Cant give pics at the moment - hopefully when James can find the lead

Saturday 4 April: After a free business upgrade (advice: always wear a suit when flying!) I safely arrived in Lagos at 7pm. The airport appears to be more friendly since the last time I was here, with people at the front of the airport stating 'welcome to Nigeria'. After crossing the frontier and wandering about for a few minutes, I met Pastor Godwin Ebulu. Pastor Godwin is a dear friend of Bishop James and he had invited me to come and minister for a couple of days at his place in Badagry.

Badagry is very famous to historians as being the second most important slave port in West Africa after Cape Coast, Ghana. It is also the first place where a missionary house was established, the first place where the Gospel was preached on West African soil and the first place where a primary school was established in Nigeria (so not much famous about it really....). It is also the westernmost town in Nigeria, with the border to Benin down the road.
 
A bit of traffic on the road but we safely arrived at the hotel about 9:30pm. I was provided with all kinds of snacks to keep me going (not that I will need those in temparatures of 35 degrees celsius) and rested up for the day ahead.
 

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Thursday 26th March, Shanghai

After spending a sort of interesting day in our twin school of Shenzhen (which wouldn't interest most of the readers here), I boarded this little baby. To sum it up, we completed the Basildon-Fenchurch (or Leamington to Birmingham New Street) street run in 6 minutes and 30 seconds...a commuter's dream.

I am not quite as committed as Merv/Speckled Hen John but I am a bit of a train buff. It would appear that this things soars based on magnets and has no track. When you haven't got track to produce friction, it makes you go faster. It is the friction that keeps us slowed down in our own lives. I need more love and power in my life to understand that He has made us one. Not this head knowledge that is, in some places, rammed down your throat but I need to know it in my 'knower/Noah' (Not sure how this is spelt but both apply as Noah represents the place of total trust in God) so that I can soar 450 KPH like this young babe of a train. If you see me in meetings or at work, quite often I am 'dashing around' as Doug quaintly once put it but to soar ensures I can't be slowed down by the friction that seeks to slow us all down.

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Today I was in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Notre Dame Cathedral. Unlike many Communist countries, religious expression is tolerated here. I was sitting there in this Catholic edifice watching people go past the statue of Jesus coming down from the cross that the staff had laid in the middle of the cross. The calmness and serenity of the place was comfort to the 36 c temparature.

The next thing I am aware of is this woman who is sobbing and sobbing and making a bit of a loud noise. She went up to the cross and did the whole ritualistic thing of going up to the statue and kissing the feet. I thought "If only I could speak Vietnamese I could tell her that her sorrows were not needed as He has in fact risen" being my usual pious self.

All she kept saying was "Cám ơn" - I thought it might have meant sorry or mercy or something similar.

It meant "Thank you".

Yesterday I was stuck in Macau twice in Macau. Macau is the 'Las Vegas' of Hong Kong and has lots of dazzling lights. I arrived at 10pm last night to find the Exchange bureau closed. I didn't want to withdraw any cash as my bank now charge 3 quid for every transaction made outside of the EU. I needed God to deliver me - all of these thoughts lasted for 10 seconds before a lovely young Chinese lady came and said "you look like you are in trouble - here is 20 dollars!". I walked away thinking to myself 'His eye is on the sparrow' and happily got the bus to the centre of town where I managed to change more but not after the next story.....

The next problem (this is only one of three times I have ever done this) - I hadn't booked anywhere to stay. I prayed to the Holy Spirit to help me decide a good place to stay. The first two were full (Easter is a public holiday in Hong Kong and Macau) - I got to the 3rd and they were offering a decent price. I went with it however the moment I walked out the door, I had a real check in my spirit that this was not a good idea. When I came back after unsuccessfully finding a bureau de change, (I did find one eventually and a much better hotel for half the price!) I saw a big red light outside the door and a lady asked me if I wanted a "top secret massage" - enough said. To cut a long story short, they didn't want me when I had no money.

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You know when I browse through all my stuff that I have amassed eight years after leaving home, I realise that there is an awful lot of things that I have collected on the way. I was rummaging through my gear and found old clothes, photos of my 1st of 26 trips to Paris (I keep Eurostar in business) and all sorts of things that people have given to me.
 
In a small sort of way, these are my little treasures. Something that I have chosen to value - even if no one else values them, I do because when I see that photo/brochure/clothes, it speaks of so much. Jesus keeps us - we may not be of much value to anyone but he values us simply because of who we are. He will never discard us, he will treasure us - he will protect us. It says in the word that "He will keep my feet from falling" - Hallelujah! Jesus keeps me and looks after me and thinks that you and I are the most amazing treasures he has in the world.
 
I am to Jesus what those precious sentimental items are to me. When I think of the goodness of God in my life, when I think of the way that he keeps and satisfies the longing for reality in my soul - I can rest that he is the keeper of my soul, that there is nothing that the keeper of my soul and I cannot face and I would not wish it to be anyone else. I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land, I'd rather be led by the nail-pierced hand!
 
Today, rest in the fact that your life is hid with Christ IN God and that nothing can take you out of His keeping power.

Thursady 14th February...Valentines Day.
 

Two years ago today, I was teaching in a school in Ghana and I remember one student asking me what Valentines Day was about. I simply explained that Valentines Day is a good day for sharing....I didn´t want to complicate his mind with Western interpretations (indeed in Japan, you must not only give to your partner but to give gifts to all your male friends as well...WHY DON´T I LIVE THERE?!). So I thought this would be a good day to start the Glory blog, my random thoughts on my supernatural lifestyle (try trekking around with me round the world and at work - I see some pretty amazing things!)  - on it you will hopefully find something that will stir your faith at least once a week. You might even get the odd R.E/History lesson too! Expect a new one on a regular basis. I am actually writing this first blog to you having been on the mountain with Jesus (literally!) - An hour ago I was on top of Christ the Redeemer mountain in Rio de Janeiro.

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