Latest News – September 2023

Hi wonderful friends!! 

This is a quick update if you don’t already receive our regular newsletters.

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Hope you’ve had a good summer and enjoyed the surprise mini heat-wave which was a nice start to September. Our summer included hosting friends and family from Essex and Norfolk which has been a real treat, inviting 60+ church family for a BBQ in our garden, a youth mission week at our church and a few days away, again with our church family in Wales.

August ended in a flurry of activity as we were booked to speak at Encounter Camp at Sizewell in Suffolk. The request came at the end of our sabbatical, just as we’re considering what The Lord might have in store for us in the coming months, so we took it as a sign of God’s leading and accepted, along with a invitation to speak and lead worship at a small church near Bury St. Edmunds (more of that later too)!

Having not done this kind of thing for a while, certainly not without a team around us, we began to prayerfully make preparation. The theme of the week was TRANSFORM and we decided to look at the life of Simon Peter who experienced both sudden and gradual transformation as he spent time with Jesus and was empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

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Around 50 young people from local Youth for Christ centres gathered together so there was a real mix of ages and backgrounds. Some of the older ones knew us from previous contact with these centres and it was certainly very special to be able to work alongside good friends from Norfolk/Suffolk again (we had previously been at this camp 10 years ago)!

It was a packed programme with so many fun games, activities, workshops and seminars (which happened over lunch so they could fit everything in)! One day was a trip to Southwold complete with ‘Hunt the Leader’ and a swim in the sea! As well as sports activities and board games there was large-scale games such as Nerf Wars, Hungry Hippos, Inflatable Assault Course and engaging Simulation Games. 

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We were particularly excited to connect again with two brothers (twins!!) who became Christians at a weekend called Kairos that The Sense were leading, back in March 2020, just before lockdown! Three years on, the Lord spoke very powerfully again to both of them and it was touching to see many others also encounter Jesus as we prayed for them to be filled with His love and power.

Each day worship was led by young singers and musicians from among the campers and it was great to see many using their gifts and skills to serve in this way. For some campers the week was an unusual experience and we saw a marked change in attitude among those who had come quite cynical about faith. A number of these youngsters responded to the gospel message we brought. On the final night it was amazing to see youngsters praying for one another as the Holy Spirit was clearly at work in many lives. “What a week of transformed lives! Atheists who now believe in God, the “not religious” (their words) who feel spiritual and those who became Christians for the first time!”
Norwich Youth for Christ

On the first night each camper had chosen a stone as we spoke about Simon’s name change to Peter ‘the rock’ and every night they wrote something different on their stone to take home as a reminder of the teaching. On the last day we highlighted from the verse in Peter’s first letter that we are all ‘living stones’ being transformed not only individually but being built up when we come together and changed as we encourage one another to follow Jesus.

What a privilege to still be involved in sharing the good news with young people who are struggling with all kinds of unimaginable pressures and situations at school and at home. And what love and dedication from their leaders who seek to disciple and encourage them week by week. May each one know God’s help and strength in all they seek to do.

From Sizewell we headed to London to celebrate our third nephew Andrew’s 30th birthday! It was a lovely rare opportunity to spend a short time with family and catch up face to face. 

The following days were spent in preparation for our next engagement back in Suffolk a week later. Since we last saw them years ago, good friends Pete & Caroline Vallance, have taken on the leadership of Norton Baptist Church and seen real growth from just a handful. They had invited us to lead a dedication service of two youngsters from families now connected with the church and expected a full house (up to 80) many of whom currently have little if any connection. 

We set up some basic equipment on the Saturday night and it was great to see the church filling up from 9.30 on Sunday morning. There were lots of young families, some travelling from further afield, and a few parents who happened to remember seeing us nearly 30 years ago when we were regular presenters at a Methodist youth event in London! 

There was a warm atmosphere in this small village church not just because of the mini heat-wave but also as we felt God’s Spirit at work as we sang and spoke. We decided to make a clear presentation of the Gospel and as Joy shared about how and why Jesus came and gave his life for us there was a sense that this message of love and restoration was being being received and absorbed. Afterwards we were invited to a celebratory lunch in the village hall and got to know a few more there. We pray that as conversations continue, people would be drawn not only into the life of the church community but to the Giver of Life himself.

So, as you can see, even though we have as yet had no direct ‘call’ to somewhere or something specific, we have begun to accept and explore different invitations and opportunities that the Lord is sending our way. Through ‘doing’ as well as listening we are hoping to have more direction and we are quite happy to have more dates coming into our diary as we continue to seek the Lord.

Among other things we are now on the youth leadership team for our own church, helping them explore the way ahead in serving local youth connected in different ways to Amblecote Community Church. We are loving the fact that we have been able to raise enough money so that we can give every member of our Sunday morning ‘Storm’ group their own Bible. 

We have also signed up to an 11 week course with London Institute for Contemporary Christianity called Be Wise: Theology for Everyday Life which is helping us look more deeply at how to be ‘faithful and fruitful in these complex times’.  It’s wonderful to meet weekly with other believers from around the UK but also oversees who bring rich contributions from a variety of experiences. Alongside the Zoom meetings, which include small groups helping us explore the different topics in breakout rooms, there are also reading assignments and journalling to consolidate our learning.

At the same time we have meetings in the diary in Sept / Oct with leaders of some different evangelistic initiatives to see what new opportunities may evolve. Please do pray about these ongoing discussions, that we will truly receive wisdom,  patience and discernment, that we would hear rightly as God reveals his plans in his time. We of course really value and appreciate you standing with us over this undetermined period of time.

It is likely that whatever unfolds we will remain responsible for raising our own income and looking to the Lord for His daily provision. We are always grateful to Him for providing everything we need, especially since stepping away from Youth for Christ back in November, and we are so thankful to all those of you who are giving, enabling us to live through this time. With this in mind we would ask that you prayerfully consider remaining with us as we continue on this path. 

If you feel you may be able to join our group of regular financial supporters then please do get in touch. Of course we completely understand if this is not possible and pray that God will meet your every need as we are trusting him for ours.

Finally we just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the kind messages that we have received around Andy’s cancer diagnosis back in May of this year. We are so grateful and have been very aware of your love and prayers! It means so much to be part of such a loving family that are standing with us in the toughest of times.

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Andy has been referred to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton where he has now had a couple of consultant appointments to ascertain the best course of treatment. It was a real answer to prayer to have such clear direction from these meetings and we have been advised that surgery would be the best option even though there is a waiting list of up to a year.

Andy is well in himself and the hospital have reassured us that they will continue to monitor his bloods to ensure that they are keeping an eye on any changes. The cancer has been caught early. It is small and hasn’t spread outside the prostate and so the surgeon is confident that this procedure will be most effective.

While we are confident in his skills and the huge advances that there have been in this procedure in recent years – particularly robotic surgery – our faith and trust is completely in the one that holds Andy’s life in His Hands! We are trusting for full & complete healing and so we would ask for your continued prayers throughout this time. We are praying for a miracle, that a date for surgery would come around sooner rather than later and that Andy would make a swift recovery with none of the anticipated side effects.

We are so grateful for you and appreciate that you may have things going on in your life for which you would value prayer.

Please do get in touch so that we can pray for you too.

Thank you so much.
We will be in touch again very soon. Sending all our love!