Critical Mass!!

Fantastic day! This morning I spent time getting my lesson together for tonight's older boy's class. Met up with my dad for a coffee and chat. Had a good talk and shared our hopes and dreams for the kingdom here in Peterhead - good stuff!

This afternoon I spent time with the Central school P6 and 7 girls coaching and playing the great game of football. Again the sky was blue and the ground outside was dry and just like last week we lasted about 20 minutes and had to go inside because of the cold. The group has grown by two, which is great. It's always good when the girl's encourage their friends to come. Got home at 4.30 and made the supper. Fenella had a rough day at work and didn't get in till 5.30. I felt so sorry for her when she got in the door - It had been a very long day. We talked for about 15 minutes and I was out the door to pick up the boy's for class.

I think we have hit critical mass! Tonight the boy's just seemed to keep coming and coming! It was by far the most we have ever had on a Thursday night. The building all of a sudden felt very small. We had a brilliant class and it really is amazing to know the guys are so comfortable and enjoying the class that they have no problem getting their friends to come. For the lesson tonight I bought a lot of the day's news papers and magazines and exposed how sinful the world is. We talked about sin and the danger of seeing it as the world sees it and not as God views it. I hit them hard tonight with the reality of a life outside of Christ and having to bear the weight of unforgiven sin. Challenged the group to take their life seriously and to make this the year they decide to get things sorted with God. There was a hush and I am confident that many of their hearts were thinking deeper than usual. Angie was her usual greatness and it was good to have John Campbell home from the fishing and able to help out too. The girls arrived at 8.00 and for the next hour we just hung out and enjoyed the time together.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Good night all.

Good, Good, Good....

Well, simply had the best day. 1st thing this morning I was teaching assembly at Anna Ritchie School. It was amazing! Shared with the school the need to be thankful and to be generous with our smiles. I talked for a good 15-20 minutes and had their attention the whole time. As always I arrived 15 minutes early to visit with the children in their classes and gave some encouragement and attention. I told the kids during the talk that I would be leaving filled to the brim on the inside with all the smiles I had been given from them.

Fenella and I get a chance to go to "Simpson's Tea Room" and just be together for an hour. Simpson's has become one of our favorite places in the world. The cakes are great and the setting is just so great for us.

Tonight we had a good time with the kids at church. The supper Maureen and May fixed was perfect and went down a treat. We had a good time in singing and again there was improvement in the "Settling Down" time between eating and getting focused. In class we started our voyage into the life of Jonah. We talked about having "The fear of the Lord" and the need for that fear to aid Obedience to God's will. The class were very responsive and the discussion was real. Time flew and it was only when a knock on the door alerted us to the fact we had gone 5 minutes over and the kids did not notice! I am confident the series will be a challenge to them.

I have to tell you about yesterday when I had the lunchtime ball games at Central with the P1's. The playing was brilliant and I thought to myself, easy - that's that. However, when I went in to the boy's changing room to see why they were taking so long to get changed, things were not all peachy! When the boy's got changed into their gym kit, they just threw their uniforms in a pile and when I went in there was total chaos. Of the 9 boys only one mother had put a name on the shirt, trousers and sweatshirt! For the next 15 minutes I was engaged in a pretty intense puzzle trying to work out who's was who's. Well, I now have a memory I did not have before!

Oh, almost forgot! This afternoon I got a call inviting me to be a part of a missions workshop held in Lancaster, south of the border. I have been asked to take 3 sessions covering the topic of "Community Youth Outreach." Fenella and I are thinking it will be a good thing. We will give it a little more thought before committing. Also got invited to teach at a young adults retreat teaming up with Patrick Sullivan who's working with the Dundee Church. I have committed to this one and am already exited at that opportunity. God is good!

Anyway, cheerio for mow!

Monday night class doing great!

