April Showers...

well, almost april.

This past weekend I went with two friends (Martin and Debie) up to London to see the sights! It was a very good trip to say the least. We left Friday morning and arrived in London just around lunchtime. I was a bit queasy from the car ride, but I soon got over that (thankfully keeping down the pie and mash we had for lunch).

After lunch we took a walk in to more of London, starting at Tower Bridge. Shortly before we got to the bridge, I was inspired to sing and dance to the song "my little buttercup" from the film "The Three Amigos". This set a trend for the weekend that came to be called a "pob" (public out-burst). We made our way down along the thames river and arrived at the Tate museum of modern art. Me and my friend Martin were quite amazed at the large main hall, and while it probably would have been nice to browse the galleries, we were heavily distracted by the overwhelming need to go down the immense slide (debie took one look at the slide and decided it wasn't her cup of tea). There was a curly slide that went from the 5th floor all the way down to the ground floor- totally free to ride. We had to go and get tickets for it (tickets told us what time we would need to line up for the ride) and we had a little over an hour to kill before we had to be back for the adventure. We took a walk aross the Millenium Bridge and went around a local market for a bit and then made our way back to the museum. After standing in line for the slide, it was Martin's turn. As we were in line the man who wa taking tickets said it was a good idea to wear elbow pads. When asked why he replied "because you can get up to 30 miles per hour in there, and you don't want that kind of skin burn!" I was laughing at that. The ride took a little over 10 seconds, and it was quick. Quite fun too. We also found out it's the longest slide in all of England!

Friday night we went to go see the Lion King on stage. A very good show, and even though we were at the last row of the balcony, it was still a great show and took me back to being 9 years old and going to see stage shows with my family. I even found a 10 pound note on the floor at the theater! It helped later when we took a taxi back to the flat where Debie's mom lives.

Saturday We went and saw the Natural history museum and the Science museum, both really close to Hyde Park (made me think of Chicago!). We got lunch and ate near the water in Hyde Park even though it was a cold and windy day. I don't know if I'll opt to do that again...

We left London at about 3:30 and drove over to Greenwich and saw the Cutty Sark (a famous ship) but it was under construction, so we walked up the hill to the meridian line (where time zones "start"). Took some pictures and then had to be off again!

We were back to Bognor by about 7:30 or 8, went to rent a film (The Prestige) and got some dinner. We watched the film at my place and had a nice time hanging out before our short weekend trip was over.

The rest of my week has been good so far, with various activities with friends (uni students, homegroup friends, and friends from church). Some of the young people from church have left for a missions trip to South Africa for two and a half weeks, so the Thursday night group is off for a bit. In place of that, I have started to attend the Alpha course here, and am looking forward to gaining experience and ideas before we set off to do the Youth Alpha course at the end of April. Along with this, there is a two week break for University students, so some of my friends have gone home for the break. I am looking forward to having some time to do different things and plan new things for the next few months. To top it all off, I turn 27 in less than two weeks!! Wow, my first birthday overseas! Sure to be one to remember...

That's life in a nutshell here. I hope this finds you all well and happy where ever you may be!
Please do drop me a line sometime and let me know how you're doing!

Till next time!
~Paul

Warmer weather and steps of faith...

So since my last entry, lifes been interesting.

It's been great watching friendships build. I feel like I can forget how easy it can be to connect with people, and I can sometimes even take for granted how my personality works and connects with people. Over the last two weeks it's been great cause all these little moments of connection have added up and I'm feeling a lot more confident and comfortable around people.

My time with my cousin Sus was grand (although the weather could've co-operated a bit more!) and I'll post photos at some point soon (maybe today?) Am at the Vineyard fairtrade shope today, so this may seem a bit disjointed as I am back and forth with customers and typing this...

This weekend was clear weather and my first leaders dinner was Sunday night! Was great to be in a relaxed atmosphere out of church and just talk with people. Moments like that are really special, and I am in awe more and more at the work God has done already, and that I am so priveleged to be around such humble serving people.

What's changing? some of it has been my faith. Recently God has been highlighting some of the ways I have not trusted Him. Sometimes faith and trust for God feels like taking a step up on an invisible staircase. But last week I started each day with a prayer that I would trust God and find more confidence in Him. Since then I've rarely shrunk away from decisions or issues that I've needed to face. God has been showing that He's bigger than my fears or situations. Sometimes an elementary lesson, but one I think we keep coming back to and growing in.

