The first ever Oval Apple Festival was a massive success!  Blessed with a perfect sunny autumn day, the crowds came in hordes to enjoy a particularly bountiful crop of apples from YWAM’s orchard.  The idea of staff member, Heidi Wills, the Apple Festival was started as an idea to prevent wasting the fruit from the apple orchard which grows, largely untended, behind the Factory on Highfield Oval.  Although staff and visitors help themselves every year, there are more apples than we can possibly use and so Heidi was inspired to invite the local community in to help us!

As soon as the Apple Festival opened at two o’clock, visitors came to pick apples and buy homemade apple jams, cakes and pies.  Especially popular was the delicious fresh-squeezed apple juice flowing out of the wooden press created by Oval graphics designer Jonathan Edwards.  Oval residents of all ages were involved in picking and selling apples, cutting them up for the press and organising activities. The crowds kept coming until the closing at 5pm, with dozens of children enjoying a bouncy castle and games including bobbing for apples.

“I was pleased that so many people came to enjoy this often forgotten part of the site,” says Heidi.  It was also great to have the support and help of so many from the Oval, especially the young people, a few of whom gave up much of their weekend to help press and sell apple juice!”

All agree that the first Apple Festival will not be the last.

Hi, my name is Corinne Wenger, I come from Switzerland and I’m 31 years old. I’ve been here in the School of Worship for 5 weeks.

These weeks were very good, interesting, funny, exciting but also very challenging. I’m sharing my room with 3 other girls from South Korea, Colombia and the USA. Not having a lot of time where i can be alone is challenging, but I learn a lot!!! Living together is sometimes difficult, especially when there are 4 different cultures together.

The school itself is very interesting! So far we had themes like Worship Leading and Team Work, Historical and Biblical basis of Worship, Worship and Praise, Intercession and Spiritual Warfare, The Character and Lifestyle of a Worshipper. God is really challenging me in many areas. Sometimes it hurts to let things go, to change, to let God work on my heart, to see how wrong I am in certain areas…

But still I’m very glad I’m here and have time to come before God and let him change my heart, so I can become the woman he wants me to be!!!

Well I’m excited to know what God has planned for the next 7 weeks and the Outreach… Must be great things as I know God is great… ;o)

This has been an exciting week in the Cafe as Yan has been working hard to finish the bar area!

Peter also helped install the wall cabinets

Tamara and Whitney pose behind the bar.

A view from the bar area, looking out to the rest of the room.

Some future tables, glasses, mirrors, etc.

We are also very excited about the beautiful fireplace that has been generously donated to the Cafe, check out the Fireplace Transformation blog for some photos!

The coffee machines and other important equipment are on their way from California thanks to Whitney and her connections there, some who have given us a huge discount, and others who have arranged all the shipping details. We can’t wait to get the machines and start making some quality coffee!

Covering up the “Sleeping Beauty Castle” tiles!

Gluing the granite pieces into place… realizing some of the measurements were a bit off!

Top piece of granite needed to be re-sized.

Colin is very happy to see all the granite fit into place!

Attempting to slide the fireplace into position…

More sizing adjustments!

Finally all put together!

Colin and Yan very pleased with the end result!

Testing the fire… yep, it works!

Our beautiful new, shiny fireplace!!!

