Rested up from Big Church Day Out
Well, as usual I'm behind on my post. We got back from Big Church Day Out weekend event very late Sunday night. (About 11:30pm) No one showered the whole weekend. I did learn the value of baby wipes in a whole new way! So, as soon as we got home I hit the showers. I also forgot to bring my toothpaste and toothbrush. Thank God for the little disposable brushers that I got in my Christmas stocking last year. They're not a great substitute, but they're far better than nothing! They really saved my sanity!
Big Church Day out was amazing! There was over 25,000 people there plus all the volunteers like us. Our jobs were fairly simple. We helped set up the blowups of slides, obstacle courses, sumo wrestlers, etc., help take them down (that was work!), took shifts monitoring them, assisted in the crowds at the end of the day to collect names and emails from people who were interested in certain , and took turns working our own YWAM info booth. Outside of that that we had free time to enjoy the concerts, food vendors and shops.
We had arrived Friday evening, pitched our tents, and relaxed in the service tent to enjoy some tea and coffee before bed. It rained that evening while we slept, and since I was sleeping near the tent side (as I was sharing the blow up matt), I woke to a little wetness the next morning. Not too bad, praise God. But the rain continued throughout the day, and even with my rain resistant jacket, I still got soaked. And with thousands of people walking on the soaked grass, the entire event became a muddy pit. But it did not deter the people. Nor us either. We trampled around in mud covered shoes and drenched socks all weekend. My jeans were absolutely ruined by the mud. Even after I washed them once we got home, the mud had stained them.
I did get to watch Third Day and Bluegrass perform live. I developed interest in a band I was not familiar with called NewWorldSon. It was a combination of Soul, Gospel and some modern twists. There were two concert stages. The main huge stage for the signed artists with recognized names and headliners (Third Day, Bluegrass, Newsboys, NewWorldSon, Matt Redman, Rend Collective, etc.) and the smaller stage- set up at the opposite side of the event - was for 'unknowns' to perform. I was actually impressed by a band called Twelve 24. They had a great deal more rock and rap than I normally care for, but I was surprised by how much I loved their music. I really hope they get their big break. It was obvious their hearts were in their music and they had the crowd.
And I know that the major highlight of the event were supposed to be the artists performing on the stage, but for me the donut stand outshined the performers! You couldn't walk by it without being drawn by it's aroma. It was extremely hypnotic. Think funnel cake aroma, only it was 100%, freshly made from scratch donuts that were fried upon order and then covered with sugar and served! I understand that these vendors are found at every event, carnival and beach ports in the UK as fresh donuts are from them what funnel cakes are for us. I was ecstatic as I've never had fresh donuts before. I haven't decided if they were heaven on earth or sin in sugar. (Possibly the sin in sugar considering how many I ate all weekend.)
The most interesting aspect was some information I learned on our first morning there from one of our leaders. There are hardly any Christian stores in the UK. If people want to purchase things they have to go online. They do not have the luxury and experience to go into an actual store. So, one of the major benefits and attraction for BCDO is the Marketplace. It was a very large tent set up with dozens of Christian vendors, volunteer information booths (including ours), and fundraisers.
I actually came close to tears several times walking in the Marketplace. It is another thing that I take so much for granted living the states. I always have the luxury of having either a Christian store or Christian items being sold in stores such as WalMart. But that doesn't exist here in the UK. BCDO is the one time a year where Christian's can be able to enjoy walking through a selection of books, CD's, T-shirts and Hoodies, accessories, etc. It's the one time a year they can invite their non-Christian friends to an event that demonstrates 'Hey! Christian's aren't necessarily boring. They can have fun too!'
*It would be a good thing to cover that in prayer. There might be a few Christian stores in the UK, but they are rare here.
On the second day there, during my team's turn to monitor the games, my partner and I had the sumo wrestlers. I promise you, whatever time in my life that I have spent NOT lifting weights, I more than made up for that day! Those sumo suits were heavy, and some of the kids were not-so-small. And then when they fall down, guess who gets to help them up. ;) And to make matters even more amusing, my partner had to get in one for a kid who didn't have an opponent. Close to the end of our shift, the same thing happened again, only I got the honor. LOL! Last time I wore a sumo wrestler was at my high school graduation lock-in. It was so fun... But so hot and humid outside from all the rain the day before! Whew! Sorry. No pictures. Too busy and no time. ;(
We even got to go back stage on the last night. Didn't get to meet anyone, but it was still cool. I understand several dozen people got saved over the weekend as well. Sad to say we missed hearing Newsboys as they were performing while we were taking down the blowups. Oh, well. I wasn't too disappointed. I'm actually happy just hearing them on the radio. ;) I've never been a huge concert fan. Unless it's a classical symphony concert performance! Then I'm all in!
