Furrowed…
7 years ago
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
Well it's been an awful long time since I last updated you on what we're doing down here. I guess it's been difficult because I've not known quite what to say.
It was pretty obvious to us what we were up to in Looe, and there were plenty of things to report on.
Moving down here we really felt that God was calling us to take a break for a while, to forget about everything else and to concentrate on Him. We found ourselves doing a lot of de-churching, stripping back the layers of our theology and practice to what was actually essential. I'm still working my way through a pile of books on this subject that I never seem to find the time to read.
I've seen some similarities between this last 18 months or so and the concept of being a hermit, somewhat withdrawn from society and even other Christians. At times this has been difficult, but at others it has freed us to determine what we believe, what is essential and what we can allow to fall by the wayside.
In the meantime we've given up trying to find the ideal community for us to fit in with and are instead engaging more with the chapel in the village. There may only be a few there, but they're faithful and willing to seek God and His will, so they're our kind of people! I'm now meeting with a couple of the old ladies early every Tuesday morning to pray God into this village and into the lives of it's inhabitants - it's amazing how many people they know between them, we have some catching up to do.
We're thinking up some ways to get to know the people in our street a little more and, inspired by some friends of ours, may well have a bbq in the summer (if we have one) for them all.
I'm planning on writing quite a few posts on my own blog in the next few weeks to start sharing some of the things we've been thinking about, so watch out for those.
Paul says that when all is stripped away you're left with faith, hope and love (to paraphrase a little). If Looe was all about Love (and that did seem to be a recurring theme) that last 18 months seem to have been about faith. I guess that means it's hope's turn next... :-)
It was pretty obvious to us what we were up to in Looe, and there were plenty of things to report on.
Moving down here we really felt that God was calling us to take a break for a while, to forget about everything else and to concentrate on Him. We found ourselves doing a lot of de-churching, stripping back the layers of our theology and practice to what was actually essential. I'm still working my way through a pile of books on this subject that I never seem to find the time to read.
I've seen some similarities between this last 18 months or so and the concept of being a hermit, somewhat withdrawn from society and even other Christians. At times this has been difficult, but at others it has freed us to determine what we believe, what is essential and what we can allow to fall by the wayside.
In the meantime we've given up trying to find the ideal community for us to fit in with and are instead engaging more with the chapel in the village. There may only be a few there, but they're faithful and willing to seek God and His will, so they're our kind of people! I'm now meeting with a couple of the old ladies early every Tuesday morning to pray God into this village and into the lives of it's inhabitants - it's amazing how many people they know between them, we have some catching up to do.
We're thinking up some ways to get to know the people in our street a little more and, inspired by some friends of ours, may well have a bbq in the summer (if we have one) for them all.
I'm planning on writing quite a few posts on my own blog in the next few weeks to start sharing some of the things we've been thinking about, so watch out for those.
Paul says that when all is stripped away you're left with faith, hope and love (to paraphrase a little). If Looe was all about Love (and that did seem to be a recurring theme) that last 18 months seem to have been about faith. I guess that means it's hope's turn next... :-)
Hi all!
We've now moved to a little village called St Erth a short distance away from my not-so-new job.
So now we're looking at a new mission field and seeking God's will and purpose for us here!
Pray with us that we'll grow links into the community and see God do great things here!
Last night was my first patrol with the Liskeard and Looe Street Pastors, we were the third ever patrol of Street Pastors in Liskeard (we haven't yet broken into Looe).
It was an excellent night, really very quiet but probably about right for our first patrol to settle us in. None of us had ever done this before (in fact no one within the whole Liskeard and Looe Street Pastor group has ever done this before) so we were just finding our feet.
During the course of the night we had a few good encounters with people, Spikeys turned out to be a really good conversation starter with women. But most of all it seemed that the 4 of us dressed the same was too much for people to ignore.
Two of us had a particularly encouraging conversation with a group of 4 (2 young ladies and a couple of lads) who asked us all sorts of things about who we were and what we were doing. It turned out one of them believed she had been spiked the week before so was particularly keen to make use of a spikey or two. The whole conversation, how we were received as well as the encounter with a recipient of a spiked drink just seemed to reinforce that we were on the right mission.
