SSPC BLOG

Time for another update. It's been a while so i'll just jump right in.

The past week and a half as been great! I've been holding fast to the routine of prayer with the team in the morning along with book table or handing out gift bags for the traders in the evenings. Recently we have also been able to spend time following up with the people we have met so far. So really, the evenings are filled with either follow up or book table ministry. I have been spending time wandering the market chatting with the traders i have met. I had the chance to meet some very interesting people.

Early this past week, we went in groups to visit traders in the market and i ran into a outspoken atheist. I handed him a flyer for our church and he gradually made it known that he was not a big fan of the Bible or the idea of a God that will order leaders to kill men, women, and children. He took me to numbers 31 an told me he did not want to have any part of God if that's what he commands. So me being stubborn, i stuck around to try and reason with him my thoughts on that subject. I wanted to tell him the dangers of taking one section of the Bible and interpreting it on it's on. If he understood who God was, what he can rightfully demand, and how the potter has the right over the clay… along with the love of God, then that passage would make better sense to him. Conversing with this guy was really good for me and very humbling. God showed me the blindness of people without the Spirit. I still pray for this man. I think i'll go back and say hi to him. I think that building relationships with people (without an agenda) is just as big of a witness to people than talking about Jesus. My hope is that he will see something different in me. And now that he knows I'm a christian i hope the Spirit works there. Having that experience was hard yet encouraging. Afterwards, I was battling two very different emotions and truths in my head. At first, i felt defeated. I felt like a failure and like i wasn't smart enough to do my job in communicating the Gospel to him. However, on the other hand i was reminded of the fact that the Spirit is the one who opens hearts and eyes to seeing and knowing truth. Knowing that truth in my head but feeling the rejection was a very weird place to be. I got really quiet and my mood changed drastically. Ha, but i didn't let it go. I spoke with God for the rest of the day. I asked him to reveal his truth in a way that i could actually feel/experience the truth an not only "understand" it. God definitely showed up and was with me for the rest of the day. Later on that night we went out with a friend from London and it was AMAZING cause we went out for curry! That is my new favorite food by the way. ha

Saturday we painted on cardboard at the canal. Our goal was to have the locals that hang out at the canal come and paint with us. On saturday's lots of the youth hang out there. Dan and Oli have been trying to figure out how to reach them but it's been difficult to bridge that gap. Even though we didn't meet many of the saturday canal locals we did met a few really cool people. There were two girls from Paris that stopped to paint, a hippie, and my friend Eaton stopped by as well. It was so much fun. I loved it! Most of us covered our sheets of cardboard with bright vibrant colors and wrote verses on them. I never got around to adding my verse but i was happy with how the colors turned out.

Last Sunday was my first experience with the Lysan church service at the Yum Chaa tea shop. Two weeks ago they met at Dan's house because the tea shop only lets them meet there 2 times a month. We had a joint service with another local church in the Camden area. Their church attracts more of the goth/ punk locals. Before the service we met up with them to hand out flyers together. I partnered with a girl named Heather. We walked the markets and met a few people together. We talked to a lady named Veronica. She owns a shop that sells photography she and her husband take. I met another guy that worked for the canal system. He takes tourists on canal rides all day and ends each day with a coffee at a local shop in the Market. He claims that it's the best coffee in Camden so my hope is to enjoy a cup with him one night this week or next. He came from Ireland or Scotland one. Ha, i can't remember. As for the service, it was great. We had so many visitors from the people we've met since we have been here. It was so encouraging to see all the different people that we met and how they responded to church. I think most of them really enjoyed it and will hopefully come back.

The Lord is doing amazing things here in Camden. Lots of people are hearing about our church and about the love of Jesus. Many of the interns have had tea or coffee with people they have met and are able to follow up on most of their contacts. I was walking in the market the other day and a random trader asked me if i lived here cause he's seen me around so much. I feel that God's Spirit is moving here. I am in no position to comment on the speed of that movement but i do know that the name of Jesus and Lysan is being spread all through out the locals here. Hopefully in a few years or so, Lysan will be a well known church and people will become curious as to what it's all about.

