My time in Scotland has changed my life forever. I loved being able to wake up everyday and spend every second serving the Lord and being on mission. We were able to prayer walk the streets of Partick everyday and see God move through our prayers. We spent time in the local cafes studying the book of Colossians through the method of Simple Church. I really enjoyed doing this Bible study in public because as we were growing in our own knowledge of the Lord, the people around us were also hearing the word of God. Each day as we walked around Partick we were able to speak to strangers and learn more about the area. We also had the opportunity to turn some of these conversations into gospel conversations. It was amazing to see God work through me, my team, and everyone we met. God taught me on this trip to be bold and courageous for Him. He showed me that my life back home is a mission field and that I should be on mission everyday just as I was in Scotland. He prepared me and taught me many things in Scotland that I have been able to bring back and apply to my life. He has shown me that it is so important to proclaim His name to those around me back home. On this trip I have seen God answer my prayers and I pray that He will continue to give me courage to share His name with others. Nathanael
Throughout the week, I got to see God work in many different ways in my life, my team's life, and the lives of people who live in Glasgow. One major thing that God taught me throughout this experience would be about leaning not on my own understandings and giving up control to God. Everyday was a new day on the trip and I had no idea what the schedule was. Even the smallest thing like giving up control over a schedule taught me to look at my life and to let God take control. When it came to talking and hanging out with the youth group, I had to figure out a way to speak to the other teenagers about God in a way that they wouldn't feel bombarded or scared in any way. In that situation, I had to let go of my own thoughts and let God speak through me to come across to the kids. Overall, the experience was amazing and it was really cool to watch God work in so many different lives and in another country. Kyle Our trip to Scotland felt unbelievably quick and was over before I knew it. There are so many great memories I’m still processing, and overall it was an incredible experience. I loved spending time with the youth group from the Church of Nazarene, and seeing God work in their lives. I was also challenged with narrative mapping and learning the Simple Church method. It was awesome getting to know the missionaries there, and their willingness to serve really stood out to me. I had a great time hiking at Loch Lomond, exploring the castle in Stirling, watching other people eat haggis (what a shame it wasn’t gluten free), and growing closer as a team. I loved Scotland and miss it so much already! Kayla Quest 18 shared and celebrated today!
Thankful for all each team experienced. Time to rest, reflect and apply. Parents, mark your calendar for our Quest Celebration, Saturday, February 25, at the BCNE building in Northborough, MA. We will have a light lunch and time of sharing about the trip. We will meet from 11:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Students will leave with their families following the Celebration. Please RSVP to [email protected] the number of your immediate family who will attend. Space is limited to immediate family, mentors, youth leader and pastor.
Our Tuesday started with breakfast and training in Goven, as it has most mornings. These times of teaching have been really valuable for our team, giving us tools to interact with people and a spiritual focus and perspective for our efforts. Each morning has been lead by a different member of the Scotland-based missionaries.
After morning training and lunch, the Govan team spent some time walking around Govan initiating conversation and doing some narrative mapping. Narrative mapping is the act of building a physical and spiritual "map" of a certain area based on conversations and observations of the culture. We specifically were given the task of concentrating on spiritual mapping by engaging people we encountered in conversations and asking questions regarding what they viewed as the religions represented in the area, what they believed personally and if they believed in God, and other similar questions. As a group of 4 we made it a goal to engage 10 people in conversation, which we accomplished. We were better able to understand the spiritual atmosphere and give the workers living here some more information. After mapping, we headed to our favorite local cafe, Cafe 13, to do the simple church Bible study method and then made our way to TJ and Deena's home to do some babysitting! One of our favorite Quest traditions is letting the parents have a fun night out while we watch the kids, and Trevor, Kayla, and Kyle had a great time watching their 5 year old boy and 7 week old girl. Chef Kyle make an awesome stir fry for dinner for everyone and we all enjoyed playing games with Eli. It was a long, fun day and after a great team debrief we all crashed. The Partick Team broke off after lunch and headed to the main road "Dumbarton" to prayer walk. We then took a car ride out of the city to visit an older believing couple named Brian and Isabelle in the town of Blanefield. It was great getting to hear their stories of faith and to see how God has worked in their lives. Brian was from Edinburgh and Isabelle grew up right in Goven. Their faith was encouraging and it gave us a larger perspective on how God works on a global scale. After this we traveled back to Patrick and Erin's home to babysit for this and give them a date night. While they went out to spend some quality time together, team Partick watched (and sang along to) Tangled. It was a low key night, but not all forms of service are super spiritual and it was a blessing to have the chance to "wash the feet" of Erin and Patrick. Wednesday is our last day of work before heading to Stirling on Thursday. Pray for energy to finish our work faithfully. Pray for members of our team as they share their faith with local students. With Love, Team Scotland [Please read our last blog if you havent-- it originally was not posted with content and only photos. Sorry! We've fixed the problem.]
