Wow...again i say...what a week! God is so good you guys! This has been just as busy of a week as ever! Sonshine week starts ON MONDAY! so things have been soooooo crazy getting the final stuff done for that! It is like combining planning for homecoming, winter banquet, all school retreat and march madness into one week! One thing tha ti have seen this week is how God uses EVERY thing in our past to prepare us for what he has today! All of my time spent at berean and doing stuff in student government has helped TREMENDOUSLY in the prep for sonshine week! but o man guys has it been challenging becuase i am spending a lot of time doing the little behind the scenes stuff and that is super humbling for me! Also, it has been SOOOOOOOOOOO hard to ask people for rides and stuff! O MAN! Also, there was a change of living arangements that happened this week! I am now staying with Jo and Mark Looney! Mark is a Rev. in the Church of Ireland! They are lovely people who are so gracious and have opened there house up to me! Again a humbling experience!
So a little recap of the week!
Starting with saturday! Last saturday i went to an OMS United Kingdom orientation! It was wonderful to be with 15 other people, yougn and old who were going over seas to do missions work! There was a team going to HAITI!!!!!!! (God would have them there!) a team going to Ukraine, Uruaguy, and Mexico! So we did a lot of cultural awareness games, things like preparing our testimonies and personality profile tests and stuff! It was very interesting becuase it hit me that being at HOME is almost harder for me then being over seas! All you APU people probably remember when Francis Chan talked about how we all would probably be willing to go and get on a plane and go to africa to do BIG thigns for God in a place where we dont know anyone and then come back in two week and then go right back to the routine of home....but WHY IN THE HECK ARE WE NOT WILLING TO DO THE THINGS WE DO ON MISSION TRIPS AT HOME! so saturday was pretty emotional for me becuase how am i going to take the thigns that i have learned here about God back and make them change the way i look and function in my community....i dont know yet BUT God is faithful and he knows what he is doing!
Sunday:Had the opportunity to go to sharon and melvin's home church:Antrim Baptist which was in a wee hall that held about 100 people and they had a celebration for all the kids that went to sunday school! It was still on the traditional side of church and we did all hymns and then did communion. Then SUNDAY NIGHT! THE HEALING SERVICE happened at GP! Wow guys! God is so good! HE IS ALIVE AND WORKING! When we step out in Faith! God rewards that! Pastor Jeff talked about Mark 11:22-25 and how to unlock healing we have to H-Have Faith and took someone out of the congration and said @with God you have to just jump sometimes' and he leaped off of the stage into the guy's arms and what a visual it was to see trust and faith that he had in his friend! then he talked about how he had Krohn's Disease and it was really acting up about 2 years ago when the chruch was getting started and he talkeda bout how the holy spirit told him that this sickness was not from Him and that is was not from the devil that Jeff was causing this sickness becuas eof his anxiety over getting the church started! And so he said that he had to trust that God was in control and that even after he prayed for healing and released his anxiety that he still was having pain==BUT== when you pains dont tell you that you are healed--look to the WORD of God(ISAIAH 53-by MY wounds you are healed) tells you that you are!!!!!!!!!!! then the letter E-Entertain no Doubt using verse 23--KNOW that you can move the mountain! Don't doubt! then the letter A- ASK! verse 24--be specific in your asking for healing! he also used John 15 where it talks about abiding in God! [Dare to ask and Dare to belive!] then last but not least the letter L=LET ALL OFFENSES GO! verse 25! let the offenses go...such a simple statement but yet so hard to do sometimes! and then verse 25 goes on saying if you hold anything against someone FORGIVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so that your Father can forgive you! Don't hold grudges with people! For give them!
After Jeff talked about that there were some prayers that we said outloud using verses like Psalm 107, Proverbs 4:20, Rom. 12:12; John 14:20; Prov, 12:18, 16:24; Psalm 118; Exodus 23:25-26 to read out loud!
and guys....then he asked people to come up for prayer if they needed healing...and can i just tell you that like half of the 'house' got up! People are hurting...people are in pain....WHY DONT WE ASK THEM IF THEY WANT TO BE HEALED? I know that many times people think that God owes it to them to heal them...but if we look at this passage from Mark...there is a part that we must do...we have to be right with God...and i think that we miss that sometimes! The service started at 7ish and there were people there getting prayed over until 10:45ish! AMAZING! and i acactually got to talk with pastor jeff the next day and he said that he got SO many calls of people saying that they woke up HEALED!
what a step of faith....
can people see our faith being lived out...
faith is spelled-RISK-- are we taking any risks...are we jumping out on a leap of faith when the only thing we have to hold onto to is Jesus...becuase then and only then will God work in AMAZING ways!
..
