Transcript

Today I’m going to be interviewing a dear friend of mine,
someone I’ve gotten to know well over the years, travelled a lot with and I’d
like to introduce the lovely Michelle Lovely. But as she comes I would just
like to do this. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Michelle.
Happy birthday to you. Thank you. Okay we’re gonna do this as an interview and many of us
know you as a part of a long-standing church family. But I’m sure that there
are many in here that don’t know you and so could you start by telling us a
little bit about yourself, your family and how this church has been part of your
life. Sure yeah I feel like a bit of a part of the furniture here really, I’ve been
there so long. But my name is Michelle, I am married to Mark Lovely, that is
his name, honest. And we have two children, Sam and Eliza, they’re not kids
anymore, they’re 22 and 19, they don’t really know how that happened but there
we go. So we’ve lived in Sheffield forever basically apart from four years
in Ireland where we left this church, went over there and then we came back
and came home basically. So I’ve been part of MCF for well it’s over 30
years, I’m just gonna leave it at that, I was considering it was my birthday today,
I don’t want to think about how old that is. But yeah over 30 years, came as a
teenager and then actually you guys have seen me through all stages of life,Transcript
you know, teenager, university, year out, getting married, having small
children and then you know having adult children. And currently I run a
charity called Your Kids Around the World, probably I say can be harping on
it but yep, so I do that, that’s down in wood seats, charity shop and then I
also work for a charity as a project manager, managing relationships with
projects here and abroad. That’s kind of me. Brilliant, so you’ve grown up in a
Christian family and in this church, how did your personal faith in Jesus
become real to you and what helped shape it along the way? So initially
obviously yes, Christian family, you know my parents, Graham and Karen
are in the church. So yeah, so I kind of, I always knew Jesus was real, it
just, it never was an issue for me, you know, he’s always been there. But when
I was six, Billy Graham came to Sheffield and did Mission Sheffield
and Mum and Dad were leading Dorontotley Christian Fellowship at that
time and they were involved in being the prayer team and the ministry
team for that and we actually, we had to go two nights and I’m sure it was
because one of the nights they couldn’t get a babysitter but I’m really glad
that happened because that was the night I decided that Jesus was for me and I
actually needed to make that decision. So that was the start but obviously
as a six year old you don’t really know very much do you? So it was much
later, excuse me, when I was a teenager and you know, God had been
part of my life for all that time, you know, being in a Christian home, being
part of a church, you know, they were church leaders, it’s not something
that you walk away from really, it’s all, it’s every day. But when I was a
teenager, you know, you hit those times where you start to have to think
a little bit more for yourself and yeah, and so one of the things that
was really pivotal for me in my faith journey was that I was just
watching Telly one day and some of you will remember Challenge Annika? Yes,
love that program, I thought she was fantastic. But she went out to a
Romanian orphanage and I was just sat there, you know, having quite a
nice time watching Telly and she walked into this disgusting place. It
was awful, it was absolutely awful and I am going to cry, don’t worry
about it, it’s kind of how it is, ignore it. But I remember just
sitting there and my heart broke. I don’t know the way to describe it
and God broke my heart for those children, just seeing the mess that
they lived in and the lack of joy or hope really that they had. And I
just sat there and I said, God, if you ever give me the opportunity to
do something about that, then I’ll do it. And I was somewhere between
12 and 14 at the time. And it’s kind of a bit of an innocent that
possibly loaded prayer to say that. And I think I probably didn’t
realise the consequences at the time really, if I was honest,
about what that would mean to do that, to leave family and
friends and go out and do something like that. But that
was what he put on my heart. So when I was about 14, 15, I
started to say to mum and dad, you do realise I’m not actually
going to be here forever, don’t you? I’m going off to Romania. And
they were like, oh, okay. But Jeff and Pauline, bless them, had a
contact in Romania for a Romanian charity. And then so the ball
started rolling to put that in place. And I ended up out there
for a year. But in terms of kind of faith journey, really,
the year before I went, I made some really bad decisions. I was
17. I just made some really bad decisions. And so when I did
get to go, and I’m really grateful to God that he still got me
out there, I got out there and I was kind of an arrogant
teenager at that point. I was like, yes, God’s going to go
and use me. Anti-great. And I got out there and it was only
a few weeks in where actually, I realised God had taken me out
there to use me. But he’d taken me out there to rescue me from
my stupid self. And actually, had he not done that, the rest of
my faith journey wouldn’t be what it has been. Because that
year was absolutely pivotal in really planting my feet on the
rock and saying, this is my life. This is where I want to
put myself. I put myself in Jesus hands. Sorry.
