I put out HBT flyers for close to two hours this morning.  The Lord allowed me to see Graeme and Jordan.  I also said hello to two individuals to whom I have witnessed. I had a very good divine appointment.  Please pray that God will do a good work in Daniel's heart.  I spoke to him for about 15 minutes.

Please pray for our Holiday Bible Time next week.  The Weaver family (missionaries in Livingston) will be helping us for some of the week.  Katie's brother, Kirk, and his wife, Carrie, will be assisting us on Wednesday and Thursday. The Dever's (missionaries in Cardenden) will be assisting us on Friday.

Please also pray for our preparation of lessons, schedule, crafts, etc.  It is all coming together.  Katie has been working very hard on organizing much of this. Thanks for upholding that week in prayer.

We haven't heard back about the house yet.  The realtor is showing the home again tomorrow and then turning in "Letters of interest" to the landlord. She was supposed to have turned them in last Friday.  For some reason, she didn't. Lord willing, we'll find out on Wednesday.  Please pray for the Lord to show us His perfect will whether with this home or another.

We had a good morning.  Our attendance was down.  Some of the Hikin's kids have a case of pink eye, so they thought it best to stay home. Other's were out of town.  So, Alec and Timothy joined us for the morning service.

I preached on, "How to Stay Lost" from John 12:37-50.  The Lord gave a good spirit in the service and the Lord was working in our hearts. Thanks for praying!

Praise the Lord we have had those brief moments of sunlight today.  We had not seen the sun in over a week.  It's amazing how much you miss the sun.  I know that there are some reading this who would love to trade weather with us to get out of your drought.  Please mail us some of your sunshine.

We had a good service tonight.  Two neighbor girls were present.  Alec popped over.  And, Christine's husband, Mark, brought their two boys.  We really enjoyed our time together.

We viewed a home this morning that would work well for our family. There are others applying at the same time. The owners will chose who they want to rent there. Please pray for an open or closed door. We want the Lord's will. Thanks.

That was the second question Logan asked.  The first was, "What are they going to do with their dogs?"  He is a little perplexed how people with dogs could come to the church.  And if they all came, he's not sure where they would park.  Katie told him, "They can leave their dogs at home and they aren't all going to come." Then he asked, "Then why are we giving them these?" (Don't you love the logic of kids?)

 We were putting out HBT invitations again today. We had good weather to get out. We saw blue sky (mind you it was only a very small spot in the sky) but it was the first time since last Wednesday. We are actually under a flood warning today.  

The Hikins are moving today and it is a blessing that the rain has held off. They will be much closer to the church and in a very nice area.  So, we are thanking the Lord for His provision.

I had a witnessing opportunity this morning as I went to the Dr.'s office. I met with a medical student first.  Since the Dr. was not ready, we had a good chat about why we believe in God. He didn't say much but he is a good listener.  I hope he'll take what was shared to heart.

We tried it for the first time and it went very well.  We've never ALL gone to do flyers. I took one side of the street with Kay Lee and Parker.  And Katie took the other side with Logan and Benson.  She pushed Nelson in his stroller.  We were able to cover a lot of ground and the kids did a great job. I had one witnessing opportunity.  Lee's mum passed away this past year.  I told him that God never intended death but that it was the tragic result of man's sin. I also shared with him that God loved us so much he punished his Son for our sin so that we could be saved. We were standing in the rain and chatting.  It held off until we were nearly done with flyers and then came down pretty steadily.  

I'm smiling as I write this; But, we have had the most unbelievably "bad" weather this summer.  We briefly saw the sun this past Wednesday.  Other than that, it was out briefly last Sunday night.  You probably picture Scotland as cloudy and rainy - and it is.  But, usually you get some sunshine at some point every day.  This had not been the case lately.  Our visibility has been 1-3 miles the last 3 days.  Thankfully that has changed this afternoon! (No the sun isn't out, but you can see a good ways.) The river we cross on our way to church flooded yesterday and there has been a lot of flooding in the UK. Now you'll understand my excitement when in the future you read that we are having a beautiful day. God is good to encourage us through the "gloom." And praise the Lord we live on high ground!

