UCCF Blog 12

Dear Friends,   This is my final prayer letter as a Relay worker! Wow, this year has flown by. There is so much to thank God for – friends I’ve made - including other Relays and Staff workers, students I’ve had the privilege to work and study the Bible with, teaching we’ve had on team days and conferences, and God’s provision and guidance through the year. I thought as it’s the last letter, I’d include a few extra photos for you to enjoy.   Sheri (group leader); Andy (Scotland); Chris (North East); Emily (Midlands); Me (South East) Relay 3 was a fantastic week with the other Relay workers, and we spent time looking at 1 Corinthians 12-14 – potentially controversial passages! It was encouraging to be reminded that we all have a vital part to play in the body of Christ, and the church needs each of us. It can be easy to sometimes feel like it wouldn’t make a difference if we didn’t belong to a local church, but God says we each have important roles to play – remember that!   It was fantastic to be reunited for the last time with my fellowship group, and share about our past terms, as well as spending time each morning after the talks thinking how we can apply what we had heard to each of us. They have been a brilliant group to be a part of, and I shall miss our fellowship group 2 banter!   During the week, we each also had to give 3 minute presentations about our Relay year. Listening to 50 odd presentations sounds pretty tiring, but was actually amazing. We heard how God has used people in various locations and in different ways. We also shared in our struggles of the year, and how we have been working through them. Some chose to make a video, some chose to write a poem, some chose to use as many Take That song titles as they could to explain their year; however each person did it, they spoke honestly, and I came away very humbled and encouraged by what was said. Presentations quickly became one of the things I looked forward to most each day.   On the last night, we were treated to a lovely dinner, which the staff served us, and we were presented with Relay Baton’s – we started Relay 1 looking at 2 Timothy 2v1: ‘You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus’ and finished with 2 Timothy 2v2 (printed on the baton): ‘And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.’ It was a lovely way to finish the week together, being reminded that Relay isn’t the end, but we can use what we have learnt this year as life continues! – with a bit of ceroc dancing and a bonfire to end the night.   Summer School was three days of fun joint with the South East, South West and London regions. Whilst the staff studied Hebrews, we spent time studying sanctification, with fantastic teaching from Lewis Green (Relay coordinator). Something that really stuck with me was how we view sin as a result of how we view God – if we see God as a law maker, then sin is breaking the law; but if we see God as our relational, creator, heavenly Father, then sin is a breaking of that relationship we have with Him. This really challenged how I see my sin, and why we should want to turn away from sin. It is amazing to be reminded of who God is and how much He loves us and wants to be in relationship with us.   Katy, Tim, Dave, Jamie, Ben, Olly (my staff worker), Gareth, Nay (team leader) and myself on Summer School. In our South East team time Katy, Tim (Relays in Southampton) and I gave presentations on our elective study we have done during the year. I spoke about social justice, what I have learnt and how I have been looking at applying this to my life. It was really helpful in preparing for it as it consolidated in my mind what I had been reading and where it was really challenging me. If you want to know more about what I learnt, I’d love to talk about it!   I have had the privilege of being part of the South East team this year J Sharing Relay with Tim and Katy has been great fun, and the staff have been fantastic in challenging and supporting us through the year. I shall miss our team time a lot.   Canterbury Summer International Outreach is fast approaching! We had the final planning meeting last week, and everyone seems excited about it J Although I am not able to be there, I know it is going to be a great 2 weeks of meeting and sharing the gospel with many international students who are in Canterbury over the summer. Please keep praying for Becky and Olly leading the team, and the other 20 team members as they prepare for a busy but exciting few weeks together. God has been so faithful in providing host families, activities and various other things that were needed. We would love to make strong links with the many language schools in the city, so please pray they are open to hearing from us and telling the students about the outreach.   As I think ahead to July and beyond, there is so much to look forward to. I’ll be serving on the UCCF stand at Soul Survivor B, so if you are there, come and say hi to me! This is a great chance to meet those about to go to uni, and tell them about Christian Unions and how they can get involved.   I’m also off to Jersey for a week of relaxing with some uni friends (including my housemates), which I’m really looking forward to. They have been so supportive this year, and I feel very blessed to have great friends around me. I’m looking forward to staying in the same house next year, living with Jill and Laura again. As I said in the April letter, from September I shall be working as an intern for a year at St Mary Bredin, my church in Canterbury. There will be three of us in total – Hannah and Toby will also be doing it with me. They have both grown up in SMB, have been away at uni for the last 3 years, and now returning to Canterbury this summer. I’m really excited about the internship as we will be involved in serving in a number of areas in the church, as well as meeting together as a team each morning and growing together in our faith. Please be praying for the three of us as we start, and also for Barney, our vicar, as he leads us through the year. So it is the end of Relay tomorrow! I want to thank you all so much for your amazing generosity in time, prayer and financial support through the year. It has been a real privilege to work alongside the students in Canterbury as they continue to ‘make disciples of Jesus in the student world’. What a joy it is to see God changing lives!   Coming up post Relay...   10th July – SMB church community BBQ 23rd July – bridesmaid for friend at home J 31st July – 14th August – Canterbury Summer International Outreach 8th-13th August – working on the UCCF stand at Soul Survivor B, Somerset 14th – 19th August – holiday to Jersey with university friends 30th August – start as an intern at St Mary Bredin Church, Canterbury I want to finish with this verse, which I included back in my November prayer letter, and has been a real encouragement to me all year.     2 Corinthians 12v9:   “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”     God uses us however we are feeling – His grace is enough, and in weakness He makes us strong!   So, I guess this is the final goodbye! I pray God continues to work in and through you as we continue together in loving those around us with the same love that we have been shown by the grace of God.   Have a wonderful summer!   Much love,   Mim xxx

