If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then we’ve got enough to write a whole book:

And here’s a link to 100+ more photos that capture the heart of our trip to Hertford:

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL GALLERY OF PHOTOS

Special thanks to Zach Benson, who captured the vast majority of the photos and videos you’ve seen on this blog.  To view more of Zach’s work, visit www.zebsweb.com

Our bodies are laying down in beds tonight that feel quite familiar, but our minds and hearts cannot help but drift back to Hertford: to the many beautiful gardens where we ate dinner each evening… to the Hunter’s house, where Maddie, McKenna, and Michael Brian filled every room with their sweet laughter… to Haileybury, where we met for BASH all week… to the minibuses we rode in on with Pav and Colin each day… to Petasfield Cottages and Dalmonds Barns… to Cowbridge Hall and the Hartham Common.  And most of all, we keep thinking about the dozens of students we poured ourselves into all week long.  Many of us are struggling with a lot of sadness as our heads hit our pillows tonight, because in one week’s time, we’ve built amazing new relationships with our brothers and sisters in England, and seen God do amazing things in and through us that only HE can do. We are not the same as when we left home on May 31. We never will be.

Over the coming days, we’ll be posting a large number of pictures from the trip, as well as one or two more videos. We hope they will help put a face on the stories we will have trouble properly articulating when you ask us about our trip, because words continue to fail us. But 3 more members of our team have done their best to try, and tonight we leave you with their stories…

KENZIE SCHNEIDER
As this week is coming to a close, and we are on the bus to head back home, many things are crossing my mind: going crazy dancing to Bruno Mars, running around Hertford in the Amazing Race, and just looking back at all the laughter through out the week. But to let you in on a little secret coming into the trip… God and I have been playing a little game of “tug-a-war” lately. For the betterment of the trip, I decided that I had to lay down the rope and allow God do what he desired to do, whether that be impacting someone or Him impacting me (which, by the way, he did BOTH). Coming to England with an expectant heart for God was the best decision I made this week. Being open and tuned to God everyday did some beautiful things. Letting the Lord “win tug-a-war” this week allowed Him to shine through me in loving on complete strangers and just being excited and outgoing about whatever was going on.

I have made some of the best of friends these past five days… friends I will never forget and will continue to keep in touch with. I love them all so much with my whole heart. I thank God today for this week because he has showed me what he can do when I don’t pick up that rope and fight back for control when I am scared. I will take this skill back home this coming week and remember my Brits when I leave for college in eleven days. I will no longer be scared. I am ready to go in heart first and let the Lord shine though me and use me, as I meet complete strangers with a longing heart ready to love on them.

MARY TUCKER
This year I returned to Hertford for the second time with extremely high hopes and expectations. I built some incredible relationships last summer that I was so excited to be able to follow up on this year. Once in Hertford, our team was divided into either small group leaders (who led a group of students) or work crew (who did all the setting up and cleaning behind the scenes). I was placed on work crew, which was a bit of a challenge for me since I am such a relational person.

The day we found out our assignments, Becca told me who she had in her small group, and sure enough it was 3 of the girls I got really close with last year. One girl in particular was a girl who, ever since I met her, I have been praying for her and fighting for her all year. Naturally I was jealous of the opportunity Becca had been given to pour into these girls that were so close to my heart.

Despite my disappointment, it was INCREDIBLE to go through day by day and experience the change of heart that came with being on work crew. The Lord humbled me immensely this week as I learned the true significance of being a servant of Christ and laboring for His kingdom. I grew in the way I look at being selfless and willing when asked to help. On our last day I was so grateful that the Lord changed my heart in that way, but I didn’t even know that He wasn’t finished yet.

On the last night at our final event (a new worship service for teenagers called Transform), the campers had the opportunity to commit their life to Christ. During worship I could not stop praying for the Lord to stir in this girl I’d been praying for since last year. I was crying out to God, literally. About 10 minutes later, she looked at me with tears streaming down her face saying she was ready, and asked if I would go pray with her. Even as I write this now my heart is speeding up and tears are welling up in my eyes at the thought of the life change that occurred in her last night.

Last summer I met her and asked what she thought of God, and her reply was that she absolutely did not believe He even existed. Through Facebook and Skype, I kept up with her on a weekly basis all year. In January she told me she believed there was a God. And now, last night she admitted she needs a savior and gave her life to Jesus. That is the power of God’s pursuit and the power of investment. I cannot be more grateful that God allowed me to play a part in her walk with Him.

