Getting Harder - Getting Better

We were down to three of us this evening, colds and sore throats took their toll on the rest of our team and I found myself disappointed and a bit annoyed that I was perfectly healthy :o). My only faint excuse was hardly good enough - 'Lord' I prayed, 'I'd rather be tucked up in bed'. A week of Christian seminar/training would put a dent in most people's constitution and I'm an old bloke now - I feel the cold, especially in my feet :o)

After half an hour of chat and prayer, ever-enthusiastic George said, 'let's go'. My heart sunk and we walked up to Alexandra Gardens to the car park and, result!, there was nobody there - time to go home to the warm. But no, Mary said let's pray around the area. So we wondered up to the church, prayed around there and walked back past the car park. 'That's the roar of young people', George said. And he wasn't wrong. On the other side of the car park by The Vyne, there were a half dozen or so of our younger boys and girls. 

One, lets call her Haley, about 4'6" and with a cigarette on the go, says she's been visiting hospital because of a leg problem and was happy for George to pray for her. The lads were really keen to get hold of some of George's £20 notes - they look like £20 notes but they're really Christian tracts. At first we didn't know why the boys were so keen to get their hands on them until an unsuspecting lady wondered past, bent over and picked one up off the floor, (we hadn't seen it being dropped), putting it into her handbag - which of course caused great hilarity amongst the boys. There were some good conversations with the boys as well. They were really open, keen to chat and were very good company. 

I've been asked by Woking BC to find a young person to put their name to a funding application for lighting the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA). Now the boys want nothing more than this, but they're naturally reticent to stick their heads above the parapet. One lad, let's call him Tim, eventually said he'd do it but, he says, his writing and reading isn't that great, so we've said we'll lend him a hand. We have to keep in mind though that it's important that he uses his own words to explain how lighting would benefit him and other young people. 

We've known Tim a long while now. He was one of the first lads we met when we started visiting Alexandra Gardens. This evening he stepped away from his mates for a while and chatted to us about God. He's a 'science man' and his biggest problem is understanding who made God. Big question that one (if you find it hard to accept God's timelessness), especially bearing in mind that much of mankind is confused about who made us and believes we evolved from starfish. I asked Tim if he believed that too. After a couple of seconds he pointed out that it was unlikely as starfish have the ability to regenerate lost legs and we don't. Not bad for a lad who finds reading and writing difficult.

Finishing off at the end of the evening the three of us reflected on a great time out. The harder it is, the better it gets. But come next Monday, I'll still be thinking I wish I had a cold - unless I catch one between then and now, in which case no doubt I'll wish I could be going out with the others. But then, I'm only human.

Much love

John

New Opportunities

Monday was, well, wet! One of the few wet evenings since April - the third to be precise. Over the past seven months Tuesday evenings have remained dry with just a couple of drizzly spells. How good is that? Statistically, what are the chances? Anyway, we used Monday for prayer and fellowship and sorting out our thoughts on several issues. I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at a Christian conference, so Phil's kindly provided the following report on what happened on Tuesday:

New Opportunities:

So Tuesday evening again, 7pm. What's in store for us tonight? Visiting youth and families we have got to know over the last four years? With team numbers low, it being dark outside and a little drizzly, it looked like it was going to be a quiet evening. Maybe we'll just stay in and pray. Stop right there! We serve a God who loves people and we are ready to serve him, all three and a half of us (Helen went home early, not well). With anticipation and past experience we know anything can happen. First of all a mother appears with four kids in tow 'is this the Tuesday club?' she asks. She comes from nearby flats and has heard from one of our regulars that the church runs a club for kids on a Tuesday night. Nancy and Helen explain to her that we are not a club as such but that we go out on a Tuesday night and meet teenagers in the streets and more frequently in their homes. They take her address and plan to contact her about kids club that meets on a Thursday. She walks off taking the four youngsters with her. Next a teenager turns up who we have had a lot of contact with, she wants to do some maths with Nancy, not because she's good at maths but because somewhere deep down and with so many failings at school she knows she has a need to be taught and to learn, to be good at something or if not good at it to just do something. Then a policeman turns up to introduce himself, that livens things up a bit, the mearest glimpse of a bobby's uniform sends some of these kids into a state of hyper activity and potential fitting, now three more young people have turned up outside. The language and behaviour becoming a bit near the mark, but the policeman's a pro, he's on our side and he's a good contact. We're really pleased to see him.

We make ourselves a coffee and after some chatting we decide to pray, its now 8.15pm. Prayer is always good on a Tuesday. It's honest, talking to God. He's our boss in this work and He has the final say, we try to follow His leading every step of the way and He really does love people, I feel His aching sometimes when I'm out on the street and I wish we could do more. Be there more.

