It’s hard to believe that 10 days from now I’ll be stepping on a plane and finally returning home. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t beyond excited and ready for the next chapter, but I know I will be leaving here forever changed. Over the past 10 months the Lord has molded and shaped me in so many ways, and while I think I still need time to process everything I’ve learned here, I can say with confidence that my time was not spent in vain. I wouldn’t trade this past year for the world, and I firmly believe God will continue to reveal new things to me from this season even long after I’m home. My heart has been extremely burdened over the past few days by the tragedy that took place in Charleston. It’s SO difficult to understand why The Lord allows things to happen the way he does, but the responses of the victims’ families have been ones of pure, God-given love and mercy. “Would I have responded in this same way?,” we must ask ourselves. I cannot even fathom what these families must be experiencing during this time, but what a beautiful picture they have displayed to the watching world of God’s unending grace and forgiveness. May we continue to intentionally pray for these loved ones and for the city of Charleston as a whole. God is clearly at work in this situation, and his spirit WILL continue to move in the wake of this horrific event, but we as the Body of Christ have a responsibility to stand together firmly, united with our fellow brothers and sisters who have been “…afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor. 4:8-9).
Although I have met many here in England who do not know Jesus, the Lord has laid on my heart three specific people to continue praying for after I leave. Although I cannot give you their names, I ask that you would continue to join me in prayer for these three individuals who I believe God is going to draw to himself in his perfect timing. The first is the teacher whose classroom I have been working in once a week since I arrived here. She is a devout Muslim who I believe is a person of peace. We have had several conversations about Islam and what she believes, and although she knows I am a Christian, I am going to write her a letter explaining what the Bible teaches about who God is and how much he loves her. Please pray that she would receive this letter well, and that God would give me wisdom and clarity on what to say and how best to say it. (Side Note - The month of Ramadan began on Thursday, June 18th. This is a time when many Muslims around the world are actively seeking Allah, so pray that the One True God will reveal Himself to them as they pray and fast. In fact, it has been documented that over the past few years more Muslims have been coming to faith in Christ than ever before in history, and these Christian movements are clearly connected to the recent increase in prayer of God’s people for the Muslim community!) The other two people the Lord has specifically called me to pray for are the girls I have been mentoring this past year. Both of them are very far from God and haven’t expressed much of an interest in knowing him, but I also plan to write both of them letters reminding them of conversations we have already had about God’s desire to know them and to have a relationship with them.
I want to thank you all one final time for your prayers and support over these past 10 months. In some ways it feels like just yesterday I was packing up all my belongings and preparing to begin this new season, and although I do not feel called to stay here permanently my heart will ALWAYS be tethered to the people of Teeside and the work that is taking place here. My dream is to one day bring mission teams to this area who will partner with UK-USA Ministries to continue taking the gospel relevantly to every young person in the Tees Valley. Since coming to England, the Lord has continued to stir in me a passion to see people from all tribes, tongues, and nations come to know him, and I know that no matter where He places me or what I end up doing, my role and purpose in this life will remain the same:
“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)
May the Lord abundantly bless you and your family, and may he continue to burden you for the lost and the broken. As believers we have a high calling, but He has equipped with everything we need. Therefore, let us strive to live lives of peace, love, and boldness until Christ returns.
P.S. - Some of my Prestonwood family came to visit a few weeks ago! Pray for them as they prepare to bring over 250 high school students July 8-17 to share the love of Christ across the Tees Valley!
