Creation Fest was a
fun filled week for the whole family.
There is so much activity all the time.
With bands, seminars, workshops, youth and kids programmes, sport and
massive skate park – there was sure something for everyone’s taste (That
sentence sounds very much like one out of my press releases J - but it’s true). What an amazing experience it was! The Lord was really mightily at work. I spent every morning with the kids (5-11
years) and our theme for the week was – Jesus, the hero of our faith. In the afternoons I was helping on the retail
/ merchandising side of things or was in the ‘office’ or back with the
kids. I’ve really developed such a soft
spot for some of the kids, and by the end of the week it was sad for me to say
goodbye. I had the privilege to counsel
2 girls after they’ve made the commitment giving their hearts to the Lord. It was so special to have been part of the
best decision they would make in their lives.
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| The Skate Park |
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| The kids tent |
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| Anna - one of the "soft spots" in my group |
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| Worship session |
Each night I was able
to attend the worship sessions – after a busy day, just to be still and worship
our Creator. With amazing worship
leaders and bands, this was an amazing time.
The Lord really spoke / ministered to me through the lyrics of
songs. During the week over 100 adults
and the last time I heard, more than 35 kids made a commitment, giving their
lives to the Lord and are saved. And so
many more have heard the Gospel, and already Christians were encouraged. Praise the Lord for every soul that was saved
this week. He really did change stubborn,
stony hearts into soft, fleshly hearts as He promised in Ezekiel 11:19-20.
Thank you to everyone
that prayed with us (and for me) during the last 5 weeks. The Lord sure answered prayers!
A very good friend of
mine sent me the words of a Koos Du Plessis song… The chorus of the song really
described my heart of the last 5 weeks.
The words of the chorus are (sorry to all my English friends): “As almal
ver is, vind jy jouself. Waar jy in
laaie in stil hart kamers delf. As almal
ver is, vind jy jou siel – weerloos en eensaam, soos ‘n vrou voor ‘n spieel” (Direct English translation, but won’t be so
poetic, is: when everyone is far away, you find yourself. While you digging in the drawers of your quiet
heart. When everyone is far away, you
find your soul – defenceless and lonely, like a woman in front of a mirror”). In this time, I had a lot of time to dig in
the deepest part of my heart and deal with certain things. The last few weeks were not always easy – a
lot of change and with that a lot of uncertainty but in that comes growth
(thanks Karen for that bit of encouragement).
In my devotional time
this last week I studied John 6. Part of
the chapter is where Jesus instructed His disciples to go ahead, get in their
boat and go to the other side of the sea.
They were obedient to the Lord, but they faced trials – strong winds and
big waves. After hours of sailing, they
only sailed a few miles. Jesus stood on
the shore, watching them and just at the right time, He walked towards them and
announces His presence: “It is I, do not be afraid”. This taught me so much. Being obedient to God doesn’t mean that life
will be easy. I will face difficulty at
times and He allows it but just as with the disciples, the Lord is watching me,
knowing and understanding what I’m going through. And then, just at the right time, He reassures
me that all I need is His presence. In this time I needed to press into the
Lord, keep my focus on Him, spent time in His words and holding onto His
promises. It is in this difficult time that my fragile heart experienced His
comfort, His grace, experienced His new mercies every morning and learnt the
most of who Jesus is. In this time while my heart was fragile, defenceless,
open I experienced the grace and mercy of Jesus. Drawing my strength from Him, I had an
amazing time at Creation Fest and was blessed to have been part of the work He
is doing in Cornwall
On Friday night, Creation
Fest was brought to a close by worshipping with Scott Cunningham Band. And the Lord assured me through the lyrics of
one of their songs:
“My child, don’t worry.
Take My hand. I’m taking you down this
road you don’t understand. There may be
tears while you waiting for the answers.
You can see the picture, but I can see the future. And I can tell you right now, that it’s going
to be oraait.”
I would like to
encourage you – in the difficult times, the trials of life – take Jesus’ hand
and hold unto His promises. He is standing,
watching over you. You might not
understand all the “why’s”, but you can only see the now, a small part of the
picture, but He knows the future. He is
working out the best plan for you (Rom 8:28: - all things
work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose)
Knowing He is working out the best plan
for me - I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for me next J
Prayer Request:
·
Pray for my preparations
and safe travels to Romania on Sunday, 19 August
·
Pray that the
possible language barrier that might exists would not be a hindrance to the
Lord using me in Romania and to share the Gospel
·
Pray for instant
unity amongst the outreach team in Romania – as our time together is short
XOXO
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