Friday: I had a good witnessing opportunity this morning. Parker had an MRI to investigate whether he has any problems from his concussions. While we were waiting I witnessed to John. When asked why he believed Scotland had changed so drastically in the last century he said, "Well, I guess we have more information." I asked him, "When you look at me, do you think an explosion made me or somebody designed me?" He said, "Well, it's not that simple, it took millions and millions of years." I asked him what he would think if I dated something and I was off by a million years. "Would I still be credible? And yet evolutionists are "off" by millions and millions of years but people still believe them." Our conversation then turned to the fact that the Gospels were written by eye witnesses and that Isaiah recorded prophecy 700 years before the event. We were just getting to Jesus when John was called away. Please pray that God will continue to reach out to him and work in his heart. The Lord directed in our conversation. Thank you for praying for these opportunities.
Thursday: The Lord gave us a great service tonight. God's grace is evident in the Hikin family. They were all present. Timothy and Skye were also there. Thanks for praying.
Wednesday: Our guests have departed and we are getting back into the swing of things. We had a great time with all of our visitors. Please pray for the Goosmans as they prepare for deputation in God's timing and seek to return to the Orkney Islands. God gave them a good survey trip.
I put out around 250 flyers this afternoon. I've never done most of the area I covered. Please pray that God will water the seed.
Monday: God gave us another beautiful day. It was a lovely day to tour the city. Before we left, I had two witnessing opportunities while walking. Duncan was getting his golf shoes on as I walked past. (I like to walk through a golf course near here.) There was a quarter inch frost on everything but his orange golf balls were going to be easy to find. It was minus 3 celsius but they golf in almost any weather here. We enjoyed a brief chat. Brian was walking his bird dog. Again we had a nice chat. Both kindly took a tract.
At Grey Friars church the Lord allowed us to talk with two Buddhist young ladies from Mongolia. They also took tracts and listened to a brief presentation of the Gospel. The church was closed. However, a care taker came out and unlocked the Covenanter's Prison area to give us a brief tour. He also took us into the church through another door and showed us where the National Covenant was signed. Then he took us upstairs to view one of the four original copies of that covenant.
Katie and the kids met us for lunch at the National Museum. We then toured Edinburgh Castle and St. Guiles. It was a very full day which the Lord blessed. Please pray for the Steadmans as they depart here tomorrow morning to England and then on to Asia. The Goosman's and Pastor Owen will be with us for one more day before departing. All of them have been a blessing to have here. Thanks for your prayers.
Sunday: What a great day the Lord gave us! We enjoyed the ministry of Pastor Owen in Sunday School. It was a blessing to hear the Gossman's testimonies. And Dr. Steadman's message on the Harvest spoke to our hearts. Thank you for praying for our day.
Our attendance was very good. The Hykin family and Timothy joined us for Sunday School. Alec, Adele, Marion, Constance,and Evans joined us for the morning service. Tonight the Hykin family, Adele, Marion, and Alec joined us.
The fellowship and sight seeing have been a lot of fun and God gave us a beautiful weather day. Tomorrow we have a trip into Edinburgh planned. This area is rich on Christian history and history in general. So, we will enjoy sharing some of the culture with our friends tomorrow. Christian fellowship is very sweet. Praise God for our "extended" family in Christ.
Saturday: This afternoon I was able to do some door to door in Loanhead. Pamela is an agnostic but kindly chatted for 15 minutes at her door. Please pray that she would desire to know God. I told her how God has worked in our lives. I had a couple other decent conversations. All of those to whom I spoke were friendly.
The Goosmans and Pastor Owen have arrived. We're enjoying getting to know them. I'm leaving soon to pick up the Steadman's at Waverly Train Station in the heart of Edinburgh. Please pray for our day tomorrow. We are asking God for very special services.
Friday: Today is a fun family day. We headed to Dunbar, a fishing village about 25 miles away from our home. It was a beautiful sunny day and we ate a picnic lunch by the harbor. (Don't let that make you think it was warm.) But it was lovely. On one side of the harbor are the ruins of a castle. A fishing boat came in while we were there and we got to see their catch of lobsters and crabs. There was also a seal swimming around the harbor.
Our kids club went well last night. Two neighbor girls, our kids and the Hykin kids were present. Katie said that the kids behaved pretty well. Thanks for praying for her and that ministry.
Laura, Mark and Timothy were present for our adult class. We looked at Psalm 12 and had a good prayer time. We're trying to make sure we spend 15 or 20 minutes in prayer each Thursday. Our mid week service has been a blessing.
Our guests arrive tomorrow. Please pray for their travel plans. The Steadmans fly through the night tonight and will be arriving by train tomorrow evening. The Goosmans and their pastor are already in Scotland on their survey trip. But, they will be arriving here tomorrow afternoon. We are trusting the Lord for a special Sunday.
Tuesday: I had a really neat divine appointment this morning. It was the kind of encouragement that Elijah received when God told him that he had 7000 servants that had not bowed the knee unto Baal. I met James this morning as I was out walking and praying. He was also out walking and praying. It is refreshing to meet a true believer that has a walk with the Lord and a desire to see God work. Only God could bring us together by "accident." Please pray that God will strengthen James in his faith and that he will be greatly encouraged in His walk with the Lord. Thanks for praying.
Monday: I forgot to mention a point of interest from Saturday. In the afternoon we took our kids geocaching about 8 miles from our home near the town of Ormiston. On the way through this small town we saw a monument that said, "Moffat." We stopped on the way back and sure enough it was a monument to Robert Moffat, the great missionary to Africa. This man's influence was huge. It was through him that David Livingston went to Africa and later became his son-in-law. Moffat was born in that small town. Please pray that God will raise up in Scotland other men who know the greatness of God. (The list of God's "great" servants from this area would be long.)
I put out a couple hundred flyers this morning without a good witnessing opportunity. However, the Lord encouraged me as I listened to preaching on my ipod. One sermon in particular really spoke to my heart.
This afternoon I did have a good opportunity as I chatted with Aileen at our hardware store (very similar to Home Depot.) She is a cheerful Methodist but has "always" been a Christian. She took the tract. Please pray that God will speak to her heart.
Sunday: Our attendance was a bit lower this morning but it was a good morning. Mark and five of his kids came to Sunday School. All the kids behaved very well this morning. Katie changed their class up a bit and the kids enjoyed the changes. Alec, Adele, and Marion, joined us for the morning service. I preached on Acts 2, What We Should Do. It is pretty amazing that the church is built upon those who put Jesus on the cross. They are the ones who cried out, "What Should we do?"
Our evening service was a study of the Ordinances. Afterwards we observed the Lord's Supper. It was good to have Evans, Constance, Adele, Marion, and Mark with us for that service. There was a sweet spirit.
Next Sunday is a special Sunday. Please pray ahead of time for it. Dr. Bud Steadman and his wife will be with us. We will also have the Goosmans (getting ready for deputation to Scotland) with us on their survey trip. Their pastor (Pastor Owen I believe) will be with them as well. I get to sit down and enjoy some good preaching and teaching. Please pray that God will use these men as they minister here next Sunday. Pastor Owen will have the SS hour. Dr. Steadman will preach the morning and evening service. The Goosman's are going to share their testimonies. Thanks for participating in our ministry.
Saturday: I had a great opportunity to share the Gospel this afternoon. Please pray for Martin. He is a 45 year old agnostic who says that he has made up his mind. We had a very friendly conversation as we watched his rugby team play. (He is the president of a local club.) As I pointed to the grass and used the watch illustration he laughed. He can see the absurdity of some of the beliefs of evolution. He also said something to the effect that "somebody needs to make us think about God." When I started talking to him I asked how much time was left in the game and he said about a half hour. Our conversation concluded as the game finished. We parted on great terms. I'd love a chance to speak with him again. Thanks for praying for these opportunities.
Friday: We had a good service last night. Mark, Alec and Timothy were with me in the Bible study and prayer time. We looked at Psalm 10. Five of Mark's children were with my family in the kid's club. Katie said that the class went very well.
I was just working on my Sunday School lesson for Sunday. We are starting the book of James. I don't normally copy my notes to this web page but thought you might be encouraged by the excerpt I'll put below. We are looking at rejoicing in trials.
II. Be happy because you are building patience.
ill. Parenting builds patience. Having five kids is a bit more difficult than having one. When Kay Lee was first born we hadn't had sleep deprivation before, we hadn't had scream therapy, we hadn't learned about public humiliation. We were mortified, tired and emotionally drained.
question: Can that still happen to us? (Not as easily.) Why? Because we have grown in patience.
James 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
exp. Christian experience is like that. At first we are overwhelmed - but then we learn that by God's grace we can succeed and overcome. The next trial may be bigger but we are better prepared. We overcome again and now we are doing fine with the little things and we are growing through the bigger issues of life. Why? Because God is doing a work in our lives through testing.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
question: Is God EVER going to allow something into the life of one who loves Him that is going to work together for BAD?
app. What is in your life that you are fighting against rather than rejoicing in? Is it possible that you are resisting God's work in your life rather than embracing His will for your life?
Thursday: I just returned from putting flyers out in Lasswade a village which is about a mile from Loanhead. I put out 100 to 150 and didn't think I was going to get a witnessing opportunity. I had chatted with a few people but had not been able to engage them with the Gospel. About 20 feet from my car I met Bulan. He is a Muslim from Turkey who lives in Edinburgh. We talked for at least half an hour and I was able to share with him that the Bible teaches that Jesus is God. I was also able to explain why Jesus had to die and how He is the only way to the Father. I don't know if we will ever see him at church but it was God's appointment for me.
Monday: I took bus this morning into the heart of Edinburgh to pass out gospel flyers and witness. I had several good opportunities despite the cold and wind.
Martin works on the Royal Mile as a vendor. We had a good chat. He would be agnostic. I encouraged him to stop by the church and chat some more. I didn't want to keep him from his customers.
William (15) is from Finland but has a grandma in Edinburgh. He is a tall young man who is Lutheran and just went through confirmation. He is trusting in his goodness but was very interested to know what the Bible said. He was very appreciative of our conversation. He left expressing his gratitude for my explanations from God's Word.
I spoke to a young man and young lady from England. She was from Nottingham and wishes she knew Robbin Hood. He said that they believe science because that is all they have ever been taught. I chatted with them for about ten minutes and concluded as he said, "Well you've given us a lot to think about."
Jeff is an Asian young man from Sydney who is currently living in England. He was just up for the New Years party *(Hogmanay.) He grew up in the church of Christ but currently isn't going to church. We talked for about 15 minutes.
I met John the Vice President of the Rotary Club in the United Kingdom. He was very kind and took the flyer. We had an interesting chat about his work.
I met a young lady from Denver and invited her to a good church which she knew of in her area. I met a young man from NYC and told him of our church in Elmont where Katie and I ministered after college.
It was good to get out. You feel like you are hardly making a dent in the huge population of Scotts and tourists. But, I'm thanking the Lord for those to whom he had me speak to today. Thanks for praying.
Sunday, PM: Thanks for praying for the film tonight. The kids really enjoyed it. We had 3 girls from Loanhead and Mark with three of his children. Not a huge crowd but we had a fun time.
Sunday, 1 January: Mark and 2 children were with us in Sunday School. It's nice when it is just Mark and I (although we'd like to have others there). We usually spend that time in prayer which we did today. Adelle, Marianne and Evans were with us for the morning service. Sarah, a first time visitor, also attended the service. She is a believer who recently moved to the area.
I preached this morning on being Church Builders from Ezra 1:1-6. It is a message that I preached on deputation. The Lord used it to encourage our people. We had a good spirit in the service. Thanks for praying. God is evidently working.
Saturday, 31 December: The Lord gave an opportunity to chat briefly with Leslie (70's). We were at the park with our kids (geocaching: modern treasure hunting with a hand held gps) and passed her as we were walking. Although brief, it was encouraging to have the Lord open that door.
God gave really good visits this afternoon. I found someone home at each of the 7 homes that I visited. Please continue to pray for Scott and Emma. Please also pray for Terry. I met him about 2 months ago. He remembered me and kindly visited at the door. Like many people he has no interest in spiritual things. Please pray for God to change that. Please pray for Dawn and Ben. Dawn's father is battling cancer. Please pray for God to continue to encourage our children who attend church on their own. They have been pretty faithful.
We are going to show a kids creation film tomorrow night as a special family night. Please pray for visitors and that God will strengthen the relationships in our church. Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thanks for praying.
Thursday, 29 December: Timothy came over this afternoon and watched the Bob Jones film, "Milltown Pride." He enjoyed it. Then we all went to church. The Hikins were all there as well as two other girls. We enjoyed our midweek service. Please continue to pray for Katie and her kid's club and Sunday School class. She carries quite a load. Please pray that God will raise up some class assistants in our ministry.
Wednesday, 28 December: We have had some good down days this week. It has been fun and good family time. We will dig in again next week.
Katie did have a divine appointment today. Parker had a Dr.'s appointment regarding his concussions. He has been experiencing frequent headaches. The Doctor is scheduling him for an MRI. If you think about him, please pray that his headaches will go away. Anyway, the doctor's parent attend a good Baptist church. But, he has not followed in their faith. Please pray that He will be encouraged to follow after the Lord.
Thanks for faithfully keeping up with us. I'm praying for divine appointments. Please pray for God to continue to open those doors. (One of my recent witnessing opportunities brought an offended response. I'd appreciate it if you would pray for me to have God's boldness and leading in each opportunity.) I did talk to one cashiere today who said he turned to Jesus when his family went through a difficult time. It was good to meet someone who seemed to have a genuine relationship with the Lord.
Sunday, Christmas Day: We had a good group out this morning. Adelle and Marianne were there. The Hikin family was present with Laura's mum as well. Constance and Evans came. And, we had a missionary family, the Logans, from Romania with us. I preached from John 5 on the bread of life. Thanks for praying for this important weekend of ministry.
May the Lord give you a very Merry Christmas.
Saturday, Christmas Eve: The Lord blessed our service this evening. We had 29 people plus our family in attendance. Those who attended expressed to us their enjoyment of the service. It was good to have each one there. It was even better because they could sing.
Most of our regular church people were there. Constance and Evans helped us set up for the service. Constance also provided juice and cups. That was a blessing. A lady who attended the service last year was back this year with her husband. Our 2 recent visitors were back for the service tonight.
God's good. Please pray for those who attended. There were several unsaved. A large number of our visitors are believers who attend a non denominational church in Edinburgh. They have sweet testimonies of salvation. We enjoyed fellowshipping with them. One family who came are friends of ours who attend another Independent Baptist Church.
Thanks for your part in our service tonight. God blessed it. Have a very Merry Christmas! (We are just having one service at 10:00 tomorrow. I'm preaching on the Bread of Life.)
Thursday, 22 December: I have a praise from this morning. After putting out flyers for a long time on Tuesday my knee was hurting quite badly. (I know, I must be getting old.) It hurt bad enough yesterday that I came down one set of stairs bending only my left leg. Today I put out around 350 flyers and it didn't hurt at all. I thought about it several times as I was going along and am very thankful for the Lord's help.
I had a good witnessing opportunity with Mark (25). He is not sure what he believes. I talked to him for about 15 minutes. He was passing me on the sidewalk when I gave him our Carol Sing flyer. Please pray that God will work in his heart.
The Hikins were all able to be in church this evening. That is a big praise. We also had 3 neighbor children out for the service. Please keep praying for our Carol Sing service on Saturday. I've prepared a power point presentation for that night. I'm going to preach a short message on "Why? Why did Jesus Come?" Thanks for praying.
A definition of prayer that I memorized in college: "Prayer is to ask that the laws of the universe be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner, confessedly unworthy." I like that definition. You can make/are making a difference on our field.
Wednesday, 21 December: The Lord gave us a witnessing opportunity in our home today. James (26) worked on our boiler. He hopes to get back to "religion" at some point. We talked about the value of God's Word as the authority.
Tuesday, 20 December: The Lord gave me one good witnessing opportunity today. Lee isn't sure what he believes. But, he listened kindly while I chatted with him. The Lord was in our conversation and I trust that God is working in Lee's heart. Please pray that God would protect the seed that was sown. I put out around 600 flyers today as I walked for 4 and a half hours. My legs are glad to be sitting down as I type this! Thanks for praying for God's grace and strength to do His work in Loanhead.
Monday, 19 December: My soul winning reaped a "different" kind of fruit today. David is an employee at a castle about 6 miles from here. Last spring our family toured Crichton Castle and I witnessed to David. We were the only ones at the property which is in a beautiful country setting. There were many pheasants and several deer out on that morning. Naturally I spoke to David about hunting as well. He is an avid bird hunter and promised to bring by some pheasants in the Fall. He rang me up this morning and dropped off two braces (brace =2) of pheasants. I should have expected that they would not be plucked or gutted but it didn't cross my mind. So, I've just watched, "How to pluck and gut a pheasant" and will be making memories later this afternoon. (Picture of pheasants below.)
When David rang he asked if I remembered him. I told him that I had been thinking about him as I had just painted a picture of the stable at Chricton. I showed him my painting when he stopped by. We also gave him our Christmas flyer. Please pray that God will bless David for his kindness and work in his heart.
I put flyers out this morning until the rain became too heavy. I had a chance to invite a young lady to the carol sing whom I have witnessed to before. She works at our auto parts store. Please pray that Casey would come. I met her one day when she was walking to work. She remembers me and is always kind. She said that she would see if her younger sister would like to come with her. We are anticipating a good carol sing service. It is Saturday at 6pm. Thank you for praying.
The boys were pretty excited.
I wonder what the neighbors think.
Wind damage from our storm 2 weeks ago.
This is about a mile from Kirk and Carrie's flat in Dundee.
Sunday, 18 December: This morning our attendance was lower but there was a good spirit. Mark and 5 of the kids were present for SS. Alec, Constance, and Evans joined us for the morning service. I preached on the solved mystery regarding the identity of the Messiah. We looked at some of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.
Please pray for a very important unspoken for one of our families. Thanks for praying.
Saturday, 17 December: The Lord gave us good visits tonight. Katie made (biscuits) cookies to deliver with our carol sing invitations. They were well received. Emma and Scott indicated that they may come. A mother of one of our faithful neighbor girls may come as well. While we were out I also spoke briefly to Timothy's brother and invited him again to church. He was with a young lad who had attended our HBT in 2010. They were a long ways from either of their homes when I bumped into them. God's timing was perfect and it was good to see them both.
Another of our neighbor girls may be in church with some of her family tomorrow. If she comes we will be awarding her a Bible. Her sister has been very faithful but this young lady is only 4 and she has been a little too timid. It would be great to see her back in church. Her mum has said that if she comes, she will be with her to see her get her Bible.
Our visitors the last two Sundays have let us know that they won't be in church tomorrow but that they do plan to attend the carol sing service. I'm glad they wanted us to know that although they'll be gone, they are coming back.
Friday, 16 December: The Hammonds are in the air and should shortly be arriving back in America. We had a great time with them.
I just put out flyers in Loanhead. The Lord gave me some divine appointments with 4 people I had witnessed to before. Two of them were together. They either walked out of their home as I came by or passed me on the pathway. It was good to chat with them. I also knocked on Jordan's door and briefly talked with him. I invited he and his family to our carol sing service on Saturday.
I had one good witnessing opportunity with a young man named Connor (17). He was waiting for a bus as I came by. A mobile phone rang twice while we were chatting and I thought he was very gracious not to answer it. As it turned out, it was my phone. I normally have it on silent but it was my alarm this morning to get me up to take Jason, Kelly and kids to the airport. I'm glad I didn't tell him to go ahead and answer his phone. :)
Thursday, 15 December: Uncle Jason went with me last night as we took Nelson to the ER. Nelson had awakened screaming and we couldn't get him to stop after trying for over half an hour. We actually called emergency and an ambulance team came by. We were concerned that it was medicine related. However, after blood work and arriving home at 2:00 am it appears that he is fine. Praise the Lord, we won't complain about that. It concerned us to tears. This morning he has had no fever reducing medication and his fever has come down all day. He has been on an antibiotic for two days now and we hope that it will be effective. Thank you for praying for him, he's had a really good day.
Tonight we had a very heavy frost. We get frost that is like black ice. Because of that the Hikins were unable to be at church. It was good to have two neighbor girls present. Early tomorrow morning the Hammond family returns to the US. We have had great family time. Kirk and Carrie came over from Dundee to spend another day with us. God's been good in giving us Christian family.
Wednesday, 14 December: I took Nelson to the Doctor last night because he spiked another fever of 103.5. She believes he has a urinary tract infection. We will know in a few days if that is the case as we were able to get a sample. He keeps getting into the 103's during the night, this morning, and as recently as this afternoon. I took him in again this morning and they did put him on an antibiotic. He perks up once the fever drops but it is only due to consistent fever reducing medication. So, we appreciate your continued prayers for him.
I chatted with one lady as we were out and about today. She refused the tract and said, "I'm a pagan and take part in Beltane Fire Festival every year." I said, "That is a wicked festival and worships a false deity." She said that she believes that deity was first. I told her that God created everything and that Jesus, as God, died on the cross for our sins. Please pray for us as we work in an area that is Satan's stronghold. Thanks for taking these needs to the Lord.
Tuesday, 13 December: Nelson is much better. He was running around this morning. He still has a fever today but not like last night. We took the Hammonds to Stirling Castle today. It is a brutal day with wind gusts approaching 60 mph and snow, rain and sleet. But, most of the castle is indoors and the kids survived. There are weather warnings through the night as there will be blizzard like conditions in higher elevations.
I had an opportunity to witness to Gordon who works there. He has never sinned. Or, so he says. I shared I John 1 - "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves..." It was a good chat. He is an elder in the Church of Scotland in Stirling. I had another good opportunity on Sunday afternoon in Dalkeith with a man named Michael. He stopped after I offered him a tract and talked for 15 minutes. He asked some good question. Please pray for him. It was a very good opportunity. He said that he usually works away on Sundays.
Tuesday, 13 December - 5:00 AM (midnight EST): Please pray for Nelson (1 year old). He spiked a fever a half hour ago and when we took his temp. under the arm it was 104.9. So, when you add a degree, it was 105.9. Thankfully it has come down and it is currently in the 102's. He vomited Sunday night and has run a fever since yesterday afternoon. He is alert and drinking etc. Thanks for praying for God's healing hand.
Sunday, 11 December: What a fun morning! Kelly (Katie's sister) and Jason Hammond and their 4 children as well as Kirk (Katie's brother) and Carrie Hansen, were present today. I'll put some family pics below. The Hikin family joined us for Sunday School and church. Tenosha, Evans, Connie, Alec, and Timothy joined us for the morning service. Our two visitors returned this morning. (They let us know that they will be gone next weekend but that they plan on coming to our Christmas Eve Carol Sing.) That is encouraging.
I preached this morning on the Greatest Investment Ever from Luke 9:22-27. My points were the Investment Model (Jesus) v.22, the Investment Manual v.23 (decide, deny, day by day, direction-Jesus), the Investment Manager v.24, The Investment Market v.25, the Investment Maturity vv.26-27. God gave us a great service.
Tonight we are continuing our study of the end times. Thanks for your prayers for God's work in Loanhead. We appreciate your burden for our church and family.
Our Shores.
The Hammonds
The Hansens
The clan!
Kirk and I sang a duet today.
Friday, 09 December: The Christmas Party was great! Katie worked very hard in preparation for tonight and the ladies really enjoyed themselves. There were five "neighbor" ladies present and one neighbor girl. The girls, Kay Lee, cousins and friend, had their own party upstairs while the adults had their party downstairs. I took 5 boys and headed to the airport to pick up my brother-in-law. Then we stayed away for the evening. I had one good witnessing opportunity while we were out. Please pray for Kimberly. She works near Loanhead. Here are some pics from the night.
The Goodies!
Katie and Kay Lee
Katie's sis, Kelly and her 3 daughters.
Sisters
Cousins
Game time - write down what is on the tray after it is taken away.
The spoils!
Thursday, 08 December: Here is the BBC's Scotland headline this morning. "Schools shut as severe winds hit Scotland. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "The very latest information from the Met Office's Chief Forecaster which we received tonight shows that we can expect very severe gales, at wind speeds not seen for many years, across large parts of western, central and southern Scotland throughout Thursday."
"Police are warning of the potential for serious travel disruption, with gusts of more than 80mph expected in places."
Since moving here, we have seen winds in excess of 70 a few times. And, we have had many gale to severe gale force winds. But the winds today are categorized as storm force winds. Anyone who knows me well, knows I love weather. So, I'm all excited.
However, due to the high winds, we are cancelling our midweek service. They are supposed to be at their peak from 3-6 pm and we start at 6. Thank you for praying for our ministry. I was able to get some more Christmas flyers out yesterday. I only talked with one person who was braving the wind and cold.
Tuesday, 06 December: Some of you know that Alec is teaching our older two children how to paint. He is very talented. I mentioned to him a while ago that I was getting the itch to paint as I sat and watched. So, he prepared a canvas for me and I got my chance to take a crack at it. I brought my first painting home today and thought I'd share it with you. I'll put a pic. below. The oldest two cousins joined us today for art class. So, Mr. Alec was busy giving guidance to 4 kids and an adult as we painted. Please keep praying for Alec and Elisabeth. Elisabeth will be coming to Katie's Christmas Tea on Friday. Thanks for your prayers.
I painted a picture of Crichton Castle Stable/Chapel. It is about 6 miles from us.
Monday, 05 December: Today is Logan's 6th Birthday. So, guess who got up at 6:45 this morning. He's had a great day. Katie made him a pirate ship cake.
Our Christmas flyer arrived this morning. I started putting it out later this morning. A Christian man whom I have met before invited me in for a chat. He told me about a lady that he had encouraged to visit our church. It's encouraging to find others in the community who are seeking to encourage people to visit our church. Please pray that the flyers will be a blessing to those who receive them.
(All of the kids.)
Sunday, 04 December: The Lord gave us a really good day. Mark had 5 of his kids with him for Sunday School. My sister-in-law and her children were there as well. (I took my brother-in-law to the airport at 4:30 am as he departed on a business trip to France. He'll be back next Friday and spend the following week with us.)
Alec, Evans, Constance, Theophila and Timothy joined us for the morning service. We also had a woman and her mom visit with us. They are believers who have been attending the church of Scotland. Please pray that the Lord will give them wisdom about His will. They have seen their church make poor decisions lately. They saw our sign on Thursday night and studied our website before attending today. We hope to see them again.
I preached on, "Christian, Carry On!" from II Timothy 3:14-17. My points were - Have conviction, continuation, consecration to reach conclusion.
