Sewing and Harvesting

October was a full month here in Havant.  The month kicked off with a bang as enjoyed a week of celebrating my birthday with various groups of my friends. I was most blown away with the gift of a car to use for the duration of my time from the Waters family.  To make things really exciting, the car was brought into the Hall of the Community Centre as my surprise!  I can say I have never had such an amazing gift and am enjoying my life being nearly bus-free!  I am now taxiing some of my neighbors around, which is a big help.

Harry and Lyds with the new ride "Toby"

With the days flying by and my current time nearing an end, a sense of urgency to get in as much as we can has set in amongst the team.  Ruth and I have been in Harvest mode; representing the Beacon Food Bank at the Emsworth Food Festival and visiting a school for their harvest assembly to receive their collected bounty.  The Food Bank's new space has been secured for the next few years with some generosity from both the local council and our Centre's owners and the enormous space is half-full from all of the donations, getting us in the right mode the upcoming Christmas hamper time.  The huge space we have secured in the Centre, is slightly further from our church and lounge doors for our volunteers but will make an amazingly suitable packing room for the gifts and hampers that will be have to be prepared in a few weeks time. So much generosity has been shown from the local community and many school children who have donated so much during the season.

Emsworth Food Festival

We also had several networking meetings where I learned even more about various community projects and we have looked further at the increasing problem of homelessness in our area.  I enjoy what I learn in these times and having the opportunity to meet and hear from representatives from other churches, non-for-profits, and government organizations.  These diverse groups are so essential in our efforts to have a greater impact on the community and the involvement PCC has is one of the things I feel we do so well as a church.

At the Acorn, I have had some fun nights of activities.  A craft night helped me spruce up on my crochet skills and also have a chance to spend some time with some lovely people.  Bat night at Billy's Lake was a fun-filled evening!  Crafting, food over a camp fire and bat detecting at dusk turned out to be a great success.  (The s'mores were pretty exciting too!) A family cooking workshop was great fun!  Several families took a stab at my asian inspired menu and I so enjoyed watching them work together to create a delicious meal and even decorate their tables; each making their own place mats and choosing some fall leaves and acorns to scatter along as centerpieces.  It is great to see families and friends growing closer over creative activities.

Friends at Billy's Lake

Izzy's Bat

Our Ladies Fellowship Study of Jonah has been going along wonderfully and I have been blessed week after week by the teachings but more so by watching the lovely attendees as they bond and come along side each other in love.  The journeys may not all look the same but we find so much common ground.  Many of them have attended so faithfully and are so enjoying this new outlet for study and fellowship.

A visit up to London gave me an opportunity to meet up with some YWAM friends!  I spent a little time with my Swedish friend Lisa and got to meet her fiancé!  I also was able to visit the newest YWAM house and catch up with a few folks from the team which was really nice.  Then I spent the day with my friends Amy and Val doing a bit of sight seeing.  Val has just moved back over from the US and is staying with Amy and her husband while she attends a Christian Music School in Coventry.  It was so nice to be with them and catch up on their lives!

A weekend away to Bristol also turned out to be a wonderful time of women's fellowship.  I visited my good friend Chloe and arranged with her to have some ladies from her church come together for a luncheon.  I shared a testimony and word of encouragement with the group and then we broke into small groups to share and pray for one another.  The whole spirit of the time was such a blessing to me.  It never fails to amazed by how much I gain from times of ministering to others in seeing how they respond and what God is speaking to their hearts through my sharing.

Catching up with Chloe and Lil' Miss!

The month ended on a lovely note as well as I had the opportunity to spend the half-term school holiday in France with the Waters family and some friends.  We stayed in a lovely farm house in the countryside of Upper Normandy and did some fun sight seeing around the area.  The cliffs of the sea at Etreatat and visiting Monet's house in Giverny were some of the highlights.  Just being together; watching the Sound of Music, singing in the car, or having a laugh over a game of Bananagrams was worth the trip.

Walking along the sea floor at low tide in Etreatat

With Saffy on one of Monet's bridges

Fall is in full swing now, and the country is beautiful in all it's colors!  It has turned very rainy and a bit cold in the last couple of weeks.  My calendar is completely full in the next months prior to my return to US soil.  I am looking forward to seeing what adventures may lie in the weeks ahead!