Welcome to my Blog

I am part of the team in St Petersburg, Russia - the new church plant that is Hope Church. (www.hopechurchstpetersburg.com)

As well as detailing our own personal journey, more so lately I've really seen the importance of recording information that I have learned over time, to be a resource for others, especially those going to City's, and in a cross-cultural setting.

I do not know how you came across my blog but I hope and pray that you go away encouraged - please keep in touch!

For details on our journey here, read the series called Adventures of Faith which is linked for you on the top of the left hand column, just below.
I've also done a series on Life & Times of a Pioneer, Mission Realities, A Growing Church, & Thoughts on a Church Planter in Russia, to name a few, please search for them below using the Google search.

Just search using any of these underlined phrases and you should find the entries - or look through the Blog Archive on the right below.
Loading...

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Ten Biggest Influences in my life: 10

I felt the other day it would be great to put down a few short entries looking at the ten people to have impacted & influenced my life (so far!) the most. The order isn't particularly important early on, and I have deliberately decided to leave out family members & spouses - it goes without saying guys and girls that you have all had a great impact on me - shaping my character, knocking off the rough edges etc. Thanks!

I've also not had space to put in youth group leaders and the such - great people, very involved in my teenage years, which are formative times. Thank you guys too!
So, lets start with my first one - someone I don't know the name of, but you will see why soon.

Number 10: That Pastor who laid his hands on me as a baby

I know this story via my mum. There was something about me as a baby, I think I kept myself to myself, happy with my own company (sounds familiar, actually!). A little worried about this, she asked someone to pray for me - he laid his hands on me and blessed me, praying about my life. Recently I've been reminded of that. The power of those prayers over the life of a little baby. My wife is taking teams to a city hospital here in St Petersburg, where children are placed, having been removed from unsuitable homes, before being sent onto Orphanges. They pray for the children there too.

What this man prayed I do not know. The results of his prayer, I know only too well! It's as if from my very youth I had been placed in the care of the Almighty. I grew in Him from a young age, was around four and a half when I asked Jesus into my heart and have never looked back. Life has been full of adventures. Yes, hard times too - everyone has hard times, it's just I have a solid rock to run too when things get hard, so that my existence is never in doubt.

So I thank that man, and that little prayer. God honoured it and has kept honouring it ever since - I pray He never stops honouring it!

I feel blessed to have seen the things God has done since in my life....I know there is more, so much more, to come.....but much of this, if only in origin, I'm sure can be traced back to the prayers of one man over the life of a little baby boy. So for that, I honour you! Thank you, where-ever and who-ever you may be.

0 comments: