....and so this in Christmas.....2013 into 2014........

Chris writes: so this is Christmas and as the song says 'another year over and a new one to begin'  so how was 2013 for you? What has changed in your life? What will change in 2014 for you?

For us this time last year it would have been hard to imagine that as a couple we would be celebrating Christmas back in the UK, having been living in the Midlands, still with OM and working for Lifehope for 4 months. We felt God was calling us back last winter; we took some time out to pray and fast; pack and close our home in Gjakova, say all our goodbyes; put the Lighthouse and our vision into the hands of the locals: it is now run by a local young guy who we employ and we also have a treasurer; we returned here in mid June and spent 2 1/2 months travelling, praying and resting before finally moving here.

Since we have been here and in such a short space of time it really feels like home, even though we do not have our own home. We have been house sitting so have been paying minimal rent which we are sooo grateful for! Lorraine has had a major operation and is recovering well. We are now part of both a global family of people who are based here from all over the world and a local family who have cooked and cleaned for us for three weeks. I have also completed training sessions in mentoring and training trainers.

I now have a job at Lifehope and am able to train and equip internationals who come here to improve their English in church life and mission work. I am also involved in a night shelter which the churches in Birmingham are running for 8 weeks from January. Last week my two roles came together when i was asked to provide some entertainment at a meal which was being put on for the homeless & vulnerable in Birmingham. The students loved it and gave a powerful message in the drama which really spoke to some people.

Lorraine has just returned to work after her rehabilitation so is open to her next direction.

Phew what a year!!

We cannot take credit for this, the transition and the journey, what we have achieved and how peaceful and rested we feel can only be down to the peace and  grace of the Lord God Almighty, whose earthly arrival and birth among us that we celebrate tomorrow. It is to Him that all the glory must go. Amen.

From us both and from the bottom of our hearts we are so grateful to Him for that and to you for journeying with us and for your support and prayers.

...and to 2014....we know it presents more challenges as we need to increase our finances, find our own home and look further into family and further transition into life back here in the UK...we know it won't be easy but we have our journey thus far to look back on and nothing to make us think He will not be with us every step of the way as He has been so far.

I hope like us you also can celebrate Christmas having that special relationship as we have and seeing Him work in your life. I hope this Christmas will for you, be a truly Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

With Much love from us both xx

Still asking: What is a missionary??

Chris writes: having a really busy time at mo....currently on an OM course from last Tuesday until next Wednesday...really intense and long days...I really struggled with doing the course leaving Lorraine for so long on her own but she has supported me in it...am really glad that I did it and yes it is stretching me in all sorts of ways...really appreciate your prayers for me and for Lorraine on her own at home...pray that i can give and get the max out of it for the last three days.....really hope and pray that this will equip me further in my role at Lifehope as Team Life and Missions Coordinator....sounds very grand!

From previous blogs you will have read my thoughts regarding missionaries so this was a great quote some of you might know:

'A Missionary is not one who Crosses the seas but one who sees the Cross.'

Be blessed as you work out what that means for you!!  xx

Relentless love

Chris writes: over the summer have been (and indeed still am I'm afraid!) reading a  potentially life changing book. The book is by Brennan Manning who died earlier this year. The book is entitled: 'The Relentless Love of Jesus'.

For those that have not read it here are just a few of his words that I wanted to share with you:

'Jesus Says "You did not choose me; no, I chose you." These are phenomenal statements! What deity of any great world religion has ever spoken with such breathtaking tenderness, incredible familiarity, indomitable confidence, and spellbinding power!'

He writes that the Gospel is 'Scandalous'

He says: 'What Christian in his right mind would dare to speak of God in such human, earthly terms unless God Himself had used them first?'

'...God who cherishes and graces all people without qualification, a God whose whole and only desire is our happiness and fulfillment....our awareness of God is so flawed'

'Open yourself to my God whose passionate love is unreasonable and trust Him wholeheartedly.'

