Out with the Old, and in with the New!

Happy New Year Everyone!  2014 has been a year of lots of good things and some not so good things, which I'm sure has been the case with most of you.  Yet already God has brought about some wonderful and surprising turns of events as we move into 2015.

On Christmas morning our lovely soon-to-be daughter-in-law Ellie found a gorgeous diamond ring in the toe of her Christmas stocking!  She and Kevin came up during the Christmas period so we could all celebrate together as a big family. We're all looking forward to their wedding in Cardiff on Easter Sunday. Over the twelve days of Christmas we hosted fourteen people for most of that time, rising to eighteen on one day!  It was lovely having all the family including our two little grandsons over Christmas.
On New Year's Eve Ellie had us all carefully removing the flesh from oranges, carving the tops, pouring oil over the pith wicks and lighting them. They looked spectacular outside - even floating down the stream!  Great fun!

Another big surprise is that Ifor's got a new job! Still doing everything he did before but now with an extra string to his bow. Before Christmas he saw an ad in the local paper. Bowketts Farm Supplies were looking for a sales representative, selling feed and fertiliser etc on the farms. The ad just  'jumped out at him', and after praying and talking to a few people, he decided to go for it. He went for an interview and got the job, despite telling them he was a Baptist minister and he'd never sold anything in his life.He's working solely on commission, which means his hours are his own and he can fit in with everything else he's doing. On the morning of the interview he prayed for guidance, and he read in Matt 10 v 42 in the Living Bible about being a representative for Jesus! So now he's a rep for Bowketts and for Jesus.

This has opened up wonderful opportunities for Ifor to go around all the farms, making friends and building relationships. A perfect way to get involved with the farming community which blends seamlessly with his role in Farm Community Network (formerly Farm Crisis Network) and Rural Chaplain to the county.  He has already had a few sales, met lots of farmers he wouldn't have otherwise and is generally being very well received.   Before Christmas Ifor started taking a stall for FCN to some of the markets.  Now he is combining that with being a more approachable sales rep and is having some good conversations. He gets on well with the staff and generally is enjoying the work.

Also new this year, Ifor has taken on our veg patch, starting with covering it this autumn with two years worth of duck litter from the stable and all our compost bins!  Jack in the Beanstalk, here we come!  He and Kevin have worked hard leveling and digging out huge bolders from a slippery muddy slope down to our footbridge.  They have done a thorough job and now we have a new artificial lawn there which looks so much better and feels safer.

It was a privilege for us to go to Chris Collins' induction at Woodville Christian Centre in Cardiff just before Christmas.  He and Jan and his young family joined the church soon after we did when Ifor was training at Cardiff Baptist College thirty years ago and we have been good friends ever since. Its a real call of God and his heart is soft to follow Him. It was great to meet up again with Mike Fuller who was our minister there all those years ago when he sensitively led that church into renewal.  Just before the induction, on their way back from Cefn Lea, Chris and Jan called in to see us.  As we four prayed together, I "saw  a long, straight mud path with earth banks, but said nothing at that point. Then Chris said he was seeing a  long straight furrow (aah! same picture, just different scale).
He said he saw Ifor and I pushing seeds into this furrow in a line.  All the seeds looked the same, but some grew into plants, others into bushes, others into huge trees.  We were not to be concerned about how much time we invested in each one - we would not know which seeds would be the more productive ones.  Each one mattered.

This prophecy also reminded me of one I had been given four years ago where I was seen to be treading acorns into the ground, some of which would grow into huge oak trees - but again I won't know which, so tread them all in firmly.

On the evening of Chris's induction we were blessed to receive two complimentary tickets for the Cambrensis Christmas Carol concert at St. David's Hall.  What a special way to round off a great day.

Leading up to Christmas I did a stall selling Ugandan jewellery in Builth Wells Winter Fair which was very popular. One woman came and told me how she would love to go out to help them in the schools in Uganda.  She would like to come and hear a talk and slideshow at St Mary's in Builth Wells which I have been asked to do during the sermon slot of their morning service on 1st March. Incidentally this date will be the 40th anniversary of when I gave my life to Jesus! What a special day that was!

