Revelations of God

Hey Guys

We are now in Belgrade, which is Q-Q-Quality. I'm bowled over by God. Me and Jon were having a few revelations today that i thought i might share with you:

There's a limit to how much you can truly believe theology like "Its God's story and we are just part of it, he uses us, its not about seeing things its about planting seeds and building, God works in mysterious ways, his spirit transcends from us as we travel from place to place etc." We try as hard as we can to believe this, but somehow there is always that part of you that is not quite convinced. But now i have seen God, i have experienced all these things, We've been in places that are raw and where perhaps seeds haven't been sewn into the cities, and we've felt their pain and hurt, and interceeded for them from that hurt, and we are now in a place that has had a 24-7 team here on short term missions for 4 years, and there is a hardcore evangelical called Radovan pioneering a church here, and you can feel (and i mean feel in your gut!) the work that God is doing here, and how much spiritual building has been going on here already, how barriers have been broken and powers brought down through hours of prayer, its awesome stuff and for me a kind of 'coming of age' discovery. You kinda say to yourself "Hey, this is actually true!". A teacher of mine at GSA (Guildford School of Acting, mine and Chris' college) has talked before about how knowledge is a practical thing, its not reading books and memorising information, its methods and teachings which have been proved through your own actions, theorising is different to knowledge and understanding, see 1 John. I can now say 100% that this is true, and if you want to know more about your faith, if you want to see God move, if you want to feel his heartbeat for friends, cities etc, live mission. Mission should be at the heart of our faith, and of course, at the heart of Mission is worship for our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.


All Love and Thanks for your prayers and support,

Christopher

Last Stop: Belgrade

Hello!

we have now arrived in Belgrade after a hot night train from Budapest. We are quite tired but looking forward to our time in the city building with prayer and however else God wants to use us.

We were met by some of the belgrade team (www.20six.co.uk/belgrade) and are going to spend time with them today chilling, praying, singing, sharing stories - basically having a laugh. Tonight we will go to see Partizan Belgrade in a Champions League qualifier which is exciting.

Its been really exciting to hear of the work the team here have been doing and seeing how the Belgrade teams have been building over the last 3/4 years. We will see the team off in the early hours of tomorrow morning and have the baton passed on to us. Even though we are only here for a few days i feel we can have some really signicant building. Not sure whether it will be mainly praying, sowing into relationships or social action i think we have an important role here.

The main worry i think is that because we are so close to the end, it is the final straight, that our minds and hearts will be back at home with the troubles or good things that are going on back there. I really hope we can really engage with the city. We will have a day off tomorrow to spend in the city and the team will be able to feel the vibes of the city.

Thanks for support and prayers

jon

Newsflash: Half naked 24-7 team member caught in Karaoke Bar

Hello all! This is my first post on this intergalactic entity they call a blog and I have to say I'm finding it quite a thrill. We are in Budapest, which is awesome! So beautiful and such a free city with real identity and an ownership of itself, unlike the unforntunate Prague and Vienna, who we felt had been prostituted to the destruction of Tourism machines and commercial super-companies. I know business is business, but I for one, Chris for two and the others for seven do not expect to see a Tescos in the middle of the golden city of Prague. I'm finding this mission a challenge in every way, spiritually mentally and emotionally, and with all this pressure building up there had to be something to release it all. Friends, Family, Followers, last night I committed a henious sin, almost too terrible to mention. I embarked, and it makes me cry to say it, upon the dirty and illegitimate game of Karaoke. It was only when I was swirling my shirt around my head and hanging myself with the mike lead that I realised the exhileration of this pillar of Britain, and began to enjoy it! The song was Pink Floyd's incredible 'Hey You' from 'The Wall' and i am proud to say, was performed in the Alan Partridge stylee. It must be said that the Hungarian audience remained bemused and uneffected (and slightly concerned about my mental fitness) but for the few brits present I'm sure it was an inspiration performance which they certainly will never forget. We have the video evidence to prove it. This is our fifth stop, the last being Belgrade on Wednesday, and we are all feeling the fatigue of the trip, especially after the low point of Vienna, but the Lord has been gracious with his spirit and empassioned us a new here in Budapest, continued prayer on this subject would be much appreciated though. We are eager to build in these cities and not to visit, and although we are not working all the time, God is, and whenever we make ourselves available he uses us, whether we can see it or not is another matter, but i guess that is what faith is for. This is God's story not ours, thank goodness, and its awesome to be used in such a radical way. On a personal note, I feel that with Mission as my focus my faith is coming into perspective. I am reading the bible in a way i haven't for a long time, our faith is being tested, challenged and applied every day, and I am more aware of God's heart for the world, that there is so many people he wants to reach if only we are willing to be used. God wants us to live to the maximum, he has huge visions, he is never satisfied with the 'alright' or 'most of our effort', he lives in the fast lane, and that excites me. Many problems i experience at GSA are evaporating as Mission becomes my focus, and ultimately, Worshipping my Father, and proclaiming the name of Jesus all over Europe. I've been reading Pete Greig's 'The Vision and the Vow' which i would heartily recommend, which has inspired and challenged me greatly. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers which are so powerful. Goodnight and Amen. Chris, aka Brethren John (the thin one)

