Week in Wick

We are having a great time here in the far north of Scotland - Wick, Caithness. It is brilliant to see Mary's mum & dad again after one and a half years. This is a long time for a granny & granda not to see their grandkids and we know that this is the hardest thing about being so far away on the mission field. It is hard for David & Wilma .. but also hard for us not having grannies and grandas around. But we are back now and we will cherish the moment. We have to appreciate 'the preciousness of the moment.'

As you can see by the pictures, we went to a beach near Wick yesterday. It was so beautiful ... but so cold! The kids loved making sandcastles in the sand an throwing skimmers into the sea! Actually, as Josiah keeps telling me, "It's not sea daddy, it's an ocean!" Mmmm...

Just want to update you on where we are going to be in the next few weeks. We would love to catch up with you on our journey! Here is our plan:

Monday April 7th to Monday April 14th -
Wick with Mary's Mum & Dad
Monday April 14th to Friday April 19th -
Torquay, Devon with Andrew & Rachel David
Friday April 19th to Sunday April 21st -
Central Belt Scotland
Monday April 20th - Tuesday May 6th - Fraserburgh at my Mum & Dad's

SUNDAYS
April 13th - Wick (am & pm)
April 20th - Whitburn (am)
April 27th - Fraserburgh Elim (am) Fraserburgh AoG (pm)
May 5th - Aberdeen AoG (am)

Our mobile phone number in the UK is 07526113456

Will catch up soon with all the news from Sefton. Take care and hope to see you on our travels.

Blessings ....

Take The High Road ...

So much has happened since I last blogged. I am feeling a bit rough - check out what I look like in the cartoon above ha ha! I am writing this blog from the beautifully cold town of Wick ... the hometown of Mary and the Flett clan! Yup, we are home now!

I am determined to write number of blogs this week informing you of the happenings at Sefton Village over the last few weeks. As you know, we had a team from Mattersey here and a week after they went home we hosted another team from Aberdeen AoG. We had a really fruitful time with them ... I will let you know about their trip tomorrow.

We had a nightmare trip home. Two hours in the check in counter and two hours on the tarmac in the plane! AAaagggghhh.... So hard for our two wee ones. We chased our tails all the way across the world and just made it on to the plane at Heathrow. Unfortunately, our trip to Terminal 5 lived up to its reputation! We are still waiting for one case to arrive!

We arrived back in Scotland on Friday ... FREEZIN! Ouch! People had told us it had been 23 degrees ..until Friday! What's going on?! Come on ... let's get some heat in this country! We had a great weekend with my family. So brilliant to meet my new little nephew David - a wee cutie! Great to catch up wit the Ritchie clan again.

On Sunday we went to Elim in morning and our friends Charlie & Chrissie shared about their recent trip to India. It was lovely to catch up with all our friends there. At night we went to Fraserburgh AoG where we met some old friends again. Brilliant day.

We took the road north to Wick yesterday. It is an absolute pleasure to drive on Scottish roads. I love it! So smooth and the scenery is breathtaking. And surprisingly there are no dogs, chickens, tricyles, jeepnies or clapped out buses on the road! Heaven...

It is wonderful for our kids to meet all their grannies, grandas, aunties, uncles and cousins again! It makes the trip worth it.

So I'm off to bed now. I have a really sore right ear but I think I will live! Blog soon ...

Sleep well ...

Easter Unpackaged

Today is Easter Monday! The Lord is alive ... he HAS risen! No more morbid visits to tombs of religious leaders. No more queueing in long queues to see the body of a famous leader in a white coffin. No need for expensive holy pilgrimages to far away places where a 'god' lived or died! Jesus Christ has CONQUERED death, DEFEATED the grave and has the KEYS of life. Wow! This is the most incredible news!

What are my thoughts this Easter? No, not the amazing chocolate eggs that you get in UK (save some for us folks ... pick them up next week! Coming to think about it, my two kids have never seen a huge chocolate egg!) Hint Hint! Not Easter Bunnies or painting and rolling eggs down a hill. I actually have had a little bit of time to reflect a little on Easter. Here are a few thoughts:

THE TRAGEDY OF A DYING SON
To be honest, I don't really fully appreciate or understand this. I love my own two kids and I would do anything for them. I want to be there for them always. I want to provide for them and never reject them in any way. This is my desire and my promise. I cannot comprehend the phrase in Isaiah 53:10, "But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief." (NLT)

But for Jesus ... at the point of His life when He needed His father the most - when suffering indescribable agony of spirit, horrific pain in his body and battles of his mind - His father turned his back on him. His father chose to ignore and refused to help. His father know that He must suffer the agony of seeing His son suffer for a moment in order to save mankind forever. The only way was a way of rejection. This was a time of terrible pain for both father and son. Unbelievable. The eternal destiny of you, me and the whole of mankind could be lost or found in those few hours.

