Sorry I haven't written anything in the last few days. They have been rather busy. And even now as I am writing, I am very tired and ready to turn the lights off soon. We are going to be leaving for London tomorrow at 7:30 am to do a little touring...
On Saturday, the day started off in typical Men's Ministry style - early morning, lots of food, and warm fellowship... Did I say early morning? Leaving that table, I needed to loosed the belt a little, however. A "Full English Breakfast" is most definitely full. It was so filling that I actually didn't need much a lunch; I just had a hot cross bun and some tea. The afternoon was spent preparing for the evening's main event - the Ceilidh (again, pronounced kay'-lee). This is a traditional event here which involves lots of food and dancing. Much fun was to be had by all. Somewhere in the ballpark of 100 people showed up. At this event, we did eat a lot (it was almost a glorified potluck). After the eating, our team performed a few skits, ranging from silly to serious. Then, Justin preached the gospel. This was one of the most clear gospel presentations that I have heard in a long time. He did a great job and God really used him. Soon after, the dancing started. It was such fun to dance with young and old alike. I danced with teenagers, moms and dads, and grand parents alike. At the end, we were very tired, but very happy.
The next morning, I was on again to lead singing for church. I made sure I got some practice in before I began to sing. I had the privilege of leading a discussion for the teens' Sunday School on the practical nature of holiness. It was really cool to hear from the teens about what holiness will look like in our lives and how God's holiness affects that. After church and dinner (lunch), the boys and I went to the astro turf park to play some footy (soccer). But we were kicked off by the local women's field hockey team. That felt great... Haha. But we shrugged it off and went to the Duke Street park to play instead. Though it wasn't astro turf, but grass, we played for as long as we could. We got really wet and dirty because the grass was really slippery from the rain. It made for some good laughs. In the evening, we had church again. This time, my only responsibility was to open the service up with a greeting and prayer. I was able to sit back and enjoy the music and the message from the viewpoint of everyone else. God really spoke to me through Justin's sermon. He preached about how we should follow Jesus' example in sacrifice, service, and submitting to God.
This morning, we had the pleasure of going to St. Thomas Church of England Lydiate school to lead their assembly. The kids there range from (what we would call) Kindergarten to 5th grade. We performed two skits and Emily preached the gospel. After that, the oldest students took us on a school tour and eventually to their class room. There, they asked us questions they had been preparing for us. It was funny to hear their pre-conceived ideas about Americans coming out in the questions. I was asked about gun laws, music, and the weather where I'm from. Haha! When we left St. Thomas', we went to the church to prepare for a ministry on Thursday to 7-11 year olds. It's a special presentation about the life and death and resurrection of Christ, anticipating the coming of Easter.
To be honest, I had to take the afternoon off after that, however. As an introvert, I will occasionally need to force some alone time. I haven't had much this trip. I was good to recuperate by myself for a bit. This evening, we played some games at one of the church member's house. It was much fun to reunite with the team again and just enjoy each other.
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| One of the older couples dancing at the Ceilidh |
The next morning, I was on again to lead singing for church. I made sure I got some practice in before I began to sing. I had the privilege of leading a discussion for the teens' Sunday School on the practical nature of holiness. It was really cool to hear from the teens about what holiness will look like in our lives and how God's holiness affects that. After church and dinner (lunch), the boys and I went to the astro turf park to play some footy (soccer). But we were kicked off by the local women's field hockey team. That felt great... Haha. But we shrugged it off and went to the Duke Street park to play instead. Though it wasn't astro turf, but grass, we played for as long as we could. We got really wet and dirty because the grass was really slippery from the rain. It made for some good laughs. In the evening, we had church again. This time, my only responsibility was to open the service up with a greeting and prayer. I was able to sit back and enjoy the music and the message from the viewpoint of everyone else. God really spoke to me through Justin's sermon. He preached about how we should follow Jesus' example in sacrifice, service, and submitting to God.
This morning, we had the pleasure of going to St. Thomas Church of England Lydiate school to lead their assembly. The kids there range from (what we would call) Kindergarten to 5th grade. We performed two skits and Emily preached the gospel. After that, the oldest students took us on a school tour and eventually to their class room. There, they asked us questions they had been preparing for us. It was funny to hear their pre-conceived ideas about Americans coming out in the questions. I was asked about gun laws, music, and the weather where I'm from. Haha! When we left St. Thomas', we went to the church to prepare for a ministry on Thursday to 7-11 year olds. It's a special presentation about the life and death and resurrection of Christ, anticipating the coming of Easter.
To be honest, I had to take the afternoon off after that, however. As an introvert, I will occasionally need to force some alone time. I haven't had much this trip. I was good to recuperate by myself for a bit. This evening, we played some games at one of the church member's house. It was much fun to reunite with the team again and just enjoy each other.
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