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.

Looking Ahead

Today, commissioning was officially launched. It is 6 weeks today until covenant day. I have been thinking about this this week because I have been preparing myself for the last 7 years for Officership. I really hope that this will not be an anti climax, and that the last 7 years will have been worthwhile. I know that people will say that God has been preparing me for this moment for the last 31 years, and I would agree with them, but I have been thinking about my looking ahead to this moment for 7 years.

Everything that I have done over the last 7 years has been in preparation for this. I will have achieved my goal. Now I will need to set myself a new goal. The only goal that I really need to set myself is to love everyone that I meet the way that God loves them. Is will be hard, but I believe that it is a part of my covenant with God, and with God's help I will achieve this.

Nearly Time!

I know I have blogged a lot about time flying, but it really is. We have completed nearly all of the modules. I have 3 and a half assignments left to write. This is all quite scary, but at the same time I am really excited about the future. I just want to be in Welwyn Garden City now!!! The only downside is all of the packing that I need to do before I move. I am being reminded to Be Still and know that God is God which is what I need to know right now.

Health and Wholeness week

This week in college we have been doing what is called health and wholeness week. This is what has replaced chaplaincy week for anyone who can remember them. We started quite gently on Monday with an introduction to the week then a lecture from the chaplain at Kings College Hospital. He showed his commitment and love to the patients in the hospital through what he was saying to us.

Tuesday began with a talk from somebody who was a patient in a hospital for a considerable length of time because of a road traffic accident that he was involved with. I was ok until he started to describe his injuries and subsequent operations. I began to feel ill at this point because I was imagining the injuries. I was feeling so ill that I had to remove myself from the room! This was a shame because I missed the important bits. I didn't get to hear how he was pastorally cared for.

The session after that was better because it was about hospices and what our roles can be within these places.

Wednesday was a whole morning about disaster response. This was slightly strange because we didn't get to hear how we should respond. We were told about the process of grief, and how people can act when they are in shock, but not really told what our role would be should we be involved in disaster relief. Am I now prepared if a disaster should happen in my area? I don't know. I would hope that I would go into auto drive and help people through the time that way. This is something that I won't know unless it happens, and I hope that it doesn't.

Thursday we spent the day in St Georges Hospital. This was quite a good day. We were shown around by the chaplains there. They took us around a couple of the wards to see what happens, then it was lunch time. This was an experience for me and I'm so pleased we recently covered the sacraments and our stance on them because I was asked a question concerning this. After lunch was the moment I was dreading. We visited the mortuary. I found this quite reassuring most of the time although the description of a post mortem was slightly disturbing. The staff in there were really pleasant and made the visit easier for us.

This next week is a week off so I will be spending the time relaxing and studying for my next essay. The joys of training! Not long left now.

How long????

Today marks 100 days until commissioning!!! I can't believe this, time has flown by. What have I learnt? Well, I have learnt loads although I haven't learnt how to articulate exactly what it is. In 100 days I will be nervous, but very excited. Am I ready to be an officer? Well, kind of. I feel ready today although this will (and does) change every day.

He is Risen!

I am just recovering from a really good Easter. I spent Easter this year in Leek in Staffordshire with a group of Cadets and 2 college Officers. The theme of the weekend was The Big Hope. The events of the weekend were all supporting the theme. On Saturday we had an outreach event in the town centre giving out leaflets, colouring pages for the children, Face painting and distributing Hot Cross Buns. As I think back at this outreach, I can see the theme of hope coming through. We gave the people hope that The Salvation Army is not just after their money. We want to offer them friendship, and much more than that, we can point them in the direction of the Giver of all Hope, God.

Saturday evening was the youth event. The Youth leaders took the young people through the events of the last 4 days of Easter. Us Cadets led them through the resurrection section reminding them that because of the resurrection they can receive life in all it's fullness.

Sunday morning was Sunday School which was led by our group. This was on the theme of Mission Impossible and ended with the reminder that with God, the Easter story became Mission Possible. I led part of the morning that followed Sunday School. I felt that I made a few mistakes during this meeting, but I was told by the college officer to be myself and so I was. At least the people of Leek can see that we are not perfect!

The evening meeting was led by the rest of the group and they were really good and led us into God's presence in a good way. I feel that God blessed our ministry this weekend, and through this He also blessed me and I hope that He blessed the others as well.

Correction

I have been corrected. Raylton does not have a cyst, he has an abscess. I apologise to anyone who has been mislead about Raylton's medical problem.

Raylton's Adventures

Raylton is poorly at the minute although he doesn't seem to know how poorly he is. He has got a cyst on his bottom which is quite big. Because of this he has had to visit the vet although it doesn't seem to bother him.

Before last week Bramwell had never been to a vets. I think both Raylton and Bramwell were equally excited at the prospect. Raylton was very well behaved when the vet got him out of his carrier and sat him on the table. Bram was also well behaved at this moment. However, when I got them both home and Bramwell tried to give Raylton his medication Raylton was not as obliging.

Next week, Raylton is having an operation to remove this cyst.

Where I am.

When I was a child, we used to sing a song in the children's singing group that went along the lines of Where I am, I'll find you, where I am, you are. It isn't far away in places where I'd like to be, but where I am, you are. The second verse is similar, but is where I'll go I'll find you, and the last line says, please help me to remember in the days that are to come that where I'll go, you'll be there too.

I was reminded of this song during Spiritual Day here at the college, and it was good to be reminded of this. Especially as I think about my move to Welwyn Garden City and all of the preparations that this entails. Of course I know that God is already preparing the folk for the arrival of Bram and myself.