ZACH PHILLIPS
As I sit here on a plane, coming back from a country and a week where God has done the most in me, I can’t help but tear up. God did amazing things in my life, but very few compare to what he did through a teenager named Lee. Lee did not grow up in a Christian home, but loved working in and for the church in Hertford. Because Lee and I had the role of setting up the sound system before camp each day, I had many opportunities to talk with him and pick his brain on a daily basis.

On the third day, Lee randomly asks how long I had been a Christian. I explained to him that I had grown up in a Christian home and that I accepted Jesus as my savior as soon as I was old enough to understand it all. Soon after I asked him the same, and he responded, “I love working in the church, but I’m not a Christian…yet.” at this point I knew why God had sent me overseas, away from my family, to a place where I knew no one but the people I was traveling with. As the week went on, Lee and I continued with small talk and never dove deep into a religious conversation. However, this did not slow down my heart from breaking for him.

One night I brought up Lee and my prayers over him in our team’s debrief, and immediately Rob encouraged me to talk with Lee about pursuing God. The next day, I had planned to talk to him at lunch, just the two us. Being the teenage boy he is, he decided to hang back with his friends. For two full hours I felt more discouraged than I ever had, and decided to go to Eugene in hopes that he would have some sort of wisdom. However, all he told me was that there was no strategy and that I needed to be a man of Christ, pull him aside and talk to him.

As I walked into a huge empty room to fill water coolers, I thought everything over and prayed one last prayer that God would allow me one more opportunity and courage to do His Will. As soon as I said, “Amen,” none other than Lee walked in. I took this time to talk to him about our bible study earlier today, and he was able to confess how much my journey with life related to his. He was also able to share how, although he could not pray in front of a large number of people, he did pray and it was definitely a part of his life. As soon as we stopped talking, I knew God had done something in him, and i was not surprised when later that night, in front of every Brit and American that had taken this amazing journey this week, he announced that he accepted Christ as his savior. I’m very sorry this blog was as lengthy as it was, but if you are ever in need of a living example of the impact of God in anyone, especially a popular, good-looking, teenage boy in a nation where God does not thrive, this IS one. I now know not only why God brought me to the small town of Hertford, England, but that no person, old or young, rich or poor, popular or shy, lacks importance in His eyes.

British Airways Flight 227
Departs London 10:00am EST
Arrives Atlanta 7:05pm EST

Remember that we will have to go through customs since we are reentering the country, so it will probably be between 8-8:30pm when we come up the escalator at baggage claim. We look forward to seeing all of you!

BECCA LEVAN
Going into this week I didn’t know what to expect, but I was excited to see what God had in store. Sitting in the team meeting the night before camp started, I heard my name called out as a counselor, and my stomach dropped. From that moment, I knew God was about to do something huge. As my girls start arriving on the first day, I realized that I had the older girls and I had already met a few of them. Such a relief. The four girls that I had met first were instantly outgoing, and we automatically clicked! Then a shy and quiet girl walked up to me. She has a learning disability, and has some social troubles. I knew that it was going to stretch me and challenge me like never before. She sensed a connection with me and constantly clung to me. It’s been difficult keeping up with the four other girls as well as her, considering I was the only leader for that group. It was a humbling experience seeing the other groups doing the activities so easily, while I was pushing her out of her comfort zone because of her disabilities. At the end of the day I was drained, I felt like there was no more love, and no more encouragement that could be poured out of me. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. During debrief, one of the Young Life leaders (Sarah Miller) shared with the group and I what this girl had said to her after camp that day. She had run up to Sarah saying “I have done more things today than I have in my entire life!” There was a new joy in her. She was overwhelmed by the high-fives, smiles, hugs, and love that she had received without judgement. It’s been such an honor to witness how the Lord had given her such happiness. I thought I would be the one teaching her, but she’s been the one teaching me. Through the power of the Lord, He has given me a patient heart, and nurturing spirit. It’s changed me in ways that I would have never expected. And I am so thankful for this sweet new British friend, and the life long treasures she’s put in me. Please pray that the Lord would continue to work in this young woman of Christ. I have enjoyed this journey with her and the beautiful relationship that has been built!

MADISON JOINER
This being my first mission trip I had no clue what I was up for, but was so excited for what God had in store. For the camp, I was put on work crew and the first day all we did was work work work. We set the tables, picked up trash, fixed snacks, worked backstage, set up games and much more. I wanted so bad to be able to share God with the students at the camp, but with being on work crew I didn’t know how. The first day I became completely overwhelmed and frustrated. At debrief the first night, I shared everything that I had been feeling. We talked about how everyone was placed in the position they are in for a reason. I was placed in work crew for a reason and God had a plan in store for me, he had something amazing for me to learn. Even though all I am doing is opening doors, pouring drinks or fixing lunch I am being the hands and feet of Jesus. We also talked about how you don’t need to expect things from God, and how you have to be able to trust in Him. God was wanting to stretch me being on work crew, and I had to look for the opportunity rather than be put into it. In small groups they were given questions to ask their students, but with being on work crew it was more difficult to ask people about their relationship with God without having guidelines. Each day being on work crew got better and better. I saw God at work in many different ways. When the small groups went to the afternoon activity the girls on the work crew had a bible study. I knew that this was my chance to share what God has done in my life. I am not usually the one to be vulnerable, but God gave me that strength and boldness.

