Our journey through 2009

When a new year begins, many of us review the year that lies behind us and also look forward to the year to come. We think about the things we have to be thankful for, as well as the things we wish we’d done differently. Then we resolve not to repeat the mistakes of the past year in the one to come. We make resolutions to start new things as we dream of fresh starts and opportunities.

As Karen and I look back at the year behind us, we certainly have plenty to look at. It’s been a very busy year, filled with major life-changes.

A year ago, we were both planning a wedding and living in Scotland. I was pastoring a church in Moodiesburn, Scotland and had a great circle of friends in the area.

Today, we’re looking forward to our first wedding anniversary and I’m getting ready to start pastoring a church in Rosarito, México. I miss my circle of friends in Scotland but am also excited about the endless possibilities that await us on this side of the world.

How did we get from there to here?

JANUARY

We had a lovely wedding in Dinuba, California and a fantastic honeymoon in Cancún, México. Even as we rested on the beach, though, something within us was restless. We already knew in our hearts that God was moving us to México eventually, but now God was stirring our hearts and telling us that we had to begin to make our move immediately.

We decided we would announce my resignation from the church in Moodiesburn upon our return to Scotland and leave at the end of April. It was not an easy decision, but to not do so would have been wrong because we were confident that this was what God was telling us to do.

FEBRUARY

We returned to Scotland and began to tell the church and our friends what was happening. To our surprise, many responded well to the news. One godly man told me that he knew God was getting ready to move us and that he could even see it was the right timing. He said, “You’ve done what you came here to do. You’re a church-planter, and you planted this church.” We knew that the people would miss us and that we would also miss them, but their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit helped them to see that it was God’s will.

MARCH

With less than two months remaining before our departure from Scotland, we took advantage of the opportunity to spend quality time with good friends whom we knew we were going to miss terribly. We also had opportunities to continue to share the Gospel. On the last Sunday of the month, we both forgot that clocks had changed and were an hour late for church! That was embarrassing!

APRIL

Our last month at the church in Scotland was difficult. We came under a lot of spiritual attack and it was hard to say goodbye to so many people we loved. Yet, God was faithful and kept us strong. We also had the opportunity to visit one of Karen’s best friends on the Isle of Jersey, which was a real joy for us both.

MAY

Our move to America was an amazing experience. Whereas we hadn’t even known how we were going to be able to afford plane tickets to the USA, somebody in the States gifted us our passage across on the Queen Mary II. This trip, which we could never have afforded ourselves, was something we took as a sign that we must have been listening rightly to God when He told us it was time for us to move.

One day we had actually wondered if we had heard God rightly because the finances just weren’t there. I said to somebody from the church, half-jokingly, “Pray that God gives us $2000 tomorrow so we can book tickets to America.” The next day, I heard from somebody in America who said they were taking care of our travel expenses. They covered our trip on the ship, which was a real blessing and which — interestingly enough — actually cost less than the plane tickets would have.

When we got to New York, we took a driving trip across the states, stopping at churches all along the way to tell people about our call to México. It was a fantastic experience and God used it to get our fund-raising started for the mission.

We got to California just in time to attend my cousin’s wedding. When we arrived at my parents’ house, family members from all over America were gathered together, so we really enjoyed the chance to meet up with so many family members we don’t often see.

JUNE — JULY

June and July were spent with my family. My dad’s health has gone downhill quite a lot, so we committed to spending most of those two months helping my mom with his care. Staying in my hometown gave us the opportunity to catch up with a lot of my old friends as well as a chance for me to speak at several churches in the area and share about the opportunities God is opening up for us. I also spent quite a bit of time preparing materials for our work in México, including the curriculum for a course I’ll be teaching to train up evangelists for the Church of the Nazarene.

AUGUST

August was a phenomenal month! We went to Africa with an amazing team of people. Some of us didn’t even know each other before arriving, but we all gelled together like family and had a great experience serving God together in Tanzania. 290 adults made decisions to follow Jesus Christ, and many children and youth responded too. We also got to see the fruits of many years’ work continuing both through practical compassionate ministries in the communities and the continuation of vibrant churches that had been started during previous visits.

Karen and I both got really sick while in Tanzania and were out of commission for the last two days of the campaign, but we had such an incredible team that the work continued and people continued to come to Christ. Ernie Bayton, with whom I had previously served in Kirkintilloch, Scotland, took over the preaching for those last two days and did a fantastic job. The rest of the team also stepped up and demonstrated marvelous resolve and unwavering faith in the midst of difficulties.