A few weeks ago I watched a father watch his 6 year old son die. I watched a father hold and kiss his unconscious son as he fought for his life. And I watched the agony of the father as he said goodbye. Through those terrible situation Gio's dad has found the real father! The pain of the cross meant that 2000 years later Gio's dad can still find true reconciliation with the father. Gio's dad said to me, "I am now going to live for the Lord. I am going to serve Him always. If ever give up, the life and death of my son is wasted. For I know the death of Gio has drawn me to the Lord." Isaiah also says about the Lord, "When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied."

THE DESPERATION OF A DYING MAN
The thief on the cross looked at Jesus and cried out in desperation, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." We don't know his name, only his crime; a thief. He had been caught stealing something, somewhere from someone. And his punishment - incredible to us 2000 later - was to die a horrific death on a cross. He had endured the mocking, spitting and beatings. He had blood flowing everywhere and pain in every part of his body. He was finding it hard to believe as his lungs filled up, preparing for his last few breaths. For sure, he was fighting for his life and was in the last dark moments of probably a tragic life. He was not famous; would not be remembered for anything he had done; he was an embarrassment to his family and a mere statistic to the Romans; he was a disgrace and laughing stock to the Jews and a failure in the eyes of everyone .. bar none.

Bar one, actually. There was one who loved him and gave him hope. And there He was ... dying next to him. When the thief looked over at Jesus, his spirit realised, "This man IS the Son of the Living God. He IS my only hope." And in true desperation and with every fabric of faith, he cried out his dying request, "Remember me..."

Remember: Jesus was also in absolute torment of soul, body of and spirit. YET, he looked at the condition and faith of this man and chose to forgive him! He chose to remember him. He saw past the sin and saw a sinner who needed a Saviour. He chose to hear the man's cry and respond with the most beautiful words this man had ever heard, "I tell you the truth ... today, you will be with me in paradise." Now, like Simeon, this unnamed robber could face death with hope and confidence. For he had seen the King. He had experienced the love of the Son of God. His sins, though many and very public, were forgiven ...

...and his last painful inhaling breaths on earth were followed immediately by his first wonderful exhaling breaths on heaven! No more pain, no more sickness, no more sin, no more "I'm sorry", no more darkness, no more mistakes, no more stealing, no more tears. Because he cried out in faith the rewards and blessings of heaven were his.

And, no matter who we are, where we have been and what we have done ... we also can look to the Lord and find this hope! He still forgives broken lives.

THE HOPE OF A DYING WORLD
Hope. What a word. Everyone needs hope. You can take away dignity and possessions form a man and he will still have the will to survive and live. But if you take away hope there is absolutely nothing to live for. Without hope our minds warp, our body withers and our spirit begins to break. But if a man has hope he can endure great pain, suffering and times of testing. It's all about hope.

And the great thing about Easter is that now there is hope for the world. Yup, the whole world. Hope for today, tomorrow and eternity. Hope for our children. Hope for our lives. Hope for heaven. Hope that, no whatever pain we go through, there is always a brighter tomorrow.

And my ministry, as well as yours. is to simply share hope. Not hope in a product, a system, a person an idea, ideal or theory; hope in a person who has conquered everything that we fear - sickness, sin, fear of dying and death itself! Our hope is in the one who CANNOT be defeated and CANNOT be overthrown .. all because of a loving father, an obedient son and a defeated enemy.

This is Easter. We have no excuse if we do not live lives full of hope and purpose. Because now the way for God-filled-joy-filled-purpose-filled lives has been opened up because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

Forget yesterday. Examine your heart and life today. Make changes and plan for a better tomorrow. It's yours ... because of Easter!

Plans & Dreams

Hi Folks, I'm back again! Here in the Philippines we are in Pacquio fever ... the one and only Manny Pacquio has done it again! This fantastic little Filipino boxer really is the pride of the nation. On Sunday he beat Marquez and truly is one of the best boxers in the world! Well done wee man!

We had a great week last week. On Friday we had the Graduation at KMGLC ... our Lydia graduated! She had cap, gown .. the lot! I will do a blog about this later this week. Wee Josiah sang his heart out and has now done one years nursery. We are so proud of them. On Saturday Matthew & Claire had a Birthday/Dedication for their youngest daughter Ariella. What a special time we had together. Sefton family is a wonderful family!

Apart from that, life goes on here at Sefton Village. Mary and Claire are working like Trojans (whatever that means!) getting the new school plans done. The enrollment for the Kinder and Elementary schools are finished already! Parents queued for hours just to get their kids into our school. May the Lord reward their commitment to their children! Here in the Philippines, the most wonderful gift parents can ever give their child is a good education.

Still no sign if my laptop. I emailed every Apple Mac reseller today with details of my stolen prized possession, but I feel I will never see it again! Never mind ...

This year is going to be a busy old year for us Ritchie's. What has happened to January, February and half of March? Seriously, no jokes. Where did it go? Seems like a few days ago we were watching the New Years Eve fire works! But there's been a lot of water under the bridge in these last few months.

Really really enjoyed John Andrews and the Mattersey bunch being here. What a fantastic missions team. I know by the emails they have sent that they have been deeply impacted by their time in the Philippines. They have made a Group Page in Facebook called 'Philippines 2008 - The Best Missions Trip Ever!' Certainly was up there!

