Outreach: Both Big & Little “Oh”

On the DTS we have 2 forms of outreach on the programme, the local outreaches we do here in Belfast on a weekly basis during the lecture phase (known as “Little O”) and the big outreach phase which takes place the few months immediately following the lecture phase (“Big O”).

We started local outreach just before Christmas, two of our students (Meg & Kyle) and I are working with the Belfast Education & Library Board detached youth workers on the Shankill to meet and talk to young people in the area who are unconnected with youth centres or organisations…more on this in the future, when we’ve done it a bit more! But this blog is all about Big O!

I now know where I’m going to be going in April and May of this year! Drum-roll please…….I’m going to Rwanda and Burundi! We are splitting into two teams on the DTS and one team is going to Rwanda/Burundi (Team ‘RnB’) while the other team is going to India!

There’s a pretty interesting story behind India, so I’ll give you the low-down on Rwanda & Burundi after that…

Before coming back on staff with YWAM Belfast, for the last year of Bible College, I felt myself developing a heart for India, God seemed to be putting it in my path fairly frequently, I kept meeting people from India, missionaries who had been there and having issues relating to India laying heavily on me. I wasn’t sure what this meant, or why it was happening, because I knew that YWAM Belfast had never been to India before on an outreach and I hadn’t heard any rumour that one was planned! So I was confused as to why God seemed to be calling me to YWAM and also putting this seemingly contradictory calling on my heart. But, as per usual, He knows what He’s doing…

I arrived on the staff retreat, and was talking to Erin and while talking we realised that we had both been feeling the same things for that area of the world, me for India, her for Pakistan. We decided to explore it more. When Erin was praying with another member of staff, she independently of Erin also said “Why don’t we go to India for outreach?” We then, months later discovered that a Sri Lankan member of staff had been quietly praying for the year that this DTS outreach would go to India, she hadn’t told anyone, and she hadn’t tried to manipulate the situation. She just prayed and waited for God to work. And it seems He did!

So, you may be asking…. “Why aren’t YOU going to India, Tom?” And believe me…this is a question I was asking myself and God a lot in the run up to Christmas. I was so excited when I found out that we decided to go to India, that I was sure I was going. I had my mind made up! But the thing was, I didn’t stop to say to God, “I know you put India on my heart, but is it THIS India trip that you want me on?” I just powered through, having decided myself that this was the right time!

So, when we started praying as staff about which outreach location we should go to (Rwanda/Burundi or India) I was pretty surprised to hear that God seemed to be telling me to go to Rwanda & Burundi! So, to cut a long story short (if only this was my motto all of the time!) I realised that the timing for India being on my heart was for group confirmation that we should be going there…I think India lies in my future somewhere, but it’s up to God to bring it back into my life somehow!

The exciting thing about the India team is that the ONLY reason they are going there is because God has directed. It was never in our planning to take a team to India, it was never in the over-arching plan of YWAM Belfast, but only because God spoke and led us there are we going. This has some pretty exciting ramifications. The team going there can know that, regardless of the hard times they will no doubt face, they are there on a very much God-ordained trip. They know that they are there for a reason, and that God has a very specific purpose for them while in India. Watch this space for more news of the India team!

BUT, in other news, I realise I sound pretty excited about India, and I’m not even GOING there! (Yet! ☺) But, where I AM going is Rwanda & Burundi.

These two countries are right in the middle of Africa as you can see below, you might need to put some glasses on to see them! They are the two red countries in the middle of all the green!


Below you can see the two countries a bit closer up!


On the DTS group going here, we’re a small team of 5 students and 3 staff members. One of our students has been to Burundi 4 times before, and has plans to stay there long-term in the future, so this is an exciting trip to see roots going down and potential for ministries stretching not just 2 months but into the future!

There is a lot of stuff to consider as we start planning an outreach to these two countries. I don’t know how much of the history you know of these countries, but both of them have been torn by internal and ethnic war over the last 15 years, and the hurt still runs deep within the people there, so it’s an intimidating place to be going into, but exciting, because of the potential for seeing God working in healing in the people. On our team we are all aware of the need for God to be at the centre of our group and the ministry we do there. We can do nothing in these countries without our God to strengthen and guide us. The challenge is in remembering this throughout all the time!

On a personal note, I’m going to be leading this team of 8 people to these countries, something that I haven’t done before. It’s quite a big prospect for me to undertake, so I would very much appreciate your prayers as we start to put our team together, to bond, and prepare ourselves for our adventure and whatever God has planned for us!

There’ll be much more on these countries over the next few months, but if you’re after some reading, check out these sites for a bit more history on these two beautiful countries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burundi & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda

Pre-Christmas Catch Up (Somewhat belated...)

I’m sitting here on my bed at home, full up after two consecutive turkey-dinner eating days, and realising that I should probably make good on my promise to catch this site up on what’s been happening!

When last we talked…. we had just gotten back from Harpenden and our lectures with their DTS. We came back straight into a week of “Forgiveness Training” with the other YWAM ministry here in Belfast. They were training us in how to lead other people in the Forgiveness journey, and how to teach it in schools. On the Tuesday of this week we had an opportunity to go into a school and lead a class in discussion and thinking on this subject which was a good experience, and just a small window into the great work that the guys are doing here working in schools.

This week was also very much charicterised with a great gift in my life... My very good friend Jessica who i went to college with for 2 years at Belfast Bible College was in Belfast for a visit! She was welcomed with open arms into the YWAM Belfast community, staying with us for the week. Jessica is one of my best friends and having her here was a real blessing, it's been funny telling her all about this place I'm living in now and the people I'm sharing my life with with her not having met or seen it! So it was nice to introduce her and give her a taste of Shankill living!

Below are some pictures from her visit...I feel I need to apologise, i think there's at least one picture (and I think you'll be able to guess which one) she told me specifically not to put up here...and yet, here i go.... Aww well, she'll forgive me! (I hope!)

This is not Jessica's usual look! It was a special one night only thing...but i think it suits her!


Jessica, me and a good friend from Dublin Karen spent a weekend on the North Coast. For some reason, this is a tradition of ours when we get together, a picture with toothbrushes! (Mum...I hope you're proud!)


Jessica and I headed down to the City Hall to check out the "Belfast Eye"


It felt like the week was over before it began! Went by pretty quickly...but it was nice to spend a good bit of time with some good friends.

We then were straight into a week of lecture with another “year out” group, also based in Belfast, called the “Sword of the Spirit”, and again these lectures were on Reconciliation. But interestingly from two different angles. A representative from S.O.S. (Sword of the Spirit), Bruce Yocum, spoke for the first few days on the theological and Biblical basis on reconciliation and ecumenicalism working itself out, while our very own Jonny Clark from YWAM NI took on the last few days speaking on how these two issues can work in a practical way.

