Lindsay & Lilian's Sabbatical Journey

2008-01-17T08:35:00.001Z

This is just a quick post to keep this site active. Lilian and I are producing a photo album of the Sabbatical and I want to be able to cut and past some of this text into it, so I don't want the blog disappearing until I do!

2007-11-16T09:55:00.000Z

26,370
According to my rough reckoning that's the number of miles we've flown on this Sabbatical.

Well, I'm back home again after a flight from Skopje to Budapest to London to Belfast. In fact I had been in so many places and airports that when I landed in London I was tired and hungry and looking for somewhere to eat. But building work was going on and I couldn't find "Gatwick Village", where all the shops and restaurants were. There was one restaurant nearby but it looked to pricey for me. However it had an attractive young woman standing outside, presumably in an attempt to drum up a bit of business! So I asked her for directions to Gatwick Village. "I'm sorry I don't know" she said in a strange accent. (Stranger than Belfast!) "Where are you from I asked her." "Poland", she says. And I thought to myself, "That's typical, you employ people from Poland as cheap labour and they don't even know anything about the place. "So you're working here and you don't know where Gatwick Village is?" I asked her. No she said, "I've never heard of it." You've never heard of it, and you work here!" "Yes", she said, "this is Heathrow!" I was so brain dead and confused that I didn't even know what airport I was in!

However as I say, I'm back and the Report Back is in church this Sunday night 18th. I'm putting the PowerPoint together at the moment. You're welcome to come along. 7.00pm. If you need directions go to http://www.carrickfergusbaptist.com/about_us/where_are_we/ and you'll find them.

2007-11-09T09:39:00.000Z

My last day, in real terms, in Macedonia and the end of the Sabbatical. Mirco takes me out to a Drug and Alcohol rehabilitation programme which they fund, run by "Teen Challenge". There I met a group of young men who are recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.

I notice that a couple of them are reading, "The Purpose Driven Life" in Albanian and I tell their leader about Saddleback's "Celebrate Recovery" Programme for addiction. I am asked to "share" with them rather than preach and so for 15 minutes or so I share Galatians, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free". We sing and pray together, drink tea and coffee, (not a choice, both!) and then leave.

On the way back, Mirco brings me to another church, which appears to me on the edge of a dump where Gypsy children are sorting through the garbage and loading the best bits onto a cart. This is how they make a living. Luckily we were in a 4 wheel drive Toyota Landcruiser as not only did we have to drive through the dump but we then ran out of road and had to take to the fields, driving up and down some pretty steep banks! Eventually we found our way back onto the road and back to the office. After a quick lunch of "Veal soup" I thought he said "Whale soup!" I had a couple of hours to go through some sermon material as I was preaching again that evening in a church in a town called Negotino an hour or so South West of Skopje.

Arrived in Negotino in the dark, found where we were looking for and had coffee with the pastor and his family who live above the church.

Then we went downstairs where 30 or 40 people were gathered for a Midweek meeting. We sang a few hymns in Macedonian, (I don't sing Macedonian but I hum it a bit!) and then I was on, with a translator. After I preached they sang another hymn and then Mirco preached! Afterwards we went back to the pastor's house for a short visit and then left.

It was sometime after 8pm and I was looking forward to an early night because I needed to be up at 3.15am to catch a flight from Skopje to Budapest. I could then catch a plane in Budapest to take me to Heathrow and from there to Belfast! However when I got into the car I was told we were going to a birthday party!

Arrived at the party sometime after 9.00 and there were a number of people from the church whom I knew and some that I didn't. Had some pizza and chips as I had had nothing since the "Whale soup" at lunchtime, and some birthday cake and eventually we got away. Mirco left me back to the room in the church where I was staying, set both my alarms for 3.15 and crashed into bed!

2007-11-09T07:58:00.000Z

On Tuesday I was taken by Mirco who leads the work here in Macedonia to a town called Kumanovo about an hour's drive away. He had an important meeting with a young man called Pastor Saso and he wanted me to meet him too.

Pastor Saso has a church in the town and a congregation of about 40 - 50 people (the first pictures are of them inside and outside the church).

However they have embarked on a building project to build a new church, which will hold up to 250 people, in another part of the town where new houses are being built. Some of the building is being done by voluntary labour. In September a trench collapsed and two men were killed. The police arrived and arrested Pastor Saso and another Christian who was the site engineer and imprisoned them Pastor Saso has been released on bail but both men are charged with manslaughter. We visited the building site and saw what had happened. As well as the deaths of two men and the criminal charges hanging over the other two, relatives of the deceased are claiming compensation from the church, the builder now says the site is "cursed" and has stopped work and the local residents are demanding that the church pays extra to get another builder in to repair damage done to the site during the rescue.

When the three of us arrived at the site a small group of people gathered around us and there was a fairly excited conversation in Macedonian which I didn't understand. Eventually Mirco appeared to have placated them and we went into their houses for more (Turkish) coffee. He told me afterwards that he had offered them another 1500 euros as compensation for the damage. he doesn't want bad feeling between the residents and the church before it's even built! Of course, now he has to find 1500 euros! Such is Christian work in Macedonia.

2007-11-07T13:53:00.000Z

On Monday I woke up early. There was a kitchen in the church but I couldn't find anything for breakfast. Had a shower and got dressed and went out. Very cold outside and wasn't sure which way to go but headed in towards what I assumed was the town centre. Most of the shops were still closed but close to this huge Greek Orthodox church I found a supermarket. Bought A yogurt, a Twix, a can of coke and a sort of pastry and had that for my breakfast. Healthy or what!
The rest of the guys weighed into the office about a quarter to nine. I had a quick update on the work in Macedonia which seems to be going at its usual speed of flat out with a zillion things happening at once! They are running professional training courses for nurses as a pre- evangelism event, a group of Americans are over and doing a whole "Thanksgiving" event as an outreach including turkeys and pumpkin pie, the whole deal. There are English classes running and an Alpha course. That's on top of the regular church and pastoral work, looking after 20 churches and about 15 "church plants" in homes etc.
I went for lunch to Joan's house, (Joan is a guy, Johannes we might say!) I was served a beautiful risotto and salad. After lunch we headed out to meet a local pastor who is co-ordinating work among the gypsies. It was about an hour's drive and gave me a chance to see the Macedonian countryside in daylight!
We met him in what was described to me as, "the most polluted town in Macedonia!" His name was Dragon and we picked him up in the town square. He took us out of the town and up the side of a hill where there was a small village of (increasingly) narrow streets and (increasingly) ramshackle houses!
He had a Christian worker who was fixing up a house here so that he could live among the Gypsies and evangelise them. The house was a two room affair about the size of a garden shed and he was living here with his wife and baby. He was in the middle of "decorating" when we arrived.
Eventually we were driving down streets with the wing mirrors rubbing against the houses on both sides and at that point we stopped, reversed until we came to a spot wide enough to allow us to open the car doors, and got out.
From there we went on foot climbing higher all the time. By this stage the houses had become shacks patched up with cardboard and plastic sheeting and the paved pathway had petered out.

