home : friday : junior squash : senior squash : recent events : leaders : camps & cloverleys : china : photo archive : links 

A

 

Y

 

F

   Students News Page                                                                                                                    "Through Friendship, Through Fellowship, To Christ"
  part of www.aldridgeparishchurch.org  
Students News Page

                      

 This was just an idea to see if students might contribute to a news page to encourage and support each other, particularly those at Uni for the first time. Items about what you are up to (careful!); prayer requests; what activities you are involved in; what church you go to; general advice and so on. It will be updated as articles come in, so it's over to you!  email items to: students.aldridgeyouthfellowship.co.uk  - Unless you say, we will publish your email address so that people can respond direct if they wish.
 

Message in from Andy Benton in Leeds 16.5.06  tubagroova@lycos.co.ukJust thought I'd update on Leeds so far as its been 2-3 weeks since i left the realms of Aldridge.  Everything in Leeds is going really well, lots of work to finish (or do) in the first week after easter and then a interesting assignment i chose to do, entitled " After Petrol: The Future for UK Transport", which was in last Friday before a weekend of revision for my 100% exam for Meteorology this morning (tuesday 16th)..... got 6 days now to chill out and revise for my Water Quality exam on Monday and final Coastal Oceanography exam on Wednesday next week (22nd/24th)... then i'm home for a week on 25th and will be present at Matt & Gemma's wedding, :-D. Would love to hear from some of you sometime.... when your not revising that is...     All the other info I dont have space to put here is on my blog. www.tubasblog.blogspot.com.
On the spiritual side of my life, things are very good, been growing in faith and understanding, even supporting a friend who's in the hall i was in last year through conversation and prayer - our most powerful tool!! So much growth that I'm more confident of standing on my own as a christian and not relying on my christian housemates like I had been doing for too long.... God Bless,  Andy   P.S. Can i come to Camp 2006 and make it my last?
Message in from Hayley Clews  25.2.06  hayley_clews@yahoo.comHello! Hope everyone is ok, thanks for the student letter, i'm glad everyone had such a good time at Cloverley. I can't believe my term is nearly over - but then again i did go back to uni on New Year's Day! Just wanted to update anyone who might be interested on my news - i have a new housemate! After all of the stress and problems i had last term, everything is now sorted. i didn't have to pay any of the extra rent as the university returned it all to my bank account and my new housemate moved in on sunday. She is really lovely, a post grad from Barbados. We get on really well and i am just so thankful for the way it has all turned out - i know everyone said it would be ok but i had my doubts! I am currently writing lots of essays and rehearsing for a concert with my Rock Gospel choir next weekend. Looking forward to seeing you all at Easter - i get 5 weeks off - he he! Love Hayley xx
Message in from Natalie Moore in Edinburgh - 6.2.06 newnatty@hotmail.com Hi everyone, hope you had an amazing time on Cloverley those that went, I was very sad I couldn't be there :( Things are going well up here, soooo much work, especially because next week I'm being a naughty skiver and going skiing with my family! I've found some flat mates for next year, which is really good, and we're flat hunting at the moment. However, although they are really nice, they are THE ENEMY (aka medics)!sorrry, feeling a bit hyper! Not long till camp!! yay. see you all at easter, nat xxxx
Message in from Andy Benton in Leeds 28.1.06  tubagroova@lycos.co.uk Dear all, Hope all of you are well, and if you had exams like myself, hope they went well!
The new semester has begun in earnest here at Leeds and after just my first week I know i'm going to enjoy my chosen modules and enjoy my 4-day weekends! Fridays & Mondays off! :-D and about 3hrs a day midweek!  The life of a student (myself perhaps?)........ watching tv, dvds, freeview, and at times going for curries/pizzas oh and some work alongside... lol But of course there's also Christian Union and Church.... speaking of which, its the LEEDS CU MIssion Week in February (13th-18th) which is followed by my baptism on February 19th... just 2 weeks after Cloverley - which will be amazing i know it already. 90 teenagers?! Anyhow, I've typed enough already, and i'm watching my Thunderbirds DVD Box Set...  (got it cheap!) 
 See you at Cloverley (if you there) and God Bless, Andy B aka Frai Bentos 

Message in from Hannah Briggs in Lancaster 4.12.05  hannah.briggs@btinternet.com  Hey everyone! Just thought I’d update you on freezing cold and wet Lancaster (the weather still amazes me after 3 years – I don’t see how it can be soooo cold! And rain literally ALL the time – I’m sure Naomi will back me up here!)