The following and last before Christmas week, (sorry! I’m powering through these to get through everything!) saw a move in a different direction for the DTS, up until now, it has been quite intellectual in content, using our heads a lot, but the emphasis for the next few lecture weeks is really going to be on the heart, trying to learn by encountering God in his deity and grow spiritually, not just in our brains. So, to start us off on this journey, Jonny gave lectures on the “Father heart of God”, leading us in discussion and meditation on God’s love for us and how it mirrors that of a father for a child. There was a lot more to it than this (but you’ll have to do a DTS to find out what! ☺) Then the week was finished off by two visiting speakers called Andrew & Nice Bowers, who came to speak on “Original Design”, basically the premise being that we have been created to be someone pretty specific, God did not just throw us together and hope for the best, but he has an exact and beautiful design for each of us, but the problem is that oftentimes we don’t believe it, we lose sight of what this is, or else never actually discover it in the first place! Andrew and Nice walked us through this topic, and spent a lot of their time (including their time off) praying with each of us individually and seeking God as to what He designed us to be.

The lecture times are really some of the pivotal moments on a DTS, and we have been very much blessed so far this year with committed speakers who very much value the students that we have and inputing into their lives. And on the flipside, the students have been appreciating what it is that the lecturers bring to the table, fresh ideas and wisdom gained from years of actually getting out there and doing the things that they are talking about, serving God in very practical ways and getting to know Him intimately through this.

One exciting thing though is that it’s not all classroom on this DTS, there’s very much an opportunity for our students to practice what they are learning. In the next blog, I’ll be letting you in on some exciting news about outreach!

Happy Christmas!

Hey there,
So this is the big "Happy Christmas" post! There's more to come in the next few days (I keep promising this...i need to actually get on it!) But I just wanted to leave this to say Happy Christmas to all who read here...

Here's a wee picture from our YWAM Northern Ireland Christmas dinner last week.


Hope you have a good Christmas with those you love.

'The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'
Luke 2: 10 & 11

Harpenden

I never wanted to be the kind of person who only blogged every few months…I did plan on keeping this pretty much up to date, and yet, three weeks have passed now, and I haven’t written here. So, this is my attempt at making up for it! Quite a lot has happened in the last few weeks, so I think I’ll not attempt to communicate it all in one go! I’ll start with my week in England…

Harpenden

When you last heard from me, I was sitting in the airport in Belfast on my way to Harpenden, which is a five-minute train ride from Luton airport. The rest of our school was already over there and I was heading over late owing to the fact that I had stayed late to see my friend Jessica from college as she visited from America (much more on this adventure the next time I blog…) I navigated the journey, and arrived at the YWAM base in Harpenden early on the Sunday afternoon. I spent the afternoon getting to know the base a bit better there and had a nice cup of tea and plate of chips with a few people, then getting a good nights sleep!


The entrance to the YWAM base in Harpenden.

We were sharing lectures with the DTS in Harpenden and the guy speaking was an American guy called Carl Stauffer who has been living and working in South Africa for the last 13 years in mediation. The Belfast DTS and base here is very much focused on reconciliation (as you should know ☺) and this was the topic that Carl was talking on over the week. The good thing about this week of lectures was the fact that in the past we’ve been learning about reconciliation from quite a theoretical point of view, but Carl this week, although he comes from a place of great theoretical knowledge, was also coming with a lot of practical knowledge and stories of reconciliation working in action.

The base in Harpenden couldn’t really have contrasted more with our base here in Belfast! There’s a lot of ground around the buildings there, (known as “the oval”) Just before I left, I stood in the middle of the oval and took a video of the base there that you can see below here, it’s a pretty impressive set-up! (That’s one of the Belfast staff Adam running towards the camera at the end by the way…)

It’s funny to see a base that’s been there for so long, that’s pretty well established, when you look at us here in Belfast, pretty much still in the pioneering stage. I’m really encouraged and excited about what is happening in Belfast, and excited to see the future develop, to see what can happen with us. In the world of big YWAM bases, we seem to be doing something a bit different, and it’s pretty exciting to be a part of it.


Harpenden Town Centre


Our students in the dining hall bonding over the table tennis table…this happened a lot!

The students did great in England, I think seeing another YWAM base makes you appreciate what you yourself have, and although we all had a good time in Harpenden, I think everyone was glad to get back to the norm, and to the house and city that is becoming “home” to these students.

Cakes, buns & anything baked now on offer at the YWAM house!

We got a pretty incredible phone call last night.

We decided last week that we needed a new cooker for the houses. We have two cookers there already, but neither work very well at all, and a temperamental oven when you’re trying to cook for 16 doesn’t go down too well… So we decided before going out and buying one, that we would take it before God and start praying for one. At our house meeting on Monday night we spent a bit of time bringing our need before God, believing that he is a God who provides us with the things that we need. We didn’t tell anyone outside of the YWAM Belfast circle about our need.

Then we were sitting at the dinner table here in Harpenden last night, and Erin gets a phone call from a friend of YWAM. She is getting a new kitchen put in, and offered us her old cooker for free!!

I’m learning a lot these days about God and how he is able to provide for our needs in incredible ways.

"I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane"

Originally written on Sunday 25th November

I sit here in Belfast International airport, laptop on my lap, but with no internet connection…I was hoping to be able to post something today on some free airport internet...but they're trying to make me pay for it! It’ll have to wait for tomorrow to be posted...but I can write it from here…

I’m heading off to Harpenden, a village just outside of London where we’re going to be spending a week in lectures with another DTS there hearing from a guy from South Africa who has a lot of experience working in reconciliation there, so it looks like it’s going to be a good week, it’ll be nice for our students to be able to get a chance to see a bigger picture of YWAM too and meet a group of people who are on the same journey as them but just in a different place.

The school has been going well. We’re just about to enter into our fourth week of the students being here, and it’s been pretty crazy! I think I underestimated the amount of work that actually goes in to putting together a DTS and filling the schedule, as well as finding a bit of time for a life outside of that…

It’s been a bit of a struggle over the last few weeks to really make sure that this DTS doesn’t take over my life… Sure, it’s probably the biggest thing that’s happening right now, but if that’s all that I’m doing or where I’m spending all of my time, then that’s probably not the healthiest. So, please know that I’m trying to figure this out right now, what the balance of working for YWAM and also trying to live a life outside of that means, and so if I’ve been a bad or inattentive friend or family member over the last few weeks or months, please know I’m working on it, and I’m sorry.

