Back to school. Pt 2.

2 of 2 [continued from Part 1]

Now you know the background. You see that throughout my life I have changed my mind a lot on what I wanted to do. i went from wanting to work in construction to then working in a hospital with dreams of being a Nurse.

Then YWAM happened and God grabbed my heart for His plan.

So now I am hear writing from a library in Vancouver City, Canada.

Nearly two years since I last had a job.
Over three years since I have been to school.

I title this Blog "Back to school" because I am realising more and more since leaving school that I am going back to school. every day.

Let me try to unpack what is going on in my web of wild thoughts.
I have had a lot of people other the last year give me words that "you will achieve big things" or that "God has big things for you" and this excites me. a lot. It also causes me to be restless. Because sometimes I don't see big things. That "sometimes" is now. I have prayed a lot on God's calling on my life. Throughout DTS and while in India I realised I had a heart to see missionaries looked after. I felt that maybe that looked something like apostle Paul. I also had words spoken over me as an encourager, like Barnabas (Paul mentions him in some of his epistles). Then after that I felt called to learn more about Discipleship Training so I stayed with YWAM to learn by doing. This time was very straining and I had little time to myself and to develop myself I felt. It was all GO and just trying to keep up. I know God was there and He used me but I felt like I had neglected what I had learnt in my DTS. When I returned from leading an outreach team to Vancouver, as part of that DTS, I went to Berlin where I spent a month serving in that city but also just to take time away to pray. There I felt my hearts desires confirmed and that God was calling me to Bible college where I would study theology and then enter into a church pastoring role, focusing on missions. Some people would call it a "Missions Pastor", this is the role that I see most similar to my calling. But I also felt Him calling me back to Vancouver first for a time.


I still feel very much that I am called to be a "Missions Pastor" working within the local church, maybe even church planting and creating and establishing a network of churches around the world, supporting and learning with and from each other. Looking similar to YWAM but with more of a church foundation and base. This may only mean little things to each of you, but I hope there are enough pieces to work out the whole picture..? I have described it as I want to be in a position where Joe Blogs can come to me and say "I have a heart for the orphans in India" and I can say "Ok Joe, lets go!" and then with links already established, or going with new eyes, to go with Joe to India and help him pursue his hearts desire with the support of a church and with me behind him. Encouraging him in his God given calling. Make sense? maybe...


So back to now. Now I feel is a time that I am still learning, still at "school". I have sometimes been frustrated that I am not seeing anything change. Not doing anything. It is making me restless. I know what I am heading towards. But I am here. It has taken a lot of listening to God and a lot of me sulking like a child. But I am now feeling that I am in the place of be content. I am here. God called me here and put me here. I am here to grow. To learn. To be at school.


I know that I have issues in my life, in my personality, in my closet that I need to deal with. I am dealing with them. But they aren't dealt with. I know that God is purifying me. Zechariah 13:9 says:

And I will put _them_ into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'" [ESV]

This is where I feel I am...

It hurts.
Fire hurts.
Testing hurts.


But I am calling on His name and He is telling me over and over that He is my God.


I will be stronger. I will be able to achieve the big things I know God has for me. I will be able to pastor and look after people. God loves me just as I am. But He loves me too much to leave me like that. I know with all my heart that I will see big things. I will be a part of big things and they will all point to God and then I will be gone, as the morning mist, but God will have been glorified in my life and God's Kingdom will continue to be established on earth.


For now I allow Him to purify me, to put me into the fire.


It hurts.

But He is worth it.

Back to school. Pt 1.

1 of 2
Let me start this two part blog by telling you a little bit of my story when it comes to school... I left school at the age of 16 where I went to a college to do a 2 year Construction course. At about the age of 15/16 I decided that I wanted to work in construction, working on the side of building management and building surveying, more the theory side of building. Before this I had never really settled on a dream or career, it was always changing, from physio, to flouriest to something in IT... So off I went at 16 to follow my dream of learning about the construction world. About two months into the course I realised that it was not very academically stimulating for me. I was even teaching the Maths class as my fellow class mates understood me better than our teacher. This started to drain on my and I realised that maybe construction wasn't where I wanted to be. I met some very cool people and learnt some skills that still pop up every now and then but my heart wasn't in it and I was feeling the desire to be stretched more academically. I left this college about 4 months after starting in pursuit of more general classes that will be more challenging. I decided that I would be attending a 6th Form college the following September to study Maths, Information Communication Technology, Accounts and Geography. But I still had 7 months before the course started, so off I went and started working in a supermarket as a cashier, very quickly I was looking after the CDs, DVDs and Videos sales and also the Newspaper and Magazine sales. I was also helping to train new (and old) cashiers on how to use the cash registers, etc... It was work... I was bored and eager to get back to school.