Amazingly, no matter how bad the shack was, it had a satellite dish on the side, (see photo)! As far as the gypsies are concerned you gotta get your priorities right! We were now on a mud track still climbing upwards. Apparently he had a family
in one of these houses that he was pastoring. Some of the children came to his Sunday school.
We went in and spent a little time with the family and then had to move on as it was starting to get dark and we had another family to visit.
This involved climbing back down the hill and a short car journey to a few more shacks avoiding a pony and cart on the road. Everything out here on the hillside is pitch black!

When we arrived we couldn't get into the house and the man of the house was having a bath. He had got a day's work loading pigskins onto a truck. For a full day's work he had been paid 5 euros.

We had coffee with him (coffee in Macedonia usually means Turkish Coffee especially when with gypsies) I was asked to share something from the Bible using a translator of course and spoke from John 14 about Jesus' great love for us. His daughter was 14 and he was looking for a husband for her as she was now of marriageable age. We prayed with them and left as we had a church meeting to take, at which I was the preacher, (of course!) Found the church and took the meeting and afterwards drove back to Skopje getting in about 10.00pm. Got a chance to do some work on the computer and fell into bed.

2007-11-06T20:22:00.001Z

Well, the original plan was that my friends from Macedonia would come to Tirana and pick me up. I then got an email that things had gone a bit belly up in Macedonia and could I catch the bus instead. (Come over to Macedonia and help us and could you take the bus!) It would leave Tirana at 9.00pm and drop me in Skopje in Macedonia at 4.00am! I was preaching later that day but they reckoned that if I got to bed by about 5.00am I could get a few hours sleep!
After some discussion I arranged a lift from Tirana to the Macedonian border on the understanding that someone would pick me up. Our translator who speaks both Albanian and Macedonian, made the arrangements. (That is significant!)
So on Sunday after church I left the guys to the airport and started the three hour journey by car over the mountains to the Macedonian border.
Some beautiful countryside but as we climbed higher it got decidedly colder and then we found ourselves among the clouds and barely able to see in front of us.
The road became increasingly narrow and winding and in some places pretty steep with no crash barriers and big drops on one side but my Albanian driver seemed to take it in his stride.

Eventually we reached the Macedonian border where I was to be met by someone. At that point I wondered whether I needed a visa! (A little late in the day to be thinking about that) But I also realised as I handed over my passport that I didn't know the language, where I was staying in Macedonia or who was meeting me. I had no Macedonian currency and my cell phone didn't work! I just hoped that I didn't need to pay to enter Macedonia as was the case in Albania and that the grim looking guy in Passport Control didn't ask me any questions. However thank God he didn't, and I passed through pulling my suitcase behind me! I then realised that I was only out of Albania, and after walking the 50 yards or so of no man's land I had to get through passport control in Macedonia! Same problem, would he require money, or information because I had neither!
However the old British Passport worked its magic again and he stamped it and let me through. So trailing my suitcase I walked through into Macedonia where I was due to be picked up. The only problem was that there was nobody there!

It's shortly after 4.00pm and starting to get dusk. I'm about 3000 feet up in the mountains in November and its cold. The only thing passing me are large articulated lorries roaring down the mountain. I'm beginning to wonder what I ought to do. That's easy, there's nothing I can do. After 15 minutes pass I begin to wonder if I'm at the right border crossing because presumably there are several. Occasionally car lights come up the hill but they turn off or go past.
In the dark I open my case and put on a waterproof coat. Half an hour has gone and nobody is coming to pick me up! I'm on a mountain in a country where I don't speak (or even recognise) the language. I have no money nor any address as to where I am staying as the arrangements had been made by the translator. (Of course I hadn't bothered to get the details off him, don't be stupid!)
By this time three quarters of an hour had gone and I was beginning to think I would die on this mountain pass. I then remembered that I had a cellphone number of a guy in Macedonia and he might be the one who was coming for me (I hope!)
I opened the case again and got out a sheaf of papers and emails I had with me and found his number. Of course I had forgotten the phone didn't work! I thought I might try texting him. So I texted, "I am at the border crossing" and I got the message, "Message sent". Nothing!
Then the phone beeped and I opened the text. "So am I. Which side are you on"
I texted back "Macedonia" He texted "I'm waiting for you on the Albanian side. I'm in a red car. I'll come for you now." We had somehow passed each other and had been waiting for each other for 45 minutes on opposite sides of the border! He was with me in about 5 minutes and as I got into the car he says, "We're late, you're preaching in a church two hours away and the service starts in an hour and a half!" That was the first I had heard of it but we were off flying low through Macedonia to a small town called Bitola.

Found the church, (about 20 people and they had waited for us) and we sang a few songs in Macedonian and then I was on with an interpreter for a half hour preach! When church was over I was informed that we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us to Skopje. Of course it was dark and late and there were no shops or restaurants open so there was no chance of getting anything to eat. I had last eaten at about 12.30 and by the time we got to where I was staying, (a room in the church) it was about 11.30. Although I was starving I was even more exhausted and collapsed into the settee bed and fell fast asleep!

2007-11-05T10:35:00.000Z

Sorry about that! You must have thought I had vanished from the face of the earth!
All that happened was that the laptop crashed and I was unable to use it! I am using a PC in a church office in Skopje, Macedonia at the moment and I'll try and bring you up to speed.
So here's the story so far.
After Canada I left for Albania on a study visit organized by the Bible Society of Northern Ireland. The group comprises of John Docherty from the Bible Society, John Finlay, who is the Presbyterian Moderator this year, Roy Cooper who is the President of the Methodist Conference this year, Stephen Lowry who is the Dean of Dromore Cathedral and little me!

We are staying in the Stephen Centre (the orange building in the picture) in the middle of Tirana, the capital of Albania. Our visit has been timed to coincide with the launch of a New Testament in Albanian by the Bible Society of Albania and we have been having long meetings with the translators and church leaders as well as seminary students and others who will be using it. It has been a very educational experience!

