An Evening of Dancing and Mummies

So we had an impromptu dance workshop at club last night. I was getting a lift from one of the leaders last night on the way to GYC when she mentioned that she just found out that I can dance. She then asked if I would do dance with our kids that night.

Ordinarily I would have felt hesitant and unprepared, but since I'd done the dance class in Tremorfa that dance was still in my mind, so I said yes. Then I realized that I was even more prepared than usual, because on that particular night I hadn't had a chance to run home and drop off my work stuff, so I had my laptop with my music and everything on it!

It went great! The kids were mostly getting into it and some of the other volunteers were getting involved as well, making everyone feel comfortable. We started out warming up with the Drive the Bus song/dance, which anyone from my home church can tell you is a boat load of fun and goofiness. It's a dance made entirely of the cheesiest dance moves out there. Things like the "Shopping cart" or "Sprinkler". It makes everyone look like a fool, but that's the best kind of fun: when everyone looks so silly that no one can criticize.

We went on to learn a dance to the song "Never Alone" by Barlowgirl. Some of the younger girls were very enthusiastic to learn these new moves, but their energy made them jump up and down while trying to do the moves, resulting in a bit of chaos. And some of the older girls were outright saying that they couldn't do it, but when I watched them attempt the moves, they did it either spot on or just a slight adjustment would make it spot on. 

 Later, during the God slot, we ran through the mummy game. We divided the kids into two teams and had the teams compete to make the best mummy by wrapping toilet paper around one of their teammates. 

It was good fun, and all in all it was a great night with a great message. 

At one point we separated into groups to talk and pray. And in this time one of the girls in my group went off explaining everything Christians believe about the Gospel. She said that Jesus died so that we can go to Heaven. I interrupted her at this point to say that even though Jesus paid the price for our sins, forgiveness and Heaven are gifts that need to be accepted to be of any good. I asked her and the other girl if they've accepted this gift yet. The girl, who was first explaining all about the Gospel, immediately said that she doesn't believe in God. She said that she's just interested in Religious studies. 

The other girl said that she's a Christian. She said that she's a Christian because she was christened as a baby. We tried to explain that that isn't what makes you a Christian, but accepting Christ for yourself is what makes you a Christian. I don't know if either girl understood the ultimate message.

Please pray that God would work in the hearts and lives of these kids. Pray for revival in their individual lives as well as in this nation. Thank you so much for your prayers. God is really doing something.

Plant the Seed and Wait

It's Sunday morning. We've just had a morning filled with worship music and a sermon taught on how you can plant a seed, but you have to wait for the harvest. The person up front spoke about a man who had prayed for 5 of his friends over many years, and after a few years 2 were saved, and then over a matter of 20 years, two of the others were saved. This man prayed for 50 years for this last friend to be saved, but then the man died, not knowing if his friend would ever be saved. Then a few months after the man's death, the 5th friend came to Christ. The moral being that it can take years of praying for someone to be saved, and sometimes, you may never find out if this loved one has come to Christ of not.

The church is packed. I'm sitting up near the top of the theater-like seats in the back of the church. I can see most of the congregation from my vantage point. At the end of his sermon, the man up front did an altar call. As I watch these people make their way to the front I started to get emotional. I'm watching the family of God grow before my eyes! I was so happy that we now have new brothers and sisters in Christ!

I spotted one of the people going forward and realized it was the boyfriend of a friend of mine. The girls in my small group had been praying for this guy to come to church and I know his girlfriend has been trying to get him to come for a while. I was so happy that this guy was going forward! He had no idea that all these people who he's never even met had been praying for his salvation. Those of us girls who had been praying started rejoicing from all over the sanctuary when we saw him step forward. God does answer prayers!