In different and happier news though, the students are doing great. They really are an amazing bunch of people. We had a speaker called Steve Sullivan from YWAM in Harpenden (ironically…the very place I’m jetting off to right now!) teaching last week, and what he kept saying was how unusual our students were, and how this is a pretty special DTS. I wasn’t sure what he was meaning by this, and so I talked to him in the middle of the week to ask him to confirm what he was meaning, and he said that the difference with our DTS was that they are coming here to Belfast not just to figure out their own heads, but they are coming with a plan in mind for where they’re going to after this and a goal in the centre of their vision. They are a very purposeful DTS, focused on the direction that God is taking them in and the plan He has for their lives.

I have to admit this is pretty cool. Anyways, the students are doing great, really getting involved and engaging with the lectures and the teaching they’re receiving and so it’s exciting to see where it’s going to go from here!

A date for your diaries…. On Wednesday 12th December (at an as yet undisclosed (i.e. undecided) location) we are going to introduce our DTS students to the world! We’re going to have an evening where the students have a bit of a chance to explain to supporters and friends of YWAM where they have come from, and, as you’ve heard in this blog, a little big of where some of them are hoping to go to after this! So, if you can make it, pencil it into your diary, and I’ll put a location up here in the next while when we figure it out! It’d be great to see you there and to get a chance to meet the students you’re hearing about on here!

Perseverance

I just got back from a run with one of our students Kyle. Those of you who have known me for any period of time may find this a somewhat humourous picture! But Kyle was very gracious, waiting for me at various points as I stopped to regain my breath by the road side and putting up with my lack of running experience, sticking by me even though he could quite easily have outstripped me and run ahead at so many points.

So, if you couldn’t tell by now, I’m not really a big runner! But, it’s something I want to get better at, and I’m realising that I need to do something to keep fit, (even though, as we ran through a park, a man told us we were “nutcases” for running…)

The thing about running that I really struggle with is keeping going. I’m the kind of person that when something is getting difficult (i.e. a big hill on the Springfield Road!) then, I might decide to take it easy, walk it out or stop and take a rest instead of keeping going, running through the tiredness.

The thing about running with someone else is that you can take motivation from their journey. Running with someone else encourages me to keep on going, to not let them down by having to stop (too often at least!) and take a rest. Having someone else running with you, particularly someone who is better, has more experience and stamina really motivates me to keep going. Having Kyle running beside me motivated me to keep going, and to try and get better at this.

So, we were on the home straight, about 600m left to go, and I was definitely losing steam, but I made a conscious decision in my mind that I was going to keep going, that I was going to make it to our house without stopping running.

At this point in time, Kyle turned to me and said he was going to run full pelt till he got home, and that he’d meet me there. So, he headed off, and got a bit ahead of me.

And then I stopped running.

As I walked slowly back to the house, this reminded me of something that I read about in the Bible a few weeks ago. Hebrews 12:1-2 says this:

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

While I had Kyle in my sights, and while I followed behind him, I was determined to finish the run, inspired to finish by his example. But as soon as he went out of my immediate line of sight, I gave up and fell away, giving up the run and instead settling for something less.

Our walk and life as Christians can mirror this. We can be following after Jesus and his example, and be following so closely behind with our eyes fixed on Him. But the second we take our eyes off Him and instead choose to look to other things in our lives for our motivation e.g. money, acclaim or other people, then that’s when we fall behind and lose the drive to persevere.

May we always have our eyes fixed on Jesus in this life, may he be our ‘pace-setter’, showing us the way to live as the perfect example for us and inspiring us to persevere through the pain, difficulty and challenges that life throws up in our path. In our lives may our eyes always be turned towards Him, may He be constantly in our sights, and if we ever fail, and look away, may we have the wisdom and courage to look back up again.

May he also be able to do something about my aching legs…

The first few weeks of the school

I’m trying to think about where I should start with this entry. It’s been a few days (over a week actually...) since I wrote anything here, and I’m not going to make excuses, but it’s been pretty busy here! (oh…looks like I did make an excuse…) So I’m trying to decide where to start in telling you about all the things that are going on…

I suppose I should start with the students! We have twelve students here currently. One more is on his way tomorrow, and another awaiting a visa (actually, talking about that, please can you pray for Fred Daniel in Rwanda that his visa would be approved and he’d be able to join us here in Belfast!)

The students are from a good variety of nations and backgrounds, and it’s been really exciting getting to know them over the last week a little, and watch them becoming this little community here in these small houses on the Shankill Road.

It’s also been a busy week and a half, we spent the first couple of days on the school doing some orientation, introducing them to the world of YWAM and the area of Belfast (I actually sent them on a “photo scavenger hunt” around Belfast one afternoon….somewhat miscalculating the amount of time it would take, and the distance they would have to walk…they only got about half of it done in the time I had written into the schedule…and they came back here shattered!) I’m yet to gather together the pictures that they took, but be assured when I do, I’m sure a few of the choicer ones will appear on here!

On Wednesday last week then, we took the school away for a few days to a place in South Armagh called “Darkley” to lend a hand to a ministry that’s been doing great things in that area for 28 years. It’s becoming a bit of a YWAM Belfast tradition that we take a group down there once a year to give them a hand doing some of the stuff that the small team working there would struggle to get done in a month! It’s amazing how much a willing and able group of 20 people can get done in 8 hours! So, it was a good time of bonding and working alongside eachother. A few of the students and I had a good time cutting down a load of trees and bushes in the rain and then burning them on a big bonfire. (Can you tell this was MY highlight?!).

We then had the weekend off, and I just spent it catching up with a few friends and spending some time with family. This week marks the start of our first week of following the proper lecture week schedule, and so we’re having some interesting times learning about the history of this island and discovering a bit more about our own national identities whatever they may be!

It’s funny after such a long time of us as staff preparing for the students, that they are finally here. And I just have to say that it feels so right. This group of students really are a great bunch of guys and girls, so eager to be here and to seek after what God has planned for them this year. I can’t wait to hopefully introduce you all to them at some point in the future!

On a Tuesday afternoon we have small groups, where the guys and girls separate and just get a chance to catch up in a group setting and share openly with eachother. Today we were talking about the expectations that we have for this year, and what they as students are looking to get out of the year. It was really encouraging for me as a leader to hear that the reasons and the things that we have been praying for them, and desiring them to come here seeking, are really the things that they are looking for during this time.

It’s a really exciting time right now, but at the same time, it’s pretty scary and a little daunting. After so long having these students just as pictures on our wall and names in our minds, it’s funny to have them living in the room next door! I’m just coming to realise the responsibility that’s on me for this year to really lead these guys well, to try and seek God for the best ways to act and teach them. So, if you’re up for praying, pray for that, for me and also our whole staff team, that we would take this really seriously, and honour God with the gift of these 14 people that he’s blessed us with for this 7 months.

