Summary of the past few weeks..

Trying to summarise the past few weeks into a few paragraphs is going to be hard, but I'll give it a go! So the 1st week here we had our orientation week, getting to know each other and the base etc! The 2nd week we had our first lectures, with an English guy called Richard who lives here in Burtigny speaking. The topic was 'The Character & Nature of God'. The 3rd week we had a guy called David from Zimbabwe, but he now lives in Sweden, speaking on 'Hearing the voice of God & The Holy Spirit'. Then today we began our 3rd week of lectures, with an american called John on the topic of 'The Father Heart of God & Repentance'. In amongst all of this, we visited our school leaders church in Geneva, visited Geneva for a little tour and some cultural history & this weekend we took part in a 'Faith Walk' (You probably have no idea what a faith walk is, neither did I till last week, I will explain!)

I guess I'm still processing all the information, so bare with me as I attempt to give a brief outline of the things I've taken from each week.  

Character & Nature Of God.
- The character of God is who God is that we can be. The nature of God is who he is that we can't be.
- What we believe about God, is that from the Bible or from what people/the world has let us believe? 
- If it's not in the Bible, we must go through our thought process with God.
- 'What comes into our minds when we think of God is the most important thing about us' A.W Tozer
- God doesn't change.
- Since the beginning of time Satan has been trying to make us doubt God. 
- When God spoke to Adam & Eve, the first thing he said was 'where are you?' He first & foremost wants a relationship & intimacy with us. The consequence of their actions came after. 
- Who are we giving authority to? 
- We are fearfully & wonderfully made but we're so finite. God is infinite.
- God says we are beautiful, do we believe that? If not, why not? Who told you? Where did that lie come from? 
- If you're having a problem with pride, take a moment to think about how finite we are.
- Take captive every thought & pay attention to our thought dialogue.
- Replace lies with truths!
- If you really believe that the Bible was created by the Creator of the universe, why aren't you reading it?

1 Corinthians 13:13
'And now these three remain: faith, love and hope. But the greatest of these is love.'

Hearing the voice of God & The Holy Spirit.
- The challenge is knowing: Gods voice/My mind/Enemies voice
- God doesn't contradict himself
- There's a difference between hearing & obeying!
- Hearing the voice of God is not a gift you're born with, its a muscle we develop
- Are we afraid of the voice of God?
- God never dies down to our pressure
- The way we see ourselves shuts & opens heavens. It can also hinder us from hearing Gods voice
- God gets angry but it doesn't change the way he treats us.
- Perfect love casts out fear & God is LOVE
- God speaks in SOOO many ways!
- A loving father never communicates to us in a way that is threatening
- We tend to focus on what the Holy Spirit does, rather than the person
- Focus on Jesus, don't focus on the miracles (they are just the bi-products!)
- God can use 1 person to change a nation. PRAY.
- Don't stop praying until you get a breakthrough
- How big is your God?
*If you could ask God for 2 things, what would they be?*

Already I've learnt so much & hearing the stories from various speakers of events in their lives where God has provided and watching their passion for him is amazing! One thing that David spoke about during Hearing the Voice of God, was a faith walk. He'd done it with DTS's that he'd lead and encouraged us to do one too. So, on friday morning we were told we wouldn't have any lectures but to be ready at 10am to leave the base in teams of 3/4 and we wouldn't be returning till 11am on Sunday. We weren't allowed to take any money/credit cards/phones/iPods etc.. The purpose was to wait on God & ask him where he wanted us to be, who he wanted us to speak to & we'd have to organise transport/accommodation etc ourselves.
We dressed warmly (admittedly I definitely didn't put enough clothes on!) and got our sleeping bags ready. My team was the team I'm going to Africa with, minus 1 person. I could try to explain what happened but it would take a while! To summarise:
- We spent a lot of time waiting on God and praying about what to do
- We were able to pray for various people we didn't know
- We prayed for the towns we visited
- On Friday night God provided us with a room to stay in, after we thought we'd be sleeping outside! And we were given so much food we didn't know what to do with it all!
- All the walking we did meant we got to know the towns VERY well!
- A lot of time we spent being very cold and pretty hungry
- We were questioned by the police, who asked to see our passports incase we were immigrants and then thought we'd stolen the little chocolate & clementine that we had! Fortunately I had the receipt still. Trying to explain that we didn't have a place to sleep and we were doing a faith walk proved to be quite a challenge!
- We ended up coming back to the base a night early, after realising God was teaching us about our pride!

