It's Friday 23rd December, very a.m., but I'm in that 'can't be bothered to go to bed' mode. Today - or rather, yesterday - was the last day of training for Rock SAT as it has existed up until now, with all of us based at Frontier Centre. In about five hours' time, some of the early risers will be off and away for Christmas, and then Scottish and Kentish horizons beckon them on.
As for me, I think that Rock SAT - strangely - will really begin come my return in January after the holidays. It's been a necessary preparatory stage, and yet it's only been 81 days, which in the scheme of things is a fraction of a moment of a blip. Flat-packing a whole bundle of training into a sub-three month period has made time elongate, and it seems like I've been here for ages, when it's less than a school term.
I've already had the pre-brief that I'll be on some Spotlight Sessions almost straight away with kids when I get back, which will be great. The impending 'go live', if stadial and supervised, is what I came for, and it's exciting that it is a visible prospect now.
Before that, some latest news, which is that I've just completed my latest sponsored challenge of memorising Psalms 120-134, all the Songs of Ascent, and I hope the video will soon be available to view. Thanks to all who supported and sponsored me - and you can still do so at Just Giving's website.
Christmas soon, but I don't feel very Christmassy. In actual fact, I haven't done so for a few years, not in the kiddish way that I had when I was a seven year-old. I'm more excited about seeing lots of family and friends, and Christmas holidays are just a good excuse to have sufficient time to do that.
For to me, lots of 'occasions' that the calendar throws up are so much like just another day. Their true significance is that they're marker posts on the way to a greater occasion that Christmas foretells: Jesus' Second Advent.
It's with that thought that I ought to occupy myself: this is not the end of a year, but a prompt of history. It should make me consider and confess the causes that brought Jesus here, and spur me to live by His Spirit - for we celebrate His coming only until He Comes.
Thursday 22 December 2011
Thursday 8 December 2011
Challenging Behaviour
Today and tomorrow we're spending some time thinking about how to deal with situations where kids' (and adults'!) behaviour may be confrontational or otherwise difficult. Stories that would make your hair stand on end from Matt Edge...
So we've had Staff Conference over the last few days, with the Scottish contingent escaping (and returning to, no doubt) the white-out north of the border.
Not sure if such immense conditions descended on Kent or South Wales in the three days everyone had together at Frontier, although the (lack of) heating situation is still probably enough for the Taffs at Summit Centre to contend with. Please pray that they'll get that back - it can't be much fun to come in from the cold only to have to hunker down even when there's a roof overhead.
A huge bunch of new people all together is not, to be frank, my idea of a comfortable three days; 'challenging behaviour' was my choice for this post's title not without an undercover personal dimension. My default behavioural traits of reserve and quietude predictably kicked into gear. Having said that, the emergence of a table tennis table defibrilated my enthusiasm. Apologies to all who got the sharp end of my catharsis!
The pool table also got an extremely decent work-out. There's something about the confined space of the baize that makes practice terrifically moreish. Perhaps that's just my perfectionism asserting itself, and unsurprisingly my unattainable standards weren't slaked during the frames in which I contended with myself.
It's another example of the extent of devotion to exactness that you need if you are going to get really good at anything. I remember listening to Desert Island Discs once, where Digby Jones plumped for 'a video of one hundred examples of excellence' as his luxury - whether that was craftsmanship, oratory, musicality, acrobatics, whatever. Watching someone do something with aplomb is an undeniably enjoyable experience (unless you're Terry Butcher in 1986).
Yes, I know the reference tags me as immutably middle-class (as does the word 'immutably'), but the cliche that if something's worth doing, it's worth doing well, ought to be levitated above cliche level. That's what I've tried to do during the ten weeks we've been here, and although that frequently makes me slower than others, I'm convinced that comparisons are less important than valuations.
Something that I'm just about to commence that also will take a lot of dedication is my latest sponsored challenge. Psalms 120-134 in the Bible are a distinct set of songs that travellers to various festivals used to sing as they journeyed on their way to Jerusalem. I've set myself the task of memorising them all - 99 verses in total: 15 psalms in 14 days.
