August

Well, it's been a bit of a blog fast and the reason is that the house move has happened as has a two week holiday. As you may have expected the move didn't go entirely smoothly. Carpets arrived in separate deliveries over 3 weeks which was quite annoying but the inconvenience was rewarded with free flooring for the bathroom and kitchen!!
So we're in and delighted to be feathering the nest :-) The kids have had a blast finding toys and bits and pieces that had been in storage. I think it is already obvious that Tabitha is appreciating this latest change. She was so excited to be 'home' after our 2 weeks away. As we drove through the village she excitedly exclaimed, "Our new house is still here!!"

Unfortunately our little house in N. Ireland is still on the market. Please continue to pray that someone will come along willing and able to make an offer. It would be such a relief to have it off our hands.

This week is an important one in Wallyford. The youth group leaders are running a 'mission week'. There are various activities for the kids and we are hoping that some of our P7 kids from the school SU group will go along and get involved.

Mums and toddlers has started back and we are hoping to make some new contacts in the village. We are also planning for the start of regular services. Please pray as we meet people to find out a little bit more about what they want and expect. Pray too that we will be able to find a suitable venue.

Winding down and up

This past couple of weeks Andrew has spent most of his time at our new house. We have been so blessed by people who have come along to help. It really feels like the end is in sight. This week is a big one. We're hoping the kitchen will be installed by Wednesday, that the carpets will go in by Friday and our stuff brought out of storage by Saturday. It's easy to say it in a sentence and yet there is a lot still to be done. Certain people have gone way beyond the extra mile to help us and that has been so overwhelming and amazingly encouraging. We are so excited at the prospect of unpacking boxes and settling into this new phase of life and ministry.




The team had a really interesting week. The weather was awful and so some of the planned activities didn't happen. The schools work was fun but the main focus was probably the drama production on the Thursday evening. Kids at school got flyers and just about every home in the village got a flyer through the door. The team prayed for 40 kids and put out the seats in faith with no idea how many would turn up. It was such an encouragement and faith boost when 41 kids and 6 adults turned up. We really feel like we need to think about planning more kids' work. Pray with us about this over the summer and please pray too for people who could come along and help.

SU has finished for the summer and the mums and tots group will finish on Tuesday for the month of July. The team will have some planning meetings as we look to the future.

The bible studies continue. Another guy who became a Christian at the Friday night youth club has started coming along. The questions that are being asked are so refreshing and it is good for the 'older' Christians to go back to the basics for a bit.

June...

After quite a break we have been back doing a few deputation meetings. Last weekend we were up in the north of Scotland. It is impossible to describe the encouragement we feel when people assure us of their prayers and we hear how people are following the blog. I was reminded that we haven't followed up on Tabitha's visit to the hospital. Thankfully she was given the all clear. She does have a murmur but the cardiologist was confidently happy that it shouldn't cause her any trouble. It is a relief and we are so appreciative of the medical care here...and that it is free!!

In terms of follow up of previouse posts I am also happy to report that we finally got our car back. It was a complete hassle at the time but it's over now which is great. The evangelism seminar was fun and hopefully is bearing some fruit for God's glory.

This past week Andrew flew over to NI to share in the missionary weekend at Moira Baptist Church. Another benefit of the trip was being able to spend the day with his mum!

Work in the house continues. The garden has been cleared, walls stripped of paper and holes filled, painting has been started, the kitchen has been cleared out among other bits and pieces. This week the plumber will fit the heating system etc. We have a date for new doors to be fitted, the carpets are ordered and we have a date for the commencement of work to get gas piped into the house. On one side of us there is a little family who have just welcomed their third child into the world last weekend. On the other side is an elderly widower. Last week we found out that his grandson who is now 18 was a regular at our kids' club in Edinburgh before we went to Mexico!!

This week we have a team from our church helping in Wallyford. The boys are staying the The Living Room (the centre we work from) and the girls are staying in the home of some friends nearby. Andrew will be staying with the guys. They will be doing some drama in the school, putting on a show for kids and parents, doing odd jobs for people in the village and hopefully helping the Agnews with a bit of cleaning in the house (getting grime out of the floorboards and off the windows). They will also participate in some of the regular weekly activites. We are so glad to have so much help this week with the school SU group. We are currently a team of three but for various reasons one of us has been off for the last 3 weeks which means that we have just had two of us each of those weeks. With 40 kids at lunch time that is quite a challenge! Next year we will hopefully be able to split the group and run 2 clubs each week. Please pray that this week with the team will have a positive impact in the village and continue to raise awareness of who we are and what we are doing.