UCCF Blog 11

Dear Friends,   I cannot believe I am writing my penultimate prayer letter for Relay. It has gone so quickly, and hopefully this will encourage you with this month’s antics, and see that although uni’s have pretty much finished for the year, I still have a month left to cram a lot into!   May started with South East team days looking at Esther. We saw the parallels in her story with our story as God’s people, and how the King showed her grace and favour just as God does to us.   Get Fresh was an afternoon with both Christ Church and Kent CU’s, getting together all those interested in helping at fresher’s week in September. We had a great afternoon of worship, discussing the different types of people we will meet arriving at uni, and how as a CU we can meet their needs. There were also seminars run to help equip students in different areas including, planning the term, nightlife ministry, working with internationals, and leading with grace. It was exciting to see many students get involved and have ideas for what they could do to serve the new students arriving.       Psalm 130 v 1-5   Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;  Lord, hear my voice.  Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,   Lord, who could stand?  But with you there is forgiveness,   so that we can, with reverence, serve you.  I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,   and in his word I put my hope.   I ran the Cancer Research 5km Race for Life with two girls from CU who I have been running with since October. We ran it in 42 minutes, which we were pretty pleased with – our only goal was to run the whole thing without stopping, which we did J It has been a joy to be out running with the girls on early mornings, and have a chance to chat about how they are doing and what is going on in life.   Psalm 130 has been a real comfort for me this past month as I remember more and more that God keeps no record of our sin as we put our hope in Him. Last week I hosted a Tea Party for the girls in CU, which was a fun little gathering at my house with a lot of cake and fellowship together. It was great to be able to see the girls all together and enjoy sharing what they are all doing, and encouraging one another.   This weekend was Big Church Day Out, and I went with 17 students from the CU to serve with Scripture Union and work on the merchandise stands and family tent (see photo above!) We were blessed with dry weather, but with gale force winds some of the marquees collapsed – although not quite in our plan, everything went really well, and we had a fantastic time being able to serve on team as well as have an amazing time of worship with thousands of other people, all praising God!   Tuesday was the Canterbury Summer International Outreach lunch and planning session. The outreach is fast approaching, and the programme is being finalised. Please pray that the language schools in Canterbury will advertise it, and there will be many international students who come and hear the message of God’s love for them. There is another meeting at the end of June, which by then hopefully everything will be almost done! Please pray for Olly and Becky as they prepare to lead the mission together, and for Olly and Andrew as they prepare the morning devotional times looking at Philippians with the team.        Coming up in June...    6th-10th – Relay 3 conference  20th-22nd – Summer School – South East,   South West and London team days together  24th – Canterbury Summer International Outreach meeting  30th – Last day of Relay!   Looking forward, next week is Relay 3, our final week long conference. Each Relay worker is preparing a 3 minute presentation to show what we have learnt and done over the year. Please pray as I plan this that it reflects the work God has done both in my life, and in the CU over the past year. Please pray also that whilst on Relay 3 we would continue to learn more about God as we look to what we are moving on to next, as well as enjoy being together as a group for the last time.   The last time I will see staff or Relay’s this year is at Summer School, which are the joint team days with South East, South West and London for 3 days. This will be more teaching, which I think includes some Relays giving presentations on our elective study work we have been doing. Please pray this would be a great time of sharing together, and learning from each other, and enjoying being together before the teams change in September.   For now, I want to enjoy the last month of Relay as much as possible, and the time I have to do lots of studying, reading and learning may not be as abundant as this for a while...! In the last few weeks there are still a few students around doing nursing who don’t finish till August, so I hope to be meeting up with them. I’m looking forward to what God has planned for after June, but until then there is still plenty to do here!   Thank you for your continued support, and I pray God is working in your life and you are growing deeper in love with Him each day.   All my love, Mim xxx

UCCF Blog 10

Dear Friends,   It only seems like a few days ago that I wrote my last prayer letter, but it’s been a month already! I hope you are ready for some exciting news coming later on...and no, sadly, I didn’t get an invite to the Abbey for the Royal Wedding!   The month started with a week of study and preparation time as students had all gone home for Easter. This was quite a relaxing week, though I was frustrated that I didn’t get as much done as I hoped. However, I am looking forward to starting afresh this term and getting the most out of this time I have to study.     Hebrews 11v1-2,39-40   Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.     The following week was New Word Alive! I hadn’t been before, but it was fantastic! After getting over an epic trip to North Wales, and the car dying having arrived in the car park at the holiday park (!) the rest of the week went really well. We were blessed to have brilliant worship leaders and speakers all week. As a steward (see below – clearly working hard!) I was able to hear a range of great talks, as well as being able to serve the delegates and wear an awesome fluorescent jacket! A real highlight for me was being able to listen to the evening celebration talks. The theme of them was Hebrews 11, and each night we heard about great people of faith in the Bible – Noah, Moses, Abraham, Rahab and then looking to Jesus. These heroes showed faith in believing and trusting in what God had promised them, without being able to see for sure if or when it would happen. We can take great hope from this, that God has a plan for us, but ultimately our hope is in eternal life with God after death.   Spending time back home over the holidays and having time to rest and as well as seeing friends was really valuable. Last term was pretty tiring, so I was able to catch up on lots of much needed sleep! It was also brilliant to be able to see ‘The Jesus Road’ – the moving drama production my home church put on each day during Holy Week. I was able to see it on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and it was incredible to have Jesus’ crucifixion happening in front of us, and to glimpse a bit of what it would have been like. It was a real reminder of the horrific death that Christ died, making His resurrection all the more incredible! We have hope through what He did.   I’m sure you will not have failed to notice that a certain Royal wedding happened at the weekend...and yes, I was quite excited. I went to London with some friends, and we had an amazing time, dressed as Kate’s engagement ring! It was great fun being in the front of the crowds by the Palace, and listening to the service over the speakers. I thought the address that the Bishop of London gave was brilliant – I pray that the thousands of people who heard it may have been struck by what he said.   I came back yesterday from South East Team days, where we spent time looking at Esther. It is a great book, and certainly not a ‘girly’ book as some people first expect! We saw how what looked like an impossible situation where all the Jews would be killed was turned around so they were saved, with many more people coming to God! What an amazing story of what happens when people live by faith!   Next week we have Get Fresh, which is an afternoon for CU’s to plan what they are going to do in Fresher’s week in September. This is a crucial time for a CU as it is the first impression they give the uni for that year. Please pray for committees as they lead the planning, and for exciting and creative ways of reaching students in a place where there is so much else going on at the same time.   Big Church Day Out is coming up at the end of May, and is a really exciting place to be! Churches come together for the weekend, and there is lots of teaching and activities for all the family. Christ Church CU are hoping to have a team to help on the children’s work, so prayer for them would be great, as they have a lot of work and exams coming up to focus on before that!   We are also going to be having a Canterbury Summer International Outreach planning session and lunch. The preparation for CSIO has been ongoing, and we have had a few meetings. It is looking very positive so far, but we still need more help on the team for the 2 weeks in August, and hosting team members. Prayer for the planning of the outreach, and for volunteers would be much appreciated.       Coming up in May...   3rd-4th – South East Team Days in Southampton, looking at Esther   13th – Get Fresh – CU’s planning fresher’s weeks for September   21st – running the Race For Life 5km in Regent’s Park!   28th-29th – Big Church Day Out   31st – Canterbury Summer International Outreach lunch   I can’t believe I am already thinking about June, but right at the end of May I have a week for preparing for our Relay 3 conference in June. This is quite scary, but exciting to look back at all I have done and learnt this year. I only have 2 months of Relay left!   But...fear not! Exciting news time...I have a job for September, working with my church here in Canterbury as a ministry support intern. I shall be doing it with two others, and it is very exciting as we haven’t had interns at church before, but I am really looking forward to being able to serve in many different areas in the church and help with lots of community outreach activities and share the amazing news of Jesus with more people!   I just also want to say a big thank you to you all for the continued prayer and financial support. I really would not be able to keep going without it! It is of great comfort to know that people are praying for me and the work going on in Christian Unions. I am constantly reminded that it is not anything that I do that makes a difference, but God working through me in His mighty power. Without Him, I am useless!   If you want to know any more about Relay, or what I’m doing in my church after Relay, do get in touch. I would love to share more about it with whoever will listen!   I hope you are able to enjoy the beautiful sunshine while you can – I’m not sure how long it is meant to last! God Bless.   Mim xxx