You can log on to the website, or text 'RKUK99' followed by the amount in pounds you'd like to donate, e.g. £1, £5 etc. Find out more at www.justgiving.com/ascendingthepsalms, which is the page you can donate through if you're so minded.
Nearly Christmas, but still a barrel load of water work to get through before we can pull the plug on 2011. The big news is that I've got a laser eye surgery date of 25th January, and by the end of February I should, God willing, be able to kayak without having to de-mist the specs after a capsize!
Later!
So we've had Staff Conference over the last few days, with the Scottish contingent escaping (and returning to, no doubt) the white-out north of the border.
Not sure if such immense conditions descended on Kent or South Wales in the three days everyone had together at Frontier, although the (lack of) heating situation is still probably enough for the Taffs at Summit Centre to contend with. Please pray that they'll get that back - it can't be much fun to come in from the cold only to have to hunker down even when there's a roof overhead.
A huge bunch of new people all together is not, to be frank, my idea of a comfortable three days; 'challenging behaviour' was my choice for this post's title not without an undercover personal dimension. My default behavioural traits of reserve and quietude predictably kicked into gear. Having said that, the emergence of a table tennis table defibrilated my enthusiasm. Apologies to all who got the sharp end of my catharsis!
The pool table also got an extremely decent work-out. There's something about the confined space of the baize that makes practice terrifically moreish. Perhaps that's just my perfectionism asserting itself, and unsurprisingly my unattainable standards weren't slaked during the frames in which I contended with myself.
It's another example of the extent of devotion to exactness that you need if you are going to get really good at anything. I remember listening to Desert Island Discs once, where Digby Jones plumped for 'a video of one hundred examples of excellence' as his luxury - whether that was craftsmanship, oratory, musicality, acrobatics, whatever. Watching someone do something with aplomb is an undeniably enjoyable experience (unless you're Terry Butcher in 1986).
Yes, I know the reference tags me as immutably middle-class (as does the word 'immutably'), but the cliche that if something's worth doing, it's worth doing well, ought to be levitated above cliche level. That's what I've tried to do during the ten weeks we've been here, and although that frequently makes me slower than others, I'm convinced that comparisons are less important than valuations.
Something that I'm just about to commence that also will take a lot of dedication is my latest sponsored challenge. Psalms 120-134 in the Bible are a distinct set of songs that travellers to various festivals used to sing as they journeyed on their way to Jerusalem. I've set myself the task of memorising them all - 99 verses in total: 15 psalms in 14 days.
You can log on to the website, or text 'RKUK99' followed by the amount in pounds you'd like to donate, e.g. £1, £5 etc. Find out more at www.justgiving.com/ascendingthepsalms, which is the page you can donate through if you're so minded.
Nearly Christmas, but still a barrel load of water work to get through before we can pull the plug on 2011. The big news is that I've got a laser eye surgery date of 25th January, and by the end of February I should, God willing, be able to kayak without having to de-mist the specs after a capsize!
Later!
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Nene Disease and Other Diets
So the previously-mentioned next batch of fencing didn't really materialise for me. About 5am on the morning of the second day, a querelous stomach gave way to a set of ab-crunches that weren't particularly welcome. Nene Disease had struck...
To be fair, I'd had a pretty good run up until then, infirmity-wise. Most other people have come down with an illness or injury of some sort during the first couple of months here, so it wasn't entirely unexpected, not least after Canoe and Kayak Rescues involving deliberate capsizes and the like two days previously. It was the Wednesday in between that was the curveball; why did nothing 'appear' (literally) for a whole 24 hours after the dunking in (and swallowing of) the Nene?
Maybe those bacteria just needed that nice incubation period. Suffice to say, I managed to stagger up to the sports hall for my fencing assessment and then stagger equally inelegantly back to bed, where I stayed for much of the next day and a half, dieting hard.
Thankfully, the rest was genuinely recuperative, and I've been up and about now for a few days, back to fairly near full-strength. I was even able to do my driving lesson on Saturday, although BSM have changed the car for me back again, so revert to Vauxall mode. I was a bit rusty! Test 11th January. Don't panic!
Living in community has proved to be tough - tougher than I thought - during this time. When I was at my interview back in June, I was asked how I thought I would take to living with a whole bunch of other people, and I answered that I thought it would be ok, as I done it before at university.
