Being a Shepherd

I was thinking about what being a Shepherd meant to me as a Salvation Army Officer. The first thought that came into my head was "getting your hands dirty for the sheep". This is something that for me is important. I have not been called to a glamorous life. I also know that I am not called to a comfortable life, but then, not many people have glamorous or comfortable life's.

There are other things that I am thinking through at the minute that I might share at a later date.

It's February already!

As I write this, I cannot believe that we are in February. I am never really sure how to spell the month, and it has always been one of those months that not much really happens in. Christmas seems so long ago, and summer is still a long way off, but the month still happens anyway. Having said that, my wedding anniversary is in February, so there is cause for celebration within the month.

It has been nearly a year since appointments day when we found out where we would be living after my commissioning, and we have been here for 6 months. I would never have imagined that ministry would be like it is, but God has remained faithful. It is definitely a partnership as Bram and I rely on God to lead us through the next phase in His work here in Welwyn Garden City and in Hatfield.

Community

We have started an event in Hatfield that is so relaxed it's simply called Coffee and Chat. I'm not really into catchy names anyway and so this is a good name in my humble opinion. We started this venture with no idea what it would turn into. Bram hoped that it would turn into an event where old people met, but I thought it would be more for young families. Well, it doesn't really matter who is right in the long run, because at the minute we are just really enjoying a relaxed afternoon where we can sit and chat about anything.

A few weeks back one of the people who went there had been to a cookery class in the morning, and had brought the cake that she had made to share with us. I'm not sure if this was really intentional, but it just gave me a glimpse of what kind of community we were involved in. One where people feel that they can share things with us, and one where people are willing to have things shared with them. As I think about it, it reminds me of the early church.

It doesn't really matter what the community that we are involved in looks like because as we naturally change, so will the community that we are in. I really hope that I will be willing to allow this to happen, and to remain open to God's leading.

Lost in the busyness

I guess one of the most surprising things that I have discovered about officership is how busy you can be. There are times when I seem to be doing so much that I don't have time to think. I'm just about used to preparing a meeting every Sunday, and Bible Study or Home League every week, but it's the little things that take up my time. Little things such as collecting for Annual Appeal, or collecting clothes, and just things like that.
One of my favourite things to do is visiting people. I love to take time out of my week to sit and chat with people about the things that matter to them. Last Friday we were very busy, and as we got to the end of this day, I evaluated my day thinking about what values of the Kingdom of God I had demonstrated that day. I realised that despite feeling totally out of my depth at times that day, I had been able to demonstrate the Kingdom to more people than I would usually on a Friday. This is something that I plan to continue doing with my evaluation of each day. I'm sure that it will help me to keep my focus on the reason that I do what I do.

My 1st 3 weeks in my appointment.

I have been here in Welwyn Garden City for 3 weeks and so I thought I would write down my experiences so far. It has been a good 3 weeks, although hectic at times. Although we are now in a supposedly affluent area, we are still being asked if we can help people.

I am trying to see how I fit into everything, because at times it still feels like I am the assistant instead of the co-worker. So much so, that I find myself at times not saying what I want to do because if I do Bram thinks that this is an order for him to do! This can be frustrating for me, but it is something that I am learning how to deal with.

We have 2 meetings on a Sunday. The morning 1 is at our hall in Welwyn Garden City, and the afternoon meeting is in Hatfield. In 2 weeks time, our meeting in Hatfield is moving to new premises and this is proving challenging because we have never had to do anything like this. We seem to be coping OK with this, but only time will tell if we have done things well.

We are constantly looking for new opportunities too share the love of God with the people in our district, and are praying hard for guidance as to how this will look. But God is good and we thank Him for our lovely people.

Boxes, boxes, boxes!

I am in the middle of packing right now, and so I have boxes everywhere. This is driving me crazy not being able to have tidiness and relative order. The good thing about packing is that I have found things that I had forgotten that I had. I am not particularly sentimental, but I have enjoyed reading letters that I wrote to my DC announcing my engagement when I was going through the application process for officership. I read this and then shredded it. Well, it was only going to add clutter to my home!

A few months back now we had meetings in college entitled God in a box. This is a concept that I do not have problems with because my favourite Bible reading is about God being able to do anything. Therefore, although I do not, or will not, ever fully understand God until I meet Him face to face. In the words of Doug Horley, my God is a great big God and He holds me in His hand.

Lieutenant Hayes

Commissioning is now over. I am officially a Lieutenant. I was asked yesterday if I feel any different. The answer is that I don't! I still feel like Rhonda Hayes, even though the trimmings on my uniform are now red. I am so excited about starting ministry in my own place, and putting my own mark on the place. These are very exciting times for me. I serve a faithful God who will never let me down, for which I am eternally thankful.