Greetings Blogheads!!!
It just occurred to me that we have neglected our responsibility to keep you all updated lately and for that we are deeply sorry. Anyway, enough of that.
On the IWT front, we've had a pretty good week making some contacts. Just yesterday, I contacted an American missionary down in Kilmarnock who pastors a Small but growing (kind of rare here in Scotland) Calvary Chapel church. He was very excited about the prospects of an outreach in Kilmarnock and across Scotland. He even gave me the contact info. for another pastor in Ayr who he thought would be interested as well. I know this may seem like a small victory but it's huge to us. So far we've been received by some of the church leadership here in shall we say a somewhat lukewarm fashion. Pray that we will find churches and leaders who have a burden for the lost, and a passion for evangelism.
Don't forget to Vote on tuesday!!! The whole world is watching America to see which way it's going to go. Some are calling this "The Worlds Election", and others, the "biggest" election in history. All the reason more to consult with our creator and His word for wisdom. I can't wait till it's over. ( I know you living in America hear it alot more than us, but its huge here too! And we are making sure we stay updated and informed.) I have never seen so much lying and media bias (New York Times, CBS News and others including the BBC) in my life. Pray that it will be a landslide victory, we need all those lawyers out there chasing ambulances not counting votes. Pray, Pray, Pray!!!!!!!!!
Well, that's all for now and Happy All Saints Day.
Marc
Well, its Holloween weekend... Ive never seen so many little witches and deamons dressed up in all my life, oh yeah, and there were about 7 spidermen in Liams play group. They take the "scarry" thing pretty seriously here. Its interesting to see how they "celebrate" this time of year and interesting to hear how other parents, especially the Christian ones choose to handle it. I prefer the "warm happies" of pumpkins, leaves, and Thanksgiving time myself! I can count my blessings, smell the wonderful aroma of a Pumpkin spice candle burning, give thanks and sleep in peace. :) Thankfully, Julie
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Political Update
I just found a great link while on the Harvest Christian Fellowship website. If you're still trying to figure out who you should vote for in the upcoming election, this is good stuff. It basically lays out the ethical issues and points to scripture for guidance. So if you're interested in being enlightened with the truth of God's word in regard to these issues, click HERE. It's definitely interesting stuff to ponder. Have a great day.
See ya.
I just found a great link while on the Harvest Christian Fellowship website. If you're still trying to figure out who you should vote for in the upcoming election, this is good stuff. It basically lays out the ethical issues and points to scripture for guidance. So if you're interested in being enlightened with the truth of God's word in regard to these issues, click HERE. It's definitely interesting stuff to ponder. Have a great day.
See ya.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Well hello there once again all you blogger heads. Greetings and salutations!!!
Much has happened since our last update but I will keep this fairly brief because of time constraints.
The Millerites and our 'Neat' vacation.
We had a great time with our good friends the Millers from Pa. who came to visit us for a week. They arrived on the sixth while I (Marc) was with Frank at a presentation in Kilmarnock. When I returned the Millers were being escorted to the Wallace Monument by their personal tour guide, Liam. Apparently Liam did a great job because not too long after, they all returned to the house safe and sound but looking a bit weary from the flight. After exchanging greetings and presenting our guests with some haggis chips, I decided to give them a ride around the town of Stirling. Bobby who drifted off several times during the tour had understandably only a partial memory of our experience.
In the following days we visited the Stirling castle, Castle Campbell, climbed Dumyat and took in the Old Town Jail. We then after church Sunday morning headed up to the Island of Skye in what became known as the 'Vomit Comet'. We had a quite substantial percentage of our passengers request that the driver, 'pull over'. After the 'pull over', these passengers who have requested anonymity expressed how they felt so much better which we were all very excited to hear. Needless to say, we were driving on some pretty windy roads, some of which were single track for five hours. All that being said, it was worth it because the scenery was 'neat'. If you are ever visiting Scotland, I would make Skye a priority, it was 'really neat'!
While in Skye we drove on some more 'really neat' single track roads. Climbed a 'really neat' mountain and on the way down were entertained by Bobby chasing some 'really neat' rabbits. Tracy said she was having flashbacks of their first date. Interesting.
All in all we had a great time with the Millers and were sad to see them off at the airport. We quietly drove home trying to see through our tear clogged eyes and stopped of at Ikea to try to dull the sadness.
Many thanks to Bobby and Tracy for being such a blessing to us. We miss you and our vacation to Skye will be remembered as one of the all time greats.
To sum it up, it was 'neat'.
Much has happened since our last update but I will keep this fairly brief because of time constraints.
The Millerites and our 'Neat' vacation.
We had a great time with our good friends the Millers from Pa. who came to visit us for a week. They arrived on the sixth while I (Marc) was with Frank at a presentation in Kilmarnock. When I returned the Millers were being escorted to the Wallace Monument by their personal tour guide, Liam. Apparently Liam did a great job because not too long after, they all returned to the house safe and sound but looking a bit weary from the flight. After exchanging greetings and presenting our guests with some haggis chips, I decided to give them a ride around the town of Stirling. Bobby who drifted off several times during the tour had understandably only a partial memory of our experience.
