What I see from here.

2009-07-13T20:18:00.004Z

What a brilliant idea!http://www.thebiglunch.com/

2009-06-03T07:30:00.001Z

Psalm 90:12"teach us to realize the brevity of life so that we may grow in wisdom"

2008-12-28T22:54:00.008Z

Merry Christmas!Fiona and I just had a great week with three young friends from Romania, Bela, Marian and Levi. We had a great Christmas together and we thank all our friends and family for making them feel so welcome and giving them a brilliant christmas. I think, for all of us, it was one of the best.On their first day here Charlie and I got to share a great experience with them. We took them

2008-10-26T17:18:00.003Z

Just a little highlight from last Sunday night... It was a great night at spring and airbrake and I have to say that live music is brilliant when you are only five or six feet from the artist.

2008-10-06T14:22:00.005Z

Just going through my pictures from Romania and found this beauty...I can't take credit for it though becasue I think our friend Kelly took it. This is near the town of Sovata beside a tiny little pilgramage church on top of a hill. Just thought you might want to see some of the more beautiful side of Romania.

2008-10-01T22:58:00.004Z

This picture has been added in response to my good friend Chuck questioning whether the picture in my last post was truly representative of the roads around Ballynahinch which I was encouraging you all to make good, healthy use of.I hope this one is more in keeping with the spirit of the post. In fairness the last one probably was taken just outside of anywhere USA where neither you nor I have

2008-09-30T21:43:00.006Z

On the road again...Over the last few weeks I have started running again on the beautiful roads around Ballynahinch and I'm really enjoying it. I have to admit that the recent bout (a week and a half strong until today) of good weather hasn't hurt my love for the experience either.But I think the brilliance of running goes beyond the good weather and dry roads. There really is something powerful

2008-09-23T15:59:00.005Z

A day at the beach...Isn't Ireland beautiful! And its right on our doorstep.

2008-09-15T21:17:00.003Z

For anyone who is patient enough to still check this space every once in a while sorry for the lack of content.It was an extremely brilliant but busy summer in Romania, followed buy a month back home painting our house top to bottom, followed by starting a new job and only having internet for the last few weeks.On top of that I find that now that I am back in the land where you can find out all

2008-06-29T13:25:00.003Z

We just finished our first week of camp!Thanks for all your prayers! We had an amazing week with lots of WATER and GRASS!On the last night of camp, right before we had our medal ceremony we did the final competition of the week... Body Building and Pose Down competition!This is it... Week 2 here we come...

2008-05-24T14:22:00.004Z

Very cute but very sad.Every other Saturday morning we do a programme called Club Fuel for about 60 orphan kids, under 14 yrs old, that live near Targu Mures. We use a big room in a facility that used to be a special needs orphanage. It's a great programme and we have a lot of fun with the kids and we usually play outside with them afterwards before the bus collects them.Well this facility is now

2008-05-14T15:52:00.004Z

Pray for grass!!!!!!I was out at our camp property at 7 this morning to check out our grass situation and possibly to fire our "grounds keeper." As some of you possibly know we flattened and reseeded our land last fall so that we won't have any broken ankles at camp this summer and now we are waiting for the grass to grow.But as we see the grass come up it looks like large portions of it were

2008-05-10T19:32:00.009Z

If some EU politicians have their way our children will all grow up in bubble wrap...I just read an article in Newsweek today about new regulations that are having a profound impact on the EU's music and entertainment industry. Apparently no employee can work in an environment with a daily noise average above 85 decibels.Since orchestras can easily go into the 130 decibel range and even bagpipers

2008-05-04T15:23:00.004Z

Money as Debt...I came accross this video the other day on Youtube and it was seriously eye opening even though some of it completely went over my head. And on the money topic, how about food as currency? We were doing an Easter scavenger hunt with the kids the other day and my role was to sit at McDonalds, let each team buy me something for about 60p off the delicious MC D's menue and them give

2008-04-15T15:25:00.006Z

Sorry for the repeated unoriginal content but this is really interresting...How the world really shapes up.