Matt Huber, the brother-in-law of a good friend of mine, Jessica (and now, I think I can say, a friend in his own right) has been staying with us at YWAM Belfast for the last few days, just leaving yesterday. Matt, his wife Karen, and kids Jack & Ella are missionary appointees to Dublin with Greater Europe Mission, and he’s here on a bit of a vision trip right now to try and gain a bit of insight into the work that they’re hoping to be involved with, and to get a flavour of ministry on this island. Matt joined us in Belfast for a few days just to see what we’re up to here. You can read a bit about his adventures (and in the broader scheme of things, how their journey over here is progressing) by clicking the link to their blog on the right. They’re doing some good things in Kansas and it’s really encouraging and inspiring to see a family so intent on following the call of God on their life! So, check it out…

Well that's all for now! Hopefully I won’t wait so long to update you next…

The day we've all been waiting for!

Well, the day has finally arrived! What we as a Belfast DTS staff team have been planning for has finally happened. The students have started arriving! The houses are buzzing, and the excitement levels are reaching new heights with each one that arrives.

It’s been a busy few days as we picked the different students up from the airport, and exciting to finally get to meet them in person after looking at their names and pictures on our wall for the last few months. It’s odd to put a moving face and personality to the name!

It’s been so great to see their enthusiasm, to see each one of them taking their own individual leap of faith to leave their lives in their respective countries, and come over here to spend a year seeking God’s will and plan for their lives and spend some time thinking about what it means to serve God with our everything.

Having these students arriving here has reminded me pretty strongly of MY first few days on DTS. I can remember walking through the door of the house where we were staying (which, funnily enough is now our office! I type this blog from where my bed used to be!) and feeling the excitement of this step into the unknown, not knowing exactly WHAT it was that I was getting myself into, but knowing that this was exactly where God had for me to be that year.


YWAM Belfast DTS 2003-4 on outreach phase in South Africa

I can only pray that this DTS that I’m staffing now can play in these guys as big a role as mine did for me, inspiring me to attempt to live my life for God in complete abandon, and seeking to fulfil what it is that He has planned for me. I haven’t gotten it figured out yet, and I don’t claim to! But I know I’m just that little bit further along the journey because of that year I spent seeking to “know God, & make Him known.”

One Day to go...

Two days to go...

DISCLAIMER:
This is just a silly picture...Amalia is not actually meditating on the number two...

Three days to go...

Four days to go...

Five days to go...

Six days to go...

Seven Days to Go...

....Till the Discipleship Training School starts!

"Life Thru a Lens"

So, I haven't been on here for a while, things have been crazy around here with students starting to arrive for the school this FRIDAY! But I thought I would come on here (let you know I'm back!) and post a few photos from our trip to Amsterdam.

This was the view that my window offered the first morning I woke up, the Dutch architecture is beautiful...


No, your eyes aren't deceiving you! That IS a multi-storey car park for bikes!! I actually really loved the bike culture in Amsterdam, it just seemed like a nice way to get around (even if i DID nearly get knocked over several times...)


This is just a picture of Erin (my fellow traveller and ALMOST roommate!) in front of some of the canals that run all the way through the city:


The YWAM base where we stayed. Quite a contrast to our small community of houses in Belfast! This is also is only one of four buildings that YWAM owns and works from in Amsterdam! Incredible to see the growth that has taken place in this group and the incredible work that can be done here because of the facilities that they have...quite an inspiration to see YWAM Belfast continue to grow and spread the word of God in Belfast.


I'll leave you with my favourite picture of the trip, the canals really were beautiful in the city. It was an inspirational trip for me, a chance to gain a wider vision of YWAM worldwide and to meet some people seeking to live in a similar way I'm trying to do here. It's nice to know we're not alone on the edge of Europe here! That though we may be few, we are part of something greater, YWAM international, and also, the greater Kingdom of God.

Hallo From Holland!

I managed to find myself some internet connection here on the YWAM base in Amsterdam! And, after navigating around the blog site here (the words around the page are all in Dutch...it took me a while to find the button for 'New Post'...) I thought i should maybe put a wee hello from here up!
Here's something I wrote on Sunday night when we arrived here, but hadn't gotten the chance to type up till now:

Sunday 21st October 2007
The landing of our flight into Amsterdam airport confirmed at least 3 of my pre-existing stereotypes of Holland:

Canals
Flat-land
& Windmills

And these have only been confirmed more as we traveled in, although...Erin and I still have a competition going of who can spot someone wearing a genuine pair of clogs first!

We had a great journey getting here, no problems along the way at all...that is unless you count the confused looks we received when we arrived at the base here in Amsterdam. I thought my communication skills had gone awry, and I'd organised us to stay here a different week or something, until we all realised that there was a bit of a misunderstanding...Apparently, when i say the name "Erin" on the phone to our Indian host from the base, he hears the name "Aaron" and prepares a room for two guys! Ahh, the joys of a cosmopolitan environment!

After an initial misunderstanding, Erin and I were blessed with a sporadic meal from our new friends, and then shown to our freshly prepared (and be assured SEPARATE!) rooms. Then we headed out to explore a bit of the city, walking around for a few hours just getting a taste of what the flavour of the city was.

On this little adventure I bought a phrase book after realising that the only Dutch I knew was:

"I'm sorry, I don't know Dutch"

(and I'm not sure I was even saying THIS right!)
So, now I'm armed with a phrasebook, and about to set about to a quick lesson before tomorrow. However, a quick flick through has alerted me to a few essential phrases one MUST know to survive in Holland...including:

"Voor wie is de erwtensoep?"

Apparently, "Who's the pea soup for?" is a pretty commonplace dilema faced by the waiters of Amsterdamm.. You can however be assured that when I hear this statement across the restaurant tomorrow lunchtime, I will be jumping to my feet shouting: "I ordered that pea soup! It's for me!" If only i could figure out how to say it in Dutch...

The conference is beginning tomorrow evening, so work will start then, but as for now, we're going to take the morning to explore the city again, and maybe trying to make it to Anne Franks house, so we'll see what unfolds!
Blessings from Amsterdam!
Good Night (or "Godenacht"...)


So that was the other night! I realise this has gone pretty long, so I'll just bring you up to date quickly... Yesterday was a good day of exploring, Anne Franks house was both expensive and had a VERY long queue, so we forwent it, but may return on Thursday... Then, we spent the afternoon meeting a Dutch girl called Margreet (I'm pretty sure I just butchered the spelling of that name...feel free to comment below and correct me!) who did the first DTS that Erin staffed in Belfast. So that was a nice afternoon of catching up, and being introduced to some traditional Dutch delicacies!
The conference then began last night, and it's been going well. It's a little intimidating if I'm going to be honest...I'm sitting here around a table with guys who have been in YWAM for over 30 years, and here I am two months in... But, i'm catching a bit of the vision of YWAM worldwide, and trying to find a voice for myself here and see what I have to offer in this group.

