Alex's personal musings: contrasts

Saturday was a rest day. The night before we tried to stay up late (3am) to keep our night time rhythm going. Needless to say that none of us made it! I awoke around 9am, went for a walk, came back and then finished a book (reading to the end of books is a rare event for me!). My body decided that I had not had sufficient sleep so I drifted off for another hour. Magnificent! When was the last time I felt tired, could go to sleep and wake up when I was ready to! That is a gift.

We all gently drifted through the day and then prepared ourselves to go out to Ushuaia (a beach club on the other side of the Island). We all piled onto a bus filled with other party goers and were tipped out 30 minutes later. I'll be honest - I have not been to a club since 1995 when, as a student, I experienced the highs and lows of Roxy's in Sheffield. Man alive this was an impressive place (see pic). Hundreds and hundreds of beautiful people (both male and female) moving to the pulse of what I would call tribal music. It felt like a primitive people were gathering to worship the sun! We found a good spot on a second level and bobbed (not sure this is the technical term for minimal dancing) and watched the throng as the sun went down. The music was not really my taste (a bit monotonous) but I could see well how the DJ worked the crowd. It was an impressive sight.

Warning! For those who would rather not know about my urinal experience please skip to the next paragraph. I have always struggled with stage fright and despite being desperate for a wee I was not looking forward to walking into a packed toilet and attempting to relieve the pain in my bladder! I can't tell you the times I have stood at a public urinal, attempted to wee, couldn't, and then pretended that I had (including "shake") and walked out knowing that my fellow wee-ers knew that I hadn't! Shame! My first tactic is usually to wait for a cubicle to come free so I can wee in private. This was not going to happen. The two cubicles were in use and a fellow punter pointed out that there were a few urinals free. He was Spanish and I thought it would be easier to accept his invitation rather than explaining my condition in his native language. It was time to begin "Operation Nixon". Not sure when this technique began but it has served me well over the years. This is weird but it works. I close my eyes and visualise the resignation speech of Richard Nixon. I don't know why this particular moment in history releases my sphincter but it does. Perhaps I have developed a particular neural network that connects these two experiences. After 30 seconds of repeating the word "Nixon" in my mind, I wee-d and walked out like I had a achieved something special! For some of you reading this, it will be first time you have heard of stage fright. Some of you will be all too familiar with this affliction and will relate to parts of this story. Perhaps we should start a support group!

Moving on.

On the way back from the toilet, Bernard and I wanted to explore the whole site. We walked through a door and found ourselves on the beach. Lovely moment - warm sand, lapping sea and the club music washing over us. We tried to get back into the club via the door we came in and were greeted (I use that term loosely) by a bouncer who informed us that we could not go back in. Despite Bernard's death stare (truly frightening - both in terms of how he looked but also what might happen to us if he didn't stop doing it) we were not welcome back in. We tried a few other entrances to no avail. Our club experience was over.

I didn't mind as I had a good chat with Bernard. The rest of the gang caught up with us and we headed back to San Antonio.

Again we tried to stay up to 3am but crashed at 1am!

Lightweights.

Day 2 & 3 The calm in the maelstrom

The bible has many examples of sea based metaphors and I thought we use one here. The normal dictionary definition of a maelstrom* is very powerful whirlpool but it also has a secondary definition of a 'A situation or state of confused movement or turmoil' which at times defines perfectly the west end at night. However before I dive into my musings on days 2 & 3 (Tuesday and Wednesday), I thought I'd try and explain where we are located and about the west end. 

We are based in San Antonio (de Portmany) on the west cost of Ibiza. In our posts we have mentioned the west end quite regularly.  The name west end refers to a night time minibus trip from hotels in other resorts in the 1970s that would come to San Antonio's bars and the name of this tour package was "The West End Experience". Since then the area has become known simply as "The West End". The main street in the west end is called Carrer de Santa Agnès.  (Thanks Wikipedia)This west end area has become our night time home. 

Days two and three for me at least (as in Paul) were markedly different from the first evening, whilst some conversation was had & people prayed for, it was more about helping getting people home and getting safe. I even received a 'lovely' (I use this term in the most liberal of sense) lick/kiss on the cheek from one very overzealous (male) party goer. I have also had my first trip to the medical centre which my first comment when we arrived was to complement the architectural design of the building, worryingly my first thoughts are always planning based.

I have also learned that the hour we are out is not over until it's over (and quite frequently well beyond a hour) . Case in point would be Wednesday where at 01:59 (and 59.9999999 seconds (maybe)) walking back to the 247 centre Becky spotted a guy sitting on the kerb with his head in his hands. This lead to a trip in the van and eventually to his hotel, God however is a god of amazing coincidences and sitting in the van was one of the guys friends who another team had picked up... My knowledge of northern football teams was tested to the max however as I tried to keep our passenger awake. 

I used the term maelstrom to introduce this post however the calm in the middle of all this are the Ibiza long term team members who all seem to have the gift of amazing calm and focus, and at times I have been massively in awe of this, I hope by the time we have finished our two weeks some of this calm and focus will have rubbed off on me! 

