I feel its safe to say the ground has been hit running. People said the first few weeks would be quiet and you would be wondering what to do. I can say conclusively that I have not had a shortage to do. So lets run through the week.
Thursday- we started by sharing where we are and where we wanted to be with the staff team. Each of us was to bring in a small object to represent this. After racking my brain I decided on my headphones. The reason being is that I like to learn but I am a distractable human and my headphones allow me to shut out world and distractions so I can focus. I’m ready to learn but I’m also acutely aware that this isn’t the time to shut out the world. The rest of the day was admin things like our schedules and keys. The day was far longer than anticipated. I was grateful for the words of wisdom passed on to me, particularly from Jess who told me the things she wish she knew, the things she learnt for herself.
Friday- What’s a day off for one job is a day in for another. I wasn’t working on the box office until the evening so I took the day for myself to do housework, to introvert and to try to slowdown a little. It was busy at the box office as Charlotte church was performing and so lots of tickets to print in not so much time. I sat with a woman who had puked everywhere and I also got a lift home which was much appreciated as I had zero desire to walk the streets of Leith alone and it meant I didn’t have to pay for a taxi.
Saturday was a full day at church- prayer ministry training in the morning and a welcome back event for the primary age groups in the afternoon. Prayer ministry was exciting. Emmy from HTB in London told us incredible stories of healing, releasing people from demonic manifestations and of revelationary gifts. It was incredible to here of her experience of prayer and the lives transformed by it. The wave of fear that had rippled through my body when it was time to practice our revelationary gifts dissipated. It became less daunting and more focused on how I wanted to hear God speak. Listening is hard, discerning is hard but I knew the people I was in a group with were wise and forgiving. I was in a supportive environment and words were spoken over my life too. We had a nice wee picnic lunch then it was all go with games galore, awesome crafts including we getting to use spray paint and feeling pretty edgy then we had food and a treasure hunt everyone had a blast and kids who were hesitant at first were having a blast by the end of the afternoon. I saw my final fringe show of the season. BlackCatfishMusketeer by Malaprop Theatre. Excellent show, humorous and poignant. I then just chilled in the staff room sharing stories which was my kind of socialising.
Sunday felt a little more normal. I ran a kids group in the morning, wasn’t my regular group but it was kids who had been in my group last year so nothing felt out of place. Turns out tidying up takes ages. I had a wonderful afternoon at my friends house. We went to the park and I had to so down the slide sideways as my I didn’t fit if I went down on my bum. We had cheese and oatcakes for snack and a proper catch up having not seen them properly for a few months. What was a little less normal was in the evening service I was working. It was now my job to keep and eye out and welcome new people, to fill any gaps that I saw, be it in serving tea and coffee or in prayer ministry. Having that state of alertness was strange.
Monday- I was in the office and it was me just chipping away a work and poorly prioritising tasks, then I had 3 hours of respite carer training and in a shocking turn of events it only lasted 50 minutes which was a small victory. In the evening there was the End of the Fringe staff party. I don’t think I have ever been so sleepy at a party before so ducked out early.
Tuesday was meetings galore. We had staff prayers then there was children’s ministry meetings, then a staff meeting and when my supervisor returns to to work there will be even more meetings on tuesdays. I also made the final move to my home for the year. I have barely unpacked but its nice to in one place where I can unpack my closes and unwind a little, watch bake off curled up with a cat. It’s chill and I like it.
Wednesday was the day i realised that I had a lot work to do and not a lot done. So I kept my head down and finished my presentation probably. It’s also probably terrible and I have yet to rehearse it in any shape or form. We also had our first Intern time were we learnt the history of the Scottish Episcopal church which is more interesting that it sounds and provides excellent context for the church I’m working for. I then caught up with a good friend as she ate at spoons and I stole chips off her plate. I still had dinner plans and went to the Children’s Ministry Assistant’s house for dinner and a meeting about one of out Saturday clubs which was great fun.
Now we are on a prayer and study which is harder than I thought. I don’t seem to have any capacity for focus. I have done my extended bible reading. And have now nearly finished a blog post. I might do a spot of watercolour or calligraphy, I shall reflect on my life and my commitments. I also have to go get stuff for my friends birthday. Essentially I’m just making stuff up as I go along.
Ramblings and Adventures 