What the haps?

I've been spending alot of time in the Boardstore learning all the things that one who works in the Boardstore should know. Work on the gallery continues, just deciding what to do with the floor at the moment then things can move on.

Should you have any prayer requests please do let me know, I'd love to hear how I can support you.

Thanks!

One Friday Skate Ministry in the pipeline...

So I had my meeting with Boris about my schedule and the areas of the ministry that I will be getting involved in.
I will be:
- Working in the Boardstore
- Helping with the BBQs every friday at the skatepark
- Helping with skatechurch
- Helping with events and competitions
- Setting up the Boardstore Gallery with JC

I am so excited about this gallery.
For those that don't know, during my DTS God took me on a journey with my artwork. He showed me how I had been using my creativity to gain attention, respect and approval from people, trying to bring glory to myself instead of using the gifts He gave me to bring glory to Him and to bless people. I also had bad attitudes about art I saw elsewhere, I looked at and valued technical ability rather than appreciating the heart and passion of the person behind the art. I always assumed I would be the best person to do a creative task instead of stepping back and giving someone else the opportunity. I surrendered my art back to God and did not draw, paint or even doodle for over two months. I know that does not sound long but when I surrendered my art I did not know how long it would be before I felt God telling me I could draw again, if indeed ever. I told Him that I would rather not draw at all than use it in the wrong way. God taught me alot in that that time and really worked in my heart, changing my attitude towards my art as well as that of others.

Some time later an opportunity came up to do some artwork for a charity auction and I put out two fleeces about it (asking God if He wanted me to participate and telling Him that if art was mentioned in the sermon at church and if the first reading was from Isaiah I would take that as approval) which both happened. Since then I have started to do more art but am prayerful about it and only when I know my heart and motivation about it is right. I've also stepped back far more and seen other people do amazing things with their artwork.

When I was in Mount Isa someone praying for me felt that God was preparing me for something. Someone else has also said that to me. I wonder if this is part of it? To use my creativity in ministry with the right heart and the right motivations, giving all the glory to God and using it to draw people in and point them to Him. Basically I'm stoked on it. We have three months to see how the ministry goes and after that they may need to sublet out the space to finance the indoor skatepark so I'm trusting God to show me in those three months whether this is something He wants to be longer term or just a short term ministry.

So I'm working hard on the gallery, I've taken some pictures so I'll put them up soon. I see it as a gallery/drop in and will hopefully run workshops in there and bible studies. To be viable for the boardstore long term it needs to make some money so we'll need to sell some of the art so if you could pray about that that would be great.

Here are some other things happening in the ministry for which prayer would be awesome:

26th – 29th June Rob skate coaching
11th – 24th July Powderhound youth snowboarding camp (Rob, Derek and JC leading)
9th – 16th August Des and some grommies going on the Impact World Tour in Darwin
5th – 19th August Boris in germany fundraising and meeting distributors
18th – 20th September Christian Skaters conference
20th Nov – 5th Dec Bali skate outreach
16th – 18th Skatecomp and schools with YWAM Townsville
14th Nov Skatecomp with YWAM Newcastle
Feb 2010 Back to the Philippines
August 2010 Visiting skate ministries round the world trip

Projects in the pipeline:

Meetings about proposal for indoor skate park at the cable
Searching for a warehouse for skate facility, things we are looking for here are cheap, a long warehouse rather than square so you can have a run, one year lease to start with
Setting up the boardstore gallery
Finalising the 2 skateparks on bribi island
Looking for funding for mobile skate park
Hosting the Christian Skate conference in September

Thanks everybody, your prayers and support mean so much!
Claire

God's provision continues to encourage me!

It's been great catching up with people here, hearing about the things that have been going on and the opportunities God is opening up for the skate ministry. Some friends left their car on loan to me whilst they visit family in the states until August and another friend has said that she wants to give me her car when she leaves in August to go back to Canada... it fits so beautifully, I just have a little smile to myself about God's design!

On Friday I met up with a girl at the skatepark with whom I had been building relationship during my DTS. I hadn't seen her for almost three months because I had been on outreach and then back home but it was really good to see her and felt easy to catch up. In the evening we had the premier of the new Nike SB skate film at Boardstore (the skateshop). It was a good opportunity to text other skaters and invite them and I had a good time catching up with one in particular that again I hadn't seen for a while.

JC on my team is venturing out to open up a gallery in Maroochydore with Boardstore and has asked me to get involved. It's such an awesome idea and I'm super excited about it. I've been thinking about starting up a creative bible study group where we would meet, study some scripture, discuss it and pray then respond creatively to it. It would also be good to get together to discuss how we use our creativity in our lives and ministries.

I will be meeting with Boris from One Friday Ministries tomorrow to have a chat about what I will be doing so I'll update you when I know more. Today was international "Go Skate Day" but it rained.....all day.... boo. We could really do with an indoor skatepark here! I've heard whisper that the ministry has an indoor park as a possible project so I hope to hear about that tomorrow.

A prayer point at the moment would be that I would be open and listen carefully to God's leading as I want to hear where He wants me to be and what He wants me to do.

Thanks! Claire

Back in the roochyshire

It was a pretty long journey but I thank God it was all smooth and safe and my great mate Christalea picked me up from the airport. So I'm back and ready to get stuck in!
Maybe a shower and a wee bit of sleep first....

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

My oh my

Thank you to everyone who came on Saturday and special thanks to Becky, Alex, Faith and my parents who put in so much work beforehand and on the night to make it a success. 

So many people came, many people bought my work, many people paid more than I was asking and many people just gave me money asking for nothing in return. I was astounded by your generosity. Together you gave me over £1300! It has made a huge difference to my circumstances and I promise you that I will continue to be prayerful in my finances and follow God's leading in my outgoings.

Thank you too for all your kind comments on my work and enquiries about commissions, I want to give all the glory to God for blessing me creatively, inspiring me and teaching me how to use my creativity. I also want to thank Him for showing me how much bigger He is than my hopes or expectations. These last two weeks have surpassed anything I imagined.

Another exciting thing from today was that at church this evening I saw one of the young skaters I hung out with in woking last summer. I knew then that he had been along to the friday night drop in at church but seeing him in the service tonight was awesome. The way that everyone spoke to him and knew him told me that he has been really getting stuck in there and that was so encouraging to see.

The service at SMOB this morning was focussed on missions and this video was shown... it certainly struck a chord with me.

Out Of Claire's Hands

I've been back in England for two weeks now and I have been blown away by the generosity and support I've received from the people around me. Even people who don't know me personally are encouraging me with words and money. God is really showing me what it is to take my life out of my hands and put it at His feet. To trust Him to provide for all I need and not to rely on my own strength and preparation. I've always been focussed on working hard to be self sufficient and independant and so it's really humbling to ask for help and support. Having taken that step I've been staggered by the response and am so grateful that God led me to this place to experience His provision and how much people care about me and the things I'm doing.

Tonight is my art exhibition. I'm pretty nervous about it and it occurred to me today that although my artwork has always been a huge part of my life, this is my first ever solo show. I really hope people like it and connect with what I've done.