First Update From London

Thank you all for your prayers and support as I was prepping to leave for London and during my journey over here! Bellow you will find a brief update on how the journey here and my first few days have gone. My goal is to send out monthly prayer updates and quarterly newsletters via email. If you would like to be part of the email list please just send me a quick email at naomielissa84@gmail.com. I will be also trying to do blog updates on a regular basis that won't always be what's also emailed out in the prayer updates. 

First Prayer Update from London: 

It was so incredible to watch the Lord's hand in every aspect of my preparing to leave and travels over here. Even when things that had to get done started to look pretty impossible the Lord would do something so cool and unexpected to work it all out so that there was no question that it was all Him. I feel like every step along the journey here God made sure that I totally knew that it was all Him even in the little details. Our God is so good! I love that we don't have to worry about things, even when they look impossible, because God is in control. His plan is normally better than ours anyways.

The Lord really gave me such favor during the traveling here. It was probably the smoothest things have ever gone for me traveling internationally. I had an amazing group of people at the airport to help me get all my luggage checked in and to send me off. I'm so blessed by the amazing friends the Lord has placed in my life. They even sang goodbye to me as I headed up the escalator to then go through security. The flight was good and I even got some pretty good sleep. Then arriving in London I was warmly greeted and welcomed by Pastor Tonye and some other guys from the fellowship here that took all my luggage and escorted me back to the house. 

Even though I have only been here for 4 days I've already started to feel at home and so welcomed into the fellowship. It has been awesome to get to reconnect with the team here from back home and some people that I met when I was here briefly a couple years ago. Even though I've only been to a few of the different studies, it's been so sweet to connect with people already. There are some amazing people here that I'm so excited to get to build relationships with. It's also been sweet as the Lord has been really giving me such a heart for these people and vision for how the Lord could work in their lives and use them in powerful ways to impact the Kingdom of God. I'm so excited to get to come alongside so many of these younger precious believers and be used by the Lord to encourage, equip, lead deeper into the Word and live life alongside each other as we seek to live our lives for the Lord. I can't wait to see what all the Lord has in store.

It has been so cold here this week that a number of events that were planned had to be canceled. Imagine doing baptisms outside or a worship night on a canal boat ride when it's in the 30s. However, it has been really cool cause they made a personal reading list for people to do on there own that has scripture for each day of the week that is on what Jesus experienced that day. So it's like you are walking a week with Jesus. I've been so blessed to join in on this and look at these events and teachings that Jesus did each day in light of the cross that He knows is so close ahead. Instead of the normally studies that take place during the week, we have gone through the scripture for that day. It really has been a very sweet time looking at Jesus' final steps and words up to the cross. I'm really looking forward to this Easter Sunday and seeing what all the Lord does. Please be in prayer for the hearts and lives that the Lord is going to move in this Sunday, not only here but all over the world.

I'm so blessed beyond belief that I'm actually here getting to serve the Lord in London!

Praises:

• All the amazing things the Lord did in order for me to leave my life in America and travel here
• So blessed by the amazing friends and family to warmly send me off from Cali and to greet me here in London. It's sweet to be living, for now anyways, with my dear friends the Holyde family (the pastor's family that used to be my pastor in the states before they moved here)
• Blessed by the scripture reading for walking a week with Jesus
• So blessed by the amazing people here that I've met and so looking forward to building relationships with
• Soooo excited for all the areas of ministry here that the Lord has been giving me vision for and stirring my heart for. Can't wait to see it all unfold!

Prayer:

• To adjust to the time zone here
• Continued guidance and leading by the Lord for what all He has planned for ministry for me
• That the Lord will use me to be a blessing to the Holyde family while I live with them and for the Lord to be showing me ways I can serve them. Also, that the Lord would use me to be an example and encouragement to their 2 daughters (ages 9 & 15) as it's kinda like stepping into the role of being big sister to them.
• That the Lord would continue to work out all my continued monthly financial support. I've been so amazed how He has provided so far through all the fundraising stuff I did before I left and know that He will always continue to provide.
• for the ministry the Lord has here through Shoreline North London
• For Easter Sunday, that lives would be changed and those that are lost and with out hope would find their hope and life in Christ Jesus.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I'm so humbled, blessed and stoked to get to be here in London serving the Lord and that I can walk through this journey with you all. There is no way that I can do what I'm doing here without all of your prayer coverage. Thank you so much, you have no idea how important your prayers are!

In His grip,

Naomi