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12th June 2006 Dear brethren: Greetings from Scotland! I trust you are well and growing in the riches of God’s grace. We are excited here about our work that God accounts to you and He is blessing us with more and more opportunities to preach and teach Him. Thank you for your continuing encouragement through prayers and messages and your support of us as a family.
At the end of March, Andrew Potter returned to Cumbernauld after spending nearly two years working with the church in Corby, England. Andrew had studied at the British Bible School there. The work was a struggle for Andrew and it was good that he could come home and recharge himself. He helps with our personal studies, is involved in our worship plan and shortly after arriving fell head over heels in love with Lorna! He proposed, she said “YES!!!” and they plan to get married 26th August. We’re all still getting our breath back but they are a great couple and as Christians they have the best possible start in their life together. We’re very happy for them. God will bless them. Although Lorna is the only baptism in recent weeks we still have a number of studies ongoing to that end. Every few months, Adam and I switch some of the studies around. I’m now studying with Jordan and Dionne who are a joy to work with. I can’t remember when they began worshipping with us because it seems like forever but it can only be about four years. They fit right in. Their study goes well, and, like Adam before me, I’m surprised they haven’t asked to be baptised yet. They know what they need to do so we press on and keep raising the need with them. I also have a study with Linda, Elizabeth’s cousin. I have pressed her more firmly for a commitment to Christ but she has so far resisted. We think we know why but I’m not supposed to know so I’m treading very carefully. As always, our young people are challenged by the world around them and when confronted between the goodness of the God and the sins of the world we leave them in no doubt about right and wrong. However, they are under an enormous pressure to go with the flow of the world. I think Linda is in that dreadful place of doubt, fear and guilt. She’s afraid to get baptised because it means she chooses to close the door on sin in her life while at the same time she is tempted to sin and it sorely tempts her. Please pray for her. Another new study we have is with Kieran Macdonald (Rachael and Stuart’s #2 son) and Christopher McDonald (same clan, different family, different spelling). Everyone calls Christopher “Cheezy” for reasons best left to your imagination and calling him Chris just doesn’t sound right. Anyway, Adam studies with them and they are doing well. Cheezy used to sit in on Wesley’s study but missed more than he attended but he’s back in and this time with Kieran. Both boys are involved in all youth work and are characters. We are optimistic about their being baptised. We have other personal studies helping young Christians with their faith. As well as these, we spend time when we can visiting and counselling. Last week, I went to see Campbell for whom I worked part-time several years ago. His brother committed suicide two years ago and Campbell has struggled with that ever since. We spend time talking and I do what I can. Campbell grew up in East Kilbride and went to school with Adam, Melanie and Nicola as well as others from the church in EK. He told me he was baptised years ago there but no one remembers it except him. I’ve been trying to reach Campbell for Christ for many years and I’m still praying for that. As I said, I’ll do what I can but any real and lasting peace will only ever come from Jesus. Please pray for him. Our Bible classes and youth work are going strong. Things are approaching the summer wind-down when the schools close in a fortnight. We have more than fifty in our Bible classes and more than sixty in our youth clubs. The Searchers and the SALTers are all going well too. Next month we have our annual VBS with members from Mayfair in Huntsville, AL. Dick Savage will preach our gospel meeting in the evenings in our building. The VBS will be held in Carbrain in the mornings. This is our usual place for youth clubs and Bible classes. At the end of the month we have our annual Camp Heatherbell. This year, Greg and Amy Nash from Fayetteville are among our teachers and we’re excited about their coming. Camp is always good and we’re looking forward to it. One of the most encouraging opportunities we now have is an offer of land for a new building from the council. We have been offered 1.598 acres in Condorrat, about 1.5 miles from our current building. It is a beautiful setting in a better part of town with great scope for our work. We are optimistic that we are in a position to buy the land outright with our savings and by selling our own building. Adam is making plans for a fund-raising trip to America after the summer and we will be in contact with you. Depending on how Adam’s trip goes, I’ll be in the States in the spring of 2007. We have a lot of work to do on this great project and we’re praying that you are with us all the way. The congregation here has shown a great desire to do all that we can that has so encouraged Adam and I and I know will encourage you but I know we will still need your help to do this. Our present location has seen a dramatic increase in vandalism and harassment which the devil has tried to exploit to discourage us. Well, we have faith in our Lord! With God on our side who dares stand against us? Our faith will see us through this challenge and we know God will provide! Pray for us and stand ready to help us!
The members are doing well. The possibility of a new building has really lifted us. Beryl recently had surgery for cancer and was told last week that she would need chemotherapy after all. Janice has terrible pain that affects her sleeping and her medicine isn’t helping. She’s trying to get a referral to the pain clinic. Vanessa is a wee gem. She’s twelve and has started her own Barnabas ministry. Every week, she goes out of her way to encourage the church and produces notes and the like to help her brethren. Her ambition is to marry a preacher one day. She is an absolute joy! We’re very proud of her. Our own family is doing well. Joshua was away for the weekend at Scout camp and had a great time. Bethany was at her grandma’s for the weekend and on Saturday Elizabeth’s cousin, Fiona, took Megan and Elijah away for the day so Elizabeth and I got some much appreciated “us” time. From August, Joshua will attend our local school having spent the last five years receiving intensive speech therapy that has helped a lot. Also, Elijah starts nursery in August. Our children are a great blessing for us except when they’re ill at 3 o’clock in the morning. Not so much then. But we still love them. On a final note, the World Cup has started. Scotland didn’t qualify so I’m pulling for the USA and Anyone-but-England. By the way, I’m talking about football soccer. God bless you. Keep the faith. In Him,
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Since last I wrote, we have had another baptism. Lorna Laird had been studying with us after an initial contact through Rachael Macdonald and was immersed 16th March. Lorna is a fine young woman with a godly heart and desire. She is a single mum. Her wee boy David is a quiet and lovely boy. We were glad to see Lorna baptised. She is faithful in her worship and in her studies of the Bible.