Life

It's been way too long since I've written anything... Today will be a little different than most of my posts. Instead of one specific topic, it will mostly likely be me rambling about life, and some photos thrown in the mix :)

8 Weeks!

I can't believe it, but in less than 8 weeks I will hopping on a plane headed for Kansas! It's always a strange feeling knowing that your life will drastically change in a matter of weeks. The people I see everyday, the stores I go to, and the sites I see on a daily basis may never cross my eyes again. God's definitely changed my heart. To be honest, there were times earlier this year when I was basically counting down the days until I could leave, but now I am legitimately saddened by the thought of leaving! It's been a journey to say the least, with many hills and valleys! But I've seen God answer so many prayers recently... The thing that I've struggled with the most about leaving is the fact that our church didn't have that many young men in it to disciple our teenage boys. I hated the thought of just leaving the boys with no one around. So, I prayed. I trusted that God would provide. And, He has! Recently God's lead some awesome young men to join our church who are passionate about Him and are really connecting with our youth! Not only that, but I've been so blessed by their friendship these past few weeks! I'm just amazed by it all.

The Living Room

Many of you are familiar with Chi Alpha, the campus ministry I was involved with during my time at KSU. The Living Room is essentially our Welsh version of XA. It's been awesome to be a part of launching this ministry. Seeing something grow from an idea to an active ministry is exciting, and seeing it happen so quickly is really exciting! We started planning late this summer and have been able to establish an identity, publish a web-site, market the ministry, hold two outreach events, and start a regular weekly meeting!... We set up a "Living Room" just beside two of the Universities here in Cardiff. We gave out free iced coffees and invited the students to pancake party that night. We gave out hundreds of coffees and saw a total of about 50-60 students come to the two different pancake nights!.... I can't wait to see what all God does through this ministry, and I'm thankful that I've been part of laying the foundation for what's coming next!

Transformation

This is our church, and I love it!... We've partnered with a church in Cathays, the student area of Cardiff, to use their building, and help them renovate it! The back room is what we use for The Living Room and will eventually be a coffee shop open to the public! It's been awesome seeing the transformation happen, and to be a part of the work put into it. I love doing that kind of stuff. Taking something quite hideous and turning into something beautiful....Here are a few Before and After photos.

 The Back Room... A coffee bar will eventually be installed at the end of the room where the chairs are lined up against the wall.

 The Kids Room.

The Main Hall... Still has some work to do. Lighting and sound will be installed in a few weeks. The railing on the balconies still need painted, chairs need recovered, and eventually new carpet!

What's Next???

8 weeks isn't that far off  and some of you may be wondering what on earth I'll be doing next. I wonder that quite often myself!... Right now the plan is to actually stay in Kansas for a few years (probably :)). I know God's called me to a life of missions, but I'm just not sure where and what He's called me to, so instead of just randomly picking someplace to go I've decided to just wait for a while. I know He will show me what's next when I need to know.... Prayer for God's leading and finding a job when I get back to Kansas would be much appreciated :)

And... That's it, well there's much more I could share, but for today I think this is enough.