In the end, though, it was a really quiet night. Every one seemed to be looking after themselves alright (not that there were many left out), and there were only so many times we could walk around in a circle and introduce ourselves to the same people. So our team leader took the decision that we should call it a night and after one last patrol around the town, including the areas that the underage drinkers generally hang around (nobody there), we headed back to base for a debrief and then we headed home to bed.
I doubt very much that every week will be as easy as this week, particularly as the weather warmed up, but it was really encouraging and I can't wait to go out again.
Please pray for the Street Pastors of Liskeard and Looe. Pray for more volunteers particularly, as we don't yet have enough to adequately cover one area, never mind both. We need at least 19 more Street Pastors to be able to do both places on a Saturday night.
I'm sure you'll realise by now (especially if you've read this document) that Lucy and I aren't in the business of Empire Building. We're not here to spread the Salvation Army or to grow Grace Community Church. We're here exclusively to build up the Kingdom of God. We don't care about denominations or different churches (lower case 'c'). We most certainly do not care about inter- or intra-church politics.
Today we met with a couple who lead a local group of Christians called the "Looe Christian Fellowship" - they have been in Looe for over 20 years and have been praying for it all that time, and were not aware of all that God has started here the last 5 years.
It was a privilege to meet with them and tell them of all that God is doing, and to invite them to join with us on a Wednesday for prayer.
We have no intention of absorbing their fellowship into our "group", and especially not to absorb it into the Grace family. Nor do they have any intention of stealing us away. But they may well turn out to be one of many interconnected groups which form the Church (big 'C') in Looe.
Their mission is their mission, our mission is our mission; the battles may be different but it's the same war, and we're on the same team. Gradually our small band of dedicated prayer warriors are starting to reach out and build links with the other Christians in Looe, it's incredible to watch it happening.
Please pray for tomorrows prayer group as we introduce Bob and Hilary to the rest of our rag-tag band of Jesus people, it will be an important step in the building of God's Kingdom here.
Please also pray for wisdom, that as we start to reach beyond our own circle and connect with those of different backgrounds that we express on the one hand love and mercy and on the other die-hard dedication to God's word. Pray that we will become all things to all men without ever watering down the gospel!
Hi all
Been a while since we've updated you all on what's happening here, so thought we'd update you on all the exciting stuff!
Both of us have been involved with the Street Pastor training, I'll be becoming a Street Pastor (Commissioning on the 5th December!) and Lucy will be backing us up with prayer as a Prayer Pastor. Preparations have gone well, with the exception of the key founding member and group coordinator being struck down with cancer and passing away last week.
If you want to help financially towards the Street Pastors in Liskeard and Looe, feel free to add a pledge to http://fundraising.twinklebob.co.uk/index.php?id=2 and I'll chase you up for it later. Anything in excess of the £300 I need to cover my costs will be added to their funds.
Some of our friends have progressed with their plans to have a Christian coffee shop in Looe (I think I mentioned it before) and now have a property. Check out therustybucket.co.uk and therustybucketcoffeeshop.co.uk. These are exciting times, a big Christian presence right in the heart of Looe and a fabulous meeting space.
The church at Morval recently had a meeting where they revealed a plan to invest into Looe big time, so we're looking forward to working with them in that respect. Hopefully this will take the form of a network of small groups, rather than empire building. If they don't go down that road, we certainly will.
So, few quick prayer points:
- For Hugh's family as they prepare for his funeral tomorrow
- Protection for the Street Pastors
- Blessing for the Street Pastors as our formal training draws to a close
- Blessing over the Rusty Bucket initiative and all the various things that includes
- For guidance with building the Kingdom in Looe
It's been a few months since our last post, and I'm really sorry about that. Does that mean nothing's been happening? Thankfully no, but not necessarily the things we were expecting to happen.
So what's been keeping us busy?
We've been doing a lot for Grace, the church that we have partnered with. We've been involved in some outdoor ministry, helping to set up a community website, learning a little about different forms of evangelism and discussing growth and development of a distinct part of the Church in Looe.
However, it has to be said that we have been distracted by those things - in the next few weeks and months hopefully we'll be able to get our focus back on our mission:
To push back the darkness and claim the land for GodTo Save Souls, Grow Saints, Train Warriors and serve suffering humanity.