Albania is still emerging from many years of a very oppressive Communist regime which virtually persecuted the church out of existence.
Today Islam is strong followed by Greek Orthodox, then Catholic then Protestant and of course, following many years of Communism, Atheism is very strong!
We have been doing quite a bit of travelling around and it has given us an opportunity to see a little of the country.

Tirana is a fascinating city with ultra modern buildings and ugly run down buildings from the Communist era mixed in among beautiful buildings from the 1920's and 1930's. Compare these beautiful buildings with the view out of my bedroom window!
The exciting thing is that this new Translation in Albanian gives the Bible Society the opportunity to introduce it to both the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches. In fact we visited a Greek Orthodox Seminary and presented copies to the students. It was thrilling to hear the Bishop who leads the Seminary, Bishop Nicholas, recommend this New Testament to the students and quote the Apostle Paul, that "What is important is that Christ is preached!"
He also invited us to lunch with the students and afterwards they sang to us in Albanian. We responded by singing to them the 23rd Psalm (in English!)

The evidence of the former Communist regime is everywhere including thousands of army pillboxes. These three were on the beach between the deckchairs!

Another fact of life in Tirana is that the electricity keeps going on and off. Everybody has generators but you can find yourself suddenly plunged into the dark at any moment. However this picture from the top of "Sky Tower" is Tirana at night with the lights on!

Albanians love to eat, drink coffee and talk. (In a former life I must have been an Albanian!) You can really put on weight here. Just as you think the meal is over you discover that those were just the starters and the main courses are starting to arrive! I have probably put on a stone!

Obviously with a Presbyterian, a Methodist, an Anglican and a Baptist all living and eating together for a week every theological subject has been discussed to the point of exhaustion! Throw into that mixture, conversations we have had with the Catholic Archbishop of Albania and the Orthodox Bishop of the Seminary and you really have plenty to talk about!

On Sunday we attended an evangelical Church in Tirana where I was the preacher. (All my Christian colleagues had stitched me up and voted me as the preacher, as I was in California when they held the meeting in Belfast!) Flushed with our success in the seminary we sang again, this time, "Amazing Grace". The congregation displayed amazing grace by staying for all four verses! Afterwards we had lunch together and then they left for the airport while I set off for Macedonia. That's a story for another day!

2007-10-22T14:50:00.000+01:00

Our time in Medicine Hat is drawing to a close. We leave on Thursday. After church yesterday Lilian and I went for a quiet walk along the river.

Good service in "The Link" (Dave and Stacey's church). It was nice not to have to preach, just sit and listen. I see the guys have me down to preach in a church in Albania while I'm there, hopefully with a translator as my Albanian isn't too hot!

Speaking of too hot I notice that after we left California it caught fire!We had spent a nice day in Malibu and Santa Monica but I see they have both been badly affected. Up here in Canada there is a chill in the air in the mornings, winter's on its way.

In the meantime here's a couple of pictures of "The Link" (They haven't gone charismatic, I got them all to wave at you!)

And here are some family photos.

Caleb finishing his supper, and Grace having finished hers!

2007-10-20T02:05:00.000+01:00

Got as invite to BATUS yesterday. BATUS is the British Army Training Unit Suffield, which is the British Army's biggest training ground in the world, 9 or 10 times the area of Salisbury plain. The Military Police invited the Medicine Hat police along for a tour of the camp and I tagged along with Dave.
In and out Challenger tanks and Warrior armoured personnel carriers, and a helicopter ride over the area, plus our lunch in the Sergeants' Mess.
Not much room in a tank which weighs 75 tons and does approximately 1 mile to the gallon! I wouldn't like to spend a couple of days in one which I'm told is not uncommon!

The day finished with a rough cross country ride in a "Warrior" APC. Dave came out of that looking pretty stunned and shell shocked!

2007-10-15T15:27:00.000+01:00

Well here we are in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada in "The Fall" as they say here, and I have to admit, it's pretty spectacular! Lilian of course is in her element! Autumn is her favourite season and so we've been doing a lot of walking through the woods.

Also been preaching on Both Sundays that I've been here. The first was arranged before I arrived, (I usually preach one Sunday in Dave and Stacey's church when I'm over) However in the middle of the second week their pastor, ("Pastor Mike" as he's called here) was involved in a pretty serious car accident. He was travelling to a conference in Calgary doing about 75 mph on the highway wen a driver coming behind him "blacked out" and rear ended him doing over 100! The impact knocked Mike's car across the road and into another car. All the scars were demolished but everyone walked away! The emergency crews at the scene were amazed that they survived it! However, Mike was badly bruised by the seatbelts and airbags etc and I called round to see if there was anything I could do to help him. (I meant could I drive him around or carry stuff for him as he was suffering from whiplash) but he said the best thing I could do for him was preach again as he couldn't think straight with the headaches! So I ended up preaching yesterday too! In fact I was meant to be speaking yesterday in a local prison, ("local" being 3 hours down the road!) but they couldn't get my clearance through in time, so it all worked out for the best, leaving me free to preach in church. Grace Erin Allen was dedicated the first Sunday we were here. This is a picture of them with Pastor Mike, (before the accident!)

Lilian and I have been taking Caleb out to give Stacey some space. He's at the talking and running about stage now and great fun!

This is Grace. Amazing isn't she!

2007-10-04T14:58:00.000+01:00

I saved this post as a draft a few weeks ago and forgot to publish it. So here it is now. Here we are in Santa Barbara in California. These guys have some climate and September/October is a good time to be here! Clear blue skies and a steady 75 degrees. Doing a lot of walking about and eating! Everybody is outdoors here, jogging, cycling, skateboarding, (there is a skateboarding park beside the beach), playing volleyball and walking about. Large Hispanic community here who are into soccer.

And of course water sports are big, a lot of activity is centered around the harbour. Hundreds of restaurants of every kind and any hope of losing weight has gone out the window. Despite the number of pictures we have of us sitting eating and drinking I have however managed to cut back dramatically on my coffee intake which is good! The little place where we are staying is about 3 minutes from the beach and you can walk along the boulevard into the harbour in the centre of Downtown Santa Barbara about a mile away. The plan is to head up to Monterey for a few days. I'm a big John Steinbeck fan and I want to see Cannery Row and that area.