It was the reply I thought they wanted / needed to hear, and I've found in these eight weeks or so that a life more independent of other people was something I'd got used to (and nicely comfortable with) when in London. It's hard to go back!
I suppose that's been as big a challenge as learning how to set up a climbing rig or rescue a spinal casualty in a pool, if not bigger. Skills can be learned, repeated, tried and tried and tried until they're locked down. People don't work in the same way. They push back, respond awkwardly and have memory, all of which interacts with you in a dynamic and not always smooth manner.
So whether it's washing-up, conversational manners, learning styles or that je ne sais qua that makes it easier to be with some people rather than others, trying to look at the situation here reflectively and constructively, it may be that this is the larger life lesson that God has for me.
I fear that, at the moment, it's more exposing tendencies of impatience or isolationism in me rather than leading me to greater maturity, but, like with skill sets, it will need time to process through my head, organise in my life and become established in my heart. Not a job for me alone, then; but 'with God, all things are possible.' (Matthew 19:26)
To be fair, I'd had a pretty good run up until then, infirmity-wise. Most other people have come down with an illness or injury of some sort during the first couple of months here, so it wasn't entirely unexpected, not least after Canoe and Kayak Rescues involving deliberate capsizes and the like two days previously. It was the Wednesday in between that was the curveball; why did nothing 'appear' (literally) for a whole 24 hours after the dunking in (and swallowing of) the Nene?
Maybe those bacteria just needed that nice incubation period. Suffice to say, I managed to stagger up to the sports hall for my fencing assessment and then stagger equally inelegantly back to bed, where I stayed for much of the next day and a half, dieting hard.
Thankfully, the rest was genuinely recuperative, and I've been up and about now for a few days, back to fairly near full-strength. I was even able to do my driving lesson on Saturday, although BSM have changed the car for me back again, so revert to Vauxall mode. I was a bit rusty! Test 11th January. Don't panic!
Living in community has proved to be tough - tougher than I thought - during this time. When I was at my interview back in June, I was asked how I thought I would take to living with a whole bunch of other people, and I answered that I thought it would be ok, as I done it before at university.
It was the reply I thought they wanted / needed to hear, and I've found in these eight weeks or so that a life more independent of other people was something I'd got used to (and nicely comfortable with) when in London. It's hard to go back!
I suppose that's been as big a challenge as learning how to set up a climbing rig or rescue a spinal casualty in a pool, if not bigger. Skills can be learned, repeated, tried and tried and tried until they're locked down. People don't work in the same way. They push back, respond awkwardly and have memory, all of which interacts with you in a dynamic and not always smooth manner.
So whether it's washing-up, conversational manners, learning styles or that je ne sais qua that makes it easier to be with some people rather than others, trying to look at the situation here reflectively and constructively, it may be that this is the larger life lesson that God has for me.
I fear that, at the moment, it's more exposing tendencies of impatience or isolationism in me rather than leading me to greater maturity, but, like with skill sets, it will need time to process through my head, organise in my life and become established in my heart. Not a job for me alone, then; but 'with God, all things are possible.' (Matthew 19:26)
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Matters of Life and Death
If any of you ever fancy getting a spinal injury whilst in a swimming pool, I can now help you out. But only if I'm on lifeguard duty...
Last Friday, I passed the National Rescue Standard Pool Lifeguard qualification, after a week down in Kent. The centre at Carroty Wood has a pool, and we were in it every day, along with a lot of classroom time rehearsing, CPR, vomiting casualties and other various nightmare scenarios. It was a bit scary! But preparing for the worst is always the most necessary strategy.
Prior to the lifeguarding week, we had four days of Archery Leader training, so if I was feeling malicious, I could first inflict the injury before attempting to save the casualty, although I think that would be pretty poor form. Archery is one of those sports that has a whole system of etiquette wrapped up in its history and continued practice, so aiming for anything but the target would be seriously infra dig, not to mention a sackable offence!
To continue the theme of potentially violent activities carried out within a gentlemanly environment, we began fencing today - another one with a rich history and carried out as an art form almost as much as a sport. There's something invigorating and brilliant about doing dangerous things in safe conditions, which you'll all be glad to know are always adhered to here at Rock UK.
