On to Pakistan (Pakistan Trip 2nd Post)

After one night in Dubai I flew the following evening to Lahore, Pakistan.

We have been involved there since 2006 when Yaqoob Ilyas, a former immigration centre detainees,started a church, prison ministry and adult education classes.

There are three million Christians in Pakistan all facing varying degrees of hardship, discrimination and outright persecution. I assure you they are truly brothers and sisters and part of our Christian family. In their time of distress I can think of no place I wold rather be than with them, sharing the treasures of His love and His word.

I spent the first eight days in Green Town a Christian "colony", where Yaqoob has his church. We ran a three day Bible Conference, a youth meeting, a Sunday meeting and three days of Bible classes for his workers. I stayed with Yaqoob in his flat in Bahar Colony, however we never ate dinner at home and spent every night at different peoples houses praying together and enjoying their hospitality. By the end of the trip I honestly felt very at home and found it a little hard to leave. It was hard to leave a place where I could spend my whole time studying and teaching Gods word and being so well received by all there. It is now my second "home"!



Here is myself and Yaqoob at the the Bible Conference.



Our Students!




Somehow I manage to pray for two people at once! I have never prayed for so many people as during this visit to Pakistan. Its interesting that praying for others is rather like a muscle. The more you do it, the stronger you feel and the more confident you are that God is working through the prayers.




Yaqoob praying for all the young men who came forward.



Asiya, wearing brown, praying for the young women.



Dancing at the end of one of the meetings!



Yaqoob and I exhorting the people



Asiya pulling a funny face! She is a great help to Yaqoob, teaching the Adult Education Class, faithful prison visitor and organising church meetings!



Myself with Asiya, Shammah and Suleiman. We have seen a great change in this family since first coming to Pakistan. They are all actively involved in church and prison ministry.



Distributing our new book in Urdu."Obstacles are for Overcoming!" What a blessing and a lovely job by Yaqoob.



At the end of the Bible conference

More pictures and stories following!

Dubai (Pakistan Trip 1st Post)

Well only one picture which is pretty lame but I didn't have a camera. I stayed with an old friend Michael Frampton who was singing and playing the piano at Frankies. ( A restaurant bar started by Frankie Dettori (famous jockey) and Marco Pierre White). He generously picked me up from the airport and rode on the fabulous new Dubai overland metro that winds its way through the fabulously 21st century Dubai city. We spent the day catching up and went to a fantastic mall (the Il Ibadan) for food etc. The next day my Afghani friend Abdul Rahim came over to Michael's apartment for five hours in the afternoon. We talked, read and prayed together. I met him in 2006 in an immigration centre in London. Claiming asylum as a Christian, he was refused and sent back to Afghanistan. He has spent periods on the run, walking all the way to Pakistan, starting Christian groups that were raided by the police. and traveling the country meeting with and encouraging new believers.



The time with Abdul was very special and reinforced my belief in him that God is using Him for something special. God has kept him through so much in the past few years all for a purpose and I am so happy to be a part of that and help him in whatever way I can.He lives in Kabul but spends large amounts of time travelling around the country encouraging and strengthening new believers. He is on the very front line of the battle working in dangerous circumstances and deserves all the support he can get I believe. We will be helping him in the future and hope to pass on news of his progress in the future. God bless Him!

First post for a long time!!!

Well its been so long since the last post. Natasha went to Kenya for five weeks. It was a long time away for all of us at home but the Lord really kept us and so we were fine even though missing her. She came back safely and ten days later I went to Pakistan. Well first I went to Dubai for

one night and then to Pakistan for the next 12 days. What a special trip it was! Emotionally you feel like I discovered a home I never knew you had but it has become a place where I feel completely at home with friends and Christian family. I will gradually blog my experiences there. We are all together once again..putting together a youth performance for schools for the end of term in four local schools.. and then getting ready for a visit from my mum over Christmas which will be a real blessing to us all.