As partners with Harvest Glasgow, we have eagerly participated in the launch of their first church plant in Ayr, Scotland.
Now as Pastor Lee Ballantine and the leadership at Ayr move the church into their new home in a local high school, our elders are pleased to be sending Luke and Camryn Dugard to them to assist with their worship ministry for the next year. The departure date has been set for October 11.
Luke and Camryn are asking for your prayers and also your help as they need to raise $2,650 per month for this ministry. To support Luke and Camryn and their work with Harvest Ayr either with monthly donations or a one time gift toward their travel expenses ($2,500):
- Sign up for occasional updates
- Give a one time donation from Canada (use the dropdown menu to select “Harvest Ayr”)
- Make a monthly donation from Canada
- Donate from the United States (use the dropdown menu to select “Luke Dugard”)
Updates
Hi friends and family!
And just like that, our ministry year at Harvest Ayr has come to an end! How time flies. Our last month here in Scotland has been filled with ministry, adventure, prayer, packing, hard goodbyes, and thankful reminiscing.
As a church we had the chance to hear three guest preachers this month! Mark Boys and Michael Alford from Harvest Glasgow and Nathan Owens from Maxwell Church in Kilmaurs. Luke attended staff meetings in Glasgow with both Michael and Mark, and we’ve had the opportunity to connect with both of their families during our time here! It was our first time meeting Nathan and his family, but we loved getting to meet them and see their church and Harvest Ayr supporting one another. It was encouraging to sit under the teaching of different pastors from different churches in the UK. We were reminded of the amazing truth that Christians and Churches all around the world are connected, through Christ and the call to serve Him and share The Gospel with the world. Our time at Harvest Ayr has shown such evidence of that.
Throughout our year living in Scotland we’ve had multiple opportunities to explore the UK, which has been such a cool experience! This month we went on one last fam trip to London for a few days. Wren’s Auntie Ry also flew out to visit us and join in on the trip! We had a blast with her, and who would’ve guessed we would have nothing but sunshine the whole time haha. There we saw the famous Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, walked through the St. James and Hyde Parks, visited local markets, took a boat ride through the River Thames, and enjoyed walking the streets of London!
As a fam we made sure to soak up the time we had left living in Ayr. Our weeks were filled with adventures at our favorite local parks, meals at the Honeybee & The Hare cafe (owned by a couple at the church), play dates with Wren’s little buddies, dinners with friends, trips to the library for bookbug sessions, and walks along high street and Ayr beach. Lee and Zoë kindly took us out to dinner (kid free!) one night to spend time together and thank us for our time here. Our sweet small group threw us a goodbye party too where we enjoyed good food, fun and company. Luke and Lee also hosted a Worship & AV thank you bbq. Lee thanked the volunteers and shared the vision for the coming ministry year, while Luke spent time showing gratitude for getting to lead and serve with them and encouraged the teams as they move forward in their service.
Looking back on our time here, we are overcome with awe and thankfulness. God is so clearly present, working, and doing a good thing in and through Harvest Ayr. We witnessed new members join the church and new volunteers step up to serve in kids min and in Worship/AV, had the opportunity to connect and share Jesus with the community and the next generation through SU and Youth groups, poured into and supported existing volunteers by lending a hand and our talents in various ministries, helped plan and participate in the Rooted Conference at Harvest Glasgow, and bettered our relationship with Christ individually and corporately in small groups, Women’s Bible Study, and Harvest Men & Ladies events. What a privilege it was to work for Christ together as a church and see Him mightily work in return!
It’s hard to properly express how sweet and meaningful our time here has been. From our very first Sunday at Harvest Ayr, we were welcomed warmly and treated like family. It has been a true joy and honor to get to know, serve alongside, and do life with these people. Their love and desire to serve God and others is genuine and fierce. Luke and I knew we were coming to Scotland to pour out and serve this church, but we have been blown away by how much they have poured into and served our family. Thank you Harvest Ayr for everything! We love and will miss you all dearly.
Luke and I want to once again thank everyone who supported us financially and through prayer over this past year—we’re eternally grateful. This ministry partnership was only possible because of you! Thank you as well to everyone who followed along by reading our monthly updates. We really appreciated your support for our fam in that way!
Our faith has been challenged, encouraged, and strengthened through this experience. Luke and I were blessed to not only serve, but also witness God working in and through this church in such impactful ways. Although we’re leaving we’ll continue to support and pray for Harvest Ayr, eager to see what God does next! We will forever cherish this place that has become a home away from home, the memories and friendships we’ve cultivated, and this church that has become our family. God is GOOD!
Prayer requests:
-God would continue to bless Harvest Ayr, grow them corporately as a church and individually in their faith, and for more opportunity for them to connect with the community and share The Gospel!
-The start of a new ministry year at the church.
-Encouragement and perseverance for Pastor Lee as he preaches The Word each Sunday.
-Blessing, refreshment, and impact for the ministries starting back up: small groups, SU and Youth groups, Harvest Men & Ladies.
-Safety on our journey back to Canada, and that God would work out and make clear what His next plans are for our family.