September finally came and I started at college. Within two weeks I realised that perhaps Maths was too challenging so it was agreed that I would drop that class, I continued with the 3 remaining classes. First year was up. I had failed Accounts and had done average in the other two. Accounts was also dropped so I started the second year with picking up a new class in Business Studies. I enjoyed my time at college, mostly because it was right next to a river! I also had good friends there and enjoyed socialising... maybe too much... I had no idea still what career I wanted as the final exams were approaching, I had lost interest in the subjects I was studying. It eventually came to me just before my exams that I had a heart for people, so this lead me to the decision to pursue a nursing career. By this time it was too late to apply for university so I was going to have to wait a year until I could go to university. After finishing my exams and doing ok... I started working at a Hospital as a Health Care Assistant/Nursing Assistant. I enjoyed this work. It paid enough for what I needed and I enjoyed spending time with patients and I was fast learning some very useful skills. Also I was working with closely with nurses and really realising that it was a career I wanted. I had chosen to attend a university up north where at the time my girlfriend was studying. Unfortunately we broke up and I realised that I really actually was only going there for her... But again by this time it was too late to apply for another university. I withdrew my application and decided to keep working in the hospital and re-apply to a university that I actually wanted to go to. So I did. I applied to attend the University of Southampton, one of the best nursing schools in the UK, in a great area. I was so excited. But deep down I was unhappy. In September 2008 I decided that I needed to dedicate a "year to God" so I started with reducing my hospital work to only part-time hours (about 20 hours a week) and then I started volunteering at a Christian Drug rehab centre two days a week. So my time was taken up with hospital 3-4 days and at the rehab center 2 days a week. This was a great time of learning and I really gained some great life experiences here. I also decided as part of my "year for God" that I would do a DTS with YWAM at Holmsted Manor starting in January 2009. So I quit my hospital job, and my rehab position and went off to YWAM having paid for the lecture phase but with very little money left.

-12 weeks of lecture phase
-10 weeks in India

you've heard me tell the story. if not then ask.

I sent back to staff at Holmsted Manor and I staffed a DTS that started in September 2009 as part of that lead an outreach team to Vancouver for the winter Olympics and time before. Left, realised I loved it and was being called back. In September 2010 I moved back and now I am here.

I write all this because I wanted to set the foundations for what my education and schooling life has looked like in the past as I now look to what God has for me.

This is the background. Read Pt 2 (to follow) for the present thoughts....

December update

[To see a printout version of this update click here]

hi

It has been a cold past few weeks in Vancouver, when flying to California at the end of last month there was snow on the ground. Not as much snow as there has been in England however, so I can’t really say too much! Now traditional Vancouver has set in and it is back to rain. I am sipping on Early Grey tea looking out the window thinking over the last month and the month to come. I hope that you are well and staying warm? Enjoy reading and if you have any questions or challenges or words then please don’t hesitate to write.

Thanksgiving

I was privileged enough to spend Thanksgiving in America with Alexa and her family. My first real American Thanksgiving. It was a good time of lots of food, fellowship and more food! I passed up on the turkey and was fed Mac ‘n’ Cheese just in case you were worried that I had sacrificed on my vegetarianism for one day. It was especially good as it is as season for being thankful. Everyone is encouraged to look back over the last year and say what they are thankful for. “One thing?” I asked, there are many many things that I am thankful for. A big thing has to be that I am in Vancouver, even though it is a challenge to be here at times I just look back at how I got here and how thankful for that I am. I have also been reminded this season of just how amazing grace is. I deserve nothing but death, yet I am alive only because of the grace of God through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. I am also hugely thankful for you. Without you I couldn’t be here. I know that God does not need me, yet He chooses to use me and you are making that possible, through finances, prayer and encouragements. It is an honour to serve and work along side you in bringing God’s Kingdom to Vancouver and to all I meet, you are part of the testimony of God’s faithfulness in my life. I will always be thankful for this time and for you helping to make that happen.

Into The Urban

So what am I actually doing in Vancouver? Since arriving here I have been part of pioneering and establishing a new ministry opportunity. We are calling it “Into The Urban” and it is a 10-month internship program with YWAM Vancouver. It is being put in place to encourage anybody to come and serve with YWAM here with a focus on urban ministries. That will look like working with us in new initiatives around the city and also partnering with existing ministries that are already in place. It is an exciting program where we will grow together learning more about God’s heart for the city and discovering new opportunities to reach the un-churched people of Vancouver. As well has helping to pioneer this program I will also be getting involved in the urban ministries. It’s exciting and I am so grateful to be apart of it. So in partnering with me you are part of creating a place for people to hear God, grow in vision and see changes in lives.