2008-04-13T14:44:00.003Z

Rapture Ready! ... interesting

2008-04-09T15:12:00.003Z

Check out this amazing dancing... Fiona and I went to a "Spectacular" yesterday morning that some of the kids we work with were performing in. It was pretty long and unorganized but we did get to see this amazing slap, clap and snap dance. This is traditional Gypsy dancing and its impressive stuff. Most of the kids we know sang and did traditional Romanian dancing which isn't quite as

2008-03-31T19:46:00.003Z

Something that inspired me today...Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Cor 4:16-18

2008-03-23T20:02:00.004Z

I was reading through John yesterday, especially the last few days before Jesus death.I am continually baffled, amazed, challenged, confused, and inspired when I read the teachings of Jesus... and I am always reassured when I read the responses of his followers. I find it very encouraging to know that some of Jesus closest friends were just as dim as I am.But there is one thing that Jesus said,

2008-03-18T11:56:00.003Z

It seems like there is a bit of a “tagging” epidemic going on right now and I have succumbed to the affliction despite installing some free virus protection software. It just shows you that nothing is 100% safe!7 things you might or might not know about me.1. I sucked my thumb until I was probably 8 or so.2. I also knocked out my 2 front teeth engaging in that lost

2008-03-10T12:10:00.005Z

Another first...On Saturday night Fiona and I went to our first Romanian professional basketball game. Our city has a team and I think they are actually about 4th in the league which is pretty good. Well some of the boys that I hang out with every week have been asking me to go for some time now so we finally all got together and went.It was actually pretty good (Not the NBA or anything but

2008-03-02T08:20:00.005Z

Too wonderful for you to understand.I was reading this morning in the book of Judges. A weird and amazing book about many unusual and unexpected heroes. But more amazing than the heroes that God chose to use were the people that He continually chose to save.God has done miracle after miracle for these people over the generations and they have been passing these stories on to their children and

2008-02-26T15:46:00.004Z

A beautiful view at Steinplatte (or Kitzbuhel?)...Sometimes one of the best parts of snowboarding is just sitting and enjoying the view, over lunch or even just between runs.

2008-02-20T22:07:00.003Z

Another first for me...This Sunday I took a few teenagers from a state group home to an Orthodox church in a small village just outside Targu Mures. Levi had told me that the priest at this church was a very wise man and he really wanted to see him and maybe talk to him. So off we drove to this village.When we got there I couldn't believe the scene. The village probably had about 30 houses and

2008-01-16T22:38:00.000Z

Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!I just read this today in The word for today.'Many Christians estimate difficulty in the light of their own resources, thus they attempt very little and they always fail. The real giants have all been weak people who did great things for God because they reckoned on His power and His presence to be with them.' - Hudson TaylorTo me this

2008-01-07T21:37:00.000Z

Beautiful Targu Mures!I don't know how well you can see from this picture but this is a sad view of the town we live in. Fiona and I went for a walk on Saturday up to the plateau that rises above our town. It was a great walk (about 1 1/2 hours) on a crisp and sunny day. We even stopped at the top on a park bench and shared a flask of steaming coffee and some chocolate chip cookies, yummee!The

2008-01-04T21:01:00.000Z

I stole this from Mr. Ben Jones' blog. Its truly worth a look. Absolutely brilliant!

2008-01-01T20:50:00.000Z

An old poem... for a new year.And now you live dispersed on ribbon roads,And no man knows or cares who is his neighbourUnless his neighbour makes too much disturbance,But all dash to and fro in motor cars,Familiar with the roads and settled nowhere--T.S. EliotHow do I live the greatest commandment, in the west, today? How do I live against prevailing culture, prevailing trends and against my own

2007-12-30T20:06:00.000Z

A first for me...Fiona and I went to Poiana Brasov today to go snowboarding. I have to say it is not the worlds best ski resort. It's basically a beautiful mountain with only 3 choices of runs. 1. Directly below the gondola, which is steep and icy, 2. a blue trail that basically criss crosses back and fourth across the mountain, or 3. a combination of the first two. Not that much to offer

2007-12-02T21:57:00.001Z

Of Course one of the best parts of our trip was seeing my family.These are two of my nephews, Clay and Tate. We got to watch them both play hockey. It was great. There is an amazing community atmosphere at kids hockey games in Canada.Fiona and I with my sister Ange. We got to stay at her house for a few nights. It was definitely great to be able to see my family for the first time in three

