I find the greatest peace in the mornings. As I’m drinking a big cup of coffee (one of my favorite things) and listening to classical music (the music with which I was educated) I find peace. When days are at their quietest, in the morning, that’s where I like to live.For the last couple of mornings, I’ve been considering the idea of retelling and remembering all that God has done. This was brought on by a conversation I’ve had recently where I was responding to the simple question, “So, how are things going so far?” As I told the story of our time in England, I was remembering and recounting all that God has done and it excited me to see that there have been many awesome stories and demonstrations of God’s work in England - many of which I hadn’t recognized in the moment. It was only in the retelling and remembering that I noticed God the most. And so, I wish to recount again the story of our time in England…so far.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. Psalm 77:11-14 (NIV)

Relationships
Since arriving on October 29th, our team has been striving to find our place and identity in Birmingham, England. When we first arrived, we noticed that CMF had done a great job of networking and developing relationships on our team’s behalf. However, now we had the responsibility of sorting out what those relationships actually were in practice and how we could continue to develop and invest in them. Relationships with Pavilion Christian Community and the people there, relationships with Together in Mission, relationships with Birmingham Christian College, relationships with other ministries in the city - all of these important points of engagement for our team. Then determining how each of these relationships then relate to each other was a focus for us.At the same time, we were focusing on our personal relationships as a team. We all realized quickly that we had spent a total of two weeks with each other before we arrived in England and now we were spending nearly every waking moment. We took on the responsibility of learning each other. We took on being intentional about learning how best to talk with, relate to, work with and love each other…successfully, I might add.We additionally had the task of determining what our relationships with supporters looked like now that we had to shift our whole mindset. We were here now. We weren’t raising support any longer. We weren’t working on communication and follow-up with them 24/7; we had a new job to do. Personally, this scared me a little bit (still does to be honest) because I want our supporting team to feel like and know that they are a part of all that is happening here and without them, it cannot continue. It remains incredibly important to me. And so we continue to work out how these relationships look while we’re making our focus students instead of “getting to England.”

Getting a Routine
Even from the first days, we knew we needed to get a pattern to life. We were beginning the process of learning the culture and some sort of order would help us all go through that process a little better. So we started regular, planned meetings - usually at Sainbury’s Cafe (say what you want Englanders, it’s a good cafe) to talk about vision, strategy and how things would actually come together. Read the rest of this entry »

This morning, as I was getting dressed, I was thinking about you. I decided to wear a pair of dress pants that I have not worn since the day that I had my job interview. On my way out the door, I stuck my hand in my pocket and found a piece of paper that I had written on the morning of my interview. I was apprehensive that morning, just wanting to know what God was going to do with my life, as I am sure you have been feeling lately, as well. He had directed me that morning to the place in Psalms 62 where it says:

My soul waits only on God for my expectation is from Him. Psalm 62:5

God, the one and only - I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? Psalm 62:5 MSG

That is what I found written on the paper in my pocket this morning. I just wanted to share that with you as I know you are “chomping at the bit” to get to England. I am praying for you to have endurance, patience, and that God would continue to orchestrate everything in His time!

What does it mean to me to invest in Globalscope England?

I’ve never been much of a traveler myself. When I heard that Kevin & Leah had decided to leave the comfort and security of their home in Indiana to promote GOD’s Word in Birmingham, England, I was so excited for them. Both Kevin and Leah share a love for God and His people that is rarely seen in young adults. Read the rest of this entry »