I can’t believe it has been a month since I have done an update. Please forgive me. I tried to do a video update one day and I never had the time to edit to post it. Maybe I’ll get a video update out soon. I still have several videos that I need to put up of us trying different British snacks at some point. Editing is a tedious task though for my newbie self, so I’ll try to get better at it as time goes on. This blog might be long so stick around while I give you a ton of exciting updates!
So much has happened since our last update. We finally made it to Scotland, thanks to our wonderful friend, Vivian. Scotland is beautiful and reminds us so much of the North Carolina Mountains. While we were there, the Lord ministered to us in such a powerful way. At the service on Sunday while there, we felt the urge to go up for prayer, and so we obeyed. When we went up, we went to this couple, and Billy just barely began speaking – he said we were here from America, and had a heart for the UK, and we were believing in the Lord for Visas. The lady then began weeping in travail over us. It still makes me tear up to this day just thinking about that moment. The anointing was so strong. She and her husband began to pray and prophesy over us. It turns out, she and her husband are actually missionaries to Scotland. She had moved here in 2015 from Colorado, and her husband was from England. She and her other intercessory friends had been praying for missionaries to come to the UK because there is such a need here for that. We were an answer to her prayer, and, in turn, they were an answer to our prayers. We ended up eating lunch with them and they poured so much wisdom into us about Visas, life in the UK, being a missionary, etc. One of her friends had recently had a vision on individual sailboats coming back to the UK from America, and she said it was the prayers of the ancestors that had left the UK to go and establish America being fulfilled for their family to one day come back to their homeland. That meant a lot to Billy and me since we have been on the journey of his heritage- see the next paragraph for more on this!. It was such a God connection for us, and we got details to stay in touch with them for the future.
Our next stop on our little adventure was Northumberland, England. Northumberland is the northernmost county of England, next to Scotland. When Vivian made the trip itinerary, she had no idea of the significance of that region to Billy and I (and we didn’t either at that point). Let me go back and give you a bit of history from our previous trips to England before I continue. About 4-5 years ago, Billy received a word from the Lord while we were here “Remember the rock from which you were hewn, and the quarry from which you were dug” from Isaiah 51, so since then, he has been doing his genealogy. He felt like his ancestors were from England somewhere. He kept getting stuck at a certain point though, and couldn’t get any further. Fast forward back to this current trip- we met a lady at Fountains Church with the same last name of Hill, and Billy and she began discussing his family history. Turns out her brother loves genealogy, so Billy passed onto her what information he had thus far, and her brother was able to trace Billy’s heritage all the way back to 1615, when his ancestors left the UK to come and settle in America. They were from Northumberland, England! And one of his uncles far removed was a preacher that traveled back and forth from America to the UK three separate times by boat preaching in both countries and sharing the gospel. We didn’t find out that Northumberland was from where Billy’s heritage was, until well after our trip was planned there. So the Lord had his hand in that portion of the trip as well. Northumberland was also the birthplace of Christianity for the UK as well. While we were in Northumberland, we got to visit Lindisfarne, called Holy Island here, where the first church in England was established. It is an island that you can only reach at low tide each day. During high tide, the road to the island disappears. There is a pilgrimage you can walk to the island too, during low tide. We got to visit the ruins of the church, and Billy was getting rocked under the power of the Lord still resident there. We also had the blessing of staying in a prayer house for 2 nights while we were there, and the couple that owns the house, prayed with Billy and me, and poured so much wisdom and insight into us, and honestly were very much like a mother and father in the faith instantly. It will be a place we continue to visit for rest and prayer throughout our life in England.
Shortly after we got back from our trip to Scotland and Northumberland, I had the opportunity to speak at the Kairos Women’s Ministry for New Life Community Church. The Lord had me speak on a bit of my testimony and identity. I was amazed at how the Holy Spirit moved. Several of the women wept as the Holy Spirit ministered to them through the evening. One lady also got delivered from her past, and she reported gold dust on her hand during the meeting as well. It was an honor to be able to share and watch the Lord work there.
