The Hamer Family Blog

2010-02-10T20:16:00.000Z

We are in the midst of our second blizzard in the last 5 days. There's literally over 3 feet of snow on the ground and it is still coming down harder than ever with no end in sight. I'll have more pics when it finally ends.

2010-01-08T14:45:00.001Z

Christmas 2009

Here are some pics from this Christmas including: lots of snow, sledding, lights, more snow, gingerbread houses and our first family music gig.

2009-12-11T20:48:00.003Z

Ok, so it's been a while since we blogged. So sue me...

Not much to say in this post, I just thought I would post some pics of the some of the happenings since Kirsten and Danny's wedding (the last post). I didn't label all the shots so here's a run down. Some are just life around here on a daily basis such as the kids riding in a horse drawn wagon, fall foliage, Kayleigh's birthday and baptism. Liam's birthday at the Reading Phillies game, going to the Philadelphia Phillies game with Pop-Pop, camping with the Miller's, Philly with Emily (from Scotland), etc.

I hope those of you that have been clammering for an update enjoy the photos. We'll have another update soon.

2009-07-06T16:40:00.003+01:00

Kirsten and Danny's Wedding

Here are some shots from probably one of the coolest weddings I've attended and been a part of. The whole family had a role in it to some degree. Julie helped out in all kinds of ways including decorating the tent, sewing Erin's dress, etc. Erin was the flower girl, Liam and Kayleigh handed out the programs, Kayleigh dished out the Rita's water ice at the reception and I (Marc) gave the message. It was a beautiful day with sunny skies, low humidity and temps in the upper 70's. Can't beat that! Enjoy the pics and there will be a post soon with an update of what's been happening with us.

2009-03-18T02:40:00.000Z

Something of Historic Proportion is Happening

By T.P.S.

Emphasis and links added

This insightful commentary has been posted on dozens of websites. Often attributed to "Pam Geller," it first appeared in the name of "TPS." (It's not surprising that a conservative college teacher would want to remain anonymous these days.) Since the message begins with a plea to spread the information (no copyright notice included), we are sharing it with you.

Friends,

Will you please take the time to read this, and if you think it worthwhile, pass it along to your email list, and ask them to read it? Even if they voted, with all good intentions, for Mr. Obama?

I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books in six languages.... I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes, these exist, but, they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus....

Yes, a perfect storm maybe brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about 10 - 15 years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people whom we know can never pay back? Why? We learn just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has "loaned" two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700B we all argued about so strenuously just this past September.

Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of "We the People," who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, and school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?).. We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, Social Security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about.) The list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x 10. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla, Alaska . All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.)

Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now. This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning.

I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930s. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises.

Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his "brown shirts" would bully them into submission. And then he was duly elected to office, with a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression].

Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department by department, person by person, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think. How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe and across the world.

He did it with a compliant media - Did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and... change. And the people surely got what they voted for. (Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.) Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though.

Don't forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe. It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years - a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency - it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.

As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong, close my eyes, have another latte and ignore what is transpiring around me.

Some people scoff at me; others laugh or think I am foolish, naive, or both. Perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe - and why I believe it. I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am.

See also The emerging New World Order

Purging the Memory of Our Christian Roots

Is this America? | Brainwashing in America

2009-02-25T03:04:00.002Z

Toovey Withdrawl

Last week we had our favorite Australians here for a week long (but not long enough) visit. We first met Michael and Lynn back in Scotland when they blessed us with their presence at our house group. We immediately felt a connection around our faith in Christ which has turned into a great friendship. This time on their visit they brought along their newest addition to the family, 'wee Charlie'. We all had a blast with Charlie but Erin seemed to connect with him the most and seemed to always kind of know just what he needed especially when he was tired of riding in the car.

Thanks again Tooveys for paying us a visit, we had an amazing time hosting you and our house still seems a bit empty without you.

Here are some pics from our time together:

2009-01-22T12:02:00.002Z

The GPS

I just got a new GPS from my mom for Christmas and I'm loving it. It's making the mundane trips actually quite fun. It is kind of weird though that I would purposely have this female voice in my car telling me what to do when I'm sure I already know where I'm going. OK, I'll just leave it at that before I get into trouble.

Anyway, I came across this Christian comedian talking about the GPS and he had a great idea. Check it out. I think I need one like this.

2008-12-18T02:40:00.005Z

Kayleigh's 10th Birthday and some Pre-Christmas Fun

I can't believe another year has past and our wee Kayleigh is no longer such a wee lass. Before you know it there's going to be weird guys showing up at my house interested in spending time with my daughter. Come to think of it, that might be kind of fun. Can you say interrogation? Anyone know where I can find a cheap lie detector test.

Anyway, we had a great time celebrating her birthday about three times I think. By the way, I'll try and keep this blog centered on the family and my (Marc's) blog will be where you can find all my political and theological ramblings. I'm not a big Obama fan by the way (sorry I snuck that in there).

Here are some pics of the birthday extravaganzas and some pre-Christmas fun.

2008-11-10T05:32:00.003Z

More on the election...

I just responded to a comment from our good friend Emily from Scotland where she mentioned she was thinking good things were coming our way in the next couple of years. My comment was that I am not as optimistic as I don't think the proposed policies of the incoming administration will be good for this country. Right after my response I came across this you tube video of James White. James is a very respected Christian apologist here in the states and in this video gives a very good explanation as to why Obama's philosophy of running this nation is not consistent with a Christian biblical world view and ultimately why I could not vote for him. Once again I agree we should pray for him as scripture mandates but I agree with James in that the first thing we should be praying for is his salvation.

Here's the video:

2008-11-06T01:01:00.002Z

God is in Control

I have been thinking I should blog something in regard to the election but have been struggling with exactly what I should say. Even though I have been very silent in the blog world on this issue it is not because I don't have a strong opinion. Well just before I typed blogger in the address bar I visited the web site and blog of Brian Brodersen. Brian is the Associate Pastor to Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, California. He is also my favorite preacher/ teacher out there today.

Here are his words about the election and might I just say, Amen, Amen and Amen!

"It is truly an historic moment in the United States of America. The American people have just elected the first black man to the presidency.
Although Barack Obama was not my candidate of choice because of his liberal moral views, I do think that something good has happened in his being elected to the presidency. We the American people have taken a huge step in putting the sin of racism behind us and that’s something that causes my heart to rejoice.

Having said that, the reality is, we here in the US, come January 2009, will be governed by the most politically and morally liberal administration in the history of this country. What are we Christians who disagree with the political, moral and spiritual views of our elected leaders to do? Three things come to mind:

First: Remember God is sovereign! Psalm 75:6-7 reminds us that the Lord appoints and removes rulers.
“For exaltation comes neither from the east, nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the judge: He puts down one and exalts another”.

Second: Walk humbly. Paul put it like this to Titus-
“Remind them (followers of Jesus) to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men”. Titus 3:1-2

Third: We need to pray for our leaders whoever they are and wherever we are.
“I urge, then, first of all that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”. 1 Tim 2:1-3

I do believe in the sovereignty of God. We prayed, we fasted, we voted and now we must trust that God is in control and is working all things according to the counsel of His perfect will. In that great fact I rest."

Grace and peace,

Brian

2008-10-18T18:33:00.003+01:00

Happy 14th Anniversary to Us!

Yup, that's right another year has passed and here I am blogging on another anniversary. This year we took a couple of days off and went up to north central Pa. to a wee town called Wellsboro. Usually this would be the peak week for fall foliage but the leaves are a bit early this year but it was still beautiful none the less. It was also great to just have some time to ourselves for a couple of days. We would have had a great time wherever we went so it was a bonus to see some of God's amazing creation.

By the way, if you ever want to see what life was like back in the 1950's, visit Wellsboro. I was totally expecting Wally and the Beave to come running around the corner any time. It also reminded me of the town in 'Back to the Future". Check out the picture of the courthouse with the clock. Can you say Marty McFly and flux capacitor? I loved this town and could definitely live there but as you can see I'm still sporting some of my Scottish attire. I miss Scotland big time and am ready to go back in a second.

Here are some pics of us and scenes in Wellsboro and what's known as the Grand Canyon of Pa.

2008-07-22T05:10:00.009+01:00

The Surrender Reunion

Left to right: Dave Unger on Keyboards, Marc Hamer on drums, Blake Thompson on guitar, Curt Bennington on bass and Marco Riva on guitar. Photos by: Sam Cali at the Bayou in Washington DC Summer of '87.

Twenty one years ago, man that is hard to believe. Twenty one years ago I was playing in a band called 'Surrender' and in that Summer of 1987, we were just hitting our stride. We were a hard rockin' band playing the Mid Atlantic circuit and having a blast doing it. Anyway, after all these years we decided to have a get together, play some music and catch up with each other. Well, most of the time went to jammin' as we were having so much fun, we never wanted to stop. Actually, the highlight of the evening for me was when Blake's wife Kate came up and played some tunes with us. She plays among many things, the electric violin and is amazing. I've never heard anyone get sounds out of a violin like that.

Well after many hours of of accumulated blisters, sawdust and yes, back aches, we had to give it a rest for now. The sun went down and it was time to go. We all have kids and jobs which has changed things a wee bit as you might imagine.

These days, Curt is a sound engineer based in Mesa, Arizona and does sound for the big boys all around the states. Blake, Kate and the wee one, Blake Jr. reside in Nashville and are working in the music industry. Dave is... well I'm not sure what Dave does but I was glad to hear he is living in the York, Pa area and attending a church there. And you all know what I've been up to. If not, then you can do some back reading on the blog and see what I've been doing for the last 4 and a half years.

We may do this again in December so stay tuned as that might be in a club, we'll see. In the nearer future, I am going to be playing a gig with Blake and Kate in Reading on August 2. Some time in September we'll be having Blake, Kate and Dave up to the church to help me lead worship and do a couple of songs. That's the coolest thing as we're all Christians now. As soon as I have a date I'll post it on the blog.

The pics below are from the reunion taken by various people on Curt's camera.

2008-07-12T16:17:00.003+01:00

The Latest...

Here are some pics from the last couple of months. Sorry for taking so long in updating things here. I(Marc) have been working real hard and to be honest, after a long, hard day at work, blogging was the last thing I wanted to do. I am planning on updating the other blog if not today then real soon. I plan on venturing into the political fray if for no other reason to vent my frustrations and organise my thoughts on the presidential race.

Here's an overview of the pics:

Kayleigh danced at the 'Celtic Fling' and got 2 1st places and 1 3rd.

Liam finished up his spring soccer (football to our Scotland friends) and his team went undefeated no doubt because of some amazing coaching.

Oh, we got rid of the car and got a horse with a buggy behind. The gas prices just got too expensive and while in Amishland...

Julie went along to the Philly Zoo with Liam's class to visit some of my relatives.

We got to see the annual Memorial Day parade at 8AM which goes through the cemetery behind our back yard WITH LOUD DRUMS. This was the first one for us in five years and I almost forgot to miss it.

Finally, 'Liam and the Prophets'... Sounds like a good name for a band some day but for now it's just Liam playing Legos in the back yard with his friends Jonah and Elijah. They are really nice kids but there conversations are a bit peculiar, lots of talk about Iran and Israel and Armaggedon. Oh well, they seem to be having fun.

OK, I guess that covers it for now. More pics and commentary soon.

2008-04-07T04:12:00.002+01:00

Scotland Supporters Thank You Ceilidh

We had a great time last night thanking all our supporters with a Ceilidh at our church. We had some time dancing, which was probably the first time that ever happened at that church, a time of sharing, great food, and a mini reunion concert with 'Beyond The Pale'. Wow, that was fun as we seemed to pick up right where we left off over 4 years ago.

Here are some pictures from the evening.

2008-03-10T00:04:00.003Z

Erin's 3rd Birthday and Kayleigh at the St. Patrick's Parade in Philadelphia

Here are some more pics of the kids. Erin is three (which is hard to believe) and tells everyone she runs into. I can't believe she is three already, it seems just yesterday she arrived at the Stirling hospital. Wow, what a time that was. It's reminding me how much I miss Scotland. More on that some other time. Wow, she has been such a blessing, still making us laugh all the time.

Kayleigh has just joined a new dance group and is enjoying it very much. Today, they marched in the St. Patrick's parade in Philadelphia. Both Julie and Kayleigh had a great time but came back exhausted from all the walking and braving the harsh, cold March winds. Man it's been windy here this winter and there have been times I was wishing we were back in our fortress in Scotland. Those houses there don't shake when the winds blow over 50 mph. Oh well, it makes it exciting I guess.

2008-03-06T02:12:00.002Z

OK, I guess by the overwhelming response to the previous post I should just stick to putting pics of the fam. up here. So here you go.

Here are some pics from Kayleigh and Liam's first time out on the slopes and some action shots of Liam playing basketball. The kids, just like their dad, love skiing and we had a great time. They were naturals and were skiing from the top off the quad chair within an hour of their first run.

Liam had a great time in his first season playing basketball in the Upward league. Upward is a Christian league where they not only learn the game, but spend time in prayer and scripture memorization. I have to say it was the most well run kids sports program I have ever seen. Great job by all the volunteers. Next up, spring Soccer.

2008-02-26T12:30:00.002Z

Great Message on the Emerging Church

I usually reserve this kind of stuff for the other blog but I think this is important enough to have here in case some of you may not feel like clicking the link to my other blog.

This message by Brian Broderson (Assistant Pastor at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa). is the best response to the claims of Rob Bell and Brian McLaren and other Emerging leaders I've heard.

One of the most important points he makes here is that this is not about methodology, it's about theology and the undermining of essential Christian doctrine.

Please give it a listen!

Just go to this website and click on the feature message, Rob Bell and Brian McLaren, Emerging or Submerging. You can download it on to your computer by right clicking it and clicking save as.

I would love to hear your comments.

Marc

http://backtobasicsradio.com/

2008-01-29T04:22:00.000Z

The Christmas and New Years Slide Show

Wow, this is exciting. I finally figured out how to put this slide show thing on here so this should be lots if fun. Here are some pics from Christmas. I hope you enjoy all the festivities including Christmas at our house with Marc's side of the family, a trip into Philly to see a play with Marc's dad and the kids,Christmas at Julie's mom's with Julie's side of the family, Ice Skating in Lancaster, News Years eve tradition of smashing the Ginger Bread house, etc.

2007-12-08T19:29:00.000Z

Happy Birthday Kayleigh!!!

OK, so this is a week late but what a busy week it was. Actually Kayleigh's 9th birthday was pretty busy as well.

