Vladimira,

You’ve been very much part of Carrubbers and the Leith Home Group for quite a while now but not everyone has had a chance to get to know you. Thank you for being willing to tell us a little bit about yourself in this W2W blog.

Tell us where are you from and what brought you to Edinburgh?

I come from the heart of Europe, from the small landlocked country of Slovakia. Our capital city is Bratislava. I moved to Edinburgh 2 years. My husband wanted to improve his English so that he could understand and make use of the many Christian resources in English that I have been able to benefit from over the last couple of years. We could have done this in any English-speaking country, but we chose Scotland and Edinburgh because we fell in love with this country and city while visiting nearly 10 years ago.

What was your work in Slovakia?

I ran and I still run a small translation business. I translate mainly marketing texts, but over the years I have worked also on a few Christian projects. In the church, I was involved in all kinds of loosely related things – writing scripts, preparing visuals and crafts for a toddler club & Sunday school, website administration and I also did some graphic design.

Tell us a little about your spiritual journey and how you become a Christian?

I grew up in a Catholic family so I have been introduced to some truths about God early on in my life. I knew I needed to behave and go to church.

When I was 10, I had an accident during our family holiday. I remember falling into the darkness and the time slowing down for a while. There, lying flat and gasping for breath on rocks of a castle ruin, I thought, this is it, I am going to die here. The prospect of dying scared me and made me think about the finiteness and meaning of life. I did not die that night J (I know, quite obvious!) and miraculously, had almost no injuries, just a few bruises, a small scratch on my head and shallow cross-shaped scratches on my arm. Those cross-like scratches really made me think about God. I could have died that night but God did not allow that to happen. After this experience I became more interested in spiritual things. Later on, a Catholic friend lent me a booklet about creation and God´s plan to redeem mankind. After reading it I knelt down and committed myself to God acknowledging his supremacy, majesty in creation and goodness in supplying a way to be saved for me. I know this was a decisive moment in my life, but my search for God and truth was far from over. 

You said the booklet was handed down to you by a Catholic friend. Did you remain a member of the Catholic Church?

Yes, I did. I knew something changed in me inwardly and I was drawn to church. I wanted to please God and obey his commandments. I became a devout Catholic as I had never been in any other church. I had no reason to compare what the different churches taught. I just wanted to submit to all that God had for me in the church I knew. So, I enjoyed being pious, prayed the rosary, secured indulgencies for the souls in purgatory. I thought I was pleasing God. However, all these pious deeds were fuelling my self-righteousness. I believed that Jesus died to cleanse me from my sin in this way: he bought the “washing machine” with his blood, but it was my job to come to him and let my robes be washed again and again. I believed that if I happened to die on a day when I was clean enough (of course only because of Jesus), I would go straight to heaven.

What happened next?

A tempting bait on a hook appeared on my horizon! Ten years ago, I went to an ecumenical meeting in Zagreb, Croatia to spend some time in quiet prayer and worship over the few days between Christmas and New Year. There I met Jan, a Slovak guy who was an evangelical Christian and instantly fell in love with him. It turned out that it was mutual! From the start, he had big concerns about how we are going to make our cross-denominational relationship work. We talked a lot about the Bible and the different views we had on how we should practice our faith. These conversations took place on the phone, being separated by some 200 mile distance (Skype was not that popular back then). We went through some tough times. But God was good to us and he was opening my eyes to the amazing truth that I can have total peace with God because he made my robes clean once and for all. I realised my faith is all God wants from me. As the Scripture shaped my faith more and more, I understood why Christians in evangelical churches had no need to pray to the saints or keep religious icons. My convictions about God changed and my conscience allowed me to marry Jan and join an evangelical church with him.

This was obviously a very intense time of spiritual searching and change in your life. How has it been since then?

Since then, God has used many ways to draw me closer to himself and to the truth of his Word. Many of these times were deeply personal – spiritual low-points in my life which left me in deep doubts about God and my faith. I asked God many questions… why this and that word that you promise in scripture does not work in my life? Did you mean it after all? Am I really a Christian? Why is it that God does not fulfil things other people tell me he should? I felt like an angry toddler having temper tantrums before God.