This past week was very encouraging. I met some more traders in the market, had a really good prayer walk, and have really drawn close to the Lord this week. God has been so good to me here. He has blessed me with such rich and real community, amazing conversations with people of Camden, and a bigger picture of what God is doing in the world and how to apply that to my life. God is speaking so loudly through scripture and i am really experiencing the love of Jesus. To me, actually experiencing God's love is totally different than "understanding" that God loves me. It makes his love more personal.

There is much more to update you all on but i will save that for another day. Keep praying for my perseverance and endurance. I often feel empty when i have fullness in Jesus. It's hard to keep focused on being here when you are looking for things besides Jesus to fill you up. Pray with me that i can understand how much God has done for me and to look else where is pretty much pointless. Pray that i be reminded hourly that i am not lacking and for God to be rich in mercy with blessing me with that understanding.

Thanks again! Lindsay

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What have I been thinking about lately…

What does God want to do through me while i'm here in London and what does that practically look like? This is a tricky time for me cause the schedule from day to day is very flexible and can often seem like i'm not really doing anything or doing enough. We pray in the mornings then usually get from around 10:30 to 1 off for down time. At around 1:30 we usually go do something practical to serve Camden. That can be things ranging from book table, handing out gift bags for the market vendors (they have things like water and health bars or something like that in them), playing music on the canal, asking vendors or bartenders if they need prayer, prayer walks, or things like today, when it's hot we hand out ice cream and hope to get into meaningful conversations with people. All these things sound good right? Of course, but while you are doing them you don't really feel like things are getting done. You don't necessarily see the results that you might like. You might only get a handful of people to stop by the book table or have people not really care what you have to offer them. It's easy to forget that God is working even through the small conversations that you have with people. You forget that you could be the start of a beautiful story that this person goes through in order to find true life through Jesus.

God has really been challenging me to view success through his eyes. I have already been burdened with the thoughts of not being much help since i've been in Camden. I was doing devotions the other morning ( I have been having trouble finding the energy to get into the word lately…) and it was one of those times when it seems like God is speaking directly to you through words that were written hundreds of years ago. I was reading through the psalms and i kept coming across the idea of worship and giving God the praise and adoration that he rightly deserves. Throughout my thoughts and times of reflection of the word, God was saying… "Linds, stop trying to do something for me. All i want you to worry about is worshiping me." God was reminding me that before he created humans he was not lacking of worship and adoration. He wasn't lacking or has never lacked what he needs to make himself feel worshiped and appreciated. The trinity was a perfect source of worship, love, and adoration. It was only by his sheer goodness that he allowed humans to enter into that circle of perfection. That's really what the whole christian life is about right? Learning how to accept God's perfect love then being empowered to serve others with the very love that we have been given. For some crazy reason, God loves us enough to sacrifice for us so that we can come be with him in his perfection. He is restoring us and this world, and i think that is what he wants me to model for Camden. He reminded me that it's not about what i can do for him but the fact that he is doing something far greater in this world than anything i could have ever dreamed of doing. His plans are far bigger than i am thinking. He reminded me of the much bigger story that is being put together than the small things i am doing here in Camden. Once i was reminded of this, i felt true freedom!! I felt so humbled and excited that God is gracious enough to include me in this huge work that he is doing. I was putting God in a box and God took me out of it and revealed to me His vision for the world, Camden, and my life. I experienced a genuine moment of pure joy and understanding of how much God really does love me.

In light of all this, i came to realize that i will be most useful here this summer if i just simply stop myself from seeking after my insignificant vision for Camden. Lol, my new plan is to pour myself into worshiping and meditating on Jesus. Whole heartily seeking his face. What does that look like?? I haven't really figure that out exactly, but i do know that i am entering into a place of eagerness and availability. I am letting God take my eagerness to serve him and letting him do whatever he wants to do with it. Whether that is encouraging the Camden team that lives here, talking to nonbelievers about Jesus, or playing the music on the canal so that other people can have amazing conversations with the onlookers… i'll be ok with that. God reminded me that i am here to carry out "His" plan. Not my plan. I would love to do big things here this summer, but i am also humbled at the fact that God might not have that for me. One thing i am so satisfied with is regardless of who i meet or what i do, i am sitting at the feet of the King. I am loving my savior with my whole heart and i think at the end of the day that is exactly the thing that i need to be focused on. He is getting glory and if people of Camden are not ready to do that yet, they will get a good picture of what looks like through me. I trust that God will do what is best and i am excited to see what that is!