After the team went home, Karen and I had another test coming our way. We spent a few days in Nairobi, Kenya. One day, we took our laptops into a local coffee house, The Java House, which has long been one of my favorite haunts in that part of Africa. While we were there, somebody managed to take Karen’s rucksack without anybody — even the guard who was on duty — seeing what happened.

Among the items that were stolen were our passports, the adapter for Karen’s computer, our camera, and various other things. What followed was an interesting visit to the police station, which included having to fill out our own police reports and paying to have them signed by a policeman, and then we spent two days journeying back and forth to both the American and British embassies to get our passports replaced.

We did manage to get our passports replaced in time, however, and thankfully our spirits also remained strong throughout the ordeal. We knew God was taking care of us, so we just made the best of the situation and went with the flow. We were especially grateful that we got everything in order in time for our flight as we had yet more important work awaiting us at the next stop.

SEPTEMBER

We spent most of the month of September in Spain. I spoke at a retreat on the coast one week and at “each one win one” conferences for the next two weekends. We really enjoyed spending that time in the region of Catalunya, Spain. The scenery was breath-taking, the people were great, and God did some incredible things in people’s lives. For one of the most interesting stories from that time, see my post from the 6th of October.

OCTOBER

In October, we got some more time with my family in California and I spoke at churches throughout Central California. Then, at the end of the month, I preached at revival meetings in Vancouver, Washington. That was a great week as I got to catch up with several great friends and I got to introduce several of them to Karen for the first time.

NOVEMBER

We started November out by going to Loon Lake, Washington. It’s up in the hills of Eastern Washington and is right by a beautiful lake, surrounded by green trees and lots of deer. We had a wonderful time there. Once again, I caught up with old friends, introducing them to Karen, and God did good things in people’s lives at the revival meetings.

The rest of the month, we spent more time with family and friends, and I also spoke at a couple more churches in California. We had the privilege of spending Thanksgiving with my family before leaving for our new post in México. It was Karen’s first Thanksgiving ever, as it’s an American holiday, so I enjoyed introducing her to the tradition.

DECEMBER

Our new life in México finally began after almost a year of preparation. We arrived safely in Chapala, near Guadalajara, on the 5th of December and I preached the next day. The people are so welcoming and enjoyable to be around that our first day of ministry was a great experience. Two people came to faith in Christ, a father and daughter, and the day ended in the best possible way… with a bunch of us sitting by an outdoor taco stand eating carne asada tacos and enjoying each other’s company.

From the 9th to 16th, we went to Panama for an evangelistic campaign in the capital there. The heat was intense, especially with no air-conditioning, but the people were wonderful and the atmosphere beautiful and charming. 17 people responded to the call to trust Christ as their Lord and Savior during the meetings, and we had an incredible time with everyone there. We also got a chance to see the Panama Canal, which was a fascinating experience in itself.

We’re settled into México for the long-haul, though we’re still not at our main destination. Although we had originally planned to be based out of Chapala, we’ve been asked to relocate to Rosarito, just south of the California border. There’s a church there that needs our help so, in addition to my other duties, I will be pastoring that church as of the 17th of January.

Until then, we are enjoying this part of México. After a lovely Christmas in Chapala, we ended our year helping a mission team from America in Monteón, near Puerta Vallarta. Karen helped in the kitchen, serving meals to the team, and I translated for the English speakers and helped them teach the children.

Now, as I walk down the cobbled streets near the house where we are staying, I hear the sounds of México. Mexican music plays on people’s stereos, a horse is parked in the road, the smell of chiles is in the air. We sat down today at another taco stand and, as I ate my taco and drank my Coke, I couldn’t help but think of the journey God’s brought Karen and me on so far in our first year of marriage. We’ve come a long way and I can’t wait to see where God takes us in the years to come!

An interesting experience…

Some people may find this story hard to believe if they’ve never had encounters with the overtly supernatural. I’ll just tell the story the way it happened and leave it at that…

At the end of a conference I led in Figueras, Spain the last weekend of September, a woman came up to me who had been struggling for years. She told me a monster came to attack and torment her regularly at night. During the day, it continued to be with her and cast an extra shadow that followed her wherever she went. Her sister, a devoted follower of Christ, said she’d also seen the shadow and had also watched once as something took this woman over and spoke through her in a male voice. Once, she said, she even went crazy and seven grown men couldn’t restrain her.

She didn’t actually seem crazy or to be making this story up, so I considered the possibility that this woman was being tormented by demons. I quietly told Karen in English to pray along with me as I prayed for the woman and to not be surprised if there was a manifestation of some kind.

