Land of Song & Revival: Home Again to Wales

"We'll keep a welcome in the hillside.
We'll keep a welcome in the Vale
This land you knew will still be singing
When you come home again to Wales."

"Land of My Fathers..."

As the Welsh National Anthem says, Wales in indeed the land of my father, and my home, though I haven't really lived there for a rather long time. Still, I did cheer, as I always do, when we crossed the Severn Bridge from England to Wales and saw the Welcome to Wales sign.

We'd been in South Wales two years ago, so it was great to go back to visit most of the churches we'd spoken at then. And great to see that though the numbers of people attending these churches where the Holy Spirit had once moved so powerfully (particularly during the Welsh Revival of 1904-1905) are small, their passion for the Lord and for His mission of reaching the world is not.

At Bethel Baptist Church in Crumlin, it was lovely to recognize some faces and to remember again that these people have been praying for the radio ministry for years and years. With very strong One Mission Society/Men for Missions connections, (their pastor is Jeff Jones, MFM UK President), they'd got behind the previous solar radios project, and had a model of the old radio at the front of the sanctuary. We loved our time with these people, who'd come out on a Monday afternoon to hear our update.

The girls did a great job everywhere directing people to sign up for our mailing list, take a look at our photo-book, and take a prayer card. 

With Chris Palmer, OMS South Wales & West Regional Director (left) and Jeff and Moira Jones (right). Jeff is MFM UK President, and pastor of this church.

Their Missions Board: now we have an official prayer card that'll be added to the many faces and ministries that this church prays for regularly (they've been praying for us regularly too, even without a prayer card!)

With the Scannell family

Lunch at my aunt Mary's house gathered some of the Scannell clan together for a few hours.

My youngest cousin David's son, Finlay, with his tiger mask. The girls had fun playing while us grown-ups talked (and drank tea :)

Grandpa and the girls. 

My dad's sister Mary, my dad, me and my grandma's sister, Aunt Yvonne.

The others joined in for the photo: Storly, Finlay, Hannah & Esther, and my dad's wife, Gill.

Lodge Farm

One of the sweetest moments of our whole trip for me was being back at Lodge Farm Church in Caerleon. When I started going to church as a teenager, after friends from school invited me to Young People's group on Thursdays, it was at Lodge Farm, in the room called the Cowshed, where I first made connections with the people and heard the truth that they shared that would lead me a few weeks' later to the Saviour. 

Great to enjoy fellowship with these precious people again. Great to share with them what God has been doing with us. Great to have Dad there. And great to see Bronwyn again (a family friend who I've recently reconnected with on Facebook after about 30 years...)

And great to drink tea and be refreshed again as we mingled. Roland on the left taught me to drive back in about 1990, and Ruth and her husband Owen took good care of us as we stayed in their home this time.

Great to see the Jones family!

Us with Bronwyn and her daughter Erin. 

Me and Maria.

With Phill and Maria. Awesome to hear what God's doing in and through them.
Phill's now a full-time worker - Evangelist, Youth Pastor & Schools Worker - at Lodge Farm, and
we loved hearing of lots of great opportunities they're having to go into schools
and share their faith. 

The Jones girls, Erin and our girls. 

Brecon Beacons

During one of many occasions pouring over maps - online, on paper, phone or Sat Nav (the British term for the GPS you might have in your car), we realized that our next church meeting was in Trecynon, not far from the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Parl, so we spent the day out in the town of Brecon, drove back through the Beacons (mountain range in South/Mid Wales), did a quick change into 'church clothes' at a Visitor Centre before arriving in Trecynon. 

Our rented-from-a-missionary-car-services-organisation 1980s Mercedes Benz.
Plenty of room in the bag to lug all our luggage all over the place.
No air-conditioning though, which we actually needed - we had lots of warm, sunny days.

Enjoying the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.

The girls were amazing friends for practically the whole trip. Lovely to watch!

An interesting stop at a cafe inside the Parish Church.

Welsh souvenir shop - and no, I didn't buy anything.

The Brecon Beacons

Sheep!

A lovely day out before we headed to Bryn Sion Baptist Church in Trecynon, near Aberdare. 

Love watching people welcome our girls!

Leader Paul Poloha (OMS Board Member) asked Storly and the girls to sing a
song in Creole, so they sang Jezi Renmen Tout Timoun Yo (Jesus Loves the
Little Children).

A lovely time to enjoy fellowship.

Castle 

We left Storly back at Owen & Ruth's house to work on editing some radio programmes, while the girls and I went with my dad to Raglan Castle (a late medieval castle in south east Wales, built between 15th and 17th Centuries).

Spotted some baby birdies. 

Sirhowy

In the evening, we were at Bethel Pentecostal Church in Sirhowy. With just real genuine people. 

And our last meeting in South Wales - a Youth meeting of the Assemblies of God churches in the area. Great, lively worship. Great to see plenty of young people there, some with strong desires to pursue missions in the coming months.

Next stop: north-west England, for an OMS meeting at Crown Lane Free Methodist Church near Preston.

Wee Cups of Tea in Northern Ireland

Back in Haiti

We arrived in Haiti yesterday, so while Storly's at the radio station and the girls are busy playing, I'm hoping to finish updating you on our recent UK trip.

But, to be honest, it's going to take some effort. It seems so long ago, but it was less than a month. In the last week, we've traveled from home in the UK, back home to Indiana, spent a couple of days at the OMS International Conference, left early so we could repack and fly to Florida, then back home to Haiti yesterday.

