Pages

Love Tremorfa - 26 April 2014

April 27, 2014

What joy is there in litter picking? In painting play equipment? In pruning plants? Oh there is a whole lot. 

Yesterday we donned shirts saying "Love Tremorfa" because we genuinely do love Tremorfa. We love this neighbourhood, and we love these people, most of whom we haven't even met. We don't love for what it is, not for what it is or isn't doing, but rather because Jesus has called us to love this place, these people and has overflowed us with a deep love for them. 

And we wanted to bless, to serve this place. We want to bless and serve this place. 

We wandered one day looking for people to pray with...and turned up empty (that's another story though). But we saw this ugly wall in Tremorfa Park - it needed some colour. So we thought, "We could paint it!" A week later I wandered Tremorfa taking pictures for Gary's America trip and low and behold the wall had been painted. 

A bit shocked by how quickly that wall had been painted since we had just thought about, we realised we had to move onto something else. God had something else for us to do in the estate.

So we prayer walked around Tremorfa park. There is one part of Tremorfa weighing heavy on our hearts. This part is where a lot the young people we know live. And we saw the play park. It's tiny just two swings, a slide and a rocking horse. But the paint is chipped. There are brambles surrounding the back of the park. Some serious litter is needed to be picked up. And a dad and his child are using it. This park is used, especially by the part of the estate weighing on our hearts. 

So we start praying for God to open the door for this to happen. We contact Cardiff Council and get an almost immediate response and go ahead. We gather the people. We want this to be something that joins local churches in the community to bless the area.

People gathered from different churches, different nationalities, different ages to paint, to pick up litter, to bless this community by doing something so simple. 

We made new connections with people. We were able to get know one of the lads who comes to club on a Thursday better - he even said he would come to church tomorrow! We met people who were curious. Three curious little girls said they too were coming to church. Another lady said she would join us if we let her when we did it again. Two lads spend the day with us - they didn't really help - but they spend the day with us associating with us. That's a big step. 

We didn't see in big conversions. But our God is faithful as we follow Him. He held the rain. He brought the people. He made this happen. And we believe more is to come as He is faithful and does big things. 

Michael and I took a 5 minute walk and were reminded that what we feel called to here is long term. It will take time. We have to not just say but also be willing to accept and commit to Tremorfa may be our forever home. And we commit in the day by day, to be obedient day by day, loving these people day by day. 

Love Tremorfa yesterday I believe is just the start of something. So join us as we pray for more opportunities like yesterday. More ways to go beyond the church to meet people, to love them. We want people to meet Jesus. We don't want to give them another church (though we love and value the church), we don't want to give them religion or even another movement. We want to point them to Jesus. Because meeting Jesus changes everything. Jesus sets free. Jesus brings hope. Jesus is better than anything the world can offer, than religion can offer. Jesus is who I need, you need and they need. So pray that they would meet Jesus. 


House Hunters International: Tremorfa

January 19, 2014


Five houses. Five places that represent someone's life. Five places that we have to consider if they could represent ours.

Yesterday, we ventured into five houses. Tremorfa doesn't have a lot for sale at the moment. Currently, there are seven properties available for sale in Tremorfa (actually, if you do an online search you'd get ten but two have already been sold and one is currently on hold). That's not a big selection. And what comes on the market, goes quickly.

On a side note I have to be careful in my search to not go in with an American mindset. I can't look at what I could get for the same price in LP because that's not what I could get here. We know we are called to Tremorfa. So we know that means giving up a lot of those American standards. We will have one bathroom. Bedrooms will likely not have built in closets. American sized appliances will likely not be an option. One living room will be the norm. It will be a bonus to look at a house with an extra room for a dinning table. If you're in America, you probably don't believe me, but this is standard. I'm okay with it, but I have to keep my mindset that I am not buying a house in America. I'm buying a house in Wales. I'm buying a house where God has called Michael and I to do life. We love it here, and are content. I don't want to be envious or discontent by looking at houses where I haven't been called to live. With that being said...

Upon entering these houses, we knew three would immediately be crossed off the list. We couldn't live in them. One offered a backup option but we hope it won't come to that. And one is to be strongly considered.