U
on monday did lots of prep for the kidz club with Joanne who is the leader of the kids club at WB and then on tuesday morning with Joanne we went to a nursey school(preschool) graduation to do a puppet presentation! GUYS PUPPETS ARE SO MUCH FUN! it is kinda hard to do and i got thrown into the deep end cuz i have never done them before! But the wee ones are SOOOOOOOOOOOO cute and it was great to be able to share that God loves them through a fun and easy thing like puppets! and then after that we went to Cullybackey High school again for lunch club and to do preparations for an assemble that we were to do on thursday! Guys it rocks...here(like so many other places other then the states) YOU CAN TALK ABOUT GOD IN SCHOOLS! wb has built a wonderful relationship with the vice principle of CHS and he is a christian too so they have some amazing opportunities to share the love of christ with these kids!
So the theme for the assembly was GLADIATOR! so we had a blow up bouncey obstacle course and a jousting bouncey thing. So we split them into teams of 150 on one side and a 150 on the other side and had them go through the course to see who won...then they had team members do the jousting! After the fun games, a professional body builder==the real life gladiator!==shared his testimony! Then we watched a video with clips from the passion of the Christ movie and following that Adam on heartbeat team shared his testimony and gave an appeal! I know that God used that all of the time that they had spent at CHS this past year to soften the kids hearts towards God and i know that God's word does not come up void (Isaiah 55) and that those kids lives will be turned to Christ!
Friday night and saturday morning we had training time for sonshine week and then as teams came back to the WB and had team bonding time! I am so dang excited for this week guys and the visual that i have in my head is this light that leaves the WB and leaves GP that permeates through the streets of Ahoghill and Galgorm and this light is so contagious that people can't help but come out of their houses and see what it is!
please pray that this is true! That lives will be turned from the way of darkness to the kindgom of LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! So much prayer and prep and more prayer and more prep has gone into this week!
I KNOW that God has big things in store!
Jeff challenged us to EACH DAY...pray with some we meet and share the gospel with someone...........
WHAT A CHALLENGE
but then i realized
that is what EVERYDAY should be.....
Also, amazing story! On friday night i met this couple named Richard and Susan! They are LOVELY and they were talkig about how He went to ORU in Oklahoma! (MIRIAM GOES THERE!) and for like 45 minutes we talked about all the ways in which God provided for them...God for provided money for tution 'randomly' when they didn't think they were going to make it-how he provided food and diapers for their baby when they were on their last bottle and last diaper==and Susan is a hair dresser but didn't have enough money to buy products and then she got a call from someone back in ireland who had just wired money into her account but the lady told susan that GOd told her that it was to be used for beauty products!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i was in AWE of their trust and faith in God and it inspired me so much to live a life of TOTAL reliance on God! Guys...we do we think that God is not going to provide for us! He knows what we need...and what WE WANT doesn't always mean it is going to be what is best for us...God knows what is best for us and he is going to make it happen in HIS timing! Our Job is to trust! and not to take things into our own hands!
So this morning i had the chance to go to the CHruch of Ireland with Mark and Jo! and i think that it is so funny i have been to a different church each sunday i have been here! Chruch of Ireland is a lot more like the catholic church but it was great to see how another place does worship....
what do u think God is saying when he looks down on us and sees his body so divided......
that is what is beautiful about the Washbasin! It is a interdenominational organization that meets the needs of the people in the village no matter what they belive about the holy spirit or spiritual gifts!
I have to run but i cannot thank you all enough for your prayers and support! I am so excited for sonshine week and to see people come to the Lord!
My prayer is that you can be challenged by our brothers and sisters over her to put your faith to the test and to expect God to show up! Take a step of faith! do something that you think you would never do!
FAITH IS SPELLED RISK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
..
U
love you all and miss you like crazy!
IN HIS GRIP,
megan
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Week TWO! "Faith without action is dead"
James 2
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
I think that so many times that we as an american christian church can be "chained to the pew" and are sunday morning christians that spent more of their time in their christian community and we not willing to do what James calls true religion "Religion that God out Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress aand to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (1:27) One thing that has hti me to the core of my heart is the fact that the Washbasin and Green Pastures church are so active in their community. They are ALWAYS doing something in their villiage to get people connected with Christ and to a place where they are welcomed. I will address this more later...
..
U
To break down the week a little...monday night was our kids club meeting so this is for all the leaders of the kids club during sonshien week to meet and brainstorm and practice what we are going to be doing! We learned some fun and crazy dances to songs! But guys there are going to be like 300 kids there and this is such an amazing opportunity to bring the name of Jesus to them! Please be praying that i will be able to know how to lead these wee kids to the a closer relationship to the lord and for those who dont' believe that i can point to the cross!
