Continuing to Anticipate the Lord at Work in Ducklington

It seems that we have found a bit of a routine here in our little village. Our days are very quiet as we spend time walking the streets, praying and meeting those who live around us. This is a very different existence from what we are familiar with living in Abilene. With gasoline around $7.00 per gallon, most folks drive only when absolutely necessary. Therefore, foot traffic up and down our street as well as on Witney Road is a normal pattern and we seldom walk anywhere without being able to stop and visit along the way. It is a 4 minute walk to the church and we are beginning to see familiar faces and sense some recognition on their part as well.

We have decided that we will eat at one of the 2 pubs each week. They are warm and lively places and we find the locals to be very quick to notice our accents and want to know what we are doing there. Like we’ve said in earlier blogs, this is not an area frequented by tourist except to pass through going from London into The Cotswolds region; therefore, they engage us quickly and seem happy that we are living in their little community.

Church attendance was a bit discouraging this past Sunday as there were only 10 of us. Since the majority of our members are 80+ y/o, the cold, damp weather was really not conducive to their getting out for church. We had hoped to see the young man and his family that Dennis met and invited last week at Mums and Tots, but they did not come. We are hoping that they will not forget and possibly attend in the future. I had put a roast in the slow cooker for lunch just in case they came, so we were delighted to share that roast with Ray. His house is a little further from the church than ours, so as he joined us to walk home we invited him to share our lunch. It turned into another wonderful afternoon of learning more about this intriguing country as well as personal testimonies of how God’s hand has been revealed in his life since coming to know Christ in his 20s. We continued to be so blessed by Ray and his love for the Lord and especially his love and burden for this little village.

After the overflow crowd at Mums and Tots last week, we enjoyed a smaller group of 20 Mums this week and their 30+ toddlers. Dennis took up the job of serving tea as I walked around with a plate of biscuits (Cookies, remember?). In doing that simple act of serving, we were drawn into some of the little groups of 3 or 4 young women and it didn’t take them long to include us in their conversations. As always, Dennis is a hit with the little ones, so it probably won’t be long until he will be a regular down on the floor playing with them.

You will remember that we had asked you to pray specifically for a young woman named Stacy whom Dennis visited with on our first week at Mums in Tots. She is there every week and this past Monday I spent about 15-20 minutes in conversation with her and another young woman as their little ones put puzzles together around a small table. They had many questions about our churches in the States and especially about what we do there. I shared about the young women at South Side and how much I love ministering with them. I was able to tell them how as a young woman I found Scripture to be the best training for how to be a good Mum and wife. Stacy listens intently when Dennis or I talk and I believe that the Holy Spirit is drawing her. At this point, I really want to build her trust and develop a friendship with her. She and her sweet little Ashley have already won our hearts and we are asking the Lord to open her mind and heart to desire to know more about us and ultimately about Him.

I had another conversation with a young woman who lives around the corner from us. She has a little girl who struggles with allergies and a little asthma so we made an instant connection as I was able to sympathize with her after raising Wes. She is going to come have tea with me some afternoon and I will enjoy that very much. We continue to think that the Mums and Tots ministry is the key to opening up what God has planned for Ducklington. Some of the women attend St. Bartholomew, but the vast majority does not go to church at all, so “the fields are white . . .”

Ray finished our study of angels Monday evening. He would say that his leadership in this study has moved him “out of his comfort zone,” but he knows it is God’s doing and he is a very willing servant to whatever it is that God wants to do in his life. Lent is a very important observation in all the churches, so Dennis is praying about what we will study next and the emphasis on this season leading up to Easter. Last night Sue and David came to the house for our first Deacons’ Meeting. We all sense the importance of an additional evening of intentional prayer as we wait for God’s direction. We will begin that next Wednesday evening here at our house. Dennis and I will also attempt to designate a time one afternoon during each week when we will invite (and at times may even transport) the more elderly of our little Body to meet at someone’s house for a time of prayer. These sweet saints want to be involved, but their age complicates their participation in evening activities so we will do our best to accommodate them.

Our strategy right now is to pray. Please pray with us concerning activities for children in a church where there currently are no children. We must be ready! We will meet with Sue and David again in 2 weeks to discuss some practical things we can put in place so that we will not be caught off guard in the event that a family shows up on Sunday with small children. We will also make plans to regularly involve our fellow servants as we prayerwalk the village. When Dennis and I walk the perimeter of the village, it takes less time than walking the outside track at Redbud Park and within that area there are about 3000 people who need to know Christ’s love for them. So, if you walk at Redbud, pray for Ducklington as you walk.