Thursday, May 29, 2008
40-1 Years Old!
Well folks ... I have to admit it ... I am now officially only one year away from the big 4-0! Today was my 39th Birthday! I know, I know ... I don't look or act 39, but the facts are there to see. On 28th May 1969 (last century!!) an extremely young 18 year old young woman called Mary West Ritchie gave birth to a cute wee baby bot weighing just 6lbs! Incredible. And here I am, almost 4 decades later at the other side of the world!
But, hey, if you are into celebrating your birthday with style ... the Philippines is the place to be. There may be not a lot of money going around here, but Filipinos are BIG in love, care and respect. Birthdays are big deals here. In the UK you can almost go a whole day without anyone really bothering too much about your 'big day' but here it is the opposite! A year of life is something to be thankful for and cherished. In a typhoon hit - disaster prone - storm ravaged - country that is short on finance and food - a year is a 12 months survived.
So here was my day today ...
At 6am I was in the living room with the kids when I heard the strumming of the guitar and the noise of people singing. I went out and there were around 30-40 of my friends there - Cornerstone pastors and their families, Cornerstone members, some of the Sefton staff etc. They sang beautifully and had the biggest smiles! They came into the house ... laden with home made banana cakes, puto cakes, hot bread and coke! What a team! We just sat and talked and laughed for an hour. Fantastic.
They went and various friends and staff members popped in with cards and hugs. Sefton Village is becoming a 'huggy' place now after 8 years of trying to turn cold handshakes into warm hugs! Some of the kids from the Children's Home gave me some lovely cards that Lydia had given them. Check this one out from wee Cristina on the left...
But what she wrote inside made up for her glaring error...
At 230pm the cake arrived. Huge! It was made of 55 queen cakes with an iced topping. So instead of cutting a cake and making a mess we just took a cake off and made a mess of our faces! Check out these kids below! So cute.
Later on in the afternoon I managed to take Mary for a wee 'merienda' or snack at a new place in town. We said on the way that we would not talk about Sefton Village or School (which has taken up Mary's attention for a wee while now!) Guess what? In the queue we met a parent from the school who wanted to sit beside us. She is lovely but she had about 101 questions about the school! Never mind ... we tried!
We came home at 530pm and at 6pm the Pastors arrived again with their families and food. Yup, its time to celebrate. I told Lorenz and Joy - our new Deans at SBTC - '"Don't worry, this Sefton family are always eating!" And we did! Around 50 were there - Pastors and their families, young people from the churches ... everyone and their dog (well two dogs to be exact). But it was a great night and it was so kind of them all to cook a meal, bring it here and fellowship with us. It's a big deal here.
So here I am, well fed and even more appreciative of the family I have here at Sefton. I really miss my own family - by the way 'Happy Birthday' to my brother Paul tomorrow! - but God has given us friends and family here that we feel part of and feel loved by. Their love is genuine and their care is sincere ... and for that I am so thankful.
I am thankful for a great wife that I am walking through this life with. I am thankful for two lovely kids that I think the world of and who are happy and healthy. I thank the Lord for great families at home who encourage, support and love us more than anyone knows. I am thankful for friends that are always there or us - even though for 90% of the time we are not part of their day to day worlds. I am thankful for churches that are not only behind our vision but are behind us as a family. I am thankful, most of all, to a wonderful God who has chosen us, saved us and called us to walk in His ways and extend His Kingdom... even in a far away land.
I am thankful. I am amazed. I am blessed. And I am tired!
Tomorrow I am well on the way to 40 .... but I will never forget my first day of my 40th year!
Live your dreams ...
Love ya
Mark
But, hey, if you are into celebrating your birthday with style ... the Philippines is the place to be. There may be not a lot of money going around here, but Filipinos are BIG in love, care and respect. Birthdays are big deals here. In the UK you can almost go a whole day without anyone really bothering too much about your 'big day' but here it is the opposite! A year of life is something to be thankful for and cherished. In a typhoon hit - disaster prone - storm ravaged - country that is short on finance and food - a year is a 12 months survived.
So here was my day today ...
At 6am I was in the living room with the kids when I heard the strumming of the guitar and the noise of people singing. I went out and there were around 30-40 of my friends there - Cornerstone pastors and their families, Cornerstone members, some of the Sefton staff etc. They sang beautifully and had the biggest smiles! They came into the house ... laden with home made banana cakes, puto cakes, hot bread and coke! What a team! We just sat and talked and laughed for an hour. Fantastic.
