Easter Weekend Remembered!

Wow, right now the heat is killing us over here. I know that it has been hot back home .. an answer to prayer to many of you! But here, we are praying for clouds and rain ... funny world eh? Keith was telling me today that his thermometer touched 40C (104F) inside!

I know that Easter has come and gone, but I forgot to share about the wonderful Cornerstone weekend we had at Sefton Village on April 7-8. We met on Sunday afternoon and had an afternoon of games and sports. The Helga Mosey aunties won the volleyball tournament ... but I did point out that they were playing 'at home!!'


The church supplied the meals for our members and we enjoyed fellowship. On the Saturday night we had great Celebration in the Fire Centre and Keith preached. Afterwards, we had a fun/talent night followed by a bonfire. Check out our Cornerstone actors!


We woke up at 4:30am and started our Sunrise service at 5:15am. The guys took up all the instruments and we had a great worship time on the volleyball court! The sun rose and we were filled with thankfulness and awe. We went straight to the pool for our Easter Sunday Baptismal service... yup, at 6am!!!


I had the joy of baptising around 20 new believers. Fantastic. One funny moment ... one of the guys getting baptised had just come from the hospital where he had a small operation to his arm. He was desperate to get baptised but wanted to make sure his arm did not go under the water! (see pic below) I told him we believed in total submersion and that we would baptise his left arm at the next baptismal service!! Pastor Marlou dunked him while I held his hand in the air...the things they didn't teach you at Bible School!


After breakfast we had our Easter celebration and it was full of testimonies, songs and drama. I preached about the Power of the Cross, and around 12 people responded to the Lord for salvation. I have discovered that when I preach about the cross ... amazing things happen and people always respond to the message. We prayed for many who were sick. What a wonderful weekend we had. What a celebration!

Jesus .. STILL IS the resurrection and the Life! Let me share an amazing story that proves that there are no hopeless cases with God! In one of my first ever blogs, I asked you all to pray for a lady called Pastora Julie ... remember her? She ministered in the mountains around an hour from where we lived and had planted a church there. She became very sick after the birth of her 3rd child and the pain would not go away.

She went for tests at the beginning of 2006 and they found a huge malignant tumour. She underwent two sessions of Chemotherapy, but her body was too weak. In April, the Doctor sent her home to die. he wrote in her records that she was a 'hopeless case' and that he did not expect her to live very long.

When I found this out, I felt in my spirit that she would be healed! We texted her to come to the House of Refuge in the Fire Centre. They had to carry her in - she could barely speak and was so weak. As me and two other Pastors prayed, God showed us we must rebuke the spirit of death. As we did this, Pastora Julie felt something happen in her body.

For three months we prayed and prayed ... and she got stronger and stronger! She began to walk, her hair began to grow and her appetite returned. When we came back to Scotland last July .. she went back to her family ... healed!

Well, I hadn't seen Pastora Julie for nine months - but at the Easter Convention we saw her again! She said to me, "Do you know who I am" This threw me, as I did not have a clue. But when she smiled, I knew. I could not believe it! Her hair was beautiful and she had put on weight. She was doing great and feeling strong. Isn't that amazing?

He was, still is and always will be ... the resurrection and the Life! Trust Him....

SOS '07

In these next few paragraphs I want to tell you about an amazing man with an amazing ministry here in the Philippines. His name is Ray Calusay (pictured below with his grandson and very handsome friend!) and he comes from a place called Roxas City which is located way down south in the island of Davao. He has been an AoG pastor for many years and is now the General Superintendent for the Philippines AoG (the top man!) Yet, his heart and passion is still winning people to Christ and planting churches. He is a great preacher and a real 'people' person. He is a funny guy but with a huge heart. I have met him many times and have come to really love and respect Ray and his family.


Many years ago, Ray cried out to the Lord for a new church planting vision and strategy. He saw that the old models we worked with had lost their emphasis and effectiveness. The Lord put in his heart and spirit a new ministry called 'Summer of Service' or SOS. The basic principle and ethos behind this ministry is that volunteers are gathered from various churches. They have intensive training for one week and then they are put into Ministry Groups according to their giftings, character and ministries. Then, they are sent out to a town or village or city where they will plant a brand new church ... in three weeks! The people give up their entire vacation time ... to start a church. At the end, a Pastor and leadership team are left to continue the work and grow the church.

It has been going for many years in Roxas City, and when I asked pastor Ray how many churches they had planted he calmly told me "between 190-200". Gulp. Makes me kinda feel I haven't even reached the starting line!!