I joined YWAM Harpenden as staff in November of last year to work in one of the ministry offices. In my time here so far, it has been interesting to see what life is like ‘behind the scenes’ as it were of a mission organisation that is generally regarded as on the frontline of missions. What do I see most? I see the needs that we have.
In many ways it can be very fulfilling to work here. Getting things done, seeing things happen through your ministry. But there can also be a greatly frustrating ‘hobbled’ feeling - that no matter how hard we work, if we are to realise our potential there is always more that needs to be done than we have time and people to do. We are held back by circumstances seemingly out of our control.
From where I am just now, the limiting factor isn’t that we don’t have enough people from the UK, or that we don’t have enough men, or that we don’t have enough people who are visionaries, or anything like that. It is the dearth of people that serve as accountants, receptionists, and IT workers. Those that do, are invaluable and do a sterling job.
The trouble is, these are the jobs that don’t appear to have a place in missions. People find it hard to believe that you can be a missionary accountant. And for those that do feel called, it is often hard to raise support. There is still a misconception that to be a missionary you have to go overseas; that to serve in missions means being an evangelist and so on. But they most definitely do have a place here. We cannot run our ministry’s website by ourselves. Without an accountant, our ministry and base are going to struggle to keep tabs on bills and the money supporters send us. And as our ministry, base and mission grow, these people become an even more important part in keeping things going day by day; on the days when there aren’t outreaches or big events happening just as much as the days when there are.
It is difficult to recruit people who want to serve in roles such as these. Our DTS’s focus on firing people up for mission and evangelism, and rightly so. So how and from where do these vital people come to us?
We ask God to call them to us, and trust that He will.

Peter, UK

My husband Jon and I moved to the Oval just over 3 months ago to work with the DTS Centre. I must admit it was quite the experience to show up with 5 suitcases to an empty flat and a new community. We have spent some time in the UK previously, but the changes in moving here add a lot more to the mix; finding furniture, setting up a bank account, learning new jobs, living in community and finding how to “set up home” in a new country is quite the transition. There have been times of being very overwhelmed, we’re learning as we go, but we’ve also experienced many wonderful blessings along the way. It’s been amazing to see God’s provision from furniture to food to the small things that are making the Oval feel like home to us. The trees are currently blooming and there are signs of spring everywhere as we move into the next season of the year. I’m also learning to enjoy each season in life as we go through them. I’m thankful for this season of moving and transitioning, but I’m also looking forward to the upcoming seasons as well. And only God knows what He has planned in the seasons ahead!

Leah, USA

I am an English as a second language person, who is living in the UK and serving in an environment that is full of English speakers. It is a challenge but for me, it is also a healing process.

Today, I was sitting in a coffee shop and having my favourite coffee and trying to prepare my teaching materials for the English class which I am going to teach in a mom’s group in Luton. When I was thinking how I can help them to improve their English by making them feel more confident to speak out. Suddenly God revealed something to me…Well, the day before I still felt nervous to teach English to these moms because I feel I am supposed to learn English instead of teaching English and I also think my English is not good enough to teach people. Who would like to learn English from the person who knows English as a second language??? And I was wondering why I put myself in this situation? Why didn’t God use my gifts to serve people, rather than my weakness? All those thoughts were always coming to my mind and making me lack confidence to see myself as an English teacher, though I knew God wanted me to serve them in this area.

But at that moment when I was plugging away at the materials, God showed me what a privilege it is to teach English for these moms and get involved in their lives by getting to know them. I thought back in my life, the long process of learning English, how suffered when I was learning English at school (I got beaten up and dressed down when I failed the English test). How English could make me feel inferior or hurt by the people who did not have patience to listen to me. Or I felt ignored or not be respected in the conversation when I couldn’t express myself explicitly. How I was so wrong to let English to represent my identity, my self-esteem, my social class, my ability and even myself in my culture. English seemed no longer as a language tool for me to communicate with the people but an IDENTITY!!! Oh, I was living with this lie and suffered by the pains and wounds for many years. I was in tears when I was contemplating these things. But God revealed the problems to me, healed my wounds and I released all those painful experiences to God. Now I am free from the cultural bondage. I thought to myself, “I can not let these moms have the same experience as I had before; I need to create a God’s loving environment for them to learn English. And I am so thankful to God because I can relate to them so well in this area and have this opportunity to serve them.”

Growing up in one of the poorest and most dangerous places to live in the world, my dream has always been to help build a peaceful world that is spiritually sound, economically just, and socially reconciled. It only remained a dream until I got in touch with this organisation.

YWAM gave me the space to be who I want to be in God. I can look at my past and see that in many ways I am fulfilling my dreams .The international and God-centred scope of YWAM has given me the privilege to understand the culture and worldviews of different people around the world.