Since this is the Christmas season the weekends get pretty busy so we thought we'd better go out and get the tree while we could which added to the birthday fun.

After that we came back to the house to get ready for the party and the invasion of other 8 and 9 year old girls. Wow, it was loud but they all had lots of fun.

I can't believe Kayleigh is 9. What the heck! I mean that 9 years went by so fast the next blink of an eye we'll be sending her off to college or something.

Well here are a few pics from the day and the next morning when we woke up to a birthday snow. Hammish the Piper woke up to a bit of a chill running up his kilt as the temp. dropped to 12.

2007-11-20T01:32:00.000Z

The First Snow!!

Yea, today we got our first snow. It's not much (around an inch) but it still looks nice although kind of weird with many of the leaves still stubbornly hangin on the trees. Not too far away up in the Poconos, they had almost a foot so ski season is not far away. We are very much looking forward to that especially since we haven't gone skiing in close to five years. Hopefully this snow is the beginning of a very snowy winter. I miss snow big time.

2007-11-17T14:30:00.000Z

Does Anyone Remember 'The Birds' by Alfred Hitchkock?

Just wanted to let you all know that we are still here and haven't been eaten by any birds. That's the view of our backyard looking towards our very complient neighbors. I have to say, those neighbors are the best ever as they are never disturbing though sometimes they can be quite festive when they celebrate an addition to the neighborhood.
How 'bout that blue sky. I'm telling you if it gets any sunnier around here I just can't take it. Actually, I'm serious as the sun is so bright my eyes can't take it. I guess my eyes got so used to the cloudy grey skys of Scotland they are still trying to adjust to all the sun.

We do get some rain here too as you can see in the pic with the red maple. We planted that tree back in 2003 right after Hurricane Isabella blew down another maple in the back yard. The leaves have been hanging on forever this fall. I've never seen them stay on this long. They're ususally off the trees in the first week of November. The colors have been amazing so they can hang on as long as they want as far as I am concerned. Must be global warming eh.

We'll have more updates soon. Just wanted to let you all (3) know we are still alive and kicking.

2007-10-18T05:20:00.000+01:00

13 Lucky Years!

Ok, I can hear Julie saying right now, 'Luck, Schmuck!'. So, the reality is, we've been blessed to have 13 years of marriage behind us now. Hard to believe it's been that long but come to think of it, much has happened during that time span. Lord willing, their will be many more years of marriage and many interesting turns in the road on the way.

So, what did we do for our anniversary? Just the two of us (1st time since 2003) went away to the Poconos, Jim Thorpe to be specific.

Jim Thorpe (named after one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century) is a beautiful little town nestled in the Pocono Mts. of Northeastern Pa. We stayed at the Inn At Jim Thorpe which has been an Inn since the mid 1800's. Some say the place is haunted, more specifically, room 310. We stayed in 312 and as far as I know, nothing paranormal happened while we were there.

During the day, we walked the streets and opened many a creaky door to find quite an eclectic array of shops filled with stuff your just not going to find at your average Wallmart. We also climbed up past some amazing waterfalls and went biking through a gorge on an old railroad bed. Usually the leaves would be peaking out right now with some of the most varied species of trees in North America, but things are a little behind this year so we had to settle for a few very colorful trees instead of what would normally be mountain sides ablaze in jaw dropping color.

Well, to sum it up, we had a great time getting away to celebrate God blessing us with 13 great years.

2007-09-20T14:38:00.000+01:00

Here are the other pics that I couldn't get on yesterday.

Liam at Rehoboth Beach trying not to get slammed by a monster wave. Erin and her cousin Victoria who she's renamed, 'McToria'. I guess she's decided she should be Scottish. The other shot is of our golf outing which you probably figured out.

2007-09-19T15:28:00.000+01:00

Just thought we'd share a few more recent pictures taken in the last few weeks. I wish I could put a caption under the shot but for some reason this blogger thing is acting weird. Anyway, we've got Erin at Pop-Pop's pool, chasing wild turkeys in the neighbor's yard, the kids harvesting some amazing tomatoes in Grandma's garden, the boardwalk in Ocean City, Md, Liam and Kayleigh on the beach at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on a cloudy cool day, and Liam sizing up his shot during some miniature Golf in Rehoboth Beach.

Since all the fun, we've been busy getting our house in order, going to school and doing a few painting jobs. Things are far from normal, but we are getting there slowly and yes, we still miss Scotland and our friends there terribly.

The weather here after some very hot weeks, is now absolutely amazing. Sunny everyday with highs in the 70's and lows in the 40's and 50's. It just doesn't get any better. I love this time of year especially when the leaves start to change which they are just beginning to do.

That's all for now but stay tuned for a new series entitled, ' Things You Won't see in Scotland'.

Marc

2007-09-06T02:26:00.000+01:00

One Busy Month

Well as you can see from the pictures above we've been pretty busy this 1st month back here in Pa. Not bad though as it's been fun kind of busy. First we got a week at Bethany Beach and visited the board walk in Ocean City, Md one evening which is where the shot of the sand sculpture was taken. Then it was a week at our house where we spent many hours painting and putting things back together. Then some more time at the beach, this time at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. In between we squeezed in a trip to Hershey Park and a few visits to Pop Pops pool.

We are still mired in boxes as we just got our stuff back about a week and a half ago. Things are slowly coming together but it will probably take us another week before we really feel like we're getting organised.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the kids started school and seem to be doing well adjusting and actually enjoying it.

We do miss Scotland and our friends there very much. We had the whole morning service this past Sunday at our church where we shared on our experience in Scotland and as we showed some pictures it was hard to get through without shedding a few tears. Scotland will always be on our hearts and I for one can't wait to go back some day.

Some have asked if we will continue the blog since we're now back in the states and the answer is yes. I just haven't had much time to post anything recently but things should be getting more normal now.

Well that's all for now, I will keep this a little bit more up to date now that we are starting to get back in the groove of things.

To all our friends in Scotland, we miss you terribly.

God bless,

Marc

2007-07-28T12:54:00.000+01:00

A Day in the 'Fair City'

Believe it or not the best route (and least expensive) for us to go back to the states was through Dublin, Ireland. So, on Wednesday morning with about two hours sleep, we headed out of Edinburgh en route to Dublin

We checked into out hotel, got a little rest and then headed into the ‘Fair City’ on a quest for some good music, souvenirs and of course a pint of Kilkenny. We were successful on all accounts and had a great time even though we were dog tired. Actually one of our goals was to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College but we were too late as they just closed right before we got there. I think he saw us coming and raced to lock the doors. Actually even if it were still open we wouldn’t have paid to see it as they were charging 8 Euros to get in.

Well after a great night sleep at the Tulip Hotel, we headed to the airport and took off from Dublin around 11:15am. For the most part the flight was good but we did have some turbulence. I wasn’t enjoying that particular aspect of the journey as my imagination begins to go wild thinking of all kinds of potential catastrophes all the while putting on the, this is no big deal face for the kids. Actually, they thought it was fun like they were riding on a roller coaster or something. All I could think of was, how much stress are these planes designed to handle and I wonder how old this plane is.

Well the plane held up just fine and we landed smoothly at JFK in New York at exactly 1:01pm. We were scheduled to land at 1:00pm but I decided I would (being a Christian) extend them some grace and not complain.

To be continued…

2007-07-22T08:36:00.000+01:00

Our Stuff is Packed and We're on Our Way Home...

This was the scene on Friday as some of our goods friends here came out to help us load the container. Since we had a somewhat multicultural team here, we decided to assign them roles that would go along with their geo-stereotypes and it worked to perfection.

We had Frank the German in the truck making sure everything was organised so that it would fit perfectly and it did. Amazing job by Frank as I'm still sitting here in utter amazement that all of our stuff fit in there. Then we had a few Americans telling everybody what to do and a Scot and Pa Dutch team letting us know how we could do this much cheaper. Oh and Pastor David who kept us all in prayer and no one was hurt and we filled the truck with 15 mins. to spare.

Thanks again to: Frank and Becky (Becky is an admin. master who typed out our whole inventory in a few mins. which would taken me a whole day), Gary who kept us laughing and thinking with his great sense of humor and keen insights, Pastor David who kept encouraging, praying and working hard (reminded me of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall), Dave for his never ending enthusiasm, energy and creativity and great sense of humor, Louise for looking after the kids while all this was going on. You all are amazing and we will always remember you and miss you greatly.

2007-06-19T13:10:00.000+01:00

It's Unanimous!

Well, sorry to keep all three of you hangin' in suspense but I just thought it would be more fun that way.

Last Wednesday we had a special meeting to decide as a church to formally invite David Fraser to be the next pastor of Alva Baptist Church. David came out and answered many questions and I must say, he did so flawlessly.

So, we are extremely excited to announce that by a 100% unanimous vote, David Fraser will be the next pastor of Alva Baptist Church effective July 15th 2007.

I could not be happier about this because in my eyes, he is the perfect person for the position. This was totally a God thing as they say here in Scotland.

As many of you know I was taken on staff at Alva back in late November and it was agreed that we would all re-evaluate in six months to determine whether or not the church and I think we should continue. Well, that six months was up at the end of April and after much thought and prayer, Julie and I decided it was time for us to return to the States. When we informed the church, they were much sadder than we thought they would be. Don't get me wrong, we thought they liked us but we just didn't know they liked us that much. Some of them had the look of throwing in the towel. And though we were a bit concerned for the church ourselves, we encouraged them to keep pressing on and that God had a plan in all of this.

Well, a couple of days after that I received an e-mail from my good friend Chris Lawson who had just returned to California from Edinburgh. He told me about a friend of his that had just moved here to Scotland and had an interview with Stirling Baptist Church for the youth pastor position that had opened up recently. Since we had attended SBC, Chris thought it would be good for us to fill David in on the church a bit. I had a feeling at that point that this might be the guy for Alva so I e-mailed David and told him I'd prefer to speak with him on the phone.

A couple of days after that we spoke on the phone where he informed me that he hadn't gotten the position at SBC. David and I spoke for a good long time and we seemed to hit it off immediately. He had been an associate Pastor for the past 8 years at a Calvary Chapel in the LA area. I happen to have a tremendous respect for the Calvary Chapel ministry philosophy which is built around expositional preaching through the whole of scripture, an emphasis on worship and being equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit. These were things that we implemented at Alva not knowing we'd be laying down a foundation that would be a perfect fit for the next pastor.

At the end of the conversation I told him about Alva and the need for a pastor there and would that be something he might be interested in? He said he had some other options but that he was open to that as well.

As the days and weeks went by, the Holy Spirit was giving David more and more of a heart for Alva. As a matter of fact they turned down all other options, rented a house in Alva on faith, and waited to see what the outcome would be. I think we all knew though what God had in mind, it was just too obvious.

So, Praise God for putting this whole thing together. This is one of the coolest God things I have ever seen and God alone deserves the praise and honor.

One of the things we've tried to bring to focus in the church is that a successful church is a sending church. So, Alva Baptist Church will be sending us with their blessing and prayers to the USA as missionaries. Pretty cool eh.

By the way, looks like our container will be here to pick up our stuff on July 19th to take to America. Pray that we will have the strength for this whole endeavor. We've got to pack it ourselves which is no small feat.

God bless,

Marc

2007-06-13T14:21:00.000+01:00

Well It's Official Now

No turning back now as we have officially booked our shipping and flights and will be returning in late July. I just hope our ship doesn't have to go through any weather like that in the picture. Can you say perfect storm?

Anyway, we have tons of stuff to do but life as normal has to go on as well. The kids are still in school for a couple of more weeks and Erin is in the midst of potty training and everything else she does which is lots of fun.

So many things have been falling right into place and the latest one came yesterday when the kids found out who their teachers would be next year. Every year this has been a time of real anxiety for Kayleigh especially. The latest confirmation from God that we are doing the right thing was that Kayliegh would have had the most dreaded teacher possible. So, we are escaping just in the nick of time. There have been many more confirmations including the pastoral position at Alva Baptist. Tonight we are having a meeting to decide whether we should formally invite David Fraser as the next pastor. After this is made official, I'll share the story of how this came to be. So stay tuned.

Later,

Marc

2007-06-06T15:34:00.000+01:00

Coincidence? I don't Think So.

2007-06-05T15:53:00.000+01:00

Very Important Message by John MacArthur

On the heels of the Paul Washer message about the American Church, give a listen to what John MacArthur had to say at a National Prayer Day gathering in Colorado Springs last month. I think this man is one of the true prophets of our day as he speaks the truth of God's word uncompromisingly. I'm sure there were plenty of people who showed up that day wanting to here a nice fluffy patriotic American/ Christian message. Listen to what actually transpired, you could hear a pin drop in that place.

What do you think? Has God given America over to its sinful desires? Here's the passage in Romans that he is referring to:
"Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen." - Romans 1:24-25

John MacArthur on Larry King Live

More Later,

Marc

2007-05-30T13:44:00.000+01:00

Here is an Amazing Message. Hopefully it will work.

One of the questions that always seems to ring in my head with regard to Western Christianity is why is it so hard to distinguish the believers from the non believers? This message goes right at that issue and is very compelling. This is just part 1, I will post the other parts in coming days. I would love to hear comments about this.

God bless,

Marc

To listen to the rest, go HERE.

2007-05-28T13:45:00.000+01:00

Taking In The Scenery

This morning I went out for a run and bike ride (no, I'm not training for a biathlon, just trying to get my fat but in shape) and the scenery was amazing. Yesterday I mentioned how I would miss it so I'm really trying to take it in as much as possible. Today the air is pretty clear so you can really see the western highlands including Ben Ledi, Ben Lomond, Ben Ann which are about 20 miles to the west of Bridge of Allan.
I am looking back at the weather in Pa with envy though as it would be nice to experience some warm weather and an occasional severe thunderstorm. Today our weather here is 55 and mostly cloudy. I keep forgetting it's late May because we still have the heat on and you have to wear a jacket outside which hardly ever happens this time of year in Pa. Like I've said many times before, the weather here is November with the occasional glimpse of May. May didn't show up this year however as the whole month has been cooler than average. This of course has drawn a loud silence from the global warming alarmists which is interesting because just last month they were easy to hear everywhere because April in GB was supposedly the hottest on record. I love how they use the word 'hot' here when it's like 73.
Speaking of weather (one of my favorite topics) I have been trying to post this cool weather/ end times video from youtube on here and it just won't let me do it. If anyone has any advise one this I'm all ears. I did everything they told me and I keep getting an error script.