Tonight all of the Hikins were able to make it to the service. We studied the Rapture of the church and had our second communion service. It was a great day and it's been good to be in the house of the Lord.
Please pray for Maylie my niece. She has a temperature of 100 this evening and is not feeling well. It seems inevitable that some of this will continue but we'd appreciate your prayers that it will go away. If you prayed for our ministry, you had a part in the victories that were won today. Thanks for your help.
Here are some photo's from today.
Most of our kids and most of the cousins. (The 2 youngest are missing.)
A village about a mile from Loanhead. We pass through here on our way to church.
Saturday, 03 December: Jason helped me put out flyers this morning. We completed the area that I started earlier this week. The Lord gave us two really good witnessing opportunities. It is 40 degrees and windy.
Anne opened her door just as we were coming along. Her mother-in-law lives in Loanhead. She allowed me to open my Bible with her and show her verses about the Gospel. She agreed that we are all sinners and on our way to Hell according to Revelation 21:8. I showed her the good news of Jesus dying in our place. She said that she would like to have a Bible. So, please pray as we follow up that the Lord will give further opportunity to encourage her to pursue Him.
The second woman was a Muslim. We talked to her for about 15 minutes. I told her how the Bible tells us that Jesus is the prophet that Moses spoke about. I told her that Christianity is about forgiveness and loving your enemies. I also shared with her that Jesus was worshipped on earth because He is God. She said that she will be Muslim until she dies. However, God is able to work in her heart. I appreciate her willingness to talk with us. Please pray that God will work in her heart.
Friday, 02 December: The Hammonds safely arrived yesterday. After a couple naps they valiantly went to church last night with us. The Hikins were all present as well as one neighbor girl. Last night is the first time I remember stopping in the middle of a Bible study because I was not feeling well. I finally succumbed to the crud. Please continue to pray for our health. Although the Hikins were present last night, they too had illness this week. (The sickness allowed us to see the love of our church people. One lady brought over soup and two others called to check up on us.)
Today we were able to get into Edinburgh and show Kelly and Jason and their kids some of the sights of our lovely city. We went up on Calton Hill where you have panoramic views of Edinburgh. We went to a favorite walking bridge just below Edinburgh castle. The bridge has glass windows where the kids get to enjoy looking at train engineers as they pass ten feet beneath them (with their trains of course.) Their response to the kid's waves is a merry toot on their horns. So, praise the Lord for a nice family day. Thanks for your prayers.
prayer request: If you'd like to pray ahead - Katie's Christmas tea is next Friday. She made beautiful invitations for our neighbor ladies. Katie is going to share memories from the Christmas story after the ladies share some of their Christmas traditions. They had a great time last year.
Wednesday, 30 November: It seems that we are all doing much better health wise. Thank you for praying. The Hammonds (Katie's sister's family) have left their home for the airport in Charlotte, NC and should be arriving here at 7:30 AM tomorrow. We are looking forward to their visit.
I was able to get out with flyers today. A man who had phoned me a few months ago came out of his home and invited me in for coffee. (Ministering in the UK is rough some times - said with a broad smile.) Frank was saved through Gospel literature many years ago. He shared his testimony with me today. He was seeking after the Lord previous to that pamphlet arriving. It was just what he needed and he prayed to invite the Lord into His heart.
Frank works in Loanhead but lives a few miles away. I don't know that he'll visit our church but the Lord has brought us together for some reason. Interestingly he was child minding a 7 year old boy, whose mother is friends with the Hikins. She is also a believer. We met her a few weeks ago at a birthday party for Matthew Hikin. These are divine appointments. It's encouraging just to see God's hand on our day.
I put out a few hundred flyers. Please pray that they will be read and that God will open these hearts.
Tuesday, 29 November: If you want to glimpse the fiercer weather side of Scotland, you should visit today. We've had about 5 days of near gale or gale force winds. It blew my A-board sign over on Sunday. The wind is supposed to join with heavy rains today. So, it is not ideal conditions to get out and about. We are entering into the more difficult time to get out with flyers etc. Our day light hours have shortened dramatically. Right now, it is mostly dark by 4 and doesn't begin to get light until 7:30 am. So, please pray for God to give us divine appointments through the "off season."
I'll still get out when I can. I am ordering 2500 flyers to put out before Christmas. This flyer is a CHRISTmas greeting as well as an invitation to our Christmas Carol Sing. We are having a carol sing on Christmas Eve at 6:00 pm. I'll put an image of the flyer below. I can't put high resolution images on the website. However, the flyers are super resolution and very clear.
Katie and Kay Lee are doing better. However, others of us are unsure where we stand. I've been drinking pepto today. That is kind of a family tradition around the holidays. We always have something we are sharing. Logan got sick starting at 2:30 this morning. But, he is doing much better now. Parker is complaining about his stomache. We have family arriving on Thursday morning for a two week stay. (Katie's sisters family.) Please pray that this thing is gone before they arrive. If not, please pray for extra grace. Thank you for taking our needs to the Lord.
Sunday, 27 November: I realized today what a huge help Katie is to our ministry. Both she and Kay Lee are quite ill (flu symptoms). So, they had to stay home from church. Benson was a little ill so he also stayed. That meant that Logan and Parker were my helpers. They tried helping out but we definitely missed the others. (Please pray that they will get well soon.)
Mark and five of his children were in church today. Their 13 year old friend was with them as well. Evans and Alec joined us for the morning service. We also had an older couple visiting. They travel around the UK doing Gospel ministry in the school system. We enjoyed meeting them and having them in our service.
I preached on Joel 2:12-13 on drawing close to God. We could have benefited from a few less distractions but the service went pretty well. (Katie normally has a children's church.) If you want to pray about one of our biggest "needs" this would be good to pray about. We are always short on help but feel it especially when the children misbehave. Please pray for grace and wisdom in this area. Thanks for your prayers.
Thursday, 24 November: Thank you for praying for our Thanksgiving service. It went very well. The Hikins, Alec and a neighbor girl were present. Our next door neighbor also attended with her granddaughter. I think everyone enjoyed the evening. I shared a power point history of Thanksgiving and spoke from the story of the 10 lepers. Please pray that those who attended would truly thank God from their hearts.
Happy Thanksgiving!: We are thankful to God for your faithful encouragement, support and prayers. I trust that you will have a great day of giving thanks with family and friends. In getting ready for our service tonight I looked up some statistics. Did you know that 46 million turkeys will be consumed today in America?! WOW or as they say here, "Shocking!"
Our turkey is going to be consumed tomorrow. Kirk and Carrie as well as a missionary family will be joining us for our Thanksgiving celebration. Please pray for our service tonight. I'm preaching the gospel as I share the story of the 10 lepers. We have invited some friends to attend.
Monday, 21 November: We have almost had more excitement than we can handle today. School was nearly an impossibility. What we have been waiting for, for over a month, finally happened. The tree trimmers came to cut down the trees in the back garden! If you want a home entertainment system these guys give hours of entertainment. Our kids were mesmerized. They watched out the windows almost all day. I'll put some pics. below.
This morning I prepared a power point presentation for our Thanksgiving service on Thursday. Please pray that this will be a blessing to our people. They're excited about it.
This afternoon I finished Rosewell with flyers. I had two decent opportunities. Please pray that God will convict Roy. I believe the Lord was working in his heart.
I was encouraged by Dr. Bob Jones III's messages this afternoon as I put out flyers. I am reminded that God uses little things. He told a neat story about sending a letter asking the Kremlin to treat a Christian prisoner more humanely. (He had received that prisoner's name and id from George E. Vinn's ministry.) This Russian prisoner later came to BJU and shared the letter which he had found in his personal file given him by the authorities in Russia. The prisoner realized when he saw the date on that letter that his treatment had gotten better right after that letter arrived. We never know the impact we are having.
Sunday, 20 November: It was great to have the Hikin family "almost" over all their sickness and able to be in church this morning. Tenosha, Evans, Alec and Timothy were also present. Afterwards Timothy joined our family for lunch.
This morning I preached on "What We are to Be." from I Thessalonians 5:16-24. My points were - that we are to be 1) joyful 2) prayerful 3) thankful 4) mindful 5) heedful 6)thoughtful and 7) careful.
Tonight it was our family at church. We concluded our study on angels. We ended our study thinking about how angels sinned and fell but that Jesus did not die for them. He died for us. Thanks for your prayers. God gave us a good day.
Saturday, 19 November: Kay Lee was my door-to-door partner this morning. It is a beautiful autumn day. We had one good opportunity to show Mrs. L.(83) verses in the Bible. She is trusting in her goodness to get her to heaven. I showed her several verses which she read out loud. Please pray that God will help her understand.
Thursday, 17 November: We had 7, other than our family, present tonight. Two of our neighbor girls were there and part of the Hikin family. Please continue to pray for the Hikin's health. Mazie, the baby, came down with chicken pox last Saturday. She is still getting new spots. Meanwhile, they have had another sickness as well and Laura is ill. I know they would appreciate your prayers.
Wednesday, 16 November: I had a follow up opportunity with John Angus this morning. He is the young man who recently moved here from the Highlands. The Lord allowed me to meet him in the same place where I originally met him. I greeted him by name. When he expressed surprise that I remembered his name, I told him that I have prayed for him as I've walked past that place where we met. Please pray that John will get in God's Word. He is the young man who reads "Our Daily Bread." Thanks for praying.
Tuesday, 15 November: The Lord gave me four opportunities to speak with people this morning. The day began in an interesting way. My F.D.T was yanked through another mail slot by a dog soon after I started. It is the little quiet dogs that do this. My Flyer Distribution Tool now has a bite mark in it with part of a flyer embedded into the plastic cutting board. (For those of you who don't know - we use cutting boards to put flyers through mail slots. If you fold the flyer around the end you can push them past the bristles without damaging the flyer. It is also quicker and safer.) I'd rather have my F.D.T. yanked through a mail slot than my H.A.N.D. (It is always humbling to knock and ask for my F.D.T. back.) The owners tend to smirk at you. So do the dogs.
Anyway, I witnessed to James, Iain, Gordon and Rina. Rina (55) and I talked for over half an hour. I gave her a flyer as she passed me on the sidewalk. She just lost here mum, dad and 18 year old dog in the last couple of years. She is single and teared up as she told me how hard it has been. I shared with her how God uses trials in our lives to make us realize that we need Him. Please pray that she will seek after God. I was in the village of Rosewell today. I've never put flyers out there before. Please pray for God to protect the seed that was sown.
Monday, 14 November: Alec, Mark, Solomon and I enjoyed a men's prayer breakfast this morning. Alec travelled with me and on the way there we talked about the gospel. Please pray that God will continue to work in Alec's heart. We met with men from 2 other churches. It's good for our men to realize that there are other believers.
This afternoon I met with Timothy for a Bible study. We are going to go through Dr. Nelson's book - Growing In Grace. I told him when I dropped him off that he has a group of believers in the States who are praying for him. I also told him that I had named him "Timothy" on our website. He loved that. He said, "Pastor, why don't you put a picture of you and me on there so that they can see me? Then you could tell them how we are studying the Bible." So, with his encouragement, I'll put a picture of us below. He is a new believer. Please pray that God will protect Him and help him to grow in the Lord. (I'll include some other recent pictures.)
Sunday lunch above and below.
Shopping in Edinburgh
Dalkeith Country Park - salmon fishing with dad. No, he didn't catch anything.
Looking over Edinburgh.
Sunday, 13 November: Katie and I are both pretty tired tonight. But, it is a good tired. We had a good day. It was a little unusual. Today is like Veteran's Day in the States. It is called Remembrance Sunday. They honor the soldiers who died fighting for our freedom. Because of that, there was a band assembling in the car park as we arrived this morning. Because of the parade the busses had to change their route. So, Katie had to run and pick up Theophilla who was "stranded." It also hindered Tenosha, Evan, Constance and her sister from arriving on time. So, it was an interesting song service to say the least. Did I mention that the band went by while I was doing our Bible reading and that Katie had to park 3 blocks away when she got back?
I preached this morning on the Ministry of the Messiah from the story where Christ reads from Isaiah in the synagogue. Everyone was very attentive and the spirit was good in our service. We had a total of 22 this morning.
Tonight it was good to have 2 of our neighbor girls join our family as we studied Angels. It was good. One of the girls thought we turn into angels when we die. Because of that we concluded with the Gospel. Thanks for praying for our day. If you read about our Thursday service, you know that I am ready for just a good old normal (is there such a thing?) ministry day.
Saturday, 12 November: I did door to door a couple miles from Loanhead today. I didn't have a lot of time. So, I just chose an area that I've never been to before. I believe God directed me there. I had one very good conversation and one pretty good. I also had two doors closed while I was introducing myself.
Paul (21) believes evolution. I talked to him for 10 to 15 minutes. He kindly listened. He stated that it takes more "faith" to believe in God than to believe in evolution. I hope that he did not think that when we concluded. Please pray that God will speak to his heart.
Wilson (71) lost a wife to cancer back in the 80's. It appears that this is when he became an unbeliever. He was a great talker. He asked questions and responded to my questions. He believes that life is heaven and hell depending upon what you make of it. The Lord gave me wisdom and did guide me in our conversation. After a half hour we concluded and I asked him if I could pray with him. He allowed me to do that and then put his arm around me and said, "Maybe I'll pop in some time." I do not expect him to. However, I do expect God's Spirit to continue working in Wilson's heart. I left with a heart of love for a lost man on his way to hell. Please pray that God will work in his heart.
Friday, 11 November: We had a fun family day today. We traveled about 30 miles to Dryburgh Abby. This Abby has been there since about 1150 A.D. It is famous because a very famous author is buried there. We saw the grave of Sir Walter Scott. We also parked at a scenic view car park. The funeral procession for Scott, over a mile long, passed that point. It was his favorite view. So, his horses, who were used in the procession, stopped as they always had stopped for their master to enjoy the view.
Jim was the caretaker at the property today. He was very kind to our family and treated the kids to some sweets. I had a good chat with him about the Gospel and the authority of God's Word. We talked for about 15 minutes. We were the only ones on the property until just as we were leaving. The arrival of the other visitors ended our conversation. Please pray that God will continue to work in Jim's heart. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to talk with him.
Thursday, 10 November: We had a good service tonight despite being locked out until close to starting time. Thankfully we were let in and I was promised a key in the near future.
It was good to have the Hikin fam. and 2 neighbor girls with us. The kids club started the story of Missionary John and Betty Stam. Katie has really enjoyed using Bible Visuals International stories. They give you a beautiful power point illustrated story and are well written.
In the adult class we began a study of John 3. It was a good night. Thanks for your prayers.
Wednesday, 09 November: Timothy joined me today on a trip into the city centre (Edinburgh) to pass out flyers. People were pretty receptive and we passed out several hundred. We had a few good witnessing opportunities and a couple "tough" opportunities.
Noreen kindly allowed us to open a Bible and share the Gospel with her. We had given her a flyer as she walked past us. A few minutes later we came into contact with her again. We spoke to her for about 20 minutes. She shared with us that she has thought about eternity - she had been widowed twice. (We don't often know the burdens of the individuals with whom we come into contact.)
Sarah is from Saudi Arabia. She had just moved here two months ago. She was interested in our conversation but needed to run to class.
Jamie is agnostic. He was 19 years old and had never been to church. He spoke to us for about 15 minutes.
The Lord allowed us to meet two individuals whom I believe are born again. Both were smoking. One was from Minnesota and one had gone to a Baptist College in Indiana and studied theology. I trust the Lord used our contact to rebuke them and encourage them to obey Him.
Monday, 07 November: This morning I completed putting flyers through mails slots in the village of Rosslyn. This village is where the famous Rosslyn Chapel is located. I had 3 interesting chats. The first was with Heppa. She is 86 and very keen. She misses the minister's visits to her home. She said that in the old days they would stop in for a wee blether and a cup of tea. I hope to stop back for a wee blether and a cup of tea. I shared the gospel with her at her gate.
The next man, Gavin, was very interesting. Her carves mushrroms out of wood from Rosslyn Glen. He has "had" (his words) visions of Budha and another deity. He is spiritual but not according to truth. Please pray that God will open his eyes to the need to get in God's Word.
Iain was the most tender and talked with me for half an hour. Please pray that he will contact me for a Bible study. He is uncertain what to believe. Thanks for praying for these opportunities to share Christ.
Sunday, 06 November: Thanks for your prayers - God gave us a good day. Most of the Hikin family were back to SS. and church this morning. They have had a lot of sickness this past month. So, it is great to see them recovering. Alec, Theophilla, Evans, Tenosha and Timothy joined us for church.
I preached, "From Dead Wrong to Living Right" from Titus 3:1-8. My points were, What we are. What we were! and What happened? The Lord blessed and gave liberty in the message.
Every Sunday we enjoy having Theophila join us for lunch. Today Timothy also came over for lunch and a Bible study. He then returned with us for the evening service. All of the Hikin family also attended giving us good attendance this evening. Our study this evening completed our study of the doctrine of the church.
Saturday, 05 November: Benson and I had a good opportunity this morning. We had prayed for an opportunity to open the Bible with somebody as we did door to door. God gave us that opportunity with Evon. Please pray that God will work in her heart. She was kind and listened intently while I showed her many verses in God's Word. We also saw another young lady whom I have witnessed to in the past. Please also pray for Calli.
Thursday, 03 November: God gave us an encouraging night. Although the Hikin family was unable to be with us (due to chicken pox) we had two neighbor girls and Timothy out for the service. Timothy has a very tender heart for the Lord. After our study on baptism tonight, he said that he wants to be Biblically baptized. Please pray that God will greatly strengthen him as he takes steps of obedience in following Him.
Wednesday, 02 November: It was another good day to get out. So, I headed back to Rosslyn this morning and put out about 300 flyers. I had a divine appointment with a young mother who's family we have worked hard to reach. We have probably put more time into this contact than any other contact that does not attend our church.
E______ was very tender hearted. I met her as she walked with her wee boy. I shared with her an illustration that I heard Dr. Vaughn use in a message that I listened to yesterday. He talked about how God is willing to break us to save us. She got very choked up while chatting and when I asked her about salvation she said through tears, "I need something." Her daughter has said to her at times lately, "You are reading Benjamin's book." I gave them a Bible. Please pray that God will work his will in this young lady's heart. Please also pray for the rest of the family.
Tuesday, 01 November: I couldn't have had a nicer day to get out to put flyers through mail slots. I did about 350 in Rosslyn a village just over a mile from Loanhead. I had some short witnessing opportunities. One was with a lady from New Zealand. She didn't believe in God, she said, because of what she has seen in life. I told her that I did believe in God and that I had accepted Jesus as my Savior. I shared a bit of the Gospel and mentioned Heaven and Hell. She said that she thought she would not go to hell because she is a good person. I asked if she had ever lied and she said, "Of course." I then asked if I could show her one verse. She was rushed but allowed me to show her Revelation 21:8. Please pray that God will work in her heart and the hearts of those who received our flyer today.
Sunday, 30 October PM: We had a fun evening service. It has been good to be in the house of the Lord. Mark and Solomon were able to come. And, our 23 year old young man who trusted Christ this week came out for the service as well. He and I are going to get together for a Bible study tomorrow. Please pray for him. He is hungry for the Lord.
Our first communion service went well. It was an interesting night though. We had a very large spider drop from the ceiling onto the communion table during our Bible study. So, that caused some excitement. Then a neighbor shot off some very large fire works later in the service. Suffice it to say, nobody slept in the service tonight. Nelson did very well in the service. During our silent prayer time he didn't make a sound. Thanks for praying for us.
Sunday, 30 October: Well, British Summer Time is officially ended. Our clocks fell back this morning. So, I guess that means winter is on its way. Some of you may rememer our unusual winter last year when we had record snowfall. I ordered two shovels yesterday. So, as soon as those come, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."
We have felt like church planters again this past week. We had Sunday night, Thursday night and Sunday School all to ourselves this week. Praise the Lord, that this is unusual. And, we trust that we'll break that pattern soon. The Hikin family has been greatly hindered by illness lately. They are currently at home with chicken pox.
Theophila, Alec, Tenosha and Constance joined us for the morning service. I preached on Christ's Memorial Service from I Corinthians 11. We are starting the Lord's Supper on the last Sunday of each month. So, tonight will be our first. Thanks for praying for our church. Below, I'll put a picture of the car park in front of our home as it looked last year when we got tons of snow. (In case you weren't reading these last year.)
Saturday, 29 October: Thanks for your prayers for the young man who prayed to be saved this week. We met together tonight at our home and studied I Corinthians 14. We went verse by verse through the whole passage. It was interesting to watch him take in God's truth about what he has seen in his church. He undsertood that what is going on in that ministry is disobedient to God's commands. Please pray that God's will would be done in his life.
I had another good witnessing opportunity while doing door to door. Please pray for Edith. She allowed me to show her several verses from the Bible about salvation. Please pray that God will work in her heart.
I had a follow up witnessing opportunity yesterday with Keith. He asked some good questions about what we believe. Thanks for praying for our evangelistic efforts.
Prayer request: The Hikin family has contracted chicken pox. Please pray for them. The baby may have it. Laura (mum) has it as well. Thanks for praying.
Thursday, 27 October: If I titled these updates, my title for this one would be, "Why I think Satan didn't want me to witness today." Yesterday morning as I walked I had very hard witnessing opportunities. The first was an older lady that attends the Church of Scotland. She said that she knows what Baptists teach. In our brief exchange it was obvious that she does not know the Gospel. She was not friendly. The next lady did take a tract. Then I tried to give a tract to an older man. He coldly refused and kept walking ignoring the fact that I was trying to talk to him. The next one was worse. I crossed a hospital parking lot and came into contact with a delivery truck driver opening a gate for his truck. He snarled at me as he took the tract and then angrily slammed his truck door while muttering. *(I was so startled I was saying, "What's the problem?" I thought as I walked away that the Lord must have a good opportunity coming if Satan was that upset.
This morning a hundred yards away from my house I met a friend who I have chatted with many times. He believes evolution. The Lord gave me 15 minutes to share with him how I've seen God at work in my life. The next young man, John, stopped and listened as I spoke to him about the lord and gave him a tract. He is 25 and has just moved down from the Highlands to go to college near us. He regularly reads, "Our Daily Bread" and believes in God. That surprised me. We had a good talk about salvation. The next man, Duncan, attends a Church of Scotland church every fortnight but only "hopes" to go to Heaven. I spoke to him for close to 10 minutes sharing verses about salvation and he also took a tract. He said that he may stop in at our church. (We may not see immediate fruit from these opportunities but they were definitely God given.) If I was preaching right now I'd say, "Don't quit. Keep trusting the Lord for good opportunities. Satan will do everything he can to stop you. In due season you will reap - don't faint!"
Wednesday, 26 October: This afternoon I put out flyers again. Bilston, a neighboring village is now finished with this flyer. Please pray for Terry (60). I enjoyed chatting with him for about 15 minutes. He was interested in our conversation and mentioned that he had seen our literature before. It was a really good opportunity.
Please pray for Tenosha and Evan's family. They are going through a trial right now. I know that they would appreciate your prayers.
Tuesday, 25 October: I can't always share everything that I'd like to share on our website. But, I did want you to know that I met with a young man for a couple hours this afternoon and he prayed to accept Christ. He is in his 20's and is already burdened about being a preacher. However, he is currently in a church that is in disobedience to God's Word. Please pray that God will use I Corinthians 14 to encourage him to stop attending that church. Thanks for your prayers.
Monday, 24 October: The Lord encouraged my heart this morning as I listened to 4 messages while I was putting out flyers. When I see a witnessing opportunity I take my earbuds out and chat. I had 3 good opportunities this morning.
Please pray for Agnus to come visit the church. I spoke to her for about five minutes. Ronney took the flyer at his door and thanked me but we didn't have a chance to talk. Later as he walked back from the store I had a brief opportunity to encourage him to seek after Christ. Bob was the most interesting divine appointment. I asked him if he knew where he would go when he died. He said, "Funny you should ask that. I was thinking about that two minutes ago." Please pray for Bob. He said that he may visit our church. He had significant Bible knowledge and appeared to understand the Gospel. I will seek to follow up these opportunities.
Last night we did not have any other attendees. But, we still had a good service. We are studying the doctrine of the church.
Sunday, 23 October AM: The Lord gave us two visitors today. The Hikins had a 14 year old young lady with them. And, a 24 year old young man visited as well. I had invited him a few months ago. I didn't know where he lived but found him yesterday while doing door to door. I anticipate him attending again in the future. Both were present for Sunday School and church. We had 2 regulars missing but still had good attendance.
I preached this morning on "Walking with God" from Psalm 145:14-21. My points were - Trust Him, Wait on Him, Call upon Him, Fear Him, Love Him and Bless Him. Thank you for praying for our church.
Saturday, 22 October PM: The Lord just gave me 2 great opportunities while doing door to door. I witnessed to Greg for about 20 minutes. Please pray that he will seek after God. After that I saw a lady whom I had chatted with before. She had two older sons at home and I enjoyed visiting with them in their home. There is a language barrier. Please pray that they will visit the church.
Saturday, 22 October AM: Alec, Benson, and I, just returned from a men's prayer breakfast in Eyemouth. Walt Schmidt, who is with Baptist World Mission, shared his salvation testimony. It was good for us to hear. I'm especially glad that Alec was able to hear it.
Brother Walt is a furlough replacement missionary. He and his wife are visiting his daughter and son in law, Steve and Marci Bender. Steve is a GFA missionary. His father started the church in Eyemouth over 30 years ago. It is good to see what God has established there.
We have unspoken requests for two families in our church. Please pray for God's abundant grace. Thank you for taking part in our ministry.
Wednesday, 19 October: I had a chance to give a cashier a tract yesterday. He asked about my day and I told him it was going well and that I had just come from a great preacher's fellowship meeting. I could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t' believe in God. So I said, "You don't believe in God?" He said that he did not and I said, "You will some day." That thought stayed with me on my way home. I thought to myself, "There won't be any atheist in Heaven or Hell." I assume here (Scotland) that people do not believe in God and am always surprised when they say that they do. Please keep praying for God to awaken hearts.
Sunday AM, 16 October: We have had a really fun morning. Soon after we got to church this morning, a visiting family arrived. They were from Finland. Vessa is a farmer who accepted Jesus as His Savior 10 years ago. He and his wife started a church 5 years ago. They are on holiday (vacation) in Scotland. We had a very international day with America, England, Singapore, Zimbabwe, Scotland and Finland represented. It was good to have Constance, Tenosha and Evan's mum, back in church with us.
