Two - "One of a Kinds!"

I don't know if you have seen those charity donation things where you put a coin in at the side and it runs in circles, slow and big to begin, but the closer it gets to the small hole at the bottom the faster the coin goes? That seems to be our lives this past while. The end of the school term is the hole at the bottom and the closer we got to it the faster the pace of our lives seemed to get. However, everything changed and real perspective was forced upon us by two huge happenings. The first happened on Thursday night with the addition to the family of Wendy Sutherland and the second was the shock news that Angie Park had been found having a massive bleed to the brain and soon after passed away.






Wendy is Donald's wife and Jordan's mum. Wendy has been convicted for a few weeks, but was waiting till Donald returned home from fishing before committing her life to Christ. Donald came home on Wednesday and after the meeting that night we were all standing around at the back of the hall after class talking and it was than that the wheels were set in motion for Wendy's baptism to take place the following night. Wendy wanted my dad to have the honour of baptising her into the family. I was privileged to lead some songs and talking a wee bit before handing over to my dad. Wendy has such a lovely heart! My dad lead some good thoughts and after taking Wendy's confession he led her by the hand down into the water and baptized Wendy into Christ. Wendy is a "hugger" and needless to say there were tears of joy and hugs for all. After the baptism a bunch were invited out to my mum and dad's house for a meal and some warm fellowship - a beautiful night! I can't believe Wendy is now my baby sister in Christ. It is quite amazing to take a step back and take in what God has done in the Sutherland household these past weeks! I am excited and anticipate great things as God uses this lovely family for His glory :)

I still can't believe Angie is no longer with us. It is not easy to put Angie's life into words. Angie, like her dad Alistair, had a heart for kids and made it her mission to encourage and bring a smile to the face of any child she met. You were never in any doubt that Angie's heart belonged to Christ, in spite of a life that was strewn with challenges and trials, Christ was her Lord! On the day of her funeral Michael did an outstanding job in honouring Angie's life and faith. The hall was full and there were all generations there to pay there respects, a true reflection that Angie had this gift to touch all ages with her beauty. The comment that was heard over and over when everyone was together for her funeral was that Angie will now be at home with her dad :)



Just reflecting on this post makes me smile. The church has said "Cheerio" to a life that was "One of a kind" and said "Hello" to another life that is "One of a kind!"



God bless!

Forgot to mention this...

I must mention this as part of the Mission UK entry. You will notice from the picture on the left that Stuart has no glasses on, let me share with you all why... On the first Sunday afternoon of the campaign we decided to play a game of football. There were maybe 14 of us playing on a full size pitch - crazy, but great! Towards the end of the game Stuart Geddes and Craig Nesbit had a bit of a collision. The end result was Stuart scored a great goal, but in getting to the ball first with his head he also met Craig's hand with his face :( Stuarts glasses went flying and it wasn't till he placed them back on his nose that they split in two. We had a good laugh at Stuarts expense, not really considering the actual cost that Stuart would have in replacing his glasses. We later found out that they were £155! Later in the week when I found out how much Stuart was going to have to pay to get his glasses replaced I felt a big bit sorry for him. At one of our group times I relayed Stuart's dilemma to the group and asked of they would be willing to make a small contribution to help offset the cost. On the Wednesday night it was my joy to hand Stuart an envelope with a bunch of money from the group (just short of the total amount). I know this had a huge impact on Stuart and the following morning I got texts from Stuart letting me know that he had picked up his new glasses and how he wanted to thank everyone for being so kind. That night at class Stuart gave the group a Thank You card, Malteesers and Celebrations as a token of his appreciation. This is what Christians do and it is always good to see love in action.

Another BIG moment I forgot to mention was the fact that it was Shaun Main's 1st birthday this past Saturday :) It was during last years campaign that Shaun decided to commit his life to Christ and here we are one year on already! (Shaun is the one on the right side of the picture)

Good times :)

Mission UK - Peterhead 2011

This entry will be pretty much a report on the events during our campaign. This year we had a group of 15 UK young adults as well as 6 of our Peterhead young adults make up the group. We kicked off the campaign on Friday 3rd June and finished up this past Sunday 12th June. The campaign was fantastic!

Everyone arrived in time for the teen class on the Friday night. It was a fitting start to the campaign and there was an instant connection between our teens and the group. When we circled up at the start of the class time the circle was BIG! With the 15 in the group and our own group there was a crowd :) We sang for a long time, everyone had so many requests, great way to set the tone for the week ahead - lovely! Enoch led the devo thought and did a great job.