Anyway, that's enough from me for one day. All three of you can now resume reading after passing out from the shock of seeing posts on two consecutive days. Shall we go for three? Stay tuned.
God bless,
Marc

2007-05-27T21:51:00.000+01:00

May Greetings from Bonnie Scotland

I say 'May' greetings because I believe this is the first May post which is pretty bad. Sorry to all three of you who read this that we've been slacking lately.
One of the reasons for this as we are in the preparation stage of moving back to the states. Again, we are targeting late July as our re-entry time but nothing is booked yet. We still need to book our shipping company which has turned into a major task as we've been shocked at the cost. The price has literally doubled since we came over so we are shopping around and getting quotes from a bunch of different companies. Once we get that nailed down we can then look at flights.

Since our departure is about 2 months away, the reality is really beginning to settle in and to be honest, I (Marc) am getting a bit sad to leave this place. I mean, every day we drive past breathtaking scenery we just aren't going to see in Lancaster county if you know what I mean. I will also miss living in a town where we can walk to just about everything including school, grocery store, library, Liam's soccer practice, post office etc. It is a great place to live and raise kids but it does have its drawbacks as well. At the end of the day though it's not about any of that, it's about being obedient to what God has called us to do and we feel strongly that God has indeed called us back to Pa, for now at least.
So, we will try and keep up with the blog the best we can so all three of you will up on what's happening. Oh sorry, did I mention that only three people read this blog before?

More soon,

Marc

2007-04-30T13:56:00.000+01:00

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors

We've been having a lot of people asking us if we are moving back to the states and there's been a bunch of confusion over the timetable. Let me first say, this is not easy as we feel as though Scotland is just as much home for us as Pa. We've spent a good amount of time praying about it and have decided it's time to head home to Pa. There are many reasons that played into our decision to return and perhaps at some other time I'll go into that more. The main point with this post is that we clear up any confusion on when we intend to return.

So, since we would like to be back with plenty of time for the kids to get acclimated for school, we are looking at somewhere between late July or early August. That being said, we haven't gotten our plane tickets or booked our shipping so hopefully everything comes into place. The airfares are really high right now so I'm watching and hoping they'll come down some and soon. We're also waiting to hear back from our shipping company that shipped our stuff over here. They're taking their good old time getting back to us which is a bit frustrating but I'm sure it'll all come together.

The picture above was taken in our front yard (garden for you Brits)about 5 months before we headed off and I can't help but think of how much has changed since then. Kayleigh and Liam have grown so much, and God has added another wee lassie (Erin) to the fold. We've also had many valuable life experiences and challenges that we have grown from and wouldn't trade for anything.

We are now wondering what God has in store for us back there as with God there is always a purpose to everything. That being said, we need quite some time to get our act together and our heads straight so we'll see what happens.

So, until then, please keep us in your prayers as there will be many challenges in the next couple of months preparing and then re-entry is a whole other thing as there's bound to be some major culture shock that may make us want to take an immediate u-turn.

OK, enough said from me.

God bless,

Marc

2007-04-27T10:31:00.000+01:00

God is in Control

Last night we had our second installment of our 'Origins and Endings' bible study. Last week we went over some basic beliefs on how things got started here on planet earth and of course the universe. We had a fairly small turnout last week and to be honest I wasn't having much faith we would even have as many as last week, so I only printed out 8 copies of the lesson. Well, God smacked me upside the head for that as we had twice as many this week as last and He also had another big surprise up His sleeve.
We pray every Sunday in our 11am service that God would move people's hearts in Alva and draw them to churches where they will hear His uncompromising word proclaimed with clarity. Our prayers have been answered as two heroin addicts came in off the street last night, confessed their sins, and asked Jesus into their hearts. It was amazing, with lots of prayers and tears flowing and a joy that filled the room. For me (Marc)it was without a doubt the highlight of our whole time here in Scotland. The irony of the whole thing totally blew my socks off as I kept thinking of how the joy we all experienced last night was by far, better than any drug could ever give. God is amazing, and He wants us all to experience His joy which far outweighs anything the world can crank out.
Please keep these two guys in prayer as they will need lots and lots. Pray that they will be completely healed from this addiction and their lives will be completely transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. And in all your prayers, PRAISE GOD!

God bless,

Marc

2007-03-20T17:27:00.000Z

Happy Birthday Erin
OK, so this is a little late as Erin's big 2 year birthday was actually on the 7th. We had a great time with Lori and KC (Marc's sister & brother in law)and a bunch of other friends that came over for the occasion. Frank & Becky were not able to make it due to illness but had us over their place the week after which is where Erin got her own line of pickles and olives which you can see in one of the shots. Over all it was a great time had by all and most importantly, the birthday girl herself was loving every minute of it.

2007-03-01T14:25:00.000Z

The Tomb of Jesus?

Well, here we go again. Last year we had the the Da Vinci Code which was nothing more than a re-hashing of the 1982 book, 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' which was completely debunked back then.
All through history there have been people trying to discount the validity of the scriptures and the significance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The latest which I'm sure many of you have heard about is the so called discovery of the tomb of Jesus and his so-called son. Once again this is an old story that was debunked several years ago. Unfortunately, some will buy into it without doing any research and the damage will be done. This is another reminder that we always need to be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks the reason for the hope that lies within us. 1Peter 3:15
Here is a great refutation of this latest attack on Christianity by Paul L. Maier Ph.D.,Litt.D:

Dear Friends and Readers,

...Please, lose no sleep over the Talpiot “discoveries” for the following reasons, and here are the facts:.

1) Nothing is new here: scholars have known about the ossuaries ever since March of 1980. The general public learned when the BBC filmed a documentary on them in 1996. James Tabor’s book, The Jesus Dynasty, also made a big fuss over the Talpiot tombs more recently, and now James Cameron (The Titanic) and Simcha Jacobovici have climbed aboard the sensationalist bandwagon as well.

2) All the names – Yeshua, Joseph, Maria, Mariamene, Matia, Judah, and Jose -- are extremely frequent Jewish names for that time and place, and thus most scholars consider this merely coincidental, as they did from the start. One-quarter of Jewish women at that time, for example, were named Maria.

3) There is no reason whatever to equate “Mary Magdalene” with “Mariamene,”as Jacobovici claims.

4) So what if her DNA is different from that of “Yeshua” ? That particular :Mariamme” (as it is usually spelled today) could indeed have been the wife of that particular “Yeshua.”

5) What in the world is the “Jesus Family” doing, having a burial plot in Jerusalem, of all places, the very city that crucified Jesus? Galilee was their home. In Galilee they could have had such a family plot, not Judea. Besides all of which, church tradition – and Eusebius – are unanimous in reporting that Mary died in Ephesus, where the apostle John, faithful to his commission from Jesus on the cross, had accompanied Mary.

6) If this were Jesus’ family burial, what is Matthew doing there – if indeed “Ma-tia” is thus to be translated?

7) How come there is no tradition whatever – Christian, Jewish, or secular -- that any part of the Holy Family was buried at Jerusalem?

8) Please note the extreme bias of the director and narrator, Simcha Jacobovici. The man is an Indiana-Jones-wannabe, who oversensationalizes anything he touches. You may have caught him on his TV special regarding The Exodus, in which the man “explained” just everything that still needed proving or explaining in the Exodus account in the Old Testament! It finally became ludicrous, and now he’s doing it again. – As for James Cameron, how do you follow The Titanic? Well, with an even more “titanic” story. He should have known better.

There are more arguments, to be sure, but I want to get this off pronto.

With warm regards,
Paul L. Maier

Pray for those that are easily decieved by this kind of nonsense.

God bless,

Marc

2007-02-13T23:21:00.000Z

Scroll down for other current pics...(since we have not updated our pics. tab in years!)

Back to school... tomorrow after a 6 day weekend and most of it spent with our good friends the Canters visiting from West Kilbride. The kids had fun rollerblading, playing at the park, putting on shows, exploring, swimming, making badges and pulling every toy out during the rainy days! What fun! :) Its always worth it for some time with friends!

Oh, did we mention that LIAM was leading man in the Primary 2 program at school?! What a man! In spite of his 2 wiggly front teeth, he delivered his lines and songs very well and we were proud! They both memorized Scottish poetry for Burns day so next time you get a chance, ask them to recite it! Fantastically cultural. So far, that's the only time they have a Scottish accent I think. :)

Re: church... Don't let Marc fool you! There are many, many, many more positive comments and observations than negative! In fact, we are so encouraged all around with the growth and life there so far. David and Miranda mentioned that on visiting back again recently after the summer handover there were amazing changes. You know, sometimes the challenges are good to set before you so as to refocus and motivate on the things God puts before you.

Seriously I've been encouraged and this past week was great! We have seen some new friends come out to church as a result of the Paint Pots program, people walk off the street coming in with needs, stories and some kind of searching, some growth in the deeper study with Christianity Explored and some testimonies of salvation in the last few weeks too! In spite of Marc's comments on praying in the 'wrong spot' in communion, someone else commented that it was the most meaningful communion she ever experienced. He has been doing a fantastic job there and people keep coming so that must be a good thing and a God thing! God is doing something and in spite of us, so we are so pleased to be a part of this all for this little time.

The Kids are doing well and all sleeping like angels at the moment so off I go too!

2007-01-29T22:02:00.000Z

'Paint Pots' and the Sunday Service

This was the scene today at Alva Baptist and as you can see we had a good turnout for 'Paint Pots' and everyone had a great time. If you look closely you'll find Erin in blue and pig tales at the far table. Julie told me Erin acts like she owns the place as when everyone leaves she shows them to the door and tells them goodbye. She has us laughing all the time.

Yesterday the Sunday service was good as we had probably our best turnout so far since we've been there. There's still a real hyper traditional attitude among some of the old guard. Apparently I must have messed up yesterday with the communion because one of the 'old guard' told someone that it was awful. I think I didn't pray at the right time or something so she had a fit. I'm sure I'll hear more about it before too long. Last week we had some people leave in a huff because the service went over time (7 mins.). They were pretty ticked off saying they weren't coming back. I guess these are the challenges of being a pastor, at least some of them anyway. Oh well, you can't please everyone. Stay tuned for my next screw up, maybe you'll get a good laugh from it.
It's kind of sad when you think about it. So many times I've seen people in churches make a big deal over things that don't matter and then totally ignore the stuff that does. Kind of really makes you wonder.

Stay tuned,

Marc

2007-01-27T00:15:00.000Z

Great night last night in Alva as we had a few more people show up and had some great discussion. Christianity Explored is primarily designed for those curious about the Christian faith but as we are finding out, it is also good for those that are young in their walk as well. One of things I keep finding out is that there are so many out there that have a really warped view of the gospel because they have never been clearly taught what scripture says about how we are saved. So many still think (even in protestant churches) that you can somehow do enough good works to earn your way to heaven. The bible couldn't be clearer on this as this is what it says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

If that's not clear enough (I don't how it couldn't be), give the sermon on the mount a read sometime (Matthew 5-7) and you'll see that Jesus makes it emphatically clear that we all are guilty of sin and our so-called good works aren't going to cut it. There are many more scriptures I could share to support this point which by the way is the most important aspect of the Christian faith. If it seems like I'm a bit passionate about this well, I am. Actually I'm angry that there are so many men and women in pulpits around the world that give such a muddy message. If they don't preach the clear gospel message that we are saved by grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone, they do not belong in the pulpit.

There's an elderly lady in our church who has no peace because for years and years she has sat in churches week after week listening to a works based social gospel. I'm sorry but that is a crime because she lives in fear every day of her life. Jesus doesn't want us to live in fear, he wants us to experience the peace only he can give through the blood he shed on the cross for the remission of sins. One other thing we discussed last night; when we say we need to somehow do good works to enter heaven, we are saying that what Jesus did on the cross wasn't good enough, it wasn't complete.

There's much more I could say but I'll save it for another day.

God bless

2007-01-02T10:37:00.000Z

What Now After IWT?

Many of you I'm sure are wondering what we are up to these days after the tour has gone through. Well lets just say God's timing couldn't be better.

Last summer in anticipation of the tour we were wondering a bit what we would be doing afterwards and if we would even continue on here in Scotland. At the same time God was tugging our hearts toward this wee Baptist church in the town of Alva about 7 miles from our home.
Some of you will remember that last summer we had a team from New Jersey come over to do a vacation bible school at this church which was very successful. Just prior to this, the church had actually seriously considered closing it's doors because their attendance had dwindled down to about 6 older people who were running out of energy to keep the place going.

After the vacation bible school, we went back to attending Stirling Baptist through most of the summer but kept thinking about this church and finally we made a decision to start attending and see what God had in store for us.

Not long after that, David Barrie, the youth pastor from Stirling Baptist (who was overseeing Alva Baptist) asked us what our plans were after the Impact World Tour went through in early November. We told him we weren't entirely sure as we were praying about it and to be honest we were very concerned about our finances and seriously considering returning to the states in December when our lease was up.

All during this time we were very concerned for the church and the lack of consistent leadership. Because there was no pastor - they would have a different preacher every week with very little substance in the messages most of the time. Well after much prayer, Julie and I were more than willing to step in and help out in these areas but we thought, if this is from God, someone will invite us to fill this role. Shortly there after, that's what happened and now we are pastoring this wee church on an interim basis.

Please pray for this town of Alva that souls would be drawn to hear the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit. We plan on just preaching the word in an expositional fashion starting with the Gospel of John and going straight through.

We are also starting a Christianity Explored course on the 18th of January for those curious about the Christian faith. Pray for that as well.

If you are interested in what's happening with the church you can check out our blog @ www.hillfootsalvabaptist.blogspot.com There's also a link in the links section at the top left.

The picture above is of the church. Yea it looks really small but can actually seat as many as 200 comfortably believe it or not.

We'll have more updates soon.

Till then, God bless.

Marc

2006-12-19T22:58:00.000Z

Grandma you are missed!

We're a little late with this but we're usually a little late with everything so this is just par for the course I guess. Wow, grandma you were here for 10 weeks and now your gone and there's a huge hole here in your absense. We are slowly adjusting but please know that you are very much missed and thank you so much for all you have done for us while you were here. We've never had so many different apple deserts and they were all so good we never got tired of apples. You were also such an example to all of us as everywhere you went here, you seasoned the ground with the joy of the Lord. God bless you and we look forward to seeing you again in the not too distant future. By the way, Erin still thinks you're flying around with JJ The Jet plane.

2006-12-16T10:18:00.000Z

It Rains Here... A Lot!!

