1

The Herald
The Potter Family

Oct 2015
We are regularly amazed at how God through the presence and reality of the
Holy Spirit is constantly going before and working alongside and through us,
creating the multifaceted provision of the kingdom in our fractured, stressful
and complex life.
We are thankful for the many friends who have followed our adventures and as you will recall we
were planning on coming back to the UK in the middle of 2015 and needed a place to live. This
place was required for a period of reengagement, a base for our kids and so that we could
recuperate, complete studies and find some restoration for our minds and bodies.
Thankfully God provided a house/manse connected to Springwater Congregational Church in
Peppard Common, Oxfordshire. What you may be not be fully aware of is the manner in which this
was brought together and the connections that unfolded. We thought it was quite astonishing and
wanted to encourage and thank you for your prayers, support and encouragement and let you
know about the awesome creativity of God.
Our part of the story begins in the early part of this year while we were in Los Angeles, California
exploring opportunities for accommodation in the UK for the latter part of 2015.
Thanks to many friends we did had several possibilities brought to our attention. These were
amazing offers but for differing reasons not ideal. One, however, was with our friends P&G, who
we thought were part of a church in another county. Unbeknown to us they had become part of the
Springwater community and recently coordinated the renovation of the Springwater church house
in Peppard Common.
After reading our prayer requests, B&B, other prayer supporters and good friends talked to P&G
about our need for housing and as a result P&G broached the congregation at Springwater to see
if we could use the house. Praise God the community agreed and we were able to move into the
house in the middle of August. It has been wonderful, beyond our expectations. There is greenery
all around, and great walks that enable us to recharge our lives, plus it is close to the M4 & M40

motorways that enable us to quickly move around the country.

The connections, however, didnt stop there
Before moving into the house we were overawed at the practical provision of furniture and kitchen
utilities from many friends and family. We even acquired an excellent estate car for free that to this
day has travelled back and forth to Scotland, the Peak District and across the UK from Powys to
Suffolk & Essex.
Surprisingly, upon our arrival at Springwater, I realised that I had previously preached at the church
over 11 years ago when starting up The Mustard Tree Foundation in Reading.
After a few weeks of connecting with the wider church community, we discovered that a lovely couple
in the church are also brother and sister-in-law to our friends from Chelmsford, who are key leaders at
a Christian Growth Centre church. This is one of the churches in the network that have supported us
while we were in the USA.
Recently I also discovered that others in the Springwater community are good friends with a senior
partner I used to work for, at a civil engineering consultancy firm, before going to India in 1993.
The community can also relate to our sadness at leaving our son Ben back in the USA as an
inordinate number of families have at least one close family member living abroad. One of the
families travels regularly to Los Angeles to visit their son who is teaching in the city. Another has
family in Colorado not far from Linseys mother.
Bearing in mind this church community has very recently experienced quite a painful period in its life
and now has about 25 - 30 people gathering together
Another interesting happenstance is that during one of Joshs walks he discovered an ancient spring
in the woods directly behind us. Checking it out I find that it has the scripture John 4:13 Everyone
who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst
etched into a black stone lintel above a locked iron bar gate. Above the lintel sits a large grey and
weather-beaten stone block. Struck into the side of the block is an image of an Indian elephant
standing on a mound or hill. This spring has been in the forest for generations.
So in the middle of a forest, directly behind where we live, in a house we knew nothing about until the
early part of this year, on the edge of the beautiful Chiltern Hills and on an ancient spring dating back
before the Norman times (10th Century) there are empowering words of scripture and the casting of
an Indian elephant. Bearing in mind our deep Indian connections, we find all these connections
encouraging and quite amazing.
It has also been very life giving residing in the country and seeing the awesome colours of autumn
unfold before us. Having not lived in the UK during an autumn season for eleven years we have had
my breath taken away as we have walked in the woods or driven through the forests and hills. The
2

lorem ipsum :: [Date]

colours are fantastic (click here to see more).