But, God has answered me in an incredible way. He gave me such a hunger to find out what his Word really says about things that I did not know before. In fact, as I look back I see that without these deep crises of faith, I would never have made myself study the Bible and the different streams within evangelicalism with that much zeal.

What have you learned through your struggles?

I have learned that God wants me to get rid of my childish ways in order to make me more mature in the faith. I know that I need to watch myself closely in order to follow Christ, not man. I know my “you tube-induced” spiritual excitement alone cannot stand the test of real-life struggles. I need to seek God himself in prayer, not just the information about him like I used to. I need to strive to please him first instead of striving to create an image of a good Christian. I have also learned the amazing patience of God and his loving hand leading me.

How is Carrubbers helping you grow at the moment?

Since having my daughter, the most influential thing in my life has been the women-to-women daytime group. The immense demands of motherhood in the early months really shook my world and left me spiritually very dry. I was not able to benefit from the great teaching on Sundays like I used to. Therefore, I was so thankful for the opportunity to meet other women, pray and study a passage together (they kept my sleep-deprived body awakeJ). I felt really refreshed after each session. Now with Julia being 1, I have the privilege to coordinate and co-lead the group. Preparing for leading is something I very much benefit from and enjoy. The other thing that is great and helps me to grow is the example of people around me – their love and commitment to Christ and his cause.

Vladimira, thank you for helping us get to know you a little bit better. We’d like to pray for you over these coming days. How can we best thank God and pray for you and your family.

Praise God for his amazing provision while relocating to Edinburgh, for the warm welcome we received here and for many answered prayers. For example, Jan's commute time to work each day has been greatly reduced – from 3 hours a day to 1.5 hours a day – by God “giving” Jan a new work colleague who lives just next door and gives him a lift each morning and afternoon. This is an amazing blessing.

I definitely need more wisdom in how much time and attention to dedicate to different responsibilities in my life. Also, pray for us to grow so that we can be a blessing to others. However, my biggest prayer point is for my family and the region that I come from to be saved.

Please feel free to introduce yourself to Vladimira at church or email her

W2W Blog... getting to know Sarah Sholl

Sarah,

Carrubbers is blessed with many people who have been members of the church for a long time and also with people who come for shorter periods of time.  One of the challenges in a church like ours is how to keep connecting these 2 groups of people.  That’s the aim of the interviews that we do from time to time in the W2W blog and so thank you for allowing me to ask you lots of questions! My first question is this…..

Are you a music teacher? 

No!

OK, but we often see you leading a worship group and you somehow manage to produce great music every Christmas for the 9 Lessons and Carols so I guess that’s why I thought you were a music teacher.  So, what do you do?

I’m a lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University.  I teach Strategic Management and Research Skills at the Business School. I’ve also been involved in medical research and the training of doctors in the past.

How and why did you come to make Carrubbers your church here in Edinburgh?

I grew up in Sussex. In 1993 I came to study Biological Sciences at Edinburgh University. I was a Christian and a member of an Anglican church before I came to Edinburgh but I wasn’t growing in my walk with God. In my first term I was on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition and chatted with a guy who told me he went to Carrubbers, and that it was a really good church where the Bible was taught. I decided to give it a try and as they say, the rest is history.  That was over 20 years ago and I have not regretted my decision.

How did you get into the kind of work you are doing today?

In some ways, I’d say, I have no earthly idea yet I can look back and see that ever since I first came to Edinburgh I have been on journey of faith, trusting God to open and close doors as career opportunities came my way and decisions needed to be made. After my first degree I got into Forensic Medicine and worked on topics like human identification.  This included disaster victim identification and later on, the reliability of ear prints as trace evidence at crime scenes.  That was the topic for my doctoral studies.

OK, Sarah, no more details necessary, thank you!  But you are now lecturing in Strategic Management.  How did that come about?