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To Him be the glory!
-The Dugard Fam
Hi friends and family!
Wow, hard to believe this is our second to last ministry partnership update!
It feels like just yesterday our family boarded the flight to come to Scotland but, simultaneously, it feels like we’ve been here forever. The community Harvest Ayr has provided us as well as being settled into our day to day routine, has truly made Ayr feel like a second home to us these past 10 months.
As mentioned in our additional update last month, we were looking for our flight home the past few months but hadn’t booked one yet due to the insane prices. Luke and I want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who offered their extra support, prayerfully and financially. We have booked a flight home—August 30th!
With our time here coming to a close, we have been keeping busy!
We had one last Scotland adventure with Luke’s parents before they flew back to Canada. The five of us drove out to explore Loch Lomond! We took Wren to the local aquarium, popped in and out of little shops and had a yummy lunch in the village of Luss, got caught in a brief but classic Scotland downpour, and interacted with a family of fenced in sheep, all while being surrounded by stunning views! Our seven weeks with them was filled with laughter, adventure, great company, and sweet memories made. We’re so thankful they made the trip out to spend time with us!
Zoe and I wrapped up the women’s bible/book study we were co-leading over the past few months. Together we read and discussed the book ‘Jesus Through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love the Lord’ by Rebecca McLaughlin. Everyone was so encouraged and challenged by this book. Getting to read about women who left everything behind and gave all of themselves to follow Jesus and His ministry, instilled a call in all of us to have that kind of faith. When we crafted the idea for this group it was with careful intention. We both hoped this group could be a consistent place of encouragement, constructive discussion, prayer, and community as we studied God’s Word together—it was that and much more. God is so gracious and good!
It’s been a more quiet month at the church, as July is when most families are taking their summer vacations. But even so, God has still been working at Harvest Ayr throughout the summer! Our kids ministry attendance almost doubled in numbers two weeks ago, three people joined as church members, more volunteers have stepped up to serve in different ministries, we’ve had a healthy amount of visitors come to our services, and even though most ministries are taking a summer break there has continued to be impactful fellowship and connection for us as a church!
Our family also had the opportunity to attend Harvest Glasgow, the church Harvest Ayr was planted by, this past Sunday! We worshipped together with the Glasgow church family, sat under the teaching of Lead Pastor Scott Hamilton, engaged in fellowship together after the service, and had lunch with the Hamilton family. Even though we spent all our other Sunday’s at Harvest Ayr since we arrived, we have made great connections and friendships with Glasgow church members.
They have been an additional source of support and community to us!
Members from their church graciously donated furniture, toys and books for Wren, and other household necessities for us upon our arrival to Scotland. Luke would accompany Pastor Lee to a few of their staff meetings to help plan and prepare for the annual Rooted conference back in April, and that conference further grew our friendships and connections. We got together with the Boys family a few times, and so appreciated their friendship and guidance as fellow ministry partners over the course of our time here.
Along with beginning to donate household items and start the packing process, we have been soaking up the time we have left with our Harvest Ayr church family. Words cannot describe how sweet these past 10 months have been, getting to know and serve alongside them. Luke and I knew we were coming here to pour out and serve this church. We didn’t know, however, just how much they would serve and pour into us. This church has become our family, and these people have made such an impact on our lives and faith. So it’s safe to say, when we board our flight back to Canada next month, it will be a very bittersweet goodbye. Luke and I are blessed to have a life-long tie to these friends and this church! Harvest Ayr will always be a home away from home.
Prayer requests:
-God would continue to bless Harvest Ayr and grow them corporately as a church and individually in their faith over this new year.
-Encouragement and perseverance for Pastor Lee as he preaches The Word each Sunday.
-Luke and I would continue to be a blessing to the church and in our serving roles, and would set up the church for fluid serving success upon our absence in a month.
-The kids who attended SU and Youth would continue to nourish their curiosity of God’s Word and relationship with Christ over the summer, and would return to these groups eager to grow more in the fall.
-God would make clear and bring together His next plans are for our family, and that Luke would be able to work in worship ministry full time.
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To Him be the glory!
-The Dugard Fam
Hi Friends and Family!
This month we are sending out an additional ministry update that also differs from the previous updates. Though our time to fly back to Canada is just two months away, Luke has been flight hunting months in advance in preparation.
We had originally budgeted for our travel home at the end of our ministry year to be the same as the cost of our initial travel to Scotland—factoring in the cost of Wren then requiring a ticket because he would be two years old. Unexpectedly however, flight prices are currently 4x the cost of what they were when we flew here last October, and they’ve been at that price for months.
When we flew to Scotland our total cost for the two of us and luggage was $1,500 CAD / $1,130 USD. As of today’s date the current cost per ticket is $1,724 CAD / $1,301 USD. This would mean our total cost for two tickets $5,172 CAD / $3,900 USD, plus our cost for checked baggage which will be $400 CAD / $300 USD.
