I was inspired this time to talk about an ordinary day in the life of a Sheffield missionary children's pastor. It may not be as exciting as previous blogs, but you'll get to see where I live, work, and play. Above is my bedroom. I live in the top floor of a terrace house. Terrace houses are kind of like duplexes, except usually attached on both sides to other houses. Our house is attached on one side and then there is an alleyway on the other. But the attics of all the houses on our street are attached, so I got to hear when the neighbours decided to renovate. Many attic rooms have a sink, especially since there is usually only one loo/toilet/bathroom. So I get the sink in my room. And the third photo is my pet Gerber daisy. I've managed to keep it alive and reflowering for 4 whole months. Exciting, I know. Living in the attic has it's ups and downs. I have a great view of the city and my own little getaway, but I also hear the rain and wind. Mostly, I think it's great. Sometimes I hit my head on the slanted roof...
These are the stairs that go down from my room to the middle floor. People here call it the second floor, but in America we would call it the first floor. I am proud to say I have only slipped down the stairs once, but it can get a little tricky especially whilst carrying awkwardly shaped, heavy objects. The next photo is our loo, and the photo is tiny because the loo is tiny. But we have a full tub, which is great. Making your way down to the first floor is another set of stairs. I have friends whose stairs are steeper than ours, but not many. They were built at a time when people's feet were smaller too, because my whole foot doesn't fit on the step. Normally, I don't use the hand rail when walking down stairs, but I do for my steps at home. Gotta love pink carpet!
And this is my lovely kitchen. You'll notice that the washer and dryer make their home in the kitchen. I'm so thankful for the pair because many houses don't have dryers, or they have a washer/dryer. One of my teammates has one and she affectionately refers to it as the 'washer/less wetter.' This is where I come for a cuppa tea or to grab my breakfast and lunch on the way out the door to work. The picture on the wall was done for me by some of the children in the church, a sort of prophetic, feed my sheep piece of art. The last photo is my back garden. It's pretty good size, and I've laid out watching the stars before. Previous tenants have used it as a fireworks launching pad as there are no fireworks restrictions in the UK, especially on Bonfire Night.
This is the office where I work on most days. We were very blessed to get it, right in the city center with good sized rooms for uni lifegroups and prayer nights. I decorated the staircase at Christmas with holly and ribbon! And the loo was previously painted a horrid turquoise and teal, with avocado fixtures. I rescued it with some brown and cream paint. Slightly odd to mention the loo twice in a blog, I promise I won't be mentioning it any time in the near future.
At the top of the stairs is the conference room where I spend the majority of most Thursday mornings for staff meeting. Next door is the prayer room, where on Mondays we prepare for treasure hunting and on Wednesdays we have a prayer lunch hour. This Friday we'll be in there for a Good Friday time of worship and prayer. And last but not least is the office room. The sun shines in on my desk, which is looking typically neat and tidy ;). It's the first one in the room, right next to the radiator. I like where I work!
Things are otherwise going smoothly. I found a climbing gym, and got to climb a 15 meter wall. Yikes! But it was really fun; I even seconded and did a lead climb. And, I had to remember how to tie a figure eight. With the coming of spring, spirits are lifting. The whole nation is praying for revival and we are gearing up for a mission trip to...Sheffield. That means a focus on evangelism in the sermons, and this week the kids are learning about the Easter story in the context of salvation. Then we're making heart books, so they can share with their friends. Last week at the prayer night the kids got in front and tore, punched through, and generally shredded some of the strongholds on the nation - alcoholism, spiritual relativism, teen pregnancy, and materialism to name a few. It was awesome and powerful. God is doing great things for us, and we are filled with joy!
