change is hard and can be painful......

Chris writes: it is hard to think that our 21 students are now settled around the world serving God...some of them at home and others on the mission field in some of the most dangerous and unsettled places in the world..to of them are in the Philippines, one is in Jordan...it seems strange to see some of their posts on facebook! Meanwhile five weeks on we have launched into a new ELCO programme and another 22 new students have joined us from the length and breadth of the world.....from Brazil,Thailand, Taiwan, Russia to name a few and even our first ever from Azerbaijan!!

I must admit I was so worried about learning their names!! Praise God I am feeling so confident after day one and am learning them quickly...now we start the process of finding out their English capabilities, putting them into church teams and the ones who want to, giving them driving tests!!

Last week was a tough week as we have finally closed the café and are selling off the items..I felt God saying it was a time for pruning....but when that happens things die before growth comes...but the death can bring mourning and grief......mine did not last long as the following day I found out at last the youth café at our Church in Gjakove has opened......growth has come!! Praise God!! ....the most exciting thing is this is not lead by us but by the locals.......please do pray for this new venture and the community it will be reaching.......please also pray that we can finish things off well with the old café too......

Have put two pictures on my facebook tonight...two very special men........men I am proud to say I had the privilege of knowing...men of God who set an example of grace and love......and so much more besides.....RIP Brother Micky and Faton!.......pray for their families and their legacies

God bless......thanks for your support and prayers

endings and beginnings.......

Chris writes: well we have now been here in Halesowen for almost one year and what a year it has been!! Thank you to so many of you who have travelled with us through our adventures from Kosova to UK!


Sadly the operation on my knee, scheduled for this week, has been postponed but it was bitter sweet.


Last night it was graduation night for our summer 2014 ELCO students. 21 students that we have been journeying with for the last four months are now ready to launch off into their next chapter of service with God. Wow what a joy!! 18 of the 21 students will be going to 7 nations to serve God!!..the others will be serving God of course but are not so sure where. What a privilege to have had the opportunity to invest in their lives. And to think that before we even left Kosova I had a vision to work with missionaries but of course I was not sure in what context....but God knew!!


The exciting thing is that some of these students are going to some of the most dangerous parts of the world so I do not even like sharing their photos as that could endanger them....


Please do pray for these students as they lay their lives down to serve God all over the world.

Great Expectations......!!

Chris writes: well an awful lot can happen in 6 weeks!! We had a brilliant week away in North Wales. When we came back we moved house and are now living just 15 minutes walk away from where we are based. After 12 months here in UK and 8 living in someone else's home it is soooo good to be in our own at last!! Yesterday we had the internet put on and it is great to be in regular contact again.

The week is mission week for our ELCO students. Basically they have no English lessons so spend the whole week with their churches touching the communities, doing mission 24/7.
This afternoon I visited the three churches who are involved in mission with our students across Birmingham. Two of the churches had their programme sorted out in advance and seemed well organised. The third because of illness were not even sure if they would be able to do a mission week even last week. It was a real struggle and a step of faith but the third managed to come up with something at the 11th hour, working with the children doing crafts. I was really surprised at the results as the 3rd church seemed the busiest and was really impacting the community. Clearly I am not saying planning is not important, but sometimes we just need to spend less time planning and more time praying, just listening to our Father...me included!!

It made me think how we have such great expectations for ourselves and for our ministries and so many plans. We think God will love us more because of what we do for Him. God has one expectation of us which is to love Him....the rest we work out as we go along through life.

Brennan Manning, a man who I am sure was like David in so many ways and a man after God's heart, quotes Father Hugh Donlon: 'You cannot earn God's love because He gave it to you before you started to earn it.'

Have a great summer.

In Him

What does the Kingdom of God look like??

Chris writes: so much at the moment from people asking what is mission? What Does the Kingdom of God look like? One thing I know is that it is alive and it actually includes us if we accept and acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour of our lives. Also that it should be making a difference and improving things where it goes/touches. We must try to live this out while on this earth and not always look into the future....also that when it/we comes into contact with people that don't know Jesus it should interest and inspire them and make them ask questions.

Lifehope is a great & loving community but sometimes it can be a bubble of Christians...nice and friendly people...which seems so far away from those that are not.....but maybe it is also a kind of reflection of The Kingdom of God.....over the last week or so I had a chance to see that community going out into the world....the larger community and it was so exciting...such a privilege to see and be a part of........

