Showing posts with label ftm roadshow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ftm roadshow. Show all posts
When I was in the UK earlier this year I was really excited to talk about two future plans we had for The Gathering's weekly Soup Kitchen.

The first one was our Christmas Lunch for 120 of our regulars and the second was taking our soup up from 70lts to 100lts, but we were really going to need some miraculous blessings for these to happen.



I've been meaning to post this for a while so here it is.
As a severe weather warning goes out around the western Cape this afternoon, I thought it would be good to revisit the issue of the Cape's three year drought and what it actually means for those of us living here.

Our drought seemed to be a popular source of conversation in Blighty as I was asked countless times about it, especially as it had hit international headlines a few months ago as Day Zero was scheduled to happen within days of that news breaking.

Adopted Son

It seems like a long time ago that Paula dropped me off at Cape Town airport to fly to England, but just three weeks later I really can't wait to go home!

I've had a fantastic time, reconnected with many good friends, and spent time with school mates I hadn't seen in 35 years. I had the privilege of spending time with some truly inspiring fellow pastors & ministers and can't believe that a few of them even let me preach in their churches (I'm sure one day I'll be found out 😂 ).

But the greatest joy has been spending time with family, and this last week has been special as I've never spent so long with Paula's sister & brother-in-law on my own before. All I can say is that my love and respect for Lisa & Stephen grows exponentially each time I see them and realise just how much they quietly get on with as they serve and support others around them. I really love you both! XX

My last post was about coming to Blighty and the sense of expectation that is attached to a Roadshow tour around England. Apart from one last engagement this Sunday in Oxshott (which I'm really looking forward to) my trip is all but over and my thoughts have naturally turned towards home and seeing my peeps again.

It has been a great time, but it has been quite tiring, and the first two weeks were a bit of a whirlwind as I caught a train from London to Stockport, spent a few days there then got a train to Sheffield where I spent a couple of days before getting a train to London where I spent a few days in Wimbledon -which included a train ride out to Witham in Essex- before getting a train to Abingdon, and then finally a train to Weald to spend the last week or so with Paula's family. I have to say, it's nice to be able to hang a few shirts up rather than grabbing bits out of the suitcase!

Dean will be undertaking a Roadshow Tour on his own this year, from 16 May until 5 June.

Quite simply we cannot afford to all come and the boys can't miss school like they once could. 😭

So, if you are in or around the Manchester, Sheffield, London or Sevenoaks areas, please come and say hello at one of my Roadshows or Church Visits, the dates are in the image to the right.

For the Sheffield and Wimbledon Roadshows, please save the date and I'll confirm the venues ASAP.
This reminds me of some of our Roadshow visits down the years.

One of the best was on the Wirral many moons ago. We had been clear with the church as to what we needed tech wise, back then it was as simple as an overhead projector, and the church had promised all would be fine. On the day there was no OHP so we had to pass our acetates around the congregation whilst we spoke. Priceless!

On another not so distant Roadshow, we were in a church where the vicar (an ardent Mac fan) decided to overrule the tech guy and interfere with the PC and our PowerPoint. Needless to say it didn't go well. 😂

I'll probably get told off for this but I don't really care I'm used to it.

To The Gathering With Love



Whilst on our recent FTM Roadshow Tour in Blighty we asked if a few friends and supporters would mind to speak to our folk back at The Gathering.

This is the result and it was greatly appreciated by all at The Gathering!

Baby Saver

On our recent Roadshow trip to Blighty we showed a couple of pictures of the Helderberg Baby Saver but we didn't get a chance to explain exactly what it is or why it's needed in the community.

The Baby Saver is on the side of Choices, a crisis pregnancy counselling service run by the local churches in the Helderberg. The Baby Saver itself is on the side of the building, away from any CCTV or other forms of surveillance, so mothers that need to give their babies away can do so anonymously.

Greatest Joy

On our travels we often meet folk who try to assume a role of authority over us or speak in to our lives, as if somehow they have a right to, when the reality is they simply don't. Not only do they not have that right, but most simply don't have a clue as to what it is they're actually trying to do, even if they are well meaning.

However, every once in a while you get to meet someone who truly is a mentor and truly does have the skill of asking the right questions in the right way and of drawing out the best in you.

We had the privilege of spending time in the UK with Paul, one of Paula's former bosses. He now runs a mentoring network and is in the process of establishing a brilliant ministry called Chapel House.

Anyway, in the midst of our precious time with Paul & Jane, Paul asked a very simple question: "What is your greatest joy in your ministry?"
Such is the modern world that I'm sat here at over 10,000 metres up in the sky and a little over 3,000kms from home but still able to access the internet via on board wifi.  I wrote that on the plane and then fell asleep and forgot to post it, so here is the blog post I wrote...

Well our long anticipated and planned for trip is over, we're just a few hours from being back home and it's been good to spend a few hours reflecting on the last five weeks.

Click the image to see it full size

Square Pegs

Having written a reflection post about our recent trip to Blighty I felt challenged to write a more truthful one. Not that I was lying in the previous post, far from it, but there was more going on than I wrote about and it's pretty important stuff.

We were both asked quite early on about what was different with this trip than previous trips back to the UK. This seemed to be born out of the fact that many folk commented on how happy and relaxed we appeared.

From Britain With Love



Tonight at our home group meeting we'll be showing the short film we made of the various responses folk gave to camera about our Roadshow presentations.

All we can say to those of you that spoke to camera is "Thank You!".

Been & Gone

We can't quite believe that after months of planning and preparing for our UK trip it's now over and we've been back home for a couple of weeks. Life is now back into its usual cycle of school runs etc. but we'll attempt to put a coherent reflection together.

We really did hit the ground running and by the end of the first week we were exhausted but absolutely thrilled with what we'd achieved.

The Final Curtain

Last night saw the conclusion of our Facing The Mountain Roadshows as we gave our final presentation to a select gathering of folk right here in Weald village.

It was a truly great evening with an incredibly diverse mix of people from the vicar who was responsible for Paula getting saved through to a complete stranger and his cousin who had seen the event advertised in the parish magazine.
Fantastic!

Half Time

We're really enjoying our Roadshow events and are particularly enjoying the variety of different contexts in which we get to present about Tree of Life and our amazing friends in South Africa.

Today we were in the well heeled town of Cobham and had the privilege of sharing our Roadshow with a lovely bunch of folk from St. Andrew's, Oxshott.

Many moons ago there was a certain brand of cider with the sales line: "What a refreshing change".

We reckon that this could be a good way to describe Christians Abroad.

In our recent meeting it was such a pleasure to be asked things like:
"How can we partner together to better serve the church?"
"What are your expectations of us?
"What is Tree of Life hoping to gain from this trip?"
These are refreshing questions to be asked by the leaders of an organisation that really cares about and for us and they are questions we've never once been asked before!

..But we're not out!

Rather we've just finished our third Roadshow and once again it went really well. We were with Tuesday @ 2 a group of older folk who are a powerhouse of prayers.

We've been thrilled by the turnout for each of them so far and it's been great to reconnect with many old friends.

One More Sleep!

It hardly seems possible but it's now less than 24 hours until we get on the plane for Blighty.

I guess we're at that point where things that haven't been done aren't going to get done.

Thankfully our Roadshow presentation is all finished, though that hasn't stopped me from checking it every few minutes to make sure it still works. Must switch tablet off!