Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSAWAKE O ZION!The Hall needed restoration and redevelopment. (That wasalso true of its residents!) We formed a building team thatsummer. Kelly knew the elements of building and Alan thebusker had done some bricklaying. It was a beginning. Wehad to lay new sewers quickly so Pete and I helped dig thetrenches. I nearly cut Kelly’s finger off with a spade.We got a grant to convert the house into flats, which gavethe families some privacy. Everywhere there was reconstruction.It seemed to symbolise what God was doing with us. Inthe chaos we were losing grip on our private life and possessions.Often we moved rooms. The building team advancedthrough the house and grounds leaving a trail of trenches,wreckage and rubble. Kelly’s office was the back pocket ofhis jeans.Pete was a guitar tutor and hunted for the place of leastdust and noise. It didn’t really exist! We would arrive homefrom work to find dust everywhere — or worse. It could be ahole in the wall and bricks on your bed. Alan wasn’t too concernedabout the niceties of fine living. The motto of the buildingteam was, ‘It’s slow — but it’s rough!’ Pete painted hisfavourite text on the wall:‘Do all things without murmuring or complaining!’Every Friday night, we swept the place for the weekend,but the dust from upstairs fell downstairs through the cracksin the floorboards. At one stage there weren’t any floorboards,and one sister had to walk the plank to get to her room! Thefun was when it rained. We would all be crammed into thedining room, perhaps, and at the sound of rain we would each117