Week 5

Well, it's now been over a month that I've been in Wales, pretty unbelievable. I have 10 days left here followed by 10 days in London. This past week has been a great week and I have learned alot. This past Sunday I preached twice, the same sermon two different churches. My first sermon was in the afternoon and it's safe to say that I was not as organized with my message as I should have been. There were various things wrong with the sermon mostly in regards to presenting the message in a ways that clearly presented the idea of the text. It was more like a 30 minutes long run on sentence that was hard to understand. It certainly could have gone worse, but it definitely could have gone better. Nevertheless I had a great conversation with Pastor Rees who was very gracious and yet pointed out the weakness that were most glaring. I mention this first account, because I had about 90 minutes to bring all the ideas of the text together before the evening service back at the church I am based out of. The wonder of God's grace in it all is that those 90 minutes were incredibly productive and the message that evening was one of the most well received I have preached. In fact due to no eloquence of my own, one man in the congregation is reported to have stated to a friend that he finally understands why we all need Jesus, that was hugely encouraging and I hope to see him act on that understanding. Certainly many practical preaching lessons I gleaned from that experience and very glad it was a redeeming experience for me.
The rest of the week flew by. I was able to share the story of Jesus bringing Jairus's daughter back from the dead, with the local elementary school. The next day I was a finishing judge for the school's sports day, which is equivalent of field day back in the states. It's been great as the kids get to know me more, it's fun to see them around town and be recognized. I also got to play golf with Pastor Rees and Rick, which proved to be yet another humbling experience. But that time was a joy for all of us. Rick as I mentioned in last weeks prayer request is a man who is asking alot and thinking alot about the Gospel, but there are lots of bad habits he has that are huge stumbling blocks for him. It was a great time for him I think in being relaxed and that night along with conversations later on in the week were very helpful for him I hope.
This past thursday night I had the privelege of speaking at a monthly outreach meeting. I found the message to be much more difficult in preparation than I had anticipated, I preaching on Matthew 11:27-3o, but I believe the work and prayer resulted in a sermon which proclaimed the Gospel clearly and was well received by those, though few in number, who were there that night. In some respects there was some disappointment about the meeting, because there had been much effort and prayer involved in planning the meeting and getting out the word and yet really noone beyond regular churchgoers showed up. It is a testimony of the difficulty for ministry in this area. Nevertheless, the fellowship was sweet and God was glorified!
Lastly on the touristy side of things, I was able to go to the smallest city in the world. It is really a village, but because it has a Cathedral it is officially a city. The cathedral, St. David's Cathedral, was a beautiful cite. The building dates back to the 1300's, but Christian's have been meeting there for 1500 years, so just the history by itself was amazing. It's been wonderful learning of the Christian tradition which is so rich in Wales, including the revivals Wales is famour for over the past 200-300 years. There is certainly hope, but the current situation is dire and all prayers are greatly needed.

Some specific prayer requests are :

Pastor Rees and 4 other members are away for the week to Northern Wales for a outreach mission. Pray for their time in LLandedno.

For the two services this Sunday which I will be leading in every respect as Pastor Rees is out.

For my ability to see everything through which needs to be done, this is a great opportunity for pastoral training, as I'm the "acting" pastor for the week.

I'll be going to a youth meeting on tuesday night, and thursday afternoon pray that the Gospel be proclaimed and the youth come to know Christ.

Pray that I finish strong in my time here and that the Lord use me to be a blessing as I depart.

Thanks for your prayers!

God bless,
Cole

Week 4

Well I only have a little over two weeks left, these past four weeks have truly flown by. My time in Wales is actually being cut short a few days, because the church has arranged for me to go to a conference in London at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, which is Spurgeon's old church, they are still going strong! I'm really excited about that conference it'll certainly be a change of pace, but nice to relax a little.

This past week has been much like the others, busy, fast, and great! I preached at a Baptist church in a little town, Pontardawe which is about 45 minutes away from Narberth where I am staying. That proved to be a great experience, the church was very encouraging and it was great to meet more Christians and to be able to encourage them along the way.

