Single-minded

September 2012

PEEBLES BAPTIST CHURCH

Magazine

He was not particularly clever and not conspicuously able, but he was good. He wasnt a great leader or an inspired thinker, but he knew what he ought to do and did it.
(Julian Wilson, of 1924 Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Liddell)

Are you sick of sport yet this summer? Rather surprisingly, I have to say Im not - normally Im about as keen on watching sport as I am on participating in it (which is to say, not at all). But the Olympics were totally gripping, doubtless aided by the fervour that seemed to sweep the country; and now the imminent prospect of the Paralympics seems to be just as exciting. The impact of those games on us is brief; we get to cheer on our team members for the few hours, minutes or even seconds of whatever event they are participating in. But in reality, when we wave our flags at British (or whichever nation youre supporting) Olympian success we are celebrating the hard work, the unseen fall and rise in spirits and the band of people behind each great athlete not just his and her 10second dash to fame. Paul (the apostle) was clearly something of a sports fan himself. clearly he understood sport as more than just a helpful picture - in several of his letters to churches he speaks in ways that Olympic and Paralympic team coaches would surely have approved. He saw the value of persistent and sustained encouragement. He exhorted believers to show more faith in each other's progress. He offered churches a helping hand when needed, but also to urged them to be self-sufficient and call on their inner strength - which is to say, the strength that has been imparted to them by the Holy Spirit. So as we watch and enjoy the sport and the competition, lets give thanks for the incredible exhibitions of determination and skill. As we think of our own lives, we are urged to prepare ourselves through love, study and prayer, to run the race through life and to remain committed to the finish.
If youd like to know more about what our friends in the other Peebles churches are doing, you can find some of their own magazines online: Old Parish Church: topcopmag.wordpress.com St Peters: www.stpeterspeebles.org.uk/netmagazine.php St Josephs: www.stjosephschurch.org.uk/?Home%3A:Current_Newsletter Others are on their way...

Ian

The Universal Language of 'Wow!'

After a shoebox distribution trip in January, Faith Spinks told Samaritans Purse organisers "During our week in Belarus it was often frustrating not to be able to speak the same language as the children and parents we met with. But there are some things which go beyond language barriers. The look of real excitement on a childs face as they open their box and discover so many treasures inside, and the look of love and joy on a parents face as they watch their child enjoying their gifts need no language. Then there was the repeated word spasiba, spasiba! (thank you, thank you) which we heard many times which was quickly learnt and understood too. But it was the universal language of WOW! which I most enjoyed. As a child pulled a gift out of a box letting out a gasped wow, or as a parent marvelling at all their child has received lets out a quiet wow it does not matter what language you speak wow means the same the world over. It means excitement, it means joy, it means gratitude and wonder for all they have received!

Fill a shoebox and make a wow! moment for a child in Belarus. (Filled boxes should be brought to church by Sunday 4 November.) More info from Margaret Cowan.

It was obvious that May had been drinking heavily and she might
also have taken tranquillisers. She was bawling and shouting, cursing and swearing. Her house was in utter chaos. It was a very difficult situation altogether, particularly as she was also slashing herself. May was a woman going nowhere, a poor lost soul in the world One night two people came to speak at a meeting in my church. I didnt recognise either of them. One of the speakers pointed at me and said, Doctor, you will be able to confirm all that Im saying. When she saw my incomprehension, she said, Im May Nicholson. Dont you remember me? I was gob-smacked! When I knew her previously she was a deeply depressed alcoholic with no hope and her life going nowhere. Now May was completely and utterly different. May had been transformed from notorious fighting drunk into a friendly steam roller clearing paths of hope not just for herself but for dozens and dozens of others too. For the last ten years she has been Director of the Preshal Trust, working tirelessly to tackle problems of social exclusion in the Linthouse area of Glasgow (see http://preshaltrust.org.uk) The amazing changes in Mays life were the subject of a BBC Moment of Truth documentary in 2003, and have also been described in Miracles from Mayhem* (the first two paragraphs above are an extract from her former GPs contribution to this book). Some of us from PBC met May and heard her wonderful story in Hawick Baptist Church earlier this year. Shes agreed to come to speak in Peebles, about her own experiences and the work of the Trust, this autumn, Listen for confirmation of the date, and tell all your friends. May is an unforgettable speaker!
*Irene Howat, Christian Focus Publications, 2004

Vickys Tearoom3 years old

On 9 September the Tearoom will celebrate its third birthday (its doors first opened on 13 September 2009). We continue to serve our guests (all older people who have some difficulty getting out and about independently) with a traditional afternoon tea, including freshlymade sandwiches and home-baking. Proper china tea-sets are used, there are flowers on the table, and care is taken with the presentation, so that everything looks, as well as tastes, wonderful. After tea theres sometimes an activity such as gentle armchair exercise, or occasionally we have a visit from entertainers (such as the celebrity double-act pictured below). The afternoon ALWAYS finishes with singing, incorporating ideas from Singing for the Brain - hugely enjoyable, as well as good for mind and body! The Tearoom relies on the hard work of regular volunteers, who bake, make sandwiches, set tables, serve tea and coffee, wash up, provide transport, and help in many other ways. To say thank you, the church is giving a party for all volunteers, on Saturday 8 September at 7pm. Please let Linda Bell know AS SOON POSSIBLE if youre able to come.

