plan BIG.

I left my heart in San Francisco 16.5 years ago, but then and again that was easy to do.  We were newly weds honeymooning our way around the hilly city enjoying the vistas, watching the world go by and soaking up life over strong coffees and the twinkling of early Christmas lights.

Six years ago another long distance relationship was sparked.  It caught me unexpectedly and started as a holiday romance of sorts – not with another person, but with: the very land; the coastal trails; the headlands; the wide open beaches and the acres of sky.  Cornwall wooed my wife and I both and we have travelled the length of this island to return to her shores as often as we can in the subsequent years.  It’s become a pilgrimage of sorts – not just to the places we have come to truly love, but also to the people with whom we have built genuine friendships and community.

So on Thursday night we packed the car, strapped a couple of surfboards to the roof racks and headed south.  The first time we made the trek we set off at about 5.30 in the morning.  A combination of the stuff of life, the commitments of our kids and the insane ability to survive on very little sleep that parenting alone brings saw us set off about 7pm.  Mind you, extensive road works on the M6 coupled with a sleeping family resulted in a costly missed turn off, a jaunt across much of middle England via minor roads and a car park height restriction fail at 4.07 am.  Thankfully, no damage done!

Friday, saw us enter the Peoples’ Republic of Kernow and I couldn’t but help think about how much greener the grass appeared factually and metaphorically.  With only 36 hours or so to try to condense the highlights of a week’s family holiday in Cornwall, we made a bee-line to Padstow for a stroll, pasties and ice-cream by the harbour.

After a little chill time we headed to Polzeath and hooked up with a few of our fellow Soul Surfers crew who had also made the journey down from Scotland before we wandered over for food in the marquee outside Tubestation.  We were gathered for the 20th Christian Surfers UK National Gathering and it was a joy to catch up with faces old and new amidst the bustle and laughter of al fresco dinner conversation.  We meandered into the Tube where Knoxy, Sophie and a shuffling cast of barefoot friendlies helpfully carved out some time and space to gather our thoughts.  Founding member and head of Christian Surfers International, Brett Davies, had flown in from Australia to be there and gave us a brief canter through the CS story.  We were then treated to the UK premiere of “Beyond Sight” which is one of the most inspiring surf movies I have seen in a long while.  I won’t give too much away, suffice to say that it involves a blind surfer, Pipeline and a host of big name pro surfers who provide far more than a series of cameo appearances.  You can get a flavour of it here and we hope to be able to arrange a series of UK screenings later in the year – possibly with a couple of very special guests – watch this space!

We rustled our sleepy heads out of bed on Saturday morning and I placed my trust in a trucker cap to hide my bed-head hair.  Breakfast was followed by a helpful morning reflection from Daren before Knoxy, Sophie and the crew helped us gets our hearts and heads closer to where they ought to be.

Gill Davies then picked up the theme of the weekend, “If God is your partner, make big plans”.  She talked around the story of Nehemiah and of how he enquired about a people and how that gave him a heartache and a holy discontent because he saw a vision of God’s preferred future.  Once he knew what that was, he stepped in.  It was practical and thought-provoking stuff.  The rest of the morning was dedicated to discussing the core mission and vision of CS.

The afternoon involved free time and people headed off to spend that time as they saw fit.  Despite a lack of waves, there was beautiful sunshine and enough of a lure for a few of us to get wet and let my daughter christen her new surfboard.

We reconvened over a wonderful bbq before gathering to share stories and celebrate the 20th anniversary of CSUK.  It was a night to honour the shoulders of the giants we get to stand upon.

It was a delight to see Jess and the CS London crew be awarded the “Outstanding Contribution to CSUK” trophy.

There was barely a dry eye as Mike Scott talked of his late wife Chris’ commitment to CSUK before awarding the trophy in her honour to Brett and Gill Davies in recognition of all that they have poured of themselves into CS over 37 years.  How fitting at this point in history where they draw close to handing over the reigns.