UCCF Blog 9

PRAYER LETTER MARCH 2011     Dear Friends,   I am writing this to you in the last week of term in Canterbury before I disappear for a few weeks … more about that later. Having said that, the students broke up here two weeks ago! I am loving the lighter evenings and warmer weather ... let’s hope it continues!   The first two weeks of March were focussed on Christ Church’s prayer and mission weeks. The prayer week was a first (I think!), and was a fantastic time of coming together and praying for the campus. A range of prayer meetings and activities were organised to enable as many as possible to join in. At the CU meeting at the start of the two weeks, everyone was encouraged to write their own card board testimony (see photo below – ‘I had my life planned out BUT GOD showed me His plan was much better’) and make it their profile picture on facebook for the two weeks. This generated a lot of discussion between students and their friends, and many were able to share their story with people – I think the CU were quite surprised at how much of an effect the testimonies had on some people. The CU had the opportunity to work with a team from OCCA (Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) and managed to plan an interesting week of events arranged around the theme of ‘any question answered’! A big ask, but they did really well. The OCCA team were great at supporting the CU and helping them to think through issues and how they could answer apologetics questions. The text-a-toasty lunchtime events built momentum during the week, and it was encouraging to see the students thinking through answers from a Christian perspective. This was particularly evident as the Friday was the day of the tsunami in Japan, and quite a few challenging questions were texted in relating to it. A definite highlight of the mission week was going to the Christ Church vs Kent varsity matches and giving out 280 free burgers to players and spectators...many of whom come to Tea and Toast on a Wednesday night. It was great to see the CU building up relationships with the students they meet.   You may remember from my last prayer letter I asked you to pray about whether I should apply to work at Christians Against Poverty over the summer or from September!? Well, I had a fantastic time in Bradford, and loved spending the day looking round the offices and hearing of incredible stories of people being helped out of debt, and some coming to know the Lord through the work of CAP. It was a privilege to be there when the ‘salvation bell’ was rung – a centre manager had emailed in to give the story of a client who had become a Christian. When this happens, the whole office stops and prays for the person. What a joy – over 30 had given their lives to Christ in the month already! After hearing about the two different internships they offer, I prayed a lot about them, but decided it wasn’t right to apply this year. However, I love the work they do – maybe I’ll be involved with them in the future?!   It has been difficult to keep up with regularly seeing some of the girls I’m doing 1-1’s with due to their course placements, and mission’s weeks I’ve been helping at. However, I love how God uses the times when we are able to meet, and look at the Bible together. It has been beautiful to see the change in one girl who I have met with a few times, having never looked at the Bible before. She gets so excited about reading it and loves learning about what God has to say. I pray we all have the same desire and joy in reading the Word and soaking up what God has for each of us.   It has been great to work with University of Creative Arts this year, even though the CU is often just one student! She is however very committed, and Olly and I have been able to encourage her in living as a Christian at uni. We held two events days, and were blessed to have a staff worker from London come and speak at the lunch bars. They were based on films, and looked at overcoming fear (The King’s Speech) and where we find joy (The pursuit of happyness). We were joined by some other student workers on the days to make a larger team, and we had some great conversations with students out in the sunshine on the grass. I was encouraged that two Christian girls came to the second lunchbar, and wanted to know about churches in Canterbury. It was a joy to tell them about the great churches we have here! The evening open mic night was hosted really well by the CU student, and was very well attended, and the talk challenged many of the students there.   Last week the South East team had joint team days with the South West J I always love team days, as a chance to hear what is going on in other places across the country, and to encourage and support in each other in what we are doing. Mike Kendall spoke on:     ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit’ 2 Corinthians 13v14     It was great to hear and be challenged on the grace of Christ making us radically generous, be refreshed about the love of our Father for His children, and see how the Holy Spirit unites us all under Christ. So, ‘what is coming up?’ I hear you ask! Over this week I shall be using my church’s office (I am less distracted there than at home!) for study time. Please pray I would be able to concentrate and get lots of work done. I shall not only be looking at the work of the Holy Spirit (core study) and social justice (elective study) but also preparing Bible studies for 1-1’s after Easter.     Coming up in April...   4th-8th – no students around, so doing lots of reading and studying!   9th-15th – stewarding at ‘New Word Alive’ conference in Wales with the other Relay workers 16th – 27th – holiday   29th – Royal Wedding!! (holiday!)   The weekend coming up I am heading off to Wales for New Word Alive. This is a Christian conference organised by UCCF and Keswick Ministries. It is for all ages, including students, and there will be many CU groups there. Please pray for the delegates and those serving there that we all have a great week learning more from the Word and meeting God in a new way. I’m looking forward to the week as the other Relay’s will be there, and the majority of us will be stewarding for the week. Please pray we are able to get enough sleep and have enough energy to keep going through what will be quite a tiring week! After that I have some time off either side of the Easter weekend. Please pray that I would use it wisely to rest, catch up with friends, and spend time with my family. Do let me know what you are up to, and if you ever find yourself unexpectedly (got on the wrong train in London?!) in Canterbury, let me know and I’ll find you!   I pray that this Easter we would not only remember the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, but the hope that we have in His resurrection!   God Bless, Mim xxx

