It's been a beautifully sunny day today, a sun day on a Saturday we might say. Some old friends from the school joined us with their three girls for lunch in the garden. Sian taught some of our kids in the Welsh School before becoming a parent herself and then more recently moving back to North Wales. Ian's a Londoner and they typify my contention that opposites attract (and so why do dating agencies try matching by finding common interests?). For example, last night she was watching Bryn Fon while he was at a 25th anniversary Billy Bragg concert! (What do you mean 25th anniversary of what?)
Anyway, after that it was straight up to Finchley for the annual LTS end of year get together. Graham Harrison chaired and retiring Principal Philip Eveson read and prayed while the new Principal Robert Strivens reported and briefly interviewed each of the 14 leaving students, leaving Welshman Will Powell to do the thank yous that are usually covered in a more bitty way.
Besides Will there were three British leavers (Simon Hook Crowborough, Philip Jones Welwyn Gdn City and Craig Whale Hadleigh, Suffolk) plus South African Evan King, now based in Burwell, Cambridgeshire.
From overseas there were two Africans, two Koreans, and one each from Burma, Nagaland in India, the Philippines, Poland and Honduras.
La Nu Mawng has been attending with us throughout his time and leaves Monday to return to his family and the extensive ministry of his church at home in Myanmar. You can see him above with Principal Strivens and with several (though not all) of the people present from Childs Hill.
The preacher was an ex-LTS man Edward Malcolm, chairman of the PTS's Kensit Memorial Trust, who have paid for the new library and lecture rooms on site, which were open for inspection on the day. He spoke very helpfully from the parable of the talents on being a servant, calling especially for zeal to do Christ's will and to persevere in it.
It is always good to meet old friends on the lawn over food and drink afterwards, even if you can't immediately remember who they all are. A perverse part of me also enjoys the way as the day wears on they begin announcing the registration numbers of cars blocking others in. It always reminds me of the calling out of raffle numbers at more secular gatherings of the sort.
Several of the men had a good idea of what is next. Others are unsure. We should pray for them all and for the ongoing work of the seminary.
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