Dear friends
Thank you for joining us for this piece of the journey God is taking the 7 of us on. It has been an adventure for sure and God, faithful to His promises, has grown us each in new ways and reminded us of things He has taught us in our past.
Now that we are back in the States:
Chad has started a second week of a new program at Denver Rescue Mission of which he is heading up. Starting it up is intense so please pray for him to find rest and refreshment during this time, as well as time and people to process his trip and re-entry with.
Jordan is in California, helping his mom move into her new home. He flew from Glasgow to Newark to Denver to Boise in the course of one 'day'. Then he jumped in a car with friends and drove to the west coast. Please pray for him as he continues to be transient for the next week or so, that God would reveal His love and truth and the Jordan would have time and space to process all that God has shown him. Praise that Jordan's dad is still doing well but please continue to pray that recover goes well.
Sarah started work as a teacher at a writer's camp for young people on Monday. She said it was intense but good. Pray that things continue to be encouraging to her and that she makes time to spend alone with God in the midst of her summer schedule.
Katie was able to stay in the UK for a few more days to spend time with her sister and brother-in-law who live in England. She returned to Boulder Sunday night. Please pray that she finds ways to connect with God and others as she is about an hour drive from the Scum community and that she is able to work through her experiences on the trip.
Jerred started work at the Denver Rescue Mission on Friday and has been working every day since. His experiences there have been intense but giving him the chance to 'make the most of every opportunity' (Ephesians 5:16) which he feels God has specifically called him to do. Please pray for him as he has his 'weekend' tomorrow and Thursday. Pray that he is able to continue to process the ramifications of the trip and how they should affect his life here in Denver.
Tina and I have been able to take a few days off which has been good. We've been able to enjoy time with our dear pup, Bill, and time together and apart. It was sweet for us to re-connect with the Scum community and see Sarah and Jerred on Sunday. Please pray for Tina as she continues to seek God's will for her in the coming weeks and months. Pray that the lingering cough she has will be healed and that Mini Mercer will continue to grow safe and strong.
Finally, please pray for me as I return to my work at Logan Property Management, that I would be able to engage with the residents and continue to be a source of love and help to them. Pray for me as I re-enter work at Scum, that I would slide seamlessly into the time of discernment Scum is in as we look at Mike Sares' re-entry as the leader of our community.
Thanks again for joining us on this portion of the journey God has us on. Your love and care have been much appreciated.
15 July 2014
04 July 2014
Eric
Today, during URBAN, a young man our team has been connecting with over this last month was sitting off to the side. I sat down next to him and asked how he was doing. He asked if we were leaving him. I had to say yes. He got up and walked away without another word.
Later, we chatted a bit and he was back to his smiling, jovial self. We ended up playing a few games of UNO which re-established our friendship and ended up laughing and joking. It was good and God answered my prayers for my time with Eric today, but it is still hard to leave these people who have gotten to mean so much to us over this last month.
Please pray for our team to love well as we say good bye.
Later, we chatted a bit and he was back to his smiling, jovial self. We ended up playing a few games of UNO which re-established our friendship and ended up laughing and joking. It was good and God answered my prayers for my time with Eric today, but it is still hard to leave these people who have gotten to mean so much to us over this last month.
Please pray for our team to love well as we say good bye.
Crisp Odyssey
Last night, our friend Graeme, Stuart & Lynsey hosted us in Cumbernauld for haggis, neeps & tatties, and stovies. It was delicious!
A crew of us took a wee walk to a playground which was much different than those I had encountered in the US. All of the equipment seemed specifically to cause dizziness!
The highlight of Graeme and Jordan's night was the Crisp Odyssey where we were able to sample a plethora of different flavored and consistency of crisp (those in the US, think potato chip). It was marvelous!
To top off our night, we got to watch a couple videos that Graeme had directed and produced which were wonderful. StreetLoaf is absolutely amazing!
It was a brilliant time connecting with friends who have become dear to us over our time here in Scotland.
After an amazing night and days of realizing that we are saying goodbye to so many dear people, our team is wearing down with the understanding that our trip is wrapping up. Please pray for us: that God would give us the energy and ability to continue to connect and engage with God, our team, and our friends here.
A crew of us took a wee walk to a playground which was much different than those I had encountered in the US. All of the equipment seemed specifically to cause dizziness!
The highlight of Graeme and Jordan's night was the Crisp Odyssey where we were able to sample a plethora of different flavored and consistency of crisp (those in the US, think potato chip). It was marvelous!
To top off our night, we got to watch a couple videos that Graeme had directed and produced which were wonderful. StreetLoaf is absolutely amazing!
