I am now back with my third team for the summer - time is rushing by! They arrived last Sunday, so are nearing their first full week and it's a BIG team (24), so LOTS of construction is getting done!!! But I wanted to talk about a visit we did on Tuesday to a mens' alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre called 'Christ Transforms'.
At Christ Transforms, there are 30 men who live there, and a Pastor who is the one in charge. The Pastor, whose looks and mannerisms give him the nickname (to us, anyway!), Lenny Henry, tells his story about how he had a problem with alcohol and he was in and out of prison all the time, and even the people in prison didn't like him because of how he was with the alcohol. And eventually, he found his way to the centre and there he found God and he turned his life around. Not long after that, the 2 people running it had to leave, and he found himself stood in the middle of the place and he stood there and said to God, "I can do this." And so he could. Then he tells us all, rather animatedly, how he told God, "If I'm going to do this, I need a wife by my side. No longer can I be alone," and he went to the local church, and there was a beautiful woman there, and now... "we have THREE children!" *MASSIVE CLAPPING FROM EVERYONE* He's so funny! Anyway, the "programme" there is one of living together in community and worshipping God. They have worship services 3 times a day. They all live together, cook together - they have a kind of farm with lots of chickens. But the whole principal, if you like, is that Christ transforms; and through worshipping him, and growing into relationship with him, they find strength to turn their lives around. And as one of the guys on this team said, it is 'like we see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God there.' They don't have very much at all; the buildings are higgledy-piggledy and falling apart, they run off donations and so we usually try and take some BIG bags of rice over when we go - but they don't mind. They're all so happy with where they're living; so happy there's someone there who loves them and cares for them; even more happy that we take the time out to go and see them! And a lot of the guys, once they've made it through the programme, they'll be back, giving testimonies or preaching because they want to help other guys get through like they have done. It's a picture of hope and joy. Of forgiveness and grace. Of community and love. And it's beautiful.
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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