It was Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th November. Janie and I were helping out our daughter in Edinburgh as she was leading the worship at a Christian conference. We had stayed overnight at Fiona's house in Edinburgh. Geoff, her husband, was in England on business. He runs a large events management business and this is a busy time of the year. So it was my job to act as taxi driver. This involved collecting Anna from school on the Friday night and collecting her from her church youth fellowship in Balerno. These journeys were very smooth. The Saturday was more problematic. I had to collect Caleb from at his school at 12.45 pm and take him back home to Kirkliston so that he could shower and change for a party at Air Thrill in Wester Hailes. He had been given a lift by another parent so that he could be at school for 7.50 to allow him to travel on the coach to Glasgow for a rugby match.
And so I arrived at Queensferry Road, parked the car as near to the school as possible and waited for the coach to arrive. It was late and did not arrive until nearly half past one. I had to drive fast to take Caleb back to Kirkliston and he was very concerned that he was going to be late. The traffic was fairly heavy and I had to overtake several cars - not my usual style of driving. He got changed and we set off again just before 2pm for the fifteen minute journey to his party. Stupidly, I decided to use the sat nav even though I had a good idea where I wanted to go. I must have made a mistake with the postcode and I was guided to the wrong venue. I realised my mistake and used my native intuition to find the place but it was nearly half past two by the time I arrived at the Air Thrill in Wester Hailes. The instructions were to arrive at 2pm for a 2.15 pm start. I let a very nervous Caleb out of the car and he headed off in the direction of the soft play or whatever it is called. I had intended to make my way back to Kirkliston and collect him later. But God had other plans. I decided that I would park the car in the large car park and check that Caleb had found his party and that he was ok. I was a bit shattered with all the nervous energy. I walked through the shopping area and outside at the other end going towards the Air Thrill building.
That was when I discovered these young Christians witnessing for their Lord in one of the most challenging housing schemes in our capital city. I realised who they were because Janie and I had seen them in action in the High Street in Falkirk a few months ago. I approached the circle and immediately one young girl approached me and made contact. She was friendly and helpful and I explained that I was a Christian and I told her that I was on my way to check that my grandson was alright. I checked on Caleb and was returning to the shopping mall where I was looking for a coffee shop.
I had frequent discussions with several members of the group who were known as Fire Starters. On reflection, I am now convinced that God's plan for me was to encounter this group comprising mainly of teenagers who are on fire for the Lord and seeking to win others to their Saviour. I was uplifted by the conversations I had with them. I was invited to join them for a prayer session. It is encouraging to see young people who love the Lord and are seeking to serve Him in a challenging area. They were not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Have a look at this video.
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