Launch Europe

Hey fam!

I really meant to blog when I was still in Manchester, but I was in no way prepared for how full the three days of Launch Europe were going to be. Over the course of three days, I experienced ten main sessions and four seminars with amazing speakers and incredible worship. In the midst of all of this, I had the opportunity to reconnect with so many of my friends that I have made over the past two years, as well as building relationships with some new faces as well.

There is absolutely no way I could write a post long enough to tell you about all of the amazing things I have learned over the past few days. I wrote way more than my hand could take at times. I felt like a sponge trying to soak it all in. It really was a blessing to be able to hear from these speakers, who come with so much wisdom and story and experience. I'll try my best to give you a summary.

The theme this year was Hero Maker - based on Dave Ferguson's book that you should read if you haven't. Being a hero maker basically entails a shift in perspective from "How do I grow my church?" to "How do WE build the Kingdom?" Notice the shift in language? It's all about helping to make heroes of others, since we cannot accomplish the Jesus mission alone. It means genuinely not caring about who gets the credit as long as the Kingdom of God is advanced.

The main sessions primarily focused on the essential elements of a hero maker: multiplication thinking, disciple making, permission giving, gift activating, and kingdom building. The first two kind of go hand in hand - we want to multiply disciples; in essence, making disciples who will make disciples who will make disciples, etc. Permission giving and gift activating mean having a bias to yes and checking your ego. It means giving people opportunities to learn and grow, all the while taking the focus off of yourself. Kingdom building is all about knowing that the time is now. The Kingdom of God is near and time is short, so we need to be building each other up and sending people out to do the work that God has prepared in advance for us to do. All of this requires an outward focus instead of longing for the spotlight. It's never about "our" church, because the Church isn't really ours - it's the bride of Christ, and we get to play a role as the body of Christ in spreading the good news.

I had the amazing opportunity to hear from speakers like Danielle Strickland, Peter Greig, Alan Hirsch, Dave Ferguson, Anthony Delaney, and so many others in the main sessions. We also had four seminars that we could sign up for in between sessions, and those were just as valuable as the sessions. One in particular that really stood out to me was with a newer church planter named Philip Jinadu, whose session was titled "Things I wish people had told me before I planted a church." He planted a church three years ago, so his perspective was very fresh and encouraging. He didn't try to downplay how hard it is to plant, but encouraged us to stick it out through the hard seasons because you will actually miss those times when they are gone. An example he gave was comparing the beginnings of church planting to going up a hill pushing a boulder while wearing roller skates. He says in the moment it is the most difficult thing you will do, but then once the boulder goes over the top, you'll be thanking God that he gave you roller skates to keep up!

Other seminars I went to were about using social media in the church and about saying no - which is something that is really hard to do when you work in the church! These two seminars were run by my friends, so it was wonderful being able to gain more wisdom from them. I also went to a seminar hosted by a musician named Lindz West. He's in a band called LZ7 that tours schools around the UK sharing the good news of Jesus, while also hosting churches in nightclubs and facilitating discipleship tools. He also just got back from touring 29 arenas with Jason Derulo - while also sharing the gospel at each show!! He's doing amazing work and also performed for us later at a session. It's incredible to see how creative people can be in finding new ways to share about Jesus.

The conference ended with a prayerful moment of commissioning - which, if you are unfamiliar, includes being anointed and prayed over while being sent out to plant a church or do something new. I was anointed and prayed over by a girl named Hannah, who prayed such incredible words over me. If you are unfamiliar with prophetic prayer, this might sound really weird, but the word she gave me from God was "first." She prayed that she saw courage in me for being one of the first to step forward, and that she sees me being the first in doing many new things. She prayed that she sees me as warrior woman on the frontlines of battle, as depicted in one of the Psalms. She prayed that sometimes it may seem that I'm going alone but that God still goes before me, and to keep the courage and faith. It was an amazing prayer and I was so encouraged. It's scary to think about at times, but I cannot wait to get going and to step into this dream that God has given me.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll join me in prayer as I pray for clarity and wisdom.

Today, I am heading into London with a new friend of mine who gave me a lift to Loughton last night. I'm staying with a brand new family that I had never met until last night, and they already are awesome.

Cheers,
Lindsay

Back for Round Three!

Hey fam!

I am THRILLED to be sitting at an airport gate once again waiting to return to Manchester. This will be my third trip in three years, and I am unbelievably thankful to have this experience. Before I actually get going, I wanted to take a minute to explain what I'll actually be doing this trip!

I will be in Manchester and in London for four days apiece. My time in Manchester will be spent attending the Launch Europe conference. (For more info on Launch, click here.) Launch is connected with NewThing, which is the church planting catalyst that I work with. In essence, nearly everything I do in the UK has some connection with NewThing, and I am beyond excited to actually be able to attend this conference and see it from a global perspective. Our American equivalent of Launch is called Exponential, which I have attended in the past and it is incredible. I'll be hearing from global leaders, some of whom are friends of mine, and will also be able to catch up with most of my Manchester friends while enjoying it. I am also blessed to be able to see two of my German global resident friends who have spent time with us at Community! Overall, I already know it is going to be amazing, and I can't wait to jump in.

While at Launch, I will be meeting some new friends of mine in person for the first time from Restore Community Church in London. We've been emailing and Skyping since December, so it will be great to meet face to face. After we attend Launch, I will be traveling back to London with them to visit their church. I'm thrilled to be able to meet with them and see how they approach church and church planting in the London setting.

The goal of all of this? I'm still planning/hoping/praying about what I'll be doing with my upcoming leadership residency next year. It seems that God keeps opening doors that point to the UK, and it would be an amazing opportunity to be able to do my residency there. My dream is to plant churches, and I'm very fortunate to have a wide assortment of people to learn from as I strive towards that. This trip will help me to build more relationships with global church planters as I continue to learn and dream.

I'll be updating this blog as often as I can along the way. Thank you for reading, and I hope you will partner with me in prayer over my time in this place that I love so much!

Cheers,
Lindsay

Final Days

Hi friends!

This final week in Manchester really has been a whirlwind. I can't believe it's gone so fast. Two weeks has felt like two minutes, and I'm honestly heartbroken that I'm heading back to the States tomorrow.

That said, I'll try to sum up my past few days here!

Tuesday kicked off at a meeting at Ivy Central with the staff. The meeting started off with an awesome acoustic worship session, and I thought that starting off a church meeting that way was incredible. What better way to prepare for a discussion of doing God's work than by worshiping God? I loved that. The meeting was eventful and lively, and I got to see a few more people that I hadn't yet seen. After that, I had another lunch with Ben, one of Ivy's pastors. We went and had the "second best burger" at a restaurant in Didsbury, named as such due to the owners having what they thought was the best burger in New York and trying to replicate it. We talked for quite a while about a variety of things, including again the possibility of my doing a residency out here. He challenged me to think and pray not just about the residency, but about the next five years and about where my heart is at in regards to my passions about ministry and Manchester. I left feeling inspired yet also saddened, because saying goodbye to Ben was just the start of a long chain of goodbyes (or rather "see you laters" due to the fact that I absolutely plan on returning). I ended up walking back to my host's home in the rain for about half an hour and was soaked to the bone, so Cat and I ended up spending the afternoon in and dry, which was fine by me!

