One down - Three to go...

The first week of my trip has proved to be very positive and I am confident that things are heading in the right direction. I will say, however that things have been a lot more intense than I had been expecting. It is always amazing to me that you just never totally know what to expect when entering missions team meetings. I have been humbled greatly while being here. I have been made aware of some of my shortcomings - namely COMMUNICATION! I have totally relied on this blog to keep everyone up to speed with our work, and did not realise that there are not that many people who check it out. This has resulted in being able to ask good people to be a circulater of my 'Blog' info, so that many more can know what's going on. All that aside - I am so excited at some of the people I have met this trip so far. I have been encouraged greatly in spirit at how many have been touched by the way God is being seen and is active in Peterhead. I have been touched by some individuals compassion and belief in our work and this has truly been inspiring to me. I have met some old friends and been delighted at how focused and involved their lives are in kingdom work. I have been blown away with a guy who wanted to help us out because I met him at a softball game and he has been told about our work by a friend who has worked with us for a time in Scotland. I have been shown so much love by good people who have let me stay in their homes and be a part of their family for a time. And I have played FOOTBALL!!! I nearly died from heat and exhaustion, but it was amazing for me to hang out with a phenomenal bunch of guys who made me a wee bit jealous that I was not ministering over here. I have been RICHLY blessed.
All of this has almost made it bearable to be apart from my family. I must confess that I am not totally myself. I have a Fenella sized gaping hole! I miss my girls! I know how important this trip is and I know that God is right here with me and that makes everything OK. So, for now even though I know I am weak, I also know that there is a GREAT source of strength around about me.
Take care and thanks for your prayers!

Our time in London

We have just got back from London and all have extremely sore feet! What a time of joy it was. Yes, we had the usual issues with not pleasing everybody all of the time, but what a joy to have been close as a family for a whole 6 days. I loved being able to take Holly and Hannah to the London Zoo, even if the walk there almost killed us. It was priceless! The whole trip was lovely. One of the highlights was going to see "Wicked" a stage show related to the wizard of oz. As I write this I am made aware of the fact that no, we didn't visit Stamford bridge or The Reebok stadium and once again I am aware that I am surrounded by women, but you know what, it's OK. Running around looking at jewellery in the markets or shoe shopping, or doing "Harrods" which was OK because there was a Krispy Kreme there, after a while I took a step back and realised that my family are getting older and that Amy will be finishing school this year and beginning her adult life. I began to appreciate what I had as a father and a husband. I suppose it is good to have times like that because time goes by so quickly and often times I fail to appreciate. I love my family - very much.

It doesn't help that I am writing this blog thousands of miles from them. From being with them 24/7 to now being without them 24/7 is tough. I know how much I rely on them for my joy in life - and I miss them. I know this trip is very necessary and essential for our ministry, but right at this moment I would gladly trade all I have for a family hug.





Woops, kinda got carried away a bit there. This first part of my trip is huge and I am thankful to God that He provides what we need when we most need it. I will not go into detail, but Greg & Shannon Cole has been a place of great solace and peace for me. It is a joy to know that even when separated from my family and friends, in Christ we have family who care throughout this world.





I know that this is a little selfish, but I ask for your prayers. I will find rest knowing that there are brothers and sisters holding me up before God.





Take Care and God bless!

On Your Marks...

I would love to tell you all that the past couple of weeks have been outstanding, but that would not be the full truth. We have been struggling a wee bit with choices and decisions that have been thrust on us. The good thing is that we have had time to reflect and ask if God is active in our lives and if we are useful in His service. We can't deny the fact that God is working through us and that the evidence of His hand is all around us. I am still humbled by the way God used me at Camp this year. I am convinced that He used my heart and words powerfully to influence and encourage the young people at camp. I know I'm not perfect, and I have a very healthy awareness that I am still a broken and fallen human being, but one that is able to have God use and work through. I Will be leaving for America on the 18th August to try and raise some funds so that we can continue in the ministry here. My heart and passion is still very much alive in the work with children and teens, and I still feel that this is the most effective avenue for growth in the church here in Peterhead. With this desire burning in my heart it should help me in times of weakness. I must confess that the thought of having to go and be apart from my family and the work here for 4 weeks does make me feel weak and the thought of having to try and impress on new groups the joy of the work here, will not be easy for me. I am not naturally gifted as a fundraiser! I gain strength from people like Jaye Helm, George Caruthers, my brother George and Glenn Johnston who have been promoting my work on my behalf and helped make sure I am not going into some places totally cold - thanks brothers it means a lot!

At this point I would ask for prayers. There are a couple of things that are weighing heavy on my heart. The first is for my family when I am away and also for the schools and classes that I will not be a part of until late September. Having to make this trip when the schools begin back means I will not have contact with the kids and have things started as normal. This is tough because I will have to get plugged into the schools after the term has begun and this is not as easy to do than getting connected at the start of term. I would appreciate your prayers for my trip over and that I can genuinely present the work here and show how God is moving amongst us.

I am excited about next week! I have the joy of spending some time away with Fenella and the girls to London. We leave on Sunday and get to spend 5 nights in London, so the girls are very excited and can't wait. This will be great for us all!

Well, keep all this in your thoughts and prayers, and God bless!

Holly's joke time at Camp!

Another of our talented daughters - this time Holly tells some jokes! Again Holly was performing at the "Camps got Talent" night at Tayside. Holly was voted second place overall just finishing behind her big sister.

Something Special

We felt you all would really enjoy listening to this. Amy sang at camp as part of the "Camps got Talent" night at Camp Tayside. The song is one from "The Marriage of Figaro."

More great news!

We got a phone call from Robert Phillips yesterday telling us that he became a Christian on Wednesday night. I was blessed to have been able to share some things with Robert during camp. The night Josh Jones became a Christian we stayed up late into the night talking and it is simply fantastic that we are able to be used by God to bring about His will for the lives of all. Robert is the son of Drew and Shena Phillips, a beautiful godly couple, who are two of our dearest friends.

Well, just wanted to share this great news with you all - God bless.

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!