Goodbye Alice & David....

On Sunday, we said goodbye to Alice, David & Nathanael - as today they move back to Mannheim (Germany) - where David is going to start pastoring a church. We will miss you all - but it's been great to have you over here for the last nine months!! May God bless you - as you step out in faith!

New laptop arrives today - wahey!! Anyone know how to install this??? Thanks in advance! xx

He goes before us.....

Every day, I walk past a guy selling papers - on a street corner near to where I work. I've seen him every day for two years - and we always say 'hello' or have a chat in the mornings. It's cool.....

Last week - I was going through my bookshelf, and came across a copy of Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz. I re-read it this week on the train - and this morning, as I stopped by the corner, I asked him if he would like to read the book.

He took it - and saw 'NICKY CRUZ' in huge letters on the front - and said 'I heard Nicky Cruz, at Crystal Palace when I was 15 years old'. Ok - then I was surprised..... He then went on to tell me that he went to Spring Harvest (Skeggy!) when he was 18 - and used to play drums in two churches in London....but left, and hasn't been back for some years....
I then shared a bit of Bill's story - before heading off to work.

Ever get the feeling that God has gone before us? I certainly got that this morning! God moves in mysterious ways - and often when we least expect it!

Then......if that didn't surprise me enough....whilst working this afternoon, my colleague suggested we put some music on - and suggested 'some of that funky Christian stuff you've got'. As the 'acting boss' this week - I was only too happy to oblige!! So....we had a great afternoon (and got loads of work done) - listening to Delirious and Hillsong!

Sunrise - Jakarta (5am)

After an AMAZING trip - we saw the sun rise over Jakarta one more time - before heading home....

Fountains in the middle of Jakarta.

A visit to 'Little Indonesia'

Side view!

G'day possum - howz it goin?
Someone surprised us at the car window - with this in their hand!!

You'll like this!

A young man once asked God how long a million years was to Him and God replied, "A million years to Me is like a single second to you."

So, the young man asked God what a million pounds was to Him. God
replied, "A million pounds to Me is just like a single penny to you."

Then the young man gathered his courage and asked, "God, could I have
one of Your pennies?"

God smiled and replied, "Certainly, just a second."

I haven't blogged for ages.....

I can't believe it's been a whole WEEK!!!

Oohh, it's been busy....and continues to be....I'm the boss at work this week! Yes, hard to believe I know - but it's true.....I have been left in charge for 10 days(!) - so am v.busy!

Friday had a fab evening in London - met up with Michelle for pizza - sat outside and made the most of the warm day (which I'm glad about, seeing as it's been raining ever since)!

Coming home on the train later that evening, I was just walking through the carriages - when I was stopped by an ex work colleague. So...I joined him and his rugby mates for the journey home. Matt started asking me about my trip to Indonesia - which then turned into a very interesting discussion about God/Christianity etc - with him, his four mates, and a nice 'older' lady who was on her way home from the Chelsea flower show - and just happened to be sitting with them all. Amazing - if a little bizarre!

Weekend was great - but busy (what's new). Had a great day in church on Sunday - the children were in (with drums - awesome!); Jim & Judi Braddy were visiting from California - and we also got to watch the new T-Rex DVD (honestly!). Have a read of Neil's post - and....check out this website too!! Rock on!

I shared a quick thought which had been on my heart last week - so thought I'd share it here too.....

While listening to the song 'With All I Am' (Reuben Morgan), there's a line in the song which says 'You hold my world, in the palm of Your hand' and it reminded me of the following verse: 'Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand....'
Isaiah 40:12(a)

The One who has measured the waters in His hand (not just a cup of water either - think 'Atlantic Ocean') - is also the One who holds YOU in the palm of His hand....the One that says 'The very hairs of your head are all numbered' (Matthew 10:30), and the One that says 'I have redeemed YOU; I have called YOU by name; YOU are Mine' (Isaiah 43:1) It's almost like a comparison between the greatness of God - how awesome He is - but yet how interested He is (in us), and so much so, that even the tiniest details of our lives matter to Him!! Awesome......well - it blessed me anyway!

Monday - Bank Holiday...yay!!! Woke up at 6.30am (don't you just LOVE it when that happens - especially on a day when you actually could have a lie in!). Actually woke up feeling like a 'domestic goddess'(??!!) - so decided to bake a cake! The last time this happened, was in 1994!! Ha ha! Anyway - it was a v.nice cake - and didn't last very long in our house!

Took the dog for a walk in the woods, and got absolutely soaked! You know, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl! Came back from the walk....(picture it - no make-up, jeans, wellies) and helped to move the cows into another field - then walked round the field to check that the fence was all ok. Got soaked - again!
Ah, life on the farm..........!

Had a great evening at Caroline's (Youth Plus BBQ). A big thank you to Caroline and Robyn for all their hard work! :-)

Yesterday.....decided it's 'what's on the inside that counts - not what's on the outside' - so decided to buy a Dell laptop instead of a Sony Vaio (same spec but £250 cheaper)! Ordered it from a very nice lady in Hyderabad (India) - and we ended up having a little chat about my visit to India! Still didn't get a free case though....

Oohhh, it's a long post, but I want to keep going. Think I'll finish this one - and start another.....

Be blessed!
Pen x

MICHAEL W SMITH is coming to London!!

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Sunday October 9th - 7.30pm at London's Royal Albert Hall

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See you there! :-)

What's happening??

**Delirious** in Ipswich - Sunday 26th June 6-10pm.
Yes, I want to go - and think it's a good idea to get a ticket before they all sell out!

