Just Us League of America

June 26, 2012 -- Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday The Justice League always splits up into subgroups, flies to various combat zones, assesses the situation and springs into action, using their superpowers to the greatest effect in perfect harmony.  So that is how this mission has gone.  The ACTs camp kind, three English kids from the Baptist Mission Society (who had just returned from mission in work in Lebanon), the Welsh, Jennifer Mansour, and Allen Rice formed a giant Justice League.  As mission activities came along, they sprung into action without all the normal requisite planning.  They used their superpowers, (that is, their spiritual gifts) so that they all shined, and somehow it was all surprisingly coherent and divinely ordained. Take Sunday: The team led five worship services and a youth club on that single day.  Derek, Matthew, Josh, and Nate Johnson each preached, while TJ, Nate Cole, and Allen gave testimonies.  Nate Bower and Lucy led worship, and Iestyn led in Introduction and Bible reading.  Earlier in the week, Jordan gave a powerful testimony at the first ever Youth Club at Capel Seion.  Tuesday night, Jennifer Mansour led young Christians in a Bible study on Evangelism.  Jennifer Blazs exercised her spiritual gift of Service  by volunteering for everything that moved or didn't move, Amanda through her spiritual gift of Mercy so connected with everyone that she manifest the gift of Helps by meeting their physical needs (a Bible, etc) even before they knew they needed it, and Abby practiced her gift of Evangelism  by transforming every stranger in a coffee shop into a talkative old friend.  Lauren, Delaney, and Jordan took particular care of the Welsh twins, taking them out to eat and shopping with them at the Christian bookstore. What was the result?  The Welsh were encouraged as the Americans were empowered for ministry.  Who knows what the impact will be upon Wales?  Sometimes the ground seems rocky.  Derek had 700 fliers handed out to local schoolchildren heralding a new Kids Club at Capel Gomer.  Of 700 fliers, guess how many children came to the club?  ZERO.  Was that a flop?  Only God knows that.  We were faithful at least. And we got to eat all the candy bars we planned to give the children.  That's a bonus!  On the other hand, the first ever Youth club at Capel Seion would have been successful if it had four youths show up.  But a whopping nine youths showed up.  Was that a flop?  Only God knows that.  But it sure didn't look like it to any of us!   The team did have a day off on Monday. Some went with Josh to the Mumbles a beachside tourist haven of shops and snack places. Most went with Allen to magnificent Caerphilly Castle. It was great to see the team relaxed after such intense stress. The castle is amazing, but for Allen, the best part was getting to know the ACTS Camp kids better.  Tomorrow they leave for Brussels, more powerful ministry, and more profound spiritual growth.  But with the kind of Shekinah Glory gleaming from their pores, could their spiritual growth cure be loftier than it is?  Don't think so.  What fun to see them shine.  I want to see them shine in Edmond, and if God wills, in Wales again in the future! But no matter what happens in the future, I am so incredibly proud to go to the same church as these young heroes of the faith.