For more information go to
www.ywamvancouver.com/intotheurban

Personal

I recently posted a blog entry titled “Swings and Roundabouts”, if you have a moment check it out. I have recently had to really check where my security and stability lies. I had to reconfirm that it lies in the Lord and that I have to rest in the knowledge that He has called me here and He is working in my here. On returning from California last week I found out that both my current housemates will be leaving, one is going on a field assignment for 3 months and the other will be leaving Vancouver. This was a bit of a shock to the system. It basically means that I now need to find somewhere to live. Talking with one of my housemates about their unsettlement here in Vancouver made me start to question my purpose here. This I had to quickly shake off and realise that it has nothing to do with me. I was letting someone else’s feelings of being unsettled effect me. I began to seek God and was filled with a sense of His security. So even though this brings in some potentially challenging times I know that I am secure in God. It has been a struggle since arriving in Vancouver finding my happiness. There is not the community here that I was used to at Holmsted so at times it can be very lonely. But I know that my joy and my happiness has to rest in God: “the joy of the Lord is my strength”. Knowing this I push on. I keep going and I keep knowing that God has called me here and that He is using me here. I ask you to pray with me, that I will continue to feel a spirit of peace in uncertainty and never loose sight of the vision and purpose of me being here. I am blessed to know you, and am blessed to have you in my life. Thank you again for your support.

I end this update with a passage from Hebrews that has spoken to me:

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.“ [Heb 10:23—NIV]

I pray that we will have hope and know that God is faithful and that we will walk with that all the days of our lives as we seek to make the name of Jesus famous over this earth.

Stay in touch!

Joel

Swings and Roundabouts

"it's swings and roundabouts"  (British & Australian)

something that you say to describe a situation in which there are as many advantages as there are problems

 I am sitting here just having returned from a very good time away in California where I spent 9 days with my girlfriend Alexa. It was a much needed rest time and it was great to verbally process a lot of things that had been going on in my life and in just the transition into living and serving in Vancouver. It was much needed. I need to talk sometimes, and Alexa is a good listener. Also it was good for our relationship as it was the first time we had seen each other in 8 weeks and also I was able to meet her family and see her "life". We talked, laughed, prayed, walked, served, and loved. It was a time that I can simply describe as perfect.


The hard part was leaving. Very hard.


A lot has already happened since I have been back in Vancouver (31 hours). Stuff that will have some very big effects on my life. It was a slight shock to return and be told the news. I won't share just yet as it is other people's news that effects me and I am not sure that they have shared more yet. These things will most likely effect where I live, my finances and just how life will look in Vancouver. On first hearing, I became quite unsettled, asking questions like "so am I really meant to be in Vancouver?" I stopped to think and quickly became aware that I was letting other peoples unsettlement effect me. I know that I need to not let this be the case, just because others are feeling unsettled does not mean I should be to. I need to keep my stability. I need to make sure that I am hearing personally from God and it is not being swayed or affected by emotions around me.

I know I am where I am meant to be. I know that it is going to be a challenge to stay.

I know that God is with me.

...more detailed update to follow...

Into the Urban

Hi all,

Some of you might have been hearing things about this "Into the Urban" that I have been quietly talking about. So I wanted to share about it, what it is and how you can keep in touch.

What is Into the Urban?

In short (because there is a whole website you can check out about it...) Into the Urban is a vision that Jacqui (a YWAM colleague) and I have been discussing. It was one of the big reasons for me returning to Vancouver was to work with the pioneering of this "urban ministry".

Basically it is an Internship with YWAM Vancouver and technically I am the first intern... Although there are no official procedures in place yet and it will look a lot different for future interns. We have pioneered this ministry from scratch as they have never run anything like it here in Vancouver. We are wanting to encourage people to give 10-months to living, serving and being a light in Vancouver. 

I am unable to say too much at the moment as we are still working on a lot of what it will look like and how the programme will run. But i just wanted to tell you that it is a real ministry/programme and will, if all goes to plan, be running officially in the new year. So watch this space!