**Suzette Hattingh** in London (Catford) - Thursday 30th June

**Joyce Meyer** in London - Thurs & Fri 25th & 26th August

Life's rather busy - but there's still time for a quick blog post. Life continues to be interesting......our conversation over lunch on Friday (in the office) - was 'the difference between witch doctors and Pastors' - oh, and we even got onto the subject of 'the gifts of the Spirit'!! Yes - honestly! It amazes me sometimes - it really does!

Today I went to church at lunchtime - and the message was about healing...which I was asked about when I got back to the office. My Boss asked why healings aren't televised, and why we don't send Christians to Doctors' surgeries etc to pray for people!! I'm just praying that the next person they employ, will be able to answer their questions better than I can!

Want to hear today's message?? Yes, I'd love too/Maybe another time.

This afternoon, I had a call from the 'Fraud Squad' (I know what you're thinking!) - apparently someone's been arrested, and found with hundreds of credit card details on them - including mine, so I had to sort that out! Never a dull moment in the life of Penster!

My new passport has arrived - so I'm definitely going to Oz. I had to get our Pastor to verify the photo - as fellow band members decided that I have changed CONSIDERABLY over the last 10 years - and had a good laugh too! (Thanks guys!) The difficulty I had, was trying not to smile (it's not allowed on new photos) - and trying to be serious (when told too) is NOT one of my strong points!

Flight is booked too, so I'll be leaving on 1st July. It is quite literally a case of 'I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...' However, I will be back (contrary to popular belief!) And....this weekend I'm going to buy a laptop - just so I can blog whilst I'm away (how sad am I?)! Someone suggested that I should get each person who reads my blog to donate £1 towards it!?! Don't worry, I wouldn't make you do that.....maybe £10 instead!! :-)

It's turning into a long post - so I'll sign off now! I'm still trying to master the art of writing short e-mails and blog posts!!

Adiós, hasta mañana! //(*_*)\\

Update.....

I'm still working through the pictures of Indonesia - so thanks for your patience!!

I'll also be talking about the trip, this Friday evening (8pm) at a church near me. So, if anyone's interested, let me know and I'll post more details on here!

So - what's my news?
Well....last week I handed in my notice at work, and am planning to head out to Australia at the beginning of July! Current plans include the Hillsong Conference in Sydney (it's gonna be huge!), then I'll head up North to Brisbane/Gold Coast area for a month or so, then possibly NZ, then Singapore, then home!

I knew things were going to change this year - just didn't realise quite how much!! Anyway - I definitely feel that this is living life 'on the edge' a bit more......! At the moment, it almost feels like I'm about to 'fall off the edge' - but feel it's the right thing to do. Life is certainly interesting!

After that.....who knows? I certainly don't!!

We are sailing (not really - but I've got you singing the song now!)......

An Indonesian, wearing a traditional 'hat', in his canoe (a carved out log). It's the sort of picture that you see in books, and wonder if it really exists! Well - it does!

A wedding celebration we saw - amazing outfits!

The girls!

Joel & Christina

Satay - yum!!!

Indonesia is made up of approx 20,000 islands - but only 6,000 are inhabited. Hard to imagine, until you see the size of some of them. We saw many like this, as we flew to Sulawesi.

5-6,000 people in the meeting each evening - awesome!!

A busy street....

Pen & Joylyn @ Starbucks (Jakarta).
Some things just HAVE to be done!!
C'mon - you would have been disappointed if I hadn't! :-)

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought in the day and the night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom, be Thou my true word,
I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord;
Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:
Thou mine inheritance all of my days;
Thou and Thou only, Thou first in my heart;
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, when battle is done;
Grant heaven's joy to me, bright heaven's sun;
Christ of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, Thou Ruler of all.

In response to questions I've had - yes, this is a real picture, taken (by me) whilst flying back to Jakarta. I was listening to this song at the time, and it really blessed me! Click on the title to hear a version of it. If you need Real player, click here and download a free version.

I was having a quiet '5 mins' and just thinking about things in my life that I needed to pray for - but with all of the sights and people etc that I had seen over the last couple of days - I was challenged to be less 'self-centered' in my prayer life - and start looking (and praying) 'outwards' a bit more! I think the phrase 'having more of a compassionate heart' sums it up really!

After 2.5 incredible (and moving) days in Aceh - it was time to fly back to Jakarta.

Bananas anyone???

Mountains in the distance...

One of the mass graves, in Banda Aceh.

View from the road.....

30,000+ people have received free treatment here, since the tsunami.

Inside the operating theatre at a local hospital.

Three of the girls pose for a photo!

A gift for every child!

Some of the team share a joke.....
Maybe they've hidden someone's shoes!?!

Always an interesting task - trying to find your shoes!

An afternoon visit to a childrens' pre-school.

A typical street market which we passed on the way back.

Is that a geniune smile - or a pose for the camera? I'm not sure......

Sometimes 'the face says it all'. This is one of those times!!
Marilyn makes friends with a Komodo Dragon!

A fence, made out of empty water bottles - quite ingenious!

This lady on the right, lost her six children in the tsunami, and had just
found (and buried) her husband the week before we arrived.
I can't imagine how she must feel......

'The Promised Land' - where re-building has begun.

Three of the boys having fun!

In one of the tents, we found some children in the middle of a school lesson. We spent some time with them, gave out some sweets and sang too - another special time!

A refugee camp we came across on our travels.

Suzette and Pen in Banda Aceh.

Another huge ship - moved by the force of the water.

This picture shows how high the tsunami water level was - incredible.

This little boy was found up a tree. He had been there for three days (after the tsunami). He's now safe and well.

Yes, that really is what you think it is. A boat on top of the houses - and this wasn't the only one we saw like this!

Vehicles were completely destroyed (this was a minor one).

Probably one of the saddest sights - a home with the names and ages of their missing children, aged 11, 7 and 5. This was just one of many......