A couple of days ago Forrest Gump was on and I couldn't resist watching as it's one of my all time favorites. The scene where he's in Vietnam and it starts to rain had much more of an effect on me this time watching it as I could definitely relate.
It has been raining pretty much non stop for the last 5 weeks every day. Sometimes it falls straight down and sometimes it comes from the side like. Sometimes it's real stinging rain and other times it's big fat rain and sometimes it comes up and splashes you in the face. It just comes from everywhere.

As you can see by the picture above, we've had more than our fair share. The night before I took this it was even worse as all the grassy areas were covered and it spilled over the street. I couldn't get a shot as my camera batteries were dead. Some houses were flooded as the waters came half way up the first floor of their houses. This lake above is normally a soccer field by the way. We are thankful we didn't get flooded but we are defintely pretty water logged to say the least.
Yesterday Julie and Erin and I went out to Alva to knock on doors inviting people to our Christmas services at the church. Guess what, it was raining big fat rain which hampered our efforts somewhat. Erin was a real trooper as she held the umbrella while I held her and tried to get flyers out of my pocket. Speaking of trooper, I miss our Trooper (SUV). Enough said on that.
Today is the Kids Christmas Party, so we'll how that goes and report later.
By the way, we've started a blog for the church, www.hillfootsalvabaptist.blogspot.com
Hopefully real soon we'll have a real website.
Ok, gotta go get ready for the Kids Party.
Later,
Marc

2006-12-03T21:24:00.000Z

Happy 8th Birthday Kayleigh

This is a couple of days late as Kayleigh's big day was on the Friday the 1st and things were a bit busy this weekend.
This year we had a few of Kayliegh's friends from school over and had they had such a good time the festivities went into overtime. I can't believe our little shmooper is 8, what the heck! Seems like just yesterday she was Erin's age but now all of a sudden she is looking like a young lady. Man are we blessed with the best kids in the world or what.
Kayleigh, you are an amazing daughter and we love you more than we could ever express. As soon as we found out that you had arrived on the scene, we began praying that from the time you would be born, you would be a blessing to many. Well our prayers have been answered and continue to be as you have blessed us so much and it has been amazing to see how you have blessed so many others with your beautiful smile, energy and enthusiasm for life. Most of all I know you have been a blessing to God as you have such an amazing spirit and sensitivity to the things of the Lord.
We love you and thank God for you everyday. Happy birthday Shmoopie!!

2006-11-16T22:21:00.000Z

GX International In Kilmarnock

Last Thursday evening was the last night of Impact World Tour in Scotland. As usual the last night is reserved for GX International (skaters, bikers, bladers, dancers, etc.). Well, it just wouldn't be right if there weren't some kind of challenge once again.

The day started out early as many of us gathered to help set up the skate park in the venue. There were many tired looking eyes as the previous evening with Island Breeze ended not too many hours before. Soon everyone got moving and we forgot how tired we were and focussed on the job at hand. We had to have a full size skate park built by 12 noon so the skaters could have enough time to get a good feel for it. Well, we came real close as most of it was in place just after noon before lunch.

While we were building the skate park one of the local youth leaders informed me of a plot he had heard that there were a bunch of kids planning on showing up with knives and they were going to try and cause problems during the alter call. So, we had a brief meeting with those overseeing security and put a plan in place to beef up security a bit. That meant more police and strategically positioning security personel and once again using the guys from TX for an extra security presense. The police were also instructed to not allow trouble makers in the door. Apparently, they know who they are. Well, aside from one guy who flashed a knife in the bathroom (he was thrown out immediately) nothing happened and many people once again gave their lives to Christ that night.

All in all we had over 600 recorded commitments out of approximately 6000 that heard the gospel at all the different events. Normally, 7-8% is the average for western developed nations. New Zealand had about 8% but we wern't quite that optimistic for Scotland because we had been told over and over again not to expect much. I am going to be very skeptical about the skeptics from now on because God is much bigger than any of our preconceived negative notions. 10% is amazing considering much negativity in the beginning here and that is probably a low number as we are being conservative because we don't want to sensationalize anything.

After the show, I had to take the kids and Betty back to the Ywam base, get the kids in bed and then head back to the venue for an all night tear down. Actually, we were there till 4am which isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The next morning, Erin woke up at her usual 7am so we didn't get much sleep and I was one cranky dude all day and we weren't finished yet. We went to a celebration dinner back at Fenwick hall. I was definitely not in the mood for that but after we got there and saw some of the teams for probably the last time, heard some testimonies and shared communion together, it was well worth it!

Tonight, we have one last time to gather with some of the people who were involved with the tour. Frank made a video from the footage Jeff got which we will watch and I'm sure we'll hear more testimonies as well. Its so cool to see the encouraging faces and stories of the locals!

I am feeling though a real sense that it is time to move on and report for our next assignment God has for us. I'll share more on that tomorrow. Actually, it might not be until Wed. because a nice family from Kilmarnock has opened up their house near Inverness for us to go away for a couple of days. It's really out in the boonies, about 20 mins from Inverness so I'm sure there's no internet there which will be good to get away from for a few days. Inverness is on the north side of Loch Ness so we'll be on the lookout for 'Nessie'. On the way up Sunday morning we plan to stop off at a Calvary Chapel for church if we make it in time. This is a church that was planted about a year and a half ago by some people that came over from the states and they have over 150 people attending there which is amazing in this country. Hopefully, we'll make it on time and I'll report on that as well.

Till next time, may God bless you all richly.

Here's a good verse to ponder as well.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." - Phil. 4:8

2006-11-09T23:20:00.000Z

Island Breeze Night

Well things didn’t actually start out too well on this evening as around 5 pm we received a phone call from the venue stating that a large truck had just struck a utility pole and had taken the main line to the arena out. This meant no power for the venue and around 300 homes in the nearby area. Word has it that the driver leaped out of the cab for his life as there was a live wire dancing around the truck. He actually would have been safer to stay inside the cab as he was grounded by the tires on the truck. By jumping out he came very close to losing his life. If he had even glanced a part of the vehicle while jumping out, he would have been fried on the spot. Praise God that didn’t happen. Having had many shall we say challenges in New Zealand which threatened to stop the shows on each night, we weren’t sweating too much with this one even though we had less than 2 ½ hours till show time. We prayed and sent out prayer requests around the globe and got down to business. We ended up having a good connection with Scottish power and had some generators brought out in the mean time. The show went off about a half hour late powered by 3 generators but looked flawless from the audience perspective. We knew differently as the whole lightshow pre-programming was lost from the power outage so Tchiago, the light tech. had to do it manually. The other thing I just found out about yesterday was that the stage catching on fire during the fire dance was not planned. When it happened, myself and everyone else in the venue thought it was planned with piro-techniques but it was an accident. It did however look really cool as it completely surrounded the guys doing the dance and seemed to go out by itself on cue.

So, other than the power thing, the night went off great with many more coming to Christ. One of the really cool things that happened with the power outage was the owners of the venue got to see how Christians respond in a crisis situation. He was blown away watching how we all just got down to business without anyone freaking out or yelling and cursing at each other. That was encouraging because he commented that had it been anyone else, there would have been a complete meltdown. Just a little reminder that we are being watched all the time by unbelievers to see if we live up to our words. Before the whole thing began, John Ross the Tech. team leader had us all together praying that specific prayer. Praise God for that.

More tomorrow,

Marc

2006-11-08T14:03:00.000Z

Team Extreme Night in Kilmarnock

I don't know what the deal is but I have been having so many problems with the blog lately which is why there was no post yesterday.

Though this is a week late I thought I'd continue to share some pics from the different nights and so these shots are from last Tuesday night of our evening with Team Extreme.

Since this was the first night in the main venue things got a bit crazy when volunteers were checking in. That's what is going on with Raquel, Julie and Heidi to the left. This picture was actually taken after things calmed down a bit but it was pretty crazy just prior to this when the Local Links, Stewards and other volunteers were checking in, getting signed up and getting their passes.
In this shot a couple of TXers were getting ready to have a race by seeing who could get these big tractor tires to other end of the arena first. That's Victor from Latvia to the left with Jimmy from USA getting in position to officiate and one of the guys from Samoa ( I can't remember his name) to the right. The Samoan ended up winning but it was real close.

Overall the evening was a major success with over 1500 in attendance and close to 300 coming forward for the alter call. Well over 200 were registered decisions for Christ. Praise God!

After the alter call Jeff went around with Candace (from Ywam, Edinburgh) and got some amazing testimonies from people. Jeff also was busy getting footage of all kinds of stuff which has just been edited by Frank into a 40 minute video. We'll be sending some home to Jeff and others some time next week after they're duplicated. We just finished watching it and it was really cool.
Tomorrow I will try and give a report on Island Breeze complete with pictures as well. Till then I hope you enjoy these pictures and the wee TX report.

2006-11-06T10:54:00.000Z

IWT Week in Pictures

Since we are way behind in blogging I thought the best way would be to do kind of a photo journal type of thing.

The picture on the left was shortly after the team from Zion arrived and recieved the obligatory Scottish greeting from Alec the Piper. As some of you know, it comes complete with an optional bagpipe lesson (which I have opted out of because there were entirely too many lips touching the mouthpeice for my comfort). Anyway, many of the team gave it a try with Jeff sounding the least like he was putting a duck through a tortuous excruciating death.

On Friday we broke camp at our house after a great night with TX the night before with over a hundred kids and some adults coming forward to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

On Saturday we headed down to Ayr to help out with the 'Death and Desire' concert at the 'Ark' a Christian led dry pub. Though the band was very good, the gig to be honest was a bit of a dud as hardly anyone showed up so it was just music and no ministry. We were pretty disapointed as the club had mentioned on many occasions that they average as many as 250 per night. Besides IWT staff and Ark staff and groupies, there were probably 15 kids that showed up. The other disappointing thing was that the only lyric I understood from the evening was something from one of the other bands which I can't repeat here on this blog. I know what some of you are thinking, Marc's getting old, but as we left the building that night, one from the Zion team said the exact same thing and that person was at least a decade younger than me. All that being said, the guys from 'Death and Desire' were really nice guys and I'm sure somewhat disapointed in the evening as well.

On Monday we had set up day at the main venue which by the time this picture was taken was just about complete. That's Tchiago the lighting technition from Brazil in the pic to the left. He was a trip as he was always joking around and a lot of fun to be around. He also really knew his stuff and did a great job with the lights. As with anything of this magnitude you are going to have some challenges and at around 1pm on set up day we had our first one. We got a phone call from customs that our sound and lighting equipment truck that came over from Norway was held up in customs because the ferry company didn't have the right paper work. Well after much prayer they finally released them after about 4 hours which put us really far behind but it all got done in the end.
On Tuesday we had another challenge as an inspector from the Kilmarnock council told us our stage wasn't set up properly but that was taken care of as well and we were ready for the first night with Team Extreme International.

I'll post on that tomorrow.

Bye for now, Marc

2006-11-06T09:49:00.000Z

Things Getting Back to Normal

First of all I am sorry to all of you out there that have been waiting for blog updates on the tour last week. I had tried on several occasions to post a blog only to be blocked by the internet system at the Ywam, Seamill Centre where we were staying. I was extremely frustrated as I spent a good deal of time only to have it be lost out there somewhere in the blogosphere nether regions. Oh well, I'll give it another go and I think it'll work this time as we are back home now.

It's good to be home in our own beds and back to normal schedules. By the end of the week, we were all pretty exhausted especially after the last night as many of us were up until 4am. That wouldn't have been so bad but Erin's sleep schedule didn't change just because it was IWT week in Kilmarnock. She still woke up at 7am and repeatedly yelled, Dadda, Daddy until I gave her my undivided attention. So, on Friday we had a total of three hours of sleep and we weren't finished yet as we had a celebration dinner in the evening we had to attend. Needless to say, I was one cranky dude all day long and not much fun to be around. The celebration dinner was pretty cool as many testimonies were shared and we said goodbye to many of the team members for the last time. They were a fun yet strange looking bunch as we had people there from all over the world including: Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Spain, Germany, Samoa (and some other south pacific countries that I can't pronounce or spell), New Zealand, Brazil, USA, Canada and of course Scotland. These people came in all different sizes as well as the Team Extreme guys were somewhat larger than the rest of us. One of our goals each day was to get in the food line before them to ensure that there would actually be food leftover. Most times we were successful.

I will share more in the next post but I thought I'd wait 'till I could get my pictures up from the camera which is currently in a room where someone is sleeping.

More soon.

Marc

2006-10-26T23:14:00.000+01:00

Extreme Move of God
Wow, what a night! I just returned about a half an hour ago from Team Extreme night in Tillicoultry and I have to say all of our expectations were surpassed by far. The venue was completely packed out beyond capacity (around 400) as some had to stand in the back. Normally in a western nation we'll see about 7-8% in attendance come forward to make a commitment to Christ, tonight I think it's safe to say at least 20% came forward which we were all blown away by. God was defintely moving as there seemed to be no hesitation as the front of the stage was flooded with people. It was a bit crazy because we only had about 10 or so from the local church trained to be Local Links (councelors) so we all had to jump in and get as many names written down as possible. Those that came forward will be followed up with a phone call where they can make arrangements for discipleship to take place. No doubt some of those that came forward were probably not sincere but I know many were so we should lift them up in prayer that the foundation of a fruitful Christian life will begin now. No telling what God will do in the lives of these people.

Tomorrow we're off to West Kilbride where we'll have base camp at the Ywam Seamill base for the Kilmarnock leg of the tour. I will try and keep the blog updated while we are there with what I believe will be some exciting stuff happening.

Until then, Pray!

2006-10-25T21:54:00.000+01:00

Impact World Tour Has Arrived

Yea, that's right the tour has arrived and by the beginning of next week the teams will have done 42 school assemblies and 6 satellite shows and that's all before the main outreach where there could be in excess of 2000 per night at the Rowallan Centre. So far the school assemblies have had rave reviews and I just heard today that the TX International prison outreach had many of the inmates give their lives to Christ. Tomorrow night is TX in Tillicoultry which is a wee town just down the road from us here where we live. We'll be there all day tomorrow with the Zion team which as I am writing this are watching Monte Python's, 'The Holy Grail'. On Friday we'll be taking them down to the Ywam Seamill base to set up shop for the Kilmarnock outreach. I will keep you updated with pictures as well. Until then, Pray!!!

2006-10-21T20:41:00.000+01:00

The Castle Interior
I thought you all might want to see the interior of the west facing section of our wonderful castle. Pretty impressive eh. One thing I forgot to mention was that this was where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned for a year. She was otherwise known as 'Bloody Mary' because she used to have the the protestants persecuted and eventually burned at the stake. So, if she was imprisoned, she deserved it. By the way, that's one of the reasons we got such a great deal on this place. That and the fact that there's no windows or central heating. Minor details....