In each job I’ve had to learn new skills.  I’ve learned to manage projects and people, to give presentations and lead seminars, to prepare grant applications and write papers on all sorts of related topics.  Moving into Strategic Management and lecturing didn’t initially seem to make sense although looking back I can see that God arranged circumstances to get me to that point and it has been right. The Research Skills bit is maybe less of a stretch! I’m not a “thunderbolt from the sky” kind of person but I do sense when God gives me peace about what I am doing and that’s so important to me.

Do you get to travel with your job?

Sometimes, yes.  From time to time I attend conferences to present academic papers on some area of speciality that I am working on, and I work with people from many different nationalities.  The most significant opportunity I’ve had was to spend time helping to train doctors in East Jerusalem and it left a very deep impression on me.  I’m hoping to go back to help there again before too long. 

What motivates you in your professional life?

It’s not so much the job I do but the people I work with and the environment I seek to create in the places where I work.  It’s not what I do but how I do what I do that matters to me. I want to do my job well because this gives more opportunity to honour God in an environment where it isn’t always easy to witness openly.

What are some of the challenges and perhaps even difficulties you’ve faced as a Christian women in your profession?

I have never faced discrimination in my job because I’m a woman or because of my faith, and I’ve never had to lecture on a topic that I disagree with.  I am grateful for this. My colleagues are generally respectful of others’ beliefs.  They know that church plays a very big part in my life.  They know too that I make choices about what I will or won’t do socially with them after work. I don’t push my Christian faith in my work environment but when I am asked or if I am able to contribute a Christian perspective in a discussion, I take the opportunity to do that.

To get to where you are in your career you’ve studied and worked hard   - wanting to honour God by developing the academic gifts and abilities he has given you.  What encouragement would you give us as women as we too work hard in our jobs while seeking to pursue a daily walk with God that is vibrant and real?

Be your own person – who God made you to be – comfortable in your own skin as it were.  Don’t waste time and effort trying to be someone else and don’t let yourself get caught up in all the debris of trying to be a 21^st century woman.  Think instead about who God wants you to be today, what He is teaching you today and what you are doing with what God is teaching you.  It’s easy for me to be very task-orientated, but I am learning that it’s not good to spend so much time ‘doing stuff’ for God that I neglect to spend time with Him.   I need to keep relearning that lesson!  I guess it’s about a determination to ‘keep the main thing the main thing’.

Let’s go back to where we started this conversation, Sarah – to music.  It’s a big part of who you are, I think.  What part does music play in your life and in your walk with the Lord? What motivates you to invest time and energy in events like @65 during the festival and “9 Lessons and Carols” for Christmas?

It would be hard to imagine my day-to-day life without music.  It is fun and a great blessing to make music with others like we do in the band, but listening to music and appreciating music are equally special and these too are gifts from God.   Music is just one of the many ways we can worship and witness, and @65 and the carol service are great opportunities to do this during the festival and at Christmas. That motivates me.

Tell us what you like to do when you aren’t working or involved in music?  What gives you a buzz?  What makes you sad?

I like finding ways to help people – often simple, very practical things – the small things that can make a big difference. I really enjoy doing that.  I love to read – there is no such thing as too many books - you should see the bookshelves in my flat!    I love to cook – but I hardly ever follow recipes (!) – and I love to spend time with friends.   These things make me smile. In the course of my work in forensics, I have seen some pretty horrific things, often the outworking of evil.  I am always astonished at what one human being is capable of doing to another – it’s heartbreaking.

Sarah, please choose a verse or passage of Scripture that we can pray for you.

I have scripture verses written on small post-it notes in my wallet.  Over and over these have been an encouragement and challenge to me.  Two verses that have been a particular blessing are Psalm 28: 7   and Isaiah 41:10.  These remind me that I am indeed not Superwoman, and that it is not in my strength that anything gets accomplished.  I have to relearn that lesson a lot too!

“The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in him and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.” (Ps 28:7)

“So do not fear for I am with you: do not be dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Is.41:10)

And finally we’d love to listen to a short piece of music that blesses your soul as you worship God. Give us a link and tell us a little about it. Thank you!

