UNRAVELLING A MYSTERY

THIS IS MY SISTER, my long lost sister! I still find it hard to actually take in!

It is not quite as clear as it might be but those who have seen it here all think she looks like me, poor dear! This is Joyce Patricia (PAT) and it seems she has lived almost all her life in Scotland - a land that strangely always drew ME, and occupied my thoughts. She sadly lost her husband last year, but is blessed with a loving son and daughter in law not too far from her, near Aberdeen, and a loving daughter in Christchurch, New Zealand. Letters are flying too and fro between us all, and it may be I shall hear her voice before this day is over. Well of course we must meet. Esther and I would already be on the way but things here in Testimony are not too well just now, and we feel the Lord would not have us leave Daryl with unsupported help and encouragement. BUt......you never know ........!!!!

PAT never knew of my existence until just recently. We have a good 70 years to catch up on.

SO MANY questions to ask and experiences to share - and even after that there may still be many gaps in what either of us actually KNOW about our parents. I will keep you posted and hopefully we may have more news and pictures soon. I am in quite a turmoil of mind and heart myself. So many years of my life feeling without anyone to tie my life into or with. I often felt worse than a refugee, stateless, homeless, family less. My adopted Mum was a good mother, don't mistake what I am trying to say. But even before I KNEW I was adopted I often felt a sense of not belonging, and not understood. Once I came to know at 18 that I had been adopted it helped a bit, but on the other hand did not reduce that sense of being a complete stranger to myself. And NOW....! Wow I would get and up and try the Highland Fling - if I wasn't overweight and afraid of hurting myself.

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THIS WEEK IT HAS BEEN DRY!!! Not a SIGN of rain. The Sky a CLOUDLESS blue; a gentle breeze stirring the trees around us, and a comfortable 75f. to laze around in. But I have been VERY busy - in the Office with administration as well - or else I would have been taking time off to enjoy the great outside and to read a book or two. Read a beautiful promise in the Word of God this week during on of our morning fellowships.

Psalm 91v14-16

BECAUSE he (the believer) has set his love upon Me (God)

therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him, and honour him.

With long live I will satisfy him

and shall show him, My Salvation.

Truly the Words of God - God's Words to us - are forever a marvellous comfort and strength to us. The Homes have been battling with an all embracing 'storm' for many months now, stretching back into 2010. Materially and humanly tested to the point we have felt likely to be overwhelmed and overturned - much like the disciples on the lake in their own storm. JESUS was with them, and of course He is with us. But I guess to the disciples that time it just did not 'feel' as if He was there! Well it has been like that for us many a time recently. We also have been little better than those blessed men in the boat with Jesus - ready to cry out 'LORD,

don't you care that we perish?' But perhaps we haven't quite got to that point yet. WE are still wrestling and grappling with the 'sail and the rigging'. And thus perhaps we also have been lacking in faith!! As I read this verse in Palms 91 I felt ashamed that we had let ourselves be terrified by the enemy. SURELY, the Lord IS with us, and He will not let go of us.

AT THE SAME time we discovered one of our senior trusted staff had himself come short of faith, and in a moment of financial need had taken advantage of trust put in him and diverted cash to be paid into the Bank into his own personal account. Not a great amount of money, but still a great shock to us. He has repaid it! Two of our Houseparent couples have also been attacked by the enemy. One couple almost coming to blows with each other, and the other rejecting medical advice and treatment put themselves in danger of being unable to properly care for the children in their house. ALL these things came to a head THIS week, and truly we felt the 'seas' in danger of washing us all away.

Psalm 124

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, let Israel now say

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side...

.....THEN the waters would have overwhelmed.

BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD

Our help is in the name of the Lord

who made heaven and earth.

Once when I was visiting UK some decades ago now, a pastor we were hoping to visit, said to me 'Brother, I trust you will share a victorious testimony with us. We have enough problems of our own and would not like to be burdened with yours as well.!' Surely he had forgotten that we need to 'weep with those that weep' as well as to rejoice at their good news. WE needed to share the burdens of that church, just as much as they needed to share ours. But for a long time after to said these words to us we felt shy to share - or even to admit - that WE had troubles and disappointments.

We are still HERE, and we are still STANDING, and we SHALL overcome! We shall NOT be moved. But, YES, you do need to pray with and for us all, and we continue always to do this for YOU as well. And the MORE SO, as the Great and 'Terrible' Day of the Lord comes nearer.

This is the time for all those who have faith to stick and stand together, and to gain courage and strength from one another.

LAST WEEK I encouraged everyone to keep awake and watching. Keeping my own watch on unfolding events in the Arab World and even further afield, I feel even more that we are all being swept along irresistibly to a final conclusion. I hope we will be prepared for it. We may be taken away out of it! But if we find ourselves abiding IN IT let us trust we shall be KEPT safe just as the Jews were kept safe from the worst in Pharaohs day! If the latter should be our future we shall all need fortitude, courage, and FAITH. Thus we also thank God for times of testing, for we know it is His method of 'preparing' His People. God IS good.

YESTERDAY the School was visited by a group of 32 boys and girls (teenagers) from a Christian School in DENMARK. They came to Witness to the Love and Faithfulness of Jesus to the younger children in our school - 6 to 14s. They had a marvellous time all together. I will only put one photo here, but if you are able to get to me on Face Book you will find a lot more.

We love you all, and thank you for walking with us in this ministry and Witness. We hope that as we also remember you with Thanksgiving to our Lord, that you also will be Blessed and Kept by HIS Power.

John and Esther