It was a brilliant time connecting with friends who have become dear to us over our time here in Scotland.
After an amazing night and days of realizing that we are saying goodbye to so many dear people, our team is wearing down with the understanding that our trip is wrapping up. Please pray for us: that God would give us the energy and ability to continue to connect and engage with God, our team, and our friends here.
28 June 2014
One full week left....
It is hard to believe that we only have 1 full week left.....
Well this is a Check in from Chad.... Today has been a good day, a nice relaxing day. We had a free day today. It was good to have a relaxing day. Most of us spent time catching up on laundry, and basic things that we don't always have time to do during the week.
Tonight we plan to go to Cumbernauld, and spend the night with our friends Stuart and Lyndsey Gilmour. Then in the morning we are going to Carbrain Baptist Church in Cumbernauld. It is always great to visit them. The Church is so welcoming to us. I remember feeling at home there, and having a great time talking with everyone over coffee and tea after the service.
Well talk to you later, thanks for reading and your prayers!!
Well this is a Check in from Chad.... Today has been a good day, a nice relaxing day. We had a free day today. It was good to have a relaxing day. Most of us spent time catching up on laundry, and basic things that we don't always have time to do during the week.
Tonight we plan to go to Cumbernauld, and spend the night with our friends Stuart and Lyndsey Gilmour. Then in the morning we are going to Carbrain Baptist Church in Cumbernauld. It is always great to visit them. The Church is so welcoming to us. I remember feeling at home there, and having a great time talking with everyone over coffee and tea after the service.
Well talk to you later, thanks for reading and your prayers!!
leaning into Gratitude
hello lovely Friends and Family!
Speaking of gratitude, we are so thankful for all of your love and support toward our team in our time here in Scotland this summer. As I (Katie) may have said before, the trip so far has been filled with many highs and lows for all of us, as could be expected of any cross-cultural experience. God has been teaching me, for a while now, about being grateful in all situations. Jerred did a devotional for our team this morning and shared a passage from Ephesians that resulted in a really great discussion.
Part of the passage that struck me regarding gratitude, was in verse 20. "...Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..." I think this idea of giving of thanks in everything is quite counter-cultural. We are taught that it is normal to complain and vent when things are rough or frustrating and we console one another when things don't go according to our plans. While these things aren't terrible, I have felt more and more convicted of my bad attitude in these circumstances- especially since coming back to Scotland. And I think that a better reaction would be to point ourselves and one another back toward Jesus and His omniscient perspective over all things.
Over and over again, God has been gently reminding me that He is with me in all things and that everything can be used to glorify Him. That I need to thank Him not only for the many blessings, reunions with wonderful people here, happy times, laughter, but also for the rough days, the times when I don't get to do what I want to, for when it's pouring down rain and I want to sit outside, and for the times it's roasting outside and the sun is shining and the rain is what I would prefer. There have been so many times that I can remember when I wasn't looking forward to a particular activity or volunteer duty, and God's presence was so apparent and surprised me in such unexpected and amazing ways. As well as times when I had so much hopeful expectation in specific things or people, and I felt let down.
My intentional practice is now to try and remember to seek God and thank Him for and in whatever circumstance I find myself. For the tears and the laughter, for the ups and the downs, for the expected and the unexpected. And most of all just to expect Him. For He will never let us down and He will never leave us or forsake us.
Thank You Jesus for Your faithfulness to us.
and thank you all for reading and for your love and support.
You will never know how truly blessed we are to have you with us.
love, Katie. xoxo
Speaking of gratitude, we are so thankful for all of your love and support toward our team in our time here in Scotland this summer. As I (Katie) may have said before, the trip so far has been filled with many highs and lows for all of us, as could be expected of any cross-cultural experience. God has been teaching me, for a while now, about being grateful in all situations. Jerred did a devotional for our team this morning and shared a passage from Ephesians that resulted in a really great discussion.
Part of the passage that struck me regarding gratitude, was in verse 20. "...Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..." I think this idea of giving of thanks in everything is quite counter-cultural. We are taught that it is normal to complain and vent when things are rough or frustrating and we console one another when things don't go according to our plans. While these things aren't terrible, I have felt more and more convicted of my bad attitude in these circumstances- especially since coming back to Scotland. And I think that a better reaction would be to point ourselves and one another back toward Jesus and His omniscient perspective over all things.
