Final Christmas club of the year...

I went to the bus thinking "There has been very little going wrong today, no resistance? A bit weird? Normally there is some sort of turbulence before cell." Then this familiar feeling came- "will the bus work?".

No. The batteries had been sapped by the cold (-6) and would not turn over the engine. Even our back up plan of someone turning the engine in the morning didn’t work because Tim’s car had broken down.

So we had to cancel the clubs tonight. Thank God for consent forms. Called all 31 kids parents up and told them and then met the last few kids waiting on the street for the bus. A lot of very disappointed kids tonight. Also one disappointed adult- me. I really look forward to it. We are getting into the swing and really relaxing and enjoying it. That’s the fourth cancellation! Drag. All should be ok when the back up plan is in action- someone turning the bus regualrily in the week and in the morning of an event.

One of the mums said that she couldn’t believe how much her kid loved it and was amazed that he was going to it consistently. Very effusive- very nice to hear.

Got speaking to the parent on the Polton hall committee and she was very enthusiastic about having it in the gala.

It’s quite nice having an excuse to make contact with the parents on the phone. What I did notice was that 2 of the forms were not the right details. Good to check in case of an emergancy. Half tempted to have one of us call the numbers of new forms from the bus to check if they have been filled in correctly or even signed on behalf of the parents. Looks like a few were like that!
So we start back up 2nd week of next term, 17th Jan.

With Love
Darius

By the way here is the programme of getting the bus out and back below. May be useful sometime in the future.

Pre bus pick up
Got all the stuff in the boxes*
Pick up keys for depot from office
Bus pick up
Open gates
Park car
Transfer boxes
Unplug power
Start engine
Fill engine with water
Put on heating
Put on lights
Switch on projector and dvd player
Put on DVD for transit
Leave
Lock up behind
Pick up Terry
Pick up Jessy
Pray madly for Outreach

Arrive at location
Reverse onto wedge and level bus off
Extra wood to pack wedge up
Switch off starter battery power
Put up Drivers screen
Put up bar stools
Get registration ready
Welcome children
Take consent forms
Take register and give out reward cards

Session 1
Introduce self
Introduce bus and say it is part of the Lighthouse church
Welcome newcomers
Icebreaker
Remember last week
Game
Video clip
Terry’s testimony
Circle time
Game
Circle time prayer
Hand out juice and biscuits tokens
Session 2
Friendship bracelets
Pro football
Singstar
Board game like rapidough
Cards
Juice
Crisps
Cups
Send away first lot:
Call a 5 min to end of session
Send the children off.
Anyone staying on stays upstairs with a leader.
Everyone else down stairs and sent away making sure they are going home safely

Recive older children.
Take register and consent forms
Send them upstairs immediately
Session 3
Welcome them to light house bus
Tell them its part of the lighthouse church
We like to pray for people and see lives change for the better
Icebreaker
Short recap of last week.
Intro to film clip
Show film clip
Expound on film clip
Share testimony
Comments discussion
Pray for what came up
Hand out juice tokens
Session 4
Pro evolution soccer
Sit and chat in lounge
Buzz downstairs
Board game downstairs
Juice and crisps at the bar by group
Say good by at 9.15

Tidy up
Clear rubbish
Pack away play stations
Pack away all the stuff
Hoover

Debrief
Sit and chat about what went well and what we could do better
Pray for kids
Take bus to depot
Unlock the gates
Park bus
Lock up bus
Switch heating off
Flick power swithch to charge only
Switch off fuse board
Lock back door
Plug in power
Lock up compound
Go home
*(Underlined are things that need to be taken)

Bonnyrigg Gala

By the way, I forgot to mention that one of the children who comes to the bus asked me if his mum could call me because she is the chair of the Bonnyrigg Gala comittee and she would really like it to be part of the Gala. Great!
Also numbers- we had 17 kids in the first 2 sessions and 14 in the last 2.

8 people who have just prayed the sinners prayer

Oh happy days. I have just been leading a evangelistic course with 14-18 people over the last 10 weeks and 8 of them have just prayed the sinners prayer today and let Jesus in! I asked them if they really meant it from their heart. They were earnest in it you could see it in their eyes. It was fantastic.


