DTS is a go....

I wrote this article for the YWAM Ireland website a few weeks ago... Thought if it was good enough for there, it should be good enough for here!

In no less than 4 days time the first of 12 students will be arriving in one of Belfast’s two airports. Laden down with luggage, we will welcome them into our community here in YWAM Belfast.

Next Monday begins the 7th DTS to be run in Belfast (at least this time around! I keep hearing rumour about a DTS that was run here in the 1970’s….) and I think the 4th to have a distinctly Reconciliation focus.

So what’s that all about? Why “reconciliation”? In many ways, reconciliation is becoming one of those buzz words, thrown out there to sound impressive though no one really knows what it means. Here in Belfast, we long to be serious about it. In a world where anger, violence and revenge are often the “go-to” tactics in conflict situations, we wonder whether there is another way?

We believe yes, and we’re going to be spending the next 7 months exploring this idea with this group of 12 students. YWAM’s motto is “To know God and make Him known” and one of our foundational values is “Do first, then teach”. There’s something special about knowing something personally before you move on to ministering out of that. In this time, we want to share with the students the God who came to them, who has reconciled Himself to them, and from that place of knowing God as a reconciler we can move on to trying to mirror His image and be peacemakers in these situations that surround us.

During the DTS students will have lectures, be involved in local outreach in the local community, have a chance to hear stories from people affected by conflict and learn from them, and also engage in a 10 week trip to a post or current conflict area to put what they are learning into practice.

Our vision is for a group of people to emerge from this DTS, trained in both discipleship and an awareness of their relationship to God, but also skilled to speak into conflict situations, to speak out “this is NOT the will of God!” To cry peace in a land of war, and forgiveness in the midst of revenge.

After all, we’ve been told to get on with it: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18). We have a mandate…. This DTS exists to raise a generation of people willing to live it… Those willing to give up everything to see it come into being.

A Leap of Faith

So, I’m back in the “blogging” saddle after a few months away! I’ll write up a quick synopsis of my last few months in the next wee while, but for now I thought I’d share something that’s been on my mind this weekend.

On Friday night, I went to the Belfast Activity Centre with Fitzroy’s youth group. It had been a long week, and I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to the experience… Climbing up walls and jumping off high things wasn’t sounding too appealing! But, off we went.



As you can see from the pictures, we spent a good bit of timing climbing up this wall… It was pretty high, and heights aren’t altogether my favourite thing… But I managed it alright after a few goes and plenty of team encouragement!

BUT…. As with all things… Escalation was inevitable…

We moved on to a challenge called “the leap of faith”. This consisted of climbing up a tall telegraph pole (probably about 20 or more feet into the air), and then standing up on a little platform, and jumping off to catch a trapeze bar out in the middle of the air…


I was pretty sure that I was not going to attempt this… I had decided that the climbing wall was enough of an achievement for the evening.

Then I decided to give it a go… I’d love to say that I changed my mind, and just decided to be adventurous and go for it… But to be honest, it probably had more to do with the teenage girls (who themselves had already done it…) in my group gathering around me and telling me to “Be a man!”… Yeah….that definitely did it….

So, as I was being harnessed up for this challenge, I still wasn’t convinced that this was something I needed to do… Until Emmy, our instructor from New Zealand asked me a question.

Emmy: “Why are you afraid?”

Me: “Cos I don’t normally jump off poles into mid-air”

Emmy: “Is this a real risk, or a perceived risk?”

This struck me. What was I really afraid of in this situation? Was it of falling? If so, that was a bit of a ridiculous worry, I knew how well I was harnessed in, I’d seen about ten people go before me, leap out into mid air and come down gently, landing softly on the ground.

What was it?

I couldn’t really put my finger on why I was afraid. So off I went… I climbed up that post, stood atop that platform, and hurled myself out into the air to that trapeze. (All, admittedly without looking down a single time….not even a glimpse…)

But I did it.

I think I learnt a valuable lesson about faith on Friday night, a lesson that has been running around my head for the last few days.

