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Day 8

[1/2 Friday] Liverpool --> Milton Keynes

Today was mainly a day for travel, as our team drove over three hours back to COCM at Milton Keynes. While it was tiring, we were happy to reunite with the Coventry team. In the late afternoon, Pastor Frank led our debrief, and we started with each team member sharing their experiences and how they relate to our original expectations and goals for the trip. It was wonderful to hear everyone share their reflections. Some common themes included how we saw positive changes in the kids at VBS throughout the three days, and how the struggles and resilience of HK immigrants deeply touched us. We hope that we can continue our relationships with the churches and pastors, in whatever way that looks like. We then enjoyed dinner and a relaxing evening together with the whole team. 

Prayer requests: 

• For safe flights back to SF for everyone, both on Saturday and Sunday.

• Please continue to pray for healing for the sick team members, and for protection over the whole team’s health during our travels back.

Praise God for all the ways He has blessed us and the locals during this trip!

Day 7

[1/1 Thursday] Liverpool

Happy New Year!! 

From 10:30am - 2pm, we ran a Gospel event at LCGC. The event first started with booth games: candy cane fishing, chopstick marbles, ping pong cup game, cup target game, guess the soda can order, and rainbow coin toss game. If you played all the games, you could win a drink or snack! We also had face painting and a HK milk tea station. Our youth and the LCGC youth worked well together to run the booths.

After that, the Wongs (Lomy, Mon, Charlotte, Leo) led Cantonese worship, and Pastor Steven (LCGC) preached a short message. We then had a huge potluck with amazing contributions from church members! Some of our favorites were: homemade egg tarts, pork & thousand-year egg congee, curry fish balls, sweet and sour wheat puffs (translation doesn’t do it justice!), and ginger/sweet potato dessert soup. 

After cleaning up the event, we had a final debrief with LCGC pastors, staff, and youth. We shared our praises from the event, especially how the middle-aged and elderly church members/newcomers seemed to really enjoy the games and fellowship. After taking photos and exchanging cards, gifts, and prayers with the pastors, we said goodbye and headed back. 

Lomy, Felix, and Matthew went to watch the Liverpool football game! The rest of us enjoyed a chill time at home/our hotel. We look forward to reuniting with the Coventry team at COCM tomorrow~

Prayer requests: 

• 5/14 of our team members are not feeling well :( Please continue to pray for healing for the sick team members, and for protection over the whole team’s health, especially in the cold weather.

• For safe travels back to COCM headquarters in Milton Keynes, and for a fruitful debrief with the Coventry team. 

• That our relationship with LCGC would continue and that Pastor Esther, Wayne, and Steven will receive God’s guidance and strength daily.

Day 6

[12/31 Wednesday] Liverpool

The final day of VBS and adult workshops! We had an amazing and rewarding end to these three days. As we were debriefing, we shared the wonderful moments that we’ve observed and taken part in, such as the growth of the kids and how almost all of them accepted the Gospel. All glory to God!

Children’s VBS was a half day today, running from 10am to 12:30pm. Although our team was discussing how difficult it was to keep the kids’ attention, we communicated our needs to the local helpers today and everything ran much more smoothly. At 12pm, we invited the kids’ parents to join in a recap of VBS. The kids eagerly performed dances along to the VBS songs, Pastor Tammy presented on what they did each day, and we watched a wonderful recap video made by Johannes.

In the fitness class, Lomy led older adults in exercises and stretching. The local pastors reflected that the fitness class was an amazing opportunity for recent HK-immigrated older adults, who often feel lonely. In the B1 exam English class, Felix and Jodie led the class in practicing talking about various topics, and at the end, participants reflected on what they learned and how they can continue practicing. The B1 exam for UK citizenship is a big barrier for many HK immigrants, and we pray that LCGC can continue to provide resources. Although there was no parenting class today, Mon and the pastors said at the debrief that it was a huge help to the participants who are struggling with family issues and cultural differences.

In the afternoon, we set up for the New Year’s gospel event with local helpers and youth. We got all the game booths ready and had fun practicing the games with each other. After that, the adults joined Pastor Esther and Pastor Wayne for coffee, where we listened to the pastors share about the situations of UK Chinese churches, the many struggles of recent HK BNO immigrants, and their personal prayer requests.

After quiet time and debrief in the evening, we celebrated the New Year together! 

We are happy and grateful that Leo was able to come to VBS today after being sick for a long time. However, Ella and a few other team members are now feeling sick, so please continue praying for us.
Prayer requests: 

• For healing for a couple of team members who are sick, and for protection over the whole team’s health, especially in the cold weather.

• For the New Year Gospel Event tomorrow - that things will go smoothly, people will have fun, and most importantly, that the Gospel will be shared.

• For the HK BNO immigrants in general and for UK Chinese churches - that God will guide local churches to know how to best support new immigrants, and for God to watch over the whole population.

Day 5

[12/30 Tuesday] Liverpool

Today was our second day of the three-day VBS and adult workshop programs. They enthusiastically participated in worship rallies and all 4 of the stations (Games, Bible, Crafts, and Snacks). By the end of the VBS day though, some kids were worn out yet majority were still energetic. It was very draining for the leaders but still enjoyable!