I joined my Grow Group friends later that night, and this time we were combined with another group that included a few more people I had met last year. We shared an amazing meal together (as well as some wedding doughnuts) and talked about the letter to the church in Ephesus from Revelation 2. I had been in a discussion about this my first night back in Manchester with the Eden team, but Ivy Church had talked about it on Sunday morning, which I missed since we were still in Wales. This letter essentially describes a church that does all of the right things, but they have forgotten the love that they first had for Jesus. How easy is that for us to do? We get so used to the "Christian Checklist" of doing the right things to check it off of the list, but without the zeal and passion that we had for Jesus when we first started following him. At the Ivy service, the speaker (a friend of mine) gave the Three R's to follow, straight from the Scripture itself: Remember, Repent, Repeat. To Remember is to look back at what you did and felt when you first meant Jesus. To Repent is to think through what some of the barriers are that are keeping you from that and to turn away from them (literally just following the translation of the word repent, which means to turn away). Lastly, Repeat means to repeat those things that you did to bring back the passion! Quite simple in explanation, not always so easy in execution. We had an amazing discussion and did some reflecting, and then it was time to pray. We prayed in small groups, and a new friend of mine had a picture for me that she felt while praying over me and the residency, and it was really incredible and relevant, especially to some worry I felt that I hadn't even mentioned. It was and amazing night, yet also sad as I had to say "see you later" to these friends as well.

On Wednesday, Cat and I joined up with a friend from the estate and took the bus into the city to do some shopping! We popped in and out of quite a few shops, but we also wanted to see a few more sights around the city. We went to the Manchester Cathedral, which I had seen last year but was unable to go inside. This time, I finally got to go inside! I was amazed by the beauty and detail in its structures, as I always am when I actually get to see a cathedral. We explored for a little while, and then spent some time at this awesome (and historic) pub nearby. It really did look very old-style, and it had a huge section of outdoor seating, so we enjoyed the sunshine for a little while. Eventually, we did some more shopping around, and then I really wanted to find the Alan Turing memorial. If you don't know who Alan Turing is, it's probably because his contributions to history were kept extremely confidential for a long time after World War II. He is considered the father of computers, and due to his ability to crack the code of the German Enigma machine, he was able to help the British army stay one step ahead of the enemy, which is considered to have shortened the war and save countless lives. While this is an amazing accomplishment, his story did not have a happy ending. Alan Turing was a homosexual, which at the time was illegal and highly controversial. Due to huge amounts of prejudice and injustice directed at him, he took his own life. Years and years later when his contributions to the war effort were finally brought to life, the government issued a formal apology and began to recognize him with high regard for his accomplishments, and the memorial was then built in Manchester due to the fact that some of his groundbreaking computer work happened at one of the universities here. It was such an honor to be able to visit it, as I love his story even though it breaks my heart. If you haven't seen "The Imitation Game," it's an incredible film about his efforts in the war so go watch it RIGHT NOW.

Wednesday evening was spent in the company of a friend from the Eden team, who graciously made dinner for us and also had Oreo cheesecake for dessert (YUM). Afterward, I went for a walk with one of the awesome teenagers from the estate, and we passed quite a lot of time at the Chorlton Water Park - one of my favorite places here in Manchester.

Today, my last full day, has been lovely. Cat and I took my other host family's three year old son to a local National Trust park called Dunham Massey. It's a preserve and deer sanctuary, while also hosting a beautiful estate, oddly similar to the estate in Downton Abbey. The estate was also used as a hospital during the war. We walked around and played loads of hide-and-seek in the trees, while also feeding very fearless ducks who kept coming closer for more biscuit. After we returned to Merseybank, we had team prayers. The team made me cry by giving me a beautiful card and praying over me. I later went on another walk with two of the teens and then we had Eden team Grow Group. We talked about another letter from Revelation 2, and then it was time for some more "see you laters." It was not enjoyable having to leave these amazing friends, but I trust that I will see them again and am thankful that they have blessed my life. During our discussion, we saw a rainbow outside the window, and I felt very peaceful at that moment, almost like I was being assured that this was not going to be the end of my time here in Manchester. It's been an incredible experience, both this visit and last year's, and I trust that God will lead me where he wants me to be. I'm quite confident that it's this amazing place, Manchester.

Whether you have kept up with me the whole time or have only read one post, thank you for reading.

Cheers,
Lindsay

Weekend in Wales

Hi everybody!

I'm just going to apologize in advanced if this ends up being a long post, but I also don't feel to badly about it because we had an AMAZING weekend in Wales!

We left on Friday evening and loaded up the mini bus with four adults and seven teenagers. The trip went quite smoothly, and it seemed like everyone was having fun listening to music and chatting. The scenery on the way was gorgeous, and the excitement was tangible as we started cruising along the sea. We even passed a couple of castles along the way, and if you read my blog last year, you know how much I love those!

We stayed in a house that belonged to our leader's uncle, and it was more like two houses joined together. The street looked like a typical coastal town out of a movie, with a lot of them painted in bright pastel colors. The inside of the house had a ton of rooms that ended up being good for playing hide-and-seek in later, and all of the teenagers were thrilled to pick out their rooms. We got settled in, and by the time everything was set it was quite late. Many of the teens had asked about going to the beach once we got there, but another leader and I ended up going with just one of them. The route to the beach was through a wooded area, and walking through there at 11pm was kind of spooky, but it was worth it once we got there - the beach was so beautiful and peaceful at that time of night! We just stood there quietly for a little while listening to the water and looking at the stars. It was a cloudy night, but we could make out a few constellations and see the moon a bit as the clouds moved. It was the perfect way to kick off the weekend!

On Saturday, we had breakfast together after one of the teens helped make it, and we got ready to go to the mountains. Before we left, one of our leaders shared out of 1 John 4:8 - "Perfect love casts out fear." It ended up being the best way to start out morning because we ended up actually climbing to the top of a mountain! The first half of the climb was quite easy and not too steep. We passed through a few fields with a lot of sheep, and the area we were in was just too gorgeous for words. After a while, the climb started getting steeper and many were started to get frustrated by the challenge of it. Even so, the teens started to encourage one another, and it was amazing to see teamwork being built through the struggle. I was towards the back of the group with a couple of teens who were starting to feel especially defeated by the challenge, and we really had to encourage each other through it. The climb was hard on me due to the scar tissue in my chest from radiation treatment, so breathing was painful through the steep uphill climb. The vegetation got to be quite dense the higher we got, and it was hard to see the path most of the time, so it was not easy to see where to put our feet; however, the higher we got, the more and more breathtaking the view became. The last bit of climbing was difficult, but once we actually got to the top, it was as if it was merely a leisurely stroll up the mountain because the excitement absolutely took over. I don't think I could ever put into words how incredible it felt to be at the top of that mountain. The view was astounding and the cool mountain air seemed to have a healing effect on our aches and pain and sweat. We had lunch on the top of the mountain, all the while looking around at the spectacular 360 degree view of the mountains and sea. I've never seen anything like it! It was exhilarating to stand on the edge and attempt to take it all in and enjoy the reward of the struggle. As I stood there pondering the majesty of God's creation, I was positively overwhelmed with joy and couldn't stop smiling thinking about where I was standing. I couldn't believe that I was actually standing on top of a mountain and that I was even able to make it there at all.

After eating and enjoying our victory for a while, it was time to make the downhill trek. I'll be honest - the start of it was actually a little scary since we had to do the steepest part first through what felt like a jungle. One of the teens confessed that he was actually afraid of heights, and after another leader and I encouraged him and praised the fact that he did make it to the top, he said to us, "Yeah, it's like that verse from this morning." Perfect love casts out fear. I was so emotional at the fact that he made that connection, and we ended up talking about God for a little while. On the way up the mountain, he had kept saying things like "Life is beautiful," and "It's good to be alive right now." I had no idea that he had any fear at all initially, and so when it got difficult going downhill, I tried to remind him of what he had said on the way up. He was absolutely right - life was so beautiful on that mountain, and it was incredible to feel so alive.