On the Saturday we got stuck into the school program prep. It was evident early on that we had a great program for the kids. We spent the morning going over what the script should say and how the story should be told. By lunch time we had the parts allocated and were running through the three main acts. The first act was focused on the King and his willingness to give gifts to all. The second scene focused on the "Taker" and his evil role in taking away the gifts the king had given. The third act focused on the children of the king making their choices to follow either the King or the Taker. In between the three acts we put in a time for interactive singing and a question and answer time. The song we chose was "Love is the flag". We did some further rehearsals in the afternoon and broke up for supper.

On the Monday we had our "Sneak Peek" and had a blast! For the first half we set up three stations inside the building, Craft Station - the kids made a crown and decorated them with various glitters and sticky things. Movie Station - Daisha had "The poisoned Chalice" movie. We set up one of the classrooms as a mini theatre with the projector. Active Station - the kids played various versions of tag and tails, using our specially constructed dungeon for those captured. Everything engaged the kids perfectly and going by the kids reactions I think we got the balance just right :) After some hot dogs and sandwiches we spent the rest of the time outside. We had face painting, bouncy castle and slide, Blindfolded Jousting, Fire the Catapult, Pugil sticks. The four hours passed SO quickly and before we knew it the parents were in the car park ready to pick up their children! The day was very good and there were so many opportunities to make connections with the kids and share friendship. After the children were safely away there then began a wee water fight. It is maybe a sign of old age, but I didn't seem to have my usual appetite for giving and receiving a soaking. The teens however, had plenty appetite and after about 45 minutes we called a truce and got everywhere tidied up and then went home for supper. In the evening we got together for a couple of hours to build more confidence into the school program, ready for our first school early the following morning.

Between Tuesday and Friday we visited 9 schools, two more than last year. This year we had the joy of going to Longside School where Mr Imlah, formerly of Central School, is now the head teacher. We were also delighted to be with Buchanhaven School this year too. It didn't take long to realise the story we presented to the schools was connecting with the kids and the message was being brought home powerfully. The part that got the kids most excited and engaged was when the confused princess asked the audience what she should do, either choose to join the "Taker" and do like she does or to follow the example of the king and be like him. I have never seen such passion expressed in an assembly before! The kids were shouting and pointing in the direction of the king to persuade the princess to make the right choice and follow him. When the princess would walk toward the Taker, the kids would scream "NO!" The message of the assembly was so simple, yet managed to get pull a great response from the children :) I will never forget the way every school responded to that part of the play. At the end of the enactment of the story we would ask the children questions to see if they made the connection between the king being in fact God, and they did every time. They also got the point we were trying to make via the prince and princesses in regard to the choices we have to make between right and wrong. I love thinking back and knowing that through the story we were able to elevate God in the minds of every child and challenge them to think about the fact that we are ALL sons and daughters of the King! I need to mention a couple of memorable moments linked to our times in the schools. Firstly, at Central, which was our first school, the drama teacher asked if the cast would stay and help teach her class! So, the group were able to re-tell the story using the primary 6's as the cast. It was a lovely additional blessing. Secondly, when we were at Longside School the school sang, "My God is so Big" for us. A true testimony to the leadership of the head teacher, Mr Imlah :) Thirdly, when we were at Anna Ritchie School we were treated like royalty and the group loved visiting the classes and getting to talk with the kids more intimately. I can't mention everything that the group were blessed by, but it was clear the children there touched our lives deeply. To sum up our week in the schools it would be true to say that the group gave selflessly of themselves, but were blessed richly in return!

We had some "Coffee Shop" down times where we just relaxed, talked and debriefed. On the Tuesday night we shared a time of fellowship down there. The shop was full and there was plenty of laughter and friendship. We really appreciated Paul, the owner of the Coffee Shop, opening after hours for us - THANK YOU :)

Possibly the highlight for me over the week was the Friday Night. The group decorated the Fellowship Hall. What a transformation! There were candles everywhere and stars dangling from the ceiling. You really did walk through and say, "WOW!" Before the guests were shown to their tables they had to go and get their photo's taken first. They walked up the red carpet and were seated on their thrones. It was so much fun. The cooks had spent much of the day preparing the food and they didn't disappoint. We had chicken stuffed with cheese and wrapped in ham, with salad and cheesy potato. For desert there was a choice of Pavlova or Sticky Toffee Pudding - truly a feast fit for a king! During the meal there was a talent show to entertain the guests. We had a magic act and singing. I am not exaggerating when I say that the quality was outstanding! It was a beautiful night and our church was truly made to feel special by the service and love shown to them by the group :)

