YWAM

The YWAM ship 'Next Wave' is anchored just outside Ibiza Town for a few weeks and on Friday just gone we had 6 eager volunteers helping us to paint the Centre. What could have taken Tracy, Brian and myself a week, we did in one day. And 2 coats too. How awesome are young, up for it volunteers? Everyone needs them!

Apart from having loads of friends who have done a YWAM Discipleship course (and everyone seems to have loved it), I don't know much about YWAM. It's been good to meet some of the course members and leaders and to actually get to know what the ship's function exactly is, why they are in fact on the ship. It seems that the ship is a floating base that trains missionaries up and sails around the South Mediterranean countries (Italy, Greece, Spain etc) placing the trained up disciples in new cities to get on and do it.

YWAM are keen to establish something more permanent here on the Island and so it's exciting to know of their heart for Southern Europe and for some, Spain in particular. Who knows what God is up to. I wonder if something will develop over the coming months?

I did take some photos, but my battery died so i'll upload them when i get them sent to me. The Centre is now nearly done, and just needs some creative people to let loose on the place and I think it'll look amazing.

Pond Jumping

Top Photo: Three of us sizing up the challenge. We had to take it in turns to jump across the pond without falling in and the last person to give in was the loser.

Middle Photo: Tim's good effort, although out of the three of us, he got the wettest, and i'm sure this jump resulted in a heavy soaking.

Bottom Photo: The finished pond. No other possible places to jump across.

Winner: Tim, on account of not giving up and getting the wettest and jumping on ice the size of cubes! So funny!

Adventures in the Lakes

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Me and three friends had such a good time walking in the Lake District last week, which is why i've not been blogging recently. We drove up on Tuesday night and stopped in Sheffield at a friends house before making our way to Buttermere in the North West district the next morning. We had some great views of Lakes Buttermere and Crummock respectively and you could see the mountains in the reflection of the water....awesome! We stayed at the YHA in Buttermere.

Our first day of walking began with a gentle walk as we started late in the day and didn't want to be caught out in the dark. We saw the highest waterfall in England and had some fun wetting each other. It became clear early on that all of us, with the exception of the wise and discerning Jon, would turn into teenage boys and end up playing pranks and trying to out do each other at every turn. But you'll be pleased to hear that as well as having lots of fun and banter, we also spent time talking about some of the own adventures that we're on in our own lives.

Day 2 was an early start to get some serious walking/scrambling in. At one point we walked through a valley with mountains all around us and i was thinking how we'd actually get over the huge peaks before us, but we found a way up and over. We managed to traverse through the peaks and lift ourselves over and enjoy some time wasting with some stupid pond jumping and getting very wet. That evening we played poker after an amazing pub meal - like, the best food i've had for ages. Why is it that when i'm in a quiet English pub I just have to have some English ale? Love it!

We climbed Great Gable on our last day (899 meters) and finished off in the pub in Wasdale. The views were amazing and we got a chance to pray together too. This was the toughest of all our climbs, with the highlight being the views and the pride in getting to the top. Getting down was, as you can imagine, far quicker, especially when we slid down some extremely steep parts on our backs, but then wasted time river jumping onto frozen snow.

The Lake District is an awesome place with breathtaking scenery. I hope to go back there really soon. Loved every minute!

Getting ready for Summer '10

We did some more prayer walking today. The winter affords the time and the space to walk around the West end and really pray for the area surrounding our Centre, with all the bars and the clubs. We're just really gearing up for this coming summer, and i can honestly say that compared to last winter, we're in a totally differnet position. Alot of that has to do with the fact that we're now not living up on a hill on a farm and trying to grow veg. We're back in San An, and it feels so right.

We're really praying for God's blessing on the West end and that when all the tourists and workers come, we'll see a fresh openess and desire for God amongst them. We also spend time praying for all the owners of the bars and clubs too, that God would bless their businesses and that they'd come to know God's goodness too.

The more we pray now, the better the summer will be. The more we invest now, the greater the work will be. The more we give to God now, the more we'll get back. Bring on Ibiza Summer '10!

Give me my daily bread.

Man, i am SOOO thankful for being able to do what i do. During our team meeting this morning we were all just reminding ourselves how blessed we are to be doing what we do. Without people's generosity and God's thorough constant provision, we would struggle to do this work here on the Island.

I'm so thankful for all the people who give each month, not only to me but also to the work too. We talked about how, after seeing God come through time and time again on numerous occasions, your 'faith muscle' grows. The next time that something big comes up and you think, 'how will i ever pay for that?', you remember how God has always been so faithful in the past and your faith is that much stronger in God's faithfulness.

I'm here, doing this work, because God is so faithful, yesterday, today and forever. I just want to take this opportunity to say a massive 'Thanks' to anyone who has ever given or supported me and the work here. I also want to throw this out....are you planning on coming on a team to Ibiza this summer, or thinking of moving here for longer? Are you worried about finances or some other obstacle? If so, i just want to encourage you to trust God; he'll provide all your needs, according to his glorious riches in Christ.

Read this from Proverbs 30 last week. Pretty good i think:

⁷ "Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:

⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

My New Home!

I'm in!

There are boxes everywhere, but slowly and surely i'm making my way through them. Moving provides one of those rare opportunities to get rid of loads of stuff that have been collecting dust and doing nothing. And i need to throw away loads of stuff that has been sitting around for ages and hasn't been eaten. There's probably a reason why.

Tracy very kindly went through the huge inventory that i was given and she checked that list against all the stuff in the flat. There's some broken things here and there, and a few missing items, but apart from that it's a well nice pad. There are 2 irons as well...as if! Those can do one if you ask me.

We also prayed for the apartment, that it'd be a place of life and hospitality and full of God's presence. Quality!