We adopted SOS into our Bible School curriculum three years ago and this year our students joined another 80 volunteers to plant three new churches in Northern Luzon. They finished their intensive training on Sunday and on Monday all the jeepneys rolled up to take them to their places of ministry for the next three weeks. They will be doing door to door ministry, starting cell groups, leading people to the Lord and on the last Sunday they will have the first opening service in each location. The teams are so exited and you can almost feel their joy. What an adventure. Most of the volunteers are teenagers or early twenties. Tremendous.

It got me thinking about back home. How much response would we get if we challenged people in the UK to give up 3-4 weeks of their holidays to plant some churches? I thought that maybe SOS is only for Filipinos in the Philippines. But Pastor Ray told me that they have successfully adapted SOS in Australia! Mmmm...

Our concept of church planting is people 'coming in' and doing their thing. I wonder if we will ever realize that our greatest resource is not finances, technology, good musical instruments, great venues ... but our own people who are willing to sacrifice a bit of luxury to find a bit of destiny.

One day ... I would love to see this happen in the UK.... what do you think???

Selah ...

13 ... And Certainly Not Out!

Yesterday we had a happy day ... we celebrated the 13th Birthday of Pepito Castigo here in the Children's Home. He is a trophy of grace and he has touched the lives of so many people who have met him. He is the best friend of my son Josiah and even though there is a great difference in age .. there is not so great a difference in height! They are inseparable (even sharing the chair at Pepito's Birthday Party! - above) and Pepito feels like an adopted son because he is in our house so much!

He has almost gone to be with the Lord on a few occasions but the Lord has spared his life. I believe his life has a purpose and Pepito is doing great in Cornerstone Church. There are great days and good plans ahead .. but there are also difficulties and big issues because of his health problems. But he is doing well health wise. He has a very strict diet and has only a few tablets to take daily now. He still gets regular monthly check ups with Dr Francisco.

We are desperate to find Pepito a family. We had a family who really wanted him but two years have passed and there are no signs of progress. He is available for international adoption now and so we are praying that this special little guy finds a place to call home.

If you have a message to send to Pepito on his birthday, or if you have met him and want to share about him ... then please leave 'comment' at the bottom of the blog.

We have a lovely close friend from Cornerstone Singapore called Maureen. She has been to Sefton many times and last year she did her 2 month placement from Bible School at Sefton. She loved Pepito and wrote a wee article for her church magazine about him. I leave you with her words to challenge and inspire you.

Cry of Faith: The Story of Pepito Castigo Junior

By Maureen Low

Pepito Castigo Junior was five months old, malnourished and ill when he was admitted to the Helga Mosey Children’s Home in Santiago, Philippines. This ministry was run by Pastor Mark Ritchie and his wife, Mary.

Four years ago, when Pepito was eight years old, he came face to face with death. He fell very ill and was admitted to a hospital for two weeks but showed no improvement. His frail body continued to swell and bloat up. The hospital discharged Pepito and Pastors Mark and Winston decided to take Pepito to another hospital in the city of Manila.

On the way to Manila, Pepito suddenly lost his sight and suffered a seizure. To prevent him from biting off his tongue, Pastor Mark immediately stuck his wallet into Pepito’s mouth. The pastors were at a loss as they were travelling on a mountain and the closest hospital was more than an hour’s drive away in San Jose. Both pastors wept and cried out to God for help.

They finally arrived in San Jose but were not able to locate the hospital. Pastor Mark approached a man for directions who turned out to be a security guard at the hospital that they were looking for. The man offered to direct them to the hospital where Pepito was admitted to the emergency ward. The guard followed them into the hospital but subsequently disappeared. The pastors wanted to thank him but were unable to find this man. Interestingly, no one in the security department knew who he was. Could he have been an angel?

As Pepito had suffered a seizure for a long period of time, the doctor feared that his brain could have been damaged and proposed a transfer to Manila for further checks. When Pastor Mark heard the news, a sudden surge of faith began to rise up within him and he declared that, “Nothing that happens tonight will damage the life of this child!”

Pastor Winston rushed down to the City Hall for an ambulance and with God’s favour, a paramedic agreed to send Pepito to Manila and one of the nurses accompanied them in the ambulance.

In Manila, Pepito was warded at the Intensive Care Unit and it was discovered that 67 per cent of his kidneys had been damaged. Pepito was treated and slowly the swelling subsided, with no trace of damage to be found in his brain as well. This was indeed a miracle!

