Backyard Harvest

The apple tree is behind the chair. At the end of the season we can store the apples outside. The birds don't peck them and the ants don't find them.

In the center: the apple known as The Cannonball. I put other things around it to give some size perspective. But my camera has a wide-angle lens and makes it look smaller. Believe me, it was massive.

We have a mess of an apple tree in the backyard. It hasn’t been pruned in who knows how long. But it still produces apples. Tons of them. Some of them the birds eat. Some drop off the tree and the ants get them. Or they rot on the ground. 

But some make it all the way to being ripe, whole, not picked over. So we pick them,  try to store them, and turn them into applesauce, apple pies, and apple butter before they spoil. 

We got a couple of boxes of apples this year, including what we called “The Cannonball”. This was an apple so large, that it wouldn’t fit into the long-handled apple picker we borrowed from our landlord. I had to balance it on the top and lower it gently so I could grab it. It managed to stay unnibbled and whole because it hung precariously from the end of a branch that was far enough from other branches so the birds couldn’t reach it. It grew and grew. Well, it was an achievement to grow so large, and arrive perfectly on our table. 

And then we ate it.

Let’s see what happens next year.

Protest and Small Vacation

We tried to look large and protesty on the street opposite the Iranian Embassy. We did what we could, but what effect did we have? The Lord is the one who can save life and bless obedience to the death.

Here on the backstreets of Knightsbridge is a quaint house and a hot car. Makes you curious who lives there, doesn't it?

It was nice to have a place like the Catholic Cathedral to sit in with cool air and seats.

This happened back in September. I had heard about the protest to be made outside the Iranian Embassy for Pastor Nadarkhanni, who was on death row in Iran for not converting to Islam. I was going to meet a friend in the city later on that day anyway. I decided to join the protest.

It took me a while to find the Iranian Embassy. I came up a bit late for the start. But I prayed and sung hymns with the rest of the small crowd. It was a cloudless, hot day with the shady trees of Hyde Park behind us. Nicky Gumbel from Holy Trinity Brompton came, spoke through the bullhorn, led us in a prayer and benediction.

Then I set out to meet my friend, but I had some time still, and I used it to get utterly lost. I had been very weary of my schedule, with no real time off to lie fallow and get some perspective. So I used the time to wander and look around me and do nothing except take pictures when it moved me. I walked backstreets in an expensive part of London, way off the tourist paths. I went into the Catholic Cathedral right next to Holy Trinity Brompton, sat down, and prayed for a while. I even went to Harrod’s and looked at things too expensive. Like a museum.

Then I met my friend and we had a good talk. We turned a corner, even, and went from being okay acquaintances to being better friends.

God is so good to give times of rest and relaxation in the midst of work and burden.

A Birthday With Love

Joanie begins cutting the birthday feast.

Our friend Alexandra invited the family to her place for my birthday. She cooked, we talked together, we had a wonderful family time. Then we had to get going to be home in time for the prayer meeting.

Alexandra is almost like a mother to us. We really appreciate having family away from home. 

A Day At Osterley Park

We parked the car on the lane outside Osterley Park and walked in to the house.

The front of the house is impressive, but you enter through a little door in the cellar on the right side of the house.

An attendant in purple explains the Chinese junk model to the girls.

My sweethearts took a break on a bench in the stairwell. The strain is already taking its toll on the young ones. They are bored.

On our 25th wedding anniversary we received from some people in the church a year’s membership in the National Trust. They preserve and manage historic homes and other historic sites so that people can see what it used to be like in Great Britain. 

We went on a short visit to a nearby property, Osterley Park. It’s a mansion remodeled by Robert Adam in the 1760’s. It has one of the largest open spaces in west London. The main advantage was that it is near our house. Some family members were unenthusiastic about such a field trip. If it turned out to be unpopular we could get home quickly and do something else.

It was a beautiful day, sunny and cool. There weren’t many people around. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. Nice attendants explained the function of the various implements in the kitchen, the objets d’art, the paintings, and the furniture in the rooms.

