How time flies!
Hello, everyone! Weeks have passed since our last update and yet it feels as though it’s been only minutes. Even though the overall pace of life is so much slower here, time seems to be passing so much faster. We have such a packed month ahead, but I must take just a few minutes to provide you all with a quick update.
We continue to be amazed and blessed by God’s provision. You might recall in our last blog update, I made reference to having updated our Prayer Request page. Well, in those updates, we asked for prayer for a car. Yes, a car. We were hopeful that public buses would be enough… and they might have been in a larger town or city. But in this tiny rural area, buses really don’t go anywhere we need to go often enough or fast enough to be worth it. Just making a trip to the larger grocery store in the next town can take nearly half a day! Additionally, when there is a church or ministry event away from Souls Harbour, we must find a ride. Naturally, David and others have been more than gracious in that regard and it’s been no problem. But just a smidge of independence and the option for an occasional change of scenery would be nice… especially since we live at the church AND work at the church.
Soooooo… to make a short story even shorter… God has provided us with a car! Yes!!! A family within the church had a small car that had been sitting unused on their farm for over a year. When we were given the news, we were shocked and at the same time not really surprised at all… only because this is now the second time God has used someone to bless us with a vehicle. Thank you, Lord! It’s a tiny little car and will be just perfect for us to zip around in (and VERY fuel efficient!). It’s a 1996 Ford Fiesta hatchback with only 58,000 miles on it! It was given to us at no cost – we only need to pay the cost of any repairs to get it to pass inspection, registration/tax, and insurance. David drove it over to the church and was surprised at how well it drove, considering its age and state. But even though it’d been sitting unused over a year, with a fresh battery, it started right up! Another surprise! It was crazy dirty inside and out… or maybe “farmy” is a better word. But it was no match for Trevor! It cleaned up wonderfully, again to the surprise of everyone. So, it will be taken to a mechanic today to see what it needs to pass the MOT (like an inspection) and hopefully within the next week or two, it’ll be road ready and legal! Woo-hoo!!!! Of course, then Trevor gets the thrill of driving from the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road. (Yikes!)
In addition to the excitement of God’s physical provision, He’s doing some exciting things ministry-wise as well! The church is hosting a Friday night discipleship course for new believers called “Faithlauncher” developed by David Flanders. It will be geared toward teens (many of whom responded during the recent L.E.D outreach concert), so Steve Ovens, the youth pastor here at Souls Harbour, and Trevor will be leading the 6-week series together. That starts tonight, so please be in prayer that firm spiritual foundations will be laid within the hearts, minds and spirits of the teens that attend.
Additionally, we are excited to announce that we will be kicking off our very first School of Worship session next week! It will be a 5-week course, also geared toward the teens since they are currently out on summer holiday from school. You may recall that starting a School of Worship here is the “Teach” from our three UK for Jesus ministry goals: Serve, Evangelize & Teach. While it’s something we felt passionately about, we also felt God tell us clearly that we were here first to serve David and his present goals for Souls Harbour Church and the surrounding community. So, we put it on the side and thus far have done nothing to actively pursue it… just left it to God to breathe life into it when the time was right. Well, this week David asked if we’d be putting together a summer music/worship training course for the teens. So, after a flurry of prayer and planning, we start up next week! For the next month, we’ll be offering individual coaching for voice and instruments during the day on weekdays, and then we’ll have group training on Friday nights covering everything from how to work together effectively as a band to the importance of our role as worshipers and worship leaders. Again, please be in prayer for us. This is our first run, so we expect to learn a lot and, from that, further develop our process and content for future sessions.
Beyond that, we continue to provide support to David and the church in various day-to-day activities and Trevor has been privileged to have some opportunities to preach/speak/share at various services and events. Additionally, Trevor and I will be leading worship for Souls Harbour for most of August. We are very excited and honored to have this opportunity!
Thank you again for all that you are doing to help us walk out this path that God has laid before our family. Your continued prayer, encouragement and financial support have blessed us beyond measure and we are truly grateful.
Blessings and more to come soon!
- Connie, Trevor & Brooklyn