My days have been filled with TONS of work preparing for sonshine week! On tuesday we delieved all those gifts we packed last week to the people of Ahoghill! My partner Chelsie is an adorable young girl about 14 who has a passion for Christ and is helping with kids club too! We went to about 40 doors that night and encountered everything from Christian's who were super encouraging and were attendeing sonshine week...to people who didn't know what sonshine week was and wanted to know more...to people like Paul...Paul was an older man who once he opened the door i new this wasn't going to easy. Paul was where all black and had a shaved head with a mohawk of black hair. His eyes were piercing and were a blue, almost turquise color that i have never seen before. When chelsie handed him the gift the first thing he says is "oh i dont agree with you christians!" and goes off for like 20 mintues about how he is tormented by evil spirits and believes in Chinese religion...while he is saying all of this--i could feel the oppression of that house---there was evil there...and i would try and interject my thoughts and opinions but it wasn't time for that...he needed to vent and to get out his frustration...about half way through i asked if he wanted us to pray for him and he wanted nothing to do with our God or our prayers! but looking into his piercing eyes...he was in bondage...he was truly tornemented and couldn't be set free unless he turned to Jesus...he also went off on how he hates the pople in America and the UK who say they are christians and belive in capitalism becuase why are they polluting the earth and using its beautiful reasources yet say they love God and his creation...also he talked about how the rich are rulling the world and they are not doing a very good job and why is it that there are so many people who are dying with aids in africa and the rich aren't doing anything about it! Why are the governments who say they are christian(aka america) letting these thigns happen!
Let me tell you this was a slap in the face! I know that my eyes have been opened this year to some of these issues and right now i am reading a book my Shane Clairborne (THAT YOU ALL SHOULD READ) called Jesus for President and it addresses some of these issues! So i am being bombarded by another way of thinking! The thigns that i have thought about my country since i was born are now having to be rethought! I am not saying that i hate america or i am not going to support the things going on in my country! But you know what i mean...it is hard and challenging when you hear the other side! I WOULD challenge you all to check out the book or the website jesusforpresident.com and see what i am talking about. and i pray that today your thinking would be challenged! And just because your thinking is being challenged doesn't mean that you are going to change your mind about antying...i am just saying that by being forced to answer some hard question you can made your ideas stronger or adapted them to a new way of thinking.
---sorry guys this is super rambly but i have a short amount of time and i praise God for this little down time!---
Also on tuesday ---God withheld the rain for 90% of our delievery but the last 30 minutes it was POURING! but that didn't stop us from doing what we had to do! And it was hard for me to becuase when we were talking to Paul i was like "we have so many bags to deliver still o my goodness" then God hit me in the head that HELLO it isn't about the task it is about the people! i can't lose sight of that!
..
U
Wednesday held more sonshine week prep! Also, the Heartbeat team is going to Mozimbique this summer and they did a change drive at Culleybacky High School whcihc is the school that they go to every tuesday during lucnh to build realtionships with teh kids! They made over a 1000 pounds! it was a blessing to them but o man counting all of that money was a great way to learn the money! the bank of ireland hated us coming in with a 1000 pounds of change!But then on wednesday night: the bus from GREEN PASTURES came to the house in Antrim to pick me up for the wednesday night prayers meeting! It is great that they have busses that go to all of the villages in the area to pick up poeple hwo dont have rides to get to hcurch! This weeks time focused on what the years ahead held for the chruch! It was wonderful to see their passion and their vision for the next couple of years!
Guys...they EXPECT god to do great things! That is challengeing for me becuase i think that so many times i dont make my plans BIG enough ya know...i thnk we can become a little to caught up in the common sense of it all when we forget that luke promises that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR OUR LORD!!!!!!!! (tiff)=)Pastor Jeff talked about Luke 14 and the Parable of the Great Banquet! He said that we need to be inviting people to this House Party!(their church) but the passage talks about how when we invite people we know sometimes they give excusses as to why tehy can't come and so then it says that we need to go out into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled to blind and the lame to the banquet! and that even with all of those people in the church THERE STILL IS ROOM! and we need to then go to the roads and coutnry lanes and make them come in so that the Hosue of the lord will be full!
are we doing that?
He talked about how our best harvest is many times amoung the pople that we dont know.....so HOW ARE WE MAKING THAT HAPPEN! GP and the WB have a team called streetreach! and guess what they do...GO OUT INTO THE STREETS and do whatever the community needs! Each team member is assigned an area and they help with home improvements and yard work...during holidays help single parent family with needs and then they build that relationship with them so that they can then invite them to church!!!!!!!!!!!
guys how can we do that in our towns? ---->that is the question i am wrestling with.....pray that my thoughts can be sorted out....
Yesterday...thursday was CRAZY!
