Cafés and Climbing

It's been a busy couple of days here in Manchester!

Yesterday started with accidentally waking up too late and helping out at the café on the estate. I have never made coffee before, so learning how to make a proper cappuccino was nothing short of intimidating. It was actually a really quiet shift, but there was a film crew coming in and out making a video for The Message. Even if it was quiet, it was quite enjoyable! The café is a nice place to get to know people in the community, which was one reason why Eden established it.

After the café shift, we had an Eden team prayer meeting. Everyone shared prayer requests and prayed over each other. I've never really experienced the seeing of images whilst praying before, but it seems to be a common thing around here, and it is actually extremely encouraging to have someone praying over you and then having people sharing what they are seeing. I think there's a name for that and I think I've heard that being a spiritual gift, but it's not one that I have and I am always really interested when people say that they're getting something from God that they'd like to share with you.

My host and I later returned to the café, and I got to sit down and talk with a fellow American who moved to the UK with his wife from Texas about a year ago. Hearing his story was really encouraging, and I'm so thankful to have that connection to keep in touch with. It was extremely uplifting to hear what his experience was like and to hear what he's learned since coming here. After he left, I stayed at the café with my host for the Eden Youth Café. Teenagers from the community all come to the café to hang out and possibly talk about some positive topics, such as trying new things and taking healthy risks like we talked about last night. My host told me that the Youth Café is very different from week to week, as it depends on what the teenagers are ready for and what can hold their attention. It kind of turned into an informal karaoke event, although none of the teens wanted to sing into the microphone. Even if nothing super in depth gets discussed while the teens are there, it is a nice way to build relationships and to simply have them in a safe, constructive environment. I've been enjoying meeting the teens, and some of them seem to be more familiar with me now. I'm really going to miss them when I have to leave.

I felt so sad leaving my first host family today, and I have grown to really love them, but I am also very excited about the new family that I am now staying with. I had been able to get to know them a bit this past week as they are also a part of Eden, and my host had invited me to go climbing with her and another woman from Eden that I've been getting to know quite a bit. We drove out to Stockport to this amazing climbing facility. I've never seen one nearby my hometown, and so it was quite new to me and it's been a while since I've climbed. I got to climb quite a bit, and made it to the top of all but one of the walls I attempted to climb. The two ladies I went with go climbing every week, and they were excellent. It was great fun and it reminded me of how much I missed climbing.

I know I'm having dinner with my host family and another family on the estate tonight, but I'm not sure what else is on the agenda for today. There is a lot of really neat stuff planned for tomorrow - stay tuned!

Continue to pray for Eden, Ivy, and the people of Manchester. Also, please pray for my host family as they have left today for a holiday in Bristol. I am also praying for the United States, as I've only just heard about the tragedy in Dallas.

Blessings,
Lindsay