Thank You and Goodbye

So my First Serve Gap Year has come to an end. It is less than a week now until we board the flight to go back to England. I am looking forward to all the people in England and the country's beautiful views, but I am sad to be leaving here. I have had the most amazing experience out here, to have been able to get to know some local villagers (but not able to communicate) has been so amazing and to have been able to see true Tamil culture in all its glory has been great. The kids that I have taught and played with everyday are some of the loveliest children I have ever met. I will miss them so dearly they have made this trip worth while. I feel sad to leave them here and to not get to see them everyday like I have here. I feel like they are my little brothers and sisters and some are some good friends.

My last week in India has been an exciting one, whilst walking back to Simon and Sarah's house one night, Hannah and I were only a couple of steps away from stepping on a Krait. A Krait is a relatively small snake which is a shiny black colour with a series of thin white strips across its back. It is one of the deadliest snakes in India, you do not have very long if you are bitten by it as it has a higher toxicity than  a viper and holds on a long while to inject all the venom it can. Sadly we had to kill the snake as it cannot be living around Mark and Ruth's house as it has been as they have young children. I also had the wonderful experience of seeing a Chameleon in the wild, close up as well. It was a rather large Chameleon and a bright green, sadly I didn't have my camera on me when I saw it so I didn't get a picture. I have been playing with the kids this week a lot, scored a few goals in football. I have been teaching poetry to my year 9s as well which has been fun. All in all a great last week!!

I cannot make my last blog without mentioning the whole Gap Year though. I have learnt so much about me, about God and about other people. I have made some really good friends as well, many of whom I hope to stay in contact with for my whole life! I feel very fortunate to have had the Gap Year that I have had, I would love to be able to do it all again in the same way.

At Tilsley Bible college I had so much fun and learnt so much at the same time, it was amazing, there again I made some great friends and consequently have some great memories. At Grosvenor I  managed to work and have so much fun with everyone there, I was made to feel so welcome by everyone and it was so wonderful to be with everyone, and to work in such an anointed church. Here in India, I have had 3 months of hot sun and fun, everyone here has been so kind to us and it has made 4 months seem like 1 month. It is so true that time flies when you are having fun as from the 11th of February to the 7th of August has seemed like a blink of the eye. Friends have been made and memories formed.

First Serve has been such a fulfilling experience, through Echoes' help I have been able to have a Gap Year that has been like a dream. The course perfects times of fun and times of growth. Growth in your understanding and knowledge of the Bible and growth in your ability to relate to people. It has been so wonderful and I am so thankful to Tilsley, Grosvenor, Bethesda (Simon and Sarah's charity) and Echoes for making it all possible.

Thank you for your prayers and support!
James

An Indian Compliment ...

Usually when I am spending time with the boys at the boys hostel, playing football, eating over lunch etc, the boys, if they say anything about me it will be "Oh brother James you are very fat" or "are you going to Pagadupattu to buy more snacks?" or "If you sit on Simon Sir's horse you will crush it." However the other night for the first time in all my time here they said to me "Brother James, you were much fatter when you came, you have lost your big belly." This Indian compliment made me very happy indeed, especially from these boys!

It has been a long time since my last blog, blogging everyweek seems to be a lot harder now that I am teaching lessons in the day also. Teaching is going well, I am really enjoying it although it can be hard work with such a span of abilities. The school is getting an athletics and football team ready for the Salem district competition which is in mid-August, it has been so much fun watching the teams practice and helping where I can. Which admitedly is usually playing football with the team, running at the small Indian boys often knocking them over (by accident) and even more often ending up on the ground myself. Its okay though, these kids are tough and I only have a few bruises!

Since my last blog I have been to a second wedding, which was very fun indeed, and I have attended a local coming of age ceremony, actually of one of my students. In the coming of age ceremony, the first sign of puberty for a girl allows the parents to begin to organise a huge party in honour of her becoming a woman. You would think that due to the sensitivity and the privacy of the subject in which the party is hosted in aid of, that the girl who has come of age, would be embarrased. However it is the complete opposite, the girl loves the fuss and attention, and all the family enjoy a nice chicken Biryani to celebrate her first step into Womanhood.