For more information check out the Into the Urban website where I will be posting some of my experiences with being part of pioneering a new ministry and how it has all been going.

field based School of Biblical Studies

Hi all,

While I was praying and seeking the Lord about what to do while I am in Vancouver and how to keep working towards some of my dreams and visions I felt convicted to spend more time studying His Word. I had heard a lot of amazing things about the School of Biblical Studies (SBS) run by YWAM and I wondered if I could do one while in ministry and it turns out I can. So I will (hopefully) be starting a field based School of Biblical Studies (fbSBS) which is run by YWAM through the internet. I have a big heart for this program because of the skills I will gain from it such as how to do an inductive Bible study and more. These will really give a good foundation to starting a theology degree at Bible college. This is taken from their website:

The nine month SBS is one of the most exciting schools in YWAM’s University of the Nations. This school is now accessible to many more people through this Field Based e-learning format. It uses the powerful inductive approach to Bible study. On completion of the school the student will not only be proficient in using the tools and skills of effective Bible study, but would have applied those skills to every book of the Bible. Understanding the significance of the various kinds of biblical literature and the original setting and culture of each book are an integral part of the inductive approach. The application of scripture, both into one’s personal life and ministry, and into the wider spheres of society are the purpose and specific goal of all of our study. Studying the course alongside base/team responsibilities brings the added dynamic for immediate application of the study into ministry situations. [http://home.ywamelearning.com/?page_id=14]

I have been accepted onto the school and the leadership team here in Vancouver support my decision to do this along side the ministry I do with YWAM here. The only thing that is stopping me from starting is the money. It costs £117 every three months so I am trying to raise that money. If you are able to provide anything towards me doing this school then please use the donation button on the right hand side and specify what it is towards.

Thank you so much for your support, for reading and for praying.

Please never hesitate to write to me with any comments, challenges, encouragements, anything, I love to hear from you.

November update

hi readers,

I hope that you are doing well? I am writing to you from the office space that YWAM Vancouver is currently renting. This is my November update. Thank you so much for your support through reading these updates and for praying for me, it means so much to me.

I guess I will get writing then! Since I last wrote to you at the beginning of October so much has changed... I spent 24 hours in the hospital with a collapsed lung, started really working on a project, discussed visions and ideas, and signed up for an online School of Biblical Studies. I'll break some of this down for you.

God first. I have really been experiencing God's heart over the last month as I look at what it is I am doing in Vancouver. He has been faithful in sharing with me some of His plans. It has not always been easy for me to sit a listen, as you may know I can get quite restless and I like to stay busy. But in the quiet times I have really heard clearly from God. This is how I have been lead to the ministries that I am starting to get more and more involved in. Maybe this was why I spent 24 hours doing nothing but lying in a hospital bed, it was very challenging from me but God is good and His goodness shines through.

Part of what He has shared with me is that I need to spend more time in His Word. I have always loved reading the Bible but recently I have found it challenging to keep a regular study of it. I felt called to start a Bible study of some sort, so I looked around and found that YWAM offer one that I can do on the side of the ministries I am involved in. It is called a field based School of Biblical Studies (fbSBS). When you do the course full-time at a YWAM base it takes 9 months to complete but I am doing it part-time which means it takes closer to three years. I will be doing it a module at a time and seeing how it goes. A module lasts 3 months. Over the whole school you read the whole Bible about 5 times and pretty much write your own commentary on it. I am very excited to do this. It will really help me to develop a skill for inductive Bible study which will be very useful when starting Bible College.

Simply living.  God has really been faithful in providing. When I last wrote I had just moved into a basement suite with another guy, it is a great place with lots of room and for location and size it is reasonably priced. However rent between the two of us was starting to look a bit steep and at about the time I was starting to get concerned about having enough for November I was approached by another guy looking for a place to live. On the 1^st November Taylor moved in with me so there are now 3 guys living in the basement suite. This makes rent do-able. Plus it is a great blessing to have Taylor there, he is a great godly guy and I enjoy the extra company. God also provided for me this month with a small babysitting job for the family that live above us. It is great to build relationship with them and even though I insisted they shouldn’t, they paid me for my time, it went straight to rent! I have really been blessed.

Fighting justly. Working in Vancouver is great, I have really started to get into my role here with YWAM. I am working closely with a lady called Jacqui, who was heading up the Olympic outreaches, and her husband Stu. They are a great couple with a real heart and passion for Vancouver. They returned from a long road trip around the USA and Canada a couple of weeks after I arrived here. Since they have been back I have been meeting regularly with Jacqui and together we have shared vision and are currently pioneering an intern ministry called “Into the Urban”. It is a 10-month internship where a person will commit to spending the time in Vancouver focusing on urban ministries. It is basically what I am doing. I am the first intern, it is really exciting to be part of the pioneering of something new. As “Into the Urban” we will be serving in homeless ministries, supporting prayer ministries and churches, hosting teams, working with others on social justice initiatives. Our heart is to learn from each other and encourage each other’s dreams and ideas. Being part of this team will really help me and others to develop leadership skills through the creation of new projects and ministry opportunities.

One last thing before I leave you to get on with your date, I would love it if you told me your mailing address so I can send you a Christmas card or postcard from Vancouver. If you could and don't mind me having your address please click here.