That’s a really tough one to answer. At different times and situations in my life God uses different music to minister to me and this is often something that I happen to be listening to at that moment so it can be quite situational, I guess.   A good example of this is a song called "That was then, this is now” by Josh Wilson that we did at @65 recently. Musically speaking it isn’t my favourite song but the words just seemed to be the exact message that we wanted as a band to share with the people who came in to the church to listen night by night.   The lyrics are great and speak to all of us, whatever our individual stories.

Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G89q7U4q8vM 

If you’d like to chat to Sarah feel free to introduce yourself to her when you see her at church or email her on Sarah.sholl@carrubbers.org.

Liz McGregor writes:

Carrubbers is a lively, busy church full of students, children, families, young professionals and people from many parts of the world. You have been a member of the church longer than most of us and so we’d love to get to know you better, to hear what it was like when you first came to the church and to learn from your many years of walking with the Lord.

What brought you to make Carrubbers your church family home and when was that?

As a family we were very involved in a Mission in Glasgow. In 1971, when my husband’s job meant a transfer to Edinburgh we made the move somewhat reluctantly! We visited some other churches in Edinburgh but decided that Carrubbers Close Mission, as it was called in those days, was where the need was greatest and so we came. That was 45 years ago.

What was the church like then? What’s different today? Is there anything you miss from the “old days”?

The congregation was quite small back then and there were just 2 families – ours and one other. And yes, I do miss some of the “old ways” but today I am deeply grateful to the Lord when I see so many families and young people listening to God’s word being taught and the gospel being preached.  I am always thrilled to hear of people deciding to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and to see them grow into a deeper relationship with Him.

Tell us how you became a Christian and what that means to you today all these years later.

I’m very grateful that the gospel, although profound is so simple that a child can understand. I heard the good news through the faithful teaching of a very godly lady who was my Sunday School teacher in Glasgow. On 11^th May 1943 I opened my young heart and accepted the Lord Jesus as my saviour. I understood very clearly that God loved me, that Jesus died for my sin on the cross at Calvary, that he imputed to me his righteousness and because of this, I would go to heaven and have eternal life. At this time, in 1943, we were in the midst of World War II and bombs were being dropped on Glasgow. Even as a child, I remember that as I ran to the air raid shelter I knew that God was with me and I had peace in my heart.

We see the name “Scott” mentioned quite a bit in the church bulletin! Tell us about your family.

Mr. Scott and I have 4 children, 3 sons and a daughter and I thank God that my husband, Eric, led them all to the Lord when they were still children. Oh, I am so glad the Lord Jesus himself said “Suffer the little children to come to me for of such is the kingdom of Heaven” Matt. 19: 14. Now they have children and grandchildren!

How has God’s word helped you throughout your life?

My husband always placed God’s word at the foundation of our home life. Children learn most in the home and are influenced most by what takes place in their family life day by day, especially in the relationship between their parents. They first learn about the love of God through the love of their parents.   Of course we made many mistakes but I’m so glad we can keep short accounts with God. If we are willing to confess when we’ve got it wrong and have sinned, he is faithful and will forgive us and cleanse us and we can go forward in that assurance.

Music is big in the Scott family. What’s your favourite hymn and why?

Yes, music has played a big part in our family and God can use the ministry of music to prepare our hearts to hear and respond to God’s word. But it’s really hard to choose a favourite hymn because I have been blessed by so many through the years. One I think of often is “It is well with my soul” and especially the verse that says….

“My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part but the whole
has been nailed to his cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, oh, my soul.”

What are some memorable moments in your life when you knew God was very real and precious?

Yes there are lots of memorable moments when God was and still is very real and precious to me. One of them was when God brought my husband into my life – that was very special - and when my children were born through physical birth and also when they were born from above through spiritual birth.

In hard times, how do you hold on to your faith and trust in God?

Sometimes we have to go through hard experiences in life like when you see someone you love suffering and becoming unrecognisable as they near the end of life on earth. Some of our children haven’t had it easy at times but God always sees us through as we learn to trust him with a child like faith. That’s when I feel God is near and precious.

What makes you smile? What brings joy to your heart?

One of the things that brings me joy is when we go off for a special family holiday together.

