How would you like a weekend of fun, laughter and fellowship situated in a Georgian manor, nestling in the serene and gently rolling hills of Leicestershire? The vast grounds, both picturesque and tranquil, providing rest and relaxation with the sun shining down on you. Well this happened!

The church went away for a weekend together for the Hothorpe experience. Each person received a ‘goody-bag’ on arrival provided kindly by Phil. Accommodation and food was excellent, with a plentiful supply of tea and coffee. Children were catered for with a variety of activities, from bouncy-castle, splatter painting, puppet making, dough modelling, story telling, face painting and a variety of other games including the parachute. The youth engaged themselves in various activities including a games tournament i.e. table tennis, pool, and football facilitated by Phil. The scavenger hunt provided a fun filled couple of hours digging for worms and chasing midwives. Some teams interpreted the instructions liberally which lead to some strange responses come check-in time. During this energetic time, others explored the 19^th century wonders of Foxton Locks and enjoyed an ice-cream.

‘Awaken the dawn’ times of prayer and meditation were ‘better felt than tellt’ as we sensed God’s presence among us. Sunday found us meditating as we walked around the grounds our thoughts directed to the resurrection morning and the Garden of Gethsemane, which naturally flowed, into worship.

Evenings brought a time of hilarity and amazement. On Friday we warmed up with icebreakers, getting to know each other better and was a good start to the weekend. Saturday evening brought under the umbrella of "Talent Night" compared by Andrew, an extreme of fun, talent and disbelief. Ask about Ken Bones’ sidesplitting, tear jerking, performance which left us all emotionally exhausted. There wasn’t a dry hanky in the house. Dad it was lovely!

Sunday came too fast…

After breakfast we met for a family service and communion in the now famous ‘Blue Room’. Julie brought an animated interactive story of David and Goliath that was enjoyed by all. And by the way, Andrew as we discovered, is not really that tall! During worship and the whole meeting we felt a real sense of unity with God and each other, acknowledging His presence. Communion was served by the young people and during communion the words of Isaiah 53 became alive… "He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities and by His wounds we are healed". I was reminded of a song written by Matt Redman, "How can this be? How can this be? He did this for me! Jesus did this for me!" We are important to God – He knows our name – written on the palm of His hand.

After lunch there came prize giving. Points mean prizes! Zebulun tribe won the day, mostly due to the excellent contributions to ‘Talent Night’ and worm hunting. Prizes were also given for the various competitions. First prize at ‘Talent Night’ was presented to Becky and David Plant with Rebekah and Emma Blyth and Ken Bones coming second and third respectively. All that remained was the completion of the feedback sheet and round off the weekend with a cup of tea or coffee. Feedback from the weekend was very positive and "Shall we embark on such an event again?" there is a strong possibility! Keep the feedback coming in! Provisional dates for next year should we decide to proceed are 18^th – 20^th July 2003. Thank you for all who took part and made it such a successful weekend.