Dear Friends
Can anyone please tell us where time goes and how it seems to fly by and forget to include us in it? The sun is shining and it is 20+0C out there in April!!. We are on the move to Aylesbury and have been away from our adopted home town of Ellesmere already for a few weeks. Everything seems to go by in a flash.
Which nicely takes me onto a reflective thought to start with. Do you have time to watch that video clip on Facetube (yes deliberately done to include two of the biggest time wasters in our lives)? Do you have time to argue with that person you truly love but they have done something you don’t like and are struggling to forgive them? Do you have time to waste? Maybe time spent reading some healthy literature is better? Maybe time spent talking and enjoying each others company is a more worthy occupation. This is not to judge or say any of that is wrong, just asking as we know how these things rob us of some of the qualities of life.
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34)
The business of life/living can be suffocating and if you are feeling that, take a few moments out and reflect. Sit on a towpath near you, or beach or park and reflect on what is positive rather than look at the negatives in life. When you watch nature you start to realise those verses in Matthew 6v25-34 are so true. V34 says “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. It does make you feel better in yourself and helps us see things from a different perspective, just park tomorrow and focus on what you have to do now. If you would like prayer now or someone who will lift you in prayer regularly, please let us know. We are happy to do that and happy to talk if it helps.
In our last news we made the mistake of saying “Here are our plans for spring”. We did put the word hope in the sentence so we don’t feel really bad but a little frustrated. Those hopes were dashed as we saw the Bridgewater Canal breach and the Macclesfield Canal breach, so no easy access to the northern parts of the network. We have since rethought our route and are heading south towards Aylesbury. We have visited a new stretch of canal, the western end of the Staffordshire and Worcester canal. We have then accended towards Birmingham via the Stourbridge canal (that was restored the year I was born) and the Dudley No2 canal (Yes you do have to say it with that accent 🙂). Then back onto better known canals around the Birmingham Canal Network (BCN). We will then follow the North Stratford canal to Lapworth and finally onto the Grand Union (the longest canal) to Aylesbury.
We have spent 2 weeks in dry dock and have a shiny roof now, with a well blacked hull and a newly painted water tank. We thank God for all the help we had from our good friends Roger, Jo and Dan. Dan and his wife Ali along with George are all attendees of floaty boat church. They were baptised on Easter Sunday. We were delighted by this, especially for our friends Roger and Jo. They have invested so much time into these guys lives and have been blessed to see them journey to faith.
Our aim whilst travelling is to visit churches enroute and to hopefully find churches that would like to link up with the work Canal Ministries does. Ultimately we may be very effective in bringing the Love of God to those on the waterway but without those links with churches we have nowhere to suggest people go too to continue to find out more about the Love God has for them when we finally move on. So we need those connections to good churches to have places to recommend they go.
Recently Canal Ministry team members helped out with a Boaters Christian Fellowship Easter outreach in Market Drayton Shropshire. We were there for the Easter weekend and St Marys Church was full on Easter Day which was very encouraging. We got to visit the Belfry (why fry not free? The English language will be the death of me.) and watch the campanologists at work, which sparked something in Chris to perhaps get involved with a local church group in the winter months. One of the leaders at the church said the bell ringers could do with a good christian in their midst to share the Good News.
We will be attending the Inland Waterways association (IWA) festival 7/8th June at Foxton. Working alonside BCF and Waterways Chaplains. A service on the Sunday will be lead by those at the festival and a stall is manned through out. This gives us chance to talk with people and pray for them. It is an important event for the canal world so pray that we get to see God at work there.
In the 1st week of August Canal Ministries is working with churches in Burnley to reach out to the community there. Please pray for this as there is a lot to do. There is quite a lot going on and Paul and Sue need to both stay well for this whole event as they are key to it. There is a lot going on in this area with the Churches so we could see a lot of fruit from this week. Please also pray that the lakes/reservoirs that supply water for these canals will be replenished as already they are very low.
Canal Ministries now have an up to date website canalministries.org.uk. Please take a look we try to keep information current and relevant so there should be new articles on there at least every 3 months.
Below are further areas for prayer some are ongoing some are new.
- Our maisonette in Folkestone has thrown up some major works that need to be done. Things have moved on but we need God to supply supernaturally for the works that need to be done. It is not at all straightforward.
- As mentioned we have some financial support which we are extremely grateful for, we do also need some work to fully support us. Pray that the work Chris finds will fit around our work on the waterways.
- Chris continues to have back pain after the car accident in November 23, please pray for healing as this is a limiting factor when working practically.
- Canal Ministries needs new trustees, Pray God will provide the right people for this role. We need a new Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.
- Our new Vision is being released, pray for it as we seek to see it outworked over the coming 10 years.
- Continue to pray that God will supply for all the teams needs, both practically and spiritually. Winter months are hard on boats and can be isolating. Pray that we are there for those that need our support and for team members to have the support they need during the shorter darker days.
Sent with much love and blessing
Thank you again for all your love and support.
Chris and Sally