The exertion of mountain climbing was later rewarded by a trip to the beach - in the daylight this time! It was even more beautiful in the sunshine, and the sand on my bare feet seemed to remove all of the soreness. The water was cool and soothing, and while I didn't swim, I enjoyed a stroll through the shallow water for a while. Eventually, I allowed myself to simply lay in the sand with my feet buried in it. The sun beating down on me was almost like a lullaby, and I found myself just wanting to be still and soak in what I had just done that day along with the light. Eventually, I joined in with another leader and one of the teens on an adventure to see the other side of the beach, and we found ourselves trying to climb around a small island and going through another jungle of vegetation to try to see it, and it felt amazing once we did. There was no one on the other side, and it was so still and peaceful. We were excited by the fact that we were the only ones seeing it, but that excitement seemed to wear off once we were trying to find out way back while simultaneously navigating the land mines of jellyfish left by the tide. Some of them were as big as tire hubcaps!

Eventually, we left the beach and headed back to the house, and we were all properly knackered by the events of the day. We ate together and had a little rest, and then the teenagers started an epic game of hide-and-seek. My chest and my post concussive head were too beaten to participate, but I sat in the kitchen/base to watch them all run around. Before we left the next morning, a few of us leaders and the same teen that went to the beach in the evening took a stroll through the nearby woods. I was struck by how green everything was and I definitely was beating myself up for not having my phone to take pictures of it. I stayed behind with one leader to help clean up the house after the teens left on the mini bus, and we eventually made our way back to Manchester, but not before taking a cruise through the mountains. We stopped at an overlook near Snowden, the highest peak in Wales. The summit of Snowden was shrouded in clouds, and it reminded me of Mount Olympus because of it. After a short while we had to get back in the car and go.

We made it just in time to get to the evening service at Ivy Central, and I finally got to hear Anthony Delaney speak. He is one of the leaders of Ivy Church and was in a way part of how I got connected with Manchester at all. He was talking about what he called "Kairos moments" in listening to God. "Kairos" is a special word for time, and it's not at all about chronological time. Kairos is used to describe moments that seem to exist outside of time - moments that seem to live on and become important parts of our memory. This word is found in Mark 1:15 as Jesus is saying that the kingdom of God is at hand, and also to repent and believe. In the message, this is applied to a circular model of following through with Kairos moments and putting our belief into action. It looks like this:

Each side has it's own question to ask yourself as you follow the circle around: "What has God been saying to you?" and "What are you going to do about it?" God is always speaking to us, but it's up to us to listen to him and to live as though we believe that he is speaking to us. It was a challenging service, and I know that I left it feeling convicted. I got to meet Anthony finally before I left, and it was incredible being able to make another NewThing connection.

Today has been a relaxing day so far, and I'm looking forward to another Eden team dinner. I was able to have lunch with another teen from Merseybank who wasn't with us in Wales, and it was great getting to know her more. This is, sadly, the start of my last few days in Manchester, at least until I come back again.

Please be praying for the teens that were with us in Wales, that they would continue to listen and seek after God!

Cheers,
Lindsay

Exploring

Hi friends!

The past few days have been a real joy spending time in fellowship with people. I feel as though I've been quite busy, even if I haven't been so on the go.

On Wednesday, I spent quite a lot of time at The Den cafe on the estate. After The Den closed, I was able to just walk around and talk with people, which was really nice getting to know them better and hear about where they grew up. I got invited over for dinner by my friends that took me to Liverpool - I really love spending time with them so much, so it was a real treat being able to eat with them and another friend of theirs. Shortly after, my host and I took the bus into the city to see a play that was part of the Manchester International Festival. Traffic was quite backed up so we weren't sure if we were going to actually be able to catch the bus, but after a little bit of trial and error we made it! The people at the theatre very nearly weren't going to let us in since we were a few minutes late due to the fact that it was a quiet show; however, they let us in at the six minute mark since there was a bit more noise, and we were able to enjoy it together. It was a complicated show that dealt with some heavy topics like social class, homosexuality, and politics, but we felt all the more clever having seen it even though neither of us felt like we understood it fully. The theatre had a small bar within it so we shared a fruity cider that was quite delicious on the wide patio encompassed by the square surrounding the theatre. It was actually a really beautiful spot filled with tables and deck chairs all enclosed in this secluded area, and it was a lovely night to sit out and enjoy it. Shortly after, we took the bus back to Merseybank having delighted in an intellectual evening.

Yesterday started out quite the same at The Den. I love being able to sit there and see familiar faces while getting to know people. We had our prayer meeting following the closing of The Den, and then shortly after prayers I met up with my friend Maral and we took the bus into the city. Maral is from Iran, and she'll soon be starting a NewThing residency with Ivy Church! We took the bus into the Northern Quarter of the Manchester city centre, which is a really cool part of the city full of creativity. We explored some of the shops (some of which were comic book stores!) and Maral took me to her favorite Mexican restaurant. It had a fun atmosphere and had a wall completely decorated by different crosses. Following our meal, we walked all over the city enjoying each other's company and seeing some of the sights. Manchester is a very pedestrian-friendly city, so it is quite easy to get around, whereas it feels like you're taking your life into your hands doing that in Chicago. It was incredibly fun just being able to walk around and talk while taking photos of all the cool places in the city, which are everywhere. It was exciting seeing some of the same places I saw last year, like the Town Hall and the John Rylands library. All over the city are signs posted that say "I Love Manchester," as well as worker bees, which are the symbol for Manchester. There is so much pride and love for this city following the bombing that really shows a sense of unity. It's incredible even feeling like you're a tiny part of it.

I went this morning with my host and another friend to a rock climbing centre, and since I'm still post concussive, I just watched and acted as camera-person. It was still a lot of fun to go with and cheer them on! Later, we went shopping in Didsbury and got ice cream in Chorlton. We also stopped in a really hipster organic grocery shop called Unicorn, which was quite intriguing! Tonight, we leave for north Wales for a weekend retreat with some of the teenagers on the estate. I'll likely be off the grid and will blog when we get back on Sunday, but please pray for us as we go!

Cheers,
Lindsay

Grow Group

Hi everybody!




I hope all of my American friends had a fun Independence Day! As for me, I spent my day quite differently.




It started with helping out at the café with my host, which went very well. Cat handled most of the drinks and all of the food, and I helped out by running the till taking orders and making tea. As I learned last year while trying to help in the café, I'm no good at making coffee! Most of the time we were there was fairly quiet, so we weren't overwhelmed by orders. After closing, Cat and I went back to the house for some relaxing time.


After a delicious meal of fish and chips, a friend of mine picked me up for Grow Group. This was the same group of young adults that I went to last year and had an incredible time with, so I couldn't wait to rejoin them. There were a few familiar faces as well as some absences of people that were in the group last year. Regardless, it was fun right off the bat. We shared pizza and lemon cheesecake over loads of laughs, and then got started discussing the same bit of Revelation that was shared in the message on Sunday. Our discussion, however, took quite a different turn. In that passage (Revelation 1:9-20), Jesus's appearance is described, and it is nothing like how he looked while he was a human on Earth. What we had never realized before was that in this description, loads of light imagery is used. His eyes are described as blazing fires, and his hair is described as being like wool or radiant like snow. His face is like the sun at full strength, and even his feet are glowing like bronze. He's also described as holding two different items in each hand - in one he has seven stars, and in the other he has seven lampstands. Every simile used to describe him has some connotation of light, which makes sense, because didn't he say he's the light of the world? I find myself thinking like how John did at his appearance, because it is written that John fell over like he was dead. I probably would have reacted similarly, because I often find myself focusing on the gentle, loving Jesus that is described in the Gospels and forget about his power and majesty. It's not like one is better or more accurate than the other - he is both at the same time. I think what is important is to acknowledge and revere both aspects of Jesus, because he was both the human that walked the Earth alongside us and the powerful Creator that has always been and always will be.


