Well it is summertime at last and so I am able to sit outside with the laptop; a perfect time to catch up with the journal while enjoying the sound of the water fountain and children’s voices playing in the neighbours’ gardens. Although I say it myself our garden is at its best with a riot of colours and too many different flowers to count! The roses seem so huge this year. Maybe the rain has had something to do with it. Either that or Bio Multirose!

We are still struggling with uncertainties in our lives but the saddest news since I last wrote in here is that my Mum’s journey on this earth is nearly at an end. She was diagnosed with a tumour a couple of weeks ago, but Bethany Care Home have taken her back from hospital and we are going just one day at a time. She will be 85 this month and she has lived her life to the full for her Saviour. We can only be thrilled for her that very soon she will see His Face and be reunited with so many of her relatives and friends who have gone on before.

Julian is working the occasional day at Sandhurst and the rest of the time for Charles, while Daniel is now busy renovating his house in Waltham Abbey. We had a lovely family time last weekend with Ben and Stephen home. I made a chocolate cake to cover three birthdays which was quite a neat idea and by mistake added twice the amount of cocoa powder. The result was scrumptious! Steve has just returned from a few days’ holiday in Barcelona where he managed to lose his passport and find it again! Ben travelled to Tanzania on Monday to be best man at a friend’s wedding in Zanzibar. He is adding up all his annual leave and looking forward to another three weeks holiday, hopefully taking plenty of photos and writing up a worthwhile article for the Wokingham News!

Saturday Club is still going great with a nucleus of six regular young girls. Encouragement has really come about through Rucha over the last few weeks. She decided to take a bible home ‘for a secret reason’ she said and it turns out she has been studying it. She began in Genesis and then decided to read through the life of Moses and every week she checks that I have given the memory verse correctly! How we pray that her head knowledge will be turned over to heart knowledge as the Holy Spirit works in this young life. Just before half term she prayed during the evening that she would find a way to tell her granny who is over from India about Jesus. Then a few days later I found the DVD of the Jesus film which is broadcast in Hindi and it has gone into the home. Do please pray for Rucha that these tiny seeds will produce great fruit and that she will take the gospel back to India one day.

At the last session of Saturday Club before the break we finished the poster which was meant to be ready for Easter! Never mind. At least we are in good time for next year. Hannah outlined the background and we used torn up pieces of construction paper and crêpe paper to represent the stone rolled away from the tomb at sunrise, with the three crosses set to one side. Our genius Hannah spent hour upon hour cutting out tiny felt lettering to give the gospel verse which the children learned, and you can view the final stunning result here. Of course that photo was taken before the poster fell down. On the Saturday evening we were informed by Hannah that no one was going home until it was up on the wall. Julian stood on the steps while she balanced on a chair on top of a table and all was done by 10.15! The girls had a fine time watching all of Tanglewoods’ Secret instead of just the second instalment, but it gave us a chance to put in all the finishing touches. The next morning in church I was sitting at the piano and the sun was streaming through the window, lighting up the colours, and all the weeks of sticking and washing brushes seemed worthwhile. Unfortunately Julian and I were visiting my Mum and so we missed the next part! During the evening service a visiting preacher was closing in prayer when our double-sided carpet tape decided it would let us down and so the poster landed on his head! It must have been the next best thing after the death of the mouse and we missed it!

Church is still the most wonderful occupation of our lives. Bible study was good last night with Tanya’s strawberry and cream meringues to round off the evening. Ron and Claire still continue to come regularly on Sundays which is a real joy. Yet again he came all the way back from Clacton to get to church last Sunday. Please pray for Ron and all the family. He is such an encouragement to us.

I know I must have left out huge chunks of happenings which is inevitable when I leave things too long but at least those who I know are reading along can see we are still here. May you know much of the Lord’s Presence in your lives. And to Sophie now that you are connected to the Internet I hope you have found our website and seen your pics on the church website. A big thankyou to you and Becky for all your hard work on the poster at Saturday Club and………….see you in the garden!!