Okay. Yeah, it’s interesting, isn’t it? How we take, we look at
God’s plans. It means, and he’s like, well, actually, it means
something else. You’re now married with two children and
still very active in Christian charity work, very active,
especially through your role chairing the charity shop
that supports children overseas. And I just want to say
that kids around the world support seeker overseas and
have faithfully over the last few years and we’re very
grateful. How do you see faith shaping your leadership and
motivation in that sphere? Yeah, you want to add anything on to
that? Trying to stick to the script. Okay. So, I mean, I’m
very motivated by the need for us to do better because
there is so much injustice in the world and there is so
much inequality in the world. And from my point of view,
it’s unnecessary because there is enough. There’s enough to go
around, but it’s distributed really badly and it’s the
children that suffer. So, and I kind of have that view of
leadership as well that actually we have to be
honorable with what God’s given us. And he’s given me a
leadership role, which I mean, I’m a real introvert. I’m
not the kind of person to be like, you know, a stalwart
leader. I’m not, I’m not an Erica and I love you
very much. You know, but I tried to lead with grace, I
suppose, and with relationship. And I think that probably
makes me a bit of a soft leader at points and a soft
manager, some would say. But I always want to put people
first and acknowledge them and try and build them up as
well. Because I’m not a leader that leads from the
top. I’m someone that will be that person shoving you
up the ladder. But to me that’s really importantTranscript
actually that, you know, we all have skills, we all
have gifts. And sometimes because of situations we’re
not, we’re not able to use those and we need somebody
to give us that leg up and that encouragement to go
out and be everything that you can be that God’s
given you and use those gifts. So I try to lead
that way. That said, I don’t always get it
right, surprise, surprise. And I’m very grateful to
the people that I’ve got around me. I’ve got a
fantastic board of trustees of which Dylan Butters is
one of them. I don’t think he’s here yet, is he?
And Colin, who’s at the back doing PA, is also on
the board as well. And I’m really grateful to them
because actually it’s very much a team effort. And
if you ever try to lead on your own you’re doing
it wrong. So yeah, so I think, you know, in
terms of that inequality, I don’t, I’ve seen so
much stuff by going out to lots and lots of
different places. And I always think, you know,
the faith that you see when you go out to somewhere
like Zambia is amazing. These, there are people
living in mud huts with no running water who
can’t get out the door because they’re disabled.
And yet they know Jesus. And that really speaks
to me. However, I would also say that it
should never be a struggle for somebody to
survive. And the other thing that was really
poignant about going out to Zambia the first time
was that everybody we spoke to had a story
about death. Everybody. And it wasn’t just
death because somebody had got old. It was
death because of malaria or death because of,
you know, a car accident or death because they
actually, because of poverty. And I think
there’s no need for that. We should be
trying to get people to live their lives that Jesus has given them
but without that desperate, that desperation
because he has so much more, doesn’t he? He gives us
so much. And seeing that in that, seeing God in
that environment where there is so little is really
powerful. And I would never want to detract
from that. But I also don’t want to see people
struggle so much because it’s horrible.
How much money did you give? Because I know you
support lots of charities. But how much money
did you give away to charities that support
children like, for instance, last year or?
