CAMP TAYSIDE!

This years camp has to be top of my camp experience lists! Just thinking about camp takes me to so many happy places. I will attempt to share some of my joy with you all.

For a start all the kids we took down had an absolute blast! Shaun Main didn't want to leave camp and Andrew Main once again was a big hit with everyone. Lewis Emslie won every ones hearts with his "sweetness" and he loved his first time at camp. Adam Swanston never stopped smiling the whole time we were there. The girls were no different. Amy sang at "camps got talent" and blew everyone away with her voice, she ended up winning the show. Beth was glued to the hip with her cousin Shaunie. Elaine thrived in the whole atmosphere of camp and I pray her heart is close to the kingdom. Jenny has even more reasons now to be sad when she leaves in August. Holly was every body's friend and assumed her peer group to be the 14-18 year olds. Hannah loved the sports and games and her team won, which means for the last 2 years Hannah has been in the winning team. Fenella was amazing! She was a servant from beginning to end. From teaching to kitchen staff to mother to physio. It was lovely for me to catch glimpses of her through the week and think to myself - WOW, that's my wife!

I want to focus on the spiritual side of camp. I can only say that I was inspired to teach some of my best lessons ever! I have no doubt that I was being used powerfully and that God's word was certainly living and active during the week. God was at work on the hearts of many during the week and it was especially evident on the Thursday when Josh Jones committed his life to Christ and that night was baptized into Christ. I cant adequately express the how beautiful that night was and how heavenly the cam was. In the guys devo later that night we gave the guys the chance to stay up all night if needed to talk about their questions and needs in light of Josh's commitment to Christ. That night we just knew the spirit was active and groups begun forming with guys sharing and questioning spiritual things. It was very late when we finally got to sleep that night, but the sense of AWE was obvious as we witnessed hearts responding. I had the joy to spend time with two young men who were convicted and wanted guidance. I know in both cases they took huge steps forward in their journey to committing their heart to Christ and I will be keeping an ear out for some good news soon. The next morning was to be my last lesson and I felt a need to be more focused on those who were still outside of Christ and to try and show them their need for Christ and their plight to be without Him. The response was good and it wasn't till later that we began to see the the impact of the Word. I am confident that over the next weeks there will be lives coming to Christ. What a joy to have been a part of such an amazing week and for the kingdom to have made some huge strides forward.

The staff at camp this year were amazing! And the responsiveness to the Word is hugely down to the way the staff constantly gave of themselves and made the campers their focus. I have huge hope and anticipation that God continues to be active in His people and have witnessed firsthand what can be achieved when we allow God to have the reigns of our hearts.

Leaving camp was heart breaking! Most of the campers and staff we know we will see at some point over the year, but we had to say goodbye to Chrissy and Robin. Just writing that has filled my heart to tears. We are going to miss them soooo much. It was a joy to be shoulder to shoulder with them and be touched by their passion for the kingdom. We find comfort knowing that they will return to Scotland at some point in the future, but for now that seems to be an eternity away. We anticipate good times to come!

Well, that has barely scratched the surface, but I hope you can get the tone of how good camp was and how God was so obvious to everyone there.

Take care and God bless!

Trying to catch our Breath

The weekend was amazing! We went down to hear Amy's concerts at both Stirling Castle and the Glasgow City Halls. Amy has been away all week training with the National Youth Choir of Scotland and the finale was the two concerts, which were breathtakingly good! At Stirling Castle they did 3 x 30 minute performances and we arrived there in time to hear the two final ones. It is just the best feeling to know your daughter is a part of something that impacting and through the music and song everybody who hears them are blessed and have their spirits lifted. When I say people are blessed, I mean that in the truest sense - the majority of the program, especially at the Glasgow concert, had deep godly lyrics. My father who was there even used a couple of the songs in his gospel last night at church, they were so deep and meaningful.

We know Amy was having a great time because we hardly heard from her the whole time she was at the residential part of the training. She got to know some new friends and they are likely to be the people she keeps bumping into over the next stage of her life as that all have the same desire to sing and to study music at Uni.

During the weekend we had the chance to visit with some amazing people and had a good time of refreshing and encouraging. We stayed a night with Mitch and Isobel Vick's (Robin's mum and dad) and always love being with them. They are a great couple and some of our favorite people on the planet. On the Friday night we had a great time around the supper table with the Vick's, Chrissy and Robin, Lesley and Tristan Block. We found a new friend in Pamela who Chrissy and Robin study with at Sunset, and she happened to be visiting at the same time. The night went too quickly! The fellowship was sweet! Jenny and Pamela went to stay at Tristan and Leslie's and after we got Holly and Hannah off to bed we stayed up late sharing time with Mitch and Isobel - good times!

It was also great to meet up with Sheena Phillips and her son Robert, who had come into Glasgow for the concert. Sheena and Drew are an amazing couple and have been a huge source of genuine encouragement since Fenella and I were dating. Robert is a brilliant young man, who's character matches his 6ft 4in frame. Looks like we will get to spend some time with Robert next week at Camp Tayside - Outstanding!

We met up with Fenella's cousin Sylvia and her daughter Cecelia at the Glasgow concert too - come to think of it we must have made up about half the audience! Both Fenella and my parents were also there.