For every story that was told, I found myself thinking that everyone in the room has their own equally important tale of where CS has connected them into an extended family of sorts and helped them to journey with others who loved the same culture and speak their language.

It seemed perfectly fitting to faithfully tell something of our own adventure and story in the very place where much of it began for me.  It was an evening heavy with the presence of God and a sense of heritage.  I spent a good few sacred moments where it seemed as if time slowed down a  little soaking up the enormous and palpable sense of gratitude in the presence of some friends whom I hold very dear.

With that we wandered down to the headland and perched to watch a setting sun paint the beach in oranges and golds.  The chattering disappeared as we watched in silence as the ball of fire sunk towards the horizon before simply disappearing into the sea.

Despite a lack of waves forecast, I heeded my early morning alarm call and tip-toed out into the bright morning sunlight and dewy grass as my family slumbered.  I slung a longboard under my arm and suited up at Tubestation before walking across the sand to the turquoise sea.  Alice met a small group of us there and encouraged us to unpick what the phrase “Be still and know that I am God” means.  By the time the session had finished there were about 30 surfers gathered.

We then paddled out into the beautiful, tranquil, sea and made the formation of a cross.  Dave Matthews then lead us through The Lord’s Prayer.  At the end of that the quiet was interrupted by “yews” and “yelps” and much splashing of water.  We then reformed into a large circle, hands held and all facing inwards as we all simply went around the ring calling out the name of someone who was on our mind and offering it as a prayer.  It was the most inspiring start to a Sunday I have experienced in years.

So we paddled back in, dried off and enjoyed a feast of a breakfast from the Tubestation crew.

I have long loved the idea of taking the things that are attractive and authentic about a community of faith and planting that out in the open rather than behind the confines of the walls of the buildings that we often congregate behind.  I want to live my life out loud.  So, this is what church looked like on Sunday morning…and it was very good.

After coffee we had a final session together which was followed by lunch and a pretty sweet little skate session on the miniramp in the Tube.

Whilst some people needed to head off, we were able to spend the afternoon back at the beach playing amidst the small waves again.  What a joy to witness our friend’s seven-year old son catch his first wave where he managed to pop up, stand and ride his Dad’s longboard and then to do so repeatedly with such a relaxed stance whilst loosely shaking a shakka sign with his trailing arm!  Invites were thrown out and a ruckus evening unfolded at the Cornish Arms in Pendoggett which included an impromtu set from Kris and Joff of The Grenaways, albeit my four-year old son replaced Henry on percussion duties.  A good night was had by all.

So, Monday always marks the start of long amble home.  In usual fashion, we resisted that for as long as possible opting instead to linger in the company of other fellow sojourners.  We then headed to the Eden Project which is a place we never tire of and chatted with some of the Scottish Soul Surfer crew about a host of things and some of the thoughts that were taking shape in our heads and hearts as a result of being at the Gathering.  When it couldn’t be delayed any longer, we reluctantly headed back up North just before the staff locked the car park gates for the night.

Like any long distance relationship, we had no sooner made it over the border into Devon before we were scheming and planning our next welcome return…maybe October?

B.

 

Good things come to those that wait…

In 1999 Guinness beamed an iconic image of surfing into millions of households.  For those of a certain generation, the advert remains one of the most instantly recognisable and has won a host of accolades.   I think it has something to do with the beauty of the imagery, the power of Neptune’s white horses and the sense of waiting…

Patience is a virtue.  It’s something that surfing has taught me in a way.  Surfing is so dependent on a variety of things: wind direction; swell; wave period, to name but a few.  I found it a complete frustration when I started.  With skating, there was little that would get in the way other than rain.  Whilst high winds or fog could be a deterrent to snowboarding, provided there was a good covering of snow, there was an expectation you could go riding regularly during the winter months.  But, patience is something any surfer needs to learn during landlocked days or weeks or, simply, in the waiting between sets.