They went and various friends and staff members popped in with cards and hugs. Sefton Village is becoming a 'huggy' place now after 8 years of trying to turn cold handshakes into warm hugs! Some of the kids from the Children's Home gave me some lovely cards that Lydia had given them. Check this one out from wee Cristina on the left...But what she wrote inside made up for her glaring error...
At 230pm the cake arrived. Huge! It was made of 55 queen cakes with an iced topping. So instead of cutting a cake and making a mess we just took a cake off and made a mess of our faces! Check out these kids below! So cute.Later on in the afternoon I managed to take Mary for a wee 'merienda' or snack at a new place in town. We said on the way that we would not talk about Sefton Village or School (which has taken up Mary's attention for a wee while now!) Guess what? In the queue we met a parent from the school who wanted to sit beside us. She is lovely but she had about 101 questions about the school! Never mind ... we tried!
We came home at 530pm and at 6pm the Pastors arrived again with their families and food. Yup, its time to celebrate. I told Lorenz and Joy - our new Deans at SBTC - '"Don't worry, this Sefton family are always eating!" And we did! Around 50 were there - Pastors and their families, young people from the churches ... everyone and their dog (well two dogs to be exact). But it was a great night and it was so kind of them all to cook a meal, bring it here and fellowship with us. It's a big deal here.
So here I am, well fed and even more appreciative of the family I have here at Sefton. I really miss my own family - by the way 'Happy Birthday' to my brother Paul tomorrow! - but God has given us friends and family here that we feel part of and feel loved by. Their love is genuine and their care is sincere ... and for that I am so thankful.I am thankful for a great wife that I am walking through this life with. I am thankful for two lovely kids that I think the world of and who are happy and healthy. I thank the Lord for great families at home who encourage, support and love us more than anyone knows. I am thankful for friends that are always there or us - even though for 90% of the time we are not part of their day to day worlds. I am thankful for churches that are not only behind our vision but are behind us as a family. I am thankful, most of all, to a wonderful God who has chosen us, saved us and called us to walk in His ways and extend His Kingdom... even in a far away land.
I am thankful. I am amazed. I am blessed. And I am tired!
Tomorrow I am well on the way to 40 .... but I will never forget my first day of my 40th year!
Live your dreams ...
Love ya
Mark
Monday, May 19, 2008
Dinna Worry Aunty Betty ....
Calm doon Aunty Betty ... wir still alive!
My aunty Betty has told my mum and dad over the last few weeks, "Mark & Mary are still in Wick!" She is of course, referring that we haven't updated our blog for, well, a good while! And she's absolutely right! Sorry Aunty Betty, I know you check our blog every night for any news from your handsome nephew in Sefton ... but tonight ... be very shocked and delighted ...we're back!
When we were in UK we were chock a block visiting family, friends, youth groups, kids clubs, churches etc. etc. Before we knew it time was up! And hardly a blog to note. Well, suppose that the only consolation for Aunty Betty, Aunty Helen and all the rest of our devoted readers is that it is far better to see us for real rather than read a blog! That's my excuse and I am sticking to it!
We had a busy but great time in UK. We have a lot of thanks to give to a lot of people for their part in helping us enjoy a good month at home:
Mum & dad ... for putting us up and putting up with us! Thanks for looking after our kids for almost a week and for all your love and care. Was great to see my dad has been converted after many years ... no, don't misunderstand. I mean from a PC to a Mac! Only problem was that our diary was so full that I didn't have enough time to show him the way around his Leopard! Sorry dad!
David & Wilma Flett - for looking after us and letting us rest after a really busy time. For all your lovely hospitality and for driving all the way to Aberdeen to say goodbye. It meant so much to us all.
David & Grace Strachan & family - for all your practical love and support in so many ways. For letting us use your car for a whole month .. even though it meant Grace walking to work and being accosted by a complete stranger!! You guys are the best and your kids are fantastic. Thanks for the mega thick mega delicious hand made steak David .... look out Jamie Oliver! MMmmmm....
My brothers and their families ... so great to see Paul & David going on for God and inspiring their families to live for God. Lydia & Josiah's cousins are brilliant - Nathan, Aaron, Bethany, Daniel and our new wee addition to the Ritchie clan ...David. Wonderful to spend time with you all again and catch up. It was great for me to beat David again at the putting green ... Neil & Gavin were there to witness the great event!
Mary's brother Bruce and his wife Alison - We saw them a number of times and it was so good to see them preparing for being first time parents. We had great times with them. Congratulations are in order ... Alison gave birth to wee Eve last week! Missed her by a few days ... we did try all sorts of ways to speed up the process but to no avail.
