Intrepid Treasure Hunters

Thursday night at eight.

Hello. Thanks for dropping by. Are you a regular reader or did someone point you this way? Perhaps you followed a link on the end of an email. Well whoever you are you're welcome. And whoever you are you're not here by chance.

This is a window in the world of a growing number of people who are discovering that our natural world has a supernatural side. How's that? Well very simply we're friends who get together to find clues that lead us to people - sometimes quite general, sometimes amazingly accurate and detailed. Clues about people's lives, experiences, characters, and immediate needs - needs we can see met by introducing people to someone who fulfils mankind's deepest aspirations, concerns, and unfulfilled dreams.

We're quite a random group of people, who've met through  Intrepid - our mission-cum-fellowship group at Mosaic church in Leeds. What we do is very straightforward. We pray - the Holy Spirit whispers to us  his clues, we take a few  minutes to make sense of what we've heard, then we're out - out on a limb, out of our depth, and out on the streets of Leeds. It's exciting, energising, educational.

What happens after that? Read on and find out. Here you'll find the highs and not so highs we've experienced.  Maybe you're one of the people we've met. Maybe you know one of those people. Maybe you are the next person we will meet.

We look forward to it.

Repeat business

Here's an account from our recent Sunday mission group meeting. Bob shares how he and Sue went hunting in Beeston. We continue to break new ground and pray for more....

After having approached a number of people and stepping out in faith several times that morning with no apparent result, Sue and I stuck with our conviction that God had business for us to do and pressed on with the hunt. As we were heading back towards Cross Flatts park we saw two girls in their mid to late teens sitting on the wall having a cigarette. Visually one of them matched Sue’s clue which was the colour pink - she was wearing pink leggings. But this was just about all we had to go on. We approached them and, with our usual lack of eloquence, explained what we were doing and why we had approached them.

Encouragingly, this didn’t require much elaboration as it turned out that they had been found on a previous hunt, presumably involving another pair from our group about a year ago. When I asked the girl with the pink leggings her name she said it was "Georgia." On my card I had the name George (although admittedly I had been expecting to find a man with that name.) She recalled that the last time she was found, virtually everything matched and it was “freaky”.

Engaging in conversation, her friend was the first to open up. She told us about a not-altogether-positive first experience of Christianity with a former boyfriend who had told her that she needed to do X,Y and Z otherwise bad stuff would happen. Sue offered to pray for her, which she accepted, giving Sue the opportunity to portray a more accurate picture of our loving heavenly father.

While we were praying I got a sense that Jesus wanted to extend the hand of friendship towards Georgia. I put this to her and then asked “Would you like to be His friend?” to which she replied “Of course, I would” – a short but very sincere reply. This gave us the opportunity to pray for her to accept the forgiveness of Jesus and accept him as her Lord and Saviour.

And so with cars whizzing past, I guided her through the prayer.

We encouraged them to come along to church to meet others and we gave them both a card. We haven’t seen them again as yet, but I doubt the encounter will be without fruit in the long term.

A short trip off the map

We began 2012 as we ended 2011 with Bob, Hilary and Geoff convening at the White Rose. Bob began asking if any of us had had any flashes of inspiration or insight during the week that might help us in our conversations during the evening. Geoff shared how he had been reading about the New Testament idea of "mercy." Unlike the modern western idea of mercy - the suspension of just retribution - the old Greek idea which appears in the New Testament was a richer notion of soothing, and comfort from pain.

As far as clues went it was a frustrating evening. We either found ourselves in a location with no people, or with people who didn't match clues or who simply didn't want to talk. The shopping centre was very quiet after the Christmas and New Year rush. Geoff suggested we come back sometime and bring chocolates to cheer up the store holders.

But sometimes it's good to go off your treasure map. Bob suggested that tonight would be as good a time as any to share some chocolate joy, and with a couple of bags of creme eggs at our disposal we went looking for some people in need of a sugar hit.

Hilary immediately found a stall holder who was in the UK studying English with a view to going home to teach in Brazil. Having been to Brazil herself a couple of months previously,  Hilary immediately had a point of reference. It got even more interesting. The student lived near the same area that Hilary had visited. When Hilary explained that she had been to support a Christian project, the student asked if Hilary knew a Brazilian pastor from Beeston. Hilary didn't, but pointed out that God was probably the one making these connections. It's not long before our student friend goes back to Brazil, but she may still have time to teach some Portuguese to a friend of Hilary's who is working on the same Brazilian project. They exchanged some phone numbers.

Another student manning a stall was from China, and was interested in the whole treasure hunting idea, perhaps as a British cultural curiosity. Bob offered to pray for her to find further work when her course ended. She agreed, but seemed a little bemused by the experience. Nonetheless, it will be one of her memories of visiting the UK and we pray she has other memorable encounters with Christians.

Hilary's final conversation was with a stall holder who was about to loose her job with her company closing down. Chocolates were a small comfort but a genuine act of compassion and sympathy is never without value. As Hilary ended the conversation and the evening, Geoff noticed the song playing as backing music in the shopping centre. Duffy - singing "Mercy".

Goodbye 2011 - what's new for 2012?

For our last outing of 2012 we experimented. Instead of meeting at Bob's and praying before leaving we convened at the White Rose and prayed for clues in one of the seating areas. The result was quite a different evening. We had more time "on site" and used it both to hunt and to share some pastoral time in between conversations. Everyone got to go out, which was great, and we used the flexibility to change around who we were hunting with part way through the evening. During the prayer time Bob shared that he felt some people needed to know not only that God loved them, but that he liked them, a thought Sue was able to share later in the evening. This was also our last trip before our church carol service which provided something further to invite people to.

Geoff had a curous clue about a couple kissing and a woman in a red coat, with the main concourse as the location. As he and Pete were coming down from the cafe area, they saw a lady wearing a red coat walking towards them, accompanied by a gentleman. Almost as soon as Geoff and Pete saw them, the gentleman leaned over and gave the lady a peck on the cheek. Clearly too good a clue to miss, Geoff stopped them, checked they were OK to speak and shared his clues. An additional clue was about finding a Christmas present for a Mum, which the red-coated lady responded to. She knew what she wanted to get her Mum, hadn't been able to find it, and was just then in the process of heading off towards another store when Geoff stopped them.

When Geoff shared that he and Pete were Christians, and that the clues had come through prayer they were somewhat bemused. No real conversation was developing so Geoff shared that God loved them which was why he had singled them out in this way and encouraged them to consider visiting a church over Christmas to find out more.

Hilary and Becky followed-up clues of red scarf or neckerchief and skin, which took them to a stall trader selling skin products from the Red Sea wearing a very bright pink neckerchief. The trader was open for prayer, and Hilary and Becky first prayed she would be blessed with a great Christmas. Chatting further they discovered she was from the Czech Republic and this would be her second Christmas without her family. She lives in Beeston so Becky invited her to get in touch, either to come to church or just to meet.

The trader had a sore throat which had prompted her to put the scarf on barely a couple of hours earlier. This may have been the same trader Geoff and Daron spoke to in October. If so, this will be her third encounter with treasure hunters, two of which had taken place in Leeds. For someone from a nation as atheistic as the Czech Republic it is encouraging that she was happy to be prayed with. We are also praying that she and Becky get the chance to connect over the holiday season.

Bob and Pete hooked up part way through the evening. Bob needed to buy a present for Rachel (shopping and hunting is allowed). At the appropriate counter in the appropriate store, Bob began to experience sympathy pains in his forearm. Bob explained to the sales lady on the counter that this was a way God sometimes communicated as a prelude to prayer. Intrigued, the lady got someone to cover for her and took Bob and Pete off to one side to speak. 

She was in good health (we don't know what the pain in Bob's forearm was about) but was amazed that they were keen to speak to her. After a difficult situation in her family she had started to seek God and described herself as really "into Jesus." She hadn't really spokedn about her faith before. She was very open for prayer for her and for her family. A very timely encounter.

Sue's clues of green corduroy trousers and black jacket drew her to a couple who sported one of each. None of the other clues matched the couple, visitors to Leeds from a Catholic background. They enjoyed a brief conversation in which Sue shared Bob's thought - God likes you - which seems to have had a cheering effect on them both.