As for today, we had an amazing day. Our team leader, Dan decided that we would buy waters and popsicles and hand them out to the people on the canal. Since it was friday it was packed out and people were everywhere. We set up under a tree and started playing some music. I started with Hotel California then we busted out Oasis's wonderwall. People definitely knew that song cause i looked around and everyone was singing along. One guy walking by stopped and started singing it. It turns out another camden team member, Oli recognized him from a performance at a local cafe. The guy use to play around in pubs and cafe's. He ended up giving us his information and said he will definitely try and get up with us to play. That was one of the first people that stopped and the rest of the day took off from there. A group of young girls, about 16 sat down talked to us for at least 30 minutes. Probably 3 or 4 more groups came by and and talked with us.

After the canal music session we handed out free gift bags to the market vendors. Me and Jackie were together and met vendors that were so thankful for our gift. It was kind of surprising that we had people that wouldn't take them. They were free but vendors still didn't want them. That kinda shows you how hard the hearts of Camden are. People are really not thinking about ultimate things here. They are content with how their lives are and don't need Jesus. Pray that the Spirit breaks their hearts and opens their eyes to their need.

Anyway, it was a great day! God has been speaking so loud to me lately. I am excited to see what's next. The leaders that live here were so encouraged about today. One of the big things that the interns are here for is to encourage the missionaries. Their church is very small and it's so hard to grow here. They don't have many hands that help with the work in Camden, and now that the team has 6 more people to help make contacts, even the smallest things are great things for them.

For prayer updates… pray for the team to keep seeking to share the Gospel even when it seems like nothing is getting accomplished. Pray also that the Holy Spirit move and soften peoples hearts and for those people to come our way or to stop by the book table. You can be in prayer for the Spirit to speak in our hearts individually as well. That we not be driven in our own strength but that we be empowered by the love that is living inside of us. Pray that people see it on our faces and that it be a refreshing ray of hope. Pray that people get curious with what we are doing and may that spark conversation about Jesus. Thanks for reading my updates! You all are so awesome.

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My Plan was to keep this short but thinking about everything that's happened this past week, that thats not really gonna happen… Hah The fact that i can sit here and tell ya'll that time has flown by but at the same time say that it feels like i've been here for months, is bizarre… but so true! I seriously feel like i have been in London for way longer than two and a half weeks. I think a lot of it has to do with the sun rising early in the morning and setting around 10 o'lock at night. I love the fact that i can go for a run at 9 and an hour later it just then be getting dark. I feel like i get so much more out of the day with the sun going down so late. I don't start to wind down until like 10:30 cause it feels weird to be getting ready for bed when i still have 3 more hours of day light, ha. Not to mention that our room is literally the size of a pick-up truck bed… lol (the funny thing is that i'm almost not kidding with that metaphor.) In order for us to not roast to death, we have to keep the window open all night. That means that i get an early morning wake up call from the sun AND the noisy buses around 7am. So being outside or out roaming the town is definitely the more logical thing to do then be in our hostel room.

What do my days look like?? Well, our first "routine" week will be this week. But as of now, i have been doing random things here and there. For a quick run down… We got here last Wednesday around 3ish and we pretty much just moved in and went to bed lol. The move was so tiring and then trying to figure out how six girls were going to live in a very tiny space took it out of us. Thursday and Friday we went to a borough called South Hall. South Hall is where lots of the Indian/Arabic cultures have settled into. Back in the 70's and 80's there was a flux of them that moved in. We got a taste of what ministry will look like because we did the activities that we'll be doing and Camden, in South Hall. We started of with book table. Book table is where we set up in a public area and hand out various books ranging from the gospels to daily devotionals. There are probably about 10 to 15 different pamphlets and short books to hand out. While one or two people stand behind the tables, two people hand out other pamphlets to the crowds.

