Update: Goodbye to Serbia, Hello to Rotherham

We're now in Rotherham, England, near Sheffield. We're sleeping in the basement of a church and keeping very busy during the day. We're getting to do everything from working with the homeless, to hanging out with the older generation, to working with kids and youth. It's been so good! We've done so many dramas already, which I love, and we're preparing new ones and coming up with skits for kids.

Towards the end of Serbia, it just kept getting better and better. We made so many new friends. We were all really sad to say goodbye to them. We had several nights that we taught salsa, which was such a success! My photos, as well as Vanesa and Tara's photos, were displayed in a cafe and a the local teahouse. The band played several more times, adding new songs and each time sounding better than before. It was such a good time.

Now in Rotherham, we find ourselves in a very different type of outreach, more centered around church and coming alongside those working to unify the church. RPC, the church we're staying at, has graciously handed over Sunday evening services to us. They're aimed at the unsaved, so it typically involves a drama, a testimony and a message. I gave the message this past Sunday. It was such a growing experience for me! I just absolutely had to hand it over to God. I couldn't do it in my own strength. It went well. I didn't throw up or fall to pieces. :) Now I'm supposed to give a short talk to children tomorrow night about David and Goliath, as well as give a testimony to youth. God is definitely growing me.

At first, it was hard to say goodbye to Serbia, to throw myself into the work here. I wanted to be back in Serbia, doing the work there. But a line from somewhere kept floating through my head. I believe it was John Elliot who said something about wherever you may be, be all there. So here I am. Stretching out of my comfort zone. :)

Well, dinner is nearly ready and after that is Ladies Night at RPC. Facials, nails, chocolate, etc! :)

Nescafe, Epic Music and Photos

I'm sitting in the hotel here in Bela Zemlja, using a friend's iPod touch to connect to the wifi. The last couple of weeks have been so good. There have definitely been some tough spiritual battles, but we are victorious thru Christ. I'm not sure exactly what's going on behind the scenes so to speak, but I KNOW the enemy is not happy. Last night for instance, I woke myself up twice doing spiritual warefare, literally battling demons. And at one point I walked through the living room and saw a demon watching the house. It's been intense. Haha.

The work at the orphanage has come under attack and currently we are not able to work in with the kids. It's been really tough. Especially for the base directors and the staff here.

The band has had several gigs and they're doing awesome! This weekend we're having a photography exhibition at the teahouse. I'm super excited! Tara, Ben, Vanesa and I have been running around taking photos and editing. I love it so much! I really want to look at getting a better camera when I get back to the states. I think it's something God can use in my life. He's been speaking thru photos I've taken. To me personally anyway. I've also been writing more and He's used that. I'm so excited about all that He's doing in Serbia!

Uzice

We arrived safely on Saturday EARLY in the morning. I didn't get to sleep until 5:30am. :) The first 3 days we handed out SO many Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes! :) It's like completing a circle that I began in the States. We've done a Christmas drama 5 times and sung carols for kids. I've learned 5 new songs in sign language. :) We've also worked with kids at the local orphanage, doing games and art. Last night the kids "practiced" facepainting on us... with some interesting results! I had a lovely Christmas tree on my face. :) The suggestion in the group was that I should leave it on and go to the pub for the band's first gig, like that. I vetoed that idea. :) Today I went with a group to paint with a group of young adults from a day center. There were four with us today with varying degrees of disabilities. It was really good. :)

The spiritual atmosphere of Uzice is very heavy. Our whole team is feeling it. For myself, every day between 3 and 4, it's like I'm getting a download of what is going on in the spiritual realm. At first, I had no idea what the heck was going on and it was really frustrating, but now I'm aware and ready to go on the offensive.

Well, I need to head back to the house to cook dinner. Thank you guys so much for all your support. I miss you all so much!

Headed Out

Tomorrow at noon, we leave for outreach. I won't be able to blog much for the next couple of months, as I won't be taking my laptop with me. I will try to get on as often as possible when we hit internet cafe's and such, but no promises. :)

My team will be staying at our church, until Friday and then we'll be flying to Serbia. I'm so excited!!

I shall write you later! Thanks so much for all your prayers and support! It means so much to me. :)

That Time Of Year

Christmas was definitely a new experience this year. My first year without my family passed by without a mental breakdown, on my part or theirs. Haha. Instead of a traditional Christmas with my biological family, I spent the holiday in London with some of my YWAM family. We celebrated Christmas Eve with a massive dinner and games and presents at midnight. Christmas day was very laid-back with many naps and lots of movies. It was very enjoyable. Then Boxing day, Romy and I ventured out to Oxford Streets, braved the crowds and shopped! We managed to find some good deals and the day was probably just as crazy as a day-after-thanksgiving shopping. Getting home was rather interesting as the tube was down due to strike. Romy and I spent 2 hours trying to get home. Finally, we made it onto the Bakerloo line, which was back up and running again. Arriving home that night was so good.

