17-19 January 2014 Apostle at The Oakes

In recent years it has been a real privilege for a team from CMM to travel to the Oakes in Sheffield to lead a music weekend.  The Oakes is an amazing Christian centre which focuses on sharing the Gospel with children and young people.  They have a team of young adults who spend a gap year living at the Oakes and serving on the community there.

This year the CMM team was Annie, Amy, Alan and Sally.  On the Friday evening Alan was driving the team to Sheffield when he heard that his wife Sue had been involved in a car accident.  Praise God she was unhurt and was looked after by their son Jonathan while Alan was absent.

The theme of the week was the musical Apostle, and Annie trained an orchestra and Amy the choir, while Sally did some dance.  Karl, Sally's husband, had sequenced a special bonus track for the Apostle CD called HIPostle, and this was perfect for the young people to dance to.

There were over 40 campers for the weekend, and they included some really good singers, players and dancers.  Many of the house team also joined in with the choir and orchestra, and from that group came some really good soloists.  One of the big highlights of the Oakes is the Bible teaching and worship that the house team organise.  They are constantly trying to make it the best it can possibly be, and the young people learn a huge amount - not just in the teaching sessions, but also in their times spent with their dormitory leaders.

The final performance, as usual, was excellent, and the hall was crammed full of family members who had come to watch.  As Annie was on piano, Amy conducted, while Alan played the part of Saul.  Sally and her dancers stole the show, of course!  A brilliant weekend - please pray for all the young people as they take on board what they have learned and try to take it back to their schools and home lives.