Neil had a remarkable collection of clues which included walking problems, dark hair and weight lifting. He engaged in conversation with a family, the dark-haired father of whom usually got around in a wheelchair due to a neurological problem, and tonight was on crutches as he tried to improve his mobility. He also used dumb bells at home to work out.

The gentleman was from a Muslim background but not practicing, but after successive illnesses he had been crying out more to God for help. Neil was able to share the Gospel of grace; there is nothing we can do to make God love us more or to earn his favour which we simply need to receive from Christ Jesus. As he accepted Neil's offer of prayer he reported feeling "tingling" in his leg where the pain was. Neil was able to pray once more before the man had to go. There was no instant and complete recovery, but since the man had been "crying to out to God" for help, we believe that God had heard and this evening was part of his answer.

A final postscript to 2011 concerns the lady Hilary and Bob met on the Saturday hunt (God's on your case) who came along to one of the Mosaic carol services. She was interested and encouraged by the evening and continues on her journey of discovery.

We look forward to sharing many more such journeys in 2012.

City Centre Saturday 5 : God's on your case

Our final accounts go from the amazingly typical to the amazingly amazing.

Down the market

With clues of a brown jacket, white trainers and problems with arthritis, Sue and Hilary struck up a fruitful and very open conversation with a lady who was, with some friends, visiting Leeds market. Another clue was related to anxiety through family circumstances. The lady shared how about a year ago her gall bladder operation, which was supposed to have bee straightforward, resulted in near fatal complications. The family had been called to start preparing for the worst. Happily the lady had pulled through but was, as she put it, still working through the experience. 

She was uncomfortable being prayed for with her friends close by, but Hilary made the very natural gesture of taking her hands and, with her eyes open, praying with her very quickly. The lady squeezed Hilary's hands in return, clearly grateful and blessed by the conversation.

A complete set up

Hilary and Bob then had possibly the most remarkable encounter of the day. With clues of boots and red brolly, Hilary took the dry option of Boots the store. Hilary spoke to the first lady carrying a red brolly that passed, explained what she was doing, and shared further clues relating to tooth ache and leg pain. Her teeth were fine, but she had arthritis in one of her knees which was at its most uncomfortable when it rained. She was open for Hilary to pray. Her first response was nothing different on the knee but what she described as a "warm fuzzy feeling from the top of my head all the way through my body." Hilary explained this was the Holy Spirit and offered to pray again to see what else God might want to do. She felt what Hilary described as "another Holy Spirit rush" and yes, her knee was starting to feel better.

They chatted further, enjoying the conversation in which the lady mentioned that her neighbours, both doctors, were also Christians. Hilary shared more about Jesus, and encouraged her about God's goodness; she was somewhat overcome and wept a little having felt God touch her. 

Having said goodbye, Hilary joined Bob who was at the end of the isle. After a few minutes in which Hilary shared the details of the encounter, the lady came back wanting to chat further, and saying how amazing the experience had been of praying with Hilary. On an impulse, Bob picked up on the fact that her neighbours were Christians and doctors. He asked where she lived since he too knew a couple of Christian doctors.

"Beeston" she replied.

"You don't know my friends called so and so do you?" asked Bob. She was completely bowled over - Bob's friends were her neighbours. "This is a complete set up" said Bob "You're life will never be the same after this."

She agreed. After an experience like that, how could she not! 

City Centre Saturday 4 : Good sports

Customer service

Dan, down from Durham, joined Neil on a venture into the City Centre. With clues following a football theme, they explored the JJB shop. The customer service was amazing. They approached one shop assistance and, after some pleasantries, asked if he had any back pain which was one of Neil's clues. He didn't, and when Neil asked if any of his colleagues did, the assistant went around them all to see. One did and was happy for Neil and Dan to pray with him.

Proving God

Another location clue was the outdoor chess board outside the library, which combined with one of Dan's clues about "big doors." Dan approached someone outside the doors. Dan shared one of his name clues which turned out to be the man's surname, and another name clue, "someone beginning with A," turned out to be the first letter in his Christian name. Mr A had no belief in God, but was somewhat blown away by the approach. Neil asked him how, if there was a God, this God would be able to reveal himself. Mr A didn't have an answer which, having no belief in God, was no great surprise. Neil and Dan were able to share some testimonies with him about how God had revealed himself to other people including by healing. Being outside the library, Neil naturally thought about an amazing experience Intrepid had had with some free-runners nearby, last year.

It turned out that Mr A is himself a free-runner, and when Neil talked about one of the free-runners he had prayed with, Mr A recognised the name as belonging to a mutual friend. Whilst not relating to any of Neil and Dan's healing clues, Mr A volunteered that he frequently had sore feet. Neil asked whether, if his feet got healed, this would be evidence that God was real. "Maybe" was the guarded reply. They prayed with him and he felt an immediate improvement. He was, as Neil put it, blessed in a "weired out" sort of way.

They spoke further and shared the Gospel with him. Neil gave him a card with his mobile number and left him with a challege: "If your feet get completely healed; call me!" Mr A left with an experience to share with his free-runner friends with whom he agreed compare notes.

A great experience for Dan, and some stories to take back his home church. And more influence of the Gospel in one of the sub-cultures of Leeds.

City Centre Saturday 3 : Man on a journey

Geoff doesn't have a great record when it comes to treasure hunting clues. About half the time he might get a location clue which leads to a conversation, but specifics about people aren't really his greatest strength. He aims to add value to hunts by being prepared to talk to most people, start conversations, and find angles to help our 'treasures' see the significance of the meetings they are having with treasure hunters.

Just occasionally some clues come together as well. Saturday was such a day.

His one really strong set of clues was about a man with a bike wearing a woolly hat. Abbe had a clue about meeting someone outside the railway station near the bus stops. So when Geoff approached the station to see a man standing outside with a bike and woolly hat, someone he would have physically to pass to get into the station, approaching him was a no-brainer.

Geoff checked the man had time to chat; he had about 15 minutes before needing to catch a train which is far more contact time than we normally get on an evening hunt. Geoff had the name Phil or Phillip, but if he had just gone for 'name beginning with P' this might have generated more interest since this was the first letter of the man's Christian name. The 'coincidence' of the hat, bike and the 15 minute window of opportunity for the conversation was intriguing as was one additional clue. Bob had introduced a treasure map on which we can not only record the usual clues about name, location, appearance, and something for prayer, but also a stick figure, which allows us to note a part of the human anatomy that might be experiencing pain or discomfort. Geoff had circled the forefinger of the left hand and asked if it was causing him any pain. It wasn't, but several years ago P had severed it in an accident. Happily surgeons had been able to save it. Geoff pointed out that God knew all about P and was deeply interested in him.

P was a man with a very clear philosophy of life. In his view, the main problem in the world was human beings who he described as being like a "cancer" on the planet. A man of conviction, P was a keen believer in living as green as possible (hence the bike and train) and was actively disengaging from as much of the banking system as possible. He had strong views on the evils perpetrated by bankers but, as he said, we are as much to blame as they are for buying into the system they run. He had nothing against them personally. He could almost have said that he condemned the sin, whilst not hating the sinner.

Here was a man, living by his convictions, and seeking to influence the world by being a positive role model. There was much in what he said with which most Christians would concur, a point Geoff was able to make. But if he really wanted to make a difference to the world, Geoff suggested, P could be part of a global movement with a history of transforming culture. Geoff described briefly how amazing it was that Jesus Christ, a man who never in his adult life travelled beyond the borders of his small country tucked away on the edge of a huge empire, had managed to influence the entire course of human history. Christ's church is a movement that shared many of P's values so what better place to investigate further if he wanted to have even more of an impact on the world about which he so obviously cared.

Geoff was able to leave him with a card with details of Mosaic, somewhere P now knew he could go to explore these issues further. And Geoff was also able to remind him how God knew P well enough to set up this conversation, right down to the forefinger of his left hand .

City Centre Saturday 2 : Compassion in action

Sometimes on a treasure hunt you don't need to start with the clues. A situation comes your way that demands a response and, in responding, you discover how God has prepared the ground for you to demonstrate his compassion as Olu and Abbe discovered through clues that took them to the railway station.