So now we are waiting for a team from Aberdeen AoG to arrive. There are 19 of them - including 4 children - and they are a mixture of builders, business men, teachers, doctors, nurses, students, housewives .. you name it! We have tried to make a programme that will stretch them and show the many new experiences and challenges. Pray for them - and us - as we believe God for a great time of blessing. The first group arrive on Saturday night with the rest arriving next Monday.

When they go home on the 3rd April ... so do we! We will be going back to Scotland to visit our families and have a rest. One of the main reasons why we come home every 1.5 years is so Mary's mum & dad can see & spend time with Lydia and Josiah (and us!). I think that 3 years not seeing your grandkids is a bit too hard for any loving granny & granda! We really miss our families but last year I was so blessed when a heap of my folks ventured out to Santiago!

We come back in May 6th and it is all go from then to get the new school ready. Initially we will have to meet in the Fire Centre or Bible School, but hopefully by October we will be able to use the new school. We have started the school in faith, believing that the Lord will touch the hearts of His people to give to this amazing project. We start in faith ... that the Lord is with us and He will finish His work.

In July I will attend the Cornerstone Pastors Summit in Singapore and in September 8-12 I will take a team of our Bible School teachers to the tri-annual APTA Conference (Asian Pacific Theological Association). From there I will fly to UK for a 3.5 week visit. I am planning to take some Filipino pastors with me - Marlou, Winston, James A and maybe August. It would be a great opportunity for me to bring these great young guys with me because Mary will stay in the Philippines with the kids. Pray that they will get their UK visas and that I can find two more sponsors for James & Winston.

The main reason for coming over to UK in September is that John Andrews has asked me to speak at their missions conference in Rotherham from Oct 2-5. When he was over I did ask him again if he was sure it was this Mark Ritchie that he wanted to speak and not one of the other two ... but he assured me it was me! It is a great honour to be asked and I know that it is going to be amazing! This week God has already been showing me some stuff to share. Look out for details and if you can get there ... I'll see you there!

My mum is going to come to the Philippines to help Mary for the 3.5 weeks I am away from home. My mum is amazing. She is absolutely fantastic. She has just retired ... but she is pushing the boat out so much to help us. Than you mum. you are our hero! My dad will come back with me and we will have a few weeks here in the Philippines all together.

In November we are all going as a family to the AoG World Ministries Action Asia Conference. It is a conference/retreat for all Missionaries in S-E Asia. We have only been to one, but it was great! So brill to catch up with everyone and meet new friends. Tough life.

In between all this we will be having missions teams, starting a new school, staring a new Bible School year, planting two churches, planning a 10th Anniversary conference for the Bible School etc etc. Life is never dull!

So, before we know it we will be in 2009!

But hey, but let 2008 be YOUR BEST YEAR EVER!

Back Again!

Weyeh ... back again! Miss me? Go on, be honest. I know you have been checkin' out every few days to see if there was anything new. Well, to be honest the old Internet has been off for ages. And we have been so busy these last few weeks that I have not been able to phone the phone company every day!

So many things have happened since I blogged way back in Feb 24th! We had the funeral of wee Gio ... such a sad occasion. I had to go to Manila but Mary and Anne made it to the funeral. They said that it was hear breaking to see the wee coffin being carried to the cemetery.

On Sunday 1st Winston & I went down to Manila to pick up a team of 12 people from the AoG Bible School at Mattersey. The team was headed by an amazing guy called Dr. John Andrews who comes from Northern Ireland. He was at Mattersey just before me (way back in teh 80's!) and he pastored a church at the great old age of 19! He is now the Senior Pastor of Rotherham New Life and we know John and his family very well now. He is a fantastic & inspirational speaker and is now Director of Training at Mattersey.

One of the things John has brought to Mattersey is that every student has to do an overseas missions trip every year! Wow! We felt blessed if we went to Scunthorpe for the weekend. How things have changed .... not jealous or anything ... ahem! Anyway, we were so chuffed when John chose to come here! he has been here twice before in 1994 & 1996 and so it was good fro him to see what the Lord has been doing at Sefton with his own eyes.

The team arrived and were ruched from the airport straight up to Santiago. They arrived at 7:30am and took the Cornerstone United service at 9am! In at the deep end! It was all go from there - Feeding Programmes, up river to the villages, preaching at SBTC, cultural challenges, hospital ministry, student ministry, playing with kids in orphanage, taking classes at school, preaching to the parents, jail ministry, Powerhouse Kids ministry, Youth services, preaching in our Cornerstone churches etc. etc. Phew, I am tired just typing out that stuff!


One of the things we did was run a Leadership Conference for 2nights-1 day. John Andrews was the speaker and he was brilliant. The theme was "Servanthood - the Pathway to Greatness." Spot on! I believe so many were touched and challenged by the Lord at our conference.

We took them to Banaue on Sunday afternoon and drove down to Manila on Monday. By the time you read this they should be touching down in the UK. If any of the Mattersey team are reading this ... could a couple of you write a wee 'Guest Blog' so you can share your experiences with us all! Thanks in advance.

