Welcome visitor

We arrived at Church on the last Sunday of our recent outreach to find a man in a florescent jacket waiting outside to come in. I got to sit and have a chat with him, he was not a Christian, and had lost his wife to cancer about 3 months earlier, she was a Christian. He was walking from the Isle of White to Herne Bay and it was his birthday on the Monday so wanted to come somewhere he knew he could be with people and also to honour his wife’s memory.

As we talked he told me that he was probably very close to becoming a Christian, inviting Jesus into his life, but he had one question in scripture that was confusing him. The question he had was why and what did Jesus write in the sand. So we talked about it and I showed him a passage in Daniel where God writes on the wall of the palace. After we had talked for about 15 minutes he said to me thank you, I have no more questions.

At the end of the service the church leader felt he should ask if anyone want to give their lives to Jesus and The guy I had been talking with stood up and invited Jesus into his life. The change in him was amazing; as he left he seemed to have a fresh hope, he walked out of the door lighter. It was great to see God touch his life in a really significant way, it really made my day to be able to talk with him and be apart of his journey.

God is faithful to heal

Last month we got to experience God fulfil a promise that we felt God give us several years ago, and we are so thankful. Christy has been unable to tolerate wheat/gluten all her life, when she eats it she experiences a lot of pain.

While we were leading a team on outreach between December and February to Spain we spent some time praying for healing for each other. Christy and I have been praying for the last few years for healing in her digestion based on a promise we felt God give to us. While we were praying as a team she felt a shift in her stomach area and then she felt God say I have given you new intestines, now you can eat Pizza! Pizza is one of Christy’s favourite foods. The next day we went to get pizza together and to step out in faith that God really has done something.

So we enjoyed pizza together, normally Christy would start to hurt about an hour after eating. She had no pain, and has not had any pain since; we have been able to enjoy Pasta, bread, doughnuts etc. It has opened up a whole world of food for us.

It has both humbled us and caused us to rejoice in the promises and faithfulness of God. God is truly amazing, and we are so excited to see what else God is going to do, it is an amazing adventure.

A Special New Year

While we were on outreach in Spain Christy and I had the privilege of being able to baptize one of our team members, Nina.

It was the first time either of us had been asked to baptize anyone so we were very excited. After we had talked about when and where we decided that what better way for her start her year but with a public declaration of faith.  As we were staying on the coast of the Mediterranean we thought it would be fun to do this in the ocean.

New years day was sunny and warm, one of the best that the local pastors have ever experienced. We headed down to the beach and spent some time worshiping and hearing Nina’s story of coming to faith, before heading into the ocean.

It was a really special day, and being able to share it with the church we were working with made it even better. It was very encouraging for all involved. To hear how she came to know God and what He has done in her life is really inspiring. It makes doing what we do worth every moment, seeking after God and seeing him changes lives for the better.

DTS Outreach 2013

Christy and myself have just returned from leading a DTS outreach (Discipleship Training School Outreach) to Malaga and Sevilla in Spain and Brighton in the UK. We spent about two months travelling and working with different churches and ministries in these different cities with a team of 10 people from 7 different nations. The DTS is a 6-month teaching and practical missions course that YWAM (Youth With A Mission) run. It helps to give young people a good understanding in what it means to live a life for Jesus and how and why to share this with others.

The group we took grew so much in their love for God and passion to see others healed and come to know God. When I look back over the time we get to spend with all the trainees it always blows me away how much God does in each and every one, including myself, and how what God does propels us all to want to go and share this amazing gift with others.

The team got to share with and pray with so many people. We saw God heal people from simple sports injuries to food allergies up to things like arthritis and mental disorders. We also got to be apart of over a dozen people getting to meet Jesus properly for the first time. The change in those individuals was incredible, the Joy and lightness with which they walked afterwards.

I have been involved with this now for the last few years and there is nothing I would rather be doing, getting to be apart of Jesus transforming lives and restoring people to wholeness. It is such a special gift.