At this point we do not have enough money raised to pay for three plane tickets home, plus our necessary baggage. The money raised we have set aside for our trip home is $1,500 CAD / $1,100 USD. So that still leaves us roughly $4,000 CAD / $3,000 USD needed to be raised in order for our family to afford flying back home.
We are beyond grateful for the support we’ve received, both through prayer and financially, from the church as well as family and friends. Our one year ministry partnership with Harvest Ayr wouldn’t have been possible without you, so thank you! God is doing amazing things in and through this church, and we feel blessed to have been able to support and serve alongside its faithful members this past year.
Luke and I wanted to send out this email to give you an update on our current situation as we prepare to return home, to ask for prayer for the details to come together, and to ask for extra financial support to make it possible.
If you are able to give any amount of financial support towards the cost of our trip home in September, we would be so appreciative! There will be a link below where you can donate, if able.
Thank you again for your continued prayers and support for our family over this past year of ministry partnership, we’re so thankful!
-The Dugard Fam
Hi friends and family!
The summer season in Scotland has been a surprisingly warm and sunny one thus far! We’ve even had a few humid days, which is tough to take when AC is pretty much nonexistent here haha. Wren has had a blast going to the beach, swimming in his little pool, spraying mommy with the garden hose, having playdates at the park, and going out for ice cream. Thankful for the surprise of a sunny summer in Ayr!
The streak of warm sunny weather couldn’t have come at a better time too, as we have had two family visits this past month!
My mom, dad, and brothers came to stay with us for ten days. So it was six adults and a two year old together in a three bedroom flat, which was squishy at times but overall a blast! We made great memories together as we showed them around the quaint town of Ayr, drove and walked to some nearby castle ruins, explored Edinburgh for a day, went to Dumfries House and Belleisle Park, and played lots of card games. The boys also enjoyed golfing at some of the ‘classic’ Scotland courses while my mom and I enjoyed coffee and reading dates in the back garden. Wren loved having his Papa and Gaga here to laugh and go on adventures with and his two uncles to play and wrestle with.
Luke’s parents came to stay with us shortly after my fam went back to Chicago, and they’ll be staying with us until the first week of July! Because they are here for a while, we have been able to have relaxing slower days with them as well as some more busy touristy days. We even got to take the ferry over to Northern Ireland together! We spent a night in Belfast and two in Portstewart. While there we went to the Titanic Museum and C.S. Lewis Square, took in some gorgeous views, walked through the Dunluce Castle ruins, and explored the industrial town of Belfast and the seaside town of Portstewart. Wren loves having his Nanny and Pappy around again to sing, laugh and read with. Their visit has been a sweet little slice of home!
Certain ministries run through Harvest Ayr have begun to wrap up for the summer with the plan to pick back up again in the fall. This includes Youth Group, SU Groups, and Small Groups.
The time Luke and I have had with our groups of kids has been fun and rewarding, and seeing the genuine interest to learn about Jesus in young hearts has been an encouragement. We’ve fostered great relationships with both groups of students and are praying for Youth and SU to continue to grow in numbers, make an impact, and result in more changed lives for Christ!
We got plugged into a small group shortly after we moved to Ayr. Though we were still getting to know the town, the church, and the people, SG really helped forge those relationships early on! And since then they’ve richened and grown into relationships we’ll have and cherish forever. Recently as a group, we’ve been reading through the book “Gentle & Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers” by Dane C. Ortlund. The book confronts our preconceived notions of Christ, His heart, and relationship with us, and challenges us to think differently and dig deeper to see the comforting truth: His heart and nature is gentle and lowly (Matthew 11). Working through this book together has been such a gift! If you have been a Christian for decades or for days, you NEED to read this book.
Luke and I are humbled to have been involved and serving in these ministries since our arrival, and have not only been able to see the impact of growth in Christ for those around us, but have also experienced radical faith growth ourselves.
It’s hard to believe that we have just over two months left in Ayr before moving back home to Barrie. With that timeline in mind, Luke and I have begun to pray and think about what comes next for us and prepare Harvest Ayr for our absence starting in September.
Luke has been training up worship and audio/visual volunteers, putting set programs into place for them to use, training individuals in ProPresenter for creating and running the Sunday service slides, and has continued shepherding the worship volunteers as he begins to give all volunteers more experience by leading on Sunday mornings.
I have mainly been serving in Kids Min since moving here, and within the past month there have been four new volunteers to serve in that ministry–so amazing! The book/bible study Zoe Ballantine and I lead together every Wednesday will be passed off to Zoe and another group member to continue. I’ve also been sharing the task of keeping the church’s social media content regular and up to date with a church member who is majoring in media marketing. After finishing his last year of college next spring, he will be back in Ayr and able to take sole responsibility of handling the church socials.
We don’t know exactly what’s next for us, ministry and job wise, but are fervently praying for God to bring the details together and make it clear. Luke confidently feels God calling him to be working full time in worship ministry, so he has begun making connections and having conversations with churches in Canada as well as the states. We’re putting in the work and doing our part by seeking our worship opportunities, and are humbly giving the rest over to God to work and move as He best sees fit. With the future wide open full of possibilities and a new baby on the way, we are eagerly expectant to see what God has in store for our family. If our time working alongside Harvest Ayr has taught us anything, it’s that God has a perfect plan in place for us that He will make clear in His perfect timing, all for the Glory of God and betterment of our faith. What a comfort!
