As we continued with our lives and took each day as it came, we soon faced another challenge. At that time, work permits were only issued for three years. The next step in obtaining permanent residency in the UK is to apply for 'Permanent Residence', but you can only submit this application after four years of residency.

 

This creates a problem because, under a three-year work permit, you would have to leave the country before reaching the required four years, making it impossible to apply for Permanent Residence. Unless the company is willing to go through the entire process again, they cannot guarantee that they will secure another work permit. It’s clear that the system is designed to be as difficult as possible.

 

God knew this all along, and so for some unknown reason, Hendrik had a work permit valid for five years, which was a miracle. After four years we immediately started applying for our Permanent Residence. Everything at a price of course. Then after seven years in the country, you could start your application for citizenship. We started all this while I was still working at Riverside Vineyard Church Office.

 

This is the first time I have ever worked for the church, and of course, as I mentioned before, I was surprised to find out that all the weird little jobs I had in my life – Bookkeeper, Reception, Barmaid/Events Coordinator in a Hotel, my background studying Art and Design, Caretaker – provided me with the experience I needed for the job. Even a sense of humour.

 

I loved working with Richard Bramall, who was the Associate Pastor at the time. After many years of service, he retired, and we all missed him and his wife, Diana. Richard would often come into our large office with a big smile on his face. He had a wonderful ability to be himself and make us laugh. During the time when Hendrik and I were applying for our Permanent Residence, he came in and told me that it was a prerequisite to know a particular English song. He and the bookkeeper then danced across the floor together while singing that song to me:

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside! I do like to be beside the sea! Oh, I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom! Where the brass bands play, "Tiddely-om-pom-pom!"

So let me be beside the seaside! I'll be beside myself with glee. There are lots of girls beside me. I would like to be beside, beside the seaside, beside the sea!

 

After a few months, I realised that I loved this job. It was my dream job. But I believe it wasn’t a coincidence that I started working for the church. We found this to be the best training for a church planter, and we applied the idea to Lisa Bruni when we sent her and Sam out to plant a church in Italy. We also employed Nicola Baker for a couple of years, aware that God called her and Tim to take over Yeovil Vineyard Church from us in the future.

 

Working for the church presented many challenges, far from being an easy task. The hardest and most difficult lesson I learned was dealing with proud and controlling people and you find them everywhere.

 

I have worked for many large companies and have always maintained a healthy and trusting relationship with all of my superiors, regardless of their age. They trusted me, and I earned that trust through my actions. Many changes occurred when Richard retired. First the Administrator resigned, and then the Bookkeeper retired. Additionally, we faced new pressures due to the purchase of an old building, which required us to transform it from an office block and factory into a church auditorium and offices. As a result, we found ourselves unexpectedly in need of many skilled individuals we had not required before, and I believe the boundaries of our roles and responsibilities became somewhat unclear.

I found myself under the authority of a controlling person without warning. Being in the church office meant you had to be ready to be a happy and welcoming face to everyone visiting the offices. One lady came in, and her cheerful demeanour suggested she was in a chatty mood. I didn’t want to be rude to her, and as it was my lunch hour, I invited her to sit down and join me for lunch. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an email on my screen that required my attention, asking if I needed help to get rid of this lady while I was supposed to be working. Anger surged within me, and I realized I needed to control my emotions. I had to avoid conversations with him in this state.

 

He noticed that I was upset after I received the email from him and wanted to talk, but I replied coldly, “Not now.” I knew I had to get to the Lord in prayer before speaking to him. It took me two weeks before I could get to the place of praying a blessing over him and his family and mean it, and only then I knew I was ready to speak to him. We all must learn from our mistakes and that goes for any and everyone. The most important thing I learned in those years was seeing the practical outworking of all the things Jesus commanded us to do. There were moments when I was asked to do certain things I immediately would feel this check in my spirit, ‘Doesn’t the Bible teach us what to do?’

 

In 2005, after two weeks on my knees confessing my sins, the Lord began to talk to me through 2 Kings 19:29. It said, "This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that." But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.” I guess the Lord was testing me to see how I resolve my issues with this brother before He said we could now move on.

 

I went to Hendrik and said: “Hendrik, the Lord is telling us it is time to move to Yeovil in two years”. It was surprising that the Lord gave us a two-year warning period as I was getting used to having to run to keep up with the Lord when He spoke. We shared this with Andy, the Assistant Pastor who oversees us; he and Bethan Chapman took over from Rick and Lulu as Senior Pastors following their retirement. He asked us if we had told Rick and Lulu yet because Rick requires church planters to complete a two-year training before they send them out. We smiled, understanding now why God gave us two years' warning. We were so blessed that God placed us with Rick & Lulu. At the time we were about the 14th church planters they sent out.