God gave us a good morning.  The Hikins and Adelle were with us for Sunday School.  Alec and Connie joined us for the morning service.  I preached on "Absolute Surrender" from Esther 4:10-16. Esther's surrender was complete as she said, "If I perish, I perish." 

Tonight we are looking briefly at 3 topics in God's Word as we continue our topical study.

Late yesterday morning we picked up Pam Nelson, a pastor's wife from a supporting church in Alabama.  She arrived by train and we enjoyed showing her Edinburgh. Thankfully the Lord held off the rain.

I had a couple divine appointments as we were walking around. I had run to our van and was waiting for the others when I met two men. Nicholas and Heinrich (late 20's) are brothers from Finland. They are atheists but stood and talked to me for about 20 minutes about God and His Word. As we waited at another place a lady took shelter from the wind in a doorway by us.  She was from Vienna.  She and her husband were vacationing in Scotland.  I was able to give her at tract.

Our Thursday night service went well. We had the Hikins, Sky, Ellie, Christine and her two boys.  God is good. Thanks for praying for our ministry.

We enjoyed a family picnic at a park with a huge playground in Edinburgh. The Lord brought me a witnessing opportunity.  Katie (not my wife) asked me to do a survey on "air pollution." Afterwards I was able to speak to her about the Lord and His Word for 15-20 minutes.  She is a great thinker and listened intently to what I shared.  Please pray that God will protect the seed that was sown.  Another neat opportunity was with an American.  He just moved to Westerville Ohio.  My sister-in-law and her family used to attend a good church in Westerville which I told him about.  I also invited him to our church.  He is hoping to move over here in the future.

Thanks for praying for these opportunities.  God is good to give them and guide in them.

PS.  We were BOTH approved for our new debit card account. Yippee!  We have a bit more freedom and don't have to share my card! (Please read yesterday's post if you don't know what I am talking about. :)

This is an unusual schedule this week.  I got one year older - so, we took Monday as a holiday.  And, we have the 4th of July this week.  Like many of you - we are enjoying a down week.  But, that also limits my outreach opportunities.  The Lord did give me a good witnessing opportunity on Sunday night.  Please pray that God will awaken Robert's heart.  He told me that he will visit the church when he wins the lottery.  The Lord gave me grace to sincerely share with him that what I was offering him (through the tract and church) was far better than winning the lottery. (Is it wrong to hope he wins the lottery so that he will visit the church? :)

Here is a note to make you aware of what it is like moving to another country.  We have yet to get a debit card for Katie.  Why? Because you have no credit when you move over here. By the way, you can't get credit without debit or credit cards. We've applied with another bank and Lord willing, we will be beyond this soon and on our way to excellent credit. (We hope!) Thanks for praying for us.  Enjoy your barbecues!

PS.  Please pray for Dr. Ron Brooks.  He was our field representative for BWM until this past year.  He is having surgery on Wednesday 11 July to remove tumors from his bladder.  I know that he and his wife, Barbara, would appreciate your prayers. 

Today was an exciting day for us as we celebrated 2 years since the start of our church plant.  The Lord gave us a great day.  We had good attendance this morning and this evening.  Evans returned on vacation from England and we enjoyed seeing him at both services.  This morning we also had the Hikin family, Adele, Timothy,  and Alec.  This evening we had 8 adults and 19 children present.  

This included the following additions from our morning service; 6 neighbor kids, Christine with her two boys, and Connie. (The number of children gives us encouraging potential for our HBT.) 

We watched a cartoon (Torchlite Production) biography of Amy Carmichael.  It is very good and all enjoyed it.  I ended with a short challenge from God's Word.  Below are some pics.  Thanks so much for your prayers.