Other than this, I have been to Bangalore for a shopping trip with all the female variety of the families here. Bangalore was so different to life here in a tribal hill village. The way that men and women act towards each other, the clothes and the food is a lot more western. The 7 hour shopping trip was lots of fun but was tainted with slight sadness as the next day it was Pippa's flight back home. Pippa has been with Hannah and I since we came into India so it is rather strange her not being around and we are definitely going to miss her!
There is only a couple more weeks until we leave India, I am excited to see everyone in England again, however it will be sad to leave this lovely area and lovely country!

Blog again soon (sooner than last time)
James

"I HAVE GOT A CHRISTMAS SONG!!!!!"

It has been a while since a blog admittedly but the internet here in Pagadupat has been rather poor the last few weeks. This blogs title is in reference to a volunteers dinner here on the compound. Simon and Sarah's oldest son and daughter came back from school on Thursday. They go to school 6 hours away so the new volunteers being, Hannah, Pippa and I have not met them before! They are really lovely but they have made dinner times rather lively. The other night we were all telling jokes over the dinner table, Simon and Sarah's children who have just returned were hogging the limelight with lots of long jokes they had heard at school. In an attempt to gain attention to him, the youngest of Simon and Sarah's kids, shouted at the top of his voice "I HAVE GOT A CHRISTMAS SONG!!!!!" to which in surprise everyone fell silent and he consequently sang a rather violent rendition of Jingle Bells.

Life here in Pagadupattu (Pagadupat or Pagers for short) is wonderful. School has started, rather hecticly if honest, and I am getting the chance to teach English to 9th Standard (year 9). I am absolutely loving teaching them, it can be challenging as their English is not always great and there is a large spread of ability but I am having fun! I am also teaching subjects to 6th and 7th standard.

The temperature here has cooled a bit which is nice, actually sometimes at night I wake up rather chilly. Yesterday us volunteers had the privelage of attending an Indian wedding. It was so much fun, not my idea of a perfect wedding due to: people talking all the way through, the pastor up the front reading a text whilst sticking his tongue out and the extremely out of tune fat Indian ladies singing at the reception. But I felt very fortunate to be able to view it as it is something that not everyone gets to see.

In terms of nature not much has changed around here. I had a ghecko run up my leg, Simon and Sarah's oldest son has caught a fair few lizards, Hannah had a taratula in her room which when they brought it out I saw and there is a new member to the family pets here, Orion, a horse which on Saturday escaped and ran across the Indian tribal villages. So actually in hindsight quite alot of nature has happened recently!

I have started to regularly lead prayers for the boys hostel. It has been good fun preparing things to talk about. I recently talked on God's plan, I was talking to them about things in my life that haven't gone to my plan, and I became so thankful to God for all he has done in my life, for all he has taken me through, for the strength he continues to give me. It made me really know that like Phillipians 4 v 13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It revealed to me that I can't do anything without him. God has so clearly planned this trip to Tamil Nadu and I feel he is guiding and growing me every day here. I am so thankful for that.

Blog Again Soon

James

Slapalaka

Everyone was laughing after my attempt to say goodnight in Dutch to some parents of a Dutch volunteer who came over for a week. Slapalaka was not remotely close to the evening fairwell in Dutch. This sums up how my attempts with language here in India has been. I have been trying to learn morsels of Tamil so eventually I could utter a fragmented Tamil sentence, but all attempts seem futile. I can say the essential word in Tamil (porum) absolutely fine, as if i didn't i would be being fed far too much as the word is to say 'enough' of something. However, whenever i attempt with 'how are you?' which is along the lines of 'Na La Ilkin La' giggles erupt from those i am addressing as I seem to be saying it completely wrong.

Recently us volunteers took a small trip further South in India to Kerala, a place called Kovalam. Despite the constant staring at girls, the continual street selling and the vastness of stray dogs, i loved visiting the beachside sights of Kovalam. We even got a chance to ride an elephant, which was such an amazing experience, even though our promised 30 minutes turned into 10 along a road! Back in Pagadupattu the children have all come back from holiday and we are getting on great with them. One day one of the boys shouted to me to come see a snake, of which i was slightly to late and only glimpsed its back as it was slithering away in its hole. We also spotted a snake sun bathing near a pond, we were a safe distance away to see it slither into the water. I have seen some crabs in the local brook as well and had the oppourtunity to hold a baby chipmunk.