My favourite holiday place is the Lake District. That’s where my husband took me for our honeymoon and I love it still!   We have had some wonderful times at the Keswick Convention when the children and grandchildren went with us for many years.

Could you share a piece of advice you wished you had worked out earlier?

I wish I had been less anxious at times and remembered every moment of the day that my heavenly Father cares for me.

Finally, what one thing would you like to share with the younger women in Carrubbers to help us become more the women God wants us to be?

I’ve learned that a simple child like faith will carry you through when the going gets hard. He is able to meet your every need every moment of the day. Praise him for all that is past and trust him for all that’s to come.

“In Conversation With Pauline Scott”

 (note from Editor – this was an interview compiled while Pauline was home last year but it got lost! I’ve tweaked it a little to bring it up to date… do read, and pray for our dear sister in Christ, serving overseas in Liberia!!)

Andrea Morris writes…

Our homegroup have had the real encouragement of having Pauline join us in recent months. She (was) home from missionary service in Liberia, West Africa during the Ebola outbreak there. I thought the women of CCC may enjoy hearing her story so far:-

Background and Upbringing

Pauline was born into a Christian home where the whole family was involved in church life. When Pauline was seven, she went to the church’s annual camp where they showed a film about the life of Jesus. This really spoke to her and afterwards she talked and prayed with a teacher at camp and said the children's prayer "Come in to my heart Lord Jesus"

Being saved at a young age meant Pauline still had to navigate the teenage years! She describes this as a time of spiritual ups and downs, yet looking back, describes it as always knowing Jesus was there, keeping her 'on track' more than she ever knew...

Pauline was influenced by various Christian women in her life. Her mum was always someone she could talk with, and friends' mothers at church were an influence in their example and life too. She was particularly aware of two women missionaries from her fellowship and what they shared of their lives and work for God.

Pauline left school and began work in the Scottish Government. She bought her own flat...a new era of independence!

Sometime after, the OM ship - the Doulos - came to Edinburgh and first caught her heart and interest. Pauline visited the ship several times during its stay in Edinburgh, chatting to some of the women volunteering on the ship. This resulted in heading to Denmark in 2004 to help with the extensive refurbishment programme. It was then that Pauline caught a glimpse of the vision of the ship and felt challenged to look into a longer term trip with the Logos Hope, eventually joining in 2007.

Two books which influenced her at this time were:-

"The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren and "If you want to Walk on Water You've got to get out of the Boat" by John Ortberg.

Time on the Logos Hope

Pauline's time on board the ship involved her living alongside 51 nationalities! She found fellowship with all these different believers in Christ a real blessing and encouragement in numerous ways. She also enjoyed the challenge of the variety of ministry opportunities on and off the ship as they travelled the world. Particularly enjoying the interaction in the book shop, personal training, devotion times and women's meetings.

Of course it was not all plain sailing (just had to say that..!). The atmosphere on the ship could be intense....living in close quarters e.g. eating together, working in the on-board office, on-board church, recreation and generally no personal space as sharing small cabins.

She sums it all up by saying it was a time of learning a lot about herself as a Christian woman.

Call to Liberia

In April 2010 Pauline was sent on a team from the ship to Liberia and was struck deeply by the humanitarian needs of the country. She distinctly remembers walking through the slum area of West Point in the capital Monrovia, asking "Is this it Lord?" Pauline went home to Scotland with a view to return.....She returned to Liberia to begin missions work in April 2011.

(Editors note: Pauline works voluntarily for CAFMACP (Christian Alliance for Missions and Church Planting). The team consist of various African pastors, a young American couple and Pauline who handles much of the admin, project management and logistics. They have a site they are developing out in the bush where they hope to build a retreat/development centre. Pauline loves nothing more than helping out with the practical jobs that need done in developing this land, and playing with the many children who will hopefully benefit from the centre once it has finished.)

A Typical Day

On asking Pauline what a typical day for her looks like I realised quite quickly that there isn't one!

