After the whirlwind

Hello World,

So... it's been a while, huh? For those of you who have been following me and supporting me on this journey, i'm so sorry for not having done an update sooner, this month has been pretty hectic!

I have been back in the UK almost a month now. Which is totally crazy to me, I can't believe the time has gone that quickly. So now that I've had some time to process everything that has happened over the last 3 months or so, it's time to update you all. Writing updates in India was quite difficult for me, hence why I only wrote one. The work I was doing and the situation I was in could potentially be quite sensitive, and I didn't want to  endanger myself or anyone I was with, so it is much safer, now that i'm home to fill you in on what I was doing.

Let me start by saying my time in India was the most amazing, incredible, overwhelming and steep learning curve I've ever had. And I think its really important that i'm honest and say that actually, I really struggled. I knew before going out that it would be difficult and challenging, but I dont think I was prepared for how mentally challenging it would be for me. However, in struggling, it really forced me to completely lean and depend on God for my strength, and so through the struggles I have become much closer to him. I wanted to say this in complete transparency, so that hopefully it will make anyone considering FirstServe or any other similar kind of work realise that in reality it can be really difficult, but that's okay, and through it you can grow in your relationship with God.

DISCLAIMER: I just want to say, please don't think I am in any way ungrateful for this opportunity, I truly had the most incredible time, would definitely go back, and would not change any of it for the world. I just think its really important that I'm honest and open about my experiences of mission.

Right, now for some details. While I was out in India, I good a routine that I was doing mostly the same things each week, with some spontaneous variations. Pretty much every morning I was in the school, working in some kindergarten classes, and also with some SEN kids. I've never really done any school work before so this was a really cool opportunity. Most of what I did was support work, as most of the kindergarten classes had upwards of 30 kids in them. So if anyone needs help learning the alphabet or counting to about 30 (IN ENGLISH) I'm your gal, I got very good at it! Although part of me wonders if I was more of a distraction than a help. Something I love about Indian culture is that staring is completely normal. It's not rude, or weird. So EVERYONE does it. It was a little disconcerting at first, but it was kinda fun after while, particularly once i'd built up a bit of a relationship with the kids, because I could just pull silly faces at them. I think my favourite bit in the school was working with the SEN (special educational needs) kids. I was in quite a few of their lessons, so I got to know them really quite well, as there were only 5 or 6 in each class. I spent time with them reading, and working on blend sounds ( like fl, br, ng)  especially, as this is what they were struggling to get to grips with the most. They were a really sweet group of kids, and I loved working with them. 

I mostly had the afternoons off, (cause it transpires that I needed A LOT of rest in India to function) so I spend most of this time resting, relaxing, and taking in the INCREDIBLE surroundings. Honestly, it was an actually paradise.

I also got to make a lot of certificates of achievement for the children in the school, which was pretty fun. Then in the evenings I would go down to the girls hostel on the compound, and play with them for awhile. I can safely say I never thought i'd win a game of hide and seek by hiding at the top of a mango tree, but there we go. I then would stay for evening devotions, which were done every day and were a truly humbling experience. Those girls have such a deep authentic faith, and such excitement and enthusiasm for worshiping God, it was so amazing to be a part of, but was also really challenging. I got to lead devotions most weeks, I especially enjoyed teaching them a new song. (O come to the altar by Elevation worship. ABSOLUTE TUNE)

Over all it was an absolutely fantastic experience of getting to know a new culture, meeting incredible new people, try new food, new clothes, see very cool animals and most importantly serving and deepening my relationship with the living God, my father and my friend.

(Edited) HIGHLIGHT VIDEO! ❤

Joy is my middle name

Hello World,

And just like that, February is almost over. It's gone so fast, yet it feels as though I've been in India an age. I don't know what I was expecting in coming out here, in many respects I don’t think I had any expectations because I had no idea what to expect. In spite of this however, it is so different from whatever it is that I was expecting. Does that make sense?

I said in a blog before Christmas that I was struck by a quote Phil read me from a book called happiness by Randy Alcorn. The bit I quoted then was by C.S Lewis, saying there was a whole section on finding God and joy in the mundane that I wasn't going to quote yet. This is that. Randy Alcorn begins by listing seemingly small things that we find joy in, for example: "Ripe oranges straight off a tree. Chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven and a tall glass of milk (…) A comfortable recliner, the smell of leather and a dog's wagging tail". Alcorn then goes on to say "If we disregard these and thousands of other gifts, we don’t just fail to notice them, we fail to notice God."