Family members - Wow, saw so many in such a short time! Great to see most of my aunties & uncles as well as a lot of my cousins. Had an amazing meal with freshly caught prawns at my cousin Liz's house...thanks John! Especially great to see my cousin Shona and her family. We even saw my cousin George and family. What a guy!
Friends - too many to mention all by name but great to see Kenny & Suzie (I am still the PS2 Tiger Woods champ Kenny!), David & Jenny, Lesley & Stewart, Andrew & Lois, Norman & Gillian, Micheal & Alison (great night guys), Gareth & Shona, of course Vivien (my adopted Scottish daughter), Ben & Val (great time at Findlay's Ben), Derek & Jacinth, Victor & Alison, Steve & Molly, all the Aberdeen Missions team ... and tons and tons of friends from so many churches. We loved seeing you all.
Special thanks to Jennie Milne who often came and whisked Josiah away to her house so her son Seth and Josiah could play together. They are good pals now! I don't know how you do it Jennie ... 9 kids and still room for my two! Supermum of the year I think! You are a blessing .. especially to Mary. Thanks.
Special thanks also to Andy & Rachel David from Torquay who blessed us with a trip down to the west country to be with them for a few days (even though they were going on a 2 week trip to Africa the same day as we left!!) You are mad ... but we love you!
Even though we were not really prepared for sharing in churches, we thank the Lord for opportunities to minister in Torquay, Whitburn, Fraserburgh Elim, Fraserburgh AoG, Kings Church Aberdeen. We loved being with you all and pray that in some way we challenged and encouraged you. We had a great time in various youth & children's clubs - Salvation Army Jam Club in Wick, Powerhouse Kids Club, Calvary Kidz and GLO in Fraserburgh as well as the AoG Youth Cafe night. I also had an amazing time ministering at the Teen Challenge Centre at Sunnybrae ... what a morning! Gordon, Paul, Kenny & team are doing a fantastic work there.
Mmmm ... anyone else I have left out? If I have I apologise.
Well, we are back in sunny and roasting hot Santiago. Since coming home it has been quite difficult in so many ways. The kids took a week to get back to Filipino time ... they were going to sleep around midnight or 1am some nights! They have both been sick with fevers, diarrhea and sickness. Last week we were ultra busy as there was an SBTC Week of Refreshing for all students and ex-students. Last Friday we had a great Graduation Service for the students. Last Saturday we baptised 11 new believers from our Cornerstone Churches. One of them was the dad of Gio, the boy who died. When I asked him, "Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?" He immediately replied with tears in his eyes, "With all my heart." the hand of the Lord is upon Gilbert.
Our Internet was on for one night when we came home and then we had a lightning storm. It completely blew my other computer and destroyed the internet cable. It has taken 10 days to fix! But tonight it returned ...what a relief! Hopfully now I can start to blog and let you catch up with all the Sefton news. So many great things happening here.
A funny story to end with. Lydia was working things out the other night as we prepared them for bed -" Mummy, is Jesus in charge of our family?" Mary replied, "Yes, of course." Lydia continued, "And then, is it Daddy that's the boss?" Mary replied again, "That's right Lydia"
A few seconds later Josiah stands up and said with a stronng teachers voice, "Well, Jesus says that Josiah-has-not-got-to-have-a-bath-tonight! And... he-needs-to-watch-cartoon-network ... OK?"
What could I say after that?
Goodnight Aunty Betty ... sweet dreams i'nicht!
My aunty Betty has told my mum and dad over the last few weeks, "Mark & Mary are still in Wick!" She is of course, referring that we haven't updated our blog for, well, a good while! And she's absolutely right! Sorry Aunty Betty, I know you check our blog every night for any news from your handsome nephew in Sefton ... but tonight ... be very shocked and delighted ...we're back!
When we were in UK we were chock a block visiting family, friends, youth groups, kids clubs, churches etc. etc. Before we knew it time was up! And hardly a blog to note. Well, suppose that the only consolation for Aunty Betty, Aunty Helen and all the rest of our devoted readers is that it is far better to see us for real rather than read a blog! That's my excuse and I am sticking to it!
We had a busy but great time in UK. We have a lot of thanks to give to a lot of people for their part in helping us enjoy a good month at home:
Mum & dad ... for putting us up and putting up with us! Thanks for looking after our kids for almost a week and for all your love and care. Was great to see my dad has been converted after many years ... no, don't misunderstand. I mean from a PC to a Mac! Only problem was that our diary was so full that I didn't have enough time to show him the way around his Leopard! Sorry dad!