I preached on, "The Hazard of Hypocrisy" from Acts 5:1-11. The warning signs of hypocrisy that we considered are 1) Wanting to please men but not caring to please God, 2) Seeking to do by "self" what "grace" alone could achieve, 3) Trying to fool men while believing you can fool God, 4) Excelling God's law for men's applause, 5) Valuing personal status more than precious souls, 6) Paying eternally for temporal frivolity.
God gave us a great time in Sunday School and the morning service. The kids were very well behaved today. Thanks for praying.
Saturday, 15 October: Benson and I had 2 opportunities to share the gospel this morning as we did door to door in Loanhead. Please pray for A___ M______. to come visit with her children. She allowed me to show her the Gospel from my Bible as we visited at her door for about 20 minutes. I think that she has real potential of visiting the church. Another young man, A __________ (19) spoke with me for nearly half an hour as I showed him verse after verse in God's Word. You don't get opportunities like this without God's intervention. Thanks for praying for divine appointments.
Friday, 14 October: I had two people reject a tract before Andrew (18) accepted one. He listened and chatted as I shared the Gospel with him. He believes in God but has not studied God's Word. Please pray that God will give Him a hunger for truth. He thanked me for talking with him.
Benson and I went down salmon fishing for an hour this afternoon. I have been given permission to fish a river that is just a mile from my house. It is free and I can keep some salmon (if I can catch them.) Lewis (23) gave me some pointers on where to try to catch them. I shared the gospel with him. Lord willing we will both benefit from our meeting. :)
Thursday, 13 October: I thought I was going to put out flyers today but I had my plans changed. Tenosha and Evans step father was in the hospital. So, I bought a Bible for him and visited with him for close to an hour. Please pray that he will read the Bible and that God will meet his physical and spiritual needs. He should be leaving the hospital this evening.
Please also pray for the Hikin family. Their oldest son has contracted chicken pox. They've really had a difficult time lately with their health. We miss them in church. Please pray that God will strengthen them physically and spiritually.
We also found out this evening that it was parent teacher conferences night. So, none of our neighbor kids were there. It's been a while since it was just our family for a service. We enjoyed our time singing and the kids class went very well. It actually is encouraging to have church with no one else there and have the Lord encourage our hearts. We know He's on our side. Thanks for praying.
Wednesday, 12 October: My last two days have begun with good witnessing opportunities. Yesterday as I walked into town I was able to talk about Jesus with Allister. I've seen him many times and always have greeted him as we've passed. I think he declined a tract once. He doesn't believe in Jesus but allowed me to speak about Jesus. He brought up Barabbas and we takled about how Barabbas is a picture of the sinner set free while Jesus was punished.
I had a different follow up opportunity this morning because of a continuing car problem. Please pray that God will work in this young man's heart and that the car problem will be fixed. (It's one of those noises that sounds bad enough that you have to do something about it. But, you have difficulty finding it.)
We'd appreciate your prayers for our families health. Katie took a picture that I'll put below. It speaks for itself. When all of your kids fall asleep on the sofa - you know something is wrong.
Thanks for praying for our family and our ministry.
Monday, 10 October: Today is a rainy fall day. We live near a curvy road that causes a lot of accidents. I've seen 3 or 4 spin outs in the last month. There are rock walls on either side of the road. So, vehicles that spin out don't escape without damage. This morning as I was walking I heard a guy hit the wall. Thankfully, he was fine. So, my day started by helping slow down traffic since he was blocking a lane on a blind curve.
I put out flyers this morning in Loanhead. I was able to finish the last part of the town that hadn't received the new flyer. I didn't have a notable opportunity this morning. But, I am glad that the rain stopped and allowed me to get a good start on the week.
Sunday, 09 October: It's been good to be in the house of the Lord today. We were missing a few but we thank the Lord for those who attended. In Sunday School Mark and 4 of his kids joined us. Then for church, Theophila, Tenosha, Evans and Alec came along. I preached on SIN, the Greatest Hindrance to the Gospel from Psalm 51:7-13. After David dealt with his sin, he said, "Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee."
Tonight all of the Hikin family were able to be there. We also had a young couple, Mark and Joanna Reed, join us with their two infants. The Reed's help Joanna's parents who are missionaries about 20 miles from us. It was good to have them join us for the evening service. We were praying specifically that we would have an adult visitor today and they were there. We also enjoyed some fellowship time after the evening service.
One other highlight of the day, Kay Lee sang a duet with me. This was our first time singing together in church. I'll put a picture below. Thanks for praying for our ministry.
Friday, 07 October: The Lord just gave me a great opportunity. Liam is 16. Please pray that God will work in his heart. I was able to go through the gospel with him. He was thoughtful and seemed interested. We were at the playground with our kids. Thanks for praying for our health. Nelson is better and no one else had gotten sick yet. (The saying here is, "Finger's crossed.")
Thursday, 06 October: Last night around 11 Nelson spiked a fever and got sick to his stomach. So, that changed our game plan for tonight. We felt like I should stay home with Nelson, so that Katie could have the kid's club. On the way out the door to church, Parker, our four year old, asked Katie, "How are you going to preach?" (It's interesting that a four year old understands that daddy is the one who preaches.)
We're glad we adjusted. Three girls (one first time, one second time and one regular) were excited about coming tonight. Katie said it went very well. She wouldn't mind if I watched Nelson for every kid's club. Please pray that our church will get past the sickness. Thanks for praying.
Wednesday, 05 October: This morning I put out flyers in Loanhead. I had a divine appointment with a Christian man. Bill contacted us when we began the church but has never visited. In the last two weeks I have bumped into him 3 times. (One of those times was 6 miles from Loanhead.) Although he attends another church, I would like to see him visit our ministry. I believe that God has given these "chance" meetings with him.
I had one other opportunity. Ian is not "interested" in God. But, he was very kind. I hope that God will give me another opportunity to chat with him.
Monday, 03 October: I think the verse I need to meditate on today is Galatians 6:9. " And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." I had the thought this morning that I don't need to sing, "Are there no foes for me to face, must I not stem the flood...?" but I need to sing, "sure I must fight if I would win, increase my courage Lord."
We really appreciate your prayers for our ministry here. I read through the list of our supporters this afternoon and am also humbled by those who faithfully give to support us on the field.
I had some encouraging opportunities this morning. Please pray for Cali. I chatted with her this morning as she walked to work. She has a lot of question that she feels can not be answered. She said that perhaps she would stop by our church sometime and ask them. I hope she does.
The Lord has given me some older Christian friends in Loanhead from the Brethren Church. Ruth encouraged my heart today as she told me about a young lady (17) who was recently converted. Please pray that God will encourager her in His will for her life. This young girl has been forbidden to attend the Brethren Church. (Ruth also asked me if I had ever put out Gospel flyers in Kirkcaldy (30 miles away). She had a friend tell her that an American was putting flyers out there. I used to go to Kirkcaldy every fortnight (2 weeks) to help Don Dillman. The Dillman's are in the States on furlough right now. So, either Don or I had given this man a flyer.)
Please also pray for Mrs. J.M. *(I'll keep her name private.) She was saved about 35 years ago and attended a Baptist Church. She got away from her faith but has recently returned. Her husband is not saved and may oppose her attending our church. Please pray that God will give him grace to allow her to attend. If not, please pray that she will contact us and start meeting with Katie. I met her as she was out walking. We chatted for close to half an hour.
I met three unbelievers who were out smoking this morning. I offered them some paper that was better for them. 2 kindly took the flyer. The third refused and said, "Get God on the phone and I'll believe there is a God." I told him that I had a direct line and asked if he'd really like me to put a call through. He said yes. So, I bowed my head and prayed for God to convict these men by His Holy Spirit. They cursed some while I was praying. I concluded and turned to walk away and he said, "I'm not afraid to die." I said, "It doesn't matter if you fear before you die - it's what you fear after you die." Please pray that God will awaken their hearts.
I was able to put out 2-300 flyers this morning. Please also pray that God will use this flyer in the hearts of those who receive it.
Sunday, 02 October: The Lord gave us a good day despite some bumps in the road. We started the day loading and unloading in a heavy rain. But, the rain let up in time for Evans to walk to church. Evans walks over a mile to get to church. Half of the Hikin family was ill and so Laura was at home with the sick ones. But, it gave Mark and I a good season in prayer. Theophilla and Alec also joined us for the morning service. I preached on "Do you know my Jesus?" from Titus 2:11-14 - Are you Purchased, Purified, Possessed and Empowered? God gave liberty and power.
Another group rented part of the centre this evening. Their music was very loud and worldly. However, we had an unusual night planned as we showed a Barry Webb ministry puppet show. We had a good turnout with 12 children including ours. Mark was also present. Although it grieved me to hear music like that near our ministry, it didn't hinder our evening. Please pray that those type of groups would be few and far between.
Saturday, 01 October: If you have ever seen the "Prime Minister's Question" time, you may have an idea of how my last witnessing opportunity went. Please pray for the man and 15 year old that I spoke to for the last hour. They are strong evolutionists and very opposed to Christianity. Please pray that God will guide us in each opportunity. It was worth the time/effort if "God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth."
Thursday, 29 September: Our midweek service was well attended. The Hikin family, two neighbor girls (one was a first time visitor) and Alec were there. Katie is doing a great job with the kids club. She had 12 children tonight including 2 one year olds. Please pray for her as she does all of our children's ministries.
Our Bible study for the last two Thursday nights has been on the Soul Winner. We had a very profitable time. We are praising the Lord for His work in our hearts. Thank you for praying.
Wednesday, 28 September: The Lord gave me several good opportunities as I went into Edinburgh this morning. I took bus and got off near the Meadows, a large park in the heart of Edinburgh.
Peter, the first person I talked to, is a first year student at Edinburgh University. He is a 5 year old Christian. He has joined a college group that is seeking to get the gospel out to all of the students. It was good to meet a young man that has a heart for the Lord.
Another Peter is a last year student and is from Germany. He is agnostic. He didn't want to take the flyer. But after we chatted for 20 minutes, he kindly took one.
Maria, is a catholic from California. When I went to give her a flyer, she said, "You already gave me one." I recognized her then and realized I had given her one in a different part of the city. I asked her if she had read it. I sat by her on a bench and spoke with her for about a half hour. I recognized right away that it appeared she was saved. I'm convinced that she is. However, she has doctrinal believes that are incorrect because of false tradition. The Lord guided our conversation as we went through passages in His Word.
I talked to an 18 year old girl, Jane, who grew up in a pastor's home in Canada. She is bitter and practices paganism. My heart went out to her and trust the Lord used that opportunity to remind her of His love.
I went through a park on purpose to approach two young men who were taking a break from their work. Their job title was "fire protection." I said, "That's what I do." They were surprised and I said, "I'm a Baptist Minister." They really thought that was funny and laughed out loud. We had a very cordial brief chat. Their job headquarters are in Loanhead. They know right where our church meets.
I talked to Cloe and the young man she was with for about 15 minutes. They are both 17. She was very thoughtful and fun to talk to.
I met a Christian man from Wales who was reading a book on prophecy. I gave a flyer to some young men from Norway. I gave another to a man from Brazil. I gave one to two men from India. I gave one each to five young men from Cecily. (I gave out numerous others but I wanted to give you a flavor of our international city.)
If you want an international platform for the gospel, come to Edinburgh. Thanks for praying for these divine appointments.
Tuesday, 27 September: Special Prayer Request: Please pray for Katie's cousin's (Tammy's) daughter, Adalin (9 years old on Saturday). She has recently had severe pain caused by blockages from blood clots. Please pray for God's mercy, peace, and grace. Many of you have had Addie on your prayer list and we really appreciate your desire to lift up this little girl's needs to the Lord.
Mark and I had a good time putting out flyers. Laura and Katie enjoyed their time at our house as well. We had 3 divine appointments. Gregg believes in God he said because of his upbringing. But his conviction is nothing more than that. Please pray that God will use our 10 minute conversation to point him towards Jesus. Mark was putting in a front fence. He was very kind. Our conversation was short. He said that he believed that God gave us His Word but he does not read it. I asked him, "If God wrote you a letter would you read it?" He said yes. I asked, "Then why haven't you read it? God's Word is His letter to us." He said he'd read our flyer.
One divine appointment was with one of Jordan's brothers. Derik has just joined the army paratroopers. He has come to a couple church services in the past. He said he needs to come to church again. Please pray that they will come. We had lost track of Mary (Jordan's gran) after she moved to a new housing area. We are thrilled to have found them.
We have never put our information through this area before. We went to around 300 doors. Please pray for those who received our literature. Thanks for praying for our day. God gave us a great one.
Monday, 26, September: I had great weather this morning as I put out flyers. The Lord allowed me to chat with 2 people I had spoken with before. Mark came out just as I was putting a flyer into his neighbors door. This man used to work for Alec and had said a few weeks ago that he might visit. I offered to come by for a Bible study. Please pray that God will continue to reach out to him. It is no accident that I have been brought into contact with him two times in the last few weeks.
Sunday, 25 September: The most notable blessing from our day today was the good behavior of all of the kids. (Please pray that this will continue.) Our services have been hindered on occasion by mischievousness. We are very thankful for a good behavior day.
The services today were well attended. The Hikin family, Kirk and Carrie Hansen, and Theophilla, were with us for Sunday School. Tenosha, Evans, and Alec joined us for church.
This morning I preached on guarding ourselves from turning away from God. Our text was Jeremiah 2:5-13. Tonight, we continued our study of the doctrine of Salvation. The Hikin and Hansen families, and Evans joined us for that service.
Please pray that God will continue to work in our community. Mark and I are scheduled to put out flyers together on Tuesday. Thank you for praying.
Saturday, 24 September: The Lord just gave me a divine appointment with a family. I passed them twice while I was walking this evening. As I passed them the second time, I invited them to visit the church. They stopped and we chatted for about 15 minutes. Hugh and his wife have four kids. I can't say that we will see them in church. However, I see a greater potential in them coming than most whom I meet. Please pray that this family will find Christ.
Friday, 23 September: We enjoyed a good service last night. The Hikin family and our family were present. Kirk and Carrie are also down visiting for a few days. We studied the Soul Winner. There was a really sweet spirit in our time together.
Afterwards, Kirk and I visited Dawn and Ben's. Dawn pulled in just as we got there. God's timing was perfect. We had a brief chat. Her father has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has lymphoma. Because of this her schedule is all changed. It does not appear that we will be able to meet with them in the near future. Please pray that God will meet the need in their lives.
Wednesday, 21 September: I'm glad to be back inside. I put flyers out for close to 4 hours this morning as my van was at the garage. I've got a rain resistant jacket and waterproof shoes and they were tested this morning. The shoes came through with flying colors. The jacket faired pretty well.
I wanted to tell you about an answer to prayer last night. Our kids do a lot of dvd's with their home schooling. We had a portable dvd player break and so we were looking for a used tv. I found a used one almost immediately last Friday but the guy backed out. So, for the next several days we were looking and praying. Last night I prayed at supper, "Lord, please provide this extra tv for us. If we're just being too cheap help us just to go get a new one." After dinner, I checked the used ads online one more time and found a tv that had been posted 15 minutes before. Gary agreed to the price I offered and then I found out it was 25 miles away. I told Katie, "Maybe the Lord has a witnessing opportunity in this." (I hope this isn't too anti-climatic for you.) But, it was a great witnessing opportunity. Gary believes in God but doesn't attend church. It was one of those opportunities that you clearly see God's hand. It was worth waiting for God to provide - just to have that chance to share the Gospel. It was a real encouragement to see God provide and guide. Thanks for praying for these open doors.
Tuesday, 20 September: The Lord brought me into contact a month ago with a Christian young man named Nik. He is young in the faith. He was a Hindu. Nik is a growing Christian. Please pray that God would satisfy his hunger for Christian fellowship. During the week he attends Dundee University where Kirk is going to school. He is going to visit Pastor Edgar's Bible study. I gave him contact information for the Edgar's and he has already emailed them. He is excited to know that there is Christian fellowship there.
Katie met Jennifer for tea this morning. They had a good time. Please pray that God will give wisdom to Jennifer and that she will grow in the Lord.
This afternoon, I took Kay Lee and Benson to their art lesson with Mr. Alec. He is a good teacher. Last week they finished their painting. So, they got to start new ones today and bring their finished works home. I'll put a picture below. Thanks for your prayers.
note about the paintings: Mr. Alec cut out blocks of wood in shapes that made a picture. The kids got to arrange the shapes however they wanted on their board. He then helped them glue them. After that they were able to paint them. He also put a wood frame around it for them.
Sunday, 18 September: We had a great day. This morning, the Hikins and Theophilla joined us for Sunday School. Then Alec joined us for church. I preached this morning on the end of Romans 4 and beginning of chapter 5. I preached on faith. The Lord blessed and worked in our hearts.
Tonight it was our family and that was our crowd. But, the Lord still met with us and encouraged our hearts as we looked at the doctrine of Salvation.
Please keep praying. God is working. We'll see what tomorrow brings as we seek to serve Him.
Saturday, 17 September: This morning I did some door to door in Loanhead. Chris was the best chat. He believes in God. He is in the minority. I would say at least 75 percent of the people I speak to - do not believe in God. Of those that do believe in God, most don't believe that the Bible is ENTIRELY God's Word. If you wonder why the doctrine of inspiration and preservation are important and true - without them you can only "hope" you are going to Heaven. And, if you only hope you are going to Heaven and don't know you are going to Heaven, you are most likely going to Hell. Why? Because you have nothing to base your faith upon. It's really sad isn't it? Satan has certainly put rocks of doubt in our field. Please pray that God will help us chuck some of Satan's rocks where they can be a memorial of God's saving grace.
We enjoyed our visits tonight. Katie baked cookies for some of our church folks. We stopped by Deone's home. She should be in church tomorrow night. And, we stopped by Alec and Elizabeth's home. Alec has a nice flower/vegetable garden. He also has a plum tree. He took the kids out there to get some fresh plums. Please keep praying for Alec and Elizabeth. He's only missed two Sundays in over a year. I have a Bible to give to him tomorrow in appreciation of his faithful attendence.
Wednesday, 14 September: Well, the winds are dying down a bit today. And, I was able to get out this morning to put out flyers in Loanhead. I didn't have any "great" opportunities. But, it is hard to know what opportunities will have the most impact anyway. I'll just say I didn't have any evident opportunities.
This evening the Lord gave us a chance to chat with Hannah. We were hiking on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh with our kids. We had stopped to let them play and Hannah with her wee son was walking nearby. She was very kind. And although it was evident that she didn't believe in God, she kindly listened as I shared arguments for God and personal testimony of my relationship with God. Please pray that God in His love would open her eyes. It was an evident divine appointment for which I thank the Lord. I had just finished trying to talk to a 19 year old young man whose wisdom was foolishness with God. This young man marveled at the beauty of a world that evolved from the simple to the complex. Only Satan could so blind an intelligent young man as to make him believe that the world he marveled at just happened. I'm glad that the Lord gave me an open door after that frozen shut door. Thanks for praying for us and for our divine appointments.
Tuesday, 13 September: Kirk and Carrie are now in Dundee. The Lord has provided a very nice flat for them. Please continue to pray for them as they get settled. Carrie is actively seeking employment. Kirk is starting his studies this week.
I made it back from Dundee without incident. The Forth Road bridge was closed to all vehicles other than cars. They do that when wind speeds hit the 70 mph mark. At 80 mph they close the bridge completely. I don't think I've driven in winds as bad before and I was glad to get home. This kind of weather makes you know you are alive.
This morning, we picked Theophilla up from the airport. She is back for her second year of study. Please pray for her as she lives at St. Margarets University. You can imagine what it would be like as a student to go to school in another country. Please pray that the Lord will encourage her and protect her as she seeks to do His will.
I had an interesting divine appointment today. I pulled into a gas station behind a car with the Christian fish symbol on the back. I asked the driver if he was a Christian. Jockie was saved 3 years ago when he was in Japan. I believe he is a Scot. He lit up when we talked about the Lord. He attends another church but I hope to get together with him sometime for prayer. He said that he hopes to go back to Japan as a missionary. He has completed some Bible education. It's good when the lord brings you into contact with another believer.
Sunday, 11 September: We had a good day today. Numbers don't tell the story today. Alec and Deone were the only two present other than our family. However, the Lord gave a great spirit in the service and He worked in our hearts. (Please pray for the Hikin family as they are all ill with colds.)
This morning I preached on being the light from Matthew 5:14-16. The last thing we considered was that light was for illuminating the the Treasure in us. This evening we started our study of the doctrine of Salvation. It was just a family service but it was another good time around God's word.
Kirk and Carrie leave tomorrow for Dundee. However, hurricane Katie is arriving tomorrow as well (not a hurricane anymore but a strong low pressure system.) So, we'll see what we do. There could be wind gusts into the 70's mph. Thanks for your prayers for our services today.
Wednesday, 07 September: The Lord gave a couple good opportunities to chat with people today. My brother-in-law, Kirk, helped me put out flyers for a couple hours this afternoon. Please pray for Allen and Paul. I will seek to follow up with Paul as he mentioned he may visit the church. Thanks for praying for open doors.
Tuesday, 06 September: The first two days of this week I have travelled to Dundee to help Kirk and Carrie find a flat. The Lord has provided a good flat in a good location. (Please pray that the application process will go smoothly and quickly.) It is fully furnished and ready to go.
Please continue to pray for a job for Carrie. There are many good possibilities. Please pray for God's blessing in her pursuit of employment.
We were able to give out some tracts and had one witnessing opportunity each day. Please pray for contacts for the Edgar's church plant on the west side of Dundee. Lord willing, later today (Wednesday) I will start putting out the new flyer. However, there are some fast moving showers in the area today. There is a beautiful rainbow over Loanhead just now. Thanks for your part in helping Kirk and Carrie as they pursue the Lord's will in Dundee.
Sunday, 04 September: The Lord gave us good attendance today. We did have some out of town visitors to help us out. It was good to have the Edgar Missionary family with us this morning. The Hikin family, Kirk and Carrie (Katie's brother and sister in law) were also with us for Sunday School and church. Alec, Tenosha, and Evans joined us for the morning service. I preached this morning on the Calamity of Covetousness from King Ahab's desire for his neighbor's field.
Tonight we had the same group (minus Alec and the Edgar family) with Deone in attendance. We concluded our study of the Holy Spirit.
We had a great time with my mom, dad and aunt. They have safely arrived in Ireland where they are visiting three missionary families before returning home. Tomorrow, I am taking Kirk and Carrie flat hunting in Dundee. Please pray that God will provide just the right home for them. Kirk will begin work on his PHD on the 12th. They are planning on helping the Edgar family in their ministry as they start a church in Dundee.
Thursday, 01 September: Is it really September? Wow. Time flies! The Lord gave us a good attendance this evening. We had the Hikin family, 3 neighbor girls, our family and 5 relatives. The Bible study and the kids club went very well.
Mom, Dad and Aunt Bonnie leave on Saturday to head to Ireland for a week. Dad will be preaching at two churches on Sunday. Please pray for their flights to go well. Please also remember my mom's need for God's grace to get on a plane. As much as we'd like to keep her, dad wants to keep her more. Thanks for your prayers.
Wednesday, 31 August: The Lord has given us some family over here now. Katie's brother, Kirk, and his wife, Carrie, moved over here today. Kirk is going to work on his doctorate at the University of Dundee. They will be just over an hour from us. God has put all the details together for them and they are excited about this new phase of their lives. Please pray for them as they adjust and get settled. They are looking for a flat to rent. They'd appreciate your prayers for God's perfect provision.
The Lord gave me a great witnessing opportunity this evening with an individual who lives near us. Please pray that God will build a solid foundation upon Christ in this man's life. Yesterday we took my family up into the Highlands. God has given us wonderful memories from the time with my folks and my aunt. I'll put some pics below.
Monday, 29 August: We are praising the Lord for His protection today for Parker. Parker fell and hit his head on the sidewalk. About a half hour later he started throwing up. Because we were already in Edinburgh to show my family the castle, we took Parker to the emergency room and they watched him until later this afternoon when he was discharged. (The castle is very close to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children which is where he needed to go.) He appears to be fine. Please pray about this. He has hit his head a number of times lately.
We had a good day despite Katie and Parker being at Sick Kids. Parker and Katie joined us at the Meadows Playground for a picnic before heading home this evening. God gave two great witnessing opportunities. Both included follow up opportunities.
The first was with the chip shop worker that Missionary Les Hill and I witnessed to. We had another good opportunity to challenge this man with the truth of the Gospel. Please pray that God will open His eyes. His mother was buried this past Thursday.
We also witnessed to a large group of young people. One of these young men was part of a group that I had spoken to before. Some were very antagonistic but some wanted to hear more. One big lad came up during our conversation and started wickedly speaking. I said, "The Bible speaks about what you are doing right now. It says, 'Fools make a mock of sin.'' He said, "I don't believe in God." I said, "The Bible says, 'The fool hath said in his heart that there is no God.'" The Lord gave boldness and guidance. Please pray that some of these young people will start seeking after God. Here are some pictures of Parker. You'll notice as the pictures progress that he is feeling better. I'll also include a couple from our baptismal service. (A special thank you to the Baptist Church in North Berwick for allowing us to join with them for that special service.)
Sunday, 28 August: The Lord gave us a great day today. The Hykin family, Skye, my parents and aunt were with us in Sunday School. Tenosha, Evans and Alec joined us for church. Then, while I was reading the Scripture in our morning service, Jenny came in! We were thrilled to tears to see her. God's good. Many of you have been praying with us for Jenny. She told us that it was a year ago last week that she first got our flyer through the mail. She accepted Christ on Easter Sunday. I'll share more in our next prayer letter. She joined our family for lunch.
Dad preached a great message on what the Bible says about death. It was encouraging to believers and a challenge for those who are not ready to die.
Tonight we are baptizing 6 individuals. Please pray that the Lord will encourage each one who is baptized this evening. We want this to be a milestone in their Christian experience. Dad will be preaching and I will be baptizing. We are very thankful for a sister church near by that has a baptismal tank. Thank you for your faithful prayers. It is a brutally windy/rainy day but the "Son" is shining on Loanhead today. We praise Him for His goodness.