Even though it was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done, I learnt a LOT from it. Firstly I realised how much I don't pray to God in my day. We spent so much time praying and relying on God, because we had no other option! Secondly, we really appreciated what we did have & the fact that we weren't homeless. Thirdly that God is always faithful! We obviously spent a lot of time together and meant that we became better friends and more of a team, but one of the biggest lessons was to surrender our pride & expectations to God. We went into it thinking we were going to see so many amazing things happen and that God would move in amazing ways. But the reality was, that we were all quite inexperienced in the area of just fully relying on God with everything and so that may have made it harder to hear him. And no matter how small the things we did may have seemed, God can still use them and we may never know the impact that we had on people! 

In other news.. it was 3 weeks yesterday since I left home! I can't believe how quickly its gone already! I also have been exploring the surroundings and there are some amazing views! Here are a few pictures..

So.. I know this has been a long post and I'll try not to leave such a gap in-between the next posts! Hope you're all well and email me if you want to know the full story of the faith walk!! 
Love you all,
Emma

We live in a universe at war; a war for the affections of our heart - C.S Lewis

Wow.. 2 posts in 1 week, whats going on?!

I wanted to update you all and let you know where I'm going for the outreach phase of the DTS!! On Wednesday we were told that we would be splitting into 2 teams for the outreach. At first I didn't like the idea of having to split with people, we've all already become so close, after 3 months its going to be hard to separate. But they then explained and it became clear that it was right to split. We have a team of 12/13 (A lady from Africa is hopefully joining us on Monday!) which means we can go to 2 countries and have more of an impact. 

The 2 options for outreach were Europe or Africa and we were given the afternoon to make a decision. I immediately wanted to go to Africa! I knew though, that even though this is what I wanted, God may have been saying something different. So, even though the thought of picking Europe scared me, I prayed about it and asked God that I'd feel a complete peace about going to Africa, and if Europe was where I should go, that I'd feel unsettled. So I left it for a few hours and when it came to write my answer, I realised that I'd felt so peaceful and not worried at all- very unusual for me when making a big decision like this! So I wrote Africa. 

On Thursday we had a day of sharing our stories of faith with each other, something I've not done before! As I listened to the leaders and other students talk about their stories of God working through their lives in amazing ways and bringing them out of really difficult situations, I realised I've had it pretty easy and was worried my story would be boring! After I shared my story of faith I was really encouraged by everyone and told not to be ashamed of my story!! After each person shared we had a time of prayer for each person and one of the students, Kyounghwa from South Korea, had a picture of me holding a child and thought this was relating to the outreach. 

It wasn't till Friday morning that we found out which leaders and students were going where! We were told not to discuss with anyone else where we were going but Aubrey and I (my room mate) guessed each others and were trying to figure out where everyone else was going! So on Friday morning we found out that Claire our school leader and Catrina one of our staff will be going to Africa and Billy and Salome, also staff, will be going to Europe! The surprise came when we found out 8 students chose to go to Europe and 4 of us are going to Africa!! The students going to Africa are; Aubrey, Sam, Benjamin & myself with the two leaders and the other 8 are going to Europe. Its obviously a pretty small team but Im really looking forward to spending 3 months in Africa!!! 

Also, Kyounghwa told me after we'd announced the teams that in the picture she had I was holding a black African child, but didn't want to say it at the time because she didn't know where I'd picked to go!! Thought it was pretty awesome! :) 

So, I'm sorry if I ramble, I've realised that what I've explained in 4 paragraphs, Aubrey explained in 1 in her blog!! So if you'd rather read a more concise blog.. Drop me an email and I'll send you the link!! I also apologise if my english is getting slightly ungrammatical! I think the break from studying has seriously effected how well I communicate!!! 