Over and over again, God has been gently reminding me that He is with me in all things and that everything can be used to glorify Him. That I need to thank Him not only for the many blessings, reunions with wonderful people here, happy times, laughter, but also for the rough days, the times when I don't get to do what I want to, for when it's pouring down rain and I want to sit outside, and for the times it's roasting outside and the sun is shining and the rain is what I would prefer. There have been so many times that I can remember when I wasn't looking forward to a particular activity or volunteer duty, and God's presence was so apparent and surprised me in such unexpected and amazing ways. As well as times when I had so much hopeful expectation in specific things or people, and I felt let down.
My intentional practice is now to try and remember to seek God and thank Him for and in whatever circumstance I find myself. For the tears and the laughter, for the ups and the downs, for the expected and the unexpected. And most of all just to expect Him. For He will never let us down and He will never leave us or forsake us.
Thank You Jesus for Your faithfulness to us.
and thank you all for reading and for your love and support.
You will never know how truly blessed we are to have you with us.
love, Katie. xoxo
Children of Light
Hello, all.
This is Jerred.
This morning in our group devotion time, we looked at Ephesians 5:8-21.
Our time talking about this portion of scripture was good. I feel that God has been speaking to me personally about the value of being filled with the Spirit and letting that fullness guide my conversations and interactions with others. We can so easily fill our time together focusing on things that don't have any substance, but we have the opportunity to glorify God together if we just follow and focus on the Spirit that we as believers have been given ("And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:13-14).
This is something that I'm learning to do more, and I hope that it can be an encouragement and challenge for you as well.
I love you all,
Jerred Olen Powell
This is Jerred.
This morning in our group devotion time, we looked at Ephesians 5:8-21.
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."
Our time talking about this portion of scripture was good. I feel that God has been speaking to me personally about the value of being filled with the Spirit and letting that fullness guide my conversations and interactions with others. We can so easily fill our time together focusing on things that don't have any substance, but we have the opportunity to glorify God together if we just follow and focus on the Spirit that we as believers have been given ("And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:13-14).
This is something that I'm learning to do more, and I hope that it can be an encouragement and challenge for you as well.
I love you all,
Jerred Olen Powell
Expectations
It's been awhile since I've blogged. Our time in Iona was a much needed Sabbath and also an opportunity for God's Truth to shine brighter through the expectations we had to let go of through placing our rest in Him.
Expectations have been something I feel many of us have been struggling with while on this trip. I know I had many expectations that God is challenging me to give to Him. One of those more surface level expectations has been the weather. I fully expected it to be the rainy Scotland I had heard others speak of, only to find that we came in the midst of a rather dry spell. I prayed and prayed for rain. Our allergies have been rough and it was just something I wanted to experience in Scotland. Well, God gave us the rain, just not when I would have wanted it.
Back to expectations. Expecting God to work on a time table that is similar to ours. Expecting God to answer prayers with a simple "yes" or "no". Not a "wait". The rain came to us while on Iona. The day we were to explore God's presence and trek around the island soaking in His love and warmth. That rainy day in Iona God choose once again to remind me of how little control I have. He had different plans for our time there and if I had solely relied on happiness and contentment being based on my expectations being met the way I had wanted them to be met, well you see where I'm going which this. God gave us what we needed in that specific time in our trip. He continues to do so and I am so very grateful for it.
After everything has been said, our time on the island was pretty awesome. God is good and continues to be so. I'm sure there be more expectations ahead that I will have to let go of, but I can rest in the fact that He is Abba and He is in control.
Peace,
Sarah
Expectations have been something I feel many of us have been struggling with while on this trip. I know I had many expectations that God is challenging me to give to Him. One of those more surface level expectations has been the weather. I fully expected it to be the rainy Scotland I had heard others speak of, only to find that we came in the midst of a rather dry spell. I prayed and prayed for rain. Our allergies have been rough and it was just something I wanted to experience in Scotland. Well, God gave us the rain, just not when I would have wanted it.
Back to expectations. Expecting God to work on a time table that is similar to ours. Expecting God to answer prayers with a simple "yes" or "no". Not a "wait". The rain came to us while on Iona. The day we were to explore God's presence and trek around the island soaking in His love and warmth. That rainy day in Iona God choose once again to remind me of how little control I have. He had different plans for our time there and if I had solely relied on happiness and contentment being based on my expectations being met the way I had wanted them to be met, well you see where I'm going which this. God gave us what we needed in that specific time in our trip. He continues to do so and I am so very grateful for it.
After everything has been said, our time on the island was pretty awesome. God is good and continues to be so. I'm sure there be more expectations ahead that I will have to let go of, but I can rest in the fact that He is Abba and He is in control.
Peace,
Sarah
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