The Newcastle outreach so far has been amazing! After a quick introduction to the city from the YWAM Newcastle team we jumped into ministry. We went to a youth day run by a Christian youth centre for unchurched kids. I had a lot of fun helping the younger girls sew stuffed bunnies and hand puppets in the morning. That evening the older kids attempted to teach me how to ride a scooter. Unfortunately, they found out that I have no sense of balance! We all had a wonderful time hanging out with the kids.
On Saturday we had what is called a ‘faith day’. For 12 hours, 9am-9pm, we went out into the city with no money. We had to rely completely on God to bring us food and ministry opportunities. My group did a lot of prayer walking and worship in the park in the morning. Near the middle of the day we were getting very hungry and tired. In the afternoon we ran into the other group. The two groups spent about an hour together in prayer and bible reading. Through a series of events their group was able to provide supper for all of us! It was astounding to see how God provided for us! Over the course of the day we all learned a lot about hearing God’s voice and trusting each other as a team.
On Monday I had the opportunity to go to a cafe for international students called the Globe. This has been my favorite ministry so far. We all just got to hang out and talk over a rather competitive game of Uno. There was tea and biscuits surrounded by a relaxed atmosphere. I even got to speak with a girl studying Sign Language (which I studied in school) and we talked about the differences between American and British signs– it was wonderful!
We have loads more planned for the rest of our time here in Newcastle. I am tremendously excited to experience it and tell you all about it!