Peace out. x

Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons - Donald Miller

Squash, Digestive, Stodge, Hench, Cooker, Cuppa, Chest of drawers, taking the mick, museli, ace...

You're probably wondering what these words have in common! Well.. they're all words which I've had to explain to my Californian room mate! Just one example of what comes from living with people from all over the world for the next 6 months! 

The beautiful base!

Some views around the base.. yes you can almost see the Alps through the fog!!

Our local pub.. 

So, I arrived on Sunday night, got to the airport no problem and after an emotional goodbye with my family I sat in the departure lounge and thought, 'what an earth am I doing?' I had to laugh at the guy who checked my passport who watched the goodbye with my family, he asked where I was going, so I told him, to which he replied, 'forever?!' That did make me laugh, but come on.. 6 months is a long time! The plane ride was fine, didn't get a great view out of the window because of the amount of fog! But the view when we were arriving in Switzerland was pretty awesome. The sun was just setting over the mountains, a view that’s pretty hard to beat!! Once I got my bags (had to try to carry/drag 4 bags through to arrivals since the trolleys required 1 franc and I only had notes!) I found Claire, our school leader, and Catrina, one of the staff. There were 3 other students arriving at the airport so we waited for them. Once we got back to the base we met the other students. So far we have.. a Canadian, a Californian, a Romanian, an Australian, 4 Swiss, 2 English, a South African and a South Korean. We’re waiting for 3 from Africa who are awaiting visas so if you pray, pray they get them in time to join! We’re only 3 days in and already culture differences are showing. I think it’s pretty awesome though!So, for those of you wondering what I’m doing I’ll give you an average days schedule:
-7am Breakfast
-8am Lectures till lunch with breaks
-Free time after lunch till 2, when we do our duties. I’m currently spending 2 hours a day cutting veg.
-6pm Tea
-The evenings vary; we either have a lecture or free time at the moment

But this is only the first week. Soon we’ll have book assignments and meetings in small groups to discuss the lectures, whether we agree/disagree/have questions etc.We should know very soon where we are going for outreach and I’ll explain when I know more! For now, the main thing to know is I’m having an awesome time, the team is amazing and the views are incredible- when there isn’t fog!Please email me if you’d like, my email is- emmwilcox93@gmail.com we do have wifi so its easy to check emails/facebook or to skype! 

43 days and counting..

With just over  a month till I leave for my travels, I thought i'd fill you in on what I've been up to recently and how DTS prep is going..

In October I joined a group at Cliff College for a course in Christian Life & Mission near Sheffield. I had such an amazing week and learnt so much! There was just under 30 of us taking part, all doing a year out. A big chunk of the group were from an organisation called Time For God and there was also a number of Scripture Union interns. Was great getting to know so many new people from different walks of life! I didn't really know what to expect before the week and was slightly worried that everyone else would know someone and I wouldn't know anyone.
It turned out that there were others, like me, who knew no-one! But by the end of the first day it felt like we were already building strong relationships. A large number of the group were Americans, which was so much fun, listening to their accent and trying to copy it was hilarious...!
We were straight into lectures the afternoon that we arrived and felt like we were diving in at the deep end, looking at Jesus in the Old Testament, followed by Jesus in the New Testament. As a Christian, I'm pretty bad at reading my Bible so felt like most of the things I was hearing were new and I soon realised how little I know! But that was quickly followed by a yearning to want to learn more. Some of you may think this is a weird idea, 'getting to know the bible better and wanting to learn more' but I just find it amazing, how it all fits together and that we can learn so much through it.