Every day over the next week or so I'm going to try and focus for a few moments each day to think how can I fulfil just one of those mission claims today? I hope to share something positive with you out of that!
On a similar note, there's currently a lot of talking going on with the Christians in Looe (particularly amongst the ones we know). Please pray with/for us that we'll have the courage to put our words into action!
As promised here what you might call a vision, given to me during the weekly prayer for Looe a couple of weeks ago. I shared it with that group and they were encouraged (as was I) so I hope it will help you too.
Equally, whilst the fishers or the labourers have no fear of what they are working to harvest, they must still be careful of other dangers. This isn't me saying it's easy, but that the fear of rejection shouldn't be stopping us from telling people what we think will change their lives (and their eternities) for the better.
I too fear how people will react to me if/when I bring up the gospel, but given the alternatives (i.e. get rejection or stand by and let them walk off the cliff into hell) the correct path suddenly becomes clear.
Fear is of the devil, it's not God's plan: "I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." (2 Timothy 1:6-8)
I too fear how people will react to me if/when I bring up the gospel, but given the alternatives (i.e. get rejection or stand by and let them walk off the cliff into hell) the correct path suddenly becomes clear.
Fear is of the devil, it's not God's plan: "I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." (2 Timothy 1:6-8)
Many people are of the school of thought that we should become friends before sharing the gospel, but it's often harder to share with people who are closer to us. Start with the gospel, then let the friendship build! In all occasions pray that God will prepare the people you are about to speak to.
I was once told that when it comes to sharing the gospel, we should pray for COWS:
Courage - To speak when we have the chance
Opportunities - To share the gospel
Wisdom - To say the right thing
Sensitivity - To know when to shut up and listen
Let's all aim to just go for it, and "throw off everything that hinders".
Hi folks
Sorry it's been a while since my last post. The good news is that I have a couple of things I'm working on.
As promised I'm going to distil some of my reading/studying into a single post - this time I'm looking at the urgency of our mission. I actually started writing this post and got distracted a few days ago, so I'll try and get it finished.
In addition I have a vision or more correctly an encouragement from God that was revealed to me during our weekly pray group last week. It's a piece of encouragement that connects well with the post relating to urgency.
With regards to the prayer group, please continue to pray with/for us (Wed 2pm-3pm). Since we've started holding this prayer group we've seen things already start to happen - events that were in the distant future are closer, and we're now praying for individuals whose lives we're touching.
There are also a few new interesting things in development. At this stage they are very much at the ideas stage, but may turn out to be quite exciting. I won't say too much until I know more, but please pray for the Looe Community Groups (house groups).
Lastly, please pray that God will continue to lead us (by which I the Christians in Looe) and that we will continue to follow.
In the first of a few posts I want to explore our purpose here, our connection to Salvationism, the Salvation Army and the wider Church. Today we're going to start with our purpose and mission here.
Our mission is summed up well in the mission statement at the top of the blog:
To push back the darkness and claim the land for GodTo Save Souls, Grow Saints, Train Warriors and serve suffering humanity.
I took a quick look over the posts I've made and I was really surprised to see that in the initial rush I never posted anything about our original vision, so let's start there:
We need to go back to about 6 months-1 year before Lucy and I were married. At that point when we were planning our future (where we were going to live, what jobs we were going to do) and were undertaking marriage preparation classes a word was given to us.
I was living in Reading where I was finishing my degree but we didn't really have any intention of staying there. Lucy was from the country and I prefer the country having grown up there, that's what we wanted to go to when we married. Lucy particularly likes the South West but as a realist I was also looking north for a good combination of jobs and low cost of living. I was looking for (and applying) for graduate jobs in Cornwall, Reading (and surrounding areas) and Leeds.
The word was this: "Take St. Martin's road"
It came from a very respected friend of ours. We truly believed this was from God! So I looked for St. Martin's roads in all 3 areas, but due to the lack of jobs in Cornwall didn't really pay much attention to that part of the search.
Anyway, strangely I got a job in none of those places but close enough to Reading to commute (if you like commuting). 6 months later things appear to be going well and we're starting to settle, living the life that everyone else was living (spending all your time getting to/from work and never having time to enjoy the great money you're earning).
