Niddrie Apprenticeship Scheme

It has been a busy couple of weeks since my return from South Africa. The last couple of weeks have been tinged with tragedy and real blessing. On the tragic side I conducted the funeral of a man whose younger brother I buried less than 2 months ago. a third brother died tragically 6 years ago and have left the elderly parents childless. Words cannot describe their sense of loss and pain. as before, the building was packed to the rafters and I preached the gospel as simply, clearly and sensitively as I could. There is no hope without Jesus. There is no salvation without Him. There is no meaning in our suffering apart from Him who endured such pain, death and separation for His sheep. we pray that even in this tragedy Jesus would be glorified and people would turn from their sins and put their faith and trust solely in Him. It is all I could say and it is all we have to say. There is no other message.

On a happier note, we had a great meeting with Edinburgh City Council representatives last week. a couple of months ago we stumbled (providentially) across a disused building next to the Jack Kane Community Centre near my house in Niddrie. This building has stood unused for nearly a decade. It has 8 large rooms, 2 toilets, 2 bathrooms, 2 kitchens and two garages. Apparently, it was the housing for the original manager when the centre frst opened in the 1970's. one part of it has been almost completely destroyed inside due to an arson attack.

Prior to this discovery, we had been thinking for some time about what we should be doing with our new members who have either: never been emloyed, been long term unemployed or are unemployable due to their mental health and/or drug and alcohol issues. Our idea was to try and see if we could launch some type of apprenticeship scheme whereby we could teach some of the people in our area a variety of skills, such as: plumbing, electrics, building, plastering, joinery, cookery, hair and beauty, literacy/communication, mechanics etc. this building, then seems to be the ideal location from which to engage in this new community project.

Our fundamental problem going into the meeting was that we didn't have a penny to our name (and still don't) and so we were just praying that the council would give us favourable terms on the lease of the building. after a very friendly meeting they agreed to lease it to us on a rolling 3 year basis for the princely sum of £1 per year!!! To say that we were chuffed would be an understatment. Our God is definitely able! we are currently in the process of having the contract drawn up and are awaiting the inspection of a structural engineer. Please pray that everything would go smoothly for us.

Our next move is to put together a 3 year strategic plan and to try and raise some funds in order to finance the project. our aim is to staff the place using skilled volunteers from the Christian community who can pass on their trade to younger people as well as disciple and mentor them inthe Christian faith. If you have a skill and want to help us out then do not hesitate to get in touch. The possibilities for this project are endless and we are excited about what God is going to do through it.

I will keep you as up to date as I can.