Even today, Brette and I were walking up to The Common and a group of eleven year old boys came up to us and made some really rude comments. They were asking us why we Americans were here and if we believed in God. I knew God had given me another chance to be bold, so I told them exactly why we were here. I even told them that we were having something called “Transform” tonight and they should come. God has changed my heart in a huge way this week. I went from being frustrated and not knowing what to say to people to trusting in God and being bold. Looking back at this week every single minute of it was worth it. I developed a new love for God that I didn’t have before. He changed my heart in such an amazing way. I am so excited about all the new relationships I have made and where they are going to take me, and I can’t wait to come next year.

BEN DENHART
“God, break my heart for what breaks Yours.” That is what I found myself praying leading up to England. Never did I realize just how quickly God would answer that prayer over the course of the trip. It started with getting the opportunity to lead a group of guys similar in age as my small group back home, with a lot of the same personalities. I instantly felt a connection with them and they gradually started to open up to me. Next thing you know we’re running around playing games, dancing at the beginning of club, and they’re showing me how to make a “proper” fish and chips sandwich.

One of the guys in particular who had a reputation of being the quite guy, only said 8 words to me the first day of camp. But by day 2 we were having full on conversations with him asking some really deep spiritual questions and opening up to me about his life. And as he shared his story, as we walked around this massive cricket pitch, I found myself start to be moved by what this kid had been through in his life. He shared with me why he doesn’t talk to other people, how he grew up not knowing his dad, how he really doesn’t have many friends and has never had someone be so nice to him. Talk about God breaking your heart for what breaks His! I prayed it and he answered! Just by being nice to this one kid and showing him the love of Jesus, he felt secure enough to open up to me, a person he had just met 2 days ago.

I find myself not wanting to leave this town (sorry everyone back home). I want to continue to meet with this guy and show him that there are other people here who do care about him and that he has a heavenly father who cares about him so much more than he will ever know! So here we are 24 hours before we go home and everything in me just wants to keep on going!

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One final story to share with you before we call it a night: last night we had a time of communion, worship, and sharing between our team and the Brits, all taking place in the gorgeous chapel of Haileybury.

During this time of sharing, We found out our friend Lee from the work crew had accepted Christ, which many of us had been praying for all week! We also spent a solid hour speaking words of encouragement and life into one another, as we shared how God had been moving in our lives over the course of the week. We closed out our time together in worship, singing a song written by our very own Caroline Fidell… A song that has been our team’s prayer since before we ever left for England… A song that asks God to do what only He can do… A song that one of our team members happened to capture on their iPhone, and we are excited to share with you now:

And now, for the stories… enjoy!

CAROLINE FIDELL
My role over this trip has been different than previous years. My focus has been to help lead worship and to do music for the camp which has been such an honor and enjoyment. My favorite part of each day is the morning worship time. Every morning there’s about 40 of us leaders, Brits and Americans, that worship together, begging Jesus to help us focus our hearts and affection on Him alone. That has been such an encouraging time for me, just watching the Lord work and speak each morning in such powerful ways. Sometimes as a worship leader, you really need to usher people into the presence of God so sometimes it feels like pulling teeth and it can get quite discouraging. But here, the entire group is just going for it, completely abandoned to Jesus. On their knees, hands lifted high, singing loud to our Savior. Such a beautiful sight to see and what a humbling honor and blessing to be a part.

SAHAR MASSAD
“Only You can.” That is part of a song we have been singing a lot this week and it is so true. Only God can save. Only God can heal. Only God can rescue. I have been so incredibly blessed to lead a group of 7 girls this week. I have literally spent every second of everyday with these girls just loving on them and quickly becoming one of their best friends. There was one girl in particular that literally didn’t say a word the first day but you could tell she was listening to everything we were talking about. God really broke my heart for her. Without saying a word, i could tell she was so broken and so in need of a savior. My biggest prayer at first was that she would just open up and that God would break down the walls she was hiding behind.