2007-09-24T15:18:00.000+01:00

On the way back from Laguna Beach we got "rear ended" at an intersection by a young woman who didn't have a driving licence! Somebody called the police and we ended up in the whole accident investigation thing! This is me holding the rear bumper. The car is drivable but we're going to change it.
In the meantime we are enjoying the California sunshine, doing a bit of walking and lazing around. Bill and Libby are spoiling us.
They have had no rain here for 18 months and so they are looking forward to the possibility of a storm coming. Went for a walk in the hills and encountered two signs, one warning us about mountain lions and the other showing that the fire danger was off the clock!
Went to Saddleback Church yesterday. Good service and got showing Lilian around the place, which is huge and growing! (Incidentally for those who think the Saddleback deal is all music and no preaching, John McArthur preached for 55 minutes last week in Grace Community church, Rick Warren preached yesterday for 1 hour and 15 minutes!) This is us on the Saddleback campus with Bill.
We are leaving Bill and Libby today to head up to Santa Barbara and beyond for a week and I'm not sure how much Internet access we will have so be patient if your emails don't get answered for a while!

2007-09-22T20:26:00.000+01:00

Bill and Libby live in a super house not too far from this little town called Laguna Beach.

It's a beautiful spot. Lots of restaurants and quaint little shops and art galleries and, of course, a superb beach. It's one of my favourite spots on this stretch of coast. We've been there a
couple of times this week. Had a meal in a restaurant overlooking the sea and watched the dolphins playing in the surf.
This is Southern California at it's best!

2007-09-22T15:42:00.001+01:00

On the Saturday night Larry and Lauren were hosting a meal for the coordinators of the "Master's Conference" which is coming up in March 2008 in Grace Community Church. About 30 people turned up and had a meal on the patio and so we got a chance to meet them. It was a good night and a great opportunity to get to know people.

The following morning we went to Grace Church, 8.30 service. We had arranged to meet Johnny McClaughlin at the fountain and so we all got seats together. The main service ran from 8.30 until about 10.00 and then there was a half hour break for coffee. At the coffee break who did we meet but Anna Cuellar!

After coffee the church splits into various groups for teaching. Johnny took us to the "College Group" which was very different to the main service. More relaxed and more contemporary music and teaching style. We also wanted to sample the "High School" group and so we slipped across to that. We had missed the singing there when we arrived but there was some great teaching going on from the book of Micah. That finished about 12.00 and we all went off for a meal.

Afterwards we went on a tour of the Master's College Seminary and brought us to the area he lived in. We had a look around and a cup of coffee and headed back to church in the evening. As part of the evening service there were 3 baptisms and 47 brought into membership.

Got back home about 9.00 that evening. Tomorrow morning we leave here and go down to Bill and Libby Jason at Coto de Caza.

2007-09-19T03:38:00.000+01:00

Well we've arrived in Los Angeles in typical Southern Californian weather of warm breezes and blue skies. Headed up to Tarzana to stay with our friends Larry and Lauren Brown for a few days. Absolutely fabulous house. Larry and Lauren were weren't in but left us a key and we let ourselves in, met the dog had a dip in the pool and crashed out!

Lauren arrived about 2.30pm and Larry about 6.30, (he had been playing golf.) Lazed about outside all day and that evening Lauren made a beautiful meal which we ate outside in the patio area. This is the sort of lifestyle I could get to like!

2007-09-12T07:56:00.000+01:00

Hi folks, just a note to let you know that we are travelling to Los Angeles. I shan't be in an office there as I was in Bangalore and so Internet access will not be so easily available to me. As a result the blog will be updated less frequently, (maybe once a week) Thank you all for your interest in what we are doing.
This is Lilian and me at Interanegar Methodist Church God on Sunday. So full inside the church that here are some of the people sitting outside.
After the service they had a barbecue.
Just to show you the contrast, outside on the street across from the church there are stalls selling Hindu idols. That is the context situation in which our brothers and sisters worship the Lord. They need our prayers.
God bless.

2007-09-10T03:20:00.000+01:00

Crashed out for a couple of days in Goa. We are just at the tail end of the Monsoon here in South India and we were speaking to friends who had spent 3 days there where it rained continually! However for us the weather was great! Very hot and sunny.
This is a picture of Colva beach from our hotel dining room.

India has been busier for us in terms of speaking engagements and other things than we expected and it was good to escape the noise and traffic of Bangalore for a couple of days. This is the off season in Goa and the place was pretty deserted which suited us perfectly! We just wanted to lie on the beach and play in the surf and recharge our batteries!

Got into a conversation with some Goan fishermen, (if you can have a conversation when neither of you understands the other's language!) Interesting to watch them clean the fish and wash them in the sea and then the women lay lots of them out to dry in the sun.
And old man and his grandson one evening were line fishing using pretty basic equipment, an empty beer bottle and a length of line with about a dozen hooks on it. It actually works very well. The line is wrapped round the beer bottle which he holds by the neck, swings the weighted line around his head like a slingshot and then releases it pointing the beer bottle in the direction he has just shot the line. The line then spools off the beer bottle like a spinning reel! Pretty clever!

Constant reminder that although Goa is mainly Roman Catholic, Hinduism is still strong here. One morning early on the beach as I was reading and praying a Hindu fisherman came down to the water's edge, lit an incense stick and prayed to the sea.

It got very hot, and although at this time of year the sea is rough, the water is lovely and warm.

We went out for a meal in a beach side restaurant called "Kentuckee". Lilian ordered a "Chicken Sizzler". Obviously there are no smoke alarms in this restaurant!

So as not to make this post too big, I'll continue it on "Lindsay and Lilian's Blog".

Just heard about the arson attach on Thriving Life Church in Newtownards. You can read about it on their Church Blog. I know Rick and Katie and Gareth and Melissa would value your prayers.

2007-09-05T06:11:00.000+01:00

Not a charismatic meeting, it's "Teachers' Day" at Asha Kiran School and we are playing the "Steeplechase Game!" Once a year the parents come in and look after the children and the teachers have a party! It happens all over India, not just in Asha Kiran. In fact the "party" began with Rita making a PowerPoint presentation reinforcing the aims and vision of the school and then I had to give a short message on the lessons we learn from Jesus as a teacher!

But after that Lilian and I took the teachers for 2 hours of party games and after overcoming their initial inhibitions they got into it as you can see and had a really great time.

Afterwards we all went back to Prem and Rita's for a meal and all the teachers were presented with a single red rose. Lilian and I were given a bouquet of flowers for organising the games.

The next morning I went with Prem to get the milk. Being India of course, it's not straightforward. First of all you join a queue and pay the man who gives you tokens. You then join another queue and when it's your turn you put your tokens into this vending machine and milk runs out into your can. It isn't pasteurised, so you then bring it home and boil it up and then put it in the fridge to cool, and that's your milk.

When we came back, the vegetable man had arrived!

