Spring 2012 News

Dear friends, it has taken a while but I am finally writing to share an update on life since I began my internship with TLG, a Christian charity that supports teenagers in crisis in education. It has been a whirlwind few months and I’m sorry for such a delay in sending out news. The highs and lows of this ministry are very intense so I feel a bit like I’m white water rafting – sometimes through some crazy, scary rapids; days where it’s just a hard slog paddling to keep moving; and then my favourite, the beautiful and exhilarating moments when you see God’s grace and love changing lives. However tough it has been, it is a privilege to be working with these young people whom He treasures so much.

Saying goodbyes as I left London in the summer was very hard. I am adapting to a new home, friendships, church and town, as well as the challenge of a transition from one organisation to another. It’s a different way of doing ministry and team life, and there are also the pressures of running a school that needs to meet government standards (pic - post-Ofsted Inspection celebration).

Our TLG Centre is linked with Reading Community Church, and the team is made up of Quentin the Centre Manager, Sammy the Youth Development Worker, and me in the Learning Mentor role. We also have two volunteers from local churches (Lynn and Steve) helping out a couple of times a week.

At the moment we are working with 14 young people. Each day we have a group of up to 9 students aged between 12 and 16 years, so we deliver lessons that cater for a variety of abilities and needs. All of the young people have had problems in mainstream education for a variety of reasons, whether behavioural, emotional or social.

(Pic - the TLG Reading Team, from L to R: Lynn who volunteers with us, Sammy, Quentin, and me).

Before the school day begins, staff will be at the centre preparing lessons, setting up and meeting for a briefing/devotional/prayer time together. The young people arrive at 9.20am and leave at 3pm, and we are with them throughout those hours. Then we debrief, clean-up and spend the rest of the time doing admin, planning, meetings, and everything else that goes into the running of a school!

As we work to re-engage these teenagers in education, we are also focusing on their personal growth and development to try to address some of the underlying issues that they struggle with. Our heart is to be like a family, consistent in loving them and setting good boundaries so that they experience a safe environment and see healthy relationships modelled.

Learning how to relate and respond to a variety of difficult behaviour from students takes a lot of grace and resilience! You never know what may come up on any given day depending on how they are feeling, what home circumstances they are coming from or other situations they are currently facing. As a team we are trying to reflect Jesus to them by showing love and forgiveness, whilst addressing in an appropriate manner any behaviour that is not ok.

At our end of term Awards Evening in December we handed out certificates to those students who came, highlighting the progress they have made. It was a moving evening and really special to see young people who are often at the bottom of the pile, instead being honoured publicly. It is often their small steps that are highlights: watching someone take care and pride in a piece of work for the first time, seeing a real smile from someone who has been very shutdown, hearing one of our lads share that his dream is to open his own TLG-style centre to help young people like him.

My church in Reading has given me a warm welcome and I am enjoying getting to know folks here. In addition to working with TLG, I am also involved in running two of the church youth groups: Fusion for yrs 7 – 9, and Encounter for yrs 10 – 13. It is lots of fun and a chance to invest into the lives of those young people. We have a weekend away coming up in May!

I am incredibly grateful to be here but have also found it exhausting. This has not been helped by some health issues ongoing since November. I have been struggling with pain and swelling in the joints of my hands and feet, and hospital tests indicate that it is some kind of autoimmune disorder. They are doing further investigations but in the meantime have started me on some medication. I would really appreciate prayer for the inflammation to go down and for more energy as I have been feeling very tired. The combination of physical issues alongside an emotionally draining job has not been easy.

With regard to the future, I am exploring and praying into what is the right step to take at the end of the internship in the summer. I have no idea what God has in store, but I am trusting Him for His provision and good plans!

Thanks for your continued support and encouragement through this time of changes.

Lots of love,

Rebecca

*Please see some current prayer points on the right-hand side!*

I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 27: 13-14

Summer 2011 News

This letter brings news of some change! Over the last few months I have been seeking the Lord over my future, having felt for a while that He was leading me into a transition in ministry. For many years I have had a heart to support young people in some way, particularly those from more difficult backgrounds, but I have wondered what specific approach to take.

Exploring options and pushing doors has been a long process - with lots of waiting and uncertainty, it hasn’t been easy! God’s timing is just right though, and I think He needed to do a lot of work in my heart in preparation for change. Recently things suddenly accelerated after I came across an organisation called The Lighthouse Group (TLG). It is a Christian charity that works in partnership with local churches throughout the UK, to support teenagers who are at a crisis point in their education. It runs educational programmes, alongside focusing on personal growth and development to try to address some of the underlying issues that the young people struggle with. Their website is: www.tlg.org.uk

TLG run an 11-month internship and last week I had an interview for a placement in Reading. The exciting news is that I have been accepted onto the programme! This means I will be starting on Tuesday 30^th August with a training week up at TLG headquarters in Bradford, followed by their staff conference, preparation with the team in Reading and then term begins on the 12^th September.

Involvement with TLG and Reading Community Church will be an opportunity to invest into the lives of young people, to encourage, bless and support them; giving them a better chance in life and helping them to grow into the people God has created them to be. It is a chance to see teenagers experience transformation out of difficulty and discover some hope for the future.

I know it will also be hugely challenging for me and I will need to learn how to balance love with boundaries in the face of tough behaviour! My official title as an intern will be ‘Learning Mentor.’ The position is not salaried, but I will be partly financed by a weekly bursary. I don't know yet the costs of living in Reading, but anticipate needing to keep raising at least some funds in order to finance myself through the year. At the end of the 11-months, I have no idea what God has in store, but I am trusting Him for good plans!

Obviously, although I am very excited about this opportunity, it means that I am leaving YWAM and the ECCP which is very sad for me. My time here has been an incredible training ground, and the core values behind what we do are ones that I hope to take with me into each ministry setting I am involved with in the future. I have been part of an amazing team of people and have valued their love, care and friendship over the years we have been working together. Saying so many goodbyes will be very hard – to YWAM, those we have supported at the ECCP, my team, friends and church here in London.

Please pray for me in the coming weeks as I lay down all these areas of my life and pick up the new things God has for me. On a practical level, there are still several details that need to come into place, including accommodation - I may be able to rent a room with people or a family from the church, but this still needs organising! I might also need a car, so that is another area of provision I am asking the Lord about.

A major part of my 10 years in missions with YWAM has been YOU! The support received by each one of you in different ways has been incredible - thank-you! Your care and interest, encouragement, prayer backing, and financial giving have been part of God’s provision and have kept me going through joyful times and those times where it has been much more testing. I know that the men and women whose lives have been impacted through the ECCP would want me to say thank-you too.

So I would love to hear from you, will be writing again with news from Reading, and hope that some of you will stay journeying with me into what is ahead.

Lots of love

Rebecca

Prayer Items

• Thanks for everything God has done in me through my time with YWAM these last 10 years.

• Thanks for clear direction from God for the next steps and that He is with me through the changes!

• Thanks for the chance to have a holiday from the 15^th – 24^th August, and pray for it to be a time of proper rest.

• For my health – I am having some problems with my skin that the doctor has not been able to diagnose or treat yet.

• For the process of leaving, with the emotional and practical things that must be worked through.

• For my beginnings with TLG – that I would quickly settle into the new role, home and relationships in Reading