On the Saturday we had a PICNIC! We went out to Crichie Park and spent most of the day there. The weather was not to great, but the day was radiant! There were all generations there from the families who come to the Mother and Toddlers group that meets on Friday mornings right through to our golden oldies. There were a couple of memorable highlights worthy of mention. Firstly, the races! We got a bunch of mums and toddlers to race. We had the 5 through 10 age group racing and then for some fun we paired up the kids with the young adults for some silly races - Happy Times! Secondly, we had a big game of rounders! Alison Geddes, Stuart, Ryan and Claire's mum, challenged me to pick an opposing team. What a laugh! With the grass being a wee bit wet, due to the light rain, there was a lot of sliding going on! In the end Alison claimed victory, but I'm not so sure we were even keeping a record of the runs scored. The day was simply filled with fun and fellowship and you can't get better than that :)

I must mention Paddy's lessons! Paddy very kindly agreed to run a series of lessons throughout the week that tied in with the theme. Our souls were well fed! The lesson that stood out in my memory was one that talked about God as the author of the story. During the lesson Paddy put up some photo's of people we knew and have strong connections with. He asked us to think about the person and we shared some of the memories and ways our lives have connected over the years. Paddy then put up a slide with only a white outline of a person and inside the outline was the word God and a question mark. Paddy asked us to fill the blank space with what we thought about God. It was quite powerful at the time and stopped everyone in their tracks. We were challenged to ask ourselves if we had a relationship with God or simply information about who He is. I can sit and listen to Paddy teach till the cows come home!

In closing. I am excited to see what "Increase" God will bring knowing a great deal of watering and planting has been done for the good of the Kingdom in the name of the KING.

P.S. We even let the group become honorary members of our wall and trier hands are now proudly displayed for us to look back in years to come and remember with joy the campaign we shared this year :)

God Bless.

He gives more Grace!

Thought it was about time I got this updated! Looking back over the past few weeks it is a bit weird being at this side and knowing that God has brought us safe thus far - again! There were times I really struggled to see the light at the end off the tunnel, but as ever God has provided the strength and grace when required to get through :) I really don't know where to begin...

I will start with what was to be a great honour, but at the same time one of my biggest challenges. The last time Fenella and I were up in Buckie preaching, we spent a good part of the afternoon visiting with Ian and Avril Bowie. We did not know that this would be the last time we would see Ian this side of eternity. We knew that Ian had been fighting cancer for the past year, but we were not prepared for the phone call just over a week later letting us know that he had passed away. Over the course of the phone call I was asked if I would take the funeral service. I felt instantly humbled at the thought that the family considered me capable of honouring Ian's life in this way. I remember getting off the phone and feeling so overwhelmed. It wasn't until Fenella got home from work and we got a chance to talk that things began to sink in. I just couldn't get my head around the question, "How do you do justice to the giant of a man that was Ian Bowie?" By faith, I rested in the thought that, of course I would do whatever I could to help the family. I spent the following day with the family up in Cullen. The day reminded me of how good a father and husband Ian was and also how much I loved this family. Fenella came with me on the next visit :) Avril had invited a bunch of their closest friends for a meal and we spent the day getting to know the precious things about Ian and Avril's life with the people who who were there through the thick and thin of it. What a blessing! As if it were not clear enough, the beautiful picture of Ian and Avril's life together radiated in the stories and conversations and left me with no doubt that Ian truly lived! This was to form the basis of the sentiments I would begin the service with, "It's not the length, but the depth of a life that matters." We shared and focused on Ian a s a Husband and a Father and of his worthiness to claim both titles because he truly loved his family! One of Ian's close friends spoke of Ian's love for the sea and about what Ian's friendship meant to him. Alan also touched on Ian's faith and made this comment, "I was talking with Ian about the great hope that we have in Christ, when he corrected me and said, "Not hope, but ASSURANCE!" Alan certainly honoured Ian and the family with his words. Towards the close of the service I remember having this mixed emotion of knowing I had said enough, but at the same time feeling we had only scratched the surface and there was so much more that could be said. After the service all I wanted to do was find the arms of Fenella and be reassured. I pray that Ian and the family were honoured.

