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I'm sitting in Costa Coffee at the moment, enjoying some time on my own, skyping with my friend Teal and getting ready for a short teaching that I'm giving on Monday about decision fatigue. There's been times when I've sat down to breathe since the beginning of the dts, but this feels like the first time that I've really made time to write and think about something non-essential for more than a few minutes.
The beginning of dts has been fantastic. Anna and Kristin (our two trainees) have been doing so well! There's so much new information to learn-like where everything goes in the kitchen and how to find your way around town. Add to that living with roommates and a moderately busy schedule and there's the possibility of feeling rather overwhelmed. Happily, that hasn't happened. (At least not too much, anyways.)
For me, this dts is so different than others that I've been involved in. For a start, it's a small team staffing the school (only Sarah and myself are full-time). Being a smaller leadership team means more responsibility. So I've been leading prayer times, worship times, meetings, I've taught once already and will again. Best of all, I get to lead our "creative workshop" which is basically a craft time. It's great having a time set aside to be creative together. All four of us (Anna, Kristin, Sarah and myself) really enjoy it.
The dts has been running for three weeks. The first week was an introductory week, laying a foundation of what the school will look like. The following week, we had a guest speaker (Steve Sullivan) who spoke about the covenant that God made with Abraham and what that means for us and for missions. This past week, Mark Vening (who is the national coordinator for YWAM Wales) spoke about Jesus and the cross and how that all works.
This following week is our first outreach week. That means that we'll be working more in the community and focusing less on learning in the classroom. I'm really looking forward to what we've got planned. We'll be trained to be street pastors (a ministry on the weekend to the pub/club scene), hang out with refugees and asylum seekers on Thursday, and then get some training for a ministry that focuses on praying for people on the streets.
On a more personal note, Wrexham is beginning to feel like home. I've decided which church I'm going to attend, and have joined a home group. I went to my first one on Wednesday evening, and really enjoyed the people that were there. I look forward to seeing what new friendships come into being in the next few weeks!
