Slum Survivor

I'm alive!
Just made it through slum survivor.
It was a pretty good time!
A rough few days but we all made the most of it.

But really, it was nothing compared to how others have to live.  We were blessed in many ways...from being able to make our slums in the basement to receiving chocolate from time to time. 

Through out a lot of the time I could only think, "I can't wait till this is over."  How sad is it that it's not over for some people; they don't just get to play homeless for a day or two then go to a nice home and have a nice hot dinner waiting for them.  Most of them don't even know when they'll get their next meal.

This was a great humbling experience for me.
How crazy is it that we take even the most little things for granted! 

There's quite a few homeless people here in London I'm excited to have the chance to come along side them, maybe see if my team will give up a meal so we can give it to the people that need it more.

If you have any other ideas on how my team and I could bless the homeless while we're here in London, email me at m_steener@hotmail.com

While we did Slum Survivor we also had talks on slavery, and how some people have to sell their family members into the sex trade so they can have money to eat.  Before this weekend- if I thought about parents selling their children into the sex trade so they can eat, I would be pretty mad and horrified at the parents; but honestly they don't have any other choice.  It's either that or watch their children starve to death.

It's gut wrenching to think that the basic needs we're so accustomed to having met are forcing people to make horrible decisions, or even leaving people for dead.

This morning I did a Bible study with the kids, the topic:
Slaves to sin or righteousness?
We talked about how sin can really hold us back in life, chaining and restricting us from everything God wants for us.
and what the words, "the truth will set you free,"in John 8:32 mean.

We also did an activity where I gave them peices of paper, and they wrote down sin that enslaves them and keep them from having an even better relationship with God. 
Then I had them write the opposites of what they wrote on another peice of paper, showing them what they can work on day to day to become slaves to righteousness.

Then we put all our papers together, that had the sins that enslave us written on them, and made a huge chain link. 

So often our sins can feel like chains, they restrict us and are heavy burdens to carry.  But God broke those chains when He sent His son to die on the cross so we don't have to forever be chained to sin but to have life and have it to the fullest (John 10:10)
...we then ripped up our chain symbolising that we can overcome anything with God. (John 16:33)

This post has come to its end but before you click off this page and go on with your daily schedule, I hope you'll make your own list of things that enslave you as well as their opposites, and join me and many others on this journey of becoming slaves to righteousness.

humbled and angered to action.
mariah

London-Being a Fire for God

It's been a little over a week since I set foot in this amazing place called London. It's absolutely beautiful here, so green and historical!

It feels like such a long time ago that I found out I'd be going to London for outreach, and now that I'm here I feel like I have even less time before it all ends.

We're working with an organization called Megacities while were here.  Basically what it is,is a Christian organization that picks a different place around the world every year and splits the place into different areas.  Then they have different teams come in and take on an area of the place and focus on what God is already doing in this community and what else God wants to do, volunteering and helping out the community in many different ways.

It's been quite easy with the location being London because it's already split into different boroughs (kind of like neighborhoods or suburbs).  My team is working in the borough of Red Bridge, this area is very green and is filled with upper class people.  It reminds me of a little village; filled with little shops, double-decker buses and million dollar houses. 

So far what we've been doing is prayer walking; going around our borough praying for different people or reading our Bibles out loud in public places...just getting a feel for the community.  We've also been to a number of churches and youth groups.

Yesterday we went to these apartment buildings called the Estates, with a guy who does door knocking and evangelizing there. It was quite interesting. This place is known for people commiting suicide by jumping out the windows of the buildings, and is a place where a lot of mentally ill people live. If that didn't freak you out the elevator would.  The guy told us to all squeeze into this small little steal elevator...after the doors had closed we asked if it was safe.  The only response we get is, "I don't really know, be praying."  Long story short...I'm still alive!

There was eleven floors and we knocked on every single door.  The people weren't very friendly or open, but some of us got some good conversations going with some people.

In the next few weeks we'll be working with Street Pastors (Pastors that go out into different areas and help out with the homeless; giving them food, giving out flip flops to the women with broken high heals, etc.  I'm really excited to go out and help out with both the physical needs and spiritual needs of this community.

I'm also going to be buying some chalk soon and going out and making some pictures on the sidewalks to get people's attention and hopefully ask me what in the world I'm doing.  I think it would be a great way to catch people's attention without being all in their face.  I'm curious to see how God will use my art skills.

The people here come from many different backgrounds and cultures, white people becoming more and more of the minority.  The people keep to themselves..but have found if you just step out and start a conversation they open up and it'll be hard to get them to stop talking. 

Also with London becoming more of a Muslim nation it's hard to find devote Christians.  It's not like the U.S.A. where everyone mostly calls themselves Christians even if they don't live like it. 

Materialism is a big problem here with Central London only a forty-five minute subway ride away.  Their shopping stores are HUGE here.  It was very overhwelming my first time going into a store.  It seemed like just a small building but find that it's actually a couple stories up and down, and the prices are decieving since it's in pounds and not dollars.  It would be easy to get caught up in the hustle of buying and buying, and always wanting more.

Please pray for this place!

Right now I'm getting ready to do something called slum survivor with a youth group.  What's slum survivor you ask?
Me, three other ywamers, and some of the kids from the youth group here at the church are going to be making houses out of boxes in the downstairs basement of the Church and living in them until Sunday afternoon (originally we were going to do it outside on the Church grounds but It's too cold and is expected to rain. Personally I would like to tough it out and do it outside but I'd probably be regretting it after a few hours).  We're allowed a sleeping bag, pillow, and our Bibles.  We get three meals a day, but what we get is limited and will be rice or beans. 
Should be quite the experience.
I'm excited to be humbled by the experience, getting a little glimpse at how people have to live.

If I make it out of the slums alive I'll tell you how it all went!

Thank you for all your prayers and support.  Please keep praying.
I believe God's going to do some amazing things these next few weeks

excited.
mariah