Back in KC

Hey y'all!

I'm currently sitting in the 24-7 Prayer office in Kansas City, which is in the Boiler Room building that I lived in for 9 months last year. It feels quite surreal being back and it almost feels as if I've never been away. There are some new faces about and some of the decor has changed, but on the whole, it's the same core that I left nearly a year ago. It's been so cool to catch up with old friends and share stories of what God has been doing in our lives and what he's about to do. It's just reminded me again how big our God is and how amazing His church is. The only reason I have these friendships in these different parts of the world is because of Jesus.

He is what unites us.

John 15 has been a chapter of the bible that has come up again and again in my mind this year and I'm constantly being reminded that we can do nothing apart from Jesus and it's in and through Him that everything good happens. I love it!

This Saturday I'm going to a wedding of a friend I made here in Kansas City. There are going to be 400+ people there and I have a feeling it's going to be quite crazy. I love the fact that I'm at the age where my friends are starting to get married. It's so cool to be a part of the covenant and vow that a couple make to each other and to God. There's something so powerful about that. It's more than signing a registration book, it's the unity of two people under God.

One day we will be part of the bride that is reunited with her bridegroom when he returns. Watch this space!

The Great Commission or the Great Suggestion?

This past week I've been on a mission focused course called Kairos. This is an excellent course, which I strongly recommend everyone to take part in. The course really challenges your mindset of what it means to be a Christian, what the Bible says to us and that ultimately we have been blessed to be a blessing.

From the beginning to the end of the Bible, God is about all of the nations (tribes, people groups) across the world glorifying Him. This goes from Adam and Noah being told to go forth and multiply, to Abraham's nation being told that they have been chosen to reach the nations, (Blessed to be a blessing) then, when Jesus comes, he reaches out to Jew and Gentile before leaving the disciples with the commission to go and preach the Gospel to all Nations, which is our mandate as the Church.

So, the challenge for us is do we have a passion to see God glorified in every tribe and nation? Does our perspective reach that far? Are we happy to just receive Blessing from God without then being a blessing to others? Are we content that there are people groups in the World who have never heard the name of Jesus?

I could write a lot more, but I won't spoil it for those of you who want to do Kairos in the future. I will finish with this.

When Jesus says 'Go', what is your response?

Obesity gene

So I read in the newspaper yesterday that scientists have discovered that a specific gene in the body is to blame for the obesity epidemic in this country!

And I thought it was because we eat rubbish and don't exercise enough. How silly am I!

Tales from Ibiza

Today I returned from a 4 (and a bit) day trip to Ibiza where we endevoured to encourage and support the 24-7 prayer community that is being established on the island (Check out Brian's and Team Edmond's blogs for more info). The summer season doesn't start for a few weeks, so it was a chance, as a team, to see the island and in particular the West End, in a slightly different light than usual. Instead of it being overrun with young pink holiday makers, wearing next to nothing, it was dotted with older people shopping and taking pictures of themselves in front of landmarks, like trees. The weather was cloudy and spitting all week (yes, I know!), but I think this was God's way of testing our motives for going! Each day we went to a different spot of the island to walk and to pray. It was a time, once again, where God really spoke to me of His beauty through creation.

The one experience I really want to share with you happened on the last full day of our trip. We spent the day praying around the bars and clubs of the West End in San Antonio asking God to speak to us. As I was walking I came across a place called Bar Amsterdam, which had lot's of graffiti all over it. As I stood under the yellow canopy that covered the front door, I was surrounded by names of people who had previously been there. It felt a bit like a prayer room! As I was praying for the different names, I came across a group from Swansea, my home city, when suddenly it hit me. I don't know why it hadn't before, but at that moment I realised that what the guys in Ibiza are doing is for more than just the island and the individuals that go, but they are reaching out to the young people of our nation. The young people from our cities, our towns our streets.

If God were to move in Ibiza it would affect the whole of the UK.

I began to see how strategic this place is in reaching our nation. It's more than just a summer thing. I could see Ibiza becoming a place where missionaries are sent back to the UK with the name of Jesus on their lips and a passion burning in their hearts to see His kingdom come.

So anyways, later that night I bumped into a friend from school that I hadn't seen for 8 years who now lives on the island. It seemed really random, but it just reinforced my thoughts and feelings on how our home cities and towns can be reached through this place. So many young people from Wales go to Ibiza each year and I long to see change in their lives.

My prayer is that Ibiza would no longer be a place where people feel they need to escape from life, drinking themselves to excess and wrecking their bodies with drugs. I pray that they would go because it is a place that gives them life and life to the full through Jesus. That they would find the love they are looking for in Him and not in just the physical act of sex with a stranger. I pray that Ibiza would be a catalyst for spiritual change in UK as it is for so many other things, that His name would be above any other.

This week has been just what I needed with a good mix of work (gardening, painting), rest (lot's of eating and chatting) and prayer. I encourage any of you that is passionate about seeing God redeem the club culture or wants to reach out to their generation to pray about going on a team this summer to Ibiza. Check out this website for more details.

Thank you for your prayers when I was away, and please do continue to pray for those who are in Ibiza and who will be going out in the summer.

Hamen.