Assembly runs from 25th - 27th October, and if you want to go to the whole thing you need to book by September 7th. However, if you cant make the whole event you can come for single days for 30, or to evenings or Saturday afternoon for free!

Christians in Sport exists to reach the world of sport for Christ. They are working daily to see Christians in every one of the UKs 150,000 sports clubs, representing Christ and building the local church. CIS trains Christians in sport to represent Christ by praying for their friends in sport, playing in a way that honours God and saying something of the Good News of Jesus Christ. This is done through training events, resources, youth and university groups scattered across the UK as well as Sport Networks connecting people to others from their sport. CIS also supports and helps Christians in sport share their faith with their friends by hosting sports events that they can invite their friends along to, where they can hear the Christian message. These include sports quizzes (as we experienced at last months Caf Church), dinners, tournaments as well as university and school missions, and their youth camps Sports Plus. Dechlan Wilson has been involved with CIS for some time, and writes of his experiences with them over the summer: I was helping at two of the SportsPlus camps this summer. I was coaching the athletics at Perth and the Swimming in Derby. These camps are amazing and combine a lot of sport, around five and a half hours each day, with a lot of bible teaching, around 3-4 hours each day through various different sources. As you can imagine all the young people attending get pretty worn out by the end, but even a finely tuned athlete such as myself who wasn't even participating in the sports was knackered by the end! Everything at the camp is geared towards young people, from all the amazing food, to the wide variety of sports on offer, and to the meetings in the church, where even the singing was transformed into a competition. But perhaps something which sums up the flavour of the week is that there were inflatable balls in the church so the young people could play volley ball across the isle at the beginning; no-one was late! Perhaps the deacons and Ian could introduce that at Peebles!
For more information on CIS see www.christiansinsport.org.uk

Hi Everyone,
I have just discovered an alternative use for interdental brushes removing tiny, minute ants from my computer keyboard! quite off putting trying to type with the little creatures popping up from under the keys, just one of the little challenges of being in a tropical clime , so thank you Wisdom, must remember to bring a larger supply with me next time. Anyway on to more interesting news. Met with a delightful couple who were visiting from China (not Chinese - the guy is originally from Portugal and his wife from America) but they have lived in China for around 24 years. They are here with a view to distributing free of charge the spoken bible which is being produced by themselves in China and sponsored by Chinese Christians. The recordings are produced in many languages Jorge & Donna are (God willing) looking to return to Kenya next year to record in local languages to reach those not able to read etc. with the word of God. See www.wordproject.com for more on this. Jorge has offered to supply us with some of the recordings when produced so we can distribute to the various churches that we visit, they are recorded KJV. This will be a tremendous blessing as we frequently encounter people who have not attended school and are unable to read. The childrens home is looking great the houses have now been painted on the outside and final internal painting will be completed over the next few days. Mattresss arriving on Wednesday along with mosquito nets and I guess I will be well occupied fitting curtains for a few days, amongst collecting other furnishings from Mombasa town. Last Friday was checking over the internal paint colGate painting

ours and planting up the garden tubs (see pictures). The children are so excited and keep bobbing round to check on the progress. With the official hand over ceremony on Saturday 25th it will definitely be all hands on deck over this coming week to make sure everything is completed. We are still working on the well which will take a few more weeks so the children will not be able Site manager admiring the plants to occupy until that is operational the guys have hit really hard coral at 45 and with a further 45 to go it is a little slower than anticipated but everyone is working hard and well to complete as soon as possible. Good news for one of our students, Maureen, who has been accepted to university to study medicine we pray that funding will be in place for her to take the position so if you could stand with her she would really appreciate your prayers. We have been having some great and powerful meetings both on Sundays and throughout the week with peoples lives being so impacted and changed we just thank God and give Him all the glory.

Almost there!

We are so blessed to be connected to some fantastic men and women of God who commit their lives to the work they have been called to. They work tirelessly always putting others before themselves so last week it was really great to be able to give one pastor and his wife a couple of days away on safari rest and relaxation it was their first ever safari and they were so blessed. I got to take them, which was fantastic for me I just love seeing the animals but more than that it was wonderful seeing them relax and enjoy themselves.

