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CARING FOR LIFESharing the Love of Jesus • APRIL 2019“HE DIDN’T GIVE UP ON ME”
JP’S JOURNALBY JONATHAN CEO Caring For Life “HE DIDN’T GIVE UP ON ME” 1. “HE DIDN’T GIVE UP ON ME” 1.1.“All you’ve got to do is open your heart and believe, you do that, trust me your life can change”These words introduce our Spring support group DVD, and are spoken by one of the men we support on the Being There team. They are simple and clear, just believe and the Lord changes your life, just believe and life will never be the same again.We rejoice when we hear words like these, words that describe what it’s like to have been picked up by the Grace of God and taken from that place to a very di erent scene altogether.I think it was Anne Lamott that said, “I don’t understand the mystery of grace, only that it meets us where we are but doesn’t leave us where it found us.” How true are those words.At Caring For Life, we just have to marvel at the way the Lord penetrates the broken hearted around us; marvel at the way cold and disturbed hearts are softened and calmed by the Grace of God. The young man who said those words I quoted, closes out that lm by saying, “He didn’t give up on me, He kept pushing and pushing and eventually He got me, and now He is not getting rid of me”.This young man wandered far from God, He pushed God away many times, but his testimony to God persisting and nally getting him is beautiful. We have had the privilege of sharing Jesus’ love with this gentleman for nearly 31 years; that is a long time. God’s wonderful grace was always at work. It was at work when we walked long and rocky roads with him. It was at work when we cried with him, and when we laughed with him, it was at work when we prayed for him, week after week.You will know this harvest song very well I am sure; ‘We plough the elds and scatter the good seed on the ground’. That’s what we have done at Caring For Life. We have ploughed and we have scattered, year after year we have done the same.But as the Scriptures tell us, it is the Lord who blesses the increase, and it’s the Lord who makes the seeds we have sown reach for the light. The way we scatter the seed at Caring For Life may be varied but the Grace of God stays the same, and the way of salvation never changes.“He didn’t give up on me... and now He is not getting rid of me”
JP’S JOURNAL‘Only by Grace can we enter, Only by Grace can we stand, not by our human endeavour but by the blood of the Lamb’.We thank the Lord that we are seeing some in our care looking to understand more about the God whom we serve and the Saviour whose love we share. Despite all the pastoral stresses and the practical issues we face, we are seeing wonderful answers to prayer. We are being given new opportunities to minister God’s grace every day through the projects we are so blessed to have here.Through these heavenly provisions we are seeing souls nd a friend in Jesus, a friend who shares and bears all their sins and grief. So would you please pray for all those in our care, that they would take everything to God in prayer?Please pray that, as we point people to God’s amazing grace through what we do, they would see the warmth of His smile, feel the tenderness of His touch, believe, and like my dear friend quoted, have a changed life.It is such a comfort to know that the Lord is never far away, isn’t it? To know that He is always near us, ready to comfort, ready to hold us fast, and always ready to save.Psalm 1397 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I ee from your presence?8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.Thank you Lord for your love. Please Lord, hear and answer our prayers.To Him be all the glory, honour and praise.2.
No one was listening or helping.One of the Being There Team happened to be there with another bene ciary and went over to talk to her, o ering her the Caring For Life’s team o ce number. She phoned immediately, pouring out her di culties. We were able to help with some immediate intervention with council sta and then visited her at home the following day. She was inadequately housed with two children, on incorrect bene ts and facing an appeal with all the paperwork to sort for it. She also had signi cant mental health problems and all of this was impacting her children too.This was 4 months ago and the changes with support from Caring For Life have been remarkable! It’s amazing the change this has brought Karen. She is much happier and relaxed, even reporting sleeping more soundly at night. Praise the Lord! We shall continue to support for a little while longer to ensure she is settled and she has just accepted an invitation to the farm for an Easter activity day that the Being There Team are organising for families.Karen found herself in the housing o ce, extremely upset and frustrated, a young child with her and locked out of her council home through no fault of her own.Karen’s StoryHOPE RESTORED3.She now has the correct bene ts, is waiting for mental health counselling and has just moved into a lovely family home.