From there, we talked about finding Jesus in the everyday and loving the church like Jesus does. It was comforting to know that I'm really not alone in having a hard time acknowledging Jesus in all things. What we landed on for a while was that it is so easy to just complain about everything instead of turning to Jesus. How often to we keep ourselves wrapped up in the busyness of life and allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by it instead of relying on Jesus for strength and endurance? Why do we often forget that Jesus experienced our own mundane humanity and understands how we feel? Our talk really was a wake-up call for a lot of us, and we needed the reminder to turn to Jesus in all things. I think encountering the image of the powerful Jesus who conquered death was a solid push in the right direction - after all, if he is that blindingly radiant, he's kind of hard to miss.


Later today, I will be having dinner with my friends that took me to Liverpool and then seeing a play with Cat. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this day, and I'll tell you about it soon!


Cheers,

Lindsay

Triple Threat Church Services

Hi friends!

It's been an eventful past couple of days! Which is good, because I didn't come out here to sit around. :) Yesterday in particular was a very on-the-go day, but in the very best ways.

It started with a walk to Ivy Central. Ivy Central is about a mile down the road from Merseybank, but I had never walked it on my own before. I had a map from my host Cat, and it got me there with no problems at all. I also got to walk along the beautiful River Mersey, which was a real treat. I made it in time for the 10am service, and we started right off the bat with worship. The most incredible thing about this was that everybody, and I mean everybody, was singing their heart out. It was a beautiful noise to hear everybody's voices ringing out and to see everybody giving their all to the words they were singing. It was amazing. My friend Olli gave a brilliant message to kick off their new series called "Summer of Direction." For this series, they are looking at the letters in Revelation to the churches. We looked at the beginning of Revelation (1:9-20) when Jesus appears to John, and how this exchange shows how Jesus loves us and loves the church. The reassurance of this message is that we are in safe hands with Jesus. Jesus himself is not safe, but we are safe in his hands. It's like Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia - "He's not safe, but he's good." Following Jesus and doing his work as the body of Christ is rarely in our comfort zones, but he is still good and is still carrying us through that. Because of that, there are three main things to do from this passage of Revelation: we need to pray for the church; we need to treat it as family; and we need to know that we are safe to take risks. As I'm figuring out my own calling, it was encouraging to be reminded that no matter what, God's got this. I'm safe in his hands even if it involves risk, just as we all are.

The second church service was on the estate here in Merseybank. I love this church in particular because it has shown me that church can happen anywhere. As it says in Matthew 18:20, where two or more are gathered in his name, Jesus is there! This church meets in the community centre of Merseybank, and we had probably about 25 people there, but the Holy Spirit sure moved in that room! For this particular service, a band from Ivy called Galaxy was leading, and their mission is to create a new style of worship music that reaches listeners outside of traditional-style worship. In other words, they're all about fun! A lot of their songs were from the group Hillsong Young & Free, whom I love dearly. It was amazing to see how at first, most people were just standing and listening while singing along, and gradually more and more people let their guard down and started dancing! It was so much fun, and the Holy Spirit was moving in that room. There was some time to share testimonies and faith stories, and it reminded me again how God can be glorified through any story. After the service, we shared a meal together, and it was great to both be reacquainted with people I met last year and to meet some new people as well. I got to catch up with one friend in particular from last year who has been a huge encouragement to me as I'm trying to listen to where God is calling me, and she asked me what the most difficult part of it all has been. I thought about it for a moment, and I told her that the waiting has been the most difficult. I'm confident in that God has called me somewhere into ministry and in some fashion, but it is really hard to wait to hear from him, especially since I have no idea what my life looks like after Track 2 of the NewThing program (see my other blog: newthingadventure.blogspot.com). She gave me some more encouragement and prayed with me, and I felt again that God will reveal it to me in the right time. It is just not easy to be patient sometimes. (Can I get an amen?!)

Now, there was another service happening at Ivy Central following the Eden Merseybank church, and a couple of my friends at Merseybank asked me if I was going along, to which I said no since I was there this morning. I thought it would be the same service. However, as you can see from my title, I've already told you that there were three services, so you can probably guess what happened. I felt like I was being told to go to the service, so I changed my mind and went with my friends. I'd had a lot of fun dancing with one of those friends during the previous service, so part of me thought it would be fun to go to this next one with her, too. So, I tagged along, and boy was I wrong about it being the same service. First of all, I finally got to meet one particular Ivy pastor in person whom I had communicated with a lot before coming here last year. We had Skyped a few times and emailed a lot, but he was not in the UK last year while I was here, so I had really been looking forward to meeting him, and now I got to hear him teach. One of the worship pastors I had met last year was also leading this service, so it was great to see him as well. The message that evening was called "Stuck In the Middle," and as crazy luck (or divine intervention, rather) would have it, it was about waiting. The Scripture being taught out of was the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. In that parable, a sower is planting seeds and generously flinging them everywhere, regardless of where they might land. Jesus talks about various seeds where they landed and what happened to them, and this was connected back to seasons of waiting in our lives. Now, God is very much like the sower in that he is extremely generous in spreading the seeds, or spreading blessings. We, on the other hand, tend to hold onto the seeds because they are the safest in our hands. We don't want to risk them in the soil. What we need to do, however, is to hold onto them with open hands and let God do his work. The question then is this: how are we going to wait?

After we concluded the service, I ran into the same friend that had prayed with me at Merseybank, and immediately she affirmed for me that it was a God thing that I was there to hear that message. It really was! I've been trying to be patient with God, but just as it is with all of us humans, it is really hard! The message affirmed for me that God knows exactly what he is doing, so waiting doesn't mean that nothing is happening. Just like a seed planted in the soil, things are happening even if I can't see them.

Today, I got to meet with the same pastor over lunch, and we got to spend some time chatting and getting to know each other, while also looking ahead at what God is doing. We talked about the NewThing program, and also about the possibility of doing the leadership residency (which is the third part of the program) out here in Manchester. It was incredibly affirming for me that he was the one that suggested doing the residency out here, and if I'm being honest, that is what I terribly want to happen. Even so, I want it to be God's will, and not just my own. If I could so boldy ask of you all reading this, could you pray for me in this time? Pray that I would have an open heart to hear from God about where he wants me to go. I'm praying that he would open the right doors at the right time, and that I'm not only pursuing my will but his will. I want to make the most of this season of waiting, so that not only is it a season of waiting but also one of growing and learning along the way.

Thank you for reading, and may you know the depth of the love of Jesus today!

Cheers,
Lindsay

Magical Mystery Tour of Liverpool

Hi friends!

Today certainly was an exciting day. Some dear friends of mine that I met here last year took me on an adventure to explore the city of Liverpool. If you're anything like me, all I previously knew about Liverpool was that it was the birthplace of the Beatles, so naturally I was quite excited to learn more about the city and see the sights.