I love Joy. You could quite literally say that it's my middle name. The idea of noticing God in the small, mundane things has always been really important to me. I am the type of personality that is very easily amused, and so have always been able to find joy in small, seemingly unimportant things. However since being in India, I have been challenged even more to find these small joyful things, as although I am having an amazing time, there are a lot of moments where everything just feels a bit big and overwhelming. Finding God in the small things always manages to give me joy, and makes things  seem less daunting. In light of this, here is a list of small things that I have found great joy in this month.

1. Sunlight peeping through the curtains after a good nights' sleep
2. The bright colours of the flowers
3. Gecko's darting across the wall away from noise
4. The smell of clean laundry
5. Picking a lime of the tree for pancakes
6. PANCAKES.
7. Squirrels chasing each other around the garden
8. Writing letters
9. Yellow butterflies
10. Finishing a whole book in an afternoon
11. The soothing sound of a fan at night
12. Facetime
13. Glass bangles
14. A conversation about lichens
15. How swishy long skirts are
16. A fascination with freckles
17. Jacket potatos
18. Dobble
19. Action songs
20. Friendly dogs

Until the next update!

All my love,

Lizzie 

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the almighty" Psalm 91 vs 1

My first week in India

Hello World,

So... I've been in India now a whole week. It has both flown by and seemed to have taken an age. So much so that im not quite sure where to begin.

Lets start at the beginning and make our way from there. The airport. For those of you who followed the whole fiasco on my social media stories, you'll know that getting out here took quite awhile. We ended up leaving the house at 6am. (Shout out to Aderyn for taking me and generally dealing with me that day, you're a legend!) The drive to the airport was great, no traffic, was a beautiful frosty morning with a great sunrise, and had a lot of great conversations in the car. After some brief tears on arriving at the airport, mostly from overwhelmedness (Yes I know, not a word) everything went really smoothly. My baggage got checked, I said goodbye to Aderyn, and off I went. Absolutely no problems going through security, thank the Lord! Got safely through and met another volunteer, Jack once we had both gone through and then it was a waiting game. Our gate was announced, went on those fun transit things and got to our gate, boarded, and left. I didn't manage to sleep much on the plane, maybe about an hour, and the rest was making the most of the BA entertainment (PSA: watching Michael Buble in concert while the sun is setting may be one of the best things ever) We actually ended up landing nearly 20 minutes early which was great, because a 9 hour flight is a bit of a killer. I think time doesn't really exist in airports, it's a very strange experience at 4.45am. Got through immigration, and successfully found Simon and Sarah. It then took about 6 hours to get back to the village.

I'm not going to lie, this last week has been difficult for me. I've turned a corner the last day or two, but it's been really hard. I didn't sleep for nearly 24 hours while travelling, and that really messed my body up. It has been a great answer to prayer that my sleep at night hasn't been affected too badly, but adjusting has been harder than I thought. Don't get me wrong, this place is an actual paradise, we had a lovely welcome and all the kids I've met are fantastic. It's amazing here. But I've been incredibly home sick as relationships are still forming here, and if I'm being honest all I wanted to do for the first few days was come home. But the Lord the faithful and i'm really starting to enjoy it here.

I have to do a whole separate paragraph on the wildlife here. It's crazy, and already making me a running joke. Here's the thing. In general I like and am fine with most animals. Apart from moths. I really dont like moths. But most animals, i'm okay with, I might not love them, but i'm okay with them. Here's the 2nd thing. My bedroom is my sanctuary. My safe space, it's where I go to relax and to have no responsibilities for a while. So I will freak out if there is an animal in my room, particularly if I'm not sure where it is. First animal I found in my room? A geko! Which, to be fair, I have just about made my peace with. They're very small and eat mosquitos so they're actually my friends. But they're quite loud, and scuttle around every so often, which is quite un-nerving. I think the next animal experience was the most frightening for me (only briefly but I jumped a mile). I'd been in my room about half an hour, massively sleep deprived and had lain down for a nap because I felt really nauseous. I'd just about nodded off, and a SQUIRREL jumped into my room and darted through. So I couldn't find it for a while, and had to leave the door open for a while so it would run out. What a welcome that was! I think the same squirrel has tried to come in through my un-closable upper window 2 or 3 times since but hasn't quite managed to fit and I've had a chance to yell at it and it's run away. A peacock also started screaming outside my window not long after I got in, which startled me, but was a really cool experience. A snake also managed to get under my door the other night. Non-poisonous and pretty small, but definitely not an experience i'd like to go through again! (It was removed very quickly and I hadn't gone to bed yet so all was well)
There are also hornets here. I've now seen 2. They're massive and im not a fan.