'Our life in Christ is not an easy thing to grasp. Maybe you only understand it by living it'.

And finally

'....B.C. 'Before Christ' and A.D. 'Anno Domini' - the year of the Lord - expresses a truth: the life of Jesus is the central event in human history according to which that entire history must be evaluated and judged.
The truth of Christianity is not a doctrine but a person. It is the reality of Jesus Christ......'

Do you know Him?

Be Blessed

..........not Missionaries!!??!!!

Chris writes: we have now been at Lifehope for almost two months and we are settling in and enjoying life being back in the UK and also being part of a larger team....Lifehope is one happy family (usually!) of people gathered from all over the world and with the different languages, people groups and cultures it represents it is amazing just how happy it is......that can only be God bringing all these people together........

.............. it seems that there is one word which is unhelpful for us to use however in our new stage of our journey: missionary!!  what is a missionary? Well, according to google: 'someone sent on a religious mission' especially 'one sent to promote Christianity in a foreign country' or another one: 'someone sent by Jesus'....hopefully that rings true to many of you.....no? then look at the end of at least the first three Gospels...the last words spoken by Jesus was to send His disciples....so....the truth is we are all called to be missionaries...over the garden fence, in our homes, in our schools, in our places of work, on the street...infact wherever we are.......

Understandably therefore it is hard for people to get the picture when we use this word to describe our role now that we feel we have been called back to the UK.....some people have asked when we will be getting a job..??...a paid job.....but the truth is we do have jobs....so what are we doing in Halesowen with OM???

I am working with the International Students who are in Halesowen to improve their English and am involved in the outreach side of their programme....facilitating the missionaries of the future... and yes it is a privilege!!

I hope to show you more pictures in the future but for now meet Ginny:

http://news.om.org/feature-article/r37944

..........this week we were on the streets in the centre of Birmingham doing outreach and evangelism with the students...now I am really out of my comfort zone ....how do our students feel!!

.....and Kosova...we are still praying and supporting and this month was given £1000 from a trust                  Praise God!!!

Lorraine will fill you all in on what she is up to in a later blog.......

...and to the future....we are looking firstly to change the name above to reflect that we still have Kosova in our hearts and yet are now continuing our adventures in UK.....we are also praying about our future in UK

..........please, please do pray and share any thoughts you have with us on any of the above......the ministry we have established in Kosova during our time there is built on your prayers and support...it is no different now we are back in UK....

Many blessings and thanks for praying and supporting us as we support and invest in what God is doing in Kosova and the UK

In Him

the Future....Missionaries in UK??

Chris writes: Port Issac is now a distant memory...we are in North Wales this weekend for a few days break visiting Lorraine's Father. We have had such a fantastic summer and have visited so many of our family, friends/supporters....but not all of them yet!! We have traveled from one side of UK to the other and back again.......to OM Birmingham, Halesowen....or the West Midlands (!!)..so we are now praying and trying to work out how our future is going to look here....of course only God knows the real answer to that one!!

We have now been in Halesowen for 2 weeks and are currently on an induction programme with a number of other singles and families joining at the same time....once again we have amazing provision...a house we can live in rent free....but that is a much longer story we will tell you sometime.

Meanwhile back in Kosova at Lighthouse we are hearing amazing stories of how God is blessing the work their...of kids clubs, movie nights and most excitingly of people becoming Christians!! WOW!!