After a couple of polite but unengaging conversations, they saw a young lady who had collapsed near the seats on the concourse. They went over and helped her up and began to speak to her. Today was a significant day for her, but not in a good way. Both her father and her sister were dead, and today would have been her sister's 21st birthday. One of Abbe's clues was 'a memory or anniversary of an event' and one of Olu's name clues was the young lady's name beginning with C. 

C had an empty bottle of vodka in her bag, was very thin, had signs of havng fallen and hurt herself and was quite distressed. The person with Abbe and Olu was a pale refelction of the beautiful image on her rail card; a young lady stricken with grief, unsure of where to find hope.

We find young people are very happy with a direct and factual approach to matters of faith. Abbe was able to tell her that God had told them to come to the station where they might find someone named C with the memory of an anniversary. C shared how she had, unsurprisingly, lost her childhood faith as a result of her family bereavements. It was sad enough losing her sister; how could God exist when she lost her father as well?

But now she was starting to believe in God again. 

Abbe and Olu were able to chat to her, and pray with her for quite a long time. The ever-accommodating station staff allowed Abbe and Olu onto the platform to help C onto her train where they also prayed for her mum.

This could have been a simple act of mercy shown to a young lady in distress. In itself that would have had tremendous value. But combined with the specific clues that accompanied it, a compassionate act of mercy also becomes a prophectic encounter, a holy set-up, a Divine collission. We were all very humbled as Abbe and Olu shared their story. And if we had done nothing else, this would have been worth getting up on a Saturday morning for. But as our next few posts will show, God had given us ths privilege of yet more encounters.

City Centre Saturday 1

To provide an opportunity for more people in Mosiac to join a treasure hunt, Intrepid hosted what turned out to be a very damp November Saturday morning treasure hunt in Leeds city centre. Of the various people who joined us, one had previously hunted on a mission trip, one had done student outreach work, and others just fancied the challenge. We were also joined by Dan from Durham. More on Dan in a later post, but suffice to say that anyone who gets up at 6.30 on a Saturday morning to support friends in another town in a minor inspiration. 

Bob (who with Rachel leads Intrepid) began with some teaching and good practice. We worshipped, listened to the Holy Spirit for clues, shared clues, coalesced into groups, and hit the streets. 

The heart of treasure hunting is very simple. We want to bless people with the love and presence of Jesus Christ. What flows from that is his business. Taking that as a starting point we are open to any number of possibilities and opportunities. And the bigger the group, the more diverse the opportunities that can open up as was illustrated on this particular adventure.

The next few posts tell some of the stories that came out of the morning; stories as diverse as the people from Mosaic who were part of them, and as diverse as the people they met.

 

Hunters hunted

Sometimes on the hunt, the quarry comes looking for you. This was the case, to some extent, the night we visited the White Rose where Geoff and Daren were approached by a trader in one of the malls. She was selling beauty products 'for the women in our lives' and having seen this product on sale before Geoff decided to show an interest as an excuse to start up a conversation.

Whilst going through her pitch, the seller asked Geoff and Daren what they were doing in the White Rose that evening. Great opening to talk about treasure hunting. More surprising was that she had met treasure hunters before when working in Cardiff. They had approached the person she had been selling with, about whom they had an accurate description. "They even knew her name" she said. 

We managed a brief conversation and gave her a card about Mosaic. Interestingly she was form the Czech Republic (the most atheistic nation in Europe), somewhere Geoff had visited which provided another point of commonality.

She thought treasure hunting was amazing, but not significant. Her focus in life was more making a living and the buzz of selling than thinking about anything deeper. But God was clearly on her case in a particular way. 

Bob, Rachel and Peter had clues of a light coloured hat, balloons, scarf, turned up collar, and ankle injury. They approached a couple of people with light coloured scarfs (who were politely disinterterested) and decided to hang around outside a card shop that sold balloons. Within a couple of minutes a lady came along with a light coloured scarf whom Bob approached.

Along with the scarf, she had a turned up collar, and the man she was with was wearing a light coloured hat. As you can imagine they were 'taken aback' once they saw the connections but beyond that they were not particularly receptive. As Bob explained that they were precious in God's sight, he was greeted with the comment "I wish God would give us a sign if he cares to much." Bob replied that he was himself a sign of God's love, as was Jesus.

Bob asked if there was anything they could pray for. Not for themselves, but they gave the name of a friend with cancer. 

A final conversation of the evening was with another trader who turned out to be a committed Moslem who took the opportunity to see the Intrepid team as people he could evangelise (!). 

Paul tells us that the 'god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.' (2 Corinthians 4:4). Sometimes when we speak to people it's like they are wearing a blindfold, or maybe glasses that limit the field of vision. They hear what we say and it leaves an impression, they see something of interest, but the One to whom all this activity points is hidden from them. But at any moment the light may dawn that there could be something more to these random events. And, as with case of our friend from the Czech Republic, the chance after chance He goves to people to respond to the good news is, as far as we are concerned, evidence of his patient and persistent grace.

 

Team shake up

Last week in September Intrepid hit the streets again after the summer break and a time of much needed team input. As Bob has been reminding us, you can only overflow with what you're full of. Taking some time to be filled with the Spirit and reminding ourselves how to stay full is a necessary discipline and time well spent.

We also welcomed some new people. Duncan is joining the group, and for one night only (although she may come back after the night it was) Rachel dropped in from one of our other missions groups to fulfil a longstanding promise to join Intrepid for the experience.

The meeting didn't get of to the most auspicious of starts as our location clues didn't really give a strong indication of where to go, and a lot of our other clues seemed quite disjointed. But in the end you just have to make a decision to start somewhere and see what opportunities the evening throws up.

Rachel joined Geoff and Hilary in town where we ended up at one of our location clues, the City library. There were a group of young people there, none of whom appeared to fit any of the appearance clues. We sat around and waited for about 10 minutes to see if anyone else turned up and, when no-one did, decided to go and have a chat to the young people anyway.

They were very friendly and open and interested in what we were doing. Rachel opened the conversation by explaining what treasure hunting was all about (at which point we were asked the inevitable question 'Do I get a prize(!)), before going through some of our name clues none of which fitted.

We could have ducked out at this point, but since we were having an enjoyable chat, Hilary shared a story about meeting some free runners at this location last year. A couple of them did free running which gave us a point of reference.

Hilary told the story of how we had met another group of free runners last year and how two of them had been healed of sports related injuries. She used this as a basis to tell them that Jesus was still alive, and was the bridge between God and us. They listened attentively, really interested in what she was saying. So she asked if any of them wanted prayer for anything, at which point one said he had a painful left ankle. We prayed, it got slightly better, and we prayed again. No pain. His friends were as amazed as we were, but he just seemed quietly confident about it.

Rachel gave out some cards with details of the church and told them about the Intro course - a straightforward foundational introduction to Christianity where you can be free to ask anything you want in a completely non-threatening setting. She explained how she had been through the course, how much she had enjoyed it, and the part it had played in her own journey to faith in Jesus. We are praying they check out the website and, who knows, maybe even come along. But even if they don't, they've had a really positive introduction to Christianity, one less hurdle to overcome when they encounter (as we're sure they will) others wanting to share the faith with them.

Being a prophetic encourager

What is Christian prophecy? And what's it for? An important part our time in Intrepid includes reflecting on our faith, experiences, and ensuring that what we are doing is consistent with our historic Christian faith, especially the witness of the Old and New Testaments.

In one of our 'in' evenings we collected some first thoughts on prophecy. What did we discover?

We thought about the difference between Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT) prophecy. In OT, if you wanted to know what God had to say about something, you could get some limited information from a priest, or something more detailed from a prophet.The prophets were your line to God. They spoke for Him, spoke from Him, brought His perspective on the world as it was, and revealed what was yet to come. They were men and women on whom the Spirit rested. And whilst there were prophets throughout Israel's history, there were never great numbers of them.

What changed in the NT? In his first message describing what Christ had accomplished, Peter declared that now the Spirit was not just to rest on a few faithful people, but on all who believed. And everyone who received the Spirit, would do the kinds of things that the OT prophets got up to - such as prophesying and seeing dreams and visions.

