What's on my I-pod?

Just want to recommend a CD that has blessed and encouraged me so much. When I was in Singapore one of the music team encouraged me to buy a CD called 'All the Earth' by Parachute Band. We sang 'All the Earth' in the conference there and I was so uplifted by the words and music.

Parachute Band are from New Zealand have made around 6 worship CD's.... mainly live. Their music is excellent and their lyrics touch your heart and spirit. This CD is recorded live in front of 25,000 people at the Parachute Conference in New Zealand. In this CD there are many excellent songs. Like I said, 'All the Earth' is so uplifting and is one of those songs that you can repeat again and again. 'High Above' has a lovely melody .... really beautiful!

There is even 'O Come Let Us Adore Him' ... sung in a new way but full of zeal and passion. My absolute favourite song from the CD is called 'Complete'. It has really ministered to Mary & I over the last couple of months. It is one of those songs that sounds better every time you hear it. I have copied the lyrics below for you to read:

COMPLETE
Here I am, Oh God
I bring this sacrifice--my open heart.
I offer up my life.
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again

So I lift my eyes to you, Lord
In Your strength will I break through, Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
And I will be complete in You.

Here I am, Oh God
I bring this sacrifice--my open heart.
I offer up my life.
I look to You, Lord.
Your love that never ends
Restores me again

So I lift my eyes to you Lord
And by faith, I will walk on, Lord
Then I'll see beyond my Calvary one day,
And I will be complete in..

I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again

So I lift my eyes to you Lord
In your strength will I break through Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
I know your love dispels all my fears.

Through the storm I will hold on Lord
And I pray I will hold on, Lord
Then I'll see beyond my Calvary one day
And I will be complete in
I will be complete in
I will be complete in You

If you would like a wee sample before you splash out ... then go to www.independentbands.com/cd/parachuteband/alltheearthlivefromnewzealand.html

Well ... I recommend that you get yourself out to the Christian Bookshop (or Amazon!) and get hold of this great CD.

Enjoy ...

The Vineyard

Just thought I would give you a quick update on what is happening at Sefton ... starting with Cornerstone Church. Things are really happening here. Heidi Baker prophesied last year that 'the Lord had given us grapes ... but now he was about to give us a vineyard.' I really believe in my spirit that this was a word for the ministry of Cornerstone. We had one church -and the Lord clearly challenged us that this should be a model or central church - but now we have another 5 churches that have begun in the last 2 years!

Last week we started a brand new church in a town called Ramon, just outside Santiago. Two of our pastors have had a burden for Ramon and so we have been working hard setting things up to give birth to our newest 'baby'! Pastor Winston is actually from Ramon and has had a real desire to reach his friends & family. In the Philippines most Christians have a tremendous burden to go back to wherever their family is located to win them for Christ. This is the heart of Winston. Pastor James Bastian ministered in a Bible School in Ramon for 3 years and built up relationships with many of the young people in the town. Sadly, when he left ... the work with the young people was dropped. So he has a burden to find and shepherd these young people again.

We have found tremendous favour with many of the people in Ramon. We found a small (and I mean small!) hall to rent ... but it is right in the heart of the town. As they say on TV, "Location, Location, Location" Last week they had a 'pre-launch' and next week we will officially open the new church. I was the speaker last week and I told the people, "You are History Makers!" Students from the Bible School supported us as well as some young people from Cornerstone San Isidro. A great morning and a good start ...

So now we have 6 churches ... Santiago, Nagassican, San Isidro, Pangal, Ramon and Cauayan. The leadership team are doing well and we are adjusting to the continual unfolding vision given by the Holy Spirit.

We have started a new evening service in Santiago which is open for all the churches. Last Sunday there was a tremendous outpouring of the Holy Spirit! The ministries within the churches are doing great - we are seeing such a blessing in the Hospital Ministry and the jail ministry. The picture below was taken inside the jail when the Holy Spirit began to minster to the inmates!The feeding Programme has seen over 8000 kids given a meal this year and the Powerhouse Kids Club is reaching a whole new generation of children in Santiago. The fields are ripe, ready and waiting to be harvested!

Probably 60-70% of our members are involved in one of our local church ministries. We are training an army ... not an audience!


Pray for us on Sunday ... it is our 3rd Anniversary! We will gather all the churches together in the Fire Center and have a day of worship, impartation, prayer, fellowship and fun! We have an excellent speaker coming from the USA (via Cornerstone Singapore!). His name is Rick Zachary and he has been a missionary in Haiti and Nigeria for 7 years and is the former mission pastor at Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA for 14 years. (Check out his website - www.rickzachary.com) He now runs his own missions organization and has planted successful churches in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He has authored several books on the subject of Discipleship and Relationships and has a strong passion in this area. I have never met him but I feel this is a divine appointment!

Pray for Cornerstone. We are in the process of change at different levels and I am being released more and more from the main church in Santiago in order to minister to the other churches. The Lord has placed other places in Isabela where He wants us to plant His vineyard ... all in his perfect time.

Breaking News!

You will never believe this blog today ...

Sunday was a funny old day! It started off with bad news. Pastor Winston's wife Mary Jane is only 28 weeks pregnant but this last week she has stared to bleed a bit. Winston was worried and so on Sunday morning she was admitted to a local hospital. Mary & I were so worried and we prayed for them as we drove to church.

