Dear Friends

I want to be a Child again

** Decisions were made by going “eeny-meeny-miney-mo.”

**” Race issue” meant arguing about who ran the fastest.

** Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in “Monopoly.”

** Being old referred to anyone over 20.

** Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.

** Water balloons were ’the ultimate weapon’.

But how many of the youth in this generation would say the same? The world we live in and the world that we grew up in have drastically pulled further and further apart. This is a whole new world, totally alien to what we know and accustomed to.

But in the midst of such turbulence there is an uprising. An uprising of young men and women. And there is a real need for some of the older generation to stay connected with the youth, to continue to try to understand their world, to offer them love and most of all…to remember that Jesus told us to become like them and not the other way round!

“As we acknowledge childhood’s strengths instead of its vulnerabilities, we set the stage for children to respond constructively to whatever confronts them. And by acquainting them with the divine resources to be found in God, who is always with them wherever they are, we will watch our children shape future events, not be shaped by them.” (Robin Hoagland Massachusetts)

So what has been happening in the TTT camp………

‘Jon’s Journey’

Jon continues to make good progress health wise and he and Beccy are praising God for the way He is leading them forward. With great sadness however they came to the decision that it was time for them to move on from St. Luke’s and they left the fellowship on 13th January. As yet they don’t know their next step but they are believing for God to reveal this soon.

Jon attended a second meeting of the group praying into ‘Children in Prayer’ in the UK in early January; it was a good time as the relationships were strengthened and extended. Jon is hoping to be involved in a national prayer event later in the year; he is looking for children to be involved in this and would welcome recommendations. Please would you pray specifically that he will be able to take some children and young people to this event? Thank you!

Jon is also looking into, and praying into, three overseas trips this year. The main purpose of these trips is to witness some of the amazing things God is already doing amongst children and youth in other parts of the world. The vision is very much for him to take some young people with him, with the aim that they too can experience and bring back some of ‘the fire’ to our nation.

Schools Work

Carl reports that the New Year has started well in schools and for those who don’t know what we mean by “schools work”, Carl goes into three schools in and around Brighton and Hove – Blatchington Mill 6th form, Hove Park Lower and Hove Park Upper – helping to lead voluntary lunch time clubs. Lunch time clubs have been a great medium for us to introduce young people to what faith in God is all about and we have been encouraged to see the numbers increasing.

Apart from the lunch time clubs we also do assemblies for other schools in Brighton and Hove and are always looking for ways we can spread the word to as many children as possible.

 

“Truth, Lies & Spies” – Soul by the Sea 2008

This event took place at The Brighton Dome on Saturday, 19th January, with Phatfish, Mark Ritchie and David Oyelowo (of ‘Spooks’) taking part. Once again Jon and Carl were fully involved, Carl acting as the ‘Stage Manager’ for the event.

It was an excellent evening, thoroughly enjoyed by those who came; sadly the numbers were much lower than hoped for but we praise God for the 40 or so who responded to the Gospel.

Finance

We were encouraged to receive some significant one-off gifts over the Christmas period; we receive these as an answer to our prayers and those of our supporters.

We are continuing to explore the possibility of Sarah joining us soon, most probably to assist us with fundraising initially.

Comments and Suggestions

Your feedback is extremely important to us. If you have a compliment, suggestion or concern about TTT, please let us know, we’d love to hear from you.

And last but not least…

Please don’t forget our next Prayer Morning; it’s planned for next Wednesday,

13th February (from 10 a.m. until noon). PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR THIS OCCASION, THE VENUE WILL BE THE TTT OFFICE (Room 1a, Enterprise House, 83a Western Rd, Hove, BN3 1JB). You’re most welcome to join us for some or all of this time.

Please would you pray anyway, even if you can’t join us?  Thank you.

 

Thank you so much for your support; we are more aware than ever how important our prayer partners and supporters are. We are being joined by new supporters constantly.

We are very grateful for all who pray for us regularly and who share our vision for the rising generation. May many, many of them find their purpose and destiny in the Lord Jesus.

Thank you for partnering with us in the Gospel.