Leaving On a Jet Plane

Our time has officially come to an end here in England. Today we get to spend one more morning at Twynholm Baptist Church, with the amazing people who have been loving and serving us for the past month, before catching our plane back to Calgary.
Last night we were able to spend the day as a team enjoying this beautiful city. We visited the Covent Gardens, and walked along the Thames River which was lit up by the lights of the city. It was the perfect ending to an incredible journey.
We have been so blessed by the generosity of the people we have met and it will be a difficult day of saying goodbye to those we have grown so close to. Thank you to everyone back home who has been praying for us an encouraging us!
Jen

Hello Beautiful People!!

Hello all, hope your all doing well and enjoying your summer!

This morning we went down to South Bankend where the London eye is, on the corner of the street there's street performers set up everywhere so we decided to join in :). We danced on the street corner for about an hour, then headed down to a skate park near by and set up there, which also was positioned in a very busy tourist area. The skate park was sweet, there was graffitti everywhere and it was absolutely amazing. We set up and started dancing but then half way through the first dance the car battery that we run our power through died, leaving us with no music. Luckily Adrian had some good improv ideas, he got everyone in the crowd to clap to a beat and that beat is exactly what we danced to, it was a really cool experience.

In the afternoon Roxanne, a woman in the church who is a chaplain for all the broadway actors and actresses' in London took us to go and explore the city with her. She took us to a London Missions coffee shop in downtown London, she showed us around there and told us a little bit about what they do. Its a really cool mission spot where they just serve people, build relationships with the locals and tell people about Jesus and do out reach. It was really neat to see a unique shop like that. She also took us down a street called "SOHO," SOHO is a very interesting street, its very worldy, there are sex shops, gay shops, and clubs absolutely everwhere. It was really intersting being down there, a really good eye opener to whats going on in our world, and the people we need to be ministering to. As christians its our responsibility to love all these people, no matter what they believe or do, our job is to love them and tell them about Jesus. We should never take for granted all that God has done for us by not sharing the special gifts that the Lord has given us with others. Gods really just been teaching me to love people and be brave, people need the Lord. Something he is really been asking me and challenging me with is, " Why do you only tell people about me, when your in another country and are on a missions trip?" I've been thinking about that alot. Why is it that when I feel passionate to preach the good news I have to be on a missions trip? I'm really just working hard to live a consisent life with the Lord, and to preach his good news; whether here in London or at home just in my normal life.

Now I'm going to talk a little bit about our day yesterday. It was our day off just to chill after finishing up the kids camp (which by the way went incredible), I strongly believe seeds were planted and God's work is being done within all the kids we met. Anyways, Adrian told our team we were going to be going on a photo shoot around London so we would have pictures for the highlight video for when we get home, all of us got dressed up and hopped on the bus to go into the city. When we arrived in Central London it began to pour rain like mad, we were kinda bummed and a little discouraged because we were not able to go anywhere outside to take pictures like we had planned. But then Adrian whips out tickets for " THE LION KING!" In the end him and Winston suprised us and we all went and watched The Lion King on broadway, it was absolutely incredible! I'm certain everyone on the team would agree it was a marvelous time and we were all blown away by the talent, it was a wonderful night.

Everyone is doing well and is healthy, for now we are enjoying the rest of our trip in London and are continuing to pray for God's work to be at hand, and are finding refuge in his undying faithfulness.

Thats all for now folks, blessings on you all!

Love: Shar :)

Lovely Jubbly!

Hi friends and family! It's Kevin, here!
Well, with mere days left of this incredible time, I find myself thinking about the incredible blessing that it has been to make such awesome friends here. My host for the first 2 weeks of my stay just sent me a lovely book and souvenir, Marcus the cagefighter has been such an uplifting presence to me, and I spent a night with the family I'm staying with now eating pizza and playing with them on the ps3. These people have invested so much into the team... I find myself eager to host others when I get home so that I can follow after the radical discipleship I have witnessed here; I have learned so much about hospitality.

I'm also learning more about sharing my testimony. Again, I saw two girls laughing as I shared about my life and made a point of asking them to quiet down... But they later came to a dance camp and I found it difficult to connect... Quite the lesson in humility. In the future I hope to speak with more confidence and focus so that in the event I encounter an audience who doesn't know how to respond respectfully I am able to press on, preserving my chance of making a connection with them later. This is a new stage for me, and making mistakes along the way is all part of the journey, and I'm so thankful for the experience. Sometimes I would prefer to just crawl into a small dark hole afterwards, feeling like a total failure, but a friend's words often resonate in my heart when I feel this way, that I shouldn't 'beat myself up about it, because the Lord has already taken the beating for me.' Constantly being reminded of my old identity, it can be a challenge to remember who I am now in Jesus, but I know that he who has begun a good work in me will carry it out to completion.

