Jonathan 'This is me' Wilson: Smile!

Hello again friends, family and fans,
I just want to tell you all about one of the best weeks of my life. I know that's a big statement to make, especially as it doesn't involve Basil McCrea, but I think it's one I'm confident of making.

I really want to blog about it too. I really do want people to know what a great week I had. But I think this is going to be one of those blogs that even if no-one reads, I'll just be happy because I wrote it down and posted it.

The week can be divided into two categories -
1. In school joys
2. Out of school joys

I'll deal with number two first if you don't mind -
Andrew, my brother, came and stayed from Sunday to Wednesday which was fantastic. It was great to see him again and to spend time with him. We went into Manchester, went to Wagamama, watched movies and just chillaxed. Beautiful.
Also, my wee country of Northern Ireland is just thriving it would seem! Firstly, Sinn Fein (Catholic political party) and the DUP (Protestant political party), the two largest political parties in Northern Ireland came to an agreement to power share in the new government. This was the biggest and seemingly only hurdle to overcome if there was any hope of our country having any government and this week, for the first time in history, it happened! So amazing!
Not only that, but our wee football team managed to beat Sweden, ranked 15th in the world, at home on Wednesday night, 2-1! What a result!
Then on Thursday night, I went to Andrew's (who I work with) house and had a fantastic steak and chips dinner with him. Sarah, Andrew's wife, didn't have a steak though. She's veggie. Was a lovely evening and even beat them at Trivial Pursuit. Memories of Iceland came flooding back...

So, the second category was 'in school joy'. This is flippin amazing!

It all started on Sunday evening when Sue (my boss), Jenny (the boss' daughter) and Mel (the boss' friend) went to a service in Bramhall to kick off the Big Deal week (www.bigdeal.org.uk) in Bramhall High. It was so amazing! Churches came together, people were praying for the week, young people were doing drama and music and the support for the week was just incredible! It completely blew me away.

The week itself in school was, well, to use the word correctly, awesome. I got on so well with the staff, the pupils and the girls from Blush (www.blushuk.com). I had such a great time getting to know so many young people as well as meeting so many friendly staff members.
The welcome we had in school from both staff and pupils was amazing. There was so much respect for us as we walked around school and spoke with people. It made everything so much easier and enjoyable. We owe a huge thank you to the school and the RS department for how they treated us and looked after us.
It was great to get to know Jess, Nic and Lucy a bit better too. One of the best things to happen all week with the girls was one day in the staffroom when we had a free period, we just spent like an hour taking pictures on Lucy's mac. I wish I had some of the distorted and freaky pictures to show you but I don't want any children who might be reading this to have nightmares.

I got to introduce the girls too before their gig which was great and even though the crowd were a bit lifeless at times, it was still a good night! One of the highlights of the gig was when Nic came back on stage after her costume change and not only got stuck once, but twice, trying to come through the drapes! Guess you had to be there really...

All in all, I have to say that once again, God has truly blessed me this week. He has encouraged me, challenged me and brought me joy. He finished the week off brilliantly for me yesterday by not only giving me a great time hanging out with Adrienne, Chris and Rebecca but blessing my second driving lesson. God is good and when He smiles on you the way He has on me this week, it is the biggest and greatest smile you will ever see.