We have decided to put a pause on the OAPS meetings on Wednesday mornings. The two main helpers are away for the month of June and with so much work needing done in the house Andrew doesnt have enough time to be able to commit to visitation for the event. Once we are in the house and summer is over we will relaunch.

Tabitha and Oscar are both doing well. Tabitha will go to P1 in August. Effectively that means she is starting school. She is eager to start reading and while she has little time for colouring she loves to 'write'. She has also started 'piano lessons' with mummy. She loves to try and pick out a tune but is less keen to practice saying her finger numbers and other theory items (much like her mummy!). She has a great wee singing voice and an amazing memory for lyrics.

Oscar's main loves continue to be football and anything technological - ipods, computers, phones, cameras, video games and the like. He has quite a sense of humour and loves a good laugh.

Both kids are pretty strong willed and know what they want (no comment about where they might have got that from!) which is an ongoing challenge. We appreciate your prayers as we seek to wisely train those little wills to be conformed to Christ's image :-)

A place to call home

Here it is - our new home!! As you can see there's a bit of work to do before we can move in. There is no gas piped in which means no eating, heating or hot water. Our names were put on the waiting list last week and we have been told it could take 6-8 weeks. In the meantime there is plenty to be done - new kitchen, carpets, paint, cleaning, new doors, new bathroom, tackle the wilderness garden, sand floors, knock down walls, build others...

We are excited but in a reserved way - we realise there is a fair sized mountain to conquer before we finally get in. It is now nine months since we began to pack up our home in Mexico. It's a fairly long transition period and we are looking forward to settling in. The kids have heard that the garden is big enough for a trampoline and little else seems to matter!

It was quite a surprise last week to arrive back to the spot where I had parked our car to find it missing. A call to the police revealed it had been impounded after it rolled back into a bus. We still don't know what exactly happened but our car is now at the garage (the back window was shattered and there are a few dents below it). It was quite a bit of undesired hassle for Andrew who had several calls with the insurance company and the police in a typically busy week and Tabitha missed a couple of days at school. On Thursday I missed the mothers and toddler group, the service at the old people's home had to be cancelled as did the school SU group. The good news is that the insurance will cover the costs and we have a couple of incredibly generous friends who have lent us a car to keep us going. As one of Tabitha's teachers said, "It's a good job the kids weren't in the car at the time." We are always thankful for God's protection even at times we don't know we needed it.

We started a weekly meeting for pensioners last week. It was great to have 2 new people along as a result of the work on the doors. Hopefully it will gather momentum in the weeks ahead. The evening mums event was down in number but subsequently I found out that the playgroup had been running a fundraiser event (a psychic!) which may have involved a few of our mums. It was a lovely night for those who attended. We continue to appreciate prayer for interest from new mums and for busier days ahead.

This week I appreciate prayer for an interactive talk I am giving on personal evangelism on Thursday evening. I'm sharing the responsibility with Karen, our house mate. I feel out of my comfort zone but as a result of my researching and reading I am fired up for the subject and my hope is that some of that excitement might be contagious.

A couple of days later I am taking Tabitha and Oscar over to N. Ireland to visit their grandparents and co. for a few days. My Mum and Dad had a visit to Scotland planned but the Icelandic volcano turned that around and this is the result. It's our first flight since returning from Mexico and I'm glad it's not quite as far!

Time Flies!

By Friday we will hopefully have keys to our new house. God continues to surprise us by moving things at a different pace to what we might have chosen were we in control (isn't it good we're not!!). We had thought that the legal details would have been sorted a month ago so that we could have ordered a gas line into the house. Unfortunately there were a few hold ups with the finalising of the mortgage so we're still waiting for those legal matters to be completed. The gas will take 6 to 8 weeks (average) to be installed. Once again we trust God's timing and if He wants us in sooner then that will work out. There are some people interested in our house in N. Ireland but nothing is definite yet.

Ministry continues to be exciting. Numbers continue to be consistent in the school group and interest levels are high. There is a weekly bible study for 3 new Christians with lots of questions, the Tuesday night bible study is fresh and encouraging and in the mothers and toddlers group we are continuing to build relationships with mums from the community. Our first evening event filled the room nicely with new and familiar mums and grans (about 20 of us). This Thursday evening we have our second event. It will be interesting to see who comes along and how it develops. A monthly service in the local nursing home has been started as has door-to-door work in anticipation of a weekly event for older people. We have also been getting to know some of the parents in Tabitha's class a bit better.
Looking into the summer we are excited about the possibility of doing a Holiday Bible Club and some family events. We are also receiving two teams from our local church, Carrubbers. The first team will have a focus on drama and community service. We are being given opportunities to have events in the school and the local library.