Many blessings as you continue to seek to bring glory to God in everything you do.

Stay in touch!

Missional Living or Full-time Ministry...?

[I wrote this in my journal about 2 hours before my lung collapsed...]
14th Oct 2010 @ 1pm

I look back over my time here as I know things are about to get busy, this week I will be meeting with a colleague about our roles within YWAM Vancouver. I will also start to help with hosting a Mission Adventures team with my roommate Josh. This will really kick-start my work here. The transition into life with YWAM Vancouver has been harder than expected. I guess moving to a new country has that, and topped with all the uncertainty before leaving (was I going to be going..?) Being here is interesting because the differences are slight but noticeable, so it becomes a bit of a subtle adjustment you have to make, I'm not sure that I made it so little things began to annoy me and then I would compare it to England. I have to continue to be weary of this...

The question I used to title this entry is one I have been thinking about recently, I posted it on my Facebook to hear the response. Is there a difference between missional living and full-time ministry? If there is, what is it? If there isn't, why does does it feel like I've transitioned from one to the other? I feel that while I was at Holmsted Manor it was very much about full-time ministry, I woke up and I lived and breathed it. I was in a community where there was nothing else. I didn't have worry/think about housing, food, community, ministry. It was always there. I did not have to make the conscious effort to "do ministry", it just flowed (most of the time). Being in Vancouver is different, being with YWAM here is different. The first two weeks have been "living", I'll unpack: On arrival I needed to find a house, then furnish the house, then get a bank set up, sort out money and a budget, and the list goes on. Where I struggled is finding "ministry" in this. It has not been so readily available. If I want to do it, which I do, I have to set it up. Self-motivated, self-disciplined. This has to be done with/on top of the "living" (housing, money, food, etc...). Now there is a difference, a colleague described working with YWAM Vancouver as "living missionally".  Ok, so I understand this is what most people have to face, this is the life of an every day follower of Christ but was I ready for that change? Did I expect it?


I'm sure this is starting to sound like the wafflings of a crazy person so I'll draw it to a close. I am not suggesting that one is better than the other, you can do either and be living the "right way", in fact you have to do one/both to be a follower of Jesus. I am talking about the personal difference I have felt and the adjustments I am having to make. I am not sure that I was ready for it, but I have to be. I do miss the always readily available community of Holmsted but I love the city life in Vancouver. "Just love people" a friend said to me on this topic, and that is what I will do. If you're reading this then can I ask that you pray with me that I will find ministry to do where I am loving people, and also pray that I learn to adjust well to "missional living".

A Pain in the Chest

I am writing this after just coming back from spending about 24 hours in Vancouver General Hospital. I am doing ok, still very fragile and feeling slight heart burn type pains. I will go back on Tuesday morning for a check up and an x-ray.

So how did all this happen?
Well on Thursday morning (14th) I took a walk to an area locals call "The Drive" there are a lot of independent stores, cafés and grocers on this street. I sat in a familiar café and had a drink while writing a blog (this will follow). I spent a good two hours there writing and listening to a Pastor's speakers panel from a conference in America recently. Then I decided to move on, I started to feel hungry so I went to a vegetarian café and sat down with my food, almost immediately after sitting down my chest really started to hurt and it quickly spread to the right side, all over my right lung and shoulder. I knew this wasn't normal! I finished my food and did all that I knew what to do which was go home. This was about a 30 minute walk. During the walk the pain was agonising. I sent a text to Alexa and asked her to look up the symptoms of a collapsed lung. I finally made it home and sat down to rest. Very quickly the pain eased as I researched the symptoms. It did sound very much like a minor Pneumothorax, so I called up a BC health advise line and they told me to go to a walk-in clinic. I found the nearest one to be where I had just came from. So i walked the 30 minute walk back. The pain came back, but this time not as strong but still very noticeable. There I had to pay $120 before I could see a doctor. The doctor was worried about an irregular heartbeat and decided I should go to hospital. I was admitted into Accident & Emergency at about 8pm Thursday. There they did many tests; bloods, ECGs, vitals, x-rays and then even a CT scan to check for a blood clot. It came back that I did indeed have a Pneumothorax. The doctor said it was small but needed to be sorted so he inserted a tube into my side... not a pleasant experience... Then a couple more x-rays later and some time he said that the gas wasn't draining out as fast as he would like and I was to be admitted into a Lung specialist ward to be seen by consultants there. This was at 4am Friday morning.


Once in the ward I managed to get maybe 30mins to an hours sleep before being poked and prodded again. The consultant said that the x-rays looked better and that they were going to close the tube as see if my lung was leaking anymore gases. They did this and said wait 6 hours for another x-ray. Six hours later, about 3pm Friday, and I am having my final x-ray. The consultant came back and said that my lung was doing well and the gases had mostly gone so I was able to have the tube removed from my side and to go home, with a follow up on Tuesday 18th to see how I am doing.


