This week was the first week of ministry for us after a week of orientation. I’ve been assigned to the parish of Blackley (contrary to its spelling, it’s pronounced Blake-lee) where we’re mostly working with St. Andrew’s Church (or Stan’s as they’ve kind of renamed themselves). Blackley is about 3 miles from our house, which means either an hour walk or taking a couple of buses. I’ll be up there two mornings each week at a Parents & Toddlers group where our goal is to build relationships with the parents/grandparents who bring their kids/grandkids. Then we’re also helping with various youth activities in the evenings and doing assemblies in the primary school each week.
I’m also helping out with the Youth Club at a park near our home on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The kids there are all kinds of hurting, and our main job is just to love them. Of course that’s easier said than done because these kids will do anything they can think of to provoke you into treating them just like everyone else in their lives has. I’ve only been there twice, but I’m already praying for a greater capacity to love and a greater capacity to show patience. I know I will be growing quite a bit in the area of quiet time with God (something I’ve always struggled with) because I know that I will be so much less effective in ministry and more quickly burned out if I don’t prepare myself for the day by being in God’s presence.
This last week has been an emotionally difficult one as I’ve had to deal with some surprises from home (and I don’t mean good surprises, either), so please be praying that God would help me to deal with that in a healthy way while also keeping me focused on the task He has set in front of me. And keep the whole team in prayer as we get into the regular routine of ministry here: that we’ll remain rooted in God and His love for us, that we’ll continue to grow in unity as a team, that we’ll allow God to work through us in whatever ways He chooses.
I’m working on a newsletter which I’m hoping to get out soon, so keep an eye out for that.
Thanks again for your support and prayers!
KT
P.S. Please pray that the UK postal workers would quickly come to a resolution about their desire for higher salaries. They are currently on strike and are planning more strikes to occur until the situation is resolved, which means spotty at best mail service until who knows when, and I for one would like to be able to receive letters and packages. 😛