One offered us the space I would love to have, but before we even went we knew price would keep this house from being a realistic possibility. This was the only house were we had decent space for a table. But once we saw it though we knew the location would drive us insane - no parking and the narrowest street I've been on in Tremorfa. We couldn't live here; it wasn't our house.

One smelled of curry. Curry is my favorite spice, but do I want my house to smell of it? And one thing I know about smells is you never know how long it will take for those smells to disappear. The house was dark. The house was damp. The house needed a lot of work. Emphasis on a lot of work. It's more than we can afford minus the work. We don't like it enough to under take that. We couldn't live here; it wasn't our house.

One was small, but realistically priced. It would need work. The kitchen was tiny; this gallery kitchen became tinier when passing the huge American sized refrigerator. I love an American sized frig as much as the next person, but I also like to be able to move in my kitchen. The local high school was our view - though it was green. Priced right...for someone yes. But for us? We couldn't live here; it wasn't our house.

One was nice. It was missing the third bedroom we would love, but the rooms were a decent size for Tremorfa. The gallery kitchen wasn't ideal, but it could work. The living room was a good size, despite the lovely lime green and blue flowered wallpaper. But wallpaper is minor and can easily be changed. Though  it's not our favorite and we don't think it's our house, we wouldn't entirely rule it out.

And then there was one. To be honest this house was perfect. Move-in ready. Great floors. Except for the entrance and the stairs it's paint and not wallpaper (I have a strong dislike of wallpaper ever since the removal of the fuzzy wallpaper in my parents' house). An amazing backyard - where I could see an outdoor table and possibly a fire pit. A beautiful kitchen - much nicer than I thought we would find and could afford. It has the third bedroom we wanted. And the shower isn't electric (they have those here, and while they aren't the worst they aren't my top choice). More storage than I've seen. The living room is small but very nice. But what's the problem...the table. I want a decent space for a table, and this doesn't quite have it. You might think, "Caitlin, it's just a table, look at all the other amazing things." And I would say, "You're right. But I feel we need to have that table space." We might be able to make it work by moving the frig to the pantry but we would lose a lot of storage. It could be our house, but I'm struggling to picture myself in that house. I want to use our house to host people and I'm not sure this house would serve that purpose. Everyone has said it will feel right when you go into your house. And honestly something doesn't feel right.

But I like too much to want to lose it...and that's the struggle. Do we wait and hope something better comes? I have felt my word for this year is trust. And right now it's trusting God with moving forward in the house hunt.

Do I trust Him that if this is the house it will stay put for the mean time?

Do I trust Him if it's not for something better to come along?

Do I trust that even if this house doesn't quite have the space for my table, He has a higher purpose for putting us there?

Do I trust to risk this house and see Him provide?

So we move out this week in trust. Knowing we can't jump into this if one of us doesn't have peace about it. Knowing we can trust God, knowing He provides. So we wait. We pray. I am planning to visit the house again this week; I need to see it again before Michael and I can make a final decision either way.

Join us in prayer this week for this house hunt. Pray that God would confirm whether this is the house He desires us to do life in. Pray if it's not for something else to become available. Pray that we would have peace. I know we can trust Him. I know He is calling us to live in Tremorfa and I know He has a house of us.

So I will trust Him.

And you can trust Him, too. Whatever the challenge you face, the areas you need the Prince of Peace to meet you in, He will come. He promises that just as the lilies and the birds are cared for by our Father, so will we His children be cared for.

You are cared for.

You are loved.

You are His beloved.

And then it was 2014...

January 13, 2014





2013 brought in quite a bit of change, and I anticipate that in 2014 I should be ready for even more. I think like most people I have a love/hate relationship with change. We are all cringe away from unwanted and forced change, the change you can't prepare for and simply want to avoid. Other changes excite us and we long for them to come quickly, even to the point where we wish life away a bit. 
The changes 2013 brought mostly wanted changes. In complete honesty, I needed and wanted to leave Spain. I knew with complete certainty that the life I had there was not what God was calling me to, and it was turning me into someone I didn't want to be. Walking away from Spain was hard, because there were people I loved there and things I had grown comfortable in. But I knew God beckoned me to leave, and I knew it was time to go. 

