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ARE WE READY Sharing the Love of Jesus JANUARY 2019
JP S JOURNAL BY JONATHAN CEO Caring For Life ARE WE READY Happy New Year from everyone at Caring For Life We hope and pray that you have had a blessed and precious time over the last few weeks and I hope you are ready and fired up for another year Even though this time of year can be busy and stressful it does give us all a great opportunity to talk with people about the Lord Jesus and it presents an opportunity to make people think about who He is to them One of the things we tried to get across to those in our care this Christmas and in particular to those who don t yet know the Lord is that yes Jesus did come and He came in an amazing unique and miraculous way He came to save the world at the expense of His own life but also He is going to come back again The question we all need to ask ourselves and ask others about is this Are we ready for that day That day when the dead shall be raised and the day when every eye will see the full and mighty glory of the Lord Those of you who have been friends and supporters of Caring For Life for a little while will know this Caring For Life is an outworking of God s people seeking to be ready through being busy sharing the love of Jesus with the vulnerable and downtrodden The other aspect of this mission is that through the love and support we give we Even though this time of year can be busy and stressful it does give us all a great opportunity to talk with people about the Lord Jesus 1
want to prompt people to ask that crucial question for themselves about whether they are ready to see Jesus either when He returns or when He calls time As we face this challenge to make Jesus known to the unbelieving and hurting audience before us we should take comfort that we have a risen Lord praying and petitioning on our behalf In John chapter 17 our Lord Jesus prays for Himself then He prays for His disciples and finally He prays for us who believe in Him He prays these words in verses 20 21 My prayer is not for them alone I pray also for those who believe in me through their message that all of them may be one Father just as you are in me and I am in you May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me This is a blessing above all blessings isn t it Jesus has prayed and is praying for us praying that we would be one as He and the Father are one praying that as we are united with them and with one another that the world would come to believe through our testimony When I hear Jesus say these words my first response is to bow in shame and say sorry because I have failed terribly in being what Jesus saved me to be and in the task of making God s love known in fact we have all failed in that But Jesus is praying that we would be able to do it and the truth is this His prayers are answered because even despite our failings and our sins He still uses us for His glory and Jesus has prayed and is praying for us praying that the world would come to believe through our testimony
JP S JOURNAL CONTINUED for the testimony of who Jesus really is That is the miracle of God s grace So as we step into 2020 we step out and forward in faith believing that He who began a good work in us shall complete the job and we step forward determined to see great and glorious things done for the Lord and His kingdom But there is a big part of me and others at Caring For Life who are afraid for what the future may hold At present we are being bombarded with terrible and traumatic pastoral issues as well as tackling challenging practical ones But I am also excited about the prospect of getting on with the gospel business our Lord has prepared for us to do There is a music group called Mumford and Sons and they sing a song called Awake my soul They are not a Christian group but listen to the words In these bodies we will live In these bodies we will die And where you invest your love you invest your life Awake my soul awake my soul awake my soul For you were made to meet your maker Where do we invest our love time efforts our money our lives Maybe today we need to ask the Lord to awaken our souls to seek after the things of heaven and not the things of earth Good old C H Spurgeon said this in a sermon about the good Samaritan We desperately want to see those in our care freed from pain abuse addiction isolation poverty and discrimination We want to make a difference in the messed up world that we live in We desperately want to see those in our care freed from pain abuse addiction isolation poverty and discrimination Above all though we want folks to follow Jesus and then to be able to say I am ready to meet Him I am ready for His return Are you and I ready for Jesus return Would He be pleased with us if He were to return tomorrow Are you and I passionate enough to do what we can through our love prayers and words to cause others to also be ready 3 Seek then to be true followers of your Lord by practical deeds of kindness and if you have been backward in your gifts to help either temporal or the spiritual needs of men begin from this morning with generous hearts and God will bless you O divine Spirit help us all to be like Jesus Amen Let us all pray that the Lord Jesus love would permeate through every part of our lives and as it does pray it would overflow to cause the lost around us to know that Jesus is Lord the one and only Son of God May the Lord bless and keep you all Love in the Battle
