Granddad’s Tribute
Monday 22nd December 2008
The task I have in hand here is to summarise my Granddad’s life in a matter of three or four minutes, taking into account how our whole family feels about him. Not an easy task for such a man as Henry George Avis. I cannot do justice in this short time I have, but each of you who were lucky to cross paths with my Granddad will have your own stories and memories of him.
Whether that be the way he whisked you off your feet at the age of 18 at the local miner’s club,
or when he used to trail you around with the local cricket club every Saturday, or the way he would take the time to teach you something; like how to break into a house, as an example,
or when you met him in the street and were always meet with a warm and genuine welcome,
or the way you sat on his lap and he hung to every word you said, or as he stood and waited at the front door and waved you good bye as you drove out the street and gave the token horn-blow as you left,
or the way you saw him so focussed on one of his hobbies, like his tomatoes, his garden or his unbelievable wedding cakes (which required a spirit level to get it exactly perfect!),
or in his later years, while he was housebound, after a warm welcome he would take an genuine interest in you and want to know what was happening in your life.
It was refreshing when we complied the information for the back of the order of service to see how much of an ordinary man he was. No, he wasn’t a Noble Peace Prize-Winner, a prize-winning author or indeed a man who inspired thousands of people with clever rhetoric. My granddad, by this world’s standards, was no hero; but this world doesn’t need any more heroes, does it? What it needs is men and women like George Avis – an ordinary man who could love people extraordinarily.
When you were in George Avis’ presence you knew you were loved. By a smile, a tone of voice, a touch, or by the silence – who knows? But only you knew it was. If you knew him like I know him you know were loved. He was man who believed in love, who sought after love, who advocated for love. The way he swept his Sweet Pea of her feet and after 63 years loved her like that very first day, cared for children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and even the way on his last days he was concerned that he couldn’t show the affection he wanted to is all testament to the extraordinary love he so believed in. His investment in love leaves his family, a family who he loved until it hurt, but was still able to love more. The way he loved others now becomes his legacy.
Mother Teresa said; “We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it.”
Looking at my Granddad’s life he got it right. A man who did small things with great love. Although, my granddad’s body is no longer with us we can still see glimpses of him, if we catch of sight it. In the way that we love, in the way we show it, in the way we let others know, in the way we fight for it and believe in it. It would only be right for each of us who knew him to keep his legacy in this world, which so needs it.
George Henry Avis: an ordinary man who loved extraordinarily.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Camp CONNRI
Three weeks into camp and we've all finally worked out away to get onto blocked websites. Hence the scilence on the blogerooni.
Camp is going well so far - i've came to the conclusion it's not always great being a leader though. I'm working with the Camp as the Cheif Counselor, which means I look after 40 staff and 125 kids and their parents. They've given me a walky talky, a master key and a desk. I'm sure they'll soon realise that i'm not really up for the task.
It's serious hard work. My day begins around 7.45am where we meet for flag raising - i generally have that i'm-listening-but-not-really-bothered experession on my face when this happens. Saying that, it's really good thing to do every morning. After which it's a day of cabin checks, supervision and dealing with campers and staff who are home sick and don't behave! It's a really good job to have, I get to know everybody and I have a really good overveiw of the camp.
The bad thing is that i've been put in some difficult sitations where my head says yes and my heart says no, or otherwise. Of course the people I work with are my friends but I'm also their boss. It's a sometimes a difficult mix, but it's an important lesson to learn.
I've been really busy the last couple of weeks. The first week I had to deal a lot of children who show challenging behaviour. Many of which were Bi-Polar and had things like ADHD, most of which had a cocktail of issues. It was my job to send 13 kids home that week - let me tell you this, dealing witht he kids was the easy part. When I went to phone a parent I never knew who has on the other end. I've met and spoke to some intresting characters on the phone. Through all this week I was blessed to speak to these kids about themselves and why they behave the way they do. Hopefully, I provoked some thought in them and showed them God's love through all of it.
This week was pretty quiet. The kids where well behaved and were mostly wanting to stay. That was until - THE EPEDEMIC! We woke up on Thursday morning to find that 13 (again) kids had caught a sickness bug and where projectile vomiting all over camp. We all worked together and had to totally the plans for the day. It was my job to coordinate the cleaning of 20 cabins from top to bottom, to coordinate the supervision of the sick kids and to assist in getting the sick kids of camp. It was nice to see everyone pull together and help in the massive clean up.