Moving to Wales was a change I longed for since 2009, when I left Wales after a summer mission. A wanted change which I knew God was ordaining. This change, though challenging because, let's be honest, change - no matter how wanted - is not easy, has been worth it. It's been what I needed. I see in just the few months I've been here, God breaking down some of what formed within me in Spain. I see healing coming, redemption erupting, and passion reviving. God is at work. 



The first Sunday of the new year this verse was shared at church...

"Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland."

Isaiah 43:18-19

It is easy to dwell on the past. To get caught up in the hurt and the things that didn't go quite right. It cripples us in the present, preventing us from fully living out the abundant life we have been promised in Christ. I don't advocate repressing memories or pretending like something didn't happen, because lying to yourself never fixes the issues or restores you. But I don't want to wallow in the past because I know in Christ I am restored and renewed. I want to claim the promise of God that He is doing something new. We cannot even begin to fully comprehend what it is He is doing, but He is doing something. This is my verse for 2014 because I believe that our Father is doing something new, both in my life and here in Tremorfa. 

Tremorfa is not the sought after estate in Cardiff.  It's small, it's rough...echoing in my mind is the question, "What good can come from Tremorfa?" because that is often the impression I get when people find out where Michael and I are planning to do life. But the same thing was said about Nazareth and look who came from there. Jesus opted for the village missing the best reputation. He choose that place, knowing what people thought of this village. Nazareth may not have been a lot of things, but it was where God ordained Jesus to live. It was anointed, and from there a man would come who would change our world.  Tremorfa may not be a lot of stuff. But it is a place I believe to be anointed by God. He has called us to live here, and I believe God has big plans for this estate. 

This week we get mostly back to the weekly routine. Youth club resumes this Thursday evening, and I won't lie about how excited I am and how I want it to hurry up. I can't wait to see and connect with our young people again. Toast and Tots also starts back this week and I am really looking forward to catching up with the mums and grandmas again. In both of these groups, we have witnessed some incredible changes. And claiming the promise that God is doing something new, all of us on the team eagerly anticipate what God has in store this term. 

Girls' Group with our younger teenage girls will start back next week. This group is heavy on my heart and I think it's what I'm most excited about right now. To be honest I should be scared out of my wits because I am fully sure what this group needs to look like this term, but I firmly believe God's hand is on it. I know He is going to give inspiration and creativity to Hannah and I as we lead this group and deepen relationships with these amazing girls. 

Wedding bells will ring for Michael and I in August, and needless to say that's a change I wish would quicken the pace a bit. But there is still lots to do, so for now I'll just savor the planning and prep. I'm excited because we have chosen to get married at our church in Tremorfa. It's never what I imagined for a wedding, but I love that we are committing our lives to each other and committing to the call to do life and be apart of this community in Tremorfa. I want it to be a wedding where the community helps us celebrate as we enter into this covenant of marriage.

And last Thursday Michael and I officially began the house hunt in Tremorfa. After a lot of prayer and consideration we are seeking to buy in Tremorfa. Rent is very high in the estate and there is very little to rent here anyway. After meeting with a  mortgage advisor, we know we will be approved and make less in our house payments than we would in rent. We've seen one house which definitely was not the house we felt God calling us to, and are scheduled to visit five, maybe six, this coming Saturday. We want our home to be a place that God can use to bless this community. I really want a house where we have room for a decent size table, so we can gather people - whether it be youth or friends from the estate - around it to share a meal. I love cooking and I love eating with friends and family, and I also believe there is something sacred about sharing a meal with others. Look at the many times it's noted that Jesus shared a meal with people. I don't think you sit down for a meal with Jesus and leave unchanged. And while we are so far from Jesus, we believe God still uses conversation around a table to bring change. Please join us in praying for God to give us wisdom and discernment about which house He has for us. And please pray that God would give us a house that has room for a table (you'd actually be surprised at the number of houses that don't have sufficient space for a table). 

God is doing big stuff, the Holy Spirit is moving, and Christ is bringing in His upside down kingdom into Tremorfa. Something new is happening in this estate. And something new is happening in your own lives. Wherever you are, wherever God has placed you, there you are to bring His peace, His love. Proclaim that this something new is occurring because of Him. And remember the God who made jalepeƱos spicy and honey sweet, has made you and loves you. He's creative, and you are His creation. 
 
FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATE BY DESIGNER BLOGS