So this was my eventful 24 hours in a Vancouver hospital. Please be praying for my health as I still don't feel right and also be praying that my travel insurance claim will go smoothly otherwise this could be a very expensive ordeal.


Many thanks for your prayers over the 24 hours, I really felt God's presence with me in that hospital.


Oh and if you see my mum, tell her I am ok!

October update

Vancouver

Sitting in a cafe, drinking some tea, I know that I am back. And it makes me smile. Looking back it wasn't an easy journey; over two hours at the airport immigration office, delays with visas, no house, many doubts... God has been so faithful to get me here, it can have only been God. Yesterday I signed the papers to a basement suite and today I opened up a Canadian bank account, I really have arrived!

Since being here I have been resting and seeking God, as well as getting involved with helping YWAM Vancouver move offices and houses. This season is a season for learning is what I have heard from the Lord. Gaining practical experience. I have been figuring out what it is I am to do and I am being drawn to working as part of a team that will focus on hosting teams that want to do an outreach in Vancouver. As part of this it will mean creating ministries around the city and also partnering with local churches and charities that already have established ministries. I am keen to do this as part of a team so I can learn from and with my co-workers while getting stuck into doing urban ministries.

Since being here I have attended a young church that’s main focus is church planting. I am very keen to get more involved with this church as this is something that interests me and I am keep to learn, watch and experience what church planting looks like, especially in an urban setting.

In closing

Friends, I really cannot express my thanks enough. It is because of you that I can work and do the things I love with the Father I love. Thank you for your prayers, your support, your encouragements. God has used each and every one of you in a big way in my life.

Keep in touch!

           Joel

All glory, honour and
praise to our God and
Saviour Jesus Christ.

Or view this update in its original printable form here

My Mission and Values

1. Walk humbly with God
2. Live simply by faith
3. Fight justly for truth

                     i.            I am to walk humbly with God, going with my hands open to the places He wants. I exist for nothing else than to bring Him glory. (Micah 6:8)

                   ii.            I am to live simply, seeking freedom from the seduction of riches and being committed to sacrificial generosity (1 Timothy 6:18)

                  iii.            I am to fight justly for care of God's creation and against the injustice of Human Trafficking as it affects the most vulnerable people.  For now is a time of war (Matt 10:34)

Values

God first

                “Seek first the Kingdom of God...” (Matt 6:33) this is why I am alive and the reason for all other values. I understand that it is by God’s grace I am alive and I exist to bring Him glory. I know that He is the only hope, so I will hear Him and respond.

Stewardship

                God called us all to look after this planet and everything in it (Gen 1:26-28; Gen 2:15). I understand that nothing is mine; everything has been entrusted to me by God. For this reason I will live a life that values that. This is why I choose not to eat meat for the environmental and human injustices it causes. I will endeavour to live a life that is “green”, “… since our care of the creation will reflect our love for the Creator” (John Stott – The Radical Disciple).

                I will also be transparent with what I “own” and what I spend my money on, as it is all God’s anyway, and we are all family under Him.

Simplicity

                “Live simply so that others may simply live.” This follows on from stewarding my money and possessions. I will own only what is necessary to limit building up “riches on earth”, which will encourage a life of generosity. I will prayerfully consider all that I buy and the way I live life. Relying on the body of Christ to keep me accountable.

Others

                It is always about others and putting others before myself. I will demonstrate this through loving on people and serving them to the best of my ability. I understand that I am not better than my master, and that true love is giving up of oneself. (John 13:16-17)

Together

                "...involuntary poverty is an offence against the goodness of God...the church must stand with God and the poor against injustice, suffer with them and call on rulers to fulfil their God-appointed role." (An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Life-style)
 I believe that the local church has been anointed to “bring good news [the Gospel] to the poor...” (Isaiah 61:1) I will make big efforts to work alongside churches and organisations to be a voice for the voiceless. Knowing that God has not called me to do this alone but together as one body we work stronger.

a brief update

Hi all,


This is just a brief update on what is going on in my life at the moment. It has been stretching! But God is good, so I wanted to portray that.


Since I last wrote one of the biggest events has been that I found out that I need to actually apply for a Visa to get into Canada before I leave. This as some of you know is not an easy process and can take a lengthy amount of time. So as it stands I am hoping to get a Visa that usually takes 6 weeks to process in 2 weeks... Be praying! 
It came as a bit of a shock and honestly a bit frustrating. I had wondered if I needed to but after researched that I carried out months ago and from advise given I was informed I could pick one up at the border to Canada. I wrote to the High Commission in London double checking this research, they took over a month to respond telling me that perhaps I should apply. So I now have done and it has been a week.


