One local guy who grew up in the area came in to sort his benefits, but found the environment really good for his mental health. He says he cannot be open with friends, but feels able to with us. Although his mum attends church, all his local friends are Muslim so he goes to mosque […]

As we look back on 2021 and reflect on the journey God has us on, it seems a hard year to sum up in words. It’s not the “unprecedented” twist that 2020 brought us with the sudden and unexpected journey of a lengthy lockdown and life as we’d never known it before. Nor was it […]

The chilled wind blew the rubbish around in the overgrown grass in front of the rundown flats like jewels in a kaleidoscope. Finding beauty in gritty inner-city neighbourhoods is a skill that is required to last in a job like this. As a country girl at heart, I tend to loathe endless concrete slabs and […]

The brokenness in people’s lives can shock and numb us. Whilst there are many people whose problems we can help resolve, there are many more whose lives go from one trial to another. The gospel of Christ compels us to love as Christ loved: helping the lady who’s trying to escape her family and the […]

It was not often they had a chance to converse beyond day-to-day life since their children were usually in the picture (nine in total!). But as the journey inched on they talked about a whole range of things, including what the Church is, the role of faith in their upbringings, and the persecution the French […]

What next? This question is often in our minds as we seek God’s direction in developing friendships. We visited two families to deliver Eid cards. At the first, amazingly we met a Christian friend who had met this lady earlier in the week in the city centre and just ‘happened’ to be at the house […]

He was young and seemed self-assured. There was no real need for the help he had asked for, but he craved a listening ear and a place where he could get some moral support in ringing the council to sort some financial issues. I listened, at times frustrated by the lengthy and confusing explanation he […]

Since moving to Small Heath, our 7 seater has been been a source of bonding between Tim and our Pakistani neighbour who drives taxis for a living. He’s discussed car issues and local garages at length with Tim (whom he calls Uncle Tom), accompanied him on a couple of occasions to take our habitual smoker […]

Activity #1: Gap-fill Correction (Using an Image Editor) Technology: Use Preview to edit images Context: Beginning Level EAL ​Purpose: Ss will infer and discuss the meaning of a sign. Scaffolding/Instruction: The sign with the partially erased words “food” and “drink”. Students should first look at the pictures and then work together to complete the words, […]

Activity aim: to develop skills for interacting critically with peers Activity procedure: Students in class will need Facebook so they will be pre-warned in order to have it ready for class. A few private groups will be used to create dialogues between the students. A sample of a good discussion on a hot potato topic […]