Some of you will know that as a teenager, I played a lot of table tennis, and it turns out that fencing has a lot of similarity in terms of foot movements. It's really intense, too - if archery requires you to get into a completely focused 'bubble' of concentration, with fencing, you have to do the same, only you have to get a sweat on at the same time, as there's someone coming at you with a foil.
More fencing tomorrow. In the meantime, church at Grace in Kempston continues to be excellent, a forum for growing as a Christian and making a lot of friends in the process. There's also the possibility of getting involved with the music groups that play for services there, and I'll be taking my guitar along this Sunday to practise with the others.
Keep safe, everyone, in body and soul - the latter's health is truly a matter of life and death.
Last Friday, I passed the National Rescue Standard Pool Lifeguard qualification, after a week down in Kent. The centre at Carroty Wood has a pool, and we were in it every day, along with a lot of classroom time rehearsing, CPR, vomiting casualties and other various nightmare scenarios. It was a bit scary! But preparing for the worst is always the most necessary strategy.
Prior to the lifeguarding week, we had four days of Archery Leader training, so if I was feeling malicious, I could first inflict the injury before attempting to save the casualty, although I think that would be pretty poor form. Archery is one of those sports that has a whole system of etiquette wrapped up in its history and continued practice, so aiming for anything but the target would be seriously infra dig, not to mention a sackable offence!
To continue the theme of potentially violent activities carried out within a gentlemanly environment, we began fencing today - another one with a rich history and carried out as an art form almost as much as a sport. There's something invigorating and brilliant about doing dangerous things in safe conditions, which you'll all be glad to know are always adhered to here at Rock UK.
Some of you will know that as a teenager, I played a lot of table tennis, and it turns out that fencing has a lot of similarity in terms of foot movements. It's really intense, too - if archery requires you to get into a completely focused 'bubble' of concentration, with fencing, you have to do the same, only you have to get a sweat on at the same time, as there's someone coming at you with a foil.
More fencing tomorrow. In the meantime, church at Grace in Kempston continues to be excellent, a forum for growing as a Christian and making a lot of friends in the process. There's also the possibility of getting involved with the music groups that play for services there, and I'll be taking my guitar along this Sunday to practise with the others.
Keep safe, everyone, in body and soul - the latter's health is truly a matter of life and death.
Thursday 10 November 2011
How did you find Grace?
That's a bit of a question, isn't it? My friend Carl from church asked it when he was giving me a lift home last Sunday. I hope everyone reading this has their own story as to how they've experienced the love of God in their lives. If not, the great news is that you can find it today - free! "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." (Isaiah 55v1).
In actual fact, Carl was referring to the local church in Kempston, Grace Community Church! But it was a question that - even though I misinterpreted it at first - was a shot of spiritual adrenalin to me, and reminded me of the grace of God that is to be found in Christ Jesus alone. On Sunday eleven people were baptised at an afternoon service the church held in order to show that they too have experienced this wonderful mercy of God.
Finding a spiritual family at Grace has been one of the best parts of moving to my new life here. The training is progressing smoothly enough - with some 'natural hiccups' here and there! - but I'm realising that God is more concerned about the person I am becoming rather than the qualifications I am or could be achieving.
What kind of person are you becoming?
In actual fact, Carl was referring to the local church in Kempston, Grace Community Church! But it was a question that - even though I misinterpreted it at first - was a shot of spiritual adrenalin to me, and reminded me of the grace of God that is to be found in Christ Jesus alone. On Sunday eleven people were baptised at an afternoon service the church held in order to show that they too have experienced this wonderful mercy of God.
Finding a spiritual family at Grace has been one of the best parts of moving to my new life here. The training is progressing smoothly enough - with some 'natural hiccups' here and there! - but I'm realising that God is more concerned about the person I am becoming rather than the qualifications I am or could be achieving.
What kind of person are you becoming?
Tuesday 25 October 2011
The End Justifies the Means
Not always the best sentiment, but it my case, I really think that it's a valid one. Fortunately for me it doesn't involve any Spooks-like decisions about life and death.
