Week 9: Until We Meet Again

You might be asking yourself, "is it even possible for the India/Cambridge team to be any more creative than they have been?" The answer is most definitely "yes"! This was clearly displayed on Monday's Faith Day. Our seven DTS students were commissioned on Monday to pray together, listen for God's voice, and then step out in faith according to what God said the day should be like without the guidance of our leaders. We spent time praying for each other and boldly asking God to fulfill the things we wanted to see happen throughout the day. We felt God was telling us to go into the churches and government buildings of the city and to not only pray for revival but also to ask those we met to pray for us. Please pray with us for a reawakening in the church as well as the city. After lunch, we set up a stand (in 0 degree weather) where we handed out free hot chocolate and hugs (some people chose to take one but not the other!). Our team was constantly asked "what's the catch?" and "why are you doing this?," and people were genuinely surprised when we said we just wanted to bless the men and women of Cambridge. The afternoon was filled with a lot of laughter and a lot of grateful smiles.

This week was also Adam's birthday, and as usual, our team walked out our "party-throwing" ministry. After a morning of street evangelism, we had an exciting afternoon of punting on the river Cam. (For anyone who may not know, punting is a sport where you guide a boat along the river using a large metal or wooden pole.) However, we found ourselves faced with a couple of challenges: not only was it super cold, but we had chosen to do the self-guided tour and it was a bit difficult to steer the boat with freezing cold hands while maintaining our sense of balance. It was a memorable 20 minutes filled with a combination of hilarity and misery!

Our last two days of ministry were spent working with a church in another part of the city. Students around the area were on their term break, and the church put on a drum workshop, as well as an art workshop. Several members of our team joined in the drum workshop, and we quickly learned who had rhythmic abilities and who needed a bit more practice. ;-) Everyone participated in the art workshop, and it was such a blessing to converse with the kids.

On our last day, before our team left for the church, we prayed that we would clearly see God's hand on our final outreach ministry--and it was absolutely incredible! The church hosted an event called the Youth Cafe that included games and pancakes for everyone. The team shared our "Mask" skit, Jenny shared a testimony about breaking through strongholds and trusting in God, and Danielle shared the gospel message combined with a stirring testimony about finding her identity in Christ. Two young women responded to the call to salvation, and the team was blessed to pray for several other young men and women. Please pray for the youth ministry and for open doors in the surrounding neighbourhoods. Please also pray for the long-term youth workers that they might be encouraged and have divine encounters.

God has overwhelmed us with personal breakthroughs and team unity. We have become a true family where we disagree with each other, forgive each other, love each other, laugh with each other, and pray for each other. We have been so blessed, and God is so so good.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed with us and for us. May you be encouraged by our testimonies as we leave you all with Jesus' final commission: "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" (Matthew 28: 18-20 NIV)

Weeks 7 & 8: Cambridge Teachings and London Preachings

This is Jenny, taking over for Taryn...
These past two weeks have been nothing short of a whirlwind for our outreach team. We left Delhi at 6:00am on 25 January and arrived in London at 10:00am on the same day (jet lag took on a whole new meaning as we relived several hours!). We returned to Harpenden to retrieve our warmer clothing and received a most wonderful blessing-Team Thailand/Belfast was there as well! The tears and the smiles ran freely, and the hugs became even tighter as our team left again only an hour later. Cambridge was calling (as were our taxi drivers)!

As soon as we arrived to the house where we were staying in Cambridge, we were whisked into the weekly prayer meeting where lunch was waiting to fill out empty stomachs and prayers to fill our spiritual tanks. We could not have asked for a better reception or blessing.

During our first week in the city of scholars, we spent a significant amount of time at one of the colleges evangelizing and promoting a student ministry event aptly titled, "The Secret of Success". We went around speaking to several students about what their idea of success was and how religious beliefs factored into their answers. The responses were as varied as the students, and it was an encouragement to our team to see a few of the men and women we spoke with attend the meeting.

Our group also spent quite a bit of time in evangelizing on the streets of Cambridge. Youth With A Mission-Cambridge (YWAM) is going to be pioneering their first Discipleship Training School (DTS) in September, and Peter and Taryn will be joining them as staff members. Our team used that information as a platform for discussion with people on the streets and as an opportunity to share the gospel with them.

Although it didn't seem possible, our second week in Cambridge was even busier than the first. Another YWAM team was attending training on the Holy Spirit, and we were able to connect with them for an amazing street evangelism opportunity. Yes, friends, we brought Scottish Ceilidh dancing to the city square! There was lively dancing, heart-stirring testimonies, and the simple gospel being shared with anyone walking by. Everywhere you looked the team was being photographed and videotaped, and we were certainly stopping traffic! Bystanders joined in with the dancing, and we danced until our hands and feet were too numb to continue!

Our team also had the opportunity to listen to a lunchtime lecture series with topics such as meaning, religion, truth, evil, and purpose. The series was thought-provoking and encouraged people to have serious discussions amongst themselves.

We also persisted in our team's pattern of attending anniversary parties and wedding feasts that began in India-we took the train to a wedding in London. We all had our specific roles: Peter preached a fiery sermon, Taryn sang Mumford and Sons' "Sigh No More" as the bride walked down the aisle, Danielle perfected the art of cheese slicing and arranging, Mandi and Bethany artfully displayed salads of every kind, Jan-Jaap and Adam painstakingly heated the cider and mulled-wine, and Jenny and Benjamin ran up and down several flights of stairs with large vats of soup that all needed to be heated! It was an exhausting, fun-filled day in which we were able to bless a lovely couple.

 We have one week left in Cambridge. What is God going to do next?!