Time flies....

I can't believe the last post was in September - well, actually I can. The last few weeks have been so busy for us that sitting down to update the blog has been the last thing on our minds. We've been juggling our new college commitments, new church life alongside family life and it has just been hectic.

Firstly, college. We both go in on Wednesdays, Jon has lectures on Tuesday and Ali has lectures on a Friday, at least until Christmas! After that it all changes again. The travelling has added a huge amount to our time commitments and our petrol bill! Still, Ali is improving and managed to actually drive on a motorway for the first time last Friday. Making friends isn't easy because we are both part-time and because we meet with different people on each day. The work varies - the lectures are covering some of what we have already studied at Redcliffe but what is new to us is good. Jon has more work to complete than Ali as she is not studying for her degree (yet!)

Secondly, church. Again we are meeting new people with all the blessings and difficulties that brings. It is good to begin to feel more settled as time goes by. We have led a couple of services and been involved in a few different meetings. We are looking forward to taking a bigger role as time goes on.

Lastly, family. Busy is our watchword. Some of the things we have been doing recently include: applying for secondary schools, making time for us and the girls, keeping up with housework, having new double glazing (courtesy of our landlord), etc., etc., etc.

So, where are we now? Tiredness is a constant challenge and finding some kind of routine amid the chaos is also tricky. We have really appreciated the support we've had from Kendal Road Baptist (the church we were worshipping at while at Redcliffe). Catching up with friends seems only possible in the school playground - though we have managed to pop into Redcliffe a couple of times and we have visited Kendal Road during the recent half-term.

What's next? More study, more driving, more church, more juggling!

One month on...

Time has flown by since our last posting. Through the summer we were really busy with visiting family, attending two weddings (friends from college and Jon's brother Chris) and leading a service at our previous church in London. The girls have settled back into school really quickly and we have just begun our courses at Bristol Baptist College. We had induction week last week which involved a lot of early starts and a lot of driving. This week has been our first 'proper' week and has also involved some early starts and quite a lot of driving.

Last Sunday was our first Sunday with Gas Green Baptist Church, the church in Cheltenham that we will be working with. It was their Harvest weekend and we had a lovely lunch together and met lots of new people.

We are planning on catching up with friends at Redcliffe tomorrow which we are really looking forward to.

Weather report: very misty, thinning gradually

We had yet another chat with Bristol Baptist College about what happens next. Somehow despite us telling them we would be graduating with a diploma on several occasions, it was only when Jon spoke to them this week that this was finally understood. We will now be studying our third year over three years but will be in discussion with them again as to the finer points of how this will actually work in practice.

We are also speaking to a small church, who do not have a pastor at the moment, about the potential for a placement with them during our time at college. Although it is early days yet, we do need to have something in place before term starts mid-September.

The End Is Finally Upon Us

OK, so IT IS FINISHED! After two years of hard work, far too much serious reading, long essays, stressful exams, late nights, early mornings, managing family/college/church life, silliness, fun, friendships and fatigue, we received our invisible diplomas today - the folders look good but are empty! The real ones will follow in the Autumn once the University of Gloucestershire accredits them, but the awards ceremony took place today so that we can all celebrate together before we go our separate ways. Many students are leaving this weekend to either return home for the summer, or going on to their mission work (wherever that may be.)
It was really strange saying goodbye to people, knowing that we're planning on staying in the area for at least one more year, but also knowing that we won't be seeing them nearly every day anymore.
We have come so far in these two short years, not least moving out of London! Our time at Redcliffe has been a truly valuable and precious experience. We've learned so much about ourselves, about God and about our faith. We're richer people for having come here, and we're going to really miss the friends that we have made in our time here. (So if they're reading this - we love you all - thank you!)

Weather report: Fog

The reason for the weather report is that, at the moment, our future is still a little hazy. The latest news is that Bristol have said yes to us both but have offered us a college based course rather than a church based one. We are planning to meet with them soon to work out the details. Our biggest difficulties are with working out the girls' schooling, accommodation and college commitments if both of us are studying at the same time.

Illness wise, we are over the cough/cold season at Redcliffe and Ali's heel is improving but still occasionally playing up. We got through the Easter holidays, managing to complete some studies and even go out once or twice! The quick visit to London was a welcome change and it was good to catch up with family.

We are now two weeks into our final term here at Redcliffe. We are well aware that our deadlines are approaching very quickly and that we leave in five weeks time!!! One key pressure is our Hebrew exam - please pray that we will manage to learn what we need to and understand more than we do now.

Ministerial recognition recognises!

We had our ministerial recognition interview last Thursday and were told later that day that they could also see the call of God on our lives. This is exciting but scary! We are still waiting to hear from Bristol as they haven't got back to us yet.

Other than going to interviews, Jon has had a coldy-fluey thing which has left him with a charming cough (for charming read hacking!). He has kindly shared this with the family, some accepting this kind donation, others refusing to have anything to do with his generosity. Ali has somehow injured her heel - it began to hurt last weekend for no reason and the doctor said that the ligament on the sole of her foot is inflamed. She has been told to rest it - and is finding this really frustrating.

We are soon on our Easter break which will be a fun time of planning, preparing and writing assignments - not so much of a break really, more of a study interlude between terms.

We are planning on a quick visit to London to visit the dentist during the break - whoever said that the NHS system is improving, seeing as we can't find a dentist locally, is not telling the truth!

It is still shocking that when we return to college we will be in our final term!!! Where have the last two years gone?

One down, one to go

We are grateful to all those who prayed for us - for the travel (which was easy!) and the interview which we have managed to survive (just about!) The day itself was very long, tiring and intense and we will have to wait now until after the next interview (ministerial recognition) before we know the results. In the meantime it's back to study. We could both do with time to stop and collect our thoughts and just generally recover, but assignments, lectures, life, etc. are going to put that on hold for the time being.

It was great to catch up with everyone back at college again. It was good to hear about their placement experiences and about how God has been acting in their lives.

We've realised our time here is going all too fast. Our graduation ceremony is at the beginning of June and it is only about three months now before we finish, but this hardly seems possible.

The end of Cheltenham as we know it!!!!

No - we have not anihilated Cheltenham Spa - it wasn't that bad, but our placement at Cambray Baptist finished on Friday. We have half term at home - busy writing the reports that are required by Redcliffe, then we are back to studying (!) on Monday 26th February. We have two more terms to complete before our graduation in June. So that's quite a few late nights ahead as we contend with the impending assignments/interviews/preaching as well as family life.