I am trying to get fit, due to the constant cultural reference to me being "very fat" and the persistent question of the boys as to whether I am off to get some snacks. I tried to do football practice and exercises with them one day - i did half of the warm up and felt faint and dizzy, the next few days i spent with sore legs and a shocked mind that these 14 year old and younger boys were so much fitter than me.

I have been reading Exodus lately which is challenging and rewarding. It makes me feel so grateful that we can approach God without creating a golden plated Ark of the Covenant and wear the weird clothes Aaron had to wear. The last couple of weeks have been tough for the families and volunteers here, but it is amazing how God has shown himself. It is amazing to see his hand in everything that happens here on the compound and to see how proud he is of everyone here. Last thursday i led worship for the all women cell (except me) which was a great oppourtunity to lead worship for the first time. This thursday i am leading the word which I am going to do on our identity in Christ.

Please continue to pray for protection for everyone here and energy.

Blog Again Soon (BAS)
James

N E 1 4 A Swim?

The title to this blog was a clue in a treasure hunt that we did this week for the home kids. This clue led to a clue that was on the outside of Simon and Sarah's empty swimming pool. The treausure hunt was an activity as part of the holiday club that Hannah, myself and the other volunteers have organised and lead this week. In this holiday club we had an hour in the morning of worship, prayer a drama, a themed talk (which was the life of Simon Peter) and discussion groups. Each day then continued with crafts and a big organised game in the afternoon, one of which being a treasure hunt.

Since the last time I blogged it seems to have got hotter and there still hasn't been any rain. However on the plus side I have been introduced to many knew and Indian things that are amazing. The volunteers of a female variety went to Salem 2 Fridays ago, meanwhile, myself and another volunteer headed into Pagadupattu. He showed me some wonderful Indian snacks to buy, I have consequently become rather obsessed with a fried snack called Murikew, a mango drink called Mazza and some small spherical coconut snacks which were simply divine. Also since my previous blog I have seen much more wildlife, I have seen a scorpion about 4 inches long (admittedly not alive), a similar sized garden lizard and a kingfisher, not to mention thousands of pesky ants.

The volunteer I have been housesitting with is leaving today and it'll be a real shame to see him go, it has been really nice to share a house with him and he and I have got on really well, one time staying awake until 3 am listening to music and chatting. I think that he will definitely be missed by all of the children here. Over the last two weeks I have got to know the kid really well, and I have just learnt there names. A few times it has been rather embarrasing when I have accidently called a child by the name of a Hindu God when their name is something completely different. So far I have called one child Vishnu and another Ganesh (they didn't even look remotely like an elephant), I am just waiting for me to call someone Hanuman to have a full set of Hindu God names that none of the Children are called.

Out here I have been a lot more disciplined with my daily devotionals and have been studying Acts. I think something that I feel challenged by with this is the lack of fasting in my prayer life and the shortness of prayers. I admittedly sometimes struggle to think of what to pray for, especially for myself. But I also think I so rarely fast to aid my prayer. I do not know why this is as even Jesus and the apostles placed lots of importance on this so why don't I. That is one thing that has been running through my mind recently.

Blog again soon.
James

Sleeping with the Geckos

So Hannah and I arrived in Bangalore airport on the 19th of April, Simon met us outside of the airport and we piled our stuff into his Jeep. So the 7 hour journey began, we saw many interesting sights from the jeep, a family of five on a motorbike with only the father wearing a hemet, a man looking into the road holding a goat and plenty of vehicles driving the wrong way down Indias longest dual carriageway. The journey itself was fine, a few tense moments, no doing of Simons but we got to Pagadupattu in good time.

That first night was spent adjusting to the heat and trying to sleep and not over think about the prospect of a Gecko falling on me in the night! The last few days I have been getting to know some of the Indian students here who stay at the school over the summer holidays. It is so lovely to get to know them, they seem to get enjoyment out of being nice and encouraging. I played football in the 4 o'clock sun on Sunday and found myself drenched in sweat after about 10 minutes of playing!

We went to the Indian church on Sunday which was really nice, although hard to sit on my bum for all that time! They sang some English songs which were really good and some Tamil (the language spoke in this area) songs which I liked because they involved a lot of clapping! I am getting used to eating curry with my hands but i do tend to get quite messy! This afternoon we are going to watch School of Rock with the students which should be fun. All in all it has been a great start to the trip and i can't wait for whats to come.