Saturday, 27 August: We tried to follow up with Ben and Dawn this evening but she was at the hospital with her dad. So, we will try again in the near future. Meanwhile, please pray for our baptismal service tomorrow evening. Kay Lee (8) Benson (7) Solomon (9) Tenosha (20) Evans (17) and Laura are going to be baptized. We are going to have our evening service 20 miles away in North Berwick. The Baptist Church there has kindly allowed us to join them for that service. Please pray for my dad as he is going to preach in the morning and evening. It is a good opportunity for our church folks to hear another preacher other than their pastor. We are anticipating a great day!
Thursday, 25 August: Thank you for praying for our fellowship meeting. God's presence was evident and the singing, fellowship, preaching, etc. was awesome. I wish you could have been here. (I also want to praise the Lord for my wife and her hard work getting things ready for this meeting.)
Please pray for a man that I witnessed to this morning. He said, "I don't mind talking about religion but I'm not going to think about it after I walk away." I asked if he thought God could make Him think about Him. Please pray that God will really work in this man's heart.
The Hyken family and Deone joined us for our midweek service this evening. God is giving us some precious time with my family (Mom, Dad, Aunt). Please pray for our baptismal service this Sunday night. Some of you will remember Jenny. Please continue to pray for her. We received a really encouraging email from her this past week. God is still working and she gives evidence of salvation. Please pray that she can get together with Katie soon.
We love our prayer warriors. Thanks for your support.
Tuesday, 23 August: God gave me a great opportunity this morning. Jason (20) was sitting on a park bench. He has never given creation much thought and believes evolution. We chatted for a half hour and he said that he will visit our church. Please pray that God will convince His heart of the truth. We'd also appreciate your prayers for our pastor's fellowship on Thursday. Mom will be speaking to the ladies and dad will speak to the men and preach. It's our first time hosting the fellowship meeting and we are looking forward to the day. Thanks for your prayers for contacts and for our ministry.
Sunday, 21 August: We had a very nice day. There was a good group and a great spirit in our services. For Sunday School we had Mark and his kids with our family. Alec, Tenosha and Evans joined us for church. I preached on How Did Jesus Die from Isaiah 53. He died - without defense, as a criminal, as a pauper, as one who offered Himself, praying for those who killed him, etc.
This evening we had all of the Hyken family and our family. I preached on Baptism in preparation for our baptismal service next Sunday night. Right now we have four that are going to be baptized. Dad (who is the pastor of our sending church), Mark and I talked with each candidate and we are excited at the clear testimonies of salvation. Right now, we have 3 children and one adult.
We were able to reschedule a time to talk to Ben and Dawn. Lord willing, we will chat with them next Saturday night. Please pray for Dawn. She was at the hospital Thursday night with a crushed knuckle.
Saturday, 20 August: We are having a great time with my family. We got out and about today and God gave us beautiful weather. Believe it or not, we met a group of tourists today from Wisconsin. (That is where I am from and where my dad is a pastor.) One young lady was from a town 6 miles from our home. Some of you may remember that we have a school over here that is Wisconsin in Scotland. It is a University of Wisconsin satellite school. We didn't meet these students at that property which is about a mile from where we live. We saw them at a castle we were touring. An American accent stands out and we heard them talk. I gave them our tract with our website and asked them to let any Christian young people know about our ministry. Sometimes the world is a small place. Here are some fun pics. since my folks arrived.
Waiting for Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Bonnie
Bonnie, Mom and Dad
Grandpa getting to know Nelson. Nelson was born over here.
Dalkeith Country Park about 2 miles from our home
Our favorite picnic spot.
Overlooking Edinburgh from a volcanic mound in the city. (1,000 feet tall.)
Having fun at Craigmillar Castle.
Friday, 19 August: It was good to have the Hyken (Mark's) family with us for church last night. They have 6 kids and we have 5. Please pray for Katie as 2 of the kid's in her class are 1 year old. I stopped by Ben and Dawn's but they weren't home. Lord willing, we will get a follow up opportunity soon.
The Lord gave me a great witnessing opportunity this morning. John (77) was walking when our paths intersected. He mentioned that he hadn't seen me in a while and hoped that he hadn't offended me when we had chatted before. God opened the door and we talked for a half hour. 2 statements that stand out to me from our chat are, "You talk about God as if He is a person." and "You are a lucky man." The second statement was after I shared personal stories about how God has worked in my life. He was saying he admired my faith. John believes evolution. Please pray that God will work the truth into his heart.
Afterwards, Kay Lee, Benson and I went to the airport and picked up my mom, dad and aunt. Thanks for praying for my mom. Please continue to pray for her. Flying, to put it very mildly, is not easy for her. She wouldn't be here if she didn't have family over here. God gave grace to get her here. Thanks for praying. We are excited to have them with us for two weeks.
Wednesday, 17 August: Kay Lee went with me again today to help finish putting flyers out in the village of Roslin. This village is just a mile from Loanhead. It was a bit of an international day. We stopped at a Christian bookstore to pick up a Bible and the clerk had been a Hindu. 9 months ago he came to Christ and is in a Pentecostal church that preaches the Gospel. I had come into contact with him one other time near the church that he attends. He took my business card and said he may visit our church. Please pray for Nick.
In Roslin we met an Italian lady, Mary, and her friend, Carol, who was from South Africa. Mary was born again in 1977. They attend a church in Edinburgh but said they might visit our church.
Peter was a divine appointment. He is from Slovakia. He asked good questions and listened intently while I sought to explain the Gospel. Please pray that he will get His Bible out when He gets home. I told him the verse in the Bible where Jesus said to Peter, "And when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren." It would be neat if Peter got saved and became a missionary to his country.
Tuesday, 17 August: Benson was my helper this morning. However, he and I got rained out after putting out flyers for less than an hour. We stopped in the shop with the Muslim owner. He said that he has started to read the Bible we gave him. We also saw Emma and the two kids and chatted briefly with them. We continue to pray that they will come along to church.
I stopped by Ben (14) and Dawn's (mom) home. They weren't there but got back as I was leaving. I offered to come back at another time. So, please pray for them this Thursday. I'm going back to their home around 1:00 PM Central Standard Time. Thanks for your prayers.
Monday, 15 August: Kay Lee helped me this morning. She will be nine in 2 weeks. She did a great job walking and putting out flyers. We started at 9 and didn't end until after 11. We put out 250-300. We took an English/Arabic Bible with us and gave it to a shopkeeper that we had met before. Please pray that he will see that Jesus is the Prophet that Moses spoke about.
It was a tough audience this morning. We had a "christian" lady give our flyer back. And, we were told by a young man, "Can't you just keep walking." So, no apparent divine appointments. However, it was a good morning. And, after many days of rain, we are enjoying some sunshine today. Thanks for praying. (Maybe we'll get a witnessing opportunity this evening.)
Sunday, 14 August: The Lord gave us good services today. The kids did a great job obeying. That is an answer to prayer. We had the Hyken family and 2 neighbor children with us for Sunday School. That means that Katie had 12 in her SS class. So, obedience is a huge blessing. Mark, Laura and I enjoyed our time studying the book of Philippians in the adult class.
Alec joined us for church. I preached on "I say unto all, Watch" from Mark 13:32-37. It is a passage which speaks of the return of the Lord.
One of our neighbor girls joined us for the evening service. Afterwards we invited some children who were at the Centre to join us for our kids club on Thursday nights. Please pray that they will come.
We have scheduled a baptismal service on August 28th at a church that is 20 miles from here. My oldest two will be baptized. There are others that may be baptized as well. Please pray for that service.
Also, my mom, dad and aunt, fly here on Friday and will be spending two weeks with us. Please pray for God's grace for their flights. (My mom especially is not fond of flying.) Dad and mom will be participating in a Scotland pastor's fellowship meeting that we are hosting on the 25th. Please also pray for the ministry opportunities that they will have while they are here. Thanks for taking these needs to the Lord.
Saturday, 13 August, PM update: I just visited Mary who prayed to get saved 2 weeks ago. We had a good 45 minute chat this evening and it appears that she didn't fully understand the Gospel. She is 81. Please pray that God will open her eyes and that we will have God's leading and power in our witnessing. I continue to realize how great the spiritual darkness is here.
I stopped by Ben's home as well. His mum was there but it wasn't a good time to chat. I'm going to stop back on Tuesday night. Please pray that I will have God's wisdom.
Saturday, 13 August: Katie has done pretty well today although she still doesn't feel quite right. Thanks for praying.
The Lord gave me good visits on doors today. Please pray for Brian who believes evolution. I talked with him for about 20 minutes. David doesn't believe that God has preserved his word. John grew up Catholic but seemed very open to truth.
Another older woman said that she thinks God will accept her. I explained that it is Jesus and not us. She kept saying, "Well, I'll try to do better." I told her, "You need to stop trying and start trusting. Jesus is the only way." Please pray that she will understand the Gospel.
Everybody was very nice today. Even those that shut the door did so with at least a little consideration. Please continue to pray that God will open hearts.
Friday, 12 August: We have a prayer request. Katie has an inner ear infection and had a bad dizzy spell today. Please pray that it will clear up. She didn't know what was going on but the room was spinning. Thankfully, we were able to get her in to see the doctor. She has a prescription to deal with the side effects of the infection. She'd appreciate your prayers.
While she was in the doctor's office, the kids and I went to a playground. I had a good chat with Pat, a catholic lady. She was there with her grandson. Please pray that she will have the courage to look at the Word of God and compare it with what she has been taught.
Last night the Hyken family joined us for church. They were all there. Praise the Lord. Please pray for their family.
The rain has finally stopped today. Much of Scotland is experiencing flooding. Being stuck inside, I was able to get my flyer finished and off to the printer. I'll post jpeg's of it below. The print quality is exceptional. However, the images below appear blurry. Thanks for your prayers for this flyer. I'm getting 10,000. I will put it out throughout our area. I will also hand it out in Edinburgh.
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Wednesday, 10 August: Our family is doing much better. Thanks for praying for our health. Last night we got out and went to a park in Edinburgh. It is a large park with a great playground.
The Lord gave me an opportunity to share the Gospel with a group of young people who didn't want to hear. They were loudly using wicked speech and I asked them to watch their language. Later I said, "The reason I asked you to mind your language is because God says that you will give an account for every idle word you speak. Your speech also shows that you have hearts that are very wicked. The Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." When I said that they laughed like they couldn't believe the crazy guy was talking to them about God. The young lady who was the apparent leader said, "Look we have freedom of speech so we can say whatever we want. What gives you the right to come over and talk to us about God?" A little Jewish boy in their group said, "Freedom of Speech." (I really like that kid.)
That girl later in the conversation said, "What gives you the right to try to convert us? We can believe what we want." I said, "I'm not trying to convert you but I did want to warn you. If you were in the burning flats in London don't you think I should try to warn you." She said, "I'm not scared (of judgment.)" I asked, "Does anyone have a lighter?" (I remembered Hal Hightower using this example.) No one did. But I said, "You wouldn't hold your hand over the flame. You are scared of fire. That's what hell is." The young Jewish lad said, "So, how do you not go to Hell?" I said, "Remember Jesus Christ (again they all turned away like they couldn't believe what they were hearing) why did He die?"
What is not recorded in this story is all of the loud fowl language that they were using to seek to be offensive. Please pray that God will work in these young people's hearts. Some of the best preachers were reprobate in their youth.
Today is a full rain day here. It appears that tomorrow will be the same. I am praying about preparing another flyer. Please pray that the Lord will give me wisdom to put a good flyer in His hand which will impact our area. Thanks for your prayers.
Monday, 8 August: Every day I get to email our sponsor as required by visa law. It is something I enjoy and allows me to get a good look at what God has done each day. I thought today that I would just copy my email below. Thanks for praying.
Dear Brother Tom,
We are having a little sickness in our home. So, I got to play mister mum today. I realize how much Katie does when I have to try to take over. Nelson came down with it first on Sunday. Kay Lee and Katie were next. Hopefully it stops there. It seems to be a body ache, congestion, soar throat thing that I hope I don't get.
I was able to get out late this morning and do flyers for a couple of hours in Roslin. I listened to messages by Greg Loche while I was walking. He preached one message on being salty. Another message was about having compassion. It was challenging and just what I needed. I had two opportunities to witness to older men who don't have anything to do with God. In both cases the Lord gave me boldness to challenge them and neither one was offended.
The first man said, "On a scale of wickedness from one to a hundred (one hundred being very bad) I would be a three." I said, "God can't save you then. He came to save those who are lost and you think you are fine without him. Until you realize the awfulness of your sin, you will never be saved." The second man said he believed in God and that the Bible was God's Word. I said, "So you should obey it then. But, you don't. And you think you're fine and you're not bothered. I preached a message yesterday on God's Word to the wicked. God says repent 'lest I rend you in pieces and there be none to deliver." It sounds harsh but I said it in love and they both responded well. I hope they wake up before it is eternally too late.
The Lord allowed me to meet an older Christian lady. She and her husband almost visited our church when we had the big snowfall. They go to an evangelical church but didn't make it to church that day. We are closer and they thought about attending. It was good to know that they had our information and that they were encouraged that we were starting a work in Loanhead.
The weather has shifted a little and was a bit cooler today. To be honest, I'm glad. We are really getting used to the coolness and heat is tough on our thick skin. (Note to readers - when I say heat I mean low 70's.)
Ben
Sunday, 7 August: It hasn't stopped raining since noon yesterday! (It is almost 10:00PM.) "God has not promised skies always blue, flower strewn pathways all our lives through, but He has promised grace for thy day, strength for thy labor, light for thy way." (If I changed the words please forgive me. My wife tells me that I do that on occasion.)
We had a shower of blessing today. It was good to have Mark's wife Laura and their new little baby in church with us today. It was our two families for Sunday School and church.
I preached this morning on Psalm 50:16-23, God's Word to the Wicked. I'm glad that God isn't politically correct and that His word contains absolute truth that is put forward with clarity. Praise God for Light!
Tonight our doctrinal study began the doctrine of the Holy Ghost. Our family was present. Afterwards, I treated the kids to milk shakes and took them on a drive through Edinburgh. It is festival season and the city is teeming with people. They were counting umbrellas until it became nearly impossible. Please pray for the city. It is full of people who need Jesus.
Saturday, 6 August: The Lord gave me the blessing of leading Ben (14) to the Lord today. I met Ben and his mum just over a week ago as I was putting out flyers. I was surprised that Ben was only 14. He is mature for his age and is a very thoughtful lad. I stopped back by Ben's home this morning. After an hour of showing Ben verse after verse in God's Word, Ben bowed his head and asked Jesus into His heart as I led him in prayer. When he finished praying he said, "I strongly believe! Did you feel different when you got saved? I feel different." Please pray for Ben as he grows in the Lord. Lord willing, we will see him in church soon.
Friday, 5 August: We ended our HBT today. It was a good week and we thank the Lord for it. The two girls that Katie has been picking up this week were present. They also came to our Kids Club last night. We hope that we will continue to see them at church. They will be away this weekend but are planning on attending the Kids Club next week. Thanks for praying.
Thursday, 4 August: It is another rainy, rainy day. But, it doesn't impact our HBT because of the nice facility we rent. The other girl did come today. So, we had four girls attend today. God is giving us really good days. The kids are listening and participating very well. We also enjoyed having a missionary friend help us today. Thanks for your prayers.
Wednesday, 3 August: We had the same three children as yesterday with us today. It was a beautiful day and we were able to play outdoor games. It is nice that 4 of our children are HBT age. So, we have 7 kids ready to do each activity. All of the kids are really enjoying each day. After HBT we saw another child who has attended SS and HBT last year. She said that she definitely wants to come tomorrow. So, we'll see. Please pray that we will best use each day to impact these kids for the Lord.
Tuesday, 2 August: It's been raining all day here. However, we had a fun morning despite the weather. We had 3 other children present. They listened and participated very well. It was a really good morning. (One girl said that she prayed to get saved last night. Please pray that she fully understands the Gospel.)
We had a divine appointment at the park last night. We prayed on our way there that God would give us some good opportunities to invite children to our Bible Club. Benson ran to give flyers to some boys on scooters and we realized that 2 of them attended HBT last year. They promised to come today but did not. However, as we drove to Costco after our meeting this morning, we passed the boys. We were stopped for a second and I called out to them and let them know that we missed having them today. They promised that they will definitely be there tomorrow. Please pray that they will come.
Thanks for praying. God is working.
Monday, 1 August: We had good attendance today for our first day of HBT.Other than our family, we had 6 children, 2 adults and two young children. We praise the Lord for those who came. Most of these were first time visitors.
Please pray for God's help in communicating his truth to these children. We don't want to waste the opportunity that God is giving to us. Thanks for praying for our week of HBT.
Sunday, 31 July: Mark's children were back with us today. It was good to have them there. Tenosha, Evans and Alec were present for the morning service. Counting our family we had 15 out this morning. I preached a message on Job's confidence in a bodily resurrection. "I know that my redeemer liveth...."
Tonight it was Mark and our family. We finished our study of Christology this evening. I've enjoyed our time focusing on Jesus. Afterwards I had a witnessing opportunity. Please pray that God would mightily work in this man's heart. Please pray especially for conviction of the Holy Spirit.
We did HBT (Holiday Bible Time) visits after church. Please pray that the kids will come. We start tomorrow morning and run all week from 10:30-12:00. The Lord gave us some good visits this evening. And, we have good hope that some of these will be in attendance.
Please remember to pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of those who have attended our church. Thanks for being a part of our prayer team.
Saturday, 30 July: I just got back from door to door and ended up doing visitation. I knocked on two doors to follow up and ended up spending an hour at each home.
Please pray for Mary (80). Mary prayed to accept Jesus into her heart this morning. She is very keen for her years. I believe that she was truly saved. Please pray that she will grow in the Lord. I knocked on her door to give her a copy of Spurgeon's "Morning by Morning" and she kindly invited me in. Because her membership is in another church, she indicated a couple weeks ago that she doesn't feel like she should come to our church. She hasn't attended her church in 10 years. Please pray that she will be open to coming out to a service.
Please also pray for Iain. We enjoyed a good chat 4 weeks ago. He invited me in straightaway and turned the volume down on the television so that we could have a good discussion about the Bible. He got his Bible out and I showed him where to begin reading (John). I have an open invitation to return. Please pray that the Light of the Gospel will break into Iain's heart and that He will fully understand salvation by faith in Christ.
Friday, 29 July: Yesterday I started putting flyers out in Bilston, a village that is about a mile from our church location. I stopped after about 75 houses because rain was setting in for the rest of the day. So, this morning I finished the rest of the community. I would guess that I put out close to 400 flyers this morning. I started at 9:30 and finished at 12:45. I waited most of the morning for a divine appointment. I chatted briefly with a number of people but no conversations opened up until I met Ben.
Ben was walking into his front yard as I walked up. He is in his late teen years and believes in God and the Bible. He is a good thinker and answered and asked questions. There were some distractions near by but our conversation continued. After about 20 minutes Ben's mom, Dawn, came out. She was very kind. When we concluded I prayed and asked God to teach them how to have a personal relationship with Him. Please pray that they will understand the Gospel. I asked if they would be interested in a Bible study and Ben's response was yes. However, he indicated that his mom's work schedule may prevent that. Please pray that we can work something out and/or that they will have the courage to come visit the church. They were very nice and it was an encouragement to me to meet them this morning.
Wednesday, 27 July: Mark PASSED his driver's test!!!!!! Thanks for praying. That is a huge blessing to him and his family. God is good.
Tuesday, 26 July: God's hand was evident in my day today. Thank you for praying for divine appointments. I told Katie when I got home, "I wish that I could let people see these opportunities rather than just relate them." You are having an impact on our field. I know that God is giving these open doors.
I was having my devotions this morning on a hill that overlooks Loanhead. There is picnic table there that I was sitting on. Phillip (31) came by with his two dogs. He was very kind to listen as I shared truths about God and His Word. He was about 20 feet from me but waited patiently while I shared some of God's Word. I spoke to him for about 20 minutes. Please pray that God will burn the truth of His Word into His heart.
I put out about 200 flyers this morning. While doing that I met Jean (50's). She stood at her door and chatted for over half an hour. She believes in God but really struggles to believe that the Bible is purely God's Word. Please pray that the Lord will encourage her faith in His Word. She kindly allowed me to pray for her as we concluded.
This afternoon, Kay Lee went out with me. We were able to give several HBT invitations to people with kids. All of them were very kind. Please pray that some of these children will come next week. We also saw 3 different individuals that I've witnessed to in the past. Please pray that God will continue to work in these hearts. I know that "many someone's" are touching the throne of grace for us. We really appreciate your burden for our ministry in Scotland.
We enjoyed an outing to St. Andrews yesterday. I'll put some pictures below.
Logan, Kay Lee, Benson, Parker and Katie
Our picnic spot in front of the Cathedral.
John Knox Preached here.
Kind of makes you wonder what is in the well.
We survived the tower - 150 steps in a confined space to get to the top.
The view is worth it. The sandy beach in the background
has "The Old Course" right behind it.
The view in the other direction.
Who said cemetery's weren't fun?
George Wischart was burned at the stake in front of St. Andrews Castle.
John Knox surrendered to preach at St. Andrews Castle.
St. Andrews Castle
Sunday, 24 July: The Lord gave us good services today. Mark, Tenosha, Evans, Alec and Tyler were with us in the morning service. It was good to see Tyler out for a service. Please pray that she will continue to come.
I preached this morning on II Corinthians 5:14-21 on "The New Life." The Passion...the Purpose...the Power....the People...the Preaching...the Purity and the Priority of the New Life. Please pray that God will give our small group His blessing as we seek to obey God's Word.
Tonight we continued our study of Christology. It was good to have Mark out with us. Please pray for Mark as he takes his driver's test on Wednesday. Passing his test will help him with work/family/ and church. He has taken a lot of lessons and is doing well. But, I know that he would appreciate your prayers.
Please also pray for us as we prepare for our Holiday Bible Time, August 1-5. It was run from 10:30 to 12:00 every day. Thanks so much for taking our needs to the Lord. God helped us today and we thank Him for His goodness.
Saturday, 23 July: It has been a very busy two days as the Lord helped us meet a special need in someone's life. Please pray for the Lord to continue to help this friend and meet their needs. God has already answered prayer and we thank Him for His provision.
Special Prayer Request, Thursday, 21 July: Many of you have prayed for Katie's cousin's daughter, Adalin (9). Adalin has battled cancer for the last 4-5 years. Today, she is returning home from St. Judes with no treatment plan. Tammy, Adalin's mom, said that, "God's peace is here." Will you please pray for them?
Wednesday, 20 July: Kay Lee went out with me again this afternoon. She is a good helper and good company. We had a divine appointment right as we parked the car. Helen, who I met on Monday, was walking by with her granddaughter. We were able to tell her about children's SS and also give her our HBT flyer. The Lord also gave us several good opportunities to invite kids to attend HBT.
As we were walking back to the car we saw a young man that I have witnessed to before. Please pray for Greg. He says about church, "It's really not my thing." I've prayed for him and I was able to let him know that. We had a good brief chat.
We also saw a lady who had visited our church twice. We stopped the car and walked back to talk with her. She is about 60 and is a medium. I told her last time I saw her that it was satanic and because of that she stopped visiting the church. Please pray that God will prevail and that we could reach this lady for Christ. Thanks for praying.
Tuesday, 19 July: Kay Lee and I had some good opportunities as we put out flyers this morning. We printed invitations to our HBT (Holiday Bible Time) and handed those out as well. We met Michael (upper 20's) because he had a bunch of kid's stuff (bike/trikes etc) in his front garden (yard). Kay Lee's job was to spot kid's stuff. When she did, we would then knock on the door and give them our HBT invitation.
Michael just moved to the area. He said he could probably make it to our Sunday evening service. Please pray that he will come. I'll follow up with him if we don't see him.
We met one young man in particular that was very interested in attending our HBT. Please pray that his mom will let him come.
We also "bumped" into Jordan and his mom. She indicated that Jordan would be able to come to HBT. We'd love to see him there.
Tonight, Tenosha (19) and Evans (16) and I are going to go hill walking (hiking.) Please pray for these young men as they regularly attend our church. Thanks for praying for us.
Monday, 18 July, 2011: The Lord gave me an unusual morning. As I put out flyers in Loanhead, I became burdened to knock on doors. So, in the middle of putting flyers out down a road, I knocked on Lisa's (23) door. She was a good listener and we talked for about 20 minutes about God and the Gospel. I knocked on the next door but felt like I should just go back to putting out flyers. Further down the road I became burdened to knock on doors again. So, I knocked on Helen's (60) door. She was really open to the Gospel and we looked at many verses. She said, "I hope we get to chat again." Her daughter and granddaughter had arrived and so she had to go. Please pray that she'll visit our church. She and I talked for about 20 minutes as well.
I went back to putting out flyers and came to Peter's house. He was working in the back garden (yard) putting up a fence. He said, "I'm a born again atheist." I said, "Tell me, why do you use that term?" He had a friend who had become born again and it changed her life. I said, "What changed?" He said that she stopped drinking and telling vile stories. I asked how this happened. He said that she was really depressed and turned to God. I said, "So you're upset that she's not depressed, not drinking and not speaking vilely?" He said, "Yes, because I miss the person she was." We debated evolution/creation for about 20 minutes while I followed him around as he worked on his fence. I believe that his friend may be praying for him. Her life change has definitely impacted him to a degree. Please pray that Peter will be convicted by God. (I told him that the Holy Spirit will continue to debate with him after I left because "He will reprove the world of sin of righteousness and of judgment.")
I met John at the last home I was doing before ending. He was working on the driveway. I started chatting with him about his beliefs. He said, "I'd like proof. I don't believe either way." He was leaning with his arm on a hand truck. I asked him if he saw design in the hand truck and if he believed it was made with a purpose. He answered yes. I pointed at the weeds/grass growing near by and asked if he could see that there was a Designer that had created those weeds (oxygen makers) with a purpose.
One of the more interesting points in our conversation was when I said, "You should read the book of John in the Bible." When I said that I stopped, because I had the thought, "I wonder if his name's John." So, that is when I asked, "What is your name by the way." He said, "John." I said, "If there's not a God, why would I ask you that?" It took him back because he realized that I had asked him for that reason. (Note: I didn't know his name was John, but I felt like the Lord wanted me to ask him for that reason.) Please pray that God will open John's eyes.
You can see why I said it was an unusual morning. Obviously the Lord had some specific opportunities that He gave to me today. Thanks for your part in these Divine appointments. Please continue to pray.
Sunday 17 July, 2011: We had a fine Sunday. It was good to see Deone there with her sister. Her sister was a first time visitor. Mark was there with 5 of his kids. And, Alec joined us for the morning service. I preached on the end of Hebrews 12. It paints a vivid picture of the awesomeness of the Almighty.
