Autumn 2010 Newsletter

God has been reminding me recently about His commitment to being with us in everything we journey through. And how His perspective in this sometimes looks different to mine. Often I place high value on speed in the things I am facing or learning; the quicker I deal with a struggle or achieve a result, the more mature and developed a person I am. God challenged me that for Him slow or fast can be just as precious, powerful and significant. He can move in an instant or He can walk us through a process that requires time and patience. Both are valid and both can be miraculous. He is committed to reaching the finish line with us. This is part of the vision at the ECCP - willingness to walk alongside people in their personal journey whether they find quick and obvious 'success' or fall many times along the way. God's message is that there is always hope and we are never alone.

In terms of our journey here at the ECCP, the great news has been finally completing the move into new premises...

Our first location - St. Luke's, Redcliffe Gardens - is home to the Women's Drop-In and Counselling Training courses, as well as a new prayer and evangelism ministry called 'Treasure Hunting' on the streets of the local area. Their website is: http://www.stlukeschurch.co.uk/

The second location is St. Barnabas, Kensington where we have set up two porta-cabins to house the offices. From this church we are running the Coffee Bar (along with the parallel ministries of the art workshop, food distribution programme, Bible Study) and the Counselling Service. Check out their website at: http://www.stbk.org.uk/

We also continue to have a branch of the counselling service located at the flat in Clapham Junction, with a focus on Family Therapy. See our website for more details: http://www.eccp-ywam.org.uk/

This solution is on a temporary basis for approximately two years. After that we will see how God leads us! In the meantime we have been blessed in many ways through the welcome we have received from both these places. It is wonderful for the ministries to be based somewhere where there is an active church life that we can invite our visitors to. It is also a privilege to partner with them in some areas of outreach and spend time praying together for the local community. In September we had a week of mission headed up by St. Luke's and the ECCP called 'God Loves Earls Court' (GLEC). As part of this there was a special Coffee Bar party, and International Food Fair and an Art Cafe.

In the summer Nancy and I swapped the city for a field with a few thousand people and a week of camping down in Somerset to run the YWAM England stand at the New Wine festival (pic). It was great to have a change from our normal routine and the chance to connect with all kinds of folk - young people interested in doing some short-term mission, youth leaders looking for programmes to recommend to those in their groups, and former YWAMers who are excited to re-engage with the organisation.

Back in London I have been focusing on completing some key areas of admin, including developing a food safety management system. Meals are an important part of ECCP life so this is to ensure that we are taking good care of everyone eating with us, as well as complying with regulations. As a detail-orientated person there are elements of this that I enjoy, however it has also been frustrating and sometimes feels overwhelming so I would appreciate some prayer!

Personally this has been a year of weddings and the important task of being a bridesmaid! First for a close friend of mine who was married in the USA on New Year's Day; followed by two of my sisters, with the third sister going to tie the knot this month. Suddenly I get three brothers-in-law and the family grows by half again! The spin-off has been a lot of fun-filled gatherings, travelling and investing into new relationships. Overall it's wonderful seeing my sisters choosing to share their lives with some great guys!

The last few months have been quite exhausting, mainly due to the ECCP transition - working through the logistics of the move's different stages as well as the emotional impact of change and helping our visitors to adjust. My typical year has a rhythm of more intense weeks of busyness followed by some at a regular tempo. With the consistently heavy work-load this year my stress levels have been on a long-term high which has left me feeling quite worn-down. Please pray for finding a place of being settled, rested and refocused again.

Thank-you so much for standing with me in your support and encouragement.

Love
Rebecca