I was able to visit Baby Life Rescue Centre last week what an amazing job Peter & Selpher are doing they have eight babies at the moment, though this changes from day to day as new children are brought in and others re connected with their families or fostered / adopted. Ariel the eldest child, a three year old boy, will soon be fostered out long term which is great news. Today (Monday) I went with Peter & Selpher on a home visit to see Zawadi who some few months ago had been brought to Baby Life R.C. by the Childrens Dept her mother, who has mental health problems, had tried to sell the child for 20/-, around 16p. The grandparents applied for and were granted custody of her. We were there on a three month follow up to check on the childs progress. It was a delight to see how well she has integrated into her family, who are very caring, loving and modest farming folk a Zawadi with Peter & family wonderful story of restoration, back in her own community with her own people Zawadi is sure to have a love filled future. More news on Baby Life R. C. in our next newsletter incidentally Sara, my daughter and one of our trustees, is taking part in a 10k run in October on behalf of Vision Ministries for Baby Life Rescue Centre, so if you are interested in sponsoring her she would be delighted please call on 01968 682659 / e mail info@visionministries.co.uk for further information. Well that is all for now, please receive greetings from everyone here along with my love & blessings Love,

Barbara
For more information about Barbaras work with Vision Ministries, visit their website at http://www.visionministries.co.uk, or find them on Facebook.

Basic First Aid tuition for church volunteers

Sunday 21 October 2-4pm Victoria Park Centre (venue to be confirmed)

Church
Caf Church is an opportunity to ask challenging questions about real life issues in a relaxed, informal setting. Bring a friend and enjoy a great cup of coffee and one of Cocoa Blacks irresistible cakes.

Thursday 6th September: doors open at 7.30, with discussion starting at 8pm. This months topic to be confirmed
Occasionally we take photographs during or after services or other events, to use in our website and other publicity. If you object to being shown in such a picture, please speak to Ian.

Prayer Points for September

Pray and Praise God for who He is, and for all His goodness to us. Continue to pray for Helen H, and for Stan as he supports and cares for her. As Helen says Our God is a great big God, and He holds us in His hands. May they be aware of His presence every day. Pray for our deacons as they seek to do Gods will in the life of our fellowship. Pray also for the election of new deacons, and the Members Meeting to be held on 19 September. Lets thank God for the freedom that we have to meet and to worship together. Pray for the people who do not have this freedom, and who face terrible persecution, and even death, to follow Christ; pray they will have strength to stand firm and bring the light of Christ to their nations. Pray for our link missionaries, Ann and David Macfarlane, as they continue Gods work in Italy, that they remain in good health Continue to pray for Cathy Aberdour as she seeks to purchase a new home. Pray that God would guide and bless her.

O magnify the Lord with me. And let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34:3

Please pass prayer requests to Wilma Wintour, 723023

Whats on when.
Letter-writing, and prayer for persecuted Christians, at Willie and Wilmas, Tuesday 11 September, 10am

VICKYS TEAROOM 3rd BIRTHDAY PARTY

SUNDAY 9 SEPTEMBER at 3pm. Please pray for the well-being and enjoyment of everyone involved

CHURCH PRAYER TIME

SATURDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 9am, in the Manse
Mens Group on 13 September, 7.30pm at Franks ALL ABOUT PIGEONS!

Services, September 2012

Sunday 2 September
Communion Servers: Linda Bell, Carlyn McCall Stewards: Linda Bell, Janet Smith Flowers: Margaret McLennan Teas: Janlyn Townley Transport: Team One 5s: Lindsey Gray, Kirstin Gray

Sunday 9 September
Stewards: Frank Drummond, Willie and Wilma Wintour Flowers: Linda Bell Teas: Kenny Hamilton Transport: Team Two 5s: Lindsey Gray, Kirstin Gray

Pastor: Ian Gray, tel 07881 518854, email pastor@peeblesbaptistchurch.org

Secretary: Christine Drummond, tel 722062 Treasurer: Liz Keiro, tel 730217

Services in Victoria Park Centre, unless otherwise indicated

Website: http://peeblesbaptistchurch.org

Sunday 16 September
Communion Servers: Jacqueline Wilson, Fergus Brown Stewards: Jenny Jacobs, Jacqueline Wilson Flowers: Margaret Johnstone Teas: Helen Henderson Transport: Team One 5s: Lindsey Gray, Janlyn Townley

Sunday 23 September
Stewards: Margaret Cowan, Stan Henderson Flowers: Pat Hamilton Teas: Wilma Wintour Transport: Team Two 5s: Lindsey Gray, Janlyn Townley

Sunday 30 September
Stewards: Vi Brown, Hazel Hoggan Flowers: Christine Drummond Teas: Douglas McCall Transport: Team One 5s: Lindsey Gray, Kirstin Gray

TRANSPORT TEAMS:
Team OneChristine Drummond, Margaret Cowan, Frank Drummond Team TwoLindsey Gray, Douglas McCall, Margaret Cowan

COMMUNION TABLE SETTING in September Vi Brown