It’s day two of our Street Evangelism and Outreach efforts in Birmingham. We’re going to catch our bus at about 10am, and head into the city for another afternoon of reaching the lost and unsaved. Pray that God will have his way and that deliverance, healing, and salvation will be present in the streets of the city! Check back later for today for more blog.
First of all – what an incredible day of outdoor Street Services and Outreach ministering! We believe that after today the city and church of Birmingham, England, will NEVER BE THE SAME! The YOMers got to experience and witness first-hand outdoor urban evangelism, many for the very first time. It is truly a method of ministering that is effective and can even show immediate results. YOMers were handing out leaflets, talking one-on-one to the people of Birmingham, inviting them to church and asking if they wanted prayer.
We started the day by getting to sleep in a bit, which we all enjoyed very much! We met at the chapel here on campus at Hamstead College, and were ministered to by a devotional talk and testimony from Emily Payne. It encouraged us all and set our minds on what was to be done in the city that afternoon. We then caught a bus to Sandwell Centre, near the middle of the city of Birmingham. We passed out leaflets inviting people to the church and the UK General Conference for about 25 minutes.
After handing out leaflets for a while, we began the Street Service – the main core of the ministry for the day. The YOM Choir sang “Blessed Be Your Name” and then the YOM Sign Team ministered with the song “Something Happens”. All the YOMers were encouraged as people passing by and shop owners began to stop and watch and listen to what was happening out in the square of the neighborhood. As a crowd began to line the edges of Sandwell Centre, the YOM Drama Team came forth and delivered a stirring drama called “Everything”. This clearly touched the hearts of those watching, and you could see that hungry souls were being moved on by the Spirit of God.
When the YOM Drama Team finished, the YOM Choir came a sang a final song – “The Enemy’s Been Defeated”. Mixed between the various parts of the service, several YOMers took the mic and testified in the town square before the crowd. Those who shared their testimony and word from God include Haleigh Hohman, Montana Wilkins, Seneatha Clayton, and Alisha Logan. Each of them shared a unique personal word and encouraged faith in their Savior, Jesus Christ.
Bro. Joe Cooney from Life Tabernacle in London spoke to the people who were gathered, and afterwards several came and we had prayer, shared our faith, and gathered contact information for the church to continue to reach out. We later ate lunch at Pizza Hut, and one the men we prayed with joined us there for fellowship.
We then split into 4-5 person teams and passed out leaflets in various neighborhoods in Birmingham, distributing thousands of leaflets along the course of the afternoon. At 6:30pm we took the bus back to the campus and the local church had dinner waiting there for us! We had a delicious and unique dinner of authentic Indian food, prepared by a man in the church. We are so thankful for such superb hospitality that is above and beyond what we expect. It is simply wonderful to be here in Birmingham. We know that tomorrow is going to be another LIFE-CHANGING and ETERNITY-IMPACTING day in the UK!!!
For photos from 8.6.08, click HERE
It’s GREAT to finally be back online! What an eventful and stirring last couple days we’ve had here in Birmingham, England. We are now staying at Hamstead College in Birmingham. It’s a very nice, old campus that is enclosed, secure, and peaceful. We are enjoying it very much.
On Tuesday, we left London and voyaged by bus northward to Birmingham. At the beginning of the trip, we were blessed with a devotion from Garrett Beaver, who left us with great thoughts to dwell on and start the day. We traveled about an hour and stopped at a “Welcome Break” rest stop. As a side note, it was by FAR the largest, nicest rest area any of us had ever visited. We rode about a 1.5 hours more and arrived at Hamstead College campus here in Birmingham around 1pm. We were greeted by Pastor Mark Gadd of the Birmingham church.
After we settled in to the college, we made a grocery trip to Somerfield’s Grocery. We then returned to the college a rested up until around 5pm, at which time we took a two-bus trip to the center of Birmingham and the church, The Birmingham Lighthouse UPC. We met some of the congregation and had a fantastic dinner prepared by the wonderful ladies of the church. After we ate, we relaxed, fellowshipped, and played an intense game of Duck-Duck-Goose!
Once we all calmed down, we had a powerful group prayer meeting, praying for the church, the YOM trip, and that our lives and especially the lives of others would be impacted by the trip. The church members and the YOMers experienced deep spiritual refreshing and encouragement, with a special word from GOD through the interpretation of tongues.
After a full evening, we took our two-bus trek back to the campus. We chilled out, had Drama practice for Wednesday’s Outreach and Street Service, and then finally made our ways to our rooms for the night.
It was a full day, but full of variety and new people and special, personal ministry that enhanced the Outreach that was to follow the next day. A very refreshing day, both physically and spiritually. We could not wait for what the next two days of our already life-changing experience here in the UK!
