Multiply Trip East Africa 2015 Day 16 August 26 - UK

I managed three hours sleep, then went for a walk around to get my circulation going, find some fruit juice from the stewards' kitchen and sample the fancy blue LEDs in the Dreamliner's toilets.  After breakfast, about halfway through 'Minority Report', the seatbelt alert came on and I had to put away the video screen.  Then we had an announcement that we were being 'stacked' at Heathrow (the result of the late take-off), and I had to twiddle my thumbs for an hour.  Viv tells me the film doesn't end like you'd think, but I guess that now I'll never know. 

(Jinja)  "You can't avoid vultures flying over your tree,
but you can stop them from perching in the branches"

We didn't see anything of the approach to Heathrow because of cloud, and as we stepped out of the cabin onto the air bridge, cold rain dripped through the canopy.  Baggage reclaim took ages, and it was 8am before we rendezvoused with Sam.  I dozed for about an hour on the M1, and the car heater kept my toes warm.

At the Farm Central Offices, Claire was all, "Aren't you excited...?!".  Well, not really, because I'll need to stay over until after the Bank Holiday Weekend Festival, as it's pointless making unnecessary journeys back and forth to Sheffield.  Viv, or Len's son, George, may get a chance to knock a bit of video together for the Saturday evening event feedback.

I dumped my bags in the bedroom, freshened up and then went to see Kelly.  We're on a roll, with Annual Church Convocation on Saturday and lots of Disclosure Process stuff to discuss at tomorrow's Apostolic Team meeting.  Claire announced that 42 RAW folks had signed up for the November 2016 India adventure, and Kiran Paul from Chilipatnam will be in UK in September, giving us a chance to get planning.

I was too late to book in for tea and a visit to Phil and Donna, now settled in Bugbrooke.   At the Farm mealtime, I entertained the guys with my parody of an African preacher doing the worship, bible teaching, prayer for healing, prophesying and tithes announcement one-man-band routine.  Gav rang in the evening so I could say goodnight to the children.  At my desk in the Multiply office, I faded away about 9pm and succumbed to the need for sleep.  (Just as well, because next morning my body thought that 4.15am was a perfectly acceptable time to start the day.)  I'm hoping that Mary will bring my trainers so I can have a jog round the Memorial Park in Coventry when we finally meet up and stay at New Kings.

What stands out in my mind from this trip?  Well, we stayed within budget overall, and nobody got sick.  The visit to the balokole in Magodes was quite special, and the overland journeys in the minibus have given me an idea for Rwanda next March.  The team we've identified in Kampala have the ability to make it work, and Hilary and Janet have given the sewing project in Nairobi a flying start.  But most of all I look forward to using the hand-held mosquito zapper that I got for £3 from a local street trader.

Narrow Way Again

In August, we'd held RAW (Real And Wild) in Leicester.  They say it was the best ever.  A significant difference from previous RAWs was the target age-group, just up to 25 rather than up to 35.  Earlier in the summer, our Youth Camps had made a big impact on the around-16 age range.  So the RAW core team was keen to follow on within this Holy Spirit movement.  Some mouldy oldies' had gone along as team facilitators and mentors.  The local Leicester saints had booked premises in the city centre for team gatherings, and subsequently to keep in touch with people that had been met.  This included an early evening Saturday afternoon get-together in the Cafe of Bishop Street Methodist Church.  I was keen to join the congregation in this current experiment.

Mary and I loaded up Lillian and her electric scooter, and headed down the M1.  We dropped off our bags at Narrow Way (off Narborough Road), then cut across to Springfield House (in Stoneygate).  Here we dropped off Lil, and had some tea before joining the minibus into the city centre.  Sitting around the cafe tables, and wandering around the worship area, I had time for a lengthy catch-up with Richard and with Clive, key local leaders.  My relationship with these guys has benefited enormously from the weekends that Mary and I have visited in the past year.   Four new folks had joined the gathering, and Andy popped up to lead a couple of worship songs, followed by some personal prayer.  It was a wholesome and holding couple of hours.  The past year has also seen the two church household come together much more.

We were back at Narrow Way with enough of the evening left to attempt something worthwhile.  Richard and Margaret were just back from seeing two of their sons down south, and I got asked about the recent Multiply trip.  Conversation flowed easily and inclusively: the best of relaxed house family life.  Carl and Akke went off to join the late night evangelism and healing team, again in the city centre.

For the Sunday morning, we were back at Netherhall.  I talked about the importance and validity of each person's testimony about their experiences with God.  I related the incident when, at home, the neighbour opposite's car rolled down the drive, across the road, and smacked into our garden wall.  On board were the family's two young sons: one had meddled with the handbrake while the parents were loading up for their holiday away.  Neil had checked out the damage; Dave had run to tell the parents; Mary had rushed to console the boys; I'd stood in the road to slow down other traffic.  Thus, we - all four - would have a different account and perspective of the same incident.  Just as we have in the gospels, and just as has been authentic in Christian witness ever since.   The point was well received. 

During the afternoon, Richard and Dave cooked up an imaginative means to capitalise on this for our evening get-together.  They laid out a strip of drafting tape along the wood-effect floor of the dining room, and marked it in decades starting from 1930 up to today.   Once the get-together was underway, Richard and Dave gave accounts of their lives at 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010, tracing the faithfulness of God and new discoveries in their Christan walks.  Then we all spread out along the line to mark when we were born, and afterwards - some volunteers - the date of first finding faith, with the events that led up to it and followed.

We were spellbound by each others' accounts.  I hear they've since had a re-run, because folks who missed the first chance wanted another opportunity.  At Springfield, on our way to pick up Lil, we heard that they'd also shared stuff together like this.  St Benedict used to insist that the purpose of community life must centre on the experienced presence of God.  Norman Grubb described sharing testimonies as the key to continuous revival.  Well, we'd had a welcome taste of it.