Since I believe I have recovered from the jetlag, I found myself excited to wake up early and start our journey. Liverpool is slightly less than an hour from Manchester, and we had quite a few laughs on our way there. Our first stop after arriving in Liverpool was a ferry ride on the River Mersey (which I had no idea extends from the estate here in Manchester all the way to Liverpool!), and it felt so nice to be on the water. The breeze, albeit quite chilly, felt so nice, and it was such a unique way to see that portion of the city. We had walked along the pier to get to the ferry, and there was some interesting stuff on the way. For example, I had no idea that the Tate galleries (which reside in London) also had a gallery in Liverpool. There was also an exhibition called The Beatles Story, and while we didn't go inside, we did get to check out The Fab Four Shop. We even saw a "Yellow Submarine" in the marina!

After our ferry ride, we took a bus tour of Liverpool. It was one of those double decker buses, so naturally, we sat at the top. The city centre of Liverpool had quite a bit of history to it, so it was enjoyable listening to the tour guide tell stories about the buildings, some of which were quite humorous. We rode past some areas where the Beatles had played (such as the general vicinity of The Cavern, although we couldn't see it) and nearby some of the places that they attended school. There was a building that Paul McCartney had apparently bought and donated to a performing arts school, and he even attends the graduation ceremonies to hand out the certificates!

We also saw two cathedrals, one of which we were able to go inside of. This particular cathedral had very interesting architecture, as it was circular in shape and had stained glass within every wall. The top of the cathedral was sort of like a dome, and it was also primarily stained glass. The light within the cathedral was colored based on the stained glass, and it was absolutely breathtaking. There was a service going on inside as well, and the acoustics of the cathedral as they sang were incredible. We could only see the outside of the other cathedral and this one was more traditional, but still stunning. Possibly the most interesting sight was a church building that had been bombed in the war. The inside of the church was completely gutted, but the outside was perfectly intact. You could see straight through where the windows would have been, but the outside structure was untouched. It was haunting yet still gorgeous. Pieces of history like this really strike me when I see it - in the States, we don't have any places like that since the war never touched our soil, so seeing it brings a whole new perspective to history. It makes it more real.

After exploring some more and having some chips (some of which were smothered in Nutella - really put a new spin on sweet and salty!), we headed back to Manchester and enjoyed a barbecue at my host family's home. The rest of the evening will be relaxing, which after a full day sounds good to me!

Thanks for reading, friends!

Cheers,
Lindsay

Back for Round Two!

Hello friends!


Well, here we are! I'm back in Manchester and couldn't be more thrilled to be here again. I arrived yesterday morning, and because jetlag hit me harder than ever, I decided to hold off on blogging until today.


The flight on Wednesday evening went very well. I arrived at O'Hare about an hour and a half before boarding, and I was able to get through security and to my gate within half an hour. I couldn't believe it! As I was waiting at my gate, I was informed that I was moved to the row by the emergency exit and was asked if I would be willing and able to assist, so I said yes and immediately started praying that nothing would happen on this flight. After all, it was still a window seat, and then I had extra leg room!


While on the plane, I was seated next to a lovely English couple from Yorkshire who I greatly enjoyed talking to. While it was no business class (like last year), the food was still pretty decent. I had the option to choose either chicken and rice or cheesy vegetable pasta, so I went with the pasta since it seemed like it would be easier to eat. After the meal, I decided to put on some music and try to get some sleep, which was difficult because a) the seat didn't recline very much and it was hard to get comfortable and b) the in flight movie was Beauty and the Beast (the new one!). It also seemed like there was a lot of turbulence, so the shaking kept waking me up. Overall, I would be very surprised if I got more than three hours of sleep, tops.


When we finally arrived in Manchester, we ended up having to wait twenty minutes to a half an hour on the plane since we arrived early and there was a plane at our gate. Once we got off and were able to stretch our legs, I discovered that the line and customs was extremely long, which negated any of the extra time we had since getting there early. By the time I got through and found my luggage, I was able to find my host right away. It was so good to see her! We got back to her house pretty fast, and I again couldn't believe that I was back here again. I sat with Cat for a little while over a cup of tea (which, after that flight, I enjoyed immensely) and then took a shower. As promised, I messaged one of the teenagers on the Merseybank estate that I've kept in touch with, and she walked with me to the café. Once we got there, I was able to catch up with a few of my friends from last year, which felt so good! After we spent a little while there, she walked me to her house so I could say hi to her sister, and then to the Eden team leader's house (who I also stayed with last year). I was able to see a few more familiar faces, and then we had our prayer meeting over lunch. Now obviously, I've missed these people and this place terribly, but I realized again how much I missed praying with them. It truly is at the heart of everything this team does on the estate.


After dinner (which was an incredible lasagna made by Cat) and Youth Café, the team gathered here for Grow Group. We read the letter to the church in Ephesus from Revelation 2 and had an amazing discussion on how it can apply to us today. In summary, the letter describes a church that is doing all of the right things, but the one thing that Jesus holds against them is that they have lost the love that it first had for Him. How easy is that for us to do? We get in a routine and start trying to check things off of the "Christian" list, and often we feel pretty good about it, but we've lost the passion that we had when we were first saved. Working in a church can even sometimes feel like that when the focus ends up being on trying to run everything just right or on the attendance and things like that. The solution that we landed on was that sometimes we need to go back to the foundation and try to reignite the awe and wonder of what Jesus did. Even if we think we're past that point or too spiritually mature, we need to remember that we're always learning and growing, and sometimes we simply need to remember what Jesus did for us when we truly did not deserve it.


By the time Grow Group finished after prayers, I headed straight to bed and slept in this morning. I'm feeling pretty good today and am looking forward to what lies ahead!


Cheers,

Lindsay

Manchester: The Sequel, Coming June 2017!

It's official. I'M GOING BACK TO MANCHESTER!!!

As many of you know, it's rare for me to hold a conversation without the phrase "When I was living in England" or "When I was living in Manchester" coming into it at some point. Ever since I left the incredible place that is the UK, I've been aching to return. God has placed an undeniable passion on my heart for England, and He's made a way for me to go back! Let me tell you how.

First, I need to take you back to the awful day that I had to leave London. The whole process of getting to Heathrow and getting on the plane had me choking back tears, and once our plane started moving, I couldn't hold them back anymore. I absolutely did not want to leave. But as hard as it was for me to leave London, it was even more heartbreaking leaving Manchester. As I was on the coach bus about to pull onto the motorway, we happened to be driving past the Merseybank estate, where I lived for those two weeks there. Immediately, the tears just started flowing. I couldn't help it. I didn't even care if other people on the coach saw or heard me. As much as it hurt, however, this was a confirmation to me that I really had found my mission field. Those two weeks in Manchester had been the best of my life. I felt more at home there than I had anywhere else, and I knew that I would do whatever I could to go back as soon as possible.

Now, let's fast-forward again to my return to the States from London. I was so desperate to find a way back to England that I did something drastic - I did MATH. I wanted to figure out how much I would have to save a week to have enough set aside to get back to Manchester by the following July, without stretching myself too thin. By then, I was at the end of July, so I had to do less than 52 weeks. I settled for 50 weeks and decided I would start that week. Then, I estimated what I would have spent on air fare for this past trip, had the miracle situation not worked out the way it had this time around (which I would love to tell you about if you haven't heard this story!). I added in a little bit for spending money, but mostly wanted to focus on the flight since that would be the biggest thing. My wonderful, amazing host families also invited me to stay with them again, so I didn't figure in hotel - I decided I would worry about that if it came up since I didn't want to spread myself too thin. Now, I probably could have found an easier day to do this, but I started multiplying dollar amounts by 50 to see what I would come up with. After a few tries, I multiplied $25 by 50 weeks and came up with a total of $1,250, which seemed like a good goal to me that would definitely cover a round trip economy flight. I then created a spreadsheet for myself to track my progress, and also committed to putting in extra whenever I could.

