Journey into Outer Grace

Today after Narnia Club I will take a train south to London, take the Underground “tube” to another station, and travel the final 50 miles or so to the countryside of Hampshire, where I will arrive at L’Abri: the Shelter.

I am going alone for a week to rest from ministry, and join in the unique community of students at L’Abri… seeking to find answers to the questions Jenno and I have about calling, about following the Lord’s leading to use one’s talents to honor Him best in the circumstances He has placed us in.  It’s not just about answers, though; it’s also about discerning the right questions.  It’s partly a journey of self-discovery as I probe–through prayer, study, and discussions with other people–my perspective on life and the way that God has shaped me into the disciple that I am.  But such wisdom at L’Abri is to be gained through community–for we are part of a grand story, The Story, and there are many characters throughout.  Life is not a novel about me.  Jenno and I are not even main characters.  Jesus is… and we must find the part He means for us to play, and do it faithfully.

Jesus said, ”This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)

I hope this week at L’Abri will be fruitful.  Your prayers for us are welcomed.

–Brian

Hi all.  I’m typing this late Saturday night.  Last week’s Narnia Club went pretty well… we had almost 30 children this time.  The adult leaders had some interesting discussions with the children on the teams (Unicorns, Fauns, Centaurs, Dwarves, and Beavers).  This was after the drama which was the most obvious presentation of the gospel so far.  The children looked at clue cards which had pictures on them, and talked it over with their leader.  We are praying that this will help the kids see the powerful truth of what Jesus has done for sinners, to save them by his blood from the penalty of sin, and give them a new life.  The five group leaders–Jenno, Jane, Jenny, Beatrice, and Stef–are praying for the children in their groups.  Please remember them as they seek to be wise and caring guides, and that the kids hopefully will have more questions about God next week.

This week we had lots of logistical problems–as it was parent-teacher conference day, we couldn’t get into the classroom early to set up, and the Smartboard which we use to project the Narnia movie was disconnected. However, the kids loved it, and we had 4 new kids turn up today. We are enjoying the Club (the Lord uses adrenaline, doesn’t he)?

This last week we enjoyed the rare pleasure of a snowy day in northwest England.  All winter long we’ve been hoping for a decent snowfall (read = 2 inches), and it finally came in March!  I bought a sled and took them out to a nearby field where I could pull them and they could play.  Of course, they pelted me plenty with snowballs.  A wonderful time, and the most snow I’ve seen at once here since we moved over to England in 2002.  It snows more in Scotland, Wales, and down south, but here the climate is milder I guess.

As far as I’m aware, this week marked the start of the first ever after-school Narnia Club run by a church in a local state school in the North of England.  With a lot of help from our friends at Peterborough Community Church, we had a curriculum to work with and activities centred around the plot of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  It went off really well on Thursday, with 19 kids attending.  Everything went so fast, it felt like a blur!  Jenno and 3 other women from our church were the team leaders (along with a South African friend from another church).  They sat at tables with the Fauns, Dwarves, Centaurs, Unicorns, and Beavers.  The kids really enjoyed competing in the game we did, and listened attentively to the film segment of LWW.  They were listening for Word Watch, and whoever hears a certain word on the movie first gets a piece of candy.

After the movie Jenno and Jenny B acted out the drama about a Son of Adam and how his heart was unclean, just like Adam’s became when He rebelled against God.  It’s a “to be continued” play as the Son of Adam seeks to find how his heart can be made pure.  The kids were pretty quiet during this, but clapped heartily afterwards.  A pretty receptive bunch so far!

Then we did our “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” type quiz when the teams answer questions about the Narnia story in order to win points.

Thanks for your interest and prayers.  We’ve had a great start, and it even snowed Thursday here to match the Narnia mood!  Thanks be to God for small and beautiful blessings.

Feel free to post questions you may have, as I update you each week on how Narnia Club is going.  I hope this can be an interactive website.  Maybe someone out there has a fond memory of reading the Narnia stories and would like to share it with us.   We’d love to hear from you.

Until then, Narnia and the North! (from A Horse and His Boy)