It seems hard to believe that 6 years ago (tomorrow) we began Free Baptist Church in Loanhead. God has given us a great 6 years. Tonight we are going to show pictures from the last 6 years as we celebrate our 6th anniversary. 

This morning I preached a message on Biblical Repentance from Joel 2:12-21, "Turn to God." We had lower attendance but there was a good spirit in our services. Thank you for praying for our services today.

Well, someone turned 40 today and my family gave me some great presents. We didn't have anything special planned today.... we thought. But, it ended up being a very special day as we got to see Her Majesty the Queen. She was in Edinburgh to open the 5th session of the Scottish Parliament and to have a garden party at Hollyrood Palace. We ended up standing in the perfect spot where she exited parliament and drove to the Palace across the street. These are screen shots from a video I took with my phone. The Queen is the elegant 90 year old with the lovely hat.

Don came over today and helped me get some flyers out this morning. The rain held off and we were able to knock out a pretty large area. We had a couple brief conversations with folks in that community. Neither one was "good" but the Lord is able to work in anyone's heart. The first was with a man who is an atheist and says he has been all his life. He is elderly now and believes that death is the end. Please pray that God will awaken John's heart. The second was with a woman who believes in a "power" but not in God. She definitely rejects Jesus. 

This afternoon I researched options for a portable baptismal pool. I settled on a portable hot tub and believe that this will work well for us. Please pray for those who are going to follow the Lord in baptism. We have a few children and one adult needing to be baptized.

We enjoyed having a lady join us for our morning service today. She is a believer and that was a speical joy. Please pray for her as she is seeking the Lord's leading as she finds a church in our area.

I preached this morning a message on "The Certainty in Uncertainty." If you are struggling with what is going on politically, you may enjoy listeing in as we looked at God's sovereignty in human government. Praise God - HE IS IN CONTROL!

God gave us a good morning and we thank God for His grace and thank you for praying.

Thank you for your prayer for our day today. God was incredibly good to keep the rain away. The rain was all around but not in Loanhead. It is sprinkling right now but not a drop of rain fell on our tent.

We had great responses from the many people who brought their kids by our tent. Please pray for the Holiday Bible Club invitations that went out. There seemed to be quite a bit of interest in those invitations. We also enjoyed catching up with many friends in our community.

Some of your have inquired about Brexit. Britain has voted to leave the European Union (British Exit ='s Brexit). A weaker Pound or Euro makes a strong dollar. So, the missionaries you support in Europe are getting an increase in their buying power. I share that just in case you were worried about how it is affecting missions in Europe.

Please keep praying about the building. We received a response to our "pre application planning permission" and it was a positive response. Their only concern is the sound during our song service and it's impact on the neighbor in the adjoining property. This is not something that we think will hinder us from getting planning permission. But, do please pray for wisdom about that.

We still need financing or another way forward with the property. So, please continue to pray for God's open door in His perfect timing. Thank you for your prayers. God's gave us a great day! Enjoy the pictures....the cutest one's last. You'll know it when you see it.... I hope!

Today is the vote (referendum) on whether Britain will remain in the European Union or come out (British Exit ='s Brexit). The polls have been very close. So, we shall see what is decided.

I enjoyed doing Flyers with Missionary Don Dillman yesterday. We were in a wealthy area. If you don't believe me, you should have seen the red Ferrari in the driveway of one of the houses. We didn't have any divine appointments but we were able to put out a good number of flyers.

The night before God gave me a very interesting chat with a man who is a tv writer and producer. I really enjoyed talking to him.

I forgot to mention that last Saturday night I had a great talk with 6 young people. They said they were going to come to church last Sunday but did not. Two of these have previously attended our church. Two others came to the football outreach. Please pray that these kids will have the courage to come.

I was able to get my painting finished for the Gala Day. It is about 8-9 feet tall and has cut outs for faces. We're looking forward to a great day on Saturday.

I enjoyed getting back into the routine a little bit this morning as I put out flyers. The Lord gave me some encouragement as I met a young man from Ghana, Michael, (25) who is saved. He lit up when he spoke about his relationship with God. 

We have a ministry prayer request this week as we get ready for our participation at our children's fair on Saturday. (Gala Day) Please pray that the weather will be good. This is important to our ministry as well as a testimony to those who run the event. We let them know every year that we are praying for good weather. Please also pray for many divine appointments. The HBC flyer arrived yesterday and it is perfect. Thank you for taking these requests to the Lord.

I am sorry that I haven't updated as much as I normally do. We have had a busy past week but have much to thank the Lord for.

We just enjoyed having our field Administrator (Steve Anderson) and his wife, (Martha) with us. They were both a blessing. Brother Steve took all the services for me on Sunday and Martha did the Sunday School class for Katie. They also took our family out to eat at a nice restaurant yesterday. We enjoyed the fellowship and the love they shared with our kids. Nelson (6) is a pretty attached guy and said when they were leaving (my eyes are getting all watery.)

God gave us a good utility week this past week. The weather was not very nice which made it easier to get some office work done. One big need was sourcing another vehicle and God provided. It is nearly impossible to find a vehicle of our family size. It is made more difficult because our license over here only allows us to drive an automatic. (Most vehicles are manuals(stick shift.)) God provided a 2013 van which still has manufacturers warranty. We are thrilled at what God has done.

If you would like to listen in to our morning service from yesterday morning, Brother Anderson preached, "An Act of Worship" from Mary's Worship of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 26:1-13. 

Here is a quick building update. The owner's lawyer recommended that he not seller finance. But, he asked me about leasing with the option of buying. Please continue to pray for God to open just the right doors and to direct us as we pursue His will for our church.

Thanks for praying!

Pastor McPhillips and a group from Grace Baptist Church in Taylorville, Illinois are going to be helping us with our Summer Holiday Bible Club. Please pray for their ministry in Illinois as they are having their Bible Club this week. Although they won't be with us until the beginning of August, we have already begun promoting this event. We put an advertisement in a booklet that went to 5,000 homes in our area. I also sent the flyer below (like a baseball card) to print today. 

Our Children's fair is on Saturday the 25th and we will be giving the flyers out to the children that attend our booth. Some of you have been praying for me as I've been painting a new cut out board for our children's day. I'm getting there. I still need to finish the top half of the board. See picture below.

The owner of the building contacted me this morning and I was able to speak with him about our interest in the property. There is a way in which he could seller finance the property if he desired to do so. We've been praying in this regard for many weeks. He was going to speak with his lawyer and get back to me. Please pray for God to work out these details to His glory. Thank you for praying with us.