Julie didn't want me to use this picture originally because she said I look like I'm going to the bathroom.

Cheers

2006-10-16T23:01:00.000+01:00

Happy Anniversary To Us!!
Hard to believe it's been twelve years but on this date twelve years ago we were wed. It was a beautiful autumnal day with crispy cool temps., clear skies and the fall leaves of Pennsylvania just hitting their peak. It couldn't have been a better day and I couldn't have found a better bride.
Well as you can see from the quite spacious abode in the background, we've done alright for ourselves in the years since. It's a bit taxing as far as upkeep goes but we really enjoy the Scottish castle retro thing. The thing that really sold us though was the really nice park bench and the big lawn for the kids to play on and the fact that the whole property is surrounded by water. This way we can tell well in advance when an annoying sales person is approaching. That's when we pull out the vintage 16th century catapult. We insisted on having that or we just weren't buying. Sometimes you really just need to be firm if you want to get what you want.

In other news....

The tour is fast approaching and things are getting pretty intense. Last Friday we had a youth 'Impact' night and had Jesse and 4 of his teamates from GX International come and do some skate tricks and breakdancing and then share the gospel to a crowd of mostly non-Christian youths. They were quite a wild bunch but God was defintely doing something there that night as we were there for several hours afterward hanging out with many that wanted to know more about God. It was really cool to see. I think it also instilled a real excitement in some of the leaders from the local churches. There is definitely an electricity building in the Kilmarnock area. Stay tuned for more updates because things are really starting to happen.

2006-10-12T23:17:00.000+01:00

Grandma's Back in Scotland
Ok, so she's actually been here for over two weeks now. We've been a little slow with the blog thing lately, I guess there's too much happening these days. It didn't take long for grandma to discover the apple trees in our backyard. She barely hit the ground and she started peeling apples. In the two weeks she's been here we've had just about every apple dish you could imagine. Can you say (in a Forrest Gump and Bubba voice), Apple Cake (now sitting in the kitchen waiting to be eaten), Apple cobbler, Apple sauce, Apple pie, Apple crisp, Apple crumble, Apple butter, Apple baked oatmeal, Apple pancakes.... I know there's something I've left out but I think you get the point. We've been spoiled silly with deserts lately. By the way, we still have a ton of apples on our trees so I'll let you all know of any other apple inventions that may come about in the near future.

Well, things are certainly getting very busy here as tomorrow will be the third time this week I will travel down to Kilmarnock. I'm kind of bummed because I will miss Kayleigh's dance competition but I guess that's the nature of things right now. She's got another one next month that I will not be missing.

Today it was sunny and warm so I took a few hours off this afternoon and took Liam out to the golf course for 9 holes. We had a great time and we both shot well especially Liam with his 'Happy Gilmore' golfing technique. He ended up at the green the same time as me for every hole. Too bad the course closes for the season on Sunday because we both would like to do that a little more often. The reality though is that things are gonna be crazy busy here in the next couple of weeks. The teams have started arriving this week and more will be here next week. We've got over 30 school assemblies lined up and 1 prison program all leading up to the main outreach evenings on the 31st and 1st and 2nd of November. There's much more to be said but I think we'll just try and report on it as it happens. Just pray!!
More soon.
Marc

2006-09-18T19:25:00.000+01:00

Hi-de-Ho!Its been awhile since I actually blogged. Marc is doing such a fantastic job so I just let him at it! Love the b-day greeting, are'nt I blessed?! Alot is happening and will be happening in the next few months and I dont know how much time we will have to blog but I want to fill in a few blanks just now.

IWT is snowballing and the teams will be here around the 19th of Oct. ready or not! The stage will be set and we are expecting God to do some awesome things! IN THE MEAN TIME... there are loads of projects to get done. Kilmarnock just came through a time of "Transformation" seminars that were IWT organized and we are already getting some exciting feedback from christians there and some awesome stories of people sharing their faith like never before and personal lives transformed. At one of the nights when Mark Anderson (our International IWT Director and founder) was speaking he challenged the church (19 participating churches btw and whoever else gave ear) to make Jesus Lord COMPLETLY of our lives... to examine what I actually believe ... to lay down EVERYTHING at the cross and make an effect on our generation... to be the witness that God intended and to be thankful for allowing us to participate in His salvation of people for Eternity. From my seat it seemed like an easy 2/3 of the church responded! Amazing night!!!

In other news... MOM IS COMING!!! We are soooo excited that she will Lord willing be here next week and will stay for a few months. We havent had mom time in over a year and look forward to just hanging out with her and not recovering and being sick this time! Hopefully it will be a much needed break for her. THe kids are beside themselves with glee and with a little luck Erin will be saying Grandma by that time. :) I couldnt resist this cute picture of Erin. She just decided to start posing and luckily I could actually find the camera before she got tired of saying cheese.

Here we go... Kayleigh had to research some facts about Scotland and this was her star fact chosen by her teacher. "The highest recorded temp. in Scotland was 32.9 c at Greycook on 9 Aug. 2003. Prior to that the record was 32.8 c (also 89.6 F) at Dumfries on 2 July 1908!" Go figure! It was warm here then too! :) Rainy today but amazingly dry and sunny lately. Its off to research the Isle of Iona now for homework. How cool is that?! More Later... love to all, Julie

2006-09-18T15:40:00.000+01:00

Hi-de-Ho!
Its been awhile since I actually blogged. Marc is doing such a fantastic job so I just let him at it! Love the b-day greeting, are'nt I blessed?! Alot is happening and will be happening in the next few months and I dont know how much time we will have to blog but I want to fill in a few blanks just now.

IWT is snowballing and the teams will be here around the 19th of Oct. ready or not! The stage will be set and we are expecting God to do some awesome things! IN THE MEAN TIME... there are loads of projects to get done. Kilmarnock just came through a time of "Transformation" seminars that were IWT organized and we are already getting some exciting feedback from christians there and some awesome stories of people sharing their faith like never before and personal lives transformed. At one of the nights when Marc Anderson (our International IWT Director and founder) was speaking he challenged the church (19 participating churches btw and whoever else gave ear) to make Jesus Lord COMPLETLY of our lives... to examine what I actually believe ... to lay down EVERYTHING at the cross and make an effect on our generation... to be the witness that God intended and to be thankful for allowing us to participate in His salvation of people for Eternity. From my seat it seemed like an easy 2/3 of the church responded! Amazing night!!!

In other news... MOM IS COMING!!! We are soooo excited that she will Lord willing be here next week and will stay for a few months. I feel bad that I will be taking her away from the rest of the family (especially Arlene... praying for a speedy recovery!) but really appreciate everyone sharing her with us for a time! THe kids are beside themselves with glee and with a little luck Erin will be saying Grandma by that time. :) I couldnt resist this cute picture of Erin. She just decided to start posing and luckily I could actually find the camera before she got tired of saying cheese.

2006-08-31T23:59:00.000+01:00

Happy Birthday Julie!!!
It is hard to believe this will be the 15th time Julie and I will be celebrating her birthday today. While pondering this I couldn't help but think back to the first and how nervous I was. It was the day after our first date back in September of 1992. We spent the whole day together first visiting my church, lunch at Houlahan's in King of Prussia, and then the Philly zoo so I could introduce Julie to some of my relatives in the primate section. They thought she was great by the way. Well, I guess things were going pretty well as we decided to stop off at Valley Forge Park on the way back and sat and chatted for a couple of hours. I knew the next day Julie's parents who I had not yet met, were having a surprise birthday party for her which I was invited. Well, after spending the whole previous day with her I was a little bit leary about appearing at her party the day after thinking she may feel a bit overwhelmed at the attention I was giving her. That on top of meeting her parents for the first time and most of her friends who I hadn't met before including one lad (complete dork by the way) who was very interested in Julie and wasn't that thrilled that I had come on the scene. So now you can see why I was a bit nervous. But I was on a mission so I wasn't going to let a little nervousness get in the way. After all, my good friend Mike had prophesied the night I met Julie by calling her my wife.

Well, I said all that to say this, as a wise man once said. Instead of getting the feeling that I was overdoing it, Julie made me feel like the most important person there and after all these years is still doing the same thing today. I guess this sounds more like an anniversary because whenever we celebrate Julie's birthday, it reminds me of how things began with us and all the amazing experiences we've had together over the years. I never would have imagined what God would do with us and through us including those three wonderful children in the picture above.

Julie, you've been an amazing friend, bride and mother to our children. I love you and hope and pray that you have a wonderful birthday and that this next year of your life will be filled with many blessings.

Happy Birthday!!

Marc

2006-08-22T23:07:00.000+01:00

Happy 6th Birthday Liam!!
Today, August 22nd is Liam's birthday and is actually the 3rd Liam birthday we've celebrated here in Scotland which unofficially makes him half Scottish I guess. It's hard to believe he is 6 already as it seems like it's been barely a blink of an eye since he entered this world. Liam is quite the character and I must say as his dad that he is the coolest son a dad could ever ask for. Just look at that face and tell me he's not the cutest guy you've ever seen.

Yesterday for Liam's birthday we took him and some of his friends to the Safari park just a few miles from Stirling. All in all everyone had a great time so special thanks to Gary (The park manager and one of Liam's friend's dad) for going out of your way to make sure we had a great time, which we all did.
Here are some other pics from the big day. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed being in them. Liam, you are the best son we could have ever asked for and we love you to bits.
We pray that each coming year will be better than the last and that God will continue to bless you and enable you to be a blessing to many more people.

Happy 6th Birthday Liam! You're the coolest.

Mom, Dad, Kayleigh and Wee Erin

2006-08-11T13:23:00.000+01:00

Scenes From Scotland
Yesterday while we were returning from being out all day we spent some time praying in the car. Sometimes I get frustrated with living in a foreign country when things just don't make any sense at all. In my frustration I can loose sight of the bigger picture like why we are here in the first place. Sometimes I think I must come accross to God as a spoiled kid who has lost sight of all he has been given. One of the things that came to mind last night in prayer was what a truely beautiful country God has allowed us to serve Him in. The pictures here are from our latest excursion to the isles of Mull and Iona with the Andrews about a week and a half ago. I just thought I would share them with you all and invite you to think about what an amazing God we have. His creativity as well as His love is boundless even for a spoiled kid like me.

2006-08-04T11:54:00.000+01:00

Back to Work
Last week we had a nice vacation spent with the Andrews but in the wake of that funfilled time we are left with the reality of getting back to work and catching up with the stuff we had to lay aside for the week.

Kayleigh and Liam are even getting in on the act selling genuine American lemonade from their roadside stand. They actually had several customers and all were quite satisfied with the product and the service.

Well I have to say after taking a look at our blog I thought it might be necessary to let you know that our lives here in Scotland are not all about the beach and lounging in the sun. We actually do some work here and as we come out of the summer holiday period and get closer to tour time, the work load is going to get more and more intense.

Today I'm at home watching the kids while Julie is at the office trying to take care of some of her responsibilities there. I think she may be heading out to do some man on the street video stuff for another video we are working on.
We are also in the process of organising not only the main tour but many events leading up to it. At the end of this month we have the 'Transform' seminar which is three nights with different speakers including Mark Anderson, the IWT founder and leader of YWAM Campaigns based in Kansas City. Mark will also be speaking at a fundaraiser we will be having on the 2nd of Sept. up here in the Stirling area. We are also planning a youth prayer and praise evening with a prayer walk preceding it that day in Kilmarnock. There are many other things happening with IWT as well but I don't want to bore you.

We are also involved although to a limited degree at this point with helping out at the Alva Baptist church. We'll update you on that soon.

Julie and I have also been asked once again to be a part of the Willow Creek annual Leadership Summit being held this year in Stirling. This is not the actual event. That will be held at Willow Creek this month. After that is done they will do the international version on DVD in several different laocations around the world. Last year it was in Glasgow which turned out to be interesting as I got lost on the way to the rehearsal and ended up picking up a couple of hitch hikers who led me to the church. I'll be playing drums again and Julie will once again be taking care of the hospitality for us back stage people. I have to say I don't agree with much of it from a philosophical (using many secular marketing techniques for church growth) standpoint but it's an opportunity to see what's being taught and promoted without paying the outragious fee. I also enjoy being a part of the worship team and spending some good time offering up praises to God. It's also an opportunity to engage in discussion about what's being said by the speakers. I was actually very impressed last year in speaking with the other musicians about what was taught. Some of them had some really good comments. That's one of the things I like about Scots, they're not impressed with anyone no matter how big they are in the church or the world. They'll tell you what they think. Kind of reminds me of Philly.

Anyway, that's scheduled for the end of Sept. so we'll give a review when it's over.

I think that's enough said for today.

Cheers,

Marc

2006-08-01T14:51:00.000+01:00

Scotland with the Andrews Clan
Today we said goodbye to the Andrews after spending a fun filled week showing them the sights and just hanging out. As you can see from the pics, we all visited the Stirling castle, Edinburgh, Mull and Iona, among other sights. I think the favorite seemed to be hiking the Mts. of Glencoe and seeing the Isles of Mull and Iona. Special thanks to Wolf and Arlene for taking us along with you, we had a great time seeing that amazing place once again.

From the Hamer perspective, it was great to just see some of our family and catch up on what's been happening in their lives. As you can see by this picture, Hansy boy has grown up a bit. We still call him Hansy boy though. Valia had the kids laughing almost constantly, especially in the car on our trip to and from Iona. She and Liam were still laughing in the car 'till well after 11 last night. It was also good to hear of the next chapter in Jon's life as he is heading off to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania this fall. How's that for a mouth full. It sounds like a great school so we wish Jon the best and a great experience their.

God bless Andrews clan, you are already missed.

Wow, it's been an amazing summer weather wise around here as we have been seeing temps consistantly in the 70's and 80's. Today I'm back in a sweater with the temps more where they should be in the mid 60's.

I'll post more pics from the Andrew clan invasion soon.

2006-07-27T18:08:00.000+01:00

Sunday with the Hamer's
Some of you may be wondering where we go to church on Sundays and what the church looks like. Well on a typical Sunday morning we attend Stirling Baptist Church in downtown Stirling. Why Stirling Baptist? Well, it was the first place we attended when we moved to the Stirling area so we said, hey this is cool and we stayed. The church has 3 services at 9:45, 11:30am and 6:30pm. We attend the 11:30 service because Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest so we take full advantage and sleep in as long as possible. Lately we've been arriving at 11 so I (Marc) can get the drums in order and prepare for worship. The kids will go to Sunday school and if Julie is not in the creche, she'll find a seat towards the back where all the Americans are told to sit (just kidding).
Dress is pretty casual but we still like to dress up the kids on occasion as you can see with Erin and Kayleigh wearing their new purple dresses. After church it isn't uncommon for us to get together with friends and take in the sights as you can see Dave and I doing below. Hey, I need my Sunday afternoon nap so why not have it at the Stirling Castle eh. Well, that gives you a bit of a snapshot of our Sunday experience. Ta, Ta for now.

