Pray for Connor

I need to ask you all to pray. My nephew, Connor, George and Donna's son was airlifted to hospital early this morning. He has a serious head injury and is in a coma. We are all devastated and feel absolutely powerless. This is why I am requesting your prayers. It is our Father who gives strength and healing and being so far from my brother I know my part in all this is to be prayerful and invite all who keep up with this blog to unite with us in bringing little Connor to the throne of God.

I was able to talk with George for a little bit this morning when I was with my mum and dad. My heart was breaking inside as we talked, I would have given anything to have been right there with him to share the pain and sit throughout the torment of the waiting for the next set of test results. At times like this the one thing we hold to is our dependence on God. We may be separated by many miles, but I know that Connor is in my heart and thoughts and that God is our Father.

It is a comfort to us here so far away to know that George and Donna have an amazing church family who are there for them at this time - thank you all!

God bless!

Monday Night Photo's

Photo's - Prayer time on Monday night, Robert and Cate from Romania, Dylan (especially for Chrissy) and Lewis - the birthday boy!

Playing Catchup!

I have struggled to find the time to update my blog and as a result I am trying frantically to remember the events of the past week. The week has definitely been an up and down one. I have to say that I am continually thrilled at the attendance and the amount of kids we are having at the classes - the evidence shows we are on the right track again. The kids love being with us and they are telling their friends to come. One dilemma we are having just now is a shortage of "Panto" tickets. We take the primary school age kids to the panto each year at Christmas time and we went ahead and bought 32 tickets, thinking that would be ample, but we have already received enough permission slips in to suggest we are short! This is a great dilemma to have. I went down this morning to see if I could purchase some more and was only able to buy one - the last ticket for the show!

The Monday night class is great and the atmosphere is 1st class. It has taken a wee while to get to where we now are, since the 2 month break I was in America, but now things are settled and healthy. One great unfolding story is of Cate and Robert, who are a brother and sister from Romania. They came again this week for the second week running and are obviously enjoying the class. Their story is a tough one and the reality of it all is that we are compelled to go the extra mile for them. They are a lovely pair and to see a smile break from Cate's face is priceless! She has not had much to smile about over the past months and to see her confidence and joy lift is a blessing. Please keep Cate and Robert in your thoughts and prayers. Pray that they feel safe and loved amongst us and that they have increasing reason to smile.

It is a joy to see the Wednesday night class increase in numbers again. There was a spell there when I was concerned, but I think we have turned a corner and are seeing a consistent group desiring to be with us for a more focused class time. Last Wednesday we were delighted to have Lewis share his birthday cake with the class! He turned 10 and had told me he wanted to have some time with his mum and family and then to be with all of us at church too. As I am writing this a flood of faces have came to my mind and I wish I could list them all and share our joy with you, but it's not possible. I hope you can all sense that God is certainly active and many are being blessed through the classes and the great group of helpers we have.

The past two Thursday night's have been excellent. The group is a good size and are really enjoying the class and the atmosphere. It was especially good to see Dean there on Thursday. His past few months have been tough and it was a joy to see him and to encourage him. Michael Campbell and Phillip Lemon "AKA - Juice - o" were there for the first in a while and again it was magic to see them. They are 18 now and it thrills me to know they still desire to be with us on Thursday's. We had a fine bunch of girls arrive at 8.00 and it is especially nice to see Beth's friend Leah come back for a second time - she must like it! We played a game from camp called "Electric Chair" which is a great ice breaker and get everyone together kinda game. It was so much fun, but in the end we had to stop when the 2 boys left got a bit carried away and Andrew got a bump in the proceed. I saw Andrew today and he proudly showed off his "Keeker" (black eye). The truth is I love Thursday night and I feel totally at ease in that age group.

Well, I have to comment some on my school activities! This past week I have had 5 assemblies and have had a blast with the children! I am sooooooo blessed!! This continues to be one of my "trees of life." I see what is accomplished when there is opportunity to stand before the sea of children and can't help seeing God. There is no denying His hand in all of this. When times are tough this is without doubt one of my "Trees" that I go to for reassurance that this is my purpose in the kingdom. As well as the assemblies I have my regular sports focused clubs with the schools too and in the same vein, I can't escape the fact that the influence I have with so many children is further cause to be amazed by God. As I write this I am reminded of the vastness of my opportunity and pray that I am making the most of it. Keep this in your thoughts and prayers that I might continue to be the salt and light needed.