Today is break day, I've had my first proper lie in in three weeks - it was emmence! Later of i'll be planning some traveling. Some of us are going to Philadelphia, Washington and New york - i'm really looking forward to that. After camp a couple of us will retunr to New York. I've bought a book yesterday and I'm looking at places to visit.
All-in-all it's been a good but challenging expereince so far. I'm kinda missing home, the people and the places. I miss having my own freedom a little. But it will only be a few weeks until i'm in Scotland complaining that I miss America!
Everyone keep in touch. :)
Camp is going well so far - i've came to the conclusion it's not always great being a leader though. I'm working with the Camp as the Cheif Counselor, which means I look after 40 staff and 125 kids and their parents. They've given me a walky talky, a master key and a desk. I'm sure they'll soon realise that i'm not really up for the task.
It's serious hard work. My day begins around 7.45am where we meet for flag raising - i generally have that i'm-listening-but-not-really-bothered experession on my face when this happens. Saying that, it's really good thing to do every morning. After which it's a day of cabin checks, supervision and dealing with campers and staff who are home sick and don't behave! It's a really good job to have, I get to know everybody and I have a really good overveiw of the camp.
The bad thing is that i've been put in some difficult sitations where my head says yes and my heart says no, or otherwise. Of course the people I work with are my friends but I'm also their boss. It's a sometimes a difficult mix, but it's an important lesson to learn.
I've been really busy the last couple of weeks. The first week I had to deal a lot of children who show challenging behaviour. Many of which were Bi-Polar and had things like ADHD, most of which had a cocktail of issues. It was my job to send 13 kids home that week - let me tell you this, dealing witht he kids was the easy part. When I went to phone a parent I never knew who has on the other end. I've met and spoke to some intresting characters on the phone. Through all this week I was blessed to speak to these kids about themselves and why they behave the way they do. Hopefully, I provoked some thought in them and showed them God's love through all of it.
This week was pretty quiet. The kids where well behaved and were mostly wanting to stay. That was until - THE EPEDEMIC! We woke up on Thursday morning to find that 13 (again) kids had caught a sickness bug and where projectile vomiting all over camp. We all worked together and had to totally the plans for the day. It was my job to coordinate the cleaning of 20 cabins from top to bottom, to coordinate the supervision of the sick kids and to assist in getting the sick kids of camp. It was nice to see everyone pull together and help in the massive clean up.
Today is break day, I've had my first proper lie in in three weeks - it was emmence! Later of i'll be planning some traveling. Some of us are going to Philadelphia, Washington and New york - i'm really looking forward to that. After camp a couple of us will retunr to New York. I've bought a book yesterday and I'm looking at places to visit.
All-in-all it's been a good but challenging expereince so far. I'm kinda missing home, the people and the places. I miss having my own freedom a little. But it will only be a few weeks until i'm in Scotland complaining that I miss America!
Everyone keep in touch. :)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Grannies are great.
Excuse the silence. I've been working away on some stuff over the past few weeks and not had a chance to sit down and write anything proper.
This week I've seen a different side to life. I'm quite lucky, if you can say that, to have any close family die. All my aunties and uncle's are alive, same with my grannies or grandad's. I've not really had to cope with any serious illnesses in the family. That was until this week.
Last Friday my Granny Mary had a fall. She broke her nose and seriously bruised her face. Since then she has been a bit mental. yes, mental - it's the only way I can describe it.
I went to visit her on Tuesday and noticed some strange things about her behaviour - she had left the milk sitting out and the stuff from the lunch was still out. Usually she would have something cleaned up before you had the chance to actually eat it. Later in the day we took a drive round Midlothian and went to a Garden Centre and it wasn't until then I realised the severity of her behaviour. She was angry, paranoid, disoriented, confused and so much more. My Grandad, Dad and I put it down to some sort of concussion.
Today, however, we've found out she's got the begging of dementia. She's been in hospital over the weekend and won't be out until she can be fully checked over. I'm honestly shocked at how someone can change so much in a day, the person who I speak to isn't my Granny - but she is if you get my drift. I thought to myself that if my Granny is going to be like this for the rest of her life, is her life worth living; would she be better off dead? It's a horrible thing to think, but it's the only thing I can think at the moment.
This whole episode has got me thinking about the 'end times' of life. I've spent so much thinking about the beginning of life, and how amazing that really is. Now, I've seen just the beginnings of the the end times can be really like. What a way to life your life.
I ask myself at the moment, why am I writing? Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's a form of therapy, or for accountability - I don't know. I do know this however, I want to remember my Gran for the way she was, the Gran I was lucky to know when growing up.