The point is made again in Peter's second recorded sermon. Christians are 'heirs of the prophets'. By receiving the Spirit they inherit the experience of the OT prophets. What the prophets had, Christians get. There is still a ministry of the prophet in the Christian church, who does all the same kinds of things that the OT prophets did. But there's a big difference. Instead of there being, in the community of God's people, a few people who had the Spirit of God, the church has become the community of the Spirit. Christians don't need a prophet or priest to connect them to heaven - we are all connected through the Spirit. Whilst Christian prophets provide a vital role helping the church hear and respond to God, they don't hear God for the rest of us. In the community of faith, we all hear God together.

So what are the implications for us? Paul reminds us that the heart of Christian prophecy is to build up the church and bring unbelievers to repentance through encounters with the Holy Spirit. To the unbelieving world we are a gateway to heaven. In the church, we are Spirit-empowered encouragers. And to that end we have, among other things, the following God-gifted characteristics:

We can hear God through His Spirit;
We can encourage others to see themselves as God sees them;
We can help people find their destiny;
We can show people futures they need to prepare for;
We can reconnect estranged hearts.

And there's many more. We can bring God's revelation into people's lives not only through our words but also through actions motivated and inspired by the Spirit.

And we were very encouraged by the thought that we don't have to do this alone. As members of the community of the Spirit we work together to build up the church. And as we continue our treasure hunting we move together to find and introduce people to Jesus who have never met him, or who have still to submit to the call to leave everything else and follow him.

More happenings in Darlington

Whist Intrepid is having a break for August, our treasure hunting friends in Darlo continue to work.

Here's an extract from their blog. We all have nights like this, and whilst there were no conversations of note, honing skills in getting great location clues bodes well for the future.

Here's the extract:

On Wednesday, July 13th, five of us set off for Ultimate Treasure Hunting Night 3, namely Stan, Toni, me and - joining us for the first time - Jo and Julia.
It was a strange night in some ways: many location and unusual clues came to pass but... no people anywhere! Some of the clues included:

a vision of standing at Pease statue and looking down towards McDonald's
several clues that pointed to a clown
Buckton's Yard and a sail boat
Grange Road
cup cakes (again!)
The name Deborah/Debbie
As we walked down towards McDonald's from Pease statue we found a poster for the circus with a large clown on the front. Right opposite Buckton's Yard was a sail boat in a shop display. Upon leaving Grange Road was a shop that had ceramic cup cakes in the window and the name Debbie was written on one.

There were other experiences similar to this. We all felt greatly encouraged that we seemed to clearly be hearing God's voice and yet some frustration that we had no people fitting the clues. I spoke to two people who seemed to fit, but neither were interested in what we had to say.

We are learning, learning, learning...! To be obedient, to believe that God really does speak to us, and to persevere!

A wider world of treasure hunting

I've been tracking down some treasure hunters from some other churches. Here's a blog entry from Dan Lee sharing some of his experiences from hunting for the NewFrontiers church plant in Huddersfield.

Enjoy, and be encouraged.

This is the second story from our time in Huddersfield working with the Ark Church (If your from or thinking of moving there check them out they are friendly bunch).

So at the start of our week we went out in groups after worshipping, praying and listening to God for prophetic clues (words and pictures) that would help us find the people he wanted to share his love with. My Treasure Map had Afro, Converses, Tilly, Jack, Knee Hurt, “Crunch”, Trebor Mints, Father, GameStation. Sam and Sarah had the clues Ice Cream Factory, Pizza Hut and Cherry. (Correct me if I missed anything out) It’s worth mentioning that we had other clues that we didn’t find.

We figured we must have been rather hungry while writing down our treasure maps and started our journey looking for Trebor Mints, finding them in a market sweet shop but alas the shopkeeper didn’t match any of our clues. We had spotted an ice cream stall in the street so wandered over there with Ice Cream Factory in mind. Again the stall operator wasn’t on our map however a lady approached the stall with an Afro and proceeded to purchase a cone for her small son. We said hello showed her the map but due to a language barrier we didn’t get much further in chatting. We decided to move on stopping near the library chatting to a young couple with Converses which turned out to be fake.

We walked up to the main street deciding to look for Pizza Hut. On the way we bumped into a band of boys, some who were wearing Converses (genuine items) and holding GameStation bags. They looked at the maps seeing they were on the list but didn’t want to be prayed for, I believe one had an injury. By the looks on their faces they were either trying to work us out but we left them knowing we were not crackers. We side tracked to the GameStation shop but there was nothing there and continued our exploration for Pizza Hut.

All the time we were on the look out for people with limps. Seeing a lady near Pizza Hut limping Sam and Sarah chased after her (which wasn’t that difficult) and then prayed for her coming back to join me. All the time I was looking for clues, but didn’t realise we were very close to the clue Cherry. Sam noticed from his map the Cherry Tree Pubright bang next to Pizza Hut. Three men were stood in the doorway, two in crutches. We explained who we were and that we were on a treasure hunt. We showed one of the gruff Yorkshiremen in cruches a map to see if he was on it. His mate in the cruches began to complain that he didn’t have a map so I offered him mine saying we had plenty to go round. Ha ha! He went down the list and spotting the names Tillyand Jack exclaimed that “This is freaky!” He explained that Jack was his son who had died and that Tilly was his daughter, he was a Father. To prove it he showed us the names tattooed on his neck and wrist. I encouraged him to see if there was anything else on the map that related to him. “I Crunch that’s the sound my leg made!” I offered to pray for his leg and he said I could. Putting my hand below his knee I prayed that the Kingdom would be revealed. I asked him if anything had changed. He said he felt pins and needles and again the word “Freaky” was used as God had met with him. By this time everyone in the doorway knew that Jack and Tilly were on our map and their eyes were wide as saucers, “how did they know”? We told them that Jesus was alive and wanted to speak to people today. We were suddenly joined by one of their friends from inside the pub and they told him what had just happened while looking at the map and tattoos. He was obviously moved and asked that we pray for his heart, he had been to church at some stage when he was younger but knew he was distant. We obliged. Having to leave we reaffirmed that God had revealed himself to them all and wanted to know them personally.

It was a wonderful time adventuring with God and stepping out of our comfort zones. What struck me was that listening to God and inviting people to take hold of his Kingdom should be done with ease like you would introduce a friend but with the added trust and expectation for God to work.

Happenings in Darlington

Our friends in Kings Church Darlington have now had their second evening of treasure hunting. Here's their latest news taken from their own blog.

As they say in that part of the world, 'Mint'(!).

Friday, 1st July

Fiona and Harriet joined Toni and Allan for their second Ultimate Treasure Hunt and ...wow, what a night! Before going out they had chatted about how God called Ananias to go and speak to Saul. Ananias was, understandably, reluctant to do so, and yet God instructed him again to do so, pointing out that He had prepared Saul for the visit. Similarly, the group was hopeful that God was somehow preparing people to meet them.

They set off to the town centre, heading for the town clock area, as clues suggested. They had passed what Toni thought was a pub, which matched a 'M*** beer mat' clue of hers. A man who matched the description on her appearance clue walked out of there, answering his phone. Toni didn't make an immediate approach as the gentleman was on his phone. Once in the town centre, yards from the pub in question, they split off into pairs.

Fiona and Harriet headed to Binns area, as Fiona felt that was where she was being led.  Toni and Allan headed back to the pub. As they approached, they realised that the building in question was not a pub, but an amusement arcade, but Toni was sure it was the right place. They entered and spotted the man (who fitted the description clue earlier) on a slot machine. They asked him if he was called M***. He said he wasn't. However, at that moment, a female member of staff who had overheard the name 'M***' quickly approached and asked who they were looking for. The man left the conversation. The staff member (E***) was very curious as to why they were there, asking questions. They just decided to tell her the whole Treasure Hunt situation. She was amazed, wanting to know more about her clues. She looked at Toni's card and spotted E*** and M***. She said that her sister, K***, sometimes gets called E*** (the clue name), and her surname is M*** (very similar to the clue).  She was overwhelmed by what she was reading as two other clues seemed to be pointing towards her sister ('distant' and 'distance').

She took out her mobile phone, rang her sister and gave the phone to Toni so that they could speak. Toni and K*** then spoke on the phone. Toni explained about Treasure Hunting and several clues seeming to fit. Toni asked if 'distant' or 'distance' meant anything to her. K*** said 'Yes' as she was moving to Newcastle at the weekend. K*** added that she was 'getting goosebumps, feeling tingly and getting a lump in her throat'. K*** asked Toni if she should go to Newcastle or not. Toni said that whatever decision she makes, God is with her. K*** was becoming emotional. Toni prayed with her and explained how to let Jesus into her life, explaining that God is not distant and that He loves her enough to send people out to search for her. Toni thanked God for her and asked if she could call in to see K*** when she was at work in the arcade, which K*** agreed to.

