We've been given a car!

We have been praying for a few months now that God would provide a car for us before we move to YWAM Holmsted Manor in March. The closest thing to Holmsted is 2 pubs which are a 20 min walk away and the nearest grocery store and train station is an hour-and-a-half walk, one-way, on dangerous roads. So we were so excited when one of Phil's family offered us a car just before Christmas! God is so good and so faithful! What an answer to prayer, it felt like a load was lifted and the world was opened! We also are excited because that means we will be able to get to Brighton and visit family more often and easily for less cost and we'll also be able to bring people for local outreach and to church on Sunday's too. Train fares seem to be rising and when you go from paying for 1 ticket to 2 it takes a lot larger chunk out of your monthly costs. How exciting and what a blessing!! Thank you to those who have been praying with us!!

Mr. and Mrs. Summerton!

It's official...
I am now, in the eyes of God and the State, officially Mrs. Summerton!
Phil and I were married on the 6th of October in Hudson, Wisconsin at Trinity Lutheran Family Center (my home church). It was a very blessed, wonderful and a bit chilly day on the outside but nothing but warmth and love coming from the inside. We were blessed to hear comments afterward of how it was a "real" wedding, and they could "feel God's presence", how cool is that?!? We really enjoyed the day and were very thankful to have so many friends and family around. If you were there, thanks for coming and I hope you enjoyed yourselves too!
Here are a few photos from the day:

After the Wedding we were able to go to Ireland for our Honeymoon, have an English celebration for all of those who weren't able to make it to the States and then headed back to YWAM Harpenden with a good visit from my Mom, Dad, Bro and Sis-in-law!
Now we are back to work! We're enjoying getting settled in here, both involved in different things than before. I've stepped out of communications and will mainly be working in the Oval Café (our cafe ministry here). I am learning the ropes in the hopes that one day we will open our own café in Brighton (South coast of England). Phil has stepped out of the Discipleship training school to also work part time in the café and part time helping to take care of the maintenance of the 42 acres here at YWAM Harpenden before March 2013, when we head to my previous YWAM location here in England called Holmsted Manor. At Holmsted we will be preparing to plant a new YWAM team in Brighton and will be staffing a DTS together along with a few other bits and pieces. We both feel called to continue to serve God through YWAM for the foreseeable future, but there are many details for future blog posts, so more on this later :) Thanks for having a look, I pray you will discover more of Christ in this upcoming Christmas season! Until next time...

Blessings!
Christy and Phil

London 2012: The Summer Olympics

I was privileged to work with the Forever Media Team this summer during the Olympics as a photographer. We were able to capture some of the things God was doing in London through the thousands of people who came to do outreach partnering with the local churches. You can go here www.forever2012.com/news/latest-news-press/ to check out the stories and see some pictures and videos. From God using 13 year old's to witness to other teens through prayer and healing, art and dance at Westminster Abbey, using sport in the city to create friendships, and handing out water to bless passers by...these are just a few of the many stories of how God showed up in these Summer Olympics, have a look and be encouraged :)

Graduation and Olympic Activities

After 12 intense weeks, on the 6th of July, the School of Design had their final exhibition to show off all their hard work, graduated, and the SoD came to a close.

Both Robyn and Simeon will be joining us this summer as volunteers to help out with the Olympics.

2 weeks of 'The School of the Circuit Rider' has just finished. My Fiancé, Phil, was a participant along with the Discipleship Training School (DTS) he is currently staffing.
This is what he had to say about it:

"This was a two-week course aimed at greater freedom in Christ and intentional evangelism (www.ywamharpenden.org/training/circuitriders). We had about 200 people join us here in Harpenden for this, which was pretty intense. We spent time in worship and intercession everyday, as well as receiving teaching focusing on our relationship and identity in Christ. We also went into Harpenden, Luton and St Albans to offer prayer and talk to people about God and life.

I really enjoyed the two weeks and felt like I gained a much better understanding of what my faith means to me and why I do what I do. We had a really great time, and were challenged a lot in whom we are.

Our times out in the different towns were also amazing. I got to have a number of really good conversations with people about what it means to live a life after Jesus, and to pray for a number of people. I am not sure that the area really knows what hit it, with over 200 young people dividing between the three locations and sharing the love of Christ in each different place over the two weeks. God was amazing over the time and we ended up seeing over 70 healings (from sprained ankles, to a lady who was partially sighted getting full sight back). We also had 129 people invite Christ to be their saviour over the two weeks.