The Gran who would would make sure you were fed until you couldn't eat no more, the Gran who gave you a sneaky 50p so you could buy the marbles you didn't really need, the Gran who would sacrifice anything to be with her family, the Gran that would show me things I wouldn't of never of seen, the Gran that overused the word 'bugger' and always apologise afterwords, the Gran that wouldn't be frighted to fart in the right and wrong places and the Gran who loves her husband uncontrollably. This is the Gran I want to remember, before I forget who she really is.
This week I've seen a different side to life. I'm quite lucky, if you can say that, to have any close family die. All my aunties and uncle's are alive, same with my grannies or grandad's. I've not really had to cope with any serious illnesses in the family. That was until this week.
Last Friday my Granny Mary had a fall. She broke her nose and seriously bruised her face. Since then she has been a bit mental. yes, mental - it's the only way I can describe it.
I went to visit her on Tuesday and noticed some strange things about her behaviour - she had left the milk sitting out and the stuff from the lunch was still out. Usually she would have something cleaned up before you had the chance to actually eat it. Later in the day we took a drive round Midlothian and went to a Garden Centre and it wasn't until then I realised the severity of her behaviour. She was angry, paranoid, disoriented, confused and so much more. My Grandad, Dad and I put it down to some sort of concussion.
Today, however, we've found out she's got the begging of dementia. She's been in hospital over the weekend and won't be out until she can be fully checked over. I'm honestly shocked at how someone can change so much in a day, the person who I speak to isn't my Granny - but she is if you get my drift. I thought to myself that if my Granny is going to be like this for the rest of her life, is her life worth living; would she be better off dead? It's a horrible thing to think, but it's the only thing I can think at the moment.
This whole episode has got me thinking about the 'end times' of life. I've spent so much thinking about the beginning of life, and how amazing that really is. Now, I've seen just the beginnings of the the end times can be really like. What a way to life your life.
I ask myself at the moment, why am I writing? Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's a form of therapy, or for accountability - I don't know. I do know this however, I want to remember my Gran for the way she was, the Gran I was lucky to know when growing up.
The Gran who would would make sure you were fed until you couldn't eat no more, the Gran who gave you a sneaky 50p so you could buy the marbles you didn't really need, the Gran who would sacrifice anything to be with her family, the Gran that would show me things I wouldn't of never of seen, the Gran that overused the word 'bugger' and always apologise afterwords, the Gran that wouldn't be frighted to fart in the right and wrong places and the Gran who loves her husband uncontrollably. This is the Gran I want to remember, before I forget who she really is.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Wow!
In my role I'm always asking people to do things. People have got to know the I'm-coming-to-ask-you-do-something walk, and the can-just-ask-you-a-small-favour chat and so on and so on.
I'm really taken back by some people's responses (in both ways, mostly positive).
Recently I asked my good friend Adam to draw me some pictures to help me teach about from when Jesus rose to the great commission. He came up with this:
This is AMAZING!
Can I just add the Adam does run his own design company Illusionary Constructs - check it out!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
How Firghtfully British
Today is Sunny.
Therefore, today I am now wearing shorts. Does this mean Summer is here!?
(Please note: it's not warm enough for flip flops... YET!)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
"Danger, Danger"
I've written an article for the Corps Newsletter about the firewalk. Here's what I wrote.
I'm also made a wee video diary which will be hopefully be posted online in the next few weeks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the last few months I’ve did things I thought I’d never do. Jumping from a plane at an altitude of 10, 000 ft, driving a military tank, running 2 miles in full combat gear while holding extremely heavy miscellaneous objects… and now, walking over hot burning coals. I think this might just take the biscuit.
A few months back an organisation approached the Corps asking to rent the premises for a firewalk. While showing them around the hall they posed the question; ‘would you like to do it too?” Being a bit of an amber-gambler in life I decided to grab the opportunity with both hands and said yes in my usual haven’t-really-thought-about-it kind of way.
The Christmas season passed, the grey month of January passed and as we entered February, my diary was graffitied with “4 weeks to go… 3 weeks to go… 2 weeks… 6 days… 5 days… 4… 3… 2…”. During this time I was running around asking for donations, with varying responses. Those firmly believe in the power of the risk assessment were reluctant to sponsor, although I did manage to raise over £300 for the children’s and youth ministries retreat which the corps will be hosting later this year.
In my usual nature I didn’t really think about it until the actual day. I took a video camera to diarise the time up until the actual event. It wasn’t until 1 hour before I actually realised what I let my self in for. I was going to walk 20feet across burning embers at 1200 Fahrenheit in my bare feet with out any pain or injury. In my bare feet. With out any pain or injury. What had I let myself in for?
