GHANA

Dear Family and Friends,

Ghana is fast approaching so I thought I should let you all know what I will be doing there. XLP has partnered with AACO, Ashanti Akim Community Organization for the past 14 or so years, working outside the city of Kumasi. If you can, look at a map of Ghana. Kumasi is about a 5 hour drive from the Capitol of Accra which is on the coast to the jungle in the north. The majority of the people living in and surrounding Kumasi are of the Ashanti tribe.

XLP and AACO have completed the building of a secondary school in the town of Danpong. The school includes 3 classrooms, 1 big meeting hall, and a health clinic. This school, now completed is only the 4th secondary school in the whole Ashanti Akim district of Ghana. Lack of education forces many young people to grow up and remain in poverty.

Besides the work in the classroom, XlP spends alot of its time giving lessions, running clubs, giving the gospel message through skits, and spending time with the young people playing soccer and suprisingly frisbee!! Juaso and Agogo are other towns in this district in which we spend alot of time ministering.

This year XLP is the largest it has ever been so, the XLP team has been broken into two groups. I will be going with the second group, flying out of Heathrow on the morning of feburary 14th and comming home the 21st. Please pray specifically for Ghana and that I can get everything ready in time and can raise enough money to be fully prepared. I am in the process of getting a yellow fever shot but since I live in a highly African (Nigerian and Ghanan) section of London, I might be able to get this shot cheaply.

The total cost of this week long trip is about 700 Pounds so somewhere about 1250 dollars. And if you so feel led to give again, please send checks, made out to me, to my momma and she can take care of everything for me. Its great to have such a fantastic momma.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.

Julie

December Newsletter.

Well here it is December and all is swell in London. It feels that now I have some pretty great relationships with the young people both in the schools and at my church. Just this week, I was riding the bus home and it was soon taken over by a horde of young girls from the Harris Academy that had just let out. As I was moving over to make room and pondering how on earth I was going to be able to squeeze out the door at my bus stop, I received a tap on my shoulder followed by, “Miss, I remember you, you taught my class about Mother Teresa. You were my favorite.” Meeting the young people outside of school has been the most amazing confirmation that XLP does make a difference. This girl remembered who I was and what I said…..young people DO listen!
This month, the Southwark team has started teaching RE lessons in the schools, as referred to in the above story. Re, religious education classes are required by the British government but many teachers want to tackle these religious topics themselves. I feel that this is one of the most important things that XLP does. So Wednesday mornings we teach about the life and social action of significant leaders in the Christian faith. So far we have focused on Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. It is great to see these heroes of the faith and see that even people of humble backgrounds through Christ and a lot of hard work can change the world.
Last night was the Greenwich Art Showcase which is like a huge talent show for the young people in Greenwich, another Borough like Southwark..not as awesome though. Each school that the Greenwich XLP team works in was represented by one maybe two acts. We had many singers, dancers, a violinist, an amazing electric guitarist, and a whole rock band. It is a great event because it brings the whole community together, families and friends come out to support their young person. The whole night was pretty amazing. There are three such showcases, Greenwich, Southwark, and Lewisham and then a South London showcase for the finalists from the first three. Southwark Showcase is next semester after Christmas so our turn to shine is fast approaching.
My friendship with Christina has grown over the past month. I eargley await Tuesday afternoons so that I can see her at the XLP bus club. Last Tuesday we talked about our families and it was amazing with how much she told me, it was great to have that trust. She has 1 sister and 2 brothers and all of them have different dads and Christina didn’t meet her dad herself until she was 8 years old, she is now 11. So we talked about growing up without a father and how that made life difficult for us. Christina says that to deal with her anger and sadness she likes to create art, mostly painting. Art does wonders for the young people here in London. Please continue to pray for Christina and her relationship with both her mother and her father.
This month on the XLP bus, we had a trainer (tennis shoe) design competition. Each young person was given a blank picture of a trainer and was expected to design a shoe that they would want to wear. Not only was it great to see the creative side of these tough 14 year old boys but it gave us a change to sit down and talk with them. Its hard to interact when they are glued to a computer screen. The winner was given a 20 pound gift certificate to a local shoe store. Needless to say, they really got into it!
And I have had a great time outside of all this youth work and have spent numerous days exploring this beautiful but huge city. Last Saturday a few friends and I, Jazz, Lydia, Celia, and Sean went to the Natural History Museum and saw lots of awesome stuff. The rocks and minerals and gemstones were my personal favorite. But among our fellow XLP workers our group has been labeled the nerds…. If the shoe fits.? On Thursday Lydia, Jazz, and I went walking along the south bank of the Thames at night and saw all the Christmas lights and decorations. It was so beautiful. Lots of funny pictures resulted from that night.