This evening we began our study of the doctrine of Christ. The Weaver family, missionaries in Livingston, joined us. They have been back on the field for 3 weeks. They started the church there in 1999 and after 3 years had to leave the field due to health issues. The Lord met that medical need and gave them the green light to return. They are excited to be back and we are thrilled that they are back on the field.
We were happy that Tenosha and Evans joined us for the evening service as well. Thanks for praying for our ministry.
Friday, 15 July: I had a divine appointment this morning as I walked. Rod is about 65 and does not believe in God. I asked him why and he told me. His wife found out that she had leukemia when she was 26. She was dead within a month. He was left with 3 children. I told him that the same thing had happened to Katie's dad. (Katie's birth mom died of leukemia at 26. Her cancer lasted a year.) However, rather than turning away from God, Katie's dad turned to God.
Towards the end of our conversation, Rod put his arm around me and said, "You'll convert somebody, but you'll not convert me." I said, "I can't convert you but God can." He took the tract. Please pray for Rod's eyes to be opened and that His heart would be healed.
Thursday, 14 July: We enjoyed a special service this evening as Pastor Hill from Ireland preached for us. Alec and Evans were there. Pastor Hill preached on Biblical faith from Hebrews 11. It was good to be reminded that we can please God by faith and that Bible faith is not based on sight. Please pray that the Lord will encourage all of us to greater faith.
I had a divine appointment this afternoon. Please pray that God will open Joel's heart. It was a unique opportunity and God's hand was very clear. I'm interested to know how God will use it. Thanks for praying for open doors for the Gospel.
Wednesday, 13 July: I had a divine appointment tonight at the park. I witnessed to Daniel (17 or so) and his friend. We talked about Creation and ended with asking them - (if) there is a God and He died for you. Don't you want to thank Him? God gave power in the witnessing opportunity. Please pray for God to work in these young men's hearts.
Tuesday, 12 July: The Lord has given us some wonderful fellowship this week. We had family friends visit us yesterday. And we have other friends who are spending the week with us. Les and Jenny Hill are missionaries in Ireland. They have 4 children. So, all together we have 9 kids running around.
Today we took the bus into Edinburgh and visited the castle. It was entertaining for everyone on the bus as we got on with 9 kids/1 back pack kid carrier/ 2 strollers/ 4 adults. It was even more entertaining when we got to the second floor of the double decker and realized we would have to sit all over the place because the bus was so full.
The Lord gave us a wonderful day. I'll put some pictures below. We were able to give out some tracts as we went along. God also gave a divine appointment with a man from Ireland. He works at a chip shop. (Les is Irish - so they got along.) This man lives close to where we are starting our church. Please pray that he will come. He listened intently.
Sunday, 10 July: God gave us good services today. He encourages us even when there isn't a lot to "hang your hat on" ministry wise. We were pleased that Mark could bring five of his kids with him to church. Please continue to pray for them. Alec was also there. Please continue to pray that God will open His heart to the Gospel. With our family we had 14 this morning.
I put out about a 1,000 flyers this week and God gave me some good witnessing opportunities. I also knocked on doors yesterday morning and had other divine appointments. Please pray that God would give me wisdom what to do. Part of our ministry is "waiting" with hope of a harvest that we can't see. Please pray that God would give us strength to do our part and grace to wait on Him.
I preached this morning on "What Time Is It?" from Romans 13. My points were - It is time to wake up, It is time to cast off, It is time to put on.
Tonight was our family. We concluded the doctrine of sin and will move on to another doctrine next week.
Thanks for praying. Every time I see how many folks we have following this page, I rejoice that we are not serving Him alone. Thanks for sticking with us. Keep praying. God is able to work in Scotland.
Saturday, 9 July: The Lord gave me 4 good opportunities this morning as I knocked on doors in Loanhead. Please pray that God will work in Loraine, Callum, Sarah and Ian's hearts. It's hard to say which opportunity was best. I didn't talk long with Callum because he was just out of the hospital. I had 10 minute conversations with the ladies mentioned. Ian and I chatted for about 20+ minutes. We read several Bible verses together. Please pray that the seed that was sown would be guarded by God.
I put out close to a thousand flyers this week. Please pray that God would use this flyer in the lives of those who received it. God is at work in our community. Thanks for praying.
Friday, 8 July: Please pray for the Genova family in my home church.
I just received an update for Dave which said, "Absent from the body....present with the Lord."
Praise God that He has seen fit to take him home. Please pray for the family. Dave's specific prayer this last month was for his family and friend's salvation. His words to the Lord were, "whatever it takes."
The picture below is of Dave and 4 of his kids. It was taken last month.
Thursday, 7 July, 2011:
Our family was present for church this evening. We had a good time singing some choruses. We read a prayer letter and prayed for a missionary. Katie had Kids Club with our children. (They are learning verses each week.) I had a good prayer time. I'm going to miss those prayer times when people start coming. :) Keep praying - God is able!
Monday, 4 July: The Lord helped me get a good number of flyers out this morning and this afternoon. This afternoon Benson and Kay Lee assisted me. You are going to think I'm making this up - but, I was really struggling with the heat today. It was upper 60's and perfectly sunny with just a slight breeze. We have fully acclimated and that is a warm day here. (I'm not feeling any sympathy. :)
We had a few opportunities this afternoon to witness to some young men. Nathan was a follow up divine appointment/ divine appointment. I witnessed to him last week. Today as we did flyers a dog barked at Benson and so Benson decided I should put the flyer through that door. As I moved in to assist him the door opened and there was Nathan. We chatted for about half an hour. He is a complete skeptic and believes evolution. I asked him if he had been thinking about what we had talked about last week. He said that he had. He asked me what the Bible says about people like him who don't believe. I was very frank.
He said, "I can't accept such a rigid restrictive system." I asked, "Do you appreciate the fact that your mom did not let you play in the street?" He said, "Yes, but that's different. I know my mom and trust her judgment." I said, "That's right. You don't know God and don't trust in Him. But, every rule He has is for our good."
I asked him, "If I had created something here and my creation rejected me, blasphemed me and didn't believe in me, what should I do?" He said, "Try to let them know that you exist." I said, "Do you think it is a coincidence that I have met you these two times in the past week? I didn't even knock on your door." He pretended not to think that was that too significant, but I told Him that I knew that it was of the Lord. Please pray that God will continue to reach out to Nathan. I told Him one of the proofs of the reality of God is that he would continue to think about our conversation. I referred to the Holy Spirit being the "Convicter of sin of righteousness and of judgment." Please pray for God's Spirit to bring to Nathan's mind what we talked about today.
PS. Our neighbor and her granddaughter really enjoyed the dvd last night. Tonight we let them borrow one from the same series on the life of Eric Liddel. Please pray that this one will be a blessing to them as well.
Sunday, 3 July PM: We had a good service tonight celebrating our first anniversary of church services in Loanhead. We showed an animated film about Missionary Gladys Alward. Her story is a spectacular testimony to God's ability to sustain in time of trial. I don't want to tell the end of the story if you've never heard of her. She was a missionary in China when the Japanese invaded. I would encourage you to find her biography.
Alec and Deone joined our family for the service. It was great to see them there. We also had a first time visitor, Jim, attend this evening. He joined us during the film. At the end of the film I welcomed him and he mentioned that he had heard Gladys Alward share her story at Usher Hall in Edinburgh. He visited tonight because he was running late in getting to his church. He thought he was on time for our service thinking that we started at 6:30. He said that he will see us again for our midweek service which is on a weeknight when his church does not have a service.
We mentioned Jim's story to our neighbor this evening and found out that she and her sister had also been at Usher Hall to hear Miss Alward's testimony. We let our neighbor borrow the film. Please pray that the Lord will bless her heart through this animated story. Thanks for praying for this special day.
Sunday, 3 July AM: We have had stunning weather the last several days. Last year on this Sunday, we had heavy rain with high wind gust. It blew so hard last year that our signs blew over. Today is calm, clear and sunny.
We didn't have high attendance this morning (11) but God gave us a good service. Alec was there. Mark was present with 2 of his children. I preached on "How do you feel today Barabbas?" from the Gospel account of the release of Barabbas. There was a good spirit in our service.
Saturday, 2 July: Today is my favorite day of the year! I'm thanking the Lord today for 35 years of life. I hope that most of you are surprised that I am that old. My family did a great job in making the day a special day. We enjoyed having a picnic at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh.
Tomorrow is another special day. We started church services on July 4th last year. So, we are celebrating our first church anniversary tomorrow. We are going to be showing an animated film about Missionary Gladys Alward tomorrow evening. Then we get to enjoy a cake fellowship. We don't have any regular attendees on Sunday evening. So, anyone who comes will have to make a special effort to be there. Thank you for praying for our day tomorrow. We pray that you may have God's power and blessing in your ministry as well.
Tuesday, 29 June: I am actually writing this on Wednesday. I wanted to let you know of the good day the Lord gave me yesterday. I talked to a budhist, catholic priest, jehovah's witness, atheists, presbyterian,...etc. Several of the conversations were very good.
I had a great follow up opportunity with a lady named Mary. I met her two weeks ago. Yesterday, I knocked on her door as I went through her neighborhood with our new flyer. She invited me in and we had a good chat. She is 80 years old but very keen. Please pray that God will open her heart to the Gospel.
I also talked to a JW that is about 80 something as well. We had our Bible's out. As we concluded our conversation she was struggling to reconcile the fact that Jesus was worshipped with her false belief that Jesus is not God. She said that she was going to ask about it. Please pray that God would open her eyes.
God is at work in our community and in our "wee" church. Please keep praying. I am praying that God would work in your heart to pray for our community as he has been working in my heart. Thanks for laboring with us on our field.
Monday, 27 June: It was a bit of a "dog" day today as I put our flyers. This morning, two dogs jumped up on me as I chatted with their owners. And a very large German Shepherd opened his mouth and put it all the way around my knee. He snuck up on me as I entered his yard. Thankfully, he was only playing. His owner warned me to be careful and advised that I leave the yard since he was trying to keep his dog from attacking me. (His words.) "By faith closed the mouths of lions...." I guess this was more like "Kept the dog from closing his mouth."
I had a couple small opportunities to invite people to church this morning. Please pray for Zoe to come. She was very kind and seemed like a good contact.
This afternoon Benson joined me and helped put out flyers for almost 2 hours. We had a great witnessing opportunity. George is a faithful catholic attending every week. He was taking a nap in a lawn chair in his back garden (yard). We talked for about 45 minutes while I showed him some Bible verses in my pocket New Testament. Most of what we looked at is salvation by faith in Christ and not works. He said he would pray and ask God to help him to understand salvation. I encouraged him to do that and to read John. I trust that he will. There is an open door there. Please pray that God will encourage Him to pursue the truth even if it contradicts his religion.
Sunday, 26 June: The Lord gave us an encouraging day. Mark and his kids started Sunday School with us. We also had a visiting missionary to Dundee, Sandy Edgar, with us in our service. As Katie started SS with the kids she said, "We should pray for more kids to come to Sunday School." Just then Ceileigh (pronounced Kay Lee) looked in the window. Her parents and she were at the centre for a lawn bowling tournament. Anyway, Katie invited her in and she joined the kids for Sunday School. You may remember hearing about Ceileigh before. She brought the most visitors to our HBT last year. It was great to have her with us. A few minutes later, Dione arrived for Sunday School. So, praise the Lord for another child for the class.
Alec, Evans and Constance all joined us for church this morning. So, all told, we had 18 today in church. I preached this morning on the story of the calming of the sea from Mark 4. We had a good service. Thanks for praying.
Sandy came over to our home for lunch. It was a joy to get to know him. He'll be starting his church in Dundee very soon. He is a tent maker. Please pray that God will provide the right place to start his church. Please also pray for his family as they have 10 weeks apart before they join him in August. We went into Edinburgh and passed out some flyers for a brief time this afternoon.
Tonight was just our family but I am thankful that we are there. Worshipping the Lord as a family isn't wasted time. And, we are trusting God to add faithful people to these services in His timing. (I hope you are faithful to all the services at your church.) Thanks for keeping up with what is happening in our church.
Friday, 24 June: Last night it was just our family at church. Mark is still helping his wife recover from surgery. Please pray for her. She appears to be opening up to spiritual things. After church I had an opportunity to chat with Ricky. His group was preparing for a Country Western night. I started talking with him because of his western attire. *Something I've rarely seen in Scotland.* Please pray that God will work in his heart. I also briefly talked with 3 men before our service. They each accepted a Gospel flyer.
This afternoon, we enjoyed taking our kids to the children's day at a park in Loanhead. There were track and field events for the children as well as carnival rides. We had a good time and enjoyed seeing acquaintances and making new contacts. Please continue to pray for divine appointments. God gave me a short talk with Nathan. He is an unbeliever. Please pray that God will shake his faith in evolution.
Wednesday, 22 June: Today is my first day putting out the new flyer. Yesterday it rained all day. Today began with heavy rain all morning, but the skies have cleared a bit this afternoon.
The Lord gave me 3 good chats this afternoon. Craig was waiting for the bus. He works in the community and I had talked with him before. He believes in God and the Bible. However, he's never read the Bible. His bus came a few minutes after we started chatting. It is likely that I'll see Craig again.
The second man was also a brief chat but he has the potential of visiting the church. He indicated that he may be able to come on Thursday nights and asked our location. Please pray that he'll come.
The third conversation was really good. Derick has 5 kids. (So, we had something in common.) He doesn't believe in God. However, he talked with me at his gate for close to half an hour. He listened intently and accepted some of the points I put forward. There really was a good spirit in our conversation and we parted with a friendly handshake. I've put flyers through Derick's door many times so it is possible that I'll get a follow up opportunity with him in the future. Please pray that God will bless His Word and convict these hearts. Please also pray for the flyers that were put out.
Thanks for your part in our ministry.
Sunday, 19 June: It's been a good but busy week. We are thanking the Lord for 11 years of marriage. Our anniversary was Friday and we had a great family day. Who would have thought that 11 years after we were married we would have 5 kids and be living in another country? I'm sure that we didn't. God's been very good to us.
God gave us a good day. We want to thank Him for how well all of the kids behaved today. That was a specific answer to prayer. Mark had 5 of his children with him. And Alec was our other attendee this morning. Counting our family we had fourteen. I preached on "A Burning and a Shining Light" from Matthew 3. John the Baptist had an impacting ministry.
Tonight Evans joined our family for church. We are doing a doctrinal study and tonight we were looking at mankind.
Please pray for our potential visitors. We have some who appear very close to coming but something holds them back. Please also remember to pray for the impact of our new flyer that we are putting out. Thanks for praying for and keeping up with our church.
Wednesday, 15 June: This morning I took the bus into Edinburgh and handed out some flyers. It's fun to follow the Lord's leading for your day and to do what He wants you to do. I hadn't planned on going into the city today but the Lord put it on my heart as I was having my devotions this morning. God had some prepared hearts for me to speak to.
I spoke to Corbin and Richard for over 20 minutes. When we were concluding I asked them if they were in the University. As it turned out Richard is studying something like, "Cells and Evolution." We laughed because David Attenburgh (a very vocal evolutionist) ,who's teaching I can't stand, is Richard's hero. I encouraged them to watch the film, "Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution." I had said many things against evolution before finding out that Richard was a student of evolution.
The next young man to whom I spoke said that he did not believe in God or evolution. We chatted for about 15 minutes. I don't think it was a wasted opportunity. The Lord gave us a friendly conversation.
Chris was the best opportunity. He works for a large bank in Scotland. He told me that he was Catholic and I asked if he was from the west side of Scotland. As it turned out he is from the west side. (We have very few Catholics on the eastern side.) We talked for 45 minutes. Please pray that Chris will examine why he believes what he believes. I challenged him to ask his priest to show him in the Bible where it says, "pray to Mary, confess your sins to a priest, infant baptism, etc." He said that he didn't feel that he could do that because questioning the priest is considered disrespectful. He is getting married in the church next year and doesn't want to jeopardize that. Please pray that God will open his eyes to salvation by faith and not by works.
We are praying that God will raise up some men who will take a stand for the Lord. Many great preachers were men when they got saved. Please pray that God will work in these hearts.
One other note: Jennifer emailed today. Please pray that God will help her to have the courage to come visit the church. She wants to come but is apprehensive. I know that she would appreciate your prayers.
Tuesday, 14 June: I just returned from putting out 2 flyers to around 350 doors. (If you know my flyer jargon, you'll understand what I mean when I say, "An E.D.K. ripped my F.D.T. through the Mail Slot." Translation, "An enemy dog kind ripped my flyer distribution tool through the mail slot."
More specifically, the dog was a little terror, I mean terrier. You got to watch out for those little guys. I now have bite marks on my distribution tool. In case you don't know what my F.D.T. is, it is a small cutting board that I use to push the flyers through a mail slot. I probably would have bite marks on my hand this morning if I wasn't using that tool.
This morning, I went to a new neighborhood that we haven't done before. It is an area that is about 3 miles from where we meet from church. I had one good opportunity to witness to an Indian man who is Catholic. Please pray for Davija. He is trusting in his good works. I encouraged Him to read John and Romans and answer the question, "Does works save or does faith save?" Please pray that God will work in his heart.
I wasn't able to meet Tenosha's friend on Sunday. Lord willing, we will pursue that on a future date. Thanks for your prayers for our church. Our new flyer should be arriving tomorrow. Please pray that God will use it to open doors and hearts in our community.
Sunday, 12 June: Nelson (14 months) is really growing up. This morning as I packed the car, he went to the sofa and got the jar of lollies and brought it to the door. All of our kids do a great job helping us set up and take down for our church services. I really appreciate their hard work. Kay Lee is also one of my best listeners in the service. Katie does a great job with the Sunday School, Children's Church and Thursday Kids Club. I'm very thankful for my wife's hard work.
We had a good Spirit in the service today. Our total attendance was 10. Tenosha, Evans and Alec were there. Mark and his kids were unable to attend because Laura was in the hospital. We have some that are close to coming for the first time. They indicated that they would be there but they were not. Please keep praying.
The Lord was at work in our service. I preached on John 21 - It Is the Lord. God encouraged my heart. I would have enjoyed having you with me as I prayed during the Sunday School hour. (I don't always mind when I don't have a class. It is good prayer time.) I wish I could see those who were praying with me back in the States.
Tenosha told me afterwards that there is a man he'd like me to speak with this afternoon. So, I am going to pick Tenosha up at 2 and go visit this man. Please pray that God will work in this man's heart and that we will be a blessing to him. Thanks for your interest in our field. You're a blessing to us.
Thursday, 9 June: We didn't have any visitors in our services Sunday night or tonight. However, we are not discouraged. But, please pray that people will come out to these services.
I was able to get my new flyer prepared and will soon be sending it to the printer. I'm using an illustration about recipes and so I am doing something unusual on the back. I'm going to invite people to mail recipes to my email or address to be included in a "neighborhood cookbook" page on our church website. Please pray that it will be welcomed by the community. And please pray that they will visit our church webpage and read the other information that we have there. Thanks for praying for wisdom for me as I prepared this flyer. I know that the Lord helped in the preparation of it. (The copies below are low resolution. When they are printed they are very crisp and clear.)
Tuesday, 7 June: Today was an encouraging day. I travelled with two other missionary families up to Aberdeen for a preacher's fellowship. There is a good group of guys that participate in this fellowship. It was uplifting to get together with them and their families. In August we are going to host the meeting at our church.
Yesterday we had a "field day" with the kids. Missionary Leah Devers came over and helped us with the activities. I think you'll enjoy the pics. Thanks for keeping up.
Trying to get #5 on the starting block.
#5 was easily distracted by the area wildlife.
The left hand picture is our picnic/game spot. Some of our group is on the blanket.
The referee blowing the whistle.
Trophy time.
Sunday, 5 June: We had 15 in AM church today. Mark had all 4 of his kids with him. (He hasn't had all 4 with him in a long time.) We also had Dione, Tenosha, and Alec there this morning. The Lord gave us a good service. I preached from II Chronicles 20 on overcoming adversity with God. Thanks for praying.
Thursday, 2 June: Today I had a great visit with Emma and Scott. Please remember them in prayer. They are both reading the Bible and thinking about the Gospel. Tonight Scott came with their daughter Rebecca. She is the first child to attend our midweek service. Mark, normally would have been present but had another obligation this evening. That gave Scott and I a great opportunity to explore the Bible. This is the first time that Scott has visited our church and we had a good time studying together. Please pray that they will come again. We've been visiting them for almost a year. Thanks for praying for these. You are making a difference on our field.
Wednesday, 1 June: Don Dillman and I took the bus into the center of Edinburgh today and passed out flyers. We had several people walk away reading them. And, we found some great places to pass out flyers. As we handed them out in front of the castle we took "missionary" trips to Australia, Asia, France, Germany, etc. Very few people were Scottish at that location.
I had one obvious divine appointment. I asked Mark (20's) if he read the Bible and he said, "I do." (That is a very unusual response.) I asked him what Book he was reading in the Bible. He said, "The Bible." I said, "Yes, but the Bible has many books." Then he said, "Genesis." I asked if he had read anywhere else and he said that he had not. He said that he had just started reading the Bible last month. I asked him what had drawn him to the Bible and he mentioned that his gran had passed away. Please pray for Mark. I hope to hear from him. Obviously God is already at work there. (His bus came and ended our conversation. I encouraged him to send me an email/ visit the church.)
Tuesday, 31 May: I just returned from putting out flyers in Edinburgh about a mile from where we meet for church. I had a divine appointment where I parked. Mr. Johnston came out to let me know that a truck would be picking up a dumpster and that I needed to move my car. We chatted for about 15 minutes. He's 80 years old and very keen. He wonders why there are so many religions. I shared with Him specific examples of how the Bible is the rule that judges religion. It appeared to me that God was working in his heart. I encouraged him to read the book of John. Please pray that he will read the Bible and that God would encourage Him to visit our church.
I also knocked on the door of a contact that God gave us last year. Please pray that Caroline and her family would visit the church. She may be saved but is not going to church anywhere. I asked her if she was thinking about visiting the church. She said, "I think I will do." Please pray that she "would do."
I also found a storefront church that I didn't know about. It is part of a charity shop (like Goodwill). They put the Gospel into the bags of those who purchase something at their store. It is good to know of another group that is preaching Christ "of goodwill." (Phil. 1:15)
Sunday, 29 May PM: I really enjoyed our Sunday night service. Deon was back with us. We hadn't seen her for a few weeks and it was great to see her come out for the evening service. That was our entire crowd. Kay Lee and Deon took very good notes as I preached on, "What is God like?" Thanks for praying for our service. God encouraged our hearts in Him.
Sunday, 29 May AM: God gave us 15 in attendance this morning. It was good to have Jordan, Mary (Jordan's gran), Stella and Floyd (Jordan's cousins) back in church today. Mary brought them to Sunday School and church. Mary came even though she is in great pain. Please pray that God will help Mary's back pain. It is an answer to prayer to see them back in church. Thanks for praying.
Mark had to come without his children today. Please pray that God will work in the heart of his unsaved wife. He has been getting the kids every weekend. However, she is now saying that he can only have them every other weekend. Mark is trusting the Lord through this but it is quite hard on him. Please pray that God will greatly work in this family. Two of the boys have trusted Jesus this year.
Theophila is done with school now and will be traveling back to Singapore. Please pray for her flight tomorrow. We've enjoyed having her in our church. She has two more years of schooling and will be returning in September.
Evans was in church this morning. Tenosha stayed home because their gran is visiting and she doesn't speak English. So, someone has to be with her. She is here for two months. The boys have been rotating services on Sunday. Tenosha should be in church tonight. Please pray that God will provide jobs for these boys. They are both looking for work.
Alec was faithful as always. We enjoy Alec. He's been giving Kay Lee and Benson painting lessons each week. This week Benson and I enjoyed going fishing with "Mr. Alec." Please pray that God will continue to work in his heart.
Thursday, 26 May: Keep praying for Jordan's family. Katie just stopped by their home and chatted with Jordan's mum. She said that they are definitely coming back and was very cordial. There have been many things that have kept them from attending. I think it would be prudent to consider those things spiritual warfare and to pray that God will take away those hinderances. Please also pray for Graeme Jr. her baby. He was taken to the hospital yesterday with high fever. Thanks for not forgetting these in your prayers. I know that many of you are praying regularly for this family.
Wednesday, 25 May: I had a few good witnessing opportunities today. I had two as I walked this morning. The first was a retired engineer. I greeted him with, "Are you enjoying God's creation this morning?" I saw him kind of start like he didn't know what to say and he asked if I thought it was going to rain. A couple sentences later I said, "So, you don't believe in God." We had a good chat and he took a tract.
A 19 year old named Jamie out walked me on the way home. As he came up behind me I said without looking, "Well you walk faster than me." He laughed and pointed at his long legs and said that he didn't have to try very hard. We walked together for a couple of blocks. He's church of Scotland but doesn't go. We talked about their vote this week to accept homosexual ministers and I told him that I had a very poor opinion of his churches obedience to the Bible. When we parted he was reading the tract I had given him.
Don Dillman and I went to Biggar and put two flyers through another good portion of the village. We had a few short opportunities. Frazer said that he was agnostic but he was more of an atheist. He was polite and chatted for several minutes even though he was busy. He promised to read our flyer on evolution. Please pray that God will work in these men's hearts.
Tuesday, 24 May: I had two encouraging divine appointments today. I've been praying about a tax advisor in the UK. (We have to do US and UK taxes.) I saw a tax sign today when Benson and I went to the dentist this morning. I believed that the Lord had directed my attention to it. So, after the dentist, I stopped by the tax office. It turned out that the owner is a believer who attends the Brethren Church in Loanhead. (His office is 6 miles from Loanhead.) I'm not sure if he'll end up helping me with my taxes or not (because he hasn't dealt with a client in our position before) but it was encouraging to meet a fellow Christian.
The other encouraging divine appointment came this afternoon. We've been getting gale force winds for the last couple of days. Yesterday, some parts of Scotland had winds speeds of 100 mph. With these winds are quick little rainstorms. I started to study for my Thursday message this afternoon but changed plans and went to put out flyers. I'd only put out about 50 when a quick moving storm came up and chased me back to my vehicle. I got a call about a half hour later from Frank.
