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Archive News - 2006 Dear Ross and family, 29/9/06 Wales Honeymoon Mexico and home to Wales. Thanks for your encouragement... I'm glad you liked the website. I struggle with keeping up with the IT technology but I have friends who help me. Honeymoon. By the way...The wedding went very smoothly with about 100 guests and family members in attendance. The catering was delicious and the speeches were good. A juke box for those who wanted to dance and a nice mix of church and non church people. Keryn looked stunning and I hired a suit!!! After the mud-slide incident on the mountain side we headed down to Mum in-law to say goodbye down south in Dunedin before flying to Auckland and ultimately LA. We had about 7 bags so we tried to store the heavy ones in LA. No storage anywhere because of 9/11. Greyhound station in LA is very dodgy so we decided to go to San Diego by train (Amtrack). Met with a sad looking man in the line who we found out was in the middle of a marriage break -up after only 18 months. He opened up to us and we counseled him all the way to San Diego and even prayed with him before we parted. He knew God was on his trail. The hotels were expensive in San Diego and the hostel was full. The Somali taxi driver took us to a rather seedy hotel right in the 'Gaslight' down town night-life area and it was still $55 a night. A little tired and hungry we decided to take on of the only 2 rooms but it was right over the street at the front. Out to eat and we found a sea food restaurant and had a lovely prawn, lobster feast and walked back among all the revelers. There are some very lost people in San Diego walking the streets. The music eventually died down at about 3 am but it was all part of the adventure..just one night was enough though!... The hotel owned by and Indian couple agreed to store our bags and we went with our wonderfully light honeymoon packs to the border. No great dramas to get across and found our way to a but heading south. People friendly and busses quite comfortable. Two hours to Ensenada and a taco at a road side vender while we waited for the next bus to Mulege. Another 12 hours of fidgeting to find a comfortable position to sleep in a bus chair...life-long project...and arrived in the searing heat of little Mulege just waking up. We found a place to stay quite quickly but realised that there were already inhabitants....very large cock-roaches that would appear just when Keryn went into the bathroom. Fortunately I had my trusty mosquito net with me, so we made our little bug free honeymoon paradise for the night. The air-conditioning was good. We found the local beach which was very basic and managed to upset the towns taxi driver by my quibbling over the taxi fare. He stormed off in a huff leaving us in the middle of a nowhere beach with no shade. I think he thought we were American..who by the way are buying all the prime properties around there for fishing. We then met with a lovely French girl and walked back to the town with her after a swim.(1 hour) . Moved hotels to where she was staying...a little more expensive but no bugs. The beautiful beaches were a few miles down the road so over the next few days we hitched rides and tried to catch busses to see the beaches and swim in the crystal clear water and even snorkel. The tropical fish were amazing. Moved location to Loreto about 2 hours south and found a hotel on the front and did a deal with the American owner for a week. We spent the week just chilling in the air conditioning and swimming in the afternoon and finding prawn tortillas to eat ,which had become our favourite treat..with an ice cold beer. We splashed out on one tour to a deserted desert island where there were seals and amazing snorkeling. Back on the bus to San Diego after 18 days and one night in the Indian hotel to pick up out bags..we bought them a present and the didn't charge us for storing the bags.. nice. Eventually found a place to stay for the last few days in a quieter place up the coast called oceanside. Only a couple of cockroaches in this one. Splashed our for the last night in a nice place but at 3am the fire alarm went off and we were all in the car park in out nighties. Back to London and a visit to Mum for a few days to get to know Keryn and then down to the cottage . We have been here now for three week and have managed to get a car and pay all the bills and see most of my friends already. Now the search for jobs is on. Thanks for a little prayer for this. Keryn is doing fine and adjusting well to the new environment. We have been welcomed back in the Rhonda church in Porth and they have been very kind while we were away. Thanks for all the prayers, gifts and support over this time of change in my/our lives. Please send a personal mail and I will write back. Many blessings to you. Mike and Keryn XXXXXXX Dear Family, Honeymoon .The earth moved 9/8/06 Wedding was brilliant and all went very well. Just a short message to thank you for the prayers. The visa came through just in time. One day to spare. We are going south to say goodbye to Mum in-law before jetting off to LA and then Mexico where it's still hot..I hope. We had a little adventure on the second night of the honeymoon. A mud slid behind the house at 4 am swamped around the house. The pastors Mercedes that we were lent was looking dangerously like being ruined, so I decided to try and move it. Keryn and I were a little concerned that there might be more mud coming down. I slipped down the steps landing right into the mud and the door slammed behind up locking us out. Managed to climb in through the kitchen window..mud everywhere, decided the Mercedes would to better off without mud all over the inside. These 'slips' as they are called here are common as the land can be loose. We prayed and decided to stay. All was revealed in the morning. The water went off just as we had finished showering the mud off at about 4.30 am. Our first test together...it was great! Still is. The water is still off but tonight it is our last night before traveling south to say goodbye the Keryn' Mum . Off to La and then Mexico on a bus adventure for a few weeks. Thanks for the prayer... don't stop. Looking forward to catching up very soon.