Prayer requests:
-God would continue to bless Harvest Ayr and grow them corporately as a church and individually in their faith over this new year.
-Encouragement and perseverance for Pastor Lee as he preaches The Word each Sunday.
-Luke and I would continue to be a blessing to the church and in our serving roles.
-The kids who attended SU and Youth would continue to nourish their curiosity of God’s Word and relationship with Christ over the summer, and would return to these groups eager to grow more in the fall.
-The women’s bible/book study would continue to encourage, bless, and challenge the moms and women of the church who attend!
-God would make clear and bring together His next plans are for our family, and that Luke would be able to work in worship ministry full time.
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To Him be the glory!
-The Dugard Fam
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Isaiah 26:3
Hi friends and family!
We hope you all had an impactful Easter! At Harvest Ayr, we spent Good Friday reflecting and remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross and responded with thankful celebration on Easter Sunday as He defeated sin and death forever. Hallelujah, He IS risen!
Apparently, the Easter holiday is a BIG big thing here in Scotland. Schools are on break for two weeks and most families will go away on a trip during that time. We found this to be very true, as after Easter Sunday had passed, the town of Ayr was a ghost town haha. So we decided to join in on the holiday fun and take a little fam trip ourselves! We drove out to England and spent a few days in Liverpool and Manchester. There we walked through the Manchester Cathedral and the Liverpool Cathedral (largest Cathedral in the UK, 8th largest in the world), immersed ourselves in “all things Beetles,” visited the John Ryland’s Research Institute and Library (breathtaking), got coffee at a ‘Central Perk’ Friends replica cafe, took walks down at Royal Albert Dock, and capped off our trip by taking Wren to the Chester Zoo. Lots of fun fam memories were made!
At the end of April was the long-awaited ‘Rooted Conference’ which was held at Harvest Glasgow. Pastors and families from all around the globe flew into Scotland to attend or speak at the event and make connections with other churches.
To kickstart the exciting weekend ahead there was a Ceilidh, a traditional Scottish dance, at the church. We had a blast learning all the different dances, despite getting lost in the quick steps a few times haha, and connecting with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!
In past updates asked for prayer for the remaining details to come together, for each pastor who would be speaking, and that all who attended would be impacted by the conference—thank you for your prayers! The conference was such a success. The main sessions walked us through the biblical ways in which believers are to be rooted in Christ—in our personal faith journey, in everyday life, and in ministry. There were also several workshops throughout the weekend which challenged us to establish our lives on Christ through connection, patterns, and discipleship. It was a blessing to sit under the teachings of different pastors, familiar and new to us! Luke had the opportunity to lead us in worship during the conference as well. We got to experience an incredibly powerful time of worship, as voices from all around the world came together to sing about our God who unites us. What a weekend!
The SU Groups Luke and Lee have been running the past few months have still been going well! SU is an organization in Scotland that provides an opportunity for the message of the Gospel to be brought and taught to kids in school by faithful volunteers. This group isn’t required but is offered once a week to the students during their lunchtime. At first, only some students in the elementary school would show up for the SU class. But, as of recently, a few high-school students have shown interest and gone! This has been such an awesome opportunity for Luke and Lee to witness to the next generation in the community Harvest Ayr is in. We’re asking for continued prayer for this ministry: Luke and Lee would be a light to the kids, more and more students would attend SU, and they would all come to know Jesus as their Saviour.
Harvest Youth has also been going strong since we first started in March. Us leaders have been working through the book “True: Being True to Yourself, Your God, Your Relationships” by Sarah Bradley with them. Both girls have responded well to the material and have participated in meaningful discussions as we work through the chapter(s) read together. It has been a blessing getting to know these girls and be role models to them as we help them foster their faith and biblically navigate life and the different relationships they have!
In the last update, I mentioned a women’s bible/book study being run through Harvest Ayr that would be starting soon. The intention behind this study is to give mothers in the church, who usually have to alternate attending small groups due to the need for one parent to watch their kids, a chance to receive weekly biblical fellowship, instruction and discussion.
We met for the first time on April 19th, and have committed to continue meeting every Wednesday. The book we are going through is “Jesus Through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Us Know and Love the Lord” by Rebecca McLaughlin. I have shared the responsibility of leading the study with Zoë Ballantine, wife of Harvest Ayr Lead Pastor Lee Ballantine.
We have all found ourselves surprised by the prevalent role women in The Bible were during their time and as they followed Christ’s ministry. Through reading this book we have been encouraged and challenged to carry the torch passed down through generations of biblical women: follow Jesus no matter the cost, spread the good news of the gospel no matter the risk, and imitate Christ in our lives and serving roles holding nothing back!