The first day I asked the girls where they thought they stood spiritually. This girl said that she knew a lot of stories but was still unsure about the whole thing. She didn’t fully believe and felt like something was holding her back. Fortunately I was able to spend SO much time with her this week. Not only was she becoming more comfortable dancing, playing, and singing with the other girls but she was really starting to trust me and open up about everything. You could really tell she was starting get it. Today she told me that when she was walking home yesterday she was complaining and angry because she was so hot and sore. Then out of nowhere she immediately thought of Jesus on the Cross. She thought of everything that Jesus went through for her and then realized she had no reason to complain about anything. That is when everything became real for her. She told me today that she was so tired of being broke and so tired of doing life on her own. She said she was ready to take that next step in her faith. We talked so much more today about what it means to take that next step and God truly blessed all of the conversation we had today. At the end of the day she came up to me and said she was ready. I took her into the corner and we just prayed about everything. It was simply incredible. We were both in tears at the end of our prayer. It was by far one of the most beautiful things I have ever witness. I can honestly say I am truly humbled to have been been apart of this story that our God has so perfectly written.

MARK DIAMOND
This week has been pretty amazing so far. The thing I was most looking forward to when I first came to Hertford was the small group I was going to be leading at camp. But the first day of camp, when I met my group, it was a little awkward. I was just a random American who was apparently supposed to be their leader, and they didn’t really know how to respond. Our small group time was really quiet and they all seemed to be sort of uncomfortable. As the day ended I was just hoping that tomorrow wouldn’t be as weird and quiet as the first. The second day blew me away. The kids knew my name, they were answering questions and having lots of other conversations in group, and they seemed to be having a really good time. They even did some really funny things like fighting over who gets to sit next to me on the bus and trying to beat me in all the games (even though they couldn’t). Believe it or not, the third day, today, was even better. The boys actually came looking for me when they first got to camp and were excitedly talking to me about everything we were going to do today. Our team won this tournament that every small group was competing in, and their faces were the happiest I had ever seen them; we all jumped around shouting and laughing after we won.

The best part, though, was that God started really started moving in our small group time. We talked about how they all felt that Jesus had died on the cross for them and we had some really deep discussions about it. One of the guys especially seemed moved by the conversation and my goal is to press in and trust that God will give me the words to say to help lead him to the cross. I love these guys and the next few days are going to be awesome. I really feel like God’s going to do some incredible things.

CHASE PETERSON
Hertford England is a town with so much potential going toward the kingdom. I’m so grateful to have been asked to be a small group leader this week group for 7 Brits. No doubt my faith has grown and been stretched! There was something special about getting to know each and every kid in my group. Over the past few days I have seen so much growth in them: the way they interact with each other and the way they get excited to sing and learn new ways to glorify God. Over the past few days I have fallen in love with England and Hertford so much! I met these people only 4 short days ago, but I feel like i know every one of them so well and I LOVE it.

When I first got in England I prayed my heart out that His name would get exalted on this trip and that His will be done. Seeing all the people here God tugged on my heart strings and pulled me towards the Brits. God is moving mountains here in this town and I’m sooo EXCITED that I get to be a part of his light being shined in the darkness. I think the coolest part of this trip is that this is the first opportunity for me personally to take a step in becoming the leader I know God wants to make me, into a fisher of men, and also to share my story to people who are genuinely interested in growing and walking in faith with me.

We’ll be back tomorrow with stories from a couple of the LADIES from the team. In the meantime, here’s a shot of the group taken at the end of the day, when we went to the world’s largest Krispy Kreme on our way home:

One of the many great things about our mission work in England is the depth of relationships that are forged. Parents, your sons and daughters will come home with new friendships that they will be investing in for years to come. Hearts are already breaking for the people here, and there’s a genuine desire amongst the team to see these guys and gals grow in their relationship with Jesus!

BUT… one of the other great things about these deep relationships that we are building is that they are FULL of fun and laughter. Tonight was a perfect example of that. After another exhausting but EXHILARATING day of camp, we headed to the Pinehurst Community Center for a barbecue with the people of Hertford Community Church. The entertainment for the night was captured in the videos below!

First off, there was Taylor competing in a game that involved holding a buzzer that continued to buzz stronger and longer with time (don’t be alarmed… despite the dramatic reaction, no one was even remotely hurt by this, haha!):

Then Zach tried the same competition (this one had us all doubled over):

Then there was a dance off between a few Brits and Americans:

Sahar and Mary wrote a wrap about one of our favorite Brits, Ross Hartwig:

And then Ross, Steve and Jack closed out the night with an encore performance of a song they wrote while we were here last year… A deeply moving tune called “I’m a Catepillar”:

This laughter has only quickened the depth of our relationships with the amazing people here in Hertford. Our laughter has paved the way for much more significant, life changing conversations to take place. We spent time praying this afternoon that God would move in students’ hearts in ways that only HE can do, and praying that the many students who are saying they are “almost there” when it comes to placing their faith in Jesus Christ would make that decision THIS WEEK. We sense significant breakthrough is on the horizon, and covet your prayers as we move in to the final 2 days of camp.