Whilst this was happening, Allan was chatting to E*** (the staff member). He told her about his faith in Jesus and that they go to King's Church. E*** explained that she didn't feel she would be allowed in church because she works in an amusement arcade. Allan told her that if Jesus lived in Darlington he would be in the arcades talking to people. She was quite stunned by this and said she will think about going to King's. She said that she believes in God already.

She then asked about Allan's clues (gypsy dress, knee trouble, feeling of being too young to have knee troubles, Sid/Sydney) and felt they all fitted her Gran, who was on holiday at the moment. She said that her Gran (called Sybil) was on holiday at the moment, wore gypsy dresses, had bad knees and, though she was a grandma, moaned that she was too young to have knee troubles! Allan wasn't sure (Sybil not being that accurate) but E***, it seems, had more faith in his clues than he did! She was adamant this was about her grandma so Allan confirmed that God is really 'after' the family!

As Toni finished on the phone with K***, a very stunned E*** gave them both a hug. They offered to pray with her. She didn't want to right there in the arcade but they said we would do so as they continued their hunt.

Meanwhile, Fiona and Harriet had bought some chips from a van (Sizzle Delight) near Binns. They had 'a good Christian conversation' with the couple in the van. The four of them met up again. Fiona had a clue that Jesus was pointing to someone in the town centre. Fiona felt sure that Jesus was pointing towards the man in the van who sold her the chips. So, she went back to the man and explained that she believed Jesus was pointing to him. She explained that the man has a brilliant future in the Lord and the man seemed really happy about this.

They went home happy and amazed at seeing God in action.

Rays of light in a dark world

Some evenings we find we can bring a little hope into people's lives. Take Fideles. Here was a man with a literal black look, heavily weighed down by some un-articulated concern that he was unwilling to reveal. He didn't match any clues, but Bob and Mark went over and spoke to him because he looked unhappy. "Do I look miserable?" he asked rhetorically.  When he told Bob his name meant 'Faithful' Bob was moved to tell him that God would show him his faithfulness. Fideles was grateful - perhaps it lifted his mood a little. Perhaps that was about as much compassion as he was able to absorb from a complete stranger.

Becky and Geoff found Kevin who matched three clues. A young man in a flag cap with a problem in his right ankle, near somewhere green. Kevin cracked the first of three smiles as they pointed out that he was sitting opposite the garish luminous green plastic of a local bank's cash point. An offer of prayer was less immediately attractive than the MacDonald's another kind soul bought over to him as he sat on the pavement. That brought his second smile. The third was when we came back later and dropped him off a coffee to be going with. We got the distinct impression Kevin didn't smile a great deal. In what brief conversation we had it was heartening to discover he had met other people from Mosaic - probably from one of our mission groups that works with homeless people - but distressing that he had no plans, direction, or hope for his future. But at least he understood he was not invisible - to other people in his city, and certainly not to God who knew exactly where he was and how to bring him a little help that evening.

Sitting still wasn't an issue for Matthew and his friends. As Hilary and Darren discovered, the problem was more keeping up with them. An innovation for this evening was a stick man added to the end of the usual clue list which gave Hilary the chance to draw a visual clue. A circle on the head was to create some interest in the group of which Matthew was a part that she and Darren found near the student union. Their clues 'Parkinson's Steps' and 'clock tower' gave a clear location, to which they added 'brown hair' and 'loud.'

As if on cue, a group of loud, good natured student came along, one of whom had a bandage on his head, which caused some brief surprise from one of the group who saw the connection with Hilary's drawing. Matthew was the person in the group intrigued enough to stop and talk, curious as to what these random people were about. Having been told that he and his friends were God's treasure, Matthew shouted to his friends to stop and listen : "Hey guys you need to listen to this, it's really important!" Too caught up in their own world to stop they carried on walking, and Hilary and Darren walked with them. Matthew, who wouldn't describe himself as having a faith, nonetheless said he'd pray for his friends. Always keen to bring the presence of God into a situation, Hilary offered to pray for him first which she and Darren duly did as they walked along with the group.

Justin was a fourth treasure encountered that evening. Sue and Neil approached him on the vague pretext that he had an orange bag, and 'orange' was their colour clue for the evening. But more than that, Sue felt drawn to him with a conviction that he particularly at this time, needed to know God loved him. From the ensuing conversation, a number of other clues resonated with him, particularly being stressed at work, and working through identity issues in his life. Justin, it seemed, had lately been giving a lot of thought to the big issues of life - what is life all about, what can we really know about God - questions which were less of academic interest, more genuinely perplexing. The only person with whom he had been discussing them was himself and he welcomed the invitation to come to church to explore them further. Even more remarkably he lives in the same general area of Leeds as Mosaic meets. We marvel again at the astonishingly timely combination of some profound personal insights and simple acts of kindness.

As we shared our stories together at the end of the evening, Hilary showed us her treasure map which included the name 'Justine'. We look forward to the next instalment in his particular story.

May 12th Part 2 - God hears

For the second part of the story of May 11th we're following Ian and Ant who visited the White Rose Centre with Geoff, looking for someone in a yellow jacket, in a shopping mall, near somewhere that sold food, named John, with a stomach problem. It's unusual for all our clues to fit exactly and tonight was no exception. But enough did to make an impact.

After a fruitless early part of the evening up in the White Rose fast food area Ian Ant and Geoff went downstairs to the coffee bar where they noticed a man walking around in a yellow T-shirt. They had a collective sense that he was a man we  wanted to talk to. The clues weren't exact (T-shirt rather than jacket) but clues are just that - clues to get you into the right area. He was flitting in an out of shops, with a mobile phone to his ear. Windows of opportunity can be very small in treasure hunting, and the moment he emerged from a shop and got off his phone, Geoff intercepted him with a polite "Excuse me."  And going for the direct approach, Ian followed straight up with the question "Is your name John?" Which elicited the not unsurprising answer "Why?"  Even less surprising when, as a brief conversation ensued, he confirmed that his name was, in fact, John. At this point his phone went off. "Yeah I'm talking to these two guys. I think they're going to tell me my fortune. I'll be with you in a minute."

Now we have to remember at this point that this group of treasure hunters had never worked together before, and there was a little uncertainty as to who should take the lead and where to take the conversation. After explaining they were Christians, John's phone went off again which gave them the chance to take stock and quickly decide what to do next. When he came back over Geoff explained what the group did and gave him a story about a previous treasure hunt. "At this point we got the idea that God was starting to speak to him. He was interested - really interested." He became very open, saying this was one thing too many to think about in his life which already had a lot of stress in it. Ant was able to reassure him that rather than adding to his worry, Jesus could take it away.

This of itself would have been a great thought to leave him with, but there was time for more. Geoff told him that Jesus knew him by name, and was calling him by name - John - and that he was God's treasure. "It's nice to know I'm someone's treasure. I will think about it."

John left with a new perspective on who God is. And despite having seen stuff like this before, Ian Ant and Geoff left amazed once again at the goodness and love of God.

Meanwhile, Allan and Darren were having success in matching clues to people, but less success in getting people to engage in conversation. One man fitted no less than four clues but was in too much of a hurry to stay and chat.

For Bob Neil and Toni, the strong colour was pink. Other clues included zip up tops, breathing difficulties, blue dragon, and drinking beer.

Heading off to Beeston, they hadn't got to the end of the road before seeing a young lady in a pink tracksuit who was with a friend. Pulling over and introducing themselves, the group struck up a good rapport with the ladies who thought the whole treasure hunting idea sounded like a lot of fun. They warmed to the idea that God loved them and said that if he really did exist that he sounded like someone they would want to know.

In Beeston park they approached someone on a park bench, but he didn't want to talk since he was complaining of breathing difficulties.