Before the actual walk we were prepped with a two hours motivational talk, I thought to myself, ‘two hours is that all?’ During the actual session we had to act like complete fools to ‘fight the fear’. It consisted of pretending you’re extremely happy, the happiest you could be; by screaming, jumping and shouting the occasional “Yes!” or “Woo!” All in a room with 20 other strangers. This was supposed to motivate me to do the walk? I’d rather just get it over and done with.
After watching them light walkway, it was time. We were previously warned that the last person who completed the walk would get fresh coals to walk on, meaning the walk would be hotter than the standard 1200 Fahrenheit. Where was I? At the end of the queue! I quickly swapped and was second-last. I was surrounded by cheers and whoops but they didn’t mean anything, they were deafened by my anticipation.
And when it came to the actual walk? It was fine. No bother. I did it! My feet didn’t melt, they just got a bit dirty and warm, just a bit like in summer.
I just completed the shortest sponsor walk in the world! I would do it again, it was well worth the aguish, exhilaration and having to do stupid pretending-you’re-happy exercises. Plus, I’ve raised around £300 for the corps for the retreat which brings us closer to the £3000 target.
I can now add Firewalking to my CV. I wonder what’s next?
I'm also made a wee video diary which will be hopefully be posted online in the next few weeks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the last few months I’ve did things I thought I’d never do. Jumping from a plane at an altitude of 10, 000 ft, driving a military tank, running 2 miles in full combat gear while holding extremely heavy miscellaneous objects… and now, walking over hot burning coals. I think this might just take the biscuit.
A few months back an organisation approached the Corps asking to rent the premises for a firewalk. While showing them around the hall they posed the question; ‘would you like to do it too?” Being a bit of an amber-gambler in life I decided to grab the opportunity with both hands and said yes in my usual haven’t-really-thought-about-it kind of way.
The Christmas season passed, the grey month of January passed and as we entered February, my diary was graffitied with “4 weeks to go… 3 weeks to go… 2 weeks… 6 days… 5 days… 4… 3… 2…”. During this time I was running around asking for donations, with varying responses. Those firmly believe in the power of the risk assessment were reluctant to sponsor, although I did manage to raise over £300 for the children’s and youth ministries retreat which the corps will be hosting later this year.
In my usual nature I didn’t really think about it until the actual day. I took a video camera to diarise the time up until the actual event. It wasn’t until 1 hour before I actually realised what I let my self in for. I was going to walk 20feet across burning embers at 1200 Fahrenheit in my bare feet with out any pain or injury. In my bare feet. With out any pain or injury. What had I let myself in for?
Before the actual walk we were prepped with a two hours motivational talk, I thought to myself, ‘two hours is that all?’ During the actual session we had to act like complete fools to ‘fight the fear’. It consisted of pretending you’re extremely happy, the happiest you could be; by screaming, jumping and shouting the occasional “Yes!” or “Woo!” All in a room with 20 other strangers. This was supposed to motivate me to do the walk? I’d rather just get it over and done with.
After watching them light walkway, it was time. We were previously warned that the last person who completed the walk would get fresh coals to walk on, meaning the walk would be hotter than the standard 1200 Fahrenheit. Where was I? At the end of the queue! I quickly swapped and was second-last. I was surrounded by cheers and whoops but they didn’t mean anything, they were deafened by my anticipation.
And when it came to the actual walk? It was fine. No bother. I did it! My feet didn’t melt, they just got a bit dirty and warm, just a bit like in summer.I just completed the shortest sponsor walk in the world! I would do it again, it was well worth the aguish, exhilaration and having to do stupid pretending-you’re-happy exercises. Plus, I’ve raised around £300 for the corps for the retreat which brings us closer to the £3000 target.
I can now add Firewalking to my CV. I wonder what’s next?
Friday, February 22, 2008
Camp America
You heard it here first: Kevin Avis will be going to Camp America this year!
I received confirmation that I'll be attending Camp Connri in Connecticut, USA this year as a Senior Counsellor. I'll be leaving on the 19th of June, which is great as I'll only miss a couple of weeks at the end of term, and returning on the 30th August.
The camp leader, Denise Knee, has added me on facebook already, which is cool. Also, she already knows someone who I know! The world is a bit smaller when you're in The Salvation Army.
Thanks must be said to Gorgie for letting me have this time off... it's really cool of them.
Erm, that is all!
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