We had a great class tonight. There was a troop of kids - which is encouraging. For the second week we had 30 children come. I know the numbers are not the be all and end all of ministry, but it is a good indicator that the children are enjoying the experience of church and they are not afraid to invite their friends. Gave the kids a test tonight over the past 2 weeks lessons and the response looking at their answer papers is very good. Children are amazing! They let you know if something is good and their expressions are so genuine. We are making an effort to get the children interested in coming to the Wednesday night class, which is a bit more focused. Had some great helpers tonight - Angie as ever is there to make sure the tasks are taken in and new ones given out. There were a bunch of them handed in this week, don't know what % of kid's did them, but it looked like most of them did. This week their task is to eat at least one piece of fruit or veg a day. Angela Stephen was helping out tonight and it was good to have her back after being busy the past year finishing up some further education. The teens were great - they come in and look at the rota to see what their duties are and get stuck in! Everything about tonight's class was encouraging.

Earlier today I was at Crimond school for football coaching. I would love to say everything was fantastic, but that would not be the truth. For some strange reason the group were not getting along as well as normal and I spent a lot of time checking their lack of control and bad language. I realise there are influences that the group face at home and in their community that leave a lot to be desired and there are times I have to understand that there will be days like today when not everything is as we would like it to be. The last 15 minutes of the session was far better and there was far more team work and tolerance evident, but on the whole it was just, "one of those days." Even in light of the issues this afternoon with the group I know there were seeds planted and that next week is a new day.

Thanks to everyone who keeps the work here in their prayers. We are blessed with good people who are making our outreach to the children a lighter load this year - praise God!

P.S.Please don't stop praying for God's work here!

It's time for some Haggis!

Well today we had the traditional Rabbie Burn's supper - Haggis, neeps, mince and tatties - fantastic!!!

Had a magic day today, even though I got some of my times mixed up. Central school had forgot to tell me that they changed their assembly time from 9.30 in the morning to 1.30 in the afternoon. So I'm standing like a fool in the hall with no sign of any children - thankfully Mr Imlah happened to be passing and filled me in on the time change and we had a laugh about it all.

Got back to Central at 12.15 for the P6-7 ball games lunchtime club. There was a cue of 5 kids who didn't sign up for the club, but heard how good it was and wanted to join, naturally I said, welcome on board! We played "Benchball" a mixture of basketball and netball - the kids love it. Got finished up at 1.20 and had to quick change into smart clothes for the assembly at 1.30. Had a great time with the lesson, because I know 80% of the 200 children by name I really feel more of an intimacy and connection with Central. Got to present the children with their "Young Leader Awards" which was neat.

Next stop - Anna Ritchie School! You really have to be there to know how great the school is! I arrive 10 minutes early on purpose so that I can visit with the classes and encourage the children. So much happiness radiates throughout the school and it is a privilege to serve there. It was doubly great today because two former pupils were visiting and it was good to catch up with them and have them play football with the group.

I was called out on an emergency just after supper time. Somehow Angie's monitor was displaying everything upside down! It was a good excuse for a visit, so Holly and Hannah came with me to play with "Candy" Angie's dog. We got to the bottom of it and put a smile back on Angie's face.

We have Alistair Ferrie visiting with us this weekend. He is preaching at all the meetings. Alistair is a very knowledgeable guy and always presents some good stuff.

Well sorry, but I've got some chilling out to do, bye!

Thursday's are ACE!

It's been a fantastic day - in the morning I had coffee with my dad. We talked for a couple of hours and pretty much solved all the problems to every issue known to man. Really though, my dad's great and it's always good to find a corner of a coffee shop and just talk.

I picked up Holly and Hannah for lunch and caught up on all the happenings at school and found out about their friends and secret clubs.

Went to Central for football coaching with the P6-7 girls. We tried to go outside, but within half an hour we were back inside! Although the sky was blue and the ground was dry, it was still very COLD! Had a good time with the girl's and left the school around 4.30.

The class tonight was great, I'm bearing some battle wounds though! I still think I'm a teenager, but my body is telling a different story. Anyway, still had a blast with the older guys and managed to put in some pretty sweet moves. We talked about boundaries and the need for people to care enough to keep us within the right path. It is tough when you look at some of the boys and know they probably don't have parents who do that for them. The girl's arrived at 8.00 and we had some fun and enjoyed the atmosphere. There continues to be new faces appearing which is so encouraging and tells us that for now we have the right balance and recipe. Angie was on form tonight and enjoyed the company after having a pretty hard week with her uncle passing away.

Tomorrow I get to teach assembly at Central school and then go back for lunchtime club and in the afternoon I have the joy of spending time at Anna Ritchie school - Great Stuff!!

