Dear Family and Friends
If you are in or around London I hope that you are enjoying the weather as much as I am! For those of you in America, we are actually having the same weather you are – which is a rare thing. The only difference is most of us here in the UK or Europe don’t have air conditioning in their houses so some people are melting….
In the midst of everything we have been going through over the last 5 months I think many of us have felt like the heat has been turned up in our lives and maybe some even feel like they can’t take much more. Like, nothing good is going to come out of it except being completely burned up or out! I want to encourage you to hang on! Trust in God and His faithfulness.
I was able to get away for a few days this past week and I visited a garden full of fruit trees. You would think that in the heat we have been having that the trees would be dried up, struggling or even dying. The amazing thing though, was every tree was exploding with fruit and even the flowers were flourishing! I know that some fruit trees are made for hot weather but let’s face it, you can’t always depend on that in England, and with weather that can swing between extremes at any moment I really believe that it boils down to the roots and where they are planted that keeps these trees and flowers going.
Jeremiah 17 says: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 8 They will be like a tree planted by the
water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its
leaves are always green. It has no worries in
a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
The Lord is our living water and as we stay rooted in Him, He will bring life and healing. Dig deep, hang on, keep trusting and expect fruit! He is faithful!
Have a wonderful rest of the month and please email me if you have any prayer requests.
Please pray for my housemate’s dad who I call “Tio.” The doctors have said he is on his last days. His wife passed away in January. You might remember that I wrote about her in my newsletter. Dina flew to Madeira this morning and I am hoping to fly out in the next day or so to be with the family.
Thank you so much for all that you do!
Loads of Love
Traci
Dear Family and Friends
Can you believe we are already in July?! It’s been another month of lockdown, as well as a worldwide awareness of racism that sadly is still so prevalent, not only in America, but everywhere. My prayer is that conversations will continue to be had that bring about lasting changes in communities and governments around the world. Change has to happen!
We continue to do most of our ministry online, so I have been visiting and supporting connect groups on Zoom as well as teaching at our Follow One Course. I also had the opportunity to preach for our Living Well Series on Romans 12. The verse I was given to preach was verse 13. “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice Hospitality.” During this time of lockdown we can have the tendency to get very inward focused instead of looking out for others. This sermon was a practical message on how we “Live Well by Looking Out.” You can watch the sermon here:
I have been praying for you. For health, provision, rest, joy and peace.
Have a wonderful month and please email me if you have any prayer requests.
Thank you so much for all that you do!
Loads of Love
Traci
Dear Family and Friends
The month of May has been a difficult month
for me. Even though we have had amazing weather and the flowers have been bursting open showing new life, we have experienced loss in our church family. One of our nurses who had been a part of our church for over 15 years died quickly from Covid-19. Jennie had worked hard and proud for the NHS for almost 20 years and was a leader on our Kids Team. She was so in love with Jesus and everyone who met her knew it! Today was her online funeral and not being able to celebrate her life together with her family in our “traditional way” is another thing this virus has taken away from us. I am celebrating that she is with Jesus though and that she leaves a legacy behind her of so many who have been touched by her love of her Saviour!
We have over 100 healthcare workers in our church and many of them have not only seen more death over the last few months than in their whole careers – they have also
lost colleagues to this Virus. As a church, we are doing everything we can to support
them through this time as they process everything they have had to work through and also to help them to process through the trauma and grief of so much loss.
This past month, I have been visiting some of our Connect Groups mainly made up of nurses, as you can see in the pictures here.
It's been an honour to encourage and pray with them and I have been so blessed by their passion and strength.
As I said, it’s been a hard month, but even though this virus has stopped us from doing so many things, it has opened so many opportunities for new things to happen.
We are still seeing people attending our online services that would have never walked through the doors of our buildings. We are also seeing double and triple the amount of people attending our courses that would have never been able to attend because of the distance and their work schedule. Disciples are being made and this we rejoice in!
In the next few months, we are trusting for opportunities to do even more new things online that will reach every age and every nation in our communities.
Please pray for me and for our church to have wisdom on how to walk with and care for those in our congregations and to anyone we are reaching online. Thank you so much for praying for me and your continual financial support. You have a part in everything that God does through me!
Loads of Love
Traci