IT S ALL ABOUT THE CHILDREN BY GAYLE Pastoral Director A number of the people we support this asking her Mum When are we going to hear about Jesus Our Christmas party this year was a real blessing with a number of old friends mixing with new families to enjoy a celebration together It is such a joy to have this input into the lives of these precious children The Being There team works hard with their parents to help them to cope with the ups and downs of life and this of course has a massive impact on the lives of their children We see this as an important area of preventative work at Caring For Life If we can help these parents to cope with life and provide loving homes for their children the life outcomes for these little ones are likely to be so much better through the Being There team are parents of young children and it is wonderful to be able to bring those families together for celebrations and fun times a few times each year The children enjoyed fun in the soft play area party food and an ever popular visit from Santa Even the older children who are becoming quite grown up and cool still showed lots of excitement at the sight of Santa s sack full of presents The highlight of the party though was to see the children s response to the telling of the Christmas story They love to hear about the birth of Jesus and clearly have retained much of what they heard in previous years One little girl always gets very excited about More importantly we have the great privilege of telling these little ones of Jesus and pointing them at a young age to the Saviour who loves them Please pray with us that these children will be won for the Saviour early in life and will shine in their families and communities for Him we have the great privilege of telling these little ones of Jesus and pointing them at a young age to the Saviour who loves them 4
THE BEST LISTENERS We have great staff and volunteers at Caring For Life who really take time and listen to those in our care The very best listeners on the farm though are often our animals As one of the gents on the equestrian project said of a favourite shire horse I ve told him all my worries and he has never told a soul The equestrian project is currently supporting some folk who are facing very significant pastoral challenges in their lives It has become a really popular project among people who have never come to the farm before and some of these folk have significant mental health and safeguarding issues Please pray for great wisdom and 5 compassion for the staff on that team as they work alongside these precious individuals teach them about horses and share Jesus love in all that they do We are thankful to God for the very special bond that many troubled individuals at Caring For Life have with the animals on the farm They are a really special part of God s creation and these relationships can often be very healing for our beneficiaries One of the ladies on the poultry project currently even has a favourite chicken which she has named Pixie The appeal of the horses however is perhaps easier to understand The horses don t judge or look down on you they are always pleased to see you they greet
they greet you with a friendly nuzzle whatever kind of day you re having you with a friendly nuzzle whatever kind of day you re having they are gentle and unconditionally loving Don t we have so much to learn from them Pa b i o u With that in mind allow me to introduce you to the newest member of the team rn p ew o ny Pabi is a little pony who only stands at 12 hands high She is 13 years old and has a gentle nature she is quickly becoming a firm favourite among our beneficiaries One young lady who is very petite has been delighted to have a little pony that she can ride and handle And for those who are just joining the team it s so much easier to become comfortable around a little pony as the bigger horses can initially seem a little intimidating Pabi though is always up for a cuddle The very best listeners on the farm though are often our animals Please pray with us that these equine team members will help us show the love of our Heavenly Father to the very precious and particularly needy individuals we are privileged to have on the equestrian team at the moment 6