So what of the future for us??? This is something we are praying about this weekend....can we both continue to work with OM as missionaries and be based in UK??? It seems that this is the path God is pointing us too....but more about that later .....hope you enjoy this from Rend Collective...MY Lighthouse........that is certainly our testimony....thanks for listening and praying....please do keep us up to date with what God is doing in your life

God Bless you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fiE5J_wwmY

Holiday in Port Isaac xx

Chris writes: we are just finishing a wonderful 10 days holiday in Port Isaac, Cornwall...we have had such an amazing time and have felt so blessed and de-stressed. Since we arrived back in UK 6 weeks ago we have had so many answers to prayer...spoken and unspoken...so many people have blessed us beyond our dreams with food, finances, friendship, accommodation and much more besides....in addition our hire vehicle was miraculously made available on the exact day we needed it....it all has just overwhelmed us.....our time in Port Isaac has been no exception and we leave here feeling very relaxed and loved and with so many photos recording so many happy memories.......God has used so many of you to pray for and bless us and we are so grateful to Him for the prompting and to you for the generosity and love expressed.

Here is a view from our front window:

We are now heading to London for some more debriefing then to New Wine for the second week.

And the future........we know that God is in control...He has not let us go without or let us down.....so we have to trust Him and let Him deal with the details......more to follow.....

Much love, in Him

Chris  xx

Wimbledon!!.....ah...GB summer!!

Chris writes: Hi all......hope you are well and having a good summer....we are keeping as busy as ever....we spent some time in Worthing acclimatizing and catching up with friends and some of my family...then we moved to Bournemouth for the appointment Lorraine has been waiting for for a long time and many of you have been praying for...thanks!...we also got to see the first guy from GB in 77 years winning Wimbledon......interesting to note that GB has still won the title more than any other country...trivia fact for you!......then last week we hired a vehicle and drove north to have some meetings at the OM base near Oswestry and then visited another OM base in Birmingham before returning the vehicle back to Bournemouth.....we have been blessed with meals, money, accommodation, people prayed over us and caught up with so many good friends.....it is hard to believe we have only been back for one month!!

This week we have further blessings and answers to prayer as a vehicle from a Christian hire co has suddenly been made available to us for the same price for a month, as we pay from a regular co for a week!! Praise God!

We then head off to Cornwall on Wednesday for a rest....time to pray and reflect and be still before God as we seek Him over our future.....so really appreciate your prayers.....more later!!

After that we have more debriefs and will be at New Wine for the second week......hope to see as many of you as possible....somewhere over the summer....but do feel free to call or skype...

Have a great summer....

In Him

Chris

Back in the UK??

Chris writes: very early on last Monday morning we returned to the UK.....leaving Kosova, the Lighthouse and many friends and happy memories behind us. It is hard to imagine that in a few weeks/months time we have no commitment to return to Kosova, that we will not be getting back onto an aeroplane and returning back to a tiny country, a place in the Balkans that for the last 4 1/2 years we have called home. For the last 4 1/2 years every time we have left Kosova we have always had a return ticket with us...a ticket that has returned us to our home...to Kosova...on Sunday we boarded the plane with just a single ticket each.....to return us back to our home in UK....

Change comes to us all at sometimes in our life and it is important that we embrace it and face it head on and not try to hide from it or grow resentful that it is happening. Since 10th November 2008...it has been an exciting and roller coaster ride for us in Kosova...well to be honest as you can imagine it actually goes back before that....but if you have not been with us since the beginning of our adventures you can read it all yourself....we started this blog.....this adventure..on 25th October 2008....I think it makes good reading....but not about us.......but is a testimony to the God who took us to Kosova and the God that we believe has now returned us safely back here to the UK.

There are many thoughts and emotions and decisions we need to work through in the coming weeks and months and while we do not plan to rush, but take time to rest and pray, we will try to share some of them with you, but please do feel free to contact us if you have anything to share with us.....eventually we will probably need to close this blog and start a new one but for now during this transition stage, and until we know the title of our new blog we will continue this one.

For those of you that have been here and standing and praying with us since October 2008 and for those that have joined since 2008 thank-you, for believing not in us, but in the God we serve.....for He is the reason why we have been in Kosova for the last 4 1/2 years and to Him must be the glory.

Amen!!

With love and blessings to you all  xx

..........Happy 1st Birthday Lighthouse...!!.....