I guess the message of the place is: Some people had a lot of money and lived pretty well, until the money ran out. It makes one think about how temporary this life is. Better to have an abundant entry into the eternal home. Which has to be better designed and more beautiful. Something to really look forward to.

It’s fun to see a place like this, though, and enjoy it on a beautiful day with people we love to be with. 

Bass In The Office

There's no way to really get a sense of how big this bass is.
The neck is like a baseball bat.

When Joanie went to the Surrey Arts Instrument Hire to pick up a cello for Katie, she saw a plethora of violins, violas, and other string instruments, stacked on racks to the ceiling, and leaning in corners. “My husband would be very interested in those double basses you have,” she told the young supervisor.

“Tell him he can loan one out for free if he wants. That would do us a favor and reduce some of the clutter here,” he said.

Bass. What a cool instrument. And how expensive to get into. Not an impulse, midlife crisis thing to do, go buy or even rent a bass. No sirree, Bob.

I was very interested. 

So we went down to the Instrument Hire and picked up a bass for free. I guess they’ll call me if they need it. I was told this was the second bass he’s loaned out in three years. And he got a call from someone who said they’d opened a closet and found two more stuck away.

I guess I’m safe for now.

Now all I have to do is play it. No easy task. I know the notes, but the scale on a double bass is longer than an electric bass. You have to finger differently. And it takes STRENGTH  in your hand to play a note. Those jazz guys you see playing double bass so easily, no problemo, must be able to rip into bank vaults with their bare hands. Me not there yet. In fact, I could probably accelerate arthritis if I don’t take it easy and get the strength together slowly.

But what a cool instrument. Thank You, Lord.

A Late Summer Pause In Windsor

Joanie looked through the gates leading to the main entrance to
the castle. That's as far as she got.

Holly and Katie made themselves at home on the warm grass.

Not a bad little place to throw some Frisbee.

This is us beating a hasty retreat before it rains on us again.

 It was right here before the gates of Windsor Castle that we all found a place to rest, to lie down, to play for a bit before we went home. It had been raining, we ducked into stores to get out of it. But then there was a pause, a clearing in the skies, and then the day blossomed into lush summer that we had scarcely experienced up to then. 

Joanie and I walked further down the lane leading to the gates of the castle to see where it met the public roads. When we got back, the girls were in the mood to play Frisbee.

Then the clouds moved in again, and we figured it was time to be prudent. 

A Blue House in Historic Windsor

As we walked along the streets of Windsor looking for the park, we passed this brick house painted blue. Everything else looks historic, imperial, England-y. And then there is this house. Someone evidently said, “I want this painted blue!” And so it was.

Actually this is the nation that gave the world Hobbits. There is a strong streak of individualism, of marching to the sound of a different drummer.

This is actually quintessentially English.

Katie Refuses

The daughter of a friend in Siegen, Germany, came to stay with us for a couple of weeks in September. We looked at what we could do. One of those things turned out to be checking out the scene in Windsor, where the Queen has a castle. 

When we got to Windsor, we ate lunch. The only place we could find with a table was a kiddie playground. The table was very low to the ground. So low was it, that Katie refused to be seen sitting at it. She sat at a nearby bench and Rob sat with her so she wouldn’t feel alone. 

Two Guys Who Really Make A Difference

Elliot sets the mic for Mike' vocal, as Mike sits and plays the cajon.

Here’s a quick pic of what typically goes on during a church setup. Elliot Wilsher (left)is the soundman par excellence: he takes as much pains to make sure the sound is right for the musicians as for the congregation.

Mike Ragrag (right) sings and plays cajon with one group, and leads another group with piano. 

These guys are always there, serving week in and week out. It’s a pleasure to do church with such choice men

Last Night At Stone Willy's Pizza

Joanie shows Liz and Zeebondeh photos as Yvonne, Alexandra
and Helen wait for their turn.