Sunday morning was a different experience for me. Before BCDO opened for the day, we were given a small church service in a large tent. We had a time of worship, heard the message of encouragement, and took communion. What was different for me was the way we took communion. It was very creative.
Now, I was raised primarily in a Baptist church. And it is called 'The Lord's Supper' with us. Then we are given a tray full of small bread or crackers. We take one and hold it until everyone has received one, the preacher has prayed, and then we eat in unison. After that we are given a tray of mini cups of grape juice to pass down. We hold the cups until everyone has received one, the preacher has prayed, and then we drink in unison.
This time it was referred to as Communion. (Same thing, but different titles.) They bought dozens of hamburger buns and as they were passed down on a paper plate we tore off a piece. Everyone simply prayed and ate their piece immediately. It didn't take me long to realize this, but I did hold onto my piece for a bit before I realized I needed to go ahead and eat. But what really shocked me was when I saw they were passing along large cups of grape juice for everyone to share!
I confess my first reaction was to simply pass the cup on without drinking. I mean, at least seven people, that I didn't know, would drink from it first. They could have backwashed or been sick! I can't drink out of that cup! But as the thoughts were developing into negativity I realized that I might also miss out on something very precious. And, if my heart is truly called into missions I will possibly be required to do things far more 'strange' than that. So, I bowed my head in prayer.
I asked God to forgive my judgement, and to turn my heart to focus on what we were doing and not how we were doing it. And this was the same method that Jesus and His disciples took communion. I now have the honour and privilege of being able to take communion in the same way my Lord and Saviour did two thousand years ago. It's not about the people who drink from it, but how I receive it. So, when the cup came into my hands, I thanked God for His blessings, took the cup and drank a sip. In that moment, as I passed the cup on, I felt like a major burden of judgement had been lifted from my shoulders. I had dealt with a form of prejudice.
I know that to many American's what I did would seem horrific. But that's exactly why it was so important to do it! Germ-a phobia is a widespread disease in the states. People are so obsessed with fighting off germs that they have forgotten the immune system needs to be exposed to germs at some degree to grow strong. Yes. It has been proven that the widespread of major diseases and plagues occurred through shared drinking and other sharing methods. But we have now become so obsessed with protecting ourselves we are forgetting how to show unconditional love.
I remember my mom telling me what it was like for her when her father died. He had Mad Cow disease, and everyone was instructed to wear gloves and a mask around him. But my mother refused. I understand it infuriated some people, and understandably so. But it wasn't a question of stupidity or pride. It was my mother's connection to her father. He was dying a slow and hard death, and he was being treated like a disease himself. My mother knew this was the last chance she had to touch and kiss her father. She didn't allow the fear of disease to prevent her from offering love and touch to her father in his last days.
Now, I knew my mom well enough, and she had even gone to nursing school and worked in nursing homes. She was sanitary and I'm sure she washed herself and was careful. But she had her priorities straight. We need to be wise in sickness, but we do not need to allow ourselves to be ruled by the fear of getting sick so much that we refrain from offering love to those who are sick.
I know that it may seem like there is no connection to my drinking from that cup, but there is. I was partaking in The Lord's Communion. I sharing with my brothers and sisters in Christ the breaking of my Saviour's body and blood that was shed for my sins. I was unifying with them in honour of our Heavenly Father Who sent His Son to die for my sins. I was physically and symbolically accepting His promises and The Holy Spirit into my heart with this action. And there is a very spiritual occurrence whenever we take Communion. I didn't want to miss it. And in actuality, I gained more by drinking from that shared cup than I ever did from my own little individual one.
So, of all the experiences I had this weekend, that was the absolute highlight of the weekend for me. There's a part of me that wishes I could share that I lead someone to Christ or at least witnessed to the lost this weekend. But I've realized that sometimes The Lord simply wants us to have fun and rest in Him. A valuable lesson was learned this weekend. And I've been ruled by my own fears for far too long. I have passed on Communion before because of sharing a cup, but I will never do that again. Unless The Lord indicates to me that it would be a bad thing to do, I will not withhold from partaking Communion because of a shared cup again. There is only one reason to withhold, and a shared cup is not it.
