Far and Away

November Update

2011-11-09T09:04:00.001-08:00

Hello beloved friends and family,

After four weeks away in both the US and England we’ve finally returned to Scotland and are back in the swing of things! It was such a joy to have time back home with family and friends. I also greatly enjoyed being able to be back at City Church and hear about all the wonderful things taking place. While at home, William (my fiancé) and I received news that William’s grandfather had passed away and only 24 hours after returning to the UK we left for England to attend the funeral and be with his family. It was a very sad occasion, but also such a joyous celebration knowing that his grandfather has gone home to be with the Lord.

The October DTS is in their fifth week of classes and it’s been a pleasure to join in all the fun and exciting things the Lord is doing. With only six more weeks until their outreach phase starts there is lots of planning to do, but in the meantime we have been hearing lots of great lectures and studying more about God’s goodness and faithfulness. The school will be spending two weeks of their outreach working in Glasgow with some of the ministries I was involved with during the last school and I am hoping to be a part of some of their time there. They will then leave for Cambodia where they will be working with a variety of different ministries that reach out to women and children in the sex trade industry.

Seamill (the base) is currently playing host to a two week “homecoming” event that is set up for long term missionaries working in the field. We are hosting times of prayer, worship and counsel for those in need of rest and replenishment before heading back out again. We have families from all over including Turkey, Israel, Morocco, India, etc. It brings me so much joy to serve those who are serving the Lord’s call.

Prayer Requests:

-Please continue to pray for William and his family as they adjust to life without their loving Grandfather Howard, especially his grandmother. Pray for comfort and for compassion as they grieve their loss.

-I am prayerfully considering going along with the DTS for a couple of weeks on their outreach to Cambodia in January. I would like to ask for you to pray for wisdom for me in my decision.

I can’t express enough how wonderful it was to be home and to have the opportunity to connect with some of you. Nothing makes me happier than when I get to just hear about what has been taking place in your lives and what God is doing through you. Please feel free to send me your prayer requests as well and I will do my best to be faithful in presenting them to the Lord on your behalf.

Thank you again for all of your love and encouragement. I hope you are enjoying your fall season and looking forward to the holidays that are just around the corner.

All my blessings,

Eileen

Happy Fall!

2011-09-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

YWAM Seamill Update!

Greetings friends and supporters! Fall is quickly approaching and there is lots coming up here on base! Here is a little look into some of the things coming up for me in this next season here.

September:
Our tri-annual face-to-face staff meeting will be happening at the beginning of the month in which we all come back together to take a look at what the Lord has done over the past year and what He is speaking to us as a community about in the year to come. Seamill is also hosting a 2 week leadership seminar course which I will be attending. The goal is to walk away more equipped as a leader on my team and to give me tools for leadership opportunities in the future.

October:
The next DTS will start October 1st. I am hoping to play a role in this school. The emphasis for the school is going to be the life and times of Jesus Christ. For the outreach we are hoping to take the school to Cambodia or Thailand to work with victims of the sex trafficking industry.
William and I will be returning to the States for three weeks of this month so my participation in the school will have a brief interruption, but I’m very excited to take this next step in my leadership training and move for staffing a school to the experience of leading a school.

And Beyond…
Besides playing a role on the DTS department here, I am also looking at carrying on relationships with some of the ministries I made contact with while on outreach with the last school. In particular, the Salt and Light ministry which reaches out to street workers and drug addicts. I hope to continue assisting them by going into the city once a week to work in their drop-in center with the women. I also hope to continue going out on Thursday evenings once a month to serve meals and help give aid to those living on the streets.
As well, there is an opportunity for me here on base to assist in some re-designing of the base building. I will be able to put my interior design skills back into good use. This will most likely be an ongoing thing as there is much work to be done around here 

In the Future…
As you may have heard I recently got engaged and William, my fiancé, and I have begun the process of planning our wedding and marriage together. We’re looking at an early Spring wedding in England to be followed by a party held in the States. Please keep us in your prayers as begin to plan this very exciting next step together. We are seeking the Lords foundations for us as we make big decisions as well as

I’m very excited to be branching out into some new areas of the base. As part of the DTS this past six months I haven’t had much time for anything else but the school. I am really looking forward to seeing where the Lord leads me in this time. I would ask for your prayers that I will continue to seek the Lords will for each and every one of you.

