Hi Everyone! Welcome back to the Agape Website – here is some more news about 418.

As I hope you are aware, next weekend we are embarking on a (mostly) new venture for Agape.

We have nearly 40 volunteers giving a total of 320 hours to serve our community. We have around 12 projects proposed so far, and are still accepting more to give us all something to do on Sunday afternoon.

The BBQ and band evening are all set to feed and impress… We will be joined by ‘Evaburn’ and a jazz band called ‘Close Quarters’ for an evening of band swapping entertainment. The BBQ is free to all residents and volunteers so please bring people along. There will be games and crafts for the children as well as a potential face painter – watch this space for more details!

The event is really gaining steam now as we enter into the last week of preparation.

Please pray for good weather – most (almost all) of the projects require at least dry weather, and we haven’t been seeing much of that recently. God is able!!

Also continue to pray for the residents and their acceptance and understanding of what we are doing. Our main aim is to show the awesome love of God to the community. Pray that they will have open hearts for what we are doing, and what we have to say.

Pray for the safety of the volunteers – some will be up ladders, others walking precariously close to the canal to pick up that little bit of rubbish that’s actually out of their reach! Pray for God’s protection on the volunteers as they serve, but also on the residents as they join with us to regenerate the community!

Please pray for me, Bec, that I can be more than sufficiently organised for this event – I don’t want to forget anything.

Please do remember that God is in complete control of this event, and that we want his will to be done.

In the awesome name that is above all names…

Amen.

See you Friday!!!!

Hi everyone!

Firstly can I say thank you for the money you have given me towards my trip. It was perfect timing as the night after you had the church meeting my car got stolen so it was very good to have some encouragement!

I was also excited to see how interested everyone was in the work going on in Haiti. As you may have noticed before Christmas, I didn’t know too much about what I was getting into so a lot of what you were hearing from Martin and  Carwyn was the first time I was hearing it too. It’s strange not being at Agape very much yet getting so much support from you – a perfect example of family and community! Thank you so much! It was great to see everyone getting behind it and I can’t wait to bore you with little stories and hopefully some photos!! (Bring some popcorn as it could be a long night!)

It’s less than a week before I go and I’m so excited!! I still have so much to do (like pack. get insurance, borrow a suitcase, buy a mosquito net etc – help! I didn’t realise I had that much left to do!)

Just to put some prayer points down for you to keep in kind and occasionally utter to the Big Man:

• I couldn’t get a Hep B injection so prayers of protection for that (as well as general health things) would be immense)
• Flight arrangements and flight safety
• Haiti is a dangerous place (kidnappings and the like)  so please pray for personal safety
• I’m leaving my Manchester house relatively empty while I’m away so protection for that and for me not to worry about it!! (Also my washing machine and toilet have started leaking…little things like that!)
• I’d really like a suntan please!

And for the not so self-centred prayer requests:

• Prayer for Mum, Dad, Hannah etc who may be a little worried… ok, so just mum then!
•  That lots of work on the hospital gets done
• That we see God do lots of amazing stuff

Well, I’m off to do all the stuff I have to do so that I won’t be panicked and can just be excited!

Love to you all,

cej

p.s. I have a new mobile number and a home number (like a real adult) Hannah or Mum/Dad should be able to pass them on. It will cost a lot to text while I’m away but before the 4th and from the 18th I’d love to hear from you!

xx

Hello there everyone. I am a little sad today, as no one responds to my blogs. I hope you are reading them!

If you would like to know anything about what I’m doing please comment – I love to know there is a purpose in writing them, that they are actually useful!

Anyway, I am currently in the throws of the end of term and lots of deadlines! I have calculated that I have 7000 words to write by Wednesday. Hmmm…. I need to get better at time management! I have done some of it now, today has been a good day, but still more to go!

If you have any comments about predestination or free will or even going as far as ‘once saved, always saved’ please comment. Your ideas will be most useful!
These past two weeks have been really good, mostly! The shoe boxes went really well – the young people enjoyed making the boxes up and we had a large turn out to wrap and pack the boxes up. See the Christmas boxes blog for more info.

Schools work has been going well. I successfully managed to get a student to return to classes – grr, for now!
The girls seem to be responsing to the sessions positively. The guys are still a mystery to me – how do you talk to a 15 year old boy who only knows how to grunt?!?! It’s not that their ignorant or annoyed at having to come to the sessions, I gave them the option to stop coming and they continue to turn up! I don’t know what to say to them – again, ideas would be well recieved!

I have become concious over the last week that I am spending over half my time doing work with other organisations, when I feel the majority of my time should be spent doing work with and through Agape. I know the schools work is valuable, but I have decided to stop the mentoring on a Friday morning, reducing my Friday am hours from 3 to 1, so I can commit time to planning an Easter event in line with Hope 08 using social action and ‘public’ worship to reach the residents of Ty-Sign. That is the barebones of the idea, more will follow.

I want to make sure that I’m doing what you, the church, expect from me, so here is my plea… if I am falling short of your expectations, or directing efforts in the wrong directions, or even missing something all together please comment. I am here to serve the church and the local community and without effective communication I don’t feel I can do either.

