London. Short post, Sorry!

Hey friends! I’ve made it to London and it’s absolutely beautiful here! But it’s absolutely freezing! This church is very different than the last but it’s good! It just reminds me of the different vineyards in the states. Things are going really well though! I’m really tired so I’m not posting much but I hope to have a more thorough description in a day or two. I love and miss you all!

Day 4, Cheltenham England

Today was AWESOME! I was a little late to breakfast but it was still good. But got to the conference in time. Robby gave a great message and we had an awesome ministry time! The picture is below.

We had a great lunch after and we were able to just sit around and talk for a while. After lunch I hit the streets with Duncan, Anna, and some of the younger people in the church. We walked around a really busy part of the town, it was a lot like a downtown area, but way more populated. And I found a starbucks!

It tastes different here, but most things do. I had a kit-kat and it tasted different. Someone told me it has to do with the milk. I also got a fun touristy picture in a phone booth.

We had some really great ministry time on the streets. Hit up a few people. One guy with gout said his pain went down and then we were talking to a homeless man named Darren. He was a really awesome guy with a great story. We invited him to the conference and to get a hot meal while he was at the church but he didn't come. But we did teach him how to pray for his friend with a bad back, so that was cool. We went back to the church, had a bite to eat and then went back over for the last session. It was a good talk and it was a pretty good ministry time. After, you guessed it! we went to the pub and had some great fellowship time. Now I'm in the hotel and I'm so incredibly excited to sleep! Going to be sad to leave this town tomorrow because of the great friendships forming but I'll be back soon, and I'll be home even sooner. 

I love and miss you!

England, Day 3, and Final day of conference 1

Well Hello there!

Sorry, I’m a day behind on the blog but I was so exhausted last night that I went straight to bed. So now I have to try and make up two days in just a few short paragraphs.

Yesterday was just an awesome day filled with ministry! Which was absolutely amazing. The people we are surrounded with are seriously great people and it’s going to be hard to leave them here in a few days. Last night’s ministry time was extremely powerful, we had tons of people totally on fire for Jesus and it is so great to see the Holy Spirit move like that. I’ve also been getting tons of prophetic encouragement while over here and even have some people sending some from back home (it’s really wonderful and I’m so greatful for it, so thank you!) After the prayer meeting we went back to the same pub, which is literally right out the back door of the church, which is so funny, and there were tons of people from the conference there because they had been promoting it from the stage. Such a different culture here. After words I had my first Kebab and it was really great. Apparently, Holy Spirit was still ministering to me in my sleep because Randy (who I’m rooming with here) told me I said, “I am Jacob, Come Holy Spirit.” Several times in my sleep. Which I thought was just the cat’s pajamas.

This morning I got up and went down to breakfast, we then went to the conference and heard some great talks from Guy and Robby. Robby told a rising from the dead story and I thought people were going to wet themselves from laughing so hard. After the session we got some lunch, had some prayer time with Guy, Robby, Randy and myself and caught a nap afterwards. After the nap we went for a walk around Cheltenham and it is a truly beautiful city. I saw a pound store (dollar store, but with pounds (the currency here) instead). It was pretty neat. After the walk we had a lovely dinner at Mark and Karen’s (Lead Pastors of the church) home. It was to die for! Garreth (one of the pastors on staff) made an amazing lemon cheesecake and Hils (wife of another pastor) made sticky toffee pudding. It tasted like angels made it. And this pudding was sans blood, which was quite appreciated. After a time of story telling and just communing together we headed back to the hotel for the night.

Thanks to everyone reading this! I’m seriously so blessed by these experiences and hope you’re blessed by them too.

I love and miss you all and can’t wait to give you all hugs.