All my love and blessings,

Eileen Simon

Support Update

2011-07-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Family, Friends and Supporters,

Greetings! I hope you are having a wonderful summer! So much has happened for me in these past three months that I hardly know where to begin. I’ll start with the ending of the Discipleship Training School (DTS). We returned from outreach in mid June and from there we had an additional three weeks of lecture before finally graduating the school on July 8th. I must confess the school was one of the most challenging working experiences I’ve ever had, but also one of the most rewarding. I will be sending an full update regarding the school soon. Upon finishing the school my boyfriend William and I left for England to go and visit his family and home church for a couple of weeks and while down there we got engaged! We can’t express how excited and happy we are to be starting this new step in our journey with the Lord.

With all these new and exciting changes happening, William and I are seeking the Lords will for our future together. Please join in praying for us as we begin to explore where the Lord is leading us in our journey towards man and wife along with our call in missions. As William and I are seeking God for our future I find I am in need of prayer with regards to my financial support. I have been greatly blessed over these past seven months with the financial gifts available to me in order to remain on staff with YWAM as well as to allow me to lead the students on their outreach. However, in order to remain on staff I will need to raise additional financial support.

Currently, I have been receiving monthly support of $55 US dollars. Along with the generous one-time gifts I’ve received I’ve been able to pay my monthly base fees of $480 US dollars along with the required $2,100 for outreach costs during the school. My one-time gifts have helped me greatly, but in order to remain on staff I urgently need to raise a total of $600 in monthly financial support. I’m writing to you to ask you to prayerfully consider supporting me in the amounts of $10, $20, $50 or $100 a month. All monetary gifts are tax deductible and can be set up as a monthly withdrawal from your bank account.

If you feel led to join my support team please contact me at: eileenlsimon@gmail.com. I have also attached instructions for making a tax-deductible contribution to this email. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like to discuss things further.

Thank you for all of your love and encouragement over these past months. And thank you again for the generous financial gifts I've received which allowed me to be a part of the DTS. I will be returning to St. Louis with my fiance for three weeks starting October 4th. If you’d be interested in getting together over that time please let me know and I will be sure to contact you once I’m home.

Many blessings!

Eileen Simon (soon to be Satchell)

And We're Off!

2011-04-17T00:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Family and Church body,

Greetings from Scotland! Spring has come here at last, the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining (most days) and my fingers are beginning to thaw! So much has been happening that I hardly know where to start. The October DTS returned to the base at the beginning of March and it was so nice having so many new faces around here. The two schools got along really well and it was sad to say goodbye to them all after their graduation last week. However, we’ve been keeping ourselves very busy most nights with various ministry opportunities around the area.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been preparing for our outreach. As I mentioned last time I will be leading a team of 8 students to Glasgow and Edinburgh for 7 weeks. My time has been shared between wrapping up the lecture phase and making plans for the outreach. Our team will be working with various ministries in the cities serving the homeless, men and women in prostitution and those with addiction. We will spend the majority of our ministry time in the evenings, out on the streets all night meeting the needs of those we encounter. We are very excited and anxious to see how the Lord will use this time.

Along with the 7 weeks in the cities, the entire school will also be completing a two week short-term outreach. We will split up again into smaller teams and head for two cities in Turkey as well as Morocco and Sierra Leon in Africa. I will be going to Morocco with a team and I can’t express how privileged I feel to be in a Muslim country again, serving God’s people. Our teams will return to the base from our outreaches in Scotland only to be leaving again on the 1st of June for these locations. Please pray for our safety and for continued unity within the team.

As always, I welcome your prayers in this time. It is invaluable to have others lending their support in prayer!

 One of the staff members for our school has received some bad news regarding a family member and has had to leave to go home quite suddenly. Please pray for her and her family that the Lord will be their comfort and support in this time. Also, please pray for her outreach team that all their needs will be taken care of and that we will have other staff ready to help lead.

 Please pray for continued unity among the school. With the school splitting into three teams for the Scotland outreach it will be crucial that they do not start dividing up amongst each other. Pray that they will lend each other support and encouragement as they go out!

 Please pray for me as I find myself working many hours and sometimes getting little sleep. I’ve had a cold a few times since arriving in January and with the time coming for us to leave I will need all the energy I can get!
 Also, please pray for our protection and the Lord’s leading as we “Go into all the nations” spreading the good news and serving those in need.

I hope this update finds you well! It’s been nice to hear some stories from home and I continue to welcome them, along with any prayer requests or needs.

