I am not going to write all about Noel's amazing life here, there is no need.
If you have a look here you can read the official record of this amazing man of God's selfless giving over decades and decades of service.
The point about these pages is to try and explain why these men effected me so much.
Some time in the late 1990's George and I set off on a 'mad mission' with one Martin 'Lifebringer'.
Martin lived in Preston, still does, but the farm brothers had very much gotten hold of him and he was spending a lot of time down there. Our mission was either to take him down there, or pick him up and bring him back home, I tend to think it was the latter.
Anyways we had booked ourselves into the Farm for tea and as we sat having fellowship with different brothers the room started to fill up. Eventually every table was full and down came Noel to sit in his place. What happened next with stay with me from the rest of my life.
Noel started to ask about brothers, and some sisters that were absent. Most were on their way back from work, or working late.
Then he mentioned three guys who had arrived the night before, which struck me as odd from the get go... I mean how can the Senior paster of a church possibly know who comes and who goes from a house the size of the Farm I thought...???
"Where are they" Noel whispered... silence....
Eventually a brother screached out the words, 'not sure'....
I looked across at Noel and no word of a lie I wish I hadn't. He was glaring at this blessed brother in such a way that it left me with little doubt there was about to be an explosion...
Noel still managed to whisper almost, "What do you mean brother, your not sure.. who is meant to me looking after these boys???"
"I am bro.." and with this the brother in question shot up and rushed out of the room.
Silence.. deafening silence...
Thirty seconds later the brother returns, "It's ok bro, they are at River (another community house just down the road from The Farm).
"We need to know where our sheep are", Noel's voice wasn't loud, it just carried more authority than I had ever heard before in my life.
I turned to the brother next to me and asked, 'does this happen every night'??
'Pretty much, yup' he answered...
"And if the brother looking after those guys wouldn't have found them at river.. how long would Noel have made us wait for our meal...??? "
I got no answer.. just a smirk...
Shepherding God's flock is not a job any of us should take lightly.. God is watching, and that day I learnt what a Father's heart is really all about. Noel needed to know where every single one of his sheep where before he ate, and if he wasn't eating, neither were any of us.
I had been away from the church and from the Lord back in May of 2009 for quite some years. God started to bring me back just as Noel became really ill.
I can say I was there to say goodbye to this man, I can say I knew him just a little. I can say that he knew my name and that he placed his trust in me as a junior leader within the fellowship. My biggest regret is that for so long I let Noel down, may God give me the strength to continue with Christ in the coming years.
I miss you bro.. I really do..