We can't thank you all enough for your prayers and support over the past few months. It has been an incredibly busy time for us; the countdown to moving out of our flat in Bassett Street and needing somewhere to move to, the preparation of activities and residentials over the summer, (executing those activities and residentials!) as well as getting ourselves ready for the new term in September.
Let us fill you in! Great news – we found the perfect flat on the estate we were hoping for! This was a serious answer to prayer, not only was the cost within budget but the location and size are perfect. Although we still had to move back to Rosie’s parents for a couple of weeks, we moved in to our new place on August 15th without too much stress. We are so grateful to have such willing and committed family and friends who have helped us move so many times now – we wouldn’t manage without you!
Introducing Lismore Circus!
We have moved into a beautiful 3 bed flat in a 1970’s block of low-rise flats called Ludham. Ludham is one of a pair of inward-facing low-rise blocks, the other is called Waxham. (Waxham is in fact said to be the longest single block of public housing in Europe.) The estate is widely known as “QC” short for “Queen’s Crescent”, however, locals are pickier about defining which part of the estate you are from! Here’s a little breakdown of the various areas of the estate, this drawing is part of the re-generation project that is happening. They will be rebuilding thousands of housing on the estate and although they say it will be replaced by ‘affordable’ housing, me and Matt know first-hand that ‘affordable’ in Camden is by no means actually affordable by the average person!
Let us also introduce Jack, who is also living with us and has been great to have around. He gets stuck in with our local work on the estate alongside an apprenticeship he is doing in Marylebone. Matt knows Jack from when he used to be in Matt’s youth group. They joke that they have been trying for 8 years to live together and now it has finally happened! (I am definitely the third wheel in the relationship)
In September, we managed to squeeze in a two-week holiday before XLP term started back with Jack, Rosie’s cousin Ben and friend Caitlin. It was a wonderful get away to Gibraltar, accommodation was provided for by our friends the Skrentny family. This was such a blessing as we certainly didn’t have enough money to go on holiday otherwise this year, and it was a much-needed break!
We had 13 around for a meal for Rosie's Birthday in September! So, there really is no group too big
this is your official invitation to come around for a meal! Please get in touch with some dates you are free!
We are warming slowly to life on the estate, Matt has been really good at chatting to strangers and making friends in the hairdressers (Goddess)!
Rosie finds it a little harder to form friendships with people when there isn’t ‘purpose’ (like asking a question, or sharing information – basically with anyone who isn’t a teenager!) so please pray for them both as they try to get to know their neighbours.
We are also now running an XLP Bus on the estate on a Tuesday evening which has proved initially successful. We often have over 20 young people and they are always there waiting for us each week! Behaviour has been tricky; the young people are definitely a challenge – but a challenge we are welcoming.
We can see some real potential in these individuals and are excited about getting to know them and their families better. We see many of the teenagers around the estate during the week and for a number of weeks we were quizzed “why are you here?”, “what are you doing?” “Are you following me?” and explaining to them that we live on the estate too, and then being able to have good conversation with them has been a real joy.
Getting to know teenagers on the estate has been both fun and extremely challenging. We have increasingly been able to identify a number of teenagers who are parts of gangs and are involved in drug dealing.
I (Rosie) am aware of a few girls who are a part of these groups, and I am worried about them. They are extremely vulnerable, some are NEET (not in employment or education), they are at risk of sexual exploitation and I am convinced they are drug dealers as well as users. I often hear them during the week at night, drunk, in the park and these girls are only 15/16 years old.
The XLP Bus team did some detached work and introduced ourselves to them (which was a fairly awkward moment, props to Miriam who didn’t quit easily!) and although they were polite and told us their names, they were really high on cannabis. Although it’s sort of comical when girls are so out of it they can’t keep their eyes open because even their fake eyelashes have then become too heavy…. It is sad to see, and frustrating to know, that they probably won’t remember us or our conversation with them. This makes it difficult to know how to build relationships with them, but I trust that God has put them on my heart for a reason and will provide the right opportunities to get to know them.
Matt and I are both working in the local PRU (pupil referral unit) and we see lots of the teenagers from the estate there!
Matt goes in on a Friday to play football with the lads at lunchtime, and I go in twice a week; Tuesdays for a 1-2-1 mentoring session and Wednesdays to run a girls’ lunchtime group. We love being in the school and they have been very receptive to our free help… of course!
Looking to the future…
We have got exciting things happening at church, Kentish Town Evangelical Church will be having a Family Carol Service one evening and we hope to get a good turnout of locals!
We have also been invited back to Greece to lead the youth work at the People International Conference again, we are honoured to have been invited again and are looking forward to seeing the young people we met two, and four years ago!
Anya (who we met at the above conference two years ago) unfortunately wasn’t able to get a visa to come to the UK to do the XLP Gap Year. We were all completely gutted but she still believes God is calling her to the UK and so will be applying to come from Easter through Summer, she will live with us and support our work in the local churches and community. If she is successful in her application she would then like to stay and do the Gap Year in September 2018.
Prayers
>>That we will have more opportunities to get to know our immediate neighbours, as well as more localised neighbours around the estate.
>> That our presence on the estate with the XLP Bus on a Tuesday evening would be fruitful and continue to help us connect with locals and young people.
>> For opportunities to build relationship with that vulnerable group of girls: M L and P who we spoke to this week.
>> Matt will be starting 1-2-1 work with a student at the PRU, pray that this will be a good pairing and for the initial stages of Matt meeting this young person.
>> That Anya’s visa application will be successful, and that she will be able to come at Easter.
>> For all the young people we work with, both locally and through our work with XLP
>> There have been some structural changes at XLP which Rosie is struggling with, please pray she would have patience and resilience!
