Saturday, March 5, 2016

Update From Europe: 2016

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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