Most Mondays she is involved with meetings with Pastor David and the Team members of CAFMACP. The following days she picks up all the administration from the meeting...not as easy as we might think here in the U.K. as life is not smooth when it comes to electricity and Internet connection!! Pauline often organises work teams and trips to the project site... some two hours outside of Monrovia. She says she just has to adapt to "Liberian Time" when it comes to deadlines and admin! Other days she visits Eleanor who runs an orphanage.

Sometimes on a Saturday, Pauline is involved with CAFMACP conferences, women's meetings and prayer days. Sunday morning is church and then some well-earned rest after that.

Cultural Transitions

Pauline and I then discussed the variety of cultural transitions she has been through in the last few years of her life.

From home to ship was a culture shift but at heart she feels there was a certain familiarity with OM being a western organisation and English speaking.

Pauline found the transition from ship to Liberia more permanent and a much bigger change. This time of change required care and careful observation of the culture around her. She also has become aware of how she is viewed as a westerner in Liberia, finding it has led to certain opportunities and allowances because of the differences. She finds a general openness and respectfulness of Christianity in Liberia.

Pauline considers it an ongoing learning process being out of her "culture zone" and is continuing to learn more about the women in Liberia, praying her friendships grow and strengthen in her witness to different women she meets.

Home last year

Pauline had to come home when the Ebola crisis hit Africa. Understandably this was a time of mixed feelings. Happy to be home with family and church family but away from Christian family in Liberia at a very difficult time for them. She was able to raise much needed funds and awareness during the time.

(you can listen to her interview at the Ebola fundraiser event here) or go to carrubbers recodings and search "ebola"

What advice would you pass on...?

Pauline’s would recommend trying short-term missions as this is valuable to inform and guide as to whether or not the Lord is leading you to longer term mission. She found that preparing for missions and ‘hearing’ about missions can be quite different from what one might imagine of the actual experience, which can be challenging.

She also greatly appreciated wise pastoral advice from people in her life, including Wayne and Sarah, recollecting a conversation with Wayne about knowing when a calling is ‘our own desire to do something’ or God’s desire, also appreciating the importance of the accountability of prayer, questions and support. Reading stories of missionaries also inspired her to look at her own heart. Pauline read "Kisses from Katie: A story of relentless Love and Redemption" by Katie Davis.

How can we Support Pauline?

Pauline appreciated touches of home when abroad, e.g. emails, CCC news, whatsapp messages etc. She has also really appreciated the support of the Missions Committee and her home group.

(editors note: perhaps if you don’t support one of our missionaries regularly in pray or financially you might pray about linking up with one of them… you can sign up for newsletters here)

A big thank you to Pauline for sharing her time and for the heart she put in to answering all the questions. Thank you for sharing your journey so far with the women of CCC!

I will leave you with one of her favourite scriptures:

Psalm 121

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-He who watches over you will not slumber;

Indeed He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you-the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm-He will watch over your life;

The Lord will watch over your coming and going

Both now and for evermore."

This month, we'd love you to meet Susan

Susan, we have seen you in church on Sunday, can you tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Susan Pang and I was born in Hong Kong.  I have 4 brothers and 3 sisters.  I don't remember much about my early years in Hong Kong because I came to Scotland as a child.   My father came first to work as a chef.    He bought a restaurant and soon the rest of the family came to join him.  We lived in Dunoon.   I do remember that we cried a lot because it was so wet and cold!   My sister and I had a very good teacher who helped us learn English and we were able to go to Dunoon Grammar School.  I speak English in my daily work but at home I still speak Cantonese.  After some years my parents returned to Hong Kong but I and some of my siblings stayed on in Scotland and this has become my home. I go back from time to time to Hong Kong to visit my mother.  

I met my husband in Germany when I was on holiday.   He too was from Hong Kong and like my father, was a chef.  We lived in Germany for 2 years then we came to Scotland and opened a Cash and Carry business which I still own and run today.  At the beginning we worked night and day, 7 days a week.  When the business was struggling we began to make and sell freezer meals.  This saved the business and we were able to expand to 3 shops and employ 12 staff.  I have a son and daughter who work with me in the business.   I also have a wee dog called “JJ” (In Chinese it means little boy)

We all love Chinese food.  What are your favourite dishes to cook?

