We have a lot of irons in the fire just now. We're gearing up for the football tournament. Eddy arrives tomorrow from Ireland to help run the tournament. He will also be sharing his testimony of how he got saved about 4 years ago. We've bought footballs for prizes for the winnng side. We bought bibs for the teams to where. (Not for catching their food while they eat but for identification as they are on the pitch.) We bought referree whistles and scorecards. So, we just need to order the pizzas and get a few more odds and ends - and we are ready to go! Please pray for teens to come and participate in the tournament.

Meanwhile, we are also getting ready for a parade next Friday. So, the gals have been putting together animal costumes for the kids. We've also just ordered t-shirts with our church name on the back for the adults. (We'll use these in all of our children's events - HBC, parade, gala day, etc.) I have also done two flyers. One is for the Holiday Bible Clubs with all of the details. The other I have called the Gospel of Noah. :) It compares the truth about the Ark of Salvation with our need for salvation through Jesus. We'll hand both of these out in the parade and at Gala Day.

God gave me an interesting divine appointment today. I run three times a week. For a while I was running a different route from my normal route and often passed the same man on his way to work. I would joke around with him about being on time and as I went on my way I would pray for someone to give him the Gospel. As I went to get the t-shirts printed, I asked a man for directions and THIS MAN reminded me that we had often passed one another. I was able to tell him that I have prayed for him and we briefly spoke about the Gospel. Please pray for God to awaken his heart.

We appreciate your prayers for these mininstry opportunities and for divine appointments.

It's been a blessing already to have my cousin here this summer. Holly's mum and my  mum are sisters. My mum is the oldest and Holly's mum is the youngest. I'm the second child in my family and Holly is the youngest in hers. So, I'm the next to oldest cousin and she is the youngest. God has given me great Christian family on both sides (mum and dads) which has made our families very close. Additionally, when we have been on deputation and furlough we have lived at times with Holly's family which has made our kid's close with their family as well. So, this is a lot of fun. Kay Lee  has  a "sister" for the summer as they are sharing her room.

Holly and I put out flyers this morning in a village just 2 miles away from Loanhead. God gave a beautiful morning to get out and put flyers through Bonnyrigg. We were able to get several hundred flyers out and had two good opportunities to share the Gospel. The second was with a young man who could attend the football tournament. I spoke with him for 15-20 minutes. Please pray for God to awaken these hearts to His truth.

After being at the library in Edinburgh this morning I handed out some gospel flyers. The Lord gave me an opportunity with a Deliveroo driver who was waiting for his next delivery. He got the call while we were speaking but spoke with me for several minutes beforehand.

The next opportunity was very good. A 25 year old young lady stopped and spoke with  me for about 25 minutes. Please pray for her to come into God's kingdom. She was taking in the truth with understanding. 

Thank you for praying for divine appointments for us.

That was the title of my message this morning. Unfortunately when you use your phone to record audio you have occasional glitches. One of those occurred this morning resulting in no audio. I'm disappointed but "all things work together for good" and "rejoice evermore" come to mind. :) I put the notes online - link -  if the title interests you. God has something wonderful He stands ready to give to those who would receive that for which Paul prayed.

We are entering a very busy season of ministry. 

8 June, Eddie arrives to help us with our Football Tournament

9 June, teen 5-a-side Football Tournament

10 June, Pastor Stephen Nix preaches all day including our Trust Service (assisted living facility)

16 June, our church is in a parade.

23 June, our church has a booth set up at our Community Chidlren's Fair - Gala Day

Thank you for your prayers for these ministries.

My cousin, Holly, arrived today to do her college internship. She is a missions major at BJU. We're excited to have her with us for the next two and a half months. She'll be a big help through our annual busy season.

Don and I were able to get out and do flyers near our minsitry today in the village of Bonnyrigg. God gave us a wonderful divine appointment at the beginning of the day with a woman who used to attend our church with 5 of her children. She has moved over to this nearby village but we haven't seen her in over 3 years. Please pray that God would work out a way for her to get back to church. God was good to bring us accross one another's path today.

We put out around 400 flyers through mail slots. Please pray for lasting fruit from our labours.

Please pray that God will bring just the right young people out for our football tournament on 9 June. I went to the three area highschools today and gave them bricks of flyers to make available to their students. Some of the schools hand them out individually and others put the flyers in places where the young people can grab them.

Next friday (the day before the tournament) we will be near the schools when they let out to remind students and to invite them individually. We are going to miss having the Washer family with us this year. Evangelist Jonathan Washer has helped run our tournament for the last two years. Please pray for God to bless their ministry (insidethelines.org) as they travel to many prisons sharing the Gospel at their sports tournaments.

A former semi-pro footballer, Eddie, will be coming to help us run the tournament this year as our referee. Eddie got saved a few years ago and has a vibrant walk with the Lord. He is a member at a very good friend of mine's, Les Hill's, church in Lucan, Ireland. Please pray for Eddie as he shares his testimony and for myself as I preach. Thank you for your prayers for these Gospel ministry opportunities.

God blessed the ladies' afternoon tea yesterday. Thank you for your part in intercession. The attendance was good. The program went well. The food was good. (Or so I hear as I wasn't there....) So, we're thankful to the Lord for His evident blessing on the day.

God gave us some encouragement tonight as a couple of our missing neighborhood children were back in attendance. Please pray that the kids will all start coming again.

I preached this morning a message from Esther 4 entitled, "Why Don't You Fast?" Jesus said, "When ye fast...." not "if ye fast." We are living in a tough day but God has given us a weapon with which to fight. "This kind goeth not forth but by prayer and fasting." God spoke to my heart and I'm reminded that I have another area in my life that needs God's gracious development. Thanks for praying for our  ministry.

Please pray for the Ladies' Afternoon Tea which is taking place tomorrow from 12:00 - 3:00. Tanya came over to help Katie make loads of goodies this afternoon and evening. Katie puts a lot of work into this ministry. She plans it, prepares for it and this year she is also speaking. She has also organized a small handbell choir. There are two other churches who will be bringing ladies. Please pray that God would be honored and that the Tea would go very well. 

God gave us a good youth activity this evening. We didn't have a large group - but there was a great spirit and we had a good time. I preached on Caleb and wholly following the LORD.

The weather for the past few weeks has been gorgeous. Today it was cloudy, low fifties and breezy. I enjoyed listening to Leonard Ravenhill preach as I did flyers. Despite the weather, God gave me three really good Gospel opportunities. Each conversation was about 20 minutes and in each case the person thanked me for my time. Only God can arrest our hearts to make us think about Him and it was wonderful to see. Thank you for your part in praying for these conversations to take place.

The start to this week was a little rough for me as I got a sudden stomache bug last night. Thankfully, we had guests from the States visiting our church today and he was able to do SS for me. I felt good this morning and God enabled as I preached the AM service. The message I preached from Romans 12:1-2 was entitled, "A Sacrifice Acceptable - or Not?" We may think God accepts our sacrifice and we may want Him to do so. But, to be a sacrifice which God accepts it must be what Paul described in those two verses. It was a good reminder to myself and I trust to our congregation.

We enjoyed having two young people from Australia spend two nights with us this week. The young man joined myself and Don as we put out flyers in Bonnyrigg. God gave me one really good divine appointment with a young father. Please pray that this man will read the John and Romans which I gave him. 

Callum (a teen in our church) joined Mac and I as we did door to door on Saturday. Katie was unable to go yesterday as she and our two oldest participated in a community craft fair. It was a good opportunity for them to be involved in our local community.

Thank you for your prayers. God has definitely helped us today.