Rebekah (whom i praise the lord is here with me) and i spent to whole day 9-9 working on stuff!!!! but last night was a blast we helped in the upper room because there was a party for all the kids who are part of this thing called Coaching for Christ (a futball team/league that all the coaches are christians and have devotions and stuff but they work in the community--again another way to get the name of Jesus out there without people the intimiation of a church serivice) had their end of the year party! So Rebekah and her brother Steven(who is the chef of the upper room) served 60 boys under the age of 13---CRAZINESS!---but marvelous! and now it is friday and Sharon and i are sitting in the COMFORT inn becuase it is our day off and then we are heading back to her house then to Killrea (her parents house (where we got spend fathers day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Her dad is farmer and her mom is an adorable house wife!) Because Sharon and melvin are having a fundrasing bbq for their africa trip! pray that all that goes well and that God holds out on teh rain!
Tomorrow i am going to an OMS orientation thing....i dont realy know detials about it but i am sure it is going to great!
i have to go and get detials done for the bbq tonight!
guys i love you all an dmiss you so much! and i LVOE LOVE LOVE hearing your comments! so keep um coming!
but i want to know how you all are doing as well!
Thanks again for the love and prayers!
IN HIS GRIP,
megan frew
Praises!
~God gave us some amazing opportunities to share his love to the people of Ahoghill and Galgorm and Gracehill through gift delivers.
~I have made some truly GREAT relationships with some great brothers and sisters in teh Lord!
~God is faithful in providing for all my needs(emotionally, social, and spritiually) and is giving me the strength that i need to get through these crazy long and amazing days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Prayers:
~That we will get everything done for SONSHINE WEEK which is rapidly apporaching in ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~That i will be able to know how to take what i have learned home with me and ACT upon it!!!!!!!!!!!!
~That the healing service on sunday night for GP will be God honoring and that poeple will be able to come and encounter the Lord AND BE HEALED!!!!!!!
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
I think that so many times that we as an american christian church can be "chained to the pew" and are sunday morning christians that spent more of their time in their christian community and we not willing to do what James calls true religion "Religion that God out Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress aand to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (1:27) One thing that has hti me to the core of my heart is the fact that the Washbasin and Green Pastures church are so active in their community. They are ALWAYS doing something in their villiage to get people connected with Christ and to a place where they are welcomed. I will address this more later...
..
U
To break down the week a little...monday night was our kids club meeting so this is for all the leaders of the kids club during sonshien week to meet and brainstorm and practice what we are going to be doing! We learned some fun and crazy dances to songs! But guys there are going to be like 300 kids there and this is such an amazing opportunity to bring the name of Jesus to them! Please be praying that i will be able to know how to lead these wee kids to the a closer relationship to the lord and for those who dont' believe that i can point to the cross!
My days have been filled with TONS of work preparing for sonshine week! On tuesday we delieved all those gifts we packed last week to the people of Ahoghill! My partner Chelsie is an adorable young girl about 14 who has a passion for Christ and is helping with kids club too! We went to about 40 doors that night and encountered everything from Christian's who were super encouraging and were attendeing sonshine week...to people who didn't know what sonshine week was and wanted to know more...to people like Paul...Paul was an older man who once he opened the door i new this wasn't going to easy. Paul was where all black and had a shaved head with a mohawk of black hair. His eyes were piercing and were a blue, almost turquise color that i have never seen before. When chelsie handed him the gift the first thing he says is "oh i dont agree with you christians!" and goes off for like 20 mintues about how he is tormented by evil spirits and believes in Chinese religion...while he is saying all of this--i could feel the oppression of that house---there was evil there...and i would try and interject my thoughts and opinions but it wasn't time for that...he needed to vent and to get out his frustration...about half way through i asked if he wanted us to pray for him and he wanted nothing to do with our God or our prayers! but looking into his piercing eyes...he was in bondage...he was truly tornemented and couldn't be set free unless he turned to Jesus...he also went off on how he hates the pople in America and the UK who say they are christians and belive in capitalism becuase why are they polluting the earth and using its beautiful reasources yet say they love God and his creation...also he talked about how the rich are rulling the world and they are not doing a very good job and why is it that there are so many people who are dying with aids in africa and the rich aren't doing anything about it! Why are the governments who say they are christian(aka america) letting these thigns happen!
Let me tell you this was a slap in the face! I know that my eyes have been opened this year to some of these issues and right now i am reading a book my Shane Clairborne (THAT YOU ALL SHOULD READ) called Jesus for President and it addresses some of these issues! So i am being bombarded by another way of thinking! The thigns that i have thought about my country since i was born are now having to be rethought! I am not saying that i hate america or i am not going to support the things going on in my country! But you know what i mean...it is hard and challenging when you hear the other side! I WOULD challenge you all to check out the book or the website jesusforpresident.com and see what i am talking about. and i pray that today your thinking would be challenged! And just because your thinking is being challenged doesn't mean that you are going to change your mind about antying...i am just saying that by being forced to answer some hard question you can made your ideas stronger or adapted them to a new way of thinking.