Or maybe it does. I've realised that I don't think I'll ever be Rock UK's best paddler, climber or bantermeister, but if I can get qualified in at least the first two, then I'll be able to do what I really want to do: spend time with kids and those supervising them so I can tell them about the good news of Jesus.
We had a weekend in the Peak District (21-23 October) to put some skills into practice on the River Derwent and some real rock rather than the climbing wall here at Frontier Centre - Nelson's Three Ships and the gritrock around the area (just outside Matlock Bath). At neither was I particularly proficient or entirely un-scared - and that's being quite charitable towards myself.
But when we were able to shadow some groups of kids that were in during last week, I started to get a taste for what Rock UK is really all about. Chatting to them at the top of the tower, even abseiling down alongside one of the more nervous girls - this is where faith is supplemented by action and the salt of my life is genuinely ekeing out of the salt shaker.
Of course, discipling each other is great for our personal growth, and opportunities aplenty have arisen for me to give and receive in that regard. On our Thursday night meetings, we started a series on the fruit of the Spirit (using the Galatians 5 passage as a starting-point, but pulling in other references to build up a greater picture of each character trait), and just today we went through several of the 'Spotlight Sessions' that teach moral and Christian values through activities, object lessons and Biblical comment on 'Consequences', 'Trust', 'Our Sense of Place' and so on.
But us being part of the team that puts people in heaven is what I'm driving towards. And that can't just be a pleasant hobby - it's an urgent mission.
Or maybe it does. I've realised that I don't think I'll ever be Rock UK's best paddler, climber or bantermeister, but if I can get qualified in at least the first two, then I'll be able to do what I really want to do: spend time with kids and those supervising them so I can tell them about the good news of Jesus.
We had a weekend in the Peak District (21-23 October) to put some skills into practice on the River Derwent and some real rock rather than the climbing wall here at Frontier Centre - Nelson's Three Ships and the gritrock around the area (just outside Matlock Bath). At neither was I particularly proficient or entirely un-scared - and that's being quite charitable towards myself.
But when we were able to shadow some groups of kids that were in during last week, I started to get a taste for what Rock UK is really all about. Chatting to them at the top of the tower, even abseiling down alongside one of the more nervous girls - this is where faith is supplemented by action and the salt of my life is genuinely ekeing out of the salt shaker.
Of course, discipling each other is great for our personal growth, and opportunities aplenty have arisen for me to give and receive in that regard. On our Thursday night meetings, we started a series on the fruit of the Spirit (using the Galatians 5 passage as a starting-point, but pulling in other references to build up a greater picture of each character trait), and just today we went through several of the 'Spotlight Sessions' that teach moral and Christian values through activities, object lessons and Biblical comment on 'Consequences', 'Trust', 'Our Sense of Place' and so on.
But us being part of the team that puts people in heaven is what I'm driving towards. And that can't just be a pleasant hobby - it's an urgent mission.
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Falling Asleep on the Pastor's Sofa
...is not the epitome of politeness, but once Ray saw I was nodding off whilst trying desperately to hold my attention together, he very graciously offered me some horizontal down-time.
Thanks to everyone at Grace Community Church, Kempston - it was a lovely day I had with you on Sunday, and I hope to have many more with you in the future.
It's been a return to the training since Monday - rope work back at Frontier to get me set up for climbing, abseiling and high ropes work. Processing all of that information has been a challenge for me, I have to admit. I remember when I was about 15 or 16 working at a corner shop, and failing to tie a knot around the returned newspapers and magazines, and the hoodoo has struck again.
Practice, practice, practice is the key. None of it is particularly intuitive to me, so it's a matter of recalling process and following it precisely - much like how I learned to cook, I suppose. I have to 'follow the recipe' - just with rope and caribiners rather than flour and butter!
Outside of work (it still feels odd to call it that!), I was back with BSM yesterday, trying to finish off learning to drive. It was my first time at 70mph - you can't really reach that on Streatham High Road. Got into fifth gear intentionally, for a change!
We've got a trip to the Peak District starting on Friday afternoon - first white water included! I got told not to tell my Mum that, but the cat's out of the bag already...