When we “risk” something, stepping out on a limb, for God. Why do we worry? So often, I worry about things, I worry about the way they are going to work out. I worry about the things that God has called me to, worrying about whether they’re going to go well, and whether I’m even able to do them in the first place. I worry about failing. I think it probably comes down to the fact that I’m not always convinced God is there to catch me if I fall.

Is this real risk, or perceived risk?

Is trusting in God a real risk, or a perceived risk?

Is God not who He claims to be? Is He not who He has promised He is?

I believe that He has promised to stand with us, to go before us in times of trial and difficulty, that He will never call us to something that, with his strength, we are not able to do.

Is trusting God a risk, or is it just something we think is risky?

I’m beginning to realise that it’s just our minds. It’s just our own worries and insecurities that make us believe that God isn’t REALLY all that trustworthy. When the truth is, He is.

Another thing I learnt was that in taking a leap of faith. In stepping out for God in something, it doesn’t matter if we are feeling the best about it. As I climbed that pole, I can wholeheartedly say that I was not feeling the best I have ever felt… I was pretty scared!

I think the problem with our churches today, is that we are taught to play it safe. To only “risk” what we know for a fact we can achieve.

What would happen if more people started making leaps of faith. If more of us started jumping out into the unknown? Could this be a church that really starts to live?

It’s not about feeling good about it. But we know, that just as I had a safety harness that was not going to break and was always there to catch me throughout, God is our harness. The one who reaches down and gives us the strength to make the jump.

Here’s to more leaps of faith.

More big jumps into the unknown with a God who we KNOW is there to catch us.

Summer Adventures...

I write this blog entry sitting warming myself in my friend Karen’s house. I had a complete wardrobe change today when I got back from walking home from the shop, because I got wetter than I think I have EVER been…

Only yesterday morning I awoke to beautiful blue skies, devoid of any cloud cover, and with the promise of another sunny day at 35 degrees celcius… Unfortunately, I also awoke yesterday morning in Spain, and not Dublin.

I have spent the last 5 days of my July luxuriating on the south coast of Spain, on holiday with my family and two other families that we head away with (the Kirks and the Scotts). It was a break that couldn’t have come at a better time, giving me a great chance to get away from Belfast and just get my head showered, and start to get a few things sorted in my mind for next year.


The view from my bed (yes, that is my foot in the foreground)… This is what the sky looked like the whole time. I think I saw 3 clouds in the whole time I was there. Unlike now, as I look out the window and am searching for the blue sky…


The pool…I spent a lot of time in here!

So, after all that relaxing, why am I in Dublin and not back hard to work in the office in Belfast? Well, I’m taking all that rest that I’ve saved up this past week, and I’m about to blow it all on a youth trip to Germany! Bright and early on Saturday morning, I’m going to be heading away with my friend Karen’s youth group to TeenStreet, which is a Europe wide youth-conference run by the mission organisation OM (Operation Mobilisation). From what I’ve heard about it, I think it’s a little bit similar to Summer Madness…but on a bigger scale, so I’m looking forward to seeing it in action!

We’d love to be going to Germany with your prayers. The theme for the conference is “Blindsight” and talking about how Paul became blind but then regained his sight when he met with Jesus. We’ve also been praying about our time in Germany, and feel like this message has a lot to teach to the 7 young people that we’re going to be bringing! The idea that at the minute they may be blind to a lot of the spiritual world around them, but that God really wants to open their eyes and open them up to Him. It’s an exciting time!

Hopefully my return from Germany will also mark a return to regular blogging! I’ve been a little lax these past few months.

I leave you with this passage that God has given us as a team taking these young people to encourage us. Perhaps you can use it as an aid to pray for us.

tom

Mark 8:22-25
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

When I set my mind to something....

I thought it was about time to share with you, my blogging readers one of the proudest moments of my short life... Relevant Magazine is a Christian magazine in the USA, and every week the 4 editors get together to record a podcast that they then post on the internet. I love the Relevant Podcast....and so, last Summer I made it my goal to find my way onto it. Luckily, we had a way in... On occasion, people we send in food from the US and beyond for them to sample while they record the podcast.

We thought that no "snacks" feature would EVER be complete without the joy of Tayto crisps.... So, my co-conspirator Hannah and I went and toured the factory, documented our visit, and then sent them off to Relevant...
Enjoy....I know I did....