I wish you could experience what this means to me. I've been to the top of the world in the Canadian rockies, and I've been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, but didn't really think I could be the kind of person to go half way round the world in this way. And the joys have been super amazing, and the challenges have been daunting, but God has been dealing with those and opening my eyes in the process, and I am excited to be an encouragement to people as I find my Joy in God.

This past weekend I felt God reminded me what I'm living for. and I shared this Sunday morning to encourage the church. God reminded me:

When I was 15 I went to my first school dance. I was good friends with a girl who asked me to be her date to homecoming. We had talked that week before of what we would wear and so I had some idea of what she would look like. So imagine if you will, me as a 15 year old, so nervous as I'm waiting in her front room with my parents and trying to make small talk with her parents. After what felt like an eternity, I heard her voice from upstairs saying she was ready. The moment she walked into the room for one brief moment the world melted away and it was just the two of us, smiling at each other. I'm convinced my heart skipped a few beats in that moment...her hair done by her aunt, that beautiful burgundy dress and those blue eyes and wonderful smile staring back at me. I thought "that's my date. That's who I get to dance with and I wouldn't want anyone else in the world". As I remembered that moment on Saturday, I felt that God was saying one day when I meet Jesus, it will be like that moment, only a million times better cause Jesus will be so real. Right now it can sometimes feel like he's just another story in the Bible or a list to follow rather than a person. But I'd rather live for a person than a checklist or story. In this place of finding my faith I'm also finding how real Jesus us. And that's what I wish the rest of you could see.

It's been a bit heartbreaking as well because I know that each person has to make that choice for themself, and sometimes watching those around me seemingly miss who Jesus is breaks my heart. The best I can do for anyone (the young people, the university students, the youth staff and whoever else I interact with) is model the Jesus I know.

Last night in the Uni-student group we did a scavenger hunt around town! It was fun, and I may do it with the youth at some point as well. At the end of March, some of my friends and I are planning another trip up to London, so I'm VERY excited to see that city again! I haven't really been around there since last September when I first came.

On a scary note, I think I am slowly adapting to english life. I now call the bathroom the loo, and I find myself phrasing things differently and even adapting to some of the english insults! I enjoy watching rugby, and while I don't think the accent is there, it may not be far behind! Oh I'm also texting people more than I talk on the phone...the things I used to laugh at, I'm now doing! Oh well, when in rome...

I hope this entry finds you well, and please do drop me a line!
~Paul

March already???

What an adventure!

The previeous week was the half term break and that Wed. we took almost 20 young people over to Playzone in Portsmouth (Playzone is a big indoor playground where you can run, crawl, slide and jump off objects). I played tag with some of the young people until I couldn't run anymore. I guess my age was showing...it was a huge confidence booster, and I think we all had a blast.

Each day this past week has been good. Last Friday I met up with Ian Morris and Jan for tea and a chat about how things are going. I was honest with them and told them I've been a bit uneasy and have been dealing with things on a personal level that has spilled over into "work". Some of it I just chalk up to first year in ministry, and other stuff I know goes deeper and God is continuing to work on things He started to chip away at last year about this time. We had a good chat and I felt relieved to share things that were kind of heavy to carry.

Sunday night was a "soaking session" here at the back of the church office/ store. For those who don't know what soaking is, it's an extended time of prayer and meditation with God. I was quite refreshed and it helped me enter the week with more confidence.

Since then I've felt much more open. Tuesday at housegroup I shared some other things and while it felt a bit of a risk to open up, it was well received and I was very encouraged. I've begun to see some steps forward with both youth groups. At this present time we've lost some members in both groups, but overall it seems morale is picking up, and I'm excited to see some of them opening up in new ways. This week was particularly hard on one of the girls in the Troop (Thursday night) group as her older brother is recovering from an attack last Friday that left him needing surgery to put a plate in his left cheek bone (cause his face was beaten so badly) and he now faces a 50% chance of losing most of his facial nerves to the left side of his face. We took time to pray for the family after Troop which went very well.

Personally I have been challenged but I've also been very joyful this week. Sus (my cousin from the states) came over this past Thursday and she came down to see me along with her older sister Abi (my other cousin who lives up in Bedford) on Tuesday.

Life goes on here and I can't believe it's almost spring! The days are slowly getting longer and warmer and I'm feeling more and more settled in to the new environment here. Do feel free to drop me a line when you get a chance!
~Paul