All my love from across the pond,

Eileen Simon

“We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before you god and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thes. 1:2-3

Happenings in Scotland

2011-03-01T02:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends, Family and Church,

Even as I sit down to write this I realize it has been 5 WEEKS since I’ve arrived here in Scotland. The time has quite literally flown by! We are into our fourth full week of lectures and the school is going strong.

Just to fill you in on what the last few weeks have been for me, I find myself working about a 15 hour day sometimes, but I couldn’t love it more. Everyday I find encouragement from God that I was born for this job. We have 19 students from all over the world and they are an eclectic bunch with massive servant hearts for the Lord. They seem to be settled in nicely and it is such a privilege to walk along side them as they journey through each week, learning about God’s character and His heart for the world!

I had a real desire, before the school arrived, that this school would have a handful of students who would make a commitment to serve in a more long term missions position after completing their course and in the last two weeks I’ve seen the Lord bring this to fruition. One of the girls, Sarah, who happens to be one of the students I get the honor to meet with once a week and disciple, told me she will be heading to India to work with some of the YWAM long term missionaries there immediately following the school. I’ve also had a few conversations with some of the other students who are considering doing some long term work in various parts of Africa. It’s quite an answer to prayer, and not just for those nations, but also for me in my personal vision.

We are beginning to prepare for our outreach phase of the school and it looks like I may be heading up a small team of about 6 students to go into Glasgow and Edinburgh for 7 ½ weeks. I’m SO excited for this opportunity. Glasgow is quite a rough city in areas, but I feel the Lord has told me to “go into all the world” and to serve the prostitutes, drug addicts, homeless, abused and the youth. At this point in time we may also be spending two weeks at the end of our time in various parts of Turkey, which I confess, I am very excited to return to the place where I completed my outreach.

I find myself praying for St. Louis quite a lot and all of you who mean so VERY much to me! I pray the Lord has been blessing you with His love and His never ending provision of all areas of your life. I have compiled a list of prayer needs if you would be able to lend your voice in prayer for these things I would appreciate it:

* Please pray that the students would seek unity and love towards one another. This will be CRITICAL to their outreach and I long to see them come together more now. Pray that they will step out of their boxes of comfort and into what God has for them in this season of their lives.

* Pray for the Nation of Scotland, it is quite a difficult country when it comes to sharing the gospel, especially for a place that, like America, is labeled a “Christian” nation. Pray for the ramped alcohol abuse. A young man from the village here died within the last year of suffocating on his own vomit from over-drinking. There are many others in the village and especially in the big cities, who struggle with this and it is evident in the violent fights that break out which often lead to severe physical harm.

* Pray for the leaders and myself that we would be led by the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. My greatest desire is that the students would get EVERYTHING the Lord has for them in this time. I long to be pour myself out in service to them and to stand with them in their victories and walk alongside them as they process the difficult things in their lives. We have quite a few students who were abandoned by their fathers as children and it’s been a journey for them to receive the love of the One, true and good Father.

* Please pray for our upcoming outreach phase. We leave April 9th and we will be going out in 3 teams. Pray that the Lord will give us clear vision and make strong connections with those ministries we seek to partner with in this time.

I will send more information regarding outreach as it starts to take shape. I miss you all and long to hear how things are back home. Please don’t hesitate to send me any update so I can celebrate with you and pray for your needs.

I’ve included a few photos of the school for your reference. We took the students out the first week to Lock Katrine, which Sir Walter Scot inspired the famous poem “The Lady of the Lake”, to see a bit of the highlands here in Scotland. There is another shot of our classroom where we had a worship time one morning.

All my love from across the pond,

Eileen Simon

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” Psalm 5:3

The Latest and Greatest

2011-01-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this letter finds you well! As you may know, this past July I returned to St. Louis after completing a missions training school in Scotland. During my time with the mission I felt the call to return to the mission field by serving on staff with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Scotland. I am raising support to return for a two year commitment to serve on staff for the discipleship training schools (DTS), the very same school I attended as a student.

My job responsibilities as DTS staff will include training students who come through to prepare for full time missions work. I will help oversee the care and education of roughly 20-25 students from all different nations and Christian denominations. Each school consists of a three month lecture phase for the students. Guest speakers come through each week to provide in depth theological study and to teach them about the foundations of mission work as well as helping them to grow in their individual relationship with God through learning about His character and practical service.