Things this term have been going pretty well in general. I’ve seen Naomi a few times which is great, my house has been amazing and I’m so thankful about this especially after last years fiasco! Christian Fellowship continues to go well – we had a really great night last week with speakers from the Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians – it really opened up discussion and got us thinking seriously about our attitudes. An especially good part was imagining scenarios and how we would react in them (eg 2 men walking into church holding hands). We realised that it’s so so important to love and accept each other for who and what we are. Some of the members really struggle with the idea of homosexuality and see it as the biggest sin ever, while others are a lot more liberal about it, but whatever our opinions, we’re called to love our neighbours, and that means loving them where they are.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my time at Uni lately since I’m almost leaving (ARGH!) and I’ve realised that I’ve become a lot more open and accepting of other opinions with regard to my Christian faith, and realised that although there are some black and white answers, there are also a lot of grey answers where people have different ideas, which I think is a really brilliant thing, because it encourages discussion and diversity. I’ve also learned that actions nearly always speak louder than words, and the people just don’t appreciate being preached to and that hardcore evangelism quite often doesn’t work, and it’s much better to meet people where they are and just be their friends, without the mission to convert them, because often this can be much less intimidating. (gosh this is becoming quite long and convoluted!) Anyway, that’s what I think.

An item for prayer, please pray about next year for me – I’ve just applied to do a PGCE course starting next September in Lancaster, please pray that all this will go smoothly and that I’ll get on the course as I have such a passion for teaching.

I will shut up now. Feel free to email me if you want – haven’t heard from some of you for yonks and would be great to catch up! Back home on the 17th! Love Hannah xxx

