The birth of ETSETH. And it's certainly not as painful as having a baby

Here I am in God's Country and ready to take on the world. Fresh air, beautiful scenery and some of the best people you will ever, ever meet. If I'd know Wales was this good I'd have come sooner! It's so good you have to pay to get in. Money well spent in my book.

Soon after my arrival in Wales, in September 2008, with everything I'd gone through, coupled with the fact that no matter where you looked, TV, radio and newspapers, it was complete and utter doom and gloom. And I thought to myself "Enough is enough" and what could I do to spread a bit of positivity?

And so ETSETH was born! What is ETSETH? You'll have to wait a little while so just be patient.

The experiences I've had through ETSETH . . . . 
 

. . . . the people I have met who are inspirational, what I learned and taken from each project, the Swansea Pride Awards (which was one of the best nights in my life!), Articles in the Evening Post, Wales on Sunday, Manchester's Weekly News, Swansea Life Magazine, interviews on the internet radio show In Town Today, and the Jamie & Louise Show on BBC Radio Wales.

The greatest day of my life was 4^th June 2010, the day I married my littler lump of Welsh loveliness at Craig-y-nos castle. The sun was shining, all my family were there and I had the most beautiful bride in the world. What more could I ask for. I was one happy camper and all the time it just gets better. I'm strapping myself in and enjoying this fantastic ride. I do not want to get off!!

I've realised as I've gone along that life's path is strewn with hurdles, potholes and land-mines that we have to negotiate. We will trip, stumble and fall, of that there is no doubt. But we have to get up, dust ourselves down and go on again. Learn from each experience and use it in a positive way :for out of our darkest days come our greatest triumphs" and for whatever we go through it's no reason not to be a better person and help others, along with helping ourselves.

It will awaken something in you that you never knew you had. All of a sudden you are living life instead of merely existing.Most of all you are making a difference and that one thing can be a drop in the ocean that creates a ripple that turns into a tidal wave. Just imagine if everyone did that, it would be a tsunami of beauty. That's a truly phenomenal prospect. Think about it!!!

I think we are in a mindset of "no-one helps me or has done anything for me, so why should I do anything for anyone else". That way of thinking has to go. Be a shepherd that leads, not a sheep who follows.

When we give to others, and it can be anything – our skills, our profession, money, love and just simply giving your time – can be priceless. And if you give any of these with the best intentions and will then you'll get so much more back. I'm talking about the sense of good and well-being, and this is a feeling that cannot be described.

We don't realise what power we hold in our hands. We all have talent and we all have skills that we can use in a most positive and productive way to help others. "Blessed is he that serves others, for it's in giving that we receive" and it's true, trust me. I've had feelings I've never felt before. I've learnt things I never thought I would, and I've met some of the most wonderful, humble, inspirational and phenomenal people. And for that I'm grateful. 
 

We learn daily as we go along. My lessons continue. We make a living and that's what we get, but we make a life out of what we give.

So what is ETSETH? And why is it so empowering to those people who have helped me and those whom we have helped?

Please watch out for my continuing story by following this blog. Why not click and become a follower. Should you wish to just leave a message or support in any other way then go to the website by clicking here
See you soon

Jamie

From deepest Essex to Sunny Swansea

At 16 I went into plastering full-time with Shaun, my brother-in-law. But I started working when I was thirteen and a half. I worked through my school holidays and so from that early age I hardly had a summer break, only when I went abroad.

The next couple of years consisting of working all the time, girlfriends (again) break-ups, getting back together and breaking up again, pubs and clubs as life plodded along.

Nothing much to report really apart from a year of chronic illness. . . .

. . . . And the illness came to an end in a very strange way. In a nutshell all the ligaments and cartilages in my feet wore away, which left my feet in very, very strange shapes due to swelling. I was also in an aweful lot of pain. The thought of chopping them off crossed my mind once or twice, let me tell you. And after getting lots of treatments which included anti-inflammatory, t strength pain killers and a few cortisone injections straight into my feet. Still no change. I was desperate but my cure came in the form of a guy called Ray Brown.

Ray Brown was a former Irish bricklayer but no longer. Now he has a 2000 year old spirit called Paul who was a friend of Jesus Christ, working through him. Paul cures and heals people. And crazy as it sounds Paul healed me. He gave me back my life and I’ll be forever grateful for that.

Don’t be afraid of the unknown because you’ll never know how it can help you, or indeed when you’ll need it.

Fast forward to the ripe old age of 25 and that’s when I met a girl from Essex who I later married. That relationship ended and it was a bitter blow. Anyone who has been told those words “It’s over” will understand. You invest so much time, so much energy, so much heart and soul into it, that when it’s taken away it really knocks you down. To me it was a right old sucker punch, took the wind right out of my sails, if I’m honest. My faith in a lot of things had been taken away. And what happened was a time of emotional distress.

Sudden change and due to the fact I had paid out a lot in equity to my ex because I stayed in the house. Then, very soon afterwards, the credit crunch happened. So add together falling property prices, less work around, a single income, higher mortgage, personal loans, credit cards, and two young plasterers I kept in work equalled financial hardship. Here’s no shame in getting knocked down. We all get knocked down. It’s how we get back up that matters.

Like I said my faith in a lot of things had been taken away and I may have been on a bit of a downward spiral. . . . that was until I met my destiny.

My destiny, my saviour, if you will, and my little ray of sunshine. In a nutshell the person I was put on this earth for: which turned out to be a little lump of loveliness from Wales. Classic!! So realising soon after meeting her that I had to be with this girl, I put my house on the market and waited, and waited and waited. As many of you will know, things weren’t just moving at that particular time. But after 8 months of hasstle and aggro, shed-loads of miles due to the Essex and Swansea commute, the joyous day came, the day I could leave the Essex trap. Yes!!

So after paying the solicitors and estate agents along with some smaller loans I’d taken out, I walked away with just £1500 in my pocket from the sale of that house. But my mindset was that I was grateful that had any money at all: there were so many people in negative equity and were really struggling. Those people didn’t have the luxury of a clean slate and a fresh start as I had – so I was blessed.

So here I am in God’s country and ready to take on the world. But you’ll have to wait til the next posting.

Please watch out for my continuing story by following this blog. Why not click and become a follower. Should you wish to just leave a message or support in any other way then go to the website by clicking here
See you soon
Jamie