I mentioned there were some downs this week. On Friday I got home from one of the schools and noticed a message on the phone. The message was form Maureen Keeble, who is an outstanding woman and true servant in the church and especially in the community. Maureen was phoning in distress because her husband has just passed away that morning. I went round straight away and was totally overwhelmed. The family were distraught and I couldn't find words. Maureen is someone I admire greatly for she has a heart and love for the lost and the downcast. I sat and listened as she shared her pain and as Shaun and Steph, her grandchildren came into the room my heart was breaking to see their tears. All I could find to do was hug them. I visited again on Monday morning. I told Maureen I had wanted to pray with them at my last visit, but the opportunity didn't afford itself. It was a joy to visit and good to be with Maureen's mum and her son, James and his wife Shona. I am thankful for the second visit and especially to have opportunity to lead prayer and ask for God's help and comfort. The funeral is tomorrow.

I am sharing all this so that you all can share in our ministry. We all need to know that there are prayers being petitioned before the Father on our behalf.

Joy!

I am hugely encouraged!!!

These past days, although my health has been a bit down, I have had the best week! I went on the trip with the P7's to the WW2 museum and had a fantastic time with the kids. It was really neat to get to know Mr McKenzie the P7 teacher who just found out on Friday that he has a permanent post with the school after subbing for the past term. I also got to know Mrs Walker, one of the school auxiliary teachers better. I am blessed big time because of the relationship I have with Central School! On Thursday I was there for the girls football coaching and to my surprise we had 3 new girls turn up. It was fantastic to welcome the girls and to get to know them a bit better. I was back in again for two events on the Friday. At lunchtime I had ball games with the P4-6's and had a brilliant time. It seems that all the primary's want a lunchtime slot, but I can only commit to 2, so we have to rotate the primary's and make sure they all get a turn. Just after lunch time I took their assembly. It was a good one and the kids were great. I have the coolest bond with the kids at Central and it is expressed powerfully at assembly times - this also gives me great hope and faith that God's Spirit continues to work in me to bless the school. Right after the assembly I had to rush over to Anna Ritchie school for my time with the boys there. My Friday afternoons here are still one of my treasures. The group were amazing and the amount of happiness and joy that was evident during our hour together is truly staggering. I love being able to encourage and get the best out of the group and the truth is they know how to get the best out of me too. My team lost 9-1, which was a record defeat and in spite of the score the boys just loved the game. There was an Australian teacher, who was visiting the school and asked if he could observe our football - of course I said yes. It was not long before he jumped in and became a part of the game, it was obvious he found the atmosphere contagious and "Cowboy boots and all" he got into the match, but failed to help our struggling side. Calum, was on fire today. He scored 7 of the teams 9 goals and made sure I came in to tell his teacher and class all about his achievements during the match.

When I got home on Friday supper time, I was physically exhausted and had to go to bed at 5pm! I slept for 2 hours. Fenella was shocked because that is something I never do. I had simply done too much and my ailing body was making sure I got the message.

I have to mention our teen class on Thursday night! I was commenting tonight in conversation with John Campbell, who has missed the last 4/5 weeks classes due to fishing, that I am delighted to see the class back to where it was as far a numbers. The night was one that made me stop and take note. I think it was because I was still weak as a result of being poorly, but because I was taking things slower than normal I was spending more time on a one to one with the teens and not as much with groups. I loved it! Especially when the girls arrived at 8.00pm. We played a lot of card games, which lends nicely to talking. I was able to encourage and mentor a lot more than I would have normally. I have learned a big lesson this week and will be taking things slower on Thursday night's, in order to more attentive to the teens needs.

One last thing. Tonight we had our 3rd Sunday thing. It was such a blessing! Everything was right. The audience was full, over 50, which continues to encourage us greatly. Especially considering the visitors that we had. Inviting people to come to our 3rd Sunday is so easy for me. I have a strong desire and drive to invite, which had previously been absent. I can't express how thrilling it is to see the evidence that "change" can make a difference. John got in from sea last night and was glad to be leading singing and welcoming everyone. He has a desire to see the church grow this is obvious and comes across in the way he communicates with the audience. Tonight I preached on 'Confession.' The inspiration was from a Harding Chapel which involved "Cardboard Confessions." Showing how God changes lives from brokenness to healing. As in the past, the response was very good. I talked to all the visitors and the response was that the Word had been active. Everyone stayed behind and fellowshiped for a while over a cup of tea. It is so good to see everyone encouraged and encouraging!

I am joy filled as I write this and hope it comes across in my comments!

God bless.