So, that'll do us for now I think... We're about to head out in half an hour for the night with the people on the conference, so that'll be good to get to know each other a bit more informally and share in that environment.
Hope things are well wherever you find yourselves reading this!

W5?

In Belfast there’s a science museum for kids known as W5 (the 5 W’s standing for “Who, What, When, Where, Why?”) I was thinking about this today and that it could be an interesting way to introduce you to the inner workings of a DTS… and in doing so, explaining exactly what it is I’m going to be up to on the Shankill for the while! I’m changing the order to make it flow a little better…

What?
A DTS is the shortened term for Discipleship Training School run by Youth With a Mission (YWAM). The purpose of a DTS (this is pretty fresh in my mind from our staff training this week!!) is to gather groups of people together in often culturally diverse groups to challenge them to learn more about God and to grow in relationship with him. As a result of this, the vision is for them to be inspired to go out into the world, better equipped and ready to tell others about Him! The DTS is also the entry into other Youth With a Mission opportunities, including staffing or even pursuing a degree with the “University of the Nations”, in which students can get more vocational specific training in missions and other topics.

Who?
On the DTS we’re about to run, we have 14 students coming from a variety of different countries and contexts from all over the world. The countries that are going to be represented are the United States of America, Canada, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England, Holland, Rwanda, South Africa and Palestine! So, it should be a pretty interesting group! The students range in age from straight out of school to some with a few more years under their belt!

When?
The students are going to be arriving on Saturday 3rd November and then we’ll have a YWAM Belfast community meal on Sunday evening to welcome them into our community, and the school will properly start on the Monday morning.
The first half of the school (the lecture phase) will take place from then until around mid-March, when we will be heading off for an 8-10 week outreach to an area around the world in need of reconciliation (although, this year, I’ll be heading off a wee bit later! Gemma, my sister is getting married on the 5th April (at least I THINK it’s the 5th… ☺) and so I’ll join the team after that!). Then, we’ll head back here to Belfast and debrief in May and the school will end around the end of that month.

Where?
The lecture phase is going to be here in Belfast, and the outreach areas haven’t yet been decided…but watch this space…we’re in the midst of praying and seeking God for His will for our teams!

Why?
The one thing that unites the students (and indeed the staff!) is a passion for learning about God, and also a desire to spread the word of God to the nations (which is summed up in the motto of YWAM, “to know God, and make Him known”).


So, I hope that answers a few questions that you may have had about exactly what it is I’m doing up here! Any more, drop me a line and I’d love to meet up, or share a bit more about what’s going on here.

'Celebration Day'… or just another excuse to go to Portstewart!

On Wednesday we decided to have what is now affectionately known as a “Celebration Day”. Pretty much we took a bit of time out of our usual weekly schedule to take a wee road trip together and spend a day celebrating what God has done in our little community of staff. So, we ended up in Portstewart on one of the most beautiful days we’ve had for a while!

We spent the day having some good food, walking, and working on a little project for the students (that you’ll also see in good time…) but generally just enjoying the community of being with one another. Here’s our staff by the sea.

YWAM Belfast DTS staff 2007/08
(from left to right: Laura, Adam, Amalia, Sujee, Jon, Erin & Tom)


As part of our day we decided to build a “cairn”. Jon spent about 20 minutes constructing this amazing piece of art on the beach in front of the sea.


However, the beauty was to be short lived… Erin decided that a close-up picture was needed to immortalise the scene, and went to try and capture one. Of course, this ended in disaster, and we spent the rest of the day taking the mick out of Erin for knocking it over. The look of horror on her face as it fell was PRICELESS…


Please give thanks to God for this team, for the joy that we have and are finding both in each other and in God. We’re having a great time so far, and hoping that it can only continue as we welcome these 14 new students into our midst in 3 weeks time.

Cool?

I was reading a magazine the other day, (for the sake of not getting sued, I won’t mention the name!! ☺) It had an article in it entitled “Hip” in which it showed you everything that you need to be cool in the world we live in today…
According to this magazine, the things I need are as follows:

This bicycle:


An apartment in this building:


This bag:


This particular brand and bottle of water:


And the list continues… These are the things that the world around us is telling us we NEED, the things that we can’t do without, the things that we DESERVE and owe to ourselves to have.

But what does God say? What is God’s ‘check-list’ of the things that we “need”? In the New Testament, Paul lists the things that we as Christians should have:

“Love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control”
Galatians 5:22-23

Maybe these things won’t draw turn heads as we walk along the street, maybe we won’t be upheld in the eyes of this world as a celebrity or a trend-setter because of them, but I’m thinking that maybe this isn’t such a bad thing…
The things from the first list are all things that we can buy with money, but they are also things that are (as the article suggests) “Hip” right now. In a month or so these things will be “out of style”. The second list, these nine attributes (known as the fruits of the spirit) may not win us awards, but we can be assured that they aren’t going to go out of style! What they can do is help us walk closer to the heartbeat of God, see people through his eyes and keep our minds focused on Him and His ideals.

I’m not sure about you, but I think that’s better than a bike.

The ramblings of my brain...and some pictures!

Sorry haven’t written for a week! Here’s a long-ish one to make up for it…!

It’s been a funny week since I moved into these houses. I think what I’m finding difficult right now is finding a balance between this new world I find myself living in both physically and mentally, and the world I used to inhabit. I’m coming to realise that maybe I’m not going to be able to do everything that I want to, or used to do, because, as of now, I’m in full time job & ministry here! I understand that this might sound a bit childish, but be assured, I’m not whining about the fact that I don’t get to go out to the cinema every night! It’s just that lifestyle changes usually happen gradually, or one at a time, whereas in this case I’ve found myself with a new job, a new place to live and a new community of people to get to know around me in one go. Don’t worry, it’s going well, it can just be a bit difficult adjusting at times.

One thing that I’m finding difficult coming to an understanding of at the minute is the atmosphere I’m living in. For the last 22 years of my life, I’ve lived in Belfast, and yet, it only really struck me the other day that this truly is a divided city.

There’s something about living in a situation where you’re faced with the reality of this everyday that really opens your eyes. It’s no longer something you can ignore or put away at the back of your mind, because, every morning you have to wake up to the sun rising over the peace wall out your front window, and every journey planned has to start with the question of “what time is it?” to check if you’ll be able to go a certain way, owing to the closing of the peace wall gates.