And for Christmas, I will be able to do some traveling. The official plan, it has changed so many times, is to go home with my friend Kitty, to Bristol and to spend the holiday with her family. Her mother said she was very happy to have me and even bought me the train ticket herself. The two of us might also travel to Bath which is only about 40 minutes away, as well to visit out friend Polly, also an XLP worker. So I’m really excited about the Christmas Break! Thank you for all your prayers for those of you who were praying about my Christmas plans.
That’s about all for now. And by church youth are amazing. They rock my world, you could not get a better group of young people. Ghana is fastly approaching in February. Please pray for me as I am again fundraising….An update for Ghana is in the making. Thanks again for your continual love. I miss you all.
Julie

November Newsletter

London is fantastic but very rainy….I’ve never seen so much rain in my life. So I’ve learned to buckle down and run to the bus stop instead of my nice, slow Kentucky stroll. Oh guess what, I saw a fox yesterday on the way to way to one of our schools. Yeah a fox in the city… how crazy is that? London never ceases to amaze me.
Christina has continued to come every Tuesday to the XLP bus and has really opened up and begun to be quite chatty with the other young people. Please continue to pray that more young girls will venture onto our bus. Last Tuesday, outside the bus, Lydia who is also a youth worker on my team and, I taught 2 of our young guys to throw a frisbee. Frisbee is such an American sport (Lydia is American as well) and they had never thrown before. These young people tend to not try new things but Troy and Francis played with us for the whole two hours that the bus was on the estate. As Lydia and I were walking to our bus stop and we ran into Francis shopping in the market with his mother Caroline. I have never met a more appreciate mother in my life. She thanked us many many times for spending time with her son. It was one of the best moments of this year so far and was affirmation that this is where I belong.
In the schools last week we talked about the story of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10. The team acted this story out but changed the Priest and the Levite into fellow gang members. The Samaritan that passed by was therefore a gang member of another gang. It was pretty effective to put this story into words that they can relate too. I am so happy that the Scriptures are relevant to our lives today no matter how safe or unsafe our lives may be. The young people got really into the beating up part but we got them thinking of who the “Samaritans” are in their lives and how they should be treated. Over all it was very successful.
As well as the schools and church work every week, we the XLP students have a youth work training session on Monday and a theology training session on Friday. This morning we heard a quest speaker who had been a missionary in Egypt for 10 years and has really been given a heart for the Muslim world. Since London is very diverse, it is home to numerous Muslims, in fact more Muslims go to the Mosque on Sunday than Christians to Church in England. But we had a seminar on what Muslims believe, what they practice, and how to engage with them as a Christian. It was very interesting to say the least and very helpful. A few weeks ago, in our schools we played a game involving candy which of course included gelatin which Muslims cannot eat. Sadly these boys were unable to participate. We all are learning how to engage this different religion and culture and to make the Gospel of Jesus understandable to them. So prayers for healthy interaction with Muslims in Southwark would be awesome.
As for my own personal growth, I finally feel like this is home….home is where God wants us to be. Don’t worry Momma, this home is only for now. I feel like I belong. Sunday after having lunch with a few families in my church, the youth in those families, Amy, Hannah, and Jonathan decided that they were going to go see the new James Bond movie in the theater. This is a silly thing, but they invited me along, which of course I went cause I love Britain’s favorite agent…and it was a great feeling to know that they wanted me, “the old youth worker” as Jonathan calls me, to hang out with them. Of course now I also get the bonus of rubbing it in to my brothers that I saw “Quantum of Solace” before they did….before any of you Americans did! I’m really getting to know all the other 17 XLP students as well. This weekend we all went to a fire work show to celebrate Guy Fawkes day which was on the 5th. We all had a great time goofing off together. Please pray for the other XLP students as well. A few of them are Lucy, Emily, Hannah, Oli, Sean and Sam.
Please pray for me as the holiday season is just around the corner and for my family and especially my mother. This is my first Thanksgiving and Christmas away from home. While it will be exciting to have Christmas in England, it will be sad to be so far away from my family. As the plan goes, I’m going home with my friend Lucy who lives outside Manchester for Christmas. It will be fun to see a new part of England. Please continue to pray for these schools, Highshore, Kingsdale, Harris Girls Academy, The Peckham Academy, and The Globe as well. Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

