MBC Mission Trip to London!

UPDATES:

MONDAY, July 29th- First day completed! London is 5 hours ahead of Manchester, MD, so the goal for the day was to stay awake until the evening and try to get on the London schedule. We made it and hopefully will be on a good sleep cycle going forth. We did a lot of walking to help with sleep deprivation. Among the things we did today were visiting with a person Ben is discipling and doing some local sight seeing. I am excited for tomorrow and our first real day on the mission field. We are heading to the southern coast to make a contact with a new pastor. Please pray for traveling mercies and that there is good discernment for a healthy partnership. The pastor is reaching a demographic that typically isn't reached and that is all I am able to say for now. Please pray for boldness in our evangelism. Sam says hi and that he is having a really good time.

TUESDAY, July 30th- Thank you all for your continued prayers. We both woke up refreshed and ready to rock and roll. We drove down to a coastal city to work with Gadalla, an Egyptian pastor who has two churches - one he preaches in English and the other in Arabic. Along the way, we picked up Terry who partners with Ben in the IMB. Gadalla has a mission to reach his community for Christ. There are only a handful of churches trying to reach a population of 480,000 in his area. There is a great need for the Gospel to go forth, but we have an awesome God who is empowering Gadalla's church.

Terry is on fire to create a Gospel movement in South London. He is 72 years old and just started on the mission field last year after retiring as a pastor--proving once again it is never too late to become a missionary! He is helping Ben and Judy identify and connect like-minded churches who can come together and reach out to their community with the Gospel. 

It was a jam-packed day encouraging Gadalla, praying for him and learning more about the IMB's work in England. Tomorrow the plan is to do some evangelistic work in Ben and Judy's community. Please pray for us and the those we will come into contact with.

WEDNESDAY, July 31st- Today was a great day of ministry. Ben and I talked in the morning on their strategy for disciple-making and we were encouraged to find we had a similar spirit and vision. In the afternoon we joined with some members of their church and went out to do some street evangelism. Both Sam and I got to share the Gospel with those who did not know Jesus. Two people came to Christ and several other really good connections were made. Please pray for Addie and Aaron who are both seeking a deeper walk with Christ. We will be going out again tomorrow evening as well. Please pray again for boldness and wisdom.

THURSDAY, August 1st- Another great day of ministry! We spent the morning talking through discipleship strategies and what the U.K. is finding effective. England is only a little further ahead of the U.S. in terms of secularism, so learning how Christians disciple in this context is very informative regarding what will work in our own context.

In the afternoon we met up with a pastor desperately in need of people who can disciple his church. Ben and Judy are going to try and partner with him. He is very passionate about the Gospel yet only has a congregation of about 20. To put this in perspective, a church our size would be considered large in the U.K.

In the evening, we went out to do street evangelism again with an evangelist named Dapo. While initially difficult, it has been getting easier. I am far more gifted in shepherding rather than evangelism, yet Christ calls us to do both. So I follow Him. It has been very stretching spiritually and emotionally for me, but I can also feel God teaching and growing me as I obey His command to "go". 

Sam is having a good time and being stretched in evangelism as well. It is such a great opportunity to get him in front of so many people who are passionate about the Lord. Pray that he catches their passion!

Tomorrow will be our last full day of ministry and am looking forward to what the Lord has in store!

FRIDAY, August 2nd- Today was our final full day with the Armacosts. We took a little bit of a rest this morning and went into London to have some fun. One of the places we stopped was the British Library (kind of like the Library of Congress over here) which had on display all sorts of historic treasures like the Magna Carta, Codex Sinaiticus, and a Gutenberg Bible (if you don't know what those are, look them up. They are pretty cool!). 

In the afternoon, we spent some time with another local pastor and with Ben and Judy's missionary partner, Sam White, learning about his role in the work they are doing in London.

That led to an evening BBQ at the Armacosts where several new and growing believers stopped by and Ben and I led them in a Discipleship Bible Study. It was a really good time of growth for all of us.

Tomorrow we will leave the Armacosts and spend a couple days touring London. Thank you so much for your prayers. We felt them over here and can't wait to give you more details when we see you all next week! 

Love,

Dave and Sam

WHAT: MBC is heading to London!

WHEN: July 28-August 5

WHY: We will be heading to London to partner with our IMB Missionaries Ben and Judy Armacost as they serve South London. This area has a population of over 8 million and yet only has 240,000 evangelical Christians. The vast majority have no idea of the amazing love that God has for us nor the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which has given us peace with God. We will join with Ben and Judy as they plant micro-churches and house churches within the neighborhoods of South London.

Our primary roles on the trip will be to encourage the new church plants and join with them as they share the Gospel with their friends and neighbors. It is an exploratory mission trip to discern if there can be a long term connection between MBC and the IMB work in London.

WHO: Dave and Sam Scafide

HOW To Support: Two ways…

The first way: Please pray for us! What we need more than anything is prayer coverage. Pray as you feel led by the Spirit, and here are some prompts you can use:

• Travel mercies (health, safety)

• Wisdom/Discernment as we witness to Londoners

• Ben and Judy Armacost and their leadership

• Boldness to show grace and truth to others

• The micro/house churches that are being planted

• Discernment to see if this is a good partnership for our church moving forward.

The second way:

We would love your financial support as well. Fortunately, we will be staying with the Armacosts, so the costs are kept pretty low, but with travel, food, and incidental costs, we need to raise $1000 per person. If you feel like God is calling you to support us, you can donate through online giving or simply earmarking a check and putting in the offering plate.

Thank you for partnering with us as we spread the Good News around the world!