Light in the Darkness I can’t believe its November, and even November is almost halfway over! Time flies when you’re doing what you love; and I do truly love this, with every bit of my heart. I’m actually living in another country, sharing God’s love as best I can every single day. I don’t think it gets much better than that. Also, since its November, I have officially started counting down to Christmas. Without Thanksgiving, the British have pretty much jumped straight to Christmas. I love it. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I think the countdown is 42 days. I apologize for my excessive enthusiasm. This also means that I will be headed to the USA in a little over a month! How exciting is that.
But there is a lot of work and discipleship to be done before then. God has continued to open up so many doors throughout Teeside. My Stockton team has now started working in another school, which brings us up to four, so far. It has been such a blessing that the schools have been so receptive to our work and what we want to achieve. After more than two months of work, I have built so many relationships with students. They look forward to seeing us each week, and I am always excited to see them. We continue to pray for opportunities to share our faith and to be positive influences. I have to say that my favorite kids to work with are the ones that most consider “hard to love.” I know that so many of these kids have been through more than I could imagine at such a young age. I just want to be there in any way I can, even if it is just putting a smile on their face. I love when kids ask me why I came all the way to Stockton. What awesome opportunities to share my story and my faith.
Girls’ bible study continues to be one of the biggest blessings. Last week we were literally overflowing the little lounge that we meet in. We have more than doubled the number of girls that we had when we started. A couple weeks ago, I actually got to teach one of the girls how to navigate a bible, because she had never done it before. That was so humbling. I have taken that for granted, because I have had the privilege of using a Bible since I learned to read. We are growing together as a group and also growing in Christ. So many of the girls have started bringing their friends. One brought a friend that didn’t know much at all about God, and we got to share Him with her.
The weather is starting to get colder as the weeks go on. Nothing unbearable yet, although it did snow one night a few weeks ago, but it didn’t stick. There are very limited hours of daylight. As much as I enjoy watching the sunrise as I get ready for school in the morning, I am not a fan of walking home at 4:30 when the sun has already set. The darkness is a little depressing, but there is still prime time for ministry after the sun goes down! My schedule has been pretty crazy, but I love every second of it. I couldn’t do it without my awesome team and my wonderful host parents. I have been seriously blessed to be surrounded by such great people. They make challenging days so much easier.
I ask for continued prayers as our work has seriously just begun. I have met so many lovely people here, but so many are living without Christ in their hearts. I feel drawn and called to this place more and more every day. Coming here was the best decision I have ever made. My heart is heavy for the people that do not have God’s love. Ephesians 1 verse 18 is my prayer for them, and I hope it will be yours too.
"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called – his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance." As daylight becomes increasingly scarce, we have a even greater opportunity to shine with a passion for God. We want to be light in the darkness. I pray that people’s hearts will be softened and flooded with light, so they can find that there is something so much greater than what they have right now, and all they have to do is receive the free gift that Christ has offered us. This is a dark place in more ways than one, but Christ can provide a source of everlasting light.
Until next time,
Angela Edmonds