Big Church Day out was amazing! There was over 25,000 people there plus all the volunteers like us. Our jobs were fairly simple. We helped set up the blowups of slides, obstacle courses, sumo wrestlers, etc., help take them down (that was work!), took shifts monitoring them, assisted in the crowds at the end of the day to collect names and emails from people who were interested in certain , and took turns working our own YWAM info booth. Outside of that that we had free time to enjoy the concerts, food vendors and shops.
We had arrived Friday evening, pitched our tents, and relaxed in the service tent to enjoy some tea and coffee before bed. It rained that evening while we slept, and since I was sleeping near the tent side (as I was sharing the blow up matt), I woke to a little wetness the next morning. Not too bad, praise God. But the rain continued throughout the day, and even with my rain resistant jacket, I still got soaked. And with thousands of people walking on the soaked grass, the entire event became a muddy pit. But it did not deter the people. Nor us either. We trampled around in mud covered shoes and drenched socks all weekend. My jeans were absolutely ruined by the mud. Even after I washed them once we got home, the mud had stained them.
I did get to watch Third Day and Bluegrass perform live. I developed interest in a band I was not familiar with called NewWorldSon. It was a combination of Soul, Gospel and some modern twists. There were two concert stages. The main huge stage for the signed artists with recognized names and headliners (Third Day, Bluegrass, Newsboys, NewWorldSon, Matt Redman, Rend Collective, etc.) and the smaller stage- set up at the opposite side of the event - was for 'unknowns' to perform. I was actually impressed by a band called Twelve 24. They had a great deal more rock and rap than I normally care for, but I was surprised by how much I loved their music. I really hope they get their big break. It was obvious their hearts were in their music and they had the crowd.
And I know that the major highlight of the event were supposed to be the artists performing on the stage, but for me the donut stand outshined the performers! You couldn't walk by it without being drawn by it's aroma. It was extremely hypnotic. Think funnel cake aroma, only it was 100%, freshly made from scratch donuts that were fried upon order and then covered with sugar and served! I understand that these vendors are found at every event, carnival and beach ports in the UK as fresh donuts are from them what funnel cakes are for us. I was ecstatic as I've never had fresh donuts before. I haven't decided if they were heaven on earth or sin in sugar. (Possibly the sin in sugar considering how many I ate all weekend.)
The most interesting aspect was some information I learned on our first morning there from one of our leaders. There are hardly any Christian stores in the UK. If people want to purchase things they have to go online. They do not have the luxury and experience to go into an actual store. So, one of the major benefits and attraction for BCDO is the Marketplace. It was a very large tent set up with dozens of Christian vendors, volunteer information booths (including ours), and fundraisers.
I actually came close to tears several times walking in the Marketplace. It is another thing that I take so much for granted living the states. I always have the luxury of having either a Christian store or Christian items being sold in stores such as WalMart. But that doesn't exist here in the UK. BCDO is the one time a year where Christian's can be able to enjoy walking through a selection of books, CD's, T-shirts and Hoodies, accessories, etc. It's the one time a year they can invite their non-Christian friends to an event that demonstrates 'Hey! Christian's aren't necessarily boring. They can have fun too!'
*It would be a good thing to cover that in prayer. There might be a few Christian stores in the UK, but they are rare here.
On the second day there, during my team's turn to monitor the games, my partner and I had the sumo wrestlers. I promise you, whatever time in my life that I have spent NOT lifting weights, I more than made up for that day! Those sumo suits were heavy, and some of the kids were not-so-small. And then when they fall down, guess who gets to help them up. ;) And to make matters even more amusing, my partner had to get in one for a kid who didn't have an opponent. Close to the end of our shift, the same thing happened again, only I got the honor. LOL! Last time I wore a sumo wrestler was at my high school graduation lock-in. It was so fun... But so hot and humid outside from all the rain the day before! Whew! Sorry. No pictures. Too busy and no time. ;(
We even got to go back stage on the last night. Didn't get to meet anyone, but it was still cool. I understand several dozen people got saved over the weekend as well. Sad to say we missed hearing Newsboys as they were performing while we were taking down the blowups. Oh, well. I wasn't too disappointed. I'm actually happy just hearing them on the radio. ;) I've never been a huge concert fan. Unless it's a classical symphony concert performance! Then I'm all in!