Not long after we had moved there the true meaning of the "rat race" started to dawn on me and it was particularly depressing for someone who feels their true vocation in life is full-time ministry. I started to beg God:
"Call me now. Please? If not Officership yet, how about envoy-ship?" (Envoys are non-ordained lay leaders who give 3 years of their life at a time to full-time ministry)
Then a recurring dream and day-dream started to happen (at least to me): quite simply it was Lucy and I standing on a street corner in Salvation Army uniform. Between us we usually had a flag, a drum and a brass instrument of some type. The street corner was in a quaint sea-side village. The calling seemed pretty clear so we started to pray about it, we prayed over maps of Cornwall and we asked a few trusted other people to also pray for this decision.
We eventually found a St. Martin's road in Looe which was our route in. In order to get into Looe we'd have to take "St. Martin's Road". We prayed more, but it seemed clear that this was the place (this has definitely been confirmed since we arrived).
Once we decided that we were going to follow God's call, we had to make some decisions. Our rental contract was up for renewal in August, rather than sign up for another 6 months it seemed like this was the opportune time to go. Why waste time when God is calling?
We didn't think anyone would understand. We hated the thought of having to explain this to our parents. Would they understand? 3 of them are Christian, but we still weren't sure. We prayed that God would tell them for us... He didn't do quite that, but He did prepare the way and most people we told were excited and encouraged us.
Lots of things happened on the way, but we ended up here. First and foremost our mission, as stated in the first post, is to fulfil the great commission to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I [Jesus] have commanded you." So that's the "Save Souls" bit of our mission statement.
We think it's possible that we may end up starting a new congregation or network of congregations along the lines of organic church/simple church/informal church. That covers the "Grow Saints" and "Train Warriors".
We also both feel very strongly about actual spiritual warfare and facing some stuff head on, so we may get involved in some of that if/when necessary. That's the first line "To push back the darkness and claim the land for God".
There's also the serving of suffering humanity, which we'll do as and when.
Finally it's worth mentioning that we're not here to compete with or clash with any of the established church congregations here. If someone else is doing something better we'll work with them and point people in their direction. There's no point duplicating and fighting with other Christians. But I guess this leads nicely into my next post about our relationship with The Salvation Army and the Church universal...
Hi All
Been a while since we last updated you on what was happening. For us personally, not a lot, we're building up relationships with a few people - at the moment concentrating particularly on just a few of them.
There are lot's of exciting things happening in and around Looe related to the Church, which is exciting. Hopefully I'll be able to release some more details about those things in the coming days and weeks.
Also, we've now made contact with The Salvation Army in Liskeard and are hoping to meet up with the CO (Pastor) there to forge some strong links. Also, it looks liek the CO was already aware of Grace Church here and is keen to create some good links there - perhaps this is another facet to our purpose here... more news as it happens!
Can we ask for particular prayer over 2 initiatives we're not involved in as yet: Street Pastors and Rusty Bucket (a Christian Coffee Shop/Community Centre in Looe) and also for those relationships I mentioned above.
Been a while since we last updated you on what was happening. For us personally, not a lot, we're building up relationships with a few people - at the moment concentrating particularly on just a few of them.
There are lot's of exciting things happening in and around Looe related to the Church, which is exciting. Hopefully I'll be able to release some more details about those things in the coming days and weeks.
Also, we've now made contact with The Salvation Army in Liskeard and are hoping to meet up with the CO (Pastor) there to forge some strong links. Also, it looks liek the CO was already aware of Grace Church here and is keen to create some good links there - perhaps this is another facet to our purpose here... more news as it happens!
Can we ask for particular prayer over 2 initiatives we're not involved in as yet: Street Pastors and Rusty Bucket (a Christian Coffee Shop/Community Centre in Looe) and also for those relationships I mentioned above.
The prayer meeting went really well yesterday, thank you for all your prayerful support! There were 5 of us (including Lucy and me) but it was just right.
We spent an amazing amount of time just praising God for who He is and praying for repentance. Revival must start with us!