This is the road I walk on every morning on the way to the office.

Please know that I’m not making a judgement on anyone reading this who hasn’t come to this conclusion, after all, until only a month ago, I was living in the same understanding. But, this blog is for you guys to get a snapshot of what’s going on in my head, and, currently, this is what’s going round there!

I’m not sure what to do with this new information, or realisation of our city’s situation, but I don’t think it’s something to be afraid of. Obviously, the ministry of YWAM here in Belfast is one of reconciliation, and of bridging the gap between the two communities that exist here in our city. I’m not sure what my understanding of this was before starting with YWAM. I obviously knew that there was conflict and division, but exactly what this means is only just setting in. The reality of this is beginning to make sense to me, and it’s something that brings me to mourning for this city, for the people who live here. Not only the people who are my neighbours over here, for in a way, they live in the reality of the situation; but I also mourn for my neighbours back home across the city, and for the general population of this city living in the assurance that “everything’s grand” and “there’s only problems in a few areas”. Because, the thing is, even if the division is only physical in a few areas of the city, the fact remains that in so many other areas the physical barriers are very often replaced by emotional or spiritual barriers in places that are often seen from the outside as “mixed” or “integrated”.

I’m not sectarian, and I would never claim to be in any way. But in my time here on staff in YWAM Belfast, I’m realising that I am a product of my country, and all the baggage that goes along with that. This is just going to be a journey of figuring out what that means, and trying to reconcile what I realise to who I am and discovering how that affects my ministry here.

On a much lighter note…. I found out the other day that I am going to be heading away on the 21st October to Amsterdam in Holland for a 4-day conference with other YWAM bases from Western Europe. This is a really exciting prospect for me, not only for the chance to go and learn about how we, as we grow as a base, can make sure we stay outward looking (instead of focusing inwards on our own needs and desires) but also, it’s the chance for me to catch a bit of a bigger vision of YWAM worldwide. YWAM is a massive organisation, I once heard that it’s the biggest mission organisation in the world, and yet, my only view of YWAM is this tiny little community on the edge of Europe! YWAM Belfast is the only base I’ve ever really known, and so I’m excited to meet some other people from other bases in an attempt to catch a vision of what they, and through them, YWAM worldwide are up to!

I also had a great time last weekend with some good friends down in Bray, Co. Wicklow. I was there to celebrate the birthday of a friend of mine I met while I was in Bible College called Jane. We had a great weekend of exploring Bray, throwing stones on the beach and catching up. A few select pictures below…


Birthday girl Jane & Rachel


Matt, Rachel, Me & Iain


My attempt to be artistic…the moon was beautiful over the sea, so tried to capture it!


Matt, Elaine, Jane, Me & Gerrard
I appear to be VERY excited about my plane…

You know you live by the peacewall when....

...the fact that you havent yet figured out how the key works in the back door, means a ten minute trip, driving round to get round to the front door on the other side of the wall....and after all that, you drop your top of the range, newly purchased tooth brush down the toilet....now THAT'S a night to remember!

Home sweet home...

Today was the big day! Finally I’ve made the big move from home to my new house with YWAM. It’s been difficult commuting over for the last few weeks (especially as my timekeeping isn’t the best…) and just generally not being able to move in, but finally the back door is fixed, lockable, and with a brand new pane of glass. So the house is all secure, and here I am!

I’m sitting on the bed in my new room (which I’m sharing with fellow staffer Adam Tjernagel (get your tongue around THAT name!)) and just thinking about being here and about the new phase that I’m moving into now. It’s odd, but I think it feels more real now I’m actually living here and not at home.

It’s funny moving up here. I think for a while before I came up, I was really looking forward to it, the idea of moving into the heart of where I feel God has called me is obviously something that’s pretty exciting, but, when I started up here on the Shankill and was driving around it, I began to think to myself… “Am I crazy?” Not only am I moving into one of the most notorious areas in the whole of Northern Ireland, but I’m moving into a house which is at the point where two conflicting communities meet! I’m not saying this so that you’ll all think “Look how brave Tom is!” because the truth is, bravery and courage is the furthest thing from my mind right now! But I’m just saying this to show that I’m here by the grace of God, I’ve followed Him here, and I’m going to have to trust that this is the best place for me.

I was thinking about this a few weeks ago, and I was reading Psalm 57 in the Bible. In it is says this:

“He sends from Heaven and saves me,
rebuking those who hotly pursue me;

God sends his love and his faithfulness.

I am in the midst of lions;
I lie among ravenous beasts-
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God above the heavens;
Let your glory be over all the earth.

They spread a net for my feet-
I was bowed down in distress.
They dug a pit in my path-
but they have fallen into it themselves.

My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast.”

Psalm 57: 3-7

What encouraged me about this passage was the way that the Psalmist is talking about the difficulties he’s going through and enduring. That he is existing in a place of trial and somewhere that isn’t easy by any means. But the thing that struck me was that although he acknowledges these things that are difficult around him, his acknowledgement of the difficulties that surrounds him are separated by these words of praise, adoration and thanks to God for the strength to keep going.

This is what encourages, and also challenges me. For the next period of my life, I’m going to be living in a place that isn’t easy, a place that it’s likely it’s going to be challenging to live in. But what I want my time here to be characterised by is this trust in God, and the belief that I am here for a reason; that, as the Psalmist says, I can be assured of his love & faithfulness, and if I hold on to these things, will remain steadfast in my heart.


Following are some pictures of the house, so in case you ever come to visit, you have no excuses for driving past it! The two houses are on the Springfield Road in Belfast, and YWAM Belfast is renting them for the students and staff on the DTS. The one on the right of the picture is where I’m living (369) and where the guys on the DTS will be staying, while the one on the left (371) is for the girls.

This is the room I’m living in, and that bed is where I’m sitting right now…just to give you a visual!


This is the house from the front, my room is the one on the first floor (the big window). As you can see, the house is attached to the peace wall, which is an interesting living situation! The front door opens up onto the Springfield Road while the back door leads onto the Shankill.



And this is the house from the back.


I was sitting talking this afternoon to a guy who’s living here with us at the minute called Stephen (we quickly bonded over a mutual love of the TV show ‘24’…). He was saying that when he first moved into the house, his car had a brick put through the window, and was suggesting that maybe it wasn’t the best idea for me to have the car up here with me. I was worrying a bit about this (as you would…) and so I put the car into the driveway and went out into town. As I walked out the back gate, a man a few houses up was driving along and stopped to ask me if I knew whose car it was that had been parking outside the house over the last few days. I said it had been mine, and this man just suggested that it would be best for me to put the car in the driveway whenever possible because of the location of the house beside the peace wall. Apparently kids sometimes throw stones over the wall, so Stephen’s car wasn’t broken because of malice, but just because it was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was just a really nice time for me to see God’s hand at work as I moved in here. I was worrying about this whole thing and whether it really was good for me to have my car up here, and it was incredible to see God putting someone in my path just as I started to worry to calm me down and to show me that there wasn’t a need to worry, that I just have to be careful.

