This is not the end, but the beginning…

Debrief is an amazing time where we get to rest, recharge, and most importantly remember what we have learned so that we can take it home. The Europe team spent four days of debrief in Bray, Ireland whose cooler temps and cloudy skies were a welcome respite from the 100+ temps in Albania. As we walked through our debrief session along the shore of the Irish Sea, the river, in the park, we recalled all that God had done in and through us this summer; both as individuals and as a team.
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We remembered back to the first days of training camp, standing in the rain and knowing that God had something special in store for us if we needed to begin this way, with a trial. Throughout the summer again and again we were tested and had to choose to endure. I am reminded of the verse in Hebrews 10, where the author says, “for you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” What God had promised us was that his presence would go before us, which had been our prayer since training camp. As the students endured the weather, the sandos, the language barriers, the conflict that arises when living in community, and the loss of some comforts God was using it all to form them. Form them into people who are usable in his hands.

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And use them he did. The Europe team developed a passion for street ministry and gave it their all every time, knowing that the people who needed to hear and the places where Jesus’ name would be declared were being coordinated by a loving Father. They were faithful to share the gospel, love, and be a light wherever they set foot. Only God knows how the seeds scattered this summer in Eastern Europe will take root and grow, and he used our team to do so. As we walked through sessions and reflection exercises the students embraced that God is more concerned with who they are than what they do. This identity is a powerful piece of our teaching at Training Camp and it was further emphasized in what they had just walked out over a month of serving, learning, and growing. Students shared their top experiences and what God was teaching them and I was blown away by both the similarities and the diversity. They were being refined in the process of endurance and conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
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The author of Hebrews continues on the topic of endurance and says, “But we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” Our prayer is that these hard won lessons will propel the students into what God has next for them - to share the love and light of Jesus Christ with everyone they come into contact with. There is a powerful move of God brewing in the hearts of these young people and I can’t wait to see where this experience takes them into a “lifetime of ministry”.
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So proud of all our Royal Servants.
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In Him,
Jeremy

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