Once again I was asked to take a year group at the school near Newport where our son-in-law teaches.  The children were very responsive as they watched and learnt about life in Uganda and they enjoyed having a go at balancing books on their heads, doing African dancing along with the DVDs I showed them and even attempting to do both together!  Unfortunately this year they were not allowed to sell the jewellery because of concerns about Ebola, although Uganda is the other side of the continent.  However they very kindly donated the offering they collected from the school choir concert to go to the schools they saw on the slides in Uganda.  Moses' school has been uprooted this year and has had to rebuild on a site the other side of Kampala.  It has been a very difficult year for them but they have seen God honour the work they try to do amongst the mostly orphans there. This year Moses will be ordained!

I joined Ifor at both the Remembrance Day services he led.  The morning one was at the ancient and fascinating chapel of Maesyronnen where Prince Charles visited last year. It was built on to an old cruck house in the 1600s  The members, many of whom joined us at the Alpha course we ran in Glasbury cafe and the "Table Talk" weeks at the pub, move to sit around the large Stuart table whenever they have communion.The ministers' names on the pulpit go back to the 1640s. What stories this place could

 tell!
In the afternoon we led a Remembrance Day special in Erwood Market Hall for the whole village, complete with video clips and a memorabilia table.  Our friend Anne Roberts together with Erwood Chapel organise regular cafe style services there now and these attract more than attend the services in the chapel. The following month the Cafe style service was a special  WW1 centenary carol service, following the booklets beautifully produced by Hope, Tearfund and Sports Chaplaincy UK which were later given as souvenirs for people to take home.  They included explanations, Bible quotes, a moving article on Christmas Day in the trenches in 1914, testimonies and an update on what Tearfund is doing in Syria.

We were invited to the Erwood Show Dinner in the same hall - a huge affair where nearly a hundred people were treated to a delicious sit-down meal provided by the local pub next door. It was a wonderful occasion which also enabled us to sit with farmers we didn't really know.  I also went to two W.I. Christmas dinners.  The Aberedw W.I. combined this with the 90th anniversary celebrations of their founding.  Fun to look at the old photos and try to recognise people!  The caterers from the pub next door excelled themselves and my friend made the beautiful icing flowers on the celebration cake which was baked by another friend.

 Sadly we have been to a few funerals these last couple of months.  One of these that Ifor was asked to take was the funeral of the elderly Christian mother of a farming family in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons, very near to where I lived as a teenager.  People who knew me from then said "Wow, is that your husband?!"  As usual Ifor was able to easily speak of a relationship with Jesus while applying it to the character of the deceased, never allowing the service to be morbid.  The graveyard and chapel were in a very dramatic setting and a couple of hundred people came from all over the county.

It was a thrill to witness Mervyn's baptism in January by his cousin who is the minister of the Elim church in Brecon which Mervyn and his wife now attend regularly.

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It was exciting to see a new Christian from Brecon whom Jesus has recently set free from addictions also being baptised.  God is good. At the service we were able to pray with a few of people.  One of these, awaiting a hip replacement, felt the pain leave as we prayed.

A friend and I went to pray around a house where there has been much oppression, depression and sickness for many years.  As soon as we prayed for protection and to work with the angels, suddenly we were both aware of a huge angel turning up right in front of us.  My friend said "That was quick!", to which I replied "Yes, and its huge!".  After praying around all the rooms we felt that this time the house was at last cleared.  Time will tell.

This is a new year and our God is always a God of new beginnings.  We'd like to leave you with this quote we came across recently, written by the prolific writer, " Anonymous".

This is the beginning of a new day.

God has given me this day to use as I will.

I can waste it or grow in its light and be of service to others.

But what I do with this day is important because

I have exchanged a day of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever.

I hope I will not regret the price I paid for it.

Summer/Autumn 2014

The summer of 2014 has certainly been a long, mostly hot and dry one. Even September turned out to be the driest since records began in 1910. The clematis around our front door has been stunning for several months.

Much prayer went into the Angus Buchan event at Bronydd Mawr this summer.  As I was walking up the hillside with the prayer group to the huge cross recently planted there (enjoy the story of this in our last blog), I felt the Lord say to me "This is the rooftop of Wales". After the 22ft cross was erected, we heard that the local name for the area is Bwlch y Groes (pass of the cross) which suggests there may have been a previous cross there, or at least one carried through the pass. The owners of Bronydd Mawr recently bought the common.  Since this purchase they learnt of a prophecy saying they would buy a hill!