The school also consists of a three month outreach. My responsibilities will also include leading teams of students in the outreach phase by taking them into other parts of Scotland and/or countries that our base has established relationships with (such as Turkey, Morocco, Cambodia, Afghanistan, and India to name a few) to work short term with various ministries, churches and service projects. The students will gain firsthand experience in missions work. The goal of these schools is to educate, care-for and equip long term missionaries to be sent into the mission field or to go back into their church homes and communities to serve.

All YWAM staff members are required to raise financial support. I am looking to raise a total of $29, 808 (£18,630) for the two year commitment with a monthly allowance of $1,242 (£776). I have included a break down of where my annual fees will be distributed to:
• Base Fees (room and board)
• Transportation
• Travel Insurance
• Medical Expenses
• Communications (newsletter)
• Conferences/Seminars
• 10 % Tithe
• U.S. Income Tax
• Savings
• Outreach expenses
• Misc. (living expenses)

My vision and desire is to help train and care for young people as they respond to the call the Lord has placed on their hearts to serve Him. I hope to develop in my leadership abilities as I serve these students as well. I am looking for people to partner with me in prayer and financial support to help this vision become a reality. Please prayerfully consider joining my support team as a monthly supporter of $25, $50 or $100. I would also greatly appreciate any one-time gifts. I have setup an account through a YWAM base in Texas which allows for all donations made to be tax deductable. YWAM is a registered member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability). Please see the enclosed response card for additional information.

I hope to return to staff for the next school starting at the end of January 2011, but I would love to see you before that time. Please don’t hesitate to call or email me if you have any questions (eileenlsimon@gmail.com). I would LOVE to hear from you!

Most sincerely,

Eileen Simon

Just Wait

2010-10-30T19:22:00.001-07:00

I've been home and reinstated back into life in St. Louis for over 4 months now. I must admit, while I love this city and it's lovely old brick buildings with all my heart I've faced some very difficult days trying to figure out where I fit. I find myself star gazing a bit of what's to come.
Thinking back to January of this year I remember how nervous I was to quit my job which I had worked so hard to get and maintain, to leave a beautiful city apartment which I'd grow quite attached to (despite one cranky landlord) and to have to say goodbye to all my friends and family for a season in which I had no idea what to expect. I knew a few things: 1. God was calling me into this and 2. I would most likely survive it!
The road was long and not always easy, but definitely the BEST decision I've ever made. I attribute that God's goodness and my obedience to His request. He asked me for 6 months of my life, to be completely surrendered to Him and in return He gave me healing in the deep, deep parts of my heart and He gave me strength to face what's coming. He also gave me hope. And that's been the best gift of all.
I had my first test of that hope I place in him the first few minutes I stepped off the plane in St. Louis only to find out the airline had made a mistake and informed my parents I wouldn't be returning until the next day. I walked off a long 14 hour day of traveling in hopes to see my family waiting for me and was greeted with the news that the airline had left my luggage in Chicago and, oh yeah, they no longer have any payphones on site. I remember feeling like, "really God, really?!" Eventually my family did arrive and it's been a bit of a slow and steady climb up from there. Some days are good and I lye down at night thanking God for the blessings in that day and others are not so good and I've even had to endure a few nights of tears wondering where God has gone.
But sitting here tonight I begin to slowly understand some things. God was good to give me a clear direction for the future. I've decided to return on staff with YWAM in Scotland to work with the very program I just graduated. Over the past few months since coming home He has been building an excitement and a passion for walking alongside others on their journey. He is revealing to me more of the hope He sees in me to be a leader in faith. To walk with others as they seek to serve the Lord and to grow in strength and to be prosperous in their faith. He's given me more conviction to serve those in need and to help fight the battles of injustice in this world. He's speaking to me all the time of what a gift I've received in spending time immersed in other cultures and what it's done to my view of the world. In short He's been very kind and faithful all throughout.
So it really shouldn't be too hard to find reasons to celebrate in this time I have at home, but of course that wouldn't be the "human response" now would it? I confess I still struggle to trust that God will be my provider. That He will fulfill this call I feel He's placed within me. I fear the finances I need to return on staff won't be available or my visa application will be denied. I even go as far as to fear that I've heard this all wrong and that to stay and try to return to the life I once loved will be best. And not that staying would be bad, but it would be settling for me. I've seen what God can do when I gave Him 6 months of my life and I can only imagine what He'll do if I continue to walk in faith and give Him the next 2 years of my life!
I can't stress enough how much prayer I need and appreciate from others in this time and I look forward to seeing how God continues to work out this next season for me and for those I love around me. But for now I'm called to wait. I'm to let Him nourish the vision He's spoken of to me. I'm to let Him continue to prepare me even in the ways which go unseen by my eyes. I'm to wait. Simply wait.

