Thinking. Growing. Learning. Changing.

Wednesday, 30 July 2008

Mission Field

I have recently returned from my Stepout Mission in the infamous Bo'Ness. It was lovely to be back. It's another place I can consider 'home'. I struggled a bit as I had to work at the pharmacy on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, therefor I had to drive there and back late at night every day. It got quite tiring and I struggled having missed out on all the kids club work. None-the-less I had a fabulous time when I was there. Half of the team were completely new to me and I had the opportunity to get to know some interesting people. I was reunited with the usual suspects from the church - all of whom are absolutely treasures and so hospitable you wouldn't believe. So here's a basic run down of the week...
On the Sunday evening the team attended the church service and basically introduced ourselves and laid out our plans for the week. We invited anyone who was interested to come along and help or to simply visit and observe. At the end of the service the minister led a time of hands-on prayer for the team. It was a truly moving moment as individuals from the church were united in prayer and poured out compassion and support for the week ahead. I felt so privileged to be among such Godly people. After the service the work began.

Throughout the week we had a total of 37 kids attending the RockStar club in the morning. A lot of these were from families who have no other contact with the church. There were plenty of games, stories, activities and memory verses. One of the crafts involved using the little round boxes that package Dairylea Cheese. Cindy had been collecting them for some time but still hadn't managed to get enough. I phoned the manager at Asda in Grangemouth, flirted precariously and managed to score another boxes for free. God is good. The kids had a fabulous time and although I only got to visit the club on the first and last day I saw a marked difference. The children were happy, safe, secure and very much enjoying their time spent in the church. God bless them. A lot of the boys between P5-7 turned up in the afternoons and evenings just wanting to hang out with us and play football. We felt really blessed that they genuinely wanted to be there. One young, non-church-related boy made a commitment to Christ on the last day. I think he was about 10 years old. It was a really special moment for us all.

Every evening I helped at the youth cafe. It was a very chilled out set up - music, board games, the Wii , football and various other activities. All week the centre was quiet with maybe only 4-6 youth turning up at any one time. However, throughout the week, as testimonies were told, questions were asked and conversations were had. Two girls made a quiet, conscious commitment to follow Christ. There was no dramatic alter-call and no sudden transformations of the crows; simply two young people carefully considering the effect of having Christ as their king and accepting freely the grace of God.

On the Friday evening we had a BBQ for all the children, parents and youth who had been in contact with us throughout the week. We invited and encouraged them all week to attend and arranged catering for about 100 people in the hope that they would all come. We had a fabulous turn out. There were parents and kids galore. We had good weather and were able to use all our outdoor space. At one point I stopped and stood back, looking out at what was going on. I liked what I saw. There were kids playing football on the grass. There were children drawing with chalk on the concrete. There were parents playing games with their family and just enjoying their children for what they were. I nearly started crying as I looked out and just saw families and community alike being drawn together simply because the church had given them the space and the freedom. Moments like that make it all worth it.

Cindy asked me to give my testimony or the 'story of my life' as I like to call it. I readily agree to these things but when the time came I was quite nervous because the room was full and I suddenly wondered what all these non-churched, non-christian parents would think of it all. I just prayed that I wouldn't ramble. It seemed to go well. I had some really good conversations with parents after that and with a couple of church members too. On the Sunday morning one of the ladies who had been there came and had a long chat with me about 'the story of my life' and asked if I would considering speaking to the social work students at Napier about it. I said I'd be glad to and whether or not this will come to fruition it's good to know that the opportunity is there. All the talking about where I've come from and where I'm going makes me stop and marvel at how God's hand has been in my life from the very beginning. Before I was even old enough to stand or speak He was watching over me and shaping the path that my life could take if I would only choose to follow it. I thank Him whole-heartedly that I made the right decision. He has blessed me more than I can ask or imagine.

It was a great week and I learned so much and saw so much of God of work. I would like to extend a real heart-felt thanks for the people of Bo'Ness Baptist - for their enthusiastic involvement and prayerful support. May God bless them.

Saturday, 19 July 2008

The Prayer Room and Other Stories




Well, camp ended a few weeks ago but it's taken me some time to gather my thoughts on the week. I was extremely ill the week after camp and it took a while to recover. I had a great but stressful week. I thought I was only getting four campers in my group but arrived to find that I had eight. However, to balance out this little surprise I also found that I was in a leaders dorm with my best friend Emma and my trainee Sarah - what a blessing! God is good. Lynn and I went through two days early to begin working on the prayer room. The plan was to get the four gazebos up to begin with and then start all the walls and decorations. However, it took us over two hours to get two gazebos up and we were both almost in tears after the third one simply refused to fit together. We went home closer to midnight than we had intended feeling somewhat defeated. Many a desperate prayer was uttered before we headed up to try again the next night. God gave Lynn a brainwave for measuring the gazebo poles and lo and behold - the last two were up in a matter of minutes! We were so relieved. Several hours and lots of material later the room was up and ready. I have to say it looked fab and I was so excited to see what God was going to do there. If you want to know more about what was in the prayer room just let me know and I'll explain it!





Over the week the kids went in to the prayer room alone or with friends and spend time exploring, looking, watching, thinking, reflecting, praying, creating, wailing, crying, learning and praying. Each day there were new things up on the walls - all honest outpouring of what was going on in their heads, hearts and lives. A couple of days I went in to spend some time with God and it was so fulfilling. With all the worship to organise I got a bit stressed out and it was so good to have a little corner of quiet where I could rest with God and seek His council. The room had that feeling that one cannot readily describe but the room felt covered in prayer and filled with the spirit. It was a place for healing, for listening, for learning. Several times I was brought to tears just looking at the evidence of prayer and praise that had been happening throughout the week. All our effort was truly worth it and more.





Apart from the prayer room many good times were had at camp. The campers were responsive to the worship and praise party on the Friday night just blew my mind. Leading the whole thing was truly exhausting and I had to keep it together and hold in a lot of emotion. I could see lives changing, God working and the spirit moving. The kids worshipped with true abandon and the commitments made were a testimony of God's grace and love sweeping through their lives. These times always serve to remind me of what a privilege it is to be involved in the work of SU because I get a glimpse of God at work and am reminded every time of the way in which Christ loves us. It was hard work - but oh so worth it. I want to say a huge thankyou to all those on the team who made it such a special week for me. You know who you are. =)