Ambushed!

So…last week we were held up at gunpoint!  All part of everyday life at the college!!   It was actually a brilliant morning and we all took part in a simulation in which we had to get visas and currency and try to cross a hostile border into a pretend country.  We had to deal with officious customs officers, beggars, drunk taxi drivers clamouring for our custom, gun wielding youths at the ‘border’ and then we were ambushed in the woods and robbed at gunpoint.  After all the excitement we had a plenary session in which some experienced security people talked through what we had done well and what would have got us killed if it had been real!    We picked up a lot of helpful information though thankfully Guyana is pretty safe compared to a lot of places.

We spent a morning looking at our love languages and how to use them with partners, colleagues etc.  I have read Gary Chapman’s book anyway but it was fun to discuss it in our group who are all getting to know each other a lot better now.  We now know who to hug, who to do kind things for, who to say nice things to, who to meet for coffee and who just wants gifts! 

We also spent a morning looking at ways to communicate with our friends and family back home and I showed the group my blog to give them an idea.  Hoping it won’t get too boring for you all to keep reading!!   It’s certainly easier than typing newsletters to post!   We also talked about making movies to upload to share so I will try and have a go at some point! 

Last weekend we drove over to Canterbury to get away from college…a place we have always meant to visit.  One of Mark’s ancestors (William Warham) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503 to 1532 and crowned Henry Vlll!  It was exciting to visit his tomb and then we joined the service on the Sunday morning which was very interesting - we wouldn't want to do it every week but enjoyed the solemnity and reverence of the service.

Carolyn in the cloisters!

Canterbury Cathedral

Mark at the tomb of his ancestor

The plaque next to the tomb

 

 Points for prayer this week please…

• Jo and Ayo as they make final preparations for the wedding next week.  Praying for a lovely day and not the usual Manchester in November weather!!
• Emily’s job situation…deadline getting closer now – eek!
• For our freight boxes to be collected on time, to arrive safely in Guyana and for us to be able to collect it all without a hitch and without anything getting lost or damaged.

Half way!

We have now completed half of our 10 week course and it seems very strange that we will be flying to Guyana 5 weeks on Sunday!   We are not looking forward to all the goodbyes but are now looking forward to putting into practice all we are learning and getting on with it!  It seems to have been so long in coming! 

 Community life continues to cause some irritations but we are learning to cope and deal with situations as they arise.  I feel more peaceful about things in general and am thankful for all your prayerful support.  I believe God is using this time to teach me humility, patience and grace though sometimes those qualities are well hidden and you may not notice!!  J

Last week we did a whole day on the Myers Briggs personality types – they gave us a prayer for each personality type.  Mark’s (ENFJ though we dispute the ‘F’!!) is ‘Lord help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest.  Do you mind putting that in writing?’ and mine (ESFJ) is ‘Lord give me patience – and I mean RIGHT NOW!’  Profound eh?!!   Now everyone on our course understands why we both appear so anal and keen to start every lecture on time!!

The whole college had a quiet day on Wednesday and we were encouraged to spend time in prayer and reflecting on all we have learned so far as well as relaxing.  After we had spent time with God we went out to Maldon to have a walk by the estuary and lunch in a pub and really enjoyed our day off lectures. 

Maldon, Essex

Looking the other way up the estuary!

We had some lectures at the end of last week on staying healthy in body, mind and soul and were encouraged to make sure we take regular time off for rest and relaxation so that we don’t burn out.  We also had some very practical advice about food preparation, medical matters, emergency situations and potential psychological problems.  We are aiming to be sensible but entrust ourselves into God’s care and are not fearful despite all the warnings!

Last Saturday we had to spend a day with our Methodist colleagues learning about the history of Methodism and the life of a Methodist Mission Partner.  It was a long and tiring day on top of the lectures and chores all week so we were very glad of a very quiet day on Sunday just slobbing around to recover! 

Our group of Methodist Mission Partners

Tomorrow we have a whole morning on personal security and risk and have been told no details of what will happen apart from the fact we have to come prepared to be outside all morning whatever the weather to work with a simulation team so we have no idea what to expect – we may be fake kidnapped or attacked!   I’ll let you know next week what happened!!  

We continue to look forward to Jo and Ayo’s wedding on 17^th November – it will be really lovely to have all the family together for such a happy occasion.  Please pray for them as they make final preparations.  And also please continue to pray for Emily and her jobless situation from the end of November.

