My Year With Ignite

I know a lot of people will be asking this in the coming weeks, and I also know that it will be nearly impossible to give a full answer to everyone who asks. So I will try to answer this question and as well as any others I can anticipate.

How was your year in Wales?

I find it nearly impossible to answer this in a simple sentence. How would you sum up any past year of your life? There have been many ups as well as downs, I've learned much, and made many friends. Some things I wish I could do over and some things I wouldn't change for the world.

What did you do over there?

I interned with a youth ministry called "Ignite" based just outside of Cardiff, Wales. I worked in a variety of situations and with a variety of different people and groups.

I worked in the office with menial things occasionally, but I also wrote a number of devotionals, as well as a study on the subject of prayer.

I got to play with babies every week at a moms and tots group. This group, though it met at the church, was made mostly of non-Christian moms from the neighborhood of Tremorfa. There were moms from many different nations, languages and religions. Poland, Sri Lanka, China, and the Republic of Congo to name a few. I enjoyed playing with the little ones, as well as talking with the mothers. Even though there was often a language barrier, I found that if you ask any mother to talk about her child or ask her to teach you something in her language, they will open up to you in other ways as well. One lady has told me about her struggles to find time for anything outside of working and taking care of her daughters.

I helped run Sunday School in this small church in Tremorfa. Despite the church itself being so small, and most of the members being seniors, there is usually a large amount of children who show up without their parents to learn about Jesus. I also got to teach dance a time or two to these kiddos!


I helped run a couple of youth clubs during the school year. One in Tremorfa and the other in another part of Cardiff. For my American friends, a youth club is basically like a youth center/youth group, where we open up for an hour and a half each week and tell the kids about Jesus, and play around with them the rest of the time. We've done things like sports, baking, nail polish, dance nights, karaoke and quizzes. It was great to be able hang out with these kids and get to know them better. While I didn't get to witness any of our youth come to Jesus, I know that seeds were planted and that it's just a matter of time and Jesus for their salvation to come about.

I spoke at a nursing home every month or every few months, sharing with them what God had been sharing with me. I would bring in my violin and play some of the old hymns that we all love. It was often a challenge to come up with things to speak on, but then I'd find a way to shift what God had been teaching me to fit their situation. My last talk was on the topic of "God's not done yet."

I went to the church plant that Gary Smith (my boss) pastors, and I helped lead worship when I could. Sometimes it was every week, sometimes it was a few months spread between, but it's all about being available, right?

Now that's all that I did on a weekly/monthly basis. I also helped run events and courses for young people to help disciple them in their walk with God. At Ignite, it's not just about bringing kids to Christ, but rather walking with them after they've said "the prayer" and helping them along their Christian walk.

Did you learn anything while you were there?

I learned loads, but it can be difficult to sum it up in one post. In practicalities I learned how to do some of the legal things that it takes to do youth work. I've learned some more about the details of how to put on an event.

I've learned that the power of prayer is stronger and more vital to doing ministry than I had originally thought. I've learned that teamwork can mean the difference between chaos and order. I've learned that I apparently don't have a very telling face, so I need to be quite clear about myself so that people don't think I'm always angry ;)

On a faith level, I've learned that God will come through if He says He will. He was able to not only cover the cost of my moving to Wales for a year, but He did it with plenty of time to spare, praise God! I've learned that He really is my Rock and when things were difficult, I knew that He was the only thing that will never change in my life. I learned that God is really a huge part of my life, and even when I was in secular settings where people really don't expect you to talk about God, He was almost all I could talk about. It wasn't until I was in those situations that realized how much I rely on God and His Word to guide me through life. He wasn't just a topic that I tried to push, but a part of my everyday life and conversation. I didn't even realize just how much I trusted Him.

In some of the courses that I did as a part of my internship, I learned things like different ways to read the Bible. Like, try brainwashing yourself with the Bible. It sounds bad to say brainwash, but if the Bible is the absolute truth, then is there a better thing to be brainwashed by? I was reminded to practice hearing God's voice more; to exercise my hearing "muscles". I learned about how to be a servant leader; to submit to Christ in all that I do and to let Him lead through me. I learned about the importance of having a mentor, "running mates" and mentees, when on your Christian walk.