 

On the first day, a older gentleman stopped by and ended up talking to me for about an hour. He was an Englishman that really wanted to share his knowledge with me. Ha. I was very impressed with how much he knew about the world, history, and well, pretty much anything you could think of. He was a gentle character that would set anyone at ease with his grandpa like demeanor. He seemed to want to share his life long secrets and wisdom with me. He took the conversation many places ranging from science to origins of language, but i kept trying to find ways to tie in Jesus with him. At the end of our time together, I gathered that he was very set in his way of thinking and that didn't have anything to do with the God of the Bible. He believes that God is just a form of thinking that satisfies our mind because it "explains" life and pacifies our unanswerable questions about reality. I was no match for him but i did suggest that he read a book by Stephen C. Myers, "Signature of the Cell." The gentleman i was talking with was grounded with the logical reason's why a God does not fit into his worldview, but i prayed that the words of Stephen Myers get him thinking in a way that is fresh and logical. My greater hope is that he would then be softened to hear more about Jesus down the road. His name was George and if you all could pray along side of me that the Lord remove the scales covering his eyes so that he can make proper use of his knowledge.

 

George is the perfect example of how God blesses people to know things about His creation and logically make sense of it, but if they don't have Jesus what has one gained in the end? I read a really good quote by Leo Tolstoy, "is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?" I feel like George has really made great use of his life in the areas of knowledge, but there is not going to be any value of his hard work once he experiences death. All of his endeavors to be educated will be in vain or as solomon calls it "chasing after the wind" if the spirit does not move in his heart. Pray that God will work a miracle in George.

 

The next thing we do is probably my favorite thing that i've done here in Camden so far. The team pairs off and walks the streets of whatever town we are in and we speak out prayers to each other. This might sound weird but it's really the total opposite. If an onlooker where to see me and my friend prayer walking and talking, they would simply think we were having a conversation with each other. The whole point is to speak to God in conversation like you are talking to you friend. We will spend about 2 hours doing prayer walks. It's amazing how the spirit works in your heart when you are doing prayer walks. My passion for South Hall increased 10 fold due to prayer walks. You speak out prayers for the people, local businesses, schools, local churches and christians already living in the area, families, prayers against the devil, protection, and literally anything you can think of. It's incredibly convicting and gets your heart feeling empowered to be a blessing to the people you are praying for. It empowers you to be bold. You also pray for divine appointments and for the Spirit to be working in the hearts of the people. I was so blown away with how powerful this was. Please be in prayer for me as i start to make my presence known in Camden.

 

I will be doing book table and prayer walks everyday from now on till the end of the summer. God has created in me a true passion for the people here. I am very intimidated by them but i am so ready to be the aroma of Christ for this place. One of my biggest frustrations right now is my tendency to just want to fit in. I always dread the question… "so what are you in London for?" Lol this one always forces me to stand out. I find myself just wanting to ride low in the safety of the crowd and not be noticed. But the more time i spend with God, i am being called to be different and not be ashamed. It's one thing to "say" that you're not ashamed… but to no longer "feel" ashamed is another thing.

 

 Pray along with me that i no longer feel ashamed of what sets me apart from this world. I can already see that i am feeling more and more free to boldly proclaim the Gospel message. God has been showing me that these people need to see something new and refreshing. For me to blend in is me trying to protect myself. By doing that, i am living for myself and for "my" image. Pray that i realize that i am not living for myself anymore. I am living for a new purpose and that this new identity is not going to be liked by everyone. In John, the Bible warns us that we are not of the world and to not be surprised when the world rejects us. Pray that i be reminded of this daily and that boldness flourishes from this very important reminder.

 

 So for some other quick things that i've done since i've been here… The Camden markets and locks are truly incredible. I have never seen so many awesome shops and items for sale in my life. To describe it a bit, imagine a gigantic yard sale/ festival/ goth and punk store/ shoe stores/ foods from all over the world/ cute boutiques/ the cutest clothes you've ever seen/ fabric stores/ jewelry stores/ nick knack stores/ and whatever else you can think of store, being in one place. It's so huge.

 

On our first day off, i was determined to look through the whole market. I left our hostel at 12 and got back at 6:45. I don't think i got through all of it but i was definitely close. Ha. I loved it! I was so amazed at how many different cultures were represented. That was on Saturday, on Sunday we went to the local park about 15 mins away and had a picnic with some of the Camden team's friends from the area. It was such a perfect day for a picnic too. We ate hotdogs, potato salad, crisps (chips) and Summer's famous brownies. It was a lovely day! And today, (monday) we had a day off and i went to the National Museum. I ended up buying the ear phones that talks to you about all the different paintings. That definitely made the museum 10 times better for me! I stayed there for about 5 hours!! lol. I ended up loving it so much more than i thought i would. It was amazing.

