Dear friends, I thought it was about time I posted another blog. Life has been so busy, but that’s no excuse. I trust you all had a great Christmas and New Year season. Seems so long ago now doesn’t it? Unfortunately I caught this winter sickness virus that’s been doing the rounds. I was as sick as a parrot over Christmas, but recovered in time to go down to Cardiff to spend NY with friends.

Walking in the Brecon Beacons – December 2007

2008 is going to be the busiest year so far for NLI mission teams. This is a good position to be in, but we’ll need all the help we can get. Fortunately at the moment we have two interns (Tim and Connie) helping out in the office. They’re both young Canadians and seem pretty capable of being left to get on with the work we’ve given them. NLI seems to be overrun with Canadians – why do they all want to come to UK?

I made my debut playing guitar in the worship team at King’s last Sunday. We have two morning services, so it was a long morning (0730 to 1330). I’ve not played in a worship team for over three years, so I’m a little rusty, although I’ve been practicing a lot. I hadn’t played any of the songs before, but enjoyed the challenge and it seemed to go ok. I had some encouraging feedback anyway.

Last week we had our first NLI ‘in-house’ week of 2008: we have three of these each year. Some of the NLI staff are based overseas, (Slovakia, Estonia, USA, Canada) so these weeks are vital for prayer, vision, training, and relationship-building. We also had one or two visitors – potential staff members coming to check out what we get up to. The office was a hive of activity – networking, planning, laughing, and drinking coffee. We also did the huge ‘Dream magazine’ mail-out: expect your copy in the post very soon!

Nothing like a bit of ‘culture’ – Janelle (Can) Connie (Can) and Jen (USA) – looking for Shakespeare in a very damp Stratford

FORTHCOMING EVENTS & PRAYER NEEDS

I’m heading up to Burnley this weekend (25th to 27th Jan). My friend Julie (from Wales) is coming too – catching up with some friends she met on the Romanian Prayer Mission. We’ll be at Life Church on Sunday morning. Come and say ‘hi’.

Alison and I return to Rushden on Saturday 9th February to spend some more time training the worship team. Please continue to pray for us as we encourage and input into the team.

My next overseas trip is in February (20th to 25th). This will involve 2 days of training with the Church Planters in Slovakia. I’m taking Connie with me, as well as a couple of other ladies. On the Sunday we will visit one or two of the church plants. Please pray for me as I prepare for the training. The church planters have asked for some input on social action/community projects – how their churches and mission teams can impact the local communities in Slovakia. This is not something I have much experience in, so I’m having to do lots of research.

You might remember praying for Tatiana, my friend Victoria’s Mum. She was treated for cancer in 2006 and seemed to have made a great recovery. However, recently she was diagnosed with bone cancer after an inexplicable fracture was found in her arm. Please pray for Tatiana – we need another miracle. Please also pray for Victoria who is currently teaching in Poland: it can’t be easy being separated from her family at such a time.

I managed to crash my car last Saturday evening: lost control on a notoriously bad bend on a country lane near where I live. It was dark and wet at the time. Miraculously no one was hurt, although my car is not drivable. I wasn’t too happy with myself, after all, advanced drivers aren’t supposed to do things like this! Please pray that my car will be fixed quickly and for the funds to pay the insurance – I’ll have to pay the excess.

Well, I think that’s about it for an update. I will be sending out a news letter around March time. Thank you for your support and prayers.

If you’re not a regular visitor to my blog or want to know more about Faith Partnership or NLI, please email me or visit the NLI website (www.nlieurope.com). Keep an eye out for the amazing new NLI website being launched in March 2008.