On a more personal level, I learned more about who I am in Christ and who He's called me to be. I learned more about the Father Heart of God and how He sees me. I learned that it takes being vulnerable with people to make the best and deepest friendships. I've learned that God can answer even the silliest sounding prayers; God gave me some of the best friendships this year than I think I've ever had. I learned that it takes stepping out in faith and stepping out of the boat in order to walk on water with Jesus. I learned more about my own faith just by writing the devotionals that I wrote when I was in the office. And even in the last days of being with Ignite, I was reminded to look at the brighter side to life. Since I naturally tend to look towards the negative, it has been a challenge, but I think this skill will definitely help at any stage of life. We've been blessed with so much, why must we find clouds with every silver lining? Maybe not bulletproof logic, but you get what I mean.

I worked with a lot of great people while over there and it was surely an experience of a lifetime!

The Subject of Home

Last month I was having a rough time. The thought of going back to the States terrified me. You see, while I was away my parents and younger sister had moved away from my hometown and the home I'd known since I was born. They'd moved so far away that it wouldn't be possible to visit my old church and friends, even once a month. This left me with the ever present question of where to go when I get back to the States: move to my hometown or move near my parents?

At the beginning of last month, I was mentally kicking and screaming, digging in my heels wishing I wouldn't have to leave this place that I've come to call home in Cardiff. But due to legal reasons, visas and such, I must leave. My emotions were everywhere as I tried to get everything done that I'd wanted to do in my time in Cardiff, as well as trying to see everyone before I left indefinitely.

I had been intentional about not making plans for after Cardiff until I was back in the States. I'd felt like God had been telling me to not make plans for afterwards because it would distract from what I was doing in the moment in Cardiff. I wanted to finish well. So I didn't make plans. And that scared me more than a little.

For the last few months, whenever I thought about going back "home" I felt like an astronaut, floating above the planet without really knowing where I would land. I felt like, if I didn't know where "home" was then I would have no gravity to pull me back to earth. I was afraid that I would forever be one of those people who remained unsettled and was always traveling. For the creature of habit that I am, the thought of never settling does not sound all that wonderful.

People were always asking me those dreaded questions: So where will you go back to? What are your plans for when you go back? I know these people were all well meaning and they were asking in a caring way, but the idea that I had no answer for them or myself was very scary. I wanted to know what was next too, but I had no plans.

But then, a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that I had a peace about it all. I had been asking friends to pray that I would have peace, so I can only assume it was God who had given it to me. I was able to face leaving with a level head and not feel like a small child rebelling against the inevitable. I've always known I couldn't stay.

But just last week, my last week in my beloved city, I had a new thought. My sweet landlady and my dear friend had thrown me a surprise going-away party! I love surprises and I have a special place in my heart for all who came to wish me well. It was in this time of sad goodbyes that I realized: I'm not a traveler without a home; I'm traveler with many homes! I had been so sad about leaving that I didn't recognize that this sadness wasn't because I'll just be leaving this city, but rather, because I'll be leaving this new home and friends that had been made here.

I might not know where I'm going in this next year, but I know that I now have at least 3 places that I can go home to. I know that as a traveler, and a follower of Christ, I can go to any of these places and expect open arms to welcome me. I don't know where I will live in the future, but I know where I can drop anchor and those are places where I've lived in the past. As a traveler, I can expect that I will be having many houses/flats in the future, maybe all in different cities or countries, but then I will have homes there too. I can feel welcomed when going back.

I know that I will miss my home in Cardiff, and I'm already missing the dear people I've come to know there. I will continue to pray for those I've met who have not met the Lord yet, and I will pray with those who are already my sibling in Christ. I'm glad to now know in my heart that Cardiff will always be another place that I can call "home".