A prayer request for me in these last few days would be that the rest of my financial support will come in. I was so blessed to hear that while I have been gone, 1000 dollars have come in.

Thank you for your faithful support to our team, we are greatly blessed by it.

Love Kevin

Let the Little Children Come to Me...

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Proverb 16:9) As you probably already know, our plans to lead a dance camp last week had to be post-poned. It was a little hard for some of us to understand, because some of the kids who were supposed to attend were not able to come the following week. Well.. it is now that following week, and here are a few stories of what has been going on:

Sunday afternoon, we went to a park next to the church to dance and invite some more kids to the dance camp that was now starting Monday. We met a boy and his sister. They ended up going to the evening service at the church, and came to the dance camp with their cousin. They seem to really be enjoying the camp, and the sister, who is in my small group, seems to be especially attentive during the devotional part (we are going through the book of John). If the camp would have been last week, they would not have come.

Another girl has been very skeptical of the gospel, not believing that the Bible is truth. But she has connected very well with a couple of the girls on team and is loving the conversations she gets with them, as well as the dance workshops.

Monday morning, two of the girls told me they could only come the first day, because their family had planned a camping trip. This morning, they showed up again. Their parents delayed their trip by two days so that their daughters wouldn't have to miss the rest of the dance camp!

This morning as we were praying before the kids arrived, I asked that God would reveal Himself to them, even though they are only children. When I turned the page in my Bible, I read these verses: "O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you." Psalm 8:1-2

With just less than a week left, we're looking forward to seeing how God's plans will unfold. :) Thank you to those of you who are praying for us!

Caralee

Not an accent.. but Jesus.

oh if I could have a dime for every person who asks me where I am from, upon uttering a few words...

It takes no time at all for people to recognize that I am not from here. Nothing about me would suggest that I am from the UK. I am a stranger to the people I pass in the streets.. and yet, they are willing to talk to me.

I apologize if this post seems a bit incoherent.. you are getting a play by play of the thoughts that have been passing through my head for the past few days.. unconcluded.

Our team is here, humbly seeking to obey the call that God has placed on our lives for this summer.. and we are asking for intentionality in all that we do. After all; we have not been brought here to achieve our own ambitions, but for His glory!

As I am continuing to encounter people, I am realizing more and more that many people want to stop and talk just because I am not from here.

I am thankful that people want to talk to me... It is exciting that all I have to do is say one word, and it gives me an opening for conversation. I stand out.

This is a good thing, right? I want opportunities to share the Gospel of Christ - and I am getting them! But.. is this really living right? People want to know where I am from, which leads to what has brought me here... but what about when I am in Canada? Do I live with intentionality? Do I seek out opportunities to talk to the people I pass in the streets to share Christ with them? Nine times out of ten, the answer is no.

I don't want people to stop me in the streets because of my accent; but because of Jesus. I want to break out of the routine, and allow my life to SCREAM that Jesus is alive! I have hope! I have been redeemed! I am in love with the King of Kings, and He calls me his own! That is the truth... so how can I pass people on the streets who don't know this, and not tell them? I want to stand out wherever I am, because of the love of God! Not because of my accent. I want people to stop me in the streets and ask me what is different about me.. here, in Canada, and anywhere that the Lord calls me to go.

I am thankful for the opportunities that God is continuing to provide for a team of broken people. I am thankful that God is merciful and allows me to be a part of this team. This trip has been and continues to be a huge blessing. We are encountering people and have such sweet chances to talk, connect and encourage... but I can't help but be challenged to think of how this time will impact the ministry of my daily life when I return to Canada. We have a week left in England - and I am SO excited.. My prayer is that God will continue to teach me how to love him, and let that be enough.

I don't want my life to reflect that I am a foreigner of this nation, rather that I am a foreigner of this world. I don't want to stand out because of an accent, I want to stand out because of Jesus. I have life, in a dead world and I want people to notice that. I want to live a Galatians 2:20 life... "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

If you feel led, please pray that I will continue to seek transparency, and that God will continue to break my heart and place a sense of urgency in my heart for those who do not know him. Be blessed today!