Here’s the story: We have had 14-18 folk in our SU group over the last 10 weeks and had a great time. We have gone from creation to Jesus being born and wanting to be born in us. Over the weeks I have felt them wanting to let him in. But I have not really shown them how to, until today- when they were good and ready. It was great. So I asked who had been thinking at home during the weeks of letting Jesus in to show throw our their sin and show them the way to life. In the group of 14, 3 hands went up then a few more tentative ones. So I said that today I was going to show them how to do it if they wanted to. I asked them simply who would like Jesus to come and be born in them and for him to throw out their sin. I really feel they understood what they were going to do. I emphasised that it was an important decision and that they didn't have to do it now or at all. And so I said "if you want to pray this prayer join in. If not stay quiet." I led them in quite a lengthy sinner’s prayer- in children’s language of course- it was great. You could hear them praying away quietly and earnestly even though some of their friends were just sitting there silent and uninterested.

After our various Christmas crackers and present opening time I asked those who had prayed the prayer from their hearts to stay behind and chat. The 8 of them, one a Muslim, stayed back and I asked them if they really had meant it from their heart to let Jesus in. And they were sure. So I told them of the angels celebrating over them and how were were going to discover how to let this new life in them grow over the next term.

They went out to play with a very special present within them- Christ. "Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in" (Oh Little town of Bethlehem)

It is wonderful to see folk saved. Sometimes I have this sense that a person giving their life at 8,9 or 10 is not as significant and weighty as if they were an adult doing it. God is getting that stronghold out my mind by showing me that many of the full on Christians around me were children in other children’s groups saying that sincere prayer 12 years ago. Its a question of the heart not the mind. I realise their understanding of what their heart is leading them into will follow.

Thank you God. Lord may You and your word grow strongly in them.
See you. Lv Darius

The Matrix

I am sitting here contentedly with a Donner Kebab in front of me and a night of intensity behind me.

I was going to show some Matrix clips to the teens on the bus and talk from it. But I lost the dvd 2 days ago. It’s such a small thing with large repercussions. I knew that I was meant to do the talk on this but I couldn’t really prepare because I wanted to watch the clips. So I went to buy it.-not at Tescos- rent it- video shop don’t rent it anymore! One thing after another. Eventually I found a friend that had it to lend and got it. The whole day was a bit like death by a thousand cuts! Rather obstruction by a thousand little trips. I prayed a lot today- in between the swearing a lot and losing my rag.

Really, how hard is it to show a 10 min film clip and do a 10 min talk afterwards to 14 children? How hard can it be?

Hard. Hard hard.

I really could have cried. When I got to the bus at 5 pm having spent the previous 5 hours getting ready. Because the bus turned over clunked and was totally dead. Repeat of last week. I really could have cried. Then I got angry. The thought of cancelling another whole evening. That would have been at least the 5th in 4 months. We even had a cunning plan in place to avoid this, where Gary would turn the bus over in the morning to make sure it was all good. But, Tim’s car broke down so he couldn’t show him how to.

I called Tim and we called mechanics and electricians and finally found out I had to stip a panel off and press a fuse switch at it worked! Joy Joy Joy.

So our prayers were answered. What looked like a cancelled night was turned to good.
SO why so much opposition? Well, we did the film clip and then I shared a bit of my story how I wanted to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and they were riveted. Riveted. 17 pairs of eyes listening intently. In the middle the concentration was so intense it felt like I could stop speaking and they would be riveted. I was tingling with goose bumps in the middle of it. God was intensely there speaking to them. It was deep and it went deep. It’s one of those 1 minute moments that I doubt if I will forget.

At the end I held out red jelly beans in one hand and blue in the other and asked them who wanted to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth like I did when younger and they all bar one leapt for the red. Then we prayed for some of them to get healed of eczema like I was. So all the fighting was worth it. It was great.

Do remember that boys headaches? He had one this week right after the last time we prayed. He misunderstood me and thought that I had prayed for them to come back so that I could send it away permanently this week. SO we prayed for his headaches to go completely. Not bad to go from permanent daily headaches to one in 2 weeks.