Frank is a believer and wanted to say thanks for putting out the flyers. He got saved 20 years ago through Christian literature and really appreciated the clear gospel message in our flyers. The area where I was putting out flyers is about 2 miles from the community centre where we meet for church. However, he works in Loanhead very close to the centre. I think he'll pop in some time to meet us. He currently attends a Pentecostal church in Leith. (He used to attend a Baptist church. That church almost 100 years ago had a mighty impact for the Lord. C. T. Studd and W. P. Nicholson visited and preached there. Unfortunately that church is New Evangelical now.)
Frank had a prayer request that he mentioned to me. He currently has a job that allows him to have Sundays off. However, it is inadequate to meet his needs. He's looking for employment but is finding it difficult to locate an employer who will let him take Sundays off. Please pray that God will honor his obedience and provide the proper employment
I guess the Lord had a reason for me going out for a short while. If nothing else, our brief chat was a great encouragement. (I was praying this morning that God would bless the flyers that we have put out. It is encouraging to hear from a man who was saved through Gospel literature.)Thanks for your part in God's work in Scotland.
Sunday, 22 May: Here's a saying to write in your Bible. "Walking by faith and not by sight takes faith." I'm half kidding/half serious. It's easy to think that things are going well when there's a crowd and easy to think that things are struggling when there are few. But, God may be doing greater things with fewer people and we may not know it. So, that's where the faith part comes in. We need to trust that God is working whether it is obvious or not. Please pray that we will continue in faith.
God gave us 12 this morning in our service. I'm happy for each one who was able to be there. He also helped me in my preaching and I trust that He was working in each heart. I preached on the topic "Ready to Die." from II Corinthians 5:1-12. Please continue to pray for Alec. He's faithfully in church and he listens really well.
Tonight we had just our family. Afterwards, I suggested to Katie that we should have a church fellowship at McDonalds. And, so we did. While we were enjoying our Mcflurry's, two boys came in who had attended our Holiday Bible Time. I chatted briefly with the younger one and invited him to come back to church. Please pray that God will work in their hearts about attending. Thanks for holding the ropes for us in prayer.
1 Corinthians 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
Saturday, 21 May: The Lord gave us some good visits this evening. Emma told Katie that they are planning on coming tomorrow. Please pray that nothing will hinder them from being there. Jordan also said that he hoped to be there. Please pray that God will help him to be able to come. I also had a good chat with Constance's husband, Gordon. Please pray that God will meet his needs. Constance's boys have been very faithful in church attendance.
I had a couple more witnessing opportunities. Yesterday morning as I walked in the country park, I stopped and waited for a man who had come up behind me. He had come up on me suddenly and because I was praying out loud, I stopped partly to witness and partly to help him know that I wasn't crazy. (Ainsley is an agnostic and may think I'm crazy anyway.) I walked with him for about a quarter of a mile and sought to challenge his unbelief. Please pray that God will open his eyes.
Today I talked to a man who is from Australia but is a Muslim. As he said, "I'm not your typical Muslim." (He had dreadlocks and was wearing a kilt.) It was brief but good chat. Please pray that God will open Allister's eyes. We were at a Scottish festival at an Abby near us. I waved at a man whom I'd witnessed to before. Another lady recognized us from the community centre. It makes you feel like you're becoming a part of the community when you begin to see people that you "know." And, I'm sure those opportunities are of the Lord. Thanks for praying.
Thursday, PM update: The doctor does think that Benson's rash is virus related. However, he has scheduled a blood draw for next Tuesday because of our concern. Logan seems to be doing better but still has ear pain.
We had a good service tonight. It was Mark and our family but it was a blessing to be there. Logan (5)asked before church about salvation. He reminded me at home. So, I chatted with him and he prayed to ask Jesus into His heart. I believe He got saved. Thanks for praying for our family.
Thursday, May 19: Health update: Please continue to pray for Logan and Benson. Logan was up again during the night with severe ear pain. He's been on an antibiotic since Monday. Please pray that the infection will clear up. Benson was very sick this past weekend. He now has a terrible rash all over his body. He is going to the doctor at 3:20 our time. We would like them to do blood work and a strep test. However, they don't do extra test here like they do in the states. They usually say, "It is probably a virus and just needs to run its course." (That's fine - if it is a virus.) Please pray that God will help the boys to get better.
I had a good witnessing opportunity this morning as I walked. Two young ladies passed me and offered me a tract. I offered to trade them. They were Jehovah's Witnesses. I asked them if they believed the 10 commandments. They said that they did. I asked if it was right to worship anything other than God. They said no. I asked if they knew the story of the Wisemen coming to Jesus. I pointed out that the wisemen worshipped Jesus. I told them that often after Jesus healed people in the NT they would worship Him. (I forgot to mention that the women at the tomb worshipped Him.) I also shared that He is worshipped in Revelation. I pointed out that Peter, Paul and the person in heaven in Revelation all said, "Get up, I'm just a man" when people tried to worship them. But, Jesus accepted men's worship. Please pray that God will open these girls hearts to the truth. They are sincere but they are wrong. We talked for about 20 minutes and they were late for an appointment when our conversation ended.
Another small opportunity the Lord gave me was when I passed a couple that I had witnessed to over a month ago. When I had met them they were at a park about 3 miles from where I saw them today. Our paths crossing today was of the Lord. I greeted them and I'm sure that they recognized me. I prayed that the Lord would remind them of our conversation.
Wednesday, May 18: I enjoyed putting our flyers through a new area today. Missionary Don Dillman and I put 2 flyers through several hundred doors in Biggar, a village that is 22 miles from Loanhead. (This is where I met Zac and Matt who emailed me on May 9.)
The Lord gave another neat encouragement as a lady called about 15 minutes after we started and said that "they" will come visit our church sometime. I've only ever had one other positive call regarding our information. Please pray that they will come and visit. She is an agnostic but has a sister who has attended a Baptist church.
I also had four witnessing opportunities. One was with a Church of Scotland elder who said that he didn't know if he even wanted eternal life. I kindly rebuked him for treating so poorly what Jesus died to give Him. One of these men believed in evolution but said that his co-worker was really into God. I asked if his friend claimed to be born again. He said that he did. I asked him to give my flyer to his friend and ask him to please email me. So, we'll see. That may be another contact in that area.
Please pray for God's will to be done in the village of Biggar.
Tuesday, May 17: Logan update: He is doing much better. He was able to finally get some sleep last night and a long nap today. His ear hurts still but not nearly as badly. Thanks for praying for him.
I visited Jordan's family this evening. Please pray that God's will would be done in their lives. Mary, Jordan's Gran, has had sciatic nerve problems and is in a great deal of pain. I prayed with her this evening and asked that the Lord would help ease the pain. We have a great God who can do all things. Please join me in praying that God would help Mary to feel well and that this would help her to be able to come to church.
James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Monday, May 16: Prayer Request: Logan has a very bad ear infection. He cried most of the night as Katie slept beside him on our reclining sofa. She thinks the longest he slept at one time was 20 minutes. He just started an antibiotic but the doctor didn't give him anything for the pain. We've been rotating tylenol and ibuprofin but it doesn't seem to help much. He's been crying a lot today as well. Please pray that God will take the pain away and help this antibiotic to clear up the infection. Benson is much better today.
I had two good witnessing opportunities this morning as I was walking. Please pray for Cameron (34) who attended church of Scotland when he was wee but doesn't go anywhere now. He was very attentive and I know the Lord was working in His heart. I also witnessed to Gwynn (60's) who attended church as a child but now is not sure that she believes in God. Thanks for praying.
Sunday, May 15: I'm happy to say that we had a good day and that Benson was able to go to church. It didn't appear that he was going to be able to go and we were all set to have Katie stay with him. But, about 20 minutes before we were to leave this morning, he perked up. I still did a combined SS. lesson but Katie, Parker, Nelson and Benson were there.
We had 13 in our service this morning. Besides our family we had Mark and two kids, Theophila, Evans and Alec. I preached on II Kings 3 on A View of the Valley of Ditches. Tonight we began the service with just our family. Half way through our second song, Tenosha and Evans arrived. Praise the Lord, that we have had attendees at every additional service thus far.
We need your prayers. We've seen some victories and some spiritual valleys this past month. We have to have God given grace to stick with it and I hope God gives you grace to stick with us. :) We'll see more evident answers to prayer in the future. Please keep praying for God to establish His work in Loanhead.
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
PS. I did have a good witnessing opportunity this morning. Please pray that God will awaken Andy's heart. He, like so many others here, believes that when you die you're put in the ground and that's it.
Saturday: The kids and I just returned from a brief outing to a nearby park. I started talking to some boys there and a girl came up and said, "Hey we talked to you at the Dalkeith Country Park last year." I remembered chatting with them. I asked her if I had given her a tract and she said no and took the one I offered her. Her four friends did as well.
I also witnessed to a man who is an agnostic. He laughed and enjoyed the 'debate.' Please pray that something that was said would open his heart. We spoke for about 15 minutes and there was plenty said that the Lord could use to interest him in His Word.
We'd appreciate your prayers for our service tomorrow. Last week Logan was ill but we still took him to church. This week Benson is the one running a high fever and being sick to his stomach. It appears that Katie will not be able to go. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood" and have seen what I believe to be spiritual warfare many times in the last few weeks. Please pray that Christ will win the victory tomorrow in the hearts of those who attend. Thanks for your faithful prayers and interest in our ministry.
Tuesday: Please pray for Zac and Mat. You'll find Zac's info on the post from yesterday. Mat also emailed me last night. I'll put his email below. I'm excited about God's hand at work in these young men's lives. I often invite people to email me if they have a question about the Bible. I could count on one hand the number of those who have emailed. To have had two from that one opportunity yesterday, makes me believe that God is doing a special work there. Please pray for these young men and the village of Biggar. I'm praying about going back to Biggar with Gospel flyers to put throughout the community.
Here is Matt's email. "Hi, you spoke to my friend Zac and our group today at Biggar park. What you said got me thinking; although you believe that God created earth, do you also believe some of the science theory's as well? I myself believe in most of the science theory's, but part of me cant understand how the "Big Bang" (an explosion), like you said today, can create something new (the earth), whereas explosions as we know them today, and have done for a long time, cause so much devastation and damage, creating nothing but a disaster.
My main question for you is this; in the bible, it says that God created both heaven, where people who have been good in life go after death, and hell, where sinners go. He also says that we are all sinners. For people to get into heaven, he must forgive them. Does that mean that he forgives everyone for all their sins, no matter what they are?"
Monday, May 9: The Lord gave me some good witnessing opportunities today. Henry (83) lives near us. The last time I chatted with him I gave him a couple of our church flyers. He told me today that he had read them. It was a good chance to visit with him and encourage Him to seek after God.
We drove over to the village of Biggar today for our family day. It's about 30 miles from our home. It was beautiful. I had a good chat with a couple of volunteers at a museum. As I talked with one who was an agnostic, I made a statement about fossils. She said, "I do know about fossils. I'm a geologist." She said she would look at our website. I believe that some of the things I shared with her shook her faith.
While we were at the village park, I had a group of teens come to the picnic table near me. Zak was very talkative and the others listened respectfully. 3 of the 4 took tracts and Zak said he would look at our church webpage.
note: Zac just emailed me with a question about the Bible: "if god is real, why are there so many faiths i.e: Hinduism or Chinese ancestor worshiping and Native american or south american spirit worship? " Please pray that God will work in this young man's heart. He is a keen young man. I told Katie at the park that if Zac got saved he could be a great leader for the Lord.
The only church in Biggar is a Church of Scotland Kirk. They are currently without a pastor. It is unlikely that they would preach the Gospel. Thanks for praying for these witnessing opportunities. (Below are some pics from our day.)
Museum in Biggar
Bank Note signed by Sir Walter Scott
The kids enjoyed playing at the telephone exchange.
Advice for touring Scotland: Make sure you have some change handy when out and about.
Logan and Parker enjoyed watching the street sweeper man clean his bristles at the creek ford. He sat there and ran the bristles in the water and they were happy spectators. Katie and I are hoping they grow out of this when they get older. Who knows they may end up being commentators.
Park where I witnessed to Zac and his friends.
Sunday pm: It was good to have Deone (10), Tenosha (18) and Evans (16) with us this evening. I had a handout with blanks to fill in and even the children did a great job filling in the blanks. Thanks for praying for our new services.
(You wouldn't know it had rained today by the beauty of the evening. There was a small shower on the way home but it was very sunny out. We stopped the van and took a picture of a beautiful rainbow. God's creation is awesome.)
Sunday, May 8: Well, it is a lovely day between downpours. After 3 weeks of sunshine we are getting back to more normal weather. It's actually nice to have the rain.
We had 14 in our service this morning. Other than our family we had, Mark and Solomon (Mark's oldest boy), Tenosha, Evans, Alec, Theophila and Deone. Please pray for those who were not there that God would encourage them to come out for the services.
I preached on, "Spiritual Farming 101" from the parable of the sower. Tonight I'm going to start a doctrinal study. We'll be looking at, "What the Bible teaches about itself" this evening. Thanks for your prayers. God is still working in the lives of those who were there and those who were absent. It is His church to build. Please pray that we will do our part to assist in His work.
Saturday, May 7: Kay Lee helped me for a little while this afternoon. We put out flyers in the village of Roslin which is about 2 miles from Loanhead. The Lord gave us a good divine appointment. Gavin (37) was working on a car in the driveway. He was thoughtful throughout the conversation even though there were two others listening on occasion. Please pray that the Lord will kindle a true spiritual interest in his heart. I offered to stop back by and give him a Bible. But, he wanted to think about whether he really would read it. So, I'll seek to go back by in the next couple of weeks and see if I can follow up on the opportunity the Lord gave.
One question that I asked him was, "If I had a treasure map that would lead you to a treasure worth a million pounds, how interested would you be?" I told him that the Bible is our treasure map that guides us to true riches. A million pounds at death is worthless but a saved soul is priceless. Please pray that he will seek after eternal life.
Thank you for praying for these opportunities. I had just said to Kay Lee, "well the Lord hasn't given us a good opportunity yet," and we walked up to these men. Praise God for open doors.
Thursday, May 5: We had a fun day today as we celebrated Katie's birthday. Leah Dever's (missionary) came over and watched all of our kids. Katie and I headed into Edinburgh for a nice shopping day. It was a lot of fun.
Meanwhile, Logan came down with a fever this morning. And, it's been quite high. So, Leah kindly stayed here this evening and watched Logan and Nelson for us during our church service. (Thanks Leah.) The Lord worked it out perfectly.
We had a good service. It's one of those times where it may be difficult for you to understand how it could be "good." Harriet and our family started the service and Mark joined us. And, that was our group. (It started raining hard about 20 minutes before the service until it's conclusion. And most of those who come walk.) We don't know if this is why those who said they were coming didn't come. But regardless, God gave us a great service. Thank you for praying. And thanks for joining us on the church planting journey.
Tuesday, May 3: We had a fun picnic tonight with Emma, Scott and their two children. We went to a spot along the Esk River near Roslin, Scotland. It's about 2 miles from where our church is located. It is a beautiful glen that you walk up. I had a fishing rod and one lure with me and the kids enjoyed watching me try to catch a fish. And....I caught my first fish in Scotland! It was a 'wee' brown trout about 8 inches long.
When we were getting ready to leave, I started witnessing to a lady who had come past us on the trail. She handed the tract back to me and said, "I'm kind of a cross between a Buddhist and a pagan." We hadn't talked long at all before Scot walked over to listen. I was asking God for "double" wisdom at that point. She is into New Age spiritual healing (ie. channeling energy.) I told her that it was Satanic and that the energy was real but that it was not God. She at one point said kindly, "Why would I want to believe in a God who is a dictator? If you don't believe in me, I'll send you to hell." I said, "That's not dictating that's consequence. That's like saying to the person who hits you because you're playing in the street, 'You're a dictator.'" Scot said, "He's got answers. Doesn't he?"
She said as we ended, "I hope you don't think Pagan's are bad people." I said, "I think that the Pagan's (3,000) who held a wicked festival (If I described it, you would be disgusted) last Saturday at Calton Hill in Edinburgh are very wicked indeed." She claimed that was a misrepresentation of paganism.
Scott and I had a great discussion on the way back to the car because of this woman and it was very instructive. Please pray that God protects Scott from that woman's unbelief. And please pray that the Bible Scott borrowed will begin building faith in Jesus.
Sunday, May 1: God has done great things for us whereof we are glad. Today was exactly what the Lord intended and we are thankful for the blessings that He gave us. This morning Deone (10) was back for the first time in a while. It was great to see her. Constance was also able to come with her boys. Because of her work schedule we don't often see her. However, with our evening service, we hope now to see her every week. She wants to be there. We also had a first time visitor today who is a Christian. Janet came because of a flyer. She was surprised to find out that Constance attends our church as they live quite near one another and are friends. Please pray that Janet will know the Lord's will regarding where to attend church. Her church is moving further into Edinburgh.
Jordan's family were all unable to attend this morning. But, they had told us a month ago that they would be absent today. Please pray that they will all be back next week. Mark and his kids were also absent today. We're thankful that although we had 15 regular attendees missing, we still had 14 in church this morning.
Tonight we had another first time visitor. Harriet got our flyer and attended for the first time today. She told us that she'll see us Thursday night. Please pray that she will be able to keep coming. Tenosha and Evan were the other two in attendance this evening. They also told us that they will see us Thursday. It was a blessing to have a full day of ministry. God did some neat things today for which we thank Him. Thank you for praying for our services.
Saturday, April 30: We have had stunning weather this past week. We've enjoyed being out in it and have just returned from a walk to the park and playground.
I had a good opportunity to talk to a man, Kevin, about God. Most conversations here have to begin at creation/evolution. He was thoughtful and we had a good 20 minute chat. I admitted that both our positions were by faith but also shared the foundation for my faith. (Praise God we have a SOLID foundation.)
We also saw a Chinese lady, Carrie, with her daughter. We had talked to them last year and they remembered us. I remembered that she had told me that her mom faithfully attends a church in China and that she talks about being born again. She told us today that her mom is encouraging her to take her daughter to church. (I like to meet people who may have believing family members praying for them.) Please pray that she'll look at our website and consider visiting our church.
Please pray for our service tomorrow night. We're showing a creation/evolution film. This will be our first Sunday night service. Thanks for praying for us and our church plant.
Thursday, April 28: I spent another 3 and a half hours putting out flyers today. Billston, a neighboring village, has about 400 homes. All of Billston is within 2 miles of the community centre. I was able to get that entire village done. The Lord gave me 3 really good chats and several good shorter opportunities.
Kevin works at a small upholstery workshop. Several times I've passed his shop and the door's been open and I've thought that I should give him a flyer. Today I did. My grandpa was an upholsterer and we started talking about that. Kevin said that he believed in evolution. I said, "What if I told you that I was going to put that chair together for you by putting all of the parts in a box and shaking it? What if I put some dynamite in there?" We had a good talk. A phone call ended our conversation but I trust that the Lord will give another opportunity in the future.
Alec is retired. He worked in Boston for 2 years and attended a "Baptist" church there. He was washing his car. (God has given us a beautiful week of sunny weather.) We had a nice conversation and it is one that I will follow up. He listened and enjoyed the conversation. (We also talked about a common interest - fishing.) Please pray that Alec will visit our church.
Neil does not believe in God because he see's the bad things in the world. I can't count the number of people who have given me the same argument. My last flyer dealt with that topic. I chatted with Neil for about 20 minutes while he worked on his garden (front yard.) He wasn't hostile and the conversation was good. Please pray that something that was said will penetrate his heart.
Wednesday, April 27: God gave us stunning weather today as we put out flyers this morning and this afternoon. I appreciate the good help of some missionary friends (Don Dillman and David Landon). We've enjoyed working together on Wednesdays in our different areas. We put out over a 1,000 flyers.
The Lord gave us some divine appointments. We had a good chat with Alec and Graeme. Both attend our church. We also saw the man who ripped our flyer in half several weeks ago and told me never to put another flyer through his door. The Lord had him out where we could chat with him without offending him by putting another flyer through his door. Please pray that God will soften his heart. We did find out the source of his irritation. He has a grudge against another Baptist church that did the funeral for his sister.
Michael is a man that I've witnessed to before. He pulled into his drive just as I was walking up. He remembered our chat. It may seem small but I know it was of the Lord. I didn't try to take his time and just left him with an invitation to visit our new services.
Tuesday, April 26: I had a neat follow up divine appointment today. A couple months ago, I was putting out our flyer and ended up walking alongside a trash truck. They were moving at the same pace and our routes remained together for a long time. I gave one of the men a flyer and invited him to visit our church. About two weeks ago, I saw them as I was out and they waved at me. Today as I was putting out flyers, I ended up passing them on a very busy street. I wasn't aware of their presence until one man approached me and asked if he could have a flyer. Then I saw that it was the same group and I walked over to the man whom I had invited to church. He was very interested about how our ministry was doing. We couldn't talk long as we stood in the middle of the main road but it was obviously of the Lord. Please pray for these city workers.
If you don't get our email updates, you may not know about the wonderful email Jennifer sent us yesterday. I'll put the conclusion of her letter below. God's good to work in people's hearts and draw them to Himself. Her journey has been awesome to observe. (It started with her washing our church leaflet on accident and then putting it back together to get our church web address. She's been reading my Sunday sermons ever since then.) Here is how her letter ended.
"Finally I would like to share with you my prayer from last night.
Dear Lord I want to thank you for keeping us all safe on our road trip to
Newcastle today. Even though the band didn’t go through, we all had a
great time. Lord I want to pray for the woman who was involved in the car
crash just outside Newcastle. I pray that her health improves and I pray for
her family who will have to come to terms with what has happened. Lord I
also want to pray for Pastor Benjamin and his family. They have been such a
blessing in my life and because of them I have become a better person. Also
Lord on this Easter Sunday I want you to know that I believe that your son
Jesus Christ died for my sins and was resurrected from the dead. I confess
that I have sinned against You and I ask for Your forgiveness. I am now at
this time of my life prepared to accept Jesus Christ to become the Lord of
my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."
Sunday, April 24: It would be impossible to have better weather for an Easter Sunday than what we are enjoying today. It is gorgeous outside. We had donuts, tea and coffee this morning at 9:30 and we had it outside because it was so nice out.
The Lord gave us good services and good attendance. We had 20 in church this morning. Half of Jordan's family was unable to attend but for good reason. They did stop by at the conclusion of our service and we got a nice church picture outside.
Jordan was there this morning. He had some exciting news that he shared with Katie. After their class he came to Katie and said, "I prayed and accepted Christ yesterday." Praise God! Please continue to pray for all of his family. God is working in their lives.
We're excited about God's work in Loanhead. His hand is evident in many families. Please pray for our extra services that we are starting next week. (6 pm Sunday and 6 pm Thursday) We had some visitors who have indicated they will be coming to our first Sunday night service as we show a creation film. If you would like some specific prayer requests please email me at missionaryshore@gmail.com You can also email me and ask for our church photo from today and I'd be happy to share it with you. It will probably be in our next prayer letter. Thanks for praying for Free Baptist Church in Loanhead.
Friday, April 22: I didn't have any witnessing opportunities this afternoon as I put out flyers. However, I had a great visit with Emma and Scott. They enjoyed the two Creation dvd's that I left with them a few weeks ago. Scott watched the video by Ken Ham twice. They had some questions because of it. Please continue to pray for them. They have indicated that they will be attending our first evening service on May 1 as we show a Creation Science film. They are also interested in our Thursday night service. God gave us a good chat that lasted well over an hour. God's working in their home. Thanks for praying.
Wednesday, April 20: Happy Birthday to Nelson....Happy Birthday....! One year ago today Katie gave birth to our wee Scot, Nelson. Tonight we had a really fun evening. Mark and his kids joined us tonight and everyone had a good time. (Pictures will be posted soon on Katie's page.)
Today was spent in Clermiston (part of Edinburgh) helping Missionary David Landon put out flyers through his area. Missionary Don Dillman, David, and I meet every Wednesday at different locations to work together in evangelism. It's a lot of fun and good ministry time. I had one very good witnessing opportunity with Rahid a Muslim lad. He participated in the conversation and thanked me when we were finished. He even answered questions about who Jesus was with the answer of "God." (He doesn't realize how greatly that contradicts his religion.) I invited him to church and he asked what we do there. Please pray that he will want to know the truth. (Thanks for your prayers. It's good to be back home.)
Monday, April 18: Thank you for checking back to see what is going on. I'm sorry for the delay in posting an update but we were out of cyberspace for a couple of days. We had a great trip down to Gainsborough and Wolverhampton, England. The Tom Rooney family in Gainsborough have several children and our families had a great time together. It was a blessing to see where they are starting a church. Temple Baptist in Wolverhampton and Pastor and Mrs. Gritts were also a great blessing to us. We feel like we had a bit of a vacation and thoroughly enjoyed our time away. It was fun to preach at Temple and to share an update on what God is doing in our ministry in Loanhead. Thanks for your prayers for that trip. (Katie will be sharing an update on her page about the trip as well.)
Pastor Wayne Searcy took our services in Loanhead and said that they went very well. There were 17 people counting his family of 7. None of Jordan's family were able to be there because of an accident on Saturday night. Please pray for Mary, Jordan's Gran, and Sandranne, Jordan's Aunt as they were both injured. Thankfully God protected them from serious injury. God is working in Jordan's family and we really appreciate your prayers for them.
I'm sorry that I neglected to get a picture with the Gritts family but I do have some picture of us with the Rooneys.
Wednesday, April 13: Many of you know that on Wednesday nights Mark joins our family for tea (supper) and a Bible time. We're reading through the book of Acts. A friend from our townhouses and her little girl joined us for a third time this evening. Please pray that the Lord would encourage them to keep coming. We really enjoy this time with them. Our story tonight was Paul's message in Acts 13 in the synagogue. His message was Jesus is the Savior that the Old Testament promised.
A special prayer request: We are traveling to Lincoln, England on Friday to visit the Tom Rooney family. They started a church there about a month ago. On Saturday we are traveling to Wolverhampton, England to be with Pastor Tom Gritts and Temple Baptist Church on Sunday. This church is our sponsoring agency. We get to share with them what the Lord is doing in our ministry in Loanhead. In our absence, Missionary Wayne Searcy will be preaching. Please pray for us and our church. God has set up all of the details and we are trusting Him for a great day in both locations. We'd appreciate your prayers as well.
Tuesday, April 12: Please pray for our new flyer that is now going out into the community. It attacks people's faith in evolution by asking questions that evolution can never answer. I put the Bible's answer below each question.
