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Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

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FIRE IN OUR HEARTS<br />

CITY ON A HILL<br />

‘Afraid so!’ I said. ‘The library has thousands of them —<br />

mostly Christian paperbacks — and we also have a reference<br />

section next door on church history, theology, community...’<br />

‘The Hall is quite a centre,’ said Pete, ‘what with the library,<br />

the cloth<strong>in</strong>g store, the pre-school, the laundrette, and<br />

the FDC.<br />

‘The FDC?’ Anneke looked puzzled.<br />

‘We’ll show you,’ he said, lead<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong>to the c<strong>our</strong>tyard.<br />

In front of the converted stable block a man with snow <strong>in</strong> his<br />

hair struggled by with some boxes of frozen meat.<br />

‘Hi, Steve!’<br />

‘Bless you! Bit cold for May, isn’t it?’ (He’d just come out of<br />

the freezer van!)<br />

‘Steve was tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to be a vicar,’ I expla<strong>in</strong>ed, ‘but jo<strong>in</strong>ed us<br />

<strong>in</strong>stead. He now runs the FDC — the Food Distribution Centre.’<br />

‘More like Stephen the deacon, eh?’ said Henk.<br />

‘That’s right!’ said Steve. ‘Except the stuff we distribute is<br />

from manufacturers and wholesalers!’<br />

‘How does it work?’ asked Henk.<br />

‘Well, each house sends us an order for food, cloth<strong>in</strong>g and<br />

household needs, along with a cheque for the previous week.<br />

We try to keep th<strong>in</strong>gs simple, and supply what’s needed... as<br />

long as the orders get <strong>in</strong> on time!’<br />

Steve disappeared <strong>in</strong>to the store room.<br />

‘He’s busy! Upstairs is the pre-school,’ I po<strong>in</strong>ted. ‘It’s for<br />

three to five year olds. Notice the cardboard tractor <strong>in</strong> the<br />

w<strong>in</strong>dow?’<br />

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