To Comfort A Child

This last week I've said goodbye to 2 of my churches here in (or near) Cardiff. I've had some good times in both churches and I've met some amazing people.

This last Sunday, I was helping in the Sunday School, and we were having a goodbye party with cupcakes and ice cream and sprinkles (I'm sure the parents loved us when we sent the kids home), as well as some fun dance music and balloons.

The kids had made cards for me, which were super sweet! One of the cards read "You was a good person and we will miss you." Haha. I love kids.

At one point, while we were playing musical chairs, one of the little ones had missed the music ending and thus was out of the game. She immediately curled down with her knees on the floor and her hands over her face and she didn't move. I had been out for a couple of rounds already and was batting a balloon in the air with one of the little boys, so I went to  the little girl to pick her up and move her out of the way. As I lifted her up, her body didn't shift, so she stayed in her "ball" position. I just held her for a bit, sensing that she might just need some cuddles for the moment.

I ended up holding her for the rest of the class and she didn't uncover her face for a good 15 minutes. I would sing to her what ever songs happened to be playing, or I'd bounce her around like we were dancing. Eventually, we sat down at a table to eat the cupcakes, pizza, and ice cream. She still hadn't uncovered her face, so some of the other kids were asking her what was wrong. I think she was a little embarrassed by now, so I just told the other kids that she was just in a bluesy mood at the moment. I started asking her what she was sad about. I asked her if she was sad because she was out of the game and she nodded. I asked if she was sad that I was leaving? She nodded again. I asked if she wanted cake? And she didn't. She just stayed in my arms. It was so sweet!

I'm not a mom yet, but I love it when children let me cuddle them as their mom would. I feel like I'm doing what I was made to do, when I can just hold a little one in my arms. I feel called to be a mother to the motherless; to give the love that some children might not have received from their mother. But more than that, to share the love of Jesus with these kids. I fully believe that God has given me a piece of His heart for these little ones. When He hurts for them, I hurt for them. I know that what I've been called to do will not be easy, but I know that if I keep God as my Rock and my source, He will be the strength that I need to keep going and to keep loving unconditionally, as He has first loved me.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to say goodbye to these kiddos than to be able to do what I love doing: comfort a child. And a while after this little one had gotten up and was playing with the other kids, she shouted for my attention and proudly announced "Hey look! I'm happy now!"

What Will You Let Go Of To Gain?

These past 3 weeks, I've been out. And when I say out, I don't mean "out to the store" or just "out with friends". This past week, I've been out and about the UK! I got to spend 3 weeks with my beautiful cousin, Dorita, exploring London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff, 3 big cities in the UK. We went to some amazing places and met some amazing people along the way. Happy times.

We went through London by bicylcle (the cheapest mode of transport) and got to see some places that the average tourist might not see. We fell in love with a market place in Greenwich and got to walk through some other markets that we don't know the names of. We went through the Royal Naval College and walked UNDER the River Thames. We got lost numerous times and while it was frustrating, Dorita insisted that it would make for better stories later. Still not sure about that, but needless to say, we did (eventually) find our way back to our hostel every night.

We took a walking tour through the popular spots in London and our tour guide was brilliant in that he told more than just the dates and names of the places, but also some of the funny happenings that occurred in those places. Such as, a drunk man breaking into Buckingham Palace, but still getting off with only a fine because it wasn't illegal to break into the palace until after 2004 because is was considered public property!  Our guide was quite a sight to see as well, as he held up a red ladybug umbrella so he could be easily spotted in a crowd.

We eventually made it up to Scotland and to be honest, we were so exhausted from London, that we spent the first day in a cafe resting. We were hosted by the sweetest couple who not only let us stay at theirs, but they drove us to the places we wanted to go and waited around when we were out doing things! They even took us to watch a Shakespearean play! They were fantastic hosts and we couldn't have asked for better.

