oxygennews

Sarah Gathoni: From Kenya to Kingston

Today officially marks a week since i arrived England. Its a beautiful place and the people i have come across so far are really nice, that includes my hosts. Im still adjusting to the weather, though everyone keeps telling its yet to get colder, really comforting i must say :-) but i'm sure i'll adapt with time.

I've got the opportunity to meet a few members of staff but i have met the gap year team and they seem like a really nice lot. I'm slowly getting to know each member as we work together and its going great. I really loved team time on Tuesday. It was nice meeting everyone and finding out exactly why each one chose to put time aside and serve God.

I had my first room one and basement cafe experience this week. Both were attended by boys only but i got to interact with the kids and i believe i started off without any problem. Guess i dont have much to say now because im just starting out but i am looking forward to new experiences as i start this journey.

Also want to say thank you for the opportunity to serve with Oxygen. Looking forward to working together. God Bless.

Half Term Blessings!

This week was half term for the schools and the same applied for those in the Oxygen team….to some extent! We have been allowed time off from doing the usual projects but instead the staff tam have been working hard on a first aid course (apparently the acting skills in Casualty are better than those on the first aid video!) and the Gap team have been carrying out ‘Challenge week’.

Monday morning we met Debbie and were given our first mysterious envelope of the week….inside were the instructions that we had to ‘Use £5 to bless people you feel are undervalued, need encouragement and need blessing…The only condition is they must live/work in Kingston’. So after a few puzzled expressions and much debate we headed into Kingston town armed with £5 worth of sweets each with an encouraging note attached. The notes varied from ‘You are loved more than you know’ to Grace’s suggestion of ‘Have a nice day!’ (Can you tell she lived in America for a while?!). We then went into each shop along Kingston high street and the market place offering the sweets to the shop workers because we felt sorry that they had to work on such a sunny day. As you can imagine we had a variety of responses from enthusiastic acceptance, to ‘this is weird’, and blunt No’s! We even had one lady ask us if it was a joke like one of those shows on TV where people film your reaction!!

Tuesday morning we received our second white envelope – this time we had £10 but we had to make a difference nationally or internationally! This was even harder to come up with an idea for, especially on a budget of £10 but after some helpful team discussion time in Starbucks (!) we came up with the idea to send Grace (who is leaving the team at the end of the week to go travelling, boohoo) travelling with the £10 and to buy coffee for a homeless person in each country she visits. We also each wrote a letter for her to give to the people along with their coffee – watch this space for an update on how that goes!

On Wednesday we were given £12 with which to bless each other...woohoo! We decided to divide the money up so we each had £2 then we drew a name out of a hat and had to find a gift for that person using the £2 of something that either reminded us of them or that we thought they would like. Jamie received guitar plectrums, Bandna was given a nice belt, Bonnie had origami flowers with notes inside them, Anne received some art materials, Grace had bananas and peanut butter and I was given slipper socks – an interesting mix!

On Thursday, our final day of challenge week we had to bless those who the bible says are in need of blessing, such as the hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, sick etc with £10. This was probably the most challenging as we had to cover a wide range of groups with only a few pounds! Bandna came up with the idea to make and send Christmas cards to the local prison (which only cost us a stamp!) and Anne suggested making up a shoebox to send to operation Christmas child, which we tried to fill with donations from the local Kingston shops and finally we sent some of the money to the charity ‘Action for Children’ who help disadvantaged children. It’s amazing what you can do with just £10 when you put your mind to it – it’s definitely a lesson I’m learning this year!

It has been a good week for getting to spend time as a gap team again – normally our weeks are too busy to see each other much – and for thinking about how we can use our little resources to give a lot of blessing. It has made me think that even though I may not have much money this year I can still bless people through my use of time and energy and by just being me!

More popular than ever, Oxygen’s Rm1 receives endorsement and investment

Oxygen’s after school club Rm1 is set to benefit from a major capital boost due to an investment of nearly £15,000 from RBK’s Extended School’s Capital Fund.