The 25th of August was our last night to have the Bible study at Stone Willy’s Pizza. It came to a sudden end. That very night Reza told me the restaurant was sold, that night was the last. Even then we experienced miracles. Somehow I had forgotten to bring the PA head with me, that would amplify the microphones and instruments. How do you forget that? But a regular customer there offered his own PA head for us to use. Norman runs an online guitar string store that has its offices in Hampton. Over the course of the studies we had met and enjoyed talking music. Now he stepped in and quietly saved the evening.

That Saturday the Bible study group met for dinner at Stone Willy’s. We didn’t want to lose touch with our new friends. Telephone numbers were exchanged, we said our goodbyes. 

Since then we have hardly seen Reza and Reza. I pray for them all the time. I refuse to think that God opened the door to them for no reason at all. 

Claycamps Visit In August

Joanie grabs a quick phone shot of Bob and Jeanne
on the grass in front of the house.

Bob & Jeanne Claycamp came to visit us the weekend we got back from Austria (August 21). He started a Calvary Chapel in Phoenix, Arizona some thirty years ago. He recently turned it over to his son and joined Poimen Ministries, a group of similar pastors who have retired from their churches and now travel at large to support other Calvary Chapel pastors, those who are starting out, or in out-of-the-way places. They spent time with us, talked about the ministry, and took us out to dinner. It was a rare and rich time of fellowship. We are so thankful that they took time to help us and be with us.

Trip to Austria - Missions Conference August 2011

Joanie and I were looking forward to the fellowship and input from the Missions Conference. It started directly after Creation Fest, so we came home early, did some laundry, and repacked. 

We flew to Munich, Germany, to pick up a rental car and drive the rest of the way to Millstatt, Austria. This first picture is Holly and Katie at a rest stop before one of the five-kilometer tunnels through the mountains. I think they were a little tired of being in a car at this point.

Missions Conference 2 Holly and Katie’s Room

We got to stay in a local bed and breakfast for the conference. The girls got their own room, but had to sleep in the same (huge) bed. They moved happily into the large wardrobes from their suitcase.

Missions Conference 3 The View From The Room

Right outside our bed & breakfast window was Lake Millstatt, the Austrian Alps, the amazing houses and a lovely morning. This is not to say that it was placid the whole time. The weather changes often and quickly. So while you have a chance, take a picture.

Missions Conference 4 We Are Properly Lodged

Joanie reads her Bible in our slightly palatial room. Not quite Motel 6, by a long shot.

Missions Conference 5 Holly Plays A Bösendorfer

The owner of the bed & breakfast was learning to sing opera. He had two Bösendorfer pianos in his house. That means he takes his music seriously. He performed a concert for several of the guests during the week. 

Holly got a chance to try one out and see if she liked it. Her verdict? 

She wouldn’t mind if someone gave her one.

Missions Conference 6 Men’s Session

During the week the men and women were split into groups. Joanie helped with the women’s meetings. Rob taught one of the men’s sessions. The men also had time for certain ones to share about their work, how God led them, so we could pray for them. Here Dave Sylvester is about to introduce another speaker.

As we listened to the men share about what God is doing with them, we marveled. It makes you pray that God will do things like that where you are. Why not?

Notice half the men are certain they will be burned in the sun, and the other half don’t care.

Missions Conference 7 Riley Taylor Leads Worship

The missionaries meet mornings and evenings for worship and teaching. Both Joanie and I did some of the worship. Others involved were Riley Taylor, on piano and guitar, and his brother Nick on bass. Pictured here is one evening when Riley had arranged for violinists to augment his ensemble. 

The musicians are standing on the infamous platform in the meeting room. The back wall is curved, making the sound waves bounce in weird ways. It’s a difficult room in which to put monitors to hear oneself sing. It’s also hard to mix for the room. It’s been that way for more than twenty years. It’s somewhat of a drag for the musicians but it has never messed up the worship.

