Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
AWAKE O ZION!
ing to me?’ he thought. It was just three years since the Jesus
People had walked up the steps of All Saints and met him and
Paddy. Now he was a leader in a Christian community. Amazing!
A train thundered down the line at the bottom of the hill.
John turned. It was a beautiful view. The sun had risen through
the mists turning the canal blood-red as it glistened in the
frosty fields below. He spotted the trees that sheltered the
Hall in Bugbrooke. Beyond lay a hazy Northampton, the distant
rumblings of the M1, and the wooded hills on the horizon.
John ‘Gentle’ was a key man. (‘Gentle’ was the ‘virtue name’
we gave him to distinguish him from all the other Johns). He
was a guy you wanted to be with — natural, easy, and gentle
— a good support to Dave who’d now abandoned teaching for
farmwork. Steve ‘Faithful’ and another brother had accompanied
John and Dave from the Hall to the newly acquired
Farm. On the sisters’ side they were joined by Irene (a Norwegian),
Liz and Janie.
With this nucleus, plus a friendly rat called Walter, a new
era began. The Hall carried on its chaotic way as the Farm
took brotherhood deeper. There was so much enthusiasm
around. It was a mixture of fun and togetherness; of cold and
primitive living conditions; of meditation in the fields; of late
nights and discussion round the lounge fire; of hard work
and quickness to sacrifice.
Noel frequently stayed overnight. ‘There are five new arrivals
at the farm,’ he said in chapel one Sunday morning.
Everybody looked puzzled. Who could they be? They were
the first five sows! Steve had done a course on pig breeding,
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