The Interns: Hope Church Rhondda

You're in for a very special treat with this episode. The tables have turned and Ben and Simon are interviewing me and Isaac. There are games and prayers and laughs involved and I hope you find it highly happy making.

It's also a sad day, as this is the last podcast episode you'll hear from us. Our year here in Wales is coming to a close and thus the podcast has also come to an end. I return to Florida just before Christmas and Isaac returns to Indiana the first week of January. We may be back for some surprise episodes to update you on what we're up to once we return to America so stay subscribed!

A big thank you to each of you, our dear listeners, for making this such a fun project. It's been an honor to be in your ears and part of your lives each week and we're so happy to have this documentation of our year in the Rhondda.

The legendary Chris Jones joined Ben Landers and I for an amazing conversation about his life and how he came to know Jesus. It's an incredible story and one that I hope will encourage and inspire. You're never too far gone for Jesus to change your life!

My friend Hannah Braemer is on the podcast this week! We chat about her experience as a worship intern, church planting in California, and now how she's had to pivot due to Covid bringing her home. She's full of wisdom and such a great example of how to be on mission locally.

Isaac is officially back on the podcast this week! Please bear with us as Wales is currently in a national lockdown and we've had to go back to recording on Zoom, which means audio quality leaves a lot to be desired.

But this is a great episode! Ywain shares his story of coming to faith, his liver transplant and what facing that was like, his new foray into worship leading, and much more. Enjoy!

Lizzie is back for Part 2 of the Justice Matters series! We chat a bit about Lizzie's experience working with refugees here in the UK and then transition into a discussion about racism and how we as Christians are called to treat those that look or sound different than us. We feel the weight of these conversations and we hope our hearts come across as you listen. 

Resources we recommend:

I'm Still Here, Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison

Y'all, having Brydie as a guest was so much fun. She is a joy to chat with and her honesty and vulnerability is so encouraging. I'm a huge fan of hers and I'm excited that you get to hear her story. As a heads up, this episode does include references to suicide and abuse and so please listen with care for yourself. 

In Isaac's absence while self-isolating upon his return to the UK, Lizzie joins me to co-host this special episode. We chat through some of the topics that have been addressed in our current sermon series at Hope Church Rhondda - Justice Matters. Lizzie and I happen to be particularly passionate about race and refugee issues and in this installment we have the privilege of hearing from Lizzie's first hand experience working at a refugee camp in Greece. Stay tuned for Part 2!

My dear friend Alexis joined me for the podcast this week and I'm so excited for y'all to hear her story of being called to long term mission and then being forced to pivot due to covid. She has handled it all with such grace and I'm so grateful for her voice in my life.

Alexis mentions 6:8 Ministries and her time serving with them. I really encourage you to check out more about them and consider donating to their ministry. Their website is: https://www.68ministries.net.

The new business Alexis has started with her mom, Crosby Stix, can be found @crosby.stix on Instagram!

Alexis' dog Boone can be found on Instagram @boone.thegolden :)

You'll notice there's a voice missing on this week's episode! Isaac is back in America for a few weeks to celebrate his brother's wedding so he'll be missing from the podcast temporarily.

But, we have an amazing guest for you. Lowri Evans joined me to chat about her life and how she came to Jesus and Hope Church Rhondda. God has transformed her life in such a short period of time. I'm just obsessed with her and could have easily recorded a 3 hour episode with her. 

We have Callum Engerer, or Engine as we all know him, on the podcast today! He's got an amazing story of coming to faith and we get to hear about growing up in the Rhondda, his rugby days, and now life as a Christian with his family. We know you'll love this episode and you'll love getting to know Eng!

John and Sarah Sutton join us this week and it. is. such. a. treat. They're just the best and we get to hear about how Sarah decided to move to Tonypandy, how she and John met, and their newest adventure together! They opened Club Coffi Tonypandy just 6 weeks ago and it's our favorite place to be. We're so excited to share this episode with you all!

Jonathan Burton, church planting resident at Hope Church Rhondda, joins us on the podcast today! He chats about the call to ministry and church planting in the Welsh valleys and then turns it around and decides to interview us. This episode was so fun to record and we hope you'll enjoy it as well!

Ben Landers joins us on the podcast today! He's the newest intern at Hope Church Rhondda and we loved having him on to share his story of coming to faith through many trials and hardships. It's an amazing story and we hope it's encouraging to see how God is there even in our darkest moments. 

Warning here that there is mention of drug abuse and suicide so if those are triggers for you please take care of yourself and maybe skip this episode.

