Quibbles

In 2 weeks time we will board our ferry to France, our car packed with all our possessions, right at the start of our journey to Ibiza! We plan to stay with some friends in Northern France on the first night, then travel to Bordeuax, followed by Barcelona and finally travelling down to Denia in Spain where we board our ferry to Ibiza, arriving on the White Isle at about 11.30pm! We will leave our little flat in Erdington first thing Monday morning and arrive in Ibiza on the Thursday night.

Almost there!

So here we are almost in February 2012, the final leg of a 10 month journey that has taken us to 3 different countries and many cities in the UK, in preparation for our move to Ibiza, Spain to take over the leadership of 24-7 Prayer in Ibiza.

It was a year ago this month that God confirmed that we would be moving on from Sutton Coldfield, with an unknown destination awaiting. At the time our guess was south Birmingham, and although there may be some similarities (!), the Lord had something a bit more exotic in mind! So when the call came in April 2011 to take on the roles of team leaders in Ibiza, we were naturally quite surprised, but knew that this was the right move for us both that the Lord had been preparing us for.

The Money One….

Well here we are in 2012, which means that we are only 8 weeks away from our move to Ibiza! We have invested a lot of time and commitment into preparing ourselves for moving out, and as we head into the final phase, we feel excited and ready for the new journey ahead.

Our roles as Team Leaders of 24-7 Prayer in Ibiza are unpaid, and we won’t be earning anything alongside the work we do. This means that for us to sustain ourselves to lead the work, we are reliant on others to commit to supporting us financially and be the vital resourcers of the vision in Ibiza.

All the difference

I have just finished reading a book called ‘The Spirit of the Disciplines’ by Dallas Willard. It has taken me about a year to read, partly because I’m a slow reader, and partly because this is such a good, life changing book! If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. It looks at cultivating a life that is enriched with spiritual disciplines, enabling us to live lives more closely aligned to the gospel and person of Jesus. And it is really very good. It has been very helpful to read on the approach to Ibiza too…

The Journey Update

A few weeks ago we did a service at Sutton Baptist Church all about the work we do in Ibiza; Charlie brought a challenge to get out of our comfortable -mess-ness and to be a light. We heard stories from the West End and reminded ourselves that it is Jesus that heals, and God whom we gather to worship. It was loads of fun and great to hear God speaking to different ones. There was a lovely moment at the end where everyone who had cracked a glowstick to represent their choice to live as a light, held them up in the air…lots of different colours,glows and willing hearts…

The only way is Essex! (Well one of them anyway…..)

It seems to me that one of the many conversations over the last few years within the Christian world has been surrounding the question ‘What is church?’. Is it a building? Is it when we meet together in a coffee shop? Is it having food together? Is it in a formal setting? An informal setting? When we are on our own reading?

This question may have come about for many reasons but certainly seems to be a development from another widely discussed question about “How can the church (believers, but more often related to a building with a set of programs) be more authentic and relevant?’

These are questions that believers all over are trying to answer through a variety of expressions and lifestyles.

Greater things…

We were in Frankfurt, Germany over the weekend, at Aufstehen (24-7 Prayer Euro Gathering)…around 300 people gathered from all over Europe and congregated in a youth hostel overlooking the river. There were regular meetings with different speakers, countless moments of collective prayer, a range of different seminars looking at different aspects of ‘Prayer, Mission and Justice’, and lots of time to eat together, and get to know other people involved in 24-7 Prayer. A couple called Loida and Aitor from Burgos, Spain, were commissioned and prayed for, and an auction of customised shoes raised stacks of money to be given to them. People from different countries and denominations came and shared their heart and what they are doing; there was a sense of excitement and determination in prayer and action, and an encouragement to persevere when we went home.

We had such a great time of meeting people, sharing about Ibiza, learning about 24-7 Prayer as a movement, praising and praying on mass – and we came away feeling recharged and spurred on to share about Ibiza and in time, to be in Ibiza with the knowledge of the support and encouragement of lots of people, and the call of God. We were commissioned to go to Ibiza on the Saturday morning, and felt such a sense of God’s hand on us as we were prayed for.

On Tuesday night I had a great time at a Duke Street Chapel’s  ladies evening, sharing about what we are going to be doing in Ibiza and the work there…

This weekend we are sharing at St Nic’s church in Nottingham, both morning and evening services…if you are in the area, please do come along!

In all of this I think I am becoming more and more certain that I am not capable of doing this with out Jesus and increasingly convinced of the necessity of prayer. My prayer in recent weeks has been - ’God you have done amazing things, but do more in our time! I am jealous for more of You and more of Your Kingdom in Ibiza’.

“For greater things are yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city”

You’re the God of this City – You’re the King of these people – You’re the Lord of this nation
You’re the Light in this darkness – You’re the Hope to the hopeless – You’re the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God

Are you a chicken or a pig?

Bit of a strange question isn’t it. Before last week it was not the first question that would come to mind when getting to know someone, especially if that conversation was with a female – I’m sure that it would be a conversation stopper or even a face slapping moment!

But after hearing a short analogy that involved the above animals it is actually a profound question….

The analogy:

An egg and a piece of bacon are frying in a pan. The chicken was involved. The pig was committed.

That’s it! No long story. Just a short sentence…..

It may have just been my simple mind but this really struck a chord with me. The chicken can claim that it was involved, but the pig didn’t just want to be involved, it was all in, it gave a full on commitment, one that actually cost it’s life.

24-7 Prayer in Ibiza – Who, what, when, where, why……………and can I come visit?

………are many questions that we are asked when we tell people we are moving to the Med to become part of the ongoing story of 24-7 Prayer’s work on the Island of Ibiza.

Well, if these have been some of your questions, (or if you are just curious) then we are holding an evening this Thursday 29th September at Sutton Coldfield Baptist church from  19:30 – 21:00 to explain alot more about what the work is all about. Everyone is welcome. It will be in one of the lower rooms in the church hall when you arrive. Please park in either carparks.  Directions Website

This evening will give you a much better understanding of what happens on the Island, the culture, the history and the work that has been investing in thousands of peoples lives over the last 10 years.

Want a bit of a taster?

Get yourself down to Sutton Baptist Church!

This coming Sunday (18th) we are going to be sharing a little bit about 24/7 Ibiza at Sutton Coldfield Baptist Church, at both morning and evening services!

If you are in the area, please come along to hear more about the work of 24/7 Ibiza and our involvement in it…

Information about the church can be found on their website – http://www.scbc.org.uk/

And please do come and chat to us after the service – we’d love to say hello!

Abby x