In Edinburgh, we got to climb up a mountain (really big hill?) called Arthur's Seat. When we got to the top it was just about sunset and the perfect time for taking pictures and looking out over the city. I did a dance while on top and the setting was beautiful! (footage will be put up sometime after I return home)

Now, Dorita and I have wanted to travel the world together for a few years now, and it was fantastic to be able to check the UK off of our list of places to go! We hope to do more traveling in the future, but whether or not that will be done together has yet to be seen. We know that this was the trip of a lifetime.

Sometimes I feel sad about not being as settled as most of my friends; most are married, or at least on their way there, some have kids, some have great jobs and make a lot of money. But I know that had I been in a relationship this time last year, I probably never would have come to Wales and I never would have traveled with Dorita to all of these amazing places. I know that if I had stayed settled, like those I sometimes envy, I would never have come to Cardiff and made the amazing friendships that have brought me through this year. I know that God is in all of it, whether I settle or continue moving, but one thing I've learned: God's plans for my life are way better than any dreams I could have come up with for myself.

My church over here has had a theme for the last couple of weeks of giving your everything to God. To go all in, being willing to give up everything to follow Jesus. And from an earthly standpoint it seems like you're giving loads up, but in truth, you are gaining more than you could have seen if you'd stayed where you were. I know that God has done that for me, and in all likelihood, will continue to do this with me.

So how much are you willing to give up to Jesus? Are you willing to let go of what you have to grab hold of the bigger something that God is just waiting to give you?

Don't Let the Chain of Good News Bringers End with You

I've been taking a course for this last term called "Leadership Academy". In it we've done things like, make presentations on a book we read for the class, or writing essays about this book on leadership. One of the big assignments of this course is for two separate teams to organize and run some sort of ministry event. It could be any kind of event, as long as it was ministry/ outreach. And this week was "Mission Week", the week when we're to run our events.

My group did a youth event that we called "United". It was the plan to get multiple youth groups and to bring them together as the Body of Christ. Sadly, we weren't the most organized when it came to advertising so we only had 2 full youth groups come, and a couple of kids who came without a youth group.

The point was to break down the barriers between who goes to which church and possibly denominational barriers as well. But since we didn't have that many youth groups, and I don't know that there were many barriers like that, it turned almost into, what should we as the body of Christ be doing.

The thing that brought the kids in was a giant games night, but I did a short talk in the middle of the night. At first I got really repetitive, trying to gather my thoughts and get my words to make some sort of reasonable concept. I ended up getting some divine creativity (I can't take credit, because my own thoughts definitely weren't making sense) and getting some volunteers to form a chain. I told them each to come up with a dance move(and each was unique), then tap the person on their left. They could only start dancing after they've been tapped. So we ran through this a couple of times, then I took one kid out of the chain at the end.

I told them that a lot of times, as young Christians, we can think that we're the end of the line; that we can just go to church and get all of this wisdom and Jesus, but we don't have to pass anything on. Cuz if we're at the end of the line, then it's not really affecting anybody, right?

I put the kid at the end back in the chain and then took out the second person in the chain. I told the first girl to start dancing and carry on like normal. Of course, with the second person out of the chain, the dancing stopped with the first person. I told the kids that if the disciples had just taken in what Jesus had told them, but didn't share that with anybody, nobody would have Jesus today. I reminded the kids of the "Great Commission" where Jesus tells his disciples to go out and make more disciples and teach them what He had taught them.

I told the kids that they are not at the end of the chain. I told them that as a part of the body of Christ, we have a responsibility to share what we've been told about Jesus, otherwise, the chain really will end with us. I told them that each person has a gift, whether seen or unseen, and it is their responsibility to use their gifts for Christ and that will be used to advance the Kingdom of Heaven and grow the Body of Christ.

I then put the second person back into the chain and told them to start the dance chain again. They continued down the line until it got to the last person. The person on the end was about to stop but I told him "Hey, don't let the Good News stop! Pass it on!" so he tapped me and I then went to the kids in the crowd and tapped them until almost everyone had joined the chain of dancing people; passing on the Good News about Jesus!

