In2venture

As a keen mountain biker I have ridden in many different places and on many different trails, but one in particular always comes to mind when people ask me which my favourite is.

This trail in particular is not my favourite because it is the most challenging or the most exciting. It is my favourite because I once had an encounter there that I have never forgotten.

On this occasion three or four years ago I was down in Wales providing activity sessions for the Christian summer camps that run down there each summer. As usual my evenings were free so this night I headed to Betws-y-Coed to ride a local trail centre.

Towards the end of the trail I was hammering down a particularly long and straight piece of single track when a huge bird of prey (to the best of my knowledge I would say it was a buzzard, but I’m certainly no expert) swooped down in front of me. The most amazing thing was that this huge bird – much wider than the width of my handle bars and only just small enough not to catch the trees on either side of the trail, simply matched my speed and flew only feet away from my face. Myself and this bird travelled in this formation for the remainder of the straight before it raised up above the trees as I rounded a corner. This experience must have lasted less than 30 seconds but felt like much more.

This brief encounter changed the way I thought about birds. From that moment on I became much more interested in birds of the UK and have slowly built up my knowledge through tv documentaries, books and dare I say it?- the occasional bird watching trip (but do keep this to yourself!).

One thing that I try to take away from this encounter is just what a huge impact a brief experience can have on your life.

As a Christian it is our role to tell people of our passion for Christianity, however in these busy times it can be rare to have more than ‘a brief encounter’ with many of the people we meet. Therefore we must treasure every opportunity we get and never underestimate how much of a huge impact you can have in such a short space of time. We must ensure that we live right and set good examples so that when people get this small snap shot of our lives they come away with a positive experience of Christianity – this might just be the spark that ignites a passion to learn and experience more.

– Graham

Our new folded leaflet is ready for the printers.

Since my early teens surfing has been my great passion, however unlike most of the sports I take part in, I have never pushed into teaching surfing. The reason for this is simple, for me it is a time of peace and enjoyment – there is no pressure to perform well or to be responsible for anyone but myself. Due to this I have never advanced to a high level, I do it simply for myself.

Aside from the other water users (who mainly keep themselves to themselves, lost in their own private thoughts), the only other observers are the lifeguards – peering intently into my solitude with their binoculars from the comfort of their 4×4.

In order for the lifeguards to keep watch over you and protect you they have certain rules they expect you to follow, such as having different flags to dictate where you can and cannot go. These flags separate surfers from non surfers so that the lifeguards can keep track of who is where and also protect swimmers from being diced by someones fins or battered by a wayward board.

Many of the more confident water users tend to dislike these rules as they see them as restrictions on their freedom in the water.

Like a committed lifeguard God is ultimately concerned for our well being, however He too has rules for us to follow.

It is easy for us to resent these rules, in the same way people can resent the rules of the lifeguards. Many think that the rules simply restrict us and stop us from doing the things we want to do, however we must try to look beyond this feeling to the purpose behind them because in the end they are there for our benefit and protection whether we agree with them or not.

– Graham

We always love to get letters from the children & adults we have worked with through the year, so I thought it would be great to share a few.

These photographs are of letters we have recently received from children who joined us for activity residentials at Knock Christian Center earlier in the year.

Do you have any feedback or photographs from your time with us? We would love you to send them to us.

– Graham

While out and about with children nothing seems to excite like the opportunity to light a fire.

On bushcraft sessions we teach ways of making fire using many methods whether it be with a fire steel or from the friction of wood on wood.

Hand drills, bow drills and fire plows require patience, perseverance and of course all the conditions to be just right. As any bushcraft instructor will tell you, making a fire in this way is no quick fix – if you give up early it won’t happen, if you use the wrong wood it won’t happen, if you use bad technique it won’t happen. Along with all this, if the wood is wet you have set yourself a very hard task.

Starting the fire is not the be all and end all. Before attempting it you need to gather all the materials so that when you get that all important ember from your friction you can transfer it into your tinder and get it blazing. Similarly once it is ablaze the job is not done, you must care for and look after your fire if you want it to last.

Spreading the word of Christianity can be compared to a friction fire.

First you must put the ground work in – collecting your materials, living right and setting a good example so that if you can create that ember in someone else the fuel of what they have seen in your life is ready to let the fire take hold.

Secondly you must be willing to persevere. It can take a long time to create the ember and for someone to take notice, don’t give up early, they might be on the very brink of understanding why you care so much about what you believe in. Sometimes the time just isn’t right – the wood may be wet, but if you keep setting a good example and trusting in God one day the wood may be dry and the timing will be perfect.

Thirdly you must be willing to keep feeding the fire. Fires can fade and die if they are not nurtured; we must continue to encourage those around us in their faith so that it will grow.

Finally we must remember that we too are fires that need to be cared for and nurtured it is our role as Christians, not only to encourage others but to accept that encouragement ourselves.

– Graham

As a mediocre (at best) climber I tend to favour routes with obvious and large holds, I can be fairly confident with my feet as long as I have something substantial for my hands.

One of the most disheartening feelings when climbing is dragging yourself up a wall or crag focusing on the big juggy hold that will allow you a good place to rest and relax your fingers, only to get there and discover all is not as it seems. This is the gutting moment that you find out the amazing hold you were looking at has in fact a rounded, slimy, finger muscle destroying sloping  top to it. The only real function this hold actually provides is a focus of your screamed abuse as you plummet embarrassingly from the rock.

The great challenge of being a Christian is to be the good hold that people can rely on rather than the disappointing mirage.

It is easy and often accomplished to gain the reputation and appearance of a Christian. You can look like one in the same way a hold can look useful, however it is easy, like the promising hand hold, to fail to back this up. Just because you look like something does not make it the case.

As a Christian I feel it hugely important to follow through on my beliefs. In the Bible much of Paul’s letters to the Churches are devoted to telling people this very thing. Acting and behaving as a Christian will lead to looking like one and providing people with something to rely on, looking like one and not acting like one will lead people to question you and your beliefs.

– Graham

As we reach the end of the pre summer holiday school group season I would like to offer my personal thanks to all volunteers, freelancers and trustees that made my first season as operations manager a success. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did

– Graham

We are coming to the end of our busiest part of the year and have seen the final school group of the pre-summer holiday season.

I thought it would be nice to show a few photos from the school residentials (& a couple of others), which we hope they enjoyed as much as we did.

– Graham

Spring is here & our season is well & truly underway. Check out a few photos below to see what we’ve been up to: