Moving to Greystones - Hayley Cullen
Intern scheme
I am one 3 interns on the PCI Intern scheme this year; Jack is serving in Howth and Malahide and Paddy is serving in Killinchy Presbyterian and Friendship House. Greystones is an absolutely beautiful seaside town about 40 minutes south of Dublin that has a very large selection of coffee shops (The Happy Pear has already become one of my regular working stations).
Answered Prayer
I have now been in Greystones for nearly 6 weeks and I can honestly say that since day one I have been made to feel very much at home. Even though I am only 2 hours and 15 minutes away from Portadown, moving to Greystones seemed like a completely new world to me, and though I was extremely excited to see what God had in store for me, I have also never felt nerves like it, but as I am continuing to discover over and over again- GOD MOST CERTAINLY KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING!
The idea of family is very evident within Greystones Presbyterian and I have been welcomed into it so lovingly. Gary (minister) and his wife Dawn have been absolutely fantastic in helping me to settle in and ensuring that I have everything that i need. I have also been over for dinner or lunch on many an occasion (made even better by the fact that Dawn's cooking and baking is top notch). As well as interning within the church, I am living with a family; a mum and her 3 kids age 4, 5 & 9 and working as their Au Pair. The provision of this accommodation has already proven to be such an answer to prayers that I would quickly feel comfortable in my new surroundings and being considered as an ‘Honorary member of the family” (Edward aged 9) has most certainly helped with this. It has been great fun to bake cakes and cookies with these 3 young apprentices.
My Role
In the first few weeks, I had the opportunity to meet up with the youth and young adults to start and build relationships with them and I pray that as the year proceeds these relationships will grow deeper and that together we can grow in our faith and in our relationship with Christ.
On a Sunday morning during church, Sunday Club runs for primary school children and from 7-9 on a Sunday evening, the youth group named ‘Living Stones’ runs for all at secondary school and the regular attendees to youth group are a mix of Christian and non-Christian young people. Early on, I have learnt that the games sardines and four-square are going to make an appearance on a weekly basis. The last few weeks we have focused in on a reality that God has the power to transform anyone and continues to teach us throughout our lives and with that it has been great to hear the testimonies of some young adults as well as from one of the elders of the church.
In the past few years, a dinner bible study ran one evening a week for upper secondary school children and this year we are hoping to get this running again along with another study for 1st to 3rd years. However trying to get a day or time that suits everyone that is interested in attending has proved to be very difficult so far. We had planned to have our first study together over dinner last Friday, but in the end, only one boy turned up. We are currently rethinking the time that this junior bible study can run as we are very eager to get it up and running as soon as possible.
There’s a group of young adults who have just left secondary school and have started their new courses at university. I have really enjoyed spending time with these guys and have been so encouraged by their desire to serve God both in their churches but now also in their universities. They have been helping me out with leading living stones on a Sunday night and meeting up with the younger teenagers, who really do look up to these guys. The potential with these guys is massive and I am incredibly excited by it.
Gospel Ministry Training
As well as serving within the church, I am getting the opportunity to get in some personal study. On a Wednesday morning from 930-12, I am attending a Gospel Ministry Training (GMT) Course ran by the Dublin Gospel Partnership and held in the Irish Church Missions (ICM) building in Dublin City Centre. There a 5 of us attending each week including Jack and myself, Josh from America, Michael from Galway & Daniellé from Brazil and we are under the guidance of Kieron and Ruth. Throughout the year we will be focusing in on 5 different modules: Understanding God's word, The bible in missional perspective, Understanding Leadership, Apologetics & Evangelism.
Prayer Points
In the time leading up to my move down to Greystones and throughout the last 6 weeks as I have started my new role, I have really felt the prayerful support from so many of you at home and I really do appreciate it, Thankyou!
· Thank God for enabling me to feel very settled in Greystones
· This month I would love if you could pray for the youth bible studies that we are currently organising and trying to get up and running; one for the youth from 1st year to 3rd and another for the guys in 4th to 6th year.
· Please also remember Jack and Paddy as they serve in Howth and Malahide and Killinchy and Friendship house
· Pray for the team of youth workers within the town of Greystones for the work that they are doing within their own congregations and also as we meet together to plan for an upcoming opportunity in school.