It was a powerful example and visual about how we need to continue to share Jesus with people. How we can't let the line end with us just because we didn't feel like sharing, or didn't feel like we could help. Everyone can and should get involved in sharing the Good News about Christ and His love for us! There is no gift or person too small to be used by God. Just as a hundred pennies add up to make a dollar (or pound for my British friends), a hundred people using even just a little of their gifts to serve God can be multiplied. And one thing I've found that it doesn't usually add up like 2 and 2 is 4 in God's Kingdom. It's often 2 and 2 is 6 or even more! God can do incredible things with you; all He needs is your obedience. God told me a while back that we were not created to be idle worshipers. We were made to be ACTIVE in our worship to God. Praise God!

So while the event turned out great and we did get youth groups to get together for a night, I think this message from God was one of my big highlights of the evening. I may have been the one giving the message, but I was only the messenger. I asked God at the beginning of the night to speak what He wants through me, and I truly believe that He did. Praise God!

Please pray that these kids take this message to heart. I believe that a group of 20 kids who are on fire for God and use what they have at their disposal for His purposes can change a nation. We keep praying for revival in Wales, but I think getting out of a place of apathy can be a great first step!

A Weekend At Spree

This last weekend, Ignite helped run a youth event called Spree. Spree is an event set for 8-15 year olds and it's basically a weekend summer camp for youth groups with kids church sessions throughout. But this place had some awesome things for the kids to do in their free time; things like bouncy houses, bouncy slides, trampolines, swimming pools, as well as a rock climbing wall! I was wishing I could be one of the kids for the weekend.

I knew I was in charge of helping with games for our sessions but due to complications with a co-worker being out of the country and different things going on, I didn't understand that we were meant to be hosting these sessions. So it was only after we arrived and I'd asked my boss what I would be expected to do, did I find out.

Now, if you know me at all, you will have noticed that I'm not the super energetic type. I'm not especially good at getting teens to do anything they don't really want to do. But here I found myself up in front of about 50 teenagers trying to psych them up for the next game or session or whatever. Thankfully, God was moving during worship, so I didn't need to be all uppity but rather I could be my more genuine self and just pray and praise God. I felt much more comfortable doing that and bringing the kids with me in worship than trying to get them to respond to jokes and things.

At one point near the end of a session, we had a time of response with the worship team playing. I was asked to sing a part on the last song, so while I was up there, the kids were released but welcomed to stay if they wanted to. Well, with all the cool toys and things outside, none of the kids stayed for more than 5 minutes. But the worship kept going. The musicians kept playing and I kept singing and we all just stayed in that place of worship for another 20 minutes or more after the kids had all left. The Spirit was moving and we didn't want to miss any of it. It was amazing having that time of just praising and worshiping, even when we didn't have an audience (per say) to play to. We were playing for God.

I loved singing with the band and just worshiping. There was no need to try and impress anyone. Plus these musicians were fantastic #bencharles. It was so nice to actually sing with a band who was so together and they take their music seriously. So good.

Later (or earlier. I don't remember clearly), I was helping out by watching one of the bouncy houses, and I had a number of kids come and join me on it. They would jump for a while, but when they got bored, they'd come and sit with me and talk with me. They'd want to show me their tricks they can do and tell me their stories, etc. It was so nice to just have that time with kids again. While I do get to work with the kids in Tremorfa, they're not usually up for talking that much.

One of the boys sat down beside me and half whispered "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm actually a secret agent. I work for a secret agency and we stop bad guys."
He then went on to tell me this fantastic story about the villain from "Bolt" who had a space station above us and there was some mention of an evil plot happening when there's a full moon. He told me that Doctor Who went up there with Bolt to stop the bad guy, but they were captured! "It's time to call on the Thunderbirds for help!" he shouted. He then turned the entire bouncy house into a spaceship and we all went up with the Thunderbirds, me, his sister (who was about 5) and him.

It might sound ridiculous, but I love these stories, where the kids are using their imaginations! Sadly, that's becoming a lost art among kids these days, so I was more than happy to play along.

I loved hanging out and playing pretend with kids again. It's been a while since I've done that and it felt good to be with kids who weren't concerned with looking cool.