---sorry guys this is super rambly but i have a short amount of time and i praise God for this little down time!---
Also on tuesday ---God withheld the rain for 90% of our delievery but the last 30 minutes it was POURING! but that didn't stop us from doing what we had to do! And it was hard for me to becuase when we were talking to Paul i was like "we have so many bags to deliver still o my goodness" then God hit me in the head that HELLO it isn't about the task it is about the people! i can't lose sight of that!
..
U
Wednesday held more sonshine week prep! Also, the Heartbeat team is going to Mozimbique this summer and they did a change drive at Culleybacky High School whcihc is the school that they go to every tuesday during lucnh to build realtionships with teh kids! They made over a 1000 pounds! it was a blessing to them but o man counting all of that money was a great way to learn the money! the bank of ireland hated us coming in with a 1000 pounds of change!But then on wednesday night: the bus from GREEN PASTURES came to the house in Antrim to pick me up for the wednesday night prayers meeting! It is great that they have busses that go to all of the villages in the area to pick up poeple hwo dont have rides to get to hcurch! This weeks time focused on what the years ahead held for the chruch! It was wonderful to see their passion and their vision for the next couple of years!
Guys...they EXPECT god to do great things! That is challengeing for me becuase i think that so many times i dont make my plans BIG enough ya know...i thnk we can become a little to caught up in the common sense of it all when we forget that luke promises that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR OUR LORD!!!!!!!! (tiff)=)Pastor Jeff talked about Luke 14 and the Parable of the Great Banquet! He said that we need to be inviting people to this House Party!(their church) but the passage talks about how when we invite people we know sometimes they give excusses as to why tehy can't come and so then it says that we need to go out into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled to blind and the lame to the banquet! and that even with all of those people in the church THERE STILL IS ROOM! and we need to then go to the roads and coutnry lanes and make them come in so that the Hosue of the lord will be full!
are we doing that?
He talked about how our best harvest is many times amoung the pople that we dont know.....so HOW ARE WE MAKING THAT HAPPEN! GP and the WB have a team called streetreach! and guess what they do...GO OUT INTO THE STREETS and do whatever the community needs! Each team member is assigned an area and they help with home improvements and yard work...during holidays help single parent family with needs and then they build that relationship with them so that they can then invite them to church!!!!!!!!!!!
guys how can we do that in our towns? ---->that is the question i am wrestling with.....pray that my thoughts can be sorted out....
Yesterday...thursday was CRAZY!
Rebekah (whom i praise the lord is here with me) and i spent to whole day 9-9 working on stuff!!!! but last night was a blast we helped in the upper room because there was a party for all the kids who are part of this thing called Coaching for Christ (a futball team/league that all the coaches are christians and have devotions and stuff but they work in the community--again another way to get the name of Jesus out there without people the intimiation of a church serivice) had their end of the year party! So Rebekah and her brother Steven(who is the chef of the upper room) served 60 boys under the age of 13---CRAZINESS!---but marvelous! and now it is friday and Sharon and i are sitting in the COMFORT inn becuase it is our day off and then we are heading back to her house then to Killrea (her parents house (where we got spend fathers day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Her dad is farmer and her mom is an adorable house wife!) Because Sharon and melvin are having a fundrasing bbq for their africa trip! pray that all that goes well and that God holds out on teh rain!
Tomorrow i am going to an OMS orientation thing....i dont realy know detials about it but i am sure it is going to great!
i have to go and get detials done for the bbq tonight!
guys i love you all an dmiss you so much! and i LVOE LOVE LOVE hearing your comments! so keep um coming!
but i want to know how you all are doing as well!
Thanks again for the love and prayers!
IN HIS GRIP,
megan frew
Praises!
~God gave us some amazing opportunities to share his love to the people of Ahoghill and Galgorm and Gracehill through gift delivers.
~I have made some truly GREAT relationships with some great brothers and sisters in teh Lord!
~God is faithful in providing for all my needs(emotionally, social, and spritiually) and is giving me the strength that i need to get through these crazy long and amazing days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Prayers:
~That we will get everything done for SONSHINE WEEK which is rapidly apporaching in ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~That i will be able to know how to take what i have learned home with me and ACT upon it!!!!!!!!!!!!
~That the healing service on sunday night for GP will be God honoring and that poeple will be able to come and encounter the Lord AND BE HEALED!!!!!!!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Week One: WOW...this is INSANE but completely AMAZING!
wow...unreal...i can't believe that i am here! Guys you would love this place! So much passion and so much prayer goes on here!