Many missionary friends of Pastor Mark came to know about Pepito and soon he had many visitors, some of whom blessed him with money. One morning, Pepito asked Pastor Mark for the money and explained that he wanted to give the money to the girl lying next to his bed, as she had no money for her treatment. Pastor Mark was very touched that, despite his own ordeal, Pepito could still show love and care for others. Finally, after three weeks of treatment, Pepito was discharged from the hospital.

Today, Pepito is 13 years old and up and running. He is currently on medication and a strict diet but despite his physical conditions and limitations, Pepito has not uttered a word of complaint. He wears a smile across his face all the time.

Bits and Bobs ...

Well, over the last few days we have had the old Internet problems again... off for hours/days and then on for a few minutes! Aaaaggh. So annoying. Anyway, like my granny used to say, "Ah well, you can't make a better of it." I am hoping that this is a temporary blip and that normal service will soon be resumed. Pray this is the case for my (and Keith's!) sanity.

Apart from that, we are doing well. This is a bit of a catch up blog and I hope to get back on course with my blogging next week. Why do I always seem to say the same thing every week? I should know by now that there are no 'normal' weeks here at Sefton and you never know what is around the corner.

Here is some up to date news and reports:

* Well, recently Mary and I celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary! Haven't I ... I mean she... eh, I mean we done well! We were married in Wick on March 30th 1996 and the amazing thing is that is the exact place and date of Mary's mum & dad's wedding 30 years previous! Imagine my surprise (and horror!) when we found out that the gentleman who was going to take our photos was the same guy who took my in-laws 30 years earlier!! But, he was very good and the pictures were great. If you are reading this and you were at our wedding, why don't you 'comment' on anything you remember about the weekend. It would be good for us to reminisce!

As you look back on married life, there are many milestones - our honeymoon, our first house, our ministries, our call to the Philippines, our first child ... followed by our second, the vision of God for our lives etc. Yet, alongside these there are many difficult days, things to work out and through, trials and difficulties. I just thank the Lord for Mary and her commitment to me, our kids and the Lord. Not many would leave the UK to come to an uncertain future in a far away land. I am a blessed man and I pray for many more years together as our family grows up.

* Selina - Selina's arm is healing up really well. She has been on a strong course of anti-biotics and also we have been applying antiseptic cream on her burned arm. So it is looking much better now and is much more tender. We hope to get her operation next week as the Doctor is back in town. Pastor Winston is going to see him today to set things up.

Selina is a happy & beautiful little girl. She loves coming to Powerhouse and she has a cheeky wee smile! This photo was taken a month ago so is a little out of date, but I will get new picture next week.

Pray for her family situation. Her father is not coping well with his son's death and has turned to drink. He cannot control himself when drunk and he becomes very abusive towards his poor wife. Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom to handle this delicate situation.


* Mary Grace - Well, thanks for your prayers. The Lord has rescued this little girl from the brink of death, and now she is thriving! She was 4 kilos before .. and now she is over 6 kilos after only 3 weeks. Her skin is beautiful, she is always smiling and she has become so content. Marilyn, our Social Worker (above), cannot believe the difference in a few weeks. Even our local Pediatrician did not recognise her and took photos to show her fellow doctors. She was amazed. It is more than a medical success ... it is a miracle of God. Please continue to pray for Mary Grace and all the aunties.

* Judah Benjamin Kooistra - Mary has been very busy this week as good friends of ours from the Wycliffe Base in Bagabag gave birth here in Santiago. Jan came to Santiago with David her husband and two of their three kids. What they thought would be a regular check up ended up to be the real deal! Jan gave birth to Judah, David was there with her and the two kids stayed overnight in our house. As you can see, Lydia and Josiah are delighted with their 'sorta cousin'!


*Celebrations - This time of year is full of all sorts of parties and happy events and in the last week I have been busy doing all sorts of great things. We dedicated two houses, celebrated a birthday of a little girl from Cornerstone and on Tuesday we dedicated the little son of Marlou and Cristina Javier, who are two of our Church staff. What a great afternoon. As I dedicated Mark David Javier (what a fantastically superb name eh?) he just gazed into my eyes and laughed for ages. Wonderful moment.

* Next few blogs - in the following days I have so much to share about ...

An amazing testimony of healing
Cornerstone Easter Celebration
SOS Evangelistic Programme
Another amazing testimony of God's protection
A vision God gave me a few years ago about the Cost of the anointing
Our kids update
Keith & Anne
Matthew & Claire Kerr

I have just noticed that we have had over 10,000 visits to the blog since June 2006. Wehey! Another celebration...please tell your friends and family about our blog and spread the news about what the Lord is doing here.

