Wrapping things up in Austria
After
leaving New Jersey in January I headed back to the Castle (Schloss Heroldeck)
in Austria to serve for a final two weeks and wrap things up before
transitioning to England. We hosted the
Calvary Chapel European Pastor’s Conference the last week of January which was
a wonderful, busy time. My time at the
Castle over the last year has been a blessing and it was hard saying goodbye,
but good things lead to other good things as we follow the call of God upon our
lives.
Transition to the United Kingdom
and CC York/Bible College
As many
of you know, I am in the unique situation of having dual citizenship (British
and American). This has been a blessing
at a time when many missionaries are having a difficult time getting visas to
stay in the country. So with passport in
hand, I arrived at Manchester airport in early February and got on a train to
York, England for the next season of my walk with the Lord. York is an ancient walled city in the north
of England with history stretching back to the Romans and Vikings. The church is just outside the city wall at
Walmgate bar and actually runs a coffee shop (Gatehouse Coffee) on the wall
itself.
God is
doing a great work here at the Bible college and the church. If there is a collective desire on campus and
in the church it is for the well of God to “spring up” (Num. 21:17). There is also a corresponding element of perceived
spiritual warfare. There are numerous
outreaches into the community and beyond.
The other day we knocked on doors and talked to people in the
neighborhood and invited them to some of the church events. England is definitely more secular at this
point in time than the United States, but people are still open and
hungry. In the end, we are called to be
simple vessels of His love and “ministers of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18). More often than not this happens in a
supernaturally natural way as we are going about our business. A few weeks ago a woman named Eunice from the
city of Leeds knocked on my door representing the UK Cancer Charity (basically
soliciting donations). I had the chance
to share a bit about the Lord with her. Pray
that she would come into a real relationship with the living God!
Concerning
the Bible college, I am currently filling in for some of the teachers. I taught a Galatians class this past Friday
and am scheduled to teach several classes in the Gospel of Matthew in the next
few weeks. We have about 35 students
this semester representing a handful of countries. It is a blessing to be involved with this
ministry. In other news, I have applied
for a national insurance number which is similar to a US social security
number. With this I will be able to
work; I am prayerfully considering getting a part-time job in order to connect
with the community.
Outreach Opportunity
People
from the church in York have been praying for several years about a possible
outreach Bible study in a particular community about an hour away. It looks like this might be coming to
fruition in the near future. Please pray
for that, particularly in regard to my potential involvement with a team that
undertakes that ministry as the Lord wills.
Prayers
are greatly appreciated.
God
bless,
Paul
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