This seems to be my annual update for Spring Harvest as I don’t tend to have much time to update this blog or in reality much time to write that is just for me.

Over the past week I have been away to Skegness at an event named Spring Harvest. I’ve been stewarding there since 2009 and always over the Easter time of the year. This year we had good sized team and it has been a great mix and I’ve got to know many people and make some amazing friendships.

Spring Harvest is a teaching and worship event for everybody. It’s a unique break for all the family: holiday, festival, conference, and an encounter with God. I help/worship by volunteering with stewarding and always get to meet great friends new and old.

I was not sure if I was going to attend this year and it came down to the Saturday before to decide whether I was going or not as university work is quite stressful at the moment. I have my dissertation due in now 10 days time and having my first main copy done this Wednesday. The plan was to be done before I went away and it wasn’t looking good. I decided I needed a break from it to look at it with fresh eyes and rest – there was not much resting this past week but certainly a break.

Spring Harvest Stewarding Team 2017

I’ve re-read a lot of what I did last year and still can relate to a lot of it but I am enjoying things a lot more. Work & University are both difficult but do-able and university is almost over.

This year at Spring Harvest, I was asked to be a team leader of Jaks which I enjoyed a lot. My team worked really well together and was in the 11 to 14’s venue all week. We had a lot of fun with the crazy games they had on and a few discussions about what they could or could not do but overall an amazing week and would love to work with those teams again.

Spring Harvest Stewarding Team 2017 for 11 to 14’s venue

At the end of last years post I said this:

“Now I see people struggling and would love to find a place or set-up a place where people can come and eat and not worry about the cost but have a healthy full filling meal. Somewhere they can stay if they are homeless or struggling or just trying to get away from others and need somewhere to rest.

I have NO IDEA how this will be possible and in some following messages I will expand on my idea however I will need help, and lots of it. I have some ideas but feel that we need to work together to serve each other and help. I don’t know how this will happen but trust it will and believe it is possible. It is time to stop just existing but to do something and use those connections and see what is real or not.”

This is still a passion to do and not really started on as a project. Over the past year I’ve been getting involved locally with projects and can now see that I can use what I have learned from these projects (next post) to go forward. I still don’t know how it will happen but do know I’ll need a lot of help with everything from getting funding to providing the services but feel I am now in a position to help make this happen – well in 14 days time (after I finish university).

There has been a lot of reflection to last year in this post, but hope you will continue to read future posts.

Working with various projects to make something new that will last

As it happens, while volunteering and helping about; this is when I feel I hear from God. This year it was at the end of one of the events we were running for the 11 to 14’s. The venue was cleared and we were cleaning up the area ready for the next things but the band and venue team were still worshipping and I just stopped and felt a great warmth and opportunity to pray and asked “I’ve done lots this year, and learned many things but what is next – how can what I’ve done help with the vision of last year?” and a calmness covered me and it was like the trinity symbol I love coming together with me in the centre, and the three projects I’ve worked with surrounding me. I could see that they were not the final project but a stepping stone, I can pull them together to make something new.

I am thinking that a project could be setup that would encompass some sort of social enterprise that would provide for homeless/those in need while at the same time making money to pay people to run it and make it self sufficient. I’ve worked with many charity groups and funding is always an issue so to make something that could re-generate funds within itself would mean it could keep on going. I am now aware that it is possible to get grants, and funding to support ideas of change but will need a LOT of help to get anywhere.

So where to go next is the question to ask, and I am sure I will be asking people to help me as I know I cannot do this one alone. I’ve shared a few of these ideas already with some of you and you’ve pledged your support but how… that is the next obstacle to get over.