Missions Conference 8 Daniel Flores Ordained

One thing that can happen at a missions conference is that a pastor is ordained. There are enough pastors there to pray, and it’s a good time while we are all gathered together.

Daniel Flores and his family have started a work in Lyon, France. Before he did that he had worked with Pierre Petrignani in Nice (on the far left), and came out from Wayne Taylor’s church in Seattle (Wayne is third from left, Daniel is between them). With them, Tonio Petrignani (the slight bit of green in the back) and Dave Sylvester laid hands on Daniel and ordained him. 

We rejoice with Daniel, and pray for God’s richest blessing on him, his family, and on the work in Lyon.

Missions Conference 09 Difficult Journey Home

Did we have fun at the conference? Sure we did! Right up until the last leg of the drive to the airport in Munich. Then time stopped, and we crawled along in traffic, while a whopping storm blew up. It was right over the airport, and we would fly right into it. We kept watching the time, praying for God to split the traffic like He split the Red Sea. While not as dramatic as in Exodus, God answered our prayers and got us there in time.

Then we were bumped up to business class. Did we have fun? You bet!

Missions Conference 10 Is This England?

Yes, sunny skies, tranquil, with a gentle breeze. But wait! This is Heathrow Airport in London! Are we really home? 

Well, as I said earlier, when it’s nice, you take a picture of it.

The weather was deceptive. Even though it was nice, we came back to work like crazy, like the hill went straight up. A reminder that what we do is essentially warfare, and not a Fabulous English Vacation.

We do thank God that we are home.

Creation Fest 1 Living In A Caravan

We arrive to inspect our home for the next week. How does it work, honey?

Our friends the Kottmans stayed in a tent. We were glad we had steel walls for this dark and stormy night. Katie, left, dances with Karissa and Bethany.

Inside it was a tight fit, but we could make good use of the space for hanging out at lunchtime.

When the weather was good, it was VERY good. And when it was bad...
My Holly poses naturally for an art shot.

Last year at this seven-day Christian music and teaching event we stayed at a bed & breakfast. The good points were breakfast and a place to sleep. However, it was a ways off site, the room was small, and the price was going up next year. “We can do better than this,” we thought.

So we heard about friends renting a caravan for the Fest, and we decided to do it as well. The owners towed it to the camping site at the Fest and all we had to do is show up, which we did last Friday. Now we were on site, we could go there for lunch or when we needed a break. It was better than a tent when the wind was blowing and the rain pelting hard.

We spent the rest of the time learning how to sleep in the thing, and how to cook in it, how to put all our things away somewhere organized. By the time we had learned some of these things we were done for the year.

So we actually signed up to do it again next year! Yow! Roughing it (not)!

Creation Fest 2 Working For Free

I sold books, but by far the biggest sellers were the glow sticks for the kids.

The reason we went to Creation Fest was to volunteer to help. A group from our church was going to work as the Welcome Team, right at the entrance to the Fest. Another group headed by Joanie was going to man the Information Table at the entrance to the Shed, the large main building where the groups would play. 

I ended up at the Calvary Chapel Radio table at the back of the Shed. My job was to give out brochures on the radio station showing the teachers, when they taught, where the Calvary Chapel churches are, and so forth.

We got to meet a lot of people and give them info and news. Many people wanted to know more about Calvary Chapel, hardly a household name in England. 

I also taught the book of Revelation in one session. That’s a part of the Bible not often taught or even read in the UK. It demanded a lot of preparation to boil it down into the space of a single session. I kind of ran out of time the first time I taught it. I took even more time to know what I wanted to focus on for the second slot for the session, and it seemed to flow more smoothly. People told me it was the first time Revelation ever made sense to them. With other people it led to discussions about the Bible that I thought were very productive.

We came home dog tired every night. It’s crazy to do this, but at the same time, so fruitful. 

Creation Fest 3 Gungor

I snuck backstage to get closer to Gungor.