In the following days we visited the Stirling castle, Castle Campbell, climbed Dumyat and took in the Old Town Jail. We then after church Sunday morning headed up to the Island of Skye in what became known as the 'Vomit Comet'. We had a quite substantial percentage of our passengers request that the driver, 'pull over'. After the 'pull over', these passengers who have requested anonymity expressed how they felt so much better which we were all very excited to hear. Needless to say, we were driving on some pretty windy roads, some of which were single track for five hours. All that being said, it was worth it because the scenery was 'neat'. If you are ever visiting Scotland, I would make Skye a priority, it was 'really neat'!
While in Skye we drove on some more 'really neat' single track roads. Climbed a 'really neat' mountain and on the way down were entertained by Bobby chasing some 'really neat' rabbits. Tracy said she was having flashbacks of their first date. Interesting.
All in all we had a great time with the Millers and were sad to see them off at the airport. We quietly drove home trying to see through our tear clogged eyes and stopped of at Ikea to try to dull the sadness.
Many thanks to Bobby and Tracy for being such a blessing to us. We miss you and our vacation to Skye will be remembered as one of the all time greats.
To sum it up, it was 'neat'.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Our Wee One!
Yes, thanks for checking up on us and the baby! Our Latest Ultrasound scan was an experience! On Monday the technician spent about 15-20 min. with us (which is a long time for here and the NHS) trying to get some pics. of the newest Hamer. Let me tell you, this baby was not cooperating. It was actually funny because everytime she would go to snap a pic. the baby would completely turn around. She mentioned something to us about this one getting "into trouble" and to watch out, but I prefer to just take its actions as being a bit "shy". Only God knows! :) There should be some photos coming when Jeff gets a chance.
So all that to say, we may need to re-sched. the scan again. We will see. Thanks for praying. We are doing well.
I got a great report from Annette Gehman, our Missionary Support Team Coordinator saying that the latest MST clan gathering went well. Man, those guys are awesome! We really appreciate being part of this team and all the hard work that each one is doing! You guys rock!!! Should be a mailing coming out soon, so keep your eyes peeled and we appreciate the prayers!
Yes, thanks for checking up on us and the baby! Our Latest Ultrasound scan was an experience! On Monday the technician spent about 15-20 min. with us (which is a long time for here and the NHS) trying to get some pics. of the newest Hamer. Let me tell you, this baby was not cooperating. It was actually funny because everytime she would go to snap a pic. the baby would completely turn around. She mentioned something to us about this one getting "into trouble" and to watch out, but I prefer to just take its actions as being a bit "shy". Only God knows! :) There should be some photos coming when Jeff gets a chance.
So all that to say, we may need to re-sched. the scan again. We will see. Thanks for praying. We are doing well.
I got a great report from Annette Gehman, our Missionary Support Team Coordinator saying that the latest MST clan gathering went well. Man, those guys are awesome! We really appreciate being part of this team and all the hard work that each one is doing! You guys rock!!! Should be a mailing coming out soon, so keep your eyes peeled and we appreciate the prayers!
Friday, October 01, 2004
Its Julie this time. I don't really have too much to say right now, but wanted to give you a break from all this political talk. Its incredibly important, I know, but every now and then we need to chat about the strange fungus growing on the tree out front and why fish dont seem to mind swimming in dirty water and why pregnant bellies seem to grow so large and the baby is only a fraction of that weight! Hmmmmm!!!
Yes, Kayleigh is doing well in school, thanks for asking and thanks for praying!!! She actually got "Star pupil" of the week one week, which was quite an honor as only 4 kids out of the whole school are chosen each week during the assembly! We are so proud and she proudly wore the badge all week! She is writing and reading incredibly well but is challenged at the pace of the class. We all are challanged by the pace of life sometimes, so many of us can relate!
Liam has begun a playgroup in Bridge of Allen and really enjoys that. We just go about 4 hours a week and its a great way to meet other kids his age and also to pass the time when his sister is in school. He is really stoked that he has a coat and "brolly" (umbrella) hook with his name on.
I am enjoying the time that I get to know the other moms of the school as the culture here insists that you take your child to school and wait with them in their lines and watch them go in when the bell rings... then you wait outside the door for them to come out at the end of the day. Ive yet to see a real school bus. They walk (what a concept) for the most part. Well, this is a great oppertunity for me to reach out to the moms and get to know some new friends!
One new friend is actually originally from Philli! Go figure... Liam wore his Flyers shirt one day that got us talking. Another one is a devout Morman who we get aloung quite well so Im sure she will try to convert me and I will no doubt be praying for her to see Christs truths and be free! Another dear lady and I were chatting today and she made the comment that she said that her sister just moved to FL and noticed that it was neat that so many Americians seem to be "religious" and open to share their beliefs. She said that that is so unusual around here. We noticed! Well, that is a great opener if I ever heard one. There are many more, but Im excited about this great gathering and place to meet people and... there is no drinking involved! :)
Sleep well y'all! Love, Julie
Yes, Kayleigh is doing well in school, thanks for asking and thanks for praying!!! She actually got "Star pupil" of the week one week, which was quite an honor as only 4 kids out of the whole school are chosen each week during the assembly! We are so proud and she proudly wore the badge all week! She is writing and reading incredibly well but is challenged at the pace of the class. We all are challanged by the pace of life sometimes, so many of us can relate!
