"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick but when that desire cometh it is a tree of life." 

The Lord has allowed us to acquire a home that is renting for the first time. It is only 400 yards from the place where we meet for church. Please understand most housing in the UK is smaller than the US.  This is a big home even by US standards.  It is a 4 bedroom property with 3 bathrooms. It has a huge living room and a large kitchen.  Most yards are also very small.  This one is about 30 by 80 feet.

I am not saying that to "brag" about the home we are getting. I am saying that to say, "God has done something really wonderful that only He could do."

I'll put some pics below for you to see. Thank you for digging in and patiently praying with us about this. We waited and God answered.  Praise His name.

The Lord gave us great attendance today. I believe we may have gained a couple of faithful attendees which is a blessing. They are both older believers with good testimonies of God's saving grace. We also had a Christian family visiting for their second time. Please pray that God will give all of these wisdom about His will for their lives.

I preached this morning on, "The Ministry We Have" from II Corinthians 4:1-10, "Therefore seeing we have this ministry...."

Tonight was our family and the Hikin family as we studied, "Humility." It was a good day.  Praise the Lord. Thank you for praying.

Thank you for continuing to pray about our housing need. We loved the house we viewed but we don't have peace about the distance. So, we will continue to watch and wait. Although closed doors aren't as exciting as open doors, we are confident that the Lord is leading in the process. Thanks for praying with us.

PS. We are currently in a townhouse. We have very limited space for entertaining. We also don't have a yard for the kids to play in. So, those are a couple of the reasons as to why we are prayerfully considering a move.

We had a beautiful day to get out and do flyers. Don and Chris Dillman came over today. Don and I put out flyers this morning for a couple hours in Loanhead. This afternoon we went to Eddleston, a village just over twenty minutes from Loanhead. It was a dual purpose trip. We have been praying and looking for larger housing. There is a potential rental home in that village. So, we were going to put flyers through the neighborhood to get a feel for the area.

But, the current renter was outside the home and he invited us in. We chatted with he and his wife for an hour. We were able to briefly speak about what we believe. They also filled us in on the home. It is a beautiful 4 bedroom home with a large garden. Please pray that we'll have wisdom about the Lord's will. We are viewing the property tomorrow morning with a letting agent. It will go quickly at the price it is offered. So, we'll need to make a decision to move or not move. Thanks for your prayers for our housing need. The distance is our greatest "concern."

Tonight we had a great turnout. We had 6 adults and 16 kids. It was a really fun evening. Thursday nights are a special blessing. Thanks for your prayers.

The last three days have been mandatory office days. I couldn't get out if I wanted to....and I don't.  We have had a brake away low pressure system from a hurricane sitting over us. It's brought flooding and high winds. This is not really uncommon here. We've had many storms with gusts into the 70's since we've been here. (One storm had a gust over a hundred measured in Edinburgh.) So, hopefully that explains my lack of updates this week. I'm sure you don't want to read about what it's like to sit in my office and stair out the window.

Meanwhile, art class with Mr. Alec has begun again. Most of you know that I also get to participate. I've found out that I enjoy painting. This is my 6th or 7th painting and it's my favorite.  Hope you enjoy it. It is a castle in Scotland.

The Lord gave us a sweet day in His house. Our church is becoming more and more of a family.  We had a good group out this morning. Two of our visitors were back with us. I preached on "Those Who Carried Things to Jesus."  If you have time, I think the notes would be a blessing to you. I quoted a lot of biographies this morning.  www.freebaptistchurch.org (Look at the page Sundays Sermon)

This afternoon I collected Emmanuel and we hosted him at our home.  He joined us for church this evening. Lord willing, we will start collecting him each Sunday. (They don't say "picked up" here.  It kind of makes sense if you think about the word picture of picking somebody up.)

Christine and her boys also joined us this evening.  God's good.  He is answering your prayers.  Please keep praying as we keep plowing in hope.

We had our first frost today.  It was 32 degrees when I looked at the current temp this morning. It's nice to feel the fresh crisp air of this season. When we get frost we also get sunshine. So, that was a big blessing.  The last two days we have seen a lot of sunshine.

The Lord gave a few witnessing opportunities yesterday.  It's encouraging to see doors open to speak about God and His Word.

After lunch I took my children walking along the coast. Keith was on his lunch break.  His grandmother was catholic but he isn't religious.  He asked some great questions and chatted for about 10 minutes. We started chatting on a wooden footbridge that crosses a tidal river. It was a gorgeous day and you could see Edinburgh in the distance across the inlet from the sea.

Last night two Mormon missionaries knocked on our door. I don't think I encouraged them much but I hope I gave them some godly sorrow.

Afterwards I ran to a mobile phone store to get a monthly deal they were offering. The manager remembered me from a previous time. We were able to talk about the signs of the times supporting God's Word.

This morning I visited Timothy's family. I was able to share the Gospel a bit with them. Please pray that God will work in their hearts. They've invited us to "tea" supper on Friday.  Thanks for your prayers.

I put out a couple hundred flyers this morning in Loanhead. I stopped to chat with Alec as well. Please continue to pray for Alec. Elizabeth is currently in the States for a holiday. Thanks for praying.

The Lord held off the rain and I was able to get into Edinburgh this morning. I had a great opportunity as soon as I got off of the bus on the Royal Mile. Steph and her family used to attend a Baptist church.  She is an atheist but thanked me for our conversation this morning.  Please pray for God to a good work in her heart.  She said, "You won't convince me. But, it may cause me to think about it in the future." We talked for at least 20 minutes.

Michael (19) is an atheist but invited me to sit down and chat with him. He was very antagonistic.  But, I was able to show him some verses before he asked me to stop.

Issin is a non devout muslim.  He and his friend were suffering the effects of a hangover. But, we were able to look at God's Word despite Issin's blasphemy. God's hand was evident in the conversation. We spoke for nearly half an hour.

Adam isn't sure what he believes.  But he recently bought a Bible because he thought everyone should have one.  He was my "best" opportunity.  He really listened as I shared the Gospel with him.

Sandy is a shop keeper who is a Seik.  I started talking with her because of an accident nearby.  I didn't see it happen but came just afterwards. A double decker bus hit a man. There was blood on the road and I asked Sandy what had happened. We talked for 5-10 minutes.

The rain is coming now. So, praise the Lord for the time He gave me to get into the city.  Thanks for praying.

The Lord gave us encouragement today.  The services went well and were well attended.  Brian( 70's) visited today. He is a believer who felt like the Lord wanted him to attend our church this morning. Please pray that God will encourage him and that we can be a blessing in his life.

This morning I preached on Ezekiel 3:1-11, "Go, Speak My Word."  There are many similarities between Ezekiel's call and our call to evangelize a sin hardened world. It is perfect instruction for us in our witnessing.  My main points were, "Go, but eat (of God's Word) first."  "Go where God sends you." and, "Go in God's Strength."

Tonight we looked at Honesty.  Please pray for Emanuel.  He tried to come today but got lost and couldn't find bus #37.  Please pray for wisdom for us as we seek to get him to church.  Thanks for praying. God's good to hear and answer our prayers.