4.4.These are the last two lines of a song that was released in the 1960's, but it resounds today when we at Caring For Life consider just how much we have been able to do over the years. I don’t want to suggest for one moment that we don’t recognise that everything we have has been supplied by our Heavenly Father, because of course we at Caring For Life believe this ministry is all of His doing.What is crucial, however, is that you realise how important you are as our supporters, and what a di erence you make.As part of my ministry at CFL, I daily check to see how much income is coming in, and see how wonderfully and sacri cially people support this work. I am often humbled by the letters and the generosity that is expressed. There are, however, days when I also look at our income and have to stop and pray for God's provision, not knowing if we will be able to meet our monthly obligations to sta and suppliers. My prayers are then for the needs that we seek to meet, and the challenge of not just meeting our current needs, but helping more and more people who are in desperate need of love, friendship, but most importantly, Jesus.We recognise that many people give all that they can; some may feel it is only a small amount, some more. But if you don’t give, or if you are someone who knows of anyone who may like to consider becoming part of this ministry by praying or giving, I urge you to please encourage them to.What a di erent Jesus love makes. Please help us introduce the lost to Him.BY TIM Executive DirectorWHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!“What a di erence a day makes, and the di erence is you!”
BY JAKE Conservation Project LeaderALL CREATURES SMALL AND SMALLER5.GOD’S CREATIVE AND SUSTAINING POWER SEEN IN MINIATUREDid you know that here in the UK there are 24 di erent species of bumblebee, 27 species of earthworm, 30 species of woodlouse, 46 species of ladybird, 59 species of butter y and a staggering 2400+ species of moth? These are just some of the facts the bene ciaries working on the gardens and in the conservation area at Caring For Life have found out recently. Discovering the depth and complexity of these ‘minibeasts’ is a result of developing habitats for these small and often unnoticed members of the natural world. Having completed our scheduled hedge-laying activities in February and not yet started wider replanting of pond margins and wild ower areas, we have turned our attention to the sensory gardens and improving the attractiveness of these gardens for wildlife.This started with the construction of a ‘bug hotel’ which is a structure made out of logs, bricks and bundles of hollow stems designed to provide winter shelter and food sources for insects, including ladybirds, lacewings and solitary bees. This was followed by the creation of a number of log pile shelters with nest size insect holes drilled into them and nished with plantings of house leeks and ferns. We then laid a series The Bug Hotel made by the Conservation Project.bricks and bundles of hollow stems designed
ALL CREATURES SMALL AND SMALLER6.The Bug Hotel made by the Conservation Project.of slate rockeries that will act as a basking spot for cold blooded butter ies to warm up on and were again planted with native wild owers and other alpine plants. Our next task is to replant the adjacent ‘Pollinator Bed’ with nectar rich owers that will be vital food for bees, butter ies, moths and other pollinating insects.It has been a real joy seeing the whole team embracing this project and the need to nurture and responsibly steward the natural resources we have on the farm. Each individual bene ciary has been able to contribute according to their abilities, from moving logs to lling a bucket of small stones, to planting a tiny plant in the crack in a wall, to manhandling quite large stones into a substantial section of rebuilt drystone wall. It has also been lovely seeing the team working together to help each other complete each of the stages of each task and eagerly checking on progress from week to week, depending on the days they attend. Encouraging insects into our gardens and conservation areas is vital to sustain the birds, bats and other animals that rely on them for food. This made me think of Matthew 10 v 29 where we read, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of these will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father”. In the UK, each single Blue Tit chick will consume about 15,000 moth caterpillars and this is just 1 species of insect-reliant bird! Not only does our heavenly Father know when a single bird falls to the ground but He knows when a single caterpillar falls. Psalm 145 v 9 reads, “The LORD is good to all. And His mercies are over all His works”. How true this is and how it reminds us how much greater God’s love and care is for us. Please pray that working with the wonders of creation and seeing God’s loving provision for it would act as a powerful witness to our oh so loving God.will be vital food for bees, butter ies, moths and other pollinating insects.It has been a real joy seeing the whole team embracing this project and the need to nurture and responsibly steward the conservation areas is vital to sustain the birds, bats and other animals that rely on them for food. This made me think of Matthew 10 v 29 where we read, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of these will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father”. In the UK, each single Blue Tit chick will “...each single Blue Tit chick will consume about 15,000 moth caterpillarsand this is just one species of insect-reliant bird!”
