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Today we will be taking a rare glimpse into the life of – the EWR participant. We are currently on location at Gifford Park Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, where there has been a recent sighting of these fascinating creatures.

Usually uncommon, they appear in relatively large groups once a year, gathering in locations found within the English-speaking countries.Their numbers have been growing over time, increasing from about 11 in 2006, to 16 in 2007.

EWR participants prefer an enclosed habitat, spending most of their time inside one room. Their primary activities consist of sleeping, praying, eating, sitting, eating, praying, and more sitting.

They are very slothful creatures, consuming about two times their weight in food everyday. Their main diet consists of 3 large meals per day, along with tea, coffee, and a large variety of snacks, including candy, chips, and dried fruit…
etc, etc…

…Through the eyes of a first-time EWRer =3]

Today was our outing day! We have emerged from our lairs, and have ventured into the fresh, clean Edinburgh air.
We spent a bit of the morning at the beautiful Calton Hill, then in the afternoon we visited the Botanical Gardens, and explored the astonishing castle-structure of Comely Bank Church.

It was a great day out, thank God for the sunshine (and the bit of rain), I think we were all grateful to have a smal break from writing.

So I’m supposed to do a reflection:
I hadn’t really expected to find myself in EWR this year. I don’t feel like I came out of my own accord. Through the persistent nagging and encouragement of my best friend, I was dragged half-way across the world to Edinburgh, Scotland.

So here I am now.

It has been 5 days, and I really thank God that I was given the opportunity to attend this year’s EWR. It has opened my eyes and my heart towards the Literary Ministry (LM), of which I had not given much concern to in the past.

The one thing I learned is that even though I’m not a good writer, I can still serve God through writing, because it’s not only about the technique, or style. You’re not trying to find the fanciest word, or the choicest phrase. You’re not writing to impress anyone. The writing we do is not like the writings of this world because it is all for God.

Everyone has experienced different things with God, and one way to share that is through our writing. What we write can edify other believers, guide truth-seekers, and move people to think about how God has touched their own lives. This can only be done through a lot of prayer and meditation on God’s words. We don’t want to write what we want to write, but what God wants us to write. In that way, God’s love can reach many people.

It’s nothing new. For we all have a part in salvation today, because of one very ancient piece of literary ministry – the Bible, duh! 😀

So we are nearing the end of EWR, there is only one more full day (*tear).

I pray that I can take what I learned here and share it with others in my local church, to hopefully inspire them to serve God through LM.
Oh, but there is actually more to LM than just writing! I could go on, but for full details you can send your inquiries to lm@tjc.org.
Just to name a few:
– for all the computer whizzes out there, there is a lot of work needed in computer programming, website design, and publication formatting.
– There is a need for sermon/testimony transcriptions.
– There is a need for translation of Chinese materials into English.
There is much more to be done! May God guide this work.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the brothers and sisters of Gifford Park Church, who have provided us with such comfortable accomodations, and a never-ending supply of delicious food. We haven’t even had to do any cleaning!

As if that’s not enough, we also received small souvenirs on behalf of the entire church – Scotland mug and shortbread (yum!), and a beautiful EWR bookmark.

It is too much – thank God for their love.

May God guide us when we all go our separate ways, and may we continue to have a burning desire to serve the Lord.