So, this brings the end to this pretty long entry… Congratulations if you got through the whole thing! Please pray for me, Adam & Stephen as we live here for the next while and indeed for all of those in YWAM Belfast who are living here on the Shankill & Falls. Pray for us as we try and live in these communities, that we would build good relationships with our neighbours and the people in the streets, and that we would be able to show them something of Jesus by the way we live and go about our everyday lives.

I'm going to make a wonderful husband someday....

One of the things I love most about working with YWAM is the fact that when I arrive at the office at 9 in the morning, I never know where the day is going to lead. For instance, last Thursday saw me trying to navigate my way around the kitchen to make a load of scones for the cafe last Friday. Come on up any Friday in October and you can judge my creations for yourself... Though... I'm realising that for those of you who know me, maybe this isn't the best selling point! Example of what you can expect below...


Then today saw Laura, Amalia and I literally overtaking a launderette in the Holylands in Belfast. We were washing and drying all (and I mean ALL) of the linens that are used by YWAM Belfast. You should have seen the faces of the two girls who were working in there when we rolled up with my car completely packed the brim with washing… This picture gives the idea, though, this is only about half of what we did!


Who knows what tomorrow will bring…

A Challenge...

We’ve had a busy week this past one. It came with a few wee changes to our usual schedule. Unfortunately, it started off on a sad note, as on Monday, we attended the funeral of one of my fellow YWAM staff-mates younger brother. The church was full of people eager to show the love they had for Vishnu, and to show their sympathy to the family circle.

As I stood in that crowded church, I started to think about youth work, and the importance that working with young people has in the society we live in today. Over the last while, I’ve been thinking a lot about the challenges young people face. In fact, just last Sunday, I again came face to face with this as I heard of a young person known to a friend of mine who took her own life last week.

What really challenges me as I try to think about working with young people in a variety of different contexts, is being someone whom they can feel comfortable to share their lives with. We need to realise that young people are going through a lot, what we see on the outside and the image they choose to show us may not be what’s going on under the surface. Only God knows what’s really going on underneath there, but that shouldn’t stop us being open to being used by Him. The challenge to me as I stood in that church was to be someone whom young people feel okay coming up to and talking about something that’s troubling them. Being someone they feel they can open up to who won’t judge them, or look at them differently and spread what they’ve told me around.

On Thursday, Erin (the DTS leader) and I met with a guy who’s a government youth worker on the Shankill Road, to discuss the possibility of us working alongside them in some stuff they’re doing. Nothing is for sure, I’m holding onto these plans lightly at the minute, but the idea of working with young people on the Shankill is one that excites me, but also terrifies me…for the reason’s I’ve shown here.

I also started volunteering at a teenage youth group on Friday night run in Fitzroy Presbyterian, called “Flipside Plus”. It’s a group for 15-18 year olds, run in the halls of Fitzroy. I’ve only been there one night, so I haven’t really gotten too involved, but any group that has a chocolate fondue on their first evening meeting can’t be too bad! I’m looking forward to getting a bit more involved there and starting to invest time in relationships with the young people, as well as some of the leaders there.

There’s so much in youth work that can be difficult, seeing young people struggling and trying to come to terms with what’s going on in their lives…but the other side of the coin is that it’s also one of the most rewarding things you can do. To see the energy and enthusiasm of young people is so exciting, and ultimately, to see a young person coming to know God when they are still young, and then growing up into his plan for them, seeing them reaching their full potential…there’s nothing better!


On a lighter note, on Thursday night I went on a wee road trip with a college friend of mine called Dave, to visit (of all places) Castlewellan! The Belfast Bible College pre-term week away was happening, so Dave and I went down to live in the past and catch up with a few people who haven’t managed to escape just quite yet!

We spent a bit of time in Newcastle, with a quick stop off to the dodgems… and then we headed over to Annalong where we had dinner at the Harbour Inn, with a wee walk along the harbour thrown in for good measure. It was a lovely night. I really enjoyed just sitting down, having a nice meal with some good, good friends, and just had a really lovely evening of relaxing and enjoying the company of those that God has blessed me with. Below are a few pictures of our time.




Me (attempting to look dangerous…I think it works…:D), Jonny, Dave and Iain



Holly and Laura

A Café, a Greengrocer and a Job-description…

Originally posted on Friday 14th September


It’s been good settling into a routine and a rhythm this week working with YWAM, although it could be argued that it’s not really a routine when every day is different! This week we’ve been spending a lot of time cleaning out the houses that the students (and myself!) are going to be living in when they arrive at the beginning of November. More to come next week about these houses…hopefully some pictures and a story about why they are some pretty special, location wise…so keep your eyes peeled for that!

One thing that has kept us occupied this week was that the Shankill Methodist church asked YWAM a while ago if we would be interested in helping to open up a café with them. This is something that we as a team decided to take on for the next few months before the students get here, both as a way of raising some money to help fundraise for some of the students who are coming from developing areas of the world, and also a way of helping our staff team bond a bit and figuring out our working relationship before the students get here!

Below is a picture of the café we're working in.



We spent the last few days preparing for the big opening of the café today, figuring out a menu, shopping for the food and getting the café ready for having people coming in. A pretty amazing story that happened yesterday when we were setting up was that Shankill Methodist was having a prayer meeting, and one of the congregation was standing outside the doors welcoming people to it. Amalia (also on DTS staff) and I were going out to pick some stuff up, and got talking to this guy. It turned out that he was a local vegetable shop owner, and when he heard what we were doing, he took us over to his van and gave us a load of vegetables to make the soup! He also gave us his number and told us to give him a ring next week and the weeks after that to let him know what vegetables we needed for the café, and he’s going to donate them to us! This is an amazing gift to us, and a real sign of God’s blessing on what we are doing.

Today went well, we saw quite a few people coming through the doors, and even made a bit of a profit which was great for our first day open! Thanks to all who came around and visited! If you’re around any Friday in September and October between 11 & 2, feel free to drop by and enjoy a sandwich and bowl of soup… It’d be great to see you! Text or email me if you need any directions…

A few pictures of today's café:





As promised, I thought it was time I let you know exactly what working with YWAM Belfast actually entails! My role here is going to be working with the DTS (which stands for Discipleship Training School). The DTS will start on November 4th this year, and will involve two main parts, 5 or 6 months of a lecture phase which will be followed in the middle of March/start of April by a 2 month overseas outreach phase, the location of which is still to be decided, but will most likely be to an area that has seen conflict and is in need of reconciliation and forgiveness. This is owing to the fact that the DTS in Belfast is known as a ‘Reconciliation DTS’, with a lot of the lectures being focused on this aspect of our faith and our mission to the world.

