Update

It's been a few days since my last proper post, so I thought I'd do a bit of an update.

Wednesday was a quiet-ish day, although we did have the Mettle planning meeting in the evening. We're on the lookout for some new small group leaders to take over in September, but we have an exciting programme lined up between now and then, it looks good. Also, we're planning a BIG DAY OUT in July, which I'm already really looking forward to. Watch this space!

Thursday was a pretty dull office-based day, to be honest, followed by an unexpected evening off. Also, I went to Chaos Remains' latest practice... those guys are getting really good, seriously. Record contract? I think there's a chance.

Friday, my Mum and Dad came to visit, so I had the day off(-ish). We went to Almondsbury Garden Centre for lunch, and a look-round (dull) and I ran a few work errands. Then it was off to Pirates of Penzance in the evening (see below!).

Today has actually been busy for a Saturday ... a mixture of work and personal. We started by moving some furniture with some of the lads for a lady in the church, then shopping at Sainsbury's and then some admin stuff. Now I just have to stop myself getting too excited about DOCTOR WHO!!!! Doctor Woot!

Off to play with my action figures...

Ooh arrrh, me hearties! And, perhaps, a bottle o' rum!

Just a quick blog to say a MASSIVE well done to all the St Mikes Youth folk who were involved in the Filton High School production of Pirates of Penzance.

It was absolutely awesome, and you all did SO well... you should be very proud of yourselves!

Growing a bairn...

For those of you that have somehow not heard yet, Laura and I are having a baby!

It is due to be born in October sometime, and we're very excited (plus a little scared and nauseous... I'm scared, Laura's nauseous!)

Smart money's on a girl, people...!

Freedom Day

So Freedom Day has been and gone... and what a massive success!

Our lunch and promise auction raised around £2500, which was a brilliant result... so a massive "THANK YOU" to all those who contributed and donated items. I couldn't have hoped for better.

And the Youth Service in the evening was great too... I get so excited when I see young people getting stuck in and involving themselves. A special word for Emily Feltham, who wrote and performed an AMAZING monologue based on one of the trafficking stories, and to Jeni Hine who led the whole service at fairly short notice, and did a cracking job. Also, Trevor, who preached for the first time and appears to be a natural.

Unfortunately, there was one piece of traffic that didn't stop during the day... the car that bashed into mine as it left the car-parking space next to me. I was inside raising money for charity at the time, and the driver didn't even bother to leave a note. It's done three panels down the driver's side, and looks like it's going to cost a fortune. It's only metal, I know, but it's still annoying, and I would have hoped the driver would stop. It's such a shame that they didn't have that much decency.

Today's been interesting, too, as it's been the interview day for the Team Rector (and therefore, my boss!) job. Obviously, can't say too much, but I will keep you informed!

Pretty tired today, not a surprise, and my day off tomorrow begins with a trip to take Lucky to the vets at 8.00am! Still, I can leave him there to have his teeth done, and go back to bed, which I fully intend to do!

Flagging

It's been a fabulous week so far, but I have to say, it's starting to take its toll on the old body!

I don't even have the energy to write much here, so I'll just say this:

1. Please give God thanks for the incredible success this Stop the Traffik Mission Week has been so far. The lessons have gone so much better than we thought, and it has been great to spend the whole week in the school. I will write more about our many experiences next week! Also, the response from the young people, both in school and at youth-groups, has been really good... I think we'll get a good turn-out for our Mission-ending service on Sunday evening.

2. Please pray for God's strength to sustain us through the last three days of this marathon week. All three of us crashed during an unusually challenging Rock Solid this evening, and now I know that without God we won't make it through. Good job we can depend on Him... 'cos we're going to have to!

Thank you all for your prayers this week.

A decent start!

Our week long "Mission Week" has begun... and it's begun well!

We are spending the whole of this week looking at the Stop the Traffik campaign ahead of the international Freedom Day this Sunday.

In practice this means lessons, youth groups, lunchtime clubs, assemblies... you name it, we're doing it, with a Stop the Traffik twist!

We started with Mettle Sunday last night, which meant a slight departure from our usual Sunday mixture of toast, prayer and worship. We played Stuck in the Mud (it's about keeping our eyes open and freeing those who are trapped - tenuous, yes, but a good excuse for a playground flashback!) and I led a look at what God says about captivity in the Bible, as well as a candle-based response (always popular)!

We are teaching every lesson bar three at Filton High this week. We started last week, so we've now done eight (four today) and they've gone so much better than expected (even the one that was disrupted by a fire drill today!).

Also, we did our first assembly today, for Year 8, which was also a success, as well as fhcu, during which we looked at what WE can become slaves to.

