have not beeen blogging recently - a mixture of being quite busy, tired and finding it difficult to process thoughts. Quite alot has been going on though.

gLo - our unified, mission in the summer involving the young people in our town took place the last week of August. It was a difficult week for me personally but incredible in what was happening and good for me to be back in the thick of. Over the last three years we have been encouraging this prayer-filled, missional, kingdom embracing lifstyle with the young people of our town and this year we have really be encouraged by the fact that so many of the kids seem to be 'getting it.' So often we pour our energies and thoughts and prayers into those whose seed has grown but got entangled with weeds and thorns. But this year we have realised that some of the seed actually has found 'good soil' and there is an overflow of kingdom values and possibilities coming out of their lives. This is exciting, especially as now we have a prayer room again, thanks to the Elim church who have rented a house up the town for their interns to live in. So the future is interesting

September - as we have entered this month so much stuff kicks off with the beginning of the new school season. Church programmes all begin again and so much work goes into planning, preparing and then delivering. But it has been good for me to kick my mind into gear as I try to help shape youth, evangelism, mission, community work, interns and the staff involved here for the year ahead.

Mannafest - I spoke publicly for the first time since Lins at Mannafest last Saturday night. Thankfully I think it went ok and God seemed to do some stuff with some of the kids. The YFC guys have a good momentum going for this year at Mannafest and hopefully this year will be a great year for them.

Visitors - I currently have Pastor Richard and Pastor Morris staying with me from Uganda. Pastor Richard, who is also headmaster of Source of Light Primary School is who we linked up with last year on the mission trip Lins and I led. We are so delighted to have him here. I love this man so much and everything about his heart teaches me about Jesus. It is obviously difficult too - so many memories are attached to Africa as is so much of my heart but there is nothing I can do to change that. I just have to weep when I need to.
Tomorrow my friend Brian Heasley is coming over for a couple of days and is also staying with me so I am really looking forward to that.

Pain - I have been caught a couple of times this last week with that almost suffocating sense of grief at unexpected times. So much of my time is taken up again with work and football and my concentration levels are much better but at times the emptiness comes over you like a tidal wave and the pain leaps up from somewhere deep inside you and bites you, leaving you deflated and wiped. I guess this is just the journey although God is close.