1st Day

Dear Prayer Partners,

We all made it to London safely today. Some of us however have already had to experience the first rule of any trip and that is flexibility! Because of the cold front that was covering most of the Southwest US many of us were delayed in Birmingham and then again in Houston. This ultimately caused us to land in London an hour of schedule which wouldn't have been bad except for that fact that it put us on the 7th plane to land and go through customs. Needless to say we were in the back of a very long line.

Waiting seems to be the lesson for today. After finally getting through passport control we then had to wait to get tube tickets and then we the train finally left the building a team member realized that they had left their backpack. Which again caused us to wait. By the time we finally checked in to the hotel we were already 3 1/2 hours behind schedule...but who's counting time.

We finally got checked in (with all our baggage) and on our way to Camden Town. What a place! For most of us it was our first experience and we came away with heavy but energized hearts for the people in the area. We were able to walk the canal and encounter many of the locals which allowed us to see, smell, and hear many needs. We soon realized the need to "bump it up" and we started prayer walking the canal and surrounding area. It was a joy to lift up those needs in prayer and get an early peek on what we get to participate in this week.

Tomorrow we will begin a very long day. Please be in prayer for Johnny as he brings the message in the morning to our friends at Kings Cross Baptist Church, as well as Bryan, as he will be preaching Sunday night. After the service we will break up into our teams and start to prayer walk and City Narrative Map our assigned districts. Please pray that God will open our eyes to the needs in the area so that we may fully engaged in interceding for the people of Camden. Also pray that we will encounter people that will approach us and ask us why we are here so that we may not only learn more about them and the people of Camden, but that we may be able to speak the truth of the gospel into their lives.

We have much work to do, and we are already tired from our long flight and long day. Many of us are already showing signs of sickness along with aches and pains but God is good and has protected us along the way. One of the biggest ways in which He has protected us was in passport control. Many of the team members were questioned extensively and we have heard of some recent teams having members denied entry. God is good and through that we learned our second lesson of the day, which is dependence. We are here for His namesake and for His kingdom. We can not do this alone so we are desperately depending of God to open doors and give insight and for you with your prayers. Thank you for your prayers.

Yours in Christ,

London Mission Team