While I was crazy happy to see all these people come to Christ on this Sunday morning, I became sad as well, knowing that most of the kids that I work with in Tremorfa have not yet realized their need for Christ. As I thought on it more, I began to weep for these kids. I want so badly to be confident that I will see these kids in Heaven in the end, but at this point in time, all I can do is pray and wait for God to move. I will continue to do what I hear God telling me, but I know that no amount of talking about God can actually bring these kids to Him. Only God can change their hearts. I want so badly to have an altar call in Tremorfa where these kids come to give their lives to Christ.

That's when the message this man up front was giving started to really sink in. I know that I can pray for these kids, but I may never know if and when they come to Christ. I may never know if my work and effort to get God's message across will actually have an impact on these kids' lives. All I can do is pray, like the man in the story. 

Please join me in praying for salvation to come over these kids in Tremorfa. I want God to completely turn around this community and to bring His kingdom to earth. Even if I go to my grave before I see any results, I will continue to pray for my kids here.

I Am Never Apart From My Family In Christ

So after the last few weeks of being busy and putting so much out, I was just feeling exhausted! I'm not used to being busy all the time. Turns out it's hard! Thankfully, since I did spend my weekend in a tent in the name of ministry, Ignite graced me with an extra day off. 

I will tell you, I got spiritually drenched this week! It was great. After an initial day of rest, I was swept away to a women's conference called Colour Conference that's put on by Hillsong. There I was surrounded by women of faith and everyday was filled with worship, inspirational teachings, and long lines.

Okay, the long lines didn't necessarily add to my faith, (aside from maybe increasing my patience) but the rest was uplifting. We had 3 main speakers who are great Christian communicators, Beth Moore, Dawnchere Wilkerson, and Joyce Meyers! All of whom have impacted my thought life over the last few days.

Dawnchere spoke about her father and how when she was in trouble, he would always rush to her rescue, and how God was like that. He rushes to you when you need Him. While I recognize that having a great father figure is a rarity in this day and age I really appreciate my father and what a great example he's been of the Heavenly Father. Hearing Dawnchere speak about her father rushing to her rescue made me sad in that I know that if I'm in trouble over here, my dad can't come rushing to the rescue. But it was a good reminder that our Heavenly Father is always with me and will come to the rescue when I call on Him.

And if that wasn't enough, I then spent Sunday and Monday with people who have encouraged me and have spoke God's truth into my life. I have been so blessed by the ladies who have come alongside me and helped me when I was feeling down and have kept pointing me to God. 

Anyone can have friends who say nice things when times are tough, but to have friends who are constantly bringing it back to God and saying "Let's pray about it" is such a blessing and encouragement. We can do nothing without Christ. It's good to be reminded of that. I love my sisters in Christ.

Thank you all for your prayers. I have been truly blessed this week.

You Can Lead a Horse to Water But You Can't Make 'em Drink

So you know how when you go camping, you generally don't want to be soaked? Yeah, well thankfully, none of us had to be! Thank you to everyone who prayed for this last weekend of camping. The weather was great and it only rained when we were in our tents. And over here, their tents are actually waterproof, unlike the tents I've camped in in the States. Whew!

On another side of the camping trip, we had a turn up of 4 teen-aged boys. A bit of a disappointment after all the planning that went into it, but we figured that God can do great things with the smallest of groups. We went ahead as planned, although we reserved the right to take anyone home who was being troublesome.

We played a game of football (soccer) once we were all there and the boys are continuing to teach me new moves to use in the game, not that I'm even good at aiming. At one attempt of a new trick, I must confess, I slipped and ended up in my rear end. I don't think I'm very skilled at running in semi-wet grass, just saying....

But during the God talks we had some good discussions with these boys. Two of them go to Catholic School, so they know quite a lot about the Bible, but they don't actually believe in God... yet. The youngest of the group was 13, and he was the one who asked the most questions. He kept asking for proof of God's existence. Even though we'd told him countless stories of what God had done in our lives, this boy still wanted physical proof. Finally we told him that he had already made up his mind to not believe, and nothing we say will change his mind. So we told him to ask God to prove Himself.