It's a busy week, but a massive opportunity. It's not just about telling young people about the issue of people trafficking, it's also about being a full-time presence in the school ... the staff room, the sixth form common room... just being seen around is a real opening.

So do pray for us... Trevor, Liz and I will need a lot of energy and patience this week. But I believe firmly that it will be well worth it!

Battle of the Bands

I spent Saturday in Weston-super-Mare with Chaos Remains, who were there for a Battle of the Bands competition at Barcode. And I loved every minute of it!

We headed off in a minibus at about midday, with the band, Liz and I and one or two of their friends on board, so we got there in time to unload and have fish'n'chips for lunch. Then we hung out on the pier and in the funfair all day before the compeition.

And they did so well in the Battle of the Bands! They finished second (beaten by a band from Yate called Soul Kage who have been together for ages and are older). They could still go through as best young band... we have to wait and see... but whatever happens, they were awesome and given that they're all 16 or under and have only been playing together for well under a year, what they have acheived is amazing! I really think they might have a chance if they keep their focus. I'm so proud of them.

The day was fun because it was just the sort of youthwork that I love doing ... just hanging out with young people all day with no particular agenda other than to do just that! I had some really great conversations and it's great to do some pressure-free youthwork for once!

The rest of this week is pretty hectic once my day off (tonight and tomorrow) is over. Youth Alpha tomorrow evening, then straight into the Stop the Traffik slots at Filton High School (ahead of the big push next week). Also, Mettle groups, RE:fresh Comic Relief Night ... loads to do, and, as usual, so little time!

A night off, slave trafficking at school and ... well ... sex!

I'm starting to feel a little less tired after the weekend, which is good news because we're quite busy this week.

Part of the reason for that is my unexpected evening off today. Youth Alpha was cancelled because there is drama stuff going on at Filton High, which loads of the Alpha-ites are involved in. So instead of being at Youth Alpha, I'm sat watching Liverpool v Barcelona on the telly (having popped in to see Mettle Group B for half-an-hour). It's a real blessing, to be honest, and unexpected bonus which I'm very grateful to God for.

Work-wise, I said we were busy and I meant it! Trevor's away on training, which always means a little more to do, and on top of that we have a VERY early start tomorrow. We have an assembly at St Mary Redcliffe School in Bristol, which means catching a train just after 7.30am. I don't do much at Redcliffe any more, because I feel that we should focus on Filton High, but I do do the odd assembly and tomorrow is that day. Must get an early night!

We're also planning for our Stop the Traffik Mission Week, a lot of which will take place at Filton High School. We're teaching RE lessons all day, every day (with just TWO free periods) over that week, with a few the week before too. It's going to be hectic and tiring, but I'm so grateful to God that the teachers have been keen to have us in and do the lessons. The Christian RE teacher has always been keen, but this time the other two have been so pleased to have us in to teach. It's mostly because Stop the Traffik is not a specifically Christian topic, so they don't have to worry that we'll "cross the line" (which we wouldn't anyway!). But do pray that this will be a watershed moment in our relationship with the RE department as a whole ... if we do a good job, I really hope we'll be able to go in more.

The rest of Mission Week will be spent doing youth groups almost every night, and the Freedom Day on the Sunday (church lunch, promise auction, Youth Service and 24-hour prayer room). I'm not going to bang on about it too much tonight, but it should be a great day. 25 March, at the end of the Mission Week, in case you're wondering...!

Finally, work-wise, we're doing Sex and Sexuality teaching with Mettle at the moment, so please do pray that the leaders would be wise and say the right things, and that the young people would be brave enough to share their thoughts. There's a good conversation going on on the forum, about sex before marriage, and people are being really honest. I'm so encouraged by that ... please pray that it continues!

Liverpool are just starting to struggle without my full attention, so I'm going to give it back...

Tired. Very.

The Youth Alpha Weekend Away was a blast! We had a fantastic time!

We went sno-tubing, which was ace, as well as swimming, chatting, listening to music, a ghost walk (don't ask!) and even some stuff about the Holy Spirit (well done, Karen!). On top of that, I got to see my family for a few hours too. What a top weekend!

Now, though, I'm knackered! I reckon I got about seven or eight hours sleep over the two nights, which might have been ok when I was 20, but at 30 it's starting to hurt! I can still do weekends like this, but it's the recovery time that increases with age!

I'm going to sleep. Now!

Busy Busy Busy

I'm afraid this is just a flying visit to apologise for the lack of movement on this blog over the last week. I'm up to my eyes!

Youth Alpha Weekend Away this weekend. Pray now!

Thanks for your understanding...