This was church day! We spent the morning and evening attending two very different church services. In the morning we attended Goven Nazarene Church which the Goven team has been working with. It was great to connect with pastor Rob and his wife Bev, along with the members of the community and some of the youth from the area. Kyle, Trevor and Kayla shared their testimonies and did a fantastic job! Thanks for your prayers! After lunch we went and checked out the Transportation Museum in Partick. We saw everything from motorcycles and cars to boats and trains. We were also able to bring along two youth from church who were thrilled to hang out with us some more! Later this evening we went to The Tron-- a much larger church in City Center by where we're staying. The arrived late due to a scheduling error but we're still able to catch the sermon and some worship. It was some of the most passionate singing we had all heard in a long time, and the old hymns were sung beautifully. It was nice to have a lower key day, but we start right back up tomorrow with training, time in our locations, and then youth group in Goven. Please pray for good rest, good quiet times, and for God to continue directing our daily adventures through Glasgow. In Christ, Team Scotland Another beautiful day in Glasgow! Our team got an early jump on the day in order to get some bus/train/subway passes to use for the week. The cool morning stroll down what is normally a jam packed Style Mile (a main artery loaded with fashion boutiques, sporting goods shops and several coffee shops) was almost eerily quiet and serene. After getting our passes, we traveled to Goven for our morning training session lead by Gena Wilson, a 20-year career missionary here in Glasgow. We talked about narrative mapping; the systematic approach to gaining information and insights into a given geographical area so we can better understand the people and strategically engage them with the Gospel. The Partick team (Josephine, Vicky, Nathanael and Tommy) then headed to lunch at a local spot with Patrick. Then we were sent out to prayer walk, work on the narrative map, and study scripture using the "simple church" Bible study method that was outlined for us. It was a challenging afternoon, but the team did great stepping out boldly to speak with the locals and even striking up spiritual conversations along the way. This team will have the same task for the remainder of their time in Partick, so prayer for guidance and joy to continue faithfully would really be appreciated. The Goven group (Kayla, Trevor, Kyle, and Rachel) ate a homemade lunch at the J girls flat and then walked to the Goven Church of the Nazarene, which is the local church we are working with. Pastor Rob and his wife Bev, along with Claire and Jess, had planned a youth trip to Loch Lomond, a nearby lake. Our group got to meet and hang out with about 8 local teens from the youth group for the afternoon. After the 45 min drive, we spent time hiking and skipping rocks in the lake, playing frisbee, and getting to know each other. Our youth said they found it hard to interact at first because of the Scottish teen's accent and cultural differences, but by the end of the outing they were all laughing and joking together while asking each other questions about life in another country. The lake and Scottish landscape were absolutely beautiful and we even got a few peeks of the sun. We also walked to a nearby chippy (fish and chips shop) and had deep fried Mars bars - a Scottish specialty :) Both teams met up together again for dinner and debriefed the day back at our Hostel. Tomorrow we will be attending church where a few of our team members (Kayla, Kyle and Trevor) will be sharing their testimonies and answering questions in front of the congregation. Pray for them! We appreciate and feel your prayers, so please do not stop! We are so thankful to be supported by such a loving community back at home. One of the most encouraging parts of our day is reading off the comments... So don't stop writing to us! We check in on them each day. In other news, team Goven out-stepped team Partick 17,947 to 17,396. In Christ, Team Scotland We managed to all stay awake and make it through our incredibly long day yesterday. It was crucial to stay awake and not nap in order for us to quickly acclimate to the five hour time difference. Most of us slept well but it will take another day or two to fully adjust, but we are alert and healthy.
This morning we woke up and traveled to Jess and Claire (two Journeymen workers here) and got some additional training on having a healthy perspective on serving people here in Glasgow. We split up into two separate teams which will divide our time and attention this week. The first team (Kyle, Trevor, Kayla and Rachel) will be focused on Goven this next week, working with Jess and Claire and the youth at a local church and the area around it. The other team (Josephine, Vicky, Nathaniel and Tommy) will be helping Erin and Patrick plant roots for ministry in the West End of Gasglow near Partick. They've only been here for 6 weeks but are committed to this new area for at least 3 years as the apprentice in the IMB Career missionary path. The teams spent the afternoon walking the neighborhood's and getting a feel for the area that each team is investing in. This is just the beginning, but the idea is that our time here is a part of a much larger picture of how God is working here in Gasglow. Please be praying for energy as we continue to acclimate. Pray for boldness and courage as we step out to interact with locals. Pray for compassion and love to motivate our hearts. Much love! -Team Scotland |
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