On Sunday we all went to Cornerstone Santiago as a family and we had a great service. We are doing a series of teachings called 'Building Strong Relationships' and I was preaching about "Living at Peace with Yourself'. There are so many Christians who are hurt, wounded or have been misunderstood .. and they cannot move on in their christian walk. At the same time, there are so many Christians who have been forgiven by God for something they have done ... even forgiven by those they have hurt - but somehow they cannot forgive themselves. Sometimes WE hold they key to OUR freedom, but we never use it. We stay locked up by ourselves.

So many people responded to the message and I believe many were released from their own chains. We will never do anything for God is we cannot live in peace with ourselves.

After the service we went and bought food for Winston and all their visitors in hospital. Mary went up to Mary-Jane's room and I stayed in the car with Lydia & Josiah. She was there for ages .. and the kids were getting more and more naughty! You know how it is being cooped up in a car. Every button and lever is a big temptation for little hands! Aaaaaggghh...

After 50 minutes Mary arrived ... in tears. I feared the worst for Mary-Jane but Mary cried, "I'm sorry Mark, but I've had an accident!" She was trying to rush down to the car to see me and the kids and she was wearing high heels. On the stairs she slipped and her full weight landed on her right wrist. She was in agony. We went to A&E and the Doctor was sleeping when we arrived. I could see from Mary's face that she was suffering. She went really pale and couldn't talk. Well, there are only two times when Mary doesn't talk ... when she is sleeping and when she is in agony ... so I knew it was the latter!

They took x-rays and they confirmed it was broken. Funny thing is, they gave Mary an injection and it kinda made her a bit high! It dulled the pain .. but elevated her spirits shall we say! All the visitors arriving to see Mary Jane on the 2nd floor were shocked to see Mary in a bed on ground level. Mary seemed so happy (!) and even told this old Pastor that the advice she would give is to never wear high heels in hospital. OK advice ... but the pastor is over 60 years old, quite straight-laced - and a man!!

Mary had her arm put in a fibreglass cast and is walking around with a sling. It was very painful yesterday but not so bad today. Doctor said that the pain would subside tomorrow. But I want to assure you that I am the one who will continue to suffer. Looking after the kids - washing them, taking to toilet, cooking for them, feeding them, etc. etc. etc is an pretty hard job. Added to that, I have had to take out Mary's contact lenses, help her with her clothes etc. Man, it's bad! Maybe the Lord is trying to show me that I shouldn't take many things in my life for granted. My mum used to say, "A woman's work is never done." I used to nod with my head but now I believe it in my heart! Hats off to all you ladies. I am the new No1 fan in the Mum's Appreciation Society.

Mary will be fine. Already she is laughing about the day she went to visit a friend in hospital and ended in hospital herself! But please pray for Winston & Mary Jane. She was discharged today and has to have 2 weeks complete rest. They will decide whether she goes back to work or just rests for the endurance of her pregnancy. Pray for Mary and the teachers in school as they have to juggle new schedules and classes due to Mary-Jane's absence.

I leave you with one little blessing form Sunday - Josiah aka Elvis Pressley. After the service, when everyone was almost gone (PTL), he picked up the mike and started singing "one Way ... Jesus". We were all blessed and prayed that this little boy would grow up pointing people in the way of Jesus and that he would live up to his name ... "The Fire of the Lord"

Keep praying for us all ... and please remember - don't run when you wear your high heals (even Pastors!)

Laughs Along the Way ...

First ... good news! On Friday, after my request for you guys to pray, an almighty storm came and it rained, and rained, and rained! These two boys (below) were pretending to swim on the road just before I snapped them! Our parched yellow grass at Sefton turned green almost overnight! And over the last few days there has been regular rainfalls ...which is great. We are still in a 'critical' situation here in Isabela, but keep praying that the Lord will send consistent rain in the next few weeks. Thanks.

After the challenge about 'desperation', I thought I would lighten the mood by sharing some of the funny moments over the last few weeks (there have been many!) When we have visitors, funny moments are never far away. Usually these are to do with communication or sometimes just cultural differences.

Before the team from Fraserburgh came out I phoned John Watt ... one of the team. He was telling me how excited they all were and that for David Strachan it would be a great trip because while he was here, he would celebrate his 40th birthday. Quote ..."Aye, when his big day comes he will be on a long haul flight to Asia." My goodness, what commitment!

I began to think, "If David is sacrificing his big 4-0 to come to Sefton then we are going to give him a day he will never forget. On the first real night that they were here I wrote in the Mission Plan that we would have a 'Welcome Service'. But really, it was going to be a birthday party for you-know-who!

I had it all organised ... we had 40 students with 40 candles, 40 roses and a Birthday song. We had a special 40th birthday cake made. We bought a lovely leather Bible as a gift. The students all wrote a 40th birthday message for him. The Children's home kids were going to do a dance. We had forty 'Happy 40th birthday David" balloons. This was going to be a night to remember.

Only one problem. It was his 39th Birthday ... he wasn't going to be 40 for one whole year! We found out an hour before the big event by his wife Grace. Good old John had got his facts a wee bit mixed up and put 2 and 2 together and got 39!

Anyway .. 'the show must go on' as they say. Everything went like clockwork. We sang a few praise songs and then suddenly the lights went out, music stopped. I shouted, "Ladies & gentlemen, you thought you were coming to a welcome service tonight ... but it's really a Birthday Party!" In marched the students with their candles, roses etc. etc. David was completely shocked. And, bless him, he went along with the whole '40th thing' until we finally confessed our sins. What a laugh. We will never forget that special night for a special guy. (The students were a bit smart and put a -1 after the 40 on every balloon!)

