Update

Perhaps read the post below this post before you read on...

Well the last day or so has been good - an opportunity to submerge myself in the scriptures and come to God in prayer. I write this not to give you an ongoing personal account of my travels but to encourage those who are praying that God is hearing and delivering.

Last night as I talked through the realities of struggling through faith with my youth minister I was reminded of the reality that God uses all things to bring about his good purpose. For me it's refreshing my understanding of grace. I don't know what it will be for the others in the team.

Mission planning is going well - we seem directed and focussed on the goal ahead. I think we are all excited about the week. But I guess the reality is that when you preach the Gospel you will come up with resistance - sometimes the resistance is in the form of physical things (lack of money, cars breaking down, people being injured, people being abused) and sometimes that resistance comes in a spiritual form. Take Job for instance, a man who clearly suffered on earth because a greater and more titanic struggle in spritual realms was taking place.

Our only hope is that in God we are more than conquerors. He will take us quite far in our troubles but never too far.

Can we continue to encourage you to pray for the week of mission. May the testing times that lie ahead for the team be times which grow us in our knowledge and love of God.