Typical isn’t it? You get a week off, and you’re ill! Always happens. Felt it coming on Monday and it gradually got me throughout the week but I carried on anyway! Bit of a cold, cough, aching, tired etc. But didn’t stop me from having a good holiday. Really good to go to Jasmine’s new house and spend some time with her and her two lovely boys Joseph and Samuel. They are so cute! Also got to see my nan and spend time with Sarah and the girls and boy! We went to Colchester Zoo on Friday – Maddie and Emi absolutely loved it. Their best bit being the white ‘iger’ and feeding the ‘raffes’ (giraffes!). We went out for lunch on Saturday for an early Mother’s Day (sorry, Mothering Sunday as Mum prefers it!) as we left for Scotland at 8.30 Sunday morning. It was good to be home and enjoy Mum’s cooking and looking after me, and Dad’s ability to totally wind me up (I don’t miss that too much!).

So we spent most of yesterday travelling up to Duns and going along to a launch service for the Peace Week in the evening. We are staying just down the road from the school, Me and Becca with host and everyone else in a holiday house that they own!

We got into Berwickshire High School at 8am for a good set up and then spent the day taking 50minute assemblies for S1-S4. As I’m still not 100% we had to change the initial plan to not include any drama so I spent the day on tech! The assemblies went really well, different responses from each year group but all seemed positive. Many of the S3s and S4s remembered the last Christian Focus Week 2 years ago which Taste took part in, so were singing ‘Sitting on the Fence’ before we were! We are working with Esther (who we worked with in Hawick) and Mark (who we met in Hawick) and others from the local churches and Berwickshire Christian Youth Trust  are taking some other lessons as part of the Peace Week.

Tomorrow we have a P7 concert, an S1 lesson, an S2 lesson and a Support Base lesson.

Our gig is Thursday Night 6.30pm-8.30pm.

We would love your prayers!! Myself and Becca are still feeling poorly so please pray for us and that everyone else stays healthy, pray for energy, enthusiasm and most of all pray for the young people we will meet over the next few days.

Tags: Berwickshire Christian Youth Trust, Berwickshire High School, Christian Focus Week, Colchester Zoo, Duns, Scripture Union Scotland

This week we are in the office preparing for some of the events that are coming up:

21st March: Strictly Come Praying, Grangemouth
8th-13th April: Spring Harvest, Minehead Week 2
16th-18th April: The Mix, Norwich
29th-3rd May: Baptist Assembly, Plymouth

There are others in between but these are what we are focussing on! A meeting about each to plan and prepare, as well as rehearsals, stock checks and other admin type stuff! We had an office prayer time this morning, its great to catch up with the people who work in the office, day in and day out keeping everything going and doing the really important stuff that keeps us going on the road! A chance to find out how the other ministries are going and what God’s doing. We’re going out for a meal on Thursday lunchtime, sort of a leaving do for Clive but he can’t make it…so we’ll still go anyway! Any excuse to go out! Also this week is a chance to meet with Andy and Joy and chat about how everything is going and what’s happening next year…I have no idea what God’s plans are for me for September so your prayers would be much appreciated!

Currently preparing part of a seminar for Strictly Come Praying. It’s on ‘How does God speak to us?’. Myself, Keel and La Roche are running it and have chosen the 3 topics of through The Bible, Sung Worship and People & Circumstances. We’re doing 5min chat and 5min practical activity for each. I’m doing Sung Worship so if anyone has any thoughts they would be much appreciated!

On a non-work level…It’s nice to be ‘home’ (Mum gets upset if I call Wickford home so hence the ”!) for a week, a chance to catch up on washing, hang clothes up and have a bit of a tidy up! Very much looking forward to watching Holby City at 8pm tonight, rather than on iPlayer a few days later! Saw Maddie, Emi and Billy at the weekend – we went to the park and got really muddy and it was great fun! I fell over so had to change into my pjs when I got back to Sarah’s and put my jeans in the wash! Watched a film called ‘Fish Tank’ in the evening and it was really good! I recommend for anyone who likes real life films. Had Billy laying on my tummy for a couple of hours, all snuggly and warm! I miss them so much when I don’t see them! 

I bought the Florence + The Machine album and have been listening to it for the past couple of days. I like it a lot!

Tags: Baptist Assembly, Billy, Emi, Fish Tank, Florence + The Machine, How does God speak to us?, Maddie, Mud, Office, Spring Harvest, Strictly Come Praying, The Mix