Since my week at Cliff I have been working and travelling! To begin with I went to see a friend at Birmingham uni and along with another friend we went to see Kelly Clarkson in concert... It was amazing!! My first concert too, so you can imagine the excitement! I also went to London, where i met some friends and we went to a Worship Central live album recording at HTB which was just amazing! Tim Hughes, Ben Cantalon, Nikki Fletcher were some of the worship leaders. It was an amazing few hours.
Between my travels was my 19th birthday! I had a lovely day celebrating, in fact it went on for about a week, seeing various friends and family at different points. Always the best way to do it.
After my birthday I spent a week in Scotland with my family, relaxing and catching up on sleep!! Was lovely to have a week with my grandparents, who mean so so much to me. Just love how my Grandpa was as much up for going to the swimming pool with flumes and slides as my 9 year old brother!
I wasn't back in Worcester for long before I went to see some friends in Bristol for a belated birthday celebration/long awaited catch up. To finish off my travels I also went to Lancaster for a few days to see my lovely friend from school/college who is at uni and had a great time catching up and meeting her friends.
So.. when I said i'd been on my travels, I really meant it! It has been a great 5 weeks seeing lots of people who mean a lot to me but now I'm quite glad I'm not going anywhere for a while, all that travelling can be quite exhausting.
In other news, I have booked my flight to Geneva! Im travelling on the 6th of Jan from Heathrow airport!. Its going to be a challenge packing my bags to fit in everything i'll need for Switzerland in winter and possibly Africa or some other hot country for 3 months. Opposite ends of the spectrum really. So, my 'to-do' list seems to be getting bigger and bigger, needing to get travel injections for the outreach, travel/health insurance, buy things like mosquito nets and a travel mat.. But I'm loving all the preparation.. so exciting!

What my case will look like when I try and fit everything in!!!

I've been so blessed recently from people giving financial gifts towards my DTS funds. The generosity of people just blows me away, so thank you again to all those people who have helped me! I really do appreciate it all!
Its exactly a month till Christmas tomorrow, feeling festive yet?!

The countdown begins

Well hello there!!
Seems like forever since i last blogged, probably because it is! Just shows how busy i've been- a good thing i think! So I'll fill you in on what i've been up to since Paris and A level shenanigans!!

First of all, I spent 2 weeks of my summer in Perranporth, Cornwall, helping out at a Scripture Union Beach Mission, doing various activities, getting to know the locals and sharing the love of Jesus with them! Was so much fun, pretty exhausting, but amazing! Part of my responsibility this year was to help out in the morning celebrations, where we get all the children together and have songs, messy games, a talk and so on! This involved 2 of us dressing up as the 118 characters to entertain the children, although we called ourselves 360 360 (After the name of the Beach Mission- 360!) Was hilarious dressing up everyday, putting on a wig and drawing on a moustache (one that took FOREVER to take off!) I also helped in one of the age groups called Minors whilst also organising some afternoon activities.. Not much then!!

Dressed up with the Morning Celebs team!

After an amazing 2 weeks in cornwall I came home for an afternoon, before leaving for France with my family at 3am the next morning. For someone that doesn't cope that well with not having loads of sleep, i think i did pretty well considering over the past few nights i'd probably got 5/6 hours a night.. not a lot in my book!
Again, France was so good. Spent some quality time with my family and then had an awesome time with some friends that came to join us for the second week. We spent most of our days on the beach but also visited a Zoo and a place called Puy Du Fou (A themed park with re-enactments from history, definitely recommend if you're in the Vendee area.)

Dad & I on the Beach

Mum & I by the Harbour

The Harbour

Rhi & I at the Zoo

Having a traditional french meal!

Once back home I got a bit bored of doing nothing! I'm definitely not the kind of person that could sit around and do nothing and be fine with it. The day here or there, of course! We all need to relax! But I soon began putting things in the diary and before you know it I got a job! Applied and had my first shift within 2 weeks I think, pretty good going if you ask me! It's at Fat Face, I originally wondered if I wouldn't have enough hours with only a 4 hour contract but after doing a 25hour week last week due to overtime, I don't think I need to worry about that! Loving the job and all the perks (COUGH DISCOUNT!) I've also been helping out at a creche and toddler group and doing various bits and bobs at church, not to mention the amount of babysitting I've had recently, which is all great!
So, now that I'm less than 3 months away from leaving I'm so excited!! The idea that I'll be in/near the swiss alps for 3 months from january is so amazing and I can't wait! Also, its weird but I actually miss speaking French! So I'm also looking forward to brushing up on that and hopefully will keep it up for the months I'm away in preparation for uni life! 

