Scotland - Inverness Mission Trip

Inverness Mission Trip
Well, it has been a wee while since I managed to Blog, so here is my attempt to get everyone up to date. So much has happened in the last few months!


First of all we went up to Scotland and took 8 students on a short term mission trip to Inverness. The group of students were amazing! They truly were a God send, their attitude and willingness to serve was a blessing to all they came into contact with and were a total blessing to Carolyn and I, as leaders of the group.

Our hosts, Pastor Leo, Cheryl and Angie at Inverness, were gracious hosts who put up with the invasion of their home by the 10 of us and all sharing one bathroom! We had a great time with them and they made our time in Inverness both memorable and extremely enjoyable for us all.

The students hit the ground running! After a 6 hour train trip we arrived in Inverness at about 8:30PM and the group went straight to begin ministry with the Inverness Youth Group. A great start.

We then helped out at a Family Conference being run by Calvary Chapel Inverness. The students were leading children's worship, running children's classes, setting up the hall, leading worship, and generally doing anything asked of them. All with a wonderful attitude that set the tone for the whole outreach. Here are some of the pictures. Unfortunately I am unable to show any with the children in the photos for legal reasons, but let me assure you the kids at the event had an amazing time, of stories, songs, face painting, videos and fun!

The next day the team ran the Children's Church, led worship and helped clean up after service at Inverness Christian Fellowship.

In the evening some of the team were sharing songs and testimonies on the local hospital radio.

We spent a day gardening at Corbett Center, where the church meets. It was a fun day of weeding and gardening, but again as you can see from the photos, the team had fun and were blessed to serve.

During this time half of the team were at the local YMCA painting the hall for the youth there and having a chance to minister both practically and spiritually.

One of the highlights for the men was for us to spend the morning gardening for one of the widows at the church, Belle. She blessed us all with her sweet spirit and the men all commented about how great it was to hang out with "Grandma Belle"

It wasn't all work though. We had a day trip to Loch Ness and enjoyed a time of devotion with the Lord as Stephanie shared with us by the side of the Loch. We even had a stone skipping competition!

One other highlight was a drive we took to Ullapool for fish and chips and then finished off with a drive down the West Coast of Scotland. What a beautiful country God has created and what a blessing to share it with a great team. We even managed to run along a beach!

All in all the trip was enjoyable and very special. The team were a blessing to us and to all they met with.

We were all blessed in turn by the hospitality of the Inverness Fellowship, Pastor Leo, his wife Cheryl and Angie.

York, England

Well, after a whirlwind few days, we are here in York England!

As you know we had been praying to God for wisdom about what He wanted us to do and where. I had sought out some Godly counsel from Pastor Brian, at Costa Mesa, who had suggested perhaps we should contact York as a way to move closer to our goal of serving The Lord in UK, and in particular, Scotland.

The result was I talked with Dave Sylvester at CCBC York on Thursday he said that if I could be in York before the following Monday, then I could perhaps teach a class at the Bible College. God is so amazing! By Saturday we were flying in to Doncaster, an hour from York.

It hasn't been all smooth sailing though. Carolyn was nearly denied access into the UK by border patrol, who were not convinced she would not be working in UK. We had been here in September for our wedding anniversary, and perhaps that looked suspicious to them!

I remember sitting in the airport for an hour discussing with Border Patrol and with the police officer standing next to us waiting for their decision and praying out to God, "If you want us to be here we know you will have your way, and if not here then we are available to follow you wherever". The lady then came back and stamped Carolyn's passport allowing us to enter UK.

So we are in York, and in fact I just taught my first class today, Thursday 12th Feb. I am teaching Hebrews, so it is amazing. A wonderful book about Jesus being Superior to everything else, and so why trust or rely on anything else. It is a blessing having the opportunity to teach God's word, and a humbling experience too.

Keep us in your prayers that we will continue to sense God's calling. We are here for at least the semester, and we will pray and see what God wants for the next. The people here have been very welcoming and we feel quite at home. We even have a little studio, that has been graciously given to us to stay in until we can find a place to rent.

York Bible College and Church, is amazing. There is a gentle spirit here and Dave and Nancy and the staff, have been very kind. The students are great as we get to hang out with them, and I am looking forward to building good relationships as we seek to bless them in their studies and in their time away from home.

Lindsay has been blessed by being offered to study here free. This is an amazing blessing from the Lord and one that we don't take lightly. He led worship for the student's devotions yesterday and he seems to be fitting in and enjoying himself.

York itself is a great place to be. We have only been in to the town once, but it seems very nice and being so full of history and charm I am sure we will enjoy being here.

The students run a coffee shop at Walmgate Bar, right on the wall and so it an excellent spot to meet travelers and share Jesus with them.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, that I will be diligent in studying God's word and that I will continue to grow closer to Jesus. Pray for Carolyn as she adjusts to a new life here. She is enjoying cooking for us and having a place to look after.

Pray for Lindsay as he undertakes college and studies. He will be leading worship at a small Calvary Chapel in Bridlington, so he will catch a bus there on Saturday nights and return here Sunday afternoon. Pray for his safe journeys and also that he will be a blessing to those he meets there.

The book of Hebrews reminds us that when you are tempted to go back from Jesus and look for something else, that He is Superior. To everything and everyone. Jesus is Better than anything else!

God bless you all for keeping us in your prayers. We appreciate it.

Steve