Also I realise more and more that pray in the prayer room at the centre is so important to both allow personal reflection about our time out in the west end but also for those who are out while we are in the prayer room. When prayer is missed due to an extended call, trip to the medical tent/centre etc, I certainly do miss it. 

Thanks for reading, Paul signing off.... Until next time etc etc 

Matthew 8:23-26 (CEV)

A Storm

23 After Jesus left in a boat with his disciples, 24 a terrible storm suddenly struck the lake, and waves started splashing into their boat.

Jesus was sound asleep, 25 so the disciples went over to him and woke him up. They said, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 But Jesus replied, “Why are you so afraid? You surely don’t have much faith.” Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to calm down. And everything was calm.

*yes I acknowledge that maelstrom is a Dutch word so obviously not found in the bible...

Jon's ramblings: Ibiza Town

After four nights on the spin we were ready for a break.

Today’s schedule included our usual team meeting in the prayer room. After a worship song we shared our feelings on the night before. Some had encouraging encounters, others a quieter night which had actually given us the opportunity to get to know our long term team buddies better. Some of us reflected on how we felt a little flat after the exciting start to the week. We resolved to enjoy today’s trip to Ibiza Town and keep encouraging one another.

Our guide for the day was Danny. He, Lydie and their daughter Asha moved to the island in January as part of a new work in Ibiza town alongside some of the most marginalised people groups on the island.

We climbed the steps of the old fortified town gulping down water as we went and taking in the impressive vistas over the harbour, the main beaches , the salt flats that provide grit for the roads of Scotland, and the island airport. Danny shared how God had clearly called them to the island with a series of clear confirmations, some of which totally blew us away in terms of the generosity of God’s people and the wonderful way that God provides for those who are obedient to His call. The work is still evolving and Danny spoke of how his family are waiting on God to direct their strategies when the time is right.

Truly inspiring.

We finished the day with a lovely meal on the harbour side. 

Alex's personal musings - Lost Sheep

I was part of the team that began in the prayer room last night. During the day I was thinking about what verses I could highlight when giving out Bibles. One of the more obvious passages came to mind which I read out in the prayer room just after midnight:

“Then Jesus told them this story:

If any of you has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbours and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep.”

Jesus said, “In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to.” Luke 15:3-7.

Following this we prayed that we would have the same spirit and have the determination and grit to find those who were lost, lonely, fatherless and in pain.

Just after 1am one of the long term team, Lucy and I paired up and walked down towards Ibiza Rocks bar (armed with brownies which we give to the bar workers). She noticed one young man, Carl (not his real name) who was part of a group of friends but looked a little wobbly. To be honest, I thought that he was OK and safe with his friends.

I am so glad that Lucy got involved.

He had obviously consumed more than alcohol (see how much of an expert I am now ;-)! and was struggling to focus. Lucy gave him some water while I had a chat with his friend about what 24/7 Ibiza is about.

After 10 minutes we decided that we would walk him back to his hotel with one of his friends to sleep it off. However, Carl started to deteriorate pretty quickly. He was finding it difficult to walk, he was overheating and his heartbeat was exceptionally fast.

Lucy decided that we should get him to the medical tent and we called for the 24/7 wheelchair. My now masterful driving skills came to the fore as I pushed Carl ¼ mile uphill whilst also trying to stop him from jumping out or trapping his feet underneath the chair (good prep for when Robert is older ;-)

I really felt for this guy who, through the teeth grinding, muscle spasms and outbursts, shared that he had lost his grandma that day. Perhaps Carl took the drugs not to party but to numb the pain.

The guys at the medical tent checked Carl’s vitals and we got stuck in by giving him water to drink, holding ice around his neck and also giggled at his reaction when he had cold water poured over him to reduce his temperature.

Lucy and I stayed with him for an hour while he slowly came down. At 3am I was swapped out with Jon so I could go back into the prayer room.

I was really surprised to see Carl still there and still struggling to come down when our team were sent home to rest at 4am.

As I write I don’t know what happened to Carl but I know that the long term team would have stayed with him for as long as it took and safety delivered him back to his hotel.

It would not surprise me if we had collectively spent over 20 hours with Carl.

Bearing in mind where this blog post started it was rewarding to finish the night realising that we had been used by God to find, care for and bring home a lost sheep.

Father, I pray that Carl is safe and that through his experience you will plant a seed of faith so that when his friends recount what happened his spirit would realise that You came to find him last night.

Today we are off to Ibiza Town to do some prayer walking and eating. Yum.

Alex's personal musings - carnage!

Night 3 being Wednesday was always billed as a busy night. It is one of the mains days when people arrive on the island and they commonly hit the bars as soon as they land. With the excitement of a brilliant holiday in front of them people enthusiastically get into the party mood and take / drink too much. I have very limited experience of either taking or seeing the effects of drugs but after last night I have a bit more (not the taking you understand).