Liam has begun a playgroup in Bridge of Allen and really enjoys that. We just go about 4 hours a week and its a great way to meet other kids his age and also to pass the time when his sister is in school. He is really stoked that he has a coat and "brolly" (umbrella) hook with his name on.
I am enjoying the time that I get to know the other moms of the school as the culture here insists that you take your child to school and wait with them in their lines and watch them go in when the bell rings... then you wait outside the door for them to come out at the end of the day. Ive yet to see a real school bus. They walk (what a concept) for the most part. Well, this is a great oppertunity for me to reach out to the moms and get to know some new friends!
One new friend is actually originally from Philli! Go figure... Liam wore his Flyers shirt one day that got us talking. Another one is a devout Morman who we get aloung quite well so Im sure she will try to convert me and I will no doubt be praying for her to see Christs truths and be free! Another dear lady and I were chatting today and she made the comment that she said that her sister just moved to FL and noticed that it was neat that so many Americians seem to be "religious" and open to share their beliefs. She said that that is so unusual around here. We noticed! Well, that is a great opener if I ever heard one. There are many more, but Im excited about this great gathering and place to meet people and... there is no drinking involved! :)
Sleep well y'all! Love, Julie
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Hey, you all ready for the debate tonight? It's playing here at 2am live so I'm planning on staying up to watch it. Should be interesting. There's a good feature at foxnews.com which has an interactive platform page which states where the canidates stand on the different issues. One thing I didn't get from Kerry is his stance on the death penalty. He's against it except for terrorists. So, if someone rapes and murders 35 women that's considered less of a crime than a terrorist who murders even one person? Sounds like a statement from a career politician to me. Looks like the old fingers in the air to see which way the wind is blowing once again.
Did you know that the house and senate of the state of California have put on the Govenors desk a bill that if passed would prohibit the public reading (as in churches and other Christian functions) of certain scriptures that condemn homosexuality. Where's the freedom of speech there? This law is already in effect in other country's like Canada and Sweden. As a matter of fact, Impact World Tour has been banned from returning to Sweden because one of our evangelists read 1Corinthians 6:9-10 at one of the shows. They'll actually throw you in prison for that. This is the direction some would have America go. What the heck is going on? Is everybody losing their mind? It reminds me of Blaise Pascals famous words, "Truth is so obscure in these times and falsehood so established that unless you love the truth, you cannot know it." I'm afraid too many people have bought into the lie of postmodernity and do not even believe truth exists anymore. It does exist and so does he in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but by me." - John 14:6 How's that for an absolute objective statement. The thing is is that Jesus loves homosexuals as much as anybody, he just doesn't love their sin. He wants us all to turn from our sin, not try to justify it in some way. We all fall short in some way, but in order to enter into His grace we must first acknowledge this fact that we are sinners and turn from our old way of thinking and get in line with His thinking. We don't all change over night, but Jesus has a lot of loving patience for us if our heart is bent toward Him. I know because he has shown a lot of patience towards me. We are all a work in progress, but we have to take that step of faith to let Him do his work.
What the heck, here I am preaching again. Sorry, it just kind of happens.
Bye for now,
Marc
Did you know that the house and senate of the state of California have put on the Govenors desk a bill that if passed would prohibit the public reading (as in churches and other Christian functions) of certain scriptures that condemn homosexuality. Where's the freedom of speech there? This law is already in effect in other country's like Canada and Sweden. As a matter of fact, Impact World Tour has been banned from returning to Sweden because one of our evangelists read 1Corinthians 6:9-10 at one of the shows. They'll actually throw you in prison for that. This is the direction some would have America go. What the heck is going on? Is everybody losing their mind? It reminds me of Blaise Pascals famous words, "Truth is so obscure in these times and falsehood so established that unless you love the truth, you cannot know it." I'm afraid too many people have bought into the lie of postmodernity and do not even believe truth exists anymore. It does exist and so does he in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but by me." - John 14:6 How's that for an absolute objective statement. The thing is is that Jesus loves homosexuals as much as anybody, he just doesn't love their sin. He wants us all to turn from our sin, not try to justify it in some way. We all fall short in some way, but in order to enter into His grace we must first acknowledge this fact that we are sinners and turn from our old way of thinking and get in line with His thinking. We don't all change over night, but Jesus has a lot of loving patience for us if our heart is bent toward Him. I know because he has shown a lot of patience towards me. We are all a work in progress, but we have to take that step of faith to let Him do his work.
What the heck, here I am preaching again. Sorry, it just kind of happens.
Bye for now,
Marc
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Sorry the links to the party platforms didn't work. So much for making it easy. Just go to www.wallbuilders.com/ and scroll down 'till you see it listed and click on platform article. That's not too hard. Hope that works for ya. I would encourage you to explore around on the site and be open minded. You might be surprised by what you may learn.
Bye for now.
Bye for now.
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Ok, I'm pretty stoked right now as the Eagles are 3-0 after demonstrating to the previously undefeated Lions that they are not one of the elite teams as yet. This looks to be the Eagles year if they can stay relatively healthy. Another reason I am in this rather exuberant mood is that I just found out that there is a Calvary Chapel church plant right here in Stirling. I am a big fan of Calvary Chapel churches because of their emphasis on essential Christian doctrine and commitment to teaching and proclaiming the word. They're not perfect and certainly won't be when I darken their door, but they are going in the right direction. Calvary Chapel Stirling is a plant from Calvary Chapel Motherwell, Scotland. It started about a year ago so it is in the infancy stages and at the present, they only gather on wed. evenings. I am planning on checking it out in the next couple of weeks. Check out the web-sites highlighted above for more information.
