work with and keeps us laughing.
Its funny how in the last week before we leave I finally feel more confident and comfortable with Glasgow as a city, the mission and its staff, volunteers, and clients. I feel ten times more effective than when I started. I found people to invest in and feel the Spirit leading me to pray for specific people. Leaving reminds me that all good things must come to an end, it's dangerous to become comfortable, and it's time to apply what we have learned at home in Denver.
Thanks for reading about how God has been blessing us even in our last days in Scotland! I'll leave you with this verse from Deuteronomy 6: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on yhour children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
We are praying for rain and safety for families in Colorado!
In Christ,
Ethan Sares
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