Changing times

Here in the UK we are dealing with a rising death toll daily and new legislation that, honestly are presented as 'advice' instead of 'law's leaving many confused and worried about what to do. All gatherings have closed and the shelves are always bare... because of this season our ministry is changing slightly.. we are closing down the meeting place during this time and instead it is being used as a food distribution center for the most vulnerable.  Also, as the youngest in the church, we will be the ones running to shops and pharmacies to help support our most vulnerable church members. 

We arent forgetting the young adults during this time. We have moved our Bible study to a WhatsApp group where we will post study's and have discussions through the technology.  We will also be hosting prayer times, worship sessions, and just ears to listen. We’ve also moved a big part of our ministry to the vulnerable group of elderly people that attend the church and live in our neighborhood.

We want to send a big thank you for your prayers and continue support of our family and the ministry during this time. We know it’s easy to get wrapped up in things, to make decisions out of fear or anxiety, we know there are sacrifices being made so that we can serve the lost here.  We want you to know how greatfull we are and that it is still making a difference in this chaos. Also we want you to know that you and your family are in our prayers daily.  

We know that we serve a God who is still on the throne and He has given us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.. not of fear, in fact his perfect love drives out all fear. So as we face unknown and learn how to serve and connect in ways we didn’t think of before, be driven by His love not others fear... 

God a Bless and Stay safe.

One weekend down

  One weekend down and hopefully hundreds to go...

The meetingnplace officially opened on the 8th of February and last weekend had its first full weekend of operation. 

It's been great! We are averaging around 6 people a night,  many who are not believers. Its been great seeing people come in to enjoy the Nintendo or pool table.. even a slice of cake.  We've had to kick people out at closing time.

Thank you for all your prayers and support to help make this happen.

Opening soon on a high street near you!

The time has come.. after months of work, prayer, planning, more prayer, sweat, tears, and hope we are getting ready to open the Meeting Place.

It comes at the perfect time, with the UK leaving the EU there is a lot of fear and anger running around town. We are excited to bring a safe place where peace and hope is the focus.

Please continue to pray for the impact we hope to have on the young adults in the community.

We had a work day today to really put together the big things we needed help with.. when you dont have the skills to complete what God has put before you, you can trust He will provide you with the people who do. It was great to see the church come together today and work as one body.

Praying

I've been talking with God about the meeting place lately. I feel there us opposition in the community and the devil is trying to restrict us. But I know God can use this place for amazing things and it can bring Him glory through changed lives.

I felt God saying gather your partners and pray for the opening, the influence, and against the enemy. I felt like praying every day at 8pm for eight weeks. I didnt know why that jumped into my head, maybe because we open on the 8th?

But I looked it up and I did find this one Bible website... "The number 8 in the Bible represents a new beginning, meaning a new order or creation, and man's true 'born again' event when he is resurrected from the dead into eternal life"

That's what we want the Meeting place to be.. a place where new beginnings are found..

Please join us at 8 pm ebrry night for the next 8 weeks in lifting up the meeting place. 

Thanks ♡

365

365..... what a number... 365 days .... a while year...

In the midst of all the craziness that has been happening these past 12 days we almost missed it. Almost sailed by this moment without recognizing the big impact it represents. 

Almost.. but we didnt...

I have started and re started this post multiple times. Because while the anniversary of us moving here has come life has changed again so drastically these past two weeks. 

Welcoming in our second son the days after were filled with stress, joy, worry, and a lot of culture shock and home sickness. Having a kid away from home is hard and having complications in a medical system you still dont understand is even more stressful. 

The hardest part is going from euphoria to valley in the spand of a blink. We were settling in, we were seeing ministry happen, we were feeling comfortable.  But comfortable isnt what we are promised..  we are promised a shield and a refuge.

See the meeting place is opening in a few weeks, and while there is still a lot to do we are very close to seeing this vision come to reality and see the doors open to youth and young adults we otherwise wouldn't be able to reach... and with this comes warfare.. we are battling it on every front. But we arent fighting alone. We have God with us and we have you with us. We feel your prayers as we wait at the doctors, as we figure out the system, as we wonder what's next.. thank you for the prayers and words of encouragement.