Hey, everybody ready to vote? Election day is fast approaching and this is an important one. I'm not going to tell you who you should vote for (I'm trying my best to be diplomatic even though it hurts), but I think we should be responsible and not let the main stream media tell us in their own crafty way who to vote for either. Check out the platforms of both parties and see which one lines up with your world view. If you're a Christian, you should see which party platform lines up best with your BIBLICAL world view. I'll make it easy for you; just click on Party Platforms, and you're there just that easy. Be a responsible voterand do some research. A responsible voter is an informed voter or something like that. Don't buy into all the rhetoric and media spin. There's no such thing as objective reporting anymore (for the most part that is). Everyone has an agenda ie, CBS News with Dan Rather. Talk about the emperor not having any clothes. Dag, cover it up!
I think this country has been hi-jacked and I don't mean 4 years ago, I mean like 40 years ago when it began to steer way clear of it's Christian roots. Now we are having to fight for prayer in schools, Ten Commandments on public grounds, 'One Nation Under God' taken out of the Pledge, and on and on it goes. Enough rambling out of me, check out this web-site about Americas Christian heritage, it's been very enlightening to me. Wake up America or you'll end up as spiritually dead as Europe. They love their religion here but you know what Jesus had to say about religious people. He wasn't too politically correct either. He called them, 'white washed tombs' and 'brood of vipers' and other nice things. Jesus isn't into religion, he's into having a relationship with you. He is offering his free gift of salvation to all if you will just put your faith in him (that means surrendering your life to him). He died for all of us not just the really religious looking people.
What's the matter with me? I started out cheering on the Eagles and now I'm preaching.
'Till next time, check out the sites.
Marc
Hey, everybody ready to vote? Election day is fast approaching and this is an important one. I'm not going to tell you who you should vote for (I'm trying my best to be diplomatic even though it hurts), but I think we should be responsible and not let the main stream media tell us in their own crafty way who to vote for either. Check out the platforms of both parties and see which one lines up with your world view. If you're a Christian, you should see which party platform lines up best with your BIBLICAL world view. I'll make it easy for you; just click on Party Platforms, and you're there just that easy. Be a responsible voterand do some research. A responsible voter is an informed voter or something like that. Don't buy into all the rhetoric and media spin. There's no such thing as objective reporting anymore (for the most part that is). Everyone has an agenda ie, CBS News with Dan Rather. Talk about the emperor not having any clothes. Dag, cover it up!
I think this country has been hi-jacked and I don't mean 4 years ago, I mean like 40 years ago when it began to steer way clear of it's Christian roots. Now we are having to fight for prayer in schools, Ten Commandments on public grounds, 'One Nation Under God' taken out of the Pledge, and on and on it goes. Enough rambling out of me, check out this web-site about Americas Christian heritage, it's been very enlightening to me. Wake up America or you'll end up as spiritually dead as Europe. They love their religion here but you know what Jesus had to say about religious people. He wasn't too politically correct either. He called them, 'white washed tombs' and 'brood of vipers' and other nice things. Jesus isn't into religion, he's into having a relationship with you. He is offering his free gift of salvation to all if you will just put your faith in him (that means surrendering your life to him). He died for all of us not just the really religious looking people.
What's the matter with me? I started out cheering on the Eagles and now I'm preaching.
'Till next time, check out the sites.
Marc
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Hooooray!!!! We've got a web-site. Thanks to a lot of hard work by Frank our graphics genius, we now have a website. Of course I'm talking about an Impact World Tour web-site. We are in the early stages of developing our own Hamer family site. We'll let you know when it's up.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Just one more thing:
Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory,
Fly Eagles fly, score a touchdown 1,2,3
Hit 'em low, hit'em high,
and watch our Eagles fly,
Fly Eagles fly,
On the road to victory.
E*A*G*L*E*S
Eagles 27 Minnesota 16
Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory,
Fly Eagles fly, score a touchdown 1,2,3
Hit 'em low, hit'em high,
and watch our Eagles fly,
Fly Eagles fly,
On the road to victory.
E*A*G*L*E*S
Eagles 27 Minnesota 16
Greetings once again.
We had a great time hosting the Canters. They're a family of five from the states who are serving with YWAM Scotland in West Kilbride. They were speaking at Stirling Baptist this past weekend so we had them up for the weekend for some food, fun and fellowship. We all had a blast. Kayleigh and Liam got along great with their children (Haley and Josiah) and had fun playing with the wee one (Channing). The rest of us had a great time as well munching on Julie's great cooking and talking 'till the wee hours of the morning. We even had a great time hiking in the pouring rain up to Castle Cambell. Rain is not an obstacle here, just a variation.
Anyway, blessings to the Canters.
Yesterday Frank and I (Marc) had a meeting with the Church of Scotlands director of evangelism and missions. It was a chance to share with him about Impact World Tour and also hear about his ministry. He was a great guy and seemed genuinely interested in IWT. We'll see how this pans out in the future.
