Hello St Denys!

We hope you are all well, having had a blessed Christmas filled with the joy of Jesus.

We have been very grateful for the chance to see family and friends this year, especially as we think back to Christmas 2020 when we could not (although it was still a wonderful Christmas spent at St Denys).

Cat has been very busy submitting assignments for college. She is enjoying learning and the atmosphere of Trinity College is very welcoming, albeit quite fast paced and at times overwhelming! Sam has been working incredibly hard in his job at the Salvation Army, in one of their larger homelessness shelters. We have both welcomed the chance to rest a little over Christmas, (although only a short rest it seems as we were thrown into helping Cat’s mother run a midnight mass on Christmas eve last minute due to so many of their congregation getting Covid!) Unfortunately sharing time with family also meant sharing Covid as Cat and her family all got Covid from one another and unfortunately had to isolate over New Year. Catriona and her family are all on the mend and are thankful for having had the vaccine that has kept them all safe from more serious illness.

As we are back into the full swing of working and studying, we would appreciate prayers for a few things:

·         Energy for the fast-paced tempo life has during term time for both Sam and Cat.

·         Clarity as to whether we should consider relocating closer to the college. (Currently Cat has to cycle 80 minutes uphill to college and this is starting to takes it toll on both time and energy. It also makes us feel somewhat isolated from the college community.)

·         A firing up of passion to serve others and God in our lives. We have taken much of the last few months to settle into our new life but would love over this period in our lives to continue to serve others and to serve God. May we discover and have the courage to  say yes to opportunities for this in our life here in Bristol.

·         Love and fellowship. At times we have struggled being in a new place and having to build new relationships. We miss St Denys very much and all those we love there. We yearn for those sorts of connections again but know this takes time.

Thank you for all your prayers and for continuing to keep us in your hearts and minds. With all our love and prayers for everyone in St Denys, Sam and Cat