Anti-Halloween Party

When trying to explain to the new children why we had a party at church on Halloween night, Jordan Edgar coined the title which expresses it so well: Anti-Halloween Party. We want the children to learn that being a Christian does not mean that you cannot have fun. Mark likes to give the children a safe alternative and the adults an escape from all of the Trick or Treaters. We started the evening with a short service. Then, the adults went into the fellowship hall to watch a Christian DVD while Mark, Alan, Dennis, and Steve played games with the children. Great fun was had by all.

Our Chinese Service

This past week Po and Sunday Lo were visiting from England. Po is still in Bible school there, but this is their third trip to Derry/Londonderry to do outreach with the Chinese population of our town. Sunday morning Po preached and Paul Ho interpreted for we English speakers. It was a blessing to be reminded how the Lord loves and cares for all people. There were three Chinese visitors in the service as well as Ling and the two boys who have become regulars. We are eager to see how the Lord will use Bethel in helping Brother Lo to minister in Derry.

Irish Stew

Since marrying Mark my cooking/eating habits have changed some, as have Mark's. We are learning to merge two cultures and tastes. One of his favourite meals is sausages, baked beans, and mashed potatoes. (a Northern Ireland favourite) I have also learned to make shepherd's pie and today I made Irish Stew for the first time! We are never too old to learn, are we?! I am really enjoying learning to make the dishes that Mark likes to eat. He is actually quite a good cook and has a knack for seasoning things, so I have made that his official job.

Chinese Party at Wednesday Kid's Club

The past five weeks we studied Hudson Taylor, missionary to China. To conclude the lessons, we had a Chinese Party. Ethel was the mastermind behind this exciting evening. Many of the children dressed in Chinese clothes or brought something made in China. (Ethel let me borrow one of her tops.) We started the evening with chicken fried rice and prawn crackers (from the best Chinese takeaway in Northern Ireland!) We then had slices of Chinese mango pudding, which was more like jelly/jello. Ethel split the kids into two teams and they took a quiz to see how much they remembered about our story. Following the quiz there was a chopstick competition, and each child took home the sweets that they successfully got into their bowls. At this point the adults were finished with their service. The children did their worksheets and ate moon cakes and Chinese wafer cookies. The adults finished off the fried rice, tried Chinese tea, and helped with the moon cakes and cookies. It was an enjoyable evening for all. We desire that it helped the children to understand that the Lord made and loves all people no matter their nationality or customs.

Congratulations!

On Monday morning my friend Sandra had her fifth child, a beautiful boy named Jordan. The Lord has blessed me with Sandra's friendship, and I am so thankful for the way that He works and the people that He leads into our lives.

Autumn Giveaway

Chryl over at Chyrll's Corner is have an Autumn Giveaway. The gifts look lovely, so check it out.
The deadline to enter this giveaway is 11:30 a.m., October 6th.
She will draw the name at 12:00 p.m.

Crab Apples and God's Love

Last autumn I was given a jar of crab apple and clove jam. Mark has talked about it ever since, and I have been trying to find someone with crab apples so that I could make some for him.I had given up. Yesterday I got a text from Ethel. She had been given some crab apples while visiting friends near Belfast! I was reminded that God does care about even the small things that are important to us, and that He often answers in ways that we could never imagine!