Whilst we were praising God and praying for Looe, I remembered how just a few weeks ago I asked you all the pray the promise of Jehovah Jireh (The Lord will Provide) over us. Please join with us praying “Jehovah M’Kaddesh” (The Lord Who Sanctifies) – pray that the people of God here will be set apart from the rest of the populace; not that we will be arrogant in our holiness, but that everything about us will draw attention to God. Pray that we will be worthy servants!
One other thing... my daily reading today was Jeremiah 18-21. The passage uses clay to refer to Israel on a couple of occasions: firstly that if the pot goes wrong, as long as it is still malleable the potter can fix it; but also if the pot is bad and has been hardened, all that can be done is smashing the pot. We have the Old Testament to prove that God will not think twice about “smashing the pot” if that is the only option available to us. May we always rest in the potters hands, being moulded by Him until the day of our completion – baked ready for his use!
“Send revival, start with me!”
Yours in the battle,
Dave
On Friday, Lucy went to a prayer meeting for Looe with Grace Community Church (I had hoped to be there but was unable because of work) - they regularly meet in Looe once a month and prayer-walk through the town, but it was too wet and wild on Friday.
Whilst talking to one of the other people there it was decided that a more regular prayer-time ought to be held in Looe once a week. The leaders of the community groups tried to work out where best to hold the prayer meeting, but were sure they wanted it in the heart of Looe itself, so we offered our home and it looks like we'll be holding a weekly 1 hour prayer meeting here in our house for Looe.
Please pray for and with us:
Whilst talking to one of the other people there it was decided that a more regular prayer-time ought to be held in Looe once a week. The leaders of the community groups tried to work out where best to hold the prayer meeting, but were sure they wanted it in the heart of Looe itself, so we offered our home and it looks like we'll be holding a weekly 1 hour prayer meeting here in our house for Looe.
Please pray for and with us:
- Pray for Looe
- Pray for Grace and its members and leadership
- Pray for our home - that it will be a centrepoint in the community
- Pray that action will follow our prayer
- Pray for vision
- Pray that we will listen and follow that vision
Oops... not sure why I didn't publish the below... wrote this last Tuesday, so it's actually referring to a week ago...
Whilst we were at Church on Sunday and being introduced to several people, one member of the congregation handed us a letter saying "this needs to go to one of our members in Looe, they're just down the road from you, now you have an excuse to meet them."
We were a bit scared, after all we didn't know who we were going to meet, but we were extremely surprised when we did meet up with them!
Amazingly this couple were also called by God to Looe!! They also told us that the Church we visited on Sunday have got big plans for Looe (them and God it would seem).
We have just met so many people who aren't originally from Looe but have been brought here... it's extremely exciting and we can see that the Church are extremely outward looking. So on our wavelength about getting stuck in and getting the good news out!
I can't wait to tell you more about what's happening! Keep praying that God will reveal His plan to us and Grace Community Church, pray that we will be faithful and honour HIs will!
Whilst we were at Church on Sunday and being introduced to several people, one member of the congregation handed us a letter saying "this needs to go to one of our members in Looe, they're just down the road from you, now you have an excuse to meet them."
We were a bit scared, after all we didn't know who we were going to meet, but we were extremely surprised when we did meet up with them!
Amazingly this couple were also called by God to Looe!! They also told us that the Church we visited on Sunday have got big plans for Looe (them and God it would seem).
We have just met so many people who aren't originally from Looe but have been brought here... it's extremely exciting and we can see that the Church are extremely outward looking. So on our wavelength about getting stuck in and getting the good news out!
I can't wait to tell you more about what's happening! Keep praying that God will reveal His plan to us and Grace Community Church, pray that we will be faithful and honour HIs will!
Hi folks!
What an exciting couple of weeks it's been!! We're now here in Looe and pretty much settled into our amazing house! The only thing preventing me being truly settled is the fact that we still don't have the internet!
Due to a couple of issues the internet was slightly delayed, but all being well it should be sorted come Friday. At the moment I'm having to work with a broadband dongle, which is OK, but not brilliant. Mind you, I probably won't get higher speeds over the phone...
Anyway, my work is going well and Lucy now has a job!! She's got a job in a florist, all thanks to her making the effort to volunteer at one of the charity shops in the town. So she's getting to know everyone and I'm stuck indoors working... still, I have a lovely view of the river from my office...
