Hello one and all

What does the name mean? When creating this blog, I wanted to emulate the idea of a ripple effect. That what we do ripples out into bigger things. Will those things be good, will they be bad? Will they honor God, or won't they? Eric, the National Director of the Navigators, has told me in retreats a couple times now about legacy; and how legacy ripples out into the lives of others. Dawson Trotman had a legacy, I believe it is written on his grave stone; Always Holding People Up. I want to do the same, I want to be able to help people to grow in Christ, obtain a solid walk with our Heavenly Father, share with them the salvation God gave us in His son Jesus Christ, and allow for God to meet with them and speak into their hearts.

I am currently in Scotland working with Navigators Ministry's over here. As I write this, I am working with the Glasgow Ministry and I want to share some of the things I am learning about as well as pictures from the trip. I want to share people who are rippling into my life and helping me to continue to grow in my walk with God as I continue with this trip.

Glasgow and its Navigator Ministry:

So I've been meeting with like a million different people since I've landed and I finally managed to sit down and have a chat with Darren, who has been sort of my contact in Glasgow.
That is Darren on the right hand side of the picture, smiling at the Camera. I had a chance to finally sit down and have a coffee with him, the both of us have been pretty busy. There was a lot to talk about, I was pretty interested in learning a bit more about the Glasgow Navigators ministry, and how it operates, and I got to hear a lot over coffee. Darren mentioned that the Navigators in Glasgow started around the 70's, took a break in the 80's and was then started back up again, so it has been around for a while. It has around 140 people involved with it currently, which is pretty awesome to hear! They have leaders or coaches, tend to be graduates, who lead the small group bible studies, and they also have what is called the GLC, the Group Leader Community, where those leaders then get put into small groups and are lead by other coaches. From what I have heard, younger students tend to be asked to lead summer bible studies so they can learn and grow in that area, and alumni are asked to partake in only one part of the ministry, their choice, so as to not become overwhelmed. It seems to me that the small groups are doing wonders for their community as Navigators and has forged some really great friendships. I've noticed that most of the people who attend the Navigators here tend to hang out with each other a lot, and have forged some awesome friendships.

Stall:
Stall, or the Cheesy, or whatever other names I have heard for it, is one of the coolest evangelism opportunities I have ever seen. The Navigators partake in it in partnership with the Christian Union on campus. There are two night clubs on campus or around the campus, and the Stall serves tea, coffee, biscuits and cakes to anyone who happens to be hanging around the entrance to these clubs. They give everything out for free and it creates an awesome chance for students in the Navigators and the Christian Union to chat with other students on campus in a less than traditional setting. I was there for a 10 hour long one, and got home at quarter past 6 in the morning, but I had the time of my life. It is amazing how tea and cakes can lead to some interesting questions, the most common being "why". There were many great conversations and several chances to share about Jesus with people I've never met.

Connect:










Connect is basically the same program I am taking in Canada with a different name. The above images are some of the Connect workers in Glasgow, in the first image is Ailsa, she is in the blue top with brown hair, the second image is Abby, and the last image, the guy with the shaved head and the cut off sleeves is Xander. I have gotten to meet all three of them extensively during my stay here thus far, and all three have been tremendous! Abby has been organizing things for me since I've been here and making sure I am well taken care of, Ailsa opened up her home for a BBQ and has helped me to find my way around on a few occasions. I have had some great talks with Xander and hung out with him a couple times now.

That is about all I can put up here for now. I have made a website to post photos into, so everyone can go and rummage through them if they like! Just follow the link!

Glasgow Photos A Plenty!