February 2nd

Jon visited a couple of people from the church with Don on Wednesday. It was good to spend some time with them and hear about their experiences. On Thursday it was Tiny Tots again - very busy this week and lots to help out with practically. In the evening Ali joined the 'Facing the Challenge' discussion group which was interesting.
Today we went along to Open Church where a couple of new people visited which was great. Good to chat with people again and develop our relationship with them.
We've also been busy preparing for this coming Sunday when Ali will be doing a children's talk in the morning and Jon will be leading part of the evening service.

January 24th

First up - Ali passed her driving test on Monday after the blog was published - She is still in shock!

Second, we were at another pastors' meeting yesterday morning, followed by Jon going to the lunch club and Ali going to the Ladies Fellowship. There was lots of postive feedback about Jon leading the evening service on Sunday, but he was accused of being a Pentecostal by one lady! (This was a positive comment...!)

Jon went to the Christianity Explored course that began at Cambray on Monday night. It was a generally good experience but it was the introductory session. Hopefully he will be able to continue going along and see some more of the course. Seeing as it is based on Mark - the Mark course we did in the autumn term will be coming in useful!

January 22nd

Last Thursday saw us at Tiny Tots Plus again. Ali was asked to man the tea and coffee station but had a few problems working out how to pour coffee, not spill the milk and chat - who said multi-tasking was a natural gift for women? Jon got his hands dirty - literally! He dived in with enthusiasm to the craft activity which was painting shakers with the children. He only managed to get one mark on his trousers...hmm, is this a new skill he has acquired?
In the afternoon Ali went to visit a couple of the older members of the congregation with Don. It was a good experience and very interesting meeting them. She enjoyed finding a bit more about them and their involvement with the church. In the evening Ali went off again to go to the mission prayer evening. She was able to find out about the different people the church support in India, Nigeria, Bolivia and the UK. It is good to know the church is committed to supporting their missionaries in prayer.
Friday we were both at Cambray for Open Church where we both had the opportunity to chat.
Sunday morning saw an early start again with Ali going along to the Gateway Fellowship again. This has been running for around 18/19 years. There was a big group of people there and it was lovely to worship with them. Ali was joined by the rest of the family for the morning service and then we went to lunch with a couple from the church. This was a great time and we chatted with another family who had also been invited. It is good to get to know people a little better each time we see them and also to share a bit more about our journey. A quick dash home via Redcliffe for a birthday party then tea and Jon was off to church again to lead the service. This went really well and he said it was good to be involved. The music was different again in both services. In the morning the Junior Choir sang a couple of songs, and both services had drums, guitars, etc. and had a much more contemporary feel.

January 9th

Yesterday evening Ali was invited to a meeting that was discussing arrangements and plans for a women's away day. It was very interesting to see how they view the importance of women in pastoral care within Cambray.
Today we began by meeting with John, Fred and Don to talk over what we'll be doing during the week. We then went along to the lunch club and got to know a few of the more mature members of the congregation. The food was great, and the club seemed well attended.
After lunch we went in two different directions; Jon went to the men's prayer meeting and Ali to the ladies fellowship meeting.
The prayer meeting consisted of about half a dozen older men, although some people were away today. Jon was asked if he would mind opening with a brief moment of devotions - five minutes before the start! It seemed to go OK, and it was good to spend time in prayer with these men.
The ladies fellowship was a well attended group. Two ladies shared their personal verse for the year and Ali was interviewed (but at least had had prior warning and was ready to be questioned.) Fred spoke about Psalm 138 and afterwards there was a welcome cup of tea!
This evening Jon has gone along to sit in on a deacons' meeting.

In the next couple of days we will be attending home groups, a bible study and the toddler group, so will be quite busy dashing back and forth to Cheltenham.