more from scotland

in our weaknesses He is strong!

this has been an interesting and challenging week for all involved in this tour in scotland.
We arrived at our last stop on tour…penicuik, last weekend only to discover that all the school assemblies for the area had been cancelled and the venue for the shows the weekend was pulled. This was due to some things that had happened previously, however all the churches were still on board and determined to see God work in their community. It was so encouraging to see people unwilling to give up when it seems that the things they have been planning for over a year where falling apart in front of them.
We have all spent so much time praying and really seen the fruit of that.
This week we have seen a venue provided….a disused warehouse….a permit to use it….carpet for the floor, 600 chairs, a stage and a lighting rig. flyers with the new venue were distributed across town on thursday. The warehouse can hold twice the number of people than the previous venue and we are praying God fills those seats with people who need to hear the truth.
We have all been so encouraged to see God work this week, as it is only by Him that this could have all come together so quickly.
He works all things for good, for the Glory of His name!

speaking the TRUTH

I found of this tour that it has been great to dance but i think more than that i have loved sharing what God has done in my life.

During the shows where we get to share the gospel i get the opportunity to speak about identity and I have found that this is something i am really passionate about! 

I get to tell young people that they are created by a God who loves them and has a purpose for their lives. I think this is an important message for me to share as it is my journey and my story....the struggle of accepting the truth that God created ME with a plan and purpose and that my value comes from HIM.

there is so much freedom in knowing this truth and it something i want to see young men and women walking in from a young age. 

I have found that God has really given me a Heart for the people of Scotland at this time and I get so excited seeing people respond to what Jesus has done for them.

I thank God for this wonderful privileged to share the freedom he has given me in my life and invite others into this freedom!

God is moving in Scotland

we are now into our second week of outreach and first week of tour.
we started off on sunday with a time of worship and prayer and preparation with all the teams and from there we have hit the ground running!!

 mostly our team has been helping out GX international set up all the ramps etc for the school assemblies and ushering and doing some administration at the shows.
we also have had the opportunity to talk with people who have responded to the gospel when it is presented.

Yesterday was our first show as GX, so the first time dancing for me in a while. I also had the opportunity to share some of my story and what God has done in my life. I really felt the burden God had for the people in Alva, in Scotland and felt the responsibility of sharing the Truth for those who really need to hear it.
 It is always such a privilege to share the goodness, faithfulness, grace and love of God my father in my life. God uses our stories to speak to people and he moves through our words to draw people to himself.

 It was a powerful evening and the presence of God was definitely in the building. Many many young people came forward to respond to the gospel, wanting to give their lives to God, and they had the opportunity to meet with local people who can follow up with them for the next few weeks.


It is so encouraging to see young people in scotland hungry for God and to see seeds planted in their lives. Now we just have to continue to pray that what God has begun in their lives will continue.

The response was amazing! and its only the first show! So i am expecting bigger and better things the rest of our time in Scotland.

there is a time to DANCE....

...and it feels GREAT!

sometimes you don't realise how much you have missed something until you start doing it again, and i have realised i have missed dancing a lot!

It feels great to be back with friends in GX, dancing in Scotland to share the Gospel.

I love that God is a God of creativity and He puts tat creativity within us, to bring Glory to Him. 

I really think He is going to use the dancing on this tour to challenge so many in the ways they are living their lives and to draw them close to Himself and it is awesome to be a part of that!

It is a real Joy and priviledge to dance for MY KING!

Every testimony is an invivtation

This is a phrase i have heard a lot in the last few months... and i Love it! 

Dear Ceri, you are invited to.......... 

Seek God for the storeis you hear from others to be a reality in YOUR life.

i have to ask do i accept this invivtation?

EVERY TESTIMONY....every story of God's 

goodness,

faithfulness, 

provision, 

healing,

restoration, 

breakthrough, 

revelation is an opportunity for me to go after the same thing!

 yet i think there are times when i still don't recognize that someone's example of this could also be seen in my life. Yes God works and moves in people's lives  in a lot of different ways, but when i see His power in someone's life there is no reason i can doubt that He can and will do similar in mine.