So i arrived on monday at 9:30 to Belfast northern Ireland! and Sharon Kelly was there to pick me up! Sharon works at the Washbasin and is in charge of the Heartbeat team (a group of 4 young adults who volunteer at the washbasin for a year). So from the airport i was ready to go(inside i was extremely tired...but that didn't matter i have been waiting for 6 months to be in ireland) so we headed off to meet the team and i knew once we opened in "african" style prayers (the kind of prayer where everyone prays at the same time) that i knew that i was going to LOVE this place!!!!!!!!1! There is a core of about 10 people who work at the Washbasin which is located in the heart of the village of Ahoghill (which is pronounce a-hock-ll--the guy at the airport made fun of me hard core when i said it A HOG HILL =) it happens! But the washbasin is an amazing thing...they are in the heart of the community...their idea is that is we can't get these poele to come to church..then we need to bring the church to them! They are all about building relationships--because if you dont have a relationship with someone then sure as heck they are not going to listen to what you have to say! So on monday night i attended a "Kids Club" meeting to prepare for Sonshine week! Sonshine week is a week devoted to outreach and community involvement, this year the theme is EXTREME MAKEOVER and the verse is 1 Cor 15:7--In Christ we are a New Creation!!!!! It is like a VBS but for EVERYONE each age group and people group has an activity...but you are know my love for the "wee" ones (they say wee before everything--and I LOVE IT) so i am doing the kids club during sonshine week!
So on tuesday i meet the heartbeat team-Helen, Adam, Ricky, and Rebekah-we talked about sonshine week AND their upcoming missions trip to Mozambique(which is right above south africa)
sharon's husband melvin was an OMS missionary for 3 years in Mozambique so their house is filled with africa stuff so i feel right at home! On tuesday we prepared for packing night which was a time to pack up 3000 gifts for the ahoghill, gracehill, and galgorm villages(which are the three villages surrounding the washbasin)--and yes i said THREE THOUSAND! these gifts consisted of a book introducing Christianity, a tape measure(becuase it is extreme makeover), and an invitation to participate in Sonshine week! So day two and i was already in charge of an invent! Rebekah and Ricky and I got everything ready and the night went great! Also on tuesday we went into the high school and did a lunch fun club...they have been doing this since the beginning of the school year...and this time at the school isn't a bible study it is just a hang out time...we brought every kind of video game you could think of...crisps(chips) and snacks and nail polish for the girls....the point of this time is to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS! beaus then once they love and trust you, you can start talking about Jesus and they will respect you!
On wednesday we left the washbasin and went off site to a little cottage to go through a bible study called Freedom in Christ...it was a great time to reflect and to look at my life and deal with the sins i needed to repent off and focus on the things that Christ has set me free from! Then once we returned we set up for an event called Cosi--which again is a time for all the kids to come after school and hang out! play video games, pool, and watch tv...having the open door makes kids want to come!
Then wednesday night i went to a prayer service at Green Pastures Church with is run by the same people as the Washbasin...and O MAN WAS IT AMAZING! guys this church is only a year old and it is growing like CRAZY! as soon as you walk in you feel welcome! There are sofa's and tables and benches everywhere it is so homey. So the weekly prayer service consists worship(and oman some of the most passionate worshippers i have seen---and the best part of it was that they dont have a worhsip band, they use CD's but that doesn't matter ya know they just come to worship God-AND there had to have been at least a 100 people at the prayer meeting! Then Pastor Jeff Wright spoke a wee bit and then after Jeff gave us some specific things to be praying for we moved ot a time of prayer..and the way that it worked was that one person would stand up and prayer whatever was on their heart! it was phenomenal! i loved it! Also, they are doing a 24/7 prayer time for Sonshine week! guys...their church is small and there are people spending the night at the church praying for their community...it has been so challenging to see all of the things that these people are doing to impact and reach out to their community. There were people praying in tongues---and there were people interpreting those tongues...it was AMAZING and you could TOTALLY feel the presence of God there! and how awesome is this....next week they are having a HEALING SERVICE...they have put it in the newspaper...so be praying that this step of faith will be rewarded! I cant wait to tell you the stories!
Then...last night we had to opportunity to go to a crusade by Angus Buckin ---the guy who wrote Faith like Potatoes---which is the movie that Blommie had us watch when we were in South Africa! It was amazing to be in a room full of at least a THOUSAND Northern Irish people singing hymns and getting fired up out what God was going to do in their country! He talked about dying to self because nothing will happen when we are full of pride! (funny how God gets me on my pride EVERY time!)
It has been truly and honor to see God working here! He is alive my friends! I am so blessed and humbled that i am even here right now! I can't thank you enough for your prayers! Because it is by the grace of God that i am even awake right now! but busy is my middle name so this is nothing out of the ordinary!
Sorry this was very very messy and scrambled but i only had a wee bit of time before we are off to the next activity!
Thanks Again! Thanks for the encouragement! I love you all and miss you like crazy!
IN HIS GRIP,
megan
Praises:
~That i arrived safely and fit in with the Washbasin!