FAMILY
Charys is very busy in her GAP year with Oasis in Belgium. Praise God, she was able to achieve her
summer funding goal, through working, saving and support from family and a wonderful community of
friends and prayer supporters. Currently, she is living in an old several-storeyed house in Brussels
and has already seen and visited many places that have matured her well beyond her years. Please
pray for wisdom, shalom and safety for Charys and the team in the course of their work in Belgium.
See http://www.oasisbe.org for more details. One of the tools the team uses to impact this complex
scenario is through http://www.loveabroad.org. Oasis Belgium will also soon begin a Christmas
appeal selling jewelry by ByRois, a Scottish company. For every piece that is sold with Oasis Belgium
another piece of jewelry will be gifted to the ladies they are connected with. ByRois makes jewelry out
of broken glass found on the Scottish shoreline.
Ben & Mackenzie would appreciate your prayers for Ben's work visa application. Its been submitted
and it would be great if it were to move quickly through the system and be looked at with favour. At
the moment they are both involved in organising their wedding ceremony, which will take place at the
end of July 2016. Ben is studying and playing with Circlesight. The band are partnering with elev8x,
an organisation supporting young adults and M.A.D (Mothers against Drunk Drivers).

We apologise that it has taken us so long to let you know that Josh found great accommodation in the
Vauxhall area of London. His room is part of a community house attached to St Peters Anglican
Church close to the Vauxhall tube station. The lower floor is an urban retreat centre and he lives on
the third floor. It is a wonderful answer to prayer. This will be a place of refuge for him during this
intense final year of studies. This year at University he has to design, instigate and write various
articles and stories that are worthy of publishing and can be submitted as part of his final year
assignment. See http://www.artefactmagazine.com/2015/10/20/a-life-on-two-wheels/. One of the
blogs that he is currently assisting on a voluntary basis outside of his University studies is called
Culture Honey and is based in Pasadena, California. This site also has a great picture of Linsey on
their second page.
LOADS OF LOVE FROM ALL THE POTTERS, XXXXXXX

OUR ADDRESS
The Manse,
Blounts Court Road,
Peppard Common,
OXON, RG9 5EU
UNITED KINGDOM
3

lorem ipsum :: [Date]

Prayer Update & Recap

We have been encouraged to hear that our friend in California, C, has obtained long term
accommodation. We would, however, ask you to continue praying for our friends with cancer, that
they and their families would experience Gods shalom and healing.
We would like to thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support for us. We have enjoyed
reconnecting with friends and family. We have been given words of advice, prophetic insights and
also met with various people in Wales, England & Scotland who have highlighted many needs and
opportunities. One of those needs taps into the expertise and experience that Linsey and I have in
assisting the church and local communities in the UK actively engage and support victims of human
trafficking. We would appreciate your prayers for wisdom and insight.
Linsey is currently in the USA finishing her initial research phase that will directly impact this latter
need. Thankfully she is being assisted in this quest with the help of several church groups in the USA
who are actively working and influencing their local community against human trafficking and towards
the needs of the vulnerable.
She will be also be attending a Fuller conference in Pasadena, in an online discussion, visiting Ben &
Mackenzie, our wonderful future in-laws, friends and family in Colorado.

We would appreciate prayer for:

Wisdom, peace of mind, strength of heart and safety for Charys and
opportunities of freedom for the ladies she is connecting with.
Ben to receive favour with his work visa application, focus with his studies and
that he and Mackenzie would be protected and strengthened in their relationship.
Josh to experience good community and enjoy the studies and intellectual
adventure he has embarked upon.
And that Linsey and I would sense the leading of God, be able to move into the
next phase of life, live out the integrity and justice of God kingdom and in our
fractured reality, express the love of Christ into the place we have been asked to
influence.

There are four specific Scripture passages interwoven into our journey.
They are:Ezekiel 37 Developing Life; Luke 4:18,19 - Encouraging Life; Matthew 22:36-40 - Sharing Life;
Ephesians 4:10-12 Equipping Life
linseypotter17@gmail.com; kevin@potterabout.com; www.potterabout.com
4

lorem ipsum :: [Date]