Diary of an Apprentice - Week 7
Hannah O'Donnell, 3rd December 2021
I moved house! I moved into my new home with Caitlin and it is beautiful.
Sorry, I was so excited to tell everyone that I moved house that I forgot to say hi. Hi everyone! :)
I have to admit, the kitchen is kind of freezing but it's so pretty and the cold was nothing a gifted pair of slippers and a dressing gown couldn't fix. Living in Keekle now, I'm much closer to church and to work as an apprentice in general (especially saving lots of petrol money), so I've been able to get involved with lots...
This week I've been volunteering at Cornerstone and also taking a Cornerstone bookstore to Tiny Tots. It was a great opportunity to offer Christian books to the parents of the 'tiny tots' - I've found making conversations with these mums and dads really scary but the bookstall was a great, easy conversation starter. It was a clear answer to prayer, prayer that ways to get to chat to the parents would arise. Thank you Lord. So, what else have I done this week? Well, I've also been along to Pathfinders and to CYFA again. At CYFA, I was giving the teaching this week. Sunday, was actually my birthday and I thought that having to do something that made me nervous - like giving a talk - on my birthday would be a real chore. But in actual fact, I enjoyed chatting to the CYFA members a lot - it's a small group, but a seriously encouraging group. At Pathfinders, Nathan (my co-apprentice) was giving his first teaching to the group. He was speaking again on the 'I am' statements of Jesus and this week he was looking at 'the resurrection and the life'. It was nice to see a close friend whom I've grown up with, spreading the good news of Jesus passionately.
On Wednesday, I attended the lunchtime club led by NISCU at Whitehaven Academy. I'm really enjoying building close, trusting relationships with a couple of specific girls - it excites me to know that the Holy Spirit is working in both my heart and their hearts to bring us closer to one another and hopefully eventually closer to God. Relationships take a lot of time, effort and patience to build up - but when they are being built upon the cornerstone of a love for Jesus and desire to share him with everyone, it suddenly becomes so much easier to keep trying and waiting. Thank you Jesus for continually providing me opportunities to spread your good news - you are amazing.
After getting home from the North West Partnership on Thursday, as normal, I attended 'Living Room'. We have just finished going through the book of Hebrews. At first, I found it really difficult to stay concentrated and to take away something from the group. But, as we neared the end I was gaining more and more. For example, in our last session, we had a really eye-opening discussion about greed and the contrast between worldly and biblical views of money. For December, we are going through Robin Ham's Advent Devotional 'Finding Hope Under Bethlehem Skies'. Everyone at 'Living Room' is using this book for their quiet times in December. Every Thursday, we will meet to chat about what we've learnt. I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.
Hannah's fact of the week:
I think I come across to a lot of my friends and family that I am a strong extrovert who loves to socialise and spend time with others. And, don't get me wrong, I do love spending time with those I love, but it really does exhaust me. When I'm at home I spend a lot of time alone, enjoying my own company. So, perhaps you could say I was more of an introvert? Who knows?
My Father in Heaven does!