Inês started volunteering with Bristol Hospitality Network recently. What she is doing for the network is invaluable, but unfortunately, her boys and work keep her busy during the days the network comes together, so we thought this would be a great way to introduce everyone to this new volunteer.
My name is Inês, I am Portuguese, 36 years old, and have moved to Bristol in 2012. I am happily married, mother of two boys – a 4 and a 8-year-old. I work as a nursing care assistant for St Monica Trust. I volunteer two mornings a week for the Bible Study Fellowship, which is currently hosted by St Michael’s Church in Stoke Gifford, and I’m also involved in “my” church, which is Woodlands (aka Woodies).
I heard about BHN through Woodies’ Facebook page where someone shared an add asking for new trustees and a house host for Fishponds. I happened to be thinking/praying about what to do with my Wednesday mornings once my youngest started school in September when I saw this post (back in August). Being in a foreign country myself has shown me how God has a heart for the displaced and disempowered; I consider it a privilege to be able to cooperate in God’s work of extending grace to anyone in a similar situation.
I have offered to do a bit of admin work from home since there’s not a specific activity happening on a Wednesday morning. At the moment I’m organising – or trying hard to! – a list of all the people who volunteer/have volunteered and finding out if there’s any need for further support/guidance in their roles. I quite enjoy the process of “tidying up” and having a general overview of all the people involved in making BHN work. Hope this will be useful in planning areas for future development and facilitating communication between people.
I am well impressed with the amount of hard work involved in BHN and can hardly believe everyone does it out of the kindness of their hearts. I find this truly inspiring and am really honoured to be part of it!