Going Home

2010-07-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

WOW!

It's been quite a while since I've written and so much has happened in life on this side of the ocean that I hardly know what to write. After returning to the base from Turkey we spent the last three weeks of the course debriefing and preparing ourselves for what's next in life. It's been a very sweet and precious time for me with the other students on the school just spending our last days together especially with the realization that some of us may never see each other again, this side of Heaven.

I've been really searching my heart for what God has in store for me in the next season of life and I think I'm finally coming to some understanding, which is always nice :) I will be spending a week driving around Ireland with a friend, which will be an adventure of its own seeing as we've rented a manual car and I haven't driven a manual in over 5 years, but life's an adventure, right?! Then I return home to start life up again in St. Louis!

Thinking about all this 5 months has been for me tends to overwhelm me and I'm learning that I'm just going to have to take it one step at a time, but I can say that making the choice to come here and to take that step of faith has radically changed my life! I'm not coming home the person I left and yet I'm still me, just stronger and with purpose.

I can't tell you all how much your support has meant to me in this time. I look forward to coming home and hearing about all that has been happening in your lives as well. I promise I will be making visits as soon as possible.

Thank you again and I'll see you shortly!

eileen

Istanbul...not Constantinople

2010-05-18T02:50:00.001-07:00

Merhaba!

Wow, I can't believe it's already been 4 weeks and we only have three left here before we head back to Scotland. It's been such a crazy adventure here and I've been through so much these last couple of days even. This city is really incredible and the people here never cease to amaze me with their generosity.

Yesterday our team went to this garden near the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia and we were praying. I was sitting on this bench reading the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John when this elderly Turkish man came and sat next to me on the bench. We started talking (and his English was amazing, which was so great) about how beautiful Turkey is and how proud he was to be from this country. He started to ask me if I had been afraid of the Turkish people upon arriving here. I didn't quite understand what he meant, but I realized that he was referring to my feelings of "safety" being among the Muslim culture. I quickly dispelled any fears he had and told him that I'd never met such friendly and welcoming people in any culture I've experienced.

We continued to chat and he started to ask my thoughts on God and I explained to him my story and how I "came to know the Lord" and what that has done in my life, how it has completely changed me from someone who once thought I should end my life into someone who now longs to live each day for the One who saved me. He explained a few things regarding the Muslim faith and in the end we had a great interchange of "religion". Before we left each other I offered to pray for him in some of the struggles and things he had shared with me about his life circumstances. After I prayed for him he took my hand and put it to his heart and told me, "NO ONE has EVER offered to pray for ME before". He kissed my hand and told me he thought I was special and he knew there was good in me. I left him with this little booklet I had about Jesus and told him it explained more about what Jesus did for me in my life and as he walked off I saw him pull the booklet out of his pocket and look through it. I stood there amazed at this man, Ali. I was SO grateful God blessed me with meeting him and I asked God to see him again in Heaven.

I realize this probably sounds a bit weird to those people who stand firmly against "preaching to people" or think maybe I was "forcing my faith" on him, but I can only say that our meeting and conversation was wholly and completely set up by God. I am so blessed that God send that man over to talk to me and that our conversation would bless me. I had been feeling low and not sure exactly why God put me in this country for this time and now I know, that if for nothing else it was to meet and speak to Ali of the hope I have in the God who loves us SO much he sent his son to die on a cross for us. And if NO ONE else in all the history of humanity would be willing to accept this offer of sacrifice, if only Ali said yes to God, then Jesus would STILL have done it!

My heart is growing everyday for the Turkish people. I want everyone to know how amazing and beautiful and lovely they are. I want the world to experience their kindness because I think it can and would make an impact on how we view certain things in our own cultures. But most importantly, I want these people to know the value they hold to One who created them, JUST AS THEY ARE and who loves them JUST AS THEY ARE. Just the way that He shows me this same truth about myself everyday.

We leave to visit Ephesus on Thursday and I can't wait to see all architectural ruins and to walk the land that Saint Paul walked so many years ago when he came, too, with a heart to share the love and grace Christ had extended him on that road to Damascus. It's SO weird to go to a place I've read about in my bible over and over again. To be in the place where one of the original 7 churches stood so many years ago. I'm so excited!