[The concept of 'home' is so interesting, isn't it? A friend was reminding Storly of something he said recently, that 'home is where we are...' Yep, that's how it is for us, and I hope all four of us can rely on a solid foundation in Christ, and the many friends and loved ones in different places we get to do life with from time to time, to be grounded and settled and loved and comfortable and to belong, and all those things that 'home' brings us. More on that another time.]

So, when I told Storly I had slept all afternoon yesterday while he went back to Petite Anse (the AM towers site), he replied, "Good, because you looked awful!" Yep, all this traveling, and sharing, and presenting, and needing to be somewhere to do something at a specific time before heading to the next thing has been exhausting. So I'm happy we're now here in Haiti, at least for a couple of weeks. With no teams to host. Just our 'regular workload' at the radio station. And hoping to see some action on the towers project.

Back to Northern Ireland for more tea & biscuits (by which I mean more invitations to sit for a while, chat, connect, get refreshed...)

It was our first visit to Northern Ireland, where OMS Regional Director Donald Coulter arranged for us to speak in several churches and meetings (Sunday and weekday meetings).

The first Sunday service was at Lower Clonaneese Presbyterian Church near Dungannon, where Storly had fun with the kids during the Children's Talk (getting them to jump up as Zacchaeus might have before he climbed the tree to get a view of Jesus).

Then up the road to Upper Clonaneese for a second service, with this larger congregation. During the service, it was great to hear several young and older people talk about various missions they were to be part of this summer.

Among new faces here is familiar face to us, Julie Edler (née Briggs) with hubbie Bill and little baby boy Sam. Julie worked at the OMS medical clinic in Haiti for a year or so when our kids were babies, and again later. So it was great to see her again, and meet her little wee family. Also got to see Amy Sharkey (née Boycott) and her hubbie Evan - similarly, we met Amy when she worked at the OMS medical clinic in Haiti. Had a lovely lunch at Amy & Evan's, with Julie & Bill, and a confusing mix of accents - Northern Irish, Canadian, American, plus our own family's rich mélange of accents too.

Later in the week, it was lovely to meet up with Dr. Gavin, who we also know from when he worked at the OMS clinic - he did my prenatal care when I was pregnant with Esther, including the first ultrasound when we saw a moving dot on a fuzzy screen that was Esther. Great to share stories about life, family and ministry with Gavin, and revel at what God's been doing and is doing since we were last in touch.

At quick stop at OMS reps Dean & Lorraine's house for fellowship, kids play, tea and a most precious offering to a needy missionary - a spray of deodorant and perfume to freshen up for the evening's service at Knockconny Baptist Church.

Then Monday, a lovely visit from Ellen and her little daughter Sofia. I got to know Ellen when we both lived in Senegal. Later when she moved back to Dublin, I was honoured to help baptise her. Last time we saw each other was at my wedding 10 years ago.

Hannah, Esther & Sofia had fun doing some dance moves.

Lovely to see Ellen & Sofia!

One of the many blessings of our stay in N Ireland was this holiday cottage - lovely place, to ourselves, where the girls enjoyed hanging up their clothes within minutes of our arrival (why can't they do that at home, I wonder?), where we cooked and ate, and watched some of the World Cup, and generally regrouped between meetings.

Monday night was at The People's Church, and when I got up to speak, I first had to thank the worship band for leading us, leading me to worship my Lord. Before the service started, as Storly was off talking to the pastor, Hannah & Esther were like bags of energy, jumping up and down, from seat to floor, in the front row, as the congregation gathered and caught glimpses of this missionary family. The glimpses they probably got of me were a mad face, harsh words as I tried to control my 'crazy children'. I was in no mood to get up and share. But the worship band led us, led me to cast my eyes on Jesus, to 'bless the Lord, oh my soul'. Am so grateful for that.

It was a blessing to be among brothers and sisters at the People's Church, to share in enthusiastic worship with them (there was even some jumping, which Hannah & Esther loved!). To hear loud AMENs as we talked and shared what God is doing in and through Radio 4VEH. Yes, these stories of changed lives deserve loud amens!

And it was a blessing to drink tea, eat biscuits, to fellowship with this fellowship. One young guy had even been to Radio 4VEH, a great connection! Along with a love offering taken during the evening for our missionary support, they blessed us with some cash 'to buy hamburgers'. I love these practical expressions of love, of people wanting to help meet our needs, humbling, and so encouraging (and yes, we did stop at McDonald's once or twice :)

After a lunchtime meeting with a group of pastors and leaders, we took some time off to visit Giant's Causeway (an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption, according to Google) in the mist.

Last tourist shot before a little one needs to go to the toilet and we trek, quickly, back up the long road uphill to the facilities. 

Another opportunity to share what God's doing through Radio 4VEH, this time at Dungannon Independent Methodist Church.

After the service, where to be culturally appropriate among this denomination, I wore a head covering, Hannah & Esther wanted their turn with the head scarf, too.

After a morning prayer meeting (catch-up on life and ministry,with prayer, with some of our Northern Ireland OMS colleagues), we were off to our last meeting in Northern Ireland, a Men for Missions group meeting, again a great opportunity to share with this group, who especially focus on praying for OMS ministries and missionaries, and being an active part of this work through short-term missions.

Other memorable moments:
- pooey smells some days - we were told the farmers had 'put down the slurry' (manure), and 'don't put any washing out to dry coz it'll stink'. Yep, sometimes it smells out in the country!
- driving home from a meeting at 11 o'clock at night, and it's still light. Crazy, confusing to the body clocks. As Hannah said, "I can't go to bed yet, the sun hasn't".

Lovely time in Northern Ireland! Back to England for a day, then South Wales, Land of My Fathers!