Hi friends,
I'm starting this blog post after getting home from one of my favorite events here in Edinburgh- PowerPoint! The best way I can describe this event is an entertaining Christian worship night with a message, held every six weeks or so in Edinburgh and Glasgow. What can't be described is the ENERGY that hundreds and hundreds of teens bring to it- so amazing!! Each of the three times that I've been, I come away with some tangible reminder that God is clearly at work in these teens' lives...like tonight when at least forty kids went forward for prayer, including a new girl who came with us! And I'm so impressed with how "our" teens support and encourage each other, in and out of the school. God is raising them up to do great things!
Speaking of great things, Scotland's first Wyldlife club was so much fun! My colleague Brad and I planned an evening of games, mixers, music, a message, and pizza for a completely unknown number of kids, and wound up with fourteen kids and several leaders. We were pretty happy with that, especially since eleven of them have never come to a Young Life event before! There were a few fun games to get everyone moving around, including a Skittles relay race, but I think the games highlight was full-contact Duck, Duck, Goose. Instead of chasing the "tagger", you run the opposite direction around the circle...and you can probably imagine what happens next! Definitely a highlight for the boys as they crashed into each other and fought for the space!
My favorite part, though, was when some bagpipe music interrupted my announcements, and a kilted, blue-faced William Wallace came striding out to make an eloquent speech about summer camp. "...Go, and the days will be long. Stay, and you can sleep in. At least for a while...." It's amazing how versatile and hilarious that speech can be! A very convincing argument for thinking about our Wyldlife camp this summer. Not long after that, I gave a short talk from Luke 19 about Zacchaeus and Jesus, talking about how Jesus wants to spend time with those that other people reject. As you're speaking, it's always hard to gauge how much is being absorbed, but everyone was quiet and attentive!
We finished the program with some more Duck Duck Goose, and then shared pizza and snacks. Most of the kids stuck around for a while to play more- that's always a good sign! All in all, Brad and I were really happy with the club, and also with all of the leaders who came out to help- two older high schoolers, the local minister Cammy whose space we were using, visiting YL leader Erik Hoffman from Dayton, OH, and several others from our team of staff and volunteers. As it comes to mind, please pray for wisdom, direction, and creativity as we schedule more activities just for this age group (12-14). It's exciting to have officially started though. Today in the school (it's now five days after I started this blog...), one of the boys was asking when it was on next- he's eager to come again!
Two days later, we all switched gears to head down to Manchester, England for the UK Committee/Leader weekend, which is for staff but also any volunteer leaders or committee members. We brought almost twenty leaders from Edinburgh alone! It was great to get together with the other UK staff, and meet others who are involved in YL in a variety of ways. Our speaker Tom Hammon (director of YL in the UK and Scandinavia) started off his four talks by going through Psalm 23. It's a text that is so familiar, but going through it verse by verse helped it sink in in a new way. Our group spread out and attended seminars on mentoring, meeting teenagers, planning club talks, and a healthy walk with Christ, among other topics. It was great to share with each other what we learned, but even better than the seminars was just spending time all together, and hearing about what God is doing in other parts of the UK.
But, amidst new events and training weekends, it's nice to have "normal" things as well, like our Sunday Connection Group tonight. It was my turn to do a talk, so I shared some of my background and story of how God led me here last year. It still sounds a bit unbelievable, simply feeling called to Scotland and praying that the right pieces would fall into place over the summer, which they did. I'm not sure that it's fully sunk in even yet that I actually live here, but it gets a bit more real each month.
My prayers right now are...
...that I can establish a regular schedule for going into the area high school, rather than random visits.
...that I feel increasingly confident in my two roles here with Liberton Kirk and Young Life
...that God continues to provide as I invite others to financially support the ministry here
...that I can stay in touch and support others back in the US while building relationships here
Thank you for praying! I'm trying to grow my prayer life, so if there is a specific way I can be praying for you, please let me know.