We're all off to Goa this afternoon (Wednesday) for a couple of days. It's a 1 hour flight. Our time in India has been good but very busy and I'm really looking forward to just "crashing out"! I'm not likely to have Internet access until we come back on Saturday night so this is it for a while!

2007-09-05T05:08:00.000+01:00

Went to the 9.30am Service in Indiranagar Methodist Church. This is Prem and Rita's home church and the 9.30am service is the second one, the first one being at 7.30. Big church and full to overflowing, people sitting in chairs outside. The senior pastor was preaching on Ps 23:1 "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want." That part of the service ended at about 10.45 and e moved immediately into a communion service which lasted another hour. A beautiful and very moving service which they hold once a month. Those taking Communion, (virtually the whole church) kneel at the rail at the front of the church and receive the bread and wine there.

Taking part in leading the service was a pastor who just last week had joined Ravi Zacharias' International Ministry. He was very good and the whole service was a very precious and beautiful time. After church we went for lunch in a Tamil Restaurant where I had my dinner served on a banana leaf!
That evening, Lilian and I had been invited to the home of a couple, Bill and Suma, who work with Feba. Suma is heading to the UK for some meetings and is hoping perhaps to be able to speak briefly in our own church. Talked about Feba and the challenges for the ministry in such a rapidly changing technology!
The following morning I was off to speak to students at the South Asia Bible College. Prem had told me it would be a few students and I would have about 10 minutes. I decided not to bring any notes as I envisaged a fairly informal gathering in a classroom. It turned out to be a couple of hundred students meeting in the college chapel and and I had 35 minutes! Furthermore the chap who appeared to be leading the service had just returned from Princeton University in the US where he had completed his PhD! The moral of the story is, never underestimate your audience. The card I had up my sleeve was that Lilian's maiden name is Carey and she is a 4th generation descendant of William Carey, the famous Missionary to India, and William Carey is almost worshipped here. My marriage to Lilian trumped his PhD!
Afterwards Prem and I went to Asha Kiran school where we had lunch and then back home. Lilian and I caught an autorickshaw and went down town to do some shopping.

2007-09-04T11:59:00.000+01:00

Arrived in the city of Agra, in the State of Uttar Pradesh, India and home of the Taj Mahal and two other world heritage sites with the temperature somewhere in the 30's and very high humidity. Thousands of people, of course, in the railway station and we are looking for someone whom we have never met! He is looking for a white man and his wife so his task is easier than ours as we appear to be the only two white skinned people here!
Eventually we meet up with him, his name is Prabhat, and he is a friend of Prem James. (Prem seems to know everybody in India and that's over a billion people!) Prabhat is our guide and has organised a driver for us. First stop is a cup of coffee and so we arrive at the Agra Sheraton, no less and have three expensive cups of coffee in more luxurious surroundings. (See photo) Greeted by huge doorman in traditional dress and waited on hand in foot. Coffee was almost £1 a cup which is scandalous by Indian standards!

After coffee we go off to see the Taj Mahal. Words cannot describe this building. It truly is one of the 7 wonders of the world. Perfectly symmetrical and in glowing white marble it is breathtaking. Built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his favourite Queen, Mumtaz who died in childbirth, (giving birth to her fourteenth!). It took 20,000 workers 22 years to complete.

Prabhat took our photo sitting on the bench where Lady Di had that famous picture taken alone outside the Taj Mahal.

With our entrance fee, (25 Rupees for Indians, 750 Rupees for foreigners!) we got a free guide, who was first class. The four minarets, although they look vertical, (they are a little distorted in the picture having been taken with a cheap camera!) do in fact incline outwards at 3 degrees. This is to ensure that should they collapse they will fall away from the building and not into it! (Fiendishly clever, these Persian architects!)

All the marble panels were, of course done by hand and if a mistake was made the whole huge panel had to be scrapped and another one done!

from the Taj can be seen the Red Fort. It was here that the Emperor was eventually imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb, in a bid for power. (In an extreme example of sibling rivalry Aurangzeb also bumped off his brothers just to make sure they didn't stand in his way of becoming King.)

From his prison in the Red Fort the old King could look every day at the Taj Mahal.

After leaving the Taj Mahal, we headed for the Red Fort. (See Lindsay and Lilian's Blog)

2007-09-04T02:43:00.000+01:00

Up at 4.45am to catch the train to Agra. Slipped out of the house as dawn was breaking into the heat of Delhi to meet our faithful driver waiting beside the car. People still sleeping on the streets as we make our way through the relatively light traffic to the railway station.
Our coach number and seat numbers are on the ticket and so we enter this luxurious air conditioned carriage. As it pulls smoothly out of the station we are presented with complimentary copies of the "Times of India" , a sealed bottle of cold water and tea and biscuits. The journey takes just under two hours on this express train.
As we rush smoothly in air conditioned luxury through rural India I can see through the double glazing, my fellow human beings living in mud huts, grass shelters and crumbling brick slums. Everyone is barefoot, many of the children are half naked, women are cooking breakfast on open fires and carrying water, people brushing their teeth, and an old man stripped to a loincloth is washing himself at a well. Everyone, both men and women are urinating and defecating among the bushes as we rush past, because there is simply no where else to go.

I feel guilty about my enormous wealth, status and privilege and ashamed of myself for not feeling outraged! A waiter brings me a complimentary cooked breakfast. It tastes like ashes in my mouth!

2007-09-02T12:14:00.000+01:00

Have to tell you about this amazing school!
When I say it's a Christian School it is in every sense of the word. The children come from all sorts of backgrounds, including Muslim and Hindu but the school is openly Christian. All the "Houses" are named after the Fruit of the Spirit and they all have their own coloured T shirts which they wear to school on Friday. The walls are covered with Scripture texts and every house motto is a scripture verse. They make it clear that they do not promote religion but a life of discipleship to Jesus Christ.
I was asked to speak at assembly and then afterwards, Professor Williams interviewed me about Ireland and I gave my testimony. He then reinforced to the boys and girls the need to be "born again!" He is a very strict disciplinarian and rules the school, both pupils and staff, with a rod of iron!

Assembly includes hymns, prayers, a sermon, and physical exercise!

Lilian sang, "He was wounded for our transgressions" and was asked to distribute prizes.

The children (and the staff!) are the best behaved I have ever seen anywhere. "Good morning Sir, good morning Mam." everywhere you go. They all stand when any adult enters a room and don't sit down again until instructed to do so. But they are the most beautiful children and young people. As Lilian and I were being given a tour of the school we came across a Home Science class of girls who were preparing a meal as part of their assessment. They pleaded with us to test their food, all beautiful and wonderfully presented.