Thanks, everybody, for your thoughts, prayers, messages of support, phone calls, etc., etc. I'm going to keep needing them!
Thanks to everyone at Grace Community Church, Kempston - it was a lovely day I had with you on Sunday, and I hope to have many more with you in the future.
It's been a return to the training since Monday - rope work back at Frontier to get me set up for climbing, abseiling and high ropes work. Processing all of that information has been a challenge for me, I have to admit. I remember when I was about 15 or 16 working at a corner shop, and failing to tie a knot around the returned newspapers and magazines, and the hoodoo has struck again.
Practice, practice, practice is the key. None of it is particularly intuitive to me, so it's a matter of recalling process and following it precisely - much like how I learned to cook, I suppose. I have to 'follow the recipe' - just with rope and caribiners rather than flour and butter!
Outside of work (it still feels odd to call it that!), I was back with BSM yesterday, trying to finish off learning to drive. It was my first time at 70mph - you can't really reach that on Streatham High Road. Got into fifth gear intentionally, for a change!
We've got a trip to the Peak District starting on Friday afternoon - first white water included! I got told not to tell my Mum that, but the cat's out of the bag already...
Thanks, everybody, for your thoughts, prayers, messages of support, phone calls, etc., etc. I'm going to keep needing them!
Wednesday 12 October 2011
The Purple-Headed Mountain
The third verse of 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' came into my head when I woke up yesterday morning, but not because of the fiery sunrise fringing the eastern sky. Swinging my legs out of bed, I was confronted with the largest, angriest bruise my right thigh has seen since we played a rough Milton Keynes school at football when I was fifteen. It had to be christened 'The Purple-Headed Mountain'. Apologies to all MK residents.
This particular fleshly abomination was the result of about thirteen hours of kayaking over three days, climaxing with rescue drills in the Nene. 'Connectivity' has become a bit of a buzz word - you have to keep the power transfer flowing through your body and into the boat itself, which means a lot of knee braces and pushing with your toes. There's also a heck of a lot you have to do with your trunk / torso - it's really not so much about the arms!
Ditto for canoeing, which we did today. (The rest of the water sports group were on it yesterday, too, when I was in London getting my eyes assessed for laser eye surgery, which will help no end once I get that done, hopefully in the new year.) In canoeing, you kneel, and use one paddle instead of two, steering by using it as a rudder at the back, so you (in general) keep your strokes on the one side of the boat.
Quoc (one of the other trainees) gave us a great morning message yesterday. He took the theme of 'rest' as his way of leading the morning devotions, which we have each day. Physical rest is really important for all of us at the moment, just as much as putting energy into all that we're doing. But spiritual rest is the far greater, deeper fulfillment that we all need, and can have in Jesus - the one who gives us rest in our souls if we come to Him in the faith that He will provide.
This particular fleshly abomination was the result of about thirteen hours of kayaking over three days, climaxing with rescue drills in the Nene. 'Connectivity' has become a bit of a buzz word - you have to keep the power transfer flowing through your body and into the boat itself, which means a lot of knee braces and pushing with your toes. There's also a heck of a lot you have to do with your trunk / torso - it's really not so much about the arms!
Ditto for canoeing, which we did today. (The rest of the water sports group were on it yesterday, too, when I was in London getting my eyes assessed for laser eye surgery, which will help no end once I get that done, hopefully in the new year.) In canoeing, you kneel, and use one paddle instead of two, steering by using it as a rudder at the back, so you (in general) keep your strokes on the one side of the boat.
Quoc (one of the other trainees) gave us a great morning message yesterday. He took the theme of 'rest' as his way of leading the morning devotions, which we have each day. Physical rest is really important for all of us at the moment, just as much as putting energy into all that we're doing. But spiritual rest is the far greater, deeper fulfillment that we all need, and can have in Jesus - the one who gives us rest in our souls if we come to Him in the faith that He will provide.
Sunday 9 October 2011
BTEC, Scouse and Google
It's the phase where nicknames are being tried out to see what will stick. Mine has (astonishingly quickly) become 'Google'. Apparently I 'know everything', and so 'to Google it' now means not to look something up on a search engine, but to ask me if I know the answer!
