A man for All Nations...

Some Background

You probably now, since you're receiving this, that I'm now a first year student at All Nations Christian College, here for mission training before I go out to be a missionary in Japan. You may not know that much about All Nations.

This is an international, interdenominational college, with around 150 students, the majority of whom are first years. We have students from 30 different nationalities, and since most students work, eat, and live in the college, there's quite an international feel to the place. Learning to work cross-culturally very much begins at the breakfast table.

I'm here doing a two year course which will lead to a BA; the course is called "Biblical and Intercultural Studies", which basically means "mission". That's what I'm here for.

Here you can see the college from behind - the dining hall, academic block and the main house. My room is at the top of the main house.

First Impressions

We're now in third week, which means I've been here for three whole weeks; sometimes it feels like I've always been here, since I've met and made friends with so many great people. Sometimes it feels I've only just arrived and I can't imagine that I'm going to be here for another seven weeks.

It took me quite a long time to settle in and to realise that this really is where I'm going to be for the next two years; I had quite a bit of stress before coming up to college, and so I didn't feel like I was going to stay here. But over time God has reassured me that He has put me here, and I've felt more able to commit to people here without feeling that I'm going to be going home next week...

My first question as I arrived was - would I be sharing a room? I was quite worried that I would be, and how I'd take that. I am sharing, and it's not going too badly. Daniel is another Brit, and he's a good guy. We are, however, having to adapt to our different sleeping patterns.

Everyone here gets placed into a tutorial group to worship together, pray together and build each other up. I've got a great group of people, two families and about ten singles. Almost all of us are first years but already we're getting stuck in to leading the group, studying the Bible together, and developing deep bonds between us.

All in all, I'm well settled into the routine here and have a great bunch of people around me to support me and to give support to.

Life and Lectures

I knew that I was going to Bible college, but for some reason my mental model of that didn't really include going to lectures and having to write assignments. This term I'm taking courses in Greek, Hebrew, New Testament, living religions, pastoral studies, social anthropology and the Biblical basis of mission. I'm also taking part in a Jeremiah exposition module - every week, we choose a portion of Jeremiah to provide an exegesis on, and the next week we write a sermon on it.

I'm enjoying the languages, but find the Greek a bit slow since I know a bit already. The social anthropoloy is really interesting, and particularly relevant as we try to get to really understand how people in other cultures think. There may be only one course on "mission" this term, but that's because everything that gets taught here has a mission application.

In fact, every Saturday, we have our practical ministry session - each of us has a church or Christian outreach project in which we work. I've managed to arrange a placement with St Baranabas' church in Finchley, teaching English and Bible to a bunch of Japanese guys, and also attending their monthly Japanese congregation. I'm also attached to a local church, Christ Church URC in Hatfield, which is quite a small traditional church: a very different experience to being in a big, charismatic church like St Aldate's. This is done deliberately to help us explore the richness of worship and traditions within the Church.

I'm sure many of you suspected it was going to happen, but I also swiftly became the student computer rep. This does take up a lot of my time but it excuses me from afternoon maintainance and, more importantly, morning chores - another thirty minutes in bed. But I don't want to get known as the computer guy; I'd rather be known as the Japan guy, so I've started up a prayer group for the two Japanese students, the four of us interested in going to Japan, and their families, to pray for the Japanese people and mission work we know that's going on there.

In fact, I think the greatest part of being at All Nations is being constantly surrounded by people who are also fired-up about mission. The various meetings we have in the community - Wednesday's community worship, the Friday and Sunday fellowship groups, Thursday's world intercession groups - all have a mission focus.

It's not all study, prayer and worship, though; I'm doing a lot of walking in the surrounding estate, and have found a couple of Go players to keep me busy. I have even been known to venture down to the college gym in the morning...

Coming Up

I have some very busy weekends ahead - on the 16th October is a WEC church planting event I'll be going to, and then on the Sunday 17th is my first Japanese congregation in Finchley. The weekend after, 22nd-24th I'm hoping to visit Oxford. I hope to see many of you that weekend.