- Robin

SUPPLIES, SUPPLIES, and more SUPPLIES' aka SURPRISE!!!!

Hello my dearest friends, senors & senorita's,

Greetings & Salutations...so here we are in London on our third week of the missions trip and its been definitely exciting, challenging, stretching, and already, we've had a handful of surprises. I would just like to look at some definitions from an online dictionary... Surprises:
1. To encounter suddenly or unexpectedly
2. To be without warning
3. To cause to feel wonder, astonishment, or amazement, as at something unanticipated.
Well, we have most definitely encountered and experienced different twists to what we first expected on this missions trip. There has been many different unexpected events, and many times not the way we would have wanted it to happen or turn out but as we continued to follow through with events, over and over again we have been amazed, left in awe and wonder in how God worked and is working.
So I'm not really sure if someone's already written on it, but i'll tell it anyway cause it's pretty exciting. We went to Greenwich and met up with Darrin (a youth pastor and buddy's with Dean Dryden, our host here in London), who we also met up with last time we were here in London. The plan was to have an event and do open air preaching in the park, but it was raining like mad that afternoon, and it was also another opportunity to invite them out for the event that evening at the church. So that didn't go down. We ended up going to the church which the event was advertised for, finished setting up, and was excited for sure, and four teens showed up. So we talked about it, and decided to pack up, and move outdoors close to the river. We quickly set up the backdrop, cranked up the music, and that evening we were able to share the Good News to approx 100 people and more. It was really exciting cause even though we finished our program people kept on coming, and were wondering what was going down, and continued to have opportunities to share with people.

The team last Saturday had the opportunity to go to a church where the person who invited us was a principal from Phoenix High School. It was a high school that 800 kids got to hear of God's love, and after having talked to the teachers, and principal, they were really surprised that they listened and stayed attentive. So at the church, we performed and Adrian explained to them how it's been a really crazy two weeks, and to pray that the ipod would be able to go through all the way to the end of our show. Also, Jacee replaced Robin as the narrator as she was feeling super ill. Crazy that as we just finished the show, and walked out, the ipod died. So thankful... and the church was really blessed and encouraged.

Here we are in the third week, and a few of the members on the team are sick so we were unable to do the dance camp that was planned and advertised for this week. The first few days of this week the members have been resting for this coming weekend, and for next week. Praise God that the team members are feeling much much better. We are not really sure why it ended up being this way, but we're most definintely excited for what God has in store. Till next time,
Blessings,
Winston

Londonified! LOOOOOVE it!

Hello all! Jacee here! Well, its been some time, in fact my last bloggifyingness was the day that we left for England. And as you all know from these past-WE'RE HERE!!!! And it has been AMAZING!!! There have been ups and not-so-ups but it has been quite a wonderful time of God's work. He has been constantly performing small miracles in each of our lives, and the people that we have all met have been blessings to us in different ways. I have met and been able to talk with several different people both Christian and totally not, and have been so blessed by their stories and their open ears.
OK, so one small little update-as it may have been mentioned, we were supposed to be doing 2 different dance camps this week at the church-for both primary and secondary ages. I say 'we were supposed to' because that would imply a small change. Due to some sickness within the team, we have had to cancel the camps for the sake of the kids and their health. There have been some minor colds and such, but a couple people that have been taking a bit more of a beating healthwise. Therefore we have decided to, until health improves, cancel the camps as I said, and we have also rearranged living spaces strategically so that the few people who are somewhat sick will have less chance of getting the rest of us sick. We were seperate groups for yesterday, all of us having the chance to relax which was actually quite beautiful. Those of us who are still healthy had to explain the last minute decision of cancelling the camps to all of the walk in registrants which was rather depressing, but the day was actually quite the blessing. I got to spend a ton of time in the Word, and I also managed to get a little further into an amazing book I have been trying to get done-Falling in Love With Jesus by Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccolli. I was able to do alot of my reading in a local park, and this is where my story of the day will come from: While spending my time on a comfortable bench in the park, reading and enjoying the light rays of sun on my face, this interesting older man came and sat in the bench across from me. He was rather grungy looking and basically just sat there drinking beer for an hour, enjoying watching the families in the park. After finishing my reading for the day, I decided to go over and talk to him-Joseph is his name. I had quite a difficult time understanding him, but it was a good conversation from what I could tell. I was able to share the Gospel with him, and it was in a way that I have never shared it before, but the Lord was a fire in my heart and I really enjoyed at least trying to understand his responses. He claimed that he believed the Gospel, already knew and had accepted Jesus' forgiveness, and that he tried to live for Christ, so I wasn't sure what to think because he seemed like such a sad man. I gave him a Bible though, and asked him to try to read it whenever he could. I think he was very touched. But not as touched as I was when I walked away from the park with a smile like I haven't had the whole trip. Praise God for He is wonderful! Today was also a good and relaxing day, and a few of us got to go and see St. Paul's Cathedral which was quite amazing! Then we had a picnic as a whole, and that was also nice, but cold :)
Keep us in your prayers as we wait on the Lord for His healing within the team, and hope that the rest of us won't get sick! He is still priveleging us with serving Him and spreading His truth, giving us the boldness we need to do it!
God Bless all!
<3 Jacee
ps-check these out! These are a couple vids of us doing some street stuff at Kingston-the best day of the trip for me so far!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bjSEEwy5wQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx89TY7qCqs

