Trip to the UK!

I just got back earlier this week from the UK, where we had an amazing fundraising gala for Mercy UK last Friday night, and then I had the privilege of speaking at Abundant Life Church (www.alm.org.uk) on Sunday evening.

Guests gathered from all over the UK and Europe to celebrate the ongoing success of Mercy Ministries in the UK. The evening was hosted by UK Executive Director, Arianna Walker, who started the evening by welcoming and greeting the people. After a great dinner, Pastor Paul Scanlon of Abundant Life Church shared about how our paths first crossed at Hillsong in Australia in 1999, and from that point on, we began the journey to where we are today.

It was an honor for me to be asked to give our guests an overview of what Mercy does and how we’ve progressed over the years.

We had 30 of our former residents/graduates come back to be a part of the event – it was so powerful! They shared their testimonies by holding up posters that defined their lives before and after Mercy. For example, one girl’s poster said, “Violated by many,” and then when she flipped it over, it said “Rescued by One!” Another one said, “My issues were destroying my marriage and my life.” Then her husband joined her on stage as she flipped her poster over – her poster read, “God gave me my life back!” And her husband’s poster read, “And God gave me my wife back!” (pictured below – couple before and couple after)

There was not a dry eye in the house as girl after girl gave glory to God for the miracle of her transformed life. We also announced that we are currently expanding our UK facilities so that we can double our capacity, and the renovations are set to begin in April. It was such an exciting event!

For me, the highlight of the evening was being able to see and talk to all of the girls from years past. We had some time together after the event to catch up and take some photos. Then, many of the former residents came back for services at Abundant Life Church on Sunday. It was altogether a great Mercy family weekend!

I’m so proud of our UK team for all of their hard work, not only with this awesome event, but also for the great job they do working with the girls we serve on a daily basis. I’m very excited about the way God is moving there!

I thought you might like to see some of the pictures from my trip. Hope you have a great weekend!!

Before

After

Before

After