December 2017

The Journey

     As I come to the end of my third year on the mission field, I’ve been reflecting on the idea of the journey in relation to life and God’s faithfulness in the midst of it.  As I was preparing to leave New Jersey in December 2014, a few of my former coworkers gave me a slate plaque with the word “journey” in large letters followed by the oft-quoted Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

While that word was given by the prophet in an entirely different context, the Lord spoke to me on that December day as I was leaving my cubicle for the last time that He was taking me on a journey, and that He had good plans which included a hope and a future for my life.  Even in the face of limited luggage space and airline weight restrictions, I decided to take that plaque along for the journey as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and the word He had spoken to me.  It has hung on the walls of rooms I have stayed in along the way.

     From the moment we become Christians we embark upon this epic spiritual journey as the filmstrip of our lives plays out.  We often refer to our life with the Lord as our “walk”.  Abraham went on a journey as he was called out of Ur of the Chaldees- looking for a city with foundations whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:10).  Jacob went on a journey and had a vision of angels ascending and descending on a ladder to heaven (Gen. 28:12).  Joseph and Mary went on a journey and in so doing participated in the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus the Messiah in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

     My journey in recent years has taken me first to Austria where I served for a year at Schloss Heroldeck and then to York, England where I have served for the past two years.  The Lord put a handful of ministries on my plate early on after arriving in York.  One of these is teaching at the Bible College.  I just finished teaching through the gospel of Luke and will teach Acts in the upcoming spring semester.  

Christian graffiti in York

     Another involvement is the prison ministry where I have had the opportunity to lead worship, teach, and pray with the prisoners.  An interesting development in regard to this is that a paid part-time chaplaincy position has recently become available in the HMP Humber prison where we minister and I felt a leading from the Lord to apply, so I did, and as it stands now I have an interview at the end of January so prayers are appreciated.

     We also continue our outreach to Hull on a weekly basis.  The Bible study remains small with mainly people from York, but it gives us a reason to be in Hull every week and we’ve been doing worship music on the streets and as a result have had numerous conversations with both Christians and non-Christians.  Please pray for God’s will to be done in this great city.

Music outreach in Hul

In other news, Calvary Chapel York recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary; Terry and Nancy Clark were on hand to help out with a musical celebration of the event.  It was fascinating to watch the photo stream in the sanctuary of what the Lord has done in York over the years.

Well, that’s the update for now.  I will be in the United States from Dec. 14^th-Jan. 8^th.  I will be speaking at my home church (Calvary Chapel Gateway) on Sunday, Dec. 17^th.  Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in the Lord!

 Paul’s Spring Update from the UK

Calvary Chapel York/CC Bible College
It has been a busy spring semester at the Bible college.  I am currently teaching verse by verse through Acts and Romans.  This semester we have students from Austria, Germany, England, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, and the United States.  It’s a blessing to see the Lord at work in the midst of a diverse international body.  Last week we were away in the Yorkshire Dales for a time of seeking the Lord; we were also blessed with a series of messages from our guest speaker, Daniel Massieh.

Sheep beside waters in Yorkshire Dales

The Lord’s hand of blessing has been on the church as well.  CC York is comprised of people from York, university students (representing many countries including China, Singapore, and Taiwan), and Bible college students.  It’s quite a dynamic mix of individuals from all ages and diverse backgrounds that the Lord has brought together to worship.  I’ve had the opportunity to teach at a few of the Sunday evening services recently which has been a blessing.  I’m also in the regular worship leading rotation.  Some of us from the church recently traveled to Oxford for the annual CC “Teach the Word” conference where messages were given from 1 Thessalonians.  It was a great day of teaching and connecting with brothers and sisters from other Calvary Chapels in the UK.

Prison Ministry
I’m still actively involved in the prison ministry.  Once a month a group consisting of Bible college students, university students, and church members spend a Sunday morning in the HMP Humber Prison.  We have a time of worship followed by a message from the Bible and then enjoy a time of fellowship with the prisoners where we talk with them and pray for any needs they may have.  An interesting event that happened recently involves a man named Leon.  About a year ago I met him on the streets of York where he was homeless.  I would see him several times per week and would stop and talk and pray with him.  Several months later I ran into him on the streets of Hull while walking and praying.  I had not seen him for several months but on a recent prison visit as we entered the chapel he was there and he called out my name.  He has indicated that he is a Christian but struggles with different issues.  Please pray for him.  It is interesting how our paths keep crossing.

Hull Outreach Team

Hull outreach
The Hull Bible study continues; we are currently studying through the gospel of John.  We did an outreach with some Bible college students in March.  One of the other churches in Hull (Jubilee Church) has an outreach where they feed breakfast to the homeless.  We assisted with this and ministered to the people who attended and afterward spent some time playing table tennis and pool with them.  The next day we did an outreach in the city center with worship music and evangelism.

Hull Poppy Display honoring those fallen in WWI from British Armed Forces

Worship in Hull City Center

Hull Team

Prayer requests: Please pray for the upcoming UK Pastor’s conference (June 5-8); ministry in Hull; prison ministry; successful completion of semester for students and direction for those who are graduating.  May the Lord richly bless you!

Winter 2017

Hello friends, here's the update from the UK...

Christmas

In December we had the opportunity to sing Christmas carols on all of the wings at HMP Humber prison.  We started at 8:30 in the morning and wrapped up at 5:30 in the afternoon.  It was a bit of a marathon but it was an absolute blessing to be able to bring a little bit of the light and love of Christ into the darker places where these men spend the majority of their daily lives.  The prisoners enjoyed it and it brought a lightness to the atmosphere.  We also sang Christmas carols for an event at the Village of Stamford Bridge which is about 10 miles from York.  Pastor Dave has a passion to reach the towns and villages of Yorkshire and this was another opportunity for us to bring the love of Jesus to one of these communities.

UK Driving License

By the grace of God I passed my UK driving test.  The practical (road) test lasts 40 minutes and is quite easy to fail.  I needed to pass it by February 1^st in order to keep driving so a big thank you to all who prayed!  Thank you Jesus.

USA Visit

It was a blessing to be able to spend time with friends and family in New Jersey over the Christmas holidays.  I had the opportunity to teach and share about what the Lord is doing in the UK at my home church (Calvary Chapel Gateway) while I was there.

Bible College

Preparations are in full swing for the spring 2017 semester which kicks off February 3.  I will be teaching verse by verse through the book of Acts.  It looks like we will have close to 50 students this semester, which is quite an increase from the past few semesters.

Hull Outreach

The weekly Bible study continues in Hull.  Please pray for wisdom in reaching out to the city and that the Lord would grant doors of utterance to proclaim the message of the gospel (Col. 4:3).  Pray for a man named Scott with whom I shared the gospel the other day.  Last week I was able to sit down and have coffee with the pastor of one of the other churches in Hull.  It was a really good meeting and he expressed the need for other churches to be planted in Hull.  Pray for the Lord’s will to be done in this great city. As I have mentioned in previous posts, Hull has received the designation of “UK City of Culture” for 2017 and the events have begun which celebrate this, bringing many visitors to the city.  Hull has a rich maritime history but the recent completion of the Siemens factory marks a new era as wind turbine parts begin to roll off the assembly line.  One of the blades measuring 246 feet is currently on display in the city center.  These massive turbines will be assembled in the North Sea where they will generate electricity for the UK.  But more than electricity, we need a move of the Holy Spirit! (Zech. 4:6)

Wind turbine blade in Queen Victoria Square

Outreach in Hull city center