I close with a mediation given to us to reflect upon on our quiet day that I found very powerful and pray that it will bless you and draw you closer into a relationship with Jesus:

Finding the heart’s true home

‘Today my heart is an open wound of love.  My heart aches over your distance and preoccupation.  I mourn that you don’t draw near to me.  I weep over your obsession with much ness and many ness.

I long for your presence.  I am inviting you to come home, to come home where you belong, to come home to that for which I have created you.  My arms are stretched out wide to receive you.

For too long you have been in a far country:  a country of noise and hurry and crowds, a country of climb and push and shove, a country of frustration and fear and intimidation.

I welcome you home, home to serenity and peace and joy, a home of friendship and fellowship and openness, a home of intimacy and acceptance and affirmation.  I invite you to come to be a co-labourer with me, to work together to determine the outcomes of events.

I am inviting you to my rest where you will find new peace, where you can be naked and vulnerable and free, the place where you can enjoy deepest intimacy with me, a place where you can hear the beating of my heart, the place in which you belong, where you are known…just come…I give you the key of this home, the key of this home is prayer…

 Richard Foster (adapted)

 

Culture shock!



Last week we were learning about cross cultural communication and had some fascinating discussions about different views on time keeping!  We have some lovely African and Middle Eastern people in our group who have very different views on time to us anal Europeans!!  We are beginning to understand that we have to become a lot more chilled when we move to Guyana and have started practising now.  We were invited to dinner by a lady from Ghana and when I asked what time we should arrive she just said 'Oh...after sunset'!!   I had to tell her it stressed me out not knowing a time so she relented and gave me 7pm but warned me she would be offended if we arrived on time!!  We managed to hold off until 7.30!!  For those of you who know how anal we both are that was no mean feat!! 

We have also looked at indigenous and folk religions compared to major world religions and realised we engaged in our own folk religion with the Tooth Fairy and Santa!! 

The best session of the week was a morning spent looking at 'culture shock'.  We learned about the stages and symptoms of culture shock and ways to minimize its impact.  I realised that I have been through a mini culture shock moving here and the stress of that is probably what caused my headaches. Thankfully they have eased now so that is a real answer to prayer.  It was so helpful to explore this issue in some detail and we both feel better prepared for the next big change.

I am finding the course extremely helpful but still finding it hard living in close community.  I'm trying not to wish the time away though as it is lovely living near enough to visit with friends and family for this period of time.  We are seeking every opportunity to get away and be normal! 

We went to visit Emily and Chris in Cambridge last Wednesday and went punting on the river on a beautiful afternoon.


Chris and Emily

On Friday night we went to visit Mark's sister and husband for the night and it was lovely to be in a normal home.  Well, sort of normal for those of you who know our family!!  We also got to go to friends for lunch on Sunday which was a real treat. 

Please pray that I won't allow the irritations of community life to get to me and stress me out! 

Start of week 3

We have completed the first two weeks of our course and have just begun week 3.  Time is marching on!  Looking ahead, our flights to Guyana are now booked for Sun 9th December so it is all becoming a reality and our days in the UK are numbered!  It's been quite liberating seeing all the Christmas stuff in the shops and realising I don't have to buy any of it this year! 

My headaches were bad all last week culminating in a dreadful migraine on Thursday which meant I had to go to bed and miss all the lectures that day.  I haven't had such a bad one for many years so was fed up about that.  The actual shooting pains seem to have eased over the weekend which is a real answer to prayer.  I'm still getting an occasional pain but mostly it's fine now.  

The stress of living in close community continues to be a challenge for me and I am trying very hard not to let things get to me and remember this is only for a short time.  I think after being used to making my own choices about every day things it is hard to be directed in all aspects of life and this is causing some stress for me.  Chatting to other students it seems I am not alone in the struggle!

On Saturday we went to Methodist church house in London along with the other Methodist Mission Partners to share in a World Mission Forum.  This was attended by representatives from around the UK and we felt very encouraged and affirmed by them all.  We chatted to many ex-mission partners who shared their stories of life overseas!

We were invited out for Sunday lunch with some old friends who live nearby and it was so lovely to go off campus and eat in a normal home around a table without all the noise and hustle and bustle of the canteen here!   It's amazing the things we miss from living in an actual house!!

Our module for this week and next is called Culture and Religion.  Today we have been thinking about definitions of culture and different world views and how these affect the way we relate to people of other cultures and world views.  It was heavy mind blowing stuff!  Later in the module we will be learning about cross cultural communication, dealing with culture shock and the basics of other major world religions. 

We appreciate all your messages of support and encouragement and your prayers at this time of transition.

A long week!

Well we have completed week one of our course and it seems to have lasted for AGES! 

