Following The Lord’s Lead In Cambridge…
After three months here in Cambridge, we are seeing the Lord enlarge our hearts and expand our perspective. We are seeing fruit in the lives of those that we have been ministering to and we are connecting with more and more people. Mark has almost read the first five books of the Bible and is starting to share his faith with others. We were also blessed with our first visitor from the US here in March, when Pastor Bill Beckelman from New Jersey came to encourage us and help us with projects in our home…including our messy garage!
Living in another culture is like a painting being placed on a different canvas, where the contrast is able to show you things about your self and life that was not seen before. The spiritual climate here seems to reflect a greater array of cross-cultural ideas and beliefs than anywhere I have ever been. It seems like every wind of doctrine has blown through this country and some that I did not even know were blowing at all. There is a great need to feed people the Words of eternal life and to help restore wounded and scattered sheep. The people seem to be set in their ways and even more churches are set in their own programs and are also very territorial. Since I am new to the area, I have been visiting the various churches and have been looking to reach out to all those who sincerely love and serve our Lord. It grieves my heart when I see division in the body of Christ and when I see the people of God missing out on the fullness that God has for them. I was praying about all of this one night when God led me to John 13, where Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, including Judas, His betrayer, giving them an example of being a servant of all. So God has called me to add to this area with the preaching of His Word, a spirit of love and compassion for the people and to win souls by being a servant of ALL!
We have gone through an entry level of spiritual battles…all of which has proven to sharpen us and deepen our roots in the Lord and in this land. For example, we were told that we were not going to be covered under the socialized health care…just weeks away from the delivery of our son. It was a bit stressful, but we knew God would be glorified no matter what. They needed proof that we were planning on staying here for a settled period of time, so we supplied that for them. God answered our prayers and now we can help others who might have the same problem.
God Has Been Opening Doors For Ministry…
As we wait on the Lord for His perfect instruction, the Lord has called us to be patient and not rush into beginning a service on Sunday mornings just yet. He has been allowing us time to get established before having our baby and to continue to build relationships with people in the community.
In the meantime, He has showed us a great venue to have church services on Sunday. It is a community center on the edge of our town called Milton and is on the border of the city center of Cambridge. We currently have it reserved and will see if it is God’s will.
I recently returned from Germany this past weekend where I had the opportunity to teach the youth of Calvary Chapel Siegen for a one day conference on “Imitating Christ”. This was a real blessing to be invited to speak because many of these teens were the same ones I ministered to two summers ago for a youth conference at the Calvary Chapel castle in Austria.
I have also been invited to speak to a fellowship of Chinese Christians living here in Cambridge after meeting the pastor of their church. We have a couple of families coming to our Thursday night Bible Study, including some believers who I met while sharing the Gospel in the city center. Thursday nights have proven to be a wonderful time of fellowship. I have been leading worship…(YES…A MIRACLE INDEED!) and teaching thru the Gospel of Luke. The picture below shows a special night we had with an outreach team from the Bible College at York. You can see one of my former students from New Jersey, Jon Macapodi, leading worship…
Many days, I wake up early and have a morning time of devotion with the Lord looking over the Cam River that runs through our city. Then, I will often ride my bike into the city and walk around ready to meet people and share God’s love with those that the Lord leads me to.
Other Ways God Has Been Working Through Our Family
In addition to teaching the Bible and sharing in the fellowship with the other believers that God has introduced us to…I have had some extended opportunities of ministry and fellowship with other brethren here in England. We visited Jeff Cuozzo, who is a dear friend of mine and who pastors a Calvary Chapel in Kendal. Our two families enjoyed some great fellowship and I had the opportunity to teach their Sunday morning service.
I was able to speak to the believers at Calvary Chapel Norwich one Sunday and we also enjoyed great fellowship with many pastors and their wives at a one-day Leadership conference in Oxford. Afterward, we were able to shop at the Costco in London and stock up on some food items.
Finally, I have made some contacts with some students at Cambridge University and I am really praying for some real opportunities to disciple students there.