2006-07-19T15:15:00.000+01:00

Sizzling on the beach in Scotland
The weather here has been amazing with temps as high as the 80's and plenty of sunshine. Since this isn't exactly the norm here, we've decided to take advantage by hitting the beach. Last Sunday after church we headed off to the wee town of Elie (North of Edinburgh) where they have a beautiful beach with real sand (not rocks). We spent our time there cooking hotdogs and pasta, Dave dug and sculpted a whale which the dogs thought was their personal place to relieve themselves (see picture below). We also played frisbie and Dave and Marc spent about a half an hour at least throwing a football as far as they could. My (Marc) arm is still sore. Perhaps that wasn't the smartest thing in the world for two guys on the wrong side of 40. The kids and Dave swam in the very cold water. Dave being a surfer from Cali is so jonesing for some waves he braved the icy waters to try and body surf 1 foot waves. I decided to watch from the shore while my feet were going numb in the water up to my ankles. I'm not sure Dave actually ever caught a wave, kind of hard to catch a 1 footer when you're 6'4" tall. At least he tried though eh.

Enjoy the rest of the pics.

Marc

2006-07-14T15:45:00.000+01:00

Root Beer Floats with Emily
Our good friend Emily surprised us the other day after church with a case of 'Mug' root beer she brought all the way back from her recent trip to California. We were so excited we decided to have her over for burgers on the grill and root beer floats afterward. She said she loved them but they looked gross. After she said that I had to agree. Something about how the ice cream and carbination makes it look like a bad chemical reaction or worse yet...I'll leave it at that.

Whatever it looked like, it tasted amazing as we don't get real root beer over here. Thanks Emily, you made our day and week for that matter and it was great to have you over to hang out with us and chat.

2006-07-10T23:00:00.000+01:00

More 4th of July Pics

2006-07-10T01:04:00.000+01:00

Our Lakeside 4th of July Picnic
This was the scene last tuesday on the 4th as we celebrated the 4th with our good friends the Schlos's. We had a great time eating burgers, lighting sparklers, chatting while the kids tirelessly played in the Loch. We also invented some new games we think will fit right in with the next Olympic summer games. First, up is the reverse sand shovel rock toss. Dabe ended up using his hight advantage to take the gold medal in the men's division. Louise edged out Julie in the womens division but as we found out later it was at a cost as she pulled a hip flexor muscle and has had a hard time driving ever since. The shovel you see in my hand is the actual shovel we used in the competition.

The other game was the swan whack. This was invented out of necessity as the swans kept encroaching on our territory. It was about survival, really. I should say that no swans were injured during this competition.

All in all it was a great day with beautiful weather, tasty food and great fellowship. I'll post some more pics soon of the competitions and some good patriotic stuff. By the way, these photos are compliments of the Schlos's who took over 100 photos that day.

2006-07-06T15:15:00.000+01:00

A Scottish Heatwave!
This is definitely a first since we've been here. The temp. has hit 80 degress f. That's my trusty thermometer that has traveled the world to document the event. The people here are without a doubt melting.

We had a great time on the 4th but I don't have any pics yet. I'll have to try and scarf some from some friends because I forgot to bring the camera along with us. Stay tuned.

2006-07-03T14:21:00.000+01:00

"Our God Is A Great Big God..."
This was the scene inside Alva Baptist church last week as the kids sang, "My God is a Great Big God". As you can see there were plenty of kids and they along with the leaders had a great time. Please pray for this stuggling church. As of a couple of weeks ago, there were only 6 people attending regularly. We're hoping that some if not all the kids who attended the Kids Club will come back with their parents. We'll see what happens.

We said goodbye to the New Jersey team yesterday and once again it was a tearful goodbye to our family members. We miss them all so much. We do appreciate the time we had with them but it never seems to be enough. We look forward to our next invasion from America from the Andrews family later this month. Until then we will be busy with the IWT stuff as October is approaching fast.

Tomorrow we plan to celebrate the 4th with our good friends Dabe, Wiesie and Lills Bachs (I hope I spelled that right because I will never hear the end of it). Dabe is from the states and married a Scottish lassie took her off to the west coast and had a wee Scottish/ American lassie named Lills. They've just moved back here about 3 yrs. ago and have been such a blessing to us. We don't even have to pay them money to be our friends which is an extra bonus. Perhaps we'll have a 4th of July picture for you on wed., we'll see.

That's all for now, more later.
Marc

2006-06-30T16:13:00.000+01:00

New Jersey Konnected with Alva
This has been a great week as we have had the priveledge to host an amazing team from New Jersey who have led a Vacation Bible School in the wee town of Alva at the Alva Baptist church. It has been extra fun for us as 4 out of the 11 on the team are relatives which we haven't seen for about a year. We are having a great time and the outreach which just ended today has been extremely successful with over 30 kids attending each day. Many of the locals from Alva have commented about how exciting it is to see some life at the Alva Baptist church. Up until a couple of weeks ago there were about 6 people attending, the youngest being 68.
This team from New Jersey couldn't have been more perfect as they are all full of energy, have a variety of gifts and talents and they have been a blessing to our family and the people of Alva. It's been really kool to see how God has put this thing together as well. The planning started about a year ago in Randy and Diane's (Julie's sister) living room but up until about a month and a half ago, we weren't sure what they were going to be doing. We had this feeling though that God had something specific in mind so we just kept waiting to see what it was. Dave Barrie, the youth leader from Stirling Baptist had taken on a project to try and resurrect this dying church that was ready to close it's doors. Well to make a long story short, we told him of the New Jersey team and so the next step was to get the churches approval which came through just in the nick of time. The idea was to raise the profile of this church which had become an afterthought in the community. Well, you can't put 16 Americans in a small Scottish villiage for a week and not have people notice. Our prayer is that the 30 plus children that showed up for the VBS will come back this Sunday and bring their parents and make commitments for Christ. Pray that this will happen. I'll share more pics in the next few days. That's all for now though.
Marc

2006-06-21T13:38:00.000+01:00

Good Timing
Belated birthday presents are great. Today we were having a bit of a rough day and low and behold I look for the mail and find this package from the Dowdalls. An autographed copy of the Eagles Encyclopedia. How cool is that!! Thanks Steve, Lisa and the Dowdall clan, your timing couldn't have been more perfect as I was having one of those homesick days again. Perhaps I'm Pennsylvania grown and that's where I belong, I don't know. Maybe most missionaries are homesick, who knows. At any rate, it's moments like these that help us along.

Thanks again guys for thinking of us, we miss you big time.

Marc

2006-06-19T13:26:00.000+01:00

The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond
The Picture to the left of Erin was taken on the shores of Loch Lomond. We just thought perhaps if you find yourself singing the song sometime, you may want a visual to go along with it. The Mt. in the background is Ben Lomond which rises to around 3200 ft. above sea level. Most of the time the top is covered in the clouds as you see here.

We are eagerly anticipating our next guests coming on Sunday. We have a team of 11 coming from New Jersey to help a local church that is giving it one more go at it before closing its doors.
This will be a great time as the team consists of Julie's sister Diane and husband Randy (he will be known as Randall during the week, Randy means amorous over here, actually there's another word that begins with an h but I thought I would for once use some discretion), two of their three children and 7 others coming from their church. We will be doing a Vacation Bible School and various other things as well at the church (Alva Baptist Church). Alva is a small town right at the base of the Ochil Mt. range so on one of the days we would like to go on a prayer trek to the highest peak over the town and spend some time praying for God's spirit to move in a big way over this land. Hopefully the weather will hold out although hiking in the rain is kind of fun too.

Last night we had a special 'Selah' praise concert at church. I really enjoyed it as I had the opportunity to play drums with some great musicians. Their regular drummer they had with them for the past 4 years has moved back to Ireland so I have been asked to assume that position now which I am honored to do. I wish I had my own kit but the one they have isn't so bad. It's a 5 peice Premier set and it's sounds pretty good but I do miss my china boy cymball and my chimes. Actually I miss my kick pedal and all of my cymballs. Oh well, at least I get to play. The great thing is this church is pretty big so I can really hit them as hard as I want, no brushes here. The only problem is I have some tendenitis in my left elbow so every time I crack the snare I get a pretty good pain shooting up the arm. Hopefully that won't last too much longer or they'll have to shoot me up with steroids. Bla, Bla, Bla.... The important thing was that God was really stirring people's hearts during the evening which was an answer to prayer. There is just so much apathy here so we were praying specifically against that and the people really seemed to be moved, praise God!

The weather here has been pretty amazing so far this late spring with much sunshine and temps in the 60's and 70's. We also been sucked into the whole world cup thing as we actually found ourselves shouting at the tv the other day watching the Americans play the Italians. That was by far the most exciting soccer game I've ever seen. I thought the Americans totally outplayed them but the game ended in a 1-1 tie. I wonder how much money the refs got from the Italian government, just a thought. Next game is Thursday against Ghana. Go USA!!

That's all for now, more later.

Marc

2006-06-13T11:51:00.000+01:00

The Kirsten and Brigitta Show
We had a great time hosting our neices Kirsten and Brigitta who actually left about a week ago. Sorry to take so long in posting. They brought a bunch of sunshine into our lives both literally and figuratively speaking. The weather was great while they were here and their smiles and energy were contagious.

They definitely left their mark on Bridge of Allen as Julie said she never heard so many whistles while walking down the street with them. I think that's because I'm usually the one walking next to Julie.

The picture above was taken by Stirling Bridge, the sight of the Battle of Stirling Bridge way back in 1297. In the movie Braveheart, the Battle of Stirling was set on an open feild which was historically inaccurate. I'm not sure why they did that, ask Mel.

Our condolences go out to the whole Andrews family as while Kirsten and Brigitta were here, their grandparents passed away. Kirsten and Brigitta, you were the real Bravehearts as you amazed us with your joy in the midst of such a difficult time. You were a real blessing to us and the kids just loved every minute of you being here and playing with them. Kayleigh is still practicing that hurdle technique you taught her Kirsten, and Liam has that reverse spin move down pretty good Brigitta.

God bless you and please know that we are praying for you and your family.

Thanks Arlene and Wolf for sending the girls over, you've raised some pretty impressive children.

Well, that's all for now. More soon, I promise.

Marc

2006-06-01T12:18:00.000+01:00

My Homesick Top Ten List

Every once in a while I get slammed with a serious bout of homesickness. Lately it's been pretty intense but has been dulled a bit by all of our recent and current (Kirsten and Brigitta) visitors. Well I thought it might be somewhat theraputic to list my top ten things I miss from home so here it goes.

1. Family (I kind of have to say that eh)
2. Friends (same as above)
3. Church (I guess I'm being really pc here so far)
4. My drums
5. Our house with the basement where I kept my drums
6. Cable TV (ESPN, The Weather Chanel, Fox News and Jim Gardner and the entire Action News Team, Comcast Sportsnet.
7. Beyond the Pale
8. Cheap stuff (everything is cheaper in America, stop whining about the gas, it's over $7. a gallon here).
9. Food (Cheesesteaks, hoagies...reasonably priced reastaurants with good food, etc, etc, etc.
10. Philly Sports (Phillies, Flyers, Eagles....you can have the Sixers). I have had enough of Soccer and Rugby, I just can't take it anymore.

Well, I don't know how theraputic that really was because I'm still thinking of more things to add. Perhaps there will have to be a part b at some time.

That's all for now, I've got to go and check the weather and see how the Phillies did last night.
Later

2006-05-25T15:55:00.000+01:00

A Good Old Fashioned Scottish Tea Party
Sorry to have taken so long between posts, it's been a bit busy here lately with IWT stuff and plenty of guests. Last wed. we said goodbye to the Rittenhouses (Aunt Esther and Uncle Jim) and Anita and James Stoltzfus. We had a great time with them doing all sorts of things including golfing on a real Scottish golf course. Gary from our small group after hearing James was a golfer decided to invite us out to Aberfoyle and picked up a couple of bags of clubs for us as well. I think I can speak for James and say that was his favorite part of the trip and that's saying something considering the fact that they saw more of the UK in two weeks than we've seen in two years. I enjoyed the golf as well and didn't embarrass myself too much considering I don't really golf.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the castles, and the hills and highlands and yes as you can see above, there was even a wee Scottish tea party in our very own back garden. All in all much fun was had and once again the departure of guests made our house feel a bit lonely, but not for long...

On Saturday and Sunday we had our friends the Lawsons come out from Edinburgh for a visit. Chris and Jenifer and their two children (Jez and Karis) are missionaries here to Scotland from California. Chris has an apologetics ministry and has just finished up his new web site after months and months of research and planning. Well done Chris, it looks great. You all can check it out here.

In between all this I have been busy with meetings and doing training in Kilmarnock in preparation for the tour. I think I've made the commute about 5 out of the last 8 days. I don't think I need to be down there for a couple weeks so that gives us time to catch up on things around here.

Next week we host two of the famous Andrews kids (Kirsten and Brigeta). Sorry, Brigeta if I mispelled your name, I just completely forgot how to spell it as well as some other words. I must be getting old or something. We'll give a full report after the Andrews invasion, I'm sure it'll be interesting.

Well I could go on and on here but we'll just have to post more often I guess.

Once again, thanks to the Rittenhouses, Stoltzfus' and Lawsons for blessing us with your visits, we had a great time with all of you. Special thanks to James for doing your mouth noises, that's the hardest I've laughed since watching Dumb and Dumber with my good friend Mike. I really thought I was going to pass out.

Later

2006-05-04T20:46:00.000+01:00

Had a minute to blog inbetween writing newsletter notes which has taken, well... 2 months so far. Sorry! I WILL be done tonight with this project! Yippee!

Seems so much is going on in my familys lives not to mention it. Would you pray with us for them all?

Arlene and Wolfe are going through so much right now with personal health issues then Mima ( Wolfe's mom) has been diagnosed with cancer that is incredibly progressive and Opa (his dad) is in the hospital and they said that he may actually go first. Its so hard to see those you love struggle so much and I know this is really difficult in more ways than one for the whole family! I feel my hands are tied at the moment other than cards and prayers. Its a frustrating feeling, I know God is with them, just wish I could be too at times like this.

