Thoughts from Thessalonians

We have been reading through Thessalonians over the last week or so and it has so much to say about going to a new people to share the Gospel. Please pray for us that when we go to the Fulani, we may have the same attitude that Paul had, going to the Thessalonians, that the Gospel may come to them "not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." May we live among the Fulani in a way worthy of imitation (1 Thess 1:6). May we dare to tell the Gospel even if there is strong opposition ( 1 Thess 2:2). How amazing that God should approve us to be entrusted with the Gospel ( 1 Thess 2:3). I just find this verse so humbling; it's astonishing that God would trust me to take His precious Gospel to a people who haven't yet had the opportunity to hear it. May we be worthy of his trust, loving the people and sharing our lives with them, living holy, righteous and blameless lives, so that they can really see Christ in us. (1 Thess 2: 8-12). Please do pray for us along these lines. God bless all who read this and do feel free to post a comment.

Showers of Blessing!

Well actually the rain seems to have passed now and we've enjoyed something like normal August weather, as we continue with our preparations. Things seem to be going well and we feel that we are making progress. We had a lovely weekend celebrating mum and dad's wedding anniversary in a luxury hotel, although it was hard to say good bye. We then celebrated our own wedding anniversary last week and had a lovely meal in a Spanish restaurant in Reading. While there we go talking to a Canadian couple, who left before us. Imagine our surprise at the end of the meal when we received a bill for £6! It transpired that the Canadian couple had paid our bill! I find the little surprises that God gives us so special. Truly He is our loving heavenly father.

We have also been blessed by opportunities to share about our work in ACF and at Ingatestone. Both times we were surprised by how warmly received was our message. It is exciting to see the Lord challenging others about missions and personally this thrills me much more than the generous offerings we have received, although clearly we are extremely grateful for these. We had a lovely day yesterday in Ingatestone, re-visiting the church where we did our spring mission just over a year ago.

New Wine is so refreshing!

The weeks continue to go by so quickly. The week before last, I finished work and said my goodbyes to the staff and pupils of Garth Hill College for the second time in three years. I have really appreciated God's goodness in giving me a second spell their and the opportunity to build relationships and to feel a part of one school. At the end the modern languages staff all went out for a meal together, which was really nice.

Following that, I barely had time to draw breath before I was jumping into the car to drive up to Newark for the northern New Wine conference, where I was manning the WEC stand for the week. Sadly Caroline was still working, so she stayed home with Naomi. However, it was a really interesting week of often contrasting emotions. I was often disappointed that not more people stopped to look at the stand, which was quite a powerful display, but I was blessed and challenged by the teaching and worship, particularly in the evening celebrations. It was for me a time of real refreshing and re-focusing on God. I was particularly challenged by the thoughts of Lesley-Anne Leighton, speaking about what she called "downward mobility" i.e humbling oursleves before the Lord and "holy intimacy." The following morning I was reminded of an old worship song, which contains the line: "Oh break our hearts with the things that break yours." This has two senses: the things that break God's heart in my life and the things that break God's heart in the world. I found that I came back, having been touched deeply by God and I am really grateful that He gave me this opportunity before we go out to Burkina. Truly for me, New Wine was a time of refreshing!

Getting Ready!

Our preparations for our impending departure for Burkina Faso continue to go well and we sense the hand of the Lord upon our arrangements. Mark has been very busy at work, but finishes this week.

This weekend another part of the jigsaw fell into place with the purchase of a Mitsubishi Pajero 4 x 4 to be shipped to Africa, where it should be waiting for us upon our arrival on 7th September.

We have also been blessed by a couple, who recently left Burkina and who have donated all their furniture and household items to us.

We praise God for His goodness and provision.

Our latest news

Praise God, Deputation tour of Western Isles
went really well. We were extremely well received and had good oppprtunities to share in the churches. We very much enjoyed the fellowship with the different team members and the hospitality offered by the people on the islands. The team was lead by the WEC Scottish Co-ordinators, Wilf and Pat Urquhart and it was great to get to know them. They are an experienced missionary couple, having served in Burkina Faso for 18 years.