I think and pray for you all often and I can't wait to return to St. Louis and hear about what's been happening in all your lives since I left. I'm sure it's been chalk full of good and interesting stories.

Please keep praying for our safe travels and for opportunities to step out here in this city in this time we have.

Tata for now,

eileen

Outreach

2010-05-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

SO...it's been quite sometime since I've last posted and a MULTITUDE of things have happened, but just to fill you in we are currently on our outreach portion of the school. We are two weeks in and it has been a great and crazy ride so far! We were detained for one week in Scotland due to a Volcano erupting and spewing ash into the air over Europe (what are the odds) so we stayed put, but God blessed that time and really set it apart as a time of consecration for us before leaving. We arrived safely with very few issues and we were able to jump right into things this week, which I think most of the team would agree we were ready for.

The city of Istanbul is beautiful! It's a clash of Middle Eastern culture meeting European culture and I've never experienced anything like it before. The city itself spans over two continents (Asia and Europe) and so on any given day we've spent time on both continents and that is just so crazy for me to think about. It's hilly with lots of apartment buildings stacked up all over the places and several Mosques around the city as well. Every morning around 5 AM the call to prayer rings out across the city and there is a loud chanting sound reverberating through speakers. This happens five times a day and it's funny how normal it becomes in your everyday life.

The people we've met so far have been nothing short of incredible. The Turks are such beautiful people. I did feel this weird adjusting stage the first few days with not being able to look men in the eyes and sort of insecurity about what the women would think of me being that I'm a Westerner. They have this view of Westerners that we all live like people in the movies do and they associate that with Christianity, which is hard to swallow, but even despite that they are such a welcoming people and hospitable.

Yesterday, we were having lunch in a little park before heading out for the afternoon and there was a women walking past with her mother and her three small children. I made eye contact with her and used the little Turkish I know to say hello (Merhaba) and instantly we were in conversation. Broken Turkish and broken English, but it was a great conversation and she invited us all over to have dinner with her and Chai. That is just one story. Each person on our team is having these same encounters and making lots of friends and we've only been here for one week!

I do ask for prayer for this country. While the people are kind and hospitable there is always a feeling that they are seeking more in their lives. I only have a small token of knowledge when it comes to Muslim faith, but when I leave these people's presence I sense a longing for more of God. They are so beautiful and they have such a rich and honorable culture to some degree and my heart just cries out for them that they might know that "moreness" with God. Pray I can play a part in that in this season.

Thank you again for all of your love and support and encouragement. This time, this school has been a time God has used to radically change my life as well. I'm still me, of course, but I'm not. I am seeking to live my life with the fullness Christ has to offer me, whatever that might look like. God has really been affirming me in who I am in Him and in what I am capable of in Him. It's like no other feeling in all the world, being affirmed by the One who died on a cross for me. Okay, now I sound a bit preachy...

I pray for you all everyday and I can't wait to hear what's been happening in your world while I've been away. I pray you are richly blessed and that in whatever stage of the journey you're on that God is revealing new things to you.

I'll write more when I can, I promise :)

God Bless,

Bigger and Better

2010-03-12T07:20:00.000-08:00

Hello there!

WOW, it's been quite a while since I last posted, but for very good reason. We've been CRAZY busy here at the base. We've had three more weeks of lecture covering topics like sin and the cross, the fatherheart of God and identity. I've been learning SO much about who God is and it's really quite hard to put into words all that I'm learning and seeing in the time here. Each week gets bigger and better. We leave tomorrow for a Mid-term outreach. We have broken into three teams and we all prayed about where God was leading us within Scotland and my team is headed to the island of Mull. The island of Iona is located there and is a rather significant place in regards to the spread of Christianity in Scotland's history. I am so excited to see how God uses us in this week and I'm excited to see how we work as a team.

This week will be used partly in preparation for our time in Istanbul to help us prepare and work in teams. The previous DTS school returned from Istanbul a few weeks ago and they came back with AMAZING stories of the work God is doing in the City of Istanbul and in the lives of the Muslim people there. They witnessed people being healed from tumors and cancer and one woman shared God with a Nigerian refugee who within one week of meeting and praying with her had shared his new faith with several other Nigerians and they were meeting and praying together. I can't describe how this fuels me for what is to come for our team. We are getting such a momentum for what God has in store for us there.