We then went on to pray around the shed where the event was to take place.  Two people brought prayer banners declaring the sovereignty of the Trinity and an explosion of the Kingdom of Heaven into the shed.  A swallow fluttered around the tops and corners of the shed that we couldn't reach, and then a collared dove flew right through the length of the barn!  Fancy a dove flying through a dark shed on a sunny day!

Much preparation was involved in steam cleaning, clearing ground for erecting portaloos,  collecting and erecting chairs and stage, and so much more.  The local newspaper had printed three separate articles relating to the anticipation of and preparation for the event.  The long awaited day unfolded and below is the report which the newspaper printed.

Over 700 people packed into the sheep shed at Bronydd Mawr Farm, Trecastle on Tuesday, 10th June to hear
Angus Buchan, the South African farmer/
who always draws huge crowds.  The seats had all been taken half an hour before the event was due to start, and still people kept pouring in.  Despite the torrential rain over the county that day, even in the nearby village of Trecastle itself, the lane up to the farm was bone dry and the field set aside for parking had dried out enough to take the 300 cars without any hiccups.  Several buses also brought people from further afield and there was a happy, expectant buzz about the place.


As the strains of Dyma Gariad (Here is love) subsided, Angus took to the flat-bed trailer stage.  The vast crowd hung on his every word as he not only showed he understood the times and predicaments people find themselves in, but also offered hope, encouragement and opportunity to step out in faith into the future.  Streams of people pressed forward to respond to his message and reports are coming in of people having been healed, outlooks and situations changing and a fresh hope springing up.  One farmer, who had traveled from West Wales, said he felt over eight years of depression just lift off him and a new hope and joy take its place.

Breconshire was the start of Angus's seven day speaking tour which continues in Ireland, Scotland and England, finishing in Worcester on Monday 16th before he returns to his farm and orphanage in South Africa.

As a follow up to this successful event, Rev Ifor Williams, himself an ex farmer, will speak at Bronydd Mawr on "Growing Your Faith".  This will be at 7.30 on Thursday, 19th June to which all are welcome.

After the worship, Ifor introduced Dr. Christianne Glossop, chief vet for Wales. She spoke about her passion to see TB eradicated and about a prayer group that meets regularly at Bronydd Mawr to pray against this awful disease and other matters affecting farmers.  Ifor then introduced Angus Buchan.  As he spoke a dove did three circuits inside the barn!  When Angus gave a call at the end, people kept on coming forward to commit or recommit their lives to Jesus. Angus himself was still buzzing about the Trecastle event when he got back to South Africa.

At the follow up evening a man from Trecastle told us how he had decided to come to hear Angus but was unable to turn right from his drive to join the constant stream of traffic.  Instead he had to go left to find a break in it.  As he joined the stream he said almost all the cars, from both directions, turned up the lane to the farm.  He couldn't remember Trecastle ever having seen anything like this before.  This man signed up to do the Christianity Explored course at Bronydd Mawr, starting at the end of the month.

Since the event we have heard that far more local people came than we'd realized, especially many of those who had read one of the fifty copies of his book "Faith Like Potatoes" that we'd been circulating around the county.  As we go around the farms this autumn and winter to collect up these books, it will be interesting to see what the readers made of them. 

We have been to a number of the local shows this summer, selling the paper bead jewellery made by the children from two Ugandan schools we are involved with. At one village show we sold over £200 worth of jewellery for the children!  These have again opened up new opportunities to do slideshows to various groups

One of these slideshows at a the Fuchsia Society led to me being offered a free table to sell the jewellery and promote the work at Brecon Gardening Club's annual show in the Market Hall in Brecon which for me was very worthwhile. It was lovely that my auntie and her friend were able to join me there.

With the lovely weather we've had over the summer, we invited our neighbours to a BBQ at our home which was lovely and relaxing and gave opportunity to get to know them better. On another occasion Ifor was asked to speak at a BBQ in Bwlch for the local Gideons.
It was a happy occasion when Ifor took the wedding of Mervyn and Eleanor's daughter. As they came out of the chapel they found six of the local Young Farmers' Club holding an archway of pitch forks for them and all the guests to walk under. (We had the same lovely surprise at our own wedding 37 years ago!)   Ifor has also taken several funerals, including sadly the funeral of Geoffrey, one of the founding members of our first home group here, after a long and determined fight against cancer.  It has not been easy for his Russian widow who has had to make lots of big decisions so soon after the funeral.

