TRIP TO LONDON

It's not often I get to go to London, but thanks to Alison King and the lovely staff at St Mark's who look after Mo, I was able to go to the Carers UK AGM - yea - I know that sounds like terminal boredom and I did wonder as I shelled out the extortionate £23 for the travel card at Maidenhead Station!
However, it was an amazing day with some amazing people. There were two panels with MPs from all parties facing the wrath of some very well informed carers wanting to know how £150 million pounds given to Primary Care Trusts for respite care had been 'lost'! Others objected to being paid so-called 'benefits' (Carers Allowance) when we are actually doing one of the worst paid and most demanding jobs you could imagine and saving the Government billions of pounds in health care each year. Passions were running high, and there were some very red faces on the panel I can tell you. It was very well managed by John Stapleton of GMTV. I got to ask a question about some of the inequalites in the Disability Living Allowance system for dementia sufferers.
The other benefit of the day was in being able to read most of Mariatu Kamara's remarkable book 'Bite of the Mango'. This amazing young lady has written the account of her tragic experiences at the hands of rebel child soldiers during the civil war in Sierra Leone, her time at the amputee camp in Freetown, and her adoption by a Canadian family in Toronto. It is a shocking but very moving story.
Anyone want to borrow the book?

IS YOUR NAME NORMAN

I felt a bit of a failure yesterday afternoon, but now I have reflected on what happened it probably wasn't so bad. I have an agreement with God that if anyone stops me on the street to sell me something or try to 'convert' me to whatever they are promoting, I will stop and listen - look staright into their eyes and ask God to show me something. Until I have something to say I just let them talk and maintain eye contact. A few weeks ago God gave me the name of a young Hindu hippy girl and a physical condition I could pray for on the street.

I was in Maidenhead High Street yesterday when a young British guy came up to me selling books on 'philosophy' - I think he was a Hindu convert too. I looked and listened for about a minute and I could see he was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. I said "Is your name Norman?" He said "Yes, how did you know, are you psychic?" I said "No, I am a follower of Jesus and sometimes he tells me things about people." Then I said " Do you have anything wrong with your feet?" He said "Yes". I said "What's wrong with them?" He said "They smell!"
Well what hat would you have done? I said "You are winding me up aren't you?" He smiled at me and as I walked on I suggested it would be a good idea to be a bit more honest with people. Sure, I was a bit disappointed but I promised God that I would not give up, so I am looking forward to the next encounter.

BITE OF THE MANGO

Just a short blog today - over the weekend I saw a remarkable young amputee victim from Sierra Leone on one of the TV news channels. Her name is Mariatu Kamara. Like so many of her generation she suffered terribly at the hands of the rebels during the war. Eventually she went to Canada, was adopted by a family in Toronto and has written a book about her experiences. I went straight out and bought the book - 'Bite of the Mango' - published by Bloomsbury Publishing plc. I plan to read it over the next couple of days.
She has a website if you are interested - www.mariatufoundation.com

MORE ENCOURAGING EMAILS!

I have been reflecting on some of the wonderful new friends we made in Toronto - I just received another email from a young lady in Germany who was blessed by seeing us at the conference - I am totally amazed that we seem to have been used by God in this way.
Then I remembered the 'word' Jill Austin gave us in the UK last November:
"We release the fire of God, and on this couple, where they have been so faithful. Lord, what I see dripping on them also is healing and what I see is an anointing in the prophetic.
More Lord – let your fire come – and even your life is a prophetic message says the Lord.”
WOW!

After the prophetic words we received in Toronto I have continued to 'pick up paint brushes' and am now about halfway through the series of canvases on creation. My tutor, Ali, has been very encouraging and is helping me see how I can improve.

Mo is settling back into her routine with all the lovely people who help me to care for her. Yesterday one of the carers shared how Mo laughed out loud at a funny comment someone had made in a way that showed she had understood - she thought this was a bit unusual.
MORE LORD!

Tomorrow I will be helping out again with the BIG Year students - we will be watching some more training DVDs from Bethel (Redding). We are still 'fired up' after the visit to Moriah Chapel - Loughor!

YOU RAISE ME UP

Do you sometimes hear a song that you wish you didn't like but it gets inside you and God begins to speak - I think people talk about 'guilty secrets' or mmm that's a bity cheesy!
Have you ever listened to West Life singing 'You Raise Me Up'?
It has become an anthem about human relationships but I think that Josh Groban may have had something very different in mind when he wrote it.
Have a look at this YouTube Link Flag

Were you blessed?

We had a great day today - at River Church we had some amazing reports from people who had been on overseas mission trips. One of our leaders had been back to an unreached people group where he had already spent a year with his family establishing training for pastors and a church planting strategy - it's brilliant what God has been doing - I have such admiration for this guy and his family. We also heard from a team that just got back from Lesotho - again amazing stories - I think it should be compulsory for everyone to do a short-term missions trip before they go to heaven.

Have a great week standing on mountains and walking on stormy seas!

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF GIANTS

On October 31st 1904, in the tiny Welsh mining village of Loughor, the Holy Spirit moved on agroup of 16 young people at a prayer meeting led by a 26 year old aspiring preacher Evan Roberts. This was the moment when God chose to spark off a revival that led to around 150,000 conversions throughout Wales in the first 6 months alone.

I am not big on shrines and buildings, which is strange in someone who was an architect, but I have to say that as Mo and I stood and looked out from the pulpit where Evan Roberts had stood and preached, I was unexpectedly and profoundly moved. How amazing that God would take a humble but passionate young man from a tiny insignificant place and impact the whole world.

Two years later something similar was happening in a tiny storefront church in Azusa Street, Los Angeles through an equally humble and passionate black preacher William J Seymour.

These twin revivals spread around the world like wildfire and today Pentecostal and Charismatic believers number over half a billion souls (Wikepedia estimate).

We were with a group of students from River Church, Maidenhead who had chosen to make the three hour drive today as part of their BIG Year discipleship course. While we were in the schoolroom at Moriah Chapel where the young people met to pray it seemed natural to sing the hymn most closely associated with the revival as tears began to well up.

On the mount of crucifixion

Fountains opened deep and wide

Through the floodgates of God's mercy

Flowed a vast and gracious tide

Grace and peace like mighty rivers

Poured incessant from above

And heaven's peace and perfect justice

Kissed a guilty world in love

Lord Jesus - thank you for taking Evan Roberts and using his simple obedience to impact the whole world - to impact ME!