Even though we’ve only met a few times, this study has already been such an encouragement to me and the fellow moms in the group. Amidst the happy chaos of our kiddos running around us playing and constantly asking for snacks, we get to talk about Jesus, be changed as we wrestle through and understand the contents of this book, and spend time praying for one another. What a blessing to have our kids witnessing that!
Prayer requests:
-God would continue to bless Harvest Ayr and grow them corporately as a church and individually in their faith over this new year.
-Encouragement and perseverance for Pastor Lee as he preaches The Word each Sunday.
-The book we are studying in YG would continue to excite and have a lasting impact on the two girls and the key life relationships, and that us leaders would be well equipped to stand by and guide them through these formative years of their lives.
-More kids in the elementary and high schools would attend SU groups each week and would come to know Jesus as their Saviour!
-The women’s bible/book study would continue to encourage, bless, and challenge the moms and women of the church who attend!
-Luke and I would continue to be a blessing to the church and in our serving roles.
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To Him be the glory!
-The Dugard Fam
“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has domain over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once and for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ.”
Romans 6:8-11
Hi friends and family!
Spring is in full force here in Scotland. The weather is warming, the sun is shining, and everywhere plants are budding and blooming. Experiencing a true thawing spring has been refreshing when we’re used to the occasional spring snowstorm in Canada haha.
March has been one of our busiest months in Ayr thus far. There have been lots of opportunities for serving in the church, we’ve had family visits and celebrated Wren’s second birthday, some exciting new ministries have launched, and there’s been continued preparation for The Rooted conference and Good Friday & Easter services coming up in April!
As mentioned in the previous update, a new youth ministry run through Harvest Ayr started. The group currently consists of two youth girls and four female leaders, including myself, but we are praying for growth to come! We met twice this month and are aiming to continue that monthly schedule until June 17th when the students start their summer break. Because our group is smaller in size, instead of preaching from a different passage every youth night, we decided to go through a book together—‘True: being true to yourself, your God, your relationships” by Sarah Bradley. This particular study is targeted towards our girls’ age group, covers all relevant relationships (God, church, friends, parents, the world, themselves, non-Christians), teaches what the Bible says about these relationships, and how to balance those relationships practically in day to day life. We have read through one chapter together so far but have already seen a positive and engaging response from the girls! Our hope for this group is that both girls would deepen in their relationship with Christ, grow in their understanding of His Word, learn how to live boldly in their faith, and shine a light for Christ to those around them.
As of mid March, Pastor Lee and Luke have had the chance to run SU groups in 2 schools in the area. Scripture Union is a Christian organization that has been bringing God’s Word to kids since 1867, and to this day have groups meeting in several schools across the UK. Through SU there are also retreat centres and other forms of ministry. Once a week they go to an elementary and high school to share Jesus with the students. They get to open up God’s Word with them, have conversations about The Gospel and Jesus, and answer any faith related questions they might have. SU is such a great opportunity to spread the good news in our community, help train up the next generation of believers, and equip these kids with knowledge and confidence of The Bible and who God is.
Another new ministry that will be starting up soon will be a Women’s Study held once a week at our house. Most families with young kids at the church who are also in a small group have to alternate between the husband and the wife for who will attend SG each week, while the other stays home to look after their kid(s). While this study will be offered to every woman in the church, our original goal was to create an opportunity for those moms rotating in SG attendance to connect and study God’s Word together. While we haven’t selected a start date yet we do know the book we will be going through together—‘Jesus Through The Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Help Us Know and Love The Lord.’ I will be sharing the responsibility of leading the study with Zoe Ballantine, who is the wife of Lead Pastor Lee. There has been expressed interest in the opportunity of this study group, especially from moms who miss out on the weekly fellowship, so we are excited to move forward with it soon!
Our worship volunteers at the church are so eager to volunteer and step up when needed. Luke is leading worship most weeks, but is also serving by managing the sound/tech on others. This presents an opportunity for other worship leaders in the church to grow and gain experience and to be encouraged in that! Luke has also taken on training up new volunteers to do sound and projection on Sunday mornings, which helps fulfill a big need in that particular ministry. Our worship/tech volunteers are continuing to grow in their gifting and confidence to lead God’s people in worship!
The Harvest Men and Harvest Ladies events are typically held once a month at a local cafe owned by a couple in our church. At each meeting someone from the church is designated to share their testimony with the group and another to preach a short message from The Bible. While Luke and I have both had the chance to share our testimonies at these events, Luke recently had the opportunity to preach for the first time at a Harvest Men’s night. He challenged the men to be living gospel centred lives as he brought God’s Word from Philippians 1:27-30. He connected with his dad who pastors our church back in Canada and Pastor Lee of Harvest Ayr for advice, encouragement, and shepherding before and after he preached from Philippians. Luke enjoyed the experience of intently studying God’s Word and preaching it to his peers and is open to the possibility of pursuing preaching opportunities in the future!