Am I Weird?

We had a time of sharing in college yesterday about what insights we had gained from reading and thinking about Habbakuk 3:17-19. It says, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights" (New International Version). Everyone else was saying about how they should praise God in the difficult times of their lives, but I was thinking about my time at Poplar when the same people kept coming in for food parcels, with the same problems, and no matter what I did to help them they did not change, and how I should still show God to them by my actions despite them not changing.



Another example of my thinking differently to everyone else was last week when we talked about what the Christmas story had said to them this year. They were all talking about the Shepherds, and the wise men, and I was thinking about how the Christmas story is one of pain. Maybe I just like to think differently to everyone else, or maybe I am not capable of being normal.

Beautiful Picture of Community

This Christmas we have lost one of our members of the Corps. It has been a very sad time for us, but what has emerged has been a beautiful out showing of love and care for everyone within the Corps community. When the sad news was announced during the carol service there was tears, but the people who were crying were comforted by people from the congregation.

This for me was a display of a loving, caring and accepting congregation. It is images that I will never forget. It is what I believe a true Christian community should look like in times of shared grief. People looking out for each other, helping each other through.

200 Days to go!!!!!

Today marks 200 days until commissioning. It's approaching fast! We have now finished all of our essays for 2007 and tomorrow evening is the carol service which marks the end of term.

Is it may age or has this year gone fast? Still, there is time to relax before the real work starts on Christmas day which we spend with people from our district of Poplar, Stepney, Whitechapel, and wherever else people come to us from (Strictly speaking Stepney and Whitechapel are not in our district but people choose to spend the day with us from these areas).

It Is Finished!

I have worked out how to do a countdown clock! I can now see at a glance how many days, minutes, hours and seconds it is until commissioning. I'm so excited! Only 240 days!!!! I'm sure you can see my excitement at both being able to do something like create a countdown clock and the fact that commissioning will soon be upon us from all the exclamation marks in my text. I hope the Corps or centre that gets us as their Officers will be just as excited as us!

Work in progress

I have added a countdown to my commissioning at the bottom of this page, but I haven't quite worked out how to make it countdown yet. If anyone has any hints or ideas please let me know. Maybe my mind is still swimming after a morning of Christian Themes with the topic of why does God allow evil in the world, and Faith in Context with the topic of Post Modernity. I have questions in both. I think God is stretching me today which always has to be positive.

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was my brother's birthday. He is now the grand old age of 34, so happy birthday Mark! Yesterday also marked the 141st birthday of Poplar Corps. I'm sure that Poplar Corps of today does not bear a lot of similarities of 141 years ago, although I would hope that it relies as heavily on God today as it did all of those years ago.



I also discovered yesterday that October 31st marks the day that the reformation commenced. It seems like quite a notable date in the calender!



And finally it was halloween. I think that we were really lucky because we only had one lot of kids wh ocame to our door trick or treating. Although it wasn't that lucky because it was at 21.55. Slightly late for doing that kind of thing I thought. But I was reliably informed that these kids were suitably dressed in costume.

Welcome Back to PIP

Monday I started back to my PIP, which is my Personal Initiative Project that I have to do whilst in College. This is something that I really enjoy. I work with 9 - 13 year olds at the Youth Club at Poplar Salvation Army. I have been away from the Corps for 3 months because of my summer appointment, but walking into the youth club on Monday evening it seemed like I had never been away.

I did what I enjoy doing, and was on the door, taking the kids money and signing them all in. This week I saw some kids that I hadn't seen for over a year, but for some reason they remembered me!

One of the main reasons that I particularly enjoyed club this week was because it was such a happy place. I saw a glimpse of heaven lived out on earth in the heart of Poplar. It was beautiful. I think for the first time since doing club I could see God's hand in the work that we were doing. We weren't praying, we weren't praying, we weren't preaching, and I don't think that God was mentioned at all all evening, but He was definitely there with us.

Wow! The summer has flown past and I am now back at the Training College for another 9 months. As I was singing our sessional song today, my mind was going back to all sorts of things that have happened during the past year. I thought about my welcome meeting last year when I marched down the aisle, the last in my session with all of my friends from Poplar Corps supporting me. I thought about the commissioning of the session that have just been commissioned, and how I was thinking about my own commissioning then. God is the same today as He was last year at our welcome meeting, it is just my understanding and knowledge of God that has changed.

Over the summer I have seen some amazing things that God has done through my work. He brought some unexpected people into the prayer day that I had organised for my mission project. I am totally amazed that God is actually allowing me to take part in His work. This is something that I can't understand, but be thankful that I have a part to play in His plan for the world.

My Mission Project

When we are sent to our summer placements there are a number of things that we are expected to do. one of these is a mission project. Basically, the college want you to do a project that helps you to reach the local community. My mission project was a day of prayer.

I was slightly concerned that the prayer stations that I had organised around the room were a little too simple. I was also concerned that I hadn't put enough work into it. Again, God proved to me that it wasn't my mission project but His.

The day was really good, and well attended with some people praying for about 4 hours continuously. It was brilliant to see so many people wanting to pray.

What a great day!

Yesterday was a great day. I love it when I have great days. It was good, because I had really good conversations with people. I found out lots about various people who enter our charity shop. I also got the opportunity to pray with someone, which is always good. Nerve racking but good.

It's days like today when I realise that I will love my job. Ok, I mean my life, after all, Officership is not a job but a lifestyle choice.