The Source, the bible study group of my youth from church was this friday and we had a great time chatting, eating snackies and talking about Weakness. The amazing thing is that every Bible Hero had a weakness...yet God still used them. He can use us....Somehow bible study turned into a photo opt....

Much Love from London,
Julie

September Newsletter

London life is fantastic, besides the rushing of the buses, the chilling morning rain, and the carbohydrate-packed traditional English food. No really, life is fantastic. God is constantly showing me that this is exactly where he wants me, even if there is no Mountain Dew and I’m stuck drinking tea…In fact, I have found tea just as addicting. I am being kept busy by numerous youth activities, and am spending my time loving people whom this culture, has no expectations for and with that mindset are setting up to fail. Jesus is teaching me to love the least and the last.
On Friday afternoon, the Southwark, XLP team,as seen in the picture, ventures into a school named Highshore, a school for children and youth with any kind of disability whither it be physical or mental. We just spend our half an hour lunch club playing the simplest games with them such as, limbo and musical chairs. I’ve never seen a more rowdy bunch of youth in my life….SLUMY; they have you beat by far. And I’ve never seen a group of people so happy to see me which has made me realize that Jesus’ love all boils down to spending time with us and telling us that we are worth His time. These young people are constantly told, by the fact that they aren’t allowed in a “normal” school that they aren’t worth it. Jesus says that they are! I was so nervous to lead a club for youth with a disabilities but Jesus again said every youth no matter what their culture and level of ability just want to be loved. We have one young guy, Wong who is very sweet but has turrets. Sometimes it is so hard not to laugh at the things he says and to just love him through his “disability.” So Highshore is always a blessing.
The XLP bus has also been a huge joy to work in. For those of you who don’t know, the XLP bus is a pimped out double decker bus which is kind of like a mobile youth center. We park the bus on the Aylesbury estate (project) and allow the kids in the area a few hours of fun in a safe atmosphere. Please pray that more girls will attend this time, often it is known that the bus is the guy’s turf so few girls have the guts to come on a bus with 20 or so guys. Pray for Christina, our lone girl who is 11 that she would keep coming every Tuesday and that she would bring her friends.
Lastly, besides all the XLP work, I am working, on the youth team at my church, The Well Community Church and so far this is the work that I am most passionate about. The group is small, only 16, which has been quite a change from St. Luke but it is an awesome group of young people who know the Lord and are following Him. This past Sunday, Oct, 12, four of the young people got baptized in the morning service and committed their lives to Christ. Amy, Charlotte, Ula (boy) and Gabriel. The night before we had had a youth prayer meeting as well as a youth club and I was able to pray with and spend a lot of time talking with Charlotte and as she was baptized the next morning, I realized that this was the best moment of these first weeks. She stood up in front of all her friends and claimed Jesus as her Lord. It got me a little teary-eyed and I hardly know them yet. So please be praying for these 4 youth! As of next Friday, I will be leading a life group for the younger youth, ages 11 through 14i(ish) at my house and hope to create an discussion group where together we can discover how to put our faith into action everyday. And of course there will be many trips and movie nights planned! Please pray for me as I lead this group and for the young people that will be involved. Pray for Mariah, Abby, Lucy, Samuel, Amy, and Ben.
I just wanted to write again to thank you for all your prayers and support of this new adventure in my life. And an adventure it is. While everything changes, I have found that Jesus never will. He is the same no matter where I go, traditions, language, clothing styles, modes of transportation, food, and culture can change all they want. Jesus never will. He is my Rock. And I am having a blast. Thanks again for your prayers.
Julie