The other big event is that in just over 24 hours I will be leaving Holmsted Manor. This is a strange thing to be writing as this has been my home for the good part of a year and a half, I have met God here in incredible and intimate ways. I have made the best friends that I could ever have hoped for and I have been challenged, broken down, rebuilt, and stretched beyond words! I know with my whole heart that I am ready to be moving on. I am so excited by what is next.
I will spend my time before leaving for Vancouver in England doing some travelling visiting friends, and also going to my home in Reading and spending a bit of time there, visiting my home church. I leave the country on the 28th September.


How can you be praying?

• For my Visa! God works in incredible ways, I need Him to work now.
• Transition out of Holmsted. This has been a safe place, but I know God goes with me.
• Provision. I have yet to find a house in Vancouver to rent.
• Give praise. God is really walking with me, I feel His peace in this madness so strongly.

Thank you to all of you that have been faithfully praying for me and walking with me in this journey. As I write this for the last time from Holmsted Manor I look back and reflect on all the wonderful and mind blowing things I have seen God do. I wish you could have been here with me to whiteness them, but I hope that these updates help you to feel part of it.

May His grace, that surpasses all understanding, be with you this day and forever.


I praise God for you.


Blessings,


Joel

"Why Vancouver?"

Over the past few days I have had people asking me "so why Vancouver?" for that reason I wanted to share on here exactly why I am going to Vancouver.

In December 2009 I was part of a Discipleship Training School (DTS) sent out of Holmsted Manor (West Sussex, UK) as a part of Youth With A Mission (YWAM). As part of this school I had the privalidge of leading a team of 8 amazing people on a 10-week outreach to Vancouver, where we served the local community by working in homeless shelters/drop-in centres, assisted churches with Christmas celebrations, and came together with many churches and charities to offer radical hospitality to the many travellers arriving for the Winter Olympics games. It was a great time, ask me if you want to know more.

I left Vancouver on Feruary 25th 2010 and that was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, leaving a place where you feel such a draw to especially when it still feels like there is so much to do is a tough thing to do. Vancouver and its people haven't left my thoughts or my prays since I left that day.

Since joining YWAM God has had me on a journey discovering my passions and teaching me more about His heart. I know that I have a passion for urban areas, especially in the western world. I have always had a heart for North America, there is so much need and so much hurt there, whether that be on the streets with rough sleepers or in the high-rise buildings with the millionaires, its in the commercial world that I feel we hide our hurt, our "uglyness" and then we blame it on religion (Christianity). My hope and vision is to be a true example of the body of Christ (a Christian) in an urban area, in Vancouver.

What does this look like? Good question. The simpliest answer is "God knows" because He really does. He is already paving the way for me in Vancouver before I get there, I know He has called me and I am going. I have talked with Him about what it could look like and I have some thoughts such as being on the streets at night while the clubs are emptying handing out flip-flops to girls who struggle to walk, and handing out water to the thirsty. Or standing up in churches telling them that slavery is bigger now than it ever has been, in the history of the world, and showing them that they can and must do something. 

But I am just going, hands open walking beside the One that knows best.

Blessings through free wifi - July 7th 2010

This is something that I wrote while waiting for my plane travelling back from the USA on July 7th 2010.

I feel hope and excitement for the definite life with God. I see Vancouver; 1 year. I see Oakhill; I know Theology is where my heart is. I see English mission work; Olympics 2012, community. I see a deeper knowledge of the Word and a greater understanding of God's heart; for me and for people (others). What's after? God knows! California? Vancouver? California = small church reaching many(!), assistant pastor/missions pastor, church plants...

I see a God, my God, move in incredible ways, wherever that may be.

In All Honesty...

Rest I have not found...
They keep coming, keep coming, keep crawling right through my teeth.
They keep coming, keep coming, your children I feed off to keep awake...
Long enough to meet the next little sheep...
Long enough to meet the next to buy every word I preach.

It's like I was born to rip the flesh from her bones.
I'm forever stalking the streets for the next one.
I've found I can run faster, faster than guilt could ever.
I've found once a man lets virtue aside he finds sweet what follows.
I've found that I can run faster than guilt could ever.

"I'm bleeding while you're leading for my enemy."

How could you really think that I am worth this rescuing?
I wish I could be so much more than me.

"You could be the one who pleases me.
You could be, because I can reach through anything."

I wish I could be so much more than me.

"You could be the one who pleases me.
You could be... my arms are reaching."