UCCF Blog 8

Dear Friends,   I can’t believe it is March already – February went very quickly! Which also means I am over half way through Relay...and I feel like it’s only just starting! This letter was meant to be sent at the start of the week, but due to a major crisis of my laptop crashing, it has been delayed. However, I am grateful to God that someone from church was able to fix it – especially as I thought I would need to buy a new one!   The first week of the month was Kent CU mission week. This was a great week, which built momentum, and by the Thursday evening there was a great turn out to the music cafe. Michael Ots (the speaker for the week) gave a talk, with the opportunity to respond in a prayer of commitment at the end, which a couple of people did J There were many opportunities during the week for students to chat and share their faith, and I was really encouraged by the CU’s desire to share with students who they met when out questionnairing. We had a few students who we saw coming back to different events, which was also great. After a conversation with a girl on the Thursday night, I found out she was really involved in church before she came to uni, but hadn’t found a church for the past 2 years in Canterbury. She had got a text from her home friends saying they were praying for her for the week, and as she’d also received an invitation to the music night, she thought God might be saying something to her! Since seeing her, she has started going to a church with a girl from the CU, and is now also coming along to CU.  It is awesome to see God use the mission week to bring Christians to events, as well as non-Christians.    With a week in between, I then went off to Winchester CU mission week. This was exciting not only because I got to stay with one of my friends from home, but also that it was the first mission week I’d done where I knew no more than 3 people. I really had to rely on God and trust that He would use me, even when I felt vulnerable. The CU was really welcoming, and one of my favourite parts of the week was serving tea and coffee for a couple of hours every morning outside the chapel – the commitment by some students to standing in the rain for 2 hours was impressive! On the Wednesday I had an incredible talk with a student called ‘M’ who is blind, and had stopped when he heard us asking if people wanted a hot drink. I chatted with him for about an hour and a half, and found out his family are all strict Muslim, but he doesn’t really care about religion. They come from Kurdistan, and came to England about 10 years ago. For the rest of the week he came back for hot drinks and different people spent time with him. Please pray that the CU will have more opportunities to meet M, as he had so many questions.   Coming up in March...   1st-5th – Christ Church CU Prayer week   7th-11th – Christ Church CU Events week: ‘Any Question Answered’   18th – Christian’s Against Poverty open day   24th-25th – UCA CU events days   28th-30th – Joint South East and South West team days in Southampton Following straight on from Winchester was Forum South East. This was a fantastic weekend away with all the new committee members in South East CU’s. Thank you for praying for the new committee – they have all come together as a team really well, and are an inspiring group to be leading the CU. The sessions on the weekend were spent looking at leadership, evangelism and the CU values. It was a joy to hear Rebecca Manley Pippert (author of Out of the Saltshaker into the World) speaking, and sharing stories of things that she has experienced and learnt in evangelism with students. Something that really challenged me was apathy within a CU – nothing will happen if the students aren’t bothered. I really prayed for the CU at Christ Church to be filled with a desire to reach the campus – more so than before – as they have another events week coming up...and they seem to be getting very excited about it!    Christ Church CU is currently in the middle of a prayer week. It has been incredible seeing their hearts cry out for the campus. From Tuesday night there was a 24/1 prayer day – 24 hours of praying in the chapel for students in Canterbury. This finished last night with an hour long prayer meeting, in which God showed Himself powerfully – and the CU are really wanting to step up in their mission to share the Gospel. This week is leading in to their second events week of the year, as an opportunity arose that they couldn’t refuse - for a team of apologists from Oxford Centre of Christian Apologetics lead by Frog Orr-Ewing to come for the week and help with anything they could! The week is called ‘Any Question Answered’, and there will be text-a-toastie (person texts in any question they have and we deliver a free toastie and an answer!) every lunchtime, along with other evening events. It is also Varsity week – all the sports teams from Kent uni and Christ Church uni play each other. It is the biggest week in the year for the sports teams, and we have an amazing chance to witness to them by hosting a BBQ on Wednesday afternoon. Please pray for this week as it involves giving up a lot of time by the students, and them stepping out in faith in new situations that seem quite scary! It is such a blessing to have the OCCA team for the week, and pray they would be a real encouragement to the CU.   In the middle of March I am heading to Bradford for the open day at Christian’s Against Poverty (CAP). This is an organisation I have found out about quite recently, and links in well with my elective study topic for this term – ‘Christian’s and Society’. They are a Christian charity that helps with debt counselling, and have centres around the country that are run by local churches for their community. It is an amazing way of sharing God’s love with people who feel trapped in a cycle of debt, and many people have become Christian’s through CAP. If you want to know more, check out www.capuk.org. I will be spending the day at their head office, looking at what they do, and whether I might like to do their summer intern placement after I finish Relay. Talking of finishing Relay, now is the time I need to start thinking about what to do from July. There are a few options possible, but nothing certain. Please pray as I seek out God’s plan for me for next year. I trust that He knows what I will be doing, and that the right doors will be opened to me.   Coming up at the end of March are 2 days of events with UCA CU. The CU only has a couple of members, all of whom are first years. Please pray as they prepare for the days, and that they are encouraged by the response from students.   And finally, to finish the month (and this letter) off, we have joint team days again with the South West. I love these days as we get to study the Bible together, and encourage one another. It comes at the end of a very busy term, but will hopefully be refreshing.   Do let me know what is going on with you, and anything I can pray for. I hope you have a lovely March – and eat lots of pancakes next week!   Love Mim x