The devil loves it when God is moving. He is delighted when people's lives are transformed. He will do anything to encourage and inspire us .... doesn't he? Em, no. I felt last Monday that there was a big discouragement coming and that God was saying, "Don't focus on it, focus on what I am doing." Sure enough, whilst wonderful things were going on during the week, someone walked into my home and stole my Apple Mac laptop. Worst thing was hat I had just bought a 100 pounds new battery for it and had opened the box to check the battery was OK. So I was left with a battery I didn't need and could not return and a laptop I no longer possessed! I decided not to dwell on it ... but now that I have a bit more time I have to say I am a teeny weeny bit 'scunnered' (doric for 'fed-up!)

Never mind, I'm sure the Apostle Paul lost a few laptops on his missionary journeys! And after speaking to Gio's dad again yesterday I realise once again that everything can be replaced in life except life.

Don't focus on temporal things that can be destroyed - or stolen - at any moment. Set your heart on building for eternity and these temporary 'scunners' will mean nothing.

Bless ya ... hope to blog tomorrow. Promise!

A Tragic Tale

Thank you all for praying for wee Gio & Seke – the two brothers with dengue fever. I have some very sad news and also some very good news for you. Sorry for not being in touch sooner, usual story. The internet was off during the rain we have been having this week.

I went back to the hospital at midnight on Friday morning to pray through until 4 am. Pastor Adonis was my partner. I checked on Seke, the youngest brother, and he was fast asleep and looked very well. His dad said that he has responded to the medicine and was doing great. His blood platelet level was up and his body was fighting the dengue. The Doctor was there and she said that Seke would be discharged on Friday morning. Praise God!

But when I went to see Gio, it wasn’t so good. He was still heavily sedated and was on all the medicines and the respirator was breathing for him. The worst news was that his urine was full of blood … and that meant his internal organs were bleeding.

I sat with Pastor Adonis and Gio’s dad for most of the night, praying for Gio when the Doctor and nurses were no working on him. It was so tragic to see a wee 6 year old boy in the state he was in. Mary & Anne said that he was a really smart boy who always loved to answer questions first. He was a lovely guy …

…but here he was fighting for his life. I prayed for him and left when the next two pastors arrived at 4am. I went to bed ... and when I woke up I had been sent a text by Pastor Danny -"Sorry to say that little Gio just passed away." This was sent at 5:35am and I read it at 7:30am. I was so saddened and Mary wept when I told her. I immediately sent a text to the family with or love and prayers.

At the start of a meeting I had on Friday morning, I received a text from Winston (who was at the hospital for his prayer slot) saying that they think that they are going to switch off the respirator now because he was showing no signs of life. I couldn't believe it ... Danny had already told me Gio had passed away and I had sent a long text of condolence to the mum & dad! "Oh yeah, the family did asked me why Pastor Mark had sent them this strange text!" Even now I squirm and cringe! Only in the Philippines! Pastor Danny ....... wait till I get hold of you!!


But around 9:30 am Gio left this life. In the end, the sad thing was that it was not so much the dengue that was the main factor in his death ... his weak heart could not cope up and gave in. So sad. We spent some time with the family later in my home and tried to help them in various ways. Yesterday we went to their house with the teachers. They were all devastated because most of them had taught him. We brought all his school things and a certificate that he would have received in a couple of weeks time at Grduation. His loyalty medal is being made as we speak ... that is what he was most excited about.

The family are quite poor and where they live is not far from the river ... and full of mosquitoes. The funeral will be tomorrow (Monday) in the town where the mum & dad come from. We will all go there to pay our last respects.

Apart from the recovery of Seke, there is some good from this tragedy. When I went there on Thursday afternoon, Gio's dad (Gilbert) was in a real state. He was pacing around, confused and so emotional. He had prayed, "God, if you are there please help us." When Winston & I arrived we calmed him down and took control of the situation. We organised blood donors and took the pressure off Gilbert.

When I went back at midnight Gilbert was a changed man! He even looked different. His spirit had changed. As I prayed for Gio in the ICU, he opened up to Pastor Adonis. When he was younger, he gave his life to the Lord in Manila and served the Lord in a baptist church. But when he came back to the province he backslid and went after 'wealth and women.' After he got married he devoted himself to raising his family. God had no place in his life. But now ... this happened to his kinds and in his own words, "It woke me up."

When Adonis and Gilbert went in to pray for Gio, I saw Adonis lean over and grab Gilbert's hand. Adonis told me later that Gilbert started to pray for his son Gio, but half way through the prayer he started crying out to God and repenting of what he had done. Adonis led him back to the Father! Amazing!

Even yesterday, as the body of his son was there in his living room, he was telling me that from this day on he and his family were going to walk in the ways of the Lord. He told me that as he watched his son die, he began to see for the first time how God must have felt as he saw his son die on a cross. He had a revelation of true love and found true life at the point of a terrible death.

