Yesterday, I do not remember much of. Honestly. I was in a bad mood. I didn't take the time to get focused and to look to Christ for my joy and support. The result was not the best. The negativity carried over into the morning a bit. But then, against all odds and my stubborn self aside, I turned and and began praying for God's forgiveness and for deliverance from my selfish ways. Seeking God through the Word and through prayer is essential. I forget how truly important it is sometimes.
After that, things on the Bus really looked up. It was an enjoyable time and the class that I led was very interested in the material! And they will be back Wednesday. Also, the day trip (today being my Sabbath) that I assumed was dead in the water was able to take place!
Becca met me at Hawthorn High School and we walked from there to the base of the hill separating Rhyd from Caer. It took some time to find the base of the hill, but then up we went. Our Mission: cross the hill in time to get a ride to Victory Church for the evening service. More about them later.
The walk up was good. We saw lots of sheep (I snuck up and petted a sleepy one) and a few Border Collies! At the top of the first part of the hill we found an old church and a pub that I knew would be there. For those of you who heard our pre-trip spiel about the churches in Wales, I mentioned this church- most of the time. It is the beautiful stone church that was chained shut two years ago while the pub bustled right next door. But not so anymore! The church was open! To the public. Becca and I walked in and had the place all to ourselves. Not only was it open, but it was back in use! There were fresh bulletins and Bibles and hymnals sitting around. We explored the plaques and the history of the church and I was just in awe at all that had changed. We sang a good many hymns in there too, just the two of us. It was wonderful. There were a few moments in that church where I just felt so blessed. The morning prior I had been such a bitter and forlorn brat, and God blessed me with a day full of beautiful weather and such wonderful memories. We explored the graveyard and then after praying for the church, we tried to go to the Pub for a bit to eat. It was closed! Life is funny sometimes.
We walked up to the sheep pastures at the base of the next part of the hill and sat down to eat what little food we had brought with us. As we were munching and carrying on our conversation, a horse came trotting down the hill! It came down to eat the onions and leeks that someone had thrown out for the sheep. We tried to get close and it fled to the top of the hill. Naturally, we went after it. At the top of the hill (the very top) there was a whole herd of horses! Well, some horses, and a lot of ponies. There were so many of them, big and small, babies and old nags. It was such a cool experience. We sat down and watched them run around on the hill and just enjoyed the view. Then we walked across to the triangulation point (big concrete pyramid-thing) and somehow we both got on top of it. The base is like the size of my laptop. Then, after barely surviving getting off the point and petting some of the less skittish horses, we descended the hill. We walked and talked and stopped to see the cows, then kept going...then turned around to get the lens cap from the cow stop. Eventually we made it all the way down to Caerphilly and then a few "short-cuts" and Frogger-esque sprints across the roundabout...we made it to Claire's. And just in time! Kelvin's parents were over and had made chicken soup for the kids- with plenty extra. So good.
After dinner, we loaded up into the cars (the adults did) and headed off to Victory Church. This church has been meeting every day since April in Wales and so when the opportunity to go see what was going on emerged, I jumped. We got there and waited a few minutes for the doors to open, but when they did, the people just flooded in. I must admit, my American expectation for this revival was a bit larger, but when I really thought about it, there must have been hundreds of people there. Huge for Wales. Such a great crowd. There were a lot of different things. As a Presbyterian, I have a particular default for worship. This was a bit more Pentecostal than what I am used to. But they had such passion and energy and the sheer size and dedication of this church in a place with so much darkness is just a wonderful act of God.
Please be in prayer for these churches. Between the church on the hill and the Victory Church, today has been such an encouraging day for my perception of the church in Wales. Things are changing. People are changing. There is definitely so much life left in this old stump of a country. Everything here has such a rich heritage in Christianity and there are so many people who want to see it flourishing again. One of the hymns that Becca and I sang today was "The Church's One Foundation", which is Christ. He is the cornerstone to our faith. He is everything. Sometimes I forget that. As a church, as people, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. That is the secret to running this race with perseverance. We must keep our eyes on the Prince of Peace. We must keep our eyes on the prize.
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