One thing that was so frustrating about this situation was the fact that this boy is just reaching out for something to believe in and he wants to believe, but he won't let anything we say about the Holy Spirit and about what God has done in our lives influence his belief that he has to actually see proof that God is real.

Please pray that this young man will find the proof he needs from God. He is so hungry for God, but isn't sure of how to believe. Also, please continue to pray for all the kids we're working with in Tremorfa. We've had all sorts of troubles in the last few weeks, and we really need God to step in. Thank you so much for all your prayers. God is getting through!

Goin' Campin'

These last two weeks have been full of many ups and downs. Firstly, two of my pastors from my church back home flew over and were a part of a conference over here. One talked at it and the other lead worship for it. It was really great to have people form back home around. I love them both and just being able to talk about the happenings back in Indiana were a comfort to me. 

Having Pastor Ron come and speak reminded me of just how much influence he's had over my life. I've grown up listening to him preach and I've heard all of his "Ronisms" as they're so called by the church. These little snippets of truth that I've heard him repeat over the years have made it into my mind and heart to such a point that I've found myself quoting them in many of my writings for Ignite. 

Later this week, things have been... interesting. I taught Sunday school this last Sunday. Well, I say that I taught it. Actually it was more like me trying to get the kids to stop talking for 5 minutes so I could give them the short lesson I'd prepared. But one of the ladies who is a part of the Re:Gen Tremorfa team is incredible with these kids. They all adore her and they listen to nearly every word she says. You can just watch them imitating her. It is too cute. I know I would have hardly got a word in if she hadn't come into the class to help settle the kids down. While I love kids, I have not yet developed the skill of getting them to listen to me, but this lady has! They might not always do what she tells them, but they love her, even when she tells them no. How does she do it? This lady is so gifted with children.

We've had a lot of extra drama this week with our girls, so please pray that God will step into their lives to turn them around. When all hope seems lost, God can still turn things around. 

We're going on a camping trip with some of the kids this weekend, so please pray that God will touch the hearts of these kids and we will come home with more brothers in Christ! Also, please pray that we get sunny weather! If Jesus can calm the storm with His words and He's given us His authority, I think we can still call out good weather in Jesus' name! Amen!

The Battle for the Dance Class

So I don't actually know if that man came to church or not. To be honest, I don't really remember what he looked like, so I couldn't pick him out of a crowd, so he might have been there. Like, I remember what he was wearing, but his face didn't have any really notable features.... my bad.

This week I taught my first dance class in Tremorfa! Let me give you a bit of background before I tell you how it went:

My history involves a lot of dance. I've danced since I was 8 years old, and started assistant teaching by the age of 14. I've done mostly ballet and contemporary dance styles, but have dabbled with other styles, such as tap, hip hop, as well as ballroom. Basically, I love dance!

I'd really been itching to dance lately, and I'd been wanting to teach a class in Tremorfa for a while now. So we finally got a week that would work to put the class and now it was up to me to make it happen. And that's when the nerves set in. I felt nervous about teaching again because I haven't taught for a few years now, and there was no guarantee that whoever shows up would participate. I had to come up with a class that was active enough so that these kids wouldn't get bored, but also easy enough that a beginner could get it.

Before I could get the choreography finished, I had another battle to face. This was more of a mental/spiritual battle. The entirety of last weekend was a battle. I kept getting doubts. I kept hearing whispers in my ear telling me nobody will show up, or don't get your hopes up, or you're not good enough.

It was an incredibly difficult week. I had thought about giving up countless times; just calling it quits and not bothering to do the class. I didn't have much hope of anyone showing up. But somewhere at the beginning of this struggle I had told a friend about my idea for this class and about my doubts for it, too. She told me that if God's calling me to do this, I should just do it in obedience. Whether anyone show up or not, if I've done my best in preparation I will have been obedient, and that's all that God asks of us. Then throughout the week she sent me notes of encouragement about the class. What a sweetheart.

I decided to let go and let God. I went for it and choreographed the dance. We put out flyers invited the girls in Tremorfa to come.