Most of my time with the DTS will be taken up in sitting in on the lectures, running small groups and working on a one-to-one basis with some of the students who come, encouraging them in their relationship with God and helping them to figure out stuff in relation to this. It should be a pretty exciting time. My DTS really was life-changing for me, so I’m excited to be a part of these new students experience and trying to make this year a time both of learning, but also of great fun.

Another ministry of YWAM Belfast is known as the Forgiveness Programme, also working in the area of reconciliation, (are you sensing a theme?!), in which a team of staff are working in schools in Belfast and presenting a message of forgiveness and reconciliation to the kids who go there. It’s an exciting ministry, but one that I don’t really know a lot about, so I’m looking forward to hearing more about it, learning and working alongside them for a while too!

Staff Retreat

Originally posted on Saturday 8th September


Yesterday saw us returning from the 5-day staff retreat in Castlewellan. It was a real time of relaxation for me (which, no doubt many of you will be saying I didn’t really need…seeing as my last few months have consisted of not much BUT relaxation!). But the difference here was the chance to spend time getting to know this group of people that I’m going to be spending the next season of my life with.



The days consisted of a morning and evening meeting, where we had different speakers coming talking about the direction that we as YWAM may be going in the coming years, and challenging us with a messages of faithfulness and the call to seek and come before God in repentance. We also spent time thinking and praying about the period of transition that YWAM Northern Ireland is entering, a change that is symbolised by our new national leaders Jonny and Jenn Clark (on the left), who are taking over from Mike and Ros Oman (on the right) who have led YWAM here for the last ten or so years.



It was also a real time of confirmation for me that YWAM is where God wants me to be for this time. The ease with which I related to this group of people and the friendships that have begun (or re-ignited!) combined with the way God was speaking to me through the week, showed me that this is the place for me right now. I may not understand the whole picture at this time, but I feel like I’ve found my calling and my place in YWAM Belfast.

The rest of the time was free for us to go on walks, play some frisbee in the grounds, try and find our way through the hedge maze in the Castlewellan grounds (I failed…Many thanks to Sarah for directing us from the top! I’d probably still be in there otherwise) and just spend time getting to know one another while drinking a LOT of tea! It was definitely a time that was really beneficial for me. It can be a bit intimidating going to work with new people, and this week made this process so much easier. Even though I already knew some of the people, I haven’t really spent a significant amount of time with them for a few years, and so this was a good time to catch up on these relationships as well as starting off some new ones!

I’m really excited for what we the future holds for YWAM in Northern Ireland. Staying at Castlewellan was a group of 28 people from a variety of different countries, including Canada, the USA, Ireland, England, Holland, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, New Zealand & Sierra Leone. All of these people are here with the same goal in mind, to see the Gospel preached in this nation and to see people coming to know Jesus in a personal and real way, finding embodiment in a living faith. It was exciting to sit in the meetings and to look around to see the number of people sitting there, to feel the passion for what we are doing that was in the room, and to imagine the impact that God can have on this nation if we are willing to work as a team, follow God’s word and listen to His will for us. Hopefully these are exciting days to come!

The Beginning

Originally posted Sunday 2nd September


Starting something like this is a funny thing. I’m not really sure where to begin or what I should write about, but I reckon that probably the best thing to do is just start from the beginning… I imagine that most of you who are reading this will know who I am, and will have found this site by me telling you about it. But I suppose that for those who maybe don’t know me as well or have just stumbled across this, I should do a bit of an introduction… Not too long, just the basics!

My name is Tom Tate, I’m 22, born and bred in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I went to Stranmillis Primary School, then Belfast Inst for secondary school. While I was at Inst, I became a lot more involved in different Christian organisations and clubs, and then, when I was 16 at an annual Christian youth event called ‘Summer Madness’, I realised that even though I had been brought up going to church and in this Christian environment, it wasn’t something that was playing any part in impacting who I was. So at that point in time I realised that this was something I needed to remedy, and this was when I would say I actually became a Christian.

When it came time to leave school and go to university, I had my plans all set in place to go to Belfast Bible College. However, it seemed that God had other plans, and he directed my path in a different direction, and I found myself working with a worldwide Christian organisation called Youth With a Mission, YWAM for short (pronounced ‘why-wham’). This was the year when a relationship with God began to take a real priority in my life. I found myself falling so much in love with this God who had literally given everything for us, and realised that because of this, I had to start living my life in the reality of this fact. I spent an incredible ten months working on the Shankill Road in Belfast and in South Africa living and learning about the character of God and finding myself catching a piece of the vision of God’s heart for the world.

After finishing my year with YWAM, I started at Belfast Bible College for a 3-year degree in Divinity. These were years that were marked by a very real sense of God’s blessing as he provided me with an amazing community in which to learn more and go deeper into God’s word, and with some great friends to make these 3 happy years fly by in a no time.

The question was always at the back of my mind of what I was going to do after I finished college. I spent a lot of time exploring different options and seeking God’s will on where it was that he wanted me to be after I finished. It was a difficult time as I struggled to hear God’s voice and I wasn’t sure what it was that he was telling me. It was frustrating for me to not know where I was going to be next, as I like to know the next step! But thankfully he revealed it to me in his own time, and I was accepted to return back to YWAM in Belfast as a staff member.

So that’s pretty much all there is to it. Tomorrow is the big day I’ve been looking forward to for a good while now, the staff of YWAM Northern Ireland is going to be getting together for a 5 day staff retreat to get to know one another and also spend some time sharing ideas and visions for God’s heart for this country that we live in.

And that’s where this entry will come to an end I suppose… Over the next wee while I’ll be putting more up on here about what working with YWAM actually involves, and there’ll just be updates on what’s happening with me, the team and things that are going on that you can pray for us about!

The last time I worked with YWAM, it was an incredible time of discovery and growth for me, both personally and in my relationship with God, so I’m excited about this next period that I’m going to be involved with this organisation; but also about sharing the adventure with others, the things that are happening in my life and what God is doing with and through the small team of us that live and work on the Shankill Road in Belfast.

I’ll try and update this pretty regularly…and hopefully I won’t be too wordy! I’ll try my best to be concise… though, if this is the case I’m not exactly starting in the way I mean to continue!

I’m hoping this is going to be an interesting few years, so I’m looking forward to sharing the journey!

Tom