We haven't settled on a Church yet, but that's mostly due to us not havign any transport to go to Grace Family Bible Church. The Churches in the town are lovely, but not quite on our wavelength. Still, we're making the effort to visit them and meet people!
On the subject of meeting people, Lucy and I are probably going to be attending auditions for a musical with the town drama group - an ideal opportunity for us to meet people. The audition is on Sunday evening, so it's a good job that Lucy didn't take any jobs that were on Sunday afternoons after all!
We really appreciate your prayers as we try and settle ourselves into the community here.
Yours in the battle
David
What an exciting couple of weeks it's been!! We're now here in Looe and pretty much settled into our amazing house! The only thing preventing me being truly settled is the fact that we still don't have the internet!
Due to a couple of issues the internet was slightly delayed, but all being well it should be sorted come Friday. At the moment I'm having to work with a broadband dongle, which is OK, but not brilliant. Mind you, I probably won't get higher speeds over the phone...
Anyway, my work is going well and Lucy now has a job!! She's got a job in a florist, all thanks to her making the effort to volunteer at one of the charity shops in the town. So she's getting to know everyone and I'm stuck indoors working... still, I have a lovely view of the river from my office...
We haven't settled on a Church yet, but that's mostly due to us not havign any transport to go to Grace Family Bible Church. The Churches in the town are lovely, but not quite on our wavelength. Still, we're making the effort to visit them and meet people!
On the subject of meeting people, Lucy and I are probably going to be attending auditions for a musical with the town drama group - an ideal opportunity for us to meet people. The audition is on Sunday evening, so it's a good job that Lucy didn't take any jobs that were on Sunday afternoons after all!
We really appreciate your prayers as we try and settle ourselves into the community here.
Yours in the battle
David
Oops! It's been a little bit long since I last updated you all, very sorry!!
Best news first! Praise God, that flat that we liked (really a huge house with a bakery underneath it) was still available and was amazing, especially for the money. So we jumped at the chance. It's all ours now and we're just trying to sort out dates etc. We're hopefully looking at next Thursday to move in! Hooray! I'll keep you updated on the date.
So there's some good news, the bad news is that the job that had been promised to Lucy never existed. We made the effort to walk to the shop and visit the lady personally so that Lucy could say we were coming down soon and rather than being happy and saying something along the lines of "That's brilliant, when do you think you'll be able to start then?" she instead proceeded to offer Lucy a job - less hours and this time including Sunday mornings.
The conversation was a little odd, because obviously Lucy was extremely confused as to where "her" job had gone and the woman who had previously said it was no problem that Lucy wouldn't work Sundays was now saying that she had to work Sunday. So that hope soon evaporated.
Essentially we now need you lot to cover our move and Lucy in prayer. We need the move to go smoothly and we need Lucy to get a decent job in the community and soon! Praise God we know he will provide!
JEHOVAH JIREH!
Yours in the battle,
David
Best news first! Praise God, that flat that we liked (really a huge house with a bakery underneath it) was still available and was amazing, especially for the money. So we jumped at the chance. It's all ours now and we're just trying to sort out dates etc. We're hopefully looking at next Thursday to move in! Hooray! I'll keep you updated on the date.
So there's some good news, the bad news is that the job that had been promised to Lucy never existed. We made the effort to walk to the shop and visit the lady personally so that Lucy could say we were coming down soon and rather than being happy and saying something along the lines of "That's brilliant, when do you think you'll be able to start then?" she instead proceeded to offer Lucy a job - less hours and this time including Sunday mornings.
The conversation was a little odd, because obviously Lucy was extremely confused as to where "her" job had gone and the woman who had previously said it was no problem that Lucy wouldn't work Sundays was now saying that she had to work Sunday. So that hope soon evaporated.
Essentially we now need you lot to cover our move and Lucy in prayer. We need the move to go smoothly and we need Lucy to get a decent job in the community and soon! Praise God we know he will provide!
JEHOVAH JIREH!
Yours in the battle,
David
Here's the latest for you all:
1. I contacted my employer to ask for a day off for an interview in Cornwall, because obviously the situation I was in was quite fragile and I had no idea when they would pull the plug. They said no need and firmed up this arrangement until at least the end of the year. Praise God!