The J Crew Crew

June 22, 2012 -- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, &Friday Allen toured the parts of Wales he hadn't been to before on Sunday and Monday while Jennifer went with Derek to Carmarthen in Western Wales to work with pastor Aron Treharne and his lovely wife, Elain.  The Acts Camp team was supposed to arrive on Monday night, but because of a plane snafu, they spent the night in the Brussels and arrived at the train station in Swansea at 7:30 pm on Tuesday where Allen awaited them and escorted them on a six block stroll to Capel Gomer. The team had pizza in the Capel and then went to a Welsh chain pub, Weatherspoon's,  for beverages and sticky toffee pudding.  Allen embarrassed Haleigh Miller by having everyone sing Happy Birthday to her, knowing her birthday was actually the day before.  Thanks for the suggestion, Les Miller! Then the team went to bed using sleeping bags in the Capel. For each of the next three mornings, Josh had the team break up into groups, studying the book of Luke.  When they came back together, Josh lectured upon the material, emphasizing cutting edge hermeneutical principles.  On the first day, Allen then did a 20 minute review of Welsh history followed by Derek covering Welsh religious history in great depth.  Allen did a Socratic method presentation on the origin of the Canon of the Bible on Wednesday, and on The Seasons strategies of Evangelism on Thursday, followed by an exercise where Derek put evangelism into the context of our individual home towns.  On Friday, at Josh's suggestion, Allen led a round table discussion on the topic of vocation or The Call; afterwards, each member of the circle spoke of their own spiritual gifts or affirmed the gifts of others. In the afternoons, Derek sent the people out in five groups to have lunch and "Prayer Strolling," combining prayer walking and planting seeds for evangelism.  Derek's idea was for them to go to the exactly the same restaraunts and tea shops every day to establish relationships with customers and shopkeepers.  We all came back together in the afternoons at 5pm at Capel Gomer for evening activities. What activities?  The group plans to participate in three youth clubs, one kid's club, three worship services, and a barbecue.  In most, they will mentor children, give public testimonies, and connect with the Welsh.  Derek, Matthew, Josh, will preach, and TJ and Nate Johnson will share their testimonies during worship. What is the essence of this young team of twelve ACTs camp kids (plus Josh)?  At first sight, they all look like fashion models from the cover of a J Crew catalogue.  OK, that's what they look like on second sight as well.  The boys have great hair and rock hard abs and the girls have girlish figures and look glamorous after sleeping on the floor all night.  It would be easy to envy and hate them.   One probably could if they were Kardashian vapid and shallow.  But alas, they are all panting for God like a deer pants for the water.  They are all mature, transparent, sensitive, and loving.  Josh throws all the academic might of seminary power at them, and they absorb it all like spiritual sponges.  These are not heroes and leaders in training, they are heroes and leaders right now.  They work together in harmony using their spiritual gifts like a Christian Justice League or like Avengers for the Advent. Despite any impulse to envy and hate them all, they are imminently adorable and lovable, growing in Truth and Grace. Let's keep them in Wales forever!

The Mountain and the Valley

June 17, 2012 -- Days 6, 7, & 8 Thursday: Allen and Rhun finally had their first time alone so they could solidify their budding friendship and brainstorm on possible future ministry together.  Jenonne and Elizabeth went back to the businesses in the neighborhood, this time to actually have real conversations with them.  That evening the Mission Team conducted two youth groups at nearby Rhos.  The first one involved younger youth who asked the American team many questions, like "Are there Gays in America?" Allen introduced them to featherball, Elizabeth!s team beat Allen's team in both featherball and dodgeball, and Rhun gave them a sermonette.  The second Youth group averaged 17 years of age and since it was largely a reunion for Derek, the rest of us walked in the rain down  the street and got chips for the youth to eat. Friday:  The construction team scrambled to put two coats of white paint on the ceiling of the Upper Room, and put two coats of Oklahoma Flag Blue or Thunder Blue  on the walls.  They painted the outside doors a dark brown with glossy black highlights, and Lonnie painted the lettering back above the door in the fancy script which read "Pen Y Bryn Baptist Church" in Welsh.  Since they pushed hard and finished by 4 pm, the Construction hopped in the van and visited Conwy Castle. The Mission Team started out the morning with a 730 am prayer time and then they went to a Welsh Elementary School where they were to put on a devotional time for all the children.  We didn't know that someone was ahead of us.  It was a world-class gymnast who whirled over the mat like a dervish from a Jackie Chan movie.  Tough act to follow.  Still, we dived in with all we had.  Allen told a rousing, even histrionic story about Pecos Bill that somehow involved tyrannosaurus Rex's and riding tornados.  Allen got to show off his lassoing talents that he forgot he had.  Andie  played the role of narrator's assistant.  The rest of the team was the Pecos Bill chorus.  Then Allen turned the story to a mini sermon on Jesus calming the storm on the sea of Galillee.  It seemed to go over pretty well.  The headmaster unexpectedly allowed the team to visit every classroom.  Rhun got to hand out fliers to every child who was interested in Kids Club.  The students asked the Americans more questions.  One girl asked "Is Jesus Christ the Son of God?".  Jenonne answered "Yes.  We believe He is.". All in all, that's a pretty good day for Americans preaching to 300 children in a public school. That afternoon, Rhun hosted a Kids Club in his church.  Ten would have been a pretty good turnout.  But when 6 kids showed up from the Welsh school, the numbers swelled to 17-18!  There was wild dancing, featherball, and most importantly a lesson from Rhun on the topic of Who Is Jesus.  Almost all of the children vowed to return with friends when the Kids Club started up in earnest in the Fall.    All in all, it looks like Pen Y Bryn is headed real momentum, perhaps analogous to the spectacular success we saw at Capel Seion two years ago.  We at least pray so. Saturday:  The team packed up and went to Pen Y Bryn for tea, prayer, and goodbye tears.  Rhun gave us all Welsh love spoons.  He even gave Allen a child's Welsh book on the Lords Prayer so he could practice his Welsh.  The tem drove the vans to Chester, England for five hours of shopping, exploring Roman and medieval buildings, and museums, and of course, dining.  We went to the Manchester airport Premier Inn Hotel where we all went to bed in preparation for a big travel day on Sunday. On Sunday, the team plus Euros took a shuttle to the airport while Allen jumped in a rental car to explore some parts of Wales he's never seen.  For Allen, Monday brings the arrival of the second team, Josh Wall and the Acts Camp. For the rest of the team, Monday brings a new workweek. And yet this mission will linger in our hearts.  We made deep connections with the Welsh and with each other.  We saw something great have it's beginning.  We saw the Lord move among us and through us.  After such a mountaintop, it will take us sometime to get used to the valley again.