But aside from all of these harrowing (😉) experiences, it's wonderful here, and i'm really starting to enjoy my time here. I think that's everything to tell you, boy it's been a jam packed week!

I will leave you with my verse of the day from yesterday:

"Jesus looked at them and said, with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26

All my love,

Lizzie

Off we go....

Hello world,

So.… I'm flying to India tomorrow.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


I am so excited!! But today I am feeling quite scared. Don't get me wrong, this is an incredible opportunity, and I know that God is always with me and will uphold and strengthen me. It's just that this is a really big step of faith for me, and is quite daunting. I have only been on one airplane my entire life, and it was a school trip. Because of that we were pretty much ushered through the airport, and honestly I've repressed a lot of it. I really don't like airports. I'm fine with flying, just not airports. So once i'm on the plane I should be all set.

I really cannot wait to be there. To experience a new culture, so different from my own, to make new friends and learn about different ways of serving, and just to serve God. I'm also really glad I get to skip the coldness of February and March. I am constantly cold, so this is a big relief for me.

I'm not really sure what else to tell you. I haven't blogged in January, because honestly I haven't really done anything worth blogging about, but it has really encouraged me the amount of people who have asked whether I will be keeping up with these blogs. It means so much that there are people who are following and supporting me along this journey, and I am so grateful for all of you, whether I know you or not.

I guess i'll update you when I arrive!

all my love,

Lizzie

'So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing' 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Reflections on 2018

Hello world,

Okay, so now the whirlwind has settled slightly, I think it's time to fill you all in on the last 6 weeks. About a week after the last update, I left Swansea, finishing up the bulk of my program with a youth weekend called One2Lead. It's a fantastic training and discipleship program for young people, and I would recommend it to anyone! It was the most amazing weekend, full of fantastic teaching, great fellowship and a TON of laughs <3

After that weekend I went home for 2 weeks, and in the middle of the 'break' I moved house! It was great fun, and yes we're settling in well, and I love the house, but boy was that fortnight exhausting! So much so that when I went back to Swansea on the 11th of December it almost felt like break. But more details on that later. Time for some reflecting.

As I look back over the last 12 months, it has equally gone by in flash, and seems to have taken 5 years. And as I reflect, I am struck by God's incredible provision to me over the last year.

At the beginning of the year, I was blessed with the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome/ ME. Although that sounds rather strange, because it was such a horrid period in my life, being given the diagnosis enabled me to get the support that I needed in school, and really lifted a massive weight off  my shoulders. It validated everything I was going through, and meant I had more of an explanation than just seeming like a tired teenager. Looking back I am also so aware of God's provision in school as a whole. I was a part time student for pretty much the last 6 months of A-levels, and I felt like I was drowning in content. In spite of this however, I not only passed all my exams, but I ended up doing so much better than I ever thought I could, and I know that's only through God's grace and provision.

I have also had the most incredible summer. FREEDOM! I have the most wonderful school friends (you're all legends btw, I miss you!) who made the summer one to remember. I feel so blessed to have been surrounded with such wonderful, loving people through A - Levels. Thank you all for everything. I was also blessed to have been able to go back to Swansea for a missions team for the second year. It was such a intense, spiritually refreshing, AMAZING week. Full of slightly too much coffee, crazy kids clubs, and some amazing new friends.

Along that thread, I have made so many incredible new friends, and acquaintances, through-out the course of this year. That for me has been on of the biggest provisions, especially as I have embarked on this FirstServe gap year. Shout out to the guys at Tilsley Bible College, I really, really enjoyed all the lectures and intellectual conversations with you, but I also really enjoyed the late night movies and McDonalds trips. God bless you all.