~That God is working through the washbasin and green pastures church to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
~That i have already had so many wonderful experiences with God and with these beautiful Irish people!
Prayer:
~For the Washbasin in preparation for Sonshine week! that God will work out all the details and that the gifts we pass out on Tuesday night and Thursday night will prompt people to ask questions about where they stand with the Lord
~For Green Pastures Church that the events and services that they are putting on this next week will help Christians and non Christians alike draw closer to the Lord!
~For strength and no sickness...i have busy schedule and i want to do as much as i can in the small amount of time i have here!
know that you all are in my prayers as well! Thank you! =) God is faithful!
Theme Verse for the Week
Matthew 6:1
"1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
So i arrived on monday at 9:30 to Belfast northern Ireland! and Sharon Kelly was there to pick me up! Sharon works at the Washbasin and is in charge of the Heartbeat team (a group of 4 young adults who volunteer at the washbasin for a year). So from the airport i was ready to go(inside i was extremely tired...but that didn't matter i have been waiting for 6 months to be in ireland) so we headed off to meet the team and i knew once we opened in "african" style prayers (the kind of prayer where everyone prays at the same time) that i knew that i was going to LOVE this place!!!!!!!!1! There is a core of about 10 people who work at the Washbasin which is located in the heart of the village of Ahoghill (which is pronounce a-hock-ll--the guy at the airport made fun of me hard core when i said it A HOG HILL =) it happens! But the washbasin is an amazing thing...they are in the heart of the community...their idea is that is we can't get these poele to come to church..then we need to bring the church to them! They are all about building relationships--because if you dont have a relationship with someone then sure as heck they are not going to listen to what you have to say! So on monday night i attended a "Kids Club" meeting to prepare for Sonshine week! Sonshine week is a week devoted to outreach and community involvement, this year the theme is EXTREME MAKEOVER and the verse is 1 Cor 15:7--In Christ we are a New Creation!!!!! It is like a VBS but for EVERYONE each age group and people group has an activity...but you are know my love for the "wee" ones (they say wee before everything--and I LOVE IT) so i am doing the kids club during sonshine week!
So on tuesday i meet the heartbeat team-Helen, Adam, Ricky, and Rebekah-we talked about sonshine week AND their upcoming missions trip to Mozambique(which is right above south africa)
sharon's husband melvin was an OMS missionary for 3 years in Mozambique so their house is filled with africa stuff so i feel right at home! On tuesday we prepared for packing night which was a time to pack up 3000 gifts for the ahoghill, gracehill, and galgorm villages(which are the three villages surrounding the washbasin)--and yes i said THREE THOUSAND! these gifts consisted of a book introducing Christianity, a tape measure(becuase it is extreme makeover), and an invitation to participate in Sonshine week! So day two and i was already in charge of an invent! Rebekah and Ricky and I got everything ready and the night went great! Also on tuesday we went into the high school and did a lunch fun club...they have been doing this since the beginning of the school year...and this time at the school isn't a bible study it is just a hang out time...we brought every kind of video game you could think of...crisps(chips) and snacks and nail polish for the girls....the point of this time is to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS! beaus then once they love and trust you, you can start talking about Jesus and they will respect you!
On wednesday we left the washbasin and went off site to a little cottage to go through a bible study called Freedom in Christ...it was a great time to reflect and to look at my life and deal with the sins i needed to repent off and focus on the things that Christ has set me free from! Then once we returned we set up for an event called Cosi--which again is a time for all the kids to come after school and hang out! play video games, pool, and watch tv...having the open door makes kids want to come!
Then wednesday night i went to a prayer service at Green Pastures Church with is run by the same people as the Washbasin...and O MAN WAS IT AMAZING! guys this church is only a year old and it is growing like CRAZY! as soon as you walk in you feel welcome! There are sofa's and tables and benches everywhere it is so homey. So the weekly prayer service consists worship(and oman some of the most passionate worshippers i have seen---and the best part of it was that they dont have a worhsip band, they use CD's but that doesn't matter ya know they just come to worship God-AND there had to have been at least a 100 people at the prayer meeting! Then Pastor Jeff Wright spoke a wee bit and then after Jeff gave us some specific things to be praying for we moved ot a time of prayer..and the way that it worked was that one person would stand up and prayer whatever was on their heart! it was phenomenal! i loved it! Also, they are doing a 24/7 prayer time for Sonshine week! guys...their church is small and there are people spending the night at the church praying for their community...it has been so challenging to see all of the things that these people are doing to impact and reach out to their community. There were people praying in tongues---and there were people interpreting those tongues...it was AMAZING and you could TOTALLY feel the presence of God there! and how awesome is this....next week they are having a HEALING SERVICE...they have put it in the newspaper...so be praying that this step of faith will be rewarded! I cant wait to tell you the stories!
