Stories from Outreach

Hey Friends!
I thought I would attempt to give you a proper update of how outreach went! I might as well start from the beginning, right?
Lisa was our guide and translator in Sweden. She is one of the amazing staff members here and she is originally from Sweden. We went to her home town and worked with her church.

We were concerned that we wouldn’t have much to do in Sweden because in July, everything shuts down. The people get a month’s vacation and everyone leaves to go elsewhere. But God provided so many opportunities that we even had to turn some people down.
When we first arrived in Sweden, we got an amazing welcome from a couple in her church. We went to lunch at their house. I have never eaten so much amazing food as I did in Sweden! Everyone in the church invited us for lunch, dinner, or dessert!
Their were only 8 of us on the team that went to Sweden. We stayed in the church and the church members had all gotten together to get us each a trundle bed with a pillow and sheets. We basically had our own little apartment in the second floor of the church. There was a kitchen and a nice patio on the roof. It was such a blessing!
Lisa’s family is amazing and we became a part of it very quickly. We were at her parents house a lot. They live near a lake and I got to go tubing on it a couple of times. It was my first time tubing and swimming in a lake. So much fun!

Two of Lisa’s aunts and her grandparents lived within walking distance of her parents, so we would “house hop” a lot.

The first weekend there we went to a Christian music festival. It was at a Christian camping ground and Lisa’s parents owned a camper there. We talked to quite a few young teenagers, but the atmosphere there was very hard for me. It was very competitive among the teens there. They were all judging one another and it was very hard being in the midst of that. We also got connected with a group called “Street Church” there. Basically they go to the many festivals(mostly non christian) in Sweden as well as in town squares and outside pubs and just hand out free coffee and cocoa. They invited us to go to a rock festival the next weekend.

That weekend was the best evangelism experience I’ve ever had. Everyone was drunk but they were so open and willing to talk to us. They were all so broken. I got to talk to a lot of people and pray for a few. Two people got saved that weekend and many many more seeds were planted. I learned so much about evangelism and how it doesn’t have to be full of pressure.

We helped some people in the church with practical things and went to parks and the town enter to worship and pray. God provided so many opportunities for us to talk to people.

The last weekend we went to a friend of Lisa’s youth group. I was able to share my testimony and pray for some of the youth there. It was a great experience! Then the next night we went out with street church again to the town center. We got to talk to quite a few people and pray for some as well. We had such good talks with people. We were able to break so many stereotypes about Christians. It was sooooo good!

In Spain, we were led by Vanesa, another amazing staff member here. It was her hometown and her church. We did some evangelism in the park just about every night we were there. It was harder for me because basically no one spoke english, whereas in Sweden, just about everyone spoke english. But God made lots of connetions through it and we were able to bless people. We spent a lot of time with the “Youth group” there, who were actually young adults. God really used is to encourage them. God has such amazing plans for them!

Once we were back in London, the outreach wasn’t over! We did a two week camp called “Bones”. It is basically preparation for the “Notting Hill Carnival” that goes on every year. It is known as the biggest street party in Europe. So the atmosphere is always very heavy. There were about sixty “campers” that came from all over the world to participate in this huge project. We made floats and costumes and did a parade. God really used it to impact people. I loved being able to talk to all the campers and kind of speak into their lives. They were all amazing!

So that is the very light overview of our outreach! There is so much more and what God did in me was incredible! I can’t wait to talk to you all in person and tell my stories!

Love you all!

Lauren

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