Somewhat overrated, methinks. However, with me being the aged daddy of the group, at a ripe old 26 years old, there's one or two things I've picked up in my time.
Quite a bit of 'banter' is flying about, together with some developing in-jokes between the Rock SATers. One catchphrase has definitely hit home: 'Open yer eyes!', one of the repeated phrases of the First Aid course. The thick Blackburn accent of the trainer has guaranteed a laugh on any occasion it has been repeated.
The whole experience so far has felt like a bit of a holiday, only reinforced by a big road trip we've just got back from. Frontier Centre doesn't have a pool of its own - one of the few things that isn't at this site - so over the weekend we've been down to Carroty Wood, near Tonbridge. It was only during the journey that I had to realise that this isn't a little adventure, but my life for the next two years.
Little bit scary, and kayaking in the pool at Carroty has left me on a knife edge between excited and freaked out about what awaits around the many corners that will arrive. More water sports coming up this week, and this time the spray deck is on for real in the great Nenebezi...
Somewhat overrated, methinks. However, with me being the aged daddy of the group, at a ripe old 26 years old, there's one or two things I've picked up in my time.
Quite a bit of 'banter' is flying about, together with some developing in-jokes between the Rock SATers. One catchphrase has definitely hit home: 'Open yer eyes!', one of the repeated phrases of the First Aid course. The thick Blackburn accent of the trainer has guaranteed a laugh on any occasion it has been repeated.
The whole experience so far has felt like a bit of a holiday, only reinforced by a big road trip we've just got back from. Frontier Centre doesn't have a pool of its own - one of the few things that isn't at this site - so over the weekend we've been down to Carroty Wood, near Tonbridge. It was only during the journey that I had to realise that this isn't a little adventure, but my life for the next two years.
Little bit scary, and kayaking in the pool at Carroty has left me on a knife edge between excited and freaked out about what awaits around the many corners that will arrive. More water sports coming up this week, and this time the spray deck is on for real in the great Nenebezi...
Tuesday 4 October 2011
Can I wear those socks again?
The last few days before leaving Streatham were an operation in trying to judge acceptable levels of laundry frequency as I attempted to juggle packing up with not having to unearth underwear from box 17.
That makes it sound as though I had a packing regime of military precision (oxymoron, anyone?), and, to be fair, it was fairly well organised until the dying embers of my Streatham life.
Now I've arrived, the greater problem is not that things weren't labelled down to the last pencil, but that I've had to transport my whole life here having moved out of London, and I'm not living in a whole house anymore. It's somewhat more snugly-sized than that...and to cap it, I'll have to move it in and out a couple of times in the next few weeks, as it's going to be used for visitors to Frontier Centre.
It's made the settling-in process a little bit bumpy, but it was always going to be that way. Change = discomfort, but that doesn't have to mean I shut down in anxiety. 'Cast all your cares upon the Lord, because He cares for you' is really going to have to mean something at the moment.
We've all got kitted out with more to come in a few days' time - wetsuit included! Still a but nervous about the glasses issue - we're going to be practice kayaking in the pool at Carroty Wood over the weekend - but I should have a sports strap coming in the post, so pray that arrives - and works!
Been doing the first day of a First Aid course today - second half all day tomorrow. Lots of nightmare scenarios to consider, which itself gets the pulse jump-started.
Also kicked off the 'message sessions' this morning before training, Rich Wyatt (SAT co-ordinator) getting us to consider the importance of reaching children with the message of the gospel because of the hardening of people's attitudes once they get older. To complement that, we also thought about the imperative to serve God now, and not wait for a more opportune time - there will always be some excuse to put it off.
So if now is the day of salvation, now is the time to be fishers of men.
That makes it sound as though I had a packing regime of military precision (oxymoron, anyone?), and, to be fair, it was fairly well organised until the dying embers of my Streatham life.
Now I've arrived, the greater problem is not that things weren't labelled down to the last pencil, but that I've had to transport my whole life here having moved out of London, and I'm not living in a whole house anymore. It's somewhat more snugly-sized than that...and to cap it, I'll have to move it in and out a couple of times in the next few weeks, as it's going to be used for visitors to Frontier Centre.
