Family in Christ,
It always gives me such joy and courage to know you all are praying. Thank you for your care and your faithfulness in praying with me. I am praying for and thanking God for each of you who are faithfully praying for me and the church plant and ministry work here in Merkinch. Today Colossians 1 is specifically on my mind, and so I pray that you “may be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”
Pray for us!
Last night our launch team gathered to eat dinner together and spend some time in prayer for one another and our community. Even though the work of planting a church here in Merkinch is slow, often hard, and easily discouraging, I was encouraged last night in how God is mightily sustaining us and maturing us. Each of us in the team is very different, and it is beautiful to see God’s power in giving us hearts of love for each other even as we all bring different strengths and weaknesses and struggles. We often say that one of the goals for our church plant is “unity not uniformity.” Please pray for us that this would indeed be true of us and that Merkinch would see Christ in our love for one another.
Café
Please continue to pray for our weekly café, too. Pray for me that I would have boldness and grace and that the Lord would open the way for me and the rest of our team to be regularly sharing the hope of Jesus with the folks who come in every Thursday. Last week I had the nicest time getting to know four local kids who came in with their mum. I’d love your prayers this week for that family specifically.
(Below: We keep pool tables in our hall for use during our café. It is really difficult for many people in our community to just sit and talk; it is easier to get to know folks and have conversations when you are doing something together with them. Here is Katherine showing us how it is done!)
And lastly, if you’d like to pray for me this week, I’d ask for prayers for a deep patience as well as a deep rest in Jesus. I had a wee accident last week and am getting over a concussion. My foggy mind has been slowing me down this week, and so I’m praying that this time will help me go deeper in learning what it means to boast in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Thank you, again, for your sincere prayers and support. May you be filled with the joy of Jesus today,
Claire
Claire in Scotland 