7.Isn’t it wonderful when you hear someone speak straight from the heart without worrying what they sound like? One of the great blessings that we have at Caring For Life is hearing the people in our care, who have been touched by Jesus’ love, speak about their Saviour with words that are totally fresh and heartfelt. Very often they are completely unencumbered by the evangelical jargon that so many of us nd ourselves using. I’m reminded of two young ladies who both recently came to know the Lord. One was trying to describe the di erence she experienced when she rst came to know Jesus. “...it’s like an inner change. It’s not on the outside, like putting on a new top or something. It’s on the inside...”The other young lady was chatting to a member of sta last week and describing her new relationship with the Lord. She had a big smile on her face when she said,“Me and him are good.”“Lord you have done something shiny in our hearts...”OUT OF THE HEARTBY GAYLE Pastoral Director
Our morning prayer meetings are also often a time of great blessing. Many of our bene ciaries feel comfortable to pray very openly about whatever is on their heart and it is a privilege to be praying with them as their brothers and sisters. Some of those in our care are very faithful prayer warriors and love to bring the needs of others to our Heavenly Father. One gentleman, whose prayers are always a blessing, often thanks God that Jesus died for our sin and our stupidity. Just last week one of our gentlemen prayed beautifully, thanking God for his salvation, and prayed…“Lord you have done something shiny in our hearts...”Isn’t that beautiful? And doesn’t it contain the most wonderful theology? This precious gentleman didn’t have the terminology to describe what had happened to him but he knew that the love of God had been shed abroad in his heart. He knew that it was utterly life changing and would shine through his life. Wow!Thank you for your prayers for these precious individuals. God is answering your prayers and we have much to learn from their walk with Him. 8.
FUNDRAISING EVENTSWe are so grateful that we have supporters and support groups in di erent areas of the UK who pray and also run special events and fundraising activities. These means of support are crucial to us, and make a real di erence to what we can do.To help people who are undertaking these events, we have a special section on our website that tells you about what we know is happening in aid of Caring For Life.If there is an event local to you that you would like to be a part of, feel free to get in touch so we can connect you up. It may also give you ideas on fundraising activities that you could try. Don’t forget to let us know if you’d like your event advertised! ank you for your prayers, practical help and support of Caring For Life.Please do visit www.caringforlife.co.uk/fundraising and see what’s happening, and for events at Crag House Farm see www.craghousefarm.com/events We are thankful that there are people seeking to raise funds using JustGiving, and would encourage you to visit www.justgiving.com/caringforlife to see if someone is doing an event that you might like to support.BY PAM Support Coordinator
FUNDRAISING EVENTSSee the website for further details (www.caringforlife.co.uk/fundraising). *CFL Rep attending.Upcoming EventsCo ee EventsLAXFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH 4/4INGLETON EVANGELICAL CHURCH 9/4PARBOLD EVANGELICAL CHURCH* 7/5Car Boot SaleCAPEL ST MARY SUPPORT GROUP 4/4Afternoon TeaMID SUFFOLK SUPPORT GROUP 13/4Co ee, Lunch & Afternoon TeaYATELEY BAPTIST CHURCH 18/5Run & Roast*5k Hog Roast Trail Race & 1k Family Fun 7/5 @ Crag House FarmCharity Golf Day*16/5 @ Kirkistown Castle Golf ClubOpen Day*15/6 @ Crag House FarmDinner & Auction*15/8 @ Lumley CastleFor more details, please contact John Woodru (Nursery Manager) on (0113) 230 3622 or john.woodru @caringforlife.co.ukDn mis urSpring Shwcase& Plan Sales Day a Crag Huse Farm!We are opening up the Glasshouse for an evening in April to give you the chance to see what we’ve grown and to buy from the whole range (before anybody else!) at our Spring Showcase!Visit us on Plant Sales Day and enjoy o ers all across our social enterprises!Spring Showcase • THURS 18TH APRIL, 6-8PMPLANT SALES DAY • SAT 11TH MAY, 9-5PM
DO YOU LOVE JESUS? PEOPLE? HARD WORK?Time For Jesus?WILL YOU GIVEConsider a gap year at Caring For Life!HARD WORK?
