Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
AWAKE O ZION!
‘Simon said he felt like thumping Kelly!’ was Ian’s rendering!
Kelly was quick on the draw and our pride got riddled
with holes.
In the summer, a pentecostal brother joined us from up
north. Kelly thought he was wonderful — he was actually humble!
Wilf fell in love with the place immediately.
‘When I got here,’ he said, ‘it was like our ’ouse. It was
where I belonged — despite the fact there were umpteen sisters
I was terrified of. They all seemed like Mother Teresa —
junior corps — and I felt like the little boy in short trousers!
But it was so homely and inspiring. It was all the cliches you
can imagine. It was like that to me — heaven on earth!’
‘Wilf’s just moved in,’ wrote Ian. ‘We spent the evening
gooseberry picking, which was fun. By the way, we’ve bought
another house. It’s called Vineyard and Mike Farrant is moving
there from the Hall. It’s got six acres and some fallen
down outbuildings...! beat my discipler up this morning! He
lost again. I’m glad our relationship is not all wishy-washy. I
reckon, on the whole, all things considered — he’s all right.’
Gradually the tensions mellowed and friendships grew.
Wilf’s positive happiness was infectious. He would come home
from work with a big grin and gleaming gold-rimmed spectacles.
‘Eh, it’s good to be back in Zion!’ he would exclaim in
his Chesterfield accent, as we sat against the window seat,
playing guitars and chatting. Kelly put his ‘smoking guns’ back
into their holsters, and filled up our ‘appreciation buckets’.
Ian perked up, too: ‘We went for a walk in the wind, then sat
round singing songs with the sisters. It was a good scene and
Kelly called me an amiable twit!’
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