Good morning from Fivemiletown, Northern Ireland.
Sorry I couldn’t update yesterday as the internet cafe` here is closed on Sunday . OK, EVERYTHING is closed on Sunday’s in NI. The only thing I saw open yesterday was the gas [petrol] station and a chinese resteraunt.
From this point forward my updates will only be about my team and what is going on here in 5mile. I will send an e-mail to all the others and ask them to send updates to me so I can post them here, but I don’t know who has access and I won’t see any of them for 8 days unless there is an emergency.
First off, let me say that the events in Egypt and London are terrible. It is both a reminder of the very dangerous world we live in now as well as the urgent need for evangelism. Though I don’t know much since I don’t have great access to news, my heart breaks for the families who have lost loved ones as well as the general sense of terror folks must be feeling as they commute this morning.
This morning I took Richie and Dave with me for my morning devotions. I got them up very early, practically the middle of the night for NI folks. At 6:15 we met in the church kitchen for a quick read of Scripture and then we were off for a walk. Actually, we all chose a word from what we were reading and wrote it on our bodies. Since I am currently stuck in the first part of Luke 3 I wrote “prepare” on my forearm. Why? Well, I wrote it on my arm as a reminder… I’ll see it all day and it will keep me thinking about John the Baptist. It really has hit me hard as I’ve studies Jesus’ story. John entire existence was for that one word… prepare. He was not conceived by a silent father and old mother for greatness… but to merely prepare people for Jesus. His ministry was always secondary to God’s story. In fact, he was once asked “are you the Messiah?” In that moment he had the chance to say… I am a very important person and you should lift me up. Instead he simply said “I am not him.” This hits me hard as I work here in 5Mile. Here’s what I mean.
Why this ministry works here is not that complex. We crazy Americans are a novelty to the Irish. They think we are worth talking to because we come from where they want to go sometime and we talk like people they see on TV. So if we say “wanna come over tonight and talk to us at our coffee bar?” they’ll think to themselves… “Hey, why not? How often can I talk to someone from America?” In a small town, this is exciting… more exciting than hanging out at the park and smoking on the swings. This simple little thing is all the opportunity we need to start building relationships with the kids and talking to them about Jesus. That word “prepare” is a perfect reminder to me as I serve here…. my job isn’t to do anything else but prepare them to meet Jesus. Coming to know the Savior is a God-sized thing. I may play a role in it, but it is only because God wants to involve me. He doesn’t need me to reveal Himself to these lost kids… He just allows me the priveledge of doing so. I am here to prepare. [I can’t help thinking of seasoning meat when I think of this… maybe I should call myself the tenderizer?]
So, on our read.walk.think.pray excursion today we ventured off to the edge of town. We hopped a couple of fences into a farmers field and explored the ruins of an old house. We spent about 30 minutes trying to imagine what the building was used for… then when we got back to the main road we laughed at ourselves for not reading the massive sign that read “Calvery Family House.” Yep, same old Adam!
In other news. The church we are staying at is pretty cool. The Wesley Hall, where we stay, is only 7 years old. It has a large gym and a nice coffe bar o nthe 2nd floor. There are a few classrooms and a really nice kitchen. What is really sad is that the church really only has a small handful of Christian kids. It’s funny because even though the building is 7 years old you can tell that there is no youth ministry. I brand new and dusty pool table. A foosball table that’s never been used. The gym has no scuff marks on the wall from hockey or mysterious stains from youth events. There simply is no youth ministry. What difference does that make? Well, it is seen in the churches on Sunday mornings. The churches aren’t alive. There is fellowship there and I’m sure good things happen. But the parking lot clears instantly. There is little or no Sunday school hour. There are few Bible studies. The church is dying. What does that have to to do with youth ministry? Just ask the kids of 5mile.
Last night about 9:30 we headed over to the local park. There were about 15 kids there hanging out as the sun went down. Bored… their eyes filled with something I experienced a lot in Germany… boredom leading to depression and loneliness. This is a loneliness only Christ can fill but they try to backfill with alcohol, cigarettes, and relationships. [What they call their fun!] As we talk to them, it is clear that they are looking for something more in their lives. They can’t articulate it, but they just look bound by something and they are looking for the chains to come off. They wan to be free but just don’t know how.
Our plan is simply to take these bored kids and invite them to our two outreaches each day. At 2-4 PM we have a meeting for 11-15 year olds and play games with them, etc. From 8-10 we have a coffebar at the church. In both instances the gospel is there… not an altercall or anything like that… but as we build relationships we share our story, they tell us theirs, and we try to weave in God’s story.
Team news I kind of like my team. There aren’t a lot of experienced people here but they have tons of enthusiasm. Right now, we are rocking this tiny village with our noise level. My personal goal is to invest what I can into Richie, Val, and Becca while I am here. They are a part of YFCs internship program called Y1. They are in way, way over their heads… exactly where God likes us to be! So far I’ve been very disappointed with their ability to lead the team. In fact, the team feels like they are leading the leaders right now. They are in a common stage of leadership development where they think being seen as cool will earn them respect. It isn’t working. They are going to learn soon that in order to lead you have to get out front and show us the way. Pushing from behind isn’t a very good way to lead.
Like I said before, if I hear anything from the rest of our Romeo team, I’ll post it here. If nothing else, I will see them next Tuesday when I get to tour around.
Thank you for praying for us. Please continue to pray for the many kids we will invite in tonight.