For more info, contact Bu y Parkinson on 0113 230 3600 or email: bu y.parkinson@caringforlife.co.ukFAQs:WHAT WILL A TIME FOR JESUS TFJ YEAR COST ME?£0 … just your time and energy! You don’t have to raise funds to join the programme. Your accommodation and bills are covered by CFL. You also receive a cash sum each week to meet your basic expenses, such as food. WHAT WILL I GET OUT OF A TFJ YEAR?You’ll be challenged, stretched and taken right out of your comfort zone! A very special part of your year will involve regular sessions as a TFJ team to undertake biblical and theological studies, enabling you to think through your Christian faith more clearly and address some of the huge issues that face us in the 21st century. You will be given a reading list and encouraged to share what you are learning.WHEN DOES THE TFJ YEAR START?Our intake month is generally September, but you may be able to join the team at another point in the year.HOW OLD DO I NEED TO BE?18+. Under 21s cannot work unsupervised with vulnerable adults on projects, so joining the TFJ team as a 21 year old gives you the broadest possible experience here at CFL. Due to the strenuous and demanding nature of the year, not all applications can be accepted.If you would like to get a taste of real Christian service, Caring For Life may just be the place for you. A Time For Jesus year can be and often is a life-changing experience. Some of our sta started as TFJ volunteers and found their calling right here at Caring For Life. After their internship, others have gone on to take up a wide variety of careers in secular environments; some have entered Christian ministry. If you know of a Christian young person who might be interested in a TFJ year, please pass this information on!each week to meet your basic expenses, such as food. who might be interested in a TFJ year, bills are covered by CFL. You also receive a cash sum each week to meet your basic expenses, such as food. WHAT WILL I GET OUT OF A TFJ YEAR?You’ll be challenged, stretched and taken right out of your comfort zone! A very special part of your year will involve regular sessions as a TFJ team to undertake biblical and theological studies, enabling you to think through your Christian faith more clearly and address some of the huge issues that face us in the 21to share what you are learning.“Expect the unexpected and be ready for anything. Literally.”sta started as TFJ volunteers and found their calling right here at Caring For Life. After their internship, others have gone on to take up a wide variety of careers in secular environments; some have entered Christian ministry.
“Time For Jesus” Taster!10TH – 14TH JULY 2019Are you wondering about a gap year at Caring For Life, but would like to find out more? Apply for our Taster Team, helping out in the run up to Supporters Day on Saturday 13th July. Open to those who are 18+ (18 yrs by 10th July 19).Also advertised in our March Bulletin, this volunteer team week is particularly aimed at providing a taster week for potential future TFJs. There are places for more mature team members as well. Our prayer is that the whole team will enjoy a fantastic taste of Christian ministry during these few days! WE ARE SEEKING PEOPLE WHO:• love the Lord• love people • love hard work and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty!COST: £110 (accommodation, food & transport whilst on team)TRAVEL: You’re responsible for own travel to and from LeedsACCOMMODATION: Local hotel (shared rooms) You’re responsible for own travel to and from Leeds(shared rooms)(shared rooms)For more details or an application, call Pam Parkinson on (0113) 230 3610 or email pam.parkinson@caringforlife.co.ukREMEMBER,SUPPORTERS DAY IS:Saturday 13th July!