Next week is the last before Christmas. Terry is going to give his testimony.

Here is the image of our flyer:

It says the following:
For P5,P6+P7

Session
1
6.00 pm -
6.45 pm
Club Time:
Organised games, stories, film clips, quizzes, juice and popcorn
Session
2
6.45 pm -7.30 pm
Drop in:
Come and go any time.
PS2 competition
Play board games or cards.
Talk at bar

For P7+S1,S2,S3
Session
3
7.30 pm -
7.50 pm
Clip Club:
Watch film clips with comments for 20 min.
Session
4
8.00 pm –9.45 pm
Drop in:
Come and go any time.
Watch full length film with popcorn and juice.
PS2 competition
Play Monopoly, risk or cards.
Talk at bar
P7’s have open access to all sessions.

We went to take the bus out this week and it had an electrical fault. SO it was cancelled. The children were really dissapointed. They were looking forward to it all week they said. Its all fixed now thanks to Tims sterling efforts coordinating the wonderful mechanic we have, called Tommy.

So this is what we came up with:

It was then I realised I had forgotten my desire to see the children in Bonnyrigg on the bus. It is awesome how God fulfils dreams, even dreams that have died or that we have forgotten.
I know it’s only a small step, but its good to be doing children’s work that is not simply crowd control or entertaining them but is about building good relationships where we can freely share good news in a practical way by praying for their challenges. Week 1 was a bit of a dry run (2 people came). Week 2, word started to get out (12 People came).

It was week 3 this Monday. I was really nervous. Would they come? Have I got everything together? It took me 90 min to get the bus to the site. But when I arrived there was a possy of 4 kids waiting with their "tickets" (signed consent forms) to get on. (Its good to have the whole child protection system working well. It gives as sense of security for us as leaders) Then a crowd of 24 kids got on throughout the various 4 sessions of the night between 6 and 9.15pm.
We had a time together where we watched the fathers love letter on the big screen. Had loud music, popped balloons. Talked about perfect fathers. I asked them if they prayed and they told me that they prayed for their dead Nana’s grandparents and relatives to come back because they missed them! Later we watched the story of the guy who was raised from the dead after being stung by Box jellyfish- Ian Macormack

They were a bit cheeky with the whole God stuff but they listened because they knew they would get juice, popcorn and get to play on the bus if they did. It was nice when we all prayed together at the end and asked God to fill their hearts with his love and fill that space that was left by the death of their relatives.

Later I heard them talking to some people passing outside who were thinking aobut coming aboard (12-13yr) and them saying "yeh, its God stuff but its not that bad and its over quick". They ended up going home getting consent forms and coming aboard.

We had a great time. One group coloured in upstairs, another watched a video, another played singstar and another played Uno. They all found a place to settle and locked into the activity and we had a great time.

Our aim is to do as little crowd control as possible and as little activity organising a possible so that we can join in with the games, chat and chill out together.

I hope we can capitalise on the initial wave of interest and enthusiasm and keep them coming and engaged. We will see, God willing. We are finding our feet but it worked. It was really fantastic. We had 24 different people aboard and spent good time with each other.

The highlight for me was Jen and Debbie told me that they had prayed for a boy last week who gets recurring headaches. So I asked him this week about his head. And he told me about being defibrillated twice in hospital a year ago and how he has had bad headaches throughout the week for the last 6 months or so. I asked him if he had any headaches last week. And he said no. (this is all while he is staring intently at the screen whilst playing colin macra rally 3)
I said "well that’s an answer to prayer."
And he said "what do you mean?"
I said "well, Jen and debbie prayed for you didn’t they? And now you’ve not had any headaches for a week."
He said, "did they? I don’t remember them praying for me."
I asked Debbie across the bus. And she said that they had prayed after the folk had left the bus –he didn’t know!
So I told him that we had prayed for his headaches to go away the previous week. And now this was the first week in over 6 months that he had no headaches. I asked if I could pray for him to have another week free of headaches. And told him if he felt one coming on he should say "go away in Jesus name". So after practising it he said he would do that. So watch this space.
With Love Darius