Litter Picks, Films, and Slippers

Hello all! So a lot has happened last week but I'm going to try and keep this brief!

First of all last week was full of wonderful new friends! The Ch we've been going  to with our Ms have a group of interns that are with them for their gap year and this past week was actually the last week of their program. So for the last week they did a M Week and asked us to help out with a couple of the activities! We did a litter pick at a playground and park that were literally covered with glass bottles and wrappers and stuff and then they had a little play day sort of thing for the toddlers and mums in the area. Then later on in the week we did another litter pick around the church and a car wash and some other service activities. It was great to just get to serve the Ch that we've been attending all summer and just get to do some physical work and see the physical product of that labor which is something I think we all appreciated since so much of our work is relational and its hard to measure that in a physical manner. I think our favorite part of this week though was getting to know the interns! They are sort of like a British version of us on a longer term sort of trip so it was great to find that fellowship and friendship and I really feel like I learned a lot from them both culturally and spiritually! (Also getting to enjoy and laugh at our different accents has been rather enjoyable for me... hearing someone use "bloomin" and "cheeky" in everyday language made my day!) We also got to go see Harry Potter with them and my cupcake friend on Thurs night and let me tell you it was absolutely mad watching the final movie in the UK with over 1,000 Brits at the cinema!

On the topic of films though... earlier in the week one of the guys and another girl and I went to see a film with 2 of the Saudi Arabian guys that are doing the ESL program we're working with. Unfortunately the guys have misunderstood the friendship that we were trying to build with them due to the combination of the cultural view of women they have grown up with and the way American women have been portrayed to them through the media. So unfortunately I have not been able to go to the conversation club for most of this week, therefore not getting to see my Spanish friend much this week. But I know that Father has a plan for this and he is using it to cultivate relationships with our guys and the Saudi guys and allowing the Spanish girl to  meet new girls as well. So keep that in your prs.

The most impactful thing for me this week happened Saturday. Cardiff has the highest concentration of bars and clubs in one area out of all the UK and the city transforms at night so much so that it was almost unrecognizable. There is a group called Street Pastors that has groups in many prominent cities in the UK that goes out on Friday and Saturday nights to minister to the people who are out partying and drinking. They carry water bottles and slippers (what we call flip flops) and pass them out to people who need them in the streets. They work with the police, taxi ambassadors, bouncers, and paramedics and they all work together to try to keep peace and get people home in one piece. I got to go help with this group on Saturday night and it was absolutely life changing. The City Center streets I've been wandering for 4 weeks that have always been almost eerily quite were filled with loud conversation, music, yelling, fights, and sirens. There were more people on the streets that night then I have seen on most days during lunch hour and by the end of the night you couldn't walk down the street without stepping in some sort of rubbish, whether that be empty bottles, uneaten food, or not so uneaten food. The reaction of the people we gave water and slippers to were some of the most impactful things for me. The extreme appreciation from some and disgust or rejection from others was rather astounding. Everyone knew who we were and we even had some people come up and mock us once but overall most people were extremely grateful. I even ran into a couple that owns a coffee shop that we've been going to fairly frequently and built some relationships there, especially with the husband. They were out for the wife's birthday and she was wearing new stilettos... and I mean stilettos! She was having a really hard time walking in them by the end of the night so we offered her some slippers and she was very grateful. Then the husband came over and was chastising her a bit for wearing them and talking about how "these people" (referring to us) are doing such a good thing and helping them out. Then he looked at me and recognized me and was extremely excited and asked why I was doing this. I got to tell him I'm doing it because I love Father and love people and so I'm just trying to love people how Father loves them. Then yesterday I went back to their shop with a couple of the other girls and when I walked in his wife was there (who I haven't gotten to know as well yet) and she said "hey did you work with a charity on Sat night? Didn't you give me some flip flops!" So we got to talk about that a little more and it was really good! Later on another lady walked in the shop and came to say hi to her and she said "Hey this is that flip flop girl I was telling you about!" haha! So I am now known as the Flip Flop Girl! lol!

So that was last week... Now we are all gearing up for our One Week students coming this evening! I can't believe its already time for them to get here! This summer has absolutely flown by! Please be pring even more than usual this week as I know Father has big plans for these kids! Pr that they will get through customs without any hitch this afternoon, Pr that they will be open to the Spirits leading and that they (and I) will have to rely completely on Father this week to make it through so that we know at the end of the week anything that happens is only for His glory! Pr that the ground will be plowed, seeds will be planted, and that Father would reap a harvest! Pr that he would give us wisdom and discernment in our actions and conversations and bring Divine appointments across our path all week and that we would recognize them as that! That's a lot of pr but that is what we need more than anything this week! Father has been teaching me so much about the power of pr this summer so PLEASE join me in pring this week for what Father has in store for the city of Cardiff!!!

I love you all and in many ways I can't wait to get home and hug all your necks, yet in so many ways I don't feel like I'm done here and have so much left to do before I can leave! Stay safe and let me know how I can be pring for you this week!