We have said it before and we’ll say it again—God is so clearly at work in and through Harvest Ayr. Luke and I have both been privileged to have grown up in the church and be in serving roles as we got older, but this kind of service is unlike anything we have experienced before. Getting to know the people we’re serving alongside whilst seeing God open new doors for ministry and build community based connections to share our faith has opened our eyes and strengthened our faith like never before. Everyone is called to serve/work for Christ and be a light in this world, but that type of work and service isn’t one size fits all. And yet, God can use anyone: wherever they are, whatever they’re gifted to serve in, and in any capacity. He is mighty, willing, and able to work through us in our service to Him to further the imprint of His saving Gospel. That reality is something we have been emboldened in and encouraged by since being here, and will be sure to take home with us when we leave to go back home in the fall. We as believers just need to be willing to faithfully answer that call to work for Christ!
Prayer requests:
-God would continue to bless Harvest Ayr and grow them corporately as a church and individually in their faith over this new year.
-The book we are studying in YG would continue to excite and have a lasting impact on the two girls and the key life relationships, and that us leaders would be well equipped to stand by and guide them through these formative years.
-More kids in the elementary and high schools would attend SU groups each week and would come to know Jesus as their Saviour!
-Encouragement and perseverance for Pastor Lee as he prepares to preach on Good Friday and Easter Sunday coming up.
-Continued preparation and for the final details to come together for the ‘Rooted Conference’ happening in April-May at Harvest Glasgow.
-Luke and I would continue to be a blessing to the church and in our serving roles.
Hi friends and family!
Luke and I feel blessed to say that it has been another great month here in Scotland. There has been further evidence of God working at and through Harvest Ayr, and in the relationships we’ve fostered!
We had two recent opportunities to connect with Harvest Glasgow, the church that planted Harvest Ayr two years ago.
Those in serving roles at both churches met at the Kincaidston Community Centre for a night of worship, training, and prayer. Lead Pastor Scott Hamilton encouraged the volunteers to remember what our heart posture towards serving should be—joyful and selfless. He reminded us that serving Christ and expanding His Kingdom is not just something we are all called to do, but it’s something we all GET to do.
Since the new year Luke has been meeting with Harvest Glasgow staff in preparation for the Rooted Conference coming up on April 29-May 1. Several speakers will be flying in from the US and Romania to lead us in God’s Word as well. We will be challenged, corporately as the church and personally as believers, to consider what it means to be “building the right way on the right things.”
We’re thankful for the chance to connect with Harvest Glasgow and further partner with them. This conference will be a sweet time spent in fellowship with fellow believers from around the world, and we’re praying God will move in the hearts of all who attend!
The first week of February was prayer week for the church. Harvest Ayr desires to be known as a people who pray. They believe in the power, urgency, awe, expectancy and opportunity in it. Throughout the week there were 3 daily prayer sessions offered, which gave us a chance to get together to pray together as a church.
The first prayer session was at 6:40am over zoom, which targeted early risers and those who had spare time to pray before having to leave for work. We prayed for the people in our lives, our church, the country, and the world. The second prayer session was at 10am at Pastor Lee’s house, which gave moms with young kids the chance to get together to pray while the littles played around us. There we prayed for the different ministries in the church, the impact for Christ they’d have, and for emboldenment in our evangelism. The last prayer meeting was around dinner time, and this was meant for members of the church to pray at home as a family for the various requests of that day.
Our small groups also held a prayer walk on the night they would typically gather together. We prayed for the community we live in, our partnership with The Kincaidston Community Centre, and the different schools in the area.
On Friday night to cap off the prayer week, Luke and I hosted an interactive prayer night. This was an opportunity for everyone in the church, no matter the age, to come together for a night of prayer, worship, reflection, and community. There were four different stations around the house for us to visit freely and participate in—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. These stations consisted of: maps showing locations of partner churches around the world and their prayer requests, a large blank roll of paper to write down what we (and the kids) are thankful for, a confession station to write down sins that needed repenting of and to pray for forgiveness for them, and an adoration station where we prayed over the different attributes and names of our good God.
This was something the church had never done before. Seeing how many people participated in the various prayer sessions, how impacted everyone was by prayer week, and experiencing the presence of God as we prayed together as a church was so encouraging!
As of this month, something new and exciting has started up in the church—a youth program! The group thus far only consists of two young girls in the church, but two of whom expressed great interest in there being a church program targeted towards their age group.
There have been four women volunteers, myself included, from the church who have stepped up to serve and lead these girls in this new ministry. We met on February 12th to discuss necessary details of the youth program, what hopes and goals are for it, and to pray about this new ministry opportunity and two girls who will be attending. We were also able to officially put the first gathering on the calendar. The new youth group at Harvest Ayr will kickstart on Sunday February 26th!
We have continued to enjoy learning our way around the town of Ayr as a family and with our friends here. There is truly so much beauty to see, and so much adventure to be experienced in Scotland! Luke and I have come to know our favourite restaurants and local coffee shops, what grocery store brands we like, and our regular outdoor spots to go to and explore.
Wren has loved spending time with his church besties—attending BookBug at the local library every Thursday, walking through old estates that have been turned into public parks, learning about Jesus in Sunday school together, having fun at playdates each week, running around the local SoftPlay places, and eating sweet treats and jumping in the bouncy house at the AWH Cafe. Wren having friends close to his age here through the church has been such an answer to prayer. He is always so happy to see them in and outside of church, and as parents that just really warms our hearts!
