Praise the Lord, we are both done studying. Katie took her test today and passed! So, we are just into the paperwork stage of getting our visas. Once we have everything compiled, probably the middle of next week, we will send in our applications. After that, we have to do biometrics (face and hand scans) at the post office. Then we should have our visas within a few weeks. It will be nice to be done with this as it has taken a lot of time.

Tonight I start a parenting class with teens and parents. Please pray that God will use this to strengthen our families. We're excited about it and know it will be a big help. Thanks for praying for us and FBC!

I have a brain cramp after loads of paperwork today. We did constitute the church last night. Thank you for praying. The meeting went very well. Because of constituting the church, there was paperwork to do regarding an organization that will help us do necessary background checks for those who work with children in our ministry. That is where my day started. 

After getting a couple documents filled out, I decided to jump into our visas. Thankfully, the Home Office has streamlined the process and the paperwork was much easier than last time. It was an 80 page document. Last time I filled out about 240 pages. Please pray that we will have all the supporting documents needed when we send it in. We don't anticipate any difficulties. But, we also don't want to get it wrong as there are no refunds for refused visas. 

God has given two great evangelism opportunities today despite it being a paperwork day. Please pray especially for a friend of ours who is going through a difficult time. It's an open door and we know that God can meet this need. 

Ok, so we are all a little chilled this morning. It was nearly winter time temperatures and rainy this morning. I also couldn't get the heat on at the community centre. I'm going to take a heater tonight to take the edge off of the cold. It wasn't unbearable but it did feel a bit like going back into winter.

God gave us a good morning. I preached this morning on John 8:30-47, "The Freedom You Need!"

Tonight we have our first church business meeting as we vote on a constitution. It is a step forward in the organization of our ministry and we are confident that it is a step that the Lord wants us to take. 

Thanks for keeping up with us and our ministry!

After studying at the beginning of the week, I feel like I was catching up the rest of the week. We are also having our first church business meeting tomorrow night. So, there has been a bit of preparation for that as well. 

We enjoyed getting away as a family yesterday. We went to New Lanark. It is a mill village that began in the early 1800. They had 2500 people living and working there. It was a wonderful place to tour. It fit right into the children's history of the Industrial Revolution.

I had a great witnessing opportunity yesterday as well. I spoke with a man for half an hour. Please pray that God will awaken his heart. He is sincerely religious. But, he is following a path that is contrary to the truth of God's Word.

Thank you for praying for our ministry. (I'll put some pictures from yesterday below.)

(Below - trying to look bored in school.)

I took my Life in the UK test today and passed! Please pray for Katie as she continues to study and takes her test in a couple of weeks. It's not an easy test. It covers history, art, literature, government, geography, etc. You get 24 random questions and can only miss 6.

Once she passes the test we are able to apply for our visas. Please pray for wisdom as we apply. There is a lot of paperwork to be completely correctly.

Thank you for your prayers. We are thankful to be over one of the hurdles on our way to getting our permanent residence.

And our attendance was very good today. We thank the Lord for those to whom he has given us to minister. Please pray for Katie as our kids group is growing again.  She had 15 children this morning and more last Thursday. She is a very good teacher for our children.

I preached this morning on Hebrews 11, "A Walk Through the Hall of Faith."  Thank you for praying for our ministry.

It is roasting outside right now. This is our hottest day thus far. It is 66 degrees! Yikes! I was enjoying the shade when I could find it as I did flyers this afternoon. :)  The Lord gave me a couple of great chats as I was out and about in our community. Thanks for praying for those opportunities. 

I also just enjoyed skyping with a pastor friend of mine in the States. It was good to catch up and hear what God is doing in their ministry and share how He is working in ours. Praise God for the family of God. I'm glad we are related in Christ.

Wow, the weather is amazing. I enjoyed putting several hundred flyers out this morning in 60 degree weather, sunshine and no wind. It was a lovely morning to get out. 

I want to update you on an older prayer request. You may remember that children who attend our church have a sister that was born 23 weeks into the pregnancy. She came home from the hospital about a month ago after being in for 8 months. I saw her this morning and she is doing very well. Please continue to pray for this family. 

I met several people as I was out and about this morning. And I had a good chance to share the Gospel with a young man. Please pray for that God would use these flyers to get people in contact with our ministry.

The Lord gave us a very encouraging service on Thursday night. We had two of our regular kids back with us. Then we had two new visiting children who let us know that they want to come again. We have been praying before our Sunday School and Thursday night church services asking the Lord to fill up our empty chairs. God is answering our prayers.

We had a good Sunday morning with our faithful attendees. I preached this morning a simple Gospel message, "Childlike Faith" from John 7:37-53. Thank you for praying for our ministry.

I'm thankful to still have my fingers even though I lost one of my "F.lyer D.istribution T.ools."  A large dog ripped my F.D.T. (cheese board) out of my hand as I put a flyer through a mail slot. Those unfamiliar with this hand saving device may have a slight smile of amusement on your face as you read this. But, those who know how often it has saved me an operation to re-attach fingers (smile) are not amused (as much anyway.) I may go back and ask for my cheese board if my pride allows. Sadly, the owners of the dog weren't home. (sigh) :) I carry a spare now days and it came in handy.

But, God allowed me to have a great chat with a neighbor who came out as I was delayed next door. He is a member of a church which does not believe in the trinity. Please pray for God to allow His Word to prove to His truth. I showed him that the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the Creator, that He is worshipped as only God can be worshipped and that His name is also taken in vain when people break the 3rd commandment. I really appreciated his willingness to chat and discuss spiritual things. We talked for about 20 minutes as we looked at God's Word.

Please pray for God to use this flyer as it continues to go out into the community. Thanks for your prayers.