Mr. Wonderful

Posted by Nathan and Meredith Jones

Tonight we went to the SAGU student center where the Gold Jackets were sponsoring a Mr. Wonderful event in which several eligible bachelors were auctioned off as dates for the winning bidders. It was a blast and I was seriously cracking up the whole night! What is really exciting though is that the Gold Jackets group decided to give all of the proceeds towards our mission to London. In all, $1,300 was raised at the event! We are really blessed and humbled at everything SAGU is doing. To find out more about how SAGU is supporting our family, check out the article here

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An Open Door

Posted by Nathan and Meredith Jones

Ok so to be honest, this missionary journey has not been an easy one for me. In actuality, we didn’t initially see ourselves going to England through the traditional missionary route. The main reasons were because we knew it would mean support raising and because it would be a lot of money to raise since we have a family and we’re going to one of the most expensive cities in the world! But as we were seeking God about moving to England, Meredith and I made the decision to knock on every door and see which one God would open. 

We literally tried every avenue possible including (but not limited to) connecting with a pastor in England who was related to a mutual friend, trying to transfer to a Starbucks in London, going to school there, trying to get jobs at a University there, and finally going as a missionary. Another reason we didn’t think we could go as missionaries is because we had been told that U.S. missionaries out of the Assemblies of God were not allowed to go to England and we knew that there had not been missionaries there in the past.

As we knocked on most of these doors, we quickly found out that they were not only closed but padlocked with security guards next to them and a hi-tech security system rival to that of the 3 casinos robbed in the movie “Oceans 11”. Unfortunately we didn’t have a team of highly trained professionals looking for a difficult challenge with a great payoff at the end.

Finally we made contact with the area director over Northern Europe (Tim Southerland) who lives in Wales. Immediately it felt like a God connection as he told us that not only was the British Assemblies of God (referred to as AOG) now allowing missionaries to come, but they had also recently asked for help. In fact, the 1st time I spoke with the area director on the phone it had only been a couple of weeks since he had been in a national meeting with the leaders of the AOG. He told me that at the meeting there were 1000 leaders who were on their faces crying out to God for revival. I’m not sure if you know British culture but even Pentecostal churches over there are full of very reserved people who don’t usually do things like that. 


The area director also told me that after the meeting the superintendent of the AOG came up to him and asked if he knew anyone from the states who could come help. At this point in our phone conversation we were already getting excited when Tim told me that he felt like God was opening a giant door over the UK. This was an incredible confirmation to us because just the night before that phone conversation Meredith felt like God was putting a scripture on her heart that states, “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.”

After that conversation we knew that God was calling us to go as missionaries to the UK.


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London Trip! - Day 3

Posted by Nathan and Meredith Jones

We decided that we would make this a day to go see all the sights and take pictures of all the most famous parts of London. Meredith, Rodney, and Voni had all seen them all before but I had only seen a few of them when I was 16 on a short layover.

1st we went to Trafalgar square and saw the large fountains and 4 giant lions at the base of Trafalgar’s statue (we made sure to take pictures of these to show the boys). There was also a large digital countdown clock that was counting down to the Olympics in London next summer! City officials were actually setting up for the lighting of a huge Christmas tree and for Christmas carols to be sung there that evening.

Then we walked down to the area where Big Ben is. Along the walk we saw where the Prime Minister lives (a building painted black!) I learned something new about Big Ben actually. “Big Ben” refers to the bell inside of the clock tower, not the tower itself. This area is where the houses of parliament are as well as Westminster Abbey. There were actually government protesters camped in tents across from Parliament.

We went inside the chapel next to Westminster Abbey and heard a choir practicing. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go inside Westminster Abbey because it was so expensive. It was actually sad because they used to allow people to go in for free but now they have a sign up saying that although it is still used as a place of worship, the main source of income for keeping the facility running is from the tourists that pay to see it.

Next we walked across the bridge next to Big Ben in order to grab lunch and see the “London Eye”. We ate at a McDonald’s there and I was shocked to find that the same chicken sandwich I buy from the dollar menu in the U.S. was 2.59 pounds (which currently translates to $4.27!). That was just the sandwich by itself, not a meal! We took lots of pictures of the “London Eye” to show the boys but we didn’t ride it either. There was someone selling half price tickets for 18 pounds each ($30 dollars) so we decided to save our money.

We found the tube nearby and took it to the area where the Tower Bridge (commonly mistaken as London Bridge) and London castle are. The castle was awesome and near the castle were parts of walls remaining from the 1st and 2nd centuries. Also near the castle was a giant sundial, which had the history of the city of London commemorated from its formation to today. It was extremely informative and really cool because it was also illustrated. We walked halfway across the Tower Bridge and back and we could actually see London Bridge because it is the next bridge over.

Then we met a friend at Victoria Station who was able to come for just a couple of days. While we were waiting for him we went to Starbucks and found a good set of collector’s mugs to add to our mug collection. I also realized here that my Starbucks partner discount is good everywhere in England!

