The word was out to be bold. Boldness and simplicity were required to bring the mysteries of the gospel to the hearts of the people. So we prayed for our hands to bring healing and for us to move in power.

Our daily morning worship times in the central shopping precinct became so anointed that people complained about us having too much fun and the local police were sent along to calm things down! A prayer board caused strong reactions -some passers-by were convicted and others mocking but the board proved to be a catalyst for those whom God wanted to touch. Two teenagers decided to follow Jesus and several single mums asked for prayer for their situations. One young mum gained clarity in a heart-rending situation regarding her son which enabled her to move forward, and another enjoyed the life and fellowship of us all. Many others received encouragement, and were keen to find out more.

On Thursday night James had an inspiration to go pubbing and he and Tim met two young men who responded to their offer of prayer. One of the men began to pray for Iraqi soldiers and it transpired that he had just touched down from the desert having been despatched from Her Majesty's Forces after serving in Iraq. He had received a touch of God in the midst of war, as had many other soldiers who visited the Christian tent on the army base. Having come home, however, he had gone to the pub wanting to forget about it and who should come in and approach him but two Jesus Army brothers offering prayer! God was definitely having his way!

Friday night saw us all on Croydon's answer to Sunset Boulevard, rallying forces against the darkness. Our presence caused quite a stir -the night before Raymond and Rob had anointed their hands and prayed on the front of a club causing all kinds of things to kick off inside. Eventually some of the clubbers came outside. One who had been very angry softened considerably when he found out that the brothers had anointed the club and were praying for them! Another ignored the pleas of his girlfriend to go back inside and enjoyed a long conversation with Raymond about faith.

Now more young people received prayer, including one girl who had healing prayer for a skin condition, and inside a hip happening bar, Katka, Alison and Sue, were enjoying a refreshing lemonade among the chaos by the dancefloor. Their appearance in Jesus Army jackets and long skirts provided a marked contrast to the usual crowd wearing micro-minis and Kylie tops. Sure enough, it wasn't long before someone noticed the difference and they were approached by two men.

"I find it offensive you coming in here preaching," said one.

"We didn't say a word," said Alison. The man continued to express his discomfort but was completely disarmed by Sue, who proceeded to discover that he had known Jesus once but had felt let down.

"Well, maybe Jesus is reaching out to you right now," she gently suggested. "Yes," said the man, thoughtfully. "Maybe he is..." More holy happenings included Doris and Dong Ae's early morning adventure at the Home Office where they met a Polish girl and a Vietnamese Buddhist who wanted to hear about Christ, and Ruth's meeting with a homeless man who asked for money and got the life of God!

Finally, one young man who had been given three options by his social worker chose the Jesus Army option and spent the whole campaign with us. He found more of Jesus, made friends, got baptised and proved great to have around.