Blessed are we when we're at the end of our rope

Hello dear friends, family, and prayer warriors! It's amazing how much can be packed into two weeks, although sometimes I can't believe it's already been that long. I have to say thank you, first of all, because your prayers are very much felt. It means a lot to know that you're looking after us in that way, and God clearly is using them.

For example, God altered our scheduled show for us a couple days ago. The team went to Greenwich area to dance for London City Mission. As a side note, Greenwich time is the time by which all time is set. Strange and slightly intimidating to think about as a girl who is challenged in the area of punctuality. The mission is kind of a drop in centre for the community in the area, and they'd invited their regular teens to come, as well as made some flyers to hand out to anyone in the area. However, when show time came, no one was there, so we took down our set and moved it to the streets by the Thames River. It was beautiful with the sun setting, and we drew a crowd from the area along with those who'd been invited that wanted to come to an open show. There were some great conversations that we got to have with people in the crowd, some about things like evolution and creation, others about believing in God but not having relationship with Him, some just about the lives of the people living there and what our team was doing in England. We all agreed that it was definitely a good thing that we'd ended up outside instead of in the mission building. Isn't that awesome? I have to say, only God can something like empty seats at a show and turn it into an effective street mission. Also, God makes it very clear that it is by His power we're doing any of this when our plans humbly fizzle out. May we always remember how small we are before we need reminding.

With that in mind, can I ask for prayer for our tired bodies? About half the team is in definite need of some body and health restoration, as sickness has bit some of us pretty hard, and our beloved leaders both rely on God's provision pretty regularly for strength when their bodies never really get time to heal. Another quick answer to prayer- yesterday when we did a show for an open church bbq, our dearly loved narrator was too sick to come with us, and our ipod was almost dead with no charger. Needless to say, even if we had the promise of music, our show with no narration is severly crippled in its message delivery. Adrian asked the audience to pray, and our dancer Jacee learned the lines on the way to the show, narrated very well, and the ipod died the minute our show was over. These kinds of things happen so frequently, words can't say how much of this trip we owe to God.

Another thing to keep in your prayers would be this upcoming week of dance camps. We'll get to be with the same groups of kids all week, which will be a great opportunity. If you could pray that the kids that God wants at these camps would come, that would be much appreciated. Also pray for openness within the groups, that the kids would be able to be vulnerable with us as we are with them, so that no guardedness will restrict what God wants to do in them and us this week. Again, be praying for our bodies also, as we will be very busy with younger kids in the morning and high school students (actually secondary students as they call them) in the evenings.

Well, I will sign off for now. Thanks again so much for all your support, we have been needing it and benefiting from it so much. Cheers!

Chelsea Peters

p.s.
Did you know that intstant coffee just turned 100? They've been drinking it here almost as long as we've been a country. And yet still they haven't given up on it... just kidding. But seriously. There's a reason tea is the drink of choice around here.

Outwardly wasting away, yet inwardly being renewed day by day...