2007-12-02T20:44:00.000Z

I had an amazing time in the States and Canada (A.K.A. the promise land) last month, thanks in part to a very generous Livada Board member.Here are some of the highlights...Deep sea fishing with my mate Ian. This was an amazing first time experience. I caught a few good fish, including a couple sharks and got to spend the day with two brand new friends, Kenny and Mike.This was me in the process

2007-11-16T04:07:00.000Z

Not a lot of original thought lately...Another great quote."The poor had no answers for the unfairness of life. Had a mere accident of birth condemned them to a cycle of suffering and poverty? They had little time or leisure to contemplate such questions. But when asked about the source of strength in there lives, they often pointed to Jesus. Religion for them was no crutch but rather a source of

2007-10-30T13:42:00.000Z

Found this little gem while reading this morning..."Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let you conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right responce for everyone."Collosians 4:5-6

2007-10-16T06:53:00.000Z

Interesting quote..."God is 'the Truth.' The Bible is 'the truth about the Truth.' Theology is 'the truth about the truth about the Truth.' Fundamentalism is 'the truth about the truth about the truth about the Truth.' Christian people live in these many truths about the Truth and because of them, have not 'the Truth.'Richard Wurmbrand - Tortured for Christ

2007-10-04T20:14:00.000Z

Another Sunday at the cross...This past Sunday Emi and I took some of the older boys (18 - 22 yrs old) in Livada's care to the cross in the mountains near Brasov. It was a brilliant day out with them. There is something about being in the great out doors that brings out the best in people and we had some good laughs and some great talks.In a couple of weeks half of these guys graduate out of

2007-09-13T19:18:00.000Z

In the world but not of the world?9 When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 10 But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11 I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet

2007-09-09T14:09:00.001Z

This one is for Niall and Charlie.

2007-09-04T19:39:00.000Z

Well the maddness of planning, building and running a summer full of camps for kids from all over our county is over. Our holiday that seemed all too short is over and Fiona and I are back to our normal life in Targu Mures.Here are some of my favourite memories from the last few months...It all started with a lot of new experience in building and general grunt work.This is a face I will never

2007-08-16T17:49:00.000Z

We obviously didn't give our interns enough to do this summer because they even had time to make music videos...

2007-07-21T08:19:00.000Z

Two Extreems...Well it really is uncanny that every time a team from Northern Ireland comes to help run Livada Summer Camps the rain is not far behind and the week before this one was no exception. We had beautiful weather in the couple days running up to taking the kids to camp but.... on queue when we got to camp with the fantastic team from Ballymacash/Lisburn the rain started. It was

2007-07-15T22:29:00.001Z

2007-07-15T17:33:00.000Z

Who needs water, electricity or a dry place to sleep?Well it has been an interresting summer so far. 4 weeks down and 4 more to go. We've had a lot of challenges with water shortages, inconsistant electricity and leaky tents but it has been a brilliant time so far. A lot of kids have been loved by our staff and volunteers and we hope they have seen and heard the truth of God's love for them...

2007-06-05T20:05:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of content...but between a far too busy schedule since we were back in Ireland and the fact that the few times I have tried to blog my internet was not working properly, there has not been much going on in the blogging front... or the life front for that matter.Right now fiona and I are looking back on those slow 70 hour work weeks with fondness. It's a bit crazy.But if you do

2007-03-10T22:11:00.000Z

My latest read...I am currently reading this book called Bury Me Standing. It is about the Roma people (the Gypsies) and their journey, their traditions and their culture that has isolated and demonized them in every country they have ever settled in or travelled through.It is a totally fascinating read and a real eye opener, not just about this group of people but about the reality of the

2007-02-20T19:50:00.000Z

Good memoriesI just got a package in the post from Chuck with a long awaited CD full of photo's from a trip in the Mournes last year with him and Niall. So glad to finally see them all. Thanks man.Good friends and a good walk in the mountains. And the so called fry the next morning wasn't too bad either. Maybe I'll get another shot at these beautiful hills when Fiona and I go home in March. We

2007-02-09T20:18:00.000Z

Winter in Romania Ok, what is the weather like this winter?We had snow here on the 3rd of November and then not again until last week. We have had a few days of sub zero temperatures and now I think spring has arrived. It was as high as 15 the last couple of days here in Targu Mures and was a wopping 23 in Bucharest.I was looking forward to my first real winter in 6 years, since leaving Canada,

2007-02-06T17:01:00.000Z

The truth is out there...I was just having a wee moment of nostalgia, looking back through our Christmas photos and found this mysterious one that must have been taken at our Underground Christmas party.Santa made a visit at the end of the night to give out presents but I didn't realize that someone had de-hatted him and takin this sneaky little picture. Now maybe we can identify the imposter.