But the most moving encounter of the evening was still to come. In Beeston park  they found a group of mainly young men with zip-up tops drinking beer together. They were noisy but good natured and were fine to speak to. There was also a young lady with them who had, just a week before, prayed in a local church that she would get to know Jesus. Neil shared his testimony and Toni had an impression of blood coming from an arm. As they talked further she shared that she had some history of self-harm. They were able to encourage her, and reassure her that this meeting was further evidence that God was answering her prayer to get to know him better.

It's evenings like this that remind us it's all worth it.

 

May 12th Part 1 - Could you make this up if it wasn't true?

We sometimes say that we couldn't make up some of the situations we discover when treasure hunting. On May 12th we were visited by four people - Allan and Toni from Darlington and Ian and Ant from Grimsby. As usual we all listened together for clues. Some clear themes started to emerge which provided a natural basis for us to divide into three groups.

For Steve and Hilary the main theme was about people with a smile, joy, and a loud bubbly personality, laughing and fooling around. The colour to look for was red, and for prayer something about the face and eyes. A name was Helen, and for a place to go looking for these clues the Millennium Square in Leeds was a clear favourite. There were other clues, the significance of which emerged later in the evening.

In Millennium Square that evening they came across a man in a red shirt, with a red bag and, as Steve described it, '...doing the ministry of silly walks, fooling around and making his girlfriend laugh.' The couple were a little suspicious when approached, but after some initial reserve shared how they related to some of the clues. The lady related to the issue with eyes, and agreed to let Steve and Hilary pray for her. She started to blink and although she wasn't crying her eyes started to water. She couldn't say if anything different had happened to her, but was clearly touched by the whole experience.

Amongst other clues were 'pierce' 'arrow' and 'doorway'. They headed off to find a shop called 'Pierce' and passed the agglomeration of restaurants and bars called the Light. On the doorway was an arrow and sign to point people to go through the door. Steve sensed it would be good to wait around for a while. There was a young woman outside, smoking, who was shortly joined by a friend. They started giggling, messing around, and walking into the door. This all seemed like a good reason for Steve and Hilary to say "hello", explain they were treasure hunting, and show them the clues. One of them was named Helen, which they were all excited about.

At this point, five of the girls' friends appeared and joined the party. They formed a circle and Steve and Hilary went through these and other clues. The girls were really engaged, one of them saying to the group 'This is great, God really wants to bless you' and asked what else happened on treasure hunts. Steve shared that God often wants to bless people by healing them, and used this as a hook to explain that through the cross Jesus had paid for their healing, wants a relationship with them, and through this showed how much he loved them. The atmosphere was really positive and they were able to pray for the whole group.

The final twist in the evening came as they went back for a last look at Millennium Square. One of Steve's other clues was a green bag. At the far end of the square they saw a lady with a green bag and coloured hair - red coloured hair. She was moving off the square so they had to move quite quickly to catch up with her. Happily she stopped shortly afterwards - outside the door on the Light with the arrow. Steve and Hilary started to speak to her about treasure hunting, but she seemed non-plussed by it all, a little freaked out. She softened as they went on, was cagey about whether the clues meant anything to her and declined an offer of prayer. Perhaps there was too much information in one go.

Overall an amazingly rich evening, and a fabulous story. Could you have made it up?

Easter hunt

When treasure hunting, our friend Chris Frost often uses the line "We all know Jesus died, but we're having this conversation because he rose from the dead and is still doing amazing things today."

Which is why Easter is such a great time to go treasure hunting. There will always be an excuse to carry on a conversation about Jesus.

This Easter Bob Geoff and Hilary joined friends in Christ Church South Ossett, keen to share their experience of treasure hunting. Two main locations were available - the local park hosting a fete/fair and the town centre.

Our first impressions were of the energy and commitment of the group. One family included two young people aged 12 and 10 who had first experienced treasure hunting at a Christian convention. The young people were so taken that they insisted they did some more as a family as part of their holiday when the convention was over. And they came up with some great clues and showed considerable boldness and confidence in approaching people.

In the park we found a man matching clues of a black sleeveless
T-shirt and tattoos. He was keen to find a reason why the clues couldn't relate to him. His  "Could be anyone" was countered by his girlfriend's "Yes, but you've only just walked into the park!" But if people don't want to talk that's fine. They are still faced with the challenge that Jesus is alive and interested in them.

A later conversation did ensue with a work colleague we met in the park. Geoff has been seeking to be more open to hearing what the Spirit has to say in these random conversations with people he's never met. In this case it was an observation "God recognises that you take your responsibilities to your family very seriously" and a challenge "Have you thought about taking more risks in your life?" The question wasn't specifically about committing to Christ, more about exploring the full potential of the life God had given him. Where that goes, is God's business. He knows the roads on which he would like to meet us. 

Bob (from Leeds) and Sara had clues including hat, red clothing, pain in legs.  They approached a lady in Green Park with a hat and red stripes on her top.  The hat was significant because she had only got it the day before and she related to pain as she suffered from Fibromyalgia.  A lovely conversation developed and she went on to receive prayer, there in the Park.  A sense of peace fell on her and she felt quite touched by the experience.

There were an amazing variety of experiences in town. Ossett town centre on a Saturday morning was so quiet we wondered how the businesses managed to keep going. But even with such a small pool of people in which to fish, we found some remarkable combinations of clues.

Hilary and Marie (from Christ church) had clues of a white T-shirt with motif, pedestrian traffic lights, dog, jeans necklace, tattoo, chip shop, flower shop and something wrong with leg. They twice saw a lady who seemed to meet the clothing clues, first at some pedestrian lights and again when they caught up with her for a chat outside a shop. This shop used to be a chip shop and was four doors away from a flower shop. She agreed there were a lot of clues that matched. She was healthy, but her four year old son had just broken his ankle. Open for prayer, they held hands to pray in middle of precinct. Marie gave her a card about church. In a final twist to the tale, she shared that she had been made homeless the year before, and had been helped back into mainstream society through someone who’s Dad was a Vicar in Pontefract. Jesus, it seems, is still drawing her to himself.

In a small town it's not surprising to meet some people you know. Paul from Christ Church, a tradesman, bumped into someone he had done some work for some years previously. The context of being out treasure hunting gave him an opportunity to open up a conversation about Jesus. The former customer had been a church goer but had dropped away. The encounter was a great opportunity to nudge him back towards a more positive experience of church.

In a change of context it is easy to miss someone you know. Marie and Hannah were drawn to a lady who remarkably matched a number of clues - flowery top, white three quarter length pants, a necklace and the name of Rose. It was only when they started talking to her that they realised she attended Christ Church. And unbeknown to them her middle name was - yes - Rose. They were able to pray together for a problem with one of her feet. A great positive story with which to encourage the church.

And then there was the one that got away. One set of clues from the youngest team member, Matthew, pointed to an old army officer with a broken leg wearing a vest type T-shirt, and the name Max. Another team member, looking for a dog walker, led her to a brief conversation with a lady on crutches walking a dog. She wasn't interested in speaking, but may have been had she seen some of Matthew's clues. She had the tee shirt and a broken leg and in the brief conversation she had, called the name of her dog.

Max.

 

 

Crossing the bridge

An evening beginning with a set of slightly quirky clues turned out to be a prelude to exploring some new territory.

Our 'name' clues threw up some quite unusual ones. Steve's turned out to be so unusual that no-one had them.  Hilary had the name of someone we'll call Mervyn. Like 'Mervyn' it was quite an unusual name, but the real name and other information in the story would be enough to identify the individual. Since they don't know we're writing about them, it's only fair to preserve their anonymity. Other clues included a bridge, a long coat, and noise and clamour.

We found ourselves slightly away from the town centre, looking for a bridge over the river. The area turned out to be restricted resident parking. Steve felt he wanted to get out and have a walk around and whilst the rest of the group sorted out a place to park, he came across the Bridge, which can most succinctly be described as a gay bar. It was busy, with plenty of people inside and outside enjoying their evening - plenty of clamour. Steve and Hilary asked some of the punters outside if any of them was called Mervyn. No, but one of the staff inside was and he was on duty that evening. 

It's fair to say that there have been some fairly public debates between Christians holding to the historical teachings of the church, and practicing gay people, regarding some of the lifestyle choices each would promote. But Jesus was never afraid to cross boundaries to open dialogue and seek to overcome barriers. A gay bar called the Bridge was crying out to be crossed.

