“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” 

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ 

Arriving in London

We have made it to London. The Lord has been gracious to us in our travels and final preparations for our move. Things fell into place quickly after we were granted our visas. It was a bittersweet process of goodbyes. 

Warm welcome

We were hosted by one of the fellow elders (Matt and his wife Gemma and their 3 kids) family for the first few nights in London. It was a huge blessing to not have to pay for a hotel or Airbnb and spend some time with our new church family members. Judah and Bennett got to play with their kids and we got to spend some quality time with Matt and Gemma. 

We moved into our flat which is right off the main road of our neighborhood about a week ago. We have slowly but surely been making the space feel like home. It is a convenient walk to the church and the church office, as well as close to a few families of the church. 

Blessings in our new ministry life

As for ministry, we have gotten right into meeting people and plugging in at the church. This past weekend our family got prayed over and this upcoming weekend I (Luke) will be or preaching on Isaiah 52&53. (Please pray the Lord speaks through me)

After church this past weekend a few of us went out to street evangelize. I am extremely encouraged by the desire and desperation to share Jesus by our brothers and sisters here in London. There is an evident culture of prayer and relying on God in the face of tough cultural circumstances. 

There is a woman (Lillian) in the church who clearly has the gift of evangelism. She has made it a commitment to be at a local coffee shop every Tuesday to share the gospel. In the short time she has committed to this the group has grown outside of her capacity to lead it alone. I joyfully get to join her in what has now turned into a seeker Bible study in the middle of a coffee shop every Tuesday night. Please pray that the Lord use us to bring salvation to many. 

Please pray for us as we miss home but are convinced that the Lord has brought us here for a time of transformation in London. 

We love you all and are grateful for your support in the ministry. As always, please remember us in your prayers. 

Love,

The Meads

Personal Updates:

Updates on our ministry in London:

Financial Update:

"For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." John 1:16

With the holiday season over, there is an unmistakable, steady reminder of God's goodness in our lives. This year has been unique in our lives, and we were able to sit and meditate on "the reason for the season" more than most. Few outside responsibilities have drawn us away from the meaning of Christmas, allowing us to focus on the precious gift of grace that Jesus is. Even still, life goes on; kids have been sick, family time has been busy, preparing to move has been slow but prayerful, and we see the goodness of grace in all areas. Kids have healed (for the most part), family time was a blessing, and God has brought a bit of clarity on our next steps to London. 

We have received news that the church plant network "Co-Mission" will pick up our visa if the church is not approved in time. This is good news and an answer to prayer. The small hiccup has pushed our move date back from the original early January departure to early February (Lord willing). Please continue to pray for the process to be clear and smooth. We still have to find housing and figure out all the logistics when we know the exact day of our departure. 

As a family, we have enjoyed the time together over the holiday season. The days are long, with lots of play and quality time. As previously mentioned, the kids were sick with high fevers and a cough. As it always does, that brought us back to our knees and dependent upon the Lord for His healing hand and petitioning for our faith to be strengthened. We are grateful that we seem to be on the mend and back to the kids energetic selves. 

Lastly, we are humbled by the prayer and financial support we have received. We have truly been blessed by the people of God and His provision through you all in this season. The prayers, encouraging words, and generosity have brought us to our knees in thankfulness. Please continue to pray for us. I hope our next update is from London and that we can inform you of some of the lessons we are learning from God during our time there. Thank you for your support and love. As we draw closer to the day of our move, it highlights the friendships and blessings the Lord has given us over the last 4 years of knowing the faithful saints of our Lord Jesus at the Cathedral. It reminds us of God's faithfulness in our adoption as His children and that we get to do it together with God's help.

We love you all! 

Blessings,

The Meads

Great is God's faithfulness! Lamentations 3:22-23: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." The holiday season has come upon us and is more significant and weighty this year. We are looking forward to spending time with our family and friends, but we know this will be a "last hurrah" of sorts. 

Coming Back to Chicago

Our time in Asia ended on November 26th. During the two months we spent there, we made amazing memories and experienced physical (most evident in Judah) and spiritual growth. The latter half of our time in Korea was full of days of family activities, good food, and making lasting memories. We attended Kings Cross church regularly since we came back from Thailand. Their church had a vibrant community of people serving the Lord in Seoul, a place where we felt a strong sense of belonging and unity. As attendees and observers, we were most impressed by their commitment to prayer before, during, and after the service. God is moving in and throughout the world, which is definitely a reason to be thankful.

Cherished Memory

The best moment of the trip for me (Luke) (while there were many, this one takes the cake) was when Judah and I were sitting on the bed in our Airbnb. We were resting from a long morning out and about, and Judah turned towards me. Typically, when he does this, he wants to wrestle or ask me if he can watch a TV show. So I was preparing to take him down or tell him no! As he looked me in the eye, he asked, "Daddy, so Jesus is God?" to which I responded, trying not to cry, "He sure is buddy." The foundations of a lifetime of faith and devotion to Jesus are being laid, and that is only by God's grace and mercy. There, indeed, is a lot to be thankful for. 

Looking Ahead

As our move is coming up, there is still much to do and your prayers will be greatly appreciated. The church we are going to has been going through some growing pains and church discipline. It is a reminder of the fallenness of our world and the need for all of us to depend intensely on God. This time in the church we will call home has given us greater clarity of past experiences and why the Lord has prepared us and brought us to this church at this time. It has been yet another reminder of God's sovereignty in all things even when we do not understand why God brings us through trials and to certain places, He is doing it all for His purpose and plans. Even in hardship and change, there is a lot to be thankful for. 

Please pray for: 

• Housing in London
• Visa. There has been a setback in the process for the church to sponsor us. We are praying for a quick resolution.
• banking, cell phone, and other essentials to figure out.

