Monday 29 October 2018

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

Friday 12 October 2018

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 😊


Tuesday 2 October 2018

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

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 ...