UCCF Blog 7

Dear Friends,   Hello, me again! I know I only wrote at the start of January, but there is lots to update you on, and things coming up to let you know about.   The Christmas holidays seem a distant memory as January has flown by! It started with the Relay’s in my region joining together in Southampton for a study week whilst the staff workers were on a conference. We had a great time together, looking at Philippians as well as starting our new elective study modules. I have begun looking at ‘Christians and Society’. It is really exciting to have the chance to think about how we can serve different people and potentially where God is calling me for the future.   Isaiah 40v28-31   Do you not know?     Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God,     the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary,     and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary     and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary,     and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the LORD     will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles;     they will run and not grow weary,     they will walk and not be faint. The middle of January bought a wonderful birthday weekend spent with friends! I had a ‘fairytale’s’ theme party, and dressed up as Maid Marian – see picture at the top! This was then followed by Relay 2 – the second of our national conferences for the 52 Relay workers across the country. We had an amazing week at Cloverly Hall, Shropshire, learning and sharing together. It was a joy to hear about many of the CU’s at other universities and what God is doing with students. In our fellowship groups each morning (see below!!) we took it in turns to lead studies on Malachi. This was rather daunting at first, as I had not studied it at all before, but during the week my understanding of God and what He asks of us was deepened. We also looked at Isaiah 40 in one of the sessions. This is a really encouraging chapter as God speaks to His people and instead of boosting their self esteem, points them back to Himself and shows how big He is!   Over the Christmas holidays a girl from CU, who I lived with last year, gave her life to Jesus! She spoke to her housemate about it whilst I was on Relay 2, and it has been a joy to see her change and grow in such a short space of time already! Please pray for Clare as she learns more about our Almighty God and loving Father, and what this means for her. She is not from a Christian family, and has already been telling her sister about what she does at church!   The first CU meeting back after Relay 2 was an apologetics training evening with a panel for students to text questions in to. It went really well, and it was great to be able to apply what I’ve been reading and studying to help answer some of their questions. Please pray that I would continue to be able to remember what I learn and apply it to my life.   I have just returned from the new committee weekend away at Coldblow Farm – cold is an understatement, it was freezing! Despite this, we had a very exciting time of looking back over the past year and all that has happened on campus, and looking forward to this year planning new and exciting things! Please keep these 9 students (Beki - president, Tim, Luke, Josh, Marcus, Heather, Hannah, Laura and Amy) in your prayers as they seek God in how to take the mission on campus forward. It can be very challenging at times, but pray that they would trust in the Lord and be open to what He wants them to do.   Yesterday was the start of University of Kent’s mission week. Michael Ots is speaking at the lunchbars and evening events. We hope it will be a fruitful week of meeting students, inviting them to events, and them being able to hear and respond to the Gospel! It is also an opportunity to invite them to the Alpha course starting next Monday 7th Feb. There have been difficulties with practicalities of the week (room booking cancellations) so praying for it all to come together would be fantastic! Today a student and I had the opportunity to spend an hour chatting to a guy called Zac, when out questionnairing on campus. He was really open to discussing Christianity and we had a great time talking about who Jesus is and how God wants a personal relationship with us not a distant one. Please pray especially for him as he is keen to come on an Alpha course.   Coming up in February...   31st Jan-4th Feb – University of Kent’s mission week   14th-19th – Winchester Uni mission week   18th-20th – Forum South East (new leader’s training)   In a couple of weeks time I will going to Winchester University to help out with their missions week! This will be really interesting as I have not done a missions week in another city before. Let’s pray this is another great time for students to hear about God and come into a personal relationship with Him!   Straight after Winchester I will be going on Forum South East – training for leaders in CU’s in this region. It is a fantastic resource and training time, with the idea of students coming together, sharing ideas, and being equipped to go back and serve the CU’s they are a part of.   January and February are very busy months, and time has gone quickly already. I am aware that I am away from Christ Church CU for alternate weeks during these two months. It is very easy to feel guilty for not being around, and not get fully stuck in to what I am meant to be doing that week. Please pray that I would still be able to be in contact with students and be able to support individuals and the committee as much as I can wherever possible, and also that they rely on God’s amazing strength, and not their own.   Thank you so much for all your support and prayers as I journey on through this incredible year of learning and growing closer to Jesus. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to hear more stories of what I’ve been up to, or ask me any questions. I love talking about Relay!   Do keep me posted with how you are doing and anything I can pray for you.   Love, Mim xx