We are getting more used to the everyday routine now and the pace of college life...chores start at 7.20am and then we are straight into the day!  For those of you who know me well you will be able to imagine me walking about like a zombie at that time of the morning!   Pity the people who have to work with me!!

We have had some interesting lectures this week - most helpful has been one on dealing with change and the phases we go through at times of great transition in our lives.  It has been helpful to realise that everyone here is going through the same process in differing ways.  We have also explored our team roles through the Belbin model and learning styles, as well as our identity in Christ and ways to sustain ourselves emotionally, spiritually and physically when we go overseas.

I have continued to have bad pains in my head so went to the doctor on Friday - he said I have a virus and my glands are swollen but also that my neck muscles are very tight which could be causing the pressure on my head.  He asked if I was under any stress!!  Haha!  So I'm praying that as I settle into this new and temporary routine that these pains will settle but at the moment they are still keeping me awake at night so I would appreciate your prayer for that.

This week's module is on 'The Bible and Mission' and it looks like the lectures will contain an overview of mission through the Bible as well as looking at mission in today's world and issues of contemporary Western culture. 

We are getting to know the other students better and had some interesting conversations with people from all around the world.  One of the Swiss students is helping us remember our school German and a lovely lady from Ghana has shown us how to make a shawl into a baby carrier!  It's all very varied!  On our landing alone we have people from England, Ethiopia, Germany and Brazil and in our En Route group we have people from Egypt, Denmark, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia and Switzerland.  All of these people are going to another whole host of countries when they leave here so it's fascinating getting the whole world covered and finding out about different cultures and customs.   

I haven't taken any photos this week but here is one of a cheeky squirrel on the outside of our window...we have put conkers everywhere to try to deter the enormous spiders and this squirrel clearly thought we had left them out for him!! 

College life

We moved into our room at All Nations on 1st September and had two weeks to settle in to our new surroundings and see some friends and family before term started this week.  Here are a few pics...



Mark in our college room

All Nations Christian College

Mark went up in a microlight and took this pic of All Nations from the air!

At a local pub with the girls who came to see me on my birthday

Mark is taking it all in his stride but this has not been an easy week for me...I feel that a lot of control over my own life has been relinquished and pray that I'll quickly get used to the routine.  I am the kind of person who loves being with people but loves to withdraw and have my own space and privacy and community life is a new experience for me. There are some lovely people here from all over the world and it's been great to meet them all but I am finding it hard to share a bathroom with 12 people, eat all our meals in the canteen (I miss cooking!) and just be around people all the time.   I have been feeling poorly this week with some bad headaches which has meant I have missed some of the introductory sessions which hasn't helped.  I'm sure the headaches have been brought on by the stress of all the new stuff!

Next Monday the term starts properly and we are starting module 1 looking at ourselves - where we come from, our own cultures, how we feel about ourselves, how we relate to others, how we learn, listening skills, personality types and working in teams as well as developing learning goals for our time here - it all looks very interesting and hopefully will help me come to terms with some of the big changes in our lives at the moment. 

I recently read a book called 'Less is More' and found a really helpful quote in it:

We can learn from any situation whether we have control over it or not and we have the freedom to change through it for the better.  We have freedom to act in grace and to respond in love wherever we find ourselves. 

My prayer is that this will be true for me in the coming weeks at college.

I close this post with a prayer someone gave me by Thomas Merton:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going

I do not see the road ahead of me

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

and the fact that I think that I am following your will

does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you

And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this

You will lead me by the right road

Though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore I will trust you always.

Though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me

and will never leave me to face my perils alone.

On the move!

A quick update from the Isle of Wight which is part of our summer UK tour! 

It was a very strange feeling seeing all our furniture being driven away (we presume to the storage depot!) and then driving away from Lincoln with a car loaded to the roof with the last of our worldly possessions!   Since leaving Lincoln on 30th July we have packed up the car and moved on twice more and are set to move on again tomorrow.  We are enjoying the rest inbetween moving days and are very thankful for the loan of various empty houses over the summer.  It's been great catching up with Emily on the IOW and old friends as well as enjoying some lovely walks and chill time.  

I have found it to be a strange feeling knowing that we now have no base or home to go back to for a while and living out of cases but we are trying to make the most of the relaxation before the hard work of college begins.   We will move into our room at college on 1st September and that will be our base for three months before flying off to Guyana in December.

Please pray for us in this period of transition, particularly as we settle into college and community life in September.   Also please pray that Emily gets a job and somewhere to live before we leave the country and remember Jo as she prepares for her wedding to Ayo in November.