If you feel led to invest in the ministry here financially, thanks! Just this week I've received some new gifts, which is so encouraging, and brings me to 46% of my goal. I'm getting closer to officially being on staff! A big thank you to those who have contributed to this. The following are ways to support:
I'm starting this blog post after getting home from one of my favorite events here in Edinburgh- PowerPoint! The best way I can describe this event is an entertaining Christian worship night with a message, held every six weeks or so in Edinburgh and Glasgow. What can't be described is the ENERGY that hundreds and hundreds of teens bring to it- so amazing!! Each of the three times that I've been, I come away with some tangible reminder that God is clearly at work in these teens' lives...like tonight when at least forty kids went forward for prayer, including a new girl who came with us! And I'm so impressed with how "our" teens support and encourage each other, in and out of the school. God is raising them up to do great things!
 |
| "Duck, Duck, Duck, DUUUCK....." |
 |
| "I AM William Wallace...and I see before me, a whole army of campers..." |
My favorite part, though, was when some bagpipe music interrupted my announcements, and a kilted, blue-faced William Wallace came striding out to make an eloquent speech about summer camp. "...Go, and the days will be long. Stay, and you can sleep in. At least for a while...." It's amazing how versatile and hilarious that speech can be! A very convincing argument for thinking about our Wyldlife camp this summer. Not long after that, I gave a short talk from Luke 19 about Zacchaeus and Jesus, talking about how Jesus wants to spend time with those that other people reject. As you're speaking, it's always hard to gauge how much is being absorbed, but everyone was quiet and attentive!
 |
| So no one likes Zacchaeus, AND he's short. |
We finished the program with some more Duck Duck Goose, and then shared pizza and snacks. Most of the kids stuck around for a while to play more- that's always a good sign! All in all, Brad and I were really happy with the club, and also with all of the leaders who came out to help- two older high schoolers, the local minister Cammy whose space we were using, visiting YL leader Erik Hoffman from Dayton, OH, and several others from our team of staff and volunteers. As it comes to mind, please pray for wisdom, direction, and creativity as we schedule more activities just for this age group (12-14). It's exciting to have officially started though. Today in the school (it's now five days after I started this blog...), one of the boys was asking when it was on next- he's eager to come again!
Two days later, we all switched gears to head down to Manchester, England for the UK Committee/Leader weekend, which is for staff but also any volunteer leaders or committee members. We brought almost twenty leaders from Edinburgh alone! It was great to get together with the other UK staff, and meet others who are involved in YL in a variety of ways. Our speaker Tom Hammon (director of YL in the UK and Scandinavia) started off his four talks by going through Psalm 23. It's a text that is so familiar, but going through it verse by verse helped it sink in in a new way. Our group spread out and attended seminars on mentoring, meeting teenagers, planning club talks, and a healthy walk with Christ, among other topics. It was great to share with each other what we learned, but even better than the seminars was just spending time all together, and hearing about what God is doing in other parts of the UK.
 |
| It's hard to go wrong with free pizza at the end... |
My prayers right now are...
...that I can establish a regular schedule for going into the area high school, rather than random visits.
...that I feel increasingly confident in my two roles here with Liberton Kirk and Young Life
...that God continues to provide as I invite others to financially support the ministry here
...that I can stay in touch and support others back in the US while building relationships here
Thank you for praying! I'm trying to grow my prayer life, so if there is a specific way I can be praying for you, please let me know.
If you feel led to invest in the ministry here financially, thanks! Just this week I've received some new gifts, which is so encouraging, and brings me to 46% of my goal. I'm getting closer to officially being on staff! A big thank you to those who have contributed to this. The following are ways to support:
Online
From this YL page, click "A YL Staff Member's Ministry", search for "Willis", and I'm near the bottom of the list. The options to give are via credit card or bank account, and can be
set up as a one-time gift or monthly.
By check
A check can be made out to Young Life, with a note in the memo line forX2162/Willis. The first one can be mailed to me at my home address in Ohio, and it will be recorded and forwarded to Young Life. You will receive back a receipt and an envelope addressed to YL if you'd like to donate again. Please email me for my home address at rachelewillis@gmail.com (thanks for understanding Internet privacy! :).
I think that's all for now! God bless the rest of your week, and thanks for your friendship!
~Rachel
I think that's all for now! God bless the rest of your week, and thanks for your friendship!
~Rachel
