Life on the slopes....

Well I would love to say at this point that I had had a really relaxing weekend, spent loads of time reading books for the course and preparing myself for the week ahead. I would really love that to be part of my life....Sadly it isn't...

The Chaos started really as I left Chester at Thursday lunchtime (I have to say at this point that none of what has happened is bad or negative!!)

I went 'snowboarding' for the first time ever and it was awesome....Yes it was real snow a great place call Xscape at Castleford, www.xscape.co.uk

Friday was filled with the usual fullness of breakfast club, followed by a school assembly, a quick coffee and phoning session then into school at lunchtime for some positive play, stop at the sandwich shop and grab lunch to be eaten at the church community centre where we set up for after schools club (yr7+) Its just a place for them to come on a Friday to release their frustrations of the week!!! Quickly get myself to one of the other churches in the team to help with the Friday Night Chill Out part of the mission weekend, fantastic as it was and with 25 unchurched young people in all hearing the 4points (check out www.the4points.com) it was a privilege to be part of their lives.

Saturday morning football practice....For some reason Colin and I have got 5 teams entered into the Ambassadors In Sport 6-a-side league...yep that's a minimum of 30 under 16's....

sustenance was on hand directly afterwards as part two of the mission weekend kicked in (like the link eh!) St Matthews Big Brunch....Again we had 20+ members of the surrounding community come in and share a free breakfast and hear the gospel.....Well I had to work of the breakfast so there was no choice but to inflate the two sofas...Praise God for the man who invented the double action air pump!! Quickly home for a shower then visit some parents re-football matches in the evening.

Part three on the mission weekend (still Saturday) a Girls' only Pamper day, 2 hrs where you could have a foot spa, a fun face lift, a facial, hand massage, fruit cocktail and not to forget the chocolate fountain....I gave hand massages. This time we had catered for about 30 but where completely bowled over when we had 40+ ladies turn up...It was absolutely buzzing, we all had a fab time and the best bit was once again having the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus not just through the talks but also through the talking...If you know what I mean...

anyway no time to waste...Pick up minibus and head for the football....a mixed bag of wins and losses but all in good spirit and all with 30+ young people who would otherwise would not necessarily have contact with God in any other way.

Sunday - well I thought it was to be a day off....Not quite. A parishioner raised a doubt in my mind that I was preaching at the 10.30am service, this was confirmed by finding the provisional rota for Oct. I hadn't even had this on my radar so was ever so slightly un-prepared...None the less, I read the lectionary readings for the day and prepared what I could in short notice....Up and out with the dog at the early hours to help with the thought process...Only to discover on arrival at said church that the provisional rota had changed (it doesn't normally) so I found myself sitting in a pew slightly shell shocked and with 11 packets of smarties all to myself....

Part four of mission weekend - a mellow cafe with live music - just enough time to grab a bit of toast (nothing to put on it as not been shopping yet!!) then move an electric piano from one house to the church....visit a family then back to the church community centre for 6pm to great my faithful 4 (extreme teen-started 2yrs ago as my first confirmation class and continued to meet!!!)

This is where I thought God was really taking things to the extreme right enough. I didn't have just my faithful 4 but rather another 6 on top. This was a break through 6 of the young people who have been coming to our open club for the past year came in. They didn't settle down completely but they interacted at the appropriate times (mostly) as one of my 4 was leading!

Why do we do what we do.......me, I do it for exactly the reasons given above....over this one weekend we have talked lived and breathed God to over 100 people who are normally on the outside of our radar...we have introduced them, whether they realise it or not, to the most important person they will ever need to know....2 years ago God changed me more than I could have anticipated and as part of that change my heart cried out for the young people of today....not as a mass but one at a time.....I'm living that heart felt desire every day, watching these young people change, deciding that actually it might be better sitting down with these weird folk on Sunday and hearing that they are loved than trawling the streets cold and lost....am I tired, yes, do I want more......bring it on......I love it