Week Two in Wales

             So it has been almost two full weeks since I arrived in Wales and I just want to point out that I'm writing this blog post from a pub called The Six Bells, just down the street from where I'm staying.  And just in case you're concerned, I have a nice hot cup of tea sitting in front of me.

             It has been a little bit slower week, but certainly no less full of activity.  I spent Wednesday afternoon wandering around Newport city centre (more on that in another blog post) and then led a class for the four teens we had at Church that night.  We were talking about prayer, but eventually wandered off into several other topics like the Trinity, etc.
             Good Friday I ended up taking an impromptu trip with the Winstanleys to Bowood Estate near Chippenham, England in Wiltshire.  We met some of the Winstanley's relatives there who were down for the weekend to attend a wedding nearby.  Two of those relatives were John and Margaret Griffiths.  John is the preacher/evangelist for Wembley Church of Christ (think Wembley Stadium), and has been for nearly 30 years.  Bowood is an elegant country estate built for and still run by the Marquess and Marchioness of Lansdowne.  Apparently part of the house was torn down about 50 years ago because it was in disrepair.  But the house is still very

beautiful and has such excellent gardens.  Easter Sunday we spent the afternoon with these same relatives and it was really good getting to know them and learning more about the history of Churches of Christ in London.
             Speaking of the history of the Churches of Christ in the U.K., I have become more and more aware since I've been here of the strong American influence within churches here.  American missionaries and congregations have played a huge part in the development (and sometimes un-development) of Churches of Christ here over the last 40-50 years.  In some ways there has been a good bit of dependence on American churches here, which is surprising since the U.K is obviously not an impoverished country.  That being said, I think there is more of a move towards a native, British Church and there are of course plenty of ways the churches are different here.  Just an interesting observation...
             One more thing I've been thinking about.  A couple things I'm trying to do while I'm here in these initial two months is listen to God and prepare for faithful work here.  Towards that end, I've been thinking about several questions to guide me in this "listening preparation":

              -What is Newport and what is it like?
              -What is God doing here/has God been doing here?
              -Why is God calling me to Newport and what does He want me to do here?
I'm hoping that these questions will help me listen better and in a more focused way figure out what I need to

be doing and preparing for.  Please continue praying for me that I can listen well to God and make the most of the time I have here.  Thank you so much!

Sincerely in Christ,
Chris

P.S Check out the new website I've been working on for Newport Church of Christ.  It is pretty basic and still a work in progress, but it's better than not having a website.
           

First Week in Wales

What a busy first week it has been here in Newport, Wales.  Actually, to be specific, the family I am staying with (the Winstanleys) lives in the small village of Peterstone, halfway between Newport and Cardiff.  I wasn't sure exactly what to do or where to start when I first arrived (other than sleep :)), but looking back over the past week I realize that God has already provided a lot of opportunities for me to get to know the Church and community here.

Sunday (April 13) was the first time I got to see the Newport congregation all together since I visited in November 2012.  It was good to be with them again, though it was a bit different since there were a number of visitors from other churches visiting with them.  Some families that had worshiped with them have left in the past year, while some others have joined.  There was a guest preacher with us on Sunday named Paddy Boyns who is the director of the British Bible School (BBS).  The BBS was, for many years, similar to a preaching school in the States, but in recent years has transitioned to focus on training and general equipping

of churches in the UK so that they can do better ministry.  Also, there were some young people visiting from the Bristol Church of Christ on Sunday (by young people I mean university students and just out of college).  It was good meeting all of the above and I had a great time getting to know them at a barbecue the Winstanleys hosted that afternoon at their house.

Sunday evening and Monday were a really good time to hang out with the folks from Bristol and the teens from Newport (which pretty much consist of the four Sharoon siblings: Sanober, Micha, Solomon, and Aaron).  We went to the Cardiff International Pool both Sunday and Monday evening to go swimming.  It is an amazing facility that I think was built in connection with the 2012 London Olympics.  Most of the day Monday we were at Roath Park in Cardiff.  We wandered around the park's lake, sat in the warm sunshine (we've had a lot of that the last few days), and they even tried to teach me how to play Cricket (with limited success).  It was a very enjoyable day.

I'm slowly starting to adjust to how things work here, but it is definitely going to take some time.  However, I am sort of thankful for this, because I think being "off-balance" keeps me more reliant on God and asking the question, "what do you want to do with me here?"  A verse that I have come back to a fair bit since I got here is 1st Corinthians 1:9: "God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."  I still don't know exactly what God is wanting to do with me here, but I know He is faithful, and that He wants me to be faithful in trusting Him and surrendering to Him.  Please continue to pray for me in this.  More to come soon, I hope!

Sincerely in Christ,
Chris

P.S I have posted some more pictures on the Facebook group "Serving Jesus in Newport, Wales."

"Whale, here we go...."

Well, I leave for Wales tomorrow and I continue to be amazed at the barrage of bad jokes I've received.  "Have a whale of a time...", "Look out for whales...", "Whale be seeing you....", "Greet the Whalians for us...", etc.  However, it is "WALES" people, not "WHALES"!  As far as I know, there are no large, seafaring mammals inhabiting this region of the United Kingdom.  Your kindness is noted, but your spelling and sense of humor is highly questionable....

In all seriousness, I have been so blessed by the encouragement, support, and financial donations I have received as I prepare to leave for Wales.  It has been almost a year since I started fundraising, and longer than that since I began praying about how I could be used with the Newport Church of Christ.  God has brought me a LONG way and I am so thankful and amazed at His work in all of this.  Yet, I still am not entirely sure where this will go.  I trust that God will lead and provide according to His good pleasure as He has already done.

I want to also offer a special thank you to three congregations: North Raleigh Church of Christ, Brooks Avenue Church of Christ, and West-Ark Church of Christ.  The financial support you have provided has been essential in getting me to this point.  But even more so, I am thankful to you for how you are sending me out in the name of Jesus Christ for the sake of the Gospel.  I wish I knew all of what that meant, but what I do know is that your prayer and "ordination" for this work is so important.  Thank you!  It means more to me even than your financial gifts.

I will try to keep this blog updated as often as I can.  Hopefully, I will be able to let you know how things are going here in the next week or so.  Please pray for my long journey and "finding my feet" when I get there.  I love and appreciate all of you!