What an incredible time we have had here in England. Yesterday afternoon our team conquered a mountain called Rosbury Topping... I know it doesn't that intimidating, but believe me when I say Stone Mountain has nothing on Rosbury. Once we reached the top we could see the entire Teeside Valley where UK/USA Ministries is based. We were joined by a team from Memphis, TN that departed this morning. We shared a time of prayer over the valley and the city of Middlesbrough where we will be serving while here.
Afterward, we headed out to our host homes and had some tea (dinner time). The host homes are incredibly hospitable. The food has been surprisingly good. Last night everyone slept long and hard to try to beat jet lag.
We awoke bright and early this morning to the rain. The morning forecast said that we could expect a month's worth of rain today... they were right. Even so, we hit the pavement and walked to meet some ministry leaders here in Middlesbrough. While in the meeting we learned that our Park Outreach scheduled for Saturday was cancelled by the "Town Government Council" due to rain. We regrouped and spent some time praying to ask God to give us new direction. God united our hearts around a series of ideas. Within 30 minutes our team and the ministry leaders put together a game plan for a different kind of outreach involving American sports, an open cafe, crafts, and random acts of kindness. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
We headed out to a local primary school and spent some time playing with some local kids at primary school. They had a good time trying to imitate our American accents. A few girls left with a slight crush on newly crowned English heart throbs Aaron Killian and Taylor Russell. We grabbed lunch with our guide Andy and he helped us understand some more about the English mindset and culture.
After lunch, we walked the streets of Middlebrough to get a better grasp of the area we are serving. Mile after mile we heard about the needs, hopes, and frustrations of the people here. One thing is certain, this is a region of spiritual darkness in deep need of Jesus Christ.
Gotta go, we are back at the host homes now and it is Tea Time!
Please pray for open doors tomorrow as we try to have spiritual conversation with locals. Pray that God would give our team members courage to talk with others about why we have come to Teeside, UK. Pray for God to use us to make an impact in the darkness here!
Steve
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