Let me shift to the other extreme! I must share our Friday night lesson from a couple of weeks ago. Donald and I came up with this idea that we would have some fun with the lesson, since the previous weeks had been a bit challenging. We split the group into four smaller groups and gave them a piece of paper and pen to document what they were about to witness. Donald and I then made an exit to transform ourselves into two VERY silly looking people. We made our entrance and were met with some very shocked and confused faces. We looked at each other from across the room and made it obvious to the kids that we liked the way we looked and thought everyone else was boring. We went around the room doing some silly stuff and than made our exit. When we returned to teach the point of our little" charade" everyone was still in shock. We asked everyone what they had written down regarding what they had witnessed. The statements were ranging from witnessing something "very weird and disturbing" to other groups detailing everything about our costume and antics. We then went on to share what we were doing. We wanted the group to get a handle on why there are 4 different accounts to the life of Jesus and why they are written in different ways. The other point we wanted to make was our desire for the group to stand out and be different in regard to their faith and that in God's eyes they are as obvious to Him as Donald and I were from the crowd in the room. I have to say that I love Donald's sense of fun and his desire to make this connection with the group. Donald had our little performance recorded and I am informed it is on You Tube, but for fear of my integrity being compromised I will not be making the link public :) Donald even titled his clip "B.A.D" Billy And Donald!

I wish you all could see the trouble I am having to pick out stuff to put in here! There are a bunch of stuff that I must rest in the fact that God knows :) I have to mention our journey so far with JR, Dashia, Gideon and Naomi Sheets. They are now pretty much settled into some kind or routine and have their body clocks adjusted to our time. This is now 4 weeks we have been "Getting to know each other" and we like what we see :) We have three months to get enough of a picture to see if we are the right church them and if they are the right family for us. I must qualify that statement by saying that it is obvious that JR and Daisha are a kingdom minded couple and that their focus over the past years has been to prepare for ministry, so their hearts are not in question. We need to know if they are excited about what God is doing here and what God could do if they were here and we need to know if we are excited about what God can do through them, for His church here (hope you can make sense of that). May God continue to make the picture clearer for all of us.

I am still spending much of my time during the day between ministering in the schools and spending time with our teens. These past days it has been so encouraging to see many of them get their sleeves rolled up and help up at the building with stuff for our campaign that starts on Friday :) I can't believe the time has gone so fast and our "Mission UK 2011" begins in three days time!!! We are going to have a Ball! We have pretty much got everything done, but a couple of loose ends to tie up. I was able to meet with David Emslie and Paddy Sullivan yesterday to reassure each other that we are good to go! Jordan Sutherland came with me for the day as we met David and Paddy in Dundee and then went down to Edinburgh to empty Amy's flat and take everything home. Jordan was great company and I am enjoying getting closer to my baby brother in Christ :)

I must quickly mention about the fact that we are growing and that we have visitors coming to church! Wendy (The Human Dynamo) Sutherland is fast growing on our affections and her lovely nature is leading others to come in contact with the church. We are enjoying getting to know Helen, Sam, Kirsty and Chloe! They are a magic bunch and have found the church through Wendy's involvement. Sam and Kirsty are teenagers who are coming to pretty much everything going!

God Bless!

For the greater good...

The title of this entry is something I have had to remind myself constantly these past days. It seems that the past few weeks have been very different as far as what has consumed my time and efforts. We got a wee bit of a scare a couple of weeks ago to find out that someone had hacked into my "Facebook" account and circulated a very clever hoax about Fenella being rushed to hospital and needing immediate surgery. Of course, this was going to cost money which needed to be found immediately. I am thankful that some friends, who know us well, had picked up on some of the discrepancies within the hoax and raised the alarm. At the time we were in Aberdeen and couldn't do anything, other than get in touch with my brother George, who was able to let College Church (our Sponsoring Church) know for sure it was a hoax. It was not till we got home and saw the list of comments left by concerned people that we were aware how far reaching this hoax had gone. After contacting a bunch of friends to confirm the hoax I called the "Western Union" to see how we could shut down this scam. They were extremely helpful and withing 10 minutes we had checked to see if funds had been sent to this thief, to our relief there was not! They then shut down the account to ensure no further activity would be possible and passed the case on to their fraud squad for further investigation. So, let me apologise if you were preyed on by this scam and thank you all for the concern shown.

