withLove Updates: 1st Studio Album Release!
Glasgow Aftermath
Hello withLove Family,
We met with the Greater Europe Mission Leadership Team that went on the Scotland Trip and they briefed us on our impact in our short time there as well as what they accomplished in that 10-day trip. Brian Doyle, the director of missions for Greater Europe Mission, was on the skype call and first noted that he was remarked by our response and character to the shocking, unpleasant situation of being detained and denied. He said that we had every right to “shut down” and let the situation get the best of us, but the fact that we pressed in and worshiped and still engaged with the rest of the team was a response he knew God was being honored above all. And it really reflected our character and readiness for the trip. He commented that even though a lot of Christians go on missions trips, when things don’t go “their way”, their true character really shows. And what we went through really spotlighted our hearts for Christ and that we represented Him well in those circumstances.
Our night of worship that we led in Glasgow lifted a lot of anxiety from those that were on the missions trip for the first time and those who were uncomfortable being away from their families. It also set the tone for the missions team as they were compelled to really refocus their hearts on Christ (rather than themselves) on the very first night!
This led to great events and testimonies throughout the week! Members of the team from Chick-fil-a paid for a struggling student’s 4 year college education. The team also led a vacation bible school where the young adult males of the team had a chance to be great male role-models to kids of single-mothers. Exercised patience by many team members during VBS with the kids really gave glory to God in their character and Christ-like demeanor.
The many open slots that withLove was suppose to lead worship in Glasgow, were filled by more outreach to the Muslim community where a lot of milestone bridges were built to reconcile differences between the Muslims and Christians. Some Muslims converted to Christianity along with many other souls that were saved for Christ. They also used that time to network with more churches represented from all over Europe to do more future ministry across Europe as well!
God did amazing things on this trip and it started with us setting the tone and focus on Christ in that one night! Lives were drawn to Christ as a result. The rest of team kept talking about that first night’s worship experience with withLove for the rest of the week and wore our shirts on many days to remind themselves of who we are and what we did! So much so, that the GEM London Field Director would like us to tour his city next Summer with Financial assistance from them! God is awesome!
Why didn’t we have Visas? Greater Europe Mission has been doing ministry for many years and based on the information from their team on the ground in the UK, we technically did not require Visas since we were not their under a paid occupation (that requires a Visa). There was also a lot of current political tensions (Scotland is trying to become their own country outside of the UK) mixed with the fact that half the world was coming to their small country. This led to very strict (over-restrictive) customs and borders. However, our occurrence has created a new policy in Greater Europe Mission that all teams going to the UK are required to have Visas from now on.
Thank you for your support and prayers! Just like Jesus waited to heal Lazarus 3 days later, Jesus will use the lesser to do the greater! And we know that’s what beginning to happen in our story as well. We are excited for the future and what God plans to do next. Stay tuned for more!Currently, we are on sabbatical from Sept 1 – Oct 16. After a great year of doing ministry together, we are taking this much-needed time to rest, re-evaluate, and pray earnestly for what God has planned for the next ministry year.
“This is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God’s glory by glorifying God’s Son.” – John 11:4
withLove.
Trusting Him Above All Else.
Hello withLove movement!
We are safely back from our missions trip in Glasgow, Scotland – a lot sooner than we have expected. After 9 hours of travel, we arrived to the Glasgow airport safely, and were rejected by the Scotland Immigration and Customs Border Patrol. Scotland has one of the toughest border patrols in the world, especially during the Commonwealth Games. Prior to the trip, they would not grant visas or regular entry into the country for christian missions work. We were instructed by our organizers to use the correct political jargon to enter the country which was as “tourists” and nothing more. However, as the customs border patrol agents cleverly questioned us, they acquired that we were a band and became highly suspicious of our musical equipment that we were carrying. They detained us and interrogated both us and our host in which they further acquired that we were there for “religious purposes” of missions work as a band. As a result, they denied us allowance into Scotland.
However, they let us stay at our accommodation for the night at the Bible Centre. When we got to the Bible Centre, we connected with the staff and the teams from all over – Germany, Texas, Virginia, London, Florida, Chick-fil-a owners, etc. They heard of the sad news that we were leaving the next day. So in response, we did what we do best – worship. Despite all 25 of us being jet lagged and awake for more than 24 hours (of travel), we spent the rest of the evening in song and God’s Word as withLove led the night in awesome worship. We all prayed for one another, cried together, and spent time being inspired and in awe of what Christ was doing that night – inspiring and stirring the hearts of the teams for the kingdom work that will be done that week. That is, to recharge the local church and win souls for Christ during the Commonwealth Games.
That night was a catalytic moment in all our lives that pointed us to total abandonment for His ultimate glory. The stories that begun there continue to thrive based on the work and the gifts of worship we brought to the teams there. So many people were truly impacted by meeting withLove and witnessing our passionate response to worship God under such tough circumstances. We were encouraged to know that we were just as effective for the Kingdom despite our surprise early departure. And they will never forget our story.
We can’t deny the emotional and spiritual discouragement we felt during this rejection. We can’t deny that it has been tough to accept these circumstances as a band in the aftermath and we are still processing everything that has happened. We experienced a “roller coaster” ride of emotions to say the least. We invested so much hope, prayers, and finances into this missions trip and it felt like we failed and our dreams went down the drain. But through His perspective, we didn’t fail at all. Through a lot of prayer, discussion, and affirmation from the Holy Spirit, we discovered that we came to do exactly what HE planned – to bring others closer to Christ through the stirring and inspiration of hearts with our worship! Even our own. Without a doubt, we confidently know that this trip and vision was truly inspired and birthed by God – confirmed through prayer and our spiritual authorities in preparation for this trip. Even though we don’t fully understand what God’s plan is right now in this moment, we continue to stand on the promises of God. Proverbs 3:5,6 –
“Trust in the LORD with all our heart, and not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
In Isaiah 66:9 It says:
“Do I not bring you to the moment of birth and give delivery?” says the LORD. “Do I not close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God”
We know that what God gives birth to, He will deliver and finish what was begun in withLove. And this story is no where near done. Because where one door has closed, God will open another in His master plan to something bigger and better than what we could ever imagine. So we ask you to stand with us in continued prayer in this tough season and for your continued support for whatever is next in His plans, because He’s not done with us yet. The best is yet to come!
Thank you for your support and prayers on this journey of faith, and even though this trip did not happen as we expected it to, we know that we did EXACTLY what God sent us to to do in Scotland – to reflect the truth of who Jesus is by reflecting His perfect love. Loving God and loving people through our music and ministry.
Do Everything,
withLove.