In the last post I mentioned that we were coming out of a period of sickness. Oscar managed to avoid the last tummy bug...last weekend he was recovering from his own bout of sickness. Tabitha followed him but I think I can safely say again that we have ridden another wave and are ready for action again. It was lovely when Tabitha finally woke up at 9am on Tuesday morning and came out of her room declaring, "Mummy, Daddy, I'm better. Somebody prayed for me!" Well, we know you are praying and it really does mean so much to us. I was explaining to Tabitha that Jesus hears our prayers. She gave me a strange look and I responded with, "We can't see him but He hears us from heaven." Tabitha looked towards the ceiling and shouted, "Jesus, can you hear me?...Yes, you can watch TV if you come to our house!" I love the simple faith of a child!! On Tuesday this week we will be at the Cardiology department of the Royal Hospital for Sick Kids in Edinburgh. Tabitha is to have her heart murmur checked out. This is a result of our post-Mexico health check-up. She has had the murmur since she was born and at the last appointment the doctor thought it sounded more pronounced so we have this appointment on Tuesday. On Wednesday she has a routine vaccination to get and that will not be something she will enjoy!!

Oscar is well into his second year!! He has a strong character which is a challenge at times. He is incredibly persistent which is great when he is working on a jigsaw puzzle or practising his football kick but less fun when he wants something he can't have! We are so incredibly blessed with great kids and appreciate your prayers as we seek to (patiently) shepherd their little hearts.

House News (and other bits and pieces)

We've had quite and incredible couple of weeks. We decided to go for a mortgage interview and found that we can borrow enough to be able to buy a house in the village. There was only one we could afford (before we sell in N. Ireland). It's a 3 bedroom mid-terrace which needs completely gutted and renovated!!! Several things have happened to make us think this is the house God wants us to buy. It feels like we're taking on the Drop-In Centre once more...another aspect of the ministry here that resembles what we were doing in Mexico! We should get possession by the end of April and then it will take up to a couple of months to make the house habitable. We'll post some before and after pictures.

We've already met some of our neighbours. A couple of ladies work in the office in Tabitha's school and we met another lady who will live close to us on Friday night. We're so looking forward to being in the heart of the village and more involved in people's lives. Now that the decision has been made we would really appreciate your prayers that our house in N. Ireland sells quickly. We would get a better interest rate if we could transfer our mortgage over than we will get if we have to take out a separate mortgage.

The SU group in the school continues to be a highlight in the week. The kids are so open and friendly. Andrew has been asked if he would be involved in the school's Easter service. This week we have a special evening for mums of toddlers on Thursday. This will be a monthly event and we are kicking off with a night on First Aid. We have put out some publicity and are hoping for new contacts.

We are just coming out of a period of sickness. Lots of new bugs for the kids to get used to. We so appreciate your prayers as we work excitedly to see God's kingdom extended.

Agnew update

It's so hard to believe we've been in Scotland for 7 weeks already. Time really is flying by. We are still staying with our friend and traveling back and forward between Edinburgh and the the town where we are working. Just this week our 'family' expanded as another girl moved into the flat/apartment.

Just this past week we heard that we are in good health when we got the results of our medicals. The doctor has recommended that Tabitha have an electrocardiogram to check out a little heart murmur she has had since birth. We also finished off our debriefing session with some recommendations to help us through this time of transition and beyond. We are so grateful for the service provided here which is especially geared toward foreign missionaries. Though I think we have transitioned very well it is always helpful to verbalise experiences and emotions to know what is going on and how to respond. This has been a difficult week for Tabitha who has been wanting to back to Mexico and Northern Ireland.

Perhaps it's because she knows we are moving again and doesn't feel settled, perhaps she is trying to cope with the transition in her own little way. We appreciate your prayers for her as she figures it all out.

We have been looking at houses in Wallyford and we have had some interest in our house in N. Ireland. So praise God!! There's nothing concrete yet and at times we are frustrated and eager to move out and get settled but overall we are confident that God's timing is perfect and He is very much in control of what is happening. Our quest to find a house has opened many opportunities for input from people who live in the area and we have begun to make new friends.