After doing a car boot and other bits and bobs I'm getting closer to my target of £6000 for the 6 months with around £2300 still to raise! But confident that if its the right thing, which i'm sure it is, God will provide the means for the money, whether its through being able to babysit or fundraise, my part time job, or people wanting to sponsor me for the year!

Next week I'm going to Cliff College, near Sheffield to do a course in Christian Life & Ministry, looking into Luke's Gospel which I'm very much looking forward to! I'm also going to see Kelly Clarkson on Sunday... Can barely contain my excitement!!!
So, I think that's all the news for now. To summarise, I've had an amazing summer and so far the gap year is awesome, and I'm definitely not missing deadlines, coursework and the like!

It's all getting a bit real...

Well.. a lot has happened since i last blogged! I've finished exams.. WOOP! Straight after I celebrated by going to Paris with 3 friends. We had the most amazing time exploring the sights and even missing the last metro home and walking proved to be amusing! Here's my favourite pictures from the week.. (Of about 600!)

 Cheesy i know.. but it had to be done!

After we walked up the Eiffel Tower.. so worth it!

Since then I've been pottering about, working, babysitting, this week I'm helping at a french summer club for children primary school age, so so much fun! Next week I'm off to Cornwall to take part in a Beach Mission, run by Scripture Union for 2 weeks. Definitely one of the highlights of my year! A team of 50/60/70ish Christians head down to the beach and spend time chatting to locals, putting on children's clubs, organising quizzes, messy games, beach games and generally having fun! Then after that i'm off for 2 weeks for a family holiday in France which I'm very much looking forward to!


Now that I'm finished college I'm on the look out for a job in september! I did apply for one last week, yet to hear if it was successful so ill keep you posted. As much as i'd like to hunt high and low for jobs, due to my absence for the next month or so I'm not sure employers would be happy if i disappeared after applying for a job! Saying this i've been trying to be pro-active and have managed to secure a few days looking after some lovely children late august which will help DTS funds!


Anyway, my point for today was meant to be about the thought of leaving everyone for 6 months and the fact that yes.. it is getting real now! Now that i do have some money towards my DTS from some amazing, generous people, (although I still have a lot more to raise!!) i can see the idea of going away for 6 months becoming feasible and its now sat on the horizon, not just an idea somewhere in my mind! I won't lie, the thought of leaving for 6 months and not seeing anyone scares me. But then i think of the amazing things I'm going to be doing and people i'll meet along the way. A conversation with a friend the other day made me realise how much our family and friends mean to us. She and another friend will be embarking on an amazing adventure too this september and not for 6 months but a whole year. That takes guts! Even though i will miss them both, i love seeing people wanting to make a difference in the world and sacrificing so much to help others. I think more people should be going out there into the World and experiencing more cultures! Too many of us are caught up in our own little bubbles and don't see what's out there! So do it.. go explore.. i dare you..

Some good news..

So, I know you've all been waiting in anticipation to see my next post, well here it is. You can breathe a sigh of relief!

Today I heard I have been accepted onto the DTS in Burtigny! Very exciting because it means I'm actually going...! Was great to get the email earlier, in amongst all my revision, was awesome to get some good news!

So I've been thinking more and more about what sort of job I'm going to have/try and get come late August/September. The idea of being in a shop 5 days a week 9-5 is becoming less and less appealing, and although I'm happy to do anything to earn the money, id like to do something that’s actually fun, exciting and where i will be able to use my skills! Thinking outside the box is not one of my strong points! A few ideas have been suggested to me such as short-term secretarial work but if you've got any ideas, other than babysitting because I've thought of that one, then please let me know, id be very grateful!

Other than that, no news to report. I’ve got 3 exams in the next 3 weeks, pretty small compared to some, but still revising hard. Trying to maintain my social life, which is proving pretty difficult at times!

Btw, Happy Jubilee to you all! Managed to take a well earned break from revision earlier to go to a lovely tea party with some friends, pity it was raining but it seems to be a rule in Britain, Bank Holiday=Rain..