And Swansea. Can I have my heart back please? I'm pretty sure I left it there, in one of the many activities I did with you. I had the most incredible time. For those of you who weren't there, let me fill you in on the last 2 weeks of my placement. I was there from the 11th to the 21st, so sorry if I was slightly unbearable about Christmas.. It was a great time of being able to focus on the story of Christmas and share it in school assemblies, kids and youth groups and in the Christmas wrapped up program that was run in Castleton and Dunvant. It was great to do such a jam-packed, varied Christmas program with primary school kids. There were puppets, a grumpy inn keeper, a nativity, some baking and some crafts. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids, or me. There were also A LOT of Christmas parties that were enjoyed, by all ages. They were all amazing and it was great to spend that time enjoying Christmas with such special people.

I know I keep repeating myself, but I am just so overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the all the lovely people that I have had the pleasure of interacting with and getting to know over the last year. God has truly blessed me through you all. ❤️

Happy new year everyone 🎉❤

God in the mundane

Hello world,

Woah! Where has the time gone? Last time I wrote an update I had been in Swansea 2 weeks, and suddenly I'm in my final week of my UK placement. How?? I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

It has come to that time again however, where I sit down in front of my laptop to update all you lovely people, and I cannot find the words to articulate everything that has happened or how I'm feeling. I am having the best, and the busiest time, and I don't know where to start.

A really awesome thing that we've done since I last wrote is we had a kids club and light party at Dunvant during the half term week at the end of October. We did 2 days where we looked at super heroes of the bible and on 1 day we did Joseph, and the other was on Esther. The emphasis was really on how these people were brave and courageous through God's strength in times of trail. We had a good number and it was a really encouraging time. We also threw a light party on Halloween for the kids who were at the club, where the theme was focusing on light in a time of darkness. We played lots of cool games like Tic Tac glow and dodgeball with a glowstick ball, and made an awesome (if I do say so myself 😉) stain glass window craft with either a cross or a candle in the middle.

That was a hectic week! Since then it's been much more back into the routine here, with structured things like the toddlers, kids and youth groups in Castleton, youth and student groups in Dunvant, regular, manic Sundays and all that they involve, and LOTS of admin and creative jobs, which surprisingly, I am absolutely loving. It's been really cool to able to design new publicity resources like holiday club and light party posters, a new I-Club flyer and new banners for different outreach projects within the church. I've decided that I find that quite therapeutic.

Something that keeps coming to my attention since coming here is appreciating God in the big things, but also finding him in the little, mundane, ordinary things. We've been very blessed in Swansea to have an incredible autumn where we have seen God's beauty and wonder through gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, incredible big moons, and fantastic waves and scenery. But I have also made a big emphasis on seeing God and finding joy in everyday things, such as the smiles of children when they see Alfie in assemblies. (A puppet dog that Steve uses), the frost that we've had to scrape off the car some mornings, surprise Christmas lights in the kitchen, the camera quality and the cinematography of David Attenborough's new documentary, and the joy of good food, great company, and the debate of what defines a vowel. One of my favourite things that I have see God in while traveling around has been through what I call God rays. These are when the sun shines through a patch of cloud to create a visible and distinct ray of light. To me they have always conjured ideas and images of Gods glory, majesty and beauty breaking through the clouds, and I have always loved them. However something about seeing them in Swansea, high on a hill, looking at these God Rays shining onto the ocean and creating patches of gleaming light on the water have moved me in a new way. They are just so beautiful, and I always get choked up looking at them, because they remind me that this is only a fraction, only a tiny taste of the beauty and splendour of our Lord, that we have the privilege of knowing, loving, and one day seeing him face to face.

Phil read me a fantastic quote the other day over a McDonalds breakfast from a book called Happiness by Randy Alcorn, which I will end with. There is a whole section about finding God and joy in the mundane that I won't quote now. However there is one Section where he quotes the great C.S Lewis. In his final book "Letters to Malcom", Lewis writes;

"We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with him. He walks everywhere incognito (…) Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are  'patches of Godlight' in the woods of our experience"

Home away from home

Hello world,

Wow.. It's been a while. Or at least it feels like it. It is safe to say that it has been a jam packed fortnight since I arrived in Swansea.

It is also safe to say that I am absolutely LOVING it.

It is amazing to think that although I've only been here 2 weeks, this feels as much like home as my actual home does. I really thank God for the incredible (and at times overwhelming) kindness and generosity shown not only by my hosts, but by all the members of both churches and all the community I'm working with.

Let me explain my situation for those of you who don't know what's going on.

