The end of January

My week started like usual with our YFC prayer breakfast and team meeting. We thought about having specific things to be deliberate to pray about.
The rest of Monday very quickly filled up with meetings, but I did also manage to squeeze in a dinner with some friends from church which was nice.

I went to Moorlands on Tuesday and handed in my essay. We finished 2 modules on Youth and Society, and Christian Doctrine, so next Tuesday we will be starting new ones. I had a meeting in the evening about the service on Sunday which I'm involved with leading, and after a long day I was glad to climb into bed!

I made myself very productive on Wednesday making flyers and updates and getting things ready for a new cafe that we want to open soon at church. I also had the challenge of finding volunteers to help at my Rock Solid club, planning this week's Rock Solid, and just generally lots of admin!
In the evening I went to DofE where we recapped some map skills and then I led a team building exercise. It was really interesting to see how the team worked together and was great to see some of the quieter members of the group gaining confidence.

I worked on some more flyers on Thursday, and also on a seminar that I'll be running at the Catalyst Weekend Away (A youth weekend that YFC are putting on next weekend). I also had to prep Rock SOlid which involved sewing some marshmallows together (don't ask!).
In the evening I ran Rock Solid which went really well. We focused on the Body of Christ and tried out some strange new games. We also had a time of creative worship with some paints and other things.

Getting to see these girls responding to God is such a blessing.

I went to a local school with some others from YFC on Friday. We went in at lunch time to just chat with some of the young people there and to build relationships. A couple of the girls from my Rock Solid group were very excited to see me in school, and they introduced me to their friends which was good.

When I got back I just had time to have a chat with a couple of friends in Uganda on the phone before I had to go to help set up for Emerge - the youth event that we were running in the evening. I ended up helping to cook dinner for all the youth leaders and the band. Emerge went really well. Simon gave a talk about the Gifts of the Spirit and we shared lots of sung worship and prayer. It's great to spend time with God.

This has been a bit of a crazy week for me with some stuff I can't really write about in my blog. I get the feeling that God is trying to teach me something at the moment about perseverance, or about working through his strength rather than my own. That is easier said than done. Although I don't really understand it right now, I know that God's plan is greater, so I look forward to the day when I can look back and understand what was going on right now, and I can celebrate what he did through it.

So I'd appreciate your prayers if you're up for it...
- For me to remember that it is through God's strength, and for his glory that I work.
- Pray for the  new cafe, 'The Space' that I'm currently trying to set up.
- Pray for all the young people that I work with.
- Pray that numbers will increase in the groups that I run.
- I have a couple of friends going through a tough time at the moment so pray that God will work in their situations.


I've set up a new blog with youth work updates which will be published on Sunday. It's mainly for the benefit of the people at the church I work at, but anyone is welcome to have a read at http://gunvillemethodistyouthwork.blogspot.co.uk/
(or just click on my blogger profile and find it through there).