Back on 'The Island'

After a pretty chilled out day at home last Monday, I made my way down to Moorlands on Tuesday morning. I had a good day with some interesting lectures, particularly on the humanity of Christ. I also got to see one of my best friends Esther whose Mum lives near (and studies at) Moorlands, so Esther came to see me which was lovely! In the evening, Phil and I made a rather rocky ferry crossing back to the island.

Despite lots of people being away on the YFC staff conference, a few of us still managed to get together that evening. It was nice to do something social as a bit of a 'welcome back' to the island!

I did a lot of essay writing (well... procrastination, and a bit of essay writing) on Wednesday. (To be fair, I am being a 'model student' and planning to hand it in early, so I think I'm allowed a bit of procrastination!) And in the evening I had a meeting with the other leaders where I help at a DofE group to talk about the coming term.

Thursday brought more essay writing, and some planning too for my Rock Solid group in the evening. We thought about the future and what our ambitions are which was exciting. Afterwards I headed over to join some friends for games and a general catch up which was good fun.

On Friday I continued the theme from Rock Solid of thinking about the future and had a phone call with Clare, talking about our plans for more adventures after we finish studying. I can't wait! Its really nice to have something to look forward to and to get excited about and I can't wait to spend more time having some crazy adventures with such a good friend. 

My lovely 'sister' Clare and I back in September,
I really don't know what I'd do without her!

I also did some more planning on Friday, and then in the evening I had the blessing of a Skype call with my good friend Brian in Uganda. It was also great to get to chat briefly to Alex and Innocent - two of the people I used to live with out there, and to catch up a bit with some of the gappers that are there now. 

Brian on Skype on Friday

On Saturday my lovely parents paid me a visit to see the place that I live and work. It was great to see them and to show them around (and to have a moan about the state of the island roads!) Being home over Christmas made me realise actually how much I love being at home,  and how much I love spending time with Mum and Dad, so although I haven't been back yet for very long, it was nice to see them again for the day.

After they left I had a lovely long phone call with Clare, and I realised how much I've been neglecting God lately, and how much of an effect it's been having on me. It's so easy to get so caught up in doing the work that God calls you to, that you forget about the God that is behind it. If anything is important, it is maintaining and growing in relationship with God, and that's something that we all struggle with sometimes. 

So this week, if you're up for praying for me...
- Please pray that I'll get excited and hungry for spending time with God and in his word again.
- Pray that my youth work will grow and that the young people I work with will grow.
- Pray that I'll have a really good, positive week, and enjoy everything I get up to.