It is indeed over!

So here is my (Laura) Step Out Summer Summary. I can not believe that Step Out is over!! Now I have to get my head back into the books for uni. But that means I’ll get to go back into the classroom. Enjoy…

Well, this time last year I had decided that next Summer I was going to do just as I did that Summer, go back to working at the bank and do one week of Step Out. Little did I know that God had something very different planned for my Summer! I did not think for one minute that I would now be writing a summary of a Summer on the Step Out Plus team!

My first week of mission was in the small village of Alva; where we packed in 50 kids to the tiny church! How we coped, I will never know! Well I do really, it was God, it certainly couldn’t have been anyone else! We were using 'Roadside Rescue', the wonderful BU material written by Jillian (Step Out Plus), myself and a few others.

Week two meant heading over to Leven. It was here I realized just how much God can teach you through the loss of your voice for three days! Also, having not had much youth work experience, Leven is certainly the place to throw someone in at the deep end! Along with Roadside Rescue we ran a youth club in the evenings called “The Hangout”, which was a great place to get to know the youth; playing games, chatting, praying with them. And…my biggest achievement, sharing my story with over forty people!

For mission week three, Jillian and I headed to meet the rest of the Step Out Plus girls in East Neuk. This was a challenging week as I’m not the sportiest of people and we had to run sports mornings every morning in the High School. But I entered into it in good spirit and we were able to build up relationships and have some interesting conversations with the youth at the youth club in the evenings.

After a week at home, catching up with friends, family and indeed some much needed sleep I took my Roadside Rescue Resourcefulness back to Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire. I spent a week in Cornton, leading a Holiday Club in the afternoons, which was definitely a good idea for those who need the extra sleep! We did youth work over two weeks which was an unknown venture for Step Out but it seemed to work and gave us the chance to build up relationships with the youngsters. During the second week we joined up with Tillicoultry Baptist and they really are a church full of enthusiasm and energy. We ran Roadside Rescue where we sang lots of songs, many of which were requests of songs I had taught them there last year. We ended the week with a Fellowship Lunch after the Sunday Service where six children who weren’t church known came along, some, with their families. God undoubtedly is at work in Tilly.

My final week of mission took me the furthest west I had been all summer, Ayr. It was good to take a step back this week, from leading and become the Roadside Rescue Resource Reviewer (we Baptists like alliteration J). I enjoyed spending time with a small group of girls, getting to know them and have some interesting conversations.

This summer I have learnt so much about myself, working with children, youth, staying away from home for so long(!), staying in a church, working as a team, the list could go on and on! But I have also learnt the most about God, and his will for me, about how through him I really do have the strength to do anything and how I can share the immense love He has for me with others.

Take care,
Laura
xox