Weekly Wrap 2

Oh my goodness, so much has happened this week!


The Januaries with the National Training Director

Monday through Thursday the Januaries and I were busy with training, which ended with a "preach" assessment, each of us preaching for five minutes and receiving feedback from the national directorship. I spoke on thoughts and the battlefield of the mind and was told that my preach was quite poetic and that they could tell I was a good writer. There's no doubt I blushed.

Friday was commissioning, but because there was such a small number of us, it was very informal and was worked into the normal Friday routine. But I was truly honoured as my team came from Southport to support me and take me back to Southport with them following commissioning.

It's about an hour drive from Burnley to Southport, so we packed into the car and were off. We had lunch which was followed by a photo shoot (sounds so professional, doesn't it?) and then I got to go to my new home.

My hosts (the Milligans) have been so gracious from the moment I met them. They have a large house by American standards and a massive house by British standards, which, conveniently for me, is just a block from the Southport Pais office where I will be working every day, and it is also within walking distance to the town centre and all of the churches I will be working with. Two of my teammates are not so blessed, so I truly appreciate the ideal location of my host home.

Saturday, my first full day in Southport, I attended a meeting with my Pais team for something called Resolute Youth, which is a monthly gathering of the Christian youth in Southport, led by different youth leaders from various churches around the town in an attempt to bring unity to the younger generation in the body of Christ here. I got to meet some great people my age who love Jesus and have a heart for the youth of this city. I felt really blessed and cannot wait to work more with them. Afterwards, we hit KFC and ate a lot of chicken because it was Chicken Day! (inside  joke) and they gave me a walking tour of Southport which I very much enjoyed. Then last night I was invited to Canning Road, the church whose youth group I will be working with on Wednesday nights, for a party, where I got to meet a bunch of people.

This morning I attended All Saints, the church I will attend regularly on Sunday mornings and whose youth group currently consists of two 14 year old girls who would probably rather not be there. But my job with All Saints is to cultivate relationships with these two girls and do what I can to encourage them in the Lord and possibly grow a youth group there. The average age of the congregation at All Saints is probably about 75, so I have a challenge ahead of me, but I am ready to embrace it! And once again, I met a bunch of people.

I have just now returned from a unity service (also held at All Saints) where members of several congregations gathered for worship and to hear what is going on inter-congregationally in Southport. We have several great things going right now--Street Pastors, Southport Area Schools Work Trust (who work with Pais) and a community-wide Tuesday morning prayer meeting. They prayed for and commissioned me, and once again, I met a bunch of people.

Tomorrow begins Pais work. I will be in the office with my team doing ministry prep and out doing lunch clubs all week. My evenings are quickly filling up as I am meeting people who inevitably invite me to various functions (I'm going to an engagement party tomorrow night...). I also have a youth night prep meeting and a youth meeting to go to this week. Yep, I am busy!

So, to sum up, I have met a lot of people! But they are all absolutely lovely and I feel incredibly welcomed here. They are warm, considerate, hospitable and caring. And the more I am here in this place, the more I know this is where I am supposed to be. Over the summer as I was praying about the next step in my life, I asked the Lord to put me in the best place for me, wherever that was. No really, wherever! It didn't matter to me; I was willing to go anywhere. And He has put me here. I am continually encouraged that this is indeed the best place for me and I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me to give and to receive here in this place.