2007-01-12T20:59:00.000Z

Here they are: 5 things that you don’t know about me and maybe don’t want to know1. When I was about 8 years old I slept over at my friend David’s house one weekend. We stayed up really late, as kids do, and after watching some movies while drinking an entire case of coke (24 cans) we decided to play a game of bowling with the empties. Well that got really noisy and his parents ended up coming

2006-12-13T20:25:00.000Z

Christmas is coming...Well the old blogging has been a bit dry lately but life has been busy so what do you do. I have to say that I am really looking forward to Christmas this year though. For starters Charlie is coming in 4 days to stay with us and then Claire is coming just after Christmas. I can't wait to have a bit of old fashioned Norn Irish craic with them for a couple of weeks. I

2006-11-25T11:33:00.000Z

Car thieves are bustin my chops. I the last two weeks we have had three Livada staff member's cars broken into and two ipods and a wallet stolen... the latter of these being mine. Very annoying.Thankfully there was not much money in my wallet but its much more of a pain to have to replace all my cards. 2 debit and 2 credit cards, my UK drivers liscence and my Romanian Visa ID card, as well as my

2006-11-21T21:02:00.000Z

Fiona and I went on a fantastic date to the movies this Saturday...with a van full of 7 year olds.As I said in a previous post, with the help of Fiona's school, we are trying to do special excursions with the kids from the state group homes around Targu Mures. We just want to help them do things that they would not normally be able to do. It is amazing that many things that we have done hundreds

2006-11-17T23:03:00.000Z

Loving the "tinternet"I have to say that I am really appreciating the old world wide web right now and especially the land of blog and the bbc. Although fiona and I are quite far away from most of ouf our friends and our entire family we do feel pretty connected, even to some of the people that we haven't talked to.Hearing about your lives via emails, catching up on what has been happening on

2006-11-09T20:48:00.000Z

A couple of images that stand out in the last week.This picture was taken last thursday night at The Underground (our thursday night event). We did a photo scavanger hunt and one of the tasks was the old get as many people in the phone booth gag.It was a brilliant night and a good laugh watching 60 kids run around town making complete fools of themselves, huggung police officers, cramming their

2006-11-03T17:52:00.000Z

I woke up this morning and looked out my window and this is what I saw... It's only the start of November and winter has arrived in force. About 4 inches of snow fell today and it doesn't seem to be going away in a hurry. But the wierd thing is that we have skipped autumn. Last week it was about 20C every afternoon and got as warm as 24C a couple of days. Its a bit crazy driving at the moment

2006-11-01T20:06:00.000Z

This one's for Mr Nixon. Frissssbeeeeee!..... Breakdance!I took this picture a couple of weeks ago when we were visiting some group homes.Csabi was Niall's best mate at camp this summer. If you ever need a lift in life he is the guy that you want to hang out with. The expression that is on his face in this picture is what you always get from him. He literally never stops smiling... and he has

2006-10-29T10:53:00.000Z

The Coles drop-in centre... I mean house. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about having some guys over once a week to hang out and play a bit of Xbox. Well this is a continuation of that story. Thanks to The Edge we also have table tennis so our house is becoming a bit of a drop in centre. The table is in our garage which as you maybe can see is incredibly dusty, and cold at night, but it does the

2006-10-29T10:18:00.000Z

The UndergroundA few weeks ago we started aThursday night youth event for the teenagers from the orphanages that go to school in TarguMures. It has been a great experience so far. We expected about 40 kids to come and have had at least 60 each night.The night is kind of like Beyond the Edge (for those of you from the Hinch) but the young people actually want to play the games... and I don't get

2006-10-11T17:49:00.000Z

A first in Romania.Last night I had 8 of the teenage guys that live with LOC over for some chillin time. Thanks to Aidan and Niall I am now the proud owner of an XBox and 3 games (Thanks very much by the way). So we all played Burnout Revenge and Pro Evo 4 for a couple of hours. They absolutely loved it but the thing that really surprised me was that none of them had even heard of the XBox.

