A Short Refresh-er-ing Break
Time for a quick update! This is as much as I can manage to write before I have to go and catch my train to Shrewsbury!
Careforce Refresher Course
That's where I'm headed in about 40 minutes. Its the second of the two Careforce conferences over the course of my year out, and this time I'm really looking forward to it. Before the first one last September I was kind of skeptical, I'd decided that I would be doing much more good if I was actually working in Malpas than out in the middle of nowhere at The Quinta (those of you who know me well are probably, well hopefully, thinking that that's a typical James attitude) and so wasn't particularly looking forward to it. I was also quite nervous which probably redirected itself to reinforce my skepticism. So, anyway, it was a real suprise and was great fun, and I met some really cool people. So, this time round I'm starting to get quite excited.
Time for Praise / The Lab / Sunday
Everything went really well yesterday, even with David still on holiday, which was good. I was phoned up on Saturday and asked if I could rap by one of the Time for Praise team who organised it this week - my reply was a very definite no - but in spite of that everything went really well, including the "rap" - which turned into more of a thoughtful monologue/recitation delivered by one of the team - much more cultured IMO.
At the Lab, we looked at the history of mission, specifically looking at the life of Hudson Taylor, who founded the China Inland Mission (is that right?) which later was rebranded as OMF. So, I thought I'd just throw in a few points that hit me about his life:
1. He thought BIG - When he founded CIM, he asked God for 24 missionaries to take back to China with him - on the first swoop CIM would make up over 25% of the missionaries in China at the time - two for each of the 11 provinces or regions in China and two more to go to Mongolia (imagine God calling you to be a missionary in Mongolia!). He achieved this number, and then on two more occasions went back to Britain and set about recruiting even larger numbers. He wasn't looking to just cruise along and maybe make a few disciples - God gave him the vision to convert the whole of China and he responded by trusting God to provide the numbers and by giving everything of himself.
2. He connected with the people he was seeking to make disciples of. Taylor was criticised by his comtempories because he made his missionaries dress and grow their hair as Chinese fashion. He became part of the community - whilst he was in China, he also served as a doctor and saw 200 patients a day.
3. He wasn't perfect - he had weaknesses. Taylor wasn't a people person - he fell out with his missionaries, constantly demanding more and more of them and questioning their zeal and their determination. But God used him - he took someone who couldn't connect easily with those who worked for him and used him to connect others with God.
Okay, I may have gone into a little more detail than I intended there... Oh well... Onwards...
Youth Club Trip - 16th-18th
We have a Youth Club Trip planned for the first weekend of our half term (in Newport), which is the second weekend in Ceredigion for those in Aberystwyth. We're taking about 16 young people away to a converted farm run by the Amelia Trust, who are a local Christian group grounded in the Methodist movement. It's down near Cowbridge, close to Barry Island, and is basically a complex with dorms, a kitchen and a meeting room, surrounded by some woods, farm animals of all shapes and sizes and a few fields - Oh, and a sports hall. The plan is to just have a lot of fun and hopefully to talk a bit about God as well. It's going to be for two nights, Friday afternoon through til Sunday afternoon, except that I have to come back to Newport for a few hours to lead worship at Time for Praise on the Sunday morning.
God Songs
Now on about page 195 out of about 280... Not bad going... Aim is to finish it in my free time this week. The next chapter is "Words and Music, Happy Together".
Half Term
Just thought I'd mention that I'm planning to get home for a few days during half term - sometime between the 19th and the 24th February.
Okay, I think that's all. I'm pretty much out of time. Next update will possibly be sometime between Thursday and Saturday, but if not I'll try and do a complete update of absolutely everything I can think of next Monday.
God Bless,
J.
Careforce Refresher Course
That's where I'm headed in about 40 minutes. Its the second of the two Careforce conferences over the course of my year out, and this time I'm really looking forward to it. Before the first one last September I was kind of skeptical, I'd decided that I would be doing much more good if I was actually working in Malpas than out in the middle of nowhere at The Quinta (those of you who know me well are probably, well hopefully, thinking that that's a typical James attitude) and so wasn't particularly looking forward to it. I was also quite nervous which probably redirected itself to reinforce my skepticism. So, anyway, it was a real suprise and was great fun, and I met some really cool people. So, this time round I'm starting to get quite excited.
Time for Praise / The Lab / Sunday
Everything went really well yesterday, even with David still on holiday, which was good. I was phoned up on Saturday and asked if I could rap by one of the Time for Praise team who organised it this week - my reply was a very definite no - but in spite of that everything went really well, including the "rap" - which turned into more of a thoughtful monologue/recitation delivered by one of the team - much more cultured IMO.
At the Lab, we looked at the history of mission, specifically looking at the life of Hudson Taylor, who founded the China Inland Mission (is that right?) which later was rebranded as OMF. So, I thought I'd just throw in a few points that hit me about his life:
1. He thought BIG - When he founded CIM, he asked God for 24 missionaries to take back to China with him - on the first swoop CIM would make up over 25% of the missionaries in China at the time - two for each of the 11 provinces or regions in China and two more to go to Mongolia (imagine God calling you to be a missionary in Mongolia!). He achieved this number, and then on two more occasions went back to Britain and set about recruiting even larger numbers. He wasn't looking to just cruise along and maybe make a few disciples - God gave him the vision to convert the whole of China and he responded by trusting God to provide the numbers and by giving everything of himself.
2. He connected with the people he was seeking to make disciples of. Taylor was criticised by his comtempories because he made his missionaries dress and grow their hair as Chinese fashion. He became part of the community - whilst he was in China, he also served as a doctor and saw 200 patients a day.
3. He wasn't perfect - he had weaknesses. Taylor wasn't a people person - he fell out with his missionaries, constantly demanding more and more of them and questioning their zeal and their determination. But God used him - he took someone who couldn't connect easily with those who worked for him and used him to connect others with God.
Okay, I may have gone into a little more detail than I intended there... Oh well... Onwards...
Youth Club Trip - 16th-18th
We have a Youth Club Trip planned for the first weekend of our half term (in Newport), which is the second weekend in Ceredigion for those in Aberystwyth. We're taking about 16 young people away to a converted farm run by the Amelia Trust, who are a local Christian group grounded in the Methodist movement. It's down near Cowbridge, close to Barry Island, and is basically a complex with dorms, a kitchen and a meeting room, surrounded by some woods, farm animals of all shapes and sizes and a few fields - Oh, and a sports hall. The plan is to just have a lot of fun and hopefully to talk a bit about God as well. It's going to be for two nights, Friday afternoon through til Sunday afternoon, except that I have to come back to Newport for a few hours to lead worship at Time for Praise on the Sunday morning.
God Songs
Now on about page 195 out of about 280... Not bad going... Aim is to finish it in my free time this week. The next chapter is "Words and Music, Happy Together".
Half Term
Just thought I'd mention that I'm planning to get home for a few days during half term - sometime between the 19th and the 24th February.
Okay, I think that's all. I'm pretty much out of time. Next update will possibly be sometime between Thursday and Saturday, but if not I'll try and do a complete update of absolutely everything I can think of next Monday.
God Bless,
J.
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