This week is jammed-pack with outreach preparation. We've spent yesterday and today, at the church. The Romania team is practicing dramas, while my team (Serbia!) is practicing music. While we're in Uzice, we'll be playing in a cafe twice a week every week. We won't be playing Christian songs, but we'll be letting the Serbian people see we're Christians and what Christianity is about, that it's not the orthodox religion they're used to. We've also been preparing various workshops and doing research on the Serbian people. I've found out that 85% of the people at Serbian Orthodox: "To be a Serb is to be Orthodox." Only 2% of the population in Uzice claim to be Evangelical Christians! That's about 1,100 people that know Jesus as savior and have a personal relationship with Him. In a city full of people! It's so crazy to me. In a city of 55,000-60,000 people, there are only two church buildings. The website I found said they couldn't find a single group of New Testament believers who meet together. This is insane to me, coming from the States, where, in any city, big or small, you open up a phone book and there's an entire list of churches. We live in this society where we "shop" for a church and in Serbia, this is not the case at all. It really excites me that God is going to use us in this country! I'm also rather excited for the Turkish coffee. hehe.

Well, my lunch break is nearly over. Please be praying for both the Serbia and Romania teams. Specific prayer needs are:

-The countries we're going to
-Some funds that still need to come in
-Preparation (dramas and such for the Romania team. Music, photography, English lessons, kids crafts, a signing for worship class, facepainting and a carol service at a local orphanage)
-Unity
-Endurance
-Joy

Your prayers are vital to this. Join us in impacting these two countries!

Outreach Has BEGUN!

I should be working on stuff for my oral exam tomorrow, but my brain needs a break from the notes. Or en excuse to put it off a little longer. :-)

Last Friday marked the end of our Lecture phase, though we still have an oral exam tomorrow. Monday, we began preparation for outreach! We also found out a little more of what we'll be doing in Serbia. We'll be helping in practical means, but we'll also be doing some things that are a little more out of the norm. I'm so excited! We'll be working a lot with youth and doing stuff aimed towards them. We'll be forming a band and performing in cafes, as well as doing worship. We'll also be putting on a photography exhibition of some sort. Even some of my photos are going to be used!! I'm so excited about that! And totally shocked. We have some amazing photographers on our team, so I feel really privileged to even be suggested for that. So the next two weeks will be full of drama practice, music practice and other sorts of preparation. Serbia is going to be very cold, so my main preparation is to buy an arctic sleeping bag and some good thermals. :)

Back to the drudge.... lol.

The Oxford Adventure

Yesterday morning, my friend Romy and I got up earlier than normal on a typical Saturday and set out. Our plan was a day trip to Oxford city, to visit some famous sights and enjoy each other's company. The day didn't go exactly as we'd planned, but we made the most of it and ended up having an incredibly time!

Not ten minutes after our bus had left London, snow began coming down heavily. I was a little concerned, because of my background with snow, but for the first time in my life, I wasn't panicked or stressed in the face of failed plans. It goes to show just how much work God has done in my life. It soon became apparent that the day wasn't going to go as planned. We crawled along at a snail's pace, watching lesser vehicles slide around on the snow, get stuck and the many accidents. I was so grateful for our quite capable driver. The journey should have taken an hour and a half, but ended up taking five and a half hours. Several hours into it, the driver announced that all buses had been canceled, which meant our ride home was now out of the question. When we arrived in Oxford, it was over an hour after our ride home should have left and it was dark. We found out that the bus services were still not running and trains were incredibly iffy. We decided to find something to eat and contemplate our options.

We found The Eagle and Child, a pub that my favorite author, C.S. Lewis frequented in his life and settled in at a booth in the very room he had spent so many hours. We ordered food and talked about the day thus far. Let me mention now that I had the best pie I've ever had at this pub. It was mushroom and chicken with puff pastry on top. So incredibly good. I thought about my sister, because it was something she would have enjoyed as well. I have a friend, who's moving to Oxford in two weeks, so Romy and I were talking about how Jody would be in this very place in only a few weeks. Suddenly the idea dawned to write a note and leave it here for Jody. I joked, "If only I had some cello tape." And what do you know, but Romy just happened to have some. Hopefully that hidden note will stay there until Jody comes to retrieve it. :)

After dinner, we headed back to Gloucester Green, to find out further information about buses and possible lodging. God was good and a man directed us to the last available (and affordable!) room in Oxford. We stopped off at one hotel to ask directions and found out that their last room was for for 198 pounds, which is equal to about 300 dollars! We got to the Rewley House and got a room. Our room was nice and the two things that excited me most was the bathtub and the tv! After a warming soak, Romy and I watched a movie on tv and then headed to bed.

This morning, we got up and headed to the train station. The buses were up and running again, but we decided that the train was a more reliable mode of transportation. After purchasing tickets on the next train leaving, we trudged through the snow to Oxford Castle to have breakfast.






We enjoyed a lovely cup o' tea and biscuit, as well as lovely conversation and a good thawing out of our extremities. As we were leaving, the proprietors asked if we would like a tour of the castle. Knowing that we still had a long wait til our train, we jumped at the opportunity. I love history! We had an exclusive tour as it was just Romy, myself and the tour guide. From the top of the tour, we could see all of Oxford and what a wonderful sight!

When we arrived back at the train station, we found out our train had been canceled and we had to wait another hour. We made it on the next train and with little hassle made it home at a quarter to four, twenty-three hours and thirty-five minutes AFTER we were supposed to head home. But it was such a Grand Adventure!! I commented to Romy this morning that it felt as though we were in some Christmas story, in a lovely little village that was warm and welcoming. It was a good weekend. :)