Scotland 2009

On Tuesday evening at the Town Hall meeting, some of us from the Primary Schools team sat behind a young couple. They looked weary and heavy laden. The young lady joined in the praise and worship, while the young man remained despondent. At the end of the service, I introduced myself and asked the young man if we could pray for him and thankfully he said “yes!” A teen challenge graduate who sat next to us joined us in prayer.

On Wednesday evening, we sat in the 3^rd balcony and saw the young lady responding to the altar call. She saw us and we exchanged hellos by waving our hands to each other. We saw joy written all over her face.

On Thursday evening, we sat a few rows behind the same young couple. During the altar call, I felt moved to ask the young man if he was ready to respond and surrender his life to Jesus and he responded “yes.” This time both of them walked up to the altar to respond and receive Jesus into their lives. 

This blog post was published on November 14, 2009

We went to the Cedar School (a Christian K-Secondary School with a tremendous reputation). We were split into 2 groups: Kindergarten to 5thh grade, and 6^th grade and up.  Both groups read the story of The Three Trees.  I was with the older kids where we sang songs, shared a bit about ourselves then asked the children about their dreams and aspirations.  The sad thing was that, despite the fact that many of these kids came from the most affluent families in Greenock, many already felt that their dreams would never come true. We read the story coupled with the scripture from Romans that states that God “works all things together for good to those who are in Christ Jesus.”  The children’s eyes lit up as we explained that even when dreams fail to fulfill you or your hopes get broken, if you trust Christ, He fills your life with joy and purpose.

We then went to the Church of the Nazarene to distribute leaflets.  There pastor led us into a community to distribute leaflets, while he shared with us the despair that had griped Greenock, and the hope and joy that has been infused in so many of the pastors and ministers just by our agreeing to come from New York City.  He gave us a glimpse into the glory of what God intends to do over these next few days.  Afterwards, the pastor brought us back to the church for more fellowship before we returned to the hotel.

This blog post was published on November 11, 2009

Today, two of us traveled with the Teen Challenge bus. While waiting patiently and earnestly for the direction of God, we came across a sixteen year old teenager on the street and invited him to eat and talk with us. He was open to listen but said very little.  But when one of us shared how God had answered our prayer and granted healing for their father’s cancer and financial support after her mom lost her job, he agreed to let us pray with him. 

Moments before praying, this young man got up suddenly and said that he had to get in touch with his mom. He said he would return within five to ten minutes. As team members reviewed what had happened, the teenager returned. Immediately after sitting, they prayed for God’s direction in his life and for him to have his own personal encounter with God. We thought that the teenager was going to leave after prayer but he stayed to listen. Amazingly, he stayed with us for almost the entire early part of the afternoon, learning how to flip through the bible, reading scriptures with us, and even taking a bible with him. 

We shared the story of the prodigal son from Luke chapter 15 and Revelation 3:20 to explain the love, faithfulness, and graciousness of God. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).   

This blog post was published on November 11, 2009

Two teams attended the Greenock East End Parish at the invitation of Pastor David McCarthy. We were asked to sing two songs and share two testimonies. We shared one at the beginning and one just before the end of the program.  The theme of today’s service was a day of Remembrance, meditating on those who suffered loss because of war or trials in life. “Blessed are those who mourn…” (Matthew 5:4).

We were greeted by everyone at the church and were truly thankful for the overwhelming hospitality they showed us.  The testimony of the first team member relayed a story about the loss of her father as he abandoned his family and the struggle of the eldest child with forgiveness, which fit perfectly with the theme of the service.  She talked about God’s mercy in drawing her to Him and teaching her to forgive and to seek out her distant father. She found him when he was ill, and shared the gospel with him just before he passed on.

During our second song “Still” we looked out into the congregation and saw members of the church drying tears from their eyes as their hearts were touched. We were asked questions such as “are all of you in the choir?” and we had to confess that not one of us was a choir member, but it was great acting like one for a day.

This blog post was published on November 8, 2009

One of our team members sat next to a gentleman traveling with his wife from Los Angeles, California during our trip to Greenock, Scotland. We were stuck on the tarmac at Newark Airport due to a malfunctioning seal on the landing gear of our first plane, and our having to eventually change aircraft and handle a medical emergency on board the second plane which resulted in a more than five hour delay on our journey.

This passenger, on observing the demeanor of all the team members aboard flight CO16Y seemed astonished at not hearing from anyone a single murmur or complaint regarding our delays. His first question was “Who are these people? Do they know each other?” To which our team member responded that we are from a church in New York City with over one hundred nationalities that believes and worships Jesus.

When the medical emergency occurred with one of the team leaders, she sat amazed and how much care was shown for the passenger who was ill and what a community oriented spirit we had and he had never seen that before. The conversation went back and forth about his interests and what our focus in life should be whether to save the planet or save people but at the end of our plane journey hour he remarked that we were doing a great work and commended everyone on their calmness throughout our flight difficulties and wished us the best on our journey to Scotland.

This blog post was published on November 7, 2009