Written by Mark Scyner
I sit here writing this article having been in the Youth and Beacon team for just over two years now. Looking back is a great thing to do sometimes, remembering the people and times that have really impacted me.
I came back into a Youth and Beacon team that knew what they were doing and that engaged well with the young people and children they met. Like always at Lee Abbey, that team changed quickly with people leaving and new people coming on board. Seeing people leaving with new skills and a new confidence in what they are doing and what is next has always made me smile. Lee Abbey has a way of allowing God to shape us for what he has planned for us in the future. I remember one young man who applied or the estate team but that didn’t work out, but he was willing to give the youth and Beacon team a go. He had no experience, but he had a willingness to learn and try. What a joy to see him develop and thrive on the team, he was able to bring the skills he already had (always good to have someone with a chainsaw license on the youth team) and grow in confidence talking and instructing young people. We have a new young team at the moment, and already it’s a joy to see them grow in confidence and faith.
I think I’ve realised that I love seeing people reach their potential and seeing the joy when they achieve something that they didn’t think they could do. When leading an archery session and a youngster can’t hit the target, but with a little help and a little effort from them there they are hitting the target time after time. Watching a group of year six pupils not wanting to touch each other at the start of a low ropes course and by the end talking and listening to each other and physically holding onto each other to get around and realising that we need each other to help and support us at times.
I am now sitting in a new office doing a new role here at Lee Abbey. I am now Head of Operations, I never saw that coming. I’m now waiting to see what God has in store and looking forward to learning and developing into this role, a little apprehensive but I have a confidence that I am in the right place at the right time.
