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