So pray for us tomorrow. It will be a hard day for us all ... especially the mum & dad. Thanks for all your prayers. Sometimes, you meet sadness on the journey. It's not easy but we have to pray that out of tragedy ... something good will emerge. In this case it is a repentant father. Please pray for Gilbert as he starts a new life and pray for Pastor Winston as he mentors him.

Thank you for all your prayers ...

Job Giorgio Francois Elducal
26th Jan 2002 - 22nd February 2008

Medal of Hope

Probably every day here in the Philippines I hear of a sad story about poverty, sickness or death. I am thankful that on most occasions I am never actually involved in real life dramas or extremely difficult situations. But on some days, like today, I find myself face to face with tragedy and hopelessness.

Imagine the scene. There is a family we know that lives not far from Sefton Village. They live in a place called Mabini - which is one of the most dangerous and dark places to live in our city. Drugs and prostitution are norm. There are always police cars there and plenty of stories. But this family have made Mabini their home and they have two handsome little boys - Gio and Seke. They grew up and started attending our Kinder School - the KMGLC. This year Gio (above) is in Kinder 2 and is preparing to go to grade 1 at our new school. Seke (below) is in nursery class and he is a lovely wee boy. These pictures are taken from our class photos taken just last week.


Then tragedy. Last weekend both boys fell sick with vomiting and a fever. Mum took them to the doctor and they were given anti-biotics. But over the weekend there was little improvement. On Tuesday mum & dad again took the boys to the doctor and they were given blood tests. It was dengue - a terrible disease similar to malaria except far more dangerous and potent. It begins with a mosquito bite and soon the body is under attack.

Gio got worse. He was soon at stage 3 ... very serious. His platelet level fell dramatically and soon it was a fight for his life. Thankfully, Seke responded quickly to the anti-dengue medicine and began to recover. But the problem fro Gio is that he has already had dengue 2 years ago and when it comes for a second time ... it is far more dangerous. Added to this, he has a heart problem that has weakened him.

Mary went in last night. Gio was concious, although weak. He asked his mum to hug him and said, "Don't worry mum, I am not going to die. I won't leave you here. Anyway, I haven't got my medal from school yet!" if a child attends our school for all three years they get a Loyalty Medal - and this is the desire of wee Gio's heart!

But things worsened overnight. His body began to fail. The family ran out of money and Mary asked me to go and pray for the family and see what they needed. When I got there I was so sad. His mum was waiting for us and when she saw us she bust into tears and crumbled into our arms. "Please help my baby," she sobbed. Winston and I went up and saw Gio. He had tubes going into his nose, hands and feet, a ventilator was breathing for him and I counted five medicines going to his body by drips. It was a terrible sight. I managed to pray for him on a couple of occasions - in between nurses and doctors working away at him.

I know the doctor and she said it is a very serious case - 50/50. I spent most of the afternoon there, encouraging the family, trying to find blood donors and praying for the boys. I am getting our Cornerstone Pastors to be at the hospital for 24 hr prayer and support. Tonight and tomorrow are critical. This morning hos platelet level was 15 ... near death.

Will you pray for these two little boys - especially Gio? Take time to lift him up in prayer. Can you get the people in your church to pray? Inform the prayer chains and intercesors. Send this blog to your friends and ask them to stand with us. This is a spiritual battle. Pray that Gio pulls through and recovers fast. He needs us ...

His medal is waiting.

Our Valentine Blunder - The Truth after 21 Years!

Wehey .. we're back in action again! The internet was off from Mon-Thursday night ... but it is on today! Miracles DO happen ....

Well, yesterday was Valentines Day. Oh I remember the excitement of being a teenager wondering if ... maybe ... there would be at least one valentines card coming through my letterbox! Was there one girl that would like to show that they were a 'secret admirer'? We all pretended to be cool on Valentines Eve ... but deep down we were desperately praying, like Samson, 'just one more time Lord ... at least one valentine PLEASE!'

I remember when I was around 15 I suffered a tragic moment ... no valentines card on the 14th! Ultimate embarassment! You spend a whole year trying to act cool in fromt of the girls, cracking you best jokes, wearing your best clothes, trying to be nice to them ... and not even one showed enough interest as to send you a valentine card! Heartbreaking stuff for a mid-teen. But there was good news ... my best friend Ben Ritchie never got one either! And he was better looking than me. So at least I was not alone in my hidden grief. So we got together and hatched a plan ...

Next year we bought very nice feminine valentines cards. Yup, you guessed it. Ben wrote some lovely verses and stated how wonderful and handsome I was. He wrote things like HOLLAND (hope our love lasts and never dies). I did the same for him and we even faked the handwriting. Very lady like. I was impressed with my work and even more impressed with Ben's efforts as I opened it proudly (in front of my whole family) next morning. Off I went to school ...pretty chuffed. 'Of course I got a valentine' I would say to one person after another after another.

Problem. Ben's parents and my parents were, and still are, best friends. I cringe to tell you this but the truth must be told. Ben's mum noticed my beautiful card and made her way over to read it. I mean, you couldn't miss it ... standing there in the cabinet as big, pink and beautiful a card as you ever did see! As she picked it up, panick filled my once excited heart. I saw her face beginning to smile and then she looked at me eye to eye, " Did Ben send you this? I know his writing!"