You're reaching out to a dog that's tasted and turned.
Why? Why waste your time when I've found my strength in another?
Can you see more in me? Can you really see more than just a beast?

"I'm bleeding so you can be the one who pleases me!"

I'm sorry, but I just can't justify this rescuing.

"You can't see fairness as your clarity.
The better man is what your heart wants to be
but you rape every trusted chance I bring your way.
If justice you seek, in death it should be."

I wish I could be so much more than me.

"You could be the one who pleases me.
You could be, because I can reach through anything."

I want to believe. Will you take me?

"You could be the one who pleases me.
You could be, my arms are reaching."

I don't want to be the father who has to watch his daughter
be conned and stripped bare by a monster like me.
God, put me to sleep.

We call it living

Joel 3:10 - Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior." [ESV]

So I decided to make this month's update letter a blog. It has been a little while since I have written an update as it has been a very busy period of my life. Both physically and emotionally. I will try to share my feelings and shed some light on what has been happening.

Vancouver

I last wrote when I had just gotten back from a vacation to the USA and I was informing you all of my plans to move to Vancouver. These plans are very much still happening. I have a flight booked for September 28^th of this year and will be starting with YWAM Vancouver on arrival. It is still very much a journey to get there, but I have booked my ticket in complete faith that God is going with me and will keep providing. I know He has called me there and I know that He is preparing the way for me. On first arrival I will be taking a few days out to pray and walk around the city. This will give me time to seek God on what He is specifically called me to be a part of. It will also give some time to connecting with different people around the city, both in YWAM and in other charities and organisations. I will be connecting with staff at YWAM Vancouver and putting together what we are calling an "Urban Ministries" team. This has very much been on my heart since leaving Vancouver in February and I am very excited to see it birth and watch God move through it. What will this look like? Only God really knows for

sure, but my desire is, as a practical example, giving out flip flops to girls that have gone clubbing or handing out bottles of water. It will also involve Prayer Stations around the city and offering spiritual help as well as practical. I have been drawing inspiration from movements such as "24/7 Prayer" and "Street Pastors" that do similar things. I am so eager to get started!

Two Hard Weeks

Two weeks ago on Monday 9^th August I found out that my Nan (Grandma) had died earlier that morning. This came as a bit of a shock as it seemed that she was getting slightly better. This news came just as I was settling back into Holmsted after spending a week away promoting YWAM at New Wine Christian Conference. It has since made transition back very difficult. On hearing the news it consumed most of my thoughts and emotions, this made it difficult to process anything else. The funeral was last Wednesday (18^th), it was a good funeral with lots of celebration of what God had done through Nan's life, she will be missed.
Shortly following that news I found out that the apartment that I was hopeful to move into in Vancouver was not going to happen, so it can at times feel like I am moving backwards in regards to my move there. Added to that finances are low, I am still praying for 50% of what I need monthly to come in. I know and trust God is in control, so daily I lift the situation to Him.
I have been "floating" around Holmsted as I struggle to really find my feet here; I know that it is time for me to leave. It has been a real blessing to spend the last year here and God has shown Himself to me in ways I could never have imagined, but my season here is over and Holmsted is moving in a new direction now, one that I am not part of. I pray God will always be glorified here.
I will be leaving Holmsted on September 13^th and spending some time seeing friends and mentors around the UK (and possibly Europe) before I depart England bound for Vancouver.

How can you help?

Above all, pray for me. It sounds cliché but please do, I need it. God is really showing me in this time that are hard that my strength really only comes from Him. I cannot do this on my own. I have booked my ticket to Vancouver but that is all I have. I am relying on God and on His body on earth to keep me there for the time He has called me. Please remember me in your prayers:

• Strength as I process and deal with recent events
  
• Motivation as I keep pushing towards Vancouver
  
• Self control to stay focused on God and to seek His righteousness
  
• Provision for finances and somewhere to live
  

If you want/can to practically help then there are a few things you can do:

• If you know of anyone in Vancouver, Canada that might know of anywhere I can stay then let me know.
  
• Regularly financially support me - Every YWAMer, all 18,000 of us worldwide, are kept in ministry through relationship based support.
  
• Write to me – Hearing from you, Christ's body, really lifts me up and encourages me.
  

In closing

I want to say a massive heartfelt thank you to everyone that has been there for me in these two weeks and over this last year. Every word said and e-mail written has really blessed me beyond words. Christ is alive in you, it is the hope of glory. It is only because of you that I can keep going and keep giving 100% to bringing God's Kingdom to earth. I am so blessed to be seeing God move in a real way everywhere I go and see lives changed because of His amazing grace.

Joel 3:10
Can you spend 3 minutes a day praying for me?
Can you give £10 a month?