Mis-communication. It's a funny old world. It brings a lot of laughs. Even last Sunday, I was speaking passionately about the plight of 6 miners in Utah and Pastor Marlou was translating that there were 6 kids (minors) trapped in a mine in America. MMmm....

I had another classic recently when I was preaching in the Chinese Church in Cornerstone Singapore. I thought I would be smart and have a snappy title to my message. Jesus said that his meat (ministry) was to so the will of the one who sent Him. I was challenging the people about not only seeing the power of God in the church ... but on the street. So I named my message, "Our Meat is on the Street" (John Wimber was the original author of this title I believe!) Anyway, my Chinese interpreter was having a real time of it trying to explain my sermon title. In the end he said something and everyone started to laugh! I asked the Pastor what the guy said and apparently the had translated my message as "Our hamburgers are on the Pavement!" How on earth could I preach after that??!

So much for being smart Ritchie! Well, have a happy day today and watch our for those hamburgers on the pavement!

Desparation

Desperate. What a terrible word. It brings to our minds the picture of strained faces, shouts of despair and tears searching for hope. Ever been desperate? Ever been at the end of your rope .. depending on something or someone else to bring you through?

I remember Mary was doing a teaching series about the beatitudes with the aunties in the Children's Home. She came to the part where it says, "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness ..." and , as an icebreaker, she asked them all if there had been any time in their lives when they had been desperate to eat but there was no food in their homes to cook. She was shocked with their answer. Every one of them had faced hunger at certain times in their lives. They had known what it was to go without food. Mary & I cried as we realised the blessed and comfortable lives that we have had ... we have never been to the point of real hunger.

This week, the Province of Isabela has been placed under a state of calamity. We are in desperate trouble. Most of the Philippines has been blessed with an abundance of rain, but here in the middle of the Cagayan Valley the rain has not arrived. The rain season is already 2 months late. Billions of Pesos worth of corn harvests have been destroyed and, if the rain does not come in the next two weeks all the rice fields will also be completely destroyed. The Magat Dam, which provides irrigation for all the rice fields in the province, is at a 7-year low. Please pray for us.

People here are desperate. Farmers are really desperate. Here is a latest report in the Philippine Star yesterday:

"The water level of Magat Dam in this province remains critical and Cagayan Valley farmers continue to pray for more rains to offset the effects of the two-month dry spell, which almost dried up the region’s farmlands, especially in the southern parts where the bulk of rice and corn production comes from.

“We pray for more rains to rescue us from this crisis. The recent rains were not enough to relieve our heavily dried-up farmlands,” said Mang Fortunato, a farmer in the Mallig region.

The drought placed Cagayan Valley, which lost nearly a billion of pesos in damaged crops, including fishery products, under a state of calamity."

Strange. This week in Manila there is a typhoon with so much rain that it caused flash floods. People left their cars parked on the road because the rain was so heavy and the water levels were so high. Yet, just 200 miles away, people are desperate for even a fraction of this rainfall.

Really got me thinking about the whole area of 'desperation'. I have been trying to think of times in my life when I have been desperate. Or times in my life when I have encountered desperation. Here are some instances that I can remember:

* In Africa, there was also a drought when I was there in 1998. The electricity was off for 3 days at a time and the rains had not come. Terrible.

* The Hillsborough disaster. Desperate faces crushed against an immovable barrier.

* I remember a fisherman fell down between the boat and the pier one cold frosty night. The desperation of his fellow crewmen to save him was incredible.

* I remember how desperate me, my family and my extended family were to see my cousin come through a terrible car crash.

* September 11 2001.

* I remember a small boy fell down a well in Italy and I can still remember seeing the desperation on the faces or the rescuers as they tried to pull him up.

* I have sat in a car with a little boy dying in the back seat, miles and miles from help on a dangerous road. I remember Winston and myself crying out to God, "Don't let Pepito die." Desperate to find a Doctor or a hospital.

* A year after we came to the Philippines many Christians went to a Joyce Meyers Conference in Manila and were put up in hotels. One hotel - The Manor Hotel - caught fire and the people could not escape because of steel bars across their windows. The Fire Brigade had no cutting equipment. Desperation on those inside to get out and the desperation of the people outside to rescue them. Terrible. Over 50 believers died ... live on TV.

* I remember being in France on a beach with thousands of people. One of the guys in our group lost his little girl in the middle of this mass of humanity. I remember his desperation as he paced the beach crying her name.

And there is more. I suppose that desperation is not something we face on a regular basis ... but when it comes it changes our lives, our perspectives and our future. On reflection, maybe there are three sources or reasons for desperation:

1. Because of Someone We Love
Every one of us has paced hospital wards, hoping and praying that someone we love will recover or be restored from illness. I remember when Josiah had extreme Pneumonia and the doctors tried every anti-biotic and he would not respond. The Doctor told us, "If Josiah does not respond to this last anti-biotic be prepared for the worst." Imagine. We were so far from the comfort of family and friends. Desperation. Emotional torment. Deep prayers to our father.

Our love for people is the greatest reason for desperation. When those whom we love suffer, or are ill, or are hurt ... we take desperate measures. We re-mortgage our homes, we offer our own vital organs, we organise support groups, we arrange special prayer meetings, we give everything we possibly can.

