starting to settle

So......
I'm finally in the house that i'll be in for the whole year!
i arrived here on sunday evening after my last meal with Karen and Mark. it was very sad. i really had a great time with them and I really was sad to leave. but here I am in Etwall (MILES from burton.. which forces me to get the bus every morning)
it's not the end of the world, but it's a bit of a chore as it means that i have to be tied to leaving burton at either 51 past or 17 past.
(on sunday's there's one bus every TWO HOURS! (what's that about!))

Saturday was a GREAT day...
Abi and Emma came down from Ashby (where they're volunteering with YFC) and came to see us "burton boys" for the day.
It was a really nice day out. we went for a meal, then went to play pool, then we just sat around and talked for a while. it was good times ad it was really nice to see them both again.

So on Sunday... we did hand painting!! with FOG for the little 60 second film that we're putting together. it was relitavely successful but probably could've worked better.. but still. it was a good laugh.

Monday... we had team meetings and went through our book again. then i had french club with Sue which was quite nice.. we played lotto (bingo) which seemed to be a success. after this, on monday evening we had the Burton Youth For Christ AGM!
WHAT JOY!!!
/not.
it wasn't as bad as it could've been, but still insuferably dull!
we talked (i say we.... a few people talked at the rest of us) for about 30 minutes.. and we had to vote on things that it seemed that we had no reason to know anything about.
after this... there were some performances by groups of young people that BYFC have been working with over the past year. some of which were really good. other's were... not so great.. but it was quite good fun all the same. Matt, Tom and I were then "interviewed" by selina where we had to say where we were from, what our names were and an interesting fact about myself.

tuesday was CoPE then Drama (Pandoras Box) which was more successful than it was the last two weeks.

10 DAYS TO COMISSIONING!!!

laters.

xx

Back in Burton.

I'M BACK!
(in burton)
i got back from my brief trip home on sunday evening and found that the kitchen of my host home was torn up with a wall missing - exiting stuffs. they're having a wall taken down to make their kitchen into an open plan thingy wich actually looks really good!!

monday was a good day, we had our first proper "Staff Meeting". we're reading a book called "searching for God knows what" which is quite good, we're doing it chapter by chapter and it's planned to take the whole year.
i then went to school witn Sue and took my first FRENCH LESSON!!! it was fuuun!
very basic teaching them je m'appelle... and une, deux, trois etc...
the kids are all so sweet and eager to learn but we had 25 to start with, however i'm told that over the year the numbers will decrease and we'll end up with a smaller number of kids who actually want to learn french rather than just coming to mess around.
after french i had the afternoon off - didnt do a lot- and in the evening i had GG and FOG. these were good fun i got to see Jordan again which was nice and we continued planning our mini-film which is going well - i thik that we may being a little over ambitious but i'm willing to go with the plan and see what happens.

tuesday (today) was another day of CoPE it was great - first aid with the year 9s, and the key hook making with the year 10s and 11s - it was really fun!
they're really great kids who are SO energetic. then this afternoon i had the drama club. which was, to be honest, a bit of a disaster. the people didnt turn up and it seems none of the children except like 3 of them want to really do it.. so we'll have to se how (/if) that one works at all...

tomorow is a day in the office, then a club with Kay.
should be good

ciao!
x

Kindred Spirit

Kindred spirit is a term for someone who shares similar thoughts, feelings, someone who is close in temperament and nature to yourself, to whom you have a rare spiritual link that is very special and you can't quite explain...

i found mine....

x

Home...

I am home.. for the weekend.
it's nice to be here.. but almost strange to be somewhere that's so familiar.
good to have a nice big bed to sleep on and no deadliens or timetables to meet.
It's been a good end to the week, a bit of a downer after the loss of the phone, but after finishing my mourning for it's death, i'm surviving...
I had two clubs today... one called... something Mayhem (which just about sums it up really - it's completely hectic) and the other called "fun friday".. which was fun! lol.
they were very fun and a little crazy.. but me and Matt made up a game and we played that as well... which seemed successful and worked well..
now i'm home.... and off to watch STAR WARS!!!!
(wooo)
ciao.x

Disaster!

So.. day off yesterday:
me Matt and his friend decided that it would be a good idea to go to Alton Towers for a day!
YAY!
it was a good day.... but!
my phone died.
we decided to be sensible and put our phones in a bag to go on the log flume. seems like a good idea at first, but the bag filled with water (sad times) so now my phone is refusing to turn on and i think that this is the end. :(
so i will return home and try to find a solution... but i'm not to hopeful to find a solution before i go home.
ciao.
x

Burton1.

I have arived!
i've been inBurton just over 3 days and it's already SO busy!.

at the moment, i'm staying with a couple called Karen and Mark. they live in a small village called Stretten just outside Burton. they have a small son called Jacob (Jake) who is very enthusiastic about everything. It's very sweet.

