Well another week began today and we got off to a good start. The Lord gave us a good day despite many being ill. I preached this morning on "Why Did Jesus Go to the Cross?" Our text was Isaiah 53:10-12. Our visitors didn't come, but we'll keep praying for them and Lord willing see them attend at some point. Thanks for praying with us.

Kay Lee was my helper this morning as we invited people to church. The Lord gave us two great visits. Please pray for an older lady, A_____________, who has badly broken her arm. She has visited Katie's ladies Bible study in the past and hopes to come again. We hope she will visit our church. 

We are starting a men and woman's visitation program on one Saturday evening each month. Tonight is the men's visitation. Please pray for good visits. Lord willing, we will have guests in our service tomorrow. We appreciate your prayers for God's hand to be evident in our ministry and that they would feel very welcome in our meetings. Thanks for traveling to Scotland on your knees. :)

The Lord used a book tonight to really encourage me. It is "Through A Great Door" by Bob Shelton. The book contains missionary stories from the Shelton's ministries. It isn't a long book but it will stir your heart for missions.

The Lord gave us another encouraging day. I studied this morning for Sunday. I'm going to preach this Sunday on "Why Did He Go to the Cross" from Isaiah 53:10-12. There were heavy rain showers this morning and so it was a good morning to study. That cleared this afternoon and I put out flyers. Please pray for A_______________, a young man to whom I spoke. He is related to good friends of ours. He said that he is going to read the Gospel of John I gave Him. Please pray specifically for the Lord to make Himself known to Him.

I started putting out the new flyer this morning. I wasn't out for that long but I got a good bit done. The Lord gave me a great divine appointment as I returned. I met the young lady who was planning on attending church on Sunday. She was apologetic for not being there. She has just recently had a baby and was feeling poorly on Sunday. We were close to the house and she stopped in to meet Katie. She is excited about visiting the church. Please pray for L_________________ and her young family. We look forward to having them visit.

I had another divine appointment of a different sort today. There is a man in the community who has cussed me out in the past. I would appreciate you joining me in prayer for him. He cussed me out again today for greeting him as I walked past. I told him that God loved him and that I am praying for him. Thankfully this is a very unusual situation and not common at all. Most people in Loanhead are very friendly.

Alec continues to teach art to our children and I get the fun of painting as well. For those who are interested I'll put my latest painting which I finished today below.

It was a joy to have Stephen and Lea Nix and his parents with us today. Pastor Nix preached this morning and this evening. His sermons were refreshing and a blessing. God gave us good attendance. Please continue to pray for those who have recently said they will come. We didn't have visitors today. But, we're very excited about what God is doing in our ministry.  We saw some encouraging answers to prayer today. Thanks for your participation through prayer. May the Lord bless you richly for taking our ministry needs to Him.

Today Logan was my door to door partner. The people on this street were very friendly and we had three extended conversation. It was a blessing to get to speak with them about the Lord. Please pray that God will encourage these hearts in Him. One young mother plans to attend with her family tomorrow. Please pray that nothing would hinder them from being able to do that.

Also, thanks for praying for the need for housing for one of our attendees. God has met the need with an extension of their ability to rent their current property. They are fine now until January. Please pray that God would open another property in our community at that time.

A youth pastor from the States, Stephen Nix, will be preaching for us tomorrow. Please pray that God will give us a very special Sunday. We're excited about the day.

The Lord gave me a divine appointment this morning as I was putting out flyers. I was praying about an opportunity to speak to someone after having no opportunities the first hour. The Lord soon gave me a great opportunity with a young man (24), M___________, who has not thought about eternity, creation, etc.  When I first arrived here, I didn't believe someone could never think about God. But now I am convinced that this generation can leave spiritual truths alone. He wasn't opposed to thinking about it, he just hasn't.

He was very interested to look at some verses about the Gospel and to see prophecy in Scripture. I showed him Psalm 22 and Romans 1. Please pray that he will read the John and Romans that I left with him.

I appreciate your prayers for divine appointments. The Lord gave me a good opportunity yesterday as I walked near my home. Please pray for M___________'s husband. She asked me to say a prayer for him. He is elderly and in failing health. I prayed for him as we walked together. M______________'s daughter attends a Baptist church. Thanks for praying for us.

(I was able to get my new flyer prepared yesterday. It is now being printed. I'll put copies of it below.)

The Lord gave us a great day today. We had good attendance and there was a sweet spirit in our services. One family was still out with illness today. But, they were the last to get it. :(  Lord willing, we will be beyond the illness soon.

I preached a topical message this morning on, "Don't Quit."  Tonight we studied the beginning of the Gospel to the Gentiles from Acts 10.

J___________________ and his girlfriend were not in church today. His father is not doing well. I talked with him yesterday and he was at the hospital with his mum. So, please continue to pray for him.

Another specific prayer request, a young family who have begun attending our church must move house in the next couple of weeks. It would be ideal if they could stay in the area. I have told this mother that we are praying for God's provision. Please pray with us for this need. Thanks for taking these needs to the Lord.

Please see previous post for more info about these pictures. :)

We arrived early and got the best spot to watch hole 15 a par 3.

The Camera man. :)  A good friend and fellow missionary, Don Dillman

Ernie Els

The Lord gave us a fun day yesterday at the Dunhill Links tournament. This is an annual event as we head to a beautiful golf course to watch some professional golf. I don't want to cause any envy in the hearts of those who enjoy watching golf. But, this event is free and it is held at Kingsbarns Golf Course, The Old Course - St. Andrews, and Carnoustie. We went to Kingsbarns yesterday to watch the more elite players. (Hopefully some friends of mine who went with me will be reminded to send me some pictures after reading this and I will put them on the website.)

Two of my boys went with me. They love it and they are magnets for hand outs from the pro's.  Benson's hat is almost covered with autographs. They also got autographed golf balls and tee's from the course. They were even given 12 pounds (money) in vouchers (coupons) for food. 

The highlight of the day was an opportunity to share Christ with a friend of a professional. We spoke to G________________ for about 30 minutes as we watched Ooshuizen's, Els' and Schwartzel's groups play through. G_________________ had some great questions. Please pray that God will open his eyes to the Gospel.

God gave us a great day. For all of those kids out there, God is good.  When you serve Him, He throws in some wonderful fun experiences as well.  

John is returning to the States today flying standby. Please pray that he can get the flights he needs to arrive home today.  Everything looked good for him to be able to do that. It was a blessing to have him with us. Thanks for praying.