I had several small opportunities as I put flyers out around 400 flyers this morning. The saddest was with a catholic lady who said that she trusts her priest. I told her I'd rather trust God with my eternity. I encouraged her to read the Bible but she said that was the problem. According to what she's been taught, people who read it on their own misinterpret it. (You can almost picture the priest tightening the blindfold over the eyes of those he has duped with Catholic doctrine.) Please pray that the Lord will open her eyes.
The kids had fun today. Alec, who attends our church, is quite an artist. He is a multi-talented man. In the pictures below you'll notice that we are in a summer house in Alec's garden. He prefabricated it in 4 foot by 8 foots sections from scraps in his garage and then brought it out into the garden and assembled it. The front of the building is all glass windows. You'll notice that his paintings are very good. Alec worked very hard all his life and retired two years ago. He took up painting then. He is going to teach the kids once a week how to paint. Today they did the background for their landscape painting. They enjoyed their two hour lesson and are excited to return next week. Enjoy the pics.
Sunday, April 10: Thank you for your prayers for our day. The Lord gave us a great day. We had 23 people in attendance. 5 of our children who regularly attend were not there. We had a great group of adults.
I preached this morning on The Watchman from Ezekiel 33. There was a good spirit in the service and it seemed that hearts were tender. The watchman's message is, "God's wrath is coming, God doesn't get pleasure from the death of the wicked, repent of your sin, God will forgive, you can't save yourself."
This afternoon, Mark, Evans and I went hill walking in the Pentland Hills near Loanhead. Evans is a 16 year old young man from Zimbabwe. He is very mature for his age. It was a very nice day and perfect weather. I'll probably share more of this story in my prayer letter. Evans asked God to forgive him of his sins as we got to the top of the hill. Please pray that God will greatly encourage this young man as he grows in the Lord. I'll put some pictures from our walk below. Please keep praying. God is working in hearts.
Thursday, April 7: Please keep praying for our health. "We are all pretty much better" turned out to be an unintentional falsehood. Nelson ran a fever through the night (102 this morning) and Parker is throwing up. I would normally keep that information to ourselves but after 6 weeks of constant sickness we covet your prayers.
Psalm 41:3 "The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." I'm thankful that the Lord cares even about our illness.
Wednesday, April 6: "Raindrops on Roses" was the theme song for this morning. We got drenched in Cardenden, a town about 40 miles from our home. I and two other missionaries helped Missionary Arvin Dever's put out around 1000 of his church newsletter. His newsletter was very well done. He already had a man call indicating that he will come. This man's wife died recently and although he isn't a church goer he thought church might help. We know it will. Please pray that he'll attend tomorrow night as indicated.
This afternoon is the opposite of this morning. It is very sunny and the wind is drying all of my wet things from this morning. Our family just took a nice walk. Tonight Mark is coming over for our tea and Bible time. Katie cancelled with our neighbor because of illness in our home. However, we are pretty much all better and thank you for your prayers for our health. So, if our neighbor gets back in time we'll invite her as well.
Tuesday, April 5: The Lord gave me two good opportunities as I was out doing flyers this morning. I talked with both for 20 minutes or more. Jerry was very kind and had some good questions. We covered a lot of ground and a lot of scripture. One of his questions was how I would witness to a Muslim. I asked if he remembered the caricature of Mohammed and the Florida Koran burning and how the muslims reacted. I told Him that the beatitudes say to love your enemy and that Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." He also asked if I believed Jesus was coming back. I told him about the signs of the times in Matthew 24 and pointed out that even the world anticipates his return by end of the world movies.
Bill saw my picture on the new flyer and asked if that was me. We started talking and he seemed skeptical because of his critical view of God and the world. We went through a lot of Scripture and arguments against evolution. When we concluded I encouraged him to get his Bible and read it and to ask God to show him the truth. He said, "Well, I do think about it a lot." I said, "Well that is proof that there is a God. Otherwise, why would you think about it?" He agreed and shared that he argues with himself a lot about this subject. Our conversation ended with humor. He has 47 dogs on his property (he has a kennel, I think?). I told him that we had a dog in church on Sunday. Please pray that he doesn't bring all of them if he comes.
health update: Logan is fine, Benson had a fever again last night, Kay Lee coughed so hard during the night that she vomited. She seems to be getting better now except for her cough. She's been drinking a lot of fluids. Thanks for your prayers.
Monday, April 4: We've had wind and rain and bright sunshine today. Welcome to Scotland. I got out in the wind and rain this morning and put out a couple hundred flyers. I chatted with Ian, Allan and Norman, whom I've witnessed to before. Please pray that they'll come visit the church sometime. They work in a trailer park that isn't far from the community centre. I also enjoyed a nice visit with Constance and her 16 year old son, Evans. They were in church Sunday with her other Son, Tenosha. Please pray for their family. God is really at work in their hearts. We're thrilled that they are committed to coming. (The tea she gave me was a welcome cup of cheer since I had just stepped out of the rain.)
Please continue to pray for the kids. Benson is doing great now. Kay Lee however is still very sick. Katie just took her to the doctor because of leg pain and lethargy. The doctor said that she is dehydrated. We think that she is getting better but needs to get some fluids in her. Logan was crying in the middle of the night last night and we found out that he is running a fever. So, here we go again. Thanks for praying for our family.
Sunday, April 3: We had 27 today plus a wee dog. (A lady who was dog sitting just brought the little dog with her. I'm glad she did.) We had good services. I'm reminded today how much more I need to pray. We are fighting a spiritual battle here against spiritual darkness. I admit that it is greater than me and feel my weakness today. However, God is able to turn the light on and I trust that in His perfect time some will be saved. The husband we asked prayer for did not come today. And, Alec was unable to be there for some reason.
I preached on the Greatest Mother's Day Celebration - Mary and Elizabeth rejoicing in the incarnation. And, I just earnestly contended for the faith with two JW's who knocked on my door after Sunday lunch. The man asked me if I would talk to my parishioners that way if they asked me something. I wish I would have said, "Yes, if they were going around my neighborhood preaching another Jesus." I wasn't being mean and nasty but I was being clear that Jesus is God. I'm thankful that we serve the God man who was worshipped as God (Wise man, those who were healed, book of Revelation) because He is God. No wonder Elizabeth was humbled to have Mary in her home when the Babe in her womb was God.
Your efforts in prayer for our ministry are vital and appreciated. Many times a week I'm reminded of the prayers of God's people as I see God opening doors. Please keep praying. We need God's power.
Saturday, April 2: Thanks for praying for our Bible study. It went very well. The father didn't stay but the mother and two late teen boys were there. The father has said that he will come with the family tomorrow. Please pray that the Lord would encourage Him to be there and that Satan will not be able to hinder him from coming. We looked at creation and the fall. We ended with the Gospel.
I believe this family is going to be in church as often as they can be. The mother is happy that we are adding an evening service in May. She sometimes has to work on Sunday mornings or late Saturday nights and so this will allow her to still make it out to our church. Many of our visitors are indicating that they are going to keep coming. That is a great encouragement.
Please continue to pray for our kids. Benson's fever finally subsided today. However, Kay Lee's throat is not doing well. She was up this morning (with Katie) from 4:30 until 6:00 because of the pain. She's prone to these soar throats because of her very large tonsils. We'd appreciate your prayers for her throat to improve. We'll try to keep this sickness in the UK and not send it your way! Thanks for praying.
Thanks for praying.
Friday, April 1: We had very good visits tonight. It's fun to see our regular visitors integrating more into our group. Please pray for me tomorrow at 9 AM CST as I do a Bible Study with a family. This family is really interested in truth and God is obviously at work. They've arranged a time when they can all be there. Please pray for God's blessing and power.
This Sunday is an important Sunday as it is "Mothering Sunday." That is Mother's Day in the UK. Please pray that we can make it a special day. I'm preaching on the Greatest Mothering Celebration Ever. Can you guess where that is in the Bible? Find out on Sunday if you're right!
Benson's fever is still running pretty strong. He's had it now for 4 days. We'd appreciate your continued prayers. Nelson is much better. Kay Lee has a very bad sore throat. I'm sorry to put personal requests here but we would appreciate you taking these needs to the Lord. Thanks for "going to bat" for us and our ministry.
Thursday, March 31: We'd appreciate your continued prayers for our family to get past this sickness. Although we've recovered somewhat, the sickness has not gone away. (It has been almost a month now.) Benson has run a significant fever since Tuesday. He is not doing well. Kay Lee had a high fever during the night last night. Nelson still has a bad cough and congestion. Thankfully the rest of us seem like we have recovered from this cold. Thanks for praying for our health.
Our neighbor and her little girl joined us again last night for tea and our family Bible time. Her little girl didn't want to leave when it was time to go. We are thankful that they want to come and appreciate your prayers for them. We are currently reading through the book of Acts and read last night of Peter's escape from prison.
Wednesday, March 30: Special thanks to Don Dillman and David Landon who helped put out flyers today. We put out at least 800. You know you have good friends when you go through a heavy downpour and they don't ask to go home. I really appreciate their help.
Please pray for James, 76 years old. He lost his wife recently and was tender hearted. He said, "She was the church-goer." He was walking past me and stopped to chat. Please pray that the Lord would show Him that He is the Comforter and Prince of Peace.
Tuesday, March 29: I've just returned from Loanhead where I put out a couple hundred flyers. While I walked I listened to two messages that were encouraging and challenging. One was by John Van Gelderen and the other by Hal Hightower.
I had one obvious Divine Appointment. Gary was fixing a gas leak at a home. He was outside by the door testing the gas line. He believes evolution. For the last two days I've been writing questions that challenge the faith of the evolutionists as I worked on our church flyer and webpage. I questioned his beliefs and he said, "I just don't understand that if there is a God, why the world is like this." I said, "Can you see the title of the flyer from where you are sitting?" He had set the flyer on the ground. The flyer I had given him says, "If there is a God, why is the world like this?" Please pray that God will shake his faith in evolution and build his faith in God. It was obvious that the truth was hitting his heart. We talked for over ten minutes before we were interrupted.
I've noticed at times how open doors are often surrounded by closed doors. Obviously I don't share all the closed doors on our webpage. It seems that Satan seeks to discourage you before an open door and/or afterwards. That's how it worked today. Right before I met Gary I tried to talk to another man and he never let the conversation start. Afterwards, I went through a neighborhood where 6 months ago, I had an elderly man yell across the street, "You're wasting your time. Only two people on this road go to church." Today as I came back up the street after going down it, that same man came out and yelled, "Did you put this through my door?" He then ripped it in half and said, "Don't you ever put anything through my door again." (If I forget remind me that it is number 15. Last time I didn't notice which house he came out of and he had walked off up the street.) I wasn't bothered by it. My heart goes out to him. Please pray that the Lord would soften his heart and that we'll see him get saved. After my first encounter with him, I've often prayed that the Lord would let us see many on his road trust Christ.
Monday, March 28: Today was spent preparing a flyer that will anounce our two additional services that we will begin in May. You may have wondered what our flyers look like. I'll put what I worked on below to give you an idea of the material we put out in the community. The quality of the images below is not what is actually printed. I have changed the format to put it on the webpage. When they get back from the printer, they are very easy to read with quality photo artwork.
(Front)
(Back)
Sunday, March 27: If I appear sleepy while I am writing, I'll blame it on losing an hour of sleep last night. We have leaped one hour ahead and are now on British Summer Time.
We had a good Sunday with 17 people in attendance. Mark and his kids were out today with sickness. (Mark spent a good bit of time with us while we were sick. Unfortunately we probably shared our sickness with him.) I was really pleased to see a number of kids out for Sunday School despite the time change. Graeme and I enjoyed having our Adult class and studying John 3.
I preached on Prevailing Against Spiritual Darkness from Paul's example in II Corinthians 4:1-7 - We take the Gospel Ministry, We try the Gospel Method (no deceit but honesty), We teach the Gospel message (Jesus Christ the light of life) and we trust the Gospel Maker. "We have this treasure in earthen vessel's that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us."
There was a really good Spirit in our service and we had a fun Sunday. Everyone stood around and chatted after the service and several helped pack things up. Thanks for praying. We are seeing the Lord work in hearts and anticipate what He is going to do.
(Theophila brought her Steamboat over today to cook lunch. It boils water and you put into the water what you want to eat. The options were fishballs, meatballs, chinese cabbage, prawns (shrimp), japanese mushrooms, tofu, corn on the cob, etc. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the meal.)
Saturday, March 26: Have you ever wondered, "How did the toad cross the road?" We have the answer. We participated in a community event at Holyrood Park. (It would be like a State Park in the States accept it is connected to the Palace where the Queen stays when she is in Edinburgh.) Unfortunately for the toads who crawl, the park service made the curbing too high for their annual migration. So, without our assistance, they would suffer the fate of many others who perished beneath "the wheel." I'll put some pics below for your amusement.
The Lord gave us a glimpse of His ability to work in human hearts this evening. Katie was visiting a family as we waited in the car. The conversation was opening up and she came out and got me. It was neat to hear a man who is 56 say, "I've never talked with a minister about God. But I'm thinking about things I've never thought about before." He was choked up. We've enjoyed getting to know this family for the last 6 months. Please pray for them tonight. They are going to come to church and we are going to get together again next week. We talked for over an hour this evening. God's good.
Thursday, March 24: One year ago today, we arrived here and began our adventure in Scotland. God's done great things for us, whereof we are glad. We can rejoice in His grace and guidance this past year. Thank you for not forgetting about us upon our arrival. You've been faithful in encouragement, prayers and financial support.
We had a fun family day today. It was perfectly sunny and not windy. (That combination here is very rare.) So, although it was not unreasonably warm we took the kids to the beach to play in the sand. You may be surprised that Scotland has some nice beaches. You can imagine that it is hot when you see a picture of the beach here, but don't be deceived. Most beach goers have a thermos of tea with them. I'll put some pictures below from today. We were in Gullane (pronounced gullen) which is on the North Sea. This beach is about 15 miles from us.
God gave us one very evident Divine appointment. Peter lives in Glasgow but was in Gullane for a fireman's meeting. I commented on the beauty of the day as Peter walked by. He turned, walked over and stopped to chat. We talked for about a half an hour on the authority of the Bible and how that relates to Catholic doctrine. Please pray that Peter would understand salvation by faith.
Another answer to prayer was having a neighbor and her daughter join us for tea (supper) and our Wednesday Bible time. It was a blessing to us to have her with us. We hope she'll come often. Please pray that she will.
In case you don't know - this is Logan.
Wednesday, March 23: We had a great day over in Clermiston (part of Edinburgh.) Today we helped Missionary David Landon with his area.
I had three good witnessing opportunities. Craig asked a question I've heard many times, "If there is a God, why does he take away people you love?" We stood in the stairwell of his flat and talked for several minutes. I know the Lord was speaking to his heart.
Annette said that she didn't believe in God. When we ended our conversation, she said, "Well you certainly make people look at it from the other side." We talked for about 15 minutes and she listened very well. I told her about a good video on creation and she said she was going to watch it online. ("Creatures that Defy Evolution.")
Lindsey (18 year old young man) stopped on the pathway as he was walking by and talked for 15 minutes. He wants to believe in God because, "Then someone is looking out for you." He also listened intently as I shared truths about God and His Word.
Thank you for praying for these opportunities. Please pray specifically for these individuals. They all live close to Clermiston Baptist Church. These opportunities don't just happen. God intervened today in these peoples lives for a reason. I'm happy to be a part of it.
Tuesday, March 22: We've been praying about adding a Sunday PM and midweek service. Today the Lord encouraged my heart to see if we could start those services in May. So, this morning I stopped by the Miner's to ask if we could get the centre on those days of the week. The Lord has given us a good relationship with those who run the miner's centre. They've been very helpful to us. As it turned out, they are able to accommodate us on Sunday PM and Thursday evening. They have always given us a very affordable rate and are allowing us to add these two meetings for only 10 pounds more a week. (Praise the Lord.)
I had very encouraging visits as I put our flyer out today. The first one confirmed what God is leading us to do. Bill said that he can't come on Sundays but that he would come and hear me during a midweek service.
I also chatted with a man whom I have witnessed to in the past. He doesn't think that there is much chance that he will visit. However, he was cordial and did ask me what religion was true. I used the illustration of following a recipe. If I differ from the recipe I am giving my own interpretation. If I follow the recipe then I end up with the intended dish. I told him that a church that differs from God's Word has their own false interpretation of the recipe. However, if they are following what the Bible says then that religion is Biblical.
I had two other good visits. One lady said that she was "born again" at the age of 19 as she visited a church in the States. I don't think that she fully understands the Gospel. However, there is a fair chance that she will visit our church. Please pray for Louisa and her children. I also visited with another lady who has a vague understanding of the Gospel from a time when she was involved with the Salvation Army. Please pray that she also will desire to come out for a service.
I thought this morning as I put out flyers that I want to labor like God is going to give a mighty harvest. Regardless of whether or not that is true, I want to labor like God is going to pour out a blessing. Please pray that our faith would not be a reason that "God could do no mighty work here." We want to plow in hope.
Monday, March 21: The Lord gave me a good opportunity to witness this morning. In the UK you have to have your vehicle inspected yearly. I took my van to a garage in Loanhead to have that done today and passed out flyers while it was getting inspected.
I met a 20 year old young man who "happened" to exit his house as I opened his gate. He says that he has never really thought about God but hopes that there is an afterlife. He was cleaning his vehicle and had the radio going but reached inside and switched it off so that he could better listen. We were having a very good conversation and then an older neighbor arrived.
This neighbor had attended an apostolic church until 30 when his religion became Atheism. (He said that was his religion and I pointed out to the 20 year old that I was glad he had said that as both are based on faith.) At one point the 20 year old was inside while the neighbor and I talked. He called the young man on his cell phone and told him he needed to come back out and listen. The conversation lasted over an hour and I don't believe it was wasted.
One humorous part of the conversation was when the neighbor asked, "If God is so great, why did he have to tell us to worship him and then He had to command that multiple times?" I said, "Because there are people like you who still don't get it no matter how many times God says it." He repeated himself and I repeated the fact that it was God's mercy to Him.
Please pray that God will give us His power, love and wisdom in our witnessing. We face dark unbelief daily and it takes God's refreshing grace to continue to witness trusting in God's ability to open hearts.
Sunday, March 20: We are having a good Sunday. The spirit in the service this morning was good and we had a good group for Sunday School and church. Our attendance was 23. We had a 4 year old child who was a first time visitor. (Emma and Scott did not make it. Please continue to pray that they will be able to come soon.)
There were some good things that happened today. We took the dividing wall down between Sunday School and church. It worked well to do that. With the wall down we have room to add additional seating as needed. It was also good to see the men helping with setting up for the service and taking everything down. That's a help to us and a blessing to see them getting involved in the needs of the church.
This morning I preached on, "Who Is Your Master?" The text was Romans 6:16-23. Please pray that those who are serving sin would obey God's Word from their heart and turn to their new Master, Jesus.
God's good. We're rejoicing in what He is doing. Please keep praying. Without Him we can do nothing.
Saturday, March 19: We had some good visits today. I enjoyed sitting down with Bernard and Violet this morning and chatting for about an hour. Bernard visited our church this past Sunday. They have another church that they typically attend.
We visited Emma and Scott this evening. We loaned them two good dvd's on creation. Please pray that the Lord would use these to encourage their faith. Scott said that they will definitely visit our church in the morning. I believe that they will be there. Please pray that they and their kids will really enjoy learning about Jesus.
Please keep praying for Constance. She is still in Africa following her brother's funeral. She'll be returning on Thursday. We hope to see her boys in church again tomorrow.
We are nearly all better after being sick for a couple weeks. My voice started to come back on Thursday and is pretty strong for tomorrow. Thanks for praying. It's nice to see the sickness going away. We enjoyed having a picnic lunch today as Spring begins to show it's head in Scotland.
Wednesday, March 16: Special thanks to two missionary friends, Don Dillman and David Landon, who helped us put out flyers today. We put out over a 1,000. Please pray that the Lord would use this flyer to soften people's hearts. We had many short opportunities to chat with people. I met a man named Stephen who chatted briefly but then had to run to an appointment. But, he said he would email me and we could get together and talk. Please pray that he will do that. We continue to appreciate your prayers for our recovery from this sickness. (There has been a cold here that takes about a month to get past. We think we've got it. :)
Tuesday, March 15: KATIE PASSED HER DRIVER'S TEST!!!! The British Test is one of the toughest in the world. Thank you for praying. We now both have full British Driver's Licenses. Praise the Lord. We are glad to be done with the studying and practicing for these tests. It has also been our mind since we got here and it is nice not to need to think about it anymore. Another answer to prayer was scheduling our tests. Our tests dates were the only ones available this month. The next one Katie could have scheduled was May 25th. So, praise the Lord that He provided openings to take these tests.
Thank you for praying about our health. We are doing better today. The pink eye is clearing up and the colds are subsiding. Please continue to pray for my voice. I haven't had much of a voice since Sunday. I trust that it will be back by this coming weekend but would appreciate your prayers.
March 13, Sunday: The Lord gave us the strength we needed today. I'm very thankful that we purchased a microphone this past week. It helped a lot in our service. Because of sickness my voice was almost gone at the conclusion of my message. So, God's timing for amplification was perfect.
We are seeing God work in the hearts of those who are attending. It seems there is a genuine tenderness and desire to seek after God. We are also humbled by the number of people the Lord has given us this past month. We are a mostly unsaved congregation. Counting our family as 7, we had 28 people in church today. We had 3 more visitors from Jordan's family. Two were teen siblings and one was a friend. Bernard, the Christian man that I met this past week, came out. He indicated that he will be back.
I put a reading schedule on the back of the bulletin and encouraged everyone to borrow a church Bible if they needed one. Two people borrowed Bibles with no other encouragement than that. Please pray that the Lord will work His Word into their hearts. "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God."
I preached on How Familiarity Brought Contempt for Christ from Matthew 13:53-58. We concluded with "He could do no mighty works there because of their unbelief." Please pray that we will begin to see some of these attendees come to faith in Jesus.
Special requests this week: Katie would appreciate your prayers for her driver's test on Tuesday. Our family is also pretty sick. (Katie even has pink eye.) We'd appreciate your prayers that God would raise us up. We are also planning to visit with some of those who are attending. Please pray that these opportunities will help in establishing Free Baptist Church. We need your prayers. I believe that what we are seeing in our ministry is the direct result of your prayers as God answers. May God receive glory for what He is doing.
Saturday: Please pray for Constance. She is the African lady who has visited our church with her boys. She was in church this past Sunday. On Monday her younger brother died. He was only 40. She left for Africa on Tuesday. Please pray for God to comfort her and her family as only He can.
Emma and Scott have another car. Thank you for praying for that need. Please continue to pray for Scott's health. We hope they will visit the church soon. Their kids had fun throwing some snowballs at Katie and I when we visited them today.
We are still quite sick. 3 of the boys have had pink eye. Katie's right eye is showing very evident signs that she is the 4th. We also have all had cough/fever/soar throat. I'm sure a lot of you probably are experiencing the same symptoms. Please pray that we will have strength for ministry tomorrow. We can't really afford to stay home. Thanks for praying for us and our ministry.
Thursday PM: I don't normally post twice in a day. However, I just had a rare opportunity. I bought a used fly rod and reel today. Two of my boys went with me to pick it up. When the mom showed it to me, there was a book of Mormon in the bag. That started a nice conversation. I shared some verses about the deity of Jesus and then asked if she had a Bible. She went upstairs and brought down a KJV Bible with the book of Mormon in the back. (I didn't believer her until I looked in the front and saw that it was indeed what she said.) For the next twenty minutes we looked at different passages about the God man. Although I was 40 miles from home, there is a good Baptist church in her city. Please pray for Grace. She said twice that she is confused. I challenged her to answer any confusion she had by believing the Bible and not a religion. The boys did well and were quiet while we chatted. I'm glad we got a chance to fish for men while buying a rod and reel.
Note - For the fishermen out there. Fly Fishing is the norm in Scotland. Many rivers you can only fly fish. If you remember my webpage while we were on deputation, you probably remember that I like to fish. Getting into fishing here has been a bit of a cultural adjustment. Here you purchase a permit for where you are fishing. For instance you pay to fish on a Loch or a section of a river. Usually it is a daily fee. If you are fishing for salmon that fee is 25, 50 or more pounds per day. You can also only keep one. (Ouch!) You may be surprised that finding a place to fish is a recent answer to prayers. I've found a river near us. If I fish it with a daily permit, it would be 10 pounds and I could only fish on one bank (side) of the river. However, if I join the Crammond Fishing Club for 30 pounds, I get an annual permit for no extra charge and can fish both banks. I can keep all the trout, sea trout that I want. And I can keep two salmon annually. So, I'm praising the Lord, for an open door to enjoy one of "the desires of my heart." Hopefully, I'll post a picture or two of a fish this next year. And, hopefully I can learn the technique of the fly rod.
Thursday: Our neighbor didn't show up last night. But, we have a Wednesday Bible time every week and she knows that she is welcome anytime. We noticed her mum and dad were over last evening.
I had a really good opportunity to share the Gospel last night as I bought a microphone for our church. The microphone itself was an answer to prayer. It is a good mic. and I got it new but at half the price. Billy's (26) band broke up and he never got to use the mic. He and I stood in a car park and chatted for 15 minutes. It was one of those conversation that is so focused that you are unaware of what is going on around you. We moved a couple times to let cars out but kept talking. Please pray that the Lord would guard the seed sown in Billy's heart. He's never given much thought about God and eternity.
We'd appreciate your prayers for our family as we recover from colds. All 7 of us have something. Also, Katie and I would appreciate your prayers for her driving text next week. Please pray that she would not be anxious and that she would remember their way of driving. (Several driving techniques are different here.) Thanks for praying.
Wednesday: 11:00 AM - When you are living in a country that has one of the toughest driving tests with only a 42% pass rate last year, it is appropriate to shout, "Praise God" when you pass the test. I took the test this morning and am very thankful that the Lord helped me to prepare for and to pass the test. Please pray for Katie as she will be scheduling her test soon. It is 40 minute driving test.
Prayer request: Please pray for one of our neighbors. She is supposed to be over to our home for tea (supper) and our Wednesday family Bible time. She has a 3 year old daughter who should be here as well.
Monday: I had two neat God given opportunities today. I met a man named Bernard who by his testimony was saved at the age of 15. He said he will come and visit. I don't usually assume that someone who says they'll visit the church will actually do so. However, I believe that this man may be saved and that he sincerely will come. Please pray. We need believers in our church.
The other opportunity was with a 26 year old young man named Matt. He was walking his dog but stopped for nearly 15 minutes to talk about God. He was very attentive and I know that God guided our discussion. Please pray that this young man's heart would be tender and that he would seek after truth.