Dear John, Deb, Family, church and friends. The Plunge 28/6/06 Christchurch,NZ Everything going to plan for the wedding on the 5th of August at Opawa Community church. I sang for all the Methodist ministers in the region last night and had them up doing African praises. They seemed to enjoy themselves. There is definitely an openness to the charismatic in the more traditional denominations. I am also doing a counseling coarse on Theophostic prayer ministry with the pastor. It will be a useful tool for the future. Keryn and I thought it important to do a marriage guidance course together to prepare us for the future. Hope all is well with you all wherever you are and whatever season you are in. It's looking like three Winters in a row for me if you don't intercede. PS. Some of you have asked for an address to send stuff to : 10a Grange st, Opawa, Christchurch, NZ 8002. Please no toasters! Any other information is on the contact Mike link on the web site. Your prayers would be much appreciated for the rest of the time here and a smooth ceremony. It will be in the coldest part of Winter and it's an old draughty church. The honeymoon will be in a little place close to here for a week and then a stop off in the US on the way back. We had to stop as my ticket was booked, but we have no definite plans for the time there. This will probably be the last for the 06/05 Oceania trip. What a surprise the Lord had for me. PPS My foot is still troubling me but the problem is being worked upon. See some of you over Christmas. Dear Andrea Mark and Crox' and all, 22/5/06 Christchurch. Moving in the mountains. Hope you are enjoying the warmth. It's getting quite cold here now. The youth meeting last weekend was one hour north and in a beautiful mountain area...snow capped . The meeting was the strongest to date here in New Zealand. All the 30 or so kids were touched deeply; some crying, some laughing and all ministering to each other. For some it was the first experience of Holy Spirit ministry, but non of them were worried. The charismatic youth leader (Frankie) from Singapore was very encouraged and is going to ask for me to minister in the main Sunday service at their Baptist church. One girl was just about to post a wounding letter to her absent mother , but now has forgiven her and is going to write a new letter. Another girl was hit so strongly with joy that she spent all the time giggling. She has a really difficult issue with her father to resolve and the Lords medicine is helping her through. One of the young leaders went down and got stuck to the floor. God had his attention for over an hour. Doors to all different denomination are beginning to open up here by the Lords hand. Thanks for the prayers... especially for all the wedding plans and honeymoon arrangements. I will try to add a photo to this letter. Dear John, Debbie, Church and family. 25/4/06 Christchurch Ambulance and the Nurse Yes it finally happened! Keryn and I will be married here on the 5th of August 06. Fast work Lord. We have been doing some speed dating over the last few weeks and have found the Lords grace in so many ways. Keryn is a truly beautiful person and I can't thank the Lord enough for letting her wait for me to travel most of the world to find her. All the time and struggling with the journey has been worth the wait. Jesus has been working to get me to a place where I am as ready as I'll ever be to meet a bride ( and be a Bride for Him) with still enough hair for a reasonable wedding photo! When I came back to Christchurch after first meeting Keryn in Dunedin we walked along a beach for 6 hours and really talked. By the time we got back we had sore feet but warm hearts. Many walks later and just seeming to know what the Lord was saying, we both knew and had peace that this was Gods timing. I ask for your prayers and thought as the details are always challenging. We might eat medium steaks from now on.(joke) If anyone in my prayer family want to make it to the wedding you are welcome, but I understand the limits of distance and expense. I pray that whatever happens you will be with us. Keep in touch. We will be back in Blighty for Christmas and then the Lord Knows. Love always, Dear John and all, Wellington 31/3/06 Girlfriend. Yes it's finally happened. Mike has a girlfriend. Keryn is 33 and and real gift from God. Cute, sensitive, caring and a nurse to boot. We met in Dunedin at her mum's house while on my journey down to the south. Right from the beginning I had that sense that there was more going on under the surface as I couldn't keep my eyes off her and started losing sleep. God knows how to put the pieces together. Last week we walked 6 hours along a deserted Christchurch beach and found that we had so much in common that the coincidence of our meeting seemed unlikely. The only difference so far is that I like my steak blue( virtually uncooked) and she likes hers burnt. Not much to overcome? Keryn is not frightened to live by faith and she has already had experience with missions in Bangladesh. We have already talked about many issues to do with God's plans and the desires of our hearts. If you read this (Keryn) once I have posted it on the web site then I hope you don't mind me sharing it with my cyber family. I did tell the whole of New Zealand yesterday on the TV program. So now you know. Thanks for your prayers and for staying in touch for so many years. MikeX PS Glad to hear the church plans are moving and the African mission is going well. I would love to be involved at some stage.