Up until this point in my life this would have to be the most direct and difficult question I ever faced. Here I was, facing a woman of God whom I loved and respected so much ... and who knew the truth. Would I lie and possibly spend the rest of my life needing to ask forgiveness to Aunty Anne? Or would I tell the truth, bare all and hope for the best? At best, they would laugh, keep it a secret and use it as blackmail fodder. At worst ... it could be contrived as me and Ben coming out of the closet ... if you know what I mean! So I decided to take the truthful way out and take the consequences on the chin ... like a man.

Thankfully, they laughed, I almost killed Ben, we got over it, I went to Bible School, married a real woman and am now a missionary! I have never sent another valentines card to a man since that horrific moment. Honest. So there is hope after disaster! So to all you 12-16 year olds who pretend that you don't really care about valentines but we know you really do ... take some advice from the big man - if you aint got a valentine don't try and change it. Admit it ... some guys have it and some guys don't! Just pray you're a late bloomer and better days are ahead!

Nowadays it seems as if those halcion days are long gone. This year, I recieved two valentines ... from my kids (which they made at school and was really for their mum!) Mary said to me, "I don't want roses and I don't need chocolate ... but of you want me to have a great valentine day can you get me new containers for coffee, tea bags and sugar!" Oh how the mighty have fallen. Such a great event and momentous day , for me, has turned into a bit of a downer.

Never mind ... Ben, me old buddy, let's get our thoughts together and hatch a plan for next year - coz I'm 96.7% sure that you didn't get a valentine this year either!

Mmmmm....

(By the way, happy birthday to my dad - 62 today! Well done dad - you the best and we love you so much. Make sure that mum spoils you and that you have a great weekend. And dad .... did you buy mum a Valentines card this year? He used to be a hopeless romantic!)

Hope for the 'Hopeless'

Watch this and listen to the amazing story of what God can do with a 'Hopeless Case'...Hallelujah!

Being Jesus where it Hurts

Alive and Well ...

I am alive.

I am not writing this from heaven.

We are back in the Philippines.

No, there's nothing to worry about.

Yes, we have had Internet problems.

Yes ... we had a great holiday ...

... in fact we had a superb holiday! We loved it so much. At 'Care for Mission' (a great place where missionaries go for medical 7 spiritual check up's when they come back to UK), they said to us that a holiday is not a holiday unless it is for at least 3 weeks! One week to wind down one week to completely chill and one week to prepare for coming home! I never really understood the importance of this until now.

We didn't make the three weeks .. but even two was great! We spent time in Manila -very familiar and very relaxing. then we were off to Hong Kong - the kids (big and small) really enjoyed Disneyland HK. Superb. Then it was over to Singapore for 5 nights. The zoo is the best ever; the science centre was amazing .. but teh conference of Heidi Baker was the highlight of the trip. Mary loved it.

We flew our Social Worker Marilyn over for the Conference and they both had a ball. Heidi was so challenging and we were in the same hotel as her. She is consumed by serving God and living in his presence ... on and off the platform!

Since coming back it has been non stop. Great opportunities are being presented to us almost every day! I never understood what 'the reaper shall overtake the sower' until now. We are coming into a time of abundant harvest!

I have made a little YouTube video about our ministry in the hospital. Enjoy it and be challenged. I will give more details later. I will catch up this week with all the happenings at Sefton Village ... promise!

There are some blogs (some old some new) from Sefton that you should look at and bookmark. They will also help you piece things together.

www.ccsgenerations.blogspot.com (By Daben, our Youth Pastor in Cornerstone Santiago)

www.cornerstonechurchsantiago.blogspot.com (by Pastor Marlou and the gang @ Santiago)

www.leekerr.co.uk (Matthew & Claire's blog)

Mmmm... work this one out!?

2008 ... An Empty Canvas ...

Well, that's it then ... goodbye 2007 - the good, the bad and the ugly! We will never pass that way again and all we have is memories in our hearts, computers and USB flash drives! For me, the end of a year is really a time of contemplation. Problem is that many of the things I contemplated on and made some sort of plan about this year are still the same things as last year! The wheel goes around ... (until this time next year??)

I went with Lydia and Josiah to a sift play area today whilst Mary and Catherine Young went shopping. I played with Josiah in the play area but Lydia wanted to go to the art studio. I watched her through the window as she painted a beautiful painting, made a pair of binoculars and a thank you card to her family! She loves arts & crafts and I think she is pretty gifted in that area.