I had a struggle getting my thoughts together for preaching Sunday morning, but finally got things together and preached about encouragement. I loved preparing for the lesson because I got to look at the life of Barnabas and see the true character of the man and his amazing influence on the new Testament Church. Struck me for the first time how influential he was to Paul's ministry. Well, It is encouraging to have Danielle now a part of the family and Shireen is being blessed richly by Danielle.

HUGE! - We had a men's leadership meeting on Sunday Afternoon and got the go ahead for the new look Sunday night gospel meeting to be a regular thing! We will have them once a month and the feeling of everybody there and in the congregation has been totally encouraging and all have commented how blessed a time it was.

Well it will now be a frantic race to get everything to come together for teaching camp - please keep us in your prayers as our tanks are on the empty side and we want to have something to give all at camp.

Take care - God bless!

Milestone!

This morning the penny has dropped as to how amazing last night was. There were around 70 there which in itself was great for a Sunday night. Before I go into details about the night I have to let you know one of the most touching and impacting moments from the evening. There are a couple of young teens (who happen to be dating), Thomas and Rachel. Last night they were there for the first time on a Sunday night. After the night had come to a finish I sat and asked how they felt about the whole experience and was blown away by their replies. They asked if we held meetings every Sunday and would love to come back regularly. It was obvious that they had been touched by the Word and connected totally with the whole meeting. I am excited about their new found appetite for God and His church.

John Campbell has become someone I admire and I love his desire to recognise the need to reach out to the lost and especially those we work with on Thursday nights. John led the singing and got the night off to a phenomenal start. The songs he picked and the sentiments of his welcome to the aaudience was beautiful and allowed everyone to feel a part of the worship. He really set up the night perfectly and made it easy for me to come behind him and preach the gospel. The message I preached was powerful and I know God was working through me, as He was with John, and I know the Message found some tender places in the hearts of all there. I used some art to illustrate the battle we have in our lives to break from the darkness and evil that wills to consume us. Michelangelo sculpted a series of 4 "Captives" where he depicts man trying to free himself from what hinders - sin. I also talked about Rodin's "Thinker" and "the gates of hell" where the artist shows a man in great thought over his destination after he passes from life. I talked about Spiderman and "The Enemy Within" and when it all came together with the power of the Spirit I know the Word was effective and active.

The response from all the congregation was incredible! There was a very evident acknowledgement that God's Spirit had been active through the whole meeting. I am confident that we can have this format on a more regular basis from this point on and have the confidence that the lost whether teens or otherwise will connect and be brought into contact with Christ - God willing!

Well, In a nutshell I can't remember there being a time in our ministry here that I have felt as confident that we are on the right path and that we are following where the Spirit is leading. May God continue to be patient with us and may we continue to seek the lost.

God bless!

Photo's of Danielle

Rejoice!

Well, today is a magic day. After the events of last night I am walking on air today and I have nothing but positive thoughts today! Danielle is now safe and can now look forward to the rest of her life as God's child. One really cool thing about last night was the fact that a lot of the teens from the boy's class and also the girls who had arrived at 8.00 were there to witness Danielle's baptism, for many this was their first time to see someone give their life to God's keeping. There was a real buzz last night, as if there could have been anything else, and it was fantastic to have opportunity in this huge way to have the whole audience witnessing God and the evidence of His grace and beauty.

Last night was also special in that I got to hear my younger brother, George, teach the older guys - what a joy! I am so proud of who he is and although he has just got here I am already worried about the time they have to say goodbye again. I know I need to enjoy the time they are here, but I can't help getting greedy and wishing his family were here.

This morning I had a phenomenal chance to get a message across during the Central school end of term service. The hall was packed with the whole school and also mum's, dad's and family. I challenged the audience to make sure the "WOW" factor was in their lives and that the character of a person is what God delights in. I was able to challenge the P7's in their last day of primary school to want to continue in their education, but more importantly to continue developing their ability to serve others and to be GOOD. What a joy!

The rest of today will be outstanding. I have Anna Ritchie this afternoon and then tonight we have the outing to the Kung Fu Panda. It will be a great time to unwind and let our hair down with the younger kids.

God bless!

A convicted Heart!

I had to stop and share this news. Last night after class I got a phone call from Danielle, one of our teens, telling me she is ready to commit to baptism into Christ! I told her and Shireen, her closest friend, to come round to the house and talk. It was so obvious that she was convicted and her heart was breaking. Fenella and Jenny talked with us for a wee while and spent some time sharing and guiding, so after it was obvious to us all that Danielle was ready I studied with her till midnight and together we talked through the commitment she was making and the importance of Jesus in God's plan of salvation for her life. Danielle is a gentle soul and to see God at work in her life last night was truly "Awesome!" Tonight at 8.00 we will baptize Danielle into Christ!

Everyone here is really encouraged and this decision of Danielle's could not have come at a better time. We have our special teen meeting this coming Sunday night and there is no doubt that tonight's events will certainly have all the teens curious and in the right frame of mind for Sunday. I am about ready to explode with sense that God is active amongst us and that once again the evidence is real and a life will be restored and reconnected with her Father God.

Just wanted to get something out to you all before things get too intense. Tomorrow I have a end of term assembly at Central school. these are always hard because we will be saying goodbye to the P7's who will move up to the Academy for the next stage of their education. Tomorrow evening we have the outing to see the Kung Fu Panda. I had to call the cinema and book more tickets because the response was so good. We have over 40 going tomorrow night.

Oh, by the way my brother and his family got in yesterday! After talking briefly yesterday we just had a notion that this is going to be a great summer with them.

God Bless!