Chow Mein and fried rice!   

Did you grow up in a Christian environment?  

No, my mother followed the Buddhist religion.   God brought a wonderful Christian family into our lives in Dunoon and I spent many happy hours in their home. The old grandmother loved Jesus and would tell us children bible stories and about God's love for us.   I came to understand that he was not just a good man but my Saviour too.  I am so grateful to this family and to this older godly woman for showing me that God loves me and that I can know peace and joy in him. 

Can you tell us about your husband?   

Sadly my husband passed away some years ago.  He became ill with lung cancer.  I dropped everything to care for him.  He was not against me being a Christian and allowed me to go to church.   When I did all I could to look after him, it touched his heart.  He asked to speak with a pastor and he too become a Christian.   He was baptised before he died.  I am so thankful that I know he is with God

How does God encourage and strengthen you in your faith each day?

I am very thankful to God.   Because of his mercy, he sent his only son to die on the cross for my sin. Now I am part of God’s family.   I know I will share eternity with God. The almighty God is my Heavenly Father. This is my unshakeable belief.

I love the Lord's Prayer and going over it regularly helps me.   God made us to honour and worship him and that is my heart's desire each day.  It isn't easy and I don't always get it right but that is my goal.   I also love the hymn "O love that will not let me go."  The truths in that hymn have sustained me through many difficult times. 

I noticed as we talked, you sang some of the Lord’s prayer in Hebrew. Do you have some knowledge of Hebrew?  

God's love for his people, Israel, in the Old Testament is amazing.  He never stopped loving them even when they wandered from him.  I took the Kesher Course at Carrubbers and have been to Israel twice.  I have also taken Hebrew lessons. 

How can we pray for you?  

Please pray for my children.  They respect my faith but don't accept it for themselves.   Pray too for my staff, that they too would come to know and love Jesus and please pray for my health.  

Thank you Susan.

How does God show himself to be faithful when our hearts are broken?

1 Thessalonians 5:24 - The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

Clair Frith writes...

For those of you who don't know me I have been living in Edinburgh for the last two and a half years. Kyan and I moved with our three children from the beautiful island of Guernsey to study applied theology at The Faith Mission Bible College.

 How did we end up here?

Kyan has his own story to tell, but my journey began in 2010 when I felt God really stirring my heart about the needs of women… so many broken women, in broken relationships, with broken families and broken children… women caught in vicious circles that only God can break.

What was I to do about it?

I considered working with women in prison, in the local refuge, with teenage girls in schools or with struggling families, but the doors either would not open or were quickly shut. I was feeling increasingly frustrated. I had a real burden. I could see the work that needed to be done, but I had no idea how to get started.

This carried on for nearly two years, then, in 2012, I did a Bible study based on the book of Nehemiah entitled “A Heart That Can Break”. The woman writing the study pointed out that Nehemiah’s heart was broken for his people and she asked the question “What breaks your heart?” Answering this question was easy for me, I knew what broke my heart, as mentioned above, but when it came to what I was going to do about it I didn’t have a clue.

I continued to work and pray through the study and came to see that Nehemiah’s heart was breaking and there was only one thing for it, he had to get up and go! He had to leave the comforts of the palace in Susa, head to Jerusalem and get on with the work. As I read that, I felt God saying to me "Can the things that I have placed in your heart be achieved if you stay here in Guernsey, your comfortable place, your Susa?" It was then that I realised God was calling me, not just Kyan, to Bible college in order to prepare and equip me so that I would then be in a better position to work for Him, rebuilding the 'walls of brokenness' I saw around me.

Please believe me when I say the decision was not easy. I prayed it through, made excuses and wrestled with God. I was full of doubts. I didn’t think I was capable! However, after months of wrestling with God and no peace, I finally surrendered to Him and came to Edinburgh for our interview in October 2012. The minute we arrived at the college, we both had such an overwhelming sense of peace, there was no denying where God wanted us to be.

Did we make the right decision?

So here we are, three years later. We’ve survived two years of study and miraculously made it out the other side with a diploma each and, much to our surprise, a fourth child!