· Hoping to use the school half term holidays (first week of November) as an opportunity to arrange a few additional events/outings with the young people so please pray as we plan and organise for these.
Blessings,
Hayley Cullen
My Swedish Adventures - Sophie Clarke
“Don’t shine so others can see you. Shine, so that through you, others can see him.”
CS Lewis
For anyone who knows me, even just a little, they will know that I have a bit of trouble sitting still and more often than not, if you are looking for me you need only look on social media to see that I'm in some place or another, doing what I do best, wandering around travelling. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Sophie, I’m 20 and I’m about to start my final year at university, which to be honest, is a bit scary! I am an overenthusiastic geography student (and yes, I have heard all the insults there are, just to clarify, “Colouring in” is not involved in my degree) I have an obsession with David Attenborough that frankly, is verging on the unhealthy side of things, with many photos of him up in my uni room. I have just about read every CS Lewis book there is, so if you ever need one, I'm your gal. I have been going to CE, just shy of a decade now and I can honestly say, by the grace of God, it’s been one of the most important things in my life and something I’ve been truly blessed by through the years, it's nothing short of amazing.
With my degree I was given the opportunity to travel abroad and study for a year, I have always had this weird built-in urge to travel, so this was not a difficult decision for me. I set out in August 2015, on my journey to Sweden. I studied at a university in a town in the south of Sweden called Lund. On the first day I travelled alone, buzzing for an adventure, however, I found myself standing in front of the university in a foreign land, wondering how the flip I’d actually got to this point in my life. To be perfectly honest looking back on the decision I did not involve God in it, at all. It was all about me, what I wanted, what I thought I needed and I was just going to do it regardless. My rebel heart is something I struggle with and all too often I make decisions without giving God a second thought. My selfish attitude and self-interest become more important than God and this is something I need to change in my own life.
As soon as I arrived I realised my distance from God needed to stop. I’ve never had to be so ‘independent’ in my faith before, I've always had CE and church as my go to, my weekly fuel. This was the biggest change for me. It was definitely something I really struggled with in the beginning for the first three to four weeks I felt totally alone, longing for God and his nearness. Something to know about Sweden, it is literally known as the ‘atheist capital of Europe’ I just didn't realise how true this was, until I arrived. There was no Swedish University CU, No Swedish CE, No Swedish Edenderry. I really was quite physically isolated from the church. This was definitely my biggest struggle when I was away, I’ve never ever experienced such an intense longing to be with God’s people and the church family before this time. I had a physical longing within my heart to find somewhere to worship my awesome God, without sounding melodramatic it was like someone had cut a limb off and something I felt continuously throughout my 5 months away. Looking back it’s defiantly taught me the sheer importance of church and of my family in Christ, something I will try my utmost, never to take for granted again. We know all to well the verse from James 4:8 “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” I longed for my Father and my prayers were answered, even though I wasn't getting to my weekly worship, I felt Gods presence, his peace and his comfort. This is a wonderful gift. Unfortunately, during my time away I didn't find a church I stuck at, all church over there are Lutheran and to be honest, a bit intense, definitely a regret. Towards the end of my time, I found a C3 church in Malmö that I attended, through the recommendation of a Canadian exchange student, and I enjoyed it greatly.
During my time away I was privileged to have a pastoral visit from Rosie, who as everyone knows, is an absolute Queen. This was one of the most special times during my five months. We enjoyed a weekend of fellowship and sightseeing around Copenhagen, it was just great. The support I received from church and CE whilst I was away was quite overwhelming. From phone calls of Gilly checking up on me, to letters, to parcels, to Facebook messages I felt incredibly supported. I didn't quite realise just how wonderful it is, to hear that you are being prayed for, it was very important to me, especially if I was having a bad day and something that definitely provided me with more confidence and conviction within my faith as I was away. We, as God’s family care deeply for another and this was so evident through CE and how they remain in touch with those of us who are away. CE was definitely something I missed hugely during my time away, it definitely left a hole in my Saturday night that couldn't quite be filled. I really was, so excited to get back, especially because my first night back would be the famous Christmas feast! Without a doubt, CE helped me a lot when I was away and it's something I am very grateful to God for. One of the most important things that I have been taught throughout my Christian life is, that Jesus Christ loves us dearly and isn't finished with any one of us yet. Above all God is good. Always.