The adult classes were generally successful, though some were more challenging than others. The parenting class went well, with Mon leading meaningful and open discussions about parenting struggles and adjusting to life in the UK. Many parents stayed after the session with further questions, and conversations continued for nearly another hour. The fitness class, led by Lomy, had around 30 participants, which made it difficult to give individual attention. Some participants were unclear on certain movements, and the session ran longer than planned. Despite this, many shared afterwards that they enjoyed the class and were looking forward to the next workshop. In the afternoon, Felix and Jodie led the English B1 exam class, where a few new participants came. Even though some struggled with the English exam format, everyone enjoyed the practice time. Overall, the pastors and helpers shared that these adult classes were inspiring them to continue offering similar sessions even after our STM ends. Some church helpers kindly prepared multiple delicious lunches! We are looking forward to the continuation of VBS and adult classes for the last day.

Prayer requests:

• For energy and good sleep for everyone! 

• Pray for the kids' attention tomorrow and the VBS leader’s patience! 

• For healing for a couple of team members who are sick, and for protection over the whole team’s health, especially in the cold weather.

• Pray for smoothness of the Carnival on New Year's Day!

Day 4

[12/29 Monday] Liverpool

Today was the first day of our three-day VBS and adult workshop programs. Our VBS program was from 10am to 3pm, and 29 kids came. The kids were split into Ladybugs (8 and under) and Butterflies (9 and up), and they participated in worship rallies and 4 stations: Games, Bible, Crafts, and Snacks. At first, the kids were more chaotic and didn’t participate as much. By the afternoon, though, our youth helpers felt that the kids warmed up, and many of them followed the dances to the songs. It was tiring but fun!

The adult classes went well: parenting and fitness were in the morning, and English in the afternoon. The parenting class had around 10 participants, and Mon enjoyed the close discussion about parenting struggles and adjusting to the UK. In the fitness class, Lomy taught around 30 participants, who said afterwards that they were looking forward to the next workshop tomorrow. Felix and Jodie (with the help of Pastor Esther, Pastor Wayne, and Samuel) led the English B1 exam class, where the 20 participants were all really engaged and eager to practice their English. The pastors and helpers said that the adult classes are inspiring them to continue these types of classes outside of our STM. 

Some church helpers kindly prepared lunch for us, and it was so good! We are looking forward to the continuation of VBS and adult classes for the next two days.

Prayer requests:

• For energy and good sleep for everyone (we really need it)!

• There are some VBS kids who are more sensitive or may act out due to their family situation. Pray that helpers will know how to cater to them and that the kids will still have a good time. 

• For healing for a couple of team members who are sick, and for protection over the whole team’s health, especially in the cold weather.

Day 3

[12/28 Sunday] Liverpool

This morning we helped at LCGC’s Cantonese service where Pastor Tammy preached, and Felix, Lomy, Mon, Eva, and Jodie led worship. For the youth, Charlotte, Matthew, and Nathan led worship and games. Matthew and Jodie shared their personal testimonies about being honest with God during times of struggle and understanding that an imperfect walk with Christ is okay. We then split into younger and older small groups for discussion and to share thoughts and questions with Jodie, Matthew, Anita, and Mon. After this, we had our VBS meeting, mapping out our schedules and plans for tomorrow. Following lunch, we spent 3 hours setting up decorations for VBS. Returning from dinner, we had a debrief with worship, meditation, and sharing. 

Prayer requests: 

• For strength and help so that our VBS and classes at LCGC in the following 3 days can be smooth and with little to no problems.  

• For healing for a couple of team members who are sick, and for protection over the whole team’s health, especially in the cold weather. 

Thank you for supporting us with your prayers!

Day 2

[12/27 Saturday] Milton Keynes → Birmingham → Liverpool

This morning, we drove 1.5h to Birmingham from Milton Keynes. Everyone had lunch together at a British pub, where we got to hear from Rev Lawrence and Pastor Angus about their journey to Birmingham Chinese Gospel Church Harborne (BCGC), as well as the state of recent HK immigrants to the UK.

We then went to BCGC to help with their adult Cantonese, youth, and children’s services. 

Adult

The adult service had worship and a sermon preached by Pastor Frank. Our team member Anita says that she was touched by the sermon and that local attendees paid close attention to the sermon as well, since some were taking pictures of the slides. She said that even though it wasn’t coordinated, Pastor Frank’s sermon passage was the same as the monthly verse for BCGC!

Youth

Our service was titled “Experiencing God: When Love Becomes Real.” Youth group is usually led by BCGC’s Wing; who shared with us about what youth group typically looks like. Lomy led games, Charlotte, Jodie and Naomi led worship, Kendrick, Sophie, and Matthew shared testimonies, and Pam gave a short message. Connie helped with slides, and Johannes with photography. The testimonies and message were engaging and powerful. Even though only a few local youth came because of Christmas holidays, we had a great time together! 

Children

Pastor Tammy and Janet gave a message on forgiveness to the children. There were around 10-20 kids, aged 4-7. 

After the Birmingham services, we drove 3 hours to Liverpool, where we had dinner and settled down for the night.

Prayer requests: 

• That we won’t be overly focused on works/what we can accomplish and let God’s love guide us!

• For healing for a couple of team members who are sick, and for protection over the whole team’s health, especially in the cold weather.

Day 1

[12/26 Friday] London → Milton Keynes

We have just started our STM journey from London today, where we headed into the city of Milton Keynes (~55 miles northwest), and also where Chinese Overseas Christian Mission (COCM) headquarters is located. Because it was the day right after Christmas, there were much more car rental pickups than returns. Finally, after almost 2 hours stuck at the airport, we all got our cars, barely fit our luggages onto our cars, and arrived safely. At COCM, we were welcomed with hospitality by General Director, Rev. Henry Lu & Ling Lu, and fellowshipped with 7 other mission groups from North America gathering at COCM to start a year-end camp for Mandarin-speaking college students in the UK. 

Please pray for our safe travels to Birmingham and Liverpool tomorrow!