Lovely sky and another week

The sky was beautiful at sunset tonight. Shame I didn't have a camera, some lovely purples and oranges silhouetting the clouds.

The week has flown by and I haven't got around to posting. Somehow reading other blogs is more interesting! Last weekend I had a coffee morning for Caring for Life - a charity in Leeds which looks after vulnerable adults through projects based around the farm and other outreach. I had never done something like this before and was pleased that quite a few folks from church came and we raised a good sum.

At the moment I am reading Holiness by J.C. Ryle. It is an excellent book and in a strange way very contemporary. Particular challenges that arise from the book are the need for us each to have increased faith, we so often like to keep our own crutches of support without trusting completely in the Lord and leaving all to Him. Another problem he highlights as a failing of the church is a lack of strong conviction about what we believe and why. Many were indifferent about various doctrines and therefore not standing distinct from the world and able to give an answer to faith questions. He particularly emphasises this with reference to the battle against Rome. A lack of strong conviction is a problem that is still present today although we do not just battle against Rome.

Zambian Mission

On Tuesday night Phil Bailey came to talk at the midweek meeting about the work of Zambian Missions Support. It was a really fascinating talk and it is amazing how much the project has grown in just 5 years. What I was particularly impressed by was the farming project where they showed that with using good farming methods of planting at the right time and taking care of the ground with regular weeding the crop quality and yields could be increased enormously. Another interesting part of the project that he mentioned was the trials they are doing with different plants. There is a particular plant which is very effective in reducing the likelihood of malaria. Phil stated that he felt that one of the most important things in fighting AIDs was to encourage good nutrition. The people would then be strong enough to fight off infections. So, with good farming methods and increased food and variety of food and vegetables health and welfare should improve. In Zambia 1 in 4 people have AIDs.

www.zambianmissionsupport.com