2006-09-28T19:19:00.000Z

Masini (pronounced - masheen)Last night I went to see my first movie totally in Romanian. We took 8 kids from on of the State group homes (Casa 8 in Sancrai for those of you who have been here) to see Masini, "Cars," in our local cinema. They had dubbed it over in Romanian and actually did a really good job... or so other people told me. I understood the odd thing but cartoons really speak for

2006-09-18T21:11:00.000Z

This Sunday we took a little different rout to the cross...

2006-09-18T21:03:00.000Z

We drove to a town near Brasov this Sunday to go for a bit of a hike up to the cross. Thankfully you can take a gondola most of the way. Its about a 45 min walk from the lift to the cross. The walk was great and the view was amazing. This cronstruction of this huge steel cross was brilliant but the view from thousands of feet up on a very steep mountain was even better. God made some pretty

2006-09-18T20:00:00.000Z

Never thought I'd say this but I love those Yanks...Just had a great week here with 4 guys from the states who came over for 10 days to help fix up 2 of Livada's group homes. After a year of abuse from 10 young kids who are just learning what boundaries and rules are, two of Livada's group homes, Casa Ana and Casa Nadia, were looking a little worse for wear.So in step 4 men from south Florida who

2006-09-08T20:55:00.000Z

ITV report on "Romania's forgotten children". Very shocking and unfortunately very true.

2006-09-03T18:08:00.000Z

An image from our local marketOne great thing about where we live is our local market. We can get almost any kind of fruit or veg at unbeatable prices... except lettuce and broccoli that is, or anything remotely exotic... but the prices are fantastic!We live about a 3 minuite walk from it and we get to walk through the "homeless headquarters" to get there where there are lots of feet sticking

2006-08-31T14:37:00.000Z

A poem - it doesn't really need an introduction - have a read...When I became a Christian I said, “Lord now fill me in. Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin?” Well He said, “Your body could be killed and left to rot and stink. Do you still want to follow me?”I said “Amen… I think.I think Amen. Amen I think. I think I say Amen. Look, I’m not completely sure, could we just run

2006-08-18T10:45:00.000Z

Maybe the next Ronaldinho will come from this pitch?(Niall, Matthew and Stan with the boys)This is the field in the middle of a group of 11 state group homes where over 80 kids play every day of the year. It is very uneven surface but typical to most latin countries there is a small area about 20 x 40 feet in the middle where they have stomped out a makeshift football pitch. The goals are made

2006-08-16T16:56:00.000Z

The worlds youngest breakdancer.Sorry about the quality. Its a bit dark but I thought it was worth a look see anyway. This is Florin who is 4 years old and very funny. He is the strongest, most agile 4 yr old I have ever seen. This video was taken on the last day of camp with the Edge team... more pics and updates to come.

2006-08-06T14:51:00.000Z

Some more pics...The Saturday before our team came Fiona and I took a day trip to go hiking in Brasov, it's Romania's answer to Hollywood... only without the music and movie industry... but they have their own sign. You can't really see it from this photo but the sign on the hill says BRASOV in about 30 foot letters. It actually a really nice city. You would think you were in Germany or

2006-08-04T22:04:00.000Z

The End is near...oh no sorry, I meant to say "The Edge is here!"The Edge team arrived here yesterday and it has been great to have some familiar faces around. The craic is always mighty when we are together and this team has been no different so far.We did have a few firsts for Edge Romania trips however. We had our first ever lost baggage. When they arrived yesterday Leigh Duffiled's bag was

2006-08-01T16:14:00.000Z

Getting a little toasty!It has been very hot here for the last couple weeks, getting into the high 30's most days so we decided to take some of the kids from the group homes to "The Weekend", everyone from our Edge team loves this place. Its a great place to hang out and get a bit of sun while taking the occasional dip in the green sludge. Actually the water is a lot cleaner this year so it's