Thursday we have a meeting with another Christian leader in the Dunblane area and on Oct. 7th we have a very important meeting with the pastors of Kilmarnock, Scotland. Pray that they will catch the vision and want to jump on board. This could be a break through meeting. Right now we are looking at Spring of '06 for the first campaign. If things go well in this meeting, Kilmarnock could be the inaugural campaign.
We are also considering having a Discipleship Training School outreach here in November and December. Pray that we would have God's wisdom in this.
Thought of the day:
According to a recent Barna poll, only 4% of those in America who would identify themselves as Christians would refer to their faith in making decisions in their lives. What kind of Christianity is that? It's no wonder we pray that same prayer every year on the national day of prayer (2 Chron. 7:14) and nothing seems to change.
Here are some interesting articles to check out. I agree with them completely.
www.equip.org/free/cp1302.htm
www.str.org/free/commentaries/abortion/callinga.htm
www.harvest.org click on study (under media center) and then click message, "Christians In Civil Government". Great lesson on Americas Christian heritage.
We had a great time hosting the Canters. They're a family of five from the states who are serving with YWAM Scotland in West Kilbride. They were speaking at Stirling Baptist this past weekend so we had them up for the weekend for some food, fun and fellowship. We all had a blast. Kayleigh and Liam got along great with their children (Haley and Josiah) and had fun playing with the wee one (Channing). The rest of us had a great time as well munching on Julie's great cooking and talking 'till the wee hours of the morning. We even had a great time hiking in the pouring rain up to Castle Cambell. Rain is not an obstacle here, just a variation.
Anyway, blessings to the Canters.
Yesterday Frank and I (Marc) had a meeting with the Church of Scotlands director of evangelism and missions. It was a chance to share with him about Impact World Tour and also hear about his ministry. He was a great guy and seemed genuinely interested in IWT. We'll see how this pans out in the future.
Thursday we have a meeting with another Christian leader in the Dunblane area and on Oct. 7th we have a very important meeting with the pastors of Kilmarnock, Scotland. Pray that they will catch the vision and want to jump on board. This could be a break through meeting. Right now we are looking at Spring of '06 for the first campaign. If things go well in this meeting, Kilmarnock could be the inaugural campaign.
We are also considering having a Discipleship Training School outreach here in November and December. Pray that we would have God's wisdom in this.
Thought of the day:
According to a recent Barna poll, only 4% of those in America who would identify themselves as Christians would refer to their faith in making decisions in their lives. What kind of Christianity is that? It's no wonder we pray that same prayer every year on the national day of prayer (2 Chron. 7:14) and nothing seems to change.
Here are some interesting articles to check out. I agree with them completely.
www.equip.org/free/cp1302.htm
www.str.org/free/commentaries/abortion/callinga.htm
www.harvest.org click on study (under media center) and then click message, "Christians In Civil Government". Great lesson on Americas Christian heritage.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
I had a great time with the XY men's group from Stirling Baptist Church this past weekend up in the highlands. They had asked me to be the speaker for the weekend and after I accepted I grew a bit nervous knowing that I would be the only American there surrounded by Scottish men in a very remote part of the world. I thought if I could just blend in a bit I would be ok. So, I decided to wear a plaid skirt on the first night and see how things would go from there. They loved my tartan and we all got along just splendidly. It was somewhat troubling though that they were a bit short on tea. I must say though the scones made up all too well for the afformetioned travesty...That was all a joke in case you couldn't figure that out.
These were Scottish men, not English women!
Seriously, the weekend went great and I was really blessed and encouraged by a lot of great men of faith. We had some great thought provoking discussions over the weekend. The main theme was "Hearing Gods voice" with a subtitle being "Who's in control?".
I think we've found one of the best churches in all of Scotland to be quite honest. Praise God, because we didn't have a clue where we were going to end up.
I have to say the greatest challenge of the weekend other than the mountain biking was being away from my beautiful wife and my pookermunker kids. We haven't spent that much time apart in at least six months, probably more. I am really blessed. Marc
These were Scottish men, not English women!
Seriously, the weekend went great and I was really blessed and encouraged by a lot of great men of faith. We had some great thought provoking discussions over the weekend. The main theme was "Hearing Gods voice" with a subtitle being "Who's in control?".
I think we've found one of the best churches in all of Scotland to be quite honest. Praise God, because we didn't have a clue where we were going to end up.
I have to say the greatest challenge of the weekend other than the mountain biking was being away from my beautiful wife and my pookermunker kids. We haven't spent that much time apart in at least six months, probably more. I am really blessed. Marc
Ok, this is not a new post from today, (actually from about a week ago) but I accidently deleted it... who knows how! So here it is again... I think (sorry Marc!)
Greetings once again from Haggis central. Just wanted to point y'all (I just learned yesterday that this was a Scottish expression in origin) to what I thought was a fascinating interview Bill O'reilly from Fox news had with Bono, the lead singer of the band 'U2' . I would say it was enlightening as a matter of fact in many ways. It was great to hear someone come on a show and talk about an issue in an intelligent manner instead of broadbrushing and name calling a particular party or group. So often we just hear the Republicans labeling the Democrats as tax and spend social liberals and the Democrats broadbrushing the Republicans as big money fat cat cigar smoking religious zealots, and nobody ever actually gets to the issues. I appreciated the fact that Bono right from the start of the interview makes his non-partisan position clear, and then moves on to the issue at hand. That issue being the aids crisis in Africa and why the press is not covering it. You can check out the interview by going to: www.foxnews.com , click on FNC TV, O'Reilly Factor and when O'Reilly Factor page comes up click Bono's face then click video. I think as Christians we should be educating ourselves to the horrible sufferings of so many around the world and pray to God for wisdom and ways in which we may be able to help. As a matter of fact, this is not optional, Jesus has commanded us to do this.