During our time at college I have learnt so muchabout our great God, His word and myself, but aside from all of this I think the biggest lesson I have learnt is that our God is the God of the impossible and He is faithful. He will never ask us to do something or to go somewhere and then leave us in the lurch - He will provide, help, strengthen and guide every step of the way.   I can testify to the fact that the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:24 are so true. “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”

Next steps and reflections

In December, we will be stepping out as a family on the next leg of the journey, joining The Faith Mission and taking on the running of one of their camp centres in the rural village of Harby in Leicestershire.

You might be wondering how this fits into the plan of rebuilding the ‘broken walls’. Truth is that at the moment I’m not quite sure. I have lots of ideas, but once heard someone say that “not everything that’s good is God”, in other words just because something seems like a good idea doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s God’s idea or what he wants you to be doing! I would ask that you join me in praying for God to reveal what He wants me to be doing and how He wants me to be doing it.

What about you? What breaks your heart? What really burdens you? What does God want you to do about it?

Don’t hold back! You won’t regret it!

Clair x

We are looking forward to meeting together tomorrow night around the word as Heather Holdsworth shares with us aboutGod's guidance. For those of you who don't know Heather... here are a few questions to help us get to know her better!

Hi Heather... So, most importantly, how did you become a Christian?

I was born in Africa and introduced to Jesus very early. I spent a bit of time trying to be nice enough to count in God’s faith community. I finally understood that he wasn’t impressed with my careful mask. He saw me for who I was, had compassion on me and knew the way to set me free from all the trappings.

A word to describe my first encounter with God – Astonishment.

And a cake to describe the journey since then – Rocky Road! Rich, bumpy, sweet, and sometimes you think you’re on a rock, but it’s a marshmallow! Here endeth the Will.i.am metaphors!

What verses have been particularly important to you in your life?

Zephaniah 3v17 “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” So many verbs – so much action that God is taking.

And for the last 17 years especially, the verses inscribed in our wedding rings:

Psalm 33v18-22 “But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.May your unfailing love be upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”

There’s action on both sides here – ours and his. It’s a two way street!

Tell us about a book you’ve read recently that really encouraged you?

Calvin & Hobbes ‘Revenge of the Monster Snow Goons’ – uplifting! Funny :o) I especially like when Hobbes turns into a soft toy.

‘Longing for God’ Richard Foster’s take on spirituality through the eyes of 1^st to 21^st century people who rejected surface spirituality and went in search of depth

Aside from the bible, what’s your favourite book?

There are many as I read a lot for my job. Insightful writing is a magnet, I was stirred by ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’; Amy Carmichael for 20^th Century fervour by Kenneth Boa

What’s your favourite Christian song or hymn so readers can listen while they read on?

Tis Finished the Messiah dies – amazing!!

Behold our God - is a great newish one

The women at Carrubbers all lead very different lives, what are you usually doing at 2pm on Wednesday?

I am usually in my office while a student is dusting or sorting or organising around me and we’re chatting away! Wednesday from 2-4pm is OTS (Opportunity to Serve) in the Bible College where I teach.

 What’s a day in your life usually look like?

My days are fairly timetabled as I work in a Bible College.

Monday: Faculty meetings and discipling as lectures take place in the evenings

Tuesday: I’ll be teaching modules in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship and perhaps doing some graphics work or writing for short publications

Wednesday is our prayer and worship morning from 9.30-12ish, afternoons are varied

Thursday is generally a reading day – offsite preparation for lecturing

Friday: Lecturing again.

Saturday final prep for Sunday School and hopefully a little time off for an outing in the afternoon

Could you share a piece of advice you wished you had worked out earlier?

‘It’s what you say no to that will define your ministry.’

I always thought it was what you said yes to.

What kind of legacy would you like to leave behind?

A legacy of disciples of Jesus who are convinced by him, vulnerable with him and are compassionate, compassionate, compassionate. God has given us spiritual kids, not biological ones. This is what I would like for the ‘kids’ God has sent our way.

What plans/ hopes do you have for the future?

That would be telling!

Thanks Heather, Looking forward to seeing those of you who can make it out tomorrow night.