2. Because of a Need that We Have
We all have deep needs at some points in our lives. Some people would do anything to look more beautiful, become richer, be famous, live a certain lifestyle, to be accepted, to be noticed. Some people become addicted to substances such as alcohol and drugs ... and they will stop at nothing to get the money to feed their habit. They become desperate people who will steal from their own family for another high.

3. Because of a Passion that Consumes Us

Many people develop a passion that becomes the central point of their lives. I remember watching a documentary about Maradonna, the great footballer. Remember him as a 11 year old boy doing those keepie-ups for hours on end. In the documentary, even as a small boy, he said that every night he sleeps with the ball in his bed! he was desperate to become a great footballer ... and he did. (who can forgot that amazing goal he scored against England in '86! And in the same match he scored another one where he beat the whole English team!!!)

Businessmen are passionate about their profits, sportsmen are passionate about reaching a certain goal, salesmen become passionate about targets, fishermen become desperate about catching the most, Pastors become passionate about big churches, ... and sometimes, in the process, we get desperate. Sometimes we cut corners. Sometimes we make the wrong choices. Sometimes we listen to the wrong people.

Sometimes our passion drives us past the state of desperation. Who can forget the British sprinter Derek Redmond get up from a terrible fall in the Olympics and limp the last 300m to the finish line? what is our dream? Our passion? Our desires? These are the things that will drive us to desperation,and further.

Desperation will cause us to do things we have never done before. Desperation illuminates the real you. Desperation ignores dignity. Desperation must be seen and heard. Desperation swells emotions we did not know we had. Desperation doesn't care what other people think. Desperation eliminates the trivial and focuses on a positive outcome. Desperation pulls away the seemingly important and elevates the absolute essentials.

Get my drift? Desperate people change the world. Desperate people cannot be stopped. Desperate people are people who will not take no for an answer. They will fight, cry and believe until there is an answer or a conclusion.

Abraham was desperate to follow God ... wherever; David was desperate for the heart of God; Moses was desperate for the presence of God; Daniel was desperate for his relationship with God; Enoch was desperate for God Himself; the early church were desperate for the kingdom of God to be extended; the apostles were desperate for God to stretch forth his hand with signs, wonders, healing and salvation; ... the Early church fathers, the martyrs, the Covenanters, John Wesley, DL Moody, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, William Booth, Smith Wiggleworth, Billy Graham ... all desperate people desperately living for their generation.

I read a book by Reinhard Bonkke called 'Passion for Souls" that deeply challenged me. Bonkke is a man desperate for Africa to turn to Christ. Cut him in half and every part of him will cry out "Africa will be saved". Heidi Baker .. passionate about the lives of thousands of orphans. Desperate for Mozambique to be touched by the power of God.

Mark Ritchie? I need to become more desperate. More desperate for God Himself. For His presence. For His power. For His anointing. I am not satisfied with who I am at this point of my life. There is so much more. I know, deep in my heart, that there is another dimension that God wants for my life ... and without desperation I will never see it. I need to know again what it is to groan. To weep. To be broken. To pray for souls to be won for Christ. For a deeper walk with the Lord. I know that in the busyness of ministry and life ... I have lost something of who I am, or was, in God. Now, I want it back. Desperately.

You? How about you, my friend. Are you desperate? Maybe it is time, like me, to check our 'desperation level'. In the same way as we are desperate for physical rain here in Isabela ... may our lives cry out for spiritual rain that will touch our lives and the overflow will touch the world around us.

Become desperate.

Selah ...

Me Church

What do you think about this kinda church???

I saw this when I was home in UK but just stumbled across it again as I was looking for something on YouTube tonight.

My good friend Pastor Yang from Singapore always challenges us by asking a simple question: "Are we trying to build a church for our needs and reputation or is He building a church for His presence and His glory?"

Mmmmmm....

Any thoughts?

A Warm Hello from Alison Tait ...

Hi everyone ... well, true to her word Alison Tait is going to do the first ever 'Guest Blog' on the Real Deal. Alison, her husband Michael and niece Jemma Rose have been here at Sefton for the last week and we have had a great time with them. Here is what she wants to share ... well done Alison!

" A warm hello from Sefton Village - a place where you never know what will happen next. This is our third visit here and we always enjoy spending time with Mark, Mary, Lydia and Josiah and our Filipino friends. We have also enjoyed fellowship with Keith and Anne, who just cooked us Paprika Beef and trifle for tea. It's very hot here - some rain is always welcome. There is so much to tell you about, but here are just a couple of highlights.

On Tuesday we set off to a local school where we met the Cornerstone team who fed around 700 children some rice mixed with lots of nutritious ingredients (5 hours of cooking was eaten in 15 minutes!) The teachers were desperate for us to do a programme for the children, so pastor Jun spontaneously arranged some games, singing and prayers with the children. They loved it and their smiling faces showed it. That's when you know you're in the Philippines - when unplanned stuff happens with such blessing.


Today (Wednesday) we had an early start, first to the Cornerstone office for a short time of worship and prayer, before about a dozen of us went to the local government emergency hospital. We were told that the patients would be laying in the corridors but nothing prepared me for the smell and to see these people, most of them on drips, laying on their own camp beds outside, with a small roof covering them. The team went in twos into different wards and corridors, getting to know the needs of the people and praying for them. They did this with such love and respect for these patients honouring the name of Jesus.