 

 I guess that is about it for now, thank you for keeping me in your prayers!! I have been so blessed these past few weeks by your prayers. Know that your prayers are not in being over looked because God has showed me so much in the short amount of time that i have been here. Besides all the prayer requests i mentioned in my blog, please be praying for the hearts of the people here to be touched by the spirit. Pray that i be super confident in the Gospel and not hold back. I will be walking around the markets and i am going to just have to step out and talk to people. Pray that because of my warm and friendly demeanor, they be curious as to what's different with me. That they be curious, ask questions, and show interest in me so that i can share my story with them. I want my passion for life and Jesus to catch them off guard so that they will seek to know more.

 

In order for them to see my passion, i have to be renewed daily by the gospel! I have to preach the good news to myself and let that drive me to be the person i need to be for the Kingdom. Pray that God open my eyes to his gospel truth daily/hourly so that i can have the energy to give people my over flowed portions. My goal is to worship God and as i do that, i hope to witness to people, become the aroma of christ, love people well, and let God's work pour through me so that His kingdom might come! Pray that God be glorified here in Camden. Thank again! Love you all -Linds

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So it has taken me a bit but i finally succeeded in siting down and finding the time to write you all about my trip so far. It's kinda crazy how much stuff the team and i have actually done so far. To catch you up if you haven't read the "info" portion of the blog, i'm in a borough (outside of central London) called Ealing. The team and I are staying here for culture training and sonship training till Wednesday. We'll move to Camden for the remaining portion of our summer. As of now, we are living in a dorm like building with students and visitors from all over the world! I've met people from Brazil, Cyprus, France, Italy, Sweden, and India... just naming a few. The atmosphere where we are staying is so so friendly and very relaxed. At around 6 or 7 the team and i eat dinner outside with everyone, then we all sit around for a few hours just talking and learning about one another. Well, for those of us that are new to London... Some of the students have been there for a couple of years. This past thursday night, the team and i went to a pub until around 11pm then we came back to find everyone dancing in the yard to all kinds of music ranging from Lady gaga, techno, to the cupid shuffle. I ended up talking with a friend who came to London from Brazil just to study English and experience life. I find that so cool cause he is around my age and i don't think i would have enough guts to come to a place where i don't know anyone just for an adventure. I would definitely consider myself spontaneous but i don't think i would be able to be that bold. So, needless to say, our conversation was so interesting cause i didn't end up going to bed until 2am. One of the first things that i've noticed about the people here (and it's very refreshing) is that they are so interested in me and about my culture and life. These people are not burdened to go "do" something. Everyone is very content with just being together and hanging out. In America i find that in order to have the most fun, college age people have to be doing something all the time. People aren't as content with just being together, talking, and getting on a real personal level with each other. Lol we don't necessarily want to be with each other we just don't want to be alone and feeling like a loser. Therefore, conversation usually stays shallow. I mean this is just a generalization but most of the time our mindsets are... "what can hanging out w/ that person do for me." I get a total different feel with the people i've recently met. They aren't satisfied with the surface conversation. They ask me about my values and thoughts about all kinds of subjects. This makes me feel appreciated and i really respect them cause they seem to honestly want to get to know the real me... Not just use me to make themselves feel cool or for whatever else they might needing... Anyway, what else have we done? Well, we went to central London on our day off yesterday and went to the British Museum... I ended up not really getting to look at a whole lot cause God blessed me with a run in with a fellow believer. We ended up talking for about an hour in front of the greek parthenon exhibit about many things. I ended up talking mostly about the law vs freedom and how we as christians are not bound to the law of moses anymore. (this convo will be better off further explained in person, but i just wanted to say that i was so encouraged by it! To everyone who is praying that i meet people and form genuine relationships with them, please keep praying because God is answering them!) We also got the chance to visit South Hall. This is a borough where many of the Indian culture choses to gather and live. To give you a lil picture of it, imagine what India looks like and you've got a really good idea what i encountered. I got to where i would be surprised to see a white person while i was in South Hall... Lol i would be thinking.. "why are you here? Your'e not Indian." :) While i