We are so amazed at how far God has taken us these last 365 days.. what he has all put into motion and what he is all doing in the hearts of the young adults.  We cant wait to see what the next 365 days bring.

Please keep us in your prayers as we battle health issues for our boys (Stephen has chicken pox,  Gideon has to gain more weight and has eye infections), healing for me (my incision opened and now has a hole), strength for Eric, the opening if the meeting place and everything that has to be fixed still, and the financial concerns of support raising.

Thank you for taking this journey with us.


With joy we present
Gideon John Mayer
Born 12/27/19 at 12:45pm

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

This year Christmas is different.

 We celebrated with our families when we visited the states in October and now our little family of three will celebrate here in the UK.

The days of celebration and traditions weve grown accustomed to are now replaced with new days and different customs. While we hold on to those deep rooted family traditions that shaped our childhood we cant refuse these new ones that have shaped our community. 

Our sons will grow understanding a mixture of American and English Christmas while never really being able to identify with one or the other.. a sacrifice of the field.

It's hard when things are different,  whether its merging two separate family holidays into a new marriage,  learning to build around the loss of a loved one, or moving to a different place where maybe they dont ever have white Christmases.

However there are things that dont change. The love of a family, the excitment of a kid unwrapping a present, the heart and emotion behind the Christmas season.

The meaning of Christmas never changes either. How precious the thought that no matter the location, emotion, struggle or joy the reason we come together stays the same. The gift of Christ, the center of our salvation story came for us.

Just as our beed for him never changes niether does his sacrifice for us.

This Christmas we are preparing for our second son to be born, It affects everything we attend, all the decorations,  even how we celebrate... I cant help but think of Mary and Joseph, while they weren't preparing for Christmas they were moving, going for a census, just married... their preperation included a little baby that would change not just their life but their world...

This Christmas in the midst of all the tinsel and traditions are you preparing for the little baby that changed the world? Are you leaving space to welcome him in?

From our family to yours we hope you have a blessed Christmas ♡

The Mayers

Well.. we feel like real Britts now

When you move anywhere new theres a lot of change to get used to. You have a nee normal, a new route to work, a new shop to buy your groceries. Depending on how far it's looking for new local hang outside, learning where the best burgers are sold. When you move overseas everything us new and you have to adjust to a whole new culture of doing things. Through this period of adjustment there are things that happen that either highlight the difference between your new and old home or make you feel like you're finally putting down roots. 

Whether its being able to run the the shop on your own for a few items (not to mention food shopping for a week doesnt take 3 hours anymore), giving someone a recommendation of a good restaurant near by (even if it was given to you by someone else), or being stopped and asked for directions (ok might have pointed them in the wrong direction). 

Today after church we went to grab a bite of lunch at this amazing pub/restaurant in town. Now you have to pay to park in town if you cant find street parking. But its Sunday and we knew that Sunday is free in the car parks.so instead of trying to find street parking we just went to the car park...

After lunch and a slow (I am 9 mths pregnant here) walk in town we return to our car to see this bright yellow bag... 

Guess what.. parking is NOT free in this lot on Sundays.  So now we have a parking fine, which you get 50% off if you pay in 14 days... now here's the way this story connects... I never thought about it but getting this ticket makes this place feel even more like home...

Weird, huh?!?

Baptism

What an amazing Sunday. Eric was so excited and we were both so blessed to be part of the Baptism service for two young adults here in Highbridge.  

It was a wonderful service where the gospel was shared and people rejoiced. Looming forward to continuing this faith journey with these two :) 

All in His time

I am a planner... I love lists and calendars and sticky notes... I love to line the steps up and then see things come together.
Most of my lists have time frames and include set goals and expectations...

Are you like me? 

This isn't bad, until we apply it to our walk with God, our ministry, our experience and expectations. 

Gods time line is never ours, his to do list always outshines mine and very rarely are all my items included on his..
I often wonder  when God sees my list what He would mark as not necessary and what he would add at the bottom. Do we leave room for God to add at the bottom, or does he have to write in a tiny corner, like when you have to add onions to your grocery list and it ends up being written sideways across apple's and bananas...