We learned that due to the size of our team and other details we will be required to pay additional fees for our outreach. I am praying that God will raise up supporters to help me in raising the extra $2000 I will need before April 17th. Please join me in praying for the provision and also for preparation for what God has in store for this time. God has constantly brought me back to this place where He is calling me to "loose my religion" and to receive from Him all that He has in store for this season. It is quite difficult to let go of my logic and reason, but God is patient and loving and He has been faithful to my prayer requests.

I'm missing home this week more than I have since I arrived. I think and pray for everyone back home, especially church and all that God is doing in St. Louis. I will write more again soon (if time allows). Know you are all in my hearts.

All my love and blessings,

eileen

En el Nombre de Padre, de Hijo, de Espirito Santo...

2010-02-12T14:49:00.001-08:00

Time: 9:48 PM
Place: My Bed (or should I say top bunk...yes, feels like camp days all over again)

We’ve just wrapped up the end of our second full week of lectures. It’s Friday night and I’m sitting in bed, as I have been all day with a stomach virus (so fun). Our speaker this week was a woman named Yolanda who is originally from South Africa and has been living here in Scotland for over 11 years. She is extremely wise and her voice sort of makes you hang onto every word she’s saying.

We spent the week discussing the Nature and Character of God. I was all ready for this to be a list of attributes that make up who God is and I will confess I went into the week ready to show off all of my infinite knowledge. Needless to say, I was greatly surprised when the first day of class Yolanda asked us to look up a scripture that would show God’s “bigness” or His Nature. I flipped through my beat up old bible, desperate for some underlined scripture from previous years of bible studies or a church sermons and before I could say anything the other students were spouting off scriptures that defined God as huge and mighty. Well, that put me in place, huh? :)

We studied how big our God is and that included listening to a lecture from a guy named Louie Giglio. He uses astronomy to show the vastness of God’s creation and to help visualize just how small we really are in comparison to the universe. I was really struck by this. I guess it’s not that often that I realize how really small my existence is in the great scheme of the universe. What struck me more is that God can create the big wide world and He created all the tiny cells that make up me as well and yet in all of that He cares so deeply for me and that He does in fact have great and mighty plans for my life. Funny how I can believe in God and follow my faith for over eleven years and hearing the most basic things can through me for a complete loop, as if I’d never heard them before or something.

Last night they gathered our team together to tell us that we’ll be heading towards Istanbul, Turkey for our outreach in April. Our team is super pumped about this and we immediately ran to a computer and Googled images of Istanbul and just sat there in amazement of how beautiful it is there. There is a team of students there now and they will be returning in the next week and they have been sending home amazing stories of the thing God is doing there. I’ve had a couple of dreams the last few nights with pictures of places in a really old city. Funny enough, Turkey is actually where most of the first church started. The book of Acts mostly takes place in Turkey. Now the country is 99.9% Islamic which I know very little about, but we’ll be spending time throughout the next 10 weeks studying and reading up on the country and the culture there.

We were also given the location of the place in Scotland where we’ll spend time doing local outreach. A team of four other students and I will be visiting a town nearby called Saltcoats every Wednesday in search of what God has in store for us there. We went through the village this week and just observed and met a few folks. It’s a small town with lots of charity shops and gambling spots. What’s even funnier is that there are two old churches on the main strip of town that have been sold to retail shops. One was a furniture retailer and the other was a grocers. So weird Apparently, that is a common thing here in Scotland though. The country, while beautiful, is full of a feeling of hopelessness. When you walk through the towns the people are usually kind, but when you observe their daily rituals it feels a bit isolated and lonely. But there’s also something in the air here and it kind of feels like there’s a momentum building for something new. I got the chance to visit the other local church last week and while it was very traditional in service style the people there were excited to see us and I spoke to one older lady who shared that she just really feels her country needs healing and she feels it’s on the horizon. How cool to be here in a season of possible healing for a country and to see new life breathed back into this country? I mean, Scotland homed some of the most famous inventors, engineers and uh, MISSIONARIES so why not be restored. Okay, I’ll stop my rant, but this environment has a way of doing this to me lately.

Well, I think I’ve covered this week. Please continue to pray for our team here as for some of us we adjust to living with roommates or being long distances from home. Also, pray that I can kick this nasty bug (which conveniently shows up at the end of every week, just in time for the weekend) so that I might enjoy my time off. I’ll be hopping a train into Glasgow tomorrow, hopefully, to pick up a cell phone so I can send you all lovely text messages and make phone calls here and there. If you want my new number send me an email and I’ll send it out.