So last year we gave £88,000 away. £88,000 away.
Okay. Do you know, amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Do you know how much you have given away in
entirety over the years that the charity has existed?
I’m looking at Colin. £680,000 given away to charities that
support children over the world. I mean, let’s just give God the glory
for that because that’s absolutely incredible.
Okay. So looking back over your journey, from growing up here to
overseas mission to family and leadership, as you think back
over the joys and challenges and disappointments,
what would you tell, I love this question, what would you
tell your younger self knowing all that you know now?
I’d probably wrap my myself quite heavily initially
and say it’s not been stupid. But I’d also say just follow him,
follow where he leads. Although I’m an introvert,
I am a control freak, it has to be said.
And I like to know what’s happening and where I’m going next and what the plan
is and so you don’t really get that with following
God, do you? He kind of says you’ve got to leave it up to me and
you’ve got to trust. And I think I’d tell myself,
just trust more and listen more. If you don’t know how to listen
to God, I encourage you to learn because you really need to.
You can’t get very far if you don’t. Thank you very much. Okay.
Just as we come to the end of this, is there a verse, a thought, or truth that
has been especially important to you in your life and work?
There is, yes. And I will read it for you.
So yeah, so I think partly because I do see quite a lot of hard things,
it’s not easy working with charities that are
working with people that are very poor, for want of a better word. But more
than that, actually there’s charities that are doing incredible things
in Sheffield, not just abroad. But there’s a lot of mess that comes with
that. And it is messy working with people
with addictions. It’s messy working with people that don’t
have what they need and are fighting for their families.
It’s messy working with people whose children are dying
because of medical conditions or whatever else.
And it’s really easy to focus on those things.
So the verse I’m going to read is Philippians 4.
Yeah, so it’s actually 4 to 9. And I love it.
It says, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. Let your
gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer and petition
with thanksgiving present your request to God.
And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your
hearts and minds in Christ. And this is the bit that I really
want to point out. Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me put
into practice and the God of peace will be with you.
And I just love that because I just think we could concentrate on all the
mess that we see. But actually there’s a higher purpose.
And we sometimes have to go through that mess
to get to see God. And I think we need to fix our eyes on him,
don’t we? It’s as simple as that. Fix your eyes on Jesus.
We want to pray for you. Thank you. Is that okay?
Yeah, if you want to reach out your hand or whatever, we’re just going to pray.
This is a great opportunity to pray for Michelle and Mark and for Sam and
Eliza. Is there anything specific that we
can pray? You can pray for them because they’re
not Christians. Okay, we’re going to pray for Sam and Eliza and for the family.
Lord Jesus, I want to thank you for this lovely lady. I want to thank you for all
that you’ve done in her life, for her story, for her journey of faith, how
you got hold of her as a young person and that, Lord God, you led her to
Romania where you changed her from the inside out and you’ve not stopped
doing that, Father. Thank you for the stories of
kids around the world and all that that’s achieving and the work that
she’s doing for this other organization. Lord God, continue to
bless the work of her hands that she, in turn, would begin to
continue to bless other people, other homes in this city and
in countries around the world. Father, we pray today for her family. We pray for
Mark and for Sam and Eliza. Lord God, I pray that for
Sam and Eliza that they would know you, Lord Jesus, as their personal
Savior. Father, in the same way that you got
hold of Michelle all those years ago, I pray that you would get hold of them
and that they would know you for themselves, that they would one day
be able to testify like she has, that Jesus got hold of my life and
I’ve never been the same again. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that wherever our
young people are, you can reach them. And Father, as we say, pray for
Sam and Eliza. There are other people in here that pray for your own children
as well. Holy Spirit, that you would meet them wherever they are and
intercept their lives and come face to face with them so their
lives would have purpose and meaning and have eternal value. We pray
for this lovely lady. Lord God, continue to bless her. I pray in
Jesus’ name. Amen. Amen. Thank you very much.