Light in the Darkness

Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

This past week has been an amazing time of ministry here in Dunoon Scotland. We arrived not knowing what was in store. Our first day here, the pastor shared about the city of Dunoon. He mentioned that this area is highly atheist. It is not a situation of vocal and self-proclaimed atheists, but rather just people who do not know about God and the love of Jesus, who just don’t know of anything else, and so they say they are atheists. We have discovered through our time here a spiritual heaviness. There is a mindset of no need for God. Through all this weight, we have had many amazing conversations.

Students on our team have shared many conversations with young people who are taught that they come from nothing and that you just cease to exist after death. There is a lack of hope among the young people. This has led to many amazing conversations with many people here in Dunoon. God has opened doors for conversations that offer hope and purpose. The people who have been coming to the events at the church, the picnics and BBQ’s have noticed the joy and hope that is overflowing from the lives of our team.

One such conversation happened during a photo scavenger hunt with the church. One group was out getting pictures and ran into a woman sitting out on one of the piers. She had lost all hope. Our students quickly realized this was no game anymore. This woman was struggling and lost. As I was told the story, what was shared was that the students sprang into prayer, while their summer staff began to share some of her testimony that involved depression and a lack of hope for the future. God once again placed the right person in the right place and at the right time. After they felt that the woman was in a better place, they prayed and left

They arrived back at the church, still with heavy hearts of concern for this woman. We prayed with these students, for this woman. One hope they had was that they would get to see her again to see how she was doing. We prayed that they would have that opportunity, and literally seconds later the doors of the elevator in the church opened and there she was with someone from the church. God created more time and space to minister to this woman. She left with a new bible in hand and hope for tomorrow. The students were encouraged by this answered prayer and hoped for more interaction. Once again, the Lord answered as she walked into church Sunday morning and sat right next to those same students. God is so good, and he is at work even in a place that has darkness and loss of hope.

As we head into our debriefing time of preparing to go home, please pray for continued conversations to be a light and share the love of Jesus. We may not have organized or planned ministry this next week, but that does not mean ministry ends. We want this to be a lifestyle. Pray for open eyes to see people and boldness to continue to share the love of Jesus.