Way back in early 2020, when all the rumours about COVID-19 started appearing, I was in the middle of my final university placement, to finish my social work degree.  Back then, it was talked about as an illness that people who had been to China were getting, and we really weren’t too worried about it. 
 
Before long, it suddenly emerged in Northern Ireland, with people becoming ill and dying, hospitals being overwhelmed, and people genuinely fearing for their lives. 
 
But for me, and all the students completing their placements at the same time, we really didn’t think that it would affect our placements.  Then suddenly, we were told that our placements were ending, that same day, and that we should all go home! 
 
I remember saying bye to everyone, and telling them that I would be back in a few weeks, just in time to complete my placement, due to finish at the end of May.  We had no idea then that the world would go into lockdown, and that even now, almost two and a half years later, we are still trying to get back to normal! 
 
Within my church, we were quick to move online, setting up a WhatsApp group for all the congregation, to offer support, in all aspects – if you remember the toilet roll and other shortages, we had plenty of people offering which shops locally had supplies!
 
For me, online church offered an amazing opportunity.  My minister encouraged me to take part in services, initially with children’s talks and Scripture readings, but building up to delivering sermons, and then even writing an delivering these myself.  I really don’t think I would have had the confidence to preach initially if this had been in church, and I’m really glad that I’ve had the opportunity to start this journey online. 
 
I was also so grateful that in the summer of 2019, I had the opportunity to go to Uganda, with GB Europe.  I absolutely loved the experiences I was able to have at that time, and found that thinking back to these experiences, and remembering how lucky we still were even in lockdowns, really helped me to remember that God knows exactly what He is doing in our lives, and does these things to benefit us (Jeremiah 29:11). 
 
And while online church definitely had its advantages (no one can deny that being able to ‘go’ to church in your pyjamas was a perk some weeks!) I did find that towards the end of the first lockdown, and definitely in the second lockdown, I struggled with not being able to meet with my church family in person. 
 
Even once we were back to church, it still wasn’t ‘normal’.  We could only let a certain number of people into the church each week, so we had a booking system; we all had to sit two metres apart, so we had pews blocked off; we all had to wear masks; and we weren’t allowed to stay in church after the sermon and chat, to reduce the risks of COVID. 
 
But when it got difficult, and I wanted things to go back to ‘normal’, I tried to remember Matthew 18:20.  It reminds us that we don’t need to be in a full church every week, but if some of us gather together and choose to follow Jesus together, God will be among us. 
 
And this is something for us to consider as we return to GB.  Whether your GB has managed to continue over the past two years, perhaps online or meeting outdoors, or whether this September will be your first time going back to GB after a couple of years missed, how amazing will it be for two, three and more of us to gather in God’s name! 
 
In my GB, we didn’t do any online GB, so we missed a full year of GB, before coming back for part of the session last year.  While we weren’t having any GB, we tried to keep in touch with our girls by delivering small gifts at various times in the year, to remind them that we were thinking of them.  It was lovely to see so many of our girls back last year, with so many of our tinies now much more grown-up explorers! 
 
Over the past couple of years, I also completed my Queen’s Award – not knowing, when I started it in March 2020, that the world would change completely in just a few weeks!  While at times I found this difficult, and even wanted to give up sometimes, I found that the various parts of the Award allowed and encouraged me to build my relationship with God, which was something I was able to rely on throughout lockdowns and beyond. 
 
But now, we are (hopefully!) finished with all the lockdowns and can look forward to a new session of GB, without restrictions. 
 
In just a couple of weeks, the Youth Forum is hosting a Beach Party – we hope this will be an amazing opportunity for us all to meet again, to get to see old friends and meet new people, and to bring us back for a new season of GB with a bang! 
 
I can’t wait to see all of our girls back in GB this September, coming together again, learning more and having fun. 
 
While we’ve been away from GB, I’ve tried to grow my faith by reading my Bible more, and using devotionals to encourage me.  I’ve found these so helpful at encouraging me to keep up-to-date with my Bible readings, and trying to avoid getting really behind.  One verse I’ve found recently in reading the Bible more has really stuck with me - “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25).  As a book lover, I just find it amazing how much Jesus did throughout the Bible, and how much He continues to do for us all today.