Sefton is a colourful place in many ways with beautiful people...

Our 3 Year Old Bundle of Fun!

What a fantastic time! Yup, so great to spend time in Singapore and Malaysia again. Went to the Cornerstone Pastors Summit in Joho, Malaysia from Tuesday-Thursday last week and there was a feast of great fellowship, tremendous preaching and encouragement. The Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Singapore, Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong was the speaker and he tackled the issue of Transforming a Nation, Revival v Reformation, Finishing Well etc. ... inspirational stuff.

Left Malaysia on Thursday night and met Michael, Alison & Jemma Rose in Singapore. Had an early flight to Manila on Friday morning and I was desperate to get home. It was my wee boy Josiah's 3rd birthday on Friday! And, even though Daddy didn't arrive until 9pm there were two very exited children peeping out of the window! What a welcome (although I am still not convinced that Lydia was more excited about the giver of the gift rather than the gift itself!)

Josiah had a great day, according to mummy. He opened lots of presents before school and here, if it is your birthday, you don't have to wear a school uniform. So he went to school all togged up with new clothes from his Granny Mary! At the end of class they all sang Happy Birthday and we ordered a beautiful 'Lightning McQueen' cake. Wow. He was so happy. And just to end a perfect day, Daddy brought home some more Lightning McQueen toys from Singapore.

On Saturday we had a lovely family day an finished with a special birthday McDonalds for the staff & kids in the Children's Home. Great stuff. Josiah is doing great now - thanks to your prayers. He is a wee comedian and loves to laugh and make people laugh. he is doing great at school and he is centre of attention (Mmmm, wonder where he gets that from???) He is a handsome wee guy and his 'thing' right now is to wear shades and spike his hair ... just like a certain cartoon character he loves. Well, at least he doesn't speak like Pingu any more!

He is doing well health wise as well. He has the odd snuffle but he is gaining weight and eating much better. Thanks for your prayers.

On Sunday we had Cornerstone United and many came to celebrate with us. Keith Pointon spoke about the 'Christian's Survival Kit' and many were blessed, challenged and ministered to. Great to feel and experience the power of God.

So here we are, just starting another week. So much to share and so little time to blog. As I was reading some other blogs that Michael showed me, it seems that most people who blog are always apologising for not blogging consistently! So I don't feel quite so bad now. Rumour has it that some of our visitors here at Sefton now are going to do a 'Guest Blog' in the next day or two, but we'll see!

Hey, if any of our visitors who were here in June/July - Singaporean or Scottish - want to write an article about their experiences here at Sefton then just email it to me and I will stick it on the blog. That would be a nice change ... so come on Deborah, Faye, John, David, Kirsty or any of the team members ... up for a challenge?

Goodnight ...

p.s. - Had to laugh the other day. Our internet was off for a week ... again ... and the phone company informed us that our line had been cut and that the thieves had stolen our whole cable - over 300 metres of it!! This is the 3rd time this year. Only in the Philippines ...

Beautiful Singapora ...

Here I am, sitting in front of a spectacular skyline in a hotel on Singapore's Harbour front (see above). Doesn't get much better than this! From our hotel we can see Raffles hotel right in front of us, St Andrews Church just to our right and the busy harbour straight ahead. What a place! We booked the basic room but, wehey, when we arrived at midnight they were all gone. So were the next class .. so here we are in Club Class on the 23rd floor. The unforced rhythms of grace! (I can just here my brother David saying, "Aye, ye always land on yir feet!)

Yesterday was a great day. We only had 4 hours sleep due to our plane leaving late and an eager bunch of Singaporean friends bringing us out for dinner. The favourite phrase in Singapore is "Have you eaten yet?" Now, if you were a born liar you would end up pretty big! Ahem. But we hadn't eaten so they took us to this place called the lagoon, by the beach. It is around 50 eating places in the shape of a square and in the middle there are tables where you can eat. Amazing.

Yesterday we went to Cornerstone Church. We went to the 8:30am service. It was so wonderful for me to see my old friends again. I really love these people ... especially my 'big brother' Pastor Yang and his lovely wife Daphne. There was a visiting pastor called Joel Baker ministering yesterday. He used to be the Director of a Bible School in Singapore but now ministers in Australia. He was superb - "The Love of God". If you can listen to this message from Cornerstone's Website (link on right) you will be blessed.

I was speaking at the Chinese service ... what an experience! Around 250 Chinese folk packed into one of the church's many conference theatres. When they began to worship it was like being in heaven! They sang with such fervour and passion. I did not know a word they were singing ... but I definitely know who they were singing about. I preached about 'Our Meat is on the Street' encouraging them to believe God that they can take His power and presence from the church to the street. So many responded and at the end we prayed for all the sick. They just kept on coming! There was a wonderful sense of God's purpose and presence. The service lasted more the 3 hours ... it felt like a moment.

We rested a bit in the afternoon and then Michael and the gang went out with some Singaporeans for a Hot Pot. I went with Pastor Yang and his family for a Chinese meal ... unbelievable! In the west we judge by quantity but here they judge by quality. Every mouthful was delicious. Anyway, let's move on ....!

Tomorrow I am going for the Cornerstone Pastors Retreat in Singapore. This is a wonderful time of sharing, reporting about what is happening, praying for each other and inspiring each other in our vision. Michael, Alison and Jemma Rose will stay in Singapore until we fly back to Philippines on Friday.

