Hi everyone!!!

It has been a little bit since my last update, but I’m here to give you all the good news & updates from my first month in the UK! I’ve been here for about a month and a half now, and have been in full swing of my job as a ministry trainee here. I started at Dundonald and St. Johns the Monday after my mom left (Sept. 3rd), and have been learning & experiencing so much. I want to give you just a snapshot of what a typical week looks like for me here in London & ask for your prayers with some specific requests.

My Typical Week as a Ministry Trainee

MONDAY morning is a late start after a very full Sunday (keep reading for the full rundown!). Myself & the other ministry trainees, Evie & Devon, set up for our weekly staff lunch & Bible study meeting. We gather together as a staff at Dundonald for a Bible study, led by the senior pastor, and then eat lunch together. My primary role on this day is to make sure the lunch is ordered and served, and to tidy up the building of stray chairs & tables after the busy Sunday events. The rest of the day, we are free to work on other tasks & prep for the week ahead.

TUESDAYS are spent at Cornhill, a Biblical education program for ministry trainees that we attend each week. At Cornhill, the morning is spent in lectures, and the afternoon is spent in “teaching practice groups,” where I get to prepare talks on different Bible passages every few weeks and practice them in small groups of other trainees with a staff advisor. I have really enjoyed getting to be a part of this each week as it feels very similar to much of the teaching I had at the Kanakuk Institute last year. It is very practical, and has been another great way to meet people and make friends!

WEDNESDAYS have been such a fun day each week as it is my shift in the church coffee house! Something that is so amazing about Dundonald Church is that they host a coffee house in the lobby everyday of the week from 9am-3pm as a means of evangelism and community outreach. It has a complete espresso bar, and myself, along with other volunteers from the church get to serve coffee & treats to people of the church and the rest of the Raynes Park community. I have loved getting to learn to be a barista, and have had many great conversations with the people who come into the coffee house every Wednesday. It is so special to get to meet people who come in for the first time, and to spend time getting to know members of the church family. I really enjoy the coffee house, though my latte art could use some work! Also on Wednesdays, we set up for the small groups that are hosted in the church building those evenings. I also get to attend my own small group on Wednesday evenings, which is a theological course called “Prepare to Serve” led by our senior pastor, Richard Coekin.

THURSDAYS differ from week to week, but mainly Thursdays are my day to prepare lessons for Sunday school, read over materials for youth clubs, & do any other admin/operational tasks. Although, once a month we have training workshops for all ministry trainees across the Co-Mission Church Network. This means about 30 of us meet at St. Johns (my other home church!) to be taught by the Director of Training, and meet together in what we call “doctrine groups” to discuss the book we are reading. The book we’re reading for the first term is, “God Is” by Mark Jones – which I am really enjoying so far!

Once a month, the Co-Mission trainees come to Dundonald for the morning to be taught by Richard Coekin (Senior Pastor of Dundonald & CEO of the Co-Mission Network!).

Though Thursday differs a bit from week to week, I do  get to go to St. Johns every Thursday evening for the youth club where I am a leader! This has been one of my favorite parts of the week, as it is about 15 kids from three different churches, and we get together to eat dinner, play games, and hear teaching from the Bible & discuss it. Currently we are working through the Sermon on the Mount with the kids!

(Pictured - Me & Evie, my co-trainee, office-mate, and new bff!)

FRIDAYS are a slower day, with a late start in the morning & less on the schedule! I usually spend the morning working from home and then go into the church to make sure everything is set for Sunday morning. Myself and the other ministry trainees are responsible for setting the chairs in the auditorium for the services, and preparing any other things that might need to be set. Then, Friday evenings are the Dundonald youth clubs which I get to be a part of! First is Pathfinders for ages 12-14, and then we have CYFA for ages 15-18. I have loved getting to know the kids at both Pathfinders & CYFA and getting to lead them in small group discussions!

SATURDAYS are my day off! It has been so nice to have this day to rest each week! I have mostly spent my Saturdays exploring London & spending time with new friends. I have visited Notting Hill’s Portobello Market, walked around and explored Wimbledon, and visited Marylebone, Daunt Bookshop, Regent’s Street, the Royal Arts Academy & Oxford Street in Central London. Aside from all of the exploring, I have watched movies & gone for brunch or coffee with friends – with plans to do more of this in the future!!

SUNDAY is my busiest day, spent doing lots of ministry & being with lots of people! I start my mornings at St. Johns in Chelsea for their service at 11am. I catch the tube to Chelsea from Wimbledon or ride with a friend who also attends both St. Johns & Dundonald, and spend every other week doing Explorers (their Sunday school) for kids ages 0-12 all in one group!

St. Johns is a smaller church, which really feels more like a family meeting each week. My time at St. Johns on Sundays has come to be one of my favorite parts of the week, and by far one of the most life-giving! They also provide a family-style lunch for us to share together each week which has been such a blessing.

After my morning at St. Johns I quickly grab a coffee and catch the tube to Raynes Park to make it to Dundonald by 3:30. At the 4 o’clock service I serve as a Sunday school leader for children ages 8-10. I get to lead the small group for the year 4-5 boys, and get to teach the lesson for all the kids every other week. This is such a fun part of my week, and I serve on such a fun team of people leading the kids!

After the 4pm service there is usually about an hour long window where we reset the building for the 6:30 service, and I usually have time to run into town to grab another coffee with my friend Evie before the final service of the day! The 6:30 service is the one mostly young adults attend as there is no provided childcare. It is the service I get to just attend and has been a great way to be in community with the people my age at Dundonald!

So that is my very full, but very fun week here in London! While a lot of it may sound like things to do and places to be, I am getting to see a lot of ministry done in all of it. I truly am learning so much from the church leaders & staff at the 2 churches I’m a part of, and I’m being challenged in many ways as ministry looks very different here than I’m used to. Daily, I am humbled & strengthened in my convictions of what I believe and how that plays out when ministering to people of all ages.

As well as giving you some insight into what my week looks like, I want to ask for your prayer for a few things:

• I have just been set up with two teenage girls to meet 1:1 in discipleship! Those who know me well, know that this is my favorite thing to do and have been praying for these opportunities. Please pray that I would be diligent in my preparation to teach & that I would listen well to what is going on in the hearts of these girls.
• I prepare to give my first talk at Cornhill over Colossians 3:12-14 next week. Please pray that the Lord would provide me the words to speak and that I would teach the Word with reverence and praise.
• I‘m beginning to get to know some people but would love to build deeper friendships & grow in deeper relationships with the girls I’m in community with. Please pray for boldness for me as I attempt to make friends in a new culture & church!
• Finally, pray that I would continue to be diligent daily in my time in the Word and prayer for others, as well as my scripture memorization. As I adjust to a new life in a new culture, I pray that the Lord will continue to grow my affections toward Him, that I would grow ever closer to my heavenly Father and the knowledge of Him!

On a less exciting, more logistical note – my US phone number is no longer in service and I have a new UK phone number! The best way to reach me these days is Whats App, so please feel free to contact me via Instagram DM or Facebook to get my UK number to be able to contact me via WhatsApp!

Thank you so much for your continued support! I look forward to hearing for you!

Hannah