Outside my window, it is a
spectacular snowy Palm Sunday, and I am wrestling on how to tell you a short
story about the Journey God has had us on since I last wrote. These have been
days where one marvels at how God leads one step by step. Like the Hobbit
movie, it has been an Unexpected Journey as it unfolded. I may not have always understood what was
going to happen next, but I have definitely known that a loving Heavenly Father
was and is guiding us.
The School of Reconciliation and
Justice has come to an end for this year, and
both Eliceli and Rabecca have
successfully finished , and each has done an outstanding job of learning and
shaping their projects for the future. Rabecca’s project explored the issues of
extreme poverty in her home country of Zambia, and she hopes to intern either
in Zambia or in Rwanda with a project that brings hope to a community. Eliceli’s project was on the use of
storytelling that records the stories of those from a conflict area who have
seen their lives and hope restored. She plans to visit Rwanda, and as a
journalist collect stories that would motivate others to seek peace in their
country. (see the video at the end)
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| In Newcastle, Rabecca, Solomon, Elicelli, Nanzip and Cathy |
As the school progressed, we waited
to hear the decision from the Bishop of Bedfordshire on the use of the Vicarage
at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church in Luton. We now have the approval by
all concerned and the blessings from the Bishop and the Vicar of St. John’s,
Rob O'Neill The tenants move out of the house on the 28th and then
work can begin on any repairs. In the meantime, from the YWAM side, we will be
working with the Oval on the details of moving to Luton.
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| Vicar Rob announcing that the RW team is moving to the neighborhood |
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| The Vicarage next door to the church |
In moving
into the Vicarage, our desire is to live as a
reconciled body of believers who are learning how to be followers of Jesus
rooted both in partnership with a local church and in a local context where we
can seek to be a place of hope and light in our neighborhood.
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| St John the Baptist Anglican Church, Farley Hill |
With our history of training others both in and from conflict zones and
with developing the message of the Church to be the reconciling body of Christ
to their neighbors both Christian and people of other faiths, we see in Farley
Hill a place where in partnership with the Church that we would be able to both
live, train and serve others through prayer, a rhythm of life, and mission.
Through this work together, we would hope to see the church grow as it seeks to
be the light in helping further the social cohesion in Luton.
In living in Beirut, I often dreamed about what it would be like to have
a group of people living and training in a neighborhood where we could be salt
and light to those who may not understand one another and to help them be able
to meet others who are different from themselves. Luton is a diverse town blessed
with numerous ethnic and religious communities as well as the local university
that draws many foreign students. We hope to strengthen our work both at the
university and with the other faith communities. And as we prayed and asked God
to relocate us, Farley Hill is the neighborhood that God has directed us to
and I am delighted to work with a local church that has a big vision for
serving the neighborhood and town.
So this is now the big step. There are lots of details to be developed,
finances to be released, and lots of packing, discussing, and praying to be done. Please
pray with us (Nanzip, Solomon, and Sarah) as this unfolds, and I will keep adding in details step by step.
“Mother Theresa said: ‘We should be
the fragrance of Christ.’ As we come through the world as a community of
people, we should remind folks of the goodness of God by whose grace we are
together. And this is certainly not so that people will praise the things we
do, but that they can’t help but recognize how good our God is.” Shane
Claiborne, New Monasticism as Fresh Expressions of Church
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