Since July 24, 2016, three days after returning from London, I've stayed faithful to this plan. I put in my leftover spending money from my first trip to get a head start and consistently set aside at least $25 each week to meet my goal. Now, as many of you know, I gave myself a concussion at the end of December and had to take some time off of work. Since it was over Christmas break and I don't get paid over breaks, I went a month without a paycheck and had to pull from savings to make end's meet. Right after I started getting paid again, I had a dogsitting job that paid me a very generous amount that, since I couldn't put in my weekly Manchester savings during that time due to doctor bills and things, helped me get back on track. Since then, I've been able to stay consistent! Praise God!

Now, as I said previously, I had estimated saving $1,250 by the beginning of July. By the end of April, however, I had already saved $1,190. So, since I already had the funds set aside and had just confirmed the dates of the trip with my host families, I decided it was time to book the flight! Which, as of yesterday evening, is exactly what I did! I will be leaving on June 28th and arriving back in the wonderful city of Manchester the following morning, and staying until July 14th. This trip will exclusively be for Manchester, so there will not be any side trips to London, but that is a-okay with me since I want as much time as possible in Manchester. I can't wait to be back with Ivy Church and the Eden Network, and all of the wonderful people that I met from both!

Friends, God is so faithful. He made a way for me to return to this amazing place that I love so dearly, and I can't wait to return and have so many more wonderful stories to share with you. God is moving in Manchester, and I am so humbled and thankful to even have the tiniest part of it.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for me, supported me, and who have let me share my heart with you.
Blessings,
Lindsay

Back Over the Pond

The day I have been dreading for three weeks is finally upon me: the day I have to leave England.

I fell in love with this place easily within my first 24 hours of being here (you know, after jetlag left me). It didn't take long for it to feel like home, or for the people I began to meet to become like family. My two weeks in Manchester taught me more than I can express in words about who God is and about who I am. This past week in London with Rachel has been nothing short of an adventure, and I am proud to say that we did NOT get lost once. (Minus one time we started heading the wrong direction on one street but then turned around before we got too far. Rachel, I am NOT counting that as getting lost. ;) )

Leaving is hard. Saying goodbye is awful. But I am hopeful that it is not goodbye for long. Manchester, and particularly Ivy Church and Eden Merseybank, hold an incredibly special place in my heart. And I know that there is no way that I would never come back. I've heard it said that when you have the opportunity to love people in a new place, you leave a part of yourself behind there. You never fully go home, because you've found another home somewhere else. The ache in my heart is telling me that this absolutely is true.

Instead of seeing this only as a heartbreaking goodbye, however, I will choose also to see how this new season of my life back in the States can also be a new season of growth. I truly have learned so much here, and I am thankful for the chance to have adopted a broader perspective.

I've learned the value of saying yes and taking risks. There is so much that I would have missed out on had I not stepped outside of my comfort zone. I've learned even more in depth the value of intentional prayer. I've spent so much time these past couple weeks in various prayer environments, and each and every second has been time well spent. I've learned, again, even more in depth what it means to trust in God. Every step that I've taken here has been a step in faith that God is bringing me farther into the path that He has set for me. My journey with cancer had taught me that trusting in God is a daily choice, and my new journey here is continuing to teach me that He is never fully finished with us. We always have new opportunities to grow if we choose to see each season of our lives that way, and that saying YES to Him often involves a lot of risk that may not always make sense to others. It takes a lot of trust and a lot of prayer, and you may not always understand it yourself even in the thick of it, but He is always faithful and will always surpass your expectations.

I know that I'm taking back with me so much more that what I came here with. I truly am so much more thankful for this opportunity than I could ever fully say. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me through prayer, through contributing financially, and through reading this blog. This could never have happened without it.

If you'd like to hear more (and I certainly won't be able to shut up about this for a loooooong time) please feel free to reach out to me!

Blessings,
Lindsay
Ephesians 3:20

London Baby!!

It's been a busy few days here in London Town! But aren't they all?

Here's the run-down of our past few days here:

Saturday

Big Ben

Parliament

Westminster Abbey

Trafalgar Square

National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery

London Eye

Sunday
Hillsong Church
Speedy's Sandwich Bar & Cafe (from Sherlock) - which was CLOSED! :(
221B Baker Street from Sherlock - which is actually 187 Gower Street next to Speedy's
The Sherlock Holmes statue
The Sherlock Holmes Museum
Regent's Park
Abbey Road

Monday
St. James's Park
Buckingham Palace
The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
Green Park
Hyde Park
Harrod's
Piccadilly Circus
The TARDIS at Earl's Court Tube Station
Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station

Today
Tate Modern
Mona Hatoum special exhibit at Tate Modern
Tower of London
The Who Shop (Doctor Who stuff ;) )

CLEARLY very busy!!

With all of our travels, I am VERY proud to say that we have not gotten lost at all! We've become self-proclaimed masters of the Tube, which we have been riding very frequently. Along with all of our walking, it is definitely quite fun to catch glimpses of Big Ben and the London Eye coming back to our hotel.

I am also NOT SORRY that I have gotten Rachel to watch a few episodes of Sherlock with me as she works on her Masters things. :) Especially today, as it is my dear Benedict Cumberbatch's birthday!

Everything truly has been amazing. With all of our museums and other stops, it is incredible to me to think of all of the history that we are catching glimpses of. Seeing the Changing of the Guard yesterday and the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London today really had me thinking about that. Plus, it's been so fun being able to geek out at all of my Doctor Who/Sherlock Holmes/Harry Potter things. Seeing Rachel get all excited about everything at Tate Modern and the National Gallery pretty much balanced that!

It really is an amazing and beautiful country - so rich with history and culture, and so diverse with its beautiful parks and countryside adjacent to sprawling metropolis. It's going to be extremely hard to leave in only a couple days' time. And yes, I so deeply still have Manchester on the mind.

Tomorrow, we will be going to see The London Dungeon show and hitting up the MASSIVE British Museum. Who knows what else we'll get ourselves into after that!

Please continue to pray for Ivy and Eden back in Manchester, and pray for us for safe travels back to Chicago on Thursday!

Blessings,
Lindsay

#LindsayToLondon

Well, I had to say my last goodbyes this morning to my dear friends in Manchester. Needless to say, there were a lot of tears on my end. I hate goodbyes in general, but knowing that I've left some really amazing people who will be on the other side of the Atlantic is really heartbreaking. Plus, I quickly grew to love the city of Manchester itself. I'll be back, though. There is no way that I wouldn't go back.

Yesterday was kind of a blur, but it was a remarkable day. I got to go with a group of people from Ivy on a prayer walk, which I have never done before. My friend and I walked around and asked people if they needed prayer, and while most people said no, there was one man who did talk with us and pray with us for probably at least half an hour. His story broke my heart, and while he didn't accept Jesus during our conversation, it definitely sounded like he will continue to process it. It truly was a powerful experience, and it gave me a lot to pray about as well. 

When I got back from the prayer walk, we had the Eden prayer meeting, which is always a cool experience. My host and I picked up her twin boys from school after, and we went for a walk through Chorlton and by the River Mersey. I went straight to the café afterwards for Youth Café, which was sad since I had to say goodbye to some of the teenagers. I've really enjoyed spending time with them these past couple of weeks. Not long after Youth Café, I had to say goodbye to my first host (which made me cry) and then say some more goodbyes to the Eden team at Grow Group (which also made me cry). We had a great talk about Ephesians chapter 3, which is one of my very favorite passages of Scripture, but I hate goodbyes, and I think it really hit me at that moment that I was leaving.