As an update on the detached work, Jon and I have decided to take hot chocolate out on a Friday night. This was well received by the 3 young people we met on Friday night, but there were only two of them!!! and it was cold! If you would like to be involved in the detached work we could always do with more volunteers. We meet at my house at 6.30-6.45 on a Friday evening, and spend just over an hour on average walking around, chatting to young people we bump into. If you would like to be involved it may mean that we could form two teams and cover a wider area, maybe incorporating some of Risca into the route. Please get in touch for more info!!

I think I have wittered on for long enough. Please let me know how you think it is all going – I appreciate comments! Good and bad! Just don’t make me cry too much!! lol.

Thanks! Bex.x

Greetings fellow bloggers! How are you this wonderful day?
I am aware that it has been a while since my last blog. I can only apologise!
I thought I would give you an insight to a few of the aspects of my week over
the past month.
I finally got into the school as a mentor, and my role has developed over the
last three weeks, so now instead of meeting with 10-15 high achieving year 11
students, I am meeting with them and am available to meet with anyone from year
11 on a Friday morning. I am also involved with the Princes Trust group in year 10,
raising money for the charity.

It has been a huge learning curve going into the school. The young people,
especially the girls, have been so honest with me. Don’t get me wrong, it
is great that they feel they can bring problems to me and trust me to help
them resolve them, but sometimes their degree of honestly stretches me beyond
what I know. As I said, it is a steep learning curve!

I have also become more involved in the after schools club at the TLC.
Although it can sometimes be frustrating it is a good group of young people
and they really enjoy coming along to the club.

The younger youth group (that still really needs a name!) has been going well.
We now have 12-14 girls on the register, and very helpfully they don’t all
turn up at once!! The group is developing as a girls group, and since we have
no male leader/volunteer it is probably for the best. We have been looking at
Jesus, who he was and is and his purpose in coming to earth, prayer, what it
is and how we can use our strengths and gifts to pray. We have also made cakes
and played lots of random games. As far as I know, all involved in the group
thoroughly enjoy it.

The older youth cell has also been going well. We had a session or two on
sharing our faith with our mates, where we split into two teams and made
bridges from spaghetti and jelly babies. Great fun!

The girls had huge points for effort although their points for actual bridge
building were low, because it didn’t turn out like a bridge!!

We spent an evening discussing tough questions, suffering to church and back
again! I think everyone learnt something that night. We also spent a night
considering the story of the man who scatters the seeds on the path/weeds/soil
and rocky ground. We considered how well the seed was growing in our life.
Because of full timetables and unexpected surprises we had half term off,
although I am planning a most exciting joint group with the younger girls
for two weeks time!

Prayer points.
Please pray for the young people I am mentoring in the school and also for
me in that role, that they can continue to be honest with me, and that I will
be able to help them at least to some degree.

Pray also that the girls return to the younger group full of excitement to learn
about God. We had an unexpected break over half term when no one turned up!

Please pray for the older group, thanking God that Keryn has brought her friend
along, and also for the continued growth of the group, both spiritually and numerically.

For those of you who don’t know, Joe and I got engaged on Tuesday of this week.
(That was the unexpected surprise I mentioned earlier!)Please pray that we keep
God at the centre of all we do.

Thank you for your continued support of me in this role, through prayer and
volunteering etc. I really, really, really appreciate it!

Please drop by 250 Elm Drive sometime for a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Visitors are always welcome, although I would appreciate a little bit of notice so
I can get some milk!!! Love Bex.x

Fortnight beginning 24^th September

Firstly, I would like to apologise for not writing up a report of last week, 24^th-30^th. I don’t have a good excuse, so I won’t give one! Sorry.

But you are very lucky; you get two weeks squashed into one sheet today!

I was in college on Monday and Tuesday both weeks, the first and hopefully only, double sessions of the term. From now on we are strictly once a fortnight!

College was good, policies and procedures – yey, essential but very boring!

On Tuesdays we are doing a module called biblical themes. We looked at different world views and theologies, very interesting!

On Wednesday I spent my first session at the TLC after school club. They have around 25 children along to the group every Monday and Wednesday, where they play games, do quizzes, make crafty stuff and design posters using the computers. It is a fun session for all involved. The hope is that I can encourage planning meetings and the use of a programme so the sessions become more organised and directed.

Deb led the youth cell group in the evening, and although I think most of the group were half asleep due to a very late night the night before, I felt it was a constructive session, and everyone learnt something.

On Thursday I tried the school again, but my contact wasn’t in all day, and Friday was an inset day. Hmmm, never mind, there is always next week!

We ran the second younger youth group (that really needs a name- ideas on a postcard please!) on Thursday evening, with 6 girls at the TLC cafe. The group went well at the cafe, and lessons were learnt with the lay out of the room. We talked about Jesus and played some games.

Friday was spent moving a load of stuff from my parents house in to Hannah’s old house. It was lots of fun, but I did feel exhausted come Friday evening! Jon was at a wedding on Friday, so we weren’t able to do the detached session.