As soon as I started to pray, the demons that had been tormenting her manifested. They started screaming out, and she went into convulsions and started foaming at the mouth. This woman had asked Jesus into her life, so I told the evil spirits in Jesus’ name that they no longer had any authority over the woman and they had no right to remain in her as she had surrendered to Christ. In Jesus’ name, I commanded them to leave. A piercing scream erupted from her throat, and then she briefly fell unconscious.

Shortly thereafter, she woke up, not remembering what had just happened but knowing that she was free. The woman praised God for her deliverance and then said, “Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord!” The pastor and her fellow church members agreed to help her through this next phase of her life, as she leaves behind the things that had opened the doors to the demonic influences in her life and begins to follow the Lord, and everyone rejoiced at what God had done.

Later, I explained all that had happened to Karen. She had seen it but not understood the words as she is just learning Spanish and doesn’t understand a lot yet. Before I got to the last part, however, she said, “I knew she must be free when she said, ‘Jesus is Lord’ three times.” I said I agreed, but was then surprised when she said, “I thought it was interesting that she said it in English though. I didn’t even know she knew English.”

“She doesn’t know English,” I told her. “She said it in Spanish.”

As it turns out, however, Karen definitely heard it in English. When I asked her, Karen didn’t even KNOW the words for “Jesus is Lord” in Spanish yet. We shared that with some of the people from the church, and one said, “That must have been God demonstrating that it really was Him working.” On that occasion, Jesus demonstrated miraculously that He is indeed Lord, binding the power of the enemy and proclaiming His Lordship through that woman in such a way that the words could be understood in any language.

Again, some people will not believe this story. Others will find it offensive because it will clash with their belief systems. Yet, all I can do is tell it like it happened. The woman is free from torment now, and the shadow is gone.

Looking BACK…

I can hardly believe how quickly the past eight years have passed.

In 2001, I came to Scotland for 3 months. I’m still here.

It started as a short sabbatical for study. I went to International Christian College to pursue some further learning, and I fell in love with Scotland.

I soon returned to finish a degree in theology, with a speciality in Cross-Cultural Ministries. While I was here, I also worked with Riverside Gospel Church in Kirkintilloch from 2003 to 2005. We experienced a time of great blessing during those years. The church about doubled in size, but more importantly a lot of new people came to know Jesus Christ in a real and personal way. I also made a lot of wonderful friends, both at Riverside and at the college, who will always be important to me.

After I finished my degree in 2005, I soon went back to America for a year to preach in missions across the States, as well as in other countries. But Scotland soon called me back…

In 2006, I came back and led the launching of a new church in Moodiesburn. In the next two and a half years, I experienced all kinds of amazing adventures. Working in a rough town, I met all kinds of people…from hardened criminals to sweet little old ladies…and made friends with them all. The church here got off to a wonderful start, and it is now opening up a beautiful new coffee house for the community, the first and only safe place for people to hang out in Moodiesburn.

In addition to the degree and the churches here, I also got to be part of a wonderful team of people who were pioneering the first full-time radio station in Scotland, which started about the same time we started the new church in Moodiesburn. Together with Graeme Adams, who is also the worship leader in Moodiesburn, I had a lot of great times doing our program, “Nothing Is Impossible,” on Revival FM.

I also started an Iranian men’s group and developed a wonderful relationship with the people at Glasgow Iranian Church, where I will be speaking again this Sunday afternoon.

There were plenty of trips away from Scotland during this time as well. During the same time frame, I had the privilege of helping to launch a number of new churches in Tanzania and also training church-planters in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The work there also branched out during this time to help many of the churches to start practical work in their communities, making it possible for the communities to grow corn, raise cattle, raise chickens, etc, and thus helping people rise above poverty. We also saw thousands of people come to know God in a real and personal way.

Then there was India in 2006. That was amazing. We saw thousands come to know Christ and had the privilege of taking part in one of the most amazing movements I’ve ever seen.

In addition to all the work, however, I have been particularly blessed with a number of amazing friendships here in Scotland. God has blessed me with the opportunity of knowing some of the most amazing people I have ever met and establishing friendships that I know will last for life.

Of course, the most special of those friendships was with Karen Bell, who became Karen Lewis recently when the two of us were married. We are very happy together and are looking forward to the next phase of our life-adventure in México.

Karen and I are getting ready to leave Scotland this May. Our plan is to spend some time with my family in America, whilst also getting ready to start a new work in México very soon. Before we move to México at the end of the year, however, we also plan to be a part of some amazing works in Africa, Spain and America.

So it looks like it’s going to be an exciting year.

I’m leaving Scotland, but I’m also taking part of Scotland with me. This nation has changed me, and Scotland will always be a part of me. Besides, my wife is Scottish.

And who knows when Scotland may call me back again.