It might not look exactly the same but every testimony of him working should fill me with so much hope and a hunger to see Him do it in me. Its not selfishness, its not greed to see God, its not wrong, its just a hunger to see more of God moving in my life. I don't want to sell myself short on all the fullness God has made available to me in this life through His sacrifice, its as much about now as it is about the age to come!

so i say every testimony and story is an INVITATION. an invitation

to fight for His promises

to seek His face

to contend for His truth

to pursue Him wholeheartedly.

Its an invitation to go after God above anything else.

Every testimony brings Hope and Faith.

I want to be filled with Hope and Faith everyday and I want my life to give others Hope and Faith every day.

dts slideshow

scotland video

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4007896/Team%20Scotland%20%2B%20Bloopers%20-%20HD.mov

here is the link to check out the video our scotland team made.
it has some more information about what we are going to be doing and our heart for the time we have there!

Revisiting a Home

In October I get to return to place I have to come to call home (one of them at least!!)

I remember the day when I was 19 years old and i moved to Stirling, Scotland for me to begin the next chapter of my life, making it on my own for the first time living away from home. For the next 3 and half years THAT became my home!

And now I can return.

I can not put into words how excited i am about this. I feel it is going to be a significant time for me personally and i have an anticipation in my Spirit for God wants to do. My time in Scotland helped shape the person I am now, and while it wasn't always easy for me I can see fruit from my time there.

I look at the person i was when I left Scotland in early 2008 compared to who I am now and it is amazing to see how much God has grown me in that time and all the adventures I have had with Him. It is such an honour to walk on Scottish soil and proclaim the truths that God has made known in my life to people there. I don't think we should ever underestimate the Spiritual importance of the places God takes us.

 There are 6 of us going to support and get involved with the work of impact world tour (IWT) there. It is great to be involved with this so close to home for a change! We are going to be serving at evangelistic events around the west of the country...helping wherever we can and seeing many come to know God personally.
for more information please visit www.iwt.com/scotland.
For the last 3 years i have been involved with IWT as  a dancer with GX international. I think it is no accident that God is calling me back to Scotland at this time to join with a ministry i know, and work with people that have become a family away from home. It is like all my worlds are colliding in one!
 

God has big things for this nation and i am praying for revival and expecting to see God do big things...salvation, healing, breakthrough. I believe this is the beginning of God moving in a mighty way in this land and he has so many plans!

-Please pray for financial provision for all this to happen.

Everything that i do at the minute is voluntary so i rely on God to provide for me through others who believe in what i am doing and want to partner with me. At the minute i need to raise £2000 to cover flights and expenses while in Scotland. Pray God opens doors for that and if you feel He is asking you to get involved in this way please let me know.

Do you know who you are?

Its a question we have been asking this week.

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

learning to hear God's voice and knowing what he thinks about us is so vital to how we view ourselves and that is what we have been learning this week; the heart of the father for us.

 we have just had 2 powerful weeks where God is moving. Students are realising that God wants to speak to them. they had the opportunity to spend an hour asking God :
What do you think of me?

What do you think of me God?

What do you think of me my creator?

What do you think of me Father?

It is such a powerful question to ask your creator and hear what He wants to say back. He always speaks so much truth into my life when i do this and it was such a privileged to hear some of the things he spoke into the lives of the students.

so do you know who you are?
I challenge you to ask your Father.

TESTIMONIES:
Every friday night we go into town to meet people and talk to them about Jesus. Last friday we prayed  and asked God for pictures and words. One student heard the name NICK. she felt like she found him a little later and asked if he was nick. he said YES! she got to tell him God wanted to speak to him and tell him how much God loved him. He said he was blown away because he had been doubting if believed in God for the last few days and wanted to know that he was real. It was a real encouragement to him and spoke into His life and an encouragement to our student as it confirmed to her that she can really hear from God and he does want to speak to her!

