I have been waiting anxiously the last week or so to find out if I will be issued a visa to enter the UK. Well, I finally received notification that I have indeed been issued a visa!! So I guess this means that I will be officially returning to the UK in January sometime, just need to book my flight now. Thanks to everyone that has been praying for me in regards to getting the visa.

It has been great so far to be at home and to see family and friends
again. I am still hoping and planing to return to England in January.
I finally was able to complete my paper work for my visa and mailed it
of to the British Consulate today. So if you think about it please
pray that I will get the visa.

Well after 13 months of being across the pond I am finally home!
I just want to say a huge thanks for everybody who has prayed for me and supported me financially. This life changing experience would not have been possible without you! I really felt that God worked in my life during this time and I feel closer to Him now than I did before.

Here is an update as to where I feel that God is calling me to do next in my life:
During this summer I really felt that God is calling me to stay in missions for the time being. There is a huge need for IT Professionals in mission organizations but very few people willing to give up an income and commit to serving in missions. I was really convicted by Matthew 9:37, "The He said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." Durning my time at Transform 2011 I really began to see the need for my skills as several people came and asked me to come to their field and serve there. I sort of came to the conclusion that for me to go back to working a secular job at this time in my life would be selfish.

So where do I go from here then? Well, after much prayer and consideration I have decided to return to Carlisle, England hopefully in January. The idea is to continue in my role as the System Administrator in the International Coordinating Team office with a slight twist. In addition to my System Administrator role I would like to travel to some of the other OM fields in the world and help them with IT needs. A lot of the smaller fields don't have a dedicated IT person so there are many things that slip through the cracks.

Prayer Requests:
Well with returning there is paper work to be filled out, visa application, and financial support to raise. So please pray that everything will go somewhat smoothly with the necessary items that need to be completed in order for me to return. Secondly I would ask you to pray that this time back home will be refreshing and a time of encouragement for me.

If you would like more to know more feel free to get hold of me!

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him." Psalms 34:8 MKJV

I came across this verse yesterday at church and I think it is such a great verse to remember. Over the last year or so there have been several instances where I have "tasted" the Lord and it has been amazing to see what He is able to do. But let me tell you once you start tasting you will experience how good He really is, and I think it leads to trusting more in Him. I say this because the more you experience how good He is and what He is able to do, you will just want to experience it more and more. Or at least that is the case with me.

How many of us know what it means to have faith or been in a situation where you needed to trust that God was in control?

For me this past year I really have been learning what it means to have faith and learning to trust that God is in control over my life. Thinking back to Jan/Feb 2010 I was challenged to commit to a one year term with OM instead of the 2-3 months I was thinking of. After much prayer and consideration I felt that God was challenging me to step out of my comfort zone and have faith that everything was going to work out. And standing where I am today I can say that it has been one of the best decisions of my life. As Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Matthew 6:34 says, "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." How often have you been worrying about future plans, instead on focusing on the present. I know I have caught myself planning and thinking about "tomorrow" but often it seems to never workout exactly the way I want it to. I have been learning that I just need to have faith that God is in control and everything will work out for the best. I am not saying not to make plans but rather you need to be open to change and willing to follow God's direction. I think James 4:14-15 says it best, "How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog - it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that."

Just thought I would share some of my thoughts.

The August edition of The Pond Hopper is out. Download your copy now.

Wow what a week it has been! The conference part of Transform is over but it was an amazing event. For me the best parts were the worship in the morning and evening followed by teaching from senior OM members. I also enjoyed getting to know more people my age who have a heart for outreach. On Thursday afternoon all Transform participants went into Rome for outreach. There was one lady who asked if a few ladies were interested in reaching out to the prostitutes who "work" near the train station. In addition she wanted some men to come a long to keep an on on the ladies in case something might happen. I decided to volunteer my time and be a bodyguard for four of the ladies. One of the ladies told me that a prostitute that she had talked to was a bit put off in the beginning but seemed to open up a little by the end of the conversation. As I was standing down the road a little bit I saw a chair where one prostitute must sit when she is around. I decided to leave a Gospel of John there on the chair and I pray that whoever reads it that there life will be changed. After this outreach I headed into Rome with a few other people from Transform. We had about an hour and half to do sightseeing in Rome before we needed to head to the church where everyone was going to meet. My group decided that we wanted to go see and tour the Colosseum! What an amazing experience to be in Rome where some of the first christian churches we started and then also to be in the Colosseum where the highest number of christians have been persecuted in history. It was just an unbelievable experience and it is hard to communicate what it actually feels like to be there. After supper at the church everyone from Transform and members of the church went to the Apostles Square for a time of outreach on the street. There were two talks given, one of them being by Geroge Verwer. The DanceLink groups were given the opportunity to do two their dances. From what we were told later on that a couple of people of the street had given their lives to Christ that night. All in all it was an amazing day in Rome and what an experience!!

I just thought I would share an update of how things are going so far with Transform 2011 here in Rome, Italy. The talks in the morning and evening by various speakers have been very interesting, thought provoking and inspirational. In the afternoon I have been attending the dance rehearsals because I am on the dance link team to Portugal. However I have not been dancing but rather taking photos and some videos. I am looking forward to going to Portugal with my team and doing dance outreach on the street as well as some dance workshops with the youth. It is great that I can use my photography skills in this way. Please pray for all of us here at Transform as tomorrow we are going to the Rome city centre to do outreach. Pray that the Lord will open the hearts as we reach out to people and that He will use us for His glory. Also pray for safety as it is hot here 80+ degrees and humid and that we won't get dehydrated tomorrow.

What an exciting time the next three weeks are going to be. I leave tomorrow at 6am for Transform 2011 in Italy. Then on Saturday I go with a team to Portugal for two weeks. I have a couple of prayer requests: 1. Pray for all of the participants attending that this won't just be a spiritual high and then fall back to their normal routine once they go back home. 2. For safe travels over the next several weeks as people travel to Italy tomorrow and then out to the various outreach fields. 3. That God will use me to capture effective photos that can be used to tell the story of how these outreach events are making a difference. If you want to more about Transform 2011 visit: http://www.transform.om.org