UCCF Blog 6

Dear Friends,   Happy New Year, and I hope you had a restful and joyful Christmas!   Firstly I must apologise for this not technically being sent out in December, but it has been the holidays, so I am only just back in to the swing of things! After an epic six hour battle through a snow blizzard, I eventually made it home for Christmas, and it has been such a blessing to be able to spend time relaxing with friends and family at home, and then go away with friends to Edinburgh for New Year. It has also been lovely to be able to see many of you over the holidays and chat about what I have been doing the past term!   Here’s a rundown of what I got up to in the first half of December, before term finished. Christ Church held two joint carol services with Kent CU and UCA CU. Both services were really well attended, and it was great to see people bringing their non-Christian friends along to hear the Christmas message. Jamie Haith from Holy Trinity Brompton in London (heads up Student Alpha UK) came and spoke, and many students who I spoke to afterwards said how much they had enjoyed it. It was really encouraging to host it joint with the other CU’s in Canterbury, showing that we all stand together wanting to share the message of Christ as our Saviour for all the students in Canterbury.   It was also a privilege to be involved in the university cathedral carol service, singing with the gospel choir I am in (see photo at the top!). Representatives from the CU are asked each year to do two of the readings, and this year was no different. It is fantastic that members of the Christian communities on campus can be seen to lead at a service which often becomes a bit of a tradition to attend each year for hundreds of non-believing students.   Tea and Toast is a project I have been involved with since it started in my first term of university. We open on a Wednesday night from midnight till 3am, and serve free drinks and toast to (mainly) students on their way home from a night out. This academic year we have seen great commitment from CU members, and have been really encouraged by some very committed first year students joining the team. Here is our annual staff Christmas party photo – with the very original theme being ‘Christmas’ (I’m hiding on the left behind the angel – dressed as a Christmas tree)!   The joint South East and South West team days held in Exeter were a fantastic time to catch up with other Relay’s and staff, as well as spend time together studying Ephesians. We were blessed so much during the three days, not only by John Hosier who was teaching, but also by the amazing hospitality shown to us by the family whose house we were using as a base, and all those who hosted us overnight. It is amazing how God works – Katy (Relay in Southampton) and I were staying with a couple who had been Coming up in January...   4th-7th – study week in Southampton with other South East Relay’s   13th – South East team day   17th-22nd – Relay 2 at Cloverly Hall, Shropshire   27th – Canterbury Summer International Outreach meeting missionaries in the same place in Singapore that Katy lived in! They took great interest in our Relay programme and were asking about what we did, as they were looking at developing something similar in another country!   December term finished with having lunch with other student workers in Canterbury, and chatting about what we had seen and been involved with over the past few months. Sharing stories, I realised how much God has been working in and through us to share the gospel with students we meet. Praise Him!   I am looking forward to the excitement, challenges and surprises of a new year, and another term serving in Canterbury. Some prayer points for January include: Working hard for the rest of this week on study week, and making the most of the time I have in Southampton Spending time next week preparing for Relay 2 - we shall be studying Malachi Being able to meet up with students again and encourage them in their faith The planning for Canterbury Summer International Outreach, taking place again this year after a very successful first mission last summer  And in the amazing words of Paul (Ephesians 3v16-21)...

UCCF Blog 5

Dear Friends,   As I write this, it is snowing outside...already! It is that time again where I get to share with you all that I’ve been up to the past month – and it’s been pretty busy! Thank you all for your prayers, support and encouragement – it really means a lot, knowing that people are thinking of me.   November started with South East team days, where we able to stay in a beautiful house and share life with the family who live there – including three little girls full of energy! Over the two days, we spent time learning practically about writing evangelistic talks and doing some apologetics training. You may remember from my last prayer letter, that we each had the opportunity to give a talk, mine being ‘If God is love, why is there suffering?’ I enjoyed preparing and writing it as it gave me the chance to think more deeply about how I might answer some of the ‘big questions’ many students have. We all then helped out at Reading CU’s lunchbar on the Tuesday. It was a privilege to be there to support them and also see how they do things differently and ideas that we could bring back to Canterbury!   The end of that week brought the Christ Church CU Houseparty (weekend away) at Carroty Wood in Tonbridge. The lead up to it had been quite stressful, with lots of last minute things to organise and many students booking on a couple of days before we went (it happens every year!), but everyone had a fantastic time. Olly Knight (the staff worker for Canterbury) and Matt Fell (who has been speaking on the CU Alpha course) – became affectionately known as ‘Molly’ over the weekend – spoke about who Jesus is, and the hope we have in his death and resurrection. It was a great time of learning, sharing and coming together as a community. I was able to use the feedback from my talk on team days to aid me in running ‘Where is God in suffering?’ as one of the three ‘big debates’ held on the Saturday afternoon. It was well attended and provoked lively and interesting conversation. That evening we were able to enjoy a wonderful talent show (including the dress code being ‘bad taste clothing’) and then sparklers outside!   Houseparty was immediately followed by Events Week. It was decided this year that there would be two evening events and questionnairring around campus every lunchtime. Although there weren’t many students around to help out, those that came had some brilliant conversations and many lead on to talking about Christianity.   From the events week, the CU committee have decided to put on different weekly events to show that the CU isn’t just around for one week of the year. This began with a prayer tent last week which, despite the arctic weather, intrigued a number of people who came in and were able to (amongst other things) write post-it prayers, and put a pin in a world map for a place where they know someone. It is amazing to see God working in people as they move around the tent.   The Alpha course has been brilliant this term, and there have been four students who have given their lives to Jesus, with others wanting to know more. The group has grown really close, and it is wonderful to hear of the friendships developing – people brought together by talking about God!   It has been a real blessing to be meeting up with some girls to study Ephesians. They are so keen to learn more and understand God’s transforming love. These times will continue after Christmas, with the possibility of studying with another girl. I am humbled every time as God uses me even when I feel useless. A verse that has come to me time and again this month (and is now written up on my wall!) is 2 Corinthians 12v9-10:      But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.     It is of great comfort to know that it is not by my own strength, but by God, that I am able to share the gospel, even when I feel completely incapable.   Over the next few weeks interviews will be taking place for Relay workers for next year. I can’t believe it is a year ago already that I had my interview! Please pray for the applicants and those interviewing for each university that the right people are chosen and together will form a strong team ready to share the good news of the gospel to students in those places.   Every week I have two blocks of study. This month’s core block was on God’s providence, and bought about some interesting discussions and issues I hadn’t really thought about before. We have just started looking at ‘the nature of God’s Word’, which I trust will be another exciting topic. My elective (optional) block has also been interesting – looking at influential thinkers of Christianity, and the opposition they faced from people of their time. Please pray for my study time, that it would be productive and I would be able to stay focused. It was one of the things I was most looking forward to about Relay, and I want to use the time as best as possible.   Coming up in December...   6th – Christ Church Carol service 8th – Lunch for student workers in Canterbury 9th – Interview day for Canterbury Relay workers next year 10th – 12th – University of Kent houseparty 13-15th – Joint South East and South West training days in Exeter 18th – I go home for Christmas holidays!   The CU committee are starting to think about who will be taking over from them in the new year, and although they won’t hand over until February, a lot of prayer and consideration goes into deciding the right people. Please be praying for all of the committee, as they seek to choose those God wants to lead the CU in the future, and for Olly and I as we try and guide and support them. It has been a real privilege to get to know all the current committee really well over this term, and I pray that they continue to keep God at the centre of all the CU does. I have managed to plan in time over this month for relaxing and taking time out, and have just returned from a lovely weekend in Chichester staying with friends. Many of you will know I am very good at being busy all the time and not very good at slowing down, so it has done me good to have a rest! I have also really valued the time spent with my housemates, Jill and Laura (both are teachers). We all get on so well and it is good to be able to talk about non-studenty things with them!   Well, I cannot believe there are only a couple of weeks left before the end of term – and judging by the songs being played in the shops, and the songs we are rehearsing in gospel choir, it must be nearly Christmas! I pray that you have a wonderful Christmas break and are able to take time amongst all the carol singing, mince pie eating and Christmas tree decorating to remember that we are celebrating the birth of a baby, who grew up to die for us and make the biggest sacrifice for all...so that we may have life.   Have a fantastic December!   All my love, Mim xx