Jenna Evans joins us this week on the podcast to talk about what it can look like to be on mission right where you're planted. Jenna grew up and still lives in Treherbert and she is an amazing example of being on mission in her everyday life and leveraging the gifts she has now for the glory of God. We hope this episode is encouraging and affirming to those who feel like God wants them where they are!

Contact Isaac and Jessie:

isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

We have another amazing guest for you this week! Lois Franks is on to chat about her story, being called to the Rhondda Valley, starting a business to support her and Ben's church planting efforts, and we chat quite a bit about weird Americanisms. 

Contact Jessie and Isaac!

jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

We're back! After a longer than anticipated hiatus from the podcast, Jessie is back in Wales and the podcast is back for your listening enjoyment. What better comeback than having Ben Franks on as a guest. He's only been mentioned here about a thousand times, so we thought it was high time we interview him. Ben tells us about being called to the Rhondda as a church planter, his unique calling to plant churches and equip others to do the same. We so enjoyed having him on and we know you'll enjoy listening in!

Contact Jessie & Isaac:

jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

Jessie and Isaac chat this week about morning routines! What they do in the morning to set the day up well and how they approach structure and schedules in the morning.

Podcasts that Jessie mentions:

https://emilypfreeman.com/podcast/the-next-right-thing/76/

https://bridgetown.church/series/bridgetown-daily/

Connect with Jessie and Isaac!

Jessie: jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk, Instagram @jessieebrumfield

Isaac: isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk, Facebook 

Isaac and Jessie chat about doubting yourself and your calling, where that comes from, and how they've learned to deal with it.

Isaac and Jessie chat about missing family, friends, and home in general. They talk through challenges, encouragements, and also provide some practical tips and advice for staying in communication while across oceans or borders. And they introduce a new segment! Highs and Lows will be replacing What We Learned...for now at least :)

Connect with Isaac: Isaac Little on Facebook, isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

Connect with Jessie: @jessieebrumfield on Instagram, jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

Jessie and Isaac are back from a one week hiatus! They reflect on the highs and lows of the last 3 months, what they've learned about God, and what's been getting them through each day.

Link to the article Jessie referenced on why Zoom calls are so exhausting: https://curtthompsonmd.com/a-body-of-work/ 

Connect with Jessie on Instagram @jessieebrumfield or via email, jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

Connect with Isaac on Facebook or via email, isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

Jessie and Isaac answer listener questions, from digging into scripture to how culture is different in the UK from the US. If there's anything we talked about or addressed that you'd like to chat more about, please reach out to us. We're answering from our own experiences and are far from experts so we're always open to further conversation.

jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

Simon joins Jessie and Isaac on the podcast to chat a bit about his background and how he came to Hope Church Rhondda and took on the role of elder. He also shares what the preparation to take on interns looked like. There's some chat about food (duh), weird Americans, and Alan Jackson? We loved having Simon on and helping to fulfill his childhood dream of being a podcast guest.

Disclaimer: due to some technical difficulties in recording, the audio quality is less than stellar. Jessie's cat George also makes an appearance on this episode by meowing in the background...quite loudly at times. BUT, it's such a rich episode we hope you'll bear with us!

Jessie and Isaac chat about leaving home, flying over the Atlantic, and what the first few days and weeks were like in Wales. They discuss what went well and what could be improved upon in the future. And then of course there's some food chat, some lessons learned, and some laughs.

Jessie and Isaac chat about all the details that made their move to Wales possible. Visas and budgeting and storage, oh my! If you've ever wondered how missions are possible when you don't have a salary or how to make a trans-Atlantic move, we've got you covered!

As always, if you have any questions we're happy to chat with you further.

jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

We chat about how we feel God personally called each of us to long term mission in Wales, and spoiler alert! Isaac and Jessie have very different experiences. If you've ever wondered about how to discern whether a call is from God or not, we think you'll really enjoy this episode.

We'd love to hear from you!

jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

Meet Lizzie Goldring, one of the fantastic 5 staff members at Hope Church Rhondda. She's one of our favorite people and she shares the story of how she came to settle in the Rhondda. She also shares a couple of funny (embarrassing) stories about Jessie and Isaac.

We'd love to hear from you!

jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

We chat about what we're learning in this season, how the global pandemic has impacted our routines and responsibilities as interns at Hope Church Rhondda, new American mishaps, and just mishaps we made as humans.

Reach out to us, we would love to hear from you!

jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk

And follow Hope Church Rhondda on Instagram, Facebook, all the places!

Hear about why we're starting this podcast and how in the world we ended up living in South Wales!

We would love your feedback! 

Contact us at jessie@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk or isaac@hopechurchrhondda.org.uk.