Being haunted by hostels!

Hi!

Yes the lonely ghost of Vienna... To me his accent sounded rather British, almost like a Yorkshireman...

After staying in the third hostel in a row I decided to post a few words about our hostel experiences.

Our little hearts are still longing to return to the amazingly funky Travellers' Hostel in Prague. Imagine a place where all the wonderfully weird, arty kids hang out and you get the picture...
Where else can you find lockers which are painted in screaming reds, greens and yellows; where else do you wake up at 5.30am because somebody in the bar area is playing the "Greatest Hits of the Early 90ies" (think Ace of Base...) on full volume and where else could you smuggle all your homeless friends in and offer them one of the empty beds, without anyone really noticing.

Oh beloved Travellers' Hostel! It might have seemed weird to people that we travel around Europe praying for its cities but in this place we were certainly not the only ones with an interesting story.

We talked to many, many people, trying to prove that Christians can be fun, certainly making our point by drinking beer with them and playing endless hours of chess..

And Chris (the fat one) singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the breakfast table made certainly not just me almost cry into my cornflakes. Our guys' amazing voices surely moved a few hearts.

The hostel in Vienna was as different from our first hostel experience as you can get. While the hostel in Prague was beautifully creative and vibrant this place gave you the impression that you had to leave your soul and creativity at the reception desk. Colourless, organised, family-friendly...

But I also have to mention that my German soul loved the cleanliness and efficiency, with which this place was run. People had to be at the breakfast table on time (That will teach them German/Austrian punctuality! Ha!) and the showers finally had dividers.

Now we are in Budapest in our third (and last) hostel, which reminds me a bit of a doll house. It's almost as if we stepped into a scene of "Alice in Wonderland". Those cute lockers and apple green coloured beds... We have to see what the evening will bring. Hopefully we can connect here better with the backpacking community than in Vienna.

So I hope the lonely ghost of Vienna will sleep well although I have the strange feeling that he may have taken a train and moved south to haunt another hostel... (especially after coming face to face with a very uncooperative door).

Sleep well everyone!

hungry in hungary

Here we are in budapest. We arrived around lunch time today and we were very hungry (in hungary) after having breakfast at 8am in Vienna. (That's twice I've used that pun, I'm ever so sorry. I shalln't do it again)
Our visit to Vienna was the shortest we've had since our trip began and so it was more difficult to find the passion for the place in just over a day. We did however meet someone very special there. He was lonely and at first a little shy but the Lonely Ghost of Vienna soon became a close friend. He walked the hostel floors each evening... The hostel was rather different from our hostel in Prague. Much more family friendly which was good in a way but not so good in others.
The city was certainly very beautiful but it was hard to know what to pray in a city that felt like it was sleeping. The creativity was certainly there but it felt dry in some ways, without spirit. A city that on the surface has everything but not so much within. A city that needs a soul. (the lonely ghost of Vienna needs some friends)
Now in Budapest we have the excitement back again and after a long day of travel and waiting we're ready to get going again. We have found another cool hostel and have hooked up with a Brazilian called Sylvia which is cool. It seems to be another hostel in which we are likely to meet other travellers and hang out with them (which I think was what was lacking in the last place) It has a club/bar/restaurant (that only sells sandwiches) downstairs and so it promises to be an exciting few days. It also has a laundrette which is good cause I need to clean my clothes. I'll go and do that now. Thanks for reading.

chris signed in as jon

Prague...

