Hello!
Small update! I am in England! I am physically, emotionally, and socially alright :). Sadly, though, I do not have Wi-Fi in my flat. But bright side- I have a flat!!! YAY! (More on my flat in a later blog though). I arrived in Billingham last Friday and have been in England for a little bit longer than a week! On Saturday we explored billingham and bonded as a team! My team is made up of four people Ashley, Shelby, Robby, and me, Tracey! We have gotten along really well and I am excited to get to hang out and do ministry with them for the entire year!
On Sunday we all went to our church for the first time and that was really exciting but different. I am volunteering for New Life Church in Billingham and it is a Pentecostal Church. So worship is a little bit more exciting than at home and there are a lot more "Amens" and "Hallelujahs." There are also some people that are blessed with the spiritual gift of tongues, which is something that I have never witnessed before. But over all I felt so loved and accepted and I am excited to get to serve and become apart of this church.
*For the most part I will be working with the kids and youth so I will not be attending a lot of the services, but we have a TVYFC service every Monday which is supposed to be our opportunity to worship and fellowship with believers! So I am excited for that.
All four of us where in the church bulletin (see picture) and they encouraged the church members to take us out to eat every Sunday for dinner- dinner is lunch in the UK. So I got my very first British meal that Sunday. It was chicken and potatoes and of course tea and scones for dessert. Apparently you are supposed to put the jam on before the clotted cream. It was all really good!
On Tuesday we left for the Lake District and I now understand why Elizabeth Bennet was so sad when she found out that she wouldn't be visiting the lake district- Because it is BEAUTIFUL!!!! I stole some pictures from some of my friends- but the pictures don't do it any justice. We stayed in a Christian place called Bassenfell Manor Christian Centre. They had activities for us like team games, a climbing, and archery! We also did a lot of hiking, which isn't my favorite but when the outside is so beautiful it is so worth it! I loved it and I would definitely recommend visiting it if you are planning on going to England- especially if you love the out doors!
We came back on Friday and now we are training! I will soon be first aid certified! I hope to post about every other week, but right now we don't really have Wi-Fi- so I will just have to play it by ear!
Thanks for your Prayers! I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for me and my group!
-Tracey Mardis
PRAYER REQUESTS
1) For the Youth in Billingham- for their hearts to be softened and accepting of the Love of Christ
2) For my team- we are living together and working together and eventually we might get a little sick of each other so pray that we get along, for good communication, and for patience and understanding
3) For me- Pray that I "run quickly toward the battle line" (1 Samuel 17:48). I have been told here that the youth are not very kind and that it will take relationships to build up trust- but I can't be scared or hesitant to start the relationships
4) As of right now we do not have any schools willing to let us come in and help. So if you could pray f or open doors in the Schools here that would be awesome! We would love to hold assemblies, be teacher's aids, and do PE with the kids.