We love you all. Please pray for us!

Blessings,

The Meads

P.S. A quick note on our support raising:

The support we are raising is for our housing and moving costs. I will be getting a stipend from the church but it will not be able to cover our housing. We are hoping in the coming years that this will be resolved by earning more of a secondary source of income. But, right now, we are humbly asking for your support for the next year to cover these two things (housing and moving costs). This can either be done in a one time donation or  monthly. We truly mean it by saying we are so humbled even by the consideration of giving toward the Lord using us for ministry in London. If you have any questions or anything, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you. 

Spiritual Rest and Rejuvenation

We have been on quite the adventure! Steph and I decided to take an extended family trip to Asia, where we spent time in Korea and Thailand. The Lord has been faithful in our time here, allowing us some much-needed rest and spiritual rejuvenation before we head to England. I wanted to share a bit about our reflections and experiences in the past month. Hopefully, they will be an encouragement to you!

Our Time In Korea

Upon our arrival in Korea, we were physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. With four months until our next season of full-time ministry, we were eager for some family time and personal spiritual reflection. However, the transition to a slower pace was more challenging than I (Luke) had anticipated. Our first Sunday in Korea was spent at a church filled with faithful brothers and sisters from around the world. It was a bittersweet experience, as we were away from our Cathedral family but also found solace in the global community of believers. 

As the next week started, we filled our days with lots of fun and activities for the kids (much to Judah's delight). We took them to two different zoos, a large park, an amusement park, and other activities that they absolutely loved. The Lord was working on growing my and Steph's patience in this season; as fatigue set in, we (mostly Luke) were short-tempered. It reminded me of God's patience and love for us when we are not doing things the way He calls us to. We serve a patient, loving, forgiving Father, Amen! 

The most impactful moment of our time in Korea came during a service at church. The pastor was preaching on Isaiah 6, and he asked, "Why is it that we become complacent? Why do we get all fired up for the mission of God and then slowly regress into complacency? It is not because the mission of God has changed, it is because our worship has. We no longer share the things that no longer captivate us." I have reflected a ton on this since that sermon and have been trying to focus more on the worship of God in my own heart. Steph and I also both cried during the worship time when the leader was going through the song "Greater Still" by Brandon Lake - the lyrics are sweet, but then the leader led us to reflect on our sin and how God has taken it upon himself. It was such a powerful reminder and led both of us to a heart posture of humbled repentance but also undeserved gratitude. 

Our Time In Thailand

We planned the trip to Thailand to be partially missional and partially vacation/exploration. The first impressions of landing in Thailand were hard to process. While Steph had been here before, it was my first time in a nation that was so outwardly idol-worship-centric. It is hard-pressed to find a one-block radius where you are not confronted with some alter to a false god. It is embedded in the culture, government, school system, and many other facets of life. In northern Thailand, where we spent our first week, you can see statues 100 feet tall or taller of false gods. The beautiful mountainous landscape of the One True God's creation is speckled with innumerable shrines of false hope and certain eternal death for those who cling to them. My heart was particularly grieved one day during my time with the Lord until he reminded me, In the face of tremendous odds, God is not phased, He is not worried, He is not shaken, and His gospel is still moving and in the face of what seems like impossible odds to reach a people so lost, WHEN not if He does He will be all the more glorified. Please join me in praying for the Lost.

Our time here has been encouraging in the face of discouraging circumstances. God is moving even here in ways that only God can! We have been accompanied by some brothers and sisters from Myanmar who have had to move or be displaced by the coup that drove their country into the 3rd year of a civil war. I had the great privilege to preach this past Sunday at a church to mostly teenagers whom the war displaced. In asking what they have seen God do even amid these difficult circumstances (where everyone has lost at least someone they know, many have lost numerous loved ones), they responded, "I was not able to get an education and indeed not a Christian education. But faithful brothers (Gandhi) and sisters (Esther) are providing schools and teaching so they can be educated in the Lord at that!

The following Tuesday, we had the privilege to visit an orphanage. The two sisters in Christ who take care of all 20 kids have remarkable stories of how they overcame remarkable odds to follow Jesus. Both were exiled from their families, both had to count the cost, both had to sacrifice comfort for the gospel, and both will be rewarded greatly in heaven. I want to share one part of one of their compelling testimonies. She said, "When I was 15 after I heard about Jesus, I wanted to know more and continue to go to church every week. When my sister (who was her mother figure since both her parents had passed away when she was 8) found out, she would assign me all the hardest, longest, time-consuming chores to do on Sunday mornings. She did this so that I couldn't attend church. So the next week, when she did the same thing, I woke up at 4 in the morning to complete all the chores so I could go to church. I did this for many weeks until my sister got so upset she gave me an ultimatum. 'It's either me or Jesus! You can live here with me, or you can live on the streets with Jesus!' She reflected for a little while and told her sister, 'I love you, but you never died for me. I love you, but you can not give me eternal life. So, I choose Jesus." Oh, God, help me with my lack of faith! What a powerful testimony this was. Please join me in praying for the orphanage that wants to provide long-term housing for these kids and continue to multiply their impact by serving more children.

It seems like two different, polar opposite worlds: the Western world and being over here in Asia. There are spiritual attacks, difficulties/problems, idols, and life in general, but it is so evident how much everyone needs the Lord. This trip has been eye-opening because we all are culturally different but similar: regardless of everyday life, we all need Jesus. Daily.

We ask for health protection, safe travels back to Korea (and back to the US), and more opportunities to share the gospel and grow spiritually before heading to England. 

Love you all! Please pray for us!

Blessings,

The Meads