As many of you may be aware we have been making plans for JR and Daisha Sheets to be with us over the summer. They are due to arrive in just over a weeks time. Ministry can be challenging at times :) I have spent much of the past week on the phone to the UK Borders Agency or trying to comply with their MANY requirements for gaining the appropriate visa for Jr and Daisha to be with us. It is no longer easy to invite missionaries from the USA. I have to mention one positive throughout all this trying process. We have gained an insight into the character of JR and Daisha. We have been thrown many "Spanners in the Works" during these past weeks and there have been times I have been at the end of my tether, but seeing how JR and Daisha have dealt with and done what was required has been testament to their hearts and their desire for the kingdom. This journey has given us all reason to be encouraged. Even though there have been obstacles, God is faithful and we have seen His hand provide when things have been desperate. Prayers are still needed, in light of Jr and Daisha coming, as their applications are still going through the British Embassy for approval at this moment. We anticipate a great summer :)

Although much of our energy has been taken up by admin and talking to officials there has still been plenty of opportunity to minister. I have spent a fair bit of time and made a few visits to help council and encourage. I have also been able to spend some time with our young Christan's and in particular Donald. I am getting to know him well and enjoy any excuse to get together. We met up to clean the building yesterday after our Easter fun with the Monday night bunch and then nipped out to Crichie to book the park for our church Picnic. In all so glad he is part of the family now.

Speaking of Monday night, we did have a brilliant time. I love it when the kids faces are smiling from the time they enter the door till the time they are picked up. Fenella boiled a heap of eggs ready for the class. After our usual 20 minutes of chill out and games we got everyone together and set out tables ready for painting the eggs. There were some pretty good ones. Everyone enjoyed being creative for a while, as well as getting a bit messy (hence the reason for Donald and I coming the morning after to clean up). Next on the agenda was an egg hunt. We sent them in groups to find the eggs and timed them to see which group would return with one egg each in the shortest time. The youngest group went first and found the eggs in the quickest time :) I had filled a jar with as many mini eggs as I could and asked everyone to take a guess at how many there were. It was cute when the time came to reveal who had the nearest guess, as the winner was Abi, one of the younger kids who come. I must say I was quietly happy that Abi won. She is going to hide the jar under her pillow when she gets home so that no-one pinches them :) Ethian won the trophy for colouring in this week. Both he and Abi raised the bar this week when they not only coloured in their picture, but laminated it too! Maybe going a wee bit too far... Wendy told me he was taking the trophy up to school to show his class. We had two new kids tonight, Siobhan and Dylan. I must tell you about Ethian. I was in visiting and found out that he has a powerpoint presentation ready to share with his class at school about why they need to come to Monday Night Class. He went off to school with his memory stick ready to ask his teacher if he could share it with the class! Now if that is not evangelism, I don't know what is!!! Ethian has brought a bunch of his friends from school to class. It makes me so happy to know that he loves coming enough to invite his friends and in fact his whole class.

A couple of weeks ago I had the joy of heading down to Arbroath to the young adults retreat. We were to meet for the first time as a group and discuss our plan for the schools program during our campaign in June. The group are lovely and I am Hugely excited about working for the good of our community with them. Our focus for the group will be primary age kids and our theme will be, "Sons and Daughters of the King." We want to get the message out to the kids that they are all children of God. We got some of the ideas for what we wanted the program to include and how we wanted to interact with the kids during the assembly time. We will have opportunity to visit with every school in Peterhead including an additional 2 schools out-with the town. This means influencing every child between the age of 4 and 11 in Peterhead :))) Please pray for our ability to connect and leave an obvious and impacting message relating to God and His love for us all. It will be a big group this year, in excess of 20! With this in mind we will split the group and have a service element to our focus. It gives us a new challenge this year, but one that will give the chance to do much good. EXCITED!

While the school's were out for the Easter break we went down to Edinburgh for the weekend. We had planned to go in order that we could hear Beth perform with the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra at the Usher Hall. Beth had been rehearsing with the orchestra for 10 days before the concert and the results were amazing! In the opening piece Beth had a big solo on the Cor Anglais. She was outstanding! All the family were there to watch and cheer. Amy almost deafened us with her outburst of screaming and praise! We are very proud of our little first oboe :)

God bless!

Welcome to the family Donald!

