A New Beginning

The last 2 months have been a whirlwind. I have gone from hearing God call me to Harpenden, England at the end of July, to celebrating a friend’s wedding, to going on holiday in the United Kingdom, to then returning home to work full time, and then quickly packing up again to return to England. Throughout this time, I have not really had a chance to breathe and process what has been happening. Thankfully, this week has allowed me to finally slow down a bit and to come to grips with where I am and what God is doing. 

Upon arriving last week, I was filled with many differing emotions. On one hand, I was extremely excited to enter into something new and live in a brand-new country, but I was also absolutely terrified of leaving family and friends and moving to a new country with no money at all. It was in this place that God met me. He has provided everything I have needed this far, and I believe He will continue to do so.

Within the first 3 days of arriving, I was able to make friends with the other six guys in the program quite quickly, and their infectious joy and love for the "lads" made me feel quite comfortable in a new setting. We then had the opportunity to go to London on the Saturday, and it was an incredible gift to spend time with the lads and the rest of the team, as well a really cool opportunity to watch God provide everything I needed for the day.

Now fast forwarding to Monday, I was finally able to establish a much needed rhythm and routine. We also began to start our first proper week of classes and training. For week 1 they brought in Zach Nash who taught on the "Gospel and Hearing the Voice of God", and boy did it pack a punch. It was like drinking from fire hose of sweet goodness every morning. It was also around this time that I began to read "Is That Really You, God?" by Loren Cunningham.

During this time, I began to feel God begin to move in my heart and to begin to bring much needed healing and restoration. It started with a gentle push to work through the past hurts and pains that were still haunting me. I needed to relearn that I was rescued from my failures and sins. That by simply having faith in Jesus, and His death and resurrection I was accepted and loved. There is nothing I have to do to achieve or maintain this love. Richard Lovelace says, “At the outset of each day we should hear God saying, you are accepted, because the guilt of sin is covered by the righteousness of Christ. You are free from the bondage to sin through the power of Jesus in your life, you are not alone, but accompanied by the counsellor, the spirit of the Messiah."  I needed to not only know this theologically, but to actually live this out in my life, and this would not just happen overnight. By the grace of God, He will consecrate me and transform me into His image over the course of my life, but this will require a posture of consistent humility and repentance. Where He, not me, will do the work of making me new and set free from the bondage of sin.

As soon as this teaching made its way from my head into my heart, and I pushed through some past hurts it was like a fresh wave of His Spirit came over me. I began to hear His voice as frequently and as clearly, as if He was physically walking with me throughout my day. This has now been happening in a variety of ways: impressions laid upon my heart, pictures, hearing His soft gentle voice, through the Bible, and through other people, just to name a few. At the same time, I began to feel a renewed zeal and passion for missions, like when I was a young teenager. It was as if my dreams of old were being renewed in my heart. Then Thursday night God gave me a picture. It was as if my heart was a garden, and this garden was filled with many plants (dreams, passions, and gifts). Over the course of the past 15 years, weeds had begun to sprout up. These weeds were stunting the growth of some plants, suffocating others, and even killing off a few. But God was the gardener, and during this season He is going to, one-by-one, remove the weeds in my heart, so that my garden can grow and flourish. He was going to bring renewed hope and life into my soul, and this was just the beginning.

I feel like there is so much more I want to share, but that would probably have me going on for hours. If you are curious to hear about the other things I am learning, the things God is revealing, or other ways God is working feel free to reach out to me and I would be happy share more. Until next week, thank you again for your support, love, and prayers.

Can continue to pray for me. Ask that God continues to work on the weeds of my heart and brings healing, that He will continue to speak to me and that I will continue to say obey His voice, that He will place me in the right nation come December to preach the Gospel, and lastly for continued provision, specifically financially.

Thank you again for everything! 

Grace and Peace,

Cameron