Moved by the music

We had a fantastic weekend in Glasgow! Amy was amazing. It's not as though we could pick out her voice in the 200+ strong choir, but for Amy to be a part of something so beautiful and overwhelmingly great - is a joy! The concert, "The Armed Man" was from start to finish powerful. The choir were amazing and the orchestra, equally so. I worried before going into the concert that I would struggle to stay with the program, as I have not quite fully developed my "Classical" ear (in other words - I used to thing all this kind of music was rubbish). However, I was moved by the beauty of the music and the words of the piece. Like I said, I can't believe that Amy is a part of something this outstanding. It makes my heart glad that Amy is using her gift to the best of her ability and is certainly blessing many in the process.

While we were in Glasgow and staying with Fenella's cousin in East Kilbride, we decided to worship with the West Mains Church. We always had the desire to visit at some point because some of our dearest friends are there. We enjoyed being with the church and were richly refreshed. I have to mention that Joe McCulloch's part in leading us to the Lord's Table was great! He talked about the "Bin Men" keeping our filthy streets clean and cleaning up after our mess. He made the connection with how God must see us as we constantly drop our "sinful" litter. Joe talked about his passion for keeping his part of Glasgow clean and again talked about our need to be pure. It was my joy to be asked to preach that morning. Thankfully, I had some notes in my bible and after praying for strength and a voice, the message was a blessing and a challenge to the church. It was especially good to see Drew and Sheena Philips - we love them dearly and thank God for their continued example that has been present throughout our lives. It was also magic to see Robert (Drew and Sheena's son). This was the first time we had seen him since he became a Christian. He is looking and doing well! We were also glad to get to know Alex and Gillian Gear a bit better. We haven't had much chance to be around them, but appreciate their ministry in West Mains and their desire for the kingdom is obvious.

We had a good visit with Fenella's cousin, Sylvia and her family, husband Frank, children Francis and Celia. They are a great family and could not have done enough for us! Frank and Sylvia came to the concert with us on the Sunday night and loved it. It was quite funny watching Sylvia get excited over the white puddings and morning rolls that we had brought down from Peterhead. You can't get them in Glasgow and since Sylvia is originally from the Petrehead area from time to time she craves some of our delicacies!

Beth and Jackie deserve a special mention! They were looking after Holly and Hannah while we were down in Glasgow. Alexa was with us for the trip and the concert which meant that Jackie was to be the baby-sitter! I am being a bit dramatic here, but the truth is they did a good job and everything went smoothly, with no problems at all.

It was 2am before we got home after driving the 200 miles back north to Peterhead after the concert. This meant everyone was very tired all day Monday - Amy especially! Fenella and I were able to take it easy in the morning, but it was all work in the afternoon and evening. I had Crimond for football coaching in the afternoon - absolutely loved it! Last night we had our primary school aged class which was also great! We had 18 kids there, which is steadily increasing again. Last night was Cate and Robert's first time to class. They are from Romania and we were thrilled to have them come to class! Fenella's mum and dad have helped their mother a lot over the past months and had invited the children to come to class. Jackie picked them up and dropped them off again after class. I am sure they enjoyed themselves and it was a joy for us to have them. It was also good to have Dylan there again! I am blessed every time I drive round to pick him up for classes.

Well, today I am off with the P7's from Central school to Aberdeen on a field trip. I got a call yesterday from Mr Imlah, the head teacher, asking if I could help out with the trip. I am delighted that my relationship with the school is such that I am given opportunities like this.

God is good!

Playin with the boys

The past few days have been active. On Tuesday night I had organized an outing for the older teenage boys at "Kartstart" in Aberdeen. I must confess that this was something I had wanted to do for the longest time and having the excuse to make a trip of it with the guys was a win - win situation. John Campbell helped out with the transport and has himself a keen interest in driving, so needless to say everyone was pumped up and ready to race. Everyone had their sights on the person they wanted to finish ahead of and of course my sights were on John. Bruce and Andrew Buchan were kinda exempt, because they both race karts and have their own family race team. They were by far the quickest in the qualifying and I picked up 3rd on the grid, which put a huge smile on my face! The race was great fun and 25 laps later I ended up 4th, but more importantly I finished ahead of John! One incident involving Thomas, who went full speed into the barriers after getting an unwelcome nudge from one of his "friends." The race was temporarily stopped to get everything back together and after the race was over we had great fun hearing all the different interpretations of what took place and who did the dirty on who. The time flew and the memories will go with us all. We had so much fun with the guys. There were 9 of racing and afterward we went for a burger and spent time laughing and reliving the race.


