Hope and Peace in the Midst of Chaos

I feel like I have been in Cardiff for an age – and I’m not talking about since September. It feels like it has been so long since Christmas, and time just doesn’t seem to be slowing down. It is full steam ahead here in Wales, and all of us interns have been on the go non-stop (that’s what it feels like, at least. It’s not like that really.)

Since I last posted, I have been working my socks off in my different ministries, and we’ve been quite busy with a few extra bits and pieces as well. A couple of Saturdays ago, all of us interns trekked up to Treorchy (in the Valleys, about an hour away from Cardiff) for a Creative Arts Day for teens in the local church there.

Now, the previous night had been the G-Pod sleepover (G-Pod is the kids’ club for 7-11s) and myself and one of the other interns had been involved in that. It had been a manic evening that seemed to go on and on, especially when you consider that on a normal Wednesday, G-Pod only lasts 90 minutes! We played games of all sorts, had the kids doing challenges in their teams, had a midnight feast and finally got them all bedded down in the small hall at about one am. Me and Nicola (the other intern) had first shift watching the kids and then we went to bed – we didn’t manage to get to sleep until sometime around 2.30, and then had to be up around 4 hours later in order to get the kids up and breakfasted. So it was a marathon night.

After clear up the following morning, we were picked up by another intern, Nate, and shot off to Treorchy immediately. So, bearing in mind that we were absolutely dog tired (though well caffeinated!) you’d have thought it would have been extremely difficult to keep going for the entire day.

It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. While there were moments where I was flagging just a little, God has really blessed us all. We had an absolutely amazing day up in Treorchy, and the teens that came for the day absolutely threw themselves into it and were so fantastically creative. They really shone in our evening performance – ‘Treorchy’s Got Talent’ – and absolutely loved the opportunity to show off what they’d worked on during the day.

That’s not even the most amazing part. God is so faithful and wonderful, and His love for these kids really shone through. Our theme for the day was ‘you are God’s most treasured possession’, and all the different creative exercises (dance, writing, music, drama) all centred around this theme. And it really struck home to a lot of them. At the end of the evening, after they’d performed for parents/friends etc., two of the boys decided that they wanted to follow Jesus. In those few hours that Saturday, they’d caught a glimpse of God – just a small amount of how much He loves them – but it was enough. And to hear that story in the week after, when the PSE team went back to Treorchy to present Borderline Alcoholic to another year group, was simply amazing. God is so good.

The church in Treorchy we were working with are now looking after the two boys, and making sure that they are getting the support they need.

I’m still completely blown away by how incredibly amazing God is even now, when I think about what happened that day.

Thank you all for your prayers of support and love after my last post! Since then we’ve done eight performances of Borderline Alcoholic (four times on two separate days, to two separate year groups) and while there were maybe a few little things here or there that could be improved on, it went really well, and the kids responded brilliantly to it.

On Monday this week, we began rehearsals for the second PSE production that I’m involved in. This one is called Snakes and Ladders and focuses on mental health and depression – a very important topic that is all too often ignored. We’ve had two days of rehearsals so far (Monday and today) and it is going really well – we are ahead of schedule and we’re all pretty confident with our lines already which is fantastic progress. Rehearsals continue next week, where we’re going to work more on character development. I’ve been told that my focus for next week is to make my character (the personification of Depression) and my character’s intentions more evil. Not something that comes naturally to me – I’m sure you’d agree with me on that one – so I know it will be a lot of hard work.

Please, please pray for me and the team as we continue with rehearsals next week, as this play specifically is quite difficult emotionally and physically for all involved. It’s not funny, like Borderline is, but is deadly serious and needs to be done well in order for the message – that there are ways of coping/dealing with depression; that there is always hope – to be effective. Please pray for our minds and hearts to be protected, and that God will give us rest and peace when we desperately need it.

Thank you so much for your continued love, prayers and support for me!

A small encouragement – I know I’ve been feeling ridiculously busy and slightly stressed out lately, and maybe some of you are as well, but I’ve been learning recently to never underestimate the importance of just resting in God and allowing Him to take the burden. When I give it to Him and allow His peace to fill me, I know that I can find true rest and respite from the busy, hectic goings on around me. I don’t do it nearly as often as I should, but I’m learning.

Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Take time to rest in Him – that’s what I’m doing tomorrow! (And hopefully more often than I have been...)

Love and blessings from cold and wet Cardiff (no snow here!),

Debs xxx

www.goingpublic.org.uk