Then...last night we had to opportunity to go to a crusade by Angus Buckin ---the guy who wrote Faith like Potatoes---which is the movie that Blommie had us watch when we were in South Africa! It was amazing to be in a room full of at least a THOUSAND Northern Irish people singing hymns and getting fired up out what God was going to do in their country! He talked about dying to self because nothing will happen when we are full of pride! (funny how God gets me on my pride EVERY time!)
It has been truly and honor to see God working here! He is alive my friends! I am so blessed and humbled that i am even here right now! I can't thank you enough for your prayers! Because it is by the grace of God that i am even awake right now! but busy is my middle name so this is nothing out of the ordinary!
Sorry this was very very messy and scrambled but i only had a wee bit of time before we are off to the next activity!
Thanks Again! Thanks for the encouragement! I love you all and miss you like crazy!
IN HIS GRIP,
megan
Praises:
~That i arrived safely and fit in with the Washbasin!
~That God is working through the washbasin and green pastures church to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
~That i have already had so many wonderful experiences with God and with these beautiful Irish people!
Prayer:
~For the Washbasin in preparation for Sonshine week! that God will work out all the details and that the gifts we pass out on Tuesday night and Thursday night will prompt people to ask questions about where they stand with the Lord
~For Green Pastures Church that the events and services that they are putting on this next week will help Christians and non Christians alike draw closer to the Lord!
~For strength and no sickness...i have busy schedule and i want to do as much as i can in the small amount of time i have here!
know that you all are in my prayers as well! Thank you! =) God is faithful!
Theme Verse for the Week
Matthew 6:1
"1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Ready or not...here it comes...or should i say HERE I COME!
Hey everyone! Well ready or not here it comes! In seven days exactly i will be on my way to Ahoghill, Northern Ireland to be working at a community center called the Washbasin! I am so excited to see what God has in store! If there is one thing that i have learned throughout this preparation time is that GOD IS FAITHFUL! Every time i doubted that this is what was supposed to happen this summer God would do something to remind me that HE WAS IN CONTROL and that he knew what he was doing! It is not normal--only SUPERNATURAL--for me to have a friend at college hand me a letter during finals week that contained ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS...you can ask my roommates and friends--almost EVERY day there would be someone where a shirt that had Ireland on it, an add on the computer could say "want to travel to IRELAND" or i would go to Barnes and Noble and the first book that i would see would be one about IRELAND! you might think that i am reading into things a little...but i do not think that there are ANY accidents...i know that because of my stubborn/strong willed attitude and ADD personality God has to CONSTANTLY put stuff in my path that will keep me focused on the plan that he has for my life!
Even knowing all of this...with seven days until i leave i can feel those uncertainties and fears of the unknown creeping in...i am so extremely EXCITED, but nervous, anxious...also, i am going by myself, what is that going to be like? am i going to work well with the other 4 interns that are already there? how am i going to adjust to the culture?
i know that this uncertainty is the enemy trying to get into my head and plant seeds of doubt BUT i believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God will not leave me now...this is a step of Faith and God has done nothing in my past to prove that he is NOT faithful! He has something in store for me...i know it....and i can't wait to see what it is! And keep you guys updated on it!
My goal to write what i am doing every week...but please forgive me if it doesn't happen that way! I will do my best to write as much as possible, posting what is going on, prayer requests, and praises of what God is doing! Thanks guys for all the love and support you have given me thus far! I hope all is well with you all and that God is working in Mighty ways in your life! (he is good at that) I pray that your eyes and mine will be opened to see how our God is working both here in the states and in Europe!
A little reminder to us all from Ephesians 6
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
Thanks Again! Love you All! Next post will hopefully be from NORTHERN IRELAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
..
U
IN HIS GRIP,
megan frew
Even knowing all of this...with seven days until i leave i can feel those uncertainties and fears of the unknown creeping in...i am so extremely EXCITED, but nervous, anxious...also, i am going by myself, what is that going to be like? am i going to work well with the other 4 interns that are already there? how am i going to adjust to the culture?
i know that this uncertainty is the enemy trying to get into my head and plant seeds of doubt BUT i believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God will not leave me now...this is a step of Faith and God has done nothing in my past to prove that he is NOT faithful! He has something in store for me...i know it....and i can't wait to see what it is! And keep you guys updated on it!
My goal to write what i am doing every week...but please forgive me if it doesn't happen that way! I will do my best to write as much as possible, posting what is going on, prayer requests, and praises of what God is doing! Thanks guys for all the love and support you have given me thus far! I hope all is well with you all and that God is working in Mighty ways in your life! (he is good at that) I pray that your eyes and mine will be opened to see how our God is working both here in the states and in Europe!
A little reminder to us all from Ephesians 6
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
Thanks Again! Love you All! Next post will hopefully be from NORTHERN IRELAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
..
U
IN HIS GRIP,
megan frew
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