We have been preaching in numerous churches over these last few months and Ifor has led many Harvest Festivals which are generally very well attended in this rural area, often being the only service that people will attend.  One of these was right up in the Gwesyn valley where he had recently attended the funeral of one of the two members of the chapel there.  The coffin was carried across the valley on the wooden bier stored in the back of the chapel.

I was asked to speak at a women's group at the Baptist church in Abergavenny. Instead of doing lots of talking, I had them learning for themselves how to hear God speaking to them through both natural and man-made objects I placed on a central table.  So following in the footsteps of Jeremiah and many others in the Bible, they had a go and found that not only does God speak in a variety of ways, He also is not that difficult to hear if only we "tune in" to Him!  They were both encouraged and challenged by some of the things He said to them and showed them.

After speaking about our work and vision at a SWBA meeting in Brecon, Ifor continued on to Warwick, with a couple of church-in-the-home planters from near Newport, to meet with Wolfgang Simpson, author of "Houses that Change the World", by kind invitation. We also went to the

New Wine Cymru summer Leaders' conference in Swansea with Randy Clark and I went  another time to the Caleb Advance, hosted in Brecon. Ifor went to a two day discussion in Birmingham along with BU representatives from Scotland and England, looking at ways forward.  In June I went with Lucy and Timo to the Company of Burning Hearts three day conference in Cardiff with Justin Abrahams, Ian Clayton and Paul Keith Davies.  Different but good. Since then I went with a friend from Crickhowell to a follow up School of the Spirit with Justin Abrahams.

At the Baptist Union of Wales Assembly, Ifor was inducted  as President. Unfortunately this has not been an easy year for the BUW, as discussions to unite Baptists across Wales have broken down, resulting in some difficult meetings which Ifor has had to chair. Ifor has also been heavily involved with Farm Community Network activities, including a new initiative at a monthly cattle market. After a lot of work making contacts around the County, some of those contacts have resulted in some intensive pastoral care. Sometimes we seem to be spreading ourselves very thinly over a wide area, but God showed us recently that a key part of our work is simply to meet people here and there and be a spiritual influence at key times in their lives. A bit like Jesus who often met people on the road, spoke into their lives, and then moved on.

The hilltop prayer group continues to meet, and one month we prayed from a hill overlooking Erwood and Llyswen and beyond. Another month took us back to a hill overlooking Llanwrtyd Wells. Here we met Richard and Jan.  Richard was on the staff at a YWAM base in Scotland and since then they have been leading a church plant there before moving down to Llandrindod Wells recently. This month we prayed over Crai.  The Lord is wonderful in giving us Spiritual insight to help us know how how He wants us to pray in these areas.

On a calm, warm day at the end of August, over fifty people gathered on the banks of the River Wye in Erwood to witness a lady being baptised. After doing a Christianity Explored course and the follow on course with Anne Roberts, the lady asked to be baptised in the river.  Her family came to support her. Two days later her husband had an unexpected encounter with God whilst installing a velux window on a roof!  He went home and looked for a Bible. Google suggested he start with the gospel of John where he found some familiar stories that he recalled hearing in his childhood.  He downloaded an app for his phone and started listening regularly to the whole of the New Testatment, on one occasion coming home at

 lunchtime to recharge his batteries! He is now on his eighth time around and loving it.  He has found himself to be growing in patience and friendliness, while she recognizes her confidence has grown, as the Holy Spirit works in their lives.  Anne is leading her and a friend in weekly bible studies on the Old Testament.

When we started "Table Church" in our home a week after the baptism, the husband asked  his wife if he could come too, which surprised her and the rest of her family.  Another couple from Rhayader joined us as we enjoyed a meal together, including taking communion in the natural way in which the early church partook. One said he wouldn't normally go to a church but he liked that. Another said it was brilliant.  The following week the second couple were unable to join us due to illness, but we still had a good time looking into the Bible around the table to find answers to some of their questions. Another person has since joined us.

A fortnight ago we restarted the monthly film shows in our home, for local people starting with the new film of the book Heaven is for Real which many people around here have now read.  This went down well, with a break in the middle for bring and share food and chat. Several people borrowed books afterwards. Two people from this film evening would like to start coming to Table Church.
As many people in the county now have read this book, we hope to encourage some of them to show the film in their homes, inviting their friends around to watch it with them.  This could be a way to precede Table Church in a number of homes.  One person in a church where we sometimes preach bought a copy of the book for her married daughter who enjoyed it so much that she asked her mum to send any similar books to her.  I suggested The Shack which is also proving an excellent tool in introducing the possibility of a God of love to people who don't go to a church.

