Sunday, April 25, 2010

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.