I got to do a little more speaking in one of the 5th grade classes, this time it was more American based topics, but they did ask several questions about faith to that was good. I have a huge ego from that day because all the girls asked for my autograph, it was quite flattering. It's been neat that I've been in the school a few times, I'm now recognizing and being recognized by many of the kids when I'm out and about and hopefully that will lead to some fruitful interaction with them and their parents. I also spent more time at youth meeting I've been going to for a few weeks and it's been good to get to know those kids a little more, they ask some great question during our Bible study, so it's encouraging that they are atleast thinking about such things as the Gospel.

The weekly Bible study on Tuesday night at the church went well, I taught on 2 Peter 2:5-11 if anyone cares to look it up. I'm still so thankful for the prayer time we have on those nights, the Christians in the meeting have such affirming prayers and I have even found that as they reflect on the message I have just given through their prayers they point out things I hadn't even thought of. It's a great feeling being instructed in such ways.

I also spoke at the women's meeting which is every wednesday. That proved to be a great experience, it is interesting talking to a group of much older women and being the only male, but they were very kind and the American factor helped me get along with them cause my accent is just so darn cute!

This week as usual was not without it's touristy moments, I went to a local amusement park, which didn't hold a candle to most American parks, but there were no lines as we were there on a school day, so I rode everything several times. I also got to go to the local mountain range one day. What was awesome about that is that one hour I was on top of a mountain the next I was sitting on the beach, truly the best of both worlds!

All in all things are still going great. The Lord is teaching me alot about preaching and being a pastor in general and it's been a great time of stretching in regards to sharing my faith. In many respects it's sad that my time is so close to an end, because I'm really starting to get a feel for the area and I believe I'm more help to Pastor Rees now as we've gotten used to the way each other works. That being said it will be great to be back and see everyone!

Some prayer request for this week:

More prayer for my involvement in the schools and in the youth club on thursdays. I'll be in the schools twice this week once for an assembly and once to help with their equivalent of field day.

This thursday I'm preaching at an evangelistic service in Whitland a nearby chapel, pray that local unbelievers would be drawn to the meeting and more importantly drawn to the gospel.

I'll be playing golf with a man named Rick, once with Pastor Rees and once without. He is not a believer but he's asking lots of great questions, pray that this time would be profitable and that I would not ruin my witness through the frustration I experience due to my golf game which will inevitably stink.

Pray for Eric an elderly gentleman whom everyone know in Narberth. He's a character and a half. We've become friends and I visit with him several times a week, he also needs the Lord.

Pray for this upcoming sunday June 28th i believe. Pastor Rees will be out of town that day and actually for a whole week. I'll essentially be the fill in Pastor which means I'll preach both services and lead in singing. Pray for those services as well as all the responsibilities I will have that week.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

God bless,
Cole

Week 3

Well, my third full week in Wales proved to be very busy but equally great with the first two weeks. I preached in a small church meeting in a community center on Sunday Morning. It was very different from the other churches I've been in, namely because it was very informal in style and even in dress, I felt odd being the only person in a suit. The people were very kind and seemed very receptive to the sermon, so I'm thankful for that.

As I mentioned last week I had the opportunity to go into the schools this week as well. I went into an elementary school on Tuesday and was able to talk infront of the whole school for about 10 minutes. That portion was mostly on being from America though I got to speak about what I had come over to do and my time in seminary. I was then able to spend about 30 hours with small groups of 5th graders and we just talked and they told me things they knew about America and that proved to be a good time to share more about why I had come to Wales and who Jesus was and everything. The best opportunity proved to be the next day where I was able to accompany another local pastor into a high school class where he had been asked to speak on why he disagrees with evolution, his talk was amazing. Towards the end of the class the teacher who is a Christian asked me if I'd like to share how I became a Christian as such things came up in the evolution talk. So for 5 minutes I shared my testimony talked about sin, talked about Jesus being God and free from sin and spoke of how I came to understand my need for a savior, it was great. I've seldom had such a rush evangelizing and the kids asked some great questions afterwards, so that was great.

I also go to share the gospel to a group of middle schoolers that come to a church for mostly fun and then some Bible study. These kids are all unchurched and have no idea about the gospel, beyond what they learn for 20 minutes every week. I was able to share about sin with them and then elaborate on our need for a Savior. They were receptive and asked question and watnot, so overall my interaction this past week with kids of various ages was very encouraging.

