Hello, family and friends!!:)
These past couple of days at Hillhouse have been absolutely amazing. Everyone is growing so much in their faiths and relationships with Christ, both English and American alike!! The dramas and worship team impacted a lot of the teens, and the games have brought us all closer together. Many of us have already formed friendships that will definitely last for a long time:) (We have also convinced a lot of our English friends to come visit us in America!! hahaha) Many of the teens from our team have shared their testimonies, whether it was on Easter Sunday, or during the retreat. We have all stepped up in some way, putting ourselves out there, hoping to be used by God in any way possible!! And so far, He's used us every time we put ourselves out there:) This retreat has honestly been amazing, there's way too much to put here!!! Each of us has a different story, so when we get home, I suggest asking each of us how God has used us and what He has been teaching us this week. I'm definitely positive that every single one of us will be crying tomorrow when we say goodbye to all of our English friends - many of us have already discussed staying here in England..... Shhhhh;)
A little personal note:) - hi to my mom, dad, Hope and Ryan!!!! (I survived the plane AND I'm 17!!! Hahahaha) I miss you all so dearly and wish that I could talk to you:( Hello to Greg as well!!!:) I miss you too:(
Also from Aaron Panagotopulos - he says hi to his mom:)
Love all of you guys so much and thank you so much for your prayers, they've honestly helped so much!!! <3
- Holly
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Thursday, April 12, 2012
Football tournament
Just finished the football tournament, for the first time in many years Elliot's team beat Chris's team, here are some pics.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
More pics
(videos might be coming soon)
The testimonies given this morning.
Ana singing her song last night, for everybody.
Merri giving her testimony last night.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The testimonies given this morning.
Ana singing her song last night, for everybody.
Merri giving her testimony last night.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Catch up on pics and vids
Games during the afternoon.
Pastor Rick speaking at Hillhouse
Kayla's testimony at Hillhouse
Warwick Castle Trip
Testimonies at later Easter service.
Overflowing into the hallway with people, for the service.
Pastor Rick preaching at the Easter service
Worship
Cadbury egg quiz during Easter service at Enderby Mission
Jon and Foley getting ready to play with the Brits
Getting ready for the football tournament
Waiting in the airport
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continued...
Sorry, obviously still having issues with the blog website! To continue from before...
Please pray for safety for everyone here, and for the strength to continue this tiring but amazing week. We love spendning all of this time with the British teams, and we're praying that we have a major impact on their lives while we help to lead this retreat. Also, please pray for the weather; it was raining and windy the past couple of days, but since it's been sunny today we were able to have some more games and free time outside. Check out the blogs for the New York, DC, and Arizona mission teams, and keep the in your prayers as well. More updates and pictures to follow!!!
Another Update
We'll be posting more about what we're doing as soon as we can; we've been having numerous issues with the blospot login page and the team missions account. Right now, we're at the Hillhouse Retreat center with over sixty teens from Enderby Mission Church and another close church. Our team has been serving through skits, worship team, and leading games for the entire group. Also, we lead breakout groups to discuss the messages we've been hearing from Pastor Rick, and our team is staying in the rooms with the Brits. Everyone is really excited to be here and see what God has in store over the next couple of days.
Please continue to pray for not only our team, but the other teens and adult leaders here at Hillhouse. Pray for
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Finally Here!!!
Sorry it's been so long since we've posted, its taken a long time to get internet access and people to log in to the blog. We'll be uploading pictures and photos from the team's iPad a little bit later on, but we wanted to let everyone know what's been going on in the UK. We arrived at Heathrow Airport on Thursday morning and were brought to Enderby Mission Church by Pastor Chris Thompson. We hung out at the church for a couple of hours and explored the nearby town for a little bit. Football is extremely popular, and we've played it a lot while at the church. After meeting with some of the regular teens and adults at the church, we had a dinner to get to know our hosts families before leaving for the night. Everyone was pretty tired out, so it was kind of a short night.