England, Day 2

Day 2 in England was even more exciting than the first. We had a great breakfast with Guy. He was at Toronto and his knowledge and wisdom is so extensive. It truly was an honor to be sitting with him and learning. I had a traditional English breakfast, which consisted of semi normal things, like eggs and bacon and sausage and even beans. Also on the plate, was a delicacy known as "black pudding". I had been semi-avoiding it while eating the other items on my plate when Guy and Robby asked me if I knew what black pudding was. I wanted to google it but my smart phone isn't so smart over here. They told me they would tell me what it was after I tried it. I'm trying to be a little more adventurous while I'm here so I thought what the heck, I'll try it. So I cut it up and took a bite—keep in mind this isn't pudding like snack pack, it's solid, and similar to the consistency of a muffin—and mid bite Guy says, "It's blood." He then reassured me it was only pigs blood. I took a second bite and decided that was quite enough of that.

After breakfast we walked over to the church and got set up and listened to the first session. The worship they are doing here is very heavily Bethel. It reminds me a lot of the vineyard in Urbana so I feel almost like I'm at home. We listened to the morning sessions, went to lunch, and after lunch we went to catch a nap.

For the evening session, Robby was preaching. It was a powerful message and he told some really awesome stories. One of them was about when he brought healing to a few people on an airplane, and because of it the flight attendant and Jewish woman sitting next to him gave their lives to Christ. Tje flight attendant also had a very powerful encounter with the love of the Father but I can't really tell the whole story in the blog post, or it would be a few pages. During ministry time the Holy Spirit really fell and there were tons of healings and people were encountering God all over the room. It was really fantastic. After the service we went to this little pub right by the church and we were hanging out with some of the younger people at the conference. Robby prayed for a man with neck pain and it got significantly better. After the pub we went back to the hotel and I got to face time Sarah, and Adam, Eli and Brandon popped in and said Hi too.

Overall, it was a good day and I have high expectations for tomorrow.

Blessings and love to you!

P.S. here are a few pictures!

This is the church during Worship.

And below is the view from my hotel room.

England, Day 1

Hey everyone!

Well, I made it safely to England. We are in Cheltenham and it's a lovely place! The plane ride was not exactly enjoyable though. I ate my first ever airplane meal and it was okay. I was fortunate enough to fall asleep for a few hours but when I woke up I was incredibly uncomfortable. I honestly felt like I lived on that plane because I slept there. We touched down in London and then drove here to Cheltanham, we're staying in this really cool hotel that is more like a house really. For dinner we went to this fantastic Indian place called India Lounge. It was seriously awesome! We're now back at the hotel and after a brief planning meeting for tomorrow, I am more than ready to catch some shut eye. I'll post some pictures of the area tomorrow.

Love you all!

Grove City, Day 2

Well my friends, today was another great day in Grove City. Robby really brought the presence today and it was an overall great sermon this morning. We went to this really awesome barbeque place for lunch. It was called City Barbeque and it was wonderful! We went back to do round 3 at the church, God showed up. After the session I went and grabbed lunch with Joe and Grace Slone! (Joe and Grace used to go to the Urbana Vineyard and they were friends of mine, but they moved to Ohio last year.) We spent some time catching up and had a grand time. Now I'm in the hotel and it's 8:37 and I'm so incredibly excited to sleep. Goodnight friends!

Love to you!

Grove City, Ohio

Sorry this post is a little late, I got back to the hotel and went straight to bed last night. When I say "today" in this post I'm referencing Friday :)

We're here in Grove City, Ohio and it has been a great day and a great start to a conference. This morning on the plane I sat next to an awesome lady named Maryalice. It is so amazing how God can use things like a plane seat to impact lives for the Kingdom. Maryalice told me after we had been talking for a while that she knew there would be something different about that flight. She had a few friends who were going through some really deep stuff, One friend had a brain tumor, one had colon cancer and one is living in a home with domestic violence. She and I talked about God and how he's so loving, and that God only brings good things, it's the enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy. So prayer warriors, I told her I would pray for her and her friends and I ask you to do the same.

We got off the plane, picked up our bags and went to breakfast with Tom from the Grove City Vineyard. After breakfast we went to the hotel and got some good nap time in. Getting up at 3am was a real drain. I also tried Red Robin today. It was AWESOME! After dinner we went to the conference, God showed up during ministry time. I'm excited for all of the great opportunities tomorrow! Attached is a picture of the conference in Grove City.