As I write there is silence in Number 9 (my house) as our first Discipleship Training School (DTS) assignment is due tomorrow morning. Not a sound can be heard except the clicking of fingers on laptop computers and the occasional sound of a page being turned scanning the contents for inspiration. Slight panic fills the air, but there is no doubt in my mind that we will all make the deadline (with at least seconds to spare!!)The quietness is a welcome change from the chaos of last weekend. The “React” training event brought in some 300 young people to the Oval, all preparing to take the Gospel throughout England and Europe in coming weeks.  It was amazing to see young people committing and recommitting their lives to God…leaving this place full of faith and ready to be bold for God. Though I wasn’t part of React, my friend Debbie was a leader involved in the event and we managed to see each other briefly… what a blessing for me, not to mention the white chocolate milkshake she bought for me from the brand new Oval Café (best milkshake I’ve ever had!).

Over the weekend I had the privilege of some home-cooked food. My friend Rachel has family that lives nearby so we spent Saturday afternoon eating, drinking and talking in the summer sunshine. It was lovely, and a real blessing to meet new friends. Later that evening back at the YWAM base we were watching a movie when suddenly a beautiful fireworks display began on the green outside our house. Before you knew it we were dancing on the grass to the sound of classic disco tunes from a nearby wedding and watching the glittering fireworks right above our heads. It was a great moment.

This week we’ve had a guest speaker with us, Leah from Switzerland. She came to talk about the different “spheres of society” and how we see God’s principles and values underpinning them all. The sphere of government and politics has been of particular interest to me. We looked at how the Israelites leaving Egypt and living in the desert were an uneducated, slave population. God gave them guidelines on how to set up a society that included everything they would need to live well– from good sanitation to equality in issues of justice. What before seemed to me like irrelevant and outdated Old Testament-era rules are in fact the very building blocks of a Godly society that we need in every community and nation today. This was a great revelation for me.

Last night we enjoyed the long awaited return of ‘spoons’, made even more hilarious when Leah joined us and ended up on top of the coffee table scrambling for a spoon with the rest of us. We followed the spoon action with a time of ‘name those 80’s tunes’ that included the likes of ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson…and all the dance moves that go with it! You can’t put a price on memories like that….

For the next two weeks my DTS group is joining a conference here at the Oval called Reengage (www.reengage.net) which will be focusing on how we can live out God’s values in all areas of society. This last week has been great preparation for the conference and I’m looking forward to some fantastic times of teaching and challenge as we learn together. The schedule will be insane, I’m sure….. but I can’t wait.

Well, back to my assignment. See you at the end of Week Five!

Kim