This morning, I caught the coach bus to London. After a five hour coach trip, I was clearly exhausted, and I was not super prepared as far as knowing where to find my Tube station to meet Rachel. I had to wander a bit and got a little freaked out right before I found it, since there are a lot of public transport places around the Victoria area and I wasn't brought to the place I thought I would be by coach. Regardless, I found it, and as soon as I got off of the Tube at Westminster and got to ground level, I saw him in all of his glory - Big Ben!! Rachel found me shortly after and brought me to our hotel, which is magnificent. They even gave us bath robes, which both of us are probably way too excited about.

We walked along the Southbank area of the River Thames to an amazing pizza place that Rachel highly recommended, and we also got to walk past the Globe theatre and Tate Modern. After eating (which basically caused me to momentarily hate myself since I definitely devoured all of my pizza), we took a walk across Millennium Bridge to peek at St. Paul's Cathedral, and ended up taking a detour back to the hotel. We ended up seeing quite a bit of London that way and got to pass through Trafalgar Square as well. London really is an incredible city, and even taking a little peek at some of the things we'll be seeing later had me really excited.

Tomorrow's Itinerary:

Big Ben (again ;) )

Parliament

Westminster Abbey

Trafalgar Square (also again ;) )

National Gallery

London Eye 

Please continue to pray for Eden Merseybank, Ivy Church, and also pray for the man we prayed with yesterday!

Blessings,

Lindsay

Daleks, the TARDIS, and Football - Oh My!

Today has been a day off of ministry tasks, and I got picked up to see some sights by a couple of the Eden team members!

We started out by taking a walk around Media City, which is an area of Manchester dominated by the BBC and ITV. Some of their studio buildings are all there and close together, so it's a really neat part of the city. While we were walking around (and joking about the possibility of running into Benedict Cumberbatch), that's when I saw it in the BBC1 window... the TARDIS!!! One of my friends ran and to see if we could go in by it and see it, which we absolutely did. Not only could I see the TARDIS, but I also got a picture by a couple of Daleks. Needless to say, it was like Christmas!

After our little detour for me to geek out, we went into the Imperial War Museum. It was an amazing collection of artifacts from World Wars I and II, as well as some modern day exhibits. It even held some of the wreckage from the World Trade Center, which was absolutely chilling to see. They also had an incredible picture show about remembrance, which was projected all over the walls in the central part of the museum. It was a very unique experience and was filled with some great discussion as well.

Once we had seen everything in the museum, we went to the Manchester United football stadium - much to the chagrin of my dear brother-in-law (Sorry, David!). We had lunch inside of the stadium, and I had my first experience with proper fish and chips, which were amazing! I also had a magnificent pudding of ice cream and a salted caramel brownie. Good eating!

After a break back at my host's house, the same friends took me to the Trafford Centre - a huge, beautiful shopping mall. There were some familiar shops, but a lot of them were totally new to me and exciting to see. Overall, today was a great day, but I'm very sad knowing that tomorrow is my last full day in Manchester. These goodbyes are killing me.

Blessings,
Lindsay

British Barbecue and Other Ponderings

I know I say this almost every post, but it has been a busy past couple of days!

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

Super Sunday

SUCH a long day today, but it has been nothing short of fantastic. I had three separate church experiences, all of which were very different but all wonderful.

Today started very early by being picked up by one of my Grow Group friends and heading to Ivy Church Fallowfield. This campus is literally one of the coolest and most unique churches I have ever been in...because it meets in a pub. Yep. You read that right. A pub. Naturally, they are quite empty in the morning during church time, so it is available for Ivy's use and is extremely cool.

Take note, American churches, if you need new ways to bring people into your buildings.

Anyway, my friend and I got there early to set up the church, as he is a NewThing resident who will be taking lead of the campus with another person quite soon. I liked being able to help set up - it brought back flashbacks from being a mobile church at Community Plainfield's launch. I also got recruited to help out on the welcome team; apparently I broke the record for fastest recruit since it was my first time even being there. It actually really was a lot of fun - I'm not used to just attending church services, so it was nice to help out. It's what I'm here for!

The service was fantastic. Everyone from my Grow Group was there and I was so thankful to see familiar faces. The band played a few Rend Collective songs, so I was really happy. All of Ivy is starting a series based on the book The Circle Maker, which is all about intentional and bold prayers. There was a video to start it off, and then my friend spoke to finish and did an incredible job. He spoke from Joshua about being strong and courageous, and connected it to the story of the Israelites marching around the walls of Jericho to take the city. It really was fantastic. He also encouraged the members of the church to do a prayer walk right after the service around the local university, as that is a group that they are very prayerfully hoping to reach out to when the students return. The church also had lunch together after everything was torn down, which was really great. There was a very strong sense of community at this campus, and I was really thankful to have been able to be a part of it.

Church on the Merseybank estate was also about The Circle Maker, except this time with the smaller crowd, we were able to do some small group discussions. I had the opportunity to meet some more of the people on the estate that I didn't meet last week, which was great. I love the community within this neighborhood - it is pretty big, but everyone seems to be connected somehow. Eden really is doing great work here in Merseybank, and I'm so glad that I've been able to get involved and meet a lot of the people here.

Right after the Merseybank church, we took some of the teenagers to an event at Ivy Sharston called Super Sunday. Students from all across Ivy come together, and they had all kinds of games and inflatables for the students to enjoy. A musician named Emma Mould came to tell her story and perform - her album comes out in September and she is fantastic, so if you're reading this, check out her music! It was a unique experience, and there were all kinds of kinds as far as students go, but it was a great opportunity for the students to be in a safe and positive environment. Plus, most of my Grow Group friends were there as well, and it is always great to see them. I'm going to have a really hard time saying goodbye to them this week.

I can't believe that I'll already be leaving Manchester this week. I am really excited to be heading to London on Friday, but I'm definitely not ready to leave Manchester at all. I love this city and it's people so much, and I can't believe how blessed I am to have come into contact with so many amazing people. It has really hit me today how hard it is going to be to leave. I still have a lot of time before then, but it's hard to think about. Basically, I'm going to have to start saving for another trip immediately.

Please continue to pray for the teenagers connected with Eden here on the Merseybank estate. Pray for Ivy, and specifically Ivy Fallowfield as their hearts pour out for the students returning in the fall. Also, pray for my Grow Group friend who is waiting to hear this week about housing for his schooling in Sweden coming up!

Blessings,
Lindsay

CASTLE!!!

Guys.
For real.
I went to a CASTLE today.
In WALES.
A CASTLE!!!

For starters, Wales is absolutely beautiful. It is so green and lush and indescribably gorgeous. Add to that the fact that you're looking at a castle, and it is overwhelming.

The castle that we went to is called Chirk Castle. Apparently the builder of the castle, Roger Mortimer, was in on the (successful) plot to kill Llyewelyn, the Prince of Wales. Kind of shady. Regardless, the castle itself was breathtaking. It stood on a hill with a view of the countryside that was just so amazing, and SO green. Adam's Tower and the East Wing contrasted a lot - Adam's Tower held the dungeon and armor, as well as simply older looking stuff dating back to the castle's construction date. The East Wing definitely held more of the "high life" stuff of castle living. Either way, being inside of a castle was way cool. Being in there was like traveling back in time, and I couldn't believe that I was actually there. The gardens were also so incredibly beautiful - I don't think I've ever seen such big, healthy looking roses. Beautiful doesn't seem to me to be an adequate enough word, but I'm really just running out of adjectives to describe how amazing this place was.