Last month the Baptist College in Cardiff asked us to talk to their students for a couple of hours about how we are going about rural ministry and mission in Breconshire and relating some of the things God is doing.  We had some very encouraging comments and emails afterwards from the students. One informed me that as a result of me doing a similar talk a couple of years ago to a combined group of rural churches in Herefordshire, they have decided to look to employ a rural missioner!


An exciting time for our family was the wedding of our daughter Lucy to Timo in Estonia where our three other daughters were bridesmaids. It was wonderful my brother and family were also able to come and we enjoyed getting to know Timo's family. We erected a marquee in the grounds of Timo's family home on the edge of Lake Pepsi which forms the boundary with Russia.  We arrived in time to prepare for the big event,
including making the cake. The best tool to cream the hard muscavado sugar proved to be Timo's dad's electric drill!
But it turned out fine.  They asked Ifor to take the service, during which Mary sang Dyma Gariad as a solo and both sets of parents laid hands on the couple as we prayed for them. There were lots of interesting and lovely traditions from both countries which we all enjoyed. After the marquee was down and everything tidied away, we had a week sightseeing locally and then in the walled medieval city of Tallin with its many towers.                                           Lucy and Timo are now living back in Norway where Timo is leading the
worship at the YWAM base and Lucy is working in a kindergarten while she improves her Norwegian to the standard at which she can take a degree there in Social Studies.

It has been lovely this year getting to know our two grandchildren better. Thomas is now six months old and developing his unique character.  Caleb celebrated his first birthday combined with his dedication before he left with his parents for a fortnight in California, visiting family friends and attending a leaders conference with Bill Johnson at Bethel Church in Redding.

Sorry you have had such a long wait since our last update in May.  Sorting, clearing and putting on the market two houses from our parents has taken much time and been emotionally quite draining. But thank you for your much appreciated prayer support.

Gold from the Dirt ?

Isn't it amazing how God brings gold from the dirt!  Out of what appears to be barren land, new shoots appear and carpets of daffodils wave their golden heads almost prophetically. Ifor spoke recently about poppies and how they covered the disturbed trenches after lying dormant for sometimes a hundred years.  I had a sense that there are numerous "poppy seeds" lying dormant in Breconshire.  The ground just needs disturbing, then God will astound us. Many people are noticing so many bluebells this year, even cropping up in places where they haven't been known to grow before.  God is cropping up in ways and places that wasn't the case when we first came here.  We are noticing more openness to Him among the farming community.  "The times, they are a-changing!"

In the run up to Angus Buchan's visit to the county on 10th June at Bronydd Mawr Farm, Trecastle, I have sown fifty copies of his book "Faith Like Potatoes" into the hands of mostly farmers we know.  These have been gratefully received and quite a few people have lent them on to their friends and family after reading them. 760 miles well spent of driving around the county! We've put up nearly eighty posters inviting people to the five film shows of the enacted story of the book, projected in different village halls (all with permission).  The Brecon and Radnor Express has printed not just the advert we put in, but also the article we wrote, accompanied by a good sized photo of Angus.  We don't want people hearing about the event afterwards and wishing they'd known before. Whether people choose to come to hear him speak or not, the stories of what God has done in his eventful life have found their way into people's homes. More details on www.bronyddmawr.org.uk

The Faith Like Potatoes DVD has been translated into 17 different languages and over two million copies have been sold worldwide to an estimated audience of 100 million people!  Our first village hall showing of it attracted just four people! Yet we came away greatly encouraged as those who came were keen to advertise the June event to their friends, family and those they work amongst.  We put out copies of Faith Like Potatoes, The Shack, Heaven is for Real and The Final Frontier as they all related to an aspect of Angus's life story. These four were keen to borrow the books and share them with each other.

The following evening we showed the film in Erwood.  Thirty came to that showing.  One woman came early, having travelled twelve miles, because she saw the article in the newspaper and thought it looked interesting.  She didn't appear to have any Christian connections.  Afterwards she was hungry to borrow three of the books we'd put out.  Another woman painfully walked to the hall with a very sore foot.  During the showing of the film she felt tingling in her foot.  By the time she got up to go home she found she could walk easily.