Patience doesn’t just mean waiting around.  In surf terms, the waiting is likely to be filled with keeping fit, practicing manoeuvres on dry land or on a longboard skateboard and keeping a watchful eye on the weather charts and surf reports.  Developing patience can be a conscious thing, a mind-set.  Whilst waiting can be frustrating, it is often fueled by hope or expectation.

There was a song by Arcade Fire a few years ago called “We Used To Wait.”  It talks of how Win Butler used to write letters and yet, in the relationship he has with the muse to whom the song is directed that has never happened.  Everything is instantaeneous in on our modern world: instant credit; pay-day loans; on-line purchasing; entertainment; social media; on-line dating; etc.  But, much like Win Butler’s musings in the song, I used to spend time in my teenage years just waiting around.

My wife and I started dating before either of us had mobile phones or internet access and, yes, that sentence seems strange to read back to myself now.  Nevertheless, we used to write to one another loads because we stayed in different towns and cities at different stages of those early years of dating.  I used to wait for letters and words and so did she.  I can echo the closing verse of the song which states,

“It seems strange how we used to wait for letters to arrive, but stranger still is how something so small can keep you alive”.

The boxes of love letters and postcards that each of us sent to the other whilst we waited on the other remain like treasure buried safely in our home… It reminds me of some ancient words about a related thing – endurance or perseverance:

“…we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame…”

Those of you who read this blog with any regularity will probably know something of the story of Davina the camper-van.  If not, then I wrote a couple of posts back in July about an opportunity that presented itself.  You can fill in the back story by clicking here to read the first of those posts or here for the second.

In a nutshell, we’ve had access to the occasional use of VW camper over the past three years.  She’s fairly iconic and has felt like a part of what we have been pioneering for quite some time.

The first time we partnered with her owner and had her attend one of our beach days, over 60 people turned up.  It was a glorious day as we caught up with various friends and met some new people.  We were overwhelmed with a sense of what could be as we overheard little sound bytes of conversation as people from different parts of our lives met and chatted and got to know one another out on the beach.  That day was significant.  Nobody was there pushing any agenda or trying to turn conversations to particular topics but, as people made connections, the air was full of the buzz of chitter chatter.  For those who wanted to chat about surfing or camper-vans, it was the natural place to do so.  For those who wanted to enquire about how people knew one another, that was very natural too.  For those who wanted to know who the green and white split screen camper belonged to, the answer probably took them by surprise.  The Scottish Bible Society? Really?  Why?  For those who wanted to find out more, there was a natural way to do so on their own terms in a safe environment.  For those who wanted to change the subject, that was natural too.  We know of one family for whom that day lead each of them to reconnect or re-examine and explore their own faith afresh.

Davina has become associated with Soul Surfers in many people’s minds.  A friend who I first met when he turned up at one of our beach days and whom I have loved getting to know well over the past two years or so, returned from a trip down south about this time last year.  He handed me a key-ring with the phrase, “saw this, thought of you”.

In the subsequent period we’ve sought waves together from Thurso to Cornwall and have enjoyed plenty of time invested in one another’s company, learning of one another’s stories and walking through life together.  The key-ring is with me as a daily reminder of friendship and life’s journeys.

For my birthday last July, he gave me a beautiful book inside which was written, “The second I saw this, I knew it was for you!  Whilst we don’t get to do as many trips as we’d like, I hope this book fuels your dreams and inspires your journeys, just don’t day-dream too much!  Much love, grace and peace”, followed by his signature and the phrase, “Be still and know that I am God, Psalm 46: 10”.

When we discovered in June this year that the Scottish Bible Society had decided to sell the camper-van, we felt excited about the possibilities that may have opened up despite not having the money to buy her and being wary about taking on a significant debt.  After seeking the wisdom and counsel of others it simply “seemed right to us” to pursue the opportunity.