They are a great bunch of young men and I consider it a joy to be involved with their lives. Last night I used the Karting event in my lesson and talked about having the right kind of confidence knowing that God is in control. We spoke about over-confidence, arrogance and shyness. After the karting on the Tuesday night on of the guys came and opened up about his new found direction and purpose for life. A couple of years ago he had really struggled with life and had no desire to get up in the mornings. He was telling me that he now is an example for his younger brother who is showing signs of slipping into a similar pattern as he once had fallen into. He took his brother to the class last week and told me that he had not seen him smile so much in ages. I again delight in the atmosphere the guys create on Thursday night. It is such an encouraging time to be a part of. I am thankful to God for the way the class continues to be a blessing to so many and my hope is that seeds will continue to be planted and nurtured over time.


We had a neat class on Wednesday night. When we went through to our class I had a lesson prepared, but we got side tracked and enjoyed looking at past slide shows, allowing everyone to share their memories and good times of past church events. It was great to see them realise that time had passed and that they had so many good memories and times together. The truth is I couldn't have taught and got a better message home that night. I am thankful for times like those.


I must say that my energy levels have been down and I am aware that my confidence is down a bit. The amazing thing is that even in light of this I can see the evidence that God is active. In all the school things I have done this past week, there has been no stress and the kids have been very enthusiastic and involved with the activities. I have been depending on God's help a lot this past week. The truth is that I have been made aware just how often I fail to rely on His strength and go rushing into things thinking "I" have it covered. It's been good to be reminds over again that we have a reserve of power that far outstrips our own feeble resources.

I'm excited about this weekend! We are off to Glasgow to hear Amy perform "The Armed Man" with the National Youth Choir of Scotland. It looks like it will be a very powerful performance as there are around 200 making up the choir and they are to be accompanied by the Scottish National Orchestra. It is amazing that Amy is able to experience and be a part of something so huge.

Till next time - God bless!

Dylan's Back!

Had a great weekend. We had a mixture of things going on. On Sunday Amy and Beth got home from their trip to Norway. They had an amazing time and have not stopped taking about their time over their. The families they were staying with were lovely ad we are in their debt for being so caring toward our girls. We will be able to repay the hospitality later when the Norwegians come to Peterhead and we are looking forward to having them over here. Both Amy and Beth are smitten by the culture and the people of Norway - it's pretty cool that they have had this experience. It is great to have them back around the house - we missed them a lot!


On Saturday we took Holly and Hannah to see the movie "High School Musical 3" which was great, not that the movie was anything special, but because Holly was desperate to see it and for her this was the best thing ever! Holly and Hannah have had a busy weekend and enjoyed dressing up for their school Halloween disco. Hannah was ready in 10 minutes flat and was so delighted with her "Harry Potter" costume, scar and all! Holly on the other hand was a different story. Holly decided she was going as a Greek Goddess! With Fenella at work it was my job to get her looking somewhat like she had in her imagination. Considerably more than 10 minutes later we got it just right - although we still had to nip over to Fenella's work to get Holly's hair done right! Speak about chalk and cheese - that is Holly and Hannah!!!



We had Rex and Debbie Dutton, a visiting speaker from Florida, USA this weekend. He did a good job covering some fundamental truths about the bible, the church, God and Jesus Christ. This made for a refreshing weekend and the mix of fellowship and worship was good.


I want to finish this "blog" with something special! Every now and again something HUGE happens and that's what we experienced this past Thursday/Friday. Not many of you will know Dylan Sutherland, but he is one of the most amazing children I have came across - and believe me I have met many children! I was picking up the older guys on Thursday night when Brian (Dylan's dad) ran across the street to talk to me. Dylan followed just behind. I won't go into details about the family situation, but Dylan had been moved to a town 10 miles away and had been living with foster parents. It was a very rare occasion that we would see Dylan over the past 18 months, but when we did he was always delighted to see us and we would tell him how much we and everyone at church missed him. Well, Brian went on to tell me that Dylan had been moved back to Peterhead and if I went and talked with his new carers he thought Dylan would be allowed to come back to church classes. First thing the next morning I went to where Dylan was now living and knocked on the door. A woman opened the door and I introduced myself as Billy from the church. I was stopped in my tracks as the woman said, "Oh, your Billy! Dylan has told me all about you and how he wants to go back to the classes." We got everything worked out and now tonight (Monday) Dylan will be at classes! We are all thrilled at this news and thank God that Dylan's heart has this great desire to be with us after so long away. Dylan is 9 years old.

I had to share this with you all. There are so many factors that I can't express that make Dylan's story such a special and beautiful one. Please pray that his life continues to express such great joy in times of all the instability and change that continues to go on all around him. I must also tell you all that Chrissy Vick did such an outstanding ministry with Dylan and his family that the seeds she planted continue to bear fruit.


Praise God!