Last weekend i also got to celebrate my birthday! the amazingness of everyone here really blew me away, i felt so blessed and loved by all the efforts everyone put in to making it such a special time! it was also so encouraging that people took the time to  give me words and speak life over this year ahead and what God might have for me at this time. It was hard not be at home around family but it was good to be able to celebrate my birthday in such a great way none the less.

ruined for the King

 Its hard to believe that 2 weeks of DTS is over, we are having a great time getting to know each other and it feels like family already! it is such a delight to meet new students and have the privilege and there the journey God has been taking them on and how they ended up in New Zealand.

I am really excited to see what God  is going to do in each of  the student's lives and how He is going to speak into them all and ruin them for Himself and His glory! ...and I get to go along for the ride! 

It's time to make a stand to not settle for life as we know right now ... expect more, move on from mediocre comfortable  Christianity and decide to be completely 100% sold out for our King.

Its time to push in for the fullness of all he has for each and every one of us every day! That is the hunger i am seeing in the students here and it pushes me and inspires me to go after that hunger for Him, to push in for the fullness of all God has for me in this life and in the life to come. 

All I have to say is here i am God, here i am!

I am so excited to see what the next five months are going to hold and we run towards him together as a family.

I say BRING IT ON!!

what is next?

I have put together a short video explaining what is coming up for me in New Zealand.

i hope you enjoy and if anyone is interested in getting involved please email me

cerihewitt111@googlemail.com or contact me on facebook!

i am really excited about this opportunity for me and what God has for me next!!

turkey slideshow

i have put together some pictures from my time in Turkey...hopefully this gives some idea of what we were up to!
we met a lot of people and enjoyed their hospitality which was wonderful!
i really came to have a hear for that place!

leaving on a jet plane....again!

its outreach time!
tomorrow i get on a plane to the middle east with 6 other people for 8 weeks of crazy adventures and moves of God (i declare it!)

it has come up so fast that it doesn't feel real but i know God has been teaching us and preparing us all for what he has for us. As we step out in faithfulness he is going to move through us and change lives by His power. I don't know about anyone else but i say i want to be a part of that!
i am thankful for what he done for me and want other people to know he has done that for them too.
I know we will have some great stories and testimonines when we get back!

photos!

Do you trust me?

that is the question i am continually being asked....

DO YOU TRUST ME?

DO YOU REALLY REALLY TRUST ME?

God wants me to trsu him in everything, and sometimes that is just really hard. i mean i can SAY i trust him with everything, but when it comes down to living it out can i really do it? when he says give your money to someone else in need and i'll take care of what you need, do i really believe that?

when he says he has a good plan for my future, do i trust that its better that anything i could come up with? when he says he wants my heart do i let him hold it?

i guess the area i have been growing in this the most is with finances. See everything is his anyways! He has provided so much already through the generousity of people who believe in what im doing and are willing to support me in it and its so awesome to see him provide....but he is still asking me to trust for more. I still need £1000 and i know it should be easier to trust him for that when i have seen so much come in already, but it still pushes. it stretches me to rely on him in this area and that will flow into other areas. its a challenge every day but it will be worth it!

I have to lay everything down before him.....all my desires and dreams, and not pick them up again and try and make them work for me, in my way. i have a really bad habit of doing that. i will lay something at the feet of jesus and say i trust you, do what you will and and hour later im carrying it around again, trying to find solutions and ways to figure it out. and the process goes over and over again.! im getting better but im not there yet.

so God says DO YOU REALLY TRUST ME WITH EVERYTHING?

my answer?.....today, i trust you more than yesterday and not as much as tomorrow.

the art of listening....

every friday night as a DTS we go out onto the streets of the city of Tauranga to pray for people and tell them about Jesus. honestly its sometimes a hard thing to do at the end of a really busy week because we are feeling weary and in need of rest, Sometimes its a real challenge and people just dont want to talk, but every single week i come home feeling so much better and so blessed that i decided to go out!

and this week i think was the best of them all.....and really i dont feel like we did that much.

and so the art of listening....

so we met a couple on the street who were just hanging out and started to talk to them. I got to talk to the guy along with a couple of the guys we were with and he just started sharing his story....he just really wanted people to listen to him. He told us his background and that he would steal and sell drugs to support his wife and baby but that he really didnt like doing that and really wanted another way to live but felt so hopeless and trapped in that. He said he didnt believe in God but we asked if we could pray for him and he agreed, so we did. And God just moved to greatly in his life. You could see the Holy Spirit moving on Him and definitely doing something really significant., and he acknowledged that.
He also shared how he would see evil spirits and they would torment Him in different ways and he was so open to sharing about that and was surprised that we didnt think he was crazy or making things up! so we got to pray and ask God to deliver Him from this, that he wouldn't be living under that anymore.

