Glasgow Aftermath - withLove Music

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.