Message in from Natalie Moore in Edinburgh - 4.12.05  newnatty@hotmail.com
Hi everyone!! I don't know, all these skiving students coming home already (cough: rach, hayley etc!) I don't finish till the 16th, and I went away first, how unfair! But Edinburgh's great at Christmas, often v cold though. My first term at uni has been really good, and I love my course, but can't wait to get home now; counting the days on my advent calendar!! Some REALLY good news last week, I got my own room!!! We picked names out of a hat, so annabelle has moved out, to another room near her friends, and I have the huge room all to myslef, so it was worth sharing for 8 weeks just to get this room in the end. ps, that means there's plenty of room for people to stay with me if they come to visit! see you in 12 days! love nat xx
Message in from Andy Benton in Leeds 29.11.05   tubagroova@lycos.co.uk  On St. Andrews Day an update from Andy: This week is Leeds CU Mini-Mission week with many evangelistic events from (challenging) Cold Contact, Lunchbars and culminating in the Carol Concert, for which i'm a steward! :-) Hopefully many of my non-christian mates will come along. :-D In my last post I mentioned about baptism. The Baptism classes are going really well and its going to happen in the new year. :) Now an exciting start to the new year instead!! See u all soon, term ends 9th December. Much Love, Andy
Message in from Hayley Clews  29.11.05   hayley_clews@yahoo.comHello again from the arctic climes of Warwick! Hope you are all enjoying the snow! Christmas has come early here becuase we finish term on friday, carol service tomorrow night at the amazing Coventry cathedral. I just wanted to tell you about something i went to last night. Each monday night the CU does a thing called Hot Chocolate Evangelism where we hand out hot choc to people coming out of the SU and just chat to them. Last night was the first night i had done it - and it was fantastic! It was one of the most rewarding things i have ever done, people were so appreciative of a hot drink in the freezing cold at 2 a.m. but they just couldn't get their heads around why we were doing such a nice thing for them - which then sparked some v interesting conversations! it really made me think about how sometimes you don't need to speak to witness to people, actions really do speak louder than words! Luv me xx
Message in from Andy Benton in Leeds 15.11.05   tubagroova@lycos.co.uk  Hey! Its been nearly two weeks since i posted about getting baptised and the wheels have certainly been turning! I had a fantastic meeting with Rev Andrew (great name!) and later Rev Brian (senior minister) about getting baptised and things really are getting exciting now, next Tuesday (22nd Nov) I start baptism classes with the view of being baptised early December (perhaps the 4th?) I'll no doubt be in touch before then though...  It so happens satan hates baptism and i have been feeling some extra burdening pressure than i would normally do, PR, prayers of strength, energy and of encouragement to keep moving forward towards baptism and also that i may knowwhat is to come after my baptism. Currently considering Cloverley, which my timetable currently allows me to attend, if you want to make my mind up just bombard my quiet inbox.. God Bless you wherever you are,  < BR>   Andy :)
Message in from Becki Howell 11.11.05 funkipantz@hotmail.com hello! just thought i should fill you all in with how things are with me... i am VERY excited right now as i am going to be fullfilling my dream of creating and designing my own magazine for my final project! it's a really cool coincidence...i spotted a poster in uni from a fashion student asking for graphic designers and illustrators to help her on a magazine she wanted to do for her final project. obviously i was quite interested that this girl was wanting to do what i wanted, so i contacted her. we met up last week and she asked if i would collaborate with her and so the magazine would be a joint final project for us- me designing and editing and she'll be doing the fashion/styling. bascially, we're both doing what we wanted and have each other to work with. she's really lovely too which is great because i was a tad anxious on what she would be like. the magazine is going to be a major challenge and take up a load of my time and energy so i would love your prayers. big thanks go to god for opening up this opportunity for me and providing me with the help i need.
other quick news and pr's... my dissertation title is now confirmed (finally) and pray for my mac because it is poorly and won't connect to the internet. oh, and please pray for me living at home- it's becoming quite an issue for me as i feel the need some sort of independence and change. thanks. sorry it's an essay! love *becki* x
Message in from Hayley Clews  9.11.05   hayley_clews@yahoo.com Hello all! It was great to be home for a few days last week and lovely to see people at church and squash. Last weekend i went on my cu Houseparty to Quinta (loads of C.U.s seem to go there, it's a great place, a bit like Cloverly). It was fantastic. We had a huge Prayer and Praise Party on the saturday night that went on until 1.30 in the morning! it was a great chance for me to get to know the freshers and has really made the friendships i already had stronger. As well as the main meetings we had seminars and the one i went to was on being a 'Girl of God', v good stuff! i haven't had a great term so far because of all of the problems i've had with the house, but going away for the weekend just made me feel so thankful for what i have got and all the bad stuff pales into insignificance. Then when i got back on monday, the Accommodation people at uni said i don't have to pay all the extra under occupancy rent - which would have been £700 each! An amazing answer to prayer i think!
Have a good week, i'm off now to root around in the second hand bookstall before lectures - dedicated English student that i am!  Love Hayl xx
Message in from Natalie Moore in Edinburgh - 4.11.05  newnatty@hotmail.com  Hey guys! Hope everyone's ok, and having fun (!) at school or work. It's been raining for as long as I can remeber here, so very soggy a lot of the time. Had a C.U church service on top of a big hill last night, which was amazing, but very very cold. Things are going well in general; got thrown out of a room by an angry cow, but fine apart from that! Just off to dissection now, talk soon. Take care, Nat xxxxxxx
Message in from Andy Benton in Leeds 3.11.05   tubagroova@lycos.co.uk 
Hey all of the Student Faithful & "the Homies",
