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Volunteer Blog: Tom Spicer

HELLO!
My name is Tom Spicer and I’m currently part of the ETA (Evangelism Training in Action) team based in with Burton-on-Trent Youth for Christ (BYFC).

I made the choice to come on this year out with YFC quite early on last year. My A-level subjects were all very ’sciencey’ and the idea of sitting behind a microscope for the rest of my life didn’t really fill me with joy. the logical choice was - A GAP YEAR! It then came to the difficult choice of which gap year to choose. I was deliberating and praying, trying to find out what I should do and what God had in store for me at least the next year and possibly for the rest of my life. I think it was my youth worker from home who originally put forward the idea of YFC and I had it in consideration but it wasn’t high on my list. It was at Soul Survivor when the solution finally hit me. (Well, a yfcone beach ball hit me whilst I was praying - so I took it as a sign.) I went and talked to the guys on the YFC stand who gave me some information, and within a month I had applied to the course! I then attended the yfcone big day in Halesowen to see what sort of stuff YFC had been doing recently, to meet some of the staff / volunteers and to have my interview! To cut a long story short: I got a letter or phone call (I can’t remember which) telling me that I had a place on the yfcone team and that I was to be placed in Burton.

Time passed….Exams happened….Gap year started….

I arrived at training and had ana mazing two (and a little bit) weeks both in Halesowen at the YFC head office and in Nottingham University, where the majority of our training took place. I really got so much out of that time, both spiritually and socially. Some of the talks were amazing and I wrote almost six pages of notes on one of them. I also met some incredible people there, some of whom I hope will be friends for life.

I am now living just outside of Burton in a small village called Etwall which is lovely. I am based with a church called St. Mary’s church in another, slightly larger village called Stretton. It’s a C of E / Anglican church, very similar to my church from home, so I settled in well and the people there really welcomed me into the community. I stayed with one family for 2 weeks, then moved house to the place where I am at the moment. (The only reason I wasn’t here from the start is due to the fact the builders started late, and there was no room for me to stay in).
So, as for what I am doing… I have such a variety of things that I’m doing this year. I do work in scshools doing courses called CoPE (Certificate of Personal Education), JP2S (Junior Passport to Success). I also help teach RE (or RS, whichever you want to call it) to year 6’s and I tecah French to year 3-6’s. Outside of schools work I help out with and run a number of youth groups in association and with other churches. After half term I hope to be able to start helping with a Youth Alpha course which is due to be taking place in South Derbyshire pretty soon.
Alongside the YFC gap year I am also doing a course called Engage which will, once I’ve attended the rest of the course and completed the assessed part of the course, give me a "Youth Support Worker" qualification, which is a recognised qualification in youth work. I hope that in doing this I will be able to learn more about youth work and be able to impact the people I work with more in the future.
So, almost  a month in, things are going great, and I am having the time of my life, serving God and the people of  Burton to the best of my ability. I am really excited to see what I will achieve in this year, both for my personal, spiritual growth - but also for the benefit of the people who I’m working with.

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