Chris writes: for those of you still not aware in two weeks time we shall be leaving Kosova and returning to UK to start another chapter in our life...we have not finished here in Kosova...but hope to do our supporting from UK....

......we are currently talking with a number of local people about forming a steering group that will manage and direct the Lighthouse, which we have established in Gjakova, we hope and pray this will enable it to go from strength to strength.....maybe it needs to change (location, name, opening times) and like anything else in the Christian life we must be ready to accept that....please pray for grace for all in this....

Today is the 1st Birthday for Lighthouse as we started renting one year ago today.....we don't know the future for Lighthouse or us when we get back to UK but what we do know is we have blessed many people over the year and impacted many lives around the world..many of you have contributed financially and prayed faithfully so you have contributed to this project as much as we have we are so grateful to each and every one of you.... some have even been able to come and join us and over the last few weeks we have had so many happy faces in the Lighthouse making cakes and other crafts....thanks especially to Jeanette and Shirley for that....

..........was this all just for a season??....only time will tell.....

Thanks so much for all your messages, prayers and words of support and encouragement....but please do keep praying.... especially for this week as we have someone from UK and someone from Holland visiting representing ISAAC...(International Substance Abuse and Addiction Coalition)....we have several meetings and next Saturday will be holding a drug awareness day in the Lighthouse.

Much love and blessings from us both  xx

....."...light and momentary troubles...."

Chris writes: how is your life at the moment? how are things going with you?? We are good. We had a great time in Montenegro up in the mountains...there was snow on the ground and yet we were wearing t-shirts! was a really restful encouraging and great time of fellowship.....in the cafe back in Gjakova they had a great week...the person who stood in for us did a great job...which could bode well for the future.........

.........this week has been pretty quiet......we also had a visit from the immigration police......!!

Feeling a little like Paul....speaking to the Corinthians: "We are hard pressed.....but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair...." 2 Cor 4: 8 NIV ......!!

Maybe to some of you it might not come as a surprise then if you have heard our news that we are leaving Kosova and returning to UK.......but look further down the same chapter.....Paul talks about...."...light and momentary troubles...." 4:17

.......four weeks from today after almost five years in Kosova we shall be returning to England...our plan is to spend three months travelling, sharing with some of you and also resting while we wait on God and prepare for the next step.....the journey is not over and the adventure continues......

............your prayers and support have not been in vain....we have cast seeds and built relationships and we hope and pray that what we have begun can be continued....but we have to trust God that His will is best...but this is hard and easier said than done..

.......we still believe in vision of Lighthouse and maybe even would like to see more Lighthouses opening around Kosova in the future.........we are hoping and praying that someone...maybe a local person or persons can continue the work we have birthed and established in Gjakova.......if it is God's will........ we believe Kosova needs to hear and understand the message about drugs....we also must prepare for the future and be ready for some of the youth of today who sadly will become drug dependent in the future....these people must be provided for and is still part of our vision and it is so exciting now to have the support of ISAAC in this....

http://www.isaac-international.org/home/case-studies/kosovofromtraumatorestoration

...........more on this later


.........thanks so much for your support and prayers so far and we hope and pray you will stay with us.....our vision is not completed ..this is just the end of one and the start of another new and exciting chapter....

God Bless...we would genuinely value your feedback and happy to answer your questions/concerns

In Him

Chris & Lorraine

What happened!!

Chris writes: how was your week? Do you ever feel like you have turned a corner and then realize there is another corner in front of you? Or climb a peak only to realize there is another peak taller than the one you just climbed and the first one was only preparing you for the next one? We know some ladies who experienced something of this lately!!

Has been a difficult week.

Had a great weekend with friends :) which was maybe preparing us for the week ahead.

It was great to see so many children at the movie night but I was badly prepared and most of the children ended up leaving early as they were bored and could not understand.

The cafe seems to have gone very quiet again : ( and very few children/customers are visiting...why??