I am currently 2 weeks into my 6 week (ish) placement in Swansea. I am being shared between Dunvant Christian Fellowship in Swansea and Castleton Chapel is Mumbles.

Dunvant - www.dunvant.com/
Castleton - http://castletonchapel.co.uk/

My program here is really varied and gives me a great opportunity to work in and experience different ministries and groups of people. So far I've helped in toddlers groups, kids clubs, youth groups, holiday clubs, student groups, school assemblies and Sunday services and meetings. I've also been given the opportunity to see the behind the scenes of what goes into these different activities and allowed to contribute in planning and preparing some of these sessions. It feels really cool to be allowed to do things like tell stories in assemblies and clubs, and take on more of a leadership role in that sense. But boy does a lot of work go into these things. In once sense I'm so glad to be here, just to provide another set of hands to help to all the work.

However, I really don' t want to seem self righteous or arrogant in saying this. Although i'm supposed to be here serving, I feel I am being blessed so much more than I blessing or helping the community here. I cannot praise this program highly enough, purely just for the exposure of being surrounded with such incredible, Christ centred people at every stage, and being bolstered to have that passion and excitement for God. It is such an amazing honour and privilege just to watch what these people are doing, and how they are living for the Lord, let alone be apart of it.

I am also doing a discipleship course alongside my placement, which I am finding incredibly encouraging and refreshing. It is a really good way of forcing me to stop being busy for a while and just to spend that time focusing on God. This last week I did a study on the God that saves, which really delved deep into to idea of salvation. I found this study really uplifting as I got to study and read about both the simplicity and complexity of salvation theologically, but also rest in beautiful bible passages about OUR God who saves, such as Romans 8. (Which I would highly recommend to absolutely everyone... just FYI)

And so this whirlwind I now call life goes on. It is amazing, and tiring, and wonderful. And it feels like home.

"Everyday I will thank you. I will praise you forever and ever!" Psalm 145:2 GNB

The end of Chapter 1

Hello world,

It is absolutely crazy to think I am almost at the end of the first chapter of this crazy adventure. And honestly, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I knew that I would make friends quickly, but I didn't realise how important and special all these people would become to me in such a short space of time. This is such a stimulating environment, full of debate and conversation, and I feel I am learning as much from listening to conversation as I am in lectures. There is a real sense of belonging here and I have formed such fast friendships that I feel as if I'm saying goodbye to lifelong friends and family. (And yes, I know I'll probably see a lot of them again and this isn't goodbye, but let me have my moment)

Don't get me wrong. I am so,so excited to go down to Swansea and learn in practical serving and to experience mission and church life in a different setting. (SQWEEEEEEEEE) However, I've gotten into a routine, and I know it's not always good to get comfortable, but I'm enjoying my time so much up here, that saying goodbye to everyone is going to be really difficult. I think now would be a good time to hesitantly mention that I might be considering deferring university another year, and coming back to Tilsley to do the first year. So amongst other things, if anyone would like to pray for guidance in this area that would be great.

A verse that has been on my heart a lot since I arrived is Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

"But they who wait for the Lord (other translations read ' trust in' or 'hope in')
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not grow faint"

This has been both a real encouragement, and a real challenge to me during my time at Tilsley. It has been very easy to get swept up in the academic routine here at college, and in doing so I have at times neglected my own personal quiet time in the busyness. But I have always found as soon as I have fixed that and spent time waiting on God, (waiting is REALLY not a strong point of mine) that I have felt renewed and refreshed. Taking that space to spend with God in quietness, stilling the busyness of life, makes such a difference. It always fixes my perspective and plants it firmly back on the Lord, and, as the scripture says, renews my strength. So I encourage anyone who is feeling weary to take that time to rest and wait for Lord. Have hope and trust in Him who can do all things.

Next stop: Swansea!!

Ps: Here's a little video of my time at Tilsley 😊

Culture shock in central Scotland

Hello world,

I can't believe i'm half way through my time at Tilsley college already. It equally feels as though I've been here forever, yet I don't know where the time has gone.. This time has been a real eye opening experience for me, with the majority of that not even coming from lectures. 

