May’s Blog

It’s almost three months since I last wrote anything.  My excuse is that I have been awfully busy!

Did you see the reports in the papers about Alec Ferguson’s visit to us on 1st February.  You can see him on the internet on STV!  You’ll know that he is helping us with our plans for a new building.

I had sad news at the end of February – my pal Isobelle went to her eternal home on 20th February.  She is at rest but pray for her husband Oliver.

At the end of last month Drymen Church had a fund-raiser for the Trust and then we went out there to do their Good Friday service.  They had us there last year and wanted us back.  I was also out at Milngavie to speak at their Holy Week services.  The preacher all week was Willie Black, from Stornoway High Church.  That church has been a great supporter of the Trust.  Willie is a great preacher.  What I like is that he keeps it nice and simple.  You can hear all his sermons when they come on the web

I was awfully tired at the beginning of March but managed to get a wee holiday in Letterkenny on a cheap bus tour with some of the folks.  That was good – and we managed to pay a wee visit to Tommy Kelly at the Bogside for his Sunday service.  I was only sorry we could not take other folk from the coach with us but Tommy came to collect us.

You’ll remember Tommy Kelly from the Bogside who was over here at the start of the year.  Do you know, he bought a new wee lamp for his house and it was faulty and caused a terrible fire.  Thank God that nobody was hurt but there was an awful lot of damage – and, do you know, the Preshal folk had a wee fundraiser and got quite  a lot of money to send to Tommy.  Is that no good and what Jesus would want us to do?

Another bit of good news.  Our caravan was on its last legs - but with the site owners being generous in what they gave us for the old caravan and a big gift from Drymen Church, we have a smashing new caravan, with TWO toilets and plenty of room.  We used to be able to let about 90 families have a wee holiday with the old one but we’ll be able to give many more a wee holiday with this one.  God is good, is he no?

I thought you would be interested to hear about this woman who came into Preshal on Wednesday.  She told me that she was a heroin addict and in Malta when she met someone who said to her ‘You need to go and see a wee woman in Govan, May Nicholson’ so I said to her ‘You took some time to get here.’  But, honestly, Theresa has had a hard time in herself and with her family but has managed to get off heroin and is beginning to get off alcohol.   She is a nice woman and does not show the usual ravages of a heroin addict.

We hit it off really well and she is coming back and I hope she will come to the Preshal Fellowship too.  Pray for Theresa that she will find Jesus as her help and Saviour.

My friend Jean sent me something about the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ which I would like you to see, if you have Powerpoint on your PC.  Copy this link into your browser!         www.txc.net.au/~mapie/SEVENWONDERSOFTHEWORLD1.pps  

We have just had a really great time with Tom Kelly from the Bogside.

Tom and I are very close friends since I first met him and he helps us and we try to help him.  He is one of the ‘Bogside Artists’ who have won prizes for their murals in the Bogside and he also runs ‘Wellsprings’ a wee Christian meeting.  He says he ‘tells it as it is’ and wants to share his faith as simply as possible.  He has some story to tell.  He used to be a out and out Communist – ‘Tommy the Commi!’  Then he came to Jesus and is so keen to talk about grace – the undeservedlove of God for us – that he is known now as ‘Grace Kelly’!

WE had a great meeting out near Balmaha at the Montrose’s place last Friday and then a great meeting of the Preshal Fellowship on Sunday there

We are hoping to start a new work soon.  We want to start ‘early intervention’ so that we reach youngsters before they drift and maybe get into trouble, so please pray for the right workers.  We’ll need money too as I do not want to start something only to find we need to stop because we do not have enough money.

We are having a visit this week-end for Tom Kelly.  He runs Wellspring church in the Bogside in Belfast and he will be speaking at the Preshal fellowship on Sunday at 6.30 p.m.  If you are free, please come along.

By the way, our deputy chairperson has a new grandaughter Isabella Mary..

Please remember the team in prayer for the year lying ahead.  We want to reach out to more and more folk and to see more lives changed through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Remember, the doors are always open so drop in and see us – the kettle is always on!

When we were closed for a short period over Christmas and New Year, Alan and I were checking the premises regularly.  As you know, the weather was terribly cold and – you guessed, there was a burst pipe, in the Gent’s toilet.  The ceiling came down and there was a terrible mess.  But we got the place cleaned up and were able to open up okay and we hope to have the ceiling up soon.  We want to get the place reasonably tidy because we are hoping to have a visit from Sir Alec Ferguson soon.  We will be starting fund-raising for the new building and would like to hear from anyone with fund-raising ideas.

So many churches donated food and toys at Christmas that I could not name them all but we are so, so grateful to all of you.  We were able to distribute them to at least 300 needy families associated with the Preshal Trust and beyond.

We had FOUR Christmas parties.  Merchant Homes who are building flats opposite us donated a full Christmas dinner for 100 – complete with all the trimmings.

If you have read the Preshal Trust newsletter , you will know that Sheena and Iain Graham who farm organic Highland meat and have a charity called Aird Foundationare donating meat tregularly  and also giving funds for the lunch club and we are very very thankful fot that.  Of course, there are lots of individuals who held us in many ways and they are a real blessing