In the Junior School one young girl came up and offered us sweets which she had been given for her birthday. They were all delighted to sing for us. These children are being given a great start in life.

2007-09-02T11:05:00.000+01:00

So much has happened since the last post it's going to take me a while to catch up so bear with me. I'll use this blog plus our regular blog (the link is below our picture on the left of this page) so as no to swamp you with too much information at once. On Thursday I was speaking at Campus Crusade for Christ to about 60 or 70 students who were training to share the gospel with their fellow students. Traffic was horrific. I can't convey how bad the driving is here. Saw another young woman knocked down by an auto rickshaw right in front of our car. That's 5 accidents I've witnessed as they actually happened, 3 of them involving pedestrians. They roll around on the road, jump up quickly before thy get run over again and go on their way with a dirty look at the driver!

After the meeting I was taken on the back of William's Motorcycle again to Asha Kiran School where the children were putting on a special display for some visiting guests. They love singing and performing. (The children not the guests!) After the rain I mentioned in the last post the roads were running with mud and I was on the back of a motorbike in a white shirt and light trousers!

This is Rita James at her desk, very much the School Principal! She is excellent with even the most difficult boys and girls, (and parents!)

Then at 3.00pm we left for the airport to travel to Delhi. Caught the Deccan Air flight OK and we're on our way to Delhi to visit Mount Carmel Christian School and the Taj Mahal.

2007-08-30T02:57:00.000+01:00

Have been preaching every day this week so far at all sorts of meetings retreats and devotionals. In fact I don't know how much longer this sermon will last! It was good to be back in Feba yesterday for their all day retreat of prayer and fasting. Met some people there from my old Feba days.

I'm at Campus Crusade for Christ this morning and then off to Asha Kiran School for a lunchtime event and then we catch a plane to Delhi to visit the Mt Carmel School there.

On Saturday we hope to travel to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and then fly back to Bangalore on Sunday night. We should be back home by midnight. But the good news is that Prem has cancelled both my speaking engagements on Sunday! (Brilliant a Sunday off!)

We got caught in torrential rain yesterday and Commercial Street turned into an ankle deep river in about 5 minutes! Discovered that there is something hairier than travelling through Bangalore in an Auto-rickshaw and that's travelling through Bangalore on the back of a motorbike!

2007-08-27T12:55:00.000+01:00

Sunday 26th August
Preaching in Immanuel Church this morning. (Used to be called Immanuel Baptist but they seemed to have dropped the denominational tag!) We arrived at 8.45 am as we thought the service started at 9.00am but in fact it didn't start until 10.00am and there was no one there, so we went and had a cup of coffee and came back. Preached on the Marriage Feast in Canna and afterwards we had the usual coffee and tea outside. Nice folks.

Later that afternoon Lilian and I were out in the park and we heard a great din going on in the main road with a band playing and fireworks going off. When we went to investigate we discovered it was a Hindu funeral. It seemed strange to us to see the body of this relatively young man in plain view being carried down the main road in this bier covered in flowers while the band played and firecrackers were exploding all aver the place.

Phil Butler from Interderv arrived about 4.30 and it was good to hear about his work as we had lost touch since Feba days. Phil was also preaching that evening in the Methodist Church so it was good to go along and just enjoy being ministered to.

After church we were taken to a beautiful Indian restaurant called Caesar's. At the end of the meal, instead of an "After 8" such as we might have here, I was given something wrapped up in a betel leaf which I was expected to chew. It was a real explosion of flavours! So much eating.
Tomorrow morning I'm taking devotions at a ministry called TAFTEE. (The Association of Theological Education by Extension) I'm being taken there on the back of William's (the Office Manager's) motorbike! Hope I arrive safely!

2007-08-27T12:13:00.000+01:00

Day off today and we all went to a National Park a little way south of Bangalore where we saw some lions and tigers. Then Rita, Lilian and I all took an elephant ride, actually a very comfortable form of transport! (Comfortable for us, I can't speak for the elephant!) Also got the chance to see some other examples of God's creation as well. Stayed pretty hot and humid throught the whole day and then we got a shower of rain in the evening. If it's going to rain here, it seems to come on about 4.30 or 5.00pm. Preaching again tomorrow and then meeting with Phil Butler of Interdev who has flown over from Seattle for some meetings in Bangalore. Phil used to be on the Borad of Feba.

2007-08-24T09:25:00.001+01:00

Back speaking at the Bible Society today, this time in "The William Carey Centre" in another part of Bangalore.

After the meeting and tea with the Director we were taken up onto the roof. Some good views of Bangalore. That's me finished preaching now until Sunday. Went to the OM Bookshop and saw some amazing prices of bibles and books. May do some of my Christmas shopping here before I leave! They were doing some construction work around the building.

The scaffolding fascinates me!

2007-08-23T13:38:00.000+01:00

Was speaking at staff devotions at the Bible Society of India today (Thursday). Am speaking again to another group in another building tomorrow.
Next to the Government of India the Bible Society of India are the biggest publishers in this vast sub continent. They publish bibles and scriptures in 200 Indian languages and dialects and they employ some 500 staff. This is the office I visited today on the Mahatma Gandhi Road in Bangalore. It's called "Logos".
Tomorrow I visit another one called "The William Carey Building". Lilian's maiden name is Carey and she is related to the famous missionary to India.

On the ground floor of the Logos building is an impressive Bible exhibition showing the development of the Bible as we have it today and I was conducted around it by a full time guide and curator. They have, as part of their exhibition, William Carey's first translation of scripture into Bengali in 1807 and some of his original letters as well as lots of amazing stuff. They have Bibles from all over the world there. Even saw a Bible in Irish, something I've yet to see in Ireland!

This is me being introduced to Dr. Pramanik, the director of the Bible Society in India, who runs a pretty tight ship! All the office staff stop work and stand to their feet when he enters a room. He keeps introducing me to his staff as the "Reverend Doctor Lindsay Allen"! I haven't had the courage yet to correct him!

2007-08-22T05:37:00.000+01:00

I mentioned last time on Lindsay and Lilian's Blog watching the tight rope walker outside the cafe. We all sat entranced watching her and knowing we could never do it ourselves. Even if I could manage a few steps my walk would be filled with the fear of falling and I would lose the exhilaration that comes from walking fearlessly along a rope strung above the traffic.

It's a metaphor of our walk with God, isn't it? Legalism, the fear of falling out of God's favour, can rob us of the exhiliration and joy of walking free with the Lord. Psalm 19:32 says, "I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free."