One group stuck out to me at the Creation Fest this year. With a name like “Gungor”, you don’t know what to expect, maybe a bunch of barbarians? I was intrigued when I learned people had come to the Fest because they heard Gungor would be there.

During the sound check I was at the Information Table around the corner from the main stage. I heard a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar sound very “stratty” and I had to see who was playing that.  

The guitarist laid down his Strat, picked up a banjo and played complex musical phrases on it. Not “Hee Haw” stuff - this was like jazz phrasing. Then he picked up his acoustic guitar and it sounded like it was in a cathedral.

As you can see in the photo, there is also a cellist, keyboardist, bassist, drummer. All very musical and proficient. I thought anything these guys do is going to be cool. The group impressed me with their calm professionalism, just making the monitor mix, being patient and not frantic or showing off.

The concert that night was moving. Many people surged to the Information Table asking for CDs of the group. It was really something to hear different music besides the “three chords and the truth” thing that bands tend to do.

We are going to buy their latest CD and get to know them. Just wanted to let you know about Gungor.

There's No Place Like Home

Katie and Holly try to acclimate our bird Sparky to the great out-of doors.
At least we didn't lose him.

Like every family, we have our good sides and our bad sides. We like us a lot. That’s good. We don’t know what to do for a day off. That’s bad.

I think it’s genetic. I know I’m fun-impaired. But even Joanie and I can get out of the house and DO something. Many times our girls don’t want to go anywhere for a day off. So it’s been a prayer request: What in the world can we do that’s fun for a day off as a family?

One more Monday came and Joanie and I tried to make suggestions. No go. Too tired. Okay, why don’t we just do it in the backyard? We pulled out a camp blanket, put it out in the shade, made some sandwiches, got our bedtime story book, and went into the backyard. We even put Sparky’s cage out there, and risked him in the great out-of-doors.

We figured it out finally: we really like it at home. Thanks for answered prayer, Lord.

Outreach With Austen Case

Mike, Ian, and Austen at Stone Willy's, while regular customer Phil looks on. He eventually stayed the whole night. It was a great time of making contact with people.

From left, Mike on cajon, Allie on vocals, Ian and Austen, guitar and vocals. On the street in Twickenham.

I used to play in a ministry band called Robert Case Band. We travelled a lot. That’s how I got out of the United States and became interested in planting Calvary Chapels in other parts of the world.

Robert married Kim and had three children: Allie, Ian, and Austen. And some decades later these three came to Twickenham (with Mike Monjay, drummer) to do a week of outreach July 4-12. I marveled that I could be discussing logistics with them as I used to do with their parents. 

We did outreach on the street in Twickenham, on a street corner I’ve always wanted to try out. I also had the group play at Stone Willy’s Pizza in Hampton. The owner was there and stayed the whole night, even through the Bible study taught by Ian. Reza asked me, are they coming again next week? The group was excited by the openness and enthusiasm of the people who haven’t yet received Jesus.

There were parts that weren’t as successful. Playing a concert at the study in Maidenhead didn’t work out. The Saturday night concert at Twickenham Academy was poorly attended, even by the church. But even then there were a family I didn’t recognize, and a woman brought her aunt (who was not a believer) and she had a great time talking with members of the church. She enjoyed the concert and came Sunday for the bring and share meal after the service.

One thing that came out of this was I felt like I want to keep the music happening at the restaurant. I asked Joanie to lead worship so we could have Mike Ragrag on cajon and me on bass. I’m also working on what to do when Joanie can’t be there.

Austen, Ian, Allie and Mike did a great job. We hope we can do outreach with them again. 

Pizza Bible Study

The Bible study regulars quickly adapt to a new format.

It’s funny how things develop.

A friend convinced me to start a Bible study in Maidenhead. Then I started doing the same book (Revelation) in Hampton. Then I thought, “This book is hardly ever looked at in England. I would love to go public on this.” That led to moving the study to the Hampton Methodist Church and putting up signs around Hampton to advertise it.