It also seems that some Christians are not visiting us because of feeling intimidated.

Clearly we need to make some difficult decisions over the future of the Lighthouse.

.......but........we did have a wonderful opportunity to bless a friend this week :) and he was totally bowled over!!

I also had the joy of giving a cup of water to two boys this morning...the words '...whatever you did for the least of these....' were ringing in my ears.....wow what a joy!!

Next week we are away in Montenegro with the other OM teams from the Balkans on retreat.

Would appreciate your prayers for us and our friends

Thanks and God Bless YOU!!

2 Chron 20    !!

What a difference a month makes.......!!

Chris writes: Spring is here and the thaw has started and how things can change in such a short space of time!!....Maybe you have put so much of yourself into something and when your vision is stifled it is very hard and leaves you feeling drained, exhausted and very down.

We have invested so much of ourselves and finances from so many generous people into the Lighthouse and it was so hard during the winter months with it being so quiet and some days no customers at all visiting us.....these days were very dark in more ways than one.

What a difference two months make!!!

Things have been changing over the last two weeks and this week has been such a fantastic week...our takings have doubled in one month and trebled from two months ago.

More importantly than that the children and young people have started coming back...some just to hang out and have a glass of water...some to buy a small cake....many have joined in the sessions this week....it is so good to see them again!!

I hope you have seen the pictures and the posts on facebook....

...and the reason..??

....when we started worshipping God & rising above our circumstances we had a different perspective on our struggles and change happened...

That is my encouragement to you...give it to God...worship Him....sit back.....watch Him resume control....!!

Please read: 2 Chronicles 20....!!....and worship Him!!.......................Amen!!

Blessings

Chris

let my people go.......

Chris writes.....these sound like words Moses might have spoke to pharaoh.....but Kosova ....not Kosovo is still held captive today by its past.. which means it must still be protected and watched over by the UN...but is it time to let it go and construct its own destiny.....you decide!

Blessings

Still keeping on...keeping on

Chris writes....life is still hard in Lighthouse and is getting us down..so hard to see all this investment not being used....!!
........we found out that owing to concerns from our neighbours in the Mosque....the parents have been telling the children not to come to the cafe....we know that we are in a battle but the victory belongs to Him!!...we know that when we are under attack it is often because we are doing something right...!! :)

..............reading from 2 Chronicles 20 and we are applying these verses to our situation...

Really appreciate your prayers and support!!

God Bless

Chris

Sounds of Silence!

Chris writes: thanks for all you prayers and support...we did get a break and got away to Albania for a few days...winter has been very mild so far this year...owing to the design of these buildings sadly it has still been pretty cold inside...something we need to invest in before next winter.

Our biggest struggle has not been with the weather but that Lighthouse has just been so quiet...this is so hard especially when we know all the time and money which has been invested..

Would appreciate prayers for a breakthrough!!

Blessings

Ah.....winter is here!!

Chris writes: Hope you are all well and had a restful and peaceful Christmas and New Year break.....would appreciate your prayers at the moment...we had a great time in UK really encouraging and received lots of blessings and gifts...it was so good to see family and friends and enjoy Christmas in UK...we even saw the lights in London!!....to be loved, hugged, blessed and encouraged...it was so good just to be able to walk on the beach and breathe it all in and just savour the moment......now we are back to Kosova.....in the thick of things.....even as I write I am working on the battery as we have no mains power at the moment...something the people here have had to put up with for far to long since the end of the conflict.....especially during the winter....

Winter is setting in and it is starting to get colder and harder to keep the cafe warm...with the New Year brings a time of pause and reflection  so we are praying about our future and that of Lighthouse.........we are hoping for a few days break in the next few weeks... :)

We want to give thanks for all we have received and all that has happened over 2012.....and ask for your prayers as we moved forward into 2013...Pray that we will know His Will...please do share anything you may have from Father with us.

We want to give thanks for your faithfulness over 2012 and that of all our supporters.