Check out photos from 8.5.08 HERE
I received a call from Bro. Levine today at about 4:15pm (CST) telling me that they were not going to have Internet access at the hotel they are staying at until tomorrow morning. Once they get access they said a new post would be on its way. They just wanted all of you to know that they arrived safe and all is well.
Thanks everyone for all your encouraging comments! We’re leaving this morning to go to Birmingham, which is about a 2-3 hour bus ride from London. We’re all eating breakfast and packing up right now - some of the young men had to make McDonald’s run this morning. 
Thanks for your continued prayers and support! God is doing MIGHTY works in the UK!
What a sight-seeing filled day! This was no doubt one of most memory filled days we will experience.
This morning we left and hopped on a double-decker open-topped bus, and took a ride through the heart of the city. We cruised by many landmarks and historical sites on this ride. Among the things we saw were: Oxford Street (a major shopping lane), the American Embassy, many other embassies from other nations of the world, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, the Gate of London which had the lion and unicorn on it (symbols of Britain). We also beheld the Thames River, crossed the London Bridge, and crossed Tower Bridge. We saw the Eye of London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Queen’s Theater. We took a boat ride on the Thames River which took us by many sights and famous places. There are almost too many to describe and list! We saw it ALL!
We enjoyed lunch at Subway near the sights in the middle of city, and did a little bit of souvenir hunting in our lunch time break.
The majority of our day and night were spent in two places: The Tower of London and Harrod’s of London. The Tower of London has such a wealth of British history and culture! We got to see everything, from the changing of the guard, the Crown Jewels, possessions of the royal family, many solid GOLD items, medieval weapons and armor, ancient murals, classic architecture, the moat, and we were taken on an official tour by a Yeoman (a military officer who protects the Queen and Tower). It was truly an AMAZING sight!!!
Dinner was neat, because we ate at a place called “Pret a Manger”, a cafe in London with fresh sandwiches and salads.
The last place we visited was Harrod’s of London, the most expensive and snazzy store in the WORLD. People travel from all over the world just to buy a trinket from Harrod’s. Many of us were very excited to be able to buy a little something from the Harrod’s Gift Shop.
After we finished out sight-seeing for the day, we went underground and caught a ride on the Tube (London’s state-of-the-art subway system) and headed back to the area were we are staying. Overall, it was a TREMENDOUS day filled with memories of places and moments that the YOMers will never forget.
Special shout-out to our tour leaders for the entire day in London - Rev. Joe Cooney and Bro. Alexis Ortega from Life Tabernacle!
All the photos from the day are posted HERE. Videos are posted HERE.
We’re back in our rooms at the University, and finally settling in after a long day of powerful services and fun fellowship.
Tonight’s service at Life Tabernacle was one of heart-felt worship and anointed preaching. The YOM Choir ministered again and sang “In Awe of You” and “Shout to the King”. Once again, we had 3 students testify and share a word with the congregation - Mark Damron, Emily Payne, and Seneatha Clayton. When the Choir was done singing, the YOM Sign Team ministered in song, with “Hear us from Heaven”.
After the Sign Team, Dustin Williams preached from Psalm 117
about “Praise” and then Kevin Raposo preached about about “Expecting the Unexpected” and led altar call. During altar service people came expecting miracles and deliverance - and received them! Service tonight was TREMENDOUS. All the YOM students are still doing awesome things and having life-changing experiences.
When the service was coming to a close, Bishop Francis took the microphone and had Bro. Levine prophesy over and pray to his congregation and young people. Then, after another powerful time of prayer, the bishop began to prophesy to our YOMers. He had his saints and young people lay hands on us as he and Bro. Levine prayed over the entire group. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE. There was not one YOMer left out; all were engaged, weeping and praying in the Holy Ghost. What a conclusion to a dynamic day at Life Tabernacle!!!
After riding the train back to Victoria Station (close to our rooms), we walked to McDonald’s (being in the “posh” neighborhood that we are staying in). This was BY FAR the nicest McDonald’s any of us had ever been to! We were joined by several youth from Life Tabernacle, and we all had a great fellowship at McDonald’s.
Tomorrow is going to be a exciting day of touring London, before we leave for Birmingham on Tuesday morning.
Photos are now uploaded from Sunday morning and evening! We’ve also added a few videos for your viewing pleasure
Also please take note - If your comment does not appear automatically, we’ll approve it soon and get it posted up! Thanks for them all!
Well, we just had our first Sunday service in London, England! We are being hosted by Life Tabernacle UPC in London, led by Bishop Francis.