Our last evening in Prague tonight. Quite sad, because its been really great.

The first evening was spent having some well needed rest after the travel from Dresden. Some of us spent the night playing chess with people at the hostel, which was good fun except for Chris (the fat one, not the thin one). The day after we were still a bit tired, but sat ourselves in a park and prayed and felt out the city. We all spread out and rejoined at the hostel that night where we played foosball and chess at the hostel, and had a great time playing guitar and singing with some guys until the wee hours. Had some good chats with people.

Today we continued our practice of praying and having communion at places we feel are important. We went to Prague Castle, on Charles Bridge, and finally in the middle of the Old Town Square. There we sang songs to God while sitting in a circle on the ground. We got some weird looks and a guy just kept watching us as we prayed. But God liked it...

Tomorrow we're heading of to Vienna, Austria. Fun.

Simone We really do love Germany!

Writing on our day off from an internet cafe in Prague. We have had a great few days.

The last day of Copenhagen we spent taking communion in different places around the city; Ny Havn, Christiania and the main square Kongens Nytorv remembering Jesus blood was poured out for those places.
We then left for Malmo in Sweden to get an overnight train into Berlin. It turned out there was only 5 overnight places on the train and we needed 7. It got a bit worrying although we were told it might be likely we could get on the train.. We prayed a bit and then the ticket guy appeared, just before we got there two other guys went and snatched up the last two tickets. We were totally set for Krister and Resa to have to go back to Copenhagen and yet God in his grace managed to get us all on the train eventually! One guy said he wasnt gonna go on the train and the ticket guy eventually conceded to let two share a bed! Happy Days. So we all got on. I was in a fab dorm with 5 other Spanish girls who were great! Had the interesting experience of the train going on a ferry for about 4 hours. So we got to go out about 11pm onto this luxury ferry and sit out on deck.

Had a great time in Dresden in one cool apartment with Markus and Andrea Laegel. They totally opened up their place to us. Very cool record collection and one interesting pink room! We got to pray there for Andreas school where she works, for the blood of Jesus to become real to the people of Dresden. One night some of us went to the River Elbe to pray and some went to a festival of plays, which was really beautiful mixing circus style stuff and drama. Amongst other things it involved getting thrown up out of armchairs, created by the guy who runs this place. haha ! It was a great chance to pray for people to rise up in those areas that would be Christians. That Christians would be the top of their field. We took communion in quite a few of those places as well as the park and the old city, and prayed Isaiah 61 for those areas. We took the bit about beauty being given instead of ashes quite literally and gave out flowers on the street to some suprised people. There was such a youth culture there that I believe God wants to pour out his healing.

Markus took us to Hernhut, where Count Zinzerdorf lived and where the famous 100 year prayer meeting took place where some of this 24-7 stuff came out of. Very cool to see and to go to a Jesus Freak church at night.

Phew thats quite a lot thinking about it! Now we have arrived in Prague in what promises to be a very interesting hostel experience. Its a school that turns into a hostel during the Summer, for 4pounds a night we get a bunk bed, some crazy painted lockers to put our stuff in and a breakfast in the morning, not bad! Quite looking forward to it, we have been well and truly pampered so far which had been really fab and we have enjoyed so much good hospitality but it will also be cool to meet some backpackers and meet other traveller people. They seem to have a lot of interesting stories!

Thats about it. God is lookin after us. He is a great God!

Enter the country of mad-hatters: Welcome to Christiania!

Yesterday we left our lovely Danish apartment to pray for one of Copenhagens alternative places: Christiania.
In the 70's homeless people and political activists decided to start their own "country" in the middle of Copenhagen, creating Christiania, which has its own flag, is self-governing and in general tries to offer an alternative world, where people are free to live however they feel is best. Colourful buildings are situated next to little huts with tiny gardens; people sit at the mainroad, drinking beer, smoking weed and chatting; mothers in colourful hippy clothes push buggies along leafy paths and traders sell clothes and jewellery, which have all kinds of spiritual symbols printed on them.