We showed the film in Upper Chapel the next evening and twenty people came.  All of these were Christians, yet they went away inspired and keen to advertise the June event amongst those they know.  The next two film showings will be in Crai on 14th May and Llandovery on 18th May.  Meanwhile our copy of the DVD will hopefully be circulating around different homes.

Until last week the shed at Bronydd Mawr, Trecastle, which will seat up to 700, has been full of young cattle.  Will God bring gold out of this mucky place?  It has been watered with a lot of prayer.  Ifor has been help- ing to steam clean the shed while others have been preparing the ground outside.

In May last year our hill prayer group planted a potato on a hill top as a prophetic symbol of growth we anticipate God bringing to his family in Breconshire. Last month our hill prayer group went to pray at Bronydd Mawr.  Before we prayed around the cattle shed, we gathered to pray at a huge cross that had been erected on a hill top on the farm just the day before, visible from the A40.  It is 28 foot long, six foot of which is in the ground and 22 feet majestically standing tall.  The impact of it as we gathered around it to pray was awesome. When Stuart and Liz went to seek permission to erect it on their

land, there was strong resistance until they mentioned an evangelist coming from South Africa. That changed everything, since they had heard of Angus and even had many of his books!  So the cross is up!  Initially they couldn't get it in the ground because of solid rock. When Stuart and Liz drove down to the main road, they saw it needed to move a few feet over from where they were trying unsuccessfully to dig.  They moved it to the more visible spot and it went in easily.  Reminiscences of Ffald y Brenin?  We pray God will also use this cross powerfully.

Farming funerals are often huge around here.  Ifor went to the local funeral of our neighbour's brother.  Over 750 people came to it!  Then Ifor took the funeral of a farmer's wife who loved Jesus and her life showed it, so very easy to preach Jesus there to the nearly 300 who attended.  My elderly friend, with whom I worked at the Mountain Centre when I was a teenager, had his funeral this morning and his widow was singing Ifor's praises to her relative afterwards.  He had a lovely faith in God and regularly attended the village chapel. His huge funeral reflected how so many loved him.

This afternoon Mervyn was inducted as President of the Breconshire Baptist Association.  After showing the nine minute video taken in 2010 (search youtube for "there is a light in the valley") Mervyn talked about how God prompts him with what to do on the farm day by day and challenged us all to repent of anything that could be blocking a closeness in our individual relationships with the Father.  He encouraged us all to hold hands in a large circle in the chapel and do this together.  It was very powerful and uniting and God's presence was very strong.
After Ifor had prayed for Mervyn, Anne (Association minister) prayed for Ifor as he comes in as President of the BUW next month.

Ifor continues to milk three mornings a week at Glasbury.  Over the winter the parlour has been extended to take 64 cows at a time and the herd of New Zealand Friesians has been increased to 500.  (I could only fit some of the herd in the photo!) There are always two milking at a time, sometimes three if extra things need doing.  Glasbury  has a local book club where the secretary of Glasbury Chapel has suggested "Heaven is for Real" as being the next book they all read and comment on.  This suggestion was well received and many were intrigued by the review of the book. 

We had our four year review with the Baptist Union at the end of April.  As we spoke about what God has been doing, what we have done and been through and how we see the future panning out, it had the effect of encouraging us, as well as the review team.  So that was good.

Ifor was invited to speak at an outreach dinner in Llandysul where he challenged the thirty people there to 'let go and let God', using lots of 'God stories' from our life so far.

The lady in the nearby village I've been praying with is continuing to receive healing from Jesus.  During the Easter service in her local church she felt the Holy Spirit come on her very gently but powerfully and the little pain she had left melted away.  She is now able to walk without frame, or crutches and is even able to drive again.  Praise God.

On the family front we have very exciting news.  Our daughter Becky gave birth to our gorgeous grandson Thomas Owen Bela Matyus on 17th April in Cardiff, weighing in at 8lb 6oz.



Our equally gorgeous first grandson Caleb is now six months old and was quite intrigued with his younger cousin when he came down from Chester to meet him.  We are so blessed, as are both babies and their parents.   Both babies will need their own passports to travel out to Estonia at the end of May for our daughter Lucy's marriage to Timo.  Ifor will be taking the service and our three other daughters will be bridesmaids, along with a good friend of Lucy's. We're looking forward to it and to meeting Timo's family.

Thank you again for your support and prayers.  We feel we are on the edge of another stage in our work here and that God is very definitely on the move.