You're moving where?

So we are about 9 weeks from leaving Tunisia and feeling all sorts of "butterfliey belly" things - excitement, anxiety, anticipation, overwhelmedness (I know there is no such word!). But it has been really amazing to see how God has been meeting some of our emotional and practical needs...

When we leave Tunisia, we leave everything that has been our security for the past 8 years. We have had a wage, a house, furniture, the kids education paid for, flights and medical costs paid for, and all sorts of other things that won't hit us until we actually go!

When we land in England this time everything get's left behind. We will have with us all our worldy belonging's - namely a couple of suitcases each with clothes, some pictures, some of the kids favourite toys, and heads stuffed full of memories and emotion!

So why on earth are we doing this crazy thing? Surely this next position must promise all of those securities and essentials? I want to say "yes, of course it does! Who could possibly just drop everything and go to nothing?"... Errmmmm, us it seems!

We have felt for the past couple of years that God has been putting the UK back on our hearts. This is a bit of a surprise actually as we didn't foresee it happening! We left for our home assignment this June not knowing that we would be coming back toTunisia to hand in our notice!

We had started looking into becoming "proper" ordained ministers and had a meeting with a certain denominational group. We got and got the paper work, and started the long and ardous job of form filling. As we were filling in the forms we found ourselves struggling - not with the questions that were on it, but more with the questions that weren't...

There was plently of "Can you preach?", " what are your strengths and weaknesses?" sort of thing. But nothingabout; "Do you love people?", "How have you engaged with your community?" or "what is holistic ministry?". So whilst we gamely soldiered on - I think we were both feeling a "square peg / round hole" scenario building...

We have spent literally years working with the poor / marginalised / sexually broken / victims of trafficking / people who don't feel that they fit or are accepted by "main stream" society / sex workers / and scallys. These are the people that God has put on our hearts and the very people who teach us most about the character and nature of God!

So whilst we were in the UK a good friend mentioned to us that it would be worthwhile speaking to a couple that we know of, who run a slightly "different"... sort of Church. We did this and were booked to meet them the day after we returned from Canada ( a week before we were due to fly back to Tunisia).

I knew of them because 21 years previously (when I myself was in a broken "scally" state) I had been taken to the lady of the couple -Susie, for counselling and spiritual first aid!

So cloaked in jetlag we went to visit this couple, and to cut a long story short - it turns out they were looking for a couple "just like us" (that's nice innit?). And after meeting with their leadership team and visiting the drop in centre and basically falling in love with the whole place and all the people, we were invited to be part of the leadership of the church! (all this a week before we were due to return to Tunisia you understand!). It was a funny moment when Susie and I had a hug at the end and she laughed and said "who would have thought!?"

Now, the practical details - at the time, this church had no money or house (manse), they don't even have a building to meet in but instead meet together in the local community centre! It is one month today that we were "officially" invited to join them and in that month they have been given a large lump sum as our first years wages, (Wow), and the amazing thing for me is that my mum (who if anyone was going to be very cautious and "be very careful - you can't just give everything up and go to nothing - what about the children???") sort of thing was totally positive! AND she actually said "You have to do this! And tomorrow someone will be giving you a car!" And do you know what? The next day... Voila - we were given a car.

And just last week, I had a wobble (you know the type of thing) "Are we really doing the right thing? Where will we live? Ok God if it is really, really, really right then please give us an encouragement to do with housing." And the next morning (the next flippin morning!!!) there was an email waiting for us saying that someone had just given a whopping sum of money to buy a house for us to live in... That was quite encouraging I suppose!

So, we feel beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the right step for us. Don't get me wrong, most of our days are not like this! But we can see over the years that when God has wanted us to do something specific he usually makes it very clear. We think it's probably because we are actually quite thick and would miss things if they weren't made extremely obvious!

Are we scared? Yes
Do we feel equipped and ready to do this? No, but what's new?
Can we see a pattern of God always getting us to do things that stretch us and humble us? YES
Are we confident that God is able to do immesurably more than we can ask or imagine? Oh yes.

So, that is a condensed version of what happened! I want to tell you aout Tunisia though and some of the experiences we have had here. Some brilliant, some whacky supernatural, some horrifically terrible, some just stupid really! But that's for next time...

Miracles - or just a bizarre set of random coincidences???

So what of miracles? Do you believe in them? Does God really do this amazing stuff or is it just wishful thinking?

Well, If I look back over the past 15 years I can only think that God really, really, really does speak, move, and get involved in our lives (in ways which only He can.)

I remember being 15 years old and sitting in a doctors surgery. I had been sleeping rough on the streets - a 'heavy' goth, drug using, depressed teenager who dressed all in black and not looking friendly, had no one wanting to come and sit next to her! A lady kept looking at me from across the surgery and eventually came and sat next to me, and asked; "Is your name Emma? I think I know your parents!"

Is that a miracle? Not really - until it becomes clear that she has never actually seen me before in her life, and the moments leading up to her coming and sitting with me had involved a very heated exchange with God! ("You want me to go and sit next to THAT?! No way, uh uh!").

However as a long-term follower of Jesus she eventually did what she was told. She offered me a fag and just started chatting normally. I wonder if she would have done that if God had told her what would come next? Well, approximately 2 weeks (or 2 months? It was a LONG time ago!) after that meeting it was arranged that I would move in with the lady and her family... My parents are the most lovely, amazing people but realised that I was beyond control and needed help. The lady and her family lived out on a farm in deepest darkest Sussex... Ahhhhh!

It was a "bit of a change" from my previous life, but these amazing people just lived their normal lives in front of me (a mum, a dad, 4 kids, 2 extra foster kids and me - oh and about 300 cats). They never preached or pressurised, just smoked a lot, and made endless cups of tea - I remember the plug hole always choc - a - block with tea bags!

Anyway, I had been there some time and one afternoon the lady asked me if would like to go to a Christian concert at Ashburnham Place, because a well - known blind lady was singing. I was not totally thrilled with this idea but as they had been so kind to me, I didn't want to offend so went along. Just before we left one of the daughters handed me a big, red "Winnie the pooh" jumper and said she wanted me to have it. I handed it back saying, "No thanks, I only wear black".

So we and I went to the concert and as the singing started... I quickly realised I was right and it was pretty awful. However about 15 minutes (or was it hours?!) later the blind lady suddenly stopped playing the piano and singing, and went very quiet. I will never forget her next words "There is a girl here who is always dressed in black. God wants her to know that he loves her and he's forgiven her and she is to wear the red jumper". She then just carried on playing and singing. Where as I was completely, totally, utterly gobsmaked (and terrified to be honest).

Apparently this lady does that - she has the gift of prophecy, and what she lacks in physical sight she certainly makes up for in spiritual sight. I couldn't doubt that God was real, and right there in that room - because I had heard and seen first hand that He knew me and knew really tiny details and He wanted me to be SURE that I knew!

So what of miracles? Do you believe in them? Does God really do this amazing stuff or is it just wishful thinking? I know where I stand!