2. We're going to look at a couple of places on Saturday and we're really hopeful about one of them. In fact, on paper, we really like it (despite the fact it has no parking). Pray that it will be good and that we can take it!
3. Lucy should have a job, although it is being advertised elsewhere, so we need to get down there asap to make sure she secures it.
We're really excited and hopeful about the flat and if we can get it, it solves an awful lot of problems. Please pray really hard, particularly on Saturday!!
Soon we'll be able to get on with what God has called us to do!
Yours in the battle,
Dave
1. I contacted my employer to ask for a day off for an interview in Cornwall, because obviously the situation I was in was quite fragile and I had no idea when they would pull the plug. They said no need and firmed up this arrangement until at least the end of the year. Praise God!
2. We're going to look at a couple of places on Saturday and we're really hopeful about one of them. In fact, on paper, we really like it (despite the fact it has no parking). Pray that it will be good and that we can take it!
3. Lucy should have a job, although it is being advertised elsewhere, so we need to get down there asap to make sure she secures it.
We're really excited and hopeful about the flat and if we can get it, it solves an awful lot of problems. Please pray really hard, particularly on Saturday!!
Soon we'll be able to get on with what God has called us to do!
Yours in the battle,
Dave
Another update for our supporters...
I'm still working from home and this appears to be going well, my employer is happy. Praise God for this! We pray that this will continue for some time!
Lucy now has the potential promise of a job, so long as we can get down to Looe before September :-S
Praise God for the job, it would be ideal. It would help Lucy get into the community, and help us to afford a decent home. Pray that the job opportunity doesn't disappear!
Finally, as you can tell, we now want to get down there before this opportunity disappears for Lucy. It's the first job offer she's had in 8 months, so we want to grasp it! Pray that the right house comes up soon! Be good to get down there soon!
I'm still working from home and this appears to be going well, my employer is happy. Praise God for this! We pray that this will continue for some time!
Lucy now has the potential promise of a job, so long as we can get down to Looe before September :-S
Praise God for the job, it would be ideal. It would help Lucy get into the community, and help us to afford a decent home. Pray that the job opportunity doesn't disappear!
Finally, as you can tell, we now want to get down there before this opportunity disappears for Lucy. It's the first job offer she's had in 8 months, so we want to grasp it! Pray that the right house comes up soon! Be good to get down there soon!
So things have not gone according to plan.
The van only went in to a garage on Wednesday after lots and lots of phonecalls going round and round the varying companies all contracted to do the work of the insurer. The underwriter knows nothing about courtesy cars, the insurer explains that they have redefined the word "accident" to suit them - we only get a courtesy car in the case of third party fault. Apparently the fact that I didn't start the fire doesn't count...
So we have no vehicle (and possibly more importantly, nowhere to live).
Eventually, after much thought, we decide that the best bet is to stay with Lucy's parents in Bristol and for me to start work and save the holiday until we actually move. This way we can save up some money and get ourselves sorted - i.e. find a house etc.
This isn't how we planned it, but we're sure God will bring glory to it. Perhaps this is a case of in his time rather than in ours.
On a secondary note, the lorry that we had booked for our move didn't arrive. Thankfully I'd phoned the hire company on Friday just to make sure everything was ok and was told that not only was our confirmed booking not going to result in a Lorry, but also that they had phoned me to tell me... strange that I can't remember that phonecall...
Eventually, though, my parents managed to book a Lorry cheaper than I had managed which gave us enough to put our stuff in storage. It'll make the next stage of the move easier, and it will also free up some room here.
Keep praying! This is just a small delay! Looe... we're still coming!!
The van only went in to a garage on Wednesday after lots and lots of phonecalls going round and round the varying companies all contracted to do the work of the insurer. The underwriter knows nothing about courtesy cars, the insurer explains that they have redefined the word "accident" to suit them - we only get a courtesy car in the case of third party fault. Apparently the fact that I didn't start the fire doesn't count...
So we have no vehicle (and possibly more importantly, nowhere to live).
Eventually, after much thought, we decide that the best bet is to stay with Lucy's parents in Bristol and for me to start work and save the holiday until we actually move. This way we can save up some money and get ourselves sorted - i.e. find a house etc.
