Back in Bonnie Scotland...

Well I have been back in bonnie Scotland for 3 weeks and time has flown by. I am spending my 6 weeks at Cartsbridge Evangelical Church in Busby.

Stepping Stones

I have a somewhat busy timetable, on Monday I help out at a preschool group called Stepping Stones. Although I feel that I possibly wreak havoc more than I help, with children trapping me in the playhouse while pretending that dinosaurs are taking over Scotland, I have enjoyed helping.

Nursery Time

One of my favourite parts of my placement here is story time at a local nursery. Reading out a bible story to a small class has been an amazing experience for somebody who now wants to be a primary school teacher.

Scripture Union Groups

Further experiences which have made me look at the prospect of a career in education have been the different scripture union groups that I have been involved in. It is amazing to see that God can work with such small groups of people both in primary and high school. The primary group is from P5 to P7 which is year 4-5 if you do not live in Scotland. The children in this group are amazing and really seem to be interested in God's word. In the older group which is S1 to S3 (years 7- 9) the boys are really interested in God and have some amazing questions which we try and answer. It surprisingly helpful to me to hear their questions and think of my personal point of view in my faith. 

Wednesdays

On wednesday I am involved in a  kid's club called King's Club. I have so far told the story of pentecost following up with a quiz. After this I go to home group or a prayer meeting.





While in Busby I have been involved with the Alpha course and Girl's Bible Study, here I made some good friends who have been very welcoming. I am now looking forward to preparing for the children's part of a family service for 170 people. I wanted to thank everybody for their support and prayers.

I Miss It Already...

I miss this place already. I have 1 day left here and I cannot believe it, time has flown by. But this past week has been thoroughly enjoyable. If you read my last post then you know that I was preparing for a talk at a kids club, this went really well and it was really fun, despite the deliberation over the pronunciation of Elisha.

David Livingstone Museum

Anna & Ruth being me when I smile

On Thursday we took a trip to the David Livingstone Museum. He was a missionary who travelled throughout Africa. This got me so excited to go away on mission and I cannot wait to go to Peru now. It was a lovely day and I had such a lovely time with the Firstserve girls. These girls have been amazing and there is no way that we will continue through our lives without crossing each others paths again. I love them all and I wish them all the best in the next stages of their journeys with God.

A Day in Edinburgh

Me playing dress up

Our adventures took us into Edinburgh for the day. We started in a weird childhood museum where I got to dress up because I am a child . We then took a walk by Arthur's seat and had pulled pork burgers in a place called Oink. We walked along the Royal Mile up to the castle which was as Ruth would say grand!

Tim,Me,Anna,Liam,Debra,Nichola,Jess,Ruth,Hazel

The castle was beautiful and we had a nice time looking around. 

The day ended with a long train ride home and a lot of sleepy students.

The Last Few Days

My lovely bedroom door sign

The last few days here in Motherwell have been amazing, they have included a baking night to celebrate the British Bake Off's final, over tired students playing hilarious games late into the night, a war regarding signs being placed on people's doors, here is mine (there is a back story, my friends are not that horrible) and hilarious memories with hilarious people. I wanted to thank everybody who has supported me and has helped me on my journey to where I am now. I have enjoyed every moment of my time here, I have gained a passion for the Bible whilst learnt about my personal faith and gained lifelong friends. I will miss everyone when I leave this place on Saturday, I wish all of my fellow firstservers the best and may God bless the plans he has for you. For everybody left at Tilsley without us firstsevers I also wish you the best in your studies and I am sure I will see you all when I come back to Glasgow in a few weeks. Although I am so excited to see those I have missed back home I can only look back on the passed few weeks with pleasure and delight.

My Brain is Fried...

Well my first week of lectures has finished and my brain it utterly fried. Although I have thoroughly enjoyed each one they are quite full on and challenging. I have been challenged regarding what I thought I knew about both the Bible and God, whilst also having my personal relationship with God challenged. I am however enjoying myself and I will miss everyone of these people when I leave in 2 weeks time.

Debra, Jess & I- Soup Kitchen

My First Placement

I started this week off with a placement at a local soup kitchen, I was told to just sit and talk to the people. This was a challenge in itself, but I found it extremely rewarding as a couple told me their life story and I felt a need to pray for them. I will continue to keep them in my prayers and thoughts as I know of their hardships. 

  My Second Placement

My second placement involved Hazel (seen with me in the left-hand picture) and I jumping in at the deep end at a kids and youth club. We did surprise ourselves and enjoyed getting to grips with the routine of the club and talking to some of the kids. God has challenged me once again as Hazel and I have been asked to prepare the Bible teaching for next week. Although I have done this to some extent in the summer, I am still nervous yet excited. 

    A Day in Glasgow

Well I finally got to see the lovely city of Glasgow. We were taken by our glamorous tour guide (Hazel in the pictures above and below) to the Botanical Gardens which were lovely. I am slowly falling in love with this beautiful country and I do not want to leave. 

Debra,Hazel,Ruth,Me,Jess,Anna

We then went to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and had a fun time scaring Jess with the stuffed animals. But mostly we spend our time making fun of each others accents and deciding on the correct words. I love all these people and cannot believe I have only known them for nearly 2 weeks. 

Of Course I Have Further Disturbed the College...

I have been asked since my last post, have I done anything else to disrupt both students and college? And to answer that, of course I have. Sunday took an interesting turn when we attempted a 18 minute walk to Toby's Carvery upon my direction. If you have ever been driven by me you will know that I am not good with directions. The walk took over an hour. The Carvery was well deserved. 

I cannot wait to see what this week will hold for me.

With thanks to my friend, Ruth :)

I have slightly disturbed the college...

Well nobody wants to read a 6 page essay on my first few days here at Tilsley Motherwell so I shall keep this short. I am loving it here. I have loved getting to know these hilarious and slightly odd people that I now have the privilege of calling my friends, I have loved learning more about myself through faith and I have loved learning more about God. I have only been here for 4 days and already it feels like home, but that may have something to do with the fact that I have already caused a disturbance, I have proceeded to move sofas from one room to another despite the fact they did not really fit through the doors, I have up-routed the entire student body to look for the single, lost key to my locked bedroom door and I have set off the security alarm while trying to go through a forbidden door. So Motherwell is now my home, well at least for the next 3 weeks. I wanted to thank everybody who has sponsored me to be here as I am honestly loving it and I cannot wait to see what else God has in store for me. Today in particular God presented me with a challenge, is being a Christian a hobby or a lifestyle? I will try to keep this in mind throughout my time here in Scotland.