I told you I'd be back

[Be warned, this is a long post. To be fair, I haven't posted in over a month! Also, sorry about the lack of photos, I've not yet put photos on my new computer.]

Ahoo-there!

I can not apologise profusely enough for taking so long to post this very blog. The first week back at work about a month ago was a crazy time catching up from my Christmas break. It was more like pushing all my work aside for two weeks, but worth it for a nice Christmas! Christmas did come with some challenges, but it was so nice being back with family, friends, Parkside and of course, Grace. So, after my swamping first week, my computer decided it was fed up of being my desk-slave and passed away overnight. Therefore, the next fortnight was a struggle with no computer. I left my wallet at a friend's in Southampton a couple of months ago. I actually found it quite a release being without money for a week or so (I probably wouldn't be saying that if I had rent to pay). So, when my computer died, I wondered if I would get that same sense of release being detached from the whirring and chugging that I had grown too accustomed to. I didn't get that feeling at all. One might say I went 'cold-turkey'. I realised that 1.) I depend on having a computer so much for work and everyday bits and bobs, and 2.) how much I took the internet for granted! I missed being able to watch programmes on iPlayer, catch up with friends on Facebook and write blogs! But here I am now, after nearly a week of rushing to the window every time a car went past, on the new computer that the delivery man heaved on to my bracing desk. It's blog time!

The past couple of weeks have been focused on the future. My many projects include;

• Moving my youth group, correction - my growing youth group, into a smaller room.
• Planning a big pancake event on Shrove Tuesday in half-term.
• Trying to find a suitable date to run possibly a series of youth services in the church.
• Start looking at which holiday club to prepare for the summer.
• Getting a group together for May Camp, between two churches 20 miles apart!
• Sorting out what the church is going to do around Easter time
• Starting up a film club
• Getting an Easter Play into the local primary schools
• ...

The Youth Lounge is currently in one of the many upstair rooms in the church. Work is being started on the church and it has started upstairs. You know how (men you may struggle with this - use your imaginations) when you are polishing or cleaning a desk and instead of taking everything off, cleaning it and putting it back on, you decide to move everything to one side, polish half of it, move everything to the other side, polish the other half, then put everything back. Well it's like that. The church is re-doing the whole of the upstairs, but we have no downstairs rooms left, so we're just shunting along into another upstairs room. It's smaller. A lot smaller. In one way, it's cosier and more homely, but in another way it's just cramped. I spent all yesterday and today moving furniture, TVs, posters and hoards of other random items that could only be found from a group like this. I don't know what they're going to say when they go up on Sunday morning and discover that their room looks like it's been raided. To go with the shrinking room, our Impact team is shrinking as well! One of my fellow helpers, Luke, has left for a 3-month working trip to Uganda this week!

Work is all very exciting at the moment. Everything seems to be growing in the church, the congregation has nearly tripled its average attendance since September. We are seeing lots of new faces in the various mid-week groups at the church. Students and general youth seem to have accepted me and are confident to talk to me about whatever is on their minds. The same children and teenagers are seeing me again and again, at school, at clubs, on my bike. Everyone seems to know me as the guy from church to ask the difficult questions. One 15yr-old girl told me the other day -

"I would be a Christian, if I didn't think that my family and friends would still be going to hell. I would rather go to hell with them than to hell without them."

I've noticed the same theme pop up again and again when I get asked questions; suffering. Why does bad things happen to good people?", "Why am I suffering?", "Why did God make my friend disabled?", "If God is real, why are my parents getting divorced?", "Where is God in Haiti?"

I've also come to discover that it is so much harder to try and explain to Christians than those without faith, and those who don't have a faith really struggle with any attempt at an explanation. But that is where the wall is between the two!

I attended the Oasis bible college open-day in London the other day. It was a fantastic place and the course looked great! It was the other side of the river, facing the Houses of Parliment. The course-leaders were really nice and looked very wise (a long beard and big ear-lobes would have finished the image). But, I had already decided not to go ahead with my application. After nearly two months or thought and prayer and a lot of advice from equally wise friends and family, I decided to stick with my Film and TV degree at Southampton Solent University. I felt as if it was expected that I go on to Bible college, though it wasn't the case at all. Even if it was, I think I would enjoy my original course much more. So, I really went to Oasis just to see what I would be missing, and I am suitably satisfied with my choice. I think Grace would be pleased as well, as there were just five other girls at the open day, and no other guys!

For those of the praying type, could you please include;

• My friend Luke and his family as he goes off to work in Uganda.
• One of my fellow YES Scheme team members, as she is finding things a bit difficult at the moment.
• My friends the Bellamys, as they take on the grief of losing the amazing Stuart Bellamy.

But in addition to the "I wants", 'I want' to praise God for all He is doing! You, are truly the only one that can be called 'awesome'!

"There is a time to cry

and a time to laugh.

There is a time to be sad

and a time to dance."

Ecclesiastes 3:4

Speak soon,

Mikey.