Waleslahoma

June 13, 2012 -- Days 5 & 6 The Construction Team continued their arduous assault on the entrance to the church, both inside and out.  Inch by inch they scraped away the detritus of old leprosy, repainting, rejuvenating the building as a symbol of what could lie in store for the whole community.  Bystanders took notice.  An Armenian sandwich shop owner gave critiques on the work from inside his truck, offering to give the teak oil to restore the wooden doors.  Many people asked if the church were reopening (it had never closed).  One woman teared  up. The Mission Team prepared for all the upcoming events for the week, planning, shopping, and praying.  Allen and Iestyn drove to Manchester airport on Wednesday and retrieved Jennifer Mansour.   Marc Owen, Church Life Secretary of the Wales Baptist Union and a dear friend, arrived on Wednesday so that he, Allen, Rhun, Derek, and Iestyn could brainstorm on future mission possibilities.  After days of grueling work together, Welsh ladies Linda and Moira gave Elizabeth and Jenonne a tour of beautiful Conwy Castle and the beach resort town of Llandudno.  More and more people showed up for tea in the afternoons and some of those who came returned for evening events, each day building momentum from the previous ones.  There were even discussions of literature and existential philosophy. The two evenings featured a Wales Night and then an American night.  The Wales night included Welsh delicacies (Welsh cakes!), a Welsh language lesson, an arm wrestling competition between Lonnie and Euros (Lonnie won) and Welsh circle dancing led by Arawn, our friend from Camp Bala last year.  The evening concluded with a singing of the Welsh national anthem.  For Oklahoma night, the meal included chili cheese hot dogs and nachos.  Lonnie showed the Welsh how to prepare their dogs.  Larry gave an informative lesson on American and Oklahoma history and taught the Welsh about Oklahoma "language" like "purdy." Allen emceed a Welsh and American quiz game that went over well, while Derek serves as scorekeeper.  The festival concluded with a rousing  a Capella version of Oklahoma, dessert (including S'mores) and feather all and Lonnie's wild game of lawn golf.  The churchyard reverberated with cheers and wild laughter.  The building had perhaps not seen so lively a night since the 1800's.  Perhaps never.