Prayer requests:
-God would continue to bless Harvest Ayr and grow them corporately as a church and individually in their faith over this new year.
-The new youth program at Harvest Ayr: our first meeting on the 26th of February, the intrigue expressed to study God’s Word would grow, both girls would come to know and love Jesus personally as their Saviour, the leaders would lead by example and be a Christ-like influence in their lives.
-Encouragement and perseverance for Pastor Lee as he preaches the Word each Sunday.
-Preparation for the ‘Rooted Conference’ happening in April-May at Harvest Glasgow.
-Luke and I would continue to be a blessing to the church and in our serving roles.
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To Him be the glory!
-The Dugard Fam
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
Romans 12:12
Hi friends and family!
We hope you had a joyful holiday season and were filled with hope at the start of a new year.
This past month kept us busy, as the Christmas season tends to, but in the best way. A lot of good things happened personally and in the church!
Harvest Ayr had two Christmas services on the 18th and the 23rd. The church members were encouraged to shine Christ’s light and invite friends and family to both services!
First was the Carol Service which was held at Harvest Ayr. We sang carols, heard the miraculous Christmas story, and engaged in fellowship over coffee and homemade treats.
Next up was the Christmas Party which was held at a local church, Castlehill Parish. We came together as a church family and had dinner, played Christmas themed games, sang more carols, and heard a brief message from Lee on the hope Christmas brings to all.
As well as preparing for our Christmas services this past month, Harvest Ayr also partnered with a local community center, Kincaidston, in hopes of serving the people of Ayr and spreading the hope of Jesus this Christmas.
The church provided dinner and sang carols at KCC one night, held a toy drive for struggling families in the community, offered volunteers to serve at a Christmas event at the center, and delivered meals on Christmas Eve.
This partnership presented an amazing opportunity to cultivate deeper connections in the community. As a church we prayed for God to work through us and stir in the hearts of the people of Ayr this Christmas. Some people we engaged at the events ended up attending our Carol Service on the 18th. Some have even continued to attend our services since! God was at work.
Our Harvest Ladies also gathered together to make Christmas wreaths and hear personal testimony of the redemptive work of Jesus. A lot of women in the church brought people they knew to this event, which further opened doors for Christ’s light to shine.
We met with our small group one night to have Christmas dinner, sing carols, and play games as well. This was such a sweet time of fun and fellowship with people we feel grateful to have gotten to know since our arrival.
We have settled into our new place and feel continuously grateful for God’s provision—this space is everything we prayed for!
Wren loves exploring and running around in the big backyard, we’re thankful for the convenience of being in a quiet neighbourhood that is also walking distance to shops and the grocery store, and we have an extra bedroom to house family and friends who plan on visiting us. God is so gracious!
Speaking of visitors, we had three stay with us over the course of this past month—Luke’s friend Alex, my sister Rylee, and my mom Tracy made trips out here. Even though we have only been in Ayr for three months we’ve quickly learned our way around the town and learned all the must see spots. Getting to show them all our life here, the work God is doing at Harvest Ayr, and enjoying their company was so special. Recruiting Ry and Alex for the worship team was an added bonus to their trips to see us!
Luke and I have had the chance to explore more of Scotland too! We drove up to Inverness and explored the town, saw Loch Ness and the Urquhart Castle ruins, walked through Inverness Cathedral and the local museum. We didn’t spot “Nessie” but still had fun, haha.
When my sister and mom were here we took a little trip to Edinburgh. While there we walked the Royal Mile, visited old bookshops, took a tour of Edinburgh castle and the Writers Museum, did the House of Illusions, and went to the Christmas Market. All of us were blown away by the beauty of the city and by how much there was to see and do!
This past month showed much evidence of God’s grace and goodness. Seeing Him work and stir in hearts this holiday season was so encouraging. Luke and I feel blessed to be working alongside the people of Harvest Ayr in the mission we as believers are called to.
Prayer requests:
-Sickness is running rampant here in Scotland right now, and has been infecting lots of church members. Please pray for recovery and health!
-God would bless Harvest Ayr and grow them as a church and each member individually over this new year.
-Encouragement and perseverance for Pastor Lee as he preaches the Word each Sunday.
-Luke and I would continue to be a blessing in our serving roles.
-Harvest Ayr would maintain the connections made through the KCC events over Christmas, and that the work being done in their hearts would continue!
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To Him be the glory!
-The Dugard Fam
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:19
Hi friends and family!
We hope our first update gave you a closer look into our life in Scotland and ministry partnership with Harvest Ayr thus far—it’s a joy to share this experience with you!