I digress.  One thing God has been teaching me is it is all in His timing. I might think things need to be done at a certain time or pace, might feel pressure to have things done at a certain time or pace but it ultimately comes down to His time and His pace...sometimes it's a lot slower than I want, ok often times it is... but sometimes it comes so quick you just hold on, close your eyes and praise him that he doesnt let go.

So what ever your searching, waiting, planning... trust His time ♡

You are invited!

I wanted to update you with our October schedule - We would love to see you during out time in the States. 

Date -                                 Location -

Oct 11-13                          Missions Conference in Carlton MN.

Oct 16                               Mill City Church

Oct 18                               Tea Time - Redeemer Evangelical Free, Milw, WI

Oct 20                               NEW Freedom Church

Oct 20                               Booyah Sale!!! Family Video Howard Green Bay, WI

Oct 21 - 22                       Missions Conference in Shell Lake, WI

Oct 24                              Bible Study, Green Bay, WI

Oct 26                              Tea Time - NEW Freedom Church, Green Bay, WI

Oct 27                              Evangelical Covenant Church, Norway, MI

MEETING AT THE MEETING PLACE

It's been great getting to see the transformation from where we started to where we are now. With each week the Meeting Place is looking more and more promising.

While the to do list always seems to grow and there are issues we haven't begun to understand we know we can rest in God's peace, that he is in control.

Pray with us as we learn about the health and safety regulations, the policies we have to write, the electric and heating issues, and even the simple how to stock the place.

 

 

 

This past month

I am sorry I did not post this praise back in mid August.  I got in the habit of posting on our Facebook page and forgot to also add it to hear.

But on August 11th, we had an amazing day! Eric preached at church this morning about our perspective.  Then after church we made lunch for 9 young adults. We sat down with them and had a vision session regarding the community center we are opening. It was so great to see God move and hear the vision and passion these people have for the center.

We are meeting with the young adults again this Sunday to continue planning and praying for the Meeting Place.  We have 7 people signed up already!

♡ Megan

Join us for a day of prayer

On October 2, join your brothers and sisters around the globe for a day of prayerfully asking God to multiply His disciples on an unreached continent. Mark your calendars and keep an eye out for more details to come! #GEMdayofprayer #ten2dayofprayer

Prayer Requests

  - the opening of the Meeting Place
    - we need heating for the building
    - we need to put in a fire door
    - we need to figure out the electric in the
      building

  - the starting of the young adult Bible
    study

  - that young adults step up and get
     involved in the Meeting Place

Thank you for joining us in praying for the city of Highbridge, Somerset

♡
Megan

A visit home

We are coming to a town near you!

 

      We are so excited by what God is doing, He is calling the youth in England. We have a new building and are preparing to open a youth community center by the end of 2019.

    The youth in England struggle with loneliness  and a deep prejudice of the church.. Scott, a teenager from Highbrdige was so desperate for connection he carried his friend (who swore he would never step foot in a church) through the doors to attend a youth event. By the end both were playing games, talking with us, and most importantly heard the gospel. The use of a community center will remove a large hurdle from sharing the gospel with the youth. We are excited to be a part of God’s plan and are grateful that you are part of this journey with us.   

     We will be visiting Wisconsin this October. We have a few conferences to attend and want a chance to share with you, in person, all that God is doing.  During our trip we will be working towards our goal of raising $500 in monthly support to make sure we can run the center without issue.  

    We hope to be able to connect with as many of you as possible.  We also need your help sharing what God is doing and inviting others to hear as well.  

    We have some dates set aside to do some ‘sharing events’.  These are opportunities for us to come to you and share what God is doing with a group of your friends, family, a Bible Study, youth group, or Small group.  These events last around 1.5-2.5 hours (depends on your group) and are a fun night of fellowship where we share stories of God moving and invite others to join us, in prayer and/or support. It’s really simple for you, pick a date, invite anyone who is interested in youth ministry, missions, England, or just hearing good God stories, put out some drinks and snacks and we will do the rest (we can even help with snacks and send helpful reminders). 