The Rm1 Project is providing a safe space for young people after school to study, chill and play. Working with the senior staff at the schools and the Cluster Managers, funding has been secured that will boost the quality of services available at Holyfield and Coombe Schools available to Rm1. In particular the money will be used by the schools to purchase cooking facilities, so that healthy snacks and drinks can be served, more homework resources, to enable young people to undertake personal study and soft furnishings, to give the venues a welcoming feel for young people turning up.

Now in its third year working with young people after school this capital funding comes at a time when Rm1 has had the highest uptake amongst new year 7 students and has recently been achieved Ofsted registered status.

Kate Davies, Rm1 Project Leader at Coombe Boys School said this financial support and the “Ofsted registration for the Rm1 Project is really significant as it shows that Rm1 meets the standards set out by such a well known and respected agency. It shows parents that the service we provide is of quality.”

For further information regarding the Rm1 Project please contact the Oxygen Office on 020 89 or email rm1@oxygen-online.org.

Doing drugs in Kingston?!

The real extent of the alcohol and drug situation was brought to light last night, as Hope UK held the event ‘Doing drugs in Kingston!?’ Jonathan Melville-Thomas from YMCA estimated that 70-80% of the issues they deal with in their hostels are fuelled by alcohol. Oxygen is developing support for young girls, many of whom have heavy drinking habits. The concern for this group was also made clear by Paul Jacobs, Street Pastors Co-ordinator and Lynn Lock from the local authority. Alcohol, being one of the most accepted drugs in our society was exposed as a real danger, causing young women to become very vulnerable. It was also pointed out that the number of young people in Kingston who are seeking help for cocaine use has increased in the last 18 months.

Although a lot of very good work is being carried out across the borough, there is a need to specifically address the issue of alcohol and other drugs in order to increase awareness and prevent problems. The local authority has to concentrate more on helping the young people who need treatment and specialist services, and other organisations have their priorities. During the evening, the great need for knowledgeable and skilled drug educators to be trained became very clear.

Lynn Lock from the Borough of Kingston said after the event; “I get a real sense that if you can recruit some educators to the standards of the ones I met last night for Kingston, children, young people and their parents and the wider community will really benefit.”

As a result of this, we now need a team of voluntary drug educators from around the borough to be trained (for free) and equipped. The training runs for three weekends (Friday evening – Sunday afternoon) and is open to anyone who is a Christian and willing to be CRB checked, drug-free (including alcohol and tobacco) and committed to using the training to enable young people to make drug-free choices.

If you would like Hope UK to visit your church, a 5-minute presentation can be delivered as part of a Sunday service or weeknight meeting. All you need to do is contact them on 020 7928 0848 or l.liyanage@hopeuk.org to book a date.

Hope UK has extensive experience in training voluntary drug educators to carry out formal drug awareness sessions in schools, youth groups and churches and informal drug education at events and where appropriate. See www.hopeuk.org for more info.

VACANCY: Part-time Youth Worker with Mortlake with East Sheen Team Ministry

Mortlake with East Sheen Team Ministry are looking for a part time youthworker to work with young people in and through their three churches, to encourage them to grow in maturity as Christians and human beings, with support from  our partnership with Oxygen of Kingston. If you are passionate about God and young people, please contact The Parish Office, Mortlake High Street, London SW14 8JA

t 020 8876 1630 (weekday mornings);

e office@mortlakeparish.org.uk

Closing date for applications: 27^th November 2009

This post is subject to an enhanced CRB check

www.mortlakeparish.org.uk

Jamie’s Journal: Nov 2009

Hey hey!! Hope you’re well, and again thank you for taking the time to read this. Just wanting to update you on the latest news and goings on with me :D.

We had `Challenge week` last week, which was cool. Basically, we had to bless as many people as we could with little money, and we got points for innovation, originality and number of people blessed. We had varying degrees of success, Monday, we bought loads of sweets and took them round to all the shop workers on Kingston high street which was hard work, but was quite rewarding. It even led to someone we gave sweets to, going out of their way when we needed their help later on in the week with another challenge. Some people were not so receptive, one woman said `sorry I don’t have time for this`. WE WERE OFFERING HER A SWEET!!

Anyway, projects are starting up again this week, which is cool, can’t wait to get back to work! I never thought I would say that in my life, ever!! It will be good to see the young people again and get back to working with them.