Got me thinking about my own life. I guess in every one of us there are things - some natural and some spiritual - that we would love to do. In fact, we sorta think that 'some day' we will actually start to do something towards achieving our plans or dreams. That's me. There are so many things I am delighted with in my life and I wouldn't change - Mary, my two lovely children, our loving and supportive families back home, what God is doing at Sefton, who God has made me, the way I think etc. I love being me but there are some things about me that i know I have not scheduled into my life. And if I don't start to do things soon I guess I never will and will have some regrets. For example, here are four areas:

* Painting. Yup, wee Lydia made me think today. I loved art and I loved painting as a teenager. But life overtakes you and these 'luxuries' take a back seat. But I would love to paint again. I know I would. Actually, three years ago John Partington stayed with us for a week (always dangerous) and he was the same as me. Dave Gilpin challenged him to start painting .. and he did! So John challenged me by saying that he thought I should start! Guess what? John and I searched everywhere for paints and canvases in Manila .. and found nothing. He went home and the moment was gone .....

* Writing. I would love to write more. At school English was my best subject. Even at the age of 10 I was writing descriptive essays that even now, I cannot believe i wrote. My dad started writing a number of years ago and has written many articles that have been published in books and magazines. I know that within me, there are some things that are ready to be written. I don't say that with any sense of pride; I know who I am and the way God has wired me up. I think I am going to start another blog alongside this one that will allow me not just to write about Sefton, but a place where I can begin to write from my heart.

* Songs. Again, I know that there are songs that God has placed within me that will glorify the Lord and lift people up. I know it. I used to lead worship and loved it so much. But I have not led worship since 2003! Incredible. Maybe I made a mistake, I don't know. I felt God was saying, "Step back, train young people to do what you are doing." And I did. Cornerstone and Sefton have some great worship leaders now. But maybe, just maybe, the Lord didn't want me to step back ... but step aside. Maybe I was meant to train them and then minister with them. Anyway, there is a longing deep within my heart to start again in terms of leading worship and writing songs. Pray for me (and my poor fingers!) as I pick up my guitar again.

* Ministry. I guess 2007 has been an interesting year in terms of ministry. Basically, i have worked myself out of a job! Two years ago i was Senior pastor of a new church; now I am pastoring pastors of 6 churches! My role has completely changed. I really felt that we should hand the Leadership of Cornerstone Santiago to Pastor Marlou and he is doing a fantastic work. He is running with the vision and training the people for acts of service. My role is much more of bringing direction, vision and encouragement to this tremendous group of leaders.

Same in the Bible School. We have set up the curriculum, brought in the teachers, set up the Leadership structures and policies, developed the course spiritually as well as academically, got the Bible School into APEO and APTA organisations and generally set everything up. We have appointed a co-director to work with me - Pastor Angel Guillermo. Things have been difficult with the death of Pastor Abe and there are many things we are working through as far as a new dean is concerned. But I feel that 2008 will be a year where the Filipinos can rise up and take ownership and responsibility of the Bible School. This September SBTC will be 10 years old ...

So how about me? I have been really seeking the Lord as to how he wants me to minister. As a Pastor? Evangelist? Mentor? Prophetic? Leading worship? I know that where I am at the moment in terms of ministry is a passing phase. I have had to adapt to the challenges of Cornerstone, SBTC and a new British Team arriving in 2007 to work with us at Sefton. All these areas will change and settle .. but i am asking the Lord, "What do you want me to do? What ares of ministry do you want me to focus on? How do you want to change and develop me? Mmmmm.... interesting!
I have been quite saddened by the news of the death of Phil O'Donnell, the Motherwell captain. He was 35, fit as a fiddle, could run from end to end of a football pitch time and time again in one game ... and suddenly ... he collapses with a heart attack. Unbelievable. It has made me think a lot about certain things in my own life. I want to be like Phil in one aspect ... to be known as a good family man.

In fact, I am writing this blog from a hotel in Manila where me, Mary, Lydia & Josiah are starting a family holiday together. We will be away from Sefton Village for two whole weeks and we plan to just spend time together as a family, have fun and do a bit of travelling. On Saturday we will go to Hong Kong for 4 nights and then we will go to Singapore for 5 nights. The main aim of going to Singapore is to attend a conference hosted by Cornerstone Singapore where the main speaker is Heidi Baker. We went last year and it was incredible. Mary, in particular was so challenged by Heidi's life and ministry and so we decided to return again this year.

In the last 3 years there have been three or four budget airlines that have started up around S-E Asia and so now you can fly to other nearby nations for next to nothing! We are so grateful to the Lord because there have been a few friends who have sponsored/given us gifts for us to have this vacation. You know who you are and we are so thankful for your kindness and encouragement.

I end this extremely long blog (well, I don't know when I will be able to write another one) with a few funny quotes from a funny but challenging book by a Filipino Christian businessman called Francis Kong. The book is called "The early Bird Catches the Worm. But the Second Mouse Gets the Cheese." Here are some quotes about growing older:

* I started out with nothing ... I still have most of it.
* I finally got my head together ... now my body is falling apart!
* Funny, I don't remember being absent minded.
* All reports are now in; Life is officially unfair.
* If all is not lost, where is it?
* It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.
* It was all so different before everything changed.
* Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
* It's not the pace of life that concerns me ... it's the sudden stop at the end!
* It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.
* If God wanted me to touch my toes he would have put them on my knees!
* It's not hard to meet expenses ... they're everywhere!

To summarise ...