Steve and Hilary slipped in and found Mervyn, introduced themselves and shared their clues. "Is this a wind-up? How did you get my name? Tell me again how you got these clues. What religion are you?" Steve and Hilary were quite relaxed telling him they were Christians - after all there was no reason under the circumstances this should have been an issue. Hilary shared something she felt God wanted to say to him about removing clouds in his life so he could see clearly. He was non-committal in response to this - as he said, "We all have clouds in our lives". Fair point.

They offered to pray and, after explaining that the offer was to pray there and then, he agreed. So they prayed. On the dance floor. Mervyn was visibly touched by the experience and very grateful for the personal affirmation and genuine desire for his good that came through the prayers.

So some new territory explored, another boundary crossed, and some equity built with more people from very different backgrounds to our own. 

 

Coincidences and Divine appointments

Life is full of coincidences - random events that cause the paths of different people to cross or collide. On their own these events stand alone as matters of interest in their own right. When they collide they cause amusement, fascination, or amazement. Many coincidences are simply curiosities. Others seem to be impregnated with meaning.

Hilary had a week of coincidences starting with a minor car accident on the way to work. Another driver changed lanes without looking and bumped the front nearside wing of the car. Happily no-one was hurt, and the matter was resolved amicably through a good insurance company.

The coincidence came two days later.The other driver was from the same area of Leeds as Hilary, and in the local Tesco Hilary overheard a conversation where a mother was describing how her adult daughter had been involved in an accident on the way to work. Hilary interjected that she was the other party in the accident, much to the surprise of everyone else involved in the conversation. Coincidence. A happy curiosity, caused by the random collision of events.

Treasure hunting shares some of the characteristics of coincidences, but is of a different order. It's less a random collision of events, more a Divine collision. It results in events made up of many, highly random disconnections. You must serioulsy wonder whether these happen too frequently and regularly for them to be the results of pure chance. And somewhere in the mix, you can often find that someone has been praying, inviting God to intervene in the complexities of people's lives, and to bring his order into them.

In the treasure hunt the week of the accident, Hilary was in the White Rose shopping centre with two others from the Intrepid group, following clues to someone wearing black and white flecks. She didn't find anyone who matched the clue exactly, but did find a flower seller with various combinations of black and white (stripes, check) on her clothes. Happy to strike up a conversation Hilary explained treasure hunting, and showed her card of clues asking if there was anything else on it that struck her. She was drawn to the word 'sadness'. Her husband had died aged 28, and her father 18 months thereafter. "God hasn't done me any favours" she said in a very matter of fact way. Her mother still goes to church, and encourages her to go as well, but she herself had not been a regular church goer since the age of about 14.

Hilary encouraged her that God was probably on her case, and reassured her that for all the trouble in her life, she was still incredibly valuable to him.

And had that been the end of it, you might have said it was an unusally happy coincidence - an opportunity to bring some hope and reassurance into a life which had suffered more than its fair share of pain. An opportunity to suggest that there may yet be a more benign order that could repair the damage caused by past sadness.

But there's more. Catching up with others from the group and sharing the story, Bob suggested it would be good to leave the florist with a treasure hunting leaflet as a further reminder of the conversation. Hilary and Rachel returned and shared the flyer which was gratefully received. "By the way" said Hilary, "I didn't get your name".

"Fiona"

"Thanks - and I'm Hilary"

"Really? I have a friend called Hilary and she goes to church as well. She lives in Kippax. We went to florestry school together".

(The combination of interweaving random events is now starting to take an even firmer shape.) Saying goodnight, Hilary turned to go, then stopped.

"Hang on - Hilary - I know her! We used to go to Dayspring church together. God's definitely on your case!"

Two ladies independently decide to take up floristry. Another moves from Cambridge to Leeds and as part of her life journey meets one of them. One lady is so successful that she gets work in a prestigious shopping centre. She wears black and white on the same evening as a treasure hunt looks for that style of dress. A conversation ends, but then starts again. A spontaneous response to the mention of a name, leads to the revelation that this apparently random meeting is linked by a mutual friendhsip. A mother and a friend (and who knows who else) have been praying.

Which is harder to believe in - pure chance, or a guiding hand bringing order to events. Coincidence or Divine collision. Read this alongside the other stories on this blog. You decide.

The colour purple

Having not been treasure hunting for about six weeks Becky was feeling a little rusty, and to be honest a little nervous. Having pretty much conquered any feelings of people making her feel uncomfortable this was a little galling.  But God often has a different view of us than we have of ourselves, Rather than being rusty, Becky was a well oiled sword waiting to be unsheathed.

Hunting with Bob, their top clues were purple and the name Leah. A location clue 'car park' which, combined with various other clues, took us to The Light (a small hub of restaurants, coffee bars and a cinema in Leeds) where they spotted a lady dressed in purple coming up from the car park and getting into a lift.  

One thing we have learned about treasure hunting is not to lose your quarry when you think you've spotted it. Diving into the lift with the lady, who was accompanied by a friend, they got into a quick conversation, noticing that she had complemented her purple clothing with glasses of matching colour. Getting out the lift on the same floor, Becky explained what they were doing and  shared her colour clue with the purple lady. She was also wearing a name badge - Lorraine.

At this point Becky had the option of hedging. Questions like 'We also had the name Leah - does that mean anything to you/do you know someone of that name?' are quite reasonable to ask in that situation. But Becky went for the more direct "And we have the name Leah." Looking at her friend Lorraine replied "My name's Lorraine, but you'll never beleive this, some of my close friends call me Leah." Now hooked, Becky shared her other clues about prayer for 'trauma'. Lorraine's daughter had recently moved to London which, if not traumatic, had been a wrench. It was enough for her to be open for her for Bob to pray for her to know God intimately.

The conversartion closed with Bob giving them one of our treasure hunting flyers. One side has a picture of a treasure chest ("That's you") and the other details of Mosaic church ("That's us").

Good stories are for sharing, and Geoff and Becky found an opportunity with a couple of the centre's security guards. On a quiet night with few people around they had obviously seen the Intrepid group, and to ally any fears or suspicions Geoff decided to have a word and let them know what the group was doing. A little surprised to be approached they gave the professional  stony stare as Geoff explained what treasure hunting was about, and Becky shared he story about Lorraine/Leah. At the end of that they broke into smiles although we're not sure quite what they made of it all.

Geoff had also had a word with a lady wearing a red scarf. Whilst his clue was a man in a red scarf, because she almost tripped over him, it seemed worth having a go to see if a conversation could ensue with her and the gentleman with her. Explaining the treasure hunt idea we thought she said "Is this about gardening stuff?" Unsure of the significance of this Geoff assured her we weren't selling anything. "Is this about Jesus". At which point the penny dropped that she had said "God and stuff." She had been approached some days before by other Christians in Leeds. "You all seem very friedly but I'm not interested" she said walking away. Perhaps not - but she will be thinking about these encounters and I'm sure there are more on the way. Bob heard somewhere that it takes, on average, 17 positive encounters
before people come to Christ. Fifteen or less to go then.

Bob also got into conversation with a young man who fitted three clues simultaneously - blue jeans, dark glasses, outside the Radisson hotel. Standing with two of his friends he was a little sheepish, and not keen for prayer. But Bob felt God had something to say to him. Christians call this 'prophecy' which sometimes means talking about the future, but may just as often be something someone needs to hear at the present time. Essentially what we are saying is 'If Jesus were standing here now, this is the kind of thing I believe he would want you to know.' In this case, Bob confidently reassured him that God had good plans for his life.

As the party moved off one of the lad's friends shouted back to Bob "He goes on Christian camps you  know!". A little taste perhaps of some of what Jesus had in mind when he said that whenever two or three get together in acts of service for him, he'll be there to share his life through them.

Yogurt and three toppings

First hunt of 2011. Whilst relaxed from the Christmas break our treasure hunting skills were, it seemed, a little rusty.

This night's hunting ground was again the White Rose shopping centre, very empty after the New Year shopping spree and the continuing cold weather.

Split into two group, Rachel and Geoff had a series of food-related clues. Locations were around Starbucks, MacDonald's, and randomly 'fish', all enough to take them in the general direction of the centre's food court. Geoff was looking for a lady in a bright read coat. They spotted one across the food hall and tried to catch her up, but broke off the chase when she went into the lingerie section of M and S. Perhaps not be a good place to initiate a conversation.

