Sunday 26 September 2010

Sunday, Sunday

Today was my first opportunity to get involved with my new church.
At first it felt a little weird, I knew there was a lot going on at my home church today which I would have loved to have witnessed, but at the same time, I was really excited to meet my new Youth Group and Church members.
One Sunday a month they have a home group Sunday instead of a normal service. So first of all, I had breakfast with the Youth, this was a great opportunity to get to know the people I'll be spending a lot of time with. They're a noisy bunch, but so awesome.. and apparently since Soul Survivor they've become all "holy", I think that's good! They all did a quiz about me, which was very funny. Some of them decided I had a dog called fluffy and enjoyed badger baiting, fox hunting and extreme water sports amongst my hobbies! They're honestly a really great bunch of people, and I'm excited to spend the next 10 months with them.


Afterwards I went to a church family's house for lunch, this gave me an opportunity to meet more members of the congregations, introduce myself and try and learn some names! Everyone is so warm and welcoming here and I think I'm going to settle in great. I'm looking forward to attending an actual service, from what I've been told they don't differ too much from what I'm used to, but it'll also be great to meet even more people and the church leader. 


Afterwards I met Kate and Katie and we wandered round Brockley, to get to know the area, and see eachother's houses. It's great to know that despite what Googlemaps says they're only about 5/10 minutes walk. We also found an amazing cafe which is basically central... prime meeting place!


Feeling pretty home sick today, missing my family & desperate to meet my new kitten.
But looking forward to seeing everyone at training tomorrow and catching up on their weekends!


Love Laura x

Saturday 25 September 2010

Induction Week

I have just finished one of the longest and most intense weeks of my life. I probably shouldn't start sounding so negative, it was also one of the best weeks of my life. I met some people who I hope to form lasting friendships with.
Now that I'm all settled in my new home with my lovely host family, I wish I could blog every minute of the last week, my first week with XLP. However, I don't think there are the characters sufficient for that and I don't want to bore you so early on in my gap year! 


So to summarise:
This week I have... (in no particular order)
Said goodbye;cried;prayer;laughed till I choked;ate;didn't feel full;felt full;introduced myself;learnt names;learnt facts;craved diet coke;missed home;missed my sister;missed my family;been disappointed;texted;check facebook;facebook stalked;regretted said facebook stalk;showered;slept;not slept enough;sneezed;been in pain; endured a wii remote related injury;felt my heart break for this City: fallen more in love with London; fallen in love with Canary Wharf; adjusted to public transport;used my oyster; sucked and bitten a jelly baby covered in madras paste; sat on what may have been a WWII bunker;taken pictures; eaten on a curry on Brick Lane;Kept up to date on my bible in a year; Seen God's incredible healing power; Marvelled at God's Grace; Fallen particularly in love with an estate; visited a museum; eaten copious amounts of  tuna sandwiches; unpacked; been drenched by London rain; regretted wearing jeggings in said rain; wanted to live on the XLP bus; met some incredible young people; felt my heart break for some of them; noticed the differences between London and home; noticed the similarities between London and home; crossed Tower Bridge; Crossed Millennium Bridge; walked Westminster Bridge; Been a tourist; felt rubbish when my doubts were proved right; talked and talked and talked; felt inspired; felt encouraged; realised I'm not a cynic...despite it all; drunk tea from small cups; been told we're getting a kitten; jumped up and down in the street with excitement; moaned; tried to be positive and show the best reflection of myself; hoped I'd succeeded; wandered if things could have been different; wanted to ignore the date; played "this time last year" far too often; gotten mad; been fed up; tweeted; re-tweeted positive/inspiring quotes; retweeted quotes to summarise how I felt; wandered how much I could get away with saying in a facebook status; wandered how much I could get away with saying in a text; Worshipped; Found out a bit more of my heart; grown; learnt that I do actually value time on my own; taken photos; filmed stuff; danced; thrown crisp packets; completed a cross word; played sardines; taken a personality quiz; disagreed with the quiz; admitted my weaknesses; been called precious; missed America; learnt to just be still. 




& I think.... that just about sums up my weak
pictures on facebook to follow.


Please keep praying, I have accommodation until end of Oct.. so the church are still looking for some more!
Also pray for the week ahead as we start our main bulk of our "doing".. schools, bus project, estates etc.


Loveee xxx

Thursday 16 September 2010

God in the preparations

2 days to go!
I'm stupidly excited, but definitely feeling the stress!
Finally got my ass into gear with the rest of my packing today, so think I'm pretty much there now! Trying not to worry too much about not having everything, because I'll be back in 6 weeks!
My dad described this as being like a holiday, the worst bit is always before.
On Sunday I really prayed that God would be in the preparations, and for the most part, this has saved me from stressing out too much!!! 


I've finally found out where I'll be living which is very very very exciting! I'm going to be part of the Lewisham team, but i'm still waiting on final details on my Church and accomodoation. It's really taken away some of my worries and made this move seem even more realistic!


Still feel like I've got  lot to do before I go on Saturday, so please keep praying that God will keep me calm, motivated and that he stays in all the tiny details and preparations, so nothing is forgotten!!


Saying some massive goodbyes today and tomorrow, to close friends and family. Sad to be saying Goodbye, but so very, very excited for my new adventure


Love & Blessings
xxx

Saturday 4 September 2010

Introduction

In two weeks I'm moving to London. 
To start my Gap Year, The eXperience programme with XLP-Urban Youth work Charity (www.xlp.org.uk) 
For those who don't understand how i'll be spending my next 10 months, here's an outline from the website: 
"The course provides training in Youthwork and Theology, which the students then apply, working in schools, communities and churches across London. In addition to in-house staff such as Patrick Regan, teaching is also provided by external speakers from organizations associated with XLP eg Soul Survivor, TEAR Fund and Street Pastors." 


This Blog will be updated with any news I have throughout the next exciting, challenging year. :)
x