    The biggest worry is that you may not know anyone who can financially partner… don’t worry about that, let God. We just want to share what He is doing. If you are interested in helping us share, even with 1 other person - please look at the dates below and let us know when works for you through email (Megan.mayer@gemission.org) or Facebook message.  But don’t delay cause these dates may go fast. 

Hope to see you soon,

    Eric, Megan & baby Stephen 

Our current event schedule

Come stop by and say hi!

CHURCH SHARING

Wednesday Oct 16 -

Mill City church, Neenah, WI

  Sunday Oct  20 - 

New Freedom Church, Green Bay,  WI

  Sunday Oct 27 - 

 TBD

CONFERENCES 

 October 11-13

    Carlton, MN

 October 21-22

     Shell Lake, WI

TEA TIME 

Come and here what God is doing in the UK

Tea, coffee, desserts, and time of worship and testimony 

Small raffle at end of event 

Milwaukee Area.                    Green Bay Area

Friday Oct 18th         Saturday Oct 26th 6:30 - 8:00pm. TBD

Redeemer Church.          New Freedom Church

_________________________________________

Sharing Dates Available:       Morning/Afternoon/Evening 

Milwaukee (and surrounding areas)

Thursday Oct 10th.  M/A/E

Thursday Oct 17th.  M/A/E

Friday Oct 18th.        M

Saturday  Oct 19th. M

Tuesday Oct 29th.    M/A/E

Green Bay (and surrounding areas) 

Tuesday Oct 15th.       M/A/E

Wednesday Oct 16th.  M

Wednesday Oct 23rd.  M/A/E

Thursday Oct 24th.      M

Friday  Oct 25th.           M/A/E

Contact Us:

Megan.mayer@gemission.org 

Bishop Sutton Outreach

What a blessing today was!  

Eric went last night to Bishop Sutton where he worked with a team to start setting up for the community 5K event. Him and another youth worker slept the night on the youth bus to start setting up again bright and early this morning.  Stephen and I drove the 45 minutes out to the community to meet with him and Pastor Kelton this morning. 

What a wonderful event - our purpose was to help the church in Bishop Sutton connect with their community and bring awareness to the youth event we will be holding there in July (when we have a youth group from the USA visiting us).  God truly blessed the day! We had beautiful weather, great placement for the tent, and enough balloons to pass out to all the kids. We also had two jesters with us to do tricks and tell stories for the kids.  

We were able to hand out more than 100 flyers with weekly activities that are put on by the church and flyers promoting the July event. But the best part was that we got to help the church be present in their community. There were second and third connections made with families that they have seen at other events in the past - and what a blessing to get to pour in multiple times into a family. We were also able to pray for a gentleman which was exciting to see done on the fair ground. 

For me; beyond the excitement of the ministry, the fun learning to twirl plates on poles, or even seeing the kids enjoy their balloons, was the encouragement. It was so great to be an encouragement for the church in Bishop Sutton and to see them be uplifted by the event and the connections they were making. We can't wait to see the follow up in July when we get to back to the community and join them in ministry again.  - We will have more pictures on the facebook page, later this week. 

Thank you for your prayers and support, we couldn't do this with out you. Thank you for being a part of the ministry :) 

Won't you be my neighbor?

The weather has gotten beautiful and with it the occupants of the small towns are leaving the comforts of their lounges and venturing outside.

During the summer season the population in our area tripled because of tourists visiting the sea front on holiday. But it is also when neighborhoods become more alive as well. People walk about more, they stop to chat instead of rushing out of the cold rain.

The weather has given us a great opportunity to start building relationships with those in our specific neighborhood.  We have built a good connection with our next door lady, her college age daughter and her love giggling over Stephen and sharing tips on gardening (a feat we have just undertook).

We also have started talking with a gentleman a few houses down and have been given the opportunity to stop by for tea or coffee any night. Most of our neighbors are fascinated with the fact we have moved across country from America and are curious of the differences. 