There is, indeed, a time for patience and waiting.  The thing is, however, that if we always waited for perfect conditions, then we’d never go surfing.  In fact, there would be a huge array of things we’d never do if that were the case.  Sometimes we just need to go in the strength that we have.

We emailed a bunch of folks and put up a couple of posts on the blog explaining something of our story and the vision we had for how the van could be potentially used.  Within a fortnight we had received pledges of support of over £10,000!

So much has happened in the subsequent months.  Despite a few knock-backs with grant applications, individuals pledged one-off sums or monthly amounts.  The story moved so quickly that often the funding applications we were making seemed out of date by the time they reached their audience.  My home church, Central, then offered to administer the funds in a ring fenced account which would add credibility in making future grant applications to Trust Funds, etc and provide us with the benefits of being able to benefit from gift aid, etc.  As such, Central would become legal owners with myself as registered keeper with the van to be used in the ways we imagined in the posts written back in July.

The Scottish Bible Society have been exemplary and we have reached an agreement where we have paid a down-payment of £7000 with SBS agreeing that the balancing £10,000 can be paid off by three further annual payments on an interest free basis.  There are a host of significant additional costs in terms of insurance, addressing immediate remedial works including a new wax-oyl under-seal and isolated corrosion on some of the panel seals,  servicing, MOT and general running costs.  The overall project is likely to cost circa £25,000 to £28,000 over a three-year period.  That may sound scary but, it still seems like we are to step out in faith and to continue to tell stories of the things than unfold and hope that it captures the imagination of other individuals or charitable trusts whom we make grant applications to.  We’re about half way there already!

So here we stand having taken the keys, put the insurance in place and garaged her securely to protect her from the cold weather.  We’re brewing coffees and green teas and knuckling down to grant applications, telling stories of our adventures and pushing doors for further funding to bridge the gap over the next three years whilst actually seeking to get on with things.  Right now, we need to get the Mot and service and immediate repairs undertaken in order to get her back out onto the road properly.

I think part of our problem can be that our ideas can seem fluid for those who are used to appraising detailed business plans.  The funny thing is that I regularly have to think in such terms in my day-to-day work and, yet, this feels like we are to have a fairly blank page and to leave plenty of room in the margins…The humbling and encouraging thing is that plenty of others have encouraged us in their words or in financially supporting us thus far, because they also see the potential.

It’s been hugely exciting and, yet, we’ve generally felt very at peace.  In some ways it’s felt surreal, almost as if it wasn’t actually happening to us, but was someone else’s story that we just had the good fortune to watch opening up before us.  It’s the sort of thing that happens to our people, not to ordinary folks like us…Everytime, I have wondered whether we should pursue something else, a cheaper alternative or another van, people have spoken into the situation confirming that it is Davina that we should pursue.  Conversely, I regularly felt like the worst salesman in the world.  When people offered us money, I challenged them to really think about it.  When images of chemical attacks in Syria beamed into our homes, it seemed like the notion of creating a mobile sacred space in a camper-van was so unimportant in the grand scheme of things.  Could God really be interested in something like that?  And, yet, as we sat with a contract for sale in our possession, I was finishing reading “Groundswell – The Christian Surfers Story” by Brett Davis.  Within the closing chapters of that book, I came to discover that there has been this strong international link forming between regional Christian Surfer groups and regional Bible Societies throughout the globe over many years.  That felt strangely affirming – that in some small way we were continuing to see a partnership continue as we look to developing the ongoing legacy of the Bible Society’s former van.

Regularly I find myself thinking that all of this seems ludicrous and audacious…and yet, it also seems entirely right.  Good things come to those who wait…

B.

P.S. Should you wish to support this project financially, then you can donate directly by using the “Find out how to support Davina the camper-van” link on the right hand side of the page or, simply, click here.  Alternatively, you can email me at brian@biallen.freeserve.co.uk for further information.