Well, it looks as though we are about at the half way point to this trip, and it has been a good one! God has been doing some amazing things in and through our team and hosts. The last two days we have been given the opportunity to do open air ministry. This is where we step outside in a market place where there are lots of people passing by and begin to dance. We bring along a piece of linoleum so the concrete becomes a little smoother to slide on, and a generator so that we can have power to our sound system. I have to say, I can speak for everyone on the team in that this is the scariest thing to do because you are performing for people who are wild cards. We havent been invited to these places, we are on other peoples terrain and we are at the mercy of their opinion. And yet even with our fears, God shined through and worked very powerfully.
We set up two days ago in a square in Kingston surrounded by shopping malls. It was very populated even though it was a thursday because school had just gotten out. We arrived at 1:00 and spent 30 mins trying to rig something up with our backdrop that will sufficient as a changing room. The wind was against us and we finally figured something out that worked quite well. Then the generator wouldnt start, so we began to pray, this is all while hundreds of people are walking by every 5 mins. And God heard our prayers, and it started up, we got the music going and the crowds came! We performed 4 different times and each time we would perform there was about a group of 200 plus people, and they stayed and listened and talked with us afterwards. God is good!
After a dinner of classic fish and chips, we moved location to where church service was going to be held, we performed two more sections and then asked the crowd to come inside and hear our stories. The pastor first interviewed me and asked about the name of Refined/Undignified and our history and why we do what we do. Then he called up Winston and had him tell his story, it was a very powerful night. The people from the church said they had never seen a crowd in the marketplace that big, and in the church service there were many new faces they were very excited! Praise the Lord!
We are all tired, sore and some of us are sick, but God has been revealing to us that His grace is sufficient for us, and doesnt matter if it is weak, damaged or sick bodies, God always give us what we need for each performance and to spread the good news about Jesus Christ.

London is a bustling city saturated with excitement. People hurry to the double deck buses, the Tube, or swerve their cars through the narrow streets (while us Canadians try to hold in our laughter, feeling slightly like we're on a rollercoaster!) London is a fantastic city but when I allow my mind to see the reality of life here... the excitement begins to fade away and my heart begins to ache. Taking the time to look into people's eyes and think about what they believe in or what eternal life they are heading towards puts the way I spend my time into a new perspective. God has saved me... He has saved our team and we want to tell the people here (and wherever we go) that God wants to set them free and offer them true abundant life.

Yesterday evening we did a show at a church for about 30 people. We went out on the streets to hand out flyers, inviting people to the show before it started. Caralee and I went out together and got VERY lost... we had no idea where we were! While we walked we prayed that if God had a specific plan or someone specific that He wanted us to meet while we were lost that we would not miss that opportunity. Seconds later we passed a guy in his 20s who was just sitting on his steps. Both Caralee and I knew without even speaking to each other that we needed to invite him to our show. We stopped and talked with him and he decided to come to our show. When we talked to him at the end of the show he had tears in his eyes... he talked with us for about an hour after the show and is hoping to come and hang out with our team over the next couple of weeks. We prayed that he would come, and God answered our prayers!

It has been incredible for our team to learn that we truly have nothing to offer but through the power of Jesus Christ He is using us. We are learning more each day of what it means to live with the purpose that Christ has given us... to worship Him and spread the story of what He has done. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus and the things of earth will grow strangely dim."

Angela

Today we had the amazing opportunity to serve some of the people who have been so gracious to us since we arrived here in London. We didn't have any events planned until later on this evening so have spent the day cleaning the church. It was nice to get our hands dirty and help out in such a simple and practical way. Tonight we are attending a BBQ at All Saints Church, and then dancing for the youth group. It is always exciting anticipating the work the God has planned for these nights, especially where there is plenty of opportunity for conversations with the youth following the program.
I imagine my team mates have already included some amazing stories from the past week of performing in schools, so I will mention only one story. A young girl, 14 years old, came to our Friday night performance here at Twynhold Baptist Church. She came alone as her friends weren't interested, which already showed an amazing amount of courage. I talked to her briefly before the show, and then reconnected with her after the performance. Through the conversation she began to ask me some pretty amazing questions about who Jesus is, why bad things happen in the world, questions the easily allowed for me to share the Gospel with her. She was so curious about Christ, and it was clear that most of what I was telling her she was hearing for the first time. I asked her if she would be interested in having her own Bible to read so she could contintue to learn about Jesus. It was incredible to see this girl leaving at the end of the night, clutching her new Bible. This is just one moment of the past week which reminds me that God is faithful and when we are obedient he blesses us by allowing us to be part of his work.
Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for RU, I'm sure many of our stories we have been sharing are a result or your prayers.
Jen

Hey everyone!