It's made the settling-in process a little bit bumpy, but it was always going to be that way. Change = discomfort, but that doesn't have to mean I shut down in anxiety. 'Cast all your cares upon the Lord, because He cares for you' is really going to have to mean something at the moment.
We've all got kitted out with more to come in a few days' time - wetsuit included! Still a but nervous about the glasses issue - we're going to be practice kayaking in the pool at Carroty Wood over the weekend - but I should have a sports strap coming in the post, so pray that arrives - and works!
Been doing the first day of a First Aid course today - second half all day tomorrow. Lots of nightmare scenarios to consider, which itself gets the pulse jump-started.
Also kicked off the 'message sessions' this morning before training, Rich Wyatt (SAT co-ordinator) getting us to consider the importance of reaching children with the message of the gospel because of the hardening of people's attitudes once they get older. To complement that, we also thought about the imperative to serve God now, and not wait for a more opportune time - there will always be some excuse to put it off.
So if now is the day of salvation, now is the time to be fishers of men.
Friday 30 September 2011
A Vaguely Passable Sponge Cake
So it's 1.05am on Saturday morning, October 1st. Two days to go until I officially become employed again. Two weeks of hiatus were both welcome and weird - probably unlikely to reappear any time soon. I've been doing some practice cooking to prepare for the full-on catering challenge that is hurtling towards me...let's just say that there's being triumph and disaster. Everything's edible, but I think you'd have to downgrade my jam sponge to an ambiguous riot of cake mixture and icing sugar, finished with a soupcon of kitchen roll.
It's strange seeing your life in boxes, all gathered in half of one room. I've slimmed down as much as possible, as it's going to be a squash-a-rama once I move to Frontier Centre. I've had to let loads of people know about my change of address. With people like the bank and my old workplace, I had to be formal and get the name 'Irthlingborough' across the phone line, but I don't know how long that's going to hold for your average conversation. My Mum's already making do with 'Northampton', and to be honest, that's as good as anything, since it seems like I am about to arrive somewhere next door to the middle of nowhere. Test yourself. What do you know about Northamptonshire?
Me neither. So it's going to be an exploration in many, many ways come Monday (and for the next two years after Monday). Where are the shops? What's the mobile signal like? What about church?
That's something you could pray about, if you're minded to. There's no doubt going to be lots of opportunity to share experiences and mutual help and support once I move on-site. But I think the New Testament is pretty clear that the local body of believers is the best place to be spiritually rooted, grow and develop.
So that means I'm going to have to finish off learning to drive pretty sharpish. I've got most of the way in London - definitely advantageous - but there's the final hurdle to...hurdle. Or drive through.
Most of all, change always makes me revert to a instinctive introversion - that's what I've found in previous big changes in my life, like going to university or moving to London. So I'm going to need God's help to keep that from being too dominant a theme in the next few weeks.
It's strange seeing your life in boxes, all gathered in half of one room. I've slimmed down as much as possible, as it's going to be a squash-a-rama once I move to Frontier Centre. I've had to let loads of people know about my change of address. With people like the bank and my old workplace, I had to be formal and get the name 'Irthlingborough' across the phone line, but I don't know how long that's going to hold for your average conversation. My Mum's already making do with 'Northampton', and to be honest, that's as good as anything, since it seems like I am about to arrive somewhere next door to the middle of nowhere. Test yourself. What do you know about Northamptonshire?
Me neither. So it's going to be an exploration in many, many ways come Monday (and for the next two years after Monday). Where are the shops? What's the mobile signal like? What about church?
That's something you could pray about, if you're minded to. There's no doubt going to be lots of opportunity to share experiences and mutual help and support once I move on-site. But I think the New Testament is pretty clear that the local body of believers is the best place to be spiritually rooted, grow and develop.
So that means I'm going to have to finish off learning to drive pretty sharpish. I've got most of the way in London - definitely advantageous - but there's the final hurdle to...hurdle. Or drive through.
Most of all, change always makes me revert to a instinctive introversion - that's what I've found in previous big changes in my life, like going to university or moving to London. So I'm going to need God's help to keep that from being too dominant a theme in the next few weeks.
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