2007-08-20T05:25:00.001+01:00

Sunday Morning. Had breakfast and then left about 9.30 as we are all going to church together where I am preaching! It's called the "Revival Church" and is led by an elderly pastor who is 82;- a lovely old gentleman who tells me that his late wife's father was Irish!
Nice church service which ran for about two hours. Communion was about half way through and a mixture of hymns ranging from the very traditional using "Redemption Hymnal" to very contemporary ones thrown up on the screen using PowerPoint.
These are a few pictures of us outside the church including one of Lilian and me with the pastor and me in the baptismal tank which was outside. You can't keep us Baptists out of a baptismal tank! As soon as we see one we just have to get in it!

Afterwards Prem and Rita took us all for Sunday lunch to a fabulous hotel called the "Royal Orchid". More amazing food served as a buffet.

Came back home and Lilian, Dean and I went out for a walk and had an iced coffee as it was getting pretty hot. When we came back the to American girls were getting ready for the wedding by having their hands and feet painted with henna which is a custom here. A girl from the school was doing it for them.Dean caught a flight to Dubai at 5.00pm for a week's break before he goes back to school.

After he left, Prem and I went for a walk in the park outside the house. By a walk in the park he means half a dozen circuits of the park at a pretty sharp pace! Lots of people taking exercise which an Indian orchestra and singer sing and play classical Indian music.

As mentioned earlier, we had all been invited to a wedding of a member of the school staff. Indian weddings are big! William, the office manager tells me he had 1600 guests at his! So the school bus collected us at about 7.30 and we headed off to the reception. Lots of people seated in a big hall when we arrived. Prem and Rita are obviously fairly high status in Indian society and when you are with them you are treated like royalty! We were ushered up to the front seats past everybody else with everybody fawning round us. A bit embarrassing for Lilian and me as we don't even know the couple's names!

Eventually the bride and groom enter. He in a suit and she looking beautiful but very nervous in a sari.
It's at that point that Prem tells me that as a special guest I have been asked to open in prayer and pray for the couple and their families! The usual 30 seconds notice you get in India!

So I end up standing on the platform with them, without a microphone praying at the top of my voice to try and drown out the Indian music which apparently can't be turned down and in front of a congregation, most of whom don't speak English!Afterwards we are led downstairs to pride of place at another Indian meal!

As I leave the reception I am handed a bag containing a coconut a betel leaf and a packet of betel seeds. The water in the coconut represents joy and the betel leaf and seeds represent growth and prosperity. Unfortunately I can't bring them home with me as I'm going to Los Angeles after this and there's no way American Immigration is going to let me into the country with them!

After it is all over we all get into the bus and come home. It's the Americans' last night, they leave to catch their flight at 4.00am and so it's all good byes and exchanging email addresses. Collapse into bed after another long day!

2007-08-19T04:06:00.000+01:00

Went to school on Friday. the Asha Kiran School Bus picked us up at 8.30 and we travelled through the Bangalore rush hour stopping from time to time to pick up groups of students and teachers.

When we got to school, Lilian was given the job of helping in the accounts department and I was given the job of supervising the children's play area outside as some of the teachers were off! As this is a special needs school many of the children require to be closely supervised. In between times when things were quiet it gave me the opportunity to catch up on some of my reading which had fallen behind, so it worked out well for me.

Had lunch at the school and got to know Albert the cook and his wife Beena.

After school we all travelled home again by school bus dropping people off on the way.

Got home about 3.15 and Dean Lappin and I went out for a cup of coffee and a chat in one of the posh coffee houses where a cappuccino costs a scandalous 50p! Dean is a schoolteacher from Auchnacloy and has been working at Asha Kiran School for the past 5 weeks. It turns out that he is a member of Knockonny Baptist and his girfriend is the sister of John MacDermott's girlfriend! John McDermott is a former member of our church and is doing some of the preaching while I'm away. Small world!

2007-08-16T03:06:00.000+01:00

Lilian went off to school today. She will be working in the accounts department and doing some admin. There is a lot of government bureaucracy here in India and lots of forms to fill in for pupils. I stayed behind in the Interdev office here where I have been given a desk and Internet access. Eventually got finished by 4.00pm and went out for a walk before Lilian came back. By about 4.30 the light here is beautiful, very soft and warm and the air temperature is a little cooler.

Everybody here seems to be working all the time. India's streets are a cacophony of sound;- a hive of activity a great symphony of hammering and sawing, welding and chopping, buying and selling, building and repairing. Everybody, young and old is doing something! Traffic is constant and mobile phones are everywhere. The latest high technology seems to be able to blend naturally with ox carts and a decaying infrastructure. Labour is cheap here so every store has lots of serving staff, security men and people to simply open the door for you coming and going. Lots of people earning a pittance doing mind numbingly boring jobs and very long hours. It really made me grateful for what we so easily take for granted and the opportunities open to us in the west. It also helps you appreciate the need for authorities to enforce the rules and regulations we find so frustrating at times. Otherwise things we take for granted just don't get done and things deteriorate.

I'm preaching on Sunday, (at least once, I don't know yet) and then one of the staff at Asha Kiran school is being married on Sunday and we have all been invited to the wedding. William the office manager here, tells me that when he was married a couple of years ago there were 1,600 guests at his wedding! Some older friends and relatives don't like to receive their wedding invitation through the post, they find that insulting, and so you may have to travel hundreds of miles to invite them personally!

2007-08-15T07:23:00.000+01:00

Independence Day!

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Indian Independence and there are flags and street celebrations everywhere!

Yesterday at Asha Kiran School it was a very special day as the children put on a concert with a variety of items, a drama, a pageant representing the different States within India, some dancing and some singing! A Colonel from the Indian Army whose daughter was there with his wife and supervised the flag raising ceremony outside and the children provided a display before we all went indoors for the rest of the programme! Everyone was dressed up in their best clothes and the orange, white and green of India were everywhere. Lilian opened the programme in prayer, the Colonel made a speech and I (down on the programme as the Chief Guest!!) made a speech/sermon on Freedom. I used the passage from Galatians, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."

Then the children all got off school early and we stayed and had lunch. Trying to learn to eat Indian style eating with my fingers but a two year old makes less mess than I do!

Today, the school is off so I went for a walk to see what was going on. As usual, there was more action with the poorer people in the back streets but I wasn't sure what sort of reception I would get as a European.