As I put up signs I met two Iranians, both named Reza, who manage the Stone Willy’s Pizza store in the village. They wanted to come to the studies, but they get off work so late they couldn’t. Then one of them asked, “Why don’t you do the study here?” 

So we did, Wednesday night, June 15. The believers came out and ordered pizzas. Some brought friends. They listened as I explained the letter of Jesus to the church at Laodicea. The point was that the most important thing to have is not the wealth of this world, but to have a real, growing, intimate relationship with Jesus, to where He comes in and eats with you.

The fellow far left received Jesus. The other fellow is going to visit church Sunday.

One believer said it was the best thing he’d ever heard me do. Others asked for copies of the disk to give to others. One of the guests received Jesus. Another fellow is going to start coming to church. The two Rezas are very open and supportive. They said we could do this indefinitely.

All the way home, all I could say was, “Thank You.” I get to teach Revelation in public. The believers are into this. People are coming to the Lord. 

It’s funny how things develop.

Reza made this for me after the study. I am so glad Moses wrote,
"Do not muzzle the ox as it threshes out the grain."

A Little Procedure

The patient calmly awaits the call to do the procedure.
He is correctly wearing the hospital gown.

My father in law noticed what I thought was a slow healing wound on my neck. “I think you ought to have that looked at,” he warned. It was January; I was in Seattle. It would have to wait until I got back in February.

Back in England, I made an appointment for an examination, and learned that it was cancerous, but not malignant. “It will compromise the skin around it eventually, so it’ll have to go,” said the specialist.

So June 7 I got the growth removed. Joanie dropped me off at Kingston Hospital for the procedure. I had to put on a hospital gown. When the nurse told me I had it on backwards, I realized they still have the openings in the back. “I’ll be back in a minute to tie you in,” she called out. No you won’t, I thought, and figured it out myself real quickly.

How beautiful are the feet of him who wears the gown.

I wore my shoes and socks and the hospital gown down the corridor to the operating room. Top Forty tunes were playing on the radio. No classical?

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3), I kept repeating to myself as the surgeon did his job, which I won’t describe to you. It was pretty unnerving, to have him working on me with a local anesthetic.

That's the dressing post-op. It's a big scar now, but it's healing nicely.

Joanie picked me up afterwards and took me home. I couldn’t run for a week because I couldn’t shower. I didn’t want to get the dressing wet. Then I got the bandage off Monday. I’m getting back to a regular life, with one difference. I have started again eating apricot kernels rich in vitamin B17 that are supposed to prevent one from getting cancer. 

I really hope they work.

Girls And Me, Without Mom

Nice day, nice girls.

Joanie had a women’s retreat in Siegen, Germany, May 6-9. And that meant I was Parental Unit for the weekend. Which I did not mind in the least. I love my girlies.

We had fun just sitting out in our therapeutic backyard, soaking in something so uncharacteristic for England: sun. You can see my right shoe at the bottom of the pic. We also did errands, walked around Ashford together. I had to bribe them with some ice cream. Money well spent.

The girls helped me when we did church. I had to play guitar alone for the worship. Holly sang the worship songs with me. She’s been doing that lately with Joanie. Katie helped set up chairs and talked to people afterwards.

We also had fun putting meals together (some really good sausage and pasta) and reading our bedtime story (the ‘Heinlein juvenile’ Farmer In The Sky), and ice skating with the home school group. 

It’s hard to have Mom gone. So we hung in there and had fun until she got back. That’s the best fun.

Dave Visits Again

Holly and Dave wait for dinner in the backyard.

My older brother Dave got to visit us for the second time this year. 

He works for an engineering firm that makes hardware to function with its intended software. He had meetings in Dublin, so he thought he would first fly to us and get over jetlag. So for five days, April 27-May 1, he visited and basically relaxed around the house. I think it was one of the few times in about three years that he has just done nothing. I was worried that he wasn’t getting enough action out of his visit. He told me, “I don’t ever do this. I’m happy just sitting and reading, believe me.”