As mentioned in our first update, when we arrived in Ayr on October 11th we had been provided a temporary place to live. One of the women at the church so graciously offered her home to us for three weeks! In the meantime we searched for a place of our own. This proved more difficult than anticipated, as by the end of the three weeks we hadn’t been able to secure a place haha. While actively continuing our apartment search, we hopped around from two air b&b’s, the second being a ministry opportunity. The couple who rents out the house are believers and were encouraged by our ministry partnership with Harvest Ayr. Both said they felt called by God to aid us in any way they could, and offered the house to us for an entire month at a discounted rate. This blessing gave us more time to breathe while we kept searching for our own place. Then on November 14th, two weeks from when we would need to find another temporary home, we got an email saying we had been the chosen applicant for an apartment! Such an answer to prayer. We move in tomorrow and are beyond excited!!!
We in total probably toured over a dozen apartments and got our hopes up more than once, but continued to pray for God’s provision of a home—and He did in His perfect timing. God is in the details—working and faithful even in the waiting!
We also excitedly had our first family member come to visit! My mom, a.k.a Wren’s Grammie, got to spend six days with us in Scotland. We had so much fun showing her around the beautiful town of Ayr, introducing her to our new church family, and simply enjoying each other’s company. Having a little piece of home here with us was so special!
Upon our arrival last month, we have both been able to further define our serving roles at Harvest Ayr and settle into them. Luke is serving as the head of the worship department, but has also committed to other serving roles that fall under the worship umbrella—running the production ministry, leading and directing worship at Harvest Men events, set planning and scheduling each week, creating a worship service guidebook for future volunteer worship leaders, and training up worship volunteers. Before arriving in Scotland I hadn’t fully rounded out my service roles at the church, but pledged to serve where there was need! I have since committed to serving in Kids Ministry, co-managing Social Media, service slides prep, and helping out with the monthly Harvest Ladies events.
The past month has been so fruitful! Serving alongside the other church members has been a blessing. Getting to see the passion to serve Jesus and His kingdom, the belief in the power of prayer, and the genuine love for all in the hearts of everyone here is so amazing. All of us have had the opportunity to forge new friendships with the people at Harvest Ayr, and we’re so grateful. You start to feel more at home when you have those connections! Being blessed with a home to call our own for the reminder of our time here was the last missing puzzle piece for us to begin fully settling into life here in Ayr. Thank you Jesus! And we truly feel, by God’s grace and peace, we are settling in nicely.
Prayer requests:
-More people would walk through the doors of this church and be transformed by the gospel.
-We would be a blessing to the church and in our committed service roles.
-Encouragement and perseverance for Pastor Lee over this next ministry year, and as he delivers the Word each Sunday.
-The Harvest Ayr Christmas service and community outreach events would bless the people of Ayr and draw more of them to Jesus.
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Wishing you a happy upcoming Holiday season!
To Him be the glory!
-The Dugard Fam
“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
Psalm 86:15
Hi friends and family!
Thank you for signing up to receive monthly updates from us. We’re excited to share the details of our ministry partnership with Harvest Ayr and life in Scotland over the next year with you!
We arrived in Scotland on October 11th at what felt like 2am but was really 7am local time. It was a long first day, but it only took us about a week to fully adjust to Scotland time! An unexpected blessing was Wren quickly adjusting to the time change, which definitely made it easier on us haha.
Finding a place to live for the next year is proving more difficult than we anticipated, as we are currently still looking for a place to live. But thankfully, while we’re on the hunt, a young woman from the church so graciously offered her home to us. The neighbourhood we are being housed in is a close drive to downtown Ayr and only a 10 minute walk to the water!
Our fam has been settling into life in Scotland by getting out for lots of walks, connecting with people at the church, getting plugged into a small group and church events, and exploring the beautiful town of Ayr. Wren in particular has loved collecting shells at the beach, checking out the big parks nearby, making new friends from church, going to Pirate Pete’s (indoor soft-play for kids), and jumping in lots of muddy puddles!!! The weirdest adjustment for us at first, was learning to drive on the other side of the road haha. Making the switch was awkward and a little scary, but Luke has since mastered UK driving!
We spent our first Sunday at Harvest Ayr on October 16th. Everyone was so welcoming and excited to finally meet us, and that further assured and humbled us in being called to serve here! Harvest Ayr currently has thirty members and a great group of young kids Wren has become fast friends with! They gather together at a local high school every Sunday to worship and be taught God’s word. Since our arrival, three new people began attending Harvest Ayr and have already plugged into church events—evening bible studies, small group, and mens soccer night. God is doing great things in and amongst the church here and we’re eager to see how He grows the faith of the members, and Harvest Ayr as a church.
In our monthly updates, we’ll be sharing about settling into life in Scotland and the progress of our ministry partnership with Harvest Ayr. We also wanted to include specific prayer requests in the monthly updates that you can be praying for!
Prayer requests this month:
-Our fam would continue to settle into life in Scotland and our roles serving at Harvest Ayr.
-God would provide a place for us to live over the next year.
-More people from the community would walk through the doors of the church and be changed by The Gospel.
-The members of Harvest Ayr would be blessed for their service in ministry over this first year.
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We are continually humbled and encouraged by your support for this mission, and are excited to update you each month on how God is working here at Harvest Ayr! To Him be the glory.
Thank you!
-The Dugard Fam
“Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.”
1 Chronicles 16:23
