It's been a while my friend....

SKIING IN AFRICA

It has been a while since I have taken the time to write.  Mostly because life has looked a great deal more like a black diamond mogul run than the typical groomed slope of routine ministry here in the UK.  When you work with larger national charities such as Young Life and Urban Saints, seasonal routines of ministry come and go like trees passing along a gentle descending ski slope on a sunny spring day in the Rockies.  Don’t get me wrong, all of events and tasks are important, relevant in how and what they are designed to accomplish here in the UK.  But I could only parallel it with skiing a green run from the top of Lake Louise, loving the wind in my face as I had the time and the luxury to look up from the hill and see the glory of God’s creation in the blue sky and stark white snow.   My direction on this run, a collection of weight forward calculated carves bathed in prayer, consensus, tradition and community. 

Since re-establishing TENT (The Ezra and Nehemiah Trust), just under 2 years ago to support the Middle Park Camp in Wales, and with the subsequent expansion of the Youth Mission Projects in Africa, life has resembled more of the commonly insane ride only mogul and off piece skiers would appreciated;  very little time to look up, difficult to keep your weight forward as you try to carve each turn, into the unknown world approaching you.  Things just move so fast that sometimes you find yourself taken off piece and into the trees.  Such has been January and February this year.

The priority in skiing, as it is in life is to get up one more time than you fall, get your self started again in the right direction and lean into the challenge ahead rather letting the world around you shape your direction……

 MIDDLE PARK CAMP

With the purchase of the new Scotland Young Life Camp, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM2xcdFifbA)  there are so many good things, and as with most growth, some not so.  Nearly 400 campers that would regularly attend the growing work of Middle Park, will now stay north of the English boarder for 2015, experiencing a world class ‘YL resort’ vs our more rustic regional camping experience.   

 Though this is great for ‘kingdom’ as more and more youth have a camping option in the UK, this has meant a great deal of time restructuring the systems of the camp to ensure services for ministry in Wales can stand alone as a partner, but independent from the larger Young Life charity.  Basic logistics such as camp setup often coming from our partners in America will now be done by a group of Christian famers and volunteer adults.  (never saw that coming).. Insurance for such creative activities as Blobbing, hovercrafting, watersliding and bungee trampolines used for years at the facility, become red flags to a bull as we try to find national insurers in the UK apart from YL international provision that has been supporting us.  Even basic electric supplies have to be rethought as load capacity and camp duration costs are all weighed out as we continue to provide an excellent relational experience for youth in Wales and North England this summer for the 200 people involved in the camp.      

Moving forward, development plans have been approved to build a new washroom facility for the camp and to pave the dining area to reduce setup costs and reduce the need for additional flooring purchases.  We will construct the containerized unit (Whats new) in June  to look very similar to the shower block when I get back from Africa.

AFRICA SERVICE PROJECTS

African ministries are moving just as fast as we have started running 2 trips a year vs the traditional 1 in the spring.  Incorporating youth from the UK and now more from Canada, often makes the paperwork the greatest step of faith in regards to the trips.  Add to that the development and the popularity of the relief house we designed in 2010, you will soon understand why this side of our expansion in ministry is a challenge. 

3 container ACE school scheduled for March 28 2015.

As I write this report I am on the eve of departing to South Africa for 3 months.  This will be the longest time I will have ever been away from my family, the longest time I will spend breaking ground into new territories, and the longest time I have not been at the Middle Park Camp in the spring for over 10 years.  I covet your prayers that I would have the faith, energy and the hutzpah to  throw my weight down the hill over the tips of my skis, to create and carve a direction for the future of our ministry in South Africa for TENT, the housing development program ,and back here in Wales for the relational camp that we want to see continue for years to come.
 

Upcoming tentative schedule

March 6 to 28                    Johannesburg - YMP trip setup  & housing program development

March 28 to April 15        Johannesburg.  - YMP school building Trip Kya Sands informal settlement

April 16 to May 22            Johannesburg  - Housing program Development 

May 24 to May 30            Welshpool  - Permanent washroom construction for Middle Park Camp

June                                     Welshpool  - Camp equipment servicing & maintenance

July 2 to 6                           Llanelli  - SPREE Wales  Service provision and service crew support

July 7                                   Brigitte & Bill Hebner’s 25^th wedding anniversary

Aug 1 to 9                           Welshpool  - Middle Park Camp Setup

Aug 9 to 14                        Welshpool  - Middle Park Welsh National Camp

Aug 15 to 17                      Welshpool  - Middle Park Takedown

Aug 21 to Sept 2               Johannesburg  - Community Centre build Kya Sands Informal Settlement

 

Continued Support

For those of you that have made our ministry here in the UK possible.  We would appreciate you continued support until September 2015 as we currently need to keep the following thing going:

1.      Please continue to support the YMP build programs in Africa by donating funds towards building materials that are on top of what participants bring with them.

2.      Please support TENT in helping us raise further funds to develop the Washrooms at the camp in May/June 2015.

3.      Please consider supporting  the Hebners as we continue to rely on private donations that free us up to invest our time into these projects.  Your continued support in this way is valued .