Diane is dealing with some maj. ongoing pain in the butt (not actually anything having to do with her butt to make that clear :) health issues and Jeff is, well I just got an email saying he is making a MAJ. career change after 15 some years at ACTV! Mom could use prayer too as she is being such a mom in all of this! Amazing!

We are both so blessed with family (Hamers and Stoltzfus) and love and miss each one to bits!!! Sometimes, to be honest the distance has been interesting because it has brought some relationships to a deeper level and at the same time the distance feels like a world away most of the time. There is no-one in the world like a family member! Its amazing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANNA, POP-POP &
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! Sounds like it was one to remember!!! We love you ALL so much.
Heres a picture Diane sent over from Moms 70th party at Easter.

In other news... Frank & Becky are off to the USA for a wedding and some IWT International leaders meetings so we are fish and plant sitting. Things have been progressing with the work in Kilmarnock to prepare for the tour in the fall. The big thing just now is Disciplesip set up and Local Link (alter councelor) trainings that are manditory and set up many, many times for them to come to. Thats what its about! Sharing our faith... proclaiming Jesus and what he has done in our lives. We are soooo lazy with that way too often so a kick in the pants is a healthy thing for each of us, ehh?! Allllllllllllso, we are looking forward to the arrival of Uncle Jim, Aunt Esther, Anita and James after their tour in England! What fun that visit will be!

Must go now and help Kayleigh settle down. She has been in bed for an hour and still not asleep. She says its too light out and her eyes just wont stay closed. Hmmmmm. :) Sunset is about 9:30 just now so summer is coming, YIPPEE!

Later, Julie

2006-04-27T12:25:00.000+01:00

'Oh Deb...'
I'm not quite sure if this is really in the 'Oh Deb' category but I know it's pretty close. I think it's definitely slightly above the 'Neat' stage, perhaps this could be somewhere in the middle like maybe, 'Neat O'. At any rate, we thought this scene on our drive accross Mull with the Millers was worth stopping to take a picture of and I guess that's worth something in itself becuase I hate stopping when I'm traveling, I like to get there.

Anyway, we thought we'd share some of the beautiful scenery we took in on our journy to the Isles and Highlands with those Millerites.

2006-04-25T00:54:00.000+01:00

Neat!
This was the scene driving home from our Iona trip. The view here is looking north on the island of Mull. Not much else to say.
I guess 'Neat' pretty much covers it.

2006-04-25T00:40:00.000+01:00

No cars on Iona...
Here we are hoofing from the ferry to the hotel because there are no cars aloud on the island unless you live there. We were a bit concerned because it was raining pretty hard on the way over on the ferry but as soon as we docked up, it stopped for the most part. Iona is a pretty cool place, lots of old stuff.

2006-04-20T13:08:00.000+01:00

Surf's Up Dude!!
The surf was definitely up as we headed back over on the ferry from Iona. Tracy made the most of it by hanging 10 on her massive surf board. It was nice of her to let us all ride along as well. Fortunately, the ride was only 10 minutes otherwise this nice fun picture may have looked a whole lot different. Actually it was really fun riding over those waves. The kids thought it was like an amusement park ride. That's a bit of Iona in the background there in cae you're wondering. Cool place. More from the Millerite invasion soon.

2006-04-18T11:59:00.000+01:00

Scotland With The Miller's
Wow, what a week we had with the Miller's. We had a great time but unfortunately it all went by all too quickly. My original intent was to do a daily blog to keep you all updated to what we were doing during each day but by the time we settled down in the evenings, I was pretty hammered. So, I'll do some of that this week and share some of our pics with you. I think we took well over 200 shots last week and I think the Miller's took over 400. The one here is in front of the Iona Abbey on the Isle of Iona where St. Columba brought Christianity way back in the 6th Century. We were there last wed. and thursaday and had a great time even though the weather was well...Scottish.
I will share more of our experiences but I have to say this, the Miller's are the salt of the earth and are an amazing blessing to us. There were many tears on Sunday morning when they left for home and our home here has seemed a bit lonely in their absense. Thanks again you guys for coming over and blessing us with your presense. I know for sure that that was the most fun the kids have had since we've been here.
God bless you and thanks for your friendship.
More soon

2006-03-19T23:04:00.000Z

A Beautiful Day in Bridge of Allan

This is the view looking northwest with Bridge of Allan in the foreground. The Mt. in the background is Ben Ledi and is part of the western highlands just north of Loch Lomond. As you can see the snows from last Sunday have melted away in the lowlands but are still pretty deep on the peaks. Just thought you all might want to see some of the scenes around here. The are truely amazing. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands". - Psalm 19:1 By the way, this shot was taken today around 4:30pm.

2006-03-12T22:44:00.000Z

Welcome to Narnia. Wow, what a surprise we had this morning when we woke up to over a foot of freshly fallen snow. I didn't think we would ever see a real snow storm here but praise God, we did.

Knowing that it probably won't be around too long we headed out to do some sledding or as they say here, sledging. After walking through town we hit the slopes by the river and sledded until Kayleigh could no longer tolerate the snow accumulating on the inside of her boots. We headed back to the house and after a short rest, an amazing snowman was created along with a pretty radical sledding ramp in the front yard.

Well, it's been a fun day and now we are wondering if the kids are having school or not. As of this writing (10:51pm) the roads around our house have still not been plowed and we're wondering if they ever will be. I don't think anyone here has a proper snow shovel either. I guess they're not used to this sort of thing happening. I think we all wish they were.

Blessings from Narnia

2006-03-07T00:02:00.000Z

Happy Birthday Erin!!! You're 1!

It's hard to believe a whole year has passed since this wee Scottish/American lassy came into our lives. By the way, Kayleigh always makes it very clear that Erin is American whenever some of the locals refer to her as Scottish since she was born here.

She is such a blessing and we are ever thankful to God above for this wonderful gift of life He's allowed to come into our lives.

Just this evening while doing the dishes I couldn't escape thinking of how she has blessed us all hearing Kayleigh and Liam laughing hysterically at Erin's latest antics. She is a riot! I don't know where she comes up with this stuff. Her latest thing is chasing Liam around the house, tackling him, and then pouncing on him like some WWF wrestler. I can assure you that show has never darkened the screen of our tv which tells me she's got some kind of crazy imagination. Anyway, she has us literally laughing every day and we love her to bits.

Happy Birthday Erin, we love you more each day.

Daddy, Mommy, Kayleigh and your punching bag, Liam.

2006-03-03T11:54:00.000Z

Yea, It's Snowing!!!

One of the things I miss most from home is a good snow storm. A couple of weeks ago when it snowed like 20 inches back in Pa, I was really homesick. Thank God He sent us some of the white stuff. By the way, we just got a new (used- Julie found a great deal in the paper) digital camera so we'll be posting many more pics. I just took a bunch on the way over to the office and I am loving it. I like the instant gratification of this thing. I've been wanting to start a Scotland weather blog but Julie has reminded me that I've got a few too many projects to complete first. So, as soon as I get those out of the way (like next year) I may start up the blog and report when something significant happens around here (which may just mean the sun coming out) weather wise and include photos so you can see for yourself.

Speaking of weather, I should have something new on global warming on the other blog sometime today. I thought since it's snowing it would be appropriate to blog on that subject today.

In case you're wondering from the shot above, Erin loves the snow. She has to, she's a Hamer!

Marc

2006-02-24T09:02:00.000Z

Fellow Travelors

The other day I had the pleasure of taking the train into Edinburgh (our fair haunted city to the east of us) to spend some time with my good friend Chris Lawson. After some hot chocolate (with whipped cream on top) and coffee at Starbucks, we scarfed down a 'Big New Yorker' at Pizza Hut. Why Pizza hut when you're in a posh European city? The food is cheap, good, and plenty to satisfy some manly appetites.

Well between the Starbucks and Pizza we spent about four hours talking about apologetics, trends in the church and being missionaries in a foriegn land. We could have talked for several hours more but figured we should go home to our families at some point. It's amazing how God brings together like minded believers to encourage eachother in the faith.

Chris is a southern California guy who came over to Scotland about three years ago and has started up a discernment ministry that reaches out to believers who had gotten blown off track by unbiblical winds of doctrine (all too prevelent today) in the church, and to unbelievers decieved by the cults and false religions. He also leads a home group that gathers once a month.

Well to say the least he has been a real blessing to me as we have much in common. It's also good to just have someone to talk to that sees the same things you do so you don't go completely crazy. I am really excited about this ministry because it is something that is very much needed here in Scotland and especially Edinburgh (the witchcraft capital of Western Europe). I am also very excited to be able to help Chris out in areas of research (which he has asked me to do). Anyway, the main reason for posting this is to make you aware of Chris and this ministry so you can pray for him and his family. I can't emphasize enough how important this is as they are really out there on the bloody front lines of combat for the truth. Pray! Pray! Pray!

Check out Chris's blogs:
http://www.srn-chrislawson.blogspot.com/
http://emerging-church.blogspot.com/

Chris is also working on the finishing touches of a full blown apologetics/discernment web-stite. I'll keep you posted on that. Should be finished real soon and as soon as I can figure out how to put links on my blog, I will have his and some others as well. I need prayer for patience with that though. Well I guess that's all for now.

Oh everybody is healthy for the first time since November, thanks for praying.

Marc

2006-01-20T12:28:00.000Z

Hello from the Infirmiry!
Yes, once again there was a bug that realized that it did not make its way through our door and decided to drop in for a visit! We have quarentined ourselves as all 5 of us have the stomach flu. If only we had more energy we could be playing games or something. Oh well!

Our last 3 months of constant sickness all seems so trivial with so much else that is going on! So many people I know are suffering major probs. and issues in their lives, I cant complain. We all face seasons and some gut wrenching situations through the course of our lives. I cant help but feel that we are still fortunate to have experienced God breathed life, His love through these times and the oppertunity to see Him work on the other side.

Related or unrelated... A comment in a book I have been reading encouraged me to press through... seeking forgiveness in my sins, allowing God to prune my branches that are not bearing fruit and pray for clarity on anything that may be grieving Him, that there may be a bountiful harvest in my life all for his Glory! I dont want Gods investiment in my life to go to waste. I dont want to get in the way of what He wants to do through me! Oh, man! I know its simple, but these simple things are so profound at times!

On another note, we started the Community Bible Study International material this past week! It has been great! Most people commented on the depth of the questions (forgiving some touchy feely ones that they are convinced were written by an American) and all recignized that it is forcing, or I guess encouraging is a better word, to be in the word and study what God wants us to learn apart from just reading over it or listeneing to a pastor! Its so cool and encouraging to see this! We pray His word will not return void!

I must go, Erin is constantly fussing (poor dear... its so unlike her!) and I think the rest are now finally ready for a bite of toast. Toast is a feast coming through the last 2 days we just have. Hopefully it wont revisit us again. Hmmm. Ohhhhh, we have also been appreciating and enjoying all the contents of the recent packages that came through our door! Amazing!!! Thanks so much guys!

Peace and Health, Julie

2006-01-16T21:17:00.000Z

I've just discovered who I am................... a fundamentalist.
A couple of weeks ago our pastor at Stirling Baptist referred to me as a fundy in a joking (but he meant it) sort of way. I didn't think too much of that and let it roll off me because I know I don't hang out in the woods charming snakes or anything, I just believe God's word is simply that, GOD'S WORD. A couple of days ago I came accross an article where Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life) was being interviewed. After reading that, I discovered that I truely am a fundy in the truest sense of the word. The interesting thing is that 'ol Rick then went on to say people like me are the greatest enemy of the 21st century. To read more, just click here. You won't believe how R.W. defines a fundy, it's amazing. What's really scary is that he is probably the most influential person in the Christian scene today. God help us, it's getting bad.
Marc

2006-01-05T11:30:00.000Z

Greetings from Bridge of Allan.
We have finally gotten almost settled in our new house although it has been quite a challenge with trying to move during the Christmas season into a house that still isn't finished, but almost. We've also had quite a bout of illnesses to deal with as well. Can you say Chicken Pox, Scarletina (modern version of scarlet fever), flu and nasty colds that don't want to go away. It does seem like we are starting to get better and we are beginning to get some of our energy back. We are however very happy for the (larger) house God has provided for us. The kids actually have a place to run around a bit and we are able to have people over without having to move half the house into another room. We've already had one family of 6 (The Canters) overnight for New Years, and our friends the Schlosers overnight the following evening. The following evening we had our house group over for dinner and a game. The last couple of days have been quieter but we will look forward to hosting many people in our new found space. We are also looking forward to friends coming over for a visit this spring and summer. With that in mind, be aware that I almost beat Julie the other night in Dutch Blitz, I think she's getting worried and so should the rest of you (and you know who you are), especially those coming to visit this spring.
Well that's enough for now. We will post pics of the new abode soon.
Blessings to you all,
Marc

2005-11-15T02:03:00.000Z

Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me! This riot of a Hamer family photo at the top was taken by a good freind Dabe Schlos one Sunday after church. Our regular line each Sunday after church is, "what are you doing?.. I dunno what are you doing?" So our fams. got together for a walk around the University and it turned into a photo shoot in our front yard one day. Thanks Dabe! You are amazing... now get some sleep!

2005-11-15T01:47:00.000Z

Ok, Please forgive me, but I am copying some of this from my recent Prayer Network update email. Its almost 2am and I am desporatly working on the upcoming newsletter and thought I may as well just really go for it and do the P.N update and just copy a bit on the blog update too. We could use the prayers. :)

Ok It has been an eventful week. Some good and some not so good.

Answers to Prayer...

1- Its now official as of today... WE ARE MOVING HOUSE Dec. 15!!! God has opened up the place in Bridge of Allen www.bridgeofallan.com ... the one right near the school, office, and community we are wishing to reach out in inbetween our IWT time! Its SOOOOOOOO cool how it all is playing out. Ask us the story sometime!!! Amazing!

2- Our first IWT "Pudding Feast" (Dessert Fund Raising Banquet) is set for next week in Kilmarnock! More wheels are moving!

3- Yes, I still have all my original teeth! thanks for asking! :) I am not in near as much pain but am in the process of being referred to a specialist in Edinburgh so the saga continues... and the other 4 teeth will wait... if they can. I would still appreciate your prayers for this when you think of it!

4- The Video is Almost done. Did not make the deadline, but I did a last attempt of an audio recording yesterday and it just needs that layed overtop. Franks putting some maj. hours in at the National Office editing! Cant wait! Yippee!