And they did! Well, 2 of them did anyways. They showed up at the door, we let them in, and one of them sat down to be on her phone, and the other didn't go further than the doorway. These 2 are regulars at the club, and I wasn't sure they would join in at all. I was about to pack up and go home because they weren't participating when one of the girls I work with who was there to help suggested that I show the girls what the dance looks like. So I showed them on the condition that they had to both learn 5 moves from the dance.

Once I had shown them the dance, they both stood up to learn the 5 moves promised and they got so into it that we went way beyond the 5 moves they said they would do! We did it with the music and they got excited about how it all went together! Praise God!

I consider it a small miracle for both of these girls to join in something like this. The one girls you can hardly get her to join in a short game, let alone actually moving your whole body in dance! And the other one likes to be the crazy person in the room and not behave, but they both did really well for a first try!

Thank you to everyone who's prayed for me and given me encouragement this week. I really needed it. And I believe that God has something good in mind for this dance stuff. Keep up the prayers!

Give up the Guilt

Happy Easter!

Let me tell you a bit about my day. It started out joining one of the churches I've been going to and doing a flash mob on the streets of the Cardiff city centre. We danced to the song by Mary Mary, "Shackles"! It was lots of fun. The church was also handing out hot cross buns and flyers in honor of Easter. The flyers explained a bit of the Easter story, as well as an invitation to come to church tomorrow. A friend had jokingly given me one of the flyers, and I had meant to hand it to someone, but ended up just sticking it in my bag.

Afterwards we hung out and talked for a bit, but then I was left with deciding what I was going to do for the rest of the day. Where I'd normally just go home, I decided to take a bike ride down some of the paths in the park nearby. It was a beautiful day out, and a good 60+ degrees. I went to the park and took some photos of the blossoming trees and such.

Then God stepped in. As I was enjoying the view I noticed this man sitting on a bench by himself and he seemed to be talking to himself. As I got nearer, he seemed to get more frustrated and louder as he stood up, and I realized that he was saying the same thing over and over again. He was chanting "I can't believe I did that! I can't believe I did that!" etc.

I had passed by the time I understood what he was saying, but I had a feeling that this man was in need. I had to talk to him and at least ask if he was alright. I turned around and came back to him, asking if he was alright. He seemed surprised that I asked, but thanked me for stopping. He said I was the only one who stopped to see if he was okay. He told me that of course he wasn't alright, because if he had been alright he wouldn't be saying that over and over.He told me a bit of his problem, that he had made a huge mistake financially and that he believed he was ruined. 

He thanked me again for stopping, as if expecting me to leave, but I had the feeling I should give him that flyer from the church. I told him that if he'd like to meet more people who'll care to come to church tomorrow. He told me that funnily enough he'd turned to religion out of desperation. He said that he'd read the pamphlet, but he'd already committed "the 7 deadly sins" and he was beyond hope.(This told me that he had actually read a Jehovah's Witness pamphlet, not really scripture.) 

This opened up the conversation to actually telling this man about God's goodness and why we celebrate Easter. Some of you may not believe this, but this was the first time when I've found myself in a conversation that was practically begging me to tell the salvation story. And around Easter as well? This had to be God. This man then told me about how all these different "coincidences" kept coming up and pointing him to God. But he knew it wasn't just a coincidence. I told him that it was God! That things might be hard, and he may have done things wrong, but God has a plan for him and that God loves him. Maybe it's not him being punished like he thought, but maybe it's God giving him a wake up call. He admitted that it's really woken him up. He seemed filled with regret, wishing that he had done things differently. I told him that it's not the end! His hearts still beating, there's life ahead! He didn't seem too hopeful. He couldn't get his mind around the idea that he doesn't have to carry guilt around but just give it to God. 

He seemed  inclined to take up the invite to church. I know that God has something great in mind for this man. Please pray that he does come and that God seals the deal and brings this man the peace and hope he's lacking. God is so good. He's great at setting these things up.