Returning to the court, and standing outside the fish restaurant a very smiley and friendly lady in a bright red coat walked toward them. They initiated conversation, sharing a couple of  clues to test the water. Geoff had a name 'Alice' or 'Alicia' but her name was neither of these. It was not a traditional English name but did begin with 'A'. Getting a name absolutely right is very powerful. Getting something approaching the right name may sometimes have more impact than getting a name precisely wrong. On reflection, perhaps sticking to bright red coat, fish, and a name starting with 'A' might have got her more intrigued. Rachel was, nonetheless, able to tell her how precious she was to God.

Rachel was looking for someone in a green, military-style coat. Other clues were bin and slush-puppy. A lady in the queue for a KFC, near a bin with a slush-puppy machine nearby fitted these clues. She also had a large leather keyholder on her bag in the shape of a fish. Leaving her to order whilst speaking to the lady in the red coat, Rachel and Geoff next spotted her, and a gentleman friend with her when they were seated eating tea. 

Joining them at their dinner table, they were friendly, if slightly bemused by the treasure hunting idea and clues. They were, as Rachel put it, 'treasures not sparkly'. The slightly awkward scenario quickly developed of a conversation that wasn't going anywhere. Sometimes clues open up a conversation - sometimes they just give you a chance to connect with people and leave you the challenge of taking the conversation on from there. Something we need to get better at. Rachel left them with a flyer explaining what we were doing and promised to pray in the forthcoming week.

Meanwhile Neil, Hilary, and Luke (from Canada) approached a young man who matched the clues 'tall' and 'glasses' and 'knee pain' and a name beginning with 'M'. His name turned out to be Mark, and sure enough he had knee pain which they were able to pray for. We don't know if there was any physical improvement, but he did give them each 'a big hug'. He seemed to have some kind of learning disability which made communication difficult, but he was certainly friendly and open.

Between the five of us we also tried to get into conversation with some other people. Three ladies were immediately disinterested when the name 'Jesus' was mentioned but, as Hilary pointed out, she had reacted in exactly the same way the day before she came to faith.

Geoff fancied a conversation with one of the traders and spoke to someone running a yogurt stand. Asking what the craziest topping was the vendor had ever concocted he reckoned on chocolate, pomegranate and marshmallows. "Great - I'll have one!" It gave a bit more time to speak and to share about treasure hunting but much as we would like to report that it led to a deep conversation with powerful analogies drawn from yogurt concoctions nothing really profound ensued.

Just a really interesting yogurt.

 

Adding value

Jesus had an amazing gift of re-sizing people. Some people he cut down to size - using their own claims and pretensions to give them a more realistic view of themselves. But more often than this he re-sized people the other way. An encounter with Jesus was more than likely to leave you walking a little taller, more confident in the person God made you.

So no surprise to see his followers, guided and empowered by his Spirit, having the same impact. So to our first set of clues. Hilary and Bob had The Disney Store, the name of Olive, Olivia, or Oliver, and a jacket with a stand-up collar secured by big buttons. A most unlikely combination. Yet on this evening in Leeds' White Rose Shopping Centre, the attention of two of our group was arrested first by a stand selling name plaques, one of which was "Oliver", then by a stall selling, amongst other things, olives. Both were near the Disney Store.  Patience was rewarded when a young lady with a tall buttoned collar walked by with her boyfriend.

There are many different reactions when we share with people that they are God's treasure. With this particular lady it was simple delight. As Bob shared with her how special she is to God, her boyfriend added "And very special to a lot of other people as well (!)" Jesus' ultimate aim is that we discover the reason we were born for - to know him. But that doesn't stop him meeting us with powerful acts of kindness, wherever we are on that journey.

Hilary and Bob were also busy that evening praying for people in wheelchairs. As Hilary pointed out, we shouldn't make any assumptions about what someone in a wheelchair wants prayer for. One gentlemen when approached said "I'm fine thanks". Another was happy with whatever Bob and Hilary wanted to pray about. And he and his two friends felt valued. "It's great what you're doing - you're the second people to pray for us in the last two days."

Bob teamed up with Steve later in the evening to pray for a man on crutches. He had a broken tibia and 'felt something' as they prayed. As they walked off he started putting weight on his foot to test out whether anything had happened. His confidence to move unaided appeared, in some measure to have increased. We're praying that, in an even more dramatic way, he also starts to walk taller after his encounter with the affirming, revitalising life of Jesus.

Divine combinations

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be approached by a treasure hunter. I'm not surprised when amazingly accurate clues, and the personalities and experiences of the people sharing them, combine to leave people a little non-plussed.

Steve and Shane had earlier prayed and came up with the clues; someone with a black Russian style hat with flaps that cover the ears, a name of James or Gemilia, problem with teeth, at the White Rose Centre. Their first surprise was the man with the hat - grey rather than black but definitely the right style. They approached him and his girlfriend, explained what the treasure hunt was all about and asked if the name 'James' or 'Gemilia' meant anything to him. His eyes widened at this and he and his girlfriend were both visibly shocked - his name was James. They got wider still when he was asked if he had any issues with his teeth. Yes, he'd been having problems for the last couple of weeks. He then told Steve and Shane that his sister had had a similar, unrelated experience about a month ago. She was that surprised that she went to see someone to give her a spiritual reading about it.

Shane was able to share his experiences at this point, having had a deep interest in paganism and tarot card reading before recently finding faith in Christ. He was able to tell them that this was a dimension of spirituality with many shadows and uncertainties and he gently warned them of the dangers. He shared that through Jesus he had found clarity and peace. Steve was also able to share the good news of God's grace - that gives us what we don't deserve to receive through Jesus Christ, and the love that seeks us out as individuals, precious and known personally to him.

James had, in his words 'a religious family' but he wasn't into it himself. Perhaps others were praying for him.He declined the offer of prayer. Maybe he was a little freaked out. I think I would have been. Or maybe it was more the realisation that there is a lot more going on in the universe than this material and materialistic world that so captivates our day to day attention. And that somewhere along the line we need to make some serious choices as to how we respond to it all.

Open House

One of the joys of Intrepid is the flexibility of the group. People can (and do) join us for the odd evening as a taster if they're wondering about doing more treasure hunting, a refresher if they've done it before, or in response to an open invitation to provide support for a particular evening.

One evening with some visitors to the group coincided with meeting some poeple from overseas as well as some locals. Millennium Square in Leeds turned out to be a fruitful fishing ground for two sets of fishers. The clues dark hair and dark green, along with the Square location, led to a conversation with a man from Greece. He had been in the UK for a year and was looking for work. He was happy for prayer about a job, and general health, and got into a conversation about Christianity in Greece. Much of it is, in practice, skin deep and quite nominal. I sometimes wonder if it's easier talking to people visiting the UK - they may think that treasure hunting is just one of those things that people do in Leeds. Whatever - a relaxed and friendly approach led to a relaxed and friendly conversation.

Whilst the general idea in treasure hunting is to find an opportunity to share your own faith, some people take the opportunity to give you an in-depth account of their own philiosophy of life. Looking for a smartly-dressed man with a shoulder bag, another group in the Square got into conversation with an anaethastist over from Egypt. He had been quite shocked by the late night drinking culture he had witnessed in Leeds and had formed the opinion that the UK was pretty irreligious. The conversation covered the need for personal repentance and  the power of grace. Trying to find an analogy that would make an impression, he paused at the thought that '..as a doctor, you will know more than most that sometime for one person to live, another person has to die.' It would be claiming too much to say that the meeting made a deep impression on him. But since this was the second conversation in a week he had had about what Christianity was really all about, we were sure this was a Divine appointment.

Elsewhere - red was definitely the colour. Matt (who was intrigued to learn his name in Hebrew meant 'gift of God') had a red jacket and red jeans, as well as matching a clue about long hair. From a Roman Catholic background he was OK to be prayed with about knowing God, his relationship with Jesus, his dissertation and a lady friend.

Starbucks also turned out to be a good place, leading to several chats including John who matched several clothing clues, pain in knee and memory problems. He said he was a christian going to church in Harehills and was touched by the love and interest.

A culturally enriching, as well as a spiritual evening.