We tried to go see St. John’s but it was already closed for the night. There was a huge group of protesters against war involvement who were camped outside St. John’s as it began to rain pretty hard. We quickly found a burger restaurant nearby and ate dinner. Meredith and I drank tap water and shared one hamburger and French fries (they called them super skinny chips) but it still cost 12 pounds (20 bucks).

After dinner, we got on the tube and headed back to our hotels to call it a night. It was a really fun and eventful day but our feet were super tired from all the walking!


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London Trip! - Day 2

Posted by Nathan and Meredith Jones

We started out the day with a delicious English breakfast at our hotel. They had eggs, ham (it was more like a cross between ham and bacon but very yummy), little checkered shaped potatoes, and rolls with jam. After breakfast we made our way to a hotel near Russell Square where some friends of ours were staying.


We were able to connect there (Along with Rodney and Voni Johnston who came to London at the same time as us) with a pastor of a church in Camden Town called Family Life Centre. It was great talking with him because we gained a ton of insight about the people of London and the way they think, churches in London, and even things about the government. There were a lot of things that I had heard about London that I was able to confirm through conversation with the pastor. One was that Islamic people have a very strong voice in the city; another was that churches are closing down constantly.

I also learned a lot of new information about how many people are taking advantage of unemployment, welfare, and disability. So much to the point where young girls are purposefully trying to get pregnant because when they have a child the government gives them a house and cash to live on. Also, young men are trying to get on unemployment rather than get a job because they can make more money that way. Of course this makes life more difficult for those who are trying to earn a living honestly because they have to pay such high taxes (20%!) off of what they make as well as paying an additional 20% tax on purchases (not to mention council tax that you have to pay on your housing)! This means that they are only really living off of less than 60% of their income.

One thing the pastor told us about his church was that they were able to successfully reach many foreigners in the area, but the downside was that they wouldn’t stay long because they eventually have to go back to their home countries. As far as the indigenous people of London who have grown up there, the church has found ways to get them to visit the church and they like it, but they don’t usually come back because they don’t feel comfortable due to the large number of foreigners attending. They need to feel more of a sense of belonging somehow.

After meeting the pastor in central London, we went to Camden Town and Camden Lock, which are in North London. It is an area that reminded me of Deep Ellum combined with some of the markets I saw recently in New York City. There were people everywhere dressed as diverse and outrageous as you can imagine. There were also several tattoo shops, loads of stores, shops, and everything in between. There was also a large area in the middle of all the shops with several little specialty restaurants. I think they call it the food market. We ended up getting lunch at one of the Indian food places, and it was really delicious!

When we finished eating, the pastor took us to see his church, which was only about a 5-10 minute walk from the market area. It was a little building that looked like just a metal shed on the outside but they had done a lot with it on the inside. It used to be a storage facility for some apartments but they were able to purchase it about 3 years ago and they have really transformed it into a beautiful place of worship.

Once we were done at the church, we went to a couple of different leasing offices in the area to find out how much it would cost to live there and what kind of properties were available. Generally the cheapest thing they had was for 500 pounds ($825) per week for a 2 bedroom flat (British word for apartment). The good news was that the pastor said that if we kept looking in other areas of London that we could find better deals.

We took the tube back with Rodney and Voni to an area close to their hotel. We found a little place there to eat dinner that was really good and it was relatively inexpensive. It was there that I drank my 1st cup of non-Starbucks coffee in London. It was actually an incredible cappuccino and it tasted just as awesome as it looked.

Finally, we went back with R & V to their hotel and finished out the night by playing a game that they brought called Dutch Blitz. It was really fast paced and I loved it at 1st, but the longer I played the worse I got and I ended up losing both of the games we played. Meredith on the other hand started out slow but ended up winning the 2nd game!

All in all it was a great day. In fact, Meredith and I felt that the trip was already worth it just because of how much we saw and learned on this one day.



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London Trip! - Day 1

Posted by Nathan and Meredith Jones

Wow what a crazy day! We left DFW last night at about 8:15 p.m. Dallas time.  It started out by Meredith and I praying that we could sit next to each other on a 9 hour flight! We didn’t realize soon enough that you were supposed to select your seats on American Airlines website.  By the time we did, there were only single seats available and they were all middle seats so we just selected two seats back to back. As soon as we got on the plane we asked the people next to us to switch with one of us and everyone said no until the last guy. He actually said no initially but then he said, “Wait, I’ll do it. I’d give anything to sit by my wife”. Awesome, right! So it was a long flight but we watched the feature film “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”, a pretty good movie, and we did get some sleep and had a couple of descent meals.


Also, Meredith was able to talk with a lady who grew up in England but she and her family never went to church. She is now a part of a new age religion and is obviously searching for spiritual truth. That conversation served as another reminder that England is no longer a “Christian nation” but it is encouraging to know that people are searching. The problem is, they just don’t know where to look.