Hope things are well with you and all that God has been doing in your life as well. Please know nothing blesses me more than hearing about your lives as it makes me feel connected to what’s going on outside the base.

All my love,

eileen

The Best is Yet to Come...

2010-02-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

Place: West Kilbride, Scotland (Home of the YWAM Seamill base)
Time: 7:00 PM Scottish Time
Where: Arran Lounge in the house

So, we're half way through the first week and here are my thoughts:

1. I don't think my body will ever be warm again.
2. I enjoy all my new friends here from all over (everywhere except Scotland, funny enough)
3. I will not be returning to St. Louis the same person I left.

I got in on Saturday and we had the weekend to sort of orient ourselves to the base and each other. I'm happy to say I'm ont teh oldest person here, but definately a minority. There are 15 students total on the DTS along with roughly 20 other staff members living here at the base in community with one another here. Sorry to upset girls, but I can say with confidence that I won't be returning to America with a husband unless I go online and buy one...which we're learning is called trafficing and not a good thing :)

They still haven't shared with us where we'll be going for our outreach, but our options are: Morrocco, Turkey, Glasgow, Cambodia. Personally, I kind of have it in my heart to go to Morrocco, but I'm definately up for anything at this point. Our schedule consists of lectures all morning, lunch, lectures all afternoon and work duties around the manner, dinner, and then free time some nights and organized some other nights. I like the structure of the week and we have our weekends off to explore and travel a bit.

Prayer Requests:

-That the money I need for outreach continues to be provided. I still have roughly $1200 to raise, but I trust God will provide and a HUGE THANK YOU to all of those who have supported me thus far both financially and in prayer and encouragement
-That God would break down some barriers that keeps me from fully experiencing what He has in store for me here
-I long to soak up all that I can while I have this time in my life
-As it stands now, I see my self returning to St. Louis afterwards, but what I will be doing when I return I do not yet know. Please pray that God start laying down some foundations and doors for whatever the next step in life brings

Thank you to everyone for your encouraging cards, emails and phone calls before I left and since I've been here. It means the world to me.

Love and blessings,

e

Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again...

2010-01-27T09:46:00.001-08:00

So...this blog is already successful as I'm on my second post and that's one more than before!

Place: St. Louis Lambert Airport
Time: 11:47AM
Destination: Washington, DC to London, England

K, so I'm sitting at the gate for my flight next to this weird gambling machine thing (only spot near an outlet) and I'm just wondering what awaits me in the next 6 months?! I've just sold everything (yes, sold my car yesterday morning - PTL) and now I'm headed to England to stay with my lovely friend Erin for a couple days before boarding a train for Glasgow, Scotland. Seriously, what did I just do? Who does this? WT...H?(let's keep this PG folks) So far I've already displayed a "Classic Eileen" moment when checking into the airport and caught my backpack on the little nylon divider straps things and pulled them ALL down. I felt like Shrek with my monstrous bag knocking everything over, but I fully anticipate several more moments like this along the way!

The last couple of days have been a whirl-wind (is that how you say that?) and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little surprised that I'm actually leaving. I'm learning and absorbing so much about God and myself and I can't help but think that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Who is God? What does He have in store for Eileen Louise Simon? Why the heck does He love me SO much to allow me to do this? These are the things I'm determined to get to the bottom of.

Things I will miss most: Family, friends, Stella, City Church, Running in Forest Park, family, friends, driving my car, dance parties, my clothes, did I say family and friends?

Things I'm most looking forward to: uh...pretty much all of it seeing as I have no idea what the heck I'm going to be doing...:)

K, stay posted, more to come...

e

First things first

2010-01-23T14:59:00.000-08:00

So....

After much demand I have started a blog to document my experience abroad. For those of you who don't already know, I'm leaving for Scotland in three days to do a 6 month missions program. I quit my job, sold most of what I own and I'm hitting the ground running. This has been something I've longed to do for almost seven years now and it's finally happening!

At this point I'm just trying to get packed up, sell my car, get the last few things I need and head out of town. I'm excited, scared and anxiously awaiting what's next.

Stay tuned cause you're bound to hear some wonderful stories, I'm sure, that will probably entail me falling on my face on the London tube or some comical misunderstanding or another.

And if you think of it, pray for safe travels for all the students and for a successful start to our DTS.

Bon Voyage!