This isn't how we planned it, but we're sure God will bring glory to it. Perhaps this is a case of in his time rather than in ours.
On a secondary note, the lorry that we had booked for our move didn't arrive. Thankfully I'd phoned the hire company on Friday just to make sure everything was ok and was told that not only was our confirmed booking not going to result in a Lorry, but also that they had phoned me to tell me... strange that I can't remember that phonecall...
Eventually, though, my parents managed to book a Lorry cheaper than I had managed which gave us enough to put our stuff in storage. It'll make the next stage of the move easier, and it will also free up some room here.
Keep praying! This is just a small delay! Looe... we're still coming!!
Prayer Needed Urgently!
As if to confirm that we are definitely stepping onto the right patch, the devil has hit us hard - not so hard that we will be put off, though!
As you may recall, we are about to move out of our existing home but don't yet have a home to go to. We were planning on living in Lucy's Dad's camper for a couple of weeks whilst we sorted out accommodation.
Unfortunately as I drove it home from work yesterday a small fire erupted on the leads coming from the leisure battery under my seat!
Luckily my brain kept working and I soon had a fire extinguisher working on the fire. The fire brigade were called and managed to extinguish the fire completely and be happy the vehicle was safe. Since the motor battery was not affected, we thought it may be safe to drive home. Just to be safe a fireman started the engine and immediately smoked poured forth from every gap imaginable.
The fire brigade then set about putting out the second battery fire and disconnected the main battery.
Eventually, after a wait, the breakdown people took me home.
So, although the camper isn't burnt out (praise God!!), we are without transport and home.
We're praying "Jehovah Jireh" prophetically and praise-fully (not that it's even a word). We trust that God will provide for us! Please pray that He will perform miracles with the insurance company and get stuff sorted quickly!!
Launch isn't very far away and Lucy and I have been thinking very much about what we're going there to do. Lucy watched a program about some girls who have totally missed out on what life should be (The Trouble With Girls - BBC) and how they just need some help. I replied to her e-mail with the following. It all kinda just poured out of me and I suddenly realised how true it is:
More space means more rent, more rent needs more income, more income needs a job. Our most outstanding prayer need right now? That Lucy find a job and we find the perfect home and base of operations.
If God can, by some miracle, give us the home first, then fair enough. But if we have to do this the worldly way, we're going to need Lucy to find a job. Please cover this issue with as much prayer as you can!!
Exactly. It is what they need. It’s exactly what James is talking about when he says (and I paraphrase) “It’s no good saying, yeah I believe, and then just sitting on your bum. If your mate comes up to you and says ‘I’ve got some problems’ don’t just say ‘Oh, well, God bless then’ and walk off. What good is that? You can’t have faith without actions, and actions without faith are lost. You gotta have both!”At the moment, without Lucy working and with debt that we've built up whilst we've been living beyond our means in Reading, we'll only be able to afford about £400/month. Even in Looe we're only looking at a 1 bedroom flat for that. Basically, we both feel that our mission and our creation of community down there is going to require a bit more space.
That’s what the Army was all about. And sadly, at some point, the “social work” got divorced from the “church” and we became exactly like the Churches William Booth fought against. He saved men and women and then sent them to Churches who wouldn’t even let these people in. That’s the only reason that the Christian Mission ever became a Church, simply because no other Church would take the people he was saving.
Look at how far we’ve come from our calling... incredibly really! So that’s what we’re going into: saving souls and serving suffering humanity!
I can see us spending a lot of time out at night with the young’uns, with bottles of water and those mini bibles that Andrew gave us. We’ll just be chatting to people, helping them out, telling them there’s another way.
That’s also why I want us to have a bigger place, because we’re gonna have people round for food all the time and we may even have people staying with us occasionally. B&B but without getting paid for it, lol.
More space means more rent, more rent needs more income, more income needs a job. Our most outstanding prayer need right now? That Lucy find a job and we find the perfect home and base of operations.
If God can, by some miracle, give us the home first, then fair enough. But if we have to do this the worldly way, we're going to need Lucy to find a job. Please cover this issue with as much prayer as you can!!