Prayer requests. I still haven’t settled on a church to go to so please pray that God will guide me to the right one.

Please pray for the young people as they go back to school after having a week off, that they can enjoy themselves and can concentrate on working as well.

Have a great week!!

Jamie

Monday Prayer Mailing 02 11 09

As we return from the half term break we get back to what promises to be an exciting, but busy 2 months leading to Christmas. Up until now, with the Gap Team starting we have been running just over 12 of what is now a portfolio of 30 regular Oxygen projects. Now with a new ½ term starting, with venues and people coming into alignment we are about to double the number of schemes we are running.

• Read Grace’s prayer request here
• What has happened to Oxygen: The Journey of past to present and into the future
• Football Starting this week

This week as well as asking you to pray for the stories and people below could I also ask you to pray for the start of the work at the basement. This town centre location was officially opened just before the school holidays and now this week it is opening properly. From Monday, young people will be coming through the doors to the after school café. Then on Friday nights we launch the all new Friday Nights at the Basement. This weekly event sees us create a safe, inviting place for young people to come to every Friday night. On offer will be a programme as diverse as comedy, music, DJ events and parties.

Please pray for those involved in leading this scheme, pray for Ashlee leading Fridays, and Bandna leading Tuesday and Thursdays. Pray also too for Laura and Jonathan and the team at the YMCA who are opening the venue on Mondays and Wednesdays as well as several evenings.

Rich

Grace Lee, a parting word….

I wanted to send a last update as next week I finish my short time placement with Oxygen (I will be replaced by Sarah from Kenya). This is therefore my last prayer. As I finish can I say thank you so much for your support and pray, I appreciate it so much….Grace Lee

- Prayer note- 

It is the last week of Oxygen before we have  half term. I cannot believe that I am going to leave this place soon. Now, I feel comfortable with this year gap team members and settle in the projects that I am involved in. I wish I have more time to build up the relationship with young people.

It has been a challenge to settle in Oxygen. During two months, I have definitely been out of my comfort zone and had new experiences that I have not done before. Through this time, I found that I cannot do anything without God’s strength.

In the beginning, I felt difficult to engage with young people, since I could not find anything that I could relate with them. The most of them are boys who like football and computer games and pool which I have not even played before. Time goes by, I started to cope with them when they began to open conversations with me. 

I do not know how much I have impacted their lives and what kind of impression I gave them through my words and behaviour. I hope I planted the seeds of love in their heart, even though they are covered under soil and have not grown yet. I pray that the rest of gap team members and Sarah who will replace my position encourage young people to grow by showing their love for the rest of the year, so that they can harvest their fruits at the end of year.

I feel so blessed to have the privilege to serve young people for a short term. I will share with people about Oxygen and what I have done here when I go back to my country and continue serving people and God wherever I will go. I am going to go for a trip to Europe for a month and go back to Korea to finish my school. Please pray for my safe journey and people that I am going to spend time with in my trip. I would like to thank everyone who supports me with prayer and encouragement. I am going to miss the gap team members who support me by being there for me. 

Richard & OXYGEN in YFC news

How has Oxygen progressed, what have been the highlights since it all started, what is most memorable and what are the hopes for the future. All these questions are answered in a new interview with Oxygen Director Richard James in the Youth for Christ Newspaper this month. It might not be page 3, but turn to page 5 and you will be able to read what was said.

Simply click on the link here

Monday Prayer Mailing 26 10 09

This week’s Monday prayer mailing contains lots of links, lots of different types of news, stories and updates. Can I once again thank all those who read this weekly prayer letter, your support is greatly appreciated. We now send it out to over 500 people throughout not only Kingston, but throughout the world! It is great to get emails from people in the States, South Africa and Korea letting me know that they prayed for what has been written down. We also post out a further 50 prayer letters each month to those who don’t access emails, so if you, or anyone else you know would like to be added to that list then please let us know

In the meantime, thanks for praying

• How hide and seek defeated the Playstation!.. find out what happened…
• Friday Nights not alright for fighting, find out why…
• New Oxygen training events. Find our more…
• New Volunteer Opportunities with Oxygen, for more visit…

Richard, Director (Oxygen)