Firstly the ELCO students very simply took a football out onto the Estate where one of the ELCO partner churches are....this was the result:

It might seem simple but it was quite a lot building up to this and a big step of faith for all.......

Secondly while I was at Bible College one of our lecturers shared how a simple act such as picking up litter, can make such a difference to somebodies day. Close to OM we have a river where a number of shopping trolleys and other items had been thrown so I thought it would be great for Lifehope to do a clean-up of the area......picking up litter/cleaning out the river....this is the result...me and my friend James who really caught the vision and encouraged me and even got down into the river with a few others:

Thanks James!!

What a joy to be a part of this community expressing and working out the Kingdom of God in Halesowen!!

Blessings

Have you been forgiven??

Chris writes: Have you been forgiven? Do you really know what it is like to be forgiven? Forgiveness is something we all can experience whether we have a faith or not. We do something we know we should not be doing and ask for forgiveness. Saying a wrong word or doing a wrong action. If we are a Christian, a follower of Jesus, and of His teachings, then we have a different moral compass and something which maybe is acceptable to others, which is seen as merely expressing yourself or being different, is by God, considered to be going against God's best for you.  As Christians or not often those things are genuinely not the best for us or others around us. So God is merely trying to protect us from ourselves. For Christians we must recognize those things.

Yesterday was not a good day and one that I needed to go back and ask for forgiveness. Feelings of: why am I here again came in. Today however I was able to write in my journal: "Today is another day"....."My failings of yesterday are past...I am forgiven and redeemed by the Blood of Jesus". What does that really mean?? The Blood of Jesus is so much more than just Christian jargon...it is freedom...it is forgiveness or in the worship song we sometimes still sing: 'God's love came to me and set me free'...until we are forgiven we are held captive...forgiveness brings freedom...something we all know and long to experience.......have you been forgiven??

We are doing ok, but continue in waiting on our next step, with regard to our permanent home and all that we hope and pray that will bring... We really need to move forward but are waiting for the right time....covet your prayers!!

Am still working on a video of my time in the Balkans but it is taking longer than expected. The time there was really encouraging and exciting: the Lighthouse cafe we established has moved now and business is going really well. The focus is however more on the adults and less on the children. We have however been able to financially support another cafe, in the same town, aimed at the youth, which is opening very soon. Someone I met in Albania, who was coming to UK for our ELCO programme had his visa rejected which was sad and hard for him. Hopefully he will try again and maybe there will be opportunity for others to come in the future.

Have been quite busy recently....we have finished our Spring ELCO programme:   .......

 .........and at the same time started our summer ELCO programme!! Team building day.....Crazy week!!

Yesterday it was good to be with a special group of people celebrating the birth of a vision which has been a number of years in the making....a new cafe in Brandhall......

looking forward to a few days away this week.....how are you doing??

Appreciate your prayers and support as always and for standing with us....much love xx

wow...blown away!!

Chris writes......well thanks all of you so much for your prayers and it was an extremely profitable and envisioning time!!...there were so many divine appointments...please pray that I can recall them and share the pictures and stories with you in due course!!

Watch this space!!

GOD is good ALL the Time!!

Chris writes: hi all and hope you are enjoying the early signs of spring....so lovely to walk around and see the daffodils coming up and the trees with the spring blossom on them....spring comes every year to remind us of the new start Jesus wants to make in our lives...no matter what happened yesterday whether we did well or not today is a new day!! If we come back to God and are truly sorry He will give us a fresh start...just like a new day.....Wow what an amazing God we have!!

• The last few weeks have been challenging...sadly the guy who was going to buy our flat down south...our perfect answer to prayer...or so we thought...changed his mind and pulled out of the sale...we had some other people look at it but they offered a price under our asking price....at this stage we don't have a mortgage so don't know how much we need to realize from the flat so it seems premature to blindly accept a lower offer...so we are holding on and waiting it out...

• On the Kosova front...we have heard that the cafe is moving to another location...and on Wednesday I will be travelling there!! for the first time since we left last June....am really excited to be able to go back for 8 days...sadly just me...but please pray it will be a profitable and envisioning time...I will also be travelling to Albania and meeting our first student and his family from Albania that will be joining us on the ELCO programme in May....pray that we can inspire and raise up other missionaries from the Balkans....more to follow....watch this space!!

A few pictures from the current ELCO programme...our evangelism day on the streets in Birmingham..I was able to share a short message....and the rain did not stop us!!..and Lorraine with one of our good friends on the base from Holland taking the students bowling....

Thanks so much for your prayers....we love you guys!!