He told us we changed His life that night and it is so significant and he will never forget it.... but we know we did nothing but listen...God did the rest.
 did he commit his life to God? Is everything suddenly going to be fine?
No, probably not, but that doesn't matter, God touched Him and planted seeds and became real and tangible to Him that night. Just because some random people took the time to stop, and listen to his story and speak hope into his life.

It challenges me to make more time to listen.....how many more people just want someone to hear them? to know they are not alone in how they feel and to know there is a hope?

and what a blessing it is to be able to share that hope!

week 5......already!

So i've been in this thing called dts life for 5 weeks now, can't quite believe how fast the time is going!

i think i have taken in so many things every week and before i have a chance to process anything its right on into the next thing! but its all so so good!

week 5: THE FATHER HEART OF GOD.

God's heart is that of a father who wants the best for his children!

He has spoken to me so much this week and reminded of some many truths and promises that have been given to me in the past and that are grounded in His word. it is good to be reminded of things and to hold fast to them and I am excited to see the path he is taking me on as He continues to reveal it to me. I know he has a good plan and a purpose for me, and sometimes i may not see that because i don't understand the specific steps.

I love this picture that as i continue to reach and hold to his heart he will lift me where i need to go!

this week we also got to ask God WHAT he wanted to say to someone and HOW he wanted to say it. i love getting to share God's heart for a person with them, it is such a joy. we are all so different and unique and need to hear different things that God thinks about us at different stages in our walk.

I am just constantly reminded of how good my Father in heaven is and that he WANTS to be a Fahter to us all...we are never an inconvenience. He delights in us and enjoys us and knows each of us so so well. i think sometimes we forget this, i know i certainly do.

I love my Father in heaven, i don't need to come to Him as a servant but as a Royal daughter.

who is Jesus?

this week we have been looking at the person of Jesus, especially in the light of His return. And that is the truth,

JESUS IS COMING BACK, AND IT'S SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO.

I have been humbled this week and reminded how much i just don't know my Bible and don't know as much about Jesus as i thought! I love to study and i do read my Bible a lot but its just so cool to be reminded that God is so big and so diverse that i will never understand and know everything! and its good because it just really inspires me to want to know more. I love receiving teaching from people who are so knowledgeable and able to back up what they say from the Word of God, so I have a lot of notes to go through and pray through :)

There are so many diverse attributes to Jesus and a lot of them just don't make logical sense to me....bottom line.

We looked at Jesus the perfect judge who will return to restore Justice to the oppressed.

Jesus the Bridegroom and the church is his bride whom he has a jealous love for.

Jesus the servant, He came to serve US that might serve others. i think is the one i struggle with the most. The thought that Jesus, the King and great judge and ruler of the nations came because he DESIRES to serve me. and the greatest way he did this was by dying on the cross, but he also wants to do this is so many small ways also.

There is so much I could say about this week, my eyes have been opened to so much and i just need to process it all. There is so much i want to be able to share, so many things i wish i had understood earlier, But i think it would be the longest blog ever!!

But if anyone ever wants to talk about any of these things, i will, i love to discuss and hear people's point of views!

it has been a really overwhelming week, with so much going on! but so good!

will you partner with me?

the day the earth shook

its a pretty crazy time to be in new zealand right now!
this country is in mourning with the earthquake that has stuck christchurch. it is definately in everyones throughts and in our discussions and our prayers.
Just wanted to let everyone know that i am safe.....i am living on the north island and the earthquake hit the south island.
Please keep this land in your prayers as people come to terms with the devastation that has happened and try to get their lives back together.