The Last 3 weeks or so have been amazing for me in Leeds, i've had my sole remaining course mate take drugs in his state of depression, for which he is now having counselling and stopped taking the drugs he knows after many long MSN conversations online that suicide and drugs will not solve his unhappiness and lack of fulfillment in life in the long term.... a little gentle encouragement has led him to acknowledge the reason(s) why i am happy despite facing the consequences of my rather disastrous 'lust' sin spells in the last year - only one course mate left speaking to me....  knowing and having a real and true relationship with my Creator, God Almighty, which he sometimes admits he knows he should look into whilst at uni...  please pray with me about this as he seems put off by wanting to live life how he sees fit and religion does not come into it p rimarily although he believes there is a God.
Avid readers of this page and my blog (plug: www.tubasblog.blogspot.com) may recall i mentioned that Leeds is definitely the place where the Lord wishes me to be and that he has a great plan for my life... 
Over the last 2 weeks in my personal study, worship, at Church and CU meetings i have been questioning whether or not I am being led towards something the Lord wishes me to look into.. the story now brings us to last weekend (28-30th Oct) when with 100-odd others from CU i went to the CU Houseparty 2005 at Quinta, nr Oswestry, which was an awesome time of fellowship with freshers and people i had not met before such as the local UCCF workers for Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.
:-D.  The most important thing i have taken away from Houseparty, however, is an answer to my burning question of exactly what the Lord wishes me to do.  It turns out that I am now arranging a meeting with one of the Reverends of South Parade Baptist (my leeds church, which some of youreading this may have heard of?) about getting Baptised, yes Baptised by full immersion as a re-affirmation of my ever-strengthening faith and lifelong commitment to Christ as i am really living a life solely for him and i really am worshipping him 24/7 with a great Prayer Life within what i can only describe as an Amazing turn-around in my Spiritual life from when i was feeling rather dead (due to Sin) in mid-September.
All Praise be to Him for everything that has changed and is changing in my life and is yet to happen... God Bless you all. I'll Keep you informed of developments  & nbsp; Andy B :-)  P.S.  Do email me if you have anything you wish to let me know about this and any of my recent posts: tubagroova@lycos.co.uk 
Message in from Rachael in Cambridge.  rachelrayner@hotmail.com Hi! so sorry Iv only just got round to writing on this, can't believe iv been here for 4 weeks now, its gone so quick!! Im having a great time although it is hard work! im finding it really fascinating tho and we get lots of cool sessions with animals too! I was learning how to hypnotise rabbits for xray yesterday and chasing pigs round a farmyard last week. I get a bit too overexcited about dissection sometimes too as people can probably imagine! oh i also get to horse ride for free :D
 Iv been blown away by how lovely people are here and Iv made loads of great friends. Theres a huge variety of christians here too which is nice and Iv been to a couple of churches and the student group of one who are really nice and not too big to get to know everyone, good for me as remembering names has been tricky! Magich(Rich) and me did the tourist thing and went to kings college chapel last weekend- awe-inspiring building and choir although the service needed updating a few centuries! The weather here is great btw not had nearly as much rain as u guys but cycling in the rain is not good. Oh yeh prayer that i dont die cycling in between buses and lorries down narrow streets whilst dodging pedestrians would be appreciated! Hope everyone has had a good halfterm and you are all well. see you hopefully before december but im back before everyone else anyway then if not. Lots of love Rach xx
 ps i found out rachel causier is still here cus her name was on the leaflet for leading a scottish dancing night lol!! Havent met her tho. must go sort out another costume for dinner tonight(we'v dun a lot of dressing up), its for halloween 2nite, last time was togas.
Message in from Mel. icklemel2000@yahoo.co.uk  Hey! Just wanted to tell you all about my friday night, hehe. The curch I go to does a lot of outreach stuff and I'm involved in what's called the 'soup run.' Basically, my cell group makes a load of sandwiches and we buy crisps, fruit, chocolate, drinks, socks and dog food(!). Then we go out into the city centre and hand them out to all the homeless people. It was so good! They are some of the most genuine people I've ever met and they were really happy to chat to you and get to know you. We also got to pray for some of them which was really amazing, but also really humbling. And it was sad, too. Some of the guys who we met were drunk, and one showed us the scars on his arms because he's a drug addict. But the whole thing was generally really good, and it taught me a lot. And they all wanted 4 sugars in their tea and coffee hehehe! Anyway, I'm done now! Uni's going ok, very busy and got lots of work! See you all soon! Love Mel x x x  
 Phil Goodall in Nottingham  bernard142@hotmail.com   Helloooooo,
I've finally got round to emailing emailing the student page. Nottingham has been really gud so far. I've found a really awesome church, and hopefully should be joining a student group there soon. Work so far has been alright, so all is gud. much love, Phil
Message in from Katy Grice in Sheffield - 17.10.05  pennyalaugh@hotmail.com   hey guys! am loving the student news page, what a fabulous idea! am equally loving life in sheffield again this year, trying deparately to cram in all the god stuff, friends stuff, work stuff etc... came home briefly saturday for the wedding show at NEC (john and gem, not me and chris, which seems to be the assumption!) was all rather exciting! claire b - thanks so much for your letter, will reply as soon as poss - glad to hear I'm a legend of sorts at QM! not much news really from the sheffield end, getting stuck in responsibilties at cu hall group, involving daily 8am prayer meetings, confess to them being not so daily on my front though. workwise have recently been on a fieldtrip to meadowhall shopping centre, hardwork involving participant observation and really getting a feel for the shopping experience. dwindled student loan on 3 tops. sacrificial spending in h+m, someone needs to pay beki's wages!  righty, will be bk wkend of  28th/29th october for more wedding stuff and a few days off in reading week. am bound to pop in and see you guys. andy and nat - get well soon my munchkins. lots of love to everyone. katy x  ps: have seen tom lots, good to see and hear a local!