Basically, I'm Flynn Rider from Tangled: "Guys, I want a castle."

We also spent some time in Chester once we were back in England. This city was once surrounded by a wall, which is still there and in use to travel around the city. We stopped by some ruins of a Roman amphitheater, which I definitely did not expect to be part of the city. Our main target was the Chester Cathedral, which was seriously one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. No joke. I couldn't take pictures inside the actual sanctuary since a service was going on, which was a bummer, but it was awesome to hear the choir and organ while exploring in there. It definitely added to the experience. The city itself was beautiful to look around, and the mixture of old and new was really exciting. I was really glad that we were able to stop there on the way home.

My host and I watched an episode of The Musketeers after we got home and had dinner. I had never seen it before, but I really enjoyed it! Definitely adding it to my watch list.

Tomorrow, I will be going to Ivy Church Fallowfield, per the invitation from the Grow Group I attended this week. It was really nice to have these past two days to be able to further explore Manchester and more of England as well as Wales, but I am ready to get back into ministry!

Pray for everyone who walks into Ivy's doors tomorrow, as well as our Eden church here in Merseybank!

Blessings,
Lindsay

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

Day Off at the Beach

Today was a day off of ministry tasks, which had a bittersweet feeling to it. I was sad to not be doing anything with Ivy or Eden today, but I was also excited to be able to just see more of the country. Not only was I seeing more of England, but I also got to see the sea for the first time. Ever.

Yes. You read that right. First time ever. I have never seen a body of water bigger than a lake before.

We took a trip to see the Irish Sea, which was about an hour's drive from Manchester. The drive to the beach was beautiful. It had a mixture of seeing the city from a distance and some farmland, and the closer we got to the beach, we also got to pass through some gorgeous little towns. The beach is within a national park called the National Trust, and aside from the beach, there were some beautiful woods within it.

Once we were in the car park, we had to climb a small dune before actually seeing the beach. Once I got to the top, the view was breathtaking. Even with the overcast sky, I was stunned. The sound of the waves drowned out any other thought. It was, simply put, beautiful.

We set up some towels to sit on after kicking off our shoes. My host's two year old son donned his wetsuit and ran towards the wave, bucket and spade in hand. We alternated between sitting and watching the waves (and toddler) and walking in the water. The seawater was COLD, but it felt so refreshing. The tide was still reaching pretty far up the shore, but as the day progressed, the shoreline kept creeping farther and farther away from us.

After enjoying a picnic and watching the many dogs pass by us, we walked a little farther along the shore in search of shells. Our toddler kept calling the little clam-like shells "mouse ears," and so now I'll probably always think of them as mouse ears because that is just way too adorable.

Once we left the beach, we got some ice cream from the truck near the entry to the park. It was my first time trying Mr. Whippy ice cream, which had the consistency of really frozen whipped cream or Cool Whip, and yet still had a real ice cream flavor. It was really tasty!

We then went on the Squirrel Walk in the woods. This park is apparently a home to a really rare type of squirrel called red squirrels. We saw a few as we walked - they are actually quite beautiful little creatures! It was so peaceful and quiet on this walk, as people didn't want to scare the squirrels away so they could see them. The hush in this place gave it an almost magical feeling - like if we waited long enough, something incredible would happen. And you know what? Something incredible is always happening. Life is happening.

Being surrounded by creation in this way always draws my attention back to God as our Creator. He truly makes beautiful things, doesn't He? It always helps me keep my perspective in check. I am small and limited, but He commands the waters and calls tall trees to rise up. He created every intricate thing out of nothing and isn't confined by time or space... and yet He knows my name. He loves me as His child. He has a plan for my life and guides my steps moment by moment.

If you're reading this, I hope you would know and believe that the ultimate Creator of the universe knows you in your most inner being as well. And He loves you enough that He defeated death for you. And He wants you to know Him.

Blessings,
Lindsay

Grow Group

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got invited to a Grow Group tonight.

Oh. My. Goodness.

It was AMAZING.

I must confess I was a tiny bit nervous about going, purely since I did not know what to expect, and I was also nervous that I would feel like an outsider or be awkward or something. Regardless, I was mostly very excited and so grateful to be welcomed in.

I got picked up by a new friend I had met at the church earlier in the day, so I was also grateful that I was greeted by a familiar face right away. He actually is a current NewThing leadership resident at one of the Ivy campuses, so it was really encouraging to hear his story with NewThing.

The Grow Group was held at the home of the person who had invited me, and he cooked an amazing dinner for all of us. There were five of us there, and we immediately fell into conversation and shared lots of laughter. I felt right at home pretty much as soon as I got there, so all of my nerves quickly fell away. I should have said so then, but I was so incredibly thankful at that moment. After we finished eating, we had tea and pudding (dessert, which was ice cream) and then proceeded into our group discussion.

Ivy just finished a series about the heart this past Sunday (as I mentioned in my Sunday post), and one of the group members actually spoke the message at the campus that most (if not all) of the group attends. They gave me a recap, and from the sounds of the recap alone and the discussion that followed, it sounded amazing.

Essentially, three conditions of the heart were discussed and how they can be fought:

1. Doubtful heart
1. To fight a doubtful heart, Declare the Lord's truth to yourself (through prayer, Scripture, etc.).
2. Divided heart
1. To fight a divided heart, Delight in the Lord. (His goodness will overtake anything else that is fighting for your attention.)
3. Distant heart
1. To fight a distant heart, Dwell in the Lord. (He is never the one to distance Himself, so if you draw near to Him, He is already there.)

(In case you hadn't noticed, each condition and solution starts with D so it's easy to remember. Thank goodness.)

Our discussion was very honest and truthful, and the group had been so welcoming and accepting of me that I had absolutely zero reservations about speaking candidly. It was amazing, and I think we all needed to be reminded of the power of the Lord's truth. We spent time in Scripture together and in prayer, and the whole time I kept thinking of how grateful I was to be there. I felt so convicted and challenged by our discussion, and don't we all sometimes (all the time) need an honest dose of truth to get us back on fire for God? It truly was exactly what I needed, and I am seriously so thankful for the invitation.

I honestly just feel so overwhelmed in the best way at how close God feels right now and how blessed I am to be here and to have met these people and to be able to experience this church. Even though the truth about Him can seem so simple when we just start listing off adjectives about Him (good, faithful, loving, etc.), it doesn't minimize the power in that simplicity when we really take that truth and internalize it. He IS good. He IS faithful. He IS loving. He IS powerful. And He is SO much more good than we could ever understand or deserve. Because of that, He is SO worth any risk it takes to follow Him.

When it comes to the heart, how we approach God with it is simple and yet so profound and monumental. He gives us His whole heart out of his endless love and grace. He gave it all for us on the cross. How could we do any less than to give Him our whole heart and our all in return?

"I'm saying yes to You and no to my desires. I'll leave myself behind and follow You. I'll take the narrow road 'cause it leads me to You. I'll fall, but grace will pick me up again.

I've counted up the cost, and You are worth it.

I do not need safety as much as I need you. You're dangerous, but Lord, You're beautiful. I'll chase You through the pain. I'll carry my cross, 'cause real love is not afraid to bleed.

I've counted up the cost, and You are worth it. Jesus, take my all. Take my everything. I've counted up the cost, and You're worth everything."

~"The Cost," Rend Collective Experiment

Blessings,

Lindsay