A great Night

I was just going to go to bed and not "Blog" tonight, but I wanted you to know about the class tonight. It was the first time in ten months we were able to have four classes instead of just the three. What a difference!! I got some feedback from all the teachers after class and it was all encouraging.

The supper went very well too, we had a good time talking and eating together. For the first time in a while we did some "quick-draw" to find the book chapter and verse with the kids. We sang for a while and went to classes. I had 12 teens in class tonight and set out a challenge for them to examine their hearts in light of the parable of the four soils. Asked them how receptive they plan to be this year and discussed what kind of things prevent us from totally accepting God's word and living it out. Most of the class opened up and were honest about the condition of their hearts and expressed their desire to be the "Good soil." I am exited about our class and look forward to continuing the challenge. Over the next 6 weeks we are going with Jonah. His life kinda is a good character study on the different heart conditions Jesus mentions in His parable.

Well, catch you all tomorrow!

Running on empty today

Seemed to be in a rush all day! Got my lesson for tomorrow's class partially done 1st thing. Went to Alistair Park's brothers funeral this morning. Didn't know Bill very well, but wanted Ali and Sylvia and Angie to know I was thinking about them. Got home at 12.15 and had to quick change into some sports clothes for ball games at 12.30 at Central school. Got there in the nick o time! It was great to spend that time with the P1's (age 4-5) they are adorable and we really have a good thing going there, the kids are excited about our Tuesday lunchtime club! Got finished up there at 1.20 and had to zip up to the Clerkhill School to take their assembly. After another quick change I was in front of over 150 children at 1.30. The group were the P1-3's (age 4-8's). Talked about Jesus taking the small boys small lunch and making it big enough to feed thousands. Encouraged the kids to look out for little things they can do for others that God can turn into big blessings. Had a good talk with the head teacher afterward, Mrs Anderson, who can now breathe a sigh of relief now that the school inspection is over.

I got Holly and Hannah from school next and got home about 3.15. Made some macaroni and cheese for supper and sat down for 5 minutes. I know it's been a good day and there has been opportunities to serve and share, but as I write this my head is still spinning. Looking forward no a relaxed night - no class on a Tuesday night.

Fenella got news that she passed her exam that she took when we were down in London. She is delighted with herself! I would say that I never doubted for a minute that she would not pass, however I did feel her anxiety and think she is rather quite amazing.

Well, that's it for tonight!

Assemblies up and running!

Had a brilliant day yesterday. It was tough trying to fit in the time for prep throughout the week to get both lessons ready, but it is such a refreshing breeze to me personally to be able to prepare lessons for the adult audience. The response form both lessons was good and I'm prayerful they were what someone needed.

This morning I was at Crimond school for the first assembly of the year. It was so good to see everyone assembled and for about 20-25 minutes I had their full attention. We talked about ho to make a difference for good and about doing lots of little things rather than waiting to do one big thing. They had plenty of involvement and I was delighted with their comments and answers. They got the message and many said they were going to start doing more to help out - especially at home and some in the school. I led a prayer to close the talk and felt so privileged to be bringing the children, the teachers and the head Mistress Mrs Pettri before God's throne to ask His blessing on the school.

Was back at Crimond school in the afternoon for some football coaching from 2.30-4.30 and had a blast with the group! I am sooo blessed to have the influence and time with the Crimond School - praise God! When I got done I nipped in past my mums to get Holly and Hannah.

The class tonight was amazing! The children just seemed to keep coming through the door. There were over 30 kids tonight and 7 of the teens were there to help out too, it was excellent. I taught about Jesus and what He did after being a carpenter and about choosing His helpers and what they did before following Him. Next week They will get a test to see how much they remember. The prayer time was great too with 8 of the children sharing in the prayer with their requests.

There's a whole lot of exercise going on around this house tonight! Yesterday Amy and Beth went into town and bought a step trainer kind of thing, it's quite funny today watching Amy struggle to get up the stairs, I think she needs to pace herself a little better.

Well that's it for tonight - looking forward to tomorrow, I have Central at lunch time and Clerkhill in the afternoon!
Good night and God bless.

Is it Friday Already?