David & Wilma Flett - for looking after us and letting us rest after a really busy time. For all your lovely hospitality and for driving all the way to Aberdeen to say goodbye. It meant so much to us all.
David & Grace Strachan & family - for all your practical love and support in so many ways. For letting us use your car for a whole month .. even though it meant Grace walking to work and being accosted by a complete stranger!! You guys are the best and your kids are fantastic. Thanks for the mega thick mega delicious hand made steak David .... look out Jamie Oliver! MMmmmm....
My brothers and their families ... so great to see Paul & David going on for God and inspiring their families to live for God. Lydia & Josiah's cousins are brilliant - Nathan, Aaron, Bethany, Daniel and our new wee addition to the Ritchie clan ...David. Wonderful to spend time with you all again and catch up. It was great for me to beat David again at the putting green ... Neil & Gavin were there to witness the great event!
Mary's brother Bruce and his wife Alison - We saw them a number of times and it was so good to see them preparing for being first time parents. We had great times with them. Congratulations are in order ... Alison gave birth to wee Eve last week! Missed her by a few days ... we did try all sorts of ways to speed up the process but to no avail.
Family members - Wow, saw so many in such a short time! Great to see most of my aunties & uncles as well as a lot of my cousins. Had an amazing meal with freshly caught prawns at my cousin Liz's house...thanks John! Especially great to see my cousin Shona and her family. We even saw my cousin George and family. What a guy!
Friends - too many to mention all by name but great to see Kenny & Suzie (I am still the PS2 Tiger Woods champ Kenny!), David & Jenny, Lesley & Stewart, Andrew & Lois, Norman & Gillian, Micheal & Alison (great night guys), Gareth & Shona, of course Vivien (my adopted Scottish daughter), Ben & Val (great time at Findlay's Ben), Derek & Jacinth, Victor & Alison, Steve & Molly, all the Aberdeen Missions team ... and tons and tons of friends from so many churches. We loved seeing you all.
Special thanks to Jennie Milne who often came and whisked Josiah away to her house so her son Seth and Josiah could play together. They are good pals now! I don't know how you do it Jennie ... 9 kids and still room for my two! Supermum of the year I think! You are a blessing .. especially to Mary. Thanks.
Special thanks also to Andy & Rachel David from Torquay who blessed us with a trip down to the west country to be with them for a few days (even though they were going on a 2 week trip to Africa the same day as we left!!) You are mad ... but we love you!
Even though we were not really prepared for sharing in churches, we thank the Lord for opportunities to minister in Torquay, Whitburn, Fraserburgh Elim, Fraserburgh AoG, Kings Church Aberdeen. We loved being with you all and pray that in some way we challenged and encouraged you. We had a great time in various youth & children's clubs - Salvation Army Jam Club in Wick, Powerhouse Kids Club, Calvary Kidz and GLO in Fraserburgh as well as the AoG Youth Cafe night. I also had an amazing time ministering at the Teen Challenge Centre at Sunnybrae ... what a morning! Gordon, Paul, Kenny & team are doing a fantastic work there.
Mmmm ... anyone else I have left out? If I have I apologise.
Well, we are back in sunny and roasting hot Santiago. Since coming home it has been quite difficult in so many ways. The kids took a week to get back to Filipino time ... they were going to sleep around midnight or 1am some nights! They have both been sick with fevers, diarrhea and sickness. Last week we were ultra busy as there was an SBTC Week of Refreshing for all students and ex-students. Last Friday we had a great Graduation Service for the students. Last Saturday we baptised 11 new believers from our Cornerstone Churches. One of them was the dad of Gio, the boy who died. When I asked him, "Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?" He immediately replied with tears in his eyes, "With all my heart." the hand of the Lord is upon Gilbert.
Our Internet was on for one night when we came home and then we had a lightning storm. It completely blew my other computer and destroyed the internet cable. It has taken 10 days to fix! But tonight it returned ...what a relief! Hopfully now I can start to blog and let you catch up with all the Sefton news. So many great things happening here.A funny story to end with. Lydia was working things out the other night as we prepared them for bed -" Mummy, is Jesus in charge of our family?" Mary replied, "Yes, of course." Lydia continued, "And then, is it Daddy that's the boss?" Mary replied again, "That's right Lydia"
A few seconds later Josiah stands up and said with a stronng teachers voice, "Well, Jesus says that Josiah-has-not-got-to-have-a-bath-tonight! And... he-needs-to-watch-cartoon-network ... OK?"
What could I say after that?
Goodnight Aunty Betty ... sweet dreams i'nicht!
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