ENCOUNTER- THE PROMO

Coming to your town in April and May.


Those friends in Indiana, we shall be there the first week and a half of May; we shall keep you posted

What is "Home"?

"I have been dreaming almost every night about being in England, about seeing friends and family and doing those things I used to do. I am comfortable. I am content. 
I awake neither of those things, I awake disconnected, almost mournful"


I have spent much of my time thinking and praying about what "Home" is. For many years I would say Nottingham, England; that's my home. My family is there, my culture is there and many places and people I love are there.

This is the place I truly belong. 

However I am coming up for 2 years now in the USA and I have those things here too. None has replaced what I have in England but are new additions in my heart. And as I walked down the aisle on October 3rd 2009 I felt a great sense of love, I was surrounded by family- The Caton's, YWAM and many other new friends who had rallied around us and I remember distinctly saying to myself "Finally the USA feels like home". 

How I long for both; even for 3. Boston is my home, Indiana is fast becoming my home too and then there is Nottingham and as this battle waged in my mind, guilt filled my mind for ever having thinking to call anywhere else home but England God spoke to me:


"Home is here with me, everywhere else is temporary"

How true and yet how profoundly simple; this world is not and has never been my home! Although my heart yearns for these worldly places, it is really yearning for my real "Home", with my father and my Lord. And wherever I go God is with me and who knows where the Lord will take John and I, who knows how many "Homes" we shall have in this world?

There will always be ties, be loved ones, be treasured memories and I allow myself to miss such things and become excited to see them again but I shall not dwell on earthly places anymore- I will simply travel wherever the Lord takes me and wherever he wills our next "home".  

This song has spoken to me so much about this; I hope it inspires you too:

Wow that crowd was loud!

"As I stared out from the stage last Thursday I froze. That night 150 young people would fill those chairs; 70% of them did not know Jesus. I prayed. I prayed hard"


Last Thursday was a big night. We were at First Assembly of God in Worcester MA; a church we had the privilege of working with since our summer program and whose church had seen massive amounts of people come to the Lord. The most noticeable sign of this is within the Youth. Their Youth group used to 30 kids, all having been to church their whole lives and then we came alongside them and went out into their community, to their town and their housing projects and today their Youth Group is typically no less than 150 people! So many they have to build a new section to the building! As the young people flooded in we joked with each other about how we "ruined their youth group". The youth pastor and staff could not be happier though! They are excited about all God is going to do!
 
And so the show began...although the volume did not diminish. For me, as a performer, it was a hard task- performing for a distracted and loud audience. It was challenging but I knew this night was not about me and that if only one heart was touched this evening it would all be worth it.


At the end we managed to establish some sort of order and for the altar call the place was more peaceful; many bowing their heads and raising their hands for receive the Lord. All in all 10 young people.


"One thing I know is that in my worldly eyes we could see no difference in these young people, they entered as distracted and loud as when they came in but God works in the inner most intimate folds of our heart and although our eyes cannot see I believe God had His way tonight in many lives"