We hope to allow a few students to share a testimony of what God has done in their hearts over the final few days here, but in the meantime, we’ll leave you with a few more photos from our trip!

Today was the first of Bash, which is the name of the Younglife camp we’re serving with this week, and boy did we dive into the deep end of the pool right from the get-go.

We started our morning at 8:15 with a time of prayer and worship at Haileybury before the campers arrived. Afterwards, minibuses started showing up with teenagers from all over the area.

Two things you should know about the camp breakdown: (1) only 7 students were signed up a couple weeks ago, and now there are about 35 campers in attendance, with even more expected tomorrow…this is a HUGE turnout and a TREMENDOUS answer to prayer! And (2) in addition to the 35 campers, there are a number of British students on the Work Crew this week, where 2/3 of our team are serving. Many of these kids are young in their faith as well, so everywhere we turn there are opportunities to share the love of Jesus with students! And let me just tell you… Not only are your sons and daughters sharing that love, but they’re doing it with great energy and enthusiasm!!!

After a long and exhausting day of camp, we went over to our friends Jane & Harold’s GORGEOUS garden for dinner. Then we split into teams (with a mix of American and British students) and competed in an “Amazing Race” all over the town of Hertford. It was an absolute blast, but we were worn out by the end of it all!

Every day we end with a “team debrief,” where we sit down as a team to discuss and process what God has been doing in and through us. Because of the late hour at which our day ended, we decided to split up and do our team debrief at our separate cottages: one for the guys and one for the girls. As a result, we haven’t heard how the girls debrief went just yet, but the guys debrief tonight was an intense time of sharing and prayer. Parents of guys on this trip… God is growing your sons’ faith in powerful ways already this week!

We’ll be back with more tomorrow, but we’ll leave you with the “world premiere” of the Day 1 highlight video being shown tomorrow at Bash:

Day 2 was jam-packed full of adventure! We woke up early and caught a train in to London for our “adjustment day” — a fun day placed at the beginning of the trip each year to allow our bodies to adjust to a new culture (and a new time zone!)

Upon arriving in London, we hopped on a double-decker bus and cruised around the entire city, seeing a little of everything: Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge, and Trafalgar Square (the group shot pictured above), just to name a few! And all this was BEFORE LUNCH!

After lunch, the weather turned absolutely gorgeous (as it’s projected to be the remainder of the week!) and we walked around Leicester Square and Covent Garden, before hopping back on the train to Hertford to eat dinner at the home of the Turner’s, who have opened up their garden to us for dinner every year since we started coming to Hertford. We are so appreciative of their hospitality!

Even then, our day wasn’t done: we wrapped up dinner and headed to Haileybury, where we will be putting on this camp (called “Bash”) from Wed – Sat. This is where the mission of our trip started to become very real for our team, as British students began to pour in to the theater this evening. There were a lot of hugs and high fives (and high pitched squeals of delight!) from the Americans and Brits who already knew each other, and the new folks became fast friends… By the end of the night, everyone was screaming out the lyrics to “Don’t Stop Believin’” together as Andrew and Caroline rehearsed.

It’s 11:30pm over here now, and we’ve got a huge day ahead of us with Bash beginning tomorrow, so please be praying for rested legs and rejuvenated energy as we prepare to love on British students!!!

For two months we’ve prepared. Today we arrived.

Our travels to England began with a most unexpected of surprises: the bus scheduled to take us to the airport in Atlanta broke down earlier in the day, only to be replaced by… wait for it… A PARTY BUS. It was hysterical. We laughed and sang and danced our way to the Atlanta airport.

This is the youngest team we’ve ever taken to England, but they traveled like a bunch of seasoned veterans. Parents… You should be very proud of your sons and daughters! We flew through the night, with most of us getting at least a couple hours of sleep. Other than a little turbulence early on, our flight was fantastic! We touched down around 10:30am, and headed to our cottages.

After settling in, we headed over to Michael and Beth Ann Hunter’s house, where Michael shared the vision for our week together. It was so great to spend time with the Hunter family, as well as our British friends Jack, Steve, Sara, Pav, and Kieran.

We wrapped our evening by walking around the Hunters home and praying over their home and their family, and have now headed back to our cottages to get some much needed sleep after a long day of travel! Its hard to imagine that 24 hours ago we were heading to the NMC office to depart!