*** Prayer Request... Our health in general. Check this out!

1- Chicken pox, Scarlettina, and broken bones...

Just the other day we were hosting a family during the YWAM staff day and their little girl had an outbreak of the Chickenpox in the morning. (bummer that visit had to be cut short) Looks like outbreak time for us may be somewhere around moving time. GOd will have to guide that one. We are also concerned as Marc MAY not have had them as a child.

That same day Liam came down with a high fever, strange rash and other bizzar symptoms... the Dr. said today that its a modern day mild Scarlette Fever. I thought that was a fever of the past, but looks like it just manifests differently now. He is now on antibiotics.

Yes, that same day... Kayleigh had gone to a B-day party of a little friends and she somehow happened to slam her finger in the cardoor there, I took her to the A&E (ER) and many hours later found out its broken. She seems ok now, but the Dr. seemed slightly concerned about her range of movement today at the follow up visit. They will monitor it closely and we are exercising it.

2- Strength for the month ahead. alot is to be done with IWT, moving and communication with newsletters etc.... but especially for Marc as he is putting in long layborous hours.

Hope you all have a greatThanksgiving week and enjoy your time celebrating with loved ones! We do have so much to be thankful for inspite of the hurdles of life! :)
Love to all, Julie for the whole family!

2005-10-28T19:18:00.000+01:00

Take the next left, follow two blocks and go left at the roundabout and we're the second house on the left. At least we will be when we move next month. Yup, that's right we're moving and we are so thankful to God for leading us to a house we
can fit into a bit better.

About two weeks ago while riding my bike home from work, I decided to take a ride through some of the side streets of Bridge of Allan hoping to see a for rent sign in front of a house. You see, we are feeling pretty squeezed these days in our polly pocket house and we had been hoping for something in Bridge of Allan because that's where the kids go to school, and where our office is located. We have also had visions of starting a community bible study and after school kids club there. Well, there were no for rent signs on that day but while I was riding down one particular street I really felt impressed to pray that God would provide something there. I guess I figured it couldn't hurt and I remembered what Jesus said, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. - John 15:7-8 Well, I did pray and left it at that. A couple of days later a man called in response to an ad Julie posted on the post office notice board. Julie's ad stated that a family was looking for a house to rent in Bridge of Allan. Well, it just so happens that the house he had to rent was on that very street that I felt impressed to pray on. The next day we went to check it out and it looks perfect for us. I guess God has some plans for us in Bridge of Allan, we'll see what happens and of course, we'll keep you all posted. God is good!
Marc

2005-10-16T07:53:00.000+01:00

About 13 yrs. ago while standing in a strange kitchen eating an amazing chocolate chip cookie something caught the corner of my eye that would alter the whole course of my life much for the better. Well, that something was actually a someone with beautiful long blond hair and a smile and a walk that left me forgetting why I found myself there to begin with. As a matter of fact the whole purpose of the evening had just shifted for me from shooting a video of the band I was playing in at the time to finding more about this girl I couldn't take my eyes off of. Later that evening while driving home my friend Mike, noticing the glaze over my eyes, referred to her as my wife and a little more than 2 yrs. later, Mike would turn out to be a prophet.

That day was one of my best days. October 16th, 1994 was a perfect sunny autumn day with temps. in the 60's and the leaves just beginning to hit their peak. The best part though was standing (next to the prophet himself) and my jaw dropping as I watched my beautiful bride walk down the isle. I still can't believe how God has blessed me with Julie and now three amazing children, it just blows my mind.

So why am I putting this all on a blog for the whole world to see? Well it is true when you're in love you just want to tell the whole world so that's what I thought I'd do.

I Love You Julie!! I always have and I always will.

Thank you for being my bride for the last 11 yrs. My prayer is that we'll have many more wonderful, adventured filled years to come.

Marc

P.S. - By the way, Julie made those amazing chocolate chip cookies.

2005-10-03T14:09:00.000+01:00

Hi everybody and sorry it's been so long since we've met here in the blogsphere. Much has happened since our last post including our visit this past weekend to the Leadership summit held in Glasgow. Julie and I were able to attend for free with me Marc playing drums on the worship team and Julie doing hospitality for the volunteers. It was a lot of fun playing drums in a church envirement where I didn't have to play 'church drums' if you know what I mean. Basically I was told to let it rip and I did. The guys and girl on the team were great and it was a pleasure to be able to play with them. They are top notch musicians and it was some of the best worship time I've experienced while playing the drums because I didn't have to worry about being too loud and I could just focus on the words and play with as much passion as I felt. Julie of course did an amazing job providing tea, coffee, snacks, water and lunch for all the volunteers. Her pasta salad was a big hit as well as her nacho dip. I've yet to have food that good in a church. Good job Julie!!

Oh, the summit. That was good too and well attended with about 500 in attendance each day. It was a lot of good practical stuff for pastors and leaders in the church. I have to say I didn't agree with everything that was taught but over all both Julie and I took away some really good stuff. More on that on my other blog www.marcreedhamer.blogspot.com

We've also in the past few weeks started our tuesday evening house group where we're going through the book of Genesis with the whole church. Actually we're just covering the first 11 chapters of Genesis. I'm not really sure why we're stopping there but that's a topic for another time. So far it's been interesting to say the least. Most of the people in the group are enviremental scientists who studied at Stirling University which makes going through the creation account very interesting and challenging. Let's just say we've had some debates and I am not buying the theistic evolution thing. It just doesn't work with the fall of man. Check this out for more on theistic evolution. It's kind of interesting though how God has put me (Marc) having an undergrad degree in the school of hard knocks and a masters in the school of rock in a leadership position surrounded by well educated people in the science world. It wouldn't be the first time though that God has done something like this to which I say, May God be glorified!!! I may start posting on my other blog a review of our tuesday evening study to fill you in and also as a way processing and personal therapy. Stay tuned.

In other news in Hamer world, we are actively looking for a larger house to rent in Bridge of Allan where the kids go to school. Presently we only live 1 mile from Bridge of Allan but we are feeling a bit squeezed in our house and would like to possibly start a bible study in that community. It's something God has put on both of our hearts so we'll see what God does.

Hey, how 'bout those Eagles yesterday, and the Phillies deserve some credit too for coming so close down the stretch. Too bad Houston was just one game better. Oh well, Go Flyers and Eagles.

Gotta go for now,

Marc

2005-09-02T11:38:00.000+01:00

Wow, much has happened since our last post.
We celebrated Liam's 5th birthday as a family and then a few days later we had a 'Pirate' birthday party for Liam and some of his friends. We all got dressed up, Julie mapped out a treasure hunt, we through water ballons at eachother and then ate some pirate cake. Over all, a great time was had by all. One of Liams's friends described it as his,"best day". Wow, how 'bout that
In another developing story, Kayleigh has been elected to the student council and is having her first meeting today. I've recieved word from a reliable sorce that she'll be lobbying for the corridor in her wing to be widened. Apparently there have been many complaints from her fellow students. We'll have news at 11 on that one.
Also, just yesterday we celebrated Julie's __ birthday. We had steaks out on the barbecue and a surprisingly tasty chocolate cake. It was a surprise that it was good because I (Marc) made it. Enough said on that.
In Impact World Tour news, we had a steering committee meeting in Kilmarnock last week which was well attended and there were many in attendance that brought some enthusiasm with them. So, it looks like this thing is going to happen in at least one city and maybe more, stay tuned.
In other ministry developments, Julie has had an answer to prayer. One of the things Julie misses from home is the Bible Study Fellowship program she attended before we left. There is one in Aberdeen but that's about a 3 hr. drive. So, who comes into church on Sunday but 4 Americans representing a very similar program they are trying to get off the ground here in Scotland. Julie met with them the other day for several hours and it's quite possible that something may be getting underway here in Stirling soon. We'll keep you posted.
Another interesting ministry related thing happening is my possible involvement in an apologetics ministry based in Edinburgh. This has been an interest of mine for years and it's looking more and more like a divine appointment has happened here. I've met twice with the director and have hit it off really well. We're looking forward to having him and his family over for church and lunch afterwards this Sunday. More on that later.
We are watching with our jaws dropped at the situation in the gulf states and are praying for those that are suffering. It's amazing how similar it looks to the area hit by the sunami. I'll have more on that on my other blog sometime later today.
That's all for now,
Marc

2005-08-22T09:38:00.000+01:00

5 years ago today... almost exactly at this time... I was urgently nudging Marc to get the bags and take me in to deliver our 2nd baby! Hard to believe Liam is a whole hand full today!

HE'S 5!!! He is so much fun to have around and always makes sure that Erin is entertained and laughing. He's goofey and silly, immaginative and extremely generous and giving. We love him to bits!

I just dropped the kids off at school and there he stood, with his buzz light year backpack and lunch box almost as big as himself, looking straight ahead in line through the flurry of activity as parents said their good byes for the day and seemed to concentrate on his teacher Miss Ditton opening the door. I think he was excited to get inside and see what the day had ahead. He did GREAT in his first week last week! I was a bit concerned because HE is usually the shy one and I thought for sure he would be a bit clinggy... but no... he did'nt even want help carrying his pack and lunch bag the first day. What a big boy! We are so thankful for our kids! Heres to a day of excitement and a weekend of adventure ahead! (The pic. is of Liam and his best pal Adventure froggy climbing Dumyat... See the pointy Wallace Monument in the distand background, our house is just below that)
Happy 5th Birthday Liam!!! Love you, Mommy

2005-08-19T14:00:00.000+01:00

Time to Gloat once again!!

Sorry I can't help myself but we are having some really nice weather today. We're talking 68 and partly sunny, kind of like the picture here that was by the way taken by another photographer friend of ours, Tracy Miller while she and her rabbit hunting husband Bobby visited last October.

Technically this photo is nearly perfect. Notice the how the fence and the Mt. top are at opposite quadrants and the body of water takes you on a trip to the upper right quadrant. It makes you want to jump into a canoe and start paddling to find out what's behind that hill on the right, and that's what makes it perfect. I'll try and post some more from her gallery in the near future.

Anyway, I'm playing Mr. Mom today while Julie's at the office working on the Scotland video. Erin has finally taken a nap so I have time to do stuff like this. I'm also taking in an episode of Seinfeld thanks to Mike and Joey. I forgot how funny that show was. Thanks again you guys, I've never been more productive. I also wanted to give a heads up to a really great conference coming to the southeastern, pa region. I'm not one who normally recomends conferences but this one looks really good. These are some of the best Christian thinkers out there today. I wish I could be there but I'm kind of like 3500 miles away so I don't think so. Anyway, you can check it out by going to www.reasonforthehopewithin.com/ Well, I better go and vacumn or something. Later,Marc

2005-08-18T11:03:00.000+01:00

Lately I've been gloating a bit about the weather being so nice here while everyone back in Pa. has been mired in the soupy heat. Well, I guess reality is back as the weather the last two days looks pretty much like the picture above which by the way was taken by Tina Weiler while on her visit last winter. Great shot of Glencoe eh. So the weather here is back to being Scottish and the San Diego weather has returned to where it belongs.
I also wanted to update you to Marc's new blog. This (Marc and Julie) blog will continue on and will be mostly devoted to family life and our ministry here where the other one will be more about things like apologetics, theology and other fun stuff. It's still in the infancy stage but you can check it out @ www.marcreedhamer.blogspot.com Anyway, I must get on with the day.
Later,
Marc

2005-08-16T16:31:00.000+01:00

School is in session!!!
Well the first day of school has come and gone and both Kayleigh and Liam seemed to enjoy the experience. Kayliegh was a bit anxious about what her teacher would be like. I think she was expecting Jezebel or theWitch of Endor or something but she came out of school today and couldn't wait to tell us how nice her teacher was. Liam, though somewhat quiet and reserved, as he is known to be, had nothing but good things to say as well. This was Liam's first full school day experience so this was a big day for him. We'll see how he feels after a couple more days. I think he'll be great, he's very adaptable.
Back to Church
We had our first day back in church the other day and it was great to see some of our friends for the first time in almost two months. After church we ended up packing some sandwiches and heading off for a picnic at Inchmahome Priory with Dave, Louis and Lilly. They're the family that lived in San Diego for ten years and moved back here about two years ago. Dave is from the States, Louis is from Scotland, and Lilly is the American born daughter that has a Scottish accent. Inchmahome Priory is an old church and place of refuge for the Queen during times of war that dates back about 800 years. It's located on an island on the Lake of Menteith (the only lake in Scotland) so we had to take a boat out to it. This is all free since we have 'Historic Scotland' memberships. The weather was great (cool and sunny) and we had a great time taking in the sights. So sorry to hear it's still so hot back in Pa. The weather here has been amazing.
The last couple of days have been spent trying to get our office things back in order and setting up appointments. We are scheduled to have a steering committee meeting in Kilmarnock next Thursday evening the 25th. Pray this will go well.
More later,
Marc

2005-08-13T10:49:00.000+01:00

Greetings once again from Bonnie 'Ol Scotland
We've been back since wed. morning but only physically since our bodies were still on Pa. time. We are still a bit tired but slowly adjusting. From wed. night into thursday, we slept for 16 hrs. I think that's the longest I (Marc) have slept since I was a teenager. Jet lag is a drag!!
The weather here has been like being beamed into fall.
It has been extremely refreshing to say the least especially after all that heat and humidity back in the states. Word has it that the weather has been very dry here while we were gone. Our front lawn backs this up since it has some pretty wide spread brown patches. According to the locals, 'it must be global warming...'. Yup, we're all gonna burn up and die just like what happenened to Mars many moons ago. Sounds funny eh but I just heard a story on the BBC last night alluding to the concept that long ago there was life on Mars and that it could no longer sustain life because of global warming. I feel sorry for these people that live with so much fear. I believe in the God who not only created this earth and universe but who also sustains it. When He says it's over, it's over, and that's that. That being said I think we as Christians especially should care for God's creation the best we know how, but this earth is not where our hope lies. The beauty of this earth is but a glimpse of what we will experience in heaven.
Has any one ever heard of a 'Presbyterian Atheist'?
I just saw this term for the first time while reading the newspaper at the convenience store. It was describing a local politician who had just passed away this past week. As I ponder that term it has made the state of things here in Scotland so much clearer. The Church of Scotland is presbyterian and practically dead, I wonder why. Think about that one for a while and then pray.
By the way, it was great to see all of our friends and family back in the states over the last 6 weeks. We had a great time and we were very sad to say goodbye. You all are such a blessing and we are very thankful to God for putting such great people in our lives.
Congratulations once again to Michael and Melissa. May God bless your marriage all the days of your lives.
Bye for now,
Marc