Today was our day off, we all went and saw Buckingham Palace and Picadilly Circus it was a really good, relaxing day off :). Our time in England has been delightful, Im really enjoying meeting all the people here, they are all so friendly and welcoming. I feel strongly that this is where Gods wants us and he is working on over drive; yesterday we went on a prayer walk and on it we just met many wonderful people and got to minister to them and invite them to our show that was last night, happily some of them showed up which was awesome.

We've performed at many primary schools and one secondary school, it was really neat to see how all the kids responded to our show, they were really intrigued by the deep concept of how Jesus loved them and died to take away thier sins. I was nervous because I didn't know how the kids would react to the show, God was truly present at all our shows and his way was fulfilled I do believe. We all are just continueing to pray for the kids we have met at the shows we have done so far and for the many people we are to meet in the near future.

My prayer is that the people of England would just truly open up thier hearts and recieve Jesus, I just want people to know Jesus loves them and for a change in this society.

Thats all for now, thanks for reading our blog!

Blessings,

Sharmane :)

'Ello Bruvv!

Hey RU supporters and family! Let me tell you, our days have been FULL. It's usually when we're halfway through our ministry each day that I really feel ready for a break, but by the time I get in bed I wonder where the day has gone.

Yesterday we danced out the gospel for two groups of 400 students at a secular school. I found it very interesting how a disclaimer was given before each of our shows... staff really need to cover their butt before they present Jesus. In such a diverse city as London, kids of many different religions have seen and will be seeing our show.

It was very new to us performing our "Want More" show in front such a secular audience. Certainly, people who do not follow Jesus have seen the show before, but I've really only performed with this group at venues which support Jesus. To do our final drime "Everything" in front of this year 8/9 audience, to see and hear them laugh as I'm tormented by demons, and then to hear them laugh and applaud as Jesus is crucified... that was new for me. I felt like throwing up. Several kids were asking yesterday if the relationship between my character and Jesus was gay. Adrian commented that when these students grow up in a culture that says a close relationship between two men is a gay, of course that they are going to think that.

That event was the closest thing I have yet experienced to knowing what it would have been like to see my Saviour mocked as he was actually crucified. It was definitely an 'oh' moment. We read Matthew 5:1-12 this morning, and in light of yesterday, it has greater signicance to me. As awful as it felt, I do pray that I get to share and witness that humiliation every day... that the gospel would become more and more alive to me, that a complacent and beige lifestyle would become less and less an option.

I also got to share my life for 4 minutes with two different classes of girls yesterday about how the Lord delivered me from living a gay lifestyle. Learning more and more how to share and what to share and WHY. One class laughed as I spoke, taking my focus off of Him. Robin Baldwin my said I spoke well but she questioned my heart...seeing me shift in focus, not fully aiming to glorify the Lord BY the Lord, but going on my own steam- really appreciated that. She said that it is in the times that I share that she best sees the man I am. It was really difficult trying to explain my testimony later when the girls asked questions. The words came quickly but their eyes rarely seemed to click.

In summary, I'm loving my time here. Some hard growth and feeling myself being emptied... and I'm so thankful to Him and I count it a privilege.

Please pray for our physical and spiritual health.

Kevin

A Team in a Telephone Booth...

56 hours in England, and we are all loving it! We seem to be adjusting quite well to the time change, but every once in while a couple of us will be hit with a short wave of exhaustion. Within the last 2 days, we've lead 3 chapels, and 6 workshops in 3 different elementary schools. It's amazing how God has caused principals and teachers to allow us into their schools, even public ones, to speak of Jesus Christ and of how He has transformed our lives.

We are continually astounded by how many children we meet who have an incredible ability to dance ... As we've connected with these kids through our common interest in dance, we've been able to invite them to a dance camp that will be held our 3rd week here, with our hosting pastors and other local christians. There have already been a few kids who have expressed interest. Please pray that there would be more who will decide to come. We will be having small groups after the dance workshops where we will be exploring some of lifes deep questions, and reading through the gospel of John.

This afternoon, we had nothing booked in schools, so we took advantage of our afternoon off to be tourists. We jumped onto a double decker bus and proceeded to take the Tube down town, where we visited Parliement Square and saw Big Ben, went to the Portrait Gallery, National Gallery, and watched street performers as we walked along the Thames River. All those were very exciting, but most thrilling (according to some of us) was our team picture in a telephone booth :).

Wheww! All that excitement can be a little draining. So I will leave you with that for the time being. Tomorrow we will be leading some more chapels, so I've got to make sure that jet lag doesn't catch up to me ;).