By the way, Jemma Rose gets a special Ritchie prize for 'Church Attender of the Year'. She went to the 1st service form 8:30-10:30, straight to the Chinese service until 1:00 and then from the Youth service from 1-3:30pm. Incredible ... in church for 7 hours straight! Well done Jemma ... I'll be telling Steve Ritchie about your great feat! He He

The people from Cornerstone Singapore are the nicest people I have ever met, bar none. They are so kind and the way they show hospitality is beautiful. They have such servant hearts and we are trying to do things' the Cornerstone way' in Santiago also. Bible calls it 'going the extra mile.' Teach me Lord.

Just found out that Heidi Baker is coming to Cornerstone in January. We heard her speak here last April and that was an amazing experience. She is coming in the second week of January 2008 ... if you fancy a great wee trip just after New Year to somewhere different why don't you plan to come to Singapore for a week. Your soul, body and spirit will be truly uplifted as you see Singapore, experience Cornerstone and hear Heidi. Selah.

Will blog soon. Here are a few wee updates before I go:

Margarita - she is slowly improving. Hope to get out of hospital today.
Mona Lisa - Praise God, she is starting to eat regularly... and he hair IS growing!
Mary & kids - pray for them as when i am away the enemy always tries to do something that will discourage them. Pray for angels to watch over Sefton Village.
Students - we also had 2 students in hospital last weekend. One is discharged now but Gawina is still there. Pray that she will be discharged today.

Be blessed and have a great week ....

Pray for Our Little Ones

Hi folks. Well, I thought it was too good to be true. Our Internet was off for almost a month and we had it back for a whole 6 days! But on Saturday night it was cut off and it hasn't returned. I am back in Manila in an Internet cafe trying to write this very important blog in an environment of very loud heavy music! Aaagghh .. I admit it .... I'm getting old! Please forgive me for any spiling mistakes or bad grandma.

I have some urgent requests for you to pray about ... all concerning kids. Over the last three weeks so many of the kids at Sefton have been so sick. Many in the nursery had severe diarrhea, sickness and fever. Josiah and Jonathan's son Daniel ended up in hospital as well as Karis, a daughter of one of our staff. Then two of our teachers' kids ended up in hospital. So much to take at one time.

And this week has been just as bad. Please pray for the following:


* Mona Lisa - not a pretty picture!

Mary had a very hard day on Tuesday. A mum was brought by the Social Work Department with her two young kids. The mum was mentally unstable and was a manic depressive. She had 6 kids but was not capable of looking after them. When it came time for her to leave she went hysterical and almost broke the little girls arm.

Mona Lisa is a beautiful girl but her mother has tried to cut her her and made a terrible mess. Little Mona Lisa has been on a very poor diet and when Marilyn went to see the home last week her mum was feeding her sand. Hard to believe, but true.

She is VERY malnourished and does not have the will to eat. She is a lovely girl with a beautiful personality. We need her to start eating to have a chance. Please pray.

* Margarita - Dengue fever

Margarita is our oldest child in the Children's Home and she is never ill. But this week she has had high fevers as well as other flu like symptoms. She started having nose bleeds... and we began to worry. Our worst fears were realised when we took her to hospital. She has dengue .. worse than malaria and very serious.

She is in hospital now but her blood platelet levels are dropping. We need you to pray that the Lord would touch her body and that this dengue would disappear.

* July - the rice sack kid!

On Tuesday night I got a call from a member in Nagassican that there was a 4 day old baby there that was almost dead and was convulsing. Pastor Danny ruched there and brought this baby boy to hospital ... all the family had to wrap him in was a rice sack (see picture above). Story is this. This baby was born and the mum could not produce milk. They are very poor, so they went to the little store and bought some packets of Coffee Mate. Yup, that's right. So for four days this baby had water and coffee mate. He dehydrated and almost died.

Thank the Lord we got him to hospital in time. Pastor Danny said that they should name him ... so they called him July! Strange but very Filipino.

PLEASE pray for all these kids and also that all these bouts of illness would go. Pray for our protection. Even for us as a family the last thing we want is for our two kids to catch dengue as it is very serious for western kids if they catch it.

Thanks for standing with us. I am going to Singapore for a conference on Saturday so please pray for Mary and the staff as they minister at Sefton Village.

Be blessed .. and stay healthy!

PS - Thanks to the 35 folk who have signed our guetbook ... but what about the rest of you?? Come on .. it will only take a minute! Thanks ....

Tabitha

Hi stranger! My fault ... not yours! I just want to thank everyone who prayed for Josiah. He was discharged from hospital on Saturday morning and since then his eating has improved, he is gaining strength ... and he certainly has his singing/shouting voice back again! He is a real character ... a wee comedian!

Been down in Manila and the Scottish Team are well and truly home now. We had a great couple of weeks and my two kids loved having other Scottish kids around. We had a really good programme organised for them - a mixture of ministry time, kids time and learning time. I will write a blog with a report on all the great things that happened.

In the meantime, I want to totally inspire and encourage you by an amazing story that happened here this week. As you know, one of our ministries at Cornerstone Church is our Hospital Ministry every Wednesday morning. I asked the Lord, "If you came to Santiago, where would you go?" I felt in my spirit that He would go to the place where there is the most helplessness and need ... the local Government hospital. A terrible place. Every time we go there, desperation hits us in the face.