The SU group continues to give us a real buzz with between 30 and 40 kids each week. The mothers and toddlers group is trying out some new ideas and we hope to attract some more new mums. We're excited that already there is a weekly bible study on Tuesday evenings and with new believers from the area attending it is a fresh and exciting time. The weeks are busy with quite a bit of planning and meetings at the moment.

Thank you for your continued prayers and keep checking in every couple of weeks for brief updates as God blesses the work here.

Come back soon...

Come back later for updates. These are exciting ministry times as we continue to wait for the sale of our house in N. Ireland....

First week

What a week it's been! Work officially started on Monday. I think a highlight was the SU group in the school. During lunch time we have an action-packed club for 45mins with kids 9-11 years old. The team has done an amazing job and there has been quite some excitement as the club gets going. This past week we reached our maximum number of 40 and had to turn kids away. No credit to us, it was only our 2nd week!

Now the question is what to do next. Perhaps we will look at the possibility of running 2 weekly clubs and include another year group. Praise God for such a fantastic problem so early on. One day last week I picked up Tabitha from school and about 5 kids from a class walking by were waving enthusiastically. It's great to see their enthusiasm and to be able to tell exciting bible stories that some of these kids will never have heard before.

Tonight we had our commissioning service at Carrubbers. It is always amazing to see how God works out the details of our lives and ministry on so many levels. It was really wonderful to see photos of the work that has been going on there over the last 5 years and to hear of some of the fruit in the ministries that have been established and people who's lives have been changed. We feel completely dependent on God and our team of prayer supporters for the days and years ahead. We are excited to be part of such an active, dynamic and exciting work and look forward to reporting much fruit in the near and far future.

Bonnie Scotland

Well, a week can see a lot of changes. We finally packed the last box, finished a few little DIY jobs, got into the car and headed for Scotland. Thanks for your prayers for the journey. Once again they were evident particularly in a lovely day and wonderfully behaved kids.

What a wonderful welcome. Once again we have been overwhelmed by the love and support of friends as we have re-connected with people we haven't seen in a while in Edinburgh.

We are staying with a kind friend and are blessed with two bedrooms in her home. We continue to trust that in God's time He will see that our house in N. Ireland is sold and we will be able to buy here. Of course, we would love that to be soon - it will be nice to eventually be in the village and to settle into our routine without extra travel to and from the city centre.

Our furniture and boxes should hopefully now arrive on Tuesday morning and most will go into storage until we have our own home. It will be interesting to see how much (or how little!) we can survive on.

We appreciate your prayers this week as we settle in, get a feel for the work, the routine and the area and as we look at getting Tabitha into school.

On the move again

Just one more deputation service in N. Ireland!! This week is moving week so it seems there are boxes and suitcases everywhere and a large supply of parcel tape. As our stuff will be taken over next Monday we decided to leave travelling until Friday as it will mean we don't have to pack as much into our car and Tabitha won't have to wait as long for a bed to arrive...

It's hard to believe it has come around already and while we are excited about moving into the next phase there are some more difficult goodbyes to say before we leave. The great thing is that it is much more realistic to expect visitors than it was when we were in Mexico. We just need to sell our house and buy our own place first and continue to appreciate your prayers for that. In the meantime we will be staying with a friend in Edinburgh indefinitely.

In our human wisdom we would love to have already sold and be moving into our own place in the village where we will be working and eventually living. Like most people we want to feel settled and not move into another transition phase. But we have no doubt that God is continuing to sort out all the details and in His time all thinks will work out just right and perhaps make more sense to us as well. We are remarkably peaceful about that.

Thank you for your prayers and support as we move and begin our new ministry.

A New Year

Didn't Christmas just fly by? We had such a fantastic time with family. The kids are at a great stage and had a blast. Oscar waited until Christmas was over before getting chicken pox but he did well and seems to be back on form again now.

...and so a new year begins. A time when most wonder what will this year bring? How will this year be different? What can we do to ensure that it is?

Of course that's not a bad thing and we are asking those questions too. And yet, like you, we continue to take one day at a time. We have begun to pack boxes and are figuring out our move to Scotland. Our house still hasn't sold though we did have a few viewers before Christmas. We continue to trust that God has his perfect plan and are thankful that we have a place to stay until the rest of the plan unfolds. Obviously we would love to be able to buy a place as soon as possible so that we can get settled over there. We continue to appreciate your prayers and plan to move around the 20th January.

There are quite a few deputation services before we leave. I think there are 7 this week!! Andrew will do some of those alone as I stay with the kids and continue with the packing.

Next week on the blog I would like to give an update on what is happening in Mexico.