PACKED and READY - Thank you!

Well as John's blog said "not long now", the countdown will be complete and the team will be off to Odessa via Istanbul. There is just one slight snag, you have been soooooooo generous with your lovely gifts to encourage our young friends !

Thank you so much for those who have sent small gifts. Pray that all the small gifts get there safely please, and they are a BIG encouragement. So I don't mean to be rude... but I can't actually fit my pants in the case at this stage, so... PLEASE STOP NOW!!!! No on second thoughts why not keep getting your little gifts ready for next time, I'm sure we will need many more things for the next trip. Thank you again, your fellowship is a priceless treasure, and a huge encouragement to us as a team. The Bible studies are printed, the sermons are ready... work gloves are packed, now what to do with those socks and pants.., any thoughts ?

Not long now

Not long now until we go out again to work on Transition House.

The next team going out on Sunday are preparing and packing ready to fly out for a 2 week visit.

We are looking forward to continuing the work in the basement, renewing old friendships and making new friends.

Follow the blog for all the up to date news about our trip, why not subscribe with your email address for automatic updates as they appear on the blog.

How do you measure wealth?

The Uk teenager in school scorns the girl who is yet to own her first iPhone. Her family must be really poor right? The city family can't get their head around why their rural relations only have an old car, and broadband speeds that make a snail look like Usain Bolt. The big new mega-church looks at the little "tin" chapel (that has been there for three generations), and sneers at it in perplexity... "is it worth keeping going?", "how can it keep going in such a little, humble, building?"

In reality we all make decisions based on our own value systems. We chose to do things on the basis of whether we think they will be worth it? In our consumeristic society we do things on the basis of what they will give us back. Sadly the truth in the UK is that we have lost the value of many things which really are worth something. Little things like; the family, marriage, compassion, faithfulness, gentleness, contentment, trustworthy friends, community, in reality - make a huge difference to our lives. 

You may dismiss this as my value system (which is different to yours), however the timeless truth of the bible speaks to every age and value system and exposes the reality. What we sometimes invest everything into turns out not to deliver in the final analysis. Conversely, things which seem worthless to us now can turn out to be priceless. 

When the equals sign is drawn at the end of your life, will it amount to much ?
How will it be valued ? Will you be the one to decide the value of your life? 
Will you be that bothered about your bank balance or your golf handicap when you breath your last breath ?

The bible speaks a lot about what and who, we give our affections to. It tells us to "guard our hearts knowing that it is is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23) This priority message about our affections is one of love, from a God who not only knows the true value of all things, but remarkably ... values us. Ultimately that is what is so unimaginably, incomprehensibly, beautiful about the cross of Jesus Christ. In a place of rejection outside a city, is one who is rejected as worthless in order that you and me might be received as priceless. Even though we have treated God as worthless, we are given the gift of greatest eternal value. We cannot earn a relationship with God, Jesus Christ is a gift . He alone, transforms the lives of people with a daily and eternal payout of unconditional love we don't deserve. We don't bring any thing "of worth" to him. 

How do you think God views those who don't yet have a family? Those children who have never experienced compassion, gentleness, or faithful friends who speak the truth in love and stick with us closer than a brother? I believe from what I read in the bible that His heart beats loudly for such children, teenagers and churches who value such things. The truth is that a local church has to value those to whom this world says... "you are the weakest link ... goodbye!". Yes, in a moral, relational, and beneficial to himself sense, God has every right to dismiss us out of hand... but he doesn't! Therefore  the church must not only invest in God and what is precious to Him (and not our own idolatrous value system), but also those who are precious to Him. Those our world has rejected are very precious to God.

The work of Grace Baptist church in Odessa and across Ukraine is one which goes out of their way to offer unconditional love to children and teenagers who need faithfulness and family. It is a beautiful work. It is from God and for God, and is characterised  by His love and faithfulness. Many may yet dismiss it as worthless, maybe not even worth time, attention or money. After all, what would we get back from supporting such a thing, when all we have to show for it is a bunch of grown up teenagers who grow up to move on and find their own way in life? I would suggest to you it is one of the wisest moves I've have ever seen a church make. 

It is a privilege to support this project, one that we don't deserve to be part of. It has given us far more than we have ever given to it. It is such a valuable and joy-filled thing when you know that you are investing in something which God is smiling on.

