Home. Abode. Abide.
Friday, September 11, 2020
.. read more..
Celebrating Baptisms
Monday, September 28, 2020
Yesterday, Mike preached a powerful sermon on "What shall we do to be saved?" from Acts 2. At the end of the service, Elias Hosu, the son of Pastor Simi and Gabi, was baptized in front of his friends, family and the congregation. The Sunday before was a baptism at church for a married coupl... .. read more..
Another Free Book
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
I've never heard of either the author or the book but it's a topic I'm interested in and the reviews are excellent, so given that it's yet another free book it's simply too good to miss. As ever, thank you Discovery . .. read more..
Things have been relatively quiet in Bordeaux
Friday, September 11, 2020
.. read more..
Elbows, Fingers, Knees and Toes…
Sunday, September 20, 2020
We hope you are waking well this morning in this uncertain pandemic season, consciously aware of our Father’s pleasure in you, and well spent caring for those our Father cherishes. I am writing today to ask you, our friends and family in Jesus, to put a personal monetary value on th... .. read more..
2020, the Rock, and Psalm 61
Monday, September 21, 2020
Our most recent newsletter is headed to the printers and will be mailed very soon. In the meantime, here is the electronic version available for immediate perusal. Click on the image below to read it more easily in your browser. .. read more..
Back in the Keystone State
Friday, September 11, 2020
I felt for a while like we were in a game of Frogger, us being the frog and the goal being getting to PA. Covid, of course, was a big obstacle, but there were others…insecurity on the border, Mayra’s back problems, the high price of plane tickets. But we finally arrived in PA mid-Sept... .. read more..
Good For The Soul
Friday, September 25, 2020
"For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish." - Jeremiah 31:25 It's good for the soul to get away, especially at times like this when the world looks and feels so uncertain. We didn't think that our annual holiday would happen at all even just a few weeks... .. read more..
Oradea
Monday, September 14, 2020
Thursday we drove to Oradea, a city about three and a half hours from our home in Gherla, to do some Inste business. Our group is preparing to begin studying the third Inste book, Old Testament, so we decided to pick the books up in person and spend a bit of time with the Romanian Ins... .. read more..
Big camping goal
Friday, September 18, 2020
.. read more..
Oh Happy Day!
Sunday, September 20, 2020
After what seems like an age, but was in fact a tad over a month, I've finally bottled my home brew !!! It should have been ready for bottling around the 25th - 28th of August but it didn't stop gurgling until a couple of days ago. The guys who supplied the kit said this was fine and encouraged m... .. read more..
29th Wedding Anniversary
Monday, September 14, 2020
Today we celebrate 29 years of marriage which means we're getting old and yes, Paula deserves a medal for putting up with me. Personally, it's been an awesome adventure with some incredible experiences along the way and I wouldn't trade a moment of it for the world. I love you more than ever Paul... .. read more..
New Normal
Friday, September 18, 2020
So there we have it, from midnight on Sunday 20th South Africa moves to Lockdown Level 1 which according to the President is our "new normal" and won't be going anywhere anytime soon. The restrictions around Level 1 remain inconsistent and irrational but we should be used to that by now so ... .. read more..
Manna 4 Lempira Correspondence (in the Age of Covid)
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Feeding hungry people isn’t the only aspect of Manna 4 Lempira’s mission that was complicated by COVID-19 restrictions. Child sponsors love to get letters from their sponsored children. Sponsored children love to get letters from their sponsors. But that is intensely complicated at the mom... .. read more..
Getting There
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
The Gathering is gearing up for reopening on Sunday October 4th and we're busy making sure we have all the necessary health & safety protocols in place to enable us to gather safely on Sundays. It's an exciting prospect being able to gather again with our Gathering family and we can't wait! T... .. read more..
Blessed Day
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Today is a blessed day as The Gathering finally got a decent computer with a working printer. The old laptop was seven years old and was so slow it was frustrating to work with, whilst the printer we had just never worked properly no matter how many times it was added & removed, switched on &... .. read more..
Independence Day Memories
Monday, September 14, 2020
No school today! Although tomorrow September 15 is Independence Day, today is the day Costa Rica takes a day off as a holiday, so that people can have a three-day weekend. Therfore, all our staff and teachers are enjoying time spent with family before school resumes tomorrow. But not only Costa R... .. read more..
Of sacred wounds and shining wonders: COVID-19 day 183 in Uganda
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Ministry can indeed be a witness to the living truth that the wound, which causes us to suffer now, will be revealed to us later as the place where God intimated [God’s] new creation . — Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932–1996) Sacred wounds of severe malnutrition Same skin that was broken be the same skin... .. read more..
A Monday-drenched tale of a few kids on one ward at the end of the road
Monday, September 21, 2020
First, the post below will be better than this. It has big thoughts. Today is not a big-thoughts day, it is a Monday drenched in rain and death. We should have had a clue when the morning report mentioned 171 patients in our 100-bed hospital. 76 on Paeds alone. It was one of those day... .. read more..
Choirs and covid-19
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
.. read more..
SERE-ING through COVID: Day 174 in Uganda and trying to RESIST
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Parallel to COVID upending our world killing over 900 THOUSAND people, and the economy tanking causing half of families in US cities to experience un- or under-employment and all families in the majority world to struggle more for food and health care, and the political order wobbling in re... .. read more..
Slowing the circulation of the virus
Thursday, September 17, 2020
.. read more..
Good News!
Saturday, September 19, 2020
We have some great news about The Gathering's weekly Soup Kitchen... As of Thursday 8th October we will be reopening our venue for sit-down Soup Kitchen. Hallelujah! No more serving pots at the door and asking people to go straight home, now we can allow folk to linger a while, take a load off an... .. read more..
Retro: Independence Day 2010
Monday, September 14, 2020
I just had to share these classics from 2010. So we had an event for Independence Day at the Jesús María community centre, with lots of activities. The first picture shows you-know-who with our friend David Gomez, who served with us in Jesús María (and is now a missionary in Uruguay). The second ... .. read more..
On to the Next Book
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
The new Inste semester has begun! Monday evening our group took the first test for Old Testament Survey. This is the lesson that the students must write the Old Testament books in order from memory and they did very well. The discussion was lively and helpful as well. The... .. read more..