All in all, it was a good and exhausting weekend.  Plus, about 15 kids gave their lives to the Lord this weekend! Praise God!

The New Revival's On It's Way!

Last week a group from my home church, Heartland, back in Fort Wayne, Indiana came to visit me! Okay, actually they would have come whether I was here or not, but the visit was a great plus!

There have been prophecies spoken over our church relating to the Welsh revival that started over a hundred years ago. Our pastor, Dave Frincke has done a lot of research about the revival and has even written a musical for the stage about the revival. So Pastor Dave brought a group of 9 other people who have a heart for Wales over and here's where our story begins:

The group was supposed to fly into Cardiff on Saturday night, but due to a completely unreasonable amount of delays and lost bookings, they only arrived on Sunday. We figured that all of these troubles and delays can only mean that God has got something great in store for this trip.

We did a lot of touring the first couple of days, going to significant places involved in the Welsh revival, as well as just going to the awesome Saint David's Cathedral. We'd also gone through a part of Wales known as "The Valleys". This area is what used to be a collier community, where people moved there to work in the coal mines, but when the mines closed, the villages were left with pretty much no way to make money. Therefore the name "The Valleys" generally implies a poor community and social deprivation.

After driving through one of the villages in "The Valleys" our tour guide (a brilliant man who knows much about the Welsh Revival and was taking us to the points of interest) wanted to go by this one church where he suspects the song "Here Is Love" was written. On our way there, we did have to turn around once or twice, but when we made it, our guide said to stay in the cars because he just wanted a picture. We all sat in our cars, waiting for him, when he came around saying that the groundskeeper happened to be right outside and he offered to let us in! So we all made our way inside the church. Once there, we had a short chat with the caretaker then Dave made went to the piano to lead us in a few songs of worship. We sang "Here is Love" of course, and when we had finished singing, we noticed a few people standing behind us near the entrance of the church.

The groundskeeper had left while we were singing and had seen 3 members of that church pulling up in their car, right at that moment! So he invited them inside to meet with this strange group of Americans who had waltzed into this church singing hymns. The people told us that there are only 10 members who go to that church. We asked them what they would like us to pray for and they said that the young people would come into the church. These people were all in their sixties and they said that they are the youngest people in their church.

So we all joined together to pray for these three people. As we were praying, one of our team members went out of the church and returned a few minutes later with a woman, a teenaged girl, and a girl of about 7. We prayed over these girls and one of our team members asked the younger girls if they'd like to give their lives to Jesus. They both said they weren't sure, but the woman was really tearing up behind them. We asked if she'd like to give her life to God and she said yes. She was then led in praying for salvation, while she was crying the whole time.

We're calling this the beginning of the new revival. If the team had only come to help that one woman get saved, then the whole thing would have been worth it! God treasures each person so crazy much that He orchestrated that whole day to lead us to that church at that time and for all of these different "coincidences" to add up to this one precious lady coming to Him! All of the turn-around and wrong turns, all of the people that "happened" to be walking by/driving up, all added up to this woman's personal revival! These are the kinds of divine appointments that we could never have planned out if we'd tried.

While I loved having this team here, I found that the hardest thing about their visit for me was the point of saying goodbye. While they could all breathe easy, knowing that they were almost done and they could go back to their lives and their families, I found it difficult knowing that I would not be going back as well. Not only that, but the home I once knew no longer exists. I have no home back in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and no real purpose to fulfill back there.

While this makes me incredibly sad to think about (with me being the sentimental type), it makes me realize that the only way to go is forward. This forces me to face what God's got ahead of me, rather than going back to the life I've always known and slipping back into the "normal". There is no normal for me anymore (if you can call any of my life before as normal). When all that's left is the unknown, it's daunting, but it makes me need to lean on God for guidance and comfort. It MAKES me rely on God and His instructions, rather than my own expectations from what life used to be. And I know that His plans are way bigger and better than any I could dream up for myself.

So in the words of a man with no name: Allons-y!