Yesterday morning, we met at the church again at 10am England time. We ran over some of the skits that we'll be performing for the Hillhouse retreat this coming week. Everyone is excited to see what an impact they will have on the over 60 teens coming on the retreat. Then, we went over to Fosse Park, which is a popular shopping center less than 10 minutes from the church. Some of the church members handed out balloons and provided information about the church. Our team performed paintboards, which are pieces of paper that have been partially painted on and then continued and finished while telling a corressponding story. Other members of the team put on puppet shows for those walking by. Even though it very cold and windy, which is typical England weather, we did see people stopping by to watch or ask about the ministry. Around 4:30, we cleaned up and came back to the church. Youth group didn't start until 7:30, so we had some time to relax, travel to the Co-operative food store, which is similar to a Wawa, and then go over some funny skits for later that night. When the teens arrived, we played football and then had some food prepared by some of the ladies of the church. We spent the rest of the night getting to know the teens by playing games and fellowshipping with them. They were anxious for Hillhouse, and looking forward to spending more time with the "crazy, loud, Americans".
This morning, we participated in a giant soccer tournament organized by the church and Tom Wheway, one of its members. There were over twenty teams in the over 18-year-old age division; but some of our team members were able to play. The girls even came in first and second place, although there were only two teams to begin with. We were able to talk to local teens and young adults about the upcoming retreat, and even about Enderby Mission church. Pastor Rick gave a short message during halftime, and shared an invitation for salvation with the crowd. We don't know how many people accepted, but it was amazing to see the seed planted in their hearts.
Currently, some of us are back at the church, while others are with their host families. We're planning on either relaxing with the British families or going to Leichester City to shop and look around. We're all excited to attend the Easter service at the church tomorrow morning.
The entire team appreciates all of your prayers for safe travel and health. Please continue to pray for the upcoming Hillhouse retreat, as there are many saved and unsaved teens attending; pray that our skits and praise and worship will be affective, and that lives will be changed in the coming week. Also, please continue to pray for the health and safety of our team, with the intense and fun soccer games, time difference, and the driving to sites of ministry. We're going to setup another account, and hopefully we'll have specific team members posting updates each night in the next 24 hours or so. The pictures and videos will take a little bit longer, because they can only be uploaded from the team's iPad since no one has a camera cord, and the wifi has been either nonexistent or sketchy. Please continue to pray for us and those we're ministering too, and check for more posts, videos, pictures to follow soon!
Yesterday morning, we met at the church again at 10am England time. We ran over some of the skits that we'll be performing for the Hillhouse retreat this coming week. Everyone is excited to see what an impact they will have on the over 60 teens coming on the retreat. Then, we went over to Fosse Park, which is a popular shopping center less than 10 minutes from the church. Some of the church members handed out balloons and provided information about the church. Our team performed paintboards, which are pieces of paper that have been partially painted on and then continued and finished while telling a corressponding story. Other members of the team put on puppet shows for those walking by. Even though it very cold and windy, which is typical England weather, we did see people stopping by to watch or ask about the ministry. Around 4:30, we cleaned up and came back to the church. Youth group didn't start until 7:30, so we had some time to relax, travel to the Co-operative food store, which is similar to a Wawa, and then go over some funny skits for later that night. When the teens arrived, we played football and then had some food prepared by some of the ladies of the church. We spent the rest of the night getting to know the teens by playing games and fellowshipping with them. They were anxious for Hillhouse, and looking forward to spending more time with the "crazy, loud, Americans".
This morning, we participated in a giant soccer tournament organized by the church and Tom Wheway, one of its members. There were over twenty teams in the over 18-year-old age division; but some of our team members were able to play. The girls even came in first and second place, although there were only two teams to begin with. We were able to talk to local teens and young adults about the upcoming retreat, and even about Enderby Mission church. Pastor Rick gave a short message during halftime, and shared an invitation for salvation with the crowd. We don't know how many people accepted, but it was amazing to see the seed planted in their hearts.
Currently, some of us are back at the church, while others are with their host families. We're planning on either relaxing with the British families or going to Leichester City to shop and look around. We're all excited to attend the Easter service at the church tomorrow morning.
The entire team appreciates all of your prayers for safe travel and health. Please continue to pray for the upcoming Hillhouse retreat, as there are many saved and unsaved teens attending; pray that our skits and praise and worship will be affective, and that lives will be changed in the coming week. Also, please continue to pray for the health and safety of our team, with the intense and fun soccer games, time difference, and the driving to sites of ministry. We're going to setup another account, and hopefully we'll have specific team members posting updates each night in the next 24 hours or so. The pictures and videos will take a little bit longer, because they can only be uploaded from the team's iPad since no one has a camera cord, and the wifi has been either nonexistent or sketchy. Please continue to pray for us and those we're ministering too, and check for more posts, videos, pictures to follow soon!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
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