However someone took me by the arm and brought me through a few places and I discovered that I was to be the guest of honour at a flag raising ceremony! There was a big picture of Gandhi and to the sounds of Colonel Bogey!! the Indian flag was raised while firecrackers went off and everybody clapped. Then I had a brooch of the flag of India pinned to my chest like a medal, and I was given all sorts of delicious Indian sweet cakes to eat! I shook hands with everybody and left to much applause! Should apply for a job in the diplomatic corps!

2007-08-13T04:26:00.000+01:00

Having some internet problems, so sorry for the delay in posting. Luggage arrived today about 10.00am. Got sorted out with some clean clothes etc and set off for the school. Had lunch with the children and got to know some of them. They are rehearsing for Independence Day celebrations tomorrow. An Indian Amy Colonel is coming to supervise the flag raising ceremony. I was given a programme of the school celebrations and it was pointed out to me that I was down as the Chief Guest and I was to make a speech on “Freedom”! I was also to pray for two of the new teachers and welcome them into the Asha Kiran family. A couple of hours notice here that you are required to make a speech or preach a sermon seems the norm!
When we came back from the school Lilian and I went out for a walk round a few shops. Met Rita on the way back just as it was getting dark. Just trying to cross the road here takes a special skill. Pedestians have no rights here, traffic rules!

2007-08-12T15:47:00.000+01:00

Well, we arrived in Bangalore at about 4.30 am on Saturday morning, but our luggage didn't! In fact I've just come back from another trip to the airport, 11.00pm Sunday night and we still haven't got it.

Traffic here is crazy!Absolutely crazy! You are taking your life in your hands trying to cross the road.

Was at my first church service this morning in the Methodist Church which started at 7.00am. Excellent service and a good sermon from the Assistant Pastor on Jeremiah 33. Time for a quick cup of coffee afterwards and then whisked off to another service in another part of Bangalore at 9.00am where I was the preacher and an India for Christ Ministeries Covenant Church. Birthday party with a cake cutting afterwards for two of their young people.

Yesterday we were taken to a special flower show to mark Independence Day in India. Tens of thousands of people were there and magnificent displays of flowers, fruit and vegetables.

Rain suddenly came on at 6.00pm in a torrential downpour. We headed back into the city centre and had a cup of coffee. In fact we had 3 coffees and 3 samusas, (little filled pancakes) and I tried to pay with a card and the guy wouldn't take it because he didn't accept cards for anything less than 100 rupees. Which meant that the 3 coffees and 3 samusas was less than £1.20. Bought extra food until I reached the 100 rupees! Took an autorickshaw ride back to Prem's house. It's like playing dodgems in real cars! Told when I got back that we had to be up at 6.00am to be at church for 7.00am. Had been told on that (Saturday) afternoon that I would be preaching the next day! Looks like being a busy month here in India!

2007-08-05T17:28:00.000+01:00

Traffic Jam in Roundstone!

We left this beautiful island today and headed back home. On the way back we thought we would go down to Roundstone and see the workshop of one of Ireland's leading bodhran makers, Malachy Kearns. When we were driving through Roundstone we got caught in a traffic jam! A van and a car had got struck and were blocking the road. While I was waiting for the traffic to clear I stuck the camera out the car window and took this picture! Who would believe looking at this that you are caught in traffic!

Omey was great, a real tonic of peace and quiet and a chance to wind down in preparation for a lot of travelling. I'll miss the quietness and the solitude and the desolate beauty of the place.

This old church appeared on the island about 20 years ago after being buried in the sand for about 300 years. Up to 400 people lived on Omey at one time before the Famine so this may have been a thriving church.

We took a last walk round the island and headed home on a beautiful evening. Got back to Winnie's house about 11.00pm.

We leave on Friday morning for India.

2007-08-05T07:58:00.000+01:00

The Omey Races

The weather has been pretty fabulous so far here! Sitting outside a lot reading and relaxing (see picture!) but today, (Saturday) is the day of the Omey Races and the weather has turned bad!The blue skies and seas have gone and its now grey, cloudy and wet!

Let me explain the Omey Races.

Every year at this time they construct a racetrack on the beach between Omey and the mainland while the tide is out and have a horse race. (Not to be confused with the Galway races which is a much grander affair!)

We saw them put out the posts to mark the racetrack at low tide yesterday and now today we can see lots of people arriving with horses and setting up stalls selling everything from wicker baskets to fish and chips. The early races are for kids on ponies, this is often their first big horse race, and there is lots of enthusiasm even if sometimes the ponies take off across the beach with the tiny riders hanging on for grim death! The later races are full blown affairs with some pretty good looking horses.

As usual the Bookies appear to be the winners! And in case you're asking, the answer is "No! I didn't put any money on a horse!"

2007-08-04T04:05:00.000+01:00

Still in Connemara. Up early and getting plenty of reading done. Went to Clifden, a couple of miles away for some grocery shopping. Thriving little town, full of foreign tourists. Came back by "The Sky Road" which has some pretty spectacular views over the coast and Omey Island.

Back on the island things are quieter. A rabbit came up to the window and nuzzled on some grass.

I'm reading Oswald Chambers' classic, "My Utmost for His Highest" at the moment. He says today, "God does not give us overcoming life;- He gives us life as we overcome."

2007-08-01T08:35:00.000+01:00

Another beautiful Day on Omey. Work early and began in Genesis Chapter 1. One of my goals during this Sabbatical is to read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Also reading through a wide range of books everything from Rob Bell (The Velvet Elvis) to Mark Dever, (The Deliberate Church). I want to take this opportunity to examine the spectrum of church life both home and abroad.
Sitting here outside the cottage in Connemara at 7 o'clock in the morning and watching a fox run down the hill towards the sea seems a long way from the stresses and challenges of church life, but what a great God and what a privilege to be part of His Creation!

2007-07-31T19:24:00.000+01:00

This place is a great place to start to the Sabbatical. Long drive down through beautiful countryside to a little island in Connemara. This is the cottage generously loaned to us by friends.
This is the view from the front door. Glorious weather and we are planning a week of walking, reading and crashing out!

2007-07-28T11:37:00.000+01:00

So this is the start of the Sabbatical. We leave on Monday morning for a cottage which friends have loaned us on Omey Island not far from the 12 pins of Connemara. You can drive on and off the island at low tide. It's only about a mile and a half by a mile wide. I'll send you more when we arrive

2007-07-26T19:02:00.000+01:00

Welcome! This is the blog of our Sabbatical journeying.
Over the next three months we plan to be staying in Connemara, India, USA, Canada, Albania and Macedonia. We may be in some places that do not have internet access so please be patient if there are delays in updating this. Our Sabbatical runs from August to early November.
Thanks for your interest and if you pray for us, thank you for your prayers.