From Dan Beedell, east to west Communications:
“During the last week of May, our family took its annual holiday with Nanny and Grandad, at Tenby in Wales. It proved a hit with my children: Amongst other things, we took a boat trip around Caldey Island (0.6 miles off the coast and home to Cistercian Monks, amazing chocolate and delicious fudge). During our trip we laughed as the swell moved the boat in various directions and marvelled as the waves crashed into the bow creating spray-bows (rainbows created in the spray), but the highlight was undoubtedly seeing seals in a quiet cove. One in particular was lying on a rock, clearly digesting a mammoth lunch (apparently, they eat up to 25kg of fish a day!), unable or unwilling to move as the tide rose around her. The joy on the kids’ faces when the seal was eventually carried off the rock by a wave was almost worth the price of the tickets!
The consequence of going on holiday is always a journey home – in this case a 230-mile drive. As I drove (and everyone else either napped or engaged their computer tablets), I pondered June’s wePRAY reflection. As this month we’re thinking about our volunteers, I began to ponder what motivates people to engage with east to west by giving their time and skills.
The similarities between our family boat trip and east to west’s team of volunteers struck me: As a family, we’d gone with the hope of seeing seals in the wild and we’d got so much more than we’d hoped for; we got a rollercoaster of a ride, saw spray-bows, spied jellyfish in the sea and counted cormorants and guillemots in the air; we made memories and had a great time. For our volunteers, they come with their own expectations of what it means to ‘bring hope to young lives’; they bring their God-given skills and talents to directly or indirectly support our work and they make a real difference across east to west. And what they get is so much more: They get to make a difference in the lives of those they work with; they support the wider families and schools or hospital; they build relationships with professionals empathising, caring and responding compassionately, and they experience the realities of having made a real, tangible impact...and yes, I’m certain it feels like a rollercoaster at times, too!
This month we’re asking you to pray with thanks for our team of volunteers, praying for them as they head into the projects they are involved in – whether school, hospital or office – and asking for God’s blessing and protection as they serve within the community. Thank you all for your continued prayer support!”