More Encouragement from Friday Night

Hi all

I wanted to tell you about last Friday as an encouragement.  We had a great evening and really felt God’s presence with us.  We really noticed God’s influence in the way that people responded to us, we gave out quite a lot of gospels and tracts and people seemed really appreciative of them, even if they didn’t have time to stop and talk about it.

We prayed for several people which was great and a highlight was a Portuguese chap called Ilsano who was drinking because he had injured his back, was in a lot of pain and his medication wasn’t helping.  He explained that he had been in hospital twice that week and that he had been unable to work.  We prayed for Ilsano, that he would be healed and that he would have an experience of God.  After we prayed he said that he couldn’t feel any pain and could bend down in a way that he had been unable to previously!  He also said that as we prayed for him he felt God “change his mind” and felt that his whole thinking was different.  God certainly seemed to have had a big impact on him.  He left his beer with us half full!

I was greatly encouraged by Friday and I hope that flavour of what happened encourages you too.

God bless

Andrew

Thursday and Tonight -Tuesday

I just wanted to let those of you who have been praying for us know that all is well in Knaphill (Thursday) and Old Woking (Tuesday - tonight).


On Tuesday we had a really good night, although John H was stymied by a computer virus in from America that attacked his company's servers - quite a big deal seeing as he works for one of the Internet's major companies.


We had pizza, games were played, nails painted, conversations had. The only negative was an 8-year old who tried to walk off with a volunteer's Blackberry.

Tonight
Mostly we had a really good evening - up to the last ten minutes when one lad lost his temper and tipped up three of the dustbins outside - rubbish all over the place. This is one of the lads we prayed for last week. I tried asking what his problem was but he wasn't in a mood to respond. So many of these kids have anger issues and it doesn't take much to set them off. There again, given the lives that some of them have been dealt, it's not that surprising. Up until then he was funny and chatty. Something happened to change that - I think he chipped his tooth on a lolly. It really doesn't take much but who knows what other straws were loaded onto this particular camel's back?


The other problem was yet ANOTHER broken tap. It's only a piece of plastic that broke - but whichever way you look at it, it's bust. To New Life, yet again, we're really sorry.


Apart from these two incidents the rest of the evening was very chilled with no problems. Esther (our newest volunteer) chatted to the girls. Nick made and cooked pizzas which the kids ate like they'd never eaten anything before  - and I drifted, generally amazed that I wasn't having to stop any fights. And after everything had calmed down and most of the kids had left, a few stayed behind to hoover and mop the floors and a half-dozen of those stayed a little longer for prayer. 


This is becoming a regular thing now and I really believe we're starting to see lives change. Just a few embers that we'd love to help fan into flame over the coming weeks.


Next week is the Outside Light Prayer meeting - Tuesday at Holy Trinity Church, Knaphill. Please come along if you're free.


John

Roller-Coaster Drop-In

The amazing thing about last night was that God provided us with a good number of volunteers in time for the anticipated backlash. We had Esther, who has joined the team from Vineyard Church and has youth-working experience, Paul, Gav, Nancy, Nick and me. You'll remember that the last couple of weeks were really peaceful and there were just the two of us.


New Life Church had a special service taking place at the same time, so the main challenge was to keep the kids from getting through the doors - a task that needed to be undertaken by two of us (had there been just Nick and me, we wouldn't have coped this week - God is indeed good) - even then they almost squeezed through on a few occasions and had to be caught and brought back in. On one of those occasions I was threatened with a head-butting, which resulted in Nick barring the lad for two weeks - we won't tolerate threats to volunteers, even the 6'5" ones like me. The very satisfactory outcome was that the lad apologised to me before leaving for home. Nick's 'word' with him had the desired effect and we shook hands.


Much of the extra work resulted from two brothers attending simultaneously - where in previous weeks one of them had been unwell so only one turned up. These lads are a handful as individuals (not unlike a certain Outside Light team member was at around their age), but together their impact is more than equal to the sum of their two parts and we need eyes in the backs of our heads to keep track of them. That said, Nick kept one of them busy in the kitchen making smoothies for quite a while  - a task that the lad seemed to enjoy. We'd really appreciate it if you could pray in particular for these boys.


Again at the end of the evening several of the lads stayed behind and helped us clear up - I think this was the messiest I've ever seen the kitchen - unsurprising given who was the chief smoothie-maker. Many hands make Outside Light work though, and it didn't take long before we all had sat down for prayer again.


Two of the lads had asked us last week to pray that they'd be taken off report - one was. Another lad asked us to pray that he'd be able to get an education. It seems he's been excluded from local schools and is being sent to a boarding school - he doesn't want to go but he's clever enough to realise he's unlikely to get a job without an education. Something of a dilemma for him.


It'd be fantastic if you could find time to pray for these lads and redouble your efforts, please, in prayer for next week's drop-in. 


Thanks again for your prayers this past week.


John

Prayer Meeting for Outside Light 23rd November

Please spread the word and get the date into your diaries that we are having a prayer meeting for Outside Light from 7.30 to 9.30 pm on the 23rd of November at Holy Trinity Church, Chobham Road, Knaphill, GU21 2SX - link

It will be a time of fellowship, worship, some short teaching and prayer. We think these are vital meetings and really important for the volunteers to come to in order to receive prayer and support.

Could you pass this on to prayer partners, supporters, interested parties and encourage as many along as you can to join us. 

Grace, Grace, Grace

George

Thursday, 4th November

After hearing of disruptions at the Tuesday meetings in Old Woking, I dropped in – after an absence of five months – in case an extra pair of hands would help. Had I kept up with the most recent news I might have been prepared for what I witnessed, but I hadn’t. It was truly shocking.

There was no aggravation, only a really good vibe; no punch-ups or verbal fisticuffs, only polite conversation. When Nick called ‘time’, the majority walked without a murmur, and those that stayed got stuck into tidying up. I even had a broom taken off me by one of the boys because the job had been allocated to him. And after everything was tidy, five boys joined us for the prayer de-brief, where the broom-boy straightaway opened up about difficulties at school and his concern that things were unravelling again; he wanted it to be put right. The difference in him during the evening had probably been the most remarkable, but it was by no means the only change.

One girl who had been a school-refuser told me how she had a plan in place with a new school where she felt really comfortable. It was so refreshing to see her smiling. Another, who had been exploring the boundary-line last time I was around, was chatty and showed me her art-work, a talent I never knew she had before. What humbled me the most was their warmth after I had taken a necessary (but unexplained) step back from their lives; their acceptance reminded me what an honour it is to have been involved in this corner of God’s work.

God has made sure that the recent disruption has been put to His use. Prayer is central – that vibe couldn’t have been achieved without the prayer support from various homes. Judging by Tuesday night, the strong line taken in recent weeks has really hit home and the young people have responded by reining in their behaviour and taking responsibility with both hands. It was always the plan to enable them to become responsible for themselves and others in the running of the ‘club’ (their word) and it’s a huge encouragement to see that starting to evolve.

Sure, the devil doesn’t like to see things going well and there’s no guarantee that things will be so rosy next week, but all those involved should be encouraged and motivated to keep going and to PRAY because a lot of ground has been covered and it won’t go to waste!

Isaiah 40:26-31

Nancy