I am sure it will be one of those times that I remember, and I know it has helped to give me a push into more of seeing God’s kingdom come."

What a great way to start off the summer of the Olympics! I hope you are as encouraged by that as I am!

Here are some photos of how our campus has/is changing to accommodate the 600+ people expected for these 8 weeks of the summer!

Signs my team and I have made so that everyone knows where they're going!

Tent City












Up Next: Go 4 Glory, an Arts and Sports celebration 20-25th of July. 300+ Artists and Sports people from around the world all gathering here to worship God using the Arts and Sports to glorify Him! I will be helping out and participating, I'm so excited!

Blessings :)

School of Design 2012

We have just finished Week 8 of the School of Design. This year we have two wonderful students, Robyn from Canada and Simeon from Nigeria, and 4 staff. The students have been working hard and learning a lot about graphic design and how to glorify God through their creativity.

Simeon finished taking the Documentary Filmmaking School here this past fall and is now rounding his talents with graphic design. This course will help him in his desire to go back to Nigeria and use what he's learned to positively affect the area of media. Simeon is a very talented and persevering man with a wonderful heart for God.

Robyn has a dream to become an Illustrator, working with non-profits to help them by creating their logos and corporate identity. (Which they will be learning about in the next two weeks) At just 18 she is a wonderful Illustrator already! Her passion to do things with excellence and her love for God will take her far.

Please be praying for them

* that they would grasp all the new concepts, ideas and skills easily and well.

* for continued inspiration from God

* new ways to show God's heart through their projects

* good rest so that they will learn well

Thanks so much, God bless you :)

Reflections from Easter

When I was home at Christmas I purchased a visual Bible at the airport. Being someone who thinks mostly in pictures I have really enjoyed learning more about the culture and looking at maps that show you where the stories of the Bible happened today and having a better overview and context of a book before I start reading it.

Lately I've been reading in the Old Testament, a lot in Genesis and some of Deuteronomy and I have been OVERWHELMED by the way that God pursue's us! Us, meaning human beings, the one's God has created. Even though we keep screwing up, God keeps warning us and we still are disobedient and don't listen, yet he keeps coming back to us, conversing with us, trying to help us out so that He can be in good relationship with us. Which ultimately leads to God humbling himself and sending His Son to Earth as a baby, to speak to us once again, and try to help us to understand His love for us. Until the ultimate sacrifice happens when Jesus, being perfect, is sacrificed on a cross taking on all, and I mean ALL the sin of the world (and dang, that is a lot!).

He gets sent to hell totally separated from God, but rises again and ascends into heaven. Ultimately breaking the Old covenant that was made, which God couldn't reneg on because God is perfect and Holy and Just and can't contradict Himself, so he couldn't just change the commitment He made with us. So he made this NEW covenant through Jesus, allowing ALL humans to believe and follow Him to come back into right relationship with the Good, kind, loving and faithful God for ETERNITY (meaning forever), who knows all, but only ASKS us to follow Him, doesn't demand it. And the reason He asks is because He cares about us and wants what is best for us!

The Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) made the human race out of love, we screwed up and didn't listen to what He asked of us by eating an apple, therefore opening our eyes to evil. And ever since God has been PURSUING US, for thousands of years, to bring us back into right relationship with Himself, not forcing us, but giving us the CHOICE...WoW! That's what I call ultimate pursuit!!

I'm Engaged!!!!!

I would like to introduce you to my fiancé Phil! He hails from Manchester, England. We met on an outreach to Brighton in 2010 and after he joined YWAM staff in January 2011 we began a relationship a few months later and he asked me to marry him in December just before Christmas while we were with my family in Arizona, USA. Phil has a degree in Marine Biology and worked in conservation for 3 years before he joined YWAM. He is now staff in the Discipleship Training School (DTS) Centre and helps to lead the weekly Intercession and Prayer times for the campus and is currently staffing the Impact UK DTS which started in January and ends this August after the Olympics finish. We will be getting married at the beginning of October and will return back to YWAM Harpenden to continue in Ministry here. We are praying about what that will look like for the both of us. Please keep us in your prayers as we pray about the future :)

Bless you!