Members of One Body

June 11, 2012 -- Days 3 & 4 -- Members of One Body Sunday we had a full Welsh breakfast at the Rossett Hall Hotel (built in 1750), and went to church.  Rhun picked Allen up early and they went to one of Rhun's three churches -- this one in a coal village called Rhos.  Allen spoke to the congregation in broken Welsh, introducing himself and his purpose in Wales, and then Rhun preached in Welsh.  Then Rhun took Allen to Pen Y Bryn Chapel joining the rest of the team, where Rhun preached essentially the same sermon, this time in both Welsh and English. The sweet people of Pen Y Bryn served us lunch in the Vestry /Fellowship Hall and afterwards Rhun led us into the chapel area where he outlined his very  busy and wide- ranging mission scheme.  The American Mission Team was then comprised of Elizabeth (chief administrator), Jenonne, Andie, and Allen.  Then Rhun led Lonnie and the rest of the Construction Team (Joe, Larry, and David) On a tour of the church building which was in surprisingly good physical condition compared to our previous experiences at Gomer and Seion.  Lonnie was delighted the baptistry worked well despite not having been used since 1982 or so.  The two areas the team decided to focus upon were outside and inside the church entryway, and a large room above the vestry which Rhun wants to turn into a youth room.  jenonne spent part of the day with local relatives. Not close relatives, though. It was her sister-in-law's mother and sister. The Mathiesons took off with a Sweet young Welsh couple, Paddy and Elaine, and wwatched England and France battle to a tie in European football / soccer. Eventually, we all went to bed with visions of good hard work dancing in our heads. Monday.  The construction team went to the hardware store for scrapers and began assaulting the clumps of crumbling paint on the church's exterior since the weather was unusually and providentially rain free.  Larry laddered his way into a mini-courtyard guarded by columns of sharpened jail-like iron steel bars and distinguished himself by not leaving the site all day, working through lunch, dinner, and even bathroom breaks.  Joe mounted a tall ladder and began scraping high up, while others began scraping and eventually painting.  Lonnie hacksawed his way through a lock into the basement to open up storage possibilities.  The mission team organized gifts and explanatory cards about the chapel and walked around handing out the gifts to twenty or so local businesses.  The gifts were little paper cups with a Pen Y Bryn logo attached in which were packets containing coffee, tea, and biscuits.  The the team assaulted the youth room, boxing up ancient books, clearing debris, and moving old pews and tables to the middle of the room.  It was dirty work.  Spider webs were everywhere, and a spider even decided to drop down the inside of Allen's shirt.  In the afternoon an auction company showed up with a van and the two teams moved all the pews to the street where the van took them away.  The team even let the van take away an ancient foot-pump organ even though Rhun was gone and they didn't quite have permission to do so.  That is how the Americans roll. Fortunately, Rhun was pleased upon his return. In the afternoon Derek Rees and Euros Ap Hwyel arrived from Swansea and joined the team.  Derek, Elizabeth, and Allen went shopping for groceries and supplies for the week.  Later, everyone went out to a lovely pub called Plas Coch for dinner and then went back to the chapel to meet with a number of Welsh  friends and Rhun showed us a DVD on the Welsh revival of 1904.  A sweet, deepspiritual conversation followed and you could almost physically feel the bonding between the Okies and the Welsh.  we went back lot the hotel where we later learned that Jennifer Mansour had missed her connecting flight in Atlanta and would be delayed until Wednesday.  Still, Allen went to bed thinking about how immensely proud he was of every member of the Okie team, how they were each exhibiting their spiritual gifts and shining as they visually and palpably did the work of Christ in their every endeavor.  He also exulted in how their was already no distinction between Welsh and Okie.  We were, after all, members of one body.

Opening up a second front in Northern Wales June 09, 2012  -- Days 1 & 2 Our team was comprised of Allen Rice, construction leader Lonnie Hamman, Joe Williams, Elizabeth Wagoner, Jenonne Kessler, Larry Lewis, David Mathieson, and his daughter Andie Mathieson.  We all boarded the same United Airlines plane on Friday, leaving at a leisurely  noontime and landing at DC Dulles without incident.  The team split up into two as four stayed in the airport vicinity and Joe led the other half (including Lonnie, David, and Andie) on a 37 minute quickie tour of the these memorials (Lincoln, Washington! Jefferson, and WWII) memorials as well as the Capitol and the White House.  Oh and they had hot dogs.  We landed in Manchester without incident and praise be to God, passed through immigration as easily as possible.  let me say that again.  Praise God. Saturday we grabbed a couple of vans at the Manchester airport and headed for our hotel, Rossett Hall, which was built in 1750. We checked in, dropped off our bags, and toured Valle Crucis Abbey and Chirk castle instead of eating lunch.  Valle Crucis is not so grand or mystical a monastery as Tintern Abbey, but it is interesting because it is so complete, with roof and a second floor indoor museum.  Chirk Castle is not large but has a truly grand garden, complete with elaborate shrubberies crenelated like a castle wall.  It was Andie's first castle and out by the parking lot, Allen got to see a ridge that was part of historic Offa's Dyke, a sight he quested for last summer unsuccessfully.  After a lovely pub meal at Aleyn's in Rossett village it was  off to an early bed for some much needed rest. Tomorrow, Sunday, will be a day of church, Okies meeting the Welsh, reconnaissance, and big-picture planning.