So, why am I sharing this with you now, a year after the event? Well... I woke up this morning to a message from Hannah saying that our "Relevant" exposure continues... In the magazine this month a girl from Belfast wrote in, they commented on her letter:

"Ireland, you say? Can you send us some Tayto crisps? The prawn-flavoured ones are shrimp-a-licious!"

My pride continues to grow....

The Latest

Here in YWAM Belfast we’ve had a busy few weeks. I realise that I’ve been pretty lax over the last month and a half at updating this blog, funny how when internet is scarce in Burundi I manage to do it pretty regularly, and when it’s plentiful here, I don’t do it!

I suppose I should just backtrack and catch you up…

Summer madness hit us at the end of June/start of July. This year at Summer Madness, YWAM had a big venue to operate from, whereas in the past we’ve only had a small stand, so it was a bit of a step up.



We ran a venue that we called “the Sacred and the Secular”, and in it we tried to address the issue of compartmentalisation that we see in Christianity sometimes today. How we see some things as “holy” and other things as “worldly”. We believe that everything is of God, and we aren’t to put God in a box, allowing him out at our leisure or pleasure. So, our venue had both things that seemed “secular” and “sacred” alongside one another. We had pool tables, playstation, a prayer tent, the stations of the cross, an art station and table tennis.
We also ran two evening shows called “Around the World in 80 Minutes” where we sought to inspire attendees at Summer Madness for the nations and show them a bit of the richness of culture that is outside their own.

(I realised as I was reading through this entry again that it looks like the above picture was one taken at the events we were running...they were well attended, but not THAT well... :) this is a picture from one of the main stage worships at the festival.)

I also had the privilege of helping Fitzroy Presbyterian take their youth group to the event, which included camping there on site….no fancy bed for me! I love Summer Madness and I first started going as a teenager, so I love being able to be a part of other young people’s journey there.

Following Summer Madness, I took part in an event called FWD (“Forward”, or Faith With Deeds). During this time, we served the area of Highfield in the Greater Shankill Area, cleaning gardens, cutting hedges, playing with kids and having a big community barbeque and open air concert. Something that I love about living here on the Shankill is when people come here on mission and seeing the difference that visiting teams make in the community. Streetreach (the model on which FWD was based on) has made a powerful impact on this community in the past 5 years, and so it was an honour to be able to be a part of this continuing on. God is at work on the Shankill, and it’s amazing to watch it happening, and exciting to see how it’s going to unfold…

During our time on FWD, I found myself doing a lot of reminiscing! Lots of the things that we did, funnily enough took me back to Burundi, and to some of the things that we did while we were there. It was a blessed time for me, and a wonderful time of looking back. Below are a few pictures and their contrasting ones… Interesting to see the differences!

Grass cutting: The Northern Irish way and the Burundian…you’d be surprised which one was quicker and more effective!



Carrying bricks…unfortunately the same in any country… Brute force!


So, that was a bit of a catch up for you...hopefully it's answered a few questions and maybe created a few more!

There’s some stuff rolling around in my head at the minute…so hopefully there’ll be somewhat of a more contemplative entry for you in the next while…watch this space!

Challenged?

When we were driving through Burundi, I was reading a book called "For What It's Worth: A Call to No Holds Barred Discipleship" by Simon Guillebaud. I've been re-reading this book since I got back here, and remembering the challenge that I got from reading it. It was an exciting time, driving through this amazing country on a bit of a crazy adventure, and just being challenged to radical living... Following is the most challenging story I read in it... Be warned that you might not see things in the same way after reading it...

On 4th July 1984, Charlie Peace was hanged. He was one of London's best-known criminals. As Peace was being led to the gallows, and Anglican clergyman followed him timidly, reading from the Prayer Book, "Those who die without Christ experience hell, which is the pain of forever dying without the release which death in itself can bring."
When Peace heard those horrific words, he turned around sharply and shouted in the clergyman's face. "Do you believe that? Do you really believe that?"
His surprised victim stuttered and stammered, "Well...I....suppose i do...."
"Well, I don't," said Peace, "but if i did, I'd get down on my hands and knees and and crawl all over Britain, even if it were paved with pieces of broken glass, if I could rescue just one person from what you just told me."

