Dear Friends,

We are a week into May already and our first school year at Charis Dumfries here in Scotland is drawing to a close. Lisa and I are transitioning between two very busy times. Here are just some of the things that have happened here since our last newsletter:

• We received our first inbound mission team, from Charis Oklahoma City.
• We spent nearly two weeks connecting with pastors in the Scottish Highlands.
• We held a successful open day event to recruit new Charis students for next year.
• We had two days of Health & Safety training for staff at the school.
• We hosted the director of a new Charis Bible College campus opening this fall in Exeter, England for some training.
• Since we launched our Daily Reflections email devotional in our last newsletter, it has grown to over 500 subscribers. (Because you already subscribe to our newsletter, you can add yourself to the Daily Reflections distribution automatically by clicking here.)

And those are just the highlights. Looking at the weeks to come, this next Saturday is our last meeting with our students for this school year. Two weeks after that we will be in England for Andrew Wommack’s Grace and Faith conference. Then we head to the USA for a three state whirlwind tour of meetings, speaking engagements, time with friends, and some time with family.

But first, let’s talk about some of the things God has been doing here in Scotland since our last newsletter.

Inbound Mission Team

In March Charis Dumfries hosted a mission team from the Charis Bible College campus in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (OKC). It was the first time for our Dumfries staff to receive an inbound team. It was a fantastic experience for everyone involved.

Here are just some of the ways this team blessed Scotland. They…

• Invested an afternoon deep cleaning and painting in a couple housing units in service to Bethany Christian Trust, a local charity that provides housing for homeless and vulnerable people.
• Volunteered at a public event at Charis Dumfries where Pastor Rich Van Winkle was the key speaker
• Assisted with a Bible study in a local high school with the young people there, which was led by a missionary friend of ours
• Taught in our Saturday school and ministered to our first year students
• Ministered in Glen Aros Church in Dumfries on Sunday
• Ministered at Sunday Night Live Bible study about a half hour up the road in Moffat

A cross-cultural mission trip is part of the second year curriculum at Charis. So it was good for our fist year students to see what a mission trip looks like. The team from Oklahoma City did an amazing job across the board. Our time with them went by far too quickly!

Our First Trip Up to the Highlands

We had a day to catch our breath after we took the mission team to the Glasgow airport on their way back to Oklahoma, and then we headed up to the Scottish Highlands with Rich and Dorothy Van Winkle. Lisa and I were excited to finally get to see some parts of Scotland that we’d not yet seen.

Rich and Dorothy are pastors at the Shepherd’s House in Lewisville, Texas. Rich teaches in the third year Ministry school at Charis Colorado, which is where Lisa and I first met this wonderful couple. They have ministered many times in Scotland. We were blessed to be able to go with them on this trip and meet many of their Scottish connections.

There is so much to share about our time crisscrossing the Highlands over those two weeks. We had three major stops, plus a few minor ones. We connected with nine different pastors. Here are some highlights.

Our first stop in Banff was very encouraging for Lisa and I. There we spent some time with the River Church, which is networked with three other churches in the area. They have ties with another ministry back in the USA. We were encouraged by some of the practical ways that church is ministering and providing some services for the people of their town.

We crossed from the East coast of Scotland all the way to the Western Isles and the Isle of Skye. We felt we were able to be an encouragement to the pastor there. He’s nurtured a gift for painting and creates stunning watercolor landscapes. The Kingdom of God badly needs people like him representing it in the art world. Our evening with him helped him see the significance in what he is doing, from the perspective of eternity.

Next we went up to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. We connected with New Wine Church and the pastors there, Donnie and Catriona Stewart. In addition to being with them for their Sunday service, we attended a church prayer meeting at a member’s home on the Friday evening. It was a very powerful time in God’s presence. Lisa and I agreed that something significant happened at that meeting.

Later we found out we were just up the road from where the Lewis revival broke out in 1949. The Stewarts showed us around the island to help us get an appreciation for the rich Christian heritage of the place. We saw churches where leaders such as Duncan Campbell preached during the revival.

But the Christian history of the island goes much further back. For instance, the photo at the right is the interior of a small church that was built on the site where Christianity was first preached on Lewis more than 1,400 years ago. The church building itself dates from the 12th century and is over 800 years old.

The folks there in the Outer Hebrides Islands are relatively isolated. Access from the Scottish mainland is either by plane or ferry. They don’t get much support from outside. That along with several other factors left Lisa and I with a sense that God is doing something there that we want to help in anyway we can. In fact, we’ve already planned our next trip up to Stornoway after we return from America this summer!

Charis Dumfries Update

We’ve got our last day of the school year with our students this Saturday, May 12th. It’s pretty incredible to us that the school year is already drawing to a close.

Please take a moment to look at the photo at the right here. These are our students and staff this first year at Charis Dumfries. For those of you who partner with us, this is your fruit. These lives are being transformed because of your faithful contributions to NewCREEations. Thank you for your continued faithfulness!

In two weeks we will be down in England at Andrew Wommack’s Grace and Faith conference. The UK schools hold a combined graduation on the Saturday of that event and our first year students will be walking the stage as they formally promote to second year. Plus our first Dumfries graduate will also walk the stage. James Joseph completed his third year with us this year, in addition to helping us out as one of our staff members.

Exciting times indeed!

We held an open day at the Bible college. Unfortunately our planned guest speaker had to cancel his trip to the UK at the last minute. But our team didn’t miss a beat. Everyone stepped up and we held a very successful event nonetheless. In spite of the speaker cancelling, we had 40 in attendance that day, including 18 guests. Twelve of the eighteen wanted application packs and are seriously considering enrolling for September. That’s a really good start for next year’s enrollment!

Speaking of next year, please pray God will bring the students into Charis Dumfries next year. We came together as a staff and are in agreement believing God will bring us 40 total students next year. Please agree with us in prayer for that.

Financial Update

In order to stay accountable to our ministry partners, we share some financial info from time to time. First and foremost, we want to thank those of you who partner with NewCREEations. Those words never really express how appreciative we are for your faithfulness. You keep us here in Scotland, so we can do the work of the ministry that God called us too. Lisa and I are eternally grateful.

We are entering into the time of year where we need to travel back to the US for just over a month for the annual Charis Bible College Directors meeting for training as well as visiting several of our partner churches. We will also be attending a family wedding and visiting Chris’ Mom, as it's been a year since his Dad passed away.

This annual trip is above and beyond our regular monthly budget. With the purchase of airline tickets, renting a car for the time we are there, meals and other expenses in total will cost us approximately an additional $4,000. We know God has called us to Scotland and taking trips back to the US once a year was part of the deal when He called us. With that we would ask for your prayers during this busy time of travel and ministry. We would also ask you to prayerfully consider financially partnering with us for this trip if the Lord so leads you.

Abundant Blessings,

Chris & Lisa Cree

P.S. To Partner you may click the blue button below to give securely online. Or you may mail a check to the address below.

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NewCREEations Ministries
120 N. Elm St
Wooland Park, CO 80863