WRAPPED IN HIS LOVE At the Being There Christmas Bible study in December we were shocked to see the physical condition of one of the gentlemen there Although well supported by one of the team the gentleman s condition had deteriorated significantly over a short time partly due to building work going on in the house he rents 30 years ago the gentleman was a homeless youngster and moved into the first Tindall House It was not exactly a salubrious property being on an estate due for demolition consisting of two houses which the local authority had allowed Caring For Life to take on and make habitable for up to 10 homeless young people Yet this young man was wrapped up in love and care when he moved in and he also heard the gospel It was a joy to be able to talk with the gentlemen of Tindall House some of whom knew this gentleman all those years ago and to hear their willingness to accept him into the Tindall family in time for Christmas 7 30 years on this gentleman professes faith but at that December Bible study he was deeply anxious about his physical health and the risks of living alone Despite loving his dog his best friend he was willing to rehome the dog if he could just be found somewhere safe to live closer to Caring For Life which is his family Caring For Life means for life and he needed urgent help It was a joy to be able to talk with the gentlemen of Tindall House some of whom knew this gentleman all those years ago and to hear their willingness to accept him into the Tindall family in time for Christmas That lonely and frightened gentleman spent Christmas safely wrapped up in a loving environment with lots of support from both the staff and his fellow residents Tindall House is a safe place for him to be for now whatever his immediate and longerterm future holds Most importantly he is wrapped up in God s love and his eternal future is secure
2020 PRAYER FOCUS Thank you to all of you who pray regularly for this ministry Please make these issues a special prayer focus for the year ahead Thank you Please pray for FINANCES WISDOM BLESSING in caring for at risk people with complex support needs on the Bible studies helping people come to know and grow in Christ to sustain and expand our ministry to vulnerable lost unloved people COMPLETION LAND of the new stables transforming the Equestrian Project to provide suitable futureproofed accommodation for Tindall gentlemen LOGISTICS FUNDING to include two self contained flats in Wendy Margaret Home
THANK YOU A sincere and enormous thank you to all who sent gifts to help cover our Christmas costs who purchased Alternative Gifts or who sent presents to be given out at Christmas Your support was overwhelming it really did make all the difference to the ladies and gentlemen we support Thank you
SUPPORTERS AREA Upcoming Support Group Dates HOST LOCATION DATE TIME Ann Peter Buckle Paul Cox Wigton Plumbland Mon 13th Jan 10 30am Daphne Wiffen Haverhill Mon 13th Jan 2 30pm Sue Morgan Boston Spa Mon 13th Jan 7 30pm Roger Oliver Haywards Heath Wed 15th Jan 2 30pm Stephen Margaret West Chippenham Tues 21st Jan 7 30pm Andy Ruth Robinson Darlington Tues 21st Jan 7 30pm Ann Austin Chesham Wed 22nd Jan 2pm David Sarah Woodruff Dunstable Thurs 23rd Jan 7 30pm Mike Liz Davison Newcastle Sat 25th Jan 3pm Jean Dandy North Leeds Mon 27th Jan 7 30pm Jimmy and Arlene McInnes Troon Mon 27th Jan 7 30pm Betty Hunt Huntingdon Wed 29th Jan 1pm Paul Pease Hook Wed 29th Jan 8pm Rosemary Eccles Stephen Turner Mirfield Fri 31st Jan 2 30pm Sian Neil Green Brandon Sat 1st Feb 3pm Esther Cordle Christine Robinson Capel St Mary Mon 3rd Feb 7 30pm Mike Eunice Rolfe Trowbridge Thurs 6th Feb 7 30pm Linda Naveiras Marian Paish Mid Suffolk Sat 8th Feb 10 30am Kevin Anne Sadler Bury Sat 8th Feb 2pm Terry Judy Smith Fylde Relaunch Mon 10th Feb 10 30am Joe Margaret Hart South Norfolk Mon 17th Feb 2 30pm George Christine Beacham Winscombe Fri 21st Feb 8pm Fundraising Events Music Events Car Wash LINE DANCING MUSIC DUNSTABLE 8 2 CAR WASH CAPEL ST MARY 4 4 HULLAVINGTON CHOIR TROWBRIDGE 21 3 See our website for upcoming support group dates details of the events and church presentations across the country Contact Pam for further details pam parkinson caringforlife co uk CFL representative attending 10
Upcoming Church Presentations Sun 12th Jan 10 30am Wyke Christian Council United Service Thurs 30th Jan 7 30pm The Terrace Church Rugby Sun 2nd Feb 10am Howden Methodist Church DN14 Tues 4th Feb 7 30pm Morley Methodist Church Thurs 13th Feb 10 11 30am Pantiles Baptist Church coffee morning Kent Thurs 13th Feb 1 30pm Belvedere Free Grace Church Kent Mon 24th Feb 6 30pm Radcliffe Road Evangelical Church DATES FOR YOUR 2020 DIARY Sa tu rd Ope ay n 20 t Da h Sa S Ju y tu upp ne rd or 20 ay te 20 11 th rs D Ju ay ly 20 20 Please make a note of these dates in your new diary We do hope to see you at some of our events 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