Poland, People and Photoshoots

Last week I had the privilege of travelling to Poland with Ben Davies. Ben was the Senior Pastor at Kerith Community Church for 43 years before he handed it over to Simon in 2007 (I think it was 2008 - before I was a part of the church anyway!). Being 49 years my senior, it was fascinating to hear the seemingly endless stream of stories that Ben had for almost every situation...all I can say is that I just hope that I have as many stories to tell when I'm 70! It was also great to see him in 'leadership' mode with some of the fantastic people from the church in Poland, got lots of notes!

Definite highlights include Ben holding a machine gun and having lunch with Dawid's family. For those of you that don't know Dawid, he's the tall Polish legend that has been working at Kerith with us for the last year!

I was also struck by the sense of global community that I found. The more I travel (particularly in a Christian context), the more I'm amazed by the love that people have for each other. Although at most points we required a translator to communicate with each other, people were genuinely interested in looking after you, talking to you and hearing what you had to say. I hope I get to experience that a lot more in the future.

It also needs to be said that I have the most awesome job! How many jobs combine writing, arranging, teaching and playing music, working with people from between the ages of 8 and 60, songwriting with 11-16 year olds one minute to a photo shoot the next?! Bring on Albania - less than a month to go!