2006-07-30T14:18:00.000Z

We are connected!We now have internet which is quite exciting because I feel like I'm connected back to the world...how sad, but I guess this is the world in which we live. I wonder what it's like to actually write a letter? Check out Chuck's blog for some good humour on that topic.Any way I thought now that we are on line I would show you some pics of the last couple of weeks starting with our

2006-07-25T15:57:00.000Z

My first blog from the land that logic forgot.I don't have internet access yet so I am sorry for my poor showing on blogging our new adventures but soon we will have it set up. Hopefullyit will happen this week because we don't really have much access to a computer otherwise.Fiona and I have been in Targu Mures for about a week and a half now and we have definitely landed in summer. Today it was

2006-06-21T08:28:00.000Z

Sometimes I forget how the other half live. Pictures from the BBC.

2006-05-10T12:32:00.000Z

"He who dies rich, dies impoverished." - finally some positive news about our friends in the U. S. of A. The most generous people in the world!

2006-03-29T12:26:00.000Z

Check this out - very, very funny!I just found it on the blog of a friend of mine from Canada (aliveandawake). You will never look at an old lady, or a bible the same again.

2006-03-29T10:21:00.000Z

More good memories...Just looking trhough some pics and saw this one again and thought that its such a good memory that I should blog it. A fantastic day swimming at Murder Hole, Downings, Donegal. November 2005It wasn't too long afte this that i was lifted up and pounded into the beach by a big wave. I ended up crawling around caughing and sputtering, blindly for a couple of minuites because

2006-03-17T11:25:00.000Z

Check this out...Buy Nothing Day!

2006-03-15T12:17:00.000Z

an interresting bit of informationJust about 3 people are born every second, and about 1.3333 people die every second. The result is about a 2 and 2/3 net increase of people every second. Almost 10 people more live on this Earth now, than before you started reading this.

2006-03-12T17:45:00.000Z

Why try to say it yourself when somebody else has already said it better"Inside every golfer that ever struck a ball there is a child that goes 'weee!' But why is going 'weee!' such fun? Why is it so addictive? Why does the surfer always go back for one more wave? Why do so many people spend an annual fortune on skiing holidays when they could be relaxing somewhere hot? It comes down to the fact

2006-03-02T10:22:00.000Z

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and then walk out the door and deny Him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."Sorry another dc talk memory. But what a great quote!

2006-03-02T10:16:00.000Z

I'm listening to DC talk right now. Talk about a flash from the past. Some good memories from high school!

2006-03-02T10:14:00.000Z

Pool table conversations…almost always the best kind.I had an interesting conversation with one of the Music Night guys at The Edge last night. I really love Music Night right now because it is a fairly small group of guys and we all know each other pretty well so there is a very relaxed feel to these Wednesday nights.Anyway, I’m not sure how the conversation started but somehow we got onto the

2006-02-20T21:22:00.000Z

Apparently the sheep around Hen Mountain are more fragile than most...

2006-02-15T21:57:00.000Z

I've never said this before but I'm saying it now...I'm really getting into the book of Revelation right now, which I can honestly say has never happened before in my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not any clearer about what the end of the world is going to look like, when it's going to happen or in what order things are going to take place... but you can't help but be left in awe of an awsome God

2006-02-12T15:54:00.000Z

Another highlight of the last few months was going to Donegal with some friends back in November. We spent a week in a house on Island Roy, near Downings. Fantastic time and many memorable moments. Lots of settlers, movies, relaxing...and a bit of exploring the miles of costal cliffs, beaches and tidal pools.We felt like kids again exploring the many nooks and cranies of the tidal pools and it

2006-02-08T23:32:00.000Z

An inspiring storyI have been teaching P7 RE at Ballynahinch Primary since September and I have to say it has been pretty refreshing working with energetic, fun and not yet too cool for school kids for a change. I love the guys at the Edge but a change is nice.The topics for P7 so far have been CS Lewis The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (nice one), and now the Amy Carmichael story. I have to

2006-02-02T18:38:00.000Z

The answers are never simple, are they…Food aid in Africa can cause absolute havoc, says Thilo Thielke. Take Northern Kenya. This barren wasteland racked by years of warfare, drought and government neglect never had the resources to sustain more than a few people. In the pre-aid days, nomads would kill off some of their livestock to survive, thereby helping the grazing lands to recover. Those who

2006-01-29T18:24:00.000Z

Since I haven’t blogged in quite a long time, I thought a good way to start back might be to chronicle some of the highlights of the last 7 months of my life for a little light entertainment.One of these highlights was definitely my time with our Romania Team a Camp Sadu this summer and one particular event in particular. The theme of the camps was “Building a house that will last” and it was

2006-01-28T17:17:00.000Z

Highlights form the last 7 months. more info to come..

