Oh January...

Well, I guess this is my after Christmas update on my gap year. 

On the 7th January 2013 we all traveled to Sheffield to have a gathering and some teaching, actually, a lot of teaching! This was with Peter Farmer who I had previously met and Tom Slater. This was on pioneering mission and simple/organic churches. I learned a lot from this and it was amazing to get some practical evangelism done rather than just studying how to do it without any practice. After this teaching, Matt Wilson from Eden Network came and talked to us about Eden then got us a tour of one of their bases in Sheffield called Firvale. This was a really good experience and I have certainly learned from this too as I have never seen anything like what they are doing before. I especially liked the tent makers thing where you go and live and work a normal job in the area you're reaching out to rather than being temporary and at the end of the work day going back to your middle class house. Very, very interesting. 

At the end of our time in Sheffield I was very sad to be leaving the rest of the team behind with the feeling of community, banter and late night chats. It was like Romania again, except in England! I love each one of these beautiful people and all of their wonderful personalities. They have been such a blessing in my life for these past 4 months which seems short but in reality we only have 5 months (including February) left on our gap year, super scary! 

On returning to Monkstown I have moved in with a new family who are ever so kindly keeping me for the rest of the year! This is such an answer to prayers that have been said by myself and other members of Xplore as they know how unsettled I was about having to move every 5 weeks or so and not know where I would be next! All I can do is praise God for this wonderful family he has introduced me to. With a new timetable coming up I'm hoping to be more settled within myself and to return to being fully into this gap year as to be honest after the Christmas period and Sheffield I didn't have the right mindset to be coming in all guns blazing never mind having the cold for several weeks now. I did become alarmed about my chest at one point and so had to go to the doctor but you can read about that in my hospital experience blog! I have once again got the cold! I'm really hoping this is the last of it and I won't have to deal with it for any longer than a week. I was getting better but boom. I'm struck again with the cold. All I can be thankful for is that it's not norovirus eugh. 

January has been a month of ups and downs and the occasional turn around, February is going to bring new things. Lots of planning and preparation to do for certain things, planning outreach into the community is a biggie for Phil and I but we'll manage. I just need to get a lot of rest in order for my body to recover from this bout of sickness. 

Thank you to everyone who is supporting me through this year through prayer and fellowship. I greatly appreciate it :)

Charlotte x