Check out this passage, it is very sobering, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' -Matt. 25:31-40 Following this is one of the most sobering scriptures in all the bible. Check it out!!!
I would encourage us all to pray also for someone of Bono's stature to rise up and be a clear and passionate voice for the 1.4 million innocent human beings being killed annually in America under the guise of choice. If anyone deserves to live it's these little baby's which have yet to sin as opposed to the rest of us (Romans 3:23) . This is by far the greatest blight on our nation. We need to pray and do something to bring it to an end. Pray for our political as well as church leaders (2Chron. 7:14; James 3:1) that they will seek the WHOLE COUNCIL OF GOD, not just the parts that are convenient. God bless you all! Marc
(I also somehow deleted Frank and Beckys link, sorry Becky, thought I was cleaning out the old drafts... Ill get that address again.) Over and out!
Greetings once again from Haggis central. Just wanted to point y'all (I just learned yesterday that this was a Scottish expression in origin) to what I thought was a fascinating interview Bill O'reilly from Fox news had with Bono, the lead singer of the band 'U2' . I would say it was enlightening as a matter of fact in many ways. It was great to hear someone come on a show and talk about an issue in an intelligent manner instead of broadbrushing and name calling a particular party or group. So often we just hear the Republicans labeling the Democrats as tax and spend social liberals and the Democrats broadbrushing the Republicans as big money fat cat cigar smoking religious zealots, and nobody ever actually gets to the issues. I appreciated the fact that Bono right from the start of the interview makes his non-partisan position clear, and then moves on to the issue at hand. That issue being the aids crisis in Africa and why the press is not covering it. You can check out the interview by going to: www.foxnews.com , click on FNC TV, O'Reilly Factor and when O'Reilly Factor page comes up click Bono's face then click video. I think as Christians we should be educating ourselves to the horrible sufferings of so many around the world and pray to God for wisdom and ways in which we may be able to help. As a matter of fact, this is not optional, Jesus has commanded us to do this.
Check out this passage, it is very sobering, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' -Matt. 25:31-40 Following this is one of the most sobering scriptures in all the bible. Check it out!!!
I would encourage us all to pray also for someone of Bono's stature to rise up and be a clear and passionate voice for the 1.4 million innocent human beings being killed annually in America under the guise of choice. If anyone deserves to live it's these little baby's which have yet to sin as opposed to the rest of us (Romans 3:23) . This is by far the greatest blight on our nation. We need to pray and do something to bring it to an end. Pray for our political as well as church leaders (2Chron. 7:14; James 3:1) that they will seek the WHOLE COUNCIL OF GOD, not just the parts that are convenient. God bless you all! Marc
(I also somehow deleted Frank and Beckys link, sorry Becky, thought I was cleaning out the old drafts... Ill get that address again.) Over and out!
I had a great time with the XY men's group from Stirling Baptist Church this past weekend up in the highlands. They had asked me to be the speaker for the weekend and after I accepted I grew a bit nervous knowing that I would be the only American there surrounded by Scottish men in a very remote part of the world. I thought if I could just blend in a bit I would be ok.
So, I decided to wear a plaid skirt on the first night and see how things would go from there. They loved my tartan and we all got along just splendidly. It was somewhat troubling though that they were a bit short on tea. I must say though the scones made up all too well for the afformetioned travesty...That was all a joke in case you couldn't figure that out.
These were Scottish men, not English women!
Seriously, the weekend went great and I was really blessed and encouraged by a lot of great men of faith. We had some great thought provoking discussions over the weekend. The main theme was "Hearing Gods voice" with a subtitle being "Who's in control?".
I think we've found one of the best churches in all of Scotland to be quite honest. Praise God, because we didn't have a clue where we were going to end up.
I have to say the greatest challenge of the weekend other than the mountain biking was being away from my beautiful wife and my pookermunker kids. We haven't spent that much time apart in at least six months, probably more. I am really blessed. Marc
So, I decided to wear a plaid skirt on the first night and see how things would go from there. They loved my tartan and we all got along just splendidly. It was somewhat troubling though that they were a bit short on tea. I must say though the scones made up all too well for the afformetioned travesty...That was all a joke in case you couldn't figure that out.
These were Scottish men, not English women!
Seriously, the weekend went great and I was really blessed and encouraged by a lot of great men of faith. We had some great thought provoking discussions over the weekend. The main theme was "Hearing Gods voice" with a subtitle being "Who's in control?".
I think we've found one of the best churches in all of Scotland to be quite honest. Praise God, because we didn't have a clue where we were going to end up.