Caralee

Welcome to London!

Well! We are here! Priase the Lord! It has been a long day, or night, or maybe both...? Our internal clocks are slightly confused. Our flight departed the Calgary airport around 9h30 pm on Saturday, and we arrived in London at what our bodies felt like is 6h30 am on Sunday... which was actually 1h30 pm London time! And now here I sit, in the Twynholm church that is hosting us at 3h30 pm. Most of us are tired, and feeling a bit queezy, but nothing a good sleep won't fix! :)

There are so many little things I could share about, but I think the most important thing for everyone to know, is how the Lord allowed us into this country! When we arrived at the airport and were going through the immigration line, I was first up - and lucky for me, the officer who's desk I was called to was not overly interested in what I was doing in London as soon as he saw in my passport that I was from Nova Scotia. His family went on holiday there a couple years ago, and my being from there seemed enough for him to allow me into the country with very few questions. It was actually pretty sweet, because he then proceeded to tell me of his whole visit and how his son was working in the Tall Ships festival... all sweet memories of home for me! :)

A few of the other team members did not have the same experience I did getting through customs, and long story short, we were all called back - because they told us that even though we are not being paid for the dancing we will be doing; we still would require a work visa for the performances we will be doing. We were told that we would need to stay there, while they contacted our hosts, and figured out if it would be possible to get us working visas. As this was taking place, we began to pray, that the Lord would work everything out. He is so faithful, and powerful!! Shortly after this, we were all allowed in, with only a warning and not requiring the visas. So we are all feeling so blessed and excited that God has worked out every last detail to allow us to be here!

We are currently resting in the curch, waiting to find out details on where we will be staying. The team is going to be split up and staying in different homes. Things will be off to a busy start, as we have our first show tomorrow morning bright and early at 8h30 am (which will be 1h30 am to our confused little bodies!) so we are praying for energy and strength... and that jet leg will not take too strong a hold! We were really blessed with our flight, as it was all night for us - allowing us to arrive around the time we would normally be waking up!

There are many more things I could share I am sure.. but I think I will join everyone in rest, as I didn't really sleep on the flight last night.. Please be praying for us that our bodies will make the time switch quickly, as we are getting right into the swing of things this week!

Know that we are so blessed, and excited to be here! I can't wait to keep sharing the wonderful things God is doing here already! :) Talk to you soon!

Blessings on you!

- Robin :)

Heyloo all! Well, training has now been 13 days long, and what a 13 days it has been! Robin, Adrian and Winston have all said a bit about training, but I shall recap a bit: well the first week as you know was with our Peru and Kenya team friends, but we have had the place all to ourselves for the last 6 days. Dance has been h-core, but super good, and the cardio has improved greatly after 2 months of zero dancing. Our lovely Chelsea has been our mom and making all of our delicious meals-her touch in the kitchen has been such a blessing to all of us. It has been really awesome to spend this time together as a team, and as a family. Seriously though, definitely a family-we've been doing everything together-eating, dishes, cleaning, dancing, chilling, laundry, etc!
Our last dance practice was Thursday, and then Friday we took a day of rest...until 2:00 when we headed into Calgary, got lost a few times, and eventually made it to the CFAM youth conference where we had a performance-our first performance since April! woot woot! The evening started out with many of us kinda tired and unenergetic, but after much prayer and the adrenalin kick, the show went very well. Lots of mistakes, for sure, but we know that the Lord was glorified through it. Winston's brother-in-law was our connection to the conference, and when he prayed for us before the show, his passion and love for the Lord was so evident. I believe God is going to do amazing things in the lives of the youth that are there this weekend, and pray that they will be permanent life-changing experiences for them. The Lord has blessed us greatly, and is contstantly doing so!
Well, it is currently 3:39 pm which means that we are barely over an hour from when we are leaving VTI and on our way to the airport. In approximately 16 hours we will be standing in the Heathrow airport in London, Lord willing! Not gonna lie, I am a leeeettle bit nervous for the flight-I have only ever flown once, and I was 6 years old :s. However, I think it will be an enjoyable experience and perhaps I will get to sit beside some cute old lady and I can tell her about Jesus! And hey, to live is Christ, and to die is gain, so if I happen to die on this flight I still know where I'm going! Haha, that's optimism for ya! But, I have a feeling that the Lord wants us to make it to England for the sake of the lost sheep there. We are praying however that everything will go smoothly with immigration, and trusting that the Lord will work everything out to His will in this. Alrighty, well farewell Canada, and peace out everybody! I'm sure you'll hear all about the flight tomorrow! God Bless!
-Jacee <3

Still Preparing!!!

WOW! Yup...true story.
It's been a crazy past two weeks here at the VTI discovery lodge and off to England on July 11th, 2009. Our team is super jacked in seeing what God is doing and is going to do in and through the team in London, England. The past couple blogs have said that we have been practicing everyday dancing and dancing...so guess what...it hasn't changed. It is very exciting though. After the team being away for two months back home or wherever they were at, we came back in ROUGHHHH shape. So past two weeks was and is very beneficial.
So just thinking about it, it's been really exciting being here but tough at the same time. While being here there was a family friend that passed away last week and I was unable to be home or go to the funeral. My mom last friday was rushed to the emergency for her stomach (last time she was rushed because of her heart). Last time I was here two years ago there were similar events like those that just happened recently. And within this past year it has been more than a crazy, and probably my toughest year ever. But one thing I know from the past years, especially from this recent year is this: God is truly faithful and in control. Each of us on the team has seen over and over again in our lives that God is faithful and only His ways are best. Many or most times we don't understand things during the moment but all He is wanting in all our lives is to listen attentively and obey. As we are about to leave for England in less than two days, we are and have been constantly reminded that we are in need of Him and that is the best place to be.
We are very excited in knowing that God is going to do amazing things. Till next time,
Love in Christ,
Winston

Training Camp

Its been an incredible time here at VTI training lodge. We have worked hard as a team and developed really strong friendships with others who are going to serve the Lord in Kenya and Peru.

This week has flown by, it has been filled with lots of sweat, laughter and sore muscles. Each day starts off with devotions at 7:30, breakfast at 8:00, clean up, and worship and teaching, and then we dance til lunch, other teams are learning chalk art, illusion and dramas for their programs. During lunches and dinners we are privleged to hear eachothers personal salvation stories, this has been one of the richest blessings being here, and hearing about God's work in people's lives.
One day we had team building games and it was something that many people had a hard time with, our challenge was to get over a 7 foot log that was between two trees, but, we could touch the trees and we had to hold hands with our teammates in one line and never let go, we failed many times but touching the tree or letting go, but we didnt give up!

The fourth of July was a hard day for me, being the only one on the team, yet alone the whole lodge, who was American, i realized how much i felt like a foreigner. I knew all my family was meeting for the annual fireworks show in Coeur D'Alene and i wasnt going to be there. But by the end of the day, it was clear how much people cared. They surprised me with a fireworks show after singing the American national anthem, 3 times. I felt very loved.

Both teams have left for their missions and we are the only ones left for a week of continued training. It is actually very hard to feel motivated after everyone has left but we are pressing on toward the goal! We perform at Ambrose University at 7:00pm on Friday and then we leave on Saturday for London. Thank you for your prayers, we couldnt do it without them!
Until next time, Adrian.

It Begins!

Well, the team is reunited! We have been at training camp at the Venture Teams International (VTI) lodge outside of Calgary for three days, and will remain here for approximately two weeks. It has been great to be reunited as a team, though there have been a few adjustments. We are without three members who danced with us throughout the school year. Though we miss them, we are excited about the ministries that the Lord has called them to be a part of this summer. We have the pleasure of being joined by a new member, Caralee Savage, who will travel with us to England, and be joining Refined Undignified full time team in the fall.

RU is one of three teams that are training with VTI at this time. The other two teams will be serving in Peru and Kenya this summer. We are all very busy preparing and practicing for the different ministries that we will be a part of this summer. The Peru and Kenya teams will be departing on July 5th, while RU will reamin here at the lodge to continue an intensive training program until we depart July 11th, after performing in Calgary for a youth conference.

During this intensive process we will be the most vulnerable to sickness and injury, as the number of hours we are dancing each day comes as a shock to our systems, since we have not been dancing since we left school in April.

Please be praying for us, that we would find our strength in the Lord and continually look to him to provide. The desire of our heart is to live as is written in Hebrews 10:23-24 "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." We truly desire for God's will to be done, and recognize that we have no hope of accomplishing this on our own without the support of prayer.

This blog will be updated regularly throughout our time in London. We are all very excited to share with you the joys that we know the Lord has in store for us, as we seek to serve him this summer! Thank you so much for joining with us! Blessings on you!