My time here has been busy and fun most of the time. I work two or three times a week in Luton, involved in building interfaith dialogue, organising cultural awareness training for social workers and helping Luton to be a fair trade town.
Meeting people from different cultures has been my best time of study. There is just so much to learn.

I attend meetings in different places in England and have opportunities to speak at different events for the reconciliation centre.
The hunger for God and the desire to see people of the world live together in peace and harmony has been the quest I see on many peoples face every where I go. I can imagine how difficult it is to want to see the world change from the perspectives of the world.

None of us (in YWAM) have all the answers, but the space for you to discover the answers is provided. You will discover your potential, maximise it and many will be blessed through you.

One of the things I love about working with YWAM is that in any given week you meet lots of different cultures and nationalities, and that God is always wanting me to learn from these differences.

So, on Tuesday evening I spent a lot of time talking with two women ­ one born and raised in Nigeria, the other born and raised in India. Getting a picture of life in these two different countries was fascinating and eye-opening.

In my communications role, I work in an office with a fellow Englishman and a Brazilian. While we English attempt to help our Brazilian to be better at time-keeping (not always easy!), improve his English (we’re making progress there) and to understand the rules of cricket (impossible!), he teaches us to be freer with our emotions and expression (still a bit stilted at times!) and have a more flexible attitude towards life (some movement there!). It’s a real place of joint learning: no one way is the right way!

Meanwhile, in my other role as leader of the worship team, I never cease to be amazed at how God brings together people from all over the world to teach us things and to help fulfil his purposes. Our team includes a South Korean, three Brazilians and two Brits. We may have different ways of doing things, different viewpoints, and different backgrounds, but God constantly challenges our worldviews through each other.

For instance, the three men in the group (a Brit, a Brazilian and a South Korean) met together earlier this week, and the topic of hot and cold climate cultures ­ and the way the two climates affect behaviour - came up. And here was my lesson for the day: never assume! As a cold-climate person, when I am invited out to someone’s for dinner or lunch, I automatically assume I should take something with me, say, a box of chocolates, a carton of orange-juice or a bottle of water. But as became clear as we talked, for hot-climate cultures, the opposite is true: when a hot-climate-person is invited out for dinner, they do not take anything with them ­ it is for the host to provide everything. In some cultures, it would be extremely offensive to turn up clutching a bottle or box.
(For more on this topic, read Sarah Lanier’s excellent book, From Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-Climate Cultures.)

So take time to learn from those around you ­ they have much to teach you about our God, the world, its people, and you!

When I walk into the office I never know if I am going to be met by silence and empty chairs or a chaotic ruckus of flurried activity!

It may seem a bit odd to the ‘outside world’ but every day as I get ready for work I have to mentally prepare myself to deal with either a day of mind-numbing typing/staring at a computer screen, or a day of constant running, problem-solving, printer trouble-shooting, emailing, phone answering, and people-finding, not to mention the high chance there is of having to listen to the strangest collection of music in the world courtesy of Daniel!

With the Word and Spirit Week coming up very quickly, life has been a bit more consistently hectic, as I’ve been taking care of last minute registrations, questions, details and other various aspects of the registration process. It’s great to be part of a larger event here on the Oval and it’s been fun to be one of the first to be in contact with people and to see who will be coming!

Our latest project, the Coffee Shop is also a very exciting enterprise to be involved in. Things are beginning to come together as we plan colour schemes, shop for paint, refurbish chairs, find beautiful hard-wood floors under the carpet, get a plumber to put a sink in, and prepare to receive high quality coffee-making equipment! It’s been a long time coming, but we are believing that this coffee shop will be instrumental in drawing young people, especially our local youth into this place we call the Oval and creating a space for conversation, respite, openness, and discipleship to take place!

Being in YWAM has taught me a lot about the value of being flexible and ready for anything. It may be a tough, sometimes a frustrating and challenging journey, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. As Dr. Kelso from Scrubs says, “Nothing worth having comes easy.” Never a truer word was spoken!