Yesterday, I got to spend a lot of time in conversation with the Eden team and others connected with different ministries. It was a very insightful day, flowing from one conversation and story to the next. I got to learn more about a ministry called Christians Against Poverty from a woman who lives here on the Merseybank estate, and we forged a really awesome connection through our time together. Her daughter lives in London and attends the Hillsong church, so we might try to connect there! I also got to attend a women's Grow Group on the estate with my current host, and we had an amazing discussion on a portion of Acts 2. We talked a lot about boldness through the holy spirit, which is something that I'm continually needing to remember and internalize. It was a wonderful time with a wonderful group of ladies!
We later had an Eden team dinner, and it was so great being able to just spend time in fellowship with this amazing team of people. My host made an absolutely amazing meal, and it was a great night filled with laughter. I grossed the group out after they asked me what American biscuits are and I tried explaining biscuits and gravy, since biscuits here are basically different kinds of cookies. I thought it was hilarious, but the thought of putting gravy on biscuits was just appalling. I mean, it makes sense - the thought of putting sausage gravy on a chocolate chip cookie is enough to make me gag.
After team dinner, I went with to a training session for Safe Families for Children, which is an organization that actually started in Chicago and is doing amazing work for families all over the UK. It was, to be honest, slightly difficult to remain fully engaged the whole time since I am not a volunteer with them, but it was still really informative and interesting to hear about what they are doing in this area and across the country. God is moving through them!
Today was filled with loads of Ivy Church activities. My day started out with a few staff meetings, which were incredible times filled with prayer and worship. I loved that they actually stood together and sang a worship song. It's such a great way to really put your focus on who you are actually serving and glorifying through your work. The staff meeting also ended with a paper airplane competition, which was one of the most entertaining things I have ever seen.
My same friend that invited me to Grow Group invited me to join him and a couple of the youth workers at a local school for a youth club they run, so I went ahead and jumped in. It was great being able to spend some time in fellowship with them, even though no youth actually showed up for the club. I also got to explore the school with them, which was very interesting for me! We later returned to Ivy and I got to continue being entertained by the staff there; let me tell you, church offices can absolutely be a blast!
A beautiful event takes place in the Merseybank estate from time to time called Ohana. Members of the Eden team take over The Den for an evening and prepare homemade meals for a very low price for the residents of the estate. It's a great way for the community to come together and partake in a meal. Tonight, we had burgers, sweet potato wedges, cole slaw, and English trifle. It was quite the fantastic mix of American and English fare. It was really nice to be able to get to know some of the community members better!
To end my evening, I was able to attend my Grow Group's barbecue in a park nearby. There were a lot of similarities to an American barbecue, but there was definitely a larger variety of things being thrown on the grill. It was so nice to be able to meet more people who were not at the group last week, and to also continue to get to know my friends better. I got to try lots of different sweets and things (i.e.: Pimms, Jaffa Cakes) and get some suggestions for places to check out around both Manchester and London. I'm not sure I'll have time to check out everything that was suggested for Manchester, but I do have some things to add to the list for London.
I must say, it was absolutely heartbreaking to say goodbye to my Grow Group friends tonight, as I will likely not be seeing them before I leave for London on Friday. One of the friends couldn't be there tonight, but I will see him on Thursday, which will also be hard but at least I will get to say goodbye. I honestly feel so blessed that I have been able to gain so many new friends from this experience, and I am especially grateful for this group of people who have made me feel so incredibly welcome. I cannot even begin to express how much I will miss them, but that just means that I will have to come back, as I already know I want to. I love this place so much, and I especially love the people here.
"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." ~Winnie the Pooh
Blessings,
Lindsay
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