It's 11.30 and I have just got my second lesson for Sunday tied up. I really wanted to get this done so that I can relax a bit with Fenella and the girls tomorrow. Holly & Hannah have swimming at 10.30 in the morning and I'm there!

Today has been good. This morning I got a magic surprise in that I thought Fenella was working, but she wasn't! We were able to go together to "Simpson's" for a cup of tea and a time to talk. It was so fine! We went out and visited with my mum and dad for a wee while after that and came back into town to get Holly and Hannah for lunch. I had a lunchtime club at Central with the P5-7's and had a great time playing some ball games. Came home for about 40 minutes until it was time to go to Anna Ritchie. It was the first time I have been this year and it was special to go round the classes and greet everyone and wish then a "Happy New Year" for 2008. I had a group of 15 for football coaching and it was phenomenal! They all have varying degrees of disability, but their enthusiasm sheer joy of being a part of that hour is always refreshing to me. I consider being able to help out at Anna Ritchie school one of my richest blessings in ministry!

After supper I have been hard at it getting the remainder of my prep work done for Sunday. I can now go to bed knowing that what I needed to get done has been done and I can rest well. I am now looking forward to having the day with Fenella and the girl's tomorrow.

Amy and Beth were so excited tonight after their orchestra practice. They are performing "The Lord of the Dance" as one of their pieces at a big concert in March and said it sounds amazing! Can't wait to be there! Fenella had a night out to an Italian resteraunt with her work to say goodbye to Gordon who is leaving to start a new post elsewhere. I'l go now and find out all about it.

God bless and Good Night.

The great game - Football!

Life doesn't get much better than this, spent about 3 hours today coaching and playing some football. This afternoon I was at Central school from 3 to 4.30 coaching girl's football. Had a great time with the 12 girls - 4 of whom come to classes at church. It is really easy to get opportunity to invite the girls to classes. Got to catch up a little with Mr Imlah, the assistant head, he is always very appreciative of the time I commit to the school.

It was a priority t0day to get one of my Sunday lessons finished and ready to go, so I spent the whole morning at my desk getting that done. I am excited about the finished lesson and can't wait till Sunday evening to preach it. I still have one other to get done for Sunday morning and I hope to get some time tomorrow morning to get on with that. I decided to have a theme working between both lessons and will preach from Ephesians 6:10 in the morning and in the evening ask the question, "Do we live with an attitude of Victory or Defeat" looking at Philippians 3:12-16.

At various times today I put together my lesson for the Older boys class tonight. I always look forward to teaching the guys! Tonight I asked the question, "Is the world a better place because you are alive?" We discussed the importance of what it meant to give of yourself to make sure you are adding good to the community. The class was fantastic and the boys were generally confident that they are making this a better place by their actions. I have said this a thousand times before, but there truly is a great atmosphere on Thursday nights and everybody who comes leaves with a blessing. We had 26 guys there tonight and I never had to raise my voice once! Angie helps me out on Thursday night's and is absolutely priceless! The girls arrived at 8.00 and everyone chilled out and visited till about 9.15. I got home at 9.30 and had a cup of tea and a wee while to see Fenella. Fenella had a full day today. Working from 8.30 to 5.00 and then it was her turn to clean the church building, so she was at the building for another hour.

Well, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I have two schools, Central for a lunchtime club and then Anna Ritchie for some Football coaching and team building. I hope to spend some time with Fenella and the girls in the evening.

Good night and God bless.

More good news today!

They say variety is the spice of life and today I would extend that saying to ministry. Fenella and I started the day with a visit to our close friends Alistair and Sylvia Park. Alistair got the news that his brother had passed away yesterday, so we visited a while and tried to share a burden and comfort some - ultimately I feel the the best time we shared was in prayer. Ali and Sylvia are beautiful and encouraging people.

