An amazing week of silent discreet evangelism

This week all the regular activities of our entire church have been re-directed to a large supermarket in the centre of Patos. Through our daughter Lynn they invited us to collect the loose change from people as they check out of the supermarket so as to help support our social projects! They told us we could bring in folk from the church to encourage people to donate and this we are doing! It is a week of silent evangelism - praying in silence for each one in the supermarket - and our army of workers/church members are all dressed in the same green EAB/ACEV tea shirts! A sea of Evangelical Action green T-shirts greets people as they arrive at the supermarket! What an impact! The supermarket will never be the same again!

Banners are on display around the place and people yesterday (day 1 of 7) were asking us questions. Every shopper is spoken to and given a leaflet at check out. They are prayed for in silence too.

Today the income for the children's play area is also dedicated to our projects as is the income from one session of a film in the group's cinema too. The film "Overcomer" is a Christian film which fitted in perfectly to our week under the providence of God.

On Friday night the supermarket complex has an event area and there we will sing the Gospel! It is a fantastic opportunity for the Gospel this week. Please pray.

50 Years

On Friday (15th) Liz and I had a lovely day celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. It was lovely as each of us tried to surprise the other with little things and by the end of the weekend it was a draw! Let me explain:

I managed to get red roses (very difficult to get here) for Liz to be delivered to our house for her at 6:30 am as that's about the time we always have breakfast and 12 red roses has much significance in our marriage. Well they arrived (only 9 in fact when I counted) but they arrived! Liz loved them... and then came her surprise for me with Liz having managed to get photos of our honeymoon from slides and put them in a little album for me!

We had chicken curry for lunch and then went out for a walk at Green Pastures late afternoon and on the way back I jokingly offered to get something for us to eat as I can manage boiled eggs! However Liz had prepared a surprise meal for us to she was 2 x 1 ahead in surprises!

Then came the big thanksgiving service in church on the Sunday and that was beautiful too and when I equalized! For during the service I surprised Liz with my old wedding ring which I had no longer used as I put on weight and it was impossible. However I managed to get it fixed and expanded with a bit of extra gold and so we ended up a lovely weekend at 2 x 2!

The service was greatly bless of God. We showed the church the video of our wedding in Southampton. Now this Sunday the theme of married couple carries on and I will be preaching especially to them.

God has been and is being good to us. Praise His holy name!

Scotland is here!

This week we've had the joy of Lyndsey Rollo's company visiting the work of EAB. We took her to see a wide range of projects and we will be continuing this tomorrow and Tuesday, as she returns to Scotland on Wednesday. She spoke really well tonight on Worship, in Patos. She is the worship leader at Found Church, Scotland and trained prior to this at Hillsong, Australia. She also is a physiotherapist. It is being a real blessing to have her here with us and I believe she has been blessed around the churches and projects.

God speaks today

I was studying and praying in my office yesterday when I clearly felt, out of the blue, I should contact somebody who is away from God and hasn't been in church for a long time. So I stopped what I was doing and sent him a message, not knowing that half an hour earlier one of our leaders had bumped into this person and spoken to him too! The result was a series of conversations with the person, confession of sin, and a promise to return to church immediately. Praise God that he does speak today! Please pray for this situation.

Lyndsey Rollo arrived from Found Church, Scotland yesterday and will be playing keyboard with our band on Sunday and preaching on worship too. Lyndsey is a physiotherapist and a graduate from Hillsong, Australia. Today Liz and I are taking her with us on some journies further into the interior to visit churches and projects. I will be preaching tomorrow night at Caroá. We value your prayers.

Small Things

This Sunday I will be preaching on 1 Kings 19:11-18 and talking about how it's not always through the wind and fire that God speaks to us but sometimes it's through His still small voice! I pray that many lives will be blessed in today's communion service.

Thursday's Bible study on the Nazarite Vow went particularly well. The cultural/religious trappings no longer apply to us but the underlying principle of the need for separation from what is not pleasing to God, and the need for consecration to Him, is eternal. 

Very encouraging this week too was the the outreach service on Tuesday night in one of the most notoriously violent and dangerous streets in Patos where murders are common. We had a team of 25 there which is not bad for a Tuesday night! Praise God! The Gospel was preached and the seed was sown as many heard the Gospel.

Our Seniors Project continues to bless many lives. It is lovely to see the joy on the young at heart's faces doing occupational therapy, tucking in to good food and praying together and meeting around God's word. Just the project in itself says so much about Christian care and concern.

On Tuesday we are happy to be receiving Lyndsey Rollo from Scotland for a week's visit. We pray that she will be blessed amongst us and also herself be a blessing.