Easter Fun...

Had to put in a quick update from our class last night. We had a "let your hair down" kind of night with an Easter fun night. Alex and I spent much of the morning getting ready for the evenings class. We hard boiled 60 eggs in preparation for the kids to have some creative time painting and decorating them. We then set about shopping for chocolate eggs to place all over the floor of the hall. We came up with the idea of a Easter egg hunt with a twist. The kids were in pairs each holding one end of a baking tray. Once the hunt began they were not allowed to take their hands off the tray and come up with ingenious ways to get the eggs onto their trays. This turned out to be a great hit with the kids and there was much fun watching as some eggs would roll off as they tried to get more onto the tray. In the end Hannah and Nina ended up with the most eggs - 41! We also did a twist on the old ducking for apples Halloween game and had the kids ducking for cream eggs in a ball pit rather that water. This was great fun too. The time flew and before we knew it it was 8.00 and time to get the kids off home.

I must mention something really good. Owen, came tonight for the first time! Owen is the 5 year old son of the mum who phoned to enquire about the classes after the teens had been out delivering some flyers about the classes for children. He loved the class and wanted to sleep at the building! His mum stayed the whole time to see what went on and it was really nice to get to know her and let her see the church in action. Owen cant wait for the Easter break to be over, even though they have not started yet, so he can come back to class. We had a great bunch of teens helping tonight and their input really helped make the various activities run smoothly - a big thanks to you all!

God bless.

Following on...

Coming on the coattails of the previous entry...

It was my privilege to be able to serve the Buckie Church a couple of Sundays ago. Heading up to Buckie is always a heart warming thing. They may only be a handful of Christians, but there is such a good spirit in the place that it's always a joy to share the message there. On the way up I was stopped in my tracks at the beauty of the coastline. Leaving Peterhead it was overcast and grey, but just before turning into Banff the skies were blue and the sunshine was radiant - truly gorgeous! The night before Hannah had a very heavy nose bleed and was pretty faint and weak, so Fenella couldn't come up with me. I always feel at a loose end when she is not with me. Holly decided she would come with me which turned out to be really nice. In the afternoon we took a trip into Cullen to get some "Legendary" ice cream and while we were there we took the chance to visit Avril and Ian Bowie. Ian was away in Nigeria, but Avril, her sister Irene and a bunch of the family were there. Holly had a great time colouring and designing quilts with Avril and Edward. It was good to catch up with young Ian and his girlfriend Mag's. They have all had a pretty horrendous last couple of years and it was good to just visit and let them know we are thinking about them. Bill Pirrie was looking well after his surgery. He is such a giant in the faith and is one of my favourite Christians. Holly and I got to spend time with Grace and Alan Johnstone who fed us and spoiled us big time. Samantha was in on the deal too and it was good to see and hear all her plans and life stuff. Grace and Alan are tow of the nicest people! While we were away into Culllen Grace made a bunch of "Tablet" or "Toffee." Anyone who knows me well knows I love toffee! Grace gave us a big old tub to share with the family, but on the way home we were thinking up ways to secretly keep it to ourselves - sorry family love you, but it was toffee!!! When we left the Buckie Church the old saying came true, "Going with the intention to bless and coming away knowing you have been the one receiving the biggest blessing!"

Been working on our Campaign 2010 with our local Scottish (and a couple of English) team. I have to say I am excited! Have got a chance to work with David Emslie throughout the planning stages and he's a great guy! Have known him for years, but have really only got to KNOW him through this campaign. We have the schedule done and the group formed. We have 7 schools signed up for assembly programs and our focus on young adults is taking shape too. Our theme will be "Helium" with the idea of being lifted up. Our focus will be teaching the kids the importance of doing and saying things that lift others up rather than burden and weigh them down. In all everything is coming together well. Our next group time will be at the young adults retreat next month - excited!!!

On the home front things have been exciting too. We were made aware just how gifted Beth is on the oboe when we went to her 1st concert with the music school she has been attending this past year. The quality was up there. I am no musical critic, but there was obviously something special on show throughout the whole nights performance and Beth was right at home amongst it all. The moment that got me though was when she was playing at the Aberdeen Music hall with the Aberdeenshire North Concert Band last week. She had a solo during "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the sound was amazing! Holly and Hannah have just performed this morning in the strings section of the Aberdeenshire Junior Orchestra and again Fenella and I were delighted to see them be a part of something that is beautiful. Both played their violins beautifully and they looked to be enjoying their performance. What a joy to be surrounded by all this beauty! Amy is in the final stages of her rehearsals for her part as "Iolanthe" in the opera. Most days we hear her go over the songs at the piano and even with the doors closed her voice just fills the whole house. She truly has a beautiful voice. Amy has also just received an unconditional offer for a place in Edinburgh University's music programme. She is excited! And finally throughout all this frantic family activity there is a loving mother encouraging the girls and making sure everything is as it needs to be - love you Fenella!

Well, that big splurge of information sort of gives you an update on our ministry and family life.

God is great and we are blessed.

Long time no see...

Life is very full these days and finding a quiet moment to sit and focus on this report is proving to be tough. If it were not for our friends in America who are supporting our efforts here I dare say I would choose not to get on here. However, it is because of our love for the churches involved in keeping us going that I take this wee while out to update on our ministry. Upon reflection I have to say things are going well. In the classes at church there has been fewer dramas and more focused effort on the younger ones part and as you will see further into this update the involvement from the older teens especially has been refreshing.

I will begin with a snippet from our last 3rd Sunday Night. Alex, John and I got things together and shared a great night. John welcomed everyone and led the singing while Alex and I shared the message. Alex started out by showing the Tiger Woods "Apology" and talked about man's sinful nature. I followed Alex with the question, "Do you want to live a life of Brokenness or Blessing?" We concluded with the truth that you can only find the blessing if you are following the right path. We had a good number there and again we had a bunch of the teens there. It is now part of their lifestyle to come on the 3rd Sunday.


On Friday night's we made a change to the format during our class time. For the pas 3 weeks we have simply set a foundation with a 5-10 minute intro and then split the group into smaller groups for discussion. This might seem commonplace to you, but the difference here is that we challenged the older teens to lead the discussion groups - beautiful! They have responded in a really positive way! When we ask for group leaders there are a bunch who step up and take the lead. John, Alex and I just mingle from group to group helping out a little if needed. We all come together again after about 15 minutes for discussion and exploration. Last week we discussed the question, "How do you know God is real?" Alex, John and I shared why we were convinced in the reality of God and were blessed to hear some of the teens "Faith Blocks." Let me say with honesty that some of the younger ones who have not been coming for long have at times been silly and struggled with the groups, but the evidence on the whole is that there is depth in many of their young minds.

I must quickly mention about last night. We met with the older teens and shared a good time together. We wanted Andy Forman, who is leaving on Sunday to start army training, to know how much we appreciate him and we all wrote messages in the pages of a new bible as a gift for him to remember that he has friends who care and who have shared lives over the past 4 years. After the Bible signing we then started on our second phase for the evening which was to go out and distribute flyer's to the houses that are close to the building. We wanted to promote our primary school classes on Monday and Wednesday nights. When I am in the schools many children are excited about coming to classes, but when they go home and tell their parents it is obvious that they don't know anything about us or about the classes. This motivated Alex and I to spend a little time putting together a flyer to inform the parents about the classes. Already this morning I got a call from one of the parents asking if their 5 year old son can start coming!!! What a great age to have him begin with us! I can't wait to tell the teens that their service is being blessed already!

I have to go get ready for Meethill School - will write more later today - God willing!