I'm beginning to know many of the people in the church a lot better. Even most of the people within the church are unsaved and searching for answers. In the next few weeks I'll likely play golf with one man who has just been diagonsed with multiple sclerosis(not sure if spelled correctly) and he is really seeking out the answers, so I'm prayerful about that. Others have invited me over for tea or to come look at pictures, so I'm glad to be connecting more with them now as I'm approaching having only three weeks left.

This week also proved to be great for touristy related things. I walked around Skoma island the most populated area for bird breeding in the world or something along those lines. The landscapes were amazing and there were 1000's of puffins all over the place. I also visited a castle which was still full intact, Pembroke Castle the birthplace of Henry VII. I'll have pictures of these places posted shortly on facebook.

So all in all it was another great week. Here are some prayer concerns for the upcoming week.

Tuesday night Bible Study, I'll be teaching on 2 Peter 1: 5-11, I did verses 1-4 last week.

Wednesday I'll be back in the Elementary school to work with some 5th graders.

Wednesday I'll be speaking at the Ladies fellowship.

Pray for Pastor Rees and other pastors in the area, I am becoming all the more aware of their need for prayer and encouragment as there is so little fruit to be seen in all of Wales.

Pray that I continue to connect with people, especially those who need to hear the Gospel.

Thanks for your prayers everyone.

God bless,
Cole
God bless
Cole

Week 2

Well my second week here in Wales was great! I spent the better part of saturday and all of sunday in Melksham, England where I preached the morning and evening service. That night I was taken on a tour and saw a Saxon chapel which dated back to the 10th century! The history is just amazing I'm told that within a few miles of the house I'm in here in Narberth there are ruins from a 5th century Celtic chapel! Anyways, the services were great, it was the first time I had to run the whole service, announcing the hymns, leading in prayer, and then preaching, and closing with a hymn. The church seemed pleased with the preaching and they couldn't have been any more kind and gracious to me, it really was a great time.

I got back to Narberth here in Wales on Monday afternoon at which point in gorgeous weather the Rees family, some church members and I went for a picnic on the beach! On tuesday night I led the church Bible study, we studied the Judges Ehud and that was a lot of fun to teach on. I was able to establish a connection with a youth minister/evangelist from another Baptist church in the area and I believe I'll be going with him on wednesdays to hang out with some local middle schoolers and do a Bible Study. These middle schoolers are not Christians but I am prayerful for fruit, they asked some great questions this past Thursday.

Also, this past thursday the men from the church had a Bar-b-que. I was the youngest there by far, which made it intimidating to give my testimony, but I emphasized that what I had been saved from was not different nor less severe than any thing they needed to be saved from regardless of our age difference and life experience difference. Most of the men there were not Christians so it was a great time to share the Gospel and how it's has proven true in my life. They seemed to receive it well and over all the night was great.

On a few occasions this week I simply sat out front the church, which is in the middle of the town, with a table and some tracts and talked to whoever stopped by. I got to share the Gospel on various occasions and certainly had some interesting conversations. I am prayerful that this ministry will be fruitful.

Overall it was a great second week. Pastor Rees and I are getting along quite well and he teaching me alot, so I am very thankful for that. I'm also getting to know others in the town, so it's neat to go out for a walk and just randomly see people you know. Some prayer requests are:

Please continue to pray that I meet some people my own age. The lack of Christian presence among anyone remotely near my age is depressing and I'd love to have the opportunity to share the Gospel with such people.

This next week I'll be speaking at an elementary school assembly and then having further interaction with a 5th grade class. The laws about sharing your faith in the schools here are much less restrictive than in America. Pastor Rees told me I don't have to hold anything back, so this is a great opportunity, please pray for this.

I'll be preaching in a Small town called Kilgetty at a local church that I believe is Pentecostal, at least in name. Pray for that message that it honors God and affects the people.

Please pray for the youth meeting I'll be attending on Thursdays.

These are the specifics but of course my whole time here needs prayer. Thank you all so much for your prayers and I'll have more updates in the next week!

God bless
Cole