I spent much of the afternoon and a small part of the early morning getting ready for tonight's class. We planned an open class tonight with all ages staying together rather than going to class. We started picking up the kids at 6.00 and got to the building at 6.15. There were quite a few of the teens not there because they had parents night at school. There were a good bunch there though and we shared Maureen Keebles pies and visited until 6.50. There was a nice moment tonight - I had made a point of telling the kids about Maureen making the pies for their supper and had said if they see Maureen to tell her "Thank You." About 15 minutes later Maureen walks in and the kids all spontaneously start thanking Maureen, who was thrilled by their thanks! After supper we sang for a while and then I taught the group for a while. I used 5 movie clips to illustrate God's love and the need to be servants of good rather than people who poison the world by doing evil. Their attention was good and apart from a crazy 5 minutes before we got everyone shuttled off home again, I am confident that seeds were planted. Arrived home at 8.30 and to tell the truth I was exhausted.

It was good to have my mum and dad home from their trip to USA to visit with my brother George and his family. I was jealous and again realised how much I miss them.

Amy had been invited to sing for a Burn's Night Gathering a while ago so both Amy and Fenella were not at class. Fenella said Amy was amazing and sang beautifully.

Oh - the good news, got a call today from Burnhaven School inviting me in for some assemblies! It is one of the best times when I see more dates going in my diary for teaching the children in schools - praise God!!!

Well, the big toe is black this morning!

This has been a full day! I think I'll run this backward and start from tonight. We had a meeting with everyone who want to be involved with our Wednesday night supper and bible classes. The outcome is fantastic!!! We have been able to create another class in order to reduce the age ranges we have had this past year. This will, God willing, mean a more effective teaching time now having enough teachers for four classes instead of three. This means so much to us. It seems as though we have been scraping by this past while with the bare essentials, but now after tonight it looks like we have a pretty healthy group of workers. I know some have been praying on our behalf for this specific need and praise God, provision!

At lunch time on Monday's I have the most amazing opportunity at Central school - I get to organize "Ball Games" for the Primary ones (age 4-6's). There were a dozen youngsters and we had the best time! We played a team relay game with a basketball and there were smiles and happy faces the whole time. There is something special and sooo cute about kids that age. I left the school with a spring in my step!

Late morning I was able to visit with Maureen Keeble. Maureen has a heart the size of a beach ball when it comes to children! She is always pouring herself out for the community kids and especially those from less stable homes. I had a good visit with Maureen, who was in the process of making 50 steak pies for the kids tomorrow night! It really is worth the trip over here to taste Maureen's pies!

Before visiting with Maureen I had a meeting at Clerkhill school with the government inspectors. Because I am invited by the school to teach regularly at assemblies (chapel's) they wanted this included in their report. It was quite intense, but at the same time it was good to be giving some positive comments about the school and my role there.

Will sleep tonight!

A brilliant start for the younger ones

I've got no voice left from tonights class, I think my big toe's had it from playing football at Crimond school, but it's all good!

It was so good to see everybody at Crimond school - children and staff alike. The weather was

cold but clear and no rain so we went outside to play football. There were 16 kids and we played for one and a half hours! Apart from the toe thing I feel pretty good about the game and more importantly being 40 doesn't scare me! What's great about afternoons like today is having teaching opportunities to share a good life. Yes, I had to check some of their language from time to time and one or two got a bit too competitive at times, but for the most part there was smiles, teamwork, encouragment and some amazing goals! Being with them is excellent and now I can't wait till next Monday to teach assembly.

Tonight was the first night back for our primary school class at church. We were delighted to have so many there the 1st night back. I started a new lesson plan on Jesus life - thought it would be good to follow on after the Christmas stuff. We had some fun with the pronounciation of Simeon's name. We talked about how happy everyone was to see Jesus being born. We played some games and had our snack etc. Oh, and Holly's prayer was "Hoping God would let Jenny come here again next summer." On the whole it was a good class, although we did have one or two attention seeking moments with one child. We have a lovely group aged between 5 and 8. This is the group that seems to be growing these past few weeks. It was especially good to see Ellis there tonight, she has had a pretty painfull and hard few weeks with surgery and physio.

Angie handed out the kids tasks to be done at home for next week. I think she had asked that they make their beds every morning before going to school.

We are richly blessed! Just thinking about the class and the children who were there tonight gives me much purpose and hope.

Almost forgot to mention about our weekend! Fenella and I had a brilliant time down in London. We misses our show on the Friday night due to cancelled flights etc. In the end we were just happy to arrive in London. Fenella was a bit anxious till after her exam Saturday morning, but was able to relax a bit after it was all over. The "Lion King" was amazing and had Fenella in tears after just the opening song! We went to the Brittish museum and were totally overwhelmed at all the history contained in that place.