Although we loved this place, its idealism and the hunger for spirituality and community it represents, we sat down and prayed that Jesus might redeem it, that he might take all the obvious creativity and vision and let it be used for his glory. Like in every "alternative" place you can find here seeds of God's goodness but also signs of drug abuse, pick 'n mix spirituality and disillusionment.

We prayerwalked through the streets (or rather paths) of Christiania and decided that we would come back today and have communion in the centre of this "country".

We rested, a homeless man came to chat to us and funnily enough gave Chris 20 DKr. and finally we had some Turkish food.

In the evening we sat next to Copenhagen's canals, surrounded by boats, pubs, tourists and "fire jugglers" and played some Christian songs on our guitar.
While walking along the streets and playing the guitar other people joined us, starting to sing Evergreens written by Sting and U2 with more or less sober voices.
Some of our guys finally went to the pub with them, telling them that they were Christians on a mission to pray for Copenhagen, which our new found companions just did not want to believe. They probably did not think of Christians as fun people, who would sing songs at the top of their voices in the middle of the night and sit down to enjoy a little beer.

God bless you, dear reader!

Day two in the team house (Copenhagen)

At Transmission we were encouraged to have some specific aims for the team and for the individuals in the team. We spent some time praying and thinking and decided that we did want to step out in faith, in boldness, out of our comfort zones. We will pray every morning as a team first thing before breakfast and commit to not only taking opportunities but to seek to carve out openings to pray for people, to talk to people. We will remind ourselves of this commitment and of the promises of God. We will hold each other accountable to this. We also have an aim to come back from the trip having fallen more in love with Jesus.

It was decided to take it easy in Copenhagen. To start daily rhythms of prayer and worship and to work out the dynamics within the team. After arriving yesterday we had some rest and then spent time in prayer with the aid of a city map and a local (who we are staying with). We are really hoping to be a blessing to the girls that are hosting us and being so hospitable.

We then went into the city to soak it in, to pray and to try to hear from God so that we could pray strategically over the next day or two. There were a few places that we feel that God highlighted to us as key areas to pray so we will do that today and then take communion at each place as a team on Friday to claim the truth of the sacrifice of Jesus in each place.

On the way back we bumped into a danish guy who we then went for a drink with. We told him that we were there to pray for the city which he didn't believe at first. We had good conversation but it was hard as he is a long way from God and is not having a great time with life. He didn't want us to pray for him (although we did on the way home anyway). We did find out some interesting facts about the city and people.

Copenhagen literally "buy harbour" or "market harbour". Christs name is all over the city (from the name Christian) with an area called Christianhavn (Christian harbour) and places such as Christiania (which is one of the key places we will pray). We pray that the name of Jesus will be a buzz word around the city. There is a very good community feel in the city and people will stick up for one another in the face of injustice (in their eyes the police for example) but they are a people of resistance now and historically. We pray that will become steadfastness for Christ.

We come to the city as friends, with hope and love.

In Copenhagen

Sitting in an apartment in Copenhagen, looking back at how we got here.

Transmission has come and gone. A great experience, plenty of great people, many lessons learned (hopefully) and lots of fun. But now we have left the comfortable bubble and stepped into the brilliantly amazing playground called Central Europe. There are six planned stops on our journey: Copenhagen, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Budapest and finally Belgrade.

Its quite the eclectic group we have. Introductions are in order: Jon, Chris + Chris from Guildford, Simone from Germany (studying in London), Steph from Belfast (also studying in London) and Resa from the USA (but living in Sweden) and Krister (married to Resa and living in Sweden). In my opinion a fab bunch of people.

Day one of the 24-7 Central Europe Mobile Team has entailed getting up at the ungodly hour of 2:45 AM to get on a coach to Stansted airport. Somehow in our semi-comotose state we managed to get on the right plane, the right train and the right bus, and into the right house. We are now staying with our contacts who have hooked us up with a great apartment (internet access! Yay!). Right now we are landing and getting our bearings in the city. Trying to figure out what God wants us to do and how we can serve this city the best in the days to come.
More later.