Message in from Natalie Moore in Edinburgh - 16.10.05  newnatty@hotmail.com
Hey everyone!!
I'm in bed at the moment, not very well, so watching Bridget Jones's diary!!heheh. Apart from that, still love it up here. went to watch horse and camel racing today (don't ask!), and was training calves to drink from buckets yesterday!!bless them!!! I'm coming home on friday!!!!!!!!!yay!!!!!! my flight isn't till about 7pm, but home at 8.30, and coming to YF, so I'll see you all in less than a week, can't wait!! oh, and Gemma, I am soooo winning cowpat bingo!!!!! nat xxxxxx
Message in from Andy Benton in Leeds 14.10.05 Latest News: "Off-sick" from University with a virus til Monday 17th October, tho feeling lots better today (Friday 14th) than i was between Monday and Wednesday - when i saw the doctor i was having fevers and headaches alongside a cold and dry, sore throat, the latter two i'm still to get rid of.  Other than that, everything else spiritually is still amazing and i'm still to find out what's next?lots of love, Andy..
Message in from Dave Breen in Bangor   raveydaveybreen@talk21.com
dave breen here been in bangor for about two weeks and had freshers flu for the majority of that missin everyone loads and hope we ll all stay in touch everything cool here and met a few nice people which is good lookin forward to seein u all agen much love dave b
Message in from Hannah Briggs in Lancaster 3.10.05  hannah.briggs@btinternet.com
Hello all from sunny Lancaster. Oh no, I lie, it is, as usual, raining.
Things here are good - Fresher's week started on Saturday 1st Oct (we're such a lazy lot I'm sure everyone else started weeks ago!) and promoting Chaplaincy and Christian Fellowship is going well although I'm in a high state of stress from being president and having to be in charge of too many things at once.
Please thank God for my house this year, I'm living with 3 lovely people and after last year this is such a huge huge relief for me! And thanks to those of you who prayed for me throughout last year when things got really tough! Anyway I love hearing from people back home so do get in touch if you want to :) God bless Hannah xxx
Message in from Andy Benton in Leeds 3.10.05   tubagroova@lycos.co.uk 
[Here's a typical midnight email from students who stay up late and try and arise early on a monday morning... altthough if this wasnt sent now, i'd probably not ever send it. - Sorry about its length!] 
" Exciting Times Ahead "Lectures (many in the Emmanuel Church / Chaplaincy Seminar Rooms!) are now in full swing and important coursework - counting towards overall degree mark - is slowly building up :-)
However, at the same time the end of freshers week with the CU BBQ and outdoor meeting brought about my first truly evangelical conversation with a chinese postgraduate student, who express interest in becoming a member of CU and exploring Christianity more, needless to say I've become his first English contact and i'm pointing him in the right directions, tho recently other more important activities have meant he's not yet been to any of the "International Student" events. :-( (Prayer on this will be much appreciated.)
At the same time, meeting an International student who is so interested in the CU and asking me to tell him all about Christianity has significantly affected me, making me analyse my own faith and witness, the latter of which hasn't been in my best interests it has to be said. :S
Although, we have a very forgiving God, a father of many second chances as long as we confess to him that we are in the wrong and he gives us his priceless blessing.
From confessing my recent distance from Him and hearing a talk saying on the lines of ' If we're not moving forwards, we're going backwards' [paraphrased slightly] I realised that i really hadnt progressed in the way i should have since Camp, when i really felt the closest to God i had ever been....
Since all of this has happened, I've realised that now freshers is over, I need to seek my next way in which to serve our gracious, compassionate Lord God. Just over the last few days, especially at CU on saturday night and Church on sunday night, I've really been touched during worship and I feel i'm now being prepared in spirit and mind to do some exciting evangelistic work within Leeds, what exactly this will be I do not yet know so i have some "Exciting Times Ahead". [hence title - :-) ]
I'll keep you informed as I endeavour to worship HIs glorious name 24/7.Love to all at home & the Students away :-D  Andy B
Message in from Natalie Moore in Edinburgh - 22.9.05  newnatty@hotmail.com
Hi! I'm in Edinburgh after an exhausting but brilliant fresher's week! had really good fun! But now had almost a week of lectures, and already the work is really hard!! spending hours already on it, help!! But had a good day today, spent it getting nice and muddy on a farm in my new boiler suit!!hehe. Dissection tomorrow, feeling like a proper vet!! It is absolutely freezing up here by the way. For those who knew I was stressed about this, my mystery room mate is sooo lovely, and we get on really well, so that's a big relief. :) talk soon, Love nat xxxxxxxx
Message in from Becki Howell 22.9.05  funkipantz@hotmail.com
hello- i'm liking this student message board. it's a great idea! good to hear how everyone is doing as well.
i have a prayer request for when i get back to uni next week... i need to have decided on a subject and title for my dissertation and also need to think up and write up my next project brief. both are pretty tricky to decide on what to do but need to be done asap! i've lost my dissertation notes (which helps oh so much) so if you could pray i could find them and that i miraculously become decisive. thank you...x
Message in from Hayley Clews  22.9.05   hayley_clews@yahoo.com
Hi! Hope everyone is settling back into the new term ok. This is a bit of an urgent prayer request really - i have moved into a house with three other girls this year and one of them isn't coming back. She was one of my really good friends last year so i am quite upset and now we have 9 days to find someone else to take her place before the rest of us have to start paying her rent - which we can't afford! Please pray that we would find someone nice quickly! Thank you
Hayley xx

