Hello All Nations!

This week was our first at All Nations Christian College, where we will be studying for two terms. It has been great to meet students from around the globe and profound to worship God with brothers and sisters of so many nationalities and cultures.

We are living in a corridor in the old ‘Easney Mansion’ (pictured) with four other young couples - of whom Katy and I are the oldest! The house was built originally for the Buxton family who played a key role in the Abolition of Slavery Bill - in fact you can find a Buxton on the back of a five pound note.

When the family moved into their new home in 1868 they received a letter from "Granny" expressing the prayerful longing that the building "might be ever inhabited by faithful servants of God ... that Christ might be honoured and served there... and that this place be a fountain of blessing to the church and to the world". It is great to see men and women around the college living out the answer to this prophetic prayer.

mmmm...cake

Turning 30 en route 
The other morning I opened our bedroom door to find someone had imprisoned us with a lattice of loo roll. This was just one of a number of pranks and humiliations received at the hands of my fellow students to celebrate my turning 30.

A large Nigella chocolate cake from Katy more than made up for this, despite having to wear a pink dressing gown to our first ‘En route’ class. En Route is the name of the 10 week course katy and I are completing this term, in which we will be developing our awareness of different cultures and world religions and how we relate and integrate in our chosen contexts.

Investing in the Future

Leighton Ford said: 'For the sake of the many invest in the few'. Last weekend Katy and I enjoyed a day entitled 'Investing in Mentoring' run by Paul Wilcox, a man who has invested his life into mentoring and discipling over 50 young(ish) men around the country.
 


Paul speaking at All Saints, Worcester

 We're all used to the idea of mentoring partnerships from Jethro and Moses to Yoda and Obi Wan. The day inspired us to think about how we might invest into our own mentoring partnerships and how this might 'maximise the grace of God' in our own and others' lives. Katy has been a mentor for the last few years and would say that it has benefited her own spiritual life as much as her mentee's.

'Mentoring is an intentional, dynamic relationship of trust'. The picture shows Paul explaining how mentoring can be like balancing precious crystal glasses on a tray. As long as the mentor keeps his eyes fixed ahead (on Jesus) he can help to take the mentees where they need to be.

Paul is currently writing a book on mentoring and I will post a link to this when it is published - as one of his mentees I'm hoping he won't mention me as a particularly difficult case.

Business Link
If you have ever considered setting up your own business Katy and I would both recommend signing up to a three day 'business -link' course. They are -currently- well subsidised by the government (so very cheap!) and give you a really good overview of things you'll need to consider; from writing a business plan to marketing, book-keeping and tax. It was also fascinating to meet such an eclectic bunch of entrepreneurs on our course with business ideas ranging from shoe design to burlesque entertainment ... though no pictures I'm afraid!

Business link offer many other courses and services and can be found on:  http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg

Link Church Weekend

We have had a real answer to prayer this week. Katy has found just the right person to take over her business. Rather than losing all of her hard work, a care-taker manager will be stepping in to run KatyRay for the coming few years. In an attempt to build up enough stock for Christmas, Katy has been frantically trying to stitch up 180 cushions by tomorrow! 

Completed project - cause for choclate cake at W&C

I am very sad to have had my final week at Williams and Cleal. Though I hope to come in for one final day to finish my Mindy cabinet.

We enjoyed visiting two of our link churches yesterday. The first, Holy Trinity Barrow-Upon-Soar hosted us for their 9.45 service. It was a new experience for us processing out of the vestry with a robed choir, and to be seated at the front as guests of honour felt very Tanzanian! Everyone there was hugely welcoming and bought loads of Neema produce in support of the project. 

Neema stall does well at Holy Trinity B-U-S

Having enjoyed a sizeable bring and share lunch, we headed down the M1 to my old family church St John's Blackheath in time for the evening service. It was a trip down memory lane for me as I saw many of the guys who had seen me through my teenage years in the congregation. St John's already has a strong link with the Diocese of Mara, Tanzania and we hope to stay connected to projects like 'Go Make A Difference' in the future, see: http://www.gomadintanzania.org.uk/