Nancy suggests that we go and find the woman from the flats and give her the Kids Club leaflets. We all decide to go, all three of us. The least we can do is help out by giving these kids somewhere to go for 1 Saturday a month.  Nancy has the number of the flat. We go through Gloster Road and get to the flats; it's dark and we're unsure which flat it is. Looking up we see this guy leaning out of a window having a cigarette.

He says that the flat we are looking for is up where he is. It turns out that it's his flat and it was his partner that brought the kids down earlier. We end up sitting round the table talking to the parents with kids running around getting ready for bed. We decide to come back next week. It's a good contact. Yet another friendly contact in amoungst so many people with various needs. As we wander back we remember the prayers we prayed for this particular block of flats over a year ago now. We stood outside in the early hours of the morning one Saturday night and prayed that God would give us a link with these flats - a way in. 

Was this all a coincidence? Sometimes I find myself smiling, just thinking about how his timing is perfect and how good it is to be working for Him. This is typical of what happens on a quiet night these days. It's things like this that make me want to spend time seeking Him and praying for more, it also hurts because He hurts. There is so much need, once you start scratching the surface big chunks of hurting people are exposed. It may be hidden and not obviously seen but it's there. 

We'll go back there next week and He is going to be with us because this is His plan not ours.  

Phil

 

ASBO Candidates

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31868170@N07/show/

Pictures of those we're really worried about.

Antisocial Behaviour Problem Increases

Link

Above is an interesting link that shows how serious the problem of antisocial behaviour is becoming in the UK.

Part of Outside Light's vision is to reach out to people outside and to show them they're valued. Behaviours like those shown in the above clip can deteriorate especially where groups are left to their own devices. Individually I'd bet that these people are as charming as those we meet in the streets in Knaphill and Old Woking - but in groups their behaviour changes - groups like this can appear intimidating and, understandably this causes neighbours to complain.

Volunteers are needed to reach out to people like these before they get involved in alcohol or other substances.

Outside Light needs You!

What is Evangelism?

Link - What is Evangelism

Here's something worth watching, especially if you're fed up with the likes of Brand and Ross and your hope is for the world to get back to God and good.

Love

John

Prayer Works

You'll remember that one of the lads we've been talking to is now in jail. He'd written to Phil saying that he had given his mum a VO (Visting Order) for Phil so that he'd be able to go and see him. Tonight we went to the house to see whether it had arrived, but we found only the lad's father there, who invited the four of us in for a cup of tea. It turned out that the mum was in church! A 'Travellers'' church near to Slough.

Phil and George visited the family home a month or so back and the mother explained then that she had once been a Christian but due to a falling out with someone she felt an unforgiveness that made it difficult for her to keep going. Phil and George following their visit both prayed that she would be able to overcome that - tonight they found out that their prayers had been answered.

Tonight we found the father in reflective mood, asking us questions, expressing a belief in God, knowing too that there's a devil, not quite grasping that the Gospel message was for him too. This has to be the current main prayer focus for those who support our work. Will you do that for him, please?

Please pray too for next Tuesday evening when we hope to hold a bbq in the Gloster Road area - we want to invite local people to come along. We'd like to invite you, too. If you want to see what it's like to go out but don't want to make a commitment without knowing more, then perhaps this would be a good opportunity for you to get a feel of what goes on. If you can't come then your prayers for good weather would be appreciated. Tonight was the first wet Tuesday evening since April, so we have plenty to be thankful for, but it would be good if the weather next week could be conducive to a good turnout.

Lots of love

John

Because They're Worth It

What with one thing and another I've not been out to the youngsters for a couple of weeks and it's surprising how a) I've missed it and b) the fear's built up. How crazy is it that when the time's rolling up to 6pm on a Monday, you find yourself simultaneously looking forward to seeing what'll happen and hoping from the depths of your heart that something else will crop up (trip and break a leg perhaps :o)) so that you'll have a great excuse for not going out? Talk about mixed feelings!

I've been tied to my pc today trying to work through the charity stuff - only a few forms really but they may as well be in Chinese. Without the help and advice of a good solicitor and accountant friend I'd be stuck up the Basingstoke Canal without a paddle. He provides.

All of which my brothers and sisters reminded me, suggests we're probably on the right path. It's when we're at our weakest that the Lord uses us the most.

Tonight there were 15 kids, unbelievable given the cold, as usual hanging around the car park, playing football. My thoughts were as much for the neighbouring residents as for the kids themselves. The kids don't mean to be thoughtless, they just are and it's really frustrating that at the moment we can't offer them an alternative that's away from the houses. Despite that, we again had some really good conversations with young people. They were genuinely pleased to see us.

Hopefully things will change soon. Meanwhile there doesn't seem much option other than to keep on going. We'd like to encourage others who feel God's talking to them about young people, to come out with us. A number of people are convinced that God's moving His church out of the comfort-zone of Sunday church, into the war-zone. Won't you join us? Mixed feelings guaranteed. But this could be your best chance yet of finding out what it's really like to walk with the Lord - because they're worth it.

Love

JD