We have also recently had the opportunity to take a day trip down to London to visit our missionary friends, Steve, Susan, Stella, and Caleb Clark, from Australia, who are here a few weeks on furlough. It was great to be able to catch up with them on this side of the world.
We have been on quite the journey in regards to Visas too. For the longest time, we felt like we couldn’t make any headway on those. We made an appointment with an attorney here for a month out, way back in May, and then the appointment got canceled when the date got close. The Lord knows what he is doing though, because I think had we gotten a Visa very early on in this process, it might have been the wrong thing. The Lord has really used our time here to solidify what it is exactly that we should be doing. You guys have heard me say so many times that this time here has looked so different than it has in times past, or than we thought it would, but in every step,He has shown us more and more. The Lord has just been speaking to us about being Mothers and Fathers in the faith to those who need it. Even Billy, who imagined we would be preaching in different churches a lot more, and church planting, etc, has had his heart longing change to being a Father in the faith to those who need it. Not to say church planting and ministry opportunities in churches won’t come up, but he has changed our hearts for what life will look like here. He also has solidified that we are to move here on a more long term basis, rather than just being here for six months. The plan was always for us to find visas to be able to stay here, but in the back of our minds, we knew there was the possibility that we could just be doing this for six months and then he would lead us somewhere else for missions. He has been faithful in every step of this journey, to give us exactly what we need, when we need it.
Anyway, back to the Visa’s. When we finally realized the concept that the Lord wanted us to run with here, we were still stuck at trying to find organizations that had the ability to support us with Visa’s to be able to do that. Over the past six weeks or so, the Lord has finally started opening some doors for us to follow to find out which is the right one for us. As of right now, there are three different organizations that we are looking into, and all three hold possibilities for us to stay here in Bradford and continue the work the Lord has asked us to do. I’ll refrain at this point from going into all the details on each of them, but we feel very positive about two of the programs at the moment so we will see where the Lord leads from here.
We are still praying into EXACTLY what life will look like here in England, but we know He is asking us to settle in the Bradford area and work on revitalization of the community on all levels. Discipleship, relationship building, mentoring, one on one, community outreach programs, community meals, working with the marginalized in society, etc.
Why Bradford, you ask? The Lord does strange things when he calls you to an area. Bradford has a very diverse population mix. Here you can literally touch every part of the world. We have encountered so many different nationalities. Every day is an adventure on who you will meet next. The 2021 census completed here shows that only 33% of the population of Bradford identified as Christian, and 30% identified as Muslim, and it would not surprise me if the Islamic community had not increased since then. There are many refugees and Asylum seekers here too. The people that we encounter seem to end up in Bradford because they have nowhere else to go. They are hurting and very much searching for something to make them whole. Some parts of Bradford can be rough. Billy and I are staying at the moment in what was termed the “red light district” by some locals here. We can go outside and walk Mocha in the morning and find hypodermic needles and dime bags all over the ground from the drugs that are done nearby through the night. The homeless can be found in any stairwell, alley or alcove you walk by. There is a desperate need here for Jesus and we are honored to be a part of showing the love of Christ to those here in need alongside Fountains Church.
Pray for us as we continue down this journey of procuring Visas. We want the relationship to be what the Lord desires for us, and not just an alignment to get us here. We are praying that any doors that aren’t of Him be shut. Also pray with us for strength as we continue down this path. Living for months on end out of suitcases, and being in a different space all the time is tiring, and we long for some sense of normalcy as we come closer to the end of this journey. Also, please pray for the City of Bradford. It is a place that desperately needs your prayers.
Thank you to those of you who have continued to support us on this journey! There have been many times the Lord would use you guys to send us support just at the right time when we needed it. Your prayers, comments to our posts, and monetary donations have been a huge blessing to us and it lifts our spirits. Also, we are so thankful to all of you here in the UK that have opened your homes for Billy and me to stay there or have a meal with you while we have been here. We have never felt more welcomed or loved by those we come into contact with here.
We are so thankful to the Lord for this opportunity, and, although we are tired, we have never felt more fulfilled, or more in the will of God, than in this.
We love all of you! Thanks again!