Message in from Tom Mason in Sheffield 21.9.05    thomas_mason_mc@hotmail.com
Hello everyone, having a really good time here in Sheffield, missing your all very much, well missing you anyway. Got a Christian union meeting tonight and a BBQ tomorrow so lots to do. Seen Katy Grice twice!! which was nice. Was the most stressed ever today choosing my modules but got it all sorted so that was a big relief. Food is top quality rumours are flying that it gets worse so prayers would be welcome on this. I have to walk to far *stew never come to Sheffield without your wheels or a taxi number* everyday, i calculate approximately two hours of my day will be taken up by walking alone so i reckon ill come back stick thin, Believe! My corridor buddies (tribute to Plummer) are all very nice and i have settled in fine. Please if you see Babs tell her i love her and am still alive and mostly well. Future posts to come. Mason xxxxx P.S Ranmoor till i die

Message in from Andy Benton in Leeds 21.9.05      tubagroova@lycos.co.uk 
Hello! Just a quick email to let you (and rest of ayf) know that i am fine and well, living in a cosy house near the headingley stadium (cricket + rugby). All of us at no.17 are getting on really well, having a good laugh before lectures start in earnest on Monday 26th. :)  The rest of my leeds 'crew' living at no.13 are also getting on really well, even with their double glazing only being installed this week!
As you may have noticed, I returned rather early this year - reason being as im the head of promotions for the Christian Union re:Fresher event (running this week) i had to get 10,000 flyers printed, which i have to say look stunning! :-D
Now this week i've been distributing flyers (now known as info leaflets) on monday morning, before feeling rather ill and tired on tuesday. Today (wed) i feel lots better and chilled out know im finally through with registration (took 1 1/2 hrs this year :) unlike 3.5 as a fresher last year!)! yey :-) Got lots more involvement in the tent tonight ( Pub quiz! ) and thru to the end of the week, then its back to the books!
Got my Computer programming module start at 10am on monday - the usual first semester early monday morning! :D Tho living 30mins from uni will mean a very early start! :(  Lecture timings are the only downsides of the course sometimes...  Anyhow, My love to all still in Aldridge.God Bless Andy Benton