I have to say the greatest challenge of the weekend other than the mountain biking was being away from my beautiful wife and my pookermunker kids. We haven't spent that much time apart in at least six months, probably more. I am really blessed. Marc
Saturday, September 04, 2004
I woke Kayleigh up on Wed. (my birthday) with a kiss and she said to me... "Mommy, ... it looks like you have more than 2 wrinkles on your forehead." What a way to say happy birthday! I love kids to bits and the way they are so free and open to share what they observe. Shes right, but I was making a funny face too!
Anyway, we spent the day with people that we did not know well in Edinburgh, but it was fun anyway! We were debriefing the YWAM Edinburgh Staff that had been organizing the Shine ministry for the Edinburgh Arts festival. HUGE job! The Shine ministry I mean! It was great to hear them share their experiences, challenges, leadership whoas, and celebrations as well and be a part of that! Its so cool that there are people willing to be such a light in such an incredible dark culture there!
Well, after our 7 hour or so debriefing, we quickly went home to relieve Becky (who so graciously picked up Kayleigh from school and "child minded" Liam as well). We were greeted with festivities at home! Packages, (some from the mail too... Thanks!!!) , home made banners, a cake from Frank, and a live finger puppet show by the Hamer kids. How cute! Becky even helped them make a theatre stage! How cool! ANYWAY... all in all it was a good day!
Ok, who doesn't love Sundays!?! A morning of worship with like minded believers in Christ... (one would hope) and then a day to kick back and do nothing or something... whatever you want! (Except for Church workers, I know this one is tricky and your day of rest must come another day.)
Anyway, I am looking forward to tomorrows post Church festivities... Its a Monty Pythons Holy Grail Festival at the Doune Castle where it was filmed! Should be a riot! Coconut shells and all! (Im sure that most of the attenders will be Americans as every British person that I have spoken of it with has wrinkled their nose at the thought of the film.) (And really we are going because for us its free and local... party on!)
Anyway, we spent the day with people that we did not know well in Edinburgh, but it was fun anyway! We were debriefing the YWAM Edinburgh Staff that had been organizing the Shine ministry for the Edinburgh Arts festival. HUGE job! The Shine ministry I mean! It was great to hear them share their experiences, challenges, leadership whoas, and celebrations as well and be a part of that! Its so cool that there are people willing to be such a light in such an incredible dark culture there!
Well, after our 7 hour or so debriefing, we quickly went home to relieve Becky (who so graciously picked up Kayleigh from school and "child minded" Liam as well). We were greeted with festivities at home! Packages, (some from the mail too... Thanks!!!) , home made banners, a cake from Frank, and a live finger puppet show by the Hamer kids. How cute! Becky even helped them make a theatre stage! How cool! ANYWAY... all in all it was a good day!
Ok, who doesn't love Sundays!?! A morning of worship with like minded believers in Christ... (one would hope) and then a day to kick back and do nothing or something... whatever you want! (Except for Church workers, I know this one is tricky and your day of rest must come another day.)
Anyway, I am looking forward to tomorrows post Church festivities... Its a Monty Pythons Holy Grail Festival at the Doune Castle where it was filmed! Should be a riot! Coconut shells and all! (Im sure that most of the attenders will be Americans as every British person that I have spoken of it with has wrinkled their nose at the thought of the film.) (And really we are going because for us its free and local... party on!)
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Happy Birthday Liam!!! As of Sunday 22 of August our little kerplunkter is now 4 years old!!! Yippee! He has been blessed with some great cards and awesome packages... yes the deliver guy knows where we are now... and some great friends and family! Thanks guys!
He is really getting into toys that toss things and things that fly through the air. Hmmmmm sounds like a boy! He is enjoying his new found time with mom or dad all by himself (when Kayleigh is at school) and he seems to be enjoying that! .... Although I will say that the 2 of them are playing soooo nicely together when they are together. I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder in some cases! Did you ever notice that I like to write inserting loads of ... well.... pauses... like this.....?! Does it drive you batty? I don't know why, but it just flows from my finger tips. Anyway... enough about .... that.... Happy 4th Birthday Liam Reed Hamer!
He is really getting into toys that toss things and things that fly through the air. Hmmmmm sounds like a boy! He is enjoying his new found time with mom or dad all by himself (when Kayleigh is at school) and he seems to be enjoying that! .... Although I will say that the 2 of them are playing soooo nicely together when they are together. I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder in some cases! Did you ever notice that I like to write inserting loads of ... well.... pauses... like this.....?! Does it drive you batty? I don't know why, but it just flows from my finger tips. Anyway... enough about .... that.... Happy 4th Birthday Liam Reed Hamer!
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Greetings once again from IWT headquarters here in Scotland. Just in case you are wondering what the weather is doing here, um..........it's raining. What a shock.
So are you all enjoying the Olympics? The reporting here is somewhat different than in the States. Pray that the UK wins something before the whole place slips into serious depression. Even the tv comentators sound desperate. I never thought I would say this but, I miss John Tesh and his sappy stories. Well, I don't miss him that much but I wouldn't mind a few tear jerking stories about the athletes from time to time. Bye the way, the kids have us all chanting USA USA USA.