(If anyone would like more information about detached work, or would like to volunteer for a few session on a Friday night please come and speak to me!)

That brings us back to Wednesday again, I spent Wednesday moving what I thought were the last of my bits over to 250 Elm Drive, and then set up for the evening youth cell social before heading out to the TLC after school club. I sat in the computer room during most of the session, which was a really good chance to get to know more of the young people individually. The session went really quickly but was great fun – the young people are really lovely, although I did meet one horror who stamped on my foot. Oh the joys of youth work!

I finally contacted the school on Thursday morning, and organised my start date as next Thursday. I am still feeling really excited about the schools work, so please pray I don’t become despondent – I need to remain on my toes and keep striving for great things at the school.

Friday was a really exciting day –Jon Rowlands and I went out on a detached session, in search of Keryn’s house – Jon asked for directions from two young people on Elm drive, and they walked and talked with us for about ten minutes as they led us to the right house!

We walked on from the house up to the park and skate park on Holly Road. We found a group of young people who were the sort of emo/goths who hate to be labelled emo/goths!

They were a very sound bunch who stood and chatted to us for over an hour.

We talked about all sorts of stuff, mostly random, until my hands became too cold to stay out any longer and we went home. I must remember gloves next time!

Big thanks to Jon for doing the detached sessions with me. I think their going well, and hope implement some of Jon’s and my ideas to reach more young people more regularly.

• Please pray for the year 11 students I will be mentoring from next Thursday, and also for me in that situation, that the work will be effective and worthwhile.
• Please continue to pray for the young girls who are coming to the Thursday youth group – that they can grow at their own pace of understanding, and that I won’t assume anything in the answers I give them.
• Please continue to pray for Deb as she leads the Wednesday night group – she is doing a great thing really well.
• Pray also for the young people we meet during the detached work, and for Jon and myself to say what God wants us to speak into their situations and the confidence to approach new groups.
• Please pray to for my commitment to college, I’m really enjoying the work, and don’t want to neglect my studies. I really want to pass!!!!

Thank you for your continued support in the work going on in Ty-Sign. If you would like any more information on anything that is going on please ask!

I have changed my mobile number – if you haven’t contacted me in the last week check with me that you have the right one! Please come and visit me – I love visitors! Just give me a bell before you turn up! Thanks!

Bex.

Week starting: 15^th September

What happened

This week is described by the college as an induction week, and it has been the first week when I have actually felt that I have started doing Agape youth work. The ideas and plans became groups and sessions, and meetings happened with outside agencies that mean I can do all of the things I’ve been thinking about and talking about for months.

Sparx was on Monday, we had a bumper number of kids turn up, hitting about 16 I think, and it went really well.

I finally met with the assistant head of the comprehensive on Tuesday. It was interesting to find out that the area they needed someone to be working was with the higher achievers in all years, but especially in year 11 as they approach their GCSE’s. As a result I will be meeting with 24 expected high achievers next week (hopefully) and setting up monthly mentoring sessions for the young people. How exciting!

Unfortunately I had neglected to write ‘Tea at the Dexter’s’ in my diary, (Sorry again Deb!) so I missed that on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday I had lots of visitors, including Anne Jones who is now my

‘pastoral supporter’ – the name my college give to a mentor’y type person. (Probably a good thing they use that name, mentor’y type person doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue!)

Deb led the youth cell on Wednesday evening, as we looked at Revelation 1. It was a good session with questions flying everywhere.

Thursday evening was the first younger cell group, we had a good number for the first night, although there were some concerns by parents about it being in someone’s house, so we need to think about using the TLC café for this group.

On Friday I did a final tidy up of Karen’s house before she came back. At 11 I had my first line manager meeting with Tim. I spent the afternoon catching up on some reading for university on Monday and then later in the evening Jon Rowlands and myself went out on to the streets to do some detached work. While we were out we met a group of young people who at first seemed very wary of two adults coming to say hi, (as they should be!) but when we saw them a little later on they chatted to us a little more.

We also met the police community support officer, Jason, who may well pop in for a cup of tea on Sunday morning! Say hi! It was a horrible evening for detached work with the rain but it turned out well. This is going to become a regular activity on a Friday evening, and with another volunteer/more time put in it will hopefully happen on a Thursday evening as well.

What’s coming up next week?

I am in college on Monday and Tuesday next week, but will returning for the TLC committee meeting on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday I will be volunteering in the TLC café, going along to the youth group in the evening, and then up to youth cell with Colin and Deb.

I hope that the meeting I am waiting for at the school will be on Thursday morning, and there is the younger cell in the evening. This is our first look at who Jesus is!

On Friday I may/may not be in the school in the morning, but will otherwise be found in the TLC café. With the detached session in the evening my week is complete!

Prayer points

· Please pray for the younger group as we take a look at the bible, for some it is the first time, for others the 101^st time! Pray for consideration to those to whom it is new, and for the chance to go a little deeper with those who have heard it all before.

· Pray also for the detached sessions, primarily that we are safe, but also for the young people – that they will enter into conversation with us, and get to know us a bit.

· Praise God for his provision this week, in volunteers, petrol, and satsuma’s!!!