If you are fully spent up on time, energy and money at the moment, we do hope that what you have spent on turns out to be wise and a good payout. If however you are skint, feeling worthless, occasionally useless, but still looking to invest your time in something  worthwhile... (like us)... we would love you either to come with us or be our hands back in the uk. We need people to help us to gather stuff which will equip people, churches and projects for good, we need people to pray faithfully for us and with us. 

This is the way our team sees things at the moment...

• Our money is loaned to us from God. 
• Our time is a gift we want to use wisely. 
• Our evaluation is that this is a great project. 
• We love "Grace Church", it's leaders and all the community stands for. 
• This family has become our family, and so we want to love them with all we have. 
• They are priceless to us. 

Thank you all those who support us and value what we are trying to do. Individuals, church leaders and church families you know who you are and you mean more to us than you can know.

  

Update to Woodgreen

Woodgreen Evangelical Church Sunday evening service

It was really good to be invited to give an update on how the work is going at Transition House, to the folk at the evening service at Woodgreen on Sunday

John was able to show a short video about the project and talk with PowerPoint slides about how things were progressing, particularly the exiting development of converting the basement for use in ministry.

The latest team are ready and waiting to go out at the end of April, to continue the work on the building. Places are still available on the team for any men interested in going.

Very successful car wash & breakfast

Many thanks to everyone who came this morning to our car wash & breakfast

It was great to see so many people out this morning, particularly those who were new to this event. You were all very welcome.

It was good too see so many people stay around and take the opportunity to chat

Thanks to our amazing team of volunteers, in the kitchen who prepared, cooked and served 70 breakfasts and car washers who washed and dried 47 cars.

We raised over £900, which we will take with us to buy materials, when we go to Odessa at the end of April.

Car Wash & Breakfast

Don't forget to come to our car wash & breakfast

 TOMORROW(Saturday 18th)

at

Woodgreen Evangelical Church

Hastings Drive

Worcester

WR4 0SR

COUNTDOWN TO TAKE-OFF

It is ...

• 4,060,800 seconds
• 67,680 minutes
• 1128 hours
• 47 days
• 6 weeks and 5 days

...until  a group of men walk onto a plane in the hope that they can encourage a group of brilliant people to not grow weary in doing good. Our mission is to help convert a basement for a community of young people who will be cared for and encouraged in order to see their lives changed for good.

At this moment we have a good team of wonderful guys booked and ready to go 30th April to 13th May. Some for the duration and some for part of the time. Many of them have been numerous times (some7 /8 times) However, this is such a critical time for the project that we really are praying that the team will be larger for this trip. Why ? Well there is another countdown happeneing simultaneously, the time it takes before the building is ready enough for a group of young people to move in and make this their home. We cannot use the entire building until the big basement project is finished for community space, even though the rest of the building and the living quarters are nearing completion, and will be quickly filled with people who need this place of refuge to be finished..

There are relatively few things in life that I have got involved in that without reservation I can say entiusiastically  "it has been without doubt one of the best things I've ever done". This is how I feel about these trips and the folks who work so hard in Odessa to bring hope to children and young people and honour to Jesus Christ.

Maybe you are thinking right now... "well it can't be for me... certainly not  when there are only 4,060,800 seconds left !!!"  It may help you to know some things...
1) One of the guys who has been out most frequently and is loved most by the kids in Odessa was a late decider to join in on his first trip. Obviously he didnt regret it, and their love for him is pretty obvious. Looking forward to catching up with you Emlyn, you star!
2) If you are thinking "But...It is too complex a thing to organise." Tell us you want to join in and we will do all we can to help.
3) If you are thinking  "But...I don't have any skills that will be helpful. " If you can hold a screwdriver the right way, or carry bits and bobs to the right place, you have enough skill. The only qualifications are a willing attitude, a loving heart and a desire to fit in to get this done for the honour of Jesus Christ. 
I am booking more tickets over the next few days, so why not just make the decision at least to chat with us about if you can help. I'm pretty sure you would be massively helpful.

During the countdown, please pray.
1) That more will join the team and the big job will make extra big progress.
2) That the Woodgreen Odessa carwash will be a great success and an encouragement to the guys from Worcester who are preparing to come out.
3) That folks will provide the little gifts and funds needed to encourage the work

We'll keep you posted as the countdown continues, hopefully for someone the countdown will end with you walking onto the plane with us.
Thank you for all your support and encouragement.

P (on behalf of the guys counting down)