A Christmas Note from Bill…


Another year has come and gone and as I stop to pause and to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour and refocus on my family and friends, I trust that this letter finds you in the same mind-set; not too fractured by shopping nor to full from the abundance that most of us take for granted.  I wish you peace on earth, and peace in your soul as you prepare it for heaven as we all must do.
My 2014 has been quite busy and disjointed even by my standards.  Here is a summary for those of you who are curious. For a visual of last year se my photo gallery and video gallery.
February - saw the whole family back to Canada for Christmas and a short season of western culture and weather.  It was good to spend some time with Mya traveling as a family through Alberta to Vancouver Island and back seeing many friends and family.

March - once again saw us go different directions as I was off to do another mission trip for just over a month in Capetown with Urban Saints and Younglife building another school in the Khayelitsha slum while the family went back to Wales. 
May - saw a quick trip to Italy to pick up a bungee assisted trampoline for Middle Park camp as a family.  The 30 hr drive split up by a ferry to an island was a great way to see the beauty of Europe in a mini vacation.

 
June - the delivery of the trampolines was to become the first of many trips in June to and from Rhyl to Welshpool to get the site ready for the early July Setup teams  from Arizona and Africa to run SPREE and all the summer camps that followed.  Over 600 youth from the UK, Canada, USA and South Africa participated this year in making the summer fun and fruitful. 
 
September - I handed the keys to Middle Park off to Howell Hodgett to take the lead as property manager, a planned transition to allow me more time to see what is next in the lives of the Hebners post Young Life involvement here in the UK.  (I am still active on the board).  This time unfortunately was interrupted by Jury duty which stretched out over the next 3 weeks with an initial false start.  Probably one of the most heart wrenching things I have had to face in some time, it taught me more about judgment grace and mercy in a very real and tangible way.
 
There was a silver lining in jury duty as the work days were ‘shorter’ than I normally have, so I could spend some time writing. Therefore I finally got around to writing the book,  ‘How to build a simple three bedroom container house.’ That so many people have requested.  The video made by Marion Jones has seen over 750,000 hits on YouTube in various copies.  If you are interested at all it is available as a download on Amazon.
 
October - saw the now delayed reflection time again pushed back as I was asked to design and build a dorm for women in Mtwapa Kenya with Hope for the Nations out of Canada.  This is to be a safe haven for those who want out of the sex trade that is devastating so many lives there.  Before going with a team of 6, I also had been overseeing a work project from our local church in their dream to renovate a chapel in Wrexham for the AOG denomination.
 

November - I was half way through the renovations when it was time to disappear for another month to Africa to build the centre.  Due to some delays I was also able to visit the reopening of Khaya Centre in South Africa and return home via Uganda to spend time with a group from Calgary that is entertaining the idea of building a container school there with the Nazarene church in Alberta. 
 
December - Now after a cold probably brought about by the transition back to the UK I finally have time to sit still and reflect on the many great things I had a privilege to be part of this year, and the many great opportunities that are beginning to unfold for the future.  I will spend the rest of this season at home (and finishing the church renovation) hopefully entering the new year in a quiet season preparing for what is next. 
 
For those of you who support my ministry I simply want to say thank you for making it a reality. I could not possibly do 50% of what I am allowed to do if I was not freed up to do ministry with your help. 


Peace to you all.
In Him,

Bill
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

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