was there, me and a few others bought some Indian desserts. And i absolutely loved them! It was so different from what i have ate in america. The flavors were so distinct and unique. I couldnt even begin to tell you what it was called. (i took a picture of the lil cafe that we got them in. So you can check it out on fb if you want.) So for some randomness that i would like to share. I would have never guessed that i would have trouble understanding English... lol but lots of the older folks here in Ealing that talk to me speak very very fast and i have trouble understanding them. I kinda feel dumb so i just usually nod and act like i can understand. Hope they didn't catch on. lol We have about a 5 min walk from our flat to one of the team leaders flats... and i just wanted to share that most of the houses have beautiful flowers in their yards and it makes the smell so amazing!! The area we are staying has lots of upper class home owners. Ha, funny story... I was walking to Joel's flat by myself one day, and i decided to take my time and get some pics. Well i stopped at one of the houses that i liked to snap a quick pic, and i am almost 99% sure there was a lady that saw me and prolly thought i was a weird american girl that was stalking her home. And last, i really love the fact that there are so many cute little children that walk around with their parents in their lil school uniforms on plastic scooters. If you read the Madeline stories when you were younger (the little french girl who wore the hat w/ the ribbon hanging off the back, or saw the movie my little princess) your picture of the children here is dead on. They are so independent and confident in public... regardless of their age or how young they are. I saw two little girls eating ice cream, walking down the sidewalk at about 3:30 in the afternoon by themselves. They couldn't have been any older than 8 or 9. Ok if you are getting tired reading all this... hang in there cause i have one more things to share. (I promise this will be the longest blog of the summer) :) The best thing that has happened to me so far is definitely the amazing training that Joel and Sarah (our team leaders) have given me. The whole idea is that they really want us to dig deep and examine ourselves, our sin, and our weaknesses and cover all that with the blood of Christ that was shed for us on the Cross. They are teaching us how to live daily, relying on the power of the spirit. They've been teaching us how to expose the sin that is deep within our hearts and not be driven to despair, but to let the power of christ fill the gap instead of myself doing what christ has already done for me. We are studying the law and how we fail to uphold it. The law shows us what God requires of us and where we fall short. Most christians see the law (or in other words...trying to be a "good" christian) and try to work to achieve it. We try and gain the approval of God and others. So what do we do? We work to prove to everyone that we are worthy... and that often means that we cover up our short comings and weaknesses. Our lives are therefore filled with us running in circles trying to prove ourselves and cover our weaknesses at the same time. We carry burdens that we were never meant to carry. We exhaust ourselves with trying to perform for everyone and we never experience the freedom that Jesus offers. Unfortunately most christians live as orphans, seeking worth and value. We should instead be boldly claiming the promises and love of our father!!! We are sons and daughters of a king who has made us worthy... we are not worthy cause we achieved it but because Jesus said... Lindsay you are not worthy of my blood but i am going to make you lovable and worthy to God anyway. I have been spending the last week being real with myself and my heart and admitting the fact that i have been driven by selfish motives for so long. I have been struggling with worth issues and weaknesses because i have not been living in the identity that i was given by Jesus. I have been relying on my flesh to fulfill what Christ has already done for me. I have been given so much empowerment this week and cannot wait to come back home and share with all of you how God freed me from myself! I have been living a life of dos and don'ts... be this and not that... walk this line and don't fall, type of life. I am not saying that i am now gonna do whatever i want... i am saying that my motivations to living a "good" christian life are totally different. I am desiring to follow the law because i am choosing to live in the spirit not the flesh... and when i fail to do that i am going to expose it not hide it, ask God to help me!! and then believe and live in the promise that he has given me through jesus. Please pray that God continues to reveal himself to me. Pray that i am so focused on him that all i want to do is bring honor and glory to him. Pray that as i worship him i see where i am lacking, and then that i praise him even more cause he takes care of that failure or weakness. My goal is to be real with myself, not trying to cover up where i lack strength. But immediately surrender, depend on him to make me strong, and then boldly take risks with a renewed and confident faith in his power. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and pray for me. I am so blessed to have you in my life and supporting me. Love you all!! Lindsay

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