Dear Family, Christchurch 4/3/06 Down under to Winter. I'm off today down to the south of New Zealand where the Winter is beginning to bite. Thanks for the prayer and keeping on touch. Dear Maryam and family, Christchurch 19/2/06 Off the street. I am off the street and into stay with a lovely pastor and family in a small town close to Christchurch called Opawa. It's a breakaway Methodist church with a thirst for the things of the Spirit. Last Sunday there was much joy amongst the pews ( moved). Thanks you for the prayers and thoughts. I was beginning to wear a little thin on these humanistic streets. One TV station and one radio let me through but the rest are closed tight... especially to the gospel. The climate here is much nicer than Auckland with cool breezes much of the time to keep it fresh. A Baptist church invited me for a summer camp just gone and another connection has been made for a few weeks time. Blessings to you all. Dear Mike,(and Family) Christchurch 7/2/06 Angel with muscles. Thanks for the response. I hope the breakthrough will be today as it's getting a little lonely and difficult here. Christchurch has become very worldly since I came here 15 years ago. The first night I found a place to play in a blues bar. A little raunchy with quite a few drunks who manifested when the music was going out, but God had a tough looking guy there who told everyone to shut up and listen...they did. On the way out the big guy shook my hand and said "goodbye brother" so I think I had some help. I will be back there on Thursday. There are radio stations and a TV station here so I will be knocking the doors today. Also a minister friend I met in Nepal has given me a church contact. I would like to be off the street and into a fellowship. The YMCA is OK and I had some good opportunities to share with some of the guys in the dorm, but it's not like safe fellowship in the body. Send my love and regards to the Front line, second row. Sounds like a rugby scrum! Love always, Dear John ,Deb and all, Jesus name over the city. 4/1/06 Gisborne Happy New Year in the Precious Name of Jesus! I just got back from a New Years gig in Gisborne, east side of the North Island. The leader of a Baptist/Presbyterian church there heard me on the national radio and offered to help me make some arrangements to play and minister. The Lord allowed me to sing His Name over the whole city with the help of a sound system of many thousands of watts. It was so good to hear His name going out with such power. The crowd seemed to enjoy the music and gave me a good reaction. Gisborne has a mixed Maori, European population that seems to get on well together and the whole town seemed to be there to watch the yearly fireworks from across the river that the town straddles. The leader of the church asked me to minister at the church in a concert and twice on Sunday. We saw the Holy Spirit moving in power with joy and healing for all who were thirsty. I managed to get a swim from the beautiful beach on Saturday and enjoyed the whole weekend with the Patrick family. I really needed some quality time with Spirit filled people. Praise the Lord for His plans. I'm waiting for the next step at the moment so if you would pray that it wouldn't be too long. There are nasty little spiders here called 'white tails' and they are everywhere. If they sting you it is very painful and sometime need to be hospital treated. I have killed 5 in the little sleep out that I am staying. I have been busy fixing pig pens and building a pergola for my friends here. There was a gig here at the local pub just before New Year and the Lord really gave me a powerful way to get the gospel out with the use of selected songs from my history. My CD's still haven't arrived from home but I made a few by hand on my friends PC and managed to shift 30 over the weekend. Thanks for all the prayer. Love always, |