Hi there.

Thank you to the 6 folk who have signed up to my blog. Sorry its late. Went on an encounter weekend. Little time to write.

I have been a naughty boy. I left the heating on in the bus for 4 days! It was very hot when I got in. Not good. The wood veneer on the bar is cracked because it dried out! Hope no one notices. Also our lovely table that folds out has prematurely bowed. I wonder when folk will notice? Actually, that was what it was like when I went first. But then I went back later today and found that the table is now re hydrated and straight and the veneer has swelled again and looks ok! Filled her up with fuel- 115ltrs!!! I couldn’t believe it when I filled her up. I figured out that I had the heating on for 90 hours. And it used up about 85 ltres. Which means that it uses a ltre an hour and costs 85p an hour to heat at half power. An expensive calculation!

What a day so far. Started with prayer meeting. Fantastic. What a difference it makes starting a prayer meeting with worship songs. We prayed for our upcoming encounter weekend.

Our plans to use the bus in Dumbidykes are not straightforward. We wanted to go there tonight. Just got permission from the council to park in the turning circle for the fire engines! But the problem is that my friend wants to do it as part of a community IT centre near by. I think it would do them and us a disservice by doing a joint thing because it would associate us with them and it might be awkward for them in the future. Who would have thought going out and telling children about Jesus could be so complicated!

I wanted to go sit in the bus and pray for a while and fiddle, but no. I had to prepare SU club a bit more and then began the quest to build a collapsible cross. I used to have one but I mislaid it. Went to Jewsons and bought some 6x2 and started a last min cross construction- see photos. It is essentially a flat pack cross. I really wanted to do it with the kids at SU.

SU club- we had 42 kids! They just kept coming. It started with the usual 10-12 but they just kept coming from lunch. We watched Alsan coming back to life again and the battle scene. It’s a bit like watching the “A Team” where lots of fighting and shooting but no blood! They enjoyed the battle scene. There are a lot of boys in the club- a fair split – which is good.
I did the bridge diagram with them and tied it into the Narnia story. To cut a long preach time short- yes- they stayed there and listened to me talk for 15 min! Can you believe it? 15 min. I can hardly. I have run a club where we had 8 kids and it would take you the whole hour and half to get a chance to say “Jesus loves you” without one of them acting out “boring” or hitting each other. But the down side is you spend years wishing you could just get the chance to speak the good news to some kids if they would sit and listen for 5 min. Then they do! For 15 min! Then while I was talking the terrifying thought hit me. Is this making sense to them? Is this just going to get them confused? What are they going to say to there parents? What might there parents say to me? Is this too up front talking about the cross? How do you say this so that the kids don’t just get all religious? What will the head teacher say? What do you say? What do you say to help them have a real living relationship with God? Are my assistants impassive faces agreeing or are they worried? Am I paranoid?

With these thoughts going on whilst simultaneously telling them that God loves them and died on the cross for them. I then asked them if they would like Gods love in them. Then a forest of wonderful little hands shot in the air.

So we did a wee practical prayer. The cross I made had lots of love heart Post-its stuck on it and they were to take a yellow post it (their life) and give it to Jesus by swapping it for His love (Heart post-its). They liked it.

I did say to them, as a disclaimer, that it takes a lifetime to understand what Jesus did on the cross and that God wants us to take the time to find out.

They came back for more love heart post-its. The boys as well! They then went away into their lessons wearing them on their chests proudly. Brilliant. I adore them. They crack me up.

They are great. A girl came up to me and said “Is it true that you only go to heaven if you believe in Jesus”. It was clearly a situation where her and her friend had been discussing and I was now the final authority. It’s amazing how hard it is to say “yes”. Why? I have no problem saying it to an adult but a child? Why? Because they believe you because you’ve said so. I didn’t want to say yes! Why? Because I want them to discover for them selves. But if its not preached how will they know? So I said yes. This kind of behaviour would not be alloed in an American school. Ironic.

Bottom line- having gone from 2 years of toiling with a cell group of 8 children to 2 groups one with 40 and the other with 18 and all of them willing to listen and sucking it all in, it’s a total cultural change.

I am having to change my approach from “oh, yes, a moment of calm where they are listening, I must explain the whole of the gospel in 2 min. I may never get this chance again!” to a place where I need to chill out a bit. I am moving to a place where “They want to listen??!!! Ok, lets take time to add one more part to their understanding and experience of the cross”.

I had a long talk after this with one of the parents about new age stuff and her obvious healing gift and prophetic gift and how she might like coming to our supernatural Sundays to see how we use our spiritual gifts in the church as opposed to the new age. Great chat. I have a lot of respect for people who don’t believe what you believe but still take time to listen and discuss. Respect. I was like that when I was seeking. I am on a journey of regaining that but still holding on to the truth.

Came home did more prep for the cell group session on the bus.

Got there just on time. Jo (my wife and assistant cell leader)

was playing Narnia tig with them. We watched the rest of Narnia and did the bridge picture with them. Again we had a 15 min talk from me!! And then a 10 min discussion. I told them that it’s like they have an uncle in Australia who has died and left them a million pounds but that they need to swap what’s in their bank account with what’s in his. It’s a swap not an add on.

Well, all the kids went and swapped everything they had with everything God had by taking a yellow post-it and sticking it on the cross (Their stuff) and taking a red heart (Gods stuff). Wonderful mayhem around the cross.

Before and After:

Then we all belted outside and played Narnia tig

repeatedly. I still wonder “Do they really mean it? Do they understand what they are doing?” Well, I recon I will just have to keep trusting God as usual!

Well, that’s all folks for this week. The cross preached to 60 kids. It feels like a rare day - well spent.
With Love Darius.