UCCF Blog 4

Dear Friends,   Wow, the first half term has flown by! I hope you have had a good few weeks. I certainly have, and have been kept busy with lots of exciting things going on around Canterbury.   Alpha started at the beginning of October, with a joint launch night between Christ Church and UKC uni’s, and one of the churches in Canterbury. It was an amazing night, and we had some great conversations, leading to around 16 people coming to the first Alpha course night the following week. That number has stayed consistent, and the two discussion groups have been working well. It has been brilliant to see God working in the hearts of these students, using people in CU to share God’s love with them.     “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come”     The Relay training days we had at the start of the month were really helpful in furthering my understanding of the Bible and very practical in helping us with writing Bible studies. As part of our ‘training’ Ben (the staff worker leading) took us for a 2 mile run (my first ever run!) and half way round read to us from 1Timothy 4v8...then made us run back again! It was a valuable reminder though, that we should be holding on to the truth in God’s word, as that is of far greater worth than anything else.    We have two more South East team days at the start of next week, where in our Relay group we will each have the opportunity to give a talk. My title is ‘If God is love, why is there suffering?’ Please pray as I finish preparing for it that God would give me peace and that I will say what He wants me to share. I feel so blessed that we have such a great team who are so supportive and encouraging to each other, and I hope these days will be another fantastic time of learning more about who God is and sharing in that together.   One of the things I was really looking forward to about Relay was the opportunity to study regularly. In our core study (all Relay workers do the same) we have been looking at the Trinity this month, and then had to write a response to what we had been learning. I have chosen my elective study (each Relay chooses a topic of interest for them to look at) to be historical theology this term. It has given me an understanding of who has influenced Christianity through the years, and have really enjoyed all the study so far.   A few weeks ago we had a brilliant coffee time with student workers from all over Canterbury. We got together and shared what each of us are doing, and it was great to build a network of people all doing a similar thing! Already it has been fruitful in that we are able to communicate each other about what is going on and support each other in prayer. Please pray for the unity and working together to continue and be a blessing to each of us as well as the students we serve.   I’ve been able to start meeting up with some fresher’s and a couple of second year girls either 1-1 or in pairs, to encourage them and share in Bible study. God has really blessed those times, and the relationship I have with each of them, which has been so good.   Along with Laura, I have been helping Olly with the UCA (University of Creative Arts) CU on Tuesday lunchtimes. The students from last year graduated, but we now have a few committed students who come each week. It is wonderful to see God using that time to encourage and equip those students, even though there are not many of them. Olly and I had a very positive meeting with UCA student union president, who is really happy for us to advertise around the campus and hold lunchbar talks and other events – praise God!   Coming up in November...   1st - 2nd – South East Team Days in Reading 5th – 7th – Christ Church CU Houseparty Weekend Away 8th – 12th – Christ Church Events week 13th - 14th – Alpha Holy Spirit Weekend Away 19th – Core Study Response due 30th – UCA CU Lunchbar Talk  Last weekend was Laura’s wedding! It was an honour to be there to see her marry Kit, and celebrate the day with them. As you can see below from the ‘team Canterbury’ photo (Olly, Laura and I), she looked beautiful, and it was a fantastic day.    Please pray for her and Kit as they settle into married life in the middle of a busy year with lots going on already. Thank you all for your continued support and interest in what I am up to. I really appreciate it, and know that without it I would not be able to do this year! God has been working in my life and changing me over the last few weeks, and I pray this continues more and more over the coming months. Please keep me updated with what you are doing, and how I can pray for you.   All my love, Mim xx   Prayer points for the coming weeks:   - giving my talk on the team days next week - for the students attending Alpha to continue to be asking questions and wisdom for the group leaders in answering - prayer for UCA (University of Creative Arts) CU as, it would be great to see it grow and establish over this year - Christ Church houseparty and events week coming up – that the CU would be excited about mission and sharing their faith on campus; also as I lead a seminar on the houseparty, pray for confidence and wisdom