But right now I am happy to even get this blog out! Lord, keep the Internet going and make this blogger patient...

Blessings and have a great weekend.

For Me

Hi folks ... Easter is upon us! Here in the Philippines, because of being a Roman Catholic country, Easter is one of the main events of the year. The whole world stop to remember Easter. You can go to Santiago today and (amazingly) the streets are empty and there are no tricycles or jeepneys anywhere. Most people attend church to remember the Lord on the cross.

But superstition and misunderstandings mingle with the Easter story here. For example, today I saw a large group of people walking down the street. On closer inspection I saw two young men lashing themselves as they walked along. Blood was pouring from their backs and they continued their painful lashings. I felt like opening my window and shouting, "Hey, you don't have to do that! The reason Jesus went to the cross is so that you don't have to. He has taken you pain ... and he really doesn't need you to take more pain." What a totally screwed up and pathetic way to think ... that somehow by causing ourselves pain we might achieve salvation and holiness.

The message of Easter is of mercy and grace. Mercy - we deserved to die in our sin without Christ and live for eternity with no hope. Grace - He took our sin, took our guilt, took our sorrows and took our sickness to the cross ... and because of this we qualify for forgiveness, peace, hope and an eternity in heaven.

When you think about it in it's simplest and purest essence, Easter is an incredible deal for you and me. Jesus died ... so we can have life. He suffered ... so we can have peace. He became a curse ... so we can live in blessing. He took sickness upon himself... so we can be healed. He took our shame ... so we can live a life of honour. He took the place of a servant ... so we can become sons. He went to hell... so we could dwell in heaven.

I love the way the New Living Translation puts it in Isaiah 53:

He was despised and rejected — a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.

He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.

As I write out these profound yet beautiful verses, tears are running down my face. We cannot begin to imagine what He went through for us. Don't get the impression that somehow he embraced His fathers plan of the cross like an ill-informed martyr. He was a man; He was afraid; He knew that He would suffer real pain, real rejection and real brutality. This is why he cried out to His father in Gethsemane, "Father, if there is any other way, please let this cup of suffering pass me by." Roughly translated, "If there is a plan B where I can avoid this agony, show me father."

But there was no plan B. Only one way. But as we look at the cross this Easter, remember this. We are not only saved by His death, but we are saved by His life. Jesus only hung on the cross for a few hours, but if in the previous 33 years He had committed one single sin, the plan of salvation was over. Death would have won and Jesus would still be behind the stone. But, because of the victory over sin in His life Jesus was victorious over sin in His death! Hallelujah!

And what is our part of the deal? What does Jesus get from us? What is the cost we pay for such an amazing salvation? What does the Lord require of us?

Why did Jesus die? Why did He go through such agony and dejection? The answer... to see you and me forgiven, cleansed, healed, fulfilled and walking in His ways. Isaiah continues his prophetic declaration...

But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.

When the Lord sees us live for Him .. He is satisfied. When He sees us walk in His ways ... he is satisfied. When He sees people cry out to Him to have their sins forgiven .. he is satisfied. He says, "It was worth it."

Live your life under the shadow of the cross my friend. For there you will see unconditional love, passion beyond words, power to deal with the past, grace to bring us through today and hope that will see us spend an eternity in His presence.

A beautiful modern Hymn by Stuart Townsend describes what I am trying to say with these lovely words:

Behold the Man upon a cross
My guilt upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no powr's, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Selah...

I Love This Place...

Check out this picture I took last week of the rice fields outside Sefton. Beautiful ...

In the last few weeks we have had the pleasure of showing Keith & Anne around their new abode and assisting them in their various trips to Santiago. It has been so enlightening to see the place through their eyes and again realise that there are some crazy things going on right in front of my nose! Things that make you laugh so much. Things that you cannot work out ... but to everyone else in the Philippines it seems perfectly normal.

For instance ... a few weeks ago I was in a church. The church had an 'open time' - not for testimonies (the usual thing) but for 'special numbers' (songs). This is always dangerous - especially in the Philippines as everyone thinks they are the new Philippine Idol. Anyway, the first few 'numbers' were OK. The amazing thing in the provinces is that every song we sing in churches is always in D. Every song. To be an accomplished guitarist here, you only need to know 3 chords - 4 chords you are brilliant and 5 chords you are on your way to Nashville!