2006-01-26T10:39:00.000Z

Dont you just hate it when you write a big email or a paper or something and just when you finish and try to save it or send it or publish it, it just dissappears. Well that just happened to me with a blog entry. It had a picture and everything and when i published it, it just vanished. It allegedly went on to my blog but this has yet to be seen. So if you see a stray blog entry floating

2006-01-23T22:41:00.000Z

Hello everyone who is so bored right now that you are still checking my blog even though I haven't updated it in about 7 months.Sorry for the lack of content lately but I haven't had a computer at home so I was only able to update at work and since I don't want to spend every moment of my life at the edge I haven't done much.but...I just got a new laptop and broadband at my house so hopefully

2006-01-23T22:30:00.000Z

Fiona standing on the banks of the mighty Glen River (according to Chuck) on our way to the source.

2005-06-22T15:40:00.000Z

If everyone's purpose in life is to serve other people, than what's the other people's purpose?

2005-06-16T10:48:00.000Z

chasing a kidNo, no, before you get too excited, i don't have a kid along the way. That title just sums up my experience last night running the Lisburn half marathon.Last night Stanley Kelly, his friend Colin, Allan Massey and myself ran the Half marathon (Stanley and I for the third year running). It is a was a good event, there must have been thousands of people there and the weather was

2005-06-03T15:54:00.000Z

Blog tag... I'm it01. Total volume of music files on my computer?3.52Gb02. The last CD I bought was?Gavin Degraw - Chariot03. Song playing right now: Nothing. I'm enjoying the silence.04. Five songs I listen to a lot or that mean a lot to me:Whole world in His hands - Tim HughesLove and Peace or else - U2Down with the King - RUN DMCEverything that Bob Marley has ever done, especially Redemption

2005-05-31T09:53:00.000Z

Dirty laundry"America's attitude to the environment is best demonstrated by how it does it's laundry. Years ago, passing through an Amish town, I was puzzelled to find a postcards showing washing pegged on a line. It took me some time to figure out why this was considered so quaint and folksy as to be worth a picture. Because even in California cloths are rarely hung in the sun to dry; it's

2005-05-29T09:31:00.000Z

the PslamsI have been reading the psalms lately and really enjoying them. So many thoughts, perspectives and emotions come through in them about life and about our God. I have been reading through the collection from back to front, mainly becasue I love the last few and they are what really inspired me.Other highlights... 73 is fantastic and a perspective I have nver really heard before. Maybe

2005-05-18T15:43:00.000Z

Sunshine in the land of puddles and raindropsI realize however that as i am writing this entry it is pouring outside my door. Oh well we had a great week of sunshine and relatively warm climes.Weekend at CastlewellenFiona and I were down at the BBC church weekend in Castlewellen this weekend and it was a great time. The wether was great and so was the craic. Most of us even got a bit of a tan.

2005-04-07T11:21:00.000Z

Good craic on the other islandJust away for a few days visiting Claire and Emma in Bristol and we had a great time. We went to Alton Towers which was fantastic, except for the weather. I especially liked Oblivian. Love the whole dropping into a black hole thing. Gets your heart going.Also went to Bath for the day on Saturday. Vern nice ctiy. Felt like we were in spain or something because the

2005-03-19T01:07:00.000Z

Blessing the nations?"If you want to come back, O Israel,you must really come back to me.You must get rid of your stinking sin paraphernaliaand not wander away from me anymore.Then you can say words like, 'As God lives...'and have them mean something true and just and right.And the godless nations will get caught up in the blessingand find something in Isreal to write home about."Jeremiah 4:1-2,