For example, the lady at the bottom of this blog was in a desperate situation. She had to have a cesarean as there were complications with her twin babies. She had the operation and the kids were healthy. She, however, was not. She had an infection that was so severe she was at the point of death. Listen to this .. when we talked to her she told us that she had to sell one of her twins just to pay the medicine to keep her alive. Tragic. This week, Pastor Danny said that she was not there. We don't know if she is even still alive.

I have been challenging the leaders, and myself, not to pray 'safe' prayers - "Lord, I pray that by this time next week he'll be out of this hospital" or "Lord guide the hands of the surgeons" or "may she wake up tomorrow feeling better". Know what I mean. We are excellent at safety. Keep our pride and dignity at all costs.

But ...we need the Peter & John anointing - right here, right now. In the Name of Jesus ... walk, be healed, blind eyes open, asthma be gone, high blood pressure become normal, heart disease flee etc. I have been challenging the leaders to ask "How do you feel, what is happening" after they pray. These people literally need a miracle now. Some of them are teetering at the edge of life and death ...

There was a little boy called Joshua, only 8 years old from Santiago City. He cut his thumb on a piece of rusty iron and it became infected. In the UK, tetanus jab, no problem. In the Philippines ... life threatening. His thumb became black and septicemia began to run through his body. Two weeks ago Pastor Danny, Pastor Winston along with David & Grace Strachan from Peterhead prayed with the boy and his family. David left a card with a verse on it to encourage them.


Last weekend, wee Joshua's conditioned worsened and his family was called to the hospital. They watched helplessly as the poison took the last breath from the little boy ... he died. The Doctor pronounced him dead and the family were distraught.

Five minutes after he died something amazing happened. Joshua's grandmother began to hold this boy in her hands and began to cry out to the Lord. She said that she began to 'pray the same prayers as the Cornerstone people'. She rebuked the sickness and cried out "God, if you are there ... have mercy on this boy and hear my cries."

Whenever she prayed this prayer, Joshua's eyes opened. He was back! Over the next few days the poison in his body began to disappear and last Wednesday his grandmother was waiting to tell our pastors the amazing story. Look at the picture at the start of this blog. His thumb is completely healed! No puss. No black poison. Our God is a healing God. Hallelujah! The book of Acts is still being written ....

Well, that's OK in the Philippines... but it wouldn't really happen in the West. Really? Who prayed? Who had the faith? Who believed against the odds? An old grandmother in the depths of despair. She wasn't a member of a Pentecostal Church. She wasn't in a cell group. She isn't even an evangelical. But she thought ... only Jesus can hear me.

In Scotland, England, Ireland & Wales .. in the USA or Australia ... wherever you may be, God is searching for those whose hearts are fully committed to Him .. so he may strengthen them. Why don't you ask the Lord, "Lord, if you came to my town ... where would you go?" or "lord, can you use me?"

It will open your eyes and change your life. In the meantime, there are people in hospital right now who need the same miracle as Joshua; they need love' ... they need to know someone cares. The church MUST break out of her four comfortable walls and begin to walk the streets. For there you will find needs you never knew ... and at the point of need you will find a saviour waiting for His people to speak faith into the most helpless of situations.

Got a cup of water? An old jacket? An extra meal? A bit of time? A letter of encouragement? An shoulder to lean on? A prayer of faith? (Please read Matthew 25:34-46)

Go ... the world is waiting for you. If you won't go ... what will happen to the Joshuas of your generation? Miracles are waiting for you ... only believe.

Selah

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42

Pray for the Wee Man...

Wehey! After 3 weeks we have Internet! Back in action now.

This is just a tiny blog to say that we are fine ... well, almost all of us. Little Josiah has not been so well these last 3 weeks. He had bad diarrhea in the last fortnight and we couldn't get the back of it. We think now it was because of a change of water at the school.

On Wednesday he started to be sick as well and on Thursday he was getting worse. We went to the Doctor who said that wee Josiah was really dehydrated and he was admitted to hospital.

Even after 2 hours of the dextrose drip he made a bit of a recovery and was getting back to his normal self. Yesterday he continued to recover and today he came home. Sorry for not getting the prayer request to you all but we were out of time, out of energy and out of Internet!

We are just hopping in the car now to go to Manila. We have had a great time with the Scottish Team and I will update you soon. So many great things are happening here. Storms and battles are to be expected.

Better go ... pray for us - especially wee Josiah and his exhausted mummy!

Thanks ...

The Farmer Who Sowed Sorrow...

There was a man - probably a farmer - who decided one day to prune his coconut tree. He took out his very sharp sabre and began to cut the leaves of his tree. He wasn't an evil man and indeed, he had no intentions of causing great sorrow and heartache to an un-named Scottish missionary. But then he made a mistake. Misjudging his aim in a moment of folly - hey, maybe the sun was in his eyes? - he took a swipe at his branch but instead cut a wire that was hanging close by. He thought nothing of it.

But my friends ... that wire was an important wire. It was the wire that connected this poor missionary to the rest of the world. It was the wire that brought me my beloved broadband and my life outside Sefton Village. To this farmer, it was only a wire, but to me it was a lifeline! And that was 13 days ago! The phone company said that my line was a 'very very long line' and that they would have to order new wire from Manila. So here I am, phone-less, wire-less and internet-less. Woe is me! He He.