UCCF Blog 3

Dear Friends,   I hope this finds you well. I’m writing this, my first prayer letter since starting Relay, having just finished a very busy fresher’s week at Christ Church..but more on that later! Firstly, I want to thank you all for your support over the last few months, as I prepared to start this exciting year. I have really appreciated your generosity in prayer, financial giving, and the encouraging chats I’ve had with many of you. I have settled back into Canterbury life well, and am enjoying living with two friends who I was at uni with last year, and are now both teachers.   So the year started with Relay 1, our first week long training conference at Quinta. It was great to finally meet the other Relay’s, and particularly get to know those who are in my South East team – Laura (Kent uni), Katy (Southampton Solent uni) and Tim (Southampton uni). Everyone got on really well, and we enjoyed some great times of worship, teaching and fellowship together. In our morning fellowship groups, we each took it in turn to lead a bible study on a part of Colossians – thank you to those of you who were praying for me about this. It was great to be able to study the whole book in a week, and we all learnt a lot from it, and from each other, as well as practising leading a group study – which will be very useful during the rest of the year! The teaching during the main sessions was particularly focussed on grace. The verse Relay is based on comes from 2 Timothy 2v1:         “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”   It was wonderful to hear so much about how incredible God’s grace is. The week was followed by another week at Qunita called Forum, where we were descended on by hundreds of students all involved in the mission work of their CU’s. It was an amazing time, even if it did rain A LOT (especially after a week of glorious sunshine) – and I was camping with students from Kent uni! We heard from many speakers about mission and I was reminded how blessed we are in this country to be able to go and share the gospel freely without having to meet secretly or fear being put in prison.   After a couple of days off, we had our South East team days which was a time for Relay’s to meet the other staff workers and get to know each other better, as well as studying Philippians and a couple of the Psalms. We were challenged to put each other first, and have the same attitude as Christ in all we do.   As I said earlier, last week was Christ Church’s main fresher’s week, which involved lots of fun and free food! We were around to meet and offer help to all the fresher’s at registration; 400 free burgers were given out at a BBQ in one of the student villages; sports events went on through the week, and evening events were really well attended. The open mic night and quiz night in particular were fantastic, along with 12-3am ‘tea and toast’ (a weekly event serving people as they return home from a night out) and many conversations were had with Christian fresher’s encouraging them to get into churches and involved with CU, as well as non Christians encouraging them to come to Alpha and other events.      Prayer points for September     -Thanking God for His provision and guidance over the past month, and a fantastic fresher’s week -CU Alpha starting with launch night on Wed 6th Oct, then every Monday evening for the rest of term -Balancing my time with students and doing my study modules and other activities    Thank you, and I look forward to telling you more next month! Love Mim x

UCCF Blog 2

Hello there!   I hope this finds you well, and you have been able to enjoy the sunshine! Just a little update from me about Relay plans for September.   Things are coming along nicely; I’ve had a few McDonalds breakfasts with Olly and Laura (who I shall be working with), planning what we’re doing and praying for each other. I want to thank you all for your prayers, God is so gracious and faithful. I managed to successfully complete all my university work, and enjoy the last few days with friends. It was sad to say goodbye to people who are going back home and not returning to Canterbury in September, but I trust that God has exciting plans for each of them.   Previously I asked for prayer for the Christian Union committee – many of them have had the opportunity to go to Israel this summer with the Chapel team from uni, which has been an incredible experience for them so far. Please pray for them that what they have learnt whilst away they will be able to share with others. Also, for those still in England planning for fresher’s weeks in September, that they would be able to rest over the holidays as well as be ready and prepared for the start of term. We are very excited about the new students joining, and look forward to welcoming them to beautiful Canterbury.   Finding a house was a real practical need that I was worried about, but God has blessed me with a lovely house close to the university which became available a few weeks ago. It all happened very quickly, and I’m now moving in this week with my friends Laura and Jill! This has worked out perfectly as I know them from the Christian Union and they will both be starting teaching jobs in September. Praise God!   I have been really touched by the generosity of people in giving financially and committing to praying for me for the year. I totally trust that God will provide, but knowing already how much support I have is really encouraging.   Looking ahead to the rest of the summer, I have three books I have to read and bible studies on Colossians to plan in preparation for my first week of training in the first week of September. I am excited about this, but also quite daunted! Please pray for wisdom and guidance, and that I would be able to do it with an open mind to learn more of what God wants to tell me through it.   Thank you for your support and prayers, and I hope you are having a lovely summer.   God bless, Miriam xx

UCCF Blog 1

Dear Friends,   Some of you may have heard me talk on Sunday 1st May about the exciting plans I have for September. For those who were not there, my name is Miriam Taylor, and when I am home from university, I go to the 7 o’clock service. I have been attending the church since I moved to Ashtead with my family, aged seven.     In September I will be volunteering for ten months, working with UCCF (University and Colleges Christian Fellowship) on their Relay programme. I thought I would share a little bit more here, so you know more of what it is about. Over the next year I shall be writing monthly news and prayer letters which shall be available in church as well as online.   So what is Relay? Relay is a voluntary ten month discipleship training programme, led by UCCF (feel free to check out http://www.uccf.org.uk/relay/ for more information). During this time, there are around 70 Relay workers, working across the country in universities and colleges, supporting the Christian Union’s there. I shall be based at Canterbury Christ Church University, which is where I’m finishing my last year of teacher training at the moment.    Why am I doing Relay? I have been involved with the Christian Union for all three years whilst being at Uni, and have experienced their love, encouragement and support throughout. It is an amazing community of students from all denominations, with the main focus not being a mid week church, but being missional, and sharing God’s love. I want to support other students to do this, as I have witnessed the life changing impact of students sharing the gospel with their friends.   My vision for next year is ‘to allow every student who studies at Christ Church university to hear and respond to the gospel’. It is a time for God to challenge me, use me, and me to grow deeper in my relationship with him.   What will I be doing? There are three main things I shall be doing: * Growing in my faith – attending 3 training weeks, having weekly meetings with my supervisor, 8 hours of study time a week (all Relay workers follow the same 4 hours of core doctrinal study a week, and then choose an elective module for the other 4 hours of study) * Supporting students – writing Bible studies and leading studies for small groups of students, meeting up for 1-to-1’s * Supporting the CU committee – planning for the term, first contact events -  fresher’s weeks and events weeks, follow up events – Alpha   In situations like this, where it is going into the unknown, it is so encouraging to know that people are praying for you. These are a couple of things that I would really valuable specific prayer for at the moment:  * God preparing me for what I will be doing - finishing off my degree work whilst trying to organise next year * Finding a house – I have two lovely Christian girls who I will be living with, but it’s now a case of finding somewhere! * Meeting financial needs – being a voluntary programme, I need to find financial support for the year. I am grateful for the support I have already received, but still need additional support * For the Christian Union committee – God’s wisdom and guidance in planning and preparing for the new students coming in September.    Thank you all for your support, and I look forward to sharing more with you throughout the year. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to know more, or if you would like to be added to the list to receive my updates by email. I shall continue to pray for all that is going on in Ashtead.   God bless, Miriam x