However, there is always a problem. Sometimes D is far too high or far too low. This is what happened with lady No 4 at this church. The guy played a beautiful intro in D, but she started singing around the key of A. Nightmare. So here is the amazing cultural phenomenon that happens in the Philippines ... the guy plays the whole song in D whilst the lady sings the whole song in A. No compromise. To me, it sounded terrible, but as I looked around the church it seemed so many were blessed - eyes closed, hands in air, amen etc. There are some things that we are not destined to understand!!!! I felt like Simon Cowell!

Anyway, for the sake of Keith, Anne, Matthew, Claire and all the many visitors that will be taking a pilgrimage to Sefton over the next few months, here is a list of 'strange but true' cultural funny stuff from the good old P.I. that I included in one of my first blogs:

* Filipino Time - an hour late is an hour early. But who cares anyway? If we're all late then we're all on time! Right? When a service starts at 8am, that is when we Filipinos start to get ready for the 8am meeting. Same problem in Africa. How do we Brits handle it? Well, in the first year Mary & I tried to change the whole Filipino culture .. starting at Sefton. But most people just did not get it, and we ended up going to things hours before they started and getting a bit frustrated. So guess what we do now???? Yup, Filipino-Scottish time! We're always officially late but unofficially early. It's great!

* Filipino 'Yes' - Here in the Philippines 'yes' is an amazing word. In the boring old UK, yes means yes. But here it can mean ALL of the following - maybe, what do you mean?, I have no idea what you are talking about but I will pretend that I do, no, I will ask someone later ... or yes. So you can see that we got into big problems when people responded 'yes' to us!

* Filipino Signboards - Because English is the written language in the Philippines, we can understand everything! Sometimes we have seen funny things written down on jeepneys or houses.

For example, this week I saw 16 young people on a tiny tri-cycle with the words 'Jesus, make me wise as I travel' written at the back! I saw a sign on a gate once that said, 'Please, no men urinate here ... only dogs' The classic is the roadworks sign that says, 'Slow men at work'... and it is true!


* Filipino Aircon Buses - I love living in the Philippines - don't get me wrong. But there are things - whichever way you look at it - that are just plain wrong. Buses. The normal way of travel here. During daytime, it is scorching hot. During nighttime it is cooler. So when does EVERY Filipino bus company send out their lovely aircon buses? Nope, you are wrong. The answer is ... Nightime. Result? During the day a bunch of roasting hot Filipinos with every window open and the bus full of fumes. During the night, you will find a bunch of freezing cold Filipinos who are almost at deaths door because of the cold - all wrapped up in blankets and wearing thick socks.

* Filipino Mathematics - Filipinos cannot function without calculators! Arithmetic is not their strong point. For example, one time I went for lunch at a fast food restaurant. My meal was meant to have 2 cups of rice, but the lady only gave one. I was a nice Christian at that point and so I decided to say nothing. However, after I sat down the lady came running over and said,"Sir, you should have 2 cups of rice!" Guess what she did? She scooped off the one rice on my plate that was still untouched, and added 2 new ones! Why could she not just add her one to my one? That actually makes two!

* Filipino Snoozers - Filipinos have an amazing gift ... they can sleep at the drop of a hat (see Pastor Nestor above!). They love their siesta sleep and cease to exist if they don't have it! We took our team of Filipinos to Singapore - wow, what an amazing, superb place - full of places to go and things to see. But what was our teams preferred activity after the seminars when they had free time? Yup, they loved to go back for a 40 winks to the hostel!

I have seen Filipinos sleep on the back of motorbikes (yes, when it is moving), in our church services (especially when I am preaching), on top of tricycles .. you name it - if they are tired anywhere is a bed!

So come on out to the Philippines folks ... you will love it. The people are the loveliest people on earth, but some of the things that they do are the funniest and strangest things in the world!

My Favourite Sites

Just for a change, I thought I might let you know some of things - particularly computer stuff - that have helped me in our ministry here in the Philippines. We have been here 7 years ... but 7 years is an eternity in the the computer world. When we came here Tony & Esther were so happy because they had finally got their own phone line along with cable TV. Before that they had to drive into town and book a line to call home. And they only had one channel on the TV! We are so blessed now.

Here are a few vital (and fun) programmes, websites etc. that really help us keep contact with the world whilst living out here in the (seemingly) middle of nowhere! If you are half as blessed as we have been using these programmes, then it has been worth doing this blog today. All the following programmes have been added to my links (right), so just click and you can try them out.