I've been so busy since i arrived. when i first got to burton on Saturday at around mid-day, we (Matt, Tom and I) went to Phil Pusey's house (he's the director of Burton YFC) for brunch. we were then taken for a meal, and a tour of burton by a guy called Mick(?) who goes to the same church as Matt.
In the evening, i was brought to Karen and Mark's house by selina and went to bed almost straight away.

On the sunday, i went to church with Karen (Mark and Jake were at football). The church that i will be based at for the year, is called St. Marys.
It's an old church building with quite a small congregation - about 30in total.
There was a small "worship-band" at the front, and the regular vicar (kim) was away on holiday so there was another guy leading the morning.

On monday, we started the day off in the office and did "team building" and we got to know each other and sort out time tables and arrangements then i went to two youth groups at the end of the day which were quite small and hectic but everyone was so nice and welcoming.

Today was my first full "proper day" i was at a school called Paulet school wehere i was helping run a group called CoPE. CoPE stands for Certificate of Personal Education.
it is used for students who struggle to stay connected and who have problems learning in a 'normal' school environment. this was very fun, but so crazy. the kids, just don't sit still or concentrate.
tonight. i'm doing a drama club which should be interesting. i'm not really sure what's happening at it. but we'll soon see...

i'm missing people from training, but i suppose in a way it's good to have my own space and a bit of room to really concentrate on God. i'm really looking forward to this next week. on the 19th (this friday) i get to go home to oxford for the weekend which should be exiting and it should be good to catch up with people.

more later. ciao.....x

Last Day in Nottingham

crazy times...

so much has happened in the last week or two.
talks
prayer
worship
hearts have been broken
and lives have been changed.

firstly, over this short period i really feel that my relationship with God has really improved, moreso recently than it has for a long time.
being around people my age, who share my beliefs and who i really get on with, is such a welcome change for my life. i really feel welcomed and accepted as who i am, and i feel respected for what i believe in.

Today is the last day of being at Nottingham university. and from tomorow onwards i will be based in Burton-on-Trent. i am very exited about leaving because i'm really looking forward to going to new places and meeting new people and really getting into doing work with and for God. but at the same time i'm really sad to leave the friends i've made and i'm slightly upset to be leaving this atmosphere and i really hope that as i go on i will really be able to carry on growing in my faith even as i go to do new things.

Nottingham1.

So with only a week left in nottingham before we all leave to go to our different locations and centres for the following year, the people from Tee's Valley and Newcastle left earlier than the rest of us, to finish their training at the centres. (Which sucks! because my new bff Kelsey - with her awesome accent - left! she is my Harry Potter buddy and i think i may've finally found someone who can match my obsession with the wonderful books.

Today, in my (but not everyone's) opinion was a good day. In the morning session of the day we studdied eschatology (the study of the end of all things). i found this facinating and is something that i definately want to read and study more about.
i think some people found it a bit hard and complicated today and didn't really apreciate the talk.

This afternoon we had "team time" in which we got into our groups of what type of gap year we were doing and prayed about our fears and hopes for the following year. we then all came together and prayed. it was an awesome time and i am so glad of the guidance God has given me, and i am "well pleased" that he has lead me here.

Start.

So training has began! (/begun.. don't know which is right)
Having started in Halesowen - just outside Birmingham for 3 days of child protection training, health and safety and tema building adventures, we have now moved on to the somewhat more serious matter of hardcore THEOLOGY, in the slighly more asthetically pleasing scenary of Nottingham Uni (Sherwood campus).

We somehow managed to rush through the small matter of the entire Old Testament in two days, having looked at:
Creation and The Fall
Personal Sin
Living in Exile
The Prophets ... etc.
for the most part, this was great, a bit intense at times. but thought provoking and interesting all the same.

Yesterday, i had my first real contact with anyone who i will be staying with/ working with /comming in contact with for the entirety of the following year. I met two people called Sue and Selina who will be, not running the YFC in Burton, but working for it.
I was given some slightly worrying news that even the people organising it, don't yet know where any of us will be staying once we arive in burton. I'm hoping they're good at arranging things last minute beause with just over a week untill we arive there, i'm starting to get a little nervous.

Today (thursday) was our first (of only two) days off!
Rather than actually going anywhere - to Nottingham or around the Universtiy campus....
I went to TESCO! to buy Vimto and sweets...
Not the healthiest of things, but things that are needed to get through hours of talks.
To counteract the imense loads of unhealthy food stuffs, i decided that exersize would be the next logical step. The clorine in the pool made my eyes go red, and the rowing machine gave me blisters, but i still feel better for it!

Tomorow, we have a whole day of talks about JESUS, by Gavin Calver.
Which should be good. probably quite intense again (there seems to be a running theme with that word). but he normally talks very well and manages to add humour to the talks not only making them more enjoyable, but making them easier to understand.

So off to sleep, and maybe awake to the sound of changing sheets....?
who knows!