News and Prayer Requests.

 

Well its been a fair amount of time since I last updated this baby, so here we go. Over the past two weeks, I have been having one of the busiest times of my life, in regard to sheer learning and work requirements.

The reading never ends, the writing has yet to begin, and the listening goes on and on. Being surrounded by Christians is perhaps one of the most stressful environments in which I can be in, especially one where there seems to be an endless line of meetings and conversations about….. feelings. So suffice to say, me and my MAN CHURCH background is not completely satisfied with all this talk and emotion. Plus I’m just slightly jaded.

Since this is really the first time since I have ever left Scotland I will confess that I am starting to get a little bit homesick for the land of the thistle. Things are just different down here and it’s amazing how the small differences can in fact be vast in reality, and it’s all adding up to stress.

The intensity of the community environment, work load, lack of sleep, and crazy health problems returning are all adding up to a Dan that’s in need of a few good days back in Scotland.

But Gods been awesomely good to me during the past month and a bit. He has provided me with a free bike. He did provide me with £1000 to attend the college, and now I’m praying that he will provide me with patience, humility and a free laptop.

The amount of work that’s needed just can’t be done in the college library any more, and I’ve just realised, that when I leave for Glasgow and other places during the holidays I’m going to carry A LOT of notes with me.

So I’m praying, praying that God will provide me a laptop or the funds for one.

Some of you now know that this Sunday past I was out preaching at a local church in Swansea, the congregation was pretty small, but it was still fantastic to be up, in the pulpit and preaching Gods word to a bunch of people whom I had never met before. The message was on tradition, and reaching out to the youth of our time and it seemed to go over very well.

I stressed on the application of the message, the need for works and the need for obedience to faith, an area which isn’t as lacking in Swansea as it is in Wales.

Now two things struck me after preaching. First of all the respect given to you simply because you preach from those in the congregation. People came up to me, asked me questions, shook my hand, thanked me and then, tried to offer me money for preaching.

That was something that I felt very uncomfortable with. First of all, I don’t want to be paid by other churches for preaching Gods word. I want to go there without them feeling the need to pay me, and without the expectation of receiving a financial gift. Although that’s the norm in Swansea for guest preachers I just can’t accept it. It can bring such a dangerous situation in ones own convictions for wanting to preach. Will I preach for declaring Gods word, or because I’m a little short in Cash?

So I told them to donate the money to the Bible College instead or the missions fund they were collecting for.

The first Bible Readthrough Group has been established in Swansea, and it now takes place on a Tuesday afternoon. The group consists of a bunch of guys that meet in a local pub at the shore front.

It’s fantastic to be leading and discipiling the future leaders of the church, and getting them passionate about Gods word. Suffice to say, the Re:Hopeification of Wales has begun.

Please Pray for me regarding the following:

1) Good Health - The pain is returning that spiked up and down my left side. I’m getting consistent headaches, and just generally stressed out.

2) Bangor University has messed up the paperwork for my money to paid into my account from the government. I’m down to my last £20, please pray that it will come through soon.

3) Free Laptop, the workload and amount of paper that’s surrounding me is getting ridiculous. Please pray that God will provide me with a laptop or the means of getting one.