After arriving at Heathrow Airport, we got our bags and were off to the underground rail. We took the tube towards our hotel. Ok here’s where the day gets really crazy. When we were getting off the train, we got the suitcases but I left the backpack with both of our laptops inside of it! Before the doors closed a man said, “You left your bag!” so I walked back to get it and the doors closed right as he tried to hand it to me! We were obviously bewildered and distraught and weren’t sure what to do. Of all the bags to lose, this was definitely the worst because it had the most valuable as well as the most irreplaceable items in it.

Immediately we spoke with security personnel and told them what happened. They said they would check for it at the next stop and get back to us. So we waited….. Then she finally called us and told us that they had searched the train but did not find it, and that’s when our hearts sank. Then she instructed us to head upstairs to the supervisor’s office for further instruction while they checked to see if someone turned it in at another station. Amazingly, on our way up we heard an announcement calling for the “American couple who lost a bag” to contact a staff member immediately. Funny because we never told them we were American but I guess they could just tell LOL.

To make a long story short, someone had turned in our bag at another station and they had it waiting for us. Finally, we were able to pick it up and make our way to the hotel! Praise God that He answered all of our many prayers. I can’t imagine what this trip would be like without that bag! In fact, I wouldn’t even be typing this right now if we hadn’t been able to retrieve it!

We walked in the cold and the rain to our hotel with our suitcases rolling behind us on the streets of London, but it was awesome! It felt so surreal to actually be here and we knew we had a week of adventure ahead of us ;)

P.S. I know you guys wanna see pictures so I promise I will post some ASAP!


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Catalyst Church!

Posted by Nathan and Meredith Jones

On Saturday, Nov. 5th we drove up to Bentonville, AR for a Sunday morning service. The trip took about 7 hours and unfortunately the boys didn’t sleep very much L. However, we did have a beautiful view of the colorful northwest Arkansas mountains. It’s so nice to see trees turning so many different colors in the fall! I guess we’re not really used to that here in Texas. When we arrived in Bentonville, we got setup in our hotel, which was very nice and very close to the church. Also, there was a huge basket with lots of snacks and goodies for us, as well as a kind letter from the staff at the church.

We went out to dinner with the Associate Pastor and his wife at a restaurant called Cheezey’s American Grille. It was great for the whole family because there were so many options. We also got to catch up with our old friends from college Brandon (the Associate Pastor) and Melissa Smith. They have a little girl who is super cute and a really easy baby from what I could tell!  After dinner we were able to show them the new SAGU worship CD that Meredith was in charge of and they showed us their new church worship album that was just about to be released a couple of weeks later. Then we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

Thankfully we got an extra hour of sleep because of the Daylight Savings Time change. However, as we awoke, Mer and I both felt like we were being attacked. We had a good talk and then prayed together. I also received an encouraging text from my Dad around the same time so we began to feel better about everything.

We shared a missions window during both of the A.M. services. Worship was awesome and the entire service was very special because it was the launch of the church’s new name, Catalyst Church. I really felt like God spoke some significant things to me during the pastor’s explanation of what it means to be a catalyst as a Christian and as a church. After service we were able to talk to several people who were interested in praying for the city of London and for our family.

Later, we went to lunch with Pastor Nate Sweeney and his family as well as Brandon and his family. We went to Red Robin, which was exciting for us because we had never been there but had heard so much about it. Well the food was quite delicious, especially the bacon cheeseburger with provolone cheese and served with spicy ketchup…yum! Finally, we headed back on the road for another 7-hour trip home with the boys, who slept quite well this time ;)

Thank you Pastor Sweeney for letting us come share our vision for the people of London with your great church on such a monumental day. Thanks Pastor Brandon for your family’s lifelong friendship with ours and for taking such great care of us. You guys brought new meaning to the word hospitality!



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Fellowship of Joy!

Posted by Nathan and Meredith Jones

On October 30th we were in Grand Prairie, TX at Fellowship of Joy with Pastor Scott Camp. We got to know Pastor Camp a couple of years ago when he was the dean of students at SAGU. Also, I got to know him personally because he used to come into my Starbucks in Waxahachie (where I work) every morning to get a French Press of coffee. We played a song that we wrote and did a missions window in both of the morning services. In the 2nd service I really felt led to give the testimony of how we had been able to confirm that God was sending us to England as missionaries. Then Pastor Camp and resident evangelist Kevin Peterson came up to pray for us along with their wives. The rest of the congregation also prayed for us.


It was actually ironic that Kevin Peterson was there because he usually is preaching in other churches each week but on this particular week he was preaching at FOJ. Incredibly, he and his wife felt a call to London, England several years ago but were not able to go because the British Assemblies of God was not open to receiving missionaries from the U.S. We feel a definite connection with this couple for this reason and we were very pleased when we found out they were there. Brother Peterson delivered a powerful message about the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel and both Meredith and I felt especially challenged to have great faith even in the midst of dead situations!

Thank you so much Pastor Camp for believing in missions and believing in us!

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