Just as we plant the small seeds that will grow into large tomatoes plants, hopefully producing a plentiful harvest, we are trusting God that these seeds of relationships will blossom into opportunity to share the gospel and build Christian fellowship.

Happy Easter

    Have a Blessed Easter

                Love -

                     the Mayers 

 

He is Risen

Happy Easter.

  Today Stephen will find his first Easter basket.. full of little gifts from his parents and grandparents (even his adoptive English grandma).  It will be a time of fun and joy... but as he grows we want him to lear  That there is more to this day than waking up to find a few treats. We want him to know that this is the day that allows us to wake up with joy every morning.

We were part of a small good Friday service where we took part in the Lords supper and remembered his suffering, because today it's his triumph we want to celebrate.

I often forget that when Jesus was hanging on that cross his disciples didn't know Sunday was coming.  They were stuck on Friday all weekend. Sunday morning came and they were still living Fridays pain...

But...
Like we shared during the message on Tuesday, Jesus rose! They went to bed completely different on Sunday night as they woke up. They went to sleep with a faith that wouldn't fail them, a hope that wouldn't leave them and a joy that no one would understand. 

It's because He has risen that our faith stands the test and prevails. I love the song that goes 'oh death where now is your sting'
   It was lost that 3rd day... when my savior rose from the grave...

We hope your family has a Easter filled with love, joy, and faith that are all unshakable because He lives.

Prayer request

Prayer warriors -
We just got a notice from the US about Eric's sleep machine.

 When he got it in June they said they had his connected online so he didn't have to come in for any follow up apts. We also got a letter saying the cost of the machine was covered.

Now we just got a letter and they are saying we either need to return the machine (which is here in the UK) by the 15th of March or pay around $2000.00 for it.

Please pray that we can connect with the company, figure out what is going on and why the miss communication, and possibly save on the price they are quoting- as we can't return the machine because Eric needs it to sleep.

Thank you!

Update:
We were able to work with the medical supply company and they sold us the machine for only 154.00 which is the cost of one monthly payment from the insurance company.  Praise the Lord for his favor.

Let go and know I am God.

I have talked a lot about the verse in the Bible that says "Be still and Know that I am God".

I read this week about the meaning of the word "Be still" it could more accurately be translated "let go"...  what a beautiful though. That we can let go of whatever is troubling us, scaring us, freezing us, and weighing us down... we can let that go and let God... 

That's the important part there, we aren't just letting go and not caring about it, by letting go we aren't saying its not important, meaningful, or that it won't influence our lives in some way. We aren't called to just let it go and float around the universe hoping that magically it is taken care of. 

We are letting it go and asking God to step in and handle it. We are giving God permission to rule in that situation. We are admitting that He can and will handle it better than we can. We are not opening our hands to an empty void we are releasing our fears, wants, needs, and injustices to the hands of  a mighty God who wants to fight for us. 

Just recently we were given a beautiful example of what letting go and knowing God looks like.
We have a broken dishwasher and the landlord said that it never worked and the estate agents were supposed to tell us that it was being rented that way and since it wasn't fixable and it was to much to remove, he was leaving it (they can do that here).

The agents never told us this, but they said we just didn't hear them say it (even though it is not on our lease). It became a he said she said situation. We decided we didn't want to push it, though legally we probably could have taken it to courts. But we stopped, because we didn't want to start our ministry or reputation that way (small towns talk). The ministry and what God wanted to do had to be more important than this.. but it still stunk and was still a hard disappointment. 

Instead of staying angry and fighting it, we prayed and gave it to God. We let go of our right to figure out the problem and have a dishwasher, instead we asked God  that if this was an injustice to us that He would take care of it.

 Out of the blue - a few days later - the real estate agent called us and said they were going to follow up and see if the could convince the landlord to just remove it to give us more space. Something they should never offer and be willing to do. That is currently in the works.

Letting go is scary because we are giving up the right to have the control and have things our way. We are trusting that God is able to and will complete what we so badly want to. I encourage you to find small areas that you can let go of and give God - then watch as he shows you that He is God.