* Be like Paul ... Forget what is past, Live in the now, plan for the future.
* Make 2008 a year where you are determined to at least make a start on the things you know you should. I have shared some of mine; you know some of yours.
* Don't dwell on mistakes, live in guilt or walk with regret. Deal with issues now and your life will change. Short term pruning is painful but the long term rewards are beautiful.
* Life is always changing. Don't stay the same. Ask God for what He wants you to do, where he wants you to go and what He wants to change in you.
* Prioritise your family. Take care of them and love them. Plan that vacation!
* Life can be short. Prepare well.


Selah ...

Christmas Day @ Sefton '07

what a day! Enjoy . . .

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's just turned 12 midnight here in the Philippines .... it is officially Christmas Day! The whole Philippines have been preparing for this day since way back in September 1 ... ridiculous really!

I was a bit shocked at some of the statistics I read concerning Christmas in the UK. I wasn't totally aware that it is becoming more and more of a social festival rather than a Christian celebration. I know that it has become totally commercialised and a good excuse to lose discipline, get drunk and behave pretty badly. But it seems as if people don't even know about what Christmas is all about any more.

I read a startling report in our Weekly Telegraph this week. They asked a cross section of British people four basic questions about the Christmas story. Here are the questions & results:

1. Where was Jesus born?
Can you believe that 27% of British adults surveyed could not identify Bethlehem! In fact 36% of 18-24 year olds got the wrong answer. Some said Nazareth and some said Jerusalem!

2. Who informed Mary she would have a baby called Jesus?
27% of adults said that it was the shepherds.

3. Where did Joseph, Mary and Jesus go to escape King Herod?
hardly anyone got this question right. Many said that they went to Nazareth and some even said Rome!

4. Who is the cousin of Jesus who was also born at the same time?
Over 50% had no idea.

Only 12% of all adults surveyed answered all questions correctly.


I also read some interesting UK statistics concerning Christmas:

• We consume around 10 million turkeys, 25 million Christmas puddings, 250 million pints of beer and 35 million bottles of wine in the UK at Christmas.
• 7 million children leave mince pies and a drink for Santa on Christmas Eve.
• The UK spends £20bn on Christmas with £1.6bn going on food and drink.

• Each person takes an average of 15 hours to complete his/her Christmas shopping.
• 4 million Brussels sprouts are usually purchased in the week before Christmas.
• £10 billion is the average amount borrowed across Britain at Christmas to foot the bill.
• 41% more alcohol is drunk during the Christmas holidays than the monthly UK average.
• Each person spends an average of £33 on last-minute panic purchases.
• 25% of all Christmas shopping time is spent in queues.

• And a recent survey found that one in 10 adults – around four million people – is still paying off debts run up last Christmas

• Hangovers cost the UK about £2 billion a year in lost earnings through sickness absence.
• At Christmas, higher alcohol consumption leads to a 0.4% increase in fatal poisonings for every 1% increase in sales of spirits

The post-Christmas season is traditionally busy one for Ebay, the world’s largest auction site with 168 million registered users. A survey released by the company in 2005 found that:

• Over 50% of Americans say they ‘re-gift’ presents they do not like, will not use, or do not fit.
• 11% say they have previously sold an unwanted gift online.
• Among 25-34 year olds the percentage of those who had sold unwanted gifts online rose to 22%.

In the UK, a Nielsen/Net Ratings survey found that:

• 15% of UK online shoppers planned to sell unwanted Christmas gifts online.
• A further 35% were considering it, with women more likely to do so than men

• Britons send nearly 1 billion Christmas cards every year.
• 6 million trees were bought in 2004, but only 1 in 6 were recycled, leading to an extra 9,000 tons of rubbish being dumped.
• Each year, Christmas leaves more than £1.2 billion-worth of unwanted presents in its wake.
• Nearly 2 million Britons will go abroad this Christmas, creating millions of tons of CO2 in the process.
• More than 8,000 tons of wrapping paper is used at Christmas, which the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs estimates is enough to wrap the whole island of Guernsey.
• We consume far more bottles, cans and paper at Christmas than any other time of year, with more than 3 million extra tons of waste. Our bins overflow with an extra 750 million bottles and 500 million drink cans.
• About 80,000 tons of old clothes also get thrown out every Christmas.

• Calls to suicide and depression helplines increase by 10% during the festive period
• Loneliness, stress, family problems, financial pressure all takes it toll on millions of people who hide behind a smile.

I wonder what the Lord thinks of it all? I believe His heart breaks. It wasn't meant to be this way. We have made something beautiful into a monster that now has no control. What is wrong seems right and what is right seems wrong.

I was in a little church on Sunday (see Sefton Village You Tube channel for video) and we were singing that beautiful song 'When the music fades'. I really felt the spirit if God challenge me to change the words slightly. And I leave these words as a challenge to you this Christmas:

"I'm coming back to the heart of Christmas
And it's all about you
It's all about you Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
For it's all about you
It's all about you, Jesus"

Have a great day and remember to do the most important thing ... seek, find and worship the Lord!

Selah!