We began the night in the prayer room worshipping God which is a great way to get focused on the job at hand. I then joined Abby (bonus) on our first walk about. We didn’t even make it 10 metres before we got a call to take someone home. So Abby and I got into the vomit van and drove to meet up with Michelle and Robb who were helping a young chap and his two friends. Michelle is absolutely brilliant. She was so natural and calm even when the young fella was affectionately cuddling and kissing her shortly after he had vomited!

Once we had dropped those guys back we arrived back on the strip to find an Irish chap without his shoes and shirt wondering around without a clue of what was going on. Fortunately, he was just outside the medical tent so we helped him in where he was checked over (blood pressure, temperature, heart rate etc). We waiting with him for around 45 minutes as high heart rate settled and temperature dropped. During this time, in came Jon with a young man who was all over the place. The same checks were carried out and then, for me, I saw the most wonderful and heart-warming moment of our journey so far. Jon was given the role of giving the chap a drink. This was not easy. The fella was a big guy and less than cooperative but the father within Jon came to the fore as he gently, but persistently, encouraged the chap to drink. It was actually like trying to get a baby to finish their bedtime milk. “Well done”, “Just a bit more”, “nearly there”, “this is doing you good” were quietly spoken into the chap’s ear. 

Absolutely wonderful.

I am actually choking up as I write this (a bit embarrassing as I am in the hotel bar).

We actually had to leave our fella to go and collect a young lady who had collapsed on the floor. I was on wheelchair duty and determined to demonstrate that I could do actually do this well. This time the journey was smooth and she was safely deposited in the medical centre.

Back into the vomit van to take two boys back to their hotel. Funnily enough the second chap we picked up had the t-shirt of the first fella!

Abby was completely perfect. She had to juggle driving the van, taking calls from the police (in Spanish) and others and co-ordinate who goes where. This was an intense time and her clarity of thought and decision making was very impressive.

I should have been out for one hour but two and half hours later I made it back to the prayer room. Prayer and singing ensued – a welcome time to rest a little and thank God for his help.

Phew!

Alex's personal 24/7 Ibiza musings: orange Wednesdays

On Wednesday’s between 3 and 5 in the afternoon we take bags of oranges to the beaches offering free fruit and taking the opportunity to meet new people, offer prayer and have a casual chat. Kirstie, James, one of the long term team and I headed out to the beach where the workers usually go. This was great as many of those we met knew who 24/7 Ibiza were and were ready to receive their vitamin C injection!

We had a great time.

People on the whole are really chatty and happy to chew the cud about holidays, work and life. We spent 10 minutes talking with two women who were nervous about returning home as they were embarking on new academic adventures and leaving home. I was able to share a bit about my own experience of God being a support and a rock during times of change and how He could be that for them too.

I am learning that one of our main jobs is to sow seeds and it’s OK to have brief encounters with people, share a little about what we do, capture a prayer request or two and then move on. All done with a smile!

It was quite remarkable that when I approached the Spanish life guards one was happy to accept an orange, the other didn't want fruit but insisted that I gave her a bible!

Wallop....

Day 1 Sunsets and Ibiza nights ...

Sorry it's taken a few days to post this blog. Things have been rather busy!

We arrived at Ibiza airport at about 2am Spanish time and were met and made very welcome by the 24-7 Ibiza team leaders Charlie and Abby and swiftly transferred to our hotel in San Antonio.

The weather is unsurprisingly hot with the average temp being about 30 degrees in the day with it not dropping much below 20 at night!

We are here with a group of others who are here for most of the season. These guys really know what they are doing and we are grateful for their encouragement and support. Man, they are good at praying!

Day 1

The photo is the famous sunset over the sunset strip, which is the unofficial start of night time in Ibiza. We started at 12 with two teams of 6, one group going out into San Antonio the others staying at the centre and praying. We met with workers and revellers a like, who wholeheartedly welcomed our presence. People were prayed for, bibles given out and people helped.

So Alex, in his own style, managed to make a cracking rookie error! Given that he is an experienced wheelchair pusher with Robert he confidently stepped forward and helped a young fella up to the medical tent. He was a tricky customer but don't think he deserved to be thrown out of the chair when Alex hit a curb!

One of the local bar workers asked one of the teams to pray that they would get a flat mate very soon. The next day she said she'd got one!

As part of our initial training, stories were shared about how often prayers in the prayer room were answered as soon as the teams hit the streets. It was wonderful to witness this as for the first prayer hour between 12 and 1 we were praying about how God keeps his promises. Two of the team then went out and met up with on of the bar workers who opened up and, in tears, was sharing about how his life was full of broken promises. We were able to draw alongside a lonely young man, listen to him for 20 minutes and then offer words of encouragement and friendship to him. Please pray that the long term team have many more opportunities over the coming weeks to help this chap and show him that God loves him and keeps his promises.

Final thought
It's obvious from our first night that Jesus very much loves Ibiza and that very positive things are happening here. There still is a small sense of what are on earth are we doing here but instead of wanting to hide away we are excited to get back out into San Antonio and be involved in what is happening.

7 The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.

1 Corinthians 12 v 7 CEV version