We need people who love the Lord Jesus, are caring and compassionate, and are able to volunteer to help us with these speci c needs:Volunteers!A CALL FORVOLUNTEER DRIVERSWe are urgently seeking volunteer drivers so that we can enable more people to bene t from being part of our farm projects. Do you think you could spare a day or half a day each week to volunteer as a driver?CATERING ACADEMYHelp is needed in the Centre kitchen, any weekday other than Monday, to help with a myriad of tasks, so that we can give more time to training students on the Catering Academy.HOUSING SUPPORT BEFRIENDERSMale volunteers are needed to visit and support gentlemen living alone in the community, so that the fulltime sta can take on new referrals of people in crisis.CFL LIMITEDOur social enterprises can really bene t from people willing to give a regular slot of time to help out.For info on how to apply, contact our HR Manager, Bu y Parkinson, on 0113 2303600 or bu y.parkinson@caringforlife.co.uk
Pseudonyms are often used throughout these bulletins to protect the privacy of individuals. Due to the sensitive information in this bulletin about individuals, may we remind you not to leave it lying around, copy/reproduce any contents without permission or pass it on to others. If you know of someone who would like to receive a copy, please ask them to contact Pam on 0113 2303610 or pam.parkinson@caringforlife.co.uk to be added to our mailing list. Thank You. Thurs 11th April @ 7:30pm Latimer Congregational Church Church, Beverley, HU17 0JDSunday 28th April @ 10.30am Hook Evangelical Church, SurreySunday 28th April @ 9am & 11am Christ Church, South Ossett, WF5 0BESunday 28th April @ 10.30am Chorley Evangelical Church, PR7 2AAWeds 1st May @ 7:30pm Christ Church Central Leeds. Quaker Meeting House, LS2 9DXCHURCH PRESENTATIONSIf you would like details about any of the Caring For Life presentations above, please ring the CFL main number 0113 2303600 or email zoe.smith@caringforlife.co.uk. We would love to come and share more about our work with your church or fellowship. If we haven’t been for a while and you’d like an update, or if our work is completely new to your fellowship, and you would like to arrange for a member of sta to come and present our work, please do get in touch.UPCOMING SUPPORT GROUP DATESHOST LOCATION DATE & TIMERosemary Eccles & Stephen Turner Mir eld Fri 5th April @ 2.30pmDaphne Wi n Haverhill Mon 8th April @ 8pmSue & Chris Morgan Boston Spa Mon 15th April 7.30pmJean Dandy North Leeds Mon 15th April @ 7.30pmStephen & Margaret West Chippenham Tues 16th April @ 7.30pmRoger Oliver Haywards Heath Wed 17th April 2.30pmAndy & Ruth Robinson Darlington Tues 23rd April @ 7.30pmBetty Hunt Huntingdon Wed 24th April 1pmNorman & Norma Green Rugby Wed 24th April @ 7.30pmPaul Pease Hook Wed 24th April @ 8pmMike & Liz Davison Newcastle Sat 27th April @ 3pmSian & Richard Webb Reading Mon 29th April @ 7.45pmAnn & Peter Buckle Wigton & Plumbland Thurs 2nd May 10.30amDavid & Sarah Woodru Dunstable Thurs 2nd May 7.30pmJoe & Margaret Hart South Norfolk Mon 13th May 2.30pmLiz & Cyril Aston Minehead Fri 17th May 7.30pmElizabeth Patterson & Ann Austin Chesham Mon 20th May 2pmPeter & Barbara Dean Heslington, York Tues 21st May 2.30pmLinda Naveiras & Marian Paish Mid Su olk Sat 25th May 10amYou can always check the website for a list of the most recent and upcoming support group dates across the country! http://www.caringforlife.co.uk/support-groups *CFL representative attending