Diana and Elaine arrived Sunday evening from Chennai to see the school, they work for a charity called Child-Link. The charity supports the school here called Gnana Deepam Matriculation School, the money that this charity has given to the school has helped the students here so much. Last year they raised money for 5 class rooms to be built here, this year they are raising money for the completion of the class rooms, for a new dining room and some toilets. Diana and Elaine are so hard working and inspiring in the way they strive to raise money for better facilities for these children. If you wanted to know more about the charity you can have a look at www.child-link.org.

The trip has started well and I can't wait for what else I am to experience, what God has to show me and also I can't wait for Mango season!

Blog again soon
James

"It's Like You're My Mirror"

My time at Grosvenor Church in Barnstaple has come to an end and I am a changed man! I have had a revelation, an awakening some would say. I went to Grosvenor thinking Justin Timberlake's music was nothing special and slightly too high pitched for me, I now have left Grosvenor completely addicted to his new song Mirrors. This was all thanks to my mentor at Grosvenor, I will fondly remember trips around Barnstaple with that song booming out of the car. Some would say i should be ashamed of liking the singer/actor's new song, but I like Justin and I am proud of it.

I have had such a wonderful time in Grosvenor, and I have made some really good friends who I look forward to seeing in  the summer. The Church was really quite different from my small home church and it was amazing to see the logistics behind a Church of that size. I felt so touched to be given such an amazing farewell from the church members and I felt so welcome the whole 5 weeks I was down there. I have learnt so much about myself, about God and about Church down in North Devon and I will treasure the memories of my 5 weeks there.

One thing that really stood out for me over the time I spent in Barnstaple was the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5. In Grosvenor there was so much emphasis put on showing these fruits in our lives and to live like Jesus did, it really inspired me. I loved that the topic was covered in all of the youth and children's work in Grosvenor and was the basis of rules to the children's groups. What i found particularly interesting and useful was when in the youth group A2J (year 10 - 13) we looked at different fruits of the spirit and what sins went against them.

At the moment I am sat at home and catching up with all of my friends before I head out to India. It is tiring trying to see everyone but so nice at the same time. Please remember me in prayers for illness, overheating and loneliness in India and that I wont get too homesick. Thank you for everyone's support.

Next Stop Asia

Sore Knees and Boston Teas ...

What a clever title eh?
I came up with that myself and i will explain its meaning. Last Wednesday was Grosvenor Church men's 5 - 10 a side football. In this game i soon realised how poorly out of condition i was, it was atrocious! However I still had full confidence in my identity as a world class football player and thought it was easily possible for me to sprint towards a pitch dividing net, gently tap the ball out of it and continue to score a game defining goal! In reality what happened was my foot was caught in the net i fell down in front of the whole pitch of competitive Christian men and scraped my knee rather nastily. This has consequently lead to the swelling and eventual beginning of scabbing over after a week on (treatment thanks to my host Chris). Therefore that explains the 'sore knees'.

Boston Teas, this refers to a lovely Cafe called the Boston Tea Party, which I have vistited many a time this week! I even decided it was worth getting a loyalty card for it!

So overall (despite the knee incident) a very good week, really enjoyable and i have had a good time. Feels weird to think that there is only a week and a bit left now, this UK placement has gone past incredibly quickly!

So Hannah earlier today had the sheer nerve to claim that her blog was better because it had more 'God stuff' in it! So in response i am going to drop the verse which has been on my mind all week. 2 Corinthians 5 v 21 - "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God". After watching Fruitcake and Ice Cream by Louie Giglio, I have been thinking about this verse all the time! I think it is amazing, for a God who hates sin to send a son to be our sin and then to not finish there, but to at the cross exchange our sin for Jesus' righteousness, it just blows my mind! I have been able to do some talks to children and youth this week about whatever i wanted and i really wanted to use this verse, but thought that the word righteousness may go straight over primary school children's heads.

Thanks for reading.
James

Too Many Trips to Tesco's?

Many of you may be wondering what work in Grosvenor I have been doing. Well I have had over the last couple of weeks done about 5 or 6 trips to Tesco's often getting biscuits for the Grosvenor youth events but also equally often just because Paul or I fancy some chilli and pork pies.