We spent time walking and just enjoying the sights and shops and eachother's company - with no distractions and little ones needing to go to the toilet. We missed the girls, but really enjoyed being together just the two of us. We got home with no problems and were greeted by a shower of hugs and smiles from the girls. It was good to be home again!

Oh - what a night!

It's 9.30 and just got back for the building. Had a phenomenal class tonight. Picked up a van load of boys at 6 and got to the building around 6.20. I have been looking forward to this class the whole Xmas break - I just knew tonight was going to be magic. There were only 10 guys at the class tonight - there was some confusion as to whether there was a class tonight being the 1st week back. The atmosphere is great! We played some (real) football, sorry couldn't resist, for about an hour then went through to the kitchen. Had our prayer and enjoyed some juice and a snack. The lesson time was good - we talked about what really makes for a good year and focused on Prov. 3:5-6, trusting in God and looking for straight paths. We had a relaxed and "real" discussion about a good life. At 8 the girls arrived and we were able to mix and catch up. Angie was her usual greatness! She has so much time for the girls and they love her. I am continually impressed by the "Thursday night Group" and as I sit and reflect as I write this I am confident that there is much good being done as a result of this opportunity God is good!

Anyway, today started strangely - Fenella's dad Jacky was at the door at 8.30 and told me his living room was flooded because of a burst radiator. I went round after dropping Holly and Hannah to school and became a plumber for the morning replacing the burst radiator with a new one. It is easy to make a little time for him because Fenella's mum and dad are so good to us.

Got some prep work done in the afternoon for tonight's class and then got to pick up the girls from school and unwound a little until Fenella got home from work.

I'm excited about tomorrow - Fenella and I go to London for the weekend!!! Fenella has an exam to sit on Saturday, so we decided to go down together and see a couple of shows. I turned 40 a couple of weeks ago so this is also my treat. This will be the first time we have left the girls for 2 whole nights so we are a little nervous about that, but know Alexa and Jack with Amy and Beth's help with hold things together.

So, I will not be updating till Monday. Catch you all then!
God bless.

New school term is such an exciting time!

Well, today was simply fantastic! I had to call round all the schools and get the dates for chapels and after school activities. When I had finished calling round and looked at my day diary I was so thankful. Yet again the door is wide open and there is oceans of opportunity to influence and instruct the local children through the schools. I will be in Central School (Holly & Hannah's school) most, I'm in on Monday's and Friday's at lunch times and again on Thursday's after school and again every other Friday morning for assembly (chapel). At Crimond school I will be there Monday's after school and every other Monday morning for assembly. At Anna Ritchie - special needs school, I'm in Friday afternoon's and occasionally on Wednesday mornings for assembly - I love it!!! At Dales park school I'm in every other Thursday morning and at Clerkhill school it's every other Thursday Afternoon. I'm rather excited about a new opportunity this year at Buchanhaven School who have asked me in to do some assemblies for the first time there!
Well not a bad day's work - in all it amounts to having influence over approx 1600 children on a regular basis and with the lunchtime and after school stuff I can really get my teeth into building good friendships with smaller groups. God is Good!!!
Spent much of this morning getting ready for preaching next weekend. I have both morning and evening meetings so needed to get a head start on all that.
In between all that I had the joy of picking up two of my lovely daughters for lunch. I love watching Holly and Hannah run out the school doors and each of them grabbing a hand as we walk to the car.
Just to put a smile on Fenella's face when she came home from work I decided to spring clean our bedroom - tough stuff, but the smile was worth it!
Tonight I will relax with a cup of tea and catch up with Amy and Beth's day.
That's it for today - cheerio!

Hey - Hey and away we go...

Well here goes something new!
The real reason for this is to keep whoever is interested up to date with what's going on in our lives and ministry. Reports every 4-6 weeks don't seem to do the trick, by the time I sit down and write one I've forgotten all the stuff I am suposed to be reporting about and end up sending a big picture, but with very little detail. So... This "blog" should fill in the details, the daily things that make us smile or cry - the reality.
Take care, Billy

PS. God's blessings for 2008!