For example, when I decided to embark on this journey, I had no idea that my experience of multi-cultural living would come from my time at Bible college in Scotland. We have people from Italy, France, Poland, Syria and Zimbabwe, just to name a few. And I wouldn't change it for the world. It is so amazing to spend this time with such a wide variety of people, with different backgrounds and experiences, language and culture, and yet to have a common reason for studying together. It has been interesting however, getting used to everyone's quirks and ways of living. With the college being so small, it's kind of hard to avoid people a lot of the time. Not that I want to, but working out the dynamics of how we function as a "family unit" at times have been challenging, as with any family. I do thank God that he has brought me together with this wonderful, unique, crazy group of individuals, that I have the privilege of calling brothers and sisters in Christ.

It feels really weird being back in "school". It's very familiar, yet it seems very different. For one, it is incredibly refreshing to start each lecture by praying and committing the session to the Lord. That sounds like a small thing, but for me it is really important, because in a weird way it takes the pressure off. By praying, it re-tunes my brain from the mentality that this is a purely academic exercise, and engages my heart in the learning. It makes it personal, and re-sparks the passion. A lot of the academics over the last two weeks have been about laying down the basics and foundations that will support the students through the whole year (I'm in lectures with the 1st years) and to make sure everyone is on the same page. One of my favourite lectures has been "An introduction to the bible", which has been looking at the Bible as historical book, the divine inspiration of the book, the validity and corroboration of both the old and new testament, as well as the cannon of both of these. It is absolutely fascinating.

And so life goes on. We learn, we are challenged, we grow. We laugh and we cry. We worship and praise the King of Kings, who gave everything for us. My saviour. My refuge. My hope.


"The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving" Psalm 28:7 NLT

17th September 2018

Hello world,

It is now the end of day one at Tilsley. And as I sit at my desk before going to bed, I find myself struggling to articulate all of the different emotions I have experienced over the course of the last 24 hours, so forgive me if I ramble.

It's hard to believe that I boarded the coach from Ross on Wye yesterday morning, so much has happened it feels like an age. And yet, it hasn't hit me yet that I've actually left home and that I won't be seeing everyone familiar in a few days. Praise God that the journey up to Scotland went smoothly and quickly. I find travel very stressful, so the idea of going the length of the country by myself made me very anxious. So I am very glad then everything went well. The staff were friendly and accommodating, the bus wasn't overly crowded, and the weather was varied and beautiful. The long (nearly 11 hours on the go) journey also gave me time to read my bible, listen to great worship, and really get into the right mind frame as I start this journey. However, once I got to my room and put my luggage down, I felt really overwhelmed and vulnerable. I admit this because I want anyone else considering doing this or something similar, or to anyone who has just moved away from home, to know that at times it will be hard, and there will be moments where you feel like turning back or giving up. But I encourage you, as I was encouraged as I fell asleep by the reminder of the words in 2 Corinthians 12 vs 9

"But he said to me ''My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me"

With a new day, came the same anxieties, but with an over-riding sense of peace and surety in the author and perfecter of my faith. But boy is it harder to see God in all the paperwork and logistics of college. Today was full of information useful to Tilsley, the background, about the course, the college, living in community, and assessment information. Which is why I am so glad that we start everyday here at Tilsley with a time of communal devotions. This morning we had communion, and it was really nice to be welcomed here by immediately putting the attention, the praise and worship and the one who brought us all together, and to start the day being in his presence. It really set the tone for the whole day.

The joy of attending a college where there are less than 40 people when ALL the students and staff are present, is that there really is a family feel to living. We have a rota for kitchen duties, and it really feels personal, which has helped me a lot in feeling settled and welcomed to the college. Everyone is really lovely and seems genuinely interested in getting to know the group, and I feel really blessed to be able to spend this initial time on the FirstServe with such a wonderful, warm, group of people who are so passionate for Christ. I cannot wait to see what the next month holds.

This is it...

Hello World.

This is me. ↓

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Lizzie, I am newly 18, and i'm about to jump into the big, exciting, scary adventure that is real life outside of school.

Very soon I will be leaving to start a gap year program called FirstServe. This is a unique Christian gap year program for 18-25 year olds, providing young people with discipleship and mission training. You can find more information at the link below.

https://first-serve.org.uk/

As the time draws near for me to leave for Tilsley Bible College, I find myself becoming more and more nervous. I am also incredibly excited, but this IS my first time leaving home, and there will be a lot of change, so I think my nervousness is justified. However in these times of fear I find myself reminded of the verse Job 11:18

                   "Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and rest in safety."

This was just a little introduction, but I hope you will come with me, and pray for me as I start this incredible journey, and that through this blog you will learn more about me and what I am up to.