Sunday morning was a different experience for me. Before BCDO opened for the day, we were given a small church service in a large tent. We had a time of worship, heard the message of encouragement, and took communion. What was different for me was the way we took communion. It was very creative.
Now, I was raised primarily in a Baptist church. And it is called 'The Lord's Supper' with us. Then we are given a tray full of small bread or crackers. We take one and hold it until everyone has received one, the preacher has prayed, and then we eat in unison. After that we are given a tray of mini cups of grape juice to pass down. We hold the cups until everyone has received one, the preacher has prayed, and then we drink in unison.
This time it was referred to as Communion. (Same thing, but different titles.) They bought dozens of hamburger buns and as they were passed down on a paper plate we tore off a piece. Everyone simply prayed and ate their piece immediately. It didn't take me long to realize this, but I did hold onto my piece for a bit before I realized I needed to go ahead and eat. But what really shocked me was when I saw they were passing along large cups of grape juice for everyone to share!
I confess my first reaction was to simply pass the cup on without drinking. I mean, at least seven people, that I didn't know, would drink from it first. They could have backwashed or been sick! I can't drink out of that cup! But as the thoughts were developing into negativity I realized that I might also miss out on something very precious. And, if my heart is truly called into missions I will possibly be required to do things far more 'strange' than that. So, I bowed my head in prayer.
I asked God to forgive my judgement, and to turn my heart to focus on what we were doing and not how we were doing it. And this was the same method that Jesus and His disciples took communion. I now have the honour and privilege of being able to take communion in the same way my Lord and Saviour did two thousand years ago. It's not about the people who drink from it, but how I receive it. So, when the cup came into my hands, I thanked God for His blessings, took the cup and drank a sip. In that moment, as I passed the cup on, I felt like a major burden of judgement had been lifted from my shoulders. I had dealt with a form of prejudice.
I know that to many American's what I did would seem horrific. But that's exactly why it was so important to do it! Germ-a phobia is a widespread disease in the states. People are so obsessed with fighting off germs that they have forgotten the immune system needs to be exposed to germs at some degree to grow strong. Yes. It has been proven that the widespread of major diseases and plagues occurred through shared drinking and other sharing methods. But we have now become so obsessed with protecting ourselves we are forgetting how to show unconditional love.
I remember my mom telling me what it was like for her when her father died. He had Mad Cow disease, and everyone was instructed to wear gloves and a mask around him. But my mother refused. I understand it infuriated some people, and understandably so. But it wasn't a question of stupidity or pride. It was my mother's connection to her father. He was dying a slow and hard death, and he was being treated like a disease himself. My mother knew this was the last chance she had to touch and kiss her father. She didn't allow the fear of disease to prevent her from offering love and touch to her father in his last days.
Now, I knew my mom well enough, and she had even gone to nursing school and worked in nursing homes. She was sanitary and I'm sure she washed herself and was careful. But she had her priorities straight. We need to be wise in sickness, but we do not need to allow ourselves to be ruled by the fear of getting sick so much that we refrain from offering love to those who are sick.
I know that it may seem like there is no connection to my drinking from that cup, but there is. I was partaking in The Lord's Communion. I sharing with my brothers and sisters in Christ the breaking of my Saviour's body and blood that was shed for my sins. I was unifying with them in honour of our Heavenly Father Who sent His Son to die for my sins. I was physically and symbolically accepting His promises and The Holy Spirit into my heart with this action. And there is a very spiritual occurrence whenever we take Communion. I didn't want to miss it. And in actuality, I gained more by drinking from that shared cup than I ever did from my own little individual one.
So, of all the experiences I had this weekend, that was the absolute highlight of the weekend for me. There's a part of me that wishes I could share that I lead someone to Christ or at least witnessed to the lost this weekend. But I've realized that sometimes The Lord simply wants us to have fun and rest in Him. A valuable lesson was learned this weekend. And I've been ruled by my own fears for far too long. I have passed on Communion before because of sharing a cup, but I will never do that again. Unless The Lord indicates to me that it would be a bad thing to do, I will not withhold from partaking Communion because of a shared cup again. There is only one reason to withhold, and a shared cup is not it.
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