Challenged??

I know I am...

It's been a while...

Hi there,
Been a while since I posted anything on here! Below is an article i wrote for my churches magazine. Thought I'd share it on here too...
Happy reading!
tom

(p.s. I haven't forgotten my promise of photos...)


Where do I start to capture in just a few words the time I spent in
Rwanda and Burundi as part of a team of 8 people with "Youth With a
Mission"? Were I to share everything that happened and that we
experienced, it would take a much sturdier staple in this issue of the
Link to bind it together. So, here I sit, searching through my mind to
think of one story that will encapsulate our time, one story to show
the beauty of the countries and cultures that we had the privilege of
catching a glimpse of for a short period of time. One story. Is that
even possible?

Our time in Africa was a busy one, we travelled a lot, meeting many
incredible contacts along the way. At one stage we taught about the
issues of Reconciliation and Forgiveness, challenging 70 pastors
during a week-long conference to think about these issues and take
them back to their congregations and areas. The decision they made at
the end of the week to work together as churches to promote this
principle was an incredibly moving one. Is this the story I want to
share with you?

Or, how about the time we visited an elderly woman in an "Internally
Displaced Peoples" camp; seeing the place that she lived, barely more
than mud bricks and sticks for a roof, and not a scrap of food in the
bare room described to us as the kitchen? The warning to be careful
not to let other people see the £10 gift we gave to her, because, if
people knew, she would be killed for this meagre amount by nightfall?
Do I tell you about the incredible, unexpected joy that I saw in her
eyes? The strength of her spirit and the open arms of welcome we
received from her?

Do I share the laughter breaking in the face of an abandoned HIV
positive baby, now receiving the care and love he deserves at the
hands of an adoptive mother; or the sorrow and desperation in the eyes
of a woman walking alongside our bus, pleading, with arms outstretched
for money to feed her starving children? Do I tell you about God's
incredible provision seen at an orphanage growing in numbers and
facilities; or our confusion at God's apparent 'neglect' of a group of
Congolese refugees, who, having managed to escape across the Lake into
Burundi, weren't allowed further, having merely been existing on a
small patch of grass for 4 months and counting. The love of a group of
young orphans who we had loved, played and laughed with for a week
laying their hands on us and praying for our safety as we continued on
our journey; or the hatred we saw as a remaining rebel group shelled
the city of Bujumbura, killing innocent people and continuing a cycle
of violence that has existed for many years. The pure delight as we
played parachute games with a large group of children, or the immense
grief as we stood and prayed with one of our hosts on the plot of land
where she grew up, and on this spot 15 years ago, 32 members of her
close family were brutally murdered in the Burundian genocide.

So many stories, and so few words to tell them.

In Rwanda and Burundi, there is a lot of need, and a lot of hurt. It's
easy to be overwhelmed by some of these stories, to get caught up in
the horror and the deprivation, to convince yourself that this is what
characterizes a nation.

The most difficult part is to see past these things and to see the
good that is happening; that right in the midst of all these horrific
things is a God who hates them more than we know and is hurt by what
he sees more than we could fathom. This same God is on the move in
these situations and in these places, and for every terrible story we
heard, was a contrary story of beauty and God's intervention.

This is the image of Rwanda and Burundi that I will hold in my mind;
one of hope. A place where people are aware of their difficulties, but
are willing, and able, to see beyond it. To see with God's eyes the
situations unfolding around them and not their own.

To stand with the woman whose 32 relatives were killed and hear
nothing but love for the country and its people in her voice is an
incredible thing. It's something that I know for a fact can only come
from God; a God whose desire for forgiveness and love is far beyond
our own, calling us up from out of the depths of our own despair to
try and emulate and maintain His image.

So, what can I tell you? I honestly did intend when I sat down to
write this account to share only one story, planning to share more at
a coming date; but I now find myself sitting here having given away
most of them! Although a few pages can't encapsulate an experience, I
hope this has given you a flavour of our time.

Without a doubt we met with the power and movement of God, and were
privileged to see and experience both those we met and ourselves
changing as a result.