Sunday 22 January 2012
So I figured, I might as well update my blog, since it’s been a good few weeks, and there is much to tell. As always I blog mostly for myself, and whoever wants to follow my journey. It’s good to have a place to record the twists and turns of life, and realise that no matter how I’m feeling about my journey on any given day, it’s still mine. My journey. My walk. My life. My decisions as I walk it.
Arriving back.
It was so good to be back in KC. In so many ways it seemed like I’d never left. I kept having to remind myself that I really only had 3 weeks and needed to make sure to make the most of them. It was so easy to just slip into the routine of being there, pacing myself as if I was there to run a marathon rather than a sprint.
The Onething conference was great! I didn’t end up going to most of the sessions, I hung out with friends, prayed with people in the healing and prophecy rooms, had coffee and food with people, and saw friends I didn’t expect to see. I felt so loved. It’s strange to get back after being away so long and feel like you still belong, like there’s still room for you.
The prayer room. Oh, it was so lovely to go into the prayer room at the conference. Of course it was slightly different from the normal prayer room, but it was still such a breath of fresh air. I remember the first time I went in. I’d taken the shuttle from the IHOPU campus close to where I was staying, and instead of heading to registration when I arrived at Bartle Hall, I chose to go to the prayer room. I walked in and sat down. And felt like I could truly breathe spiritually. It was a strange feeling. It was as if I’d come “home”, well to one of my “homes” anyways. 2011 was a time of travelling around so much, I guess KC was the last place where I made a home for a longer period of time. And in the prayer room I felt at home.
So much could be said for the Onething conference. I was challenged to live righteously and am still thinking about Corey Russell’s definition of the fear of the Lord: “everything matters!” And I was reminded about the intentionality in God’s heart as He created me from Psalm 139. So good.
Best conference I’ve ever been to- Exodus Cry Abolition Summmit.
There’s no rest for the “hungry” and I really wanted to know more of God’s heart. Just a day after 2012 was in place, I set off to participate in the Abolition Summit run by Exodus Cry for 3 days. It was held at FCF (one of the IHOP-KC buildings) and I’d daily shuttle down there to go to the sessions. It was the best conference I’ve ever been to. Amazing is not a strong enough word to describe the quality and impact of this conference. All of the 8 sessions were incredible. Each speaker sharing about Jesus’ heart and how He wants us to respond, yet also including a very thorough knowledge about the topics they were addressing. This was a conference rooted in friendship with Jesus, yet also in a very real understanding of the issue of modern day slavery.
As the different speakers spoke, I kept feeling: “yes, this is exactly my heart”. I want to have the information, knowledge, and understanding about human trafficking, yet I want to respond out of friendship with God’s heart. Starting from the place of knowing what His heart is and partnering with Him in the place of prayer (which is basically talking to Him). My heart came alive! I would love to share everything I learnt/was reminded of, but it’ll take too long. Those of you know me can get in touch to know more.
Coffee, tea, London Fog, Dark Chocolate Mocca, Extra Hot Latte, coffee....
When I got to KC I really felt like my time there was about the prayer room and the conferences, but also very much about reconnecting with friends and contacts there. And so many hours were spent (mostly) in Higher Grounds, the IHOP-KC coffee shop. It was wonderful to be able to catch up with so many amazing people! I am so blessed, so very very blessed, to know such amazing people and to be able to reconnect with them even if it had been a year without seeing them. Some days I did feel quite caffeinated though, but that was ok.
The prayer room- getting realigned again.
Having been away for over a year, it was so lovely to get back into the prayer room. It was lovely to be able to settle into Jesus in a fresh way, and find there was time and space to really connect with Him without having to rush. I feel like I was really able to catch the vision of the house of prayer again and found my heart getting so excited by being able to continue to integrate this reality into my life in Amsterdam. I love how God is truly changing the way Christianity looks and is expressed, and I love that young people are choosing to spend their lives on Jesus being their primary focus.
Oh, how I love Hope City.
Many people come to Kansas City for the prayer room, or Global Prayer Room as it’s also called. I would come just for Hope City (although I love the other prayer room also, of course). Hope City (for those who don’t know) is the inner city prayer room and I love it down there. I love the rawness and realness of it, and I love God’s heart for the inner city.
Going down there felt like “coming home”. There is such love in that place and part of me wishes I could just stay there and work there and see God move. It’s such a unique way of doing ministry, and yet the fruit is so great. Last year 100 people gave their lives to Jesus there, just by coming in.
I loved hanging out there a little bit (not enough), and I hope that I can bring some of the reality of having a place like this, where the broken and rejected can come in and find acceptance and encounter Jesus who restores, in Amsterdam.
Looking ahead...
There is so much more I could tell, but it’s been two evenings since I started this post, and I think I need to get it posted so I can start blogging about what lies ahead. On Monday, in 6 days I move to Amsterdam. It still seems very unreal, yet very soon, and at the same time as I’m looking forward to get to a place where I can settle down for a bit, I’m still quite daunted by moving to a new city and all that entails.