1. SKYPE
Another way to spell SKYPE is BLESSING. This is unbelievable and has been such a blessing to us. Basically, if you have two computer linked to the Internet we can download SKYPE and call each other for as long as we like ... FOR FREE! Yup, no money needed. The quality of line is fantastic and you can see who is online at any time. Recently they added video, so with a 20 pound web-cam you can see each other. When we got home to Wick last year, little Josiah shouted out, "Hello Granda, hello Granny" to Mary's mum & Dad ... even though he never seen them 'in the flesh' - the power of SKYPE. Download it and join the rest of us...especially if you have family away from home!

2. www.blogger.com
I used to think blogging would be very difficult, but this company have made it simple. You just choose your name, choose your template and away you go. If you are in a church, youth group, ministry etc. it is a great way to communicate. It takes a few hours a week, but if you have the discipline you can touch so many people. Don't believe me? Then what are you doing right now?

3. www.sermonillustrations.com
Great for preachers or people who speak publicly. Full of stats and stories, poems and quotes. All in easy alphabetical order and all good clean stuff. Excellent.

4. www.biblegateway.com
Great for anything you need to get from God's Word. You can search words, phrases, chapters and get the results in many translations. Check it out.

5. www.revival-library.org
An unbelievable online library all about revivals. A feast for those who want to study the hand of God in the affairs of men. You could spend a whole day in this site!

6. www.deviantart.com
Great site for anything to do with graphics. You can get wallpapers, PowerPoint backgrounds etc. It is mostly free.

7. www.heartlight.org
A brilliant site ... and I mean brilliant. Great high quality christian graphics to download. Many of the graphics I use are from this website. You can send lovely e-cards also.

8. www.thebackpew.com www.reverendfun.com
Really funny Christian cartoon sites.

9. www.christianitytoday.com
Excellent American website with great articles for all aspects of church life and leadership. Also has Teaching series' you can download and also PowerPoint presentations you can download and print. Good cartoons here also as well as up to date statistics, surveys and trends.

10. www.pic-uk.com
Philippine Islands Connection - a travel agency run by Filipinos in UK. Great thing is that they have really reasonable rates AND if you travel by KLM (the most direct route) they give you an extra 10kg in your check in luggage and extra 5kg on your carry on. All the more chocolate for Mary!! So if your planning to come out ... make this your first place to check.

11. http://earth.google.com
An amazing website that can take to anywhere in the world via satellite. How come you can never zoom into the N-E Scotland because of intense cloud cover???

12. www.neave.com/games
This is purely nostalgic and I found it brought the memories flooding back. Almost brought a tear to my eye! I read this letter by a 30-something dad in my mac magazine and he was complaining that his son was into these high speed computer games. Where were "the games we played in the good old days (80's!), you know, space invaders, asteroids, frogger, Simon etc.?" Well folks ... here they are! For all you 35-45 year old guys (especially my 'old' asteroids partner Ben Ritchie) ... feast yourself on the memories ... the same sounds, the same music, the same graphics - only your reactions are slower!!!!!

Well, that's enough to get you browsing. Hope that you enjoy the above sites and I hope it helps you in a small way. Maybe I will let you know some more another time as well as some other 'favourite' things.

Back to normal tomorrow ... if I can drag myself away from Space Invaders! Joking....

Still Alive...

Call back the lifeboat. Inform the SAS. Email Scotland Yard and please let AoG World Ministries know ... that we are actually still alive and well!

It's just that life has overtaken us in the last week and I was blown away by a virus that hit me for six. OK now... praise the Lord! Yup, last week had the lot - good bad & ugly (no jokes please!) More on that this coming week.

This is just a tiny wee blog to let you know we are OK here. Keith and Anne are settling in great. So wonderful having them around ... what a difference to have some Brits to visit or invite for a cuppa. We had a really good day at Cornerstone today - over 200 different people (including kids) attended our services here in Santiago. By the way, isn't it funny that when Pastors are talking about the size of their congregation they always add 'including kids'. But, guess what, I would never say, 'There are four in my family, including kids!!" MMMmmm...

I will leave you with a few funny cartoons to start your week off on the right note. Whatever happens from now on ... don't blame me!

The last cartoon is dedicated to my brother David back in Fraserburgh. He has a new little Scottish Terrier called Fergus and rumour has it that he now spends most of his day following this little black puppy around armed with toilet roll and a bottle of Dettol! Sorry David...ha ha.

In fact ... my dad has just sent me a picture of David & Fergus that proves that David is even trying to preach to the wee doggie! Wee Daniel is also in the prayer team waiting to catch!