Faith in Action

Today's post is something a little different. Last week my friend Adam mentioned how the tone of my blog has changed a lot since I have come home from uni- i.e. that it has become very work-related, which I suppose is inevitable since I can only write what I know. His remark made me realise though that I need to step away from that for a while. Work is important, but I don't want to harp on about it all the time, and I'm sure you all must be getting a bit bored of it too. So I set aside some time to plan some new topics, but these ideas are as yet only half formed, not the passionate convictions I have felt with some of my other posts- therefore I feel like these can wait until they are ready.

Yesterday morning my home church focused their service around a theme that has been very important to us as a church for the past four years- the development of our project with the charity we are supporting- Nehemiah Construction Ministries. I instantly knew that this was something that needed to be shared with others, so in today's blog post I aim to raise awareness of Nehemiah's work.

Before I continue, please be assured that this is not a request for financial support. It is a testament of real faith in action. It is an example of the seemingly impossible being made possible, and I hope that the story, condensed as it will be, will inspire you to dream big and aim high for God.



Here is a a link to the charity's website, which will fill you in on any details that you may wish to have a look at. You can see the background behind the charity, up to date news from a trustee and his family who have recently moved out there, and the projects it is involved with.

http://nehemiahconstruction.org.uk/index.html

To give you a brief overview, however:

Nehemiah's primary aim, for the past few years, has been the purchase and installation of a drilling rig in the village of Kitale, situated in the Turkana region of North-West Kenya. Turkana, like much of Kenya, is very hot and very dry. Five years can go by without rain. Water, therefore, is a real and desperate need.

You might say that installing a rig in a 70,000 sq mile area is like a drop in the ocean.

Pastor John Harrison, who has been in our Wellspring family for several years now, illustrated it this morning this way, in his usual lively, down-to-Earth Yorkshire manner:

There was once a young boy walking along a beach. It was a hot day, and the sun beat down upon his head. As he walked, he came across dozens of starfish lying in the sand. They had been thrown onto the beach by the tide, and now that it was out, they were stranded there in the sand with no way of getting back into water. The boy realised that if they didn't get back to the ocean, they would die. 


He began to pick them up one by one and throw them back into the sea. On and on he worked, his brow sweating, his arms aching, until an old man approached him looking nonplussed.


"Young man," he exclaimed, "what on earth do you think you're doing?"


"Those starfish are going to die if I don't get them back into water," answered the boy.


"But this beach stretches on for two miles! You'll never make a difference!"


The boy nodded thoughtfully. Then he shrugged. "But it will make a difference to this one," he replied, picking up another starfish and hurling it with all his might back into the sea. Then he picked up another. "And this one." And another. "And this one."


James 2:26 says this: "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." 


As Christians we are not called to help the whole world. We are called to use what we are given to make a difference no matter how big or small.

One drilling rig will not change Turkana, but it will change the lives of the villagers of Kitale. 

This one drilling rig costs £100,000.

Wellspring Community Church is not a large congregation. Our charity is not known across the nation. So the idea of endeavoring to raise such an amount seemed baffling when it was first suggested. Not baffling. Impossible.

Eventually though it became clear that God had spoken. He did not want us to settle for a small amount for a smaller project. He did not want us to limit Him. He wanted us to trust in His immeasurable power and set the purchasing of the rig as our aim.

And so in January 2009, the fundraising began.

http://nehemiahconstruction.org.uk/fundraising.html


The above link describes in detail the many events our church hosted, as well as various other schools and organisations that have gotten involved to support us.

Below is the presentation shown on Sunday, detailing our progress to date. Thanks Brian!







In case you didn't watch it though- The figure as it stands now is £96,000.

Only one instalment remains to be paid for the rig, which we are hoping to complete by the end of this year.

By human standards this kind of figure seems pretty unbelievable. But this is what happens when we trust God, when we listen to his voice and strive to carry out his work here on Earth.

The generosity that has been shown by so many throughout this project has been overwhelming, whether it be money, time, energy or use of practical or creative gifts. I am truly humbled by many of my Wellspring family.

I hope this post has been encouraging in some way- if you ever feel like you want to see big change  but feel its impossible, well, here's an example of what can be achieved in Christ!

Of course, there are so many other wonderful things happening all over the country. The amazing thing about uni is that you build connections with people who are part of many different churches, charities and projects, and so I have been able to keep up to date with all that has been going on. As an example, I'd like to briefly draw your attention to my friend Sadie's blog, if you haven't seen it already: http://a-lover-of-the-light.blogspot.co.uk/

Sadie is currently in South Africa, so if you want to know more about that, click on the link!

Have a good week everyone.

Thanks to all those who have continued to support my blog.

C.