SAFE part 1

Can it really be a year since the last SAFE summer school?  Er.. Yes!

This week is just one of the highlights of my year and I really look forward to it.  It's a lot of hard work followed by little sleep but it just an amazing week which is hard to express in words and I can only recommend that people come along to it to really understand it.

Last year I vowed that I wouldn't be the administrator again.  I couldn't handle the pressure of people complaining to me all through the week as well as organising the travel arrangements and doing the announcements each meal time.  Doesn't sound much but I found this all very scary and stressful as I am not a public speaker. But on the Friday I realised that I could do it and saw it as an opportunity to improve my confidence.  I had a disability that I could overcome.  So this year I was ready, I was prepared and I was scared!

But SAFE is safe.  A time for anyone to try things new that they wouldn't do or can't do in their home churches.  This includes singing, playing in the band, timbrels, dancing, drama and much more.  It's a shame that some churches see the disability and not the ability so don't give them the opportunity to take part. 

This year's theme was the X Factor (or rather the cross factor).  Highlighting biblical characters who were seen as nothing because of their jobs (Peter) or their size (David).  Sharing that Jesus can still has a purpose for us and that we have the X factor in His eyes.

So let the madness begin.  That is usually when the staff and escorts arrive.  I tend not to have trouble with the delegates, the real mischievous ones are the escorts.  The arrival is full of noise and laughter as we all haven't seen each other in a year and there is so much catching up to do.  For those who are new it can all be rather scary but they soon feel at home and by the end of the week are just as loud and mischievous as the next person.