I finished up my last post commenting that God may not be quite finished yet and today's events have backed this up! This afternoon I went round to talk with Donald as we had arranged earlier. I knew he was close to the kingdom, but didn't know how our time together would work out. It was not long into our talk when his honesty about exactly where he was, in relation to taking the next step, was made clear. Donald, like the rest of us, has a healthy respect for the "sinful nature" that is constantly waging war against us. He was worried that in his own mind he was not perfect enough to commit to Christ. In response I commented about God knowing our innermost being and that His desire is to transform us. Would Donald ever be perfect enough? The sooner Christ is accepted and the Spirit begins to convict and challenge, the sooner his life would begin to be free from the fear of sin and the guilt of falling short. I asked if he was watching one of his sons go through a tough time if he could just stand back and watch, or if he would get right in there to protect and provide. We talked about God's desire to give us, as His children, what we need to bring about the best in us. We talked about living with hope and forgiveness rather that fear and sin. I simply asked which of the two paths he would rather choose. From that point on there was clarity in Donald's voice and his thinking. I asked if he were to commit his life to Christ, when would that be. His response was immediate and deadly serious, "NOW!" His mind was made up and all the wrestling over the past weeks was at an end! We prayed together and then began the joy of sharing the news. I had to smile when he phoned Wendy to tell her. I could hear her scream from the other side of the room :) It was then a bit of a blur as we worked on getting things organised. A little side point here, I think Donald and I share a similar trait of forgetfulness! As I had no car I needed to get to Fenella's work to get the car, but on the way we were so busy talking that we were driving in the totally wrong area of the town. We both looked at each other and asked the same question, "Where are we supposed to be going?" Anyway, at 7.00pm we all got to the building and shared another heavenly moment witnessing Donald become a child of the King! I talked for a wee bit before taking his confession. I wanted to read Romans 6, but my eyes were blurry and I asked someone to read for me. Jordan (Donald's son) stood up and read - it was amazing! I loved being able to listen and to the words as he read. It was a special moment! It was my honour to then take Donald's confession. Donald could hardly make the "Yes" audible, but his expression and tears spoke louder than his voice ever could. We prayed and took the few steps down into the water and said goodbye to old Donald Sutherland, but then said hello to the new and Spirit filled child of the most high God! I have to comment on what Shaun said after we got changed and were mingling with everyone. Shaun who is 18 welcomed Donald who is, well a bit older, with these words, "I now have a baby brother!" It was priceless! Jordon caught on to the concept and pointed out that his dad was now his baby brother too!

It is a joy to know that we now have a family committed to God and a home where God is now honoured. I am excited to see how God will use them in the plans for His kingdom here in Peterhead.

Our God He is ALIVE!

.

Another New Creation :)

Exciting or what? Rachel committed her life to Christ last night. The Friday night previous Rachel and Thomas came and told me they thought she was ready. We decided to meet up on the Thursday night to talk and find out exactly what they meant and in deed to explore Rachel's expression of faith. At the outset I was a little unsure whether Rachel was where she needed to be as far as understanding what her commitment involved. However, on the Thursday it became clear that she was convicted and was totally ready. We spent the night talking about how important Christ is and making sure Rachel started out her journey knowing it is about getting Jesus in the right place first and all the other stuff will be added over time. There was much tears and honesty about where sin and bad choices can lead us, but there was much more talk about hope and what we have to anticipate knowing that forgiveness is ours and that the Spirit will be active in keeping our path close to pattern of Christ. It was obvious from that time that Rachel was ready and passionate about her choice to become a Christian. On the Friday night we talked again toward the end of class and it became clear when I asked if she thought Sunday was too early to consider baptism. Rachel's face instantly lit up and and said, "Yes! Yes!" So, we met to study on the Saturday afternoon and made plans for the Sunday night to be when she would make her obedience to the gospel complete. On the Sunday night there was a great atmosphere following on from the joy of last Sunday and Jordan's baptism. We sang some of Rachel's favorite songs beginning with "Refiners Fire." When I took Rachel's confession, her response was beautiful! It was as though she couldn't express it quick enough and once her affirmation was out, she shed a few tears. We shared a prayer together and went down into the water to witness Rachel becoming a new creation! I have to mention something a wee bit funny. As Rachel went down the first couple of steps she slipped and almost went all the way under without my help!!! We had a laugh about it after and Thomas commented that he was expecting something like that to happen! I am so delighted for Rachel. Thomas and Rachel will now be walking in the same direction, with Christ as their life and the church as their support - they have a firm foundation :)

The amazing news is that I don't think God is quite done yet! This morning someone stated that they are seriously close to the kingdom and I pray that tomorrow afternoon we will have more good news to share! It has been a joy to watch this individual get drawn into the presence of God through the influence and involvement of predominantly young people. It is exceptional to think that our young are having this kind of impact!

As you may be aware God is doing marvelous things!