We gathered in the Common Room of the University this morning at about 9:20am, and then left on foot, walking to the train station. We bought our tickets and then rode the train for about 10 minutes - during which time we had a very good choir practice! Everyone sang together and as you can imagine, we had a few spectators who were also passengers on the train. After a short train ride, we arrived at Life Tabernacle at 10:20am. We then had a more “organized” choir and sign language team practice.
At 11am, we went upstairs for the New Life class - a kind of mix between “new converts class” and “college and career class”. Kevin Raposo opened led the class, and four YOMers testified and shared a word with the class - Seneatha Clayton, Chris Adams, Montana Wilkins, and Deloris Crocker. Kevin then ended class with a word and some prayer, and we headed back downstairs for Sunday morning service.
The YOM Choir sang 2 songs - “Blessed be the Name” and “The Enemy’s been Defeated”. In between songs, more YOMers began to testify and share with the congregation what God had put in their heart. Testifying in the service were Dustin Williams, Deloris Crocker, and Haliegh Hohman. After the choir ministered, the YOM Sign Team ministered with the song “Something Happens (Jesus, Jesus, Jesus)”. Bro. Luke Levine then preached about how “The Worshipers Get the ‘I Will’” and how God responds to worship. We had a powerful time around the altars. People were lost in “true worship.” God responded by pouring out His Spirit. Some were filled with the Holy Ghost & there we many miracles! It was AWESOME!!!
ALL the YOMers are doing an absolutely fantastic job ministering and being involved. This YOM team is a awesome group of students that are being both ministers and ministered to. Lives are being impacted here in the United Kingdom! A couple of thee YOMers commented after the service that if they went home right now, the trip had already been worth all it took to get here!
We just ate a great lunch feast of pasta and chicken, prepared for us by the Life Tabernacle church. We’re all very thankful for such wonderful hospitality.
We will have photos and videos up from todays services as soon as we can! Check back soon.
And if you visit an updated blog and check out the photos, LEAVE A COMMENT!
The day that began way back in St. Louis (even earlier for many of us) is finally drawing to a close in downtown London within walking distance of the Queen of England’s home, Buckingham Palace.
We waited in the “Common Room” of the university for hours until our rooms became ready. While we waited, we rested (slept), ordered Pizza Hut, met with the missionary Bro. Joe Cooney, and waited. And waited. And waited. But we did get into our rooms, and settled in for a few hours before heading back out into the downtown for some essential groceries and good, wholesome food.
We did get to change our money from the US dollar into the British Pound. Bro. Levine & Bro Cooney took all of our cash and went to a local bank for the exchange. When they didn’t return for almost 2 hours, we got a little nervous. Finally, they came back. They had went to 6 banks trying to get us the best rate possible for our exchange. The rate was exactly 2 to 1. For every 2 US Dollars, we got 1 British Pound. You give them $100 & they give you 50! Pretty crazy.
Before we went out for the evening, we had a music practice for Sunday’s services. Everyone was singing in the choir to get ready for when we all sing as a group tomorrow. We practiced 3 songs and were led by Javan McGuire.
We ate at a very cool Portuguese restaurant - a first for all of us, I’m sure! It was a classy place called “Nando’s” that was famous for their spicy chicken. It was a great time, and we all got our stomachs full. After that, we went to a grocery store that is very close to our rooms at the university. We bought our essentials, and while we were waiting outside for the entire group to assemble, the youth from Life Tabernacle in London (where we’ll be going to church in the morning) just happened to walk by! We all stopped and chatted with them out on the sidewalk in downtown for a good while. It was great to meet everyone before we even went to church with them.
When we returned to the university the sign language team began to practice for tomorrow’s services.
It’s time for bed now, and we’re all definitely ready for it! We added more photos to the gallery, so be sure and check those out. Have a nice evening, and we’ll get back on here for more update sometime tomorrow! Thanks for leaving all the comments!
We landed in London at 6am (our time) this morning! Thank you all for all your prayers and thoughts. When we landed, we went through customs as a group, and then we made our way to Luggage Reclaim and gathered up everyone’s bags. Once we had all that stuff out of the way, we went upstairs and met with the Missionary, Bro. Cooney. He led us to our bus and we took off into the heart of London! On our way to the University where we’re staying, we got to see the Natural History Museum, Westminster Abby, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace! Even some of those Royal Guards. Eventually, we made our way to the University, and here we sit, in the lounge area, waiting for our rooms to be ready to move in to. It shouldn’t be too long before we’re all set in our rooms. We’re all getting pretty hungry (the airplane food is wearing off!), so we’re going to go eat.
All the photos I’ve uploaded so far were taken from the bus while on the road. There will be more, better ones coming later. But to see the ones we have now, click here
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