Our new flyer is now being distributed. I put out several hundred this morning and several hundred more this afternoon. It's a good start. Please pray that this flyer would touch the hearts of those who receive it.
Sunday: The Lord gave us another good attendance day. There was a good spirit in the services as well. We had a total of 21 in Sunday School and 24 in church.
Constance and her son Evans (16), were back visiting us. Dione (10) brought her friend Sophie (10) who was a first time visitor. Graeme and Jeanette were there with Jordan (10) and their baby, Graeme. Stella (5), her brother Floyd (6), their mum, Sandranne, and their gran, Mary, were there. Mark was present with two of his children, Solomon (9) and Jessie (6). Theophila (19) was there as was Alec. Our family is the remaining crowd.
Please pray especially for Katie's Sunday School class. The kids do pretty well. But, any disobedience is more distracting with more children present. We need wisdom and God's grace to help the kids behave.
In Adult Sunday School we looked at the birth of the Philippian church in Acts 16. (Lydia and the Philippian Jailer.) We are studying the book of Philippians in Sunday School. In the morning service I preached on the weapons of our warfare from Ephesians 6. Today, Jordan was awarded a Bible for attending 5 Sundays. (I enjoy having the kids come up to receive their Bible and praying for them to walk with the Lord.)
Please pray that we will begin to see souls saved and that a church will be established in Loanhead. Only God can do these things. Our theme verse is, "The Lord our God, He will prosper us, therefore, we His servants will arise and build." Thanks for rejoicing with us in what God has done and praying with us for what God will do.
Saturday: I am thinking just now, how much I feel the need for your prayers for God's assistance in our ministry. We've had some ups and downs this past week and can see the spiritual warfare taking place. The young lady mentioned in our last prayer letter emailed this past week. She said that for the last few months all she has wanted to do is to come to church and to accept God into her life. Now she is uncertain what she wants. Will you please pray for her? God has very evidently been working in her life.
Will you also please pray that the Lord will put a thirst for the Water of Life in the hearts of those who are attending our services? I talked to our most faithful attendee today for over an hour about salvation and feel my inability to open anyone's eyes. I'm realizing what a miracle it is when anyone gets saved.
I mentioned earlier this week (Monday) that I saw a man in Roslyn that I had witnessed to before. I saw him again today and stopped and witnessed to him again. Please pray that Collin's heart will be tender and that he would come and visit the church.
There are a good number of people who will potentially be in church tomorrow. Please pray specifically that those who desire to come would not be hindered from doing so. We need and appreciate your prayers. Thanks for laboring with us.
Friday: Special thanks to Missionary Leah Devers for watching our kids last night. Katie and I enjoyed a date to Usher Hall in Edinburgh where we heard the Academy of St. Martins-in-the-Field chamber orchestra. (My brother and his family gave us those tickets as a Christmas present.) It was a lot of fun.
The Lord also gave us some good witnessing opportunities. Andrew, is 19 years old, and said, "To tell you the truth, I don't really think about it." That is something we hear often from that age. The Lord directed our discussion and although it was brief, I believe that it was impacting.
We also witnessed to the two ladies who sat beside us. They attend a church of Scotland church in Edinburgh. I asked them about salvation and they hope they'll go to Heaven. I said, "Well not everybody is going to Heaven. So, what disqualifies someone from going there?" One lady said, "Well I suppose murderer's wouldn't go there." I said, "Do you know who King David was? Do you know who Paul was? They were both murderers but they are in Heaven." So she said, "Who do you think is disqualified from going to Heaven?" I said, "Everyone." She said, "Do Baptists teach that?" I told her that the Bible taught that and shared Romans 3:23 with them. They have our tract and website info. Please pray for their soul's need.
We were reminded again that our world is wicked. 50 feet from beautiful Usher Hall men were lining up to go into two houses of wickedness. On the way back we saw a young lad stumbling along barely able to keep upright because of alcohol. The bus was full of vulgar speech from young people who use foul language as poorly as possible.
God is greater than all of that. Please pray for God's power in our ministry. I'm preaching on the weapons of our warfare this Sunday. Thanks for your help in our ministry.
Wednesday: Missionary David Landon and I had a good day of ministry together today. His father's ministry, Clermiston Baptist Church, is on the other side of Edinburgh from us and David is doing furlough replacement there.
I had two witnessing opportunities this morning. One was with a muslim family. The father's name was Abdul. We only chatted for about 5 minutes because they were taking their boy to the doctor. It was a good chat.
The best opportunity was with man named David. He was repairing the buzzers for an apartment building. He tried buzzing someone to let me in but no one answered. I was able to witness to him for the next 15 minutes. It was such a good opportunity, I gave him my card and encouraged him to look at more information that I have on our website. He said, "Oh, you're in Loanhead. I live in Penicuk." Penicuk is just 3 miles from Loanhead. David was not at all inclined towards the Lord. However, I know the Lord was working in his heart. Please pray that David would be burdened about his soul and those of his wife and 7 children.
This afternoon I had tires (spelled "tyres" here) put on my vehicle. I was the only customer in the waiting area and was able to preach to the mechanics. (Sometimes four at a time.) God gave me a man who was willing to dialogue with me and everyone else had to listen. I wish you could have been there. I know the Lord's hand was in that as well. We talked for a half an hour.
Tonight as usual we had our family Bible time. Mark joins us for tea and Bible time every Wednesday. Tonight we surprised him and picked up his kids to celebrate Mark's birthday. We had a neighbor who was going to join us this evening but she hurt herself at the gym. Please pray that she will recover and that she will join us on another night. (We really appreciate your prayers.)
Monday: My morning was spent in Roslin putting out flyers. As I got out of my van, I saw a man whom I had chatted with before. He remembered me. I invited him again to our church and encouraged him to read the flyer. Next I talked with a man who was doing carpentry. He is agnostic but said he would read the flyer once he got his glasses on. My best opportunity was with Alyson. She won't go so far as to say she is agnostic but she is almost there. She is retirement age and worked in healthcare. The reason she won't go as far as agnostic is because she saw how faith in God helped people who were suffering. I talked to her for about 10 minutes. She was very kind.
The most unusual chat was the next man. He took the flyer and said that he didn't believe in God. He laughed and said, "We probably came from frog...." I said casually, "Well that's you faith. Your religion is evolution." He went ballistic. I thought he was going to strike me. As he was gesticulating and very loudly vulgarly cursing religion, his arm did touch me at one point. I was thinking, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him and delivereth them." Again I am reminded that we wrestle not against flesh and blood...."
After lunch I picked up Scott (Scott and Emma that we've been praying for) and took him on some errands. He gave me some pointers for my driver's test as he passed the test last week. We had a good chat. Please pray that the Lord will provide another vehicle for them.
note: My wife has told me that my post below confused her and she was there. So, the simple story is - we had 24 people in attendance. 6 of those were first time visitors. Praise God.
Sunday, Feb. 27: It was one of those days where it is kind of hard to know where to begin. Mark was there with two of his kids. Then Stella and Floyd arrived with their mom, Sandra, Aunt Kelly, 19 year old cousin Derrick and Grandma Mary. (Stella was presented with a Bible today for coming for 5 Sundays.)
Next Graeme, Jeanette, Graeme Junior and Jordan arrived. (Derrick is Jeanette's oldest son.) They also are all related to Stella. Jeanette is Stella's aunt. (Confused yet?) (All of these contacts are through our original contact with Jeanette and Jordan.) After that, Theophilus arrived. She is from Singapore but is studying in the Edinburgh area. It took her two buses and nearly an hour and a half to get here. She is from a good church in Singapore. We enjoyed having all of these in our Sunday School class as we began a study of the book of Philippians.
Alec arrived as usual for church. During the song service a man named Sandy arrived. He told me after the service that he has been trying to come for the last month but something has always kept him from coming. Praise the Lord, he made it today.
We had a good service. I preached on We Wrestle Against Spiritual Adversaries from the story in Acts 19 of the 7 sons of Sceva and the burning of the occult books. One of the main points was that God alone can have victory over the forces of evil (ie. Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.) Please pray that there will be fruit from our ministry today. One lady talked to Katie about salvation and Katie is going to chat with her, Lord willing, sometime this week.
It was a joy to see this good group gathered together today. Please pray for those who were not able to make it that they won't be discouraged but will keep trying to come.
Saturday, Feb. 26: Benson and I had really good visits today. Scott is still sick and needs prayer. He was able to pass his driver's exam. However, they had an accident on a bad corner yesterday and have totaled their car. Everyone was ok. The police said that this country corner had claimed many vehicles. Please pray that the Lord will meet their needs and that they will soon be visiting the church.
Tenosha and Evans should be back in church tomorrow. They are 18 and 16 years old. Their mother Constance is hoping to come to church next week since she is not working on that Sunday. These young men are from Africa and just moved to Scotland 2 months ago. We had a good talk about the differences between Catholic and Baptist teaching. Please pray that we can be a spiritual blessing to them.
Jennifer (19 years old) is planning on coming tomorrow. She is excited about coming. Please pray that nothing will hinder her from being able to come. We look forward to teaching her about God and the Bible.
We have another 19 year old young lady from Singapore who may attend tomorrow. Her uncle is a pastor in Singapore and received his training at very good Christian colleges in the States. This young lady is studying in a university near Edinburgh. Thanks for praying for these requests.
Wednesday, Feb. 23: The Lord gave us us several opportunities to witness today. Missionary Don Dillman chatted with a father and son. We also had a homebound man call Don's house asking for a Bible reading schedule. He called because we had just put a flyer through his door. Don is going to take a reading schedule over to his home on Friday and have a Bible study time with him. Missionary David Landon talked with a man named Chris. I talked to Sonia and James.
James (21 years old) was my best opportunity. He believes in Evolution. I said, "So you are basing your eternity by faith on the fact that we come from monkeys, explosions make things and that a theory posited by one man in the 1800's is true." He said, "I see what you mean, but...." We talked for over 10 minutes. God took us through a couple distractions that could have ended the conversation but He kept us focused. Please pray that God will open James' eyes.
I also witnessed last night to a woman in India. (I was working on a cell phone issue.) She said that she kind of believes in reincarnation. She thinks that the idea of Heaven is nice. I said yes but told her that I'd rather come back as an animal than go to Hell. But, I also told her that reincarnation is not what the Bible says. Thanks for praying or open doors. God continues to give them.
PS. I had a woman curse me today. She said that she was a Satanist. I started to say something about Jesus Christ and she became completely irate. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood...."
Tuesday, Feb. 22: Thanks for praying for our car theory tests. We passed! Now, please pray for our practical driving test. We will be doing those this next month. It's been a good education and we're thankful for that. (The road signs are now speaking to me.) But, we also want to pass and have a driver's license. So, please pray that we succeed.
Because of all the studying yesterday (reading 950 possible test questions) and the test taking today, we've had two days where we haven't been ministry focused. However, tomorrow I head to Kirkcaldy with David Landon to meet Don Dillman and put out Gospel Flyers. Please pray that the Lord will give us some divine appointments.
Also, Jennifer emailed and let us know that she wasn't able to come Sunday because her grandma was put into the hospital on Saturday. This is her great-grandma and she's 94. They didn't think she was going to make it but she is doing better now. I'm sure Jennifer would appreciate your prayers for her grandma. Thanks for keeping up with what the Lord is doing in our lives.
Sunday, Feb. 20: Today we had Mark and 2 kids, Alec, 2 neighbor kids, and our family. There are some others that we knew would not be there but that we anticipate rejoining us next week. Some that we thought would be here today weren't. But, this is the day that the Lord hath made - we will rejoice and be glad in it.
This morning I preached on Matthew 8:5-13 on being great in God's sight. It is the story of the centurion who had great faith in Jesus' ability to heal his servant.
I've ordered our next flyer. I'd appreciate your prayers for God to open the hearts of those who will receive it. We'd also appreciate your prayers as we seek to get our British driver's license. We have our theory tests this week on Tuesday. (Their driving tests are tough. They have about a 45% pass rate.)Thanks for praying.
Friday, Feb. 18: Today was a great ministry day - Praise the Lord. Jenifer came over for a 2 hours visit with our family at our home. It was great getting to know her. She is new to everything about the Bible. But, she has a great desire to learn and is trusting God to help her. We talked much about the Gospel. Please pray that God will protect her and encourage her as she seeks after Him.
My visit with Graeme and Jeanette was very good. They said that the kids are loving Sunday School. We had a good discussion about Baptism and salvation. Graeme's brother came in during the last half of our time together. Graeme is planning on staying for church this Sunday and Jeanette said that she would try to come. Please pray that the Lord will give them the help they need to get there and that His Word would meet their needs.
We praise the Lord for these open doors. I'm convinced that these opportunities are the fruit of your prayers. Please continue to pray for God's power to impact our ministry. Thanks for laboring together with us.
PS. Below is the waterfront along the Tay River in Perth Scotland. Our family day yesterday took us to this destination. This is 50 miles North of where we live. We had a great time.
Thursday, Feb. 17: Jeanette called us today and we are rescheduled for tomorrow night at 6. I'd appreciate your prayers for that visit. We are going to look at what the Bible does not say about infant baptism and what it does say about believer's baptism.
Also, Jennifer should be stopping by for a cup of tea with Katie tomorrow afternoon. We're looking forward to meeting her and would appreciate your prayers for that opportunity as well.
This afternoon I walked into town to make a deposit at my bank. While there I looked in some charity shops (second hand shops). I was the last one in a store before closing and chatted briefly with the lady. After I had asked her some questions I said, "If there was a God would you want to know him?" She said, "No." I said, "Why?" She said, "Because he takes all the good people away." (Interesting that she doesn't believe in God but blames Him for taking people away.) I told her about my new flyer. I'm glad that my next flyer deals with that very subject.
Wednesday, Feb. 16: My visit with Graeme and Jeanette didn't materialize since they weren't home. Please pray that we would see that opportunity come in the near future. However, since I was in Loanhead, I stopped by Alec and Elizabeth's home and had a wonderful visit.
Elizabeth had a funny story. She said that a man she knows asked her if Alec attended the Baptist Church. She told him that he did every Sunday. He then said, "I met this man (he was a nice enough man) who said he was starting a Baptist Church and I told him that he won't get anyone in Loanhead to come. When I said that he turned around and said, 'Do you know Alec Veich?' I said that I did and he said that he is coming to their church every Sunday." I found that story pretty funny. It's good to know that people are aware of our church.
Please pray that the Lord will continue to work in Alec and Elizabeth's hearts. We're very thankful for their friendship.
Today Missionary Don Dillman helped me put out quite a few flyers. I talked briefly with Emma and she said that Scott is still sick. So, please continue to pray for him. He takes his driver's test tomorrow. It would be a blessing if he got his licence. They have not visited the church yet and we hope to see them come in the near future.
Tuesday, Feb. 15: We are having internet connectivity issues. So, I'm sorry if I'm not able to update much this week.
We heard from Katie's cousin Tammy today that Adalin, her daughter who has cancer, is doing well. She didn't give any specifics. Please continue to pray for her and her family's physical and spiritual needs.
Also, please continue to pray for Jennifer who contacted us by email. She is planning on coming over for a cup of tea this Friday afternoon.
If you read this before 2:00 EST today plese pray for my visit with Graeme and Jenette. I will be sharing with them what the Bible does not say about infant baptism and what it does say about salvation and believer's baptism.
Thank you for your prayers for my new flyer on the suffering in the world. It is entitled - If there is a God - Why is the world like this? If you'd like to see it - please email me - pastor@freebaptistchurch.org and I will send you a pdf.
Sunday, Feb. 13: We had a high attendance day today. We had 20 (counting our family of 7) total who stayed for Sunday School or church. All of these people are from the community. Constance's two boys came to church. They are 17 and 19 years old. They won't be able to come next week but indicated that they would be back in two weeks. The three neighbor children were back with their grandma and aunt and another cousin. The grandma and aunt stayed for Sunday School. Graeme didn't stay for Sunday School or church but he did ask me about whether we baptized babies. Please pray as I go over to their home Tuesday evening at 6:00 to share what the Bible says about baptism and salvation. Mark was there with three kids and Alec was there as well.
I preached on Giving by God's grace from II Corinthians 8:1-5. I was reminded that giving back to God is the response of a heart that's been impacted by His grace. We had a good spirit in our service and again the kids did a great job. Please keep praying. We know that without Him we can do nothing. Please pray that God will open these hearts and that we can soon see some saved.
Saturday: David and Faith Landon were able to follow up the Muslim contact that we received. Eve apparently accepted Jesus 2 weeks ago. She was a devout Muslim. She was very excited to get the Arabic/English parallel Bible. David said that she asked very good questions that showed true faith in Jesus. Please pray as they continue to follow up with her. She is a student in Edinburgh.
Our visits went well this morning. Please continue to pray for Scott and Emma. Scott is still sick and has two hospital appointments this week. He has had chest congestion for a couple of months. Please pray for his health. Please also pray that he will pass his driving test this week. Answers to both of those needs would help them to be able to visit our church. They live about a mile and a half from where we meet for church.
Please also pray that Constance would revisit the church. She has 2 older kids that have just moved over from Africa. One of those boys told us that he will try to come with his brother and/or mom tomorrow.
I also did some door to door this afternoon. One girl answered the door and said, "I've talked with you before at the park." We've had some great chances to visit with kids while our kids played on the playground. Please pray that these kids will come out to church. Thanks for your prayers.
Thursday: This morning I had an incident which I hope will stay in my mind. I offered a man a tract and he said, "I don't believe in that." I said as he was passing me, "Well Jesus died for you. We know that Jesus was real. We date our calendar by Him." (I was seeking to say something that would stay with Him.) He said, "Mate, (something about not believing) I lost a lad who was 11 years old." As I continued on my way, I asked God to help me remember that people who appear Gospel hardened may have gone through deeper water than I've ever gone through. Please pray that I'll have wisdom with our next Gospel flyer. I want to address this idea that I've heard many times, "I don't believe in God because....(bad things happen.)" That's one of the main responses I receive as I seek to encourage people to acknowledge that there is a God.
I don't often do updates on Thursday because we take that day as a family day. Today we took a trip to Callander, Scotland which is located an hour from us on the edge of the Highlands. God gave us a great day. The weather was spectacular - 45 degrees, hardly a breeze and perfectly sunny. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the photo's of our day. Thanks for your prayers.
Sadly, the man in the picture isn't me.
Wednesday, February 9: This morning, David and Faith Landon, went with me to visit a contact we had received. David is doing furlough replacement for his father who pastors Clermiston Baptist church on the other side of Edinburgh. I had received this contact from another missionary who gives Islamic Bible's to those who contact him. An Islamic woman named Eve wanted an Arabic Bible and wrote that she wanted to be a Christian. She wasn't at home but there was a sign in Arabic on her door. (So, we were at the right place.) Please pray for the Landon's as they follow up this contact. Her home is pretty close to their church.
Afterwards, I put out about 200 flyers in a neighborhood in Edinburgh that is near Loanhead. I had a good witnessing opportunity just as I was finishing. David is 17 and attends the local kirk (church of Scotland) in his area. He took his earbud out of his ear as I handed him the flyer. (I always like it when they do that.) He thought that keeping the 10 commandments would help him to get into Heaven. I only asked him about three and he admitted that he had broken all three. We then talked about Jesus dying in our place because we can not be good enough to go to Heaven. David was very kind and thanked me as we parted. Please pray that the Lord will continue to work in David's heart and that David will get on our church website and read more about salvation.
Monday, February 7: Today I thought I would just paste my letter to my sponsor. I enjoy keeping him informed and am required by the visa laws to be in contact with him daily. Here is my report from today...
Dear Brother Tom,
Today was a clean out my inbox and get ready for a pastor's fellowship meeting day. The fellowship meeting is in North Berwick. I get to be one of the speakers and I'm looking forward to the opportunity.
I did get out with some flyers this afternoon. I didn't put out very many but there was a little area that still needed to be covered. I knocked on _______'s door as I went past. She visited our church once but attends a Pentecostal church. I've been praying for her husband who was diagnosed with cancer in his kidneys. He went for another biopsy recently and they can't find any cancer. So, praise the Lord the cancer's gone. He isn't saved and I've been praying for that as well. _____ didn't invite me in and I've never met her husband. Maybe some day I'll get a chance to witness to him.
I stopped by Dalkeith on my return. I have to park at a car park and walk to my bank. I saw 3 college age young men walking the same way and checked to see if I had tracts in my pocket. I ended up walking close by them and one of them used a wicked word. Because an elderly woman was nearby I turned around and looked at them but didn't say anything. We walked a different route and then our paths converged again. Again, not once but multiple times their language was awful. I'd been praying for them and thinking about rebuking them for their language and so I turned around and said, "Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ?" It took them a second to focus in on the question as I repeated it. I said, "I've been listening to you guys talk and your language is terrible. The Bible says that you are going to give an account for every idle word that you speak." One young man said, "I didn't think it was that big of a sin. Aren't there bigger sins?" I said, "If you can't control your mouth, you aren't controlling other things in your life either." He nodded in agreement. I turned around to the other guy who was laughing and said, "If you understood Who Jesus is and what He did for you, you wouldn't be smiling just now, you would be weeping. The Bible says that, While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I told them they needed to get their Bible's out and see Who Jesus is. The one young man to whom I spoke most directly said that he would do that. I forgot to give them a tract. It wouldn't have worked to rebuke them without love and God gave me a love in my heart for them. Heaven will know how deeply that rebuke impacted them. I hope every time they curse they'll think about Jesus and standing some day before God.
If you think about my ministry opportunity tomorrow, I'd appreciate your prayers. I'm preaching around 10:30.
Ben
Sunday, February 6: Praise the Lord, the kids who visited last week came back today. One of the three was out of town but the other two were present. The step-dad got his coffee and stayed for Sunday School as well. He and I looked at Genesis 1-3. It was good to have him there although he left before church to help with a sick child. (His bairn (child, in this case a baby) or 'wee man' is sick and the mom was worried about him. Please pray that he will get better and that the mom would join us next week.) The other neighborhood girl was back as well. So, we had three kids from Loanhead. Mark wasn't able to be there today. We missed him and his family. Alec was there for church.
This morning I preached a topical message on - What is Baptism? The kids were very well behaved and listened well. We had a good service.
Thanks for praying for our church and for those who attend. God is good.
Saturday, February 5: I just returned from some good visits in Loanhead. Please continue to pray for Emma and Scott. Scott has had three different antibiotics but his chest congestion continues. We are hoping that they will soon be able to visit the church.
The young boy who visited last week is supposed to return with his cousin. Please pray that his step-dad will stay for the service. I asked his step-dad if he would like me to put coffee on for him. (We normally have tea.) He said to do that. Hopefully that means he will stay. If not he'll get a cup of coffee to go.
I visited with Pam and John. Please pray that John's skin condition clears up. We had a cup of tea and a really nice visit for the better part of an hour. I was able to share why it is important to accept everything the Bible says. Please pray that God will encourage them to search His Word.
I also visited the Church of Scotland minister and had a nice time. I had never met him. I was glad to find out that he is evangelical. Please pray for Graham Duffin. We obviously differ on some areas of faith and practice but I do pray for him.
Wednesday, February 2: Today David Landon (furlough replacement missionary) and I went to Don Dillman's in Kirkcaldy. We put out several hundred of their Gospel flyer to homes in their area. The Lord gave us a great witnessing opportunity. It was blustery and lightly raining but Andrew talked to us about the Gospel for more than 15 minutes. He had good questions and was thinking about what we were sharing. He is around 20 years old. Please pray that the Lord would continue to work in his heart. We had several other shorter opportunities.
One other neat appointment that God gave was with a man who works at our bank in Dalkeith. He was working today at the bank in Kirkcaldy (35 miles from our home). Please pray that the Lord will work in Lee's heart. I gave him Don's Gospel flyer.
Tuesday, February 1: I have a funny story from putting flyers out today. It's not a long funny story. My F.D.T (Flyer Distribution Tool) was yanked through a mail slot by a covert E.D.K. (Enemy Dog Kind.) I mentioned before how these E.D.K. lurk silently on the other side of mail slots. Thankfully the owner was home and retrieved my F.D.T. To say the least, I'm just thankful that it was my F.D.T and not my H.A.N.D. that was yanked through the mail slot.
On the serious side, I had 1 good witnessing opportunity this morning and a few other short chats. Mark said, "I believe we came from apes." The Lord allowed me to challenge him with the sobering truth that he'll stand before God and give an account for his ignorance of Biblical truth. We had a good chat lasting several minutes and he said that he would look at our information online when he got home.
The Lord helped me get all of Bilston done. This neighboring village has around 400 houses. It took me just over three hours at a pretty good pace. It was a very windy day. Our two oldest kids, Benson and Kay Lee, bought kites yesterday. So, after I got back I took them out for a little while. You'll see from the pics that a storm came up. But it blew through and we were able to test out their kites. Logan came along to help.
Monday, January 31: This morning I didn't have any real good opportunities (it seemed) to share the Gospel. I did briefly talk to some people as I was out. (I put out about 200 flyers.) I did however have a good follow up opportunity in the neighborhood that I was going through. A lady, Annie, who we have visited about half a dozen times, told me that she will chat with a saved neighbor, Davina, up the street and see if she will come with her to church. We have tried this before and it didn't work out. But, I talked with Davina again and she is going to try to get together with Annie and plan a time to come visit our church. Please pray that this will work out and that it will be a spiritual blessing to both of them.
Sunday, January 30: If Nelson is a song leader someday, he should do a pretty good job. I hold him during Sunday School while I am leading the singing and he's already waving his arm and making noise. (No offense to song leaders, but that is what we do.)
We had a fun day today. It was encouraging to have 3 new children in Sunday School. The 10 year old boy, who attended our creation science film night in November, came with his two younger girl cousins. They appeared to have a good time.
We've only had 2 other kids ever come to Sunday School. One of those 2 girls was also back today. Please pray that all of these kids will grow in love for Jesus and want to come hear about Him. With 2 of Mark's kids and are crew, Katie had a good sized class this morning. (And by the way, the kids did super well in Sunday School and church. If you prayed about this request from last week, you can rejoice that God answered your prayers.)
Alec was there as usual. He's never missed a service since his first Sunday in August. We appreciate his faithfulness.
I preached on I Corinthians 11 on What is the Lord's Supper? God blessed our service.
Please pray for more open doors. We have other contacts that we are seeking to reach with the Gospel and who we hope will visit our church. Thanks for your help with our ministry.