So this last week has been so busy, over the last week i have been busy almost every night! I can't believe how busy I have been, even though I have had 2 and a half days off a week!

With Paul, I have mainly prepared stuff for the Flame youth group (which is school years 7 - 9) and for the local schools Christian union, I have not prepared much for the A2J youth group (school years 10 - 13) but I have bonded with that group really well. Hannah and I on our days off have been doing half a day studying the Bible, also on our days off we have visited some areas of Devon, so far we have been to Woolacombe and Dartmoor. On Monday I had my first session with my mentor James "Gib" Gibson, we instantly clicked and we get on really well!

So far so good, I am really enjoying myself despite having to attend a 4 hour child safety seminar today.

Blog again soon
James

Hello Barnstaple/Bickington

So after a rather short stop at home for the weekend, I have arrived in Barnstaple for my second stage of the First Serve program. I am staying with a lovely couple called Russ and Chris Beresford, who live outside of Barnstaple in Bickington. After dropping Hannah off at Suzie and Nick's (her host home) I managed to very successfully get completely lost in Bickington. I ended up stranded outside of a funeral directors until Chris came to the rescue in her classic Jaguar car and navigated me to the right house!!

I have just had dinner with Chris and Russ, which was a delicious kedgeree and I learnt all about their passion for fixing up classic cars and their connections to Bedford. It has been really nice to be welcomed so warmly into their home and I am looking forward to my month here! I start at Grosvenor church tomorrow morning so I will meet the team then.

I have been told that I am needed for the Beresford quiz team for University Challenge and a Question of Sport tonight, so I must dash, but thought I would get a cheeky blog in before it started!!

Keep in touch!
James

Tilsley Ends ...

It is 3 days until my stint at Tilsley Bible college is over!! I have had such a wonderful time here and people have made me feel so welcome!! The lectures have been quite intense and then getting back into the swing of writing essays for the college has not been easy!! It also doesn't help that the GLO students keep us up late watching movies, chatting or playing ping pong. All in all it has been such a lovely time here and I am going to miss living in this wonderful community!!

I have found I have been really challenged at Tilsley college about certain things.Before coming here I was worried that not having Brethren routes would mean that I would be seen as wrong to have a different theology about certain aspects of Christianity. However I have really been challenged about my judgements before I get to know people. My worries have been completely wrong. Everyone here is so respectful to everyone's different view and I have actually found that some people have a very similar theology to me.

I'll be blogging again soon
James

The First Stage

The First Stage of my First Serve mission began on the 11th of February 2013!!

I travelled up to Motherwell, near Glasgow with my girlfriend Hannah to attend to Tilsley Bible College on the 11th and we were introduced to the sights of Motherwell!
At Tilsley, Hannah and I have joined with two girls, Alison and Deborah who are also doing the First Serve programme. Along with our fellow FirstServers we have incorporated with the Tilsley College students who are on their year long Bible study course. There are 11 Tilsley students excluding those doing the FirstServe at the college who are from 8 different nations.

Since arriving on the 11th Hannah and I have formed lots of friendship with the main course students and I am having a really wonderful time!! I have been placed in a luxurious double bedroom all to myself which is quite a treat!! Our typical day at Tilsley begins at 8:55 for Devotions (which usually take a form of worship and a small look at God's word) then at 9:20 we start lectures. There are small breaks in between lectures which lead up to Lunch at 1:15 or 1:30. We then have the afternoon free, however the core students are often slaving away with assignments during this time so us First Servers have chosen to focus on an assignment we have been given to write during this time also. At 5:45 we have dinner and then we keep the evening free for relaxation or other activities.

From the 12th - 15th we had lectures focussing on Wisdom and Poetic literature within the Bible, specifically looking at Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes and lectures on the History of Christian Mission in which we looked at the work of Christian Missionaries in the past such as William Carey and Hudson Taylor. It has been so interesting to learn more about these wonderful books of the Bible and to explore more of what the theology behind such books is. From the 16th untill present we have been participating in a Mission Orientation Programme in which we have more lectures per day and the subject is focussed around Mission overseas and how to work for God overseas abroad effectively!

Sorry that this has been such a long first blog, i am sorry if i have bored some people and i promise to keep the next blog much shorter!

James