A couple of times he went with me to my morning hangout, the cafe in the Tesco supermarket. The store is 24-hour, but the cafe opens at 8. I like to sit there before opening hours and read and pray undisturbed. Dave and I had great conversations and even breakfast. He would go out to the store and come back with a load of bagels, yogurt, milk, cream cheese, and lay out a spread. He would fortify that with coffee when the cafe opened.

He took us out to dinner Saturday night, at a great Indian restaurant we had just discovered. The food was rocking. We had a great time.

Dave helped me out quite a bit on Sunday, when we were short of help setting up. He does the same thing for his own church in Seattle. So it was nothing new to him. It was great to be working together for the Lord.

He took off to Dublin after church. And some days later I got a call from him: he was changing his plans and wouldn’t be coming back through London. So that was the end of his trip as far as we were concerned. 

I was tempted to be disappointed, but I was so thankful to have time with him. It was way more than we usually get when we see each other. I am so thankful for how the Lord set this up. I’m trusting we get to do this again.

New Guitar

My office: effect pedals, amplifier, guitar, yes, and some books.

All my guitars are a miracle. God found them for me. 

Look at that left-handed guitar there in the picture. It was given to me by Luis Toro, guitarist for Universal Royalty. Somebody gave it to him. He said wow, thanks, and then noticed that it was left-handed. He couldn’t play it. He said, this guitar should go to Rob Dingman. That’s because I’m the only left-handed guitarist Luis knows. When they played for the church in March he gave me the guitar. 

When I saw the guitar I was a little disappointed. It’s an Epiphone, an Indonesian copy of a Gibson SG, a more expensive and better guitar. If I were buying for myself, I wouldn’t even consider this guitar. 

But I said thanks for thinking of me, and went about changing it to right-handed stringing so I could play it. I play left-handed on guitars strung right-handed. It’s the only way I know. That’s how I started playing, and by the time someone told me I was holding the guitar wrong it was too late. I wasn’t about to start over again learning from scratch.

The value of that is I can play any right-handed guitar laying around. If I was true left-handed I couldn’t do that because there are no left-handed instruments lying around. They are too rare.

I switched the strings and tried re-tuning the bridge so it would play in tune. When I got done, I was amazed. I really like how it sounds. Plays great. Sounds just like some of my favorite guitar players, like Duane Allman and Jerry Garcia. I mean, I would never buy one of these, but now I have one. I plan to use this on street outreach. It will look pretty uncool (think Black Sabbath or AC/DC), but when I play it, it will sound cool.

So once again, a little miracle. God found this guitar for me. Thank You so much, Lord. And thank you, too, Luis, for being my friend.

Maidenhead Study

Colin enjoys his after-study chat with Andrea, while Melvin wraps his Bible in a bag and Adam listens in.

Rebecca tells Joanie about her upcoming US trip.

Colin Smith has long wanted a Bible study out in his area, which is Twyford. He lives in a great nether region between London and Reading, north of the M4 motorway that heads west from London. He wants to drag people to church to hear the Bible teaching, but he reckons he can’t drag them as far as Twickenham. Therefore, there must be a Bible study out his way. He has been a Persistent Widow, and has prevailed.

Three weeks ago I began the study in a village near to him called Maidenhead. It is the home of Jill Baker, a single mother who attends Calvary Chapel Oxford. Between Jill and Colin, people have been invited, coerced and dragged to hear the Bible taught. There are unbelievers and Catholics attending, as well as believers who have not read their Bible for decades. They are stirred up enough to come and listen.

Tonight I begin a verse by verse study of Revelation. Because of the imagery and the difficulty of interpretation this book is neglected and practically unknown in the churches. Lord willing, this will be a revolutionary study for those who attend.

The same goes for the midweek study in Twickenham. One of the ladies in Twickers invited her sister to the Maidenhead study. After I announced what we would study she said to me, “Well, what about us? You gonna do that for us? I’m jealous.” 

That Persistent Widow stuff again.