Welcome
It does not seem possible that I have been in the United Kingdom for six (6) months already, my YAGM year is a little over halfway but I still remember the day I left my friends and family in August thinking that this year is going to be the longest one of my life.

The first half of my YAGM year has been a transformative experience through both the ups, and downs I have been able to walk alongside my community in the United Kingdom and in turn they have walked alongside me.

December and January have been action packed months for my host community and myself. In December the church was bustling in activity as we prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ and wrapped up the school academic term. January has been a month of Exploring the United Kingdom, a pilgrimage, and the launch of new programs at the church. In February we hosted our first festival weekend at the church this year to much success.

I hope you enjoy catching up with my activities below, connecting with me on social media or by visiting my website for an archive of everything I have been up to for the first half of my YAGM year.

Your Brother in Christ,

Ryan A. Lawrence
Coronavirus COVID-19 Update
I am sure that many of you are wondering how the Coronavirus is effecting me and my fellow YAGM volunteers, the ELCA is monitoring the situation, and we are getting updates from the Church-wide office, please see below for some highlights.

  • All Global Mission Personal are not allowed to travel outside our country of service.
  • The ELCAs Global Mission team and the ELCA as a whole are monitoring the situation and coordinating information with each YAGM cohort.
  • The United Kingdom has a lower risk of the Coronavirus at the moment than the United States currently.
  • Time for God (our country coordinator) has issued guidance to us based upon the National Health Service (NHS) recommendations.
  • At this moment, our contracts will NOT be terminated early do to the coronavirus, however the situation is fluid and this could change in the future.
  • If you have any questions or concerns please each out to me, the ELCA Global Mission team is unable to answer questions from friends/ family regarding the Coronavirus.
Who is St Andrew's Roundhay
St Andrew's Roundhay is the United Reformed Church that I have been assigned to for my YAGM year.
Donate
The total cost for one young adult in the program is $15,000. Each young adult is tasked with raising a minimum of $5,000 to help support their year of service. The ELCA commits to raising the additional $10,000 per volunteer through generous congregations and donors. If more than $5,000 in gifts is received, the additional funds will be help to support other young adult volunteers and ensure that there is a sustainable source of revenue for future the Young Adults in Global Mission program. If you wish to make a donation, click the donate button 
Amount raised as of March 01, 2020 $5,625
Blog Update
As part of my journey I will be blogging multiple times a week. To view all blog posts visit;  ryanandrewlawrence.com  or check out the link below for the most recent blog post
Want to print a copy of this newsletter?

A PDF version is conveniently attached to allow you to print and share with people who may not have internet access.   NOTE: Please feel free to print parts of my website/ blog posts as well, unfortunately due to the high content volume it is impossible for me to include everything in the email newsletter. 

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Preachers Corner
Day in the Life Archive
Please check out the day in the life archive. My apologies in advance, December/ January became especially busy months so there is less detail then normal.