Germany, Switzerland, and the Faroe Islands
Spring 2019
It's not very often I get to visit a country I haven't been to before, and in 2019, I have already been to two of them! For my trip to the Philippines, go and click the Newsletter Archive tab at the bottom of the page, and then click on "Spring Update" from 3/23/19 for a very cool look at a very remote place where Bill will be getting quite a bit more involved in the future!
But nothing would've prepared me for the rare beauty that was waiting for me in the Faroe Islands, as part of a larger tour in Europe over April and May!
Oh, there was some drama getting there, as SAS Airlines Pilots went on strike, stranding me in Frankfurt, and not able to get to Copenhagen, Denmark, to catch my Atlantic Airways flight to Torshaven, Faroe Islands. After some quick last-second maneuvering from my German Manager and my hosts in Torshaven, I was sorted - flying to some tiny islands out in the very North Atlantic between the Shetland Islands north of Scotland, and Iceland.
The purpose of the tour was to pave the way for further ministry here - an incredibly creative and talented people, Vikings and fishermen in their history, but truly gifted in visual arts and music.
And while I was only there for 3 days, they really packed the schedule full of goodness, starting with the night I landed! I had arrived late from the plane, the first meeting I was "supposed" to be at was already over and dismissed - and yet there were still around 20 or so college aged youth around. I was brought in by the OM Country Leader Johan Petur, and got into a conversation with a few of them, they kept asking questions, and then one of them asked me to play a song on this beautiful grand piano in the main hall... I played Out Of The Darkness, with the full classical intro, and before you know it, well, they are all in the room, and, I know it sounds trite, but the Holy Spirit just took over... I shared my testimony in brief, from the divorce of my parents through to my salvation, through to my encounter with George Verwer at Biola, and then on to OM Arts and now Catalytic Ministries - the point I guess was " A Life's Journey In Search of the Kingdom of God" - and they keep asking such great penetrating questions throughout, and then they asked me to close in a song, so we worshipped to Great Are You Lord... amazing really... God is good...
The hospitality was awesome, the Saturday Arts Seminar went so well, I have been invited back to present it and more again to a much larger group, the Saturday night concert went extremely well, and the Sunday services as well - so well received.
And the people - warm, hospitable, and truly wanting to be used by God in the world. Our OM Ships Ministry has a number of Faroese in it, and we even have one working in an Aids/HIV Ministry in Mamelodi outside of Pretoria - a ministry that falls into my new remit as Director of the Catalytic Ministries.
And that is where there is so much more potential here.The Faroese are gifted, motivated, and passionate-for-mission people, and connecting them to the larger world of God's Kingdom outside of these tiny islands is an honor and a privilege. I so look forward to reporting back all that God did next May when I return to this beautiful place where there are no trees, but where God planted people as hearty as oaks.
God bless you on your journey, wherever He takes you...
Bill Drake
“The places that used to fit me cannot hold the things I've learned." - Sara Groves