The latest on IWT
At present we are continuing to make contacts and trying to bring churches, buisness leaders and individuals on board to make this thing happen. It looks like we will be giving a presentation to a group of church and buisness leaders from Stirling in the next couple of weeks. We've met many people from our home church here now, http://www.stirlingbaptist.org that are very excited about what God can do through IWT here in Scotland. Great to be a part of a healthy church that has vision for outreach! We are also working on our new promotional video that we will use for presentations, church kickoffs, and fundraisers. (Big, urgent project) The video will retain some of the meat of the New Zealand video but we will give it a distinctly Scottish flair. Needless to say we've been listening to a lot of bagpipe music lately and not all of it good. There is some great stuff out there though so it should end up being a stirring video.
We are currently still looking for office space that we can afford. Since we are very much in the infancy faze of this campaign, we don't have very much funding as yet so we would prefer free office space. I'm sure God will provide at just the right time and I must add, we haven't given up on the Sword Hotel. One of these days we might just see a for sale sign up there. Overall things tend to move somewhat slow here especially in working with the government. We have attained non-profit status which is great and we are currently going after charity statis as well. Pray that all these things will come together. We are expecting big things to happen here in Scotland.
On a more personal note, Kayleigh seems to be doing pretty good in her first two days of her educational carreer outside of home. We couldn't be more proud of her. Liam seems to be adjusting pretty well also, though he does miss playing with his big sister during the day. He's also looking forward to his big 4th birthday this Sunday. Julie is feeling a bit better little by little and we are all really excited about the new addition due to make his or her debut in early March.
Well that's about all for now, more in the not too distant future.
See ya.
So are you all enjoying the Olympics? The reporting here is somewhat different than in the States. Pray that the UK wins something before the whole place slips into serious depression. Even the tv comentators sound desperate. I never thought I would say this but, I miss John Tesh and his sappy stories. Well, I don't miss him that much but I wouldn't mind a few tear jerking stories about the athletes from time to time. Bye the way, the kids have us all chanting USA USA USA.
The latest on IWT
At present we are continuing to make contacts and trying to bring churches, buisness leaders and individuals on board to make this thing happen. It looks like we will be giving a presentation to a group of church and buisness leaders from Stirling in the next couple of weeks. We've met many people from our home church here now, http://www.stirlingbaptist.org that are very excited about what God can do through IWT here in Scotland. Great to be a part of a healthy church that has vision for outreach! We are also working on our new promotional video that we will use for presentations, church kickoffs, and fundraisers. (Big, urgent project) The video will retain some of the meat of the New Zealand video but we will give it a distinctly Scottish flair. Needless to say we've been listening to a lot of bagpipe music lately and not all of it good. There is some great stuff out there though so it should end up being a stirring video.
We are currently still looking for office space that we can afford. Since we are very much in the infancy faze of this campaign, we don't have very much funding as yet so we would prefer free office space. I'm sure God will provide at just the right time and I must add, we haven't given up on the Sword Hotel. One of these days we might just see a for sale sign up there. Overall things tend to move somewhat slow here especially in working with the government. We have attained non-profit status which is great and we are currently going after charity statis as well. Pray that all these things will come together. We are expecting big things to happen here in Scotland.
On a more personal note, Kayleigh seems to be doing pretty good in her first two days of her educational carreer outside of home. We couldn't be more proud of her. Liam seems to be adjusting pretty well also, though he does miss playing with his big sister during the day. He's also looking forward to his big 4th birthday this Sunday. Julie is feeling a bit better little by little and we are all really excited about the new addition due to make his or her debut in early March.
Well that's about all for now, more in the not too distant future.
See ya.
Monday, August 16, 2004
FOUND ...after 11 long weeks of search...
Something similar to saltine crackers!!! My prayers are answered! In a gourmet deli under the name "Italian Wafer" and in a black and gold box looking very posh. Guess the Saltine got all dressed up for the Scotts!
Tomorrow is the big day... please pray for confidence and peace for Kayleigh as she goes to school. I found out I can take her out for the lunch hour and I believe we will do lunch at the park or something to make the long first few days a little shorter. Cool! Gotta run.
Something similar to saltine crackers!!! My prayers are answered! In a gourmet deli under the name "Italian Wafer" and in a black and gold box looking very posh. Guess the Saltine got all dressed up for the Scotts!
Tomorrow is the big day... please pray for confidence and peace for Kayleigh as she goes to school. I found out I can take her out for the lunch hour and I believe we will do lunch at the park or something to make the long first few days a little shorter. Cool! Gotta run.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
OH, Yeah... thanks Emily for reminding me... YES!!!! Praise the Lord our container arrived and God answered the kids prayers that it would not fall out of the boat! Yippee! It was wonderful of Frank (on his birthday, I might add) and Becky come to help us unload! Huge thanks once again to all our amazing friends who helped pack up!!!
Having our guests come and living in this cute polly pocket house, as Marc calls it encouraged us to quickly unpack our boxes so it feels like home, (minus the family within a drive away). It is a wonderful thing to own a sofa and have dressers to put things into. We will not soon forget the suitcase and floor days! It was almost like Christmas for the kids unpacking all their toys and familiar things. Insert smile here!
Having our guests come and living in this cute polly pocket house, as Marc calls it encouraged us to quickly unpack our boxes so it feels like home, (minus the family within a drive away). It is a wonderful thing to own a sofa and have dressers to put things into. We will not soon forget the suitcase and floor days! It was almost like Christmas for the kids unpacking all their toys and familiar things. Insert smile here!
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