But, then I had an idea. I have a new mobile phone on my contract and it is a beauty! A Nokia N95. Amazing. When I loaded the software there was an icon that said 'use my phone as a modem'. Mmm ... can this wee phone really link me to the world again? It did! It is not so fast as broadband, and it is more expensive, but it works! And the very fact you are reading this proves it.

These last two weeks have been very busy but so amazing. We had a team from Cornerstone here for a week and we had an excellent week. On the day they dropped them off we picked up the Scottish Team from Manila and they are here now. they are doing great and we are enjoying their company. So much to share - the funny, the challenging, the good, the bad, the ugly ... but I will wait and see if we can get our broadband back in the next day or two!

If you ever come to Santiago and you see a farmer-looking guy who has an embarrassed look on his face ... he's the one!

Blog soon .... promise!

p.s. - thanks to all who have written in our guestbook. If you have not ... please please do. We would love to know who you are and where you come from!

Cardboard Boxes Can’t Cut Grass.

I went down to Manila last Wednesday and came back on Friday night. We really desperately needed to get a pile of stuff for Sefton Village and so Jonathan & I headed down in my van with a local Pastor who came to help. It was non stop shopping! We got new lights for the Fire Centre, new PA for the church, heaps of things for the Children’s Home, 40 ring-binders & notebooks for the students etc. etc. We were jam packed.

One of the things that Jonathan really needed was a new lawnmower. We had two really old ones but they graduated to the big lawn in the sky a few months ago. Jonathan tried to resurrect them, but the old mowers were no mower. Ahem. Well, we managed to get a good deal on a new Briggs & Stratton 4hp lawnmower WITH a grass catcher! Wow, in the Philippines usually the guy who cuts the grass is also the grass gatherer at the end! So Johnny boy was over the moon.

We got back and unloaded all our stuff. Of course, being a good dad and living in the Filipino culture I had brought back my two kids Pasalubongs (gifts). Just a set of 3 cars from ‘Cars’ for Josiah and a Care bear for Lydia. They started playing enthusiastically for about 3 minutes and then I noticed them looking out the window. There, with a humungus (?) grin on his face, was Jonathan unpacking and building his lawnmower. “It’s very big dad”, “Can I have a go?”, and “Do you think Uncle Jonathan will give it to us?” I was initially very impressed at their apparent interest in things mechanical … but I was confused by their desire for a lawnmower.

They ran outside and the next thing I knew they had brought the object of their desire into the house … no, not the lawnmower but the box of the lawnmower! They played and played, tossed and tumbled, laughed (and cried!), jumped and slid around for around an hour. You should have heard their laughter and obvious excitement. They poked their eyes out the sides and pretended they were serving at McDonalds! Such imaginations. Lightning McQueen and Tender Heart were soon forgotten.

Got me thinking. When Briggs & Stratton built this box, they did not have playing in mind. They didn’t have kids in mind. They didn’t have McDonalds restaurants in mind. All they wanted was an attractive but strong cardboard carton that would protect and advertise their product. But my two excited kids they saw it as a boat, a car and a fast food restaurant. They were not interested in cutting grass; they were interested in having a good time.

A bit like us. Spiritually … we love playing with packaging. We love making the minor major. We often make the major minor. We love to miss the point. We love to dwell in the insignificant. We love to talk. We love to play in the shallows of greatness.

Don’t believe me? God has amazing things for us to do. He shows us plans, dreams and vision. He gives us gifts to use to do the job. He gives us all the authority in heaven to use in any given situation. He gives us His name to combat the works of the enemy. He bestows upon us all the power inherited and won by His Son.

And what do we often do? We argue, we debate, we plan, we consider, we procrastinate, we dwell … anything but get the job done.

Take evangelism. We read books, we watch DVD’s, we talk about it, and we debate the different styles and methods. But only few churches have an evangelistic department or programme. Gifts of Holy Spirit – we know all about each gift, how to use each gift, the purpose of each gift, the power of each gift, we can categorize them into different groupings … but so very few actually use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church … or just as importantly... on the street. Prayer – we know we should pray, how important it is, when we should pray, we know we should be at the prayer meeting, but … our prayer meetings are empty. Often our time with the Lord is pushed aside.

We love packaging. We love to talk. We love to play. But packaging will never cut grass. Jonah loved packaging. He was more concerned about a stupid little tree than the eternal destination of 120,000 people.

My friend, there is ‘grass to be cut’. There are people to be won for Christ. There are places that have absolutely no Christian witness. Whole towns and villages are going to hell. There are people who are desperate for a healing touch … just someone to visit them with some encouragement. There are broken people, oppressed people, lonely people, damaged people. Just down your street. You don’t have to walk far to find emptiness.

The crunch of my life came when a couple sang a simple song at a youth conference in Fraserburgh. The song was about a farmer who was a father. All his family and friend were in his house having a party. They were having a ball! But as he looked out to the fields and saw the huge harvest he said to himself, “My house is full … but my fields are empty. Who will go and work for me today?” For me, this was the call of God.

Don’t play with the packaging any more. It’s time to ask the Lord of the Harvest to equip you for the work he has for you. It’s time to seek Him. It’s time to eagerly desire spiritual gifts. It’s time to cry out for your purpose, your vision, your destiny.

Because cardboard boxes can’t cut grass ….

Selah ...