It may come as a surprise to some but in 2010 leprosy is still a big issue in many countries in the developing world. In India, Prasad and Gateway Ministries have been caring for such a colony for many years. Recently Ignite have raised the funds to open a church there. Cardiff City Temple have raised money for toilets for each home to give the people a level of dignity. When I visited there it was a with mixed emotions. Sadness, interest, horror and honour where some of those that visited me in our brief stop over. It was a pleasure to be able to supply some food to the people and join them in worship. The full below, probably explains better.

A couple of days ago Nigel, Prasad and I along with a couple of pastors travelled almost 4 hours outside of Rajahmundry by Jeep, motorbike, boat and on foot to a church full of people who have never seen "white" people before. Most of the men where out fishing but the church was still nearly full.

 After that we headed off to another church but the people had left as we were over 3 hours late (who could blame them!). The church was now full of kids so my talk was quickly switched for a kids talk. The next church was meeting in the front room of a house. As I got up to preach I looked out of the window just as a man left the house opposite. He proceeded to take off his clothes and bathe in the street! It was an interesting distraction as I shared with the people the story of the paralysed man brought to Jesus by his friends!

It is a privilege to be here, the people are so open to the gospel and Prasad and his family are so hospitable. The film should give you a flavour of the day.

Yesterday, Nigel and I travelled for around two hours over some pretty rough roads to get to the Village of Seethanaragan. We were there to open the Ignite India church. It had been funded from money collected at the Third Day show in London last year. I did the official opening. When I unveiled the stone that commemorated the occasion, Nigel and I were greatly amused to find my name had been spelt Simth!

Enjoy the "official" film of the ceremony.

Nigel and I are getting used to the answer to the question "how far is this car journey Prasad" being "half an hour". Early evening, Nigel and I had a short nap. A knock came to our door. We go changed and whilst drinking coffee, we were informed that the church had been singing for 3o mins. As always the journey was half an hour so we set off. Tonight was my turn to preach. It was a honour to share Jesus with some wonderful people. I preached on John 10 and talked about Jesus being the gate, the shepherd and the lamb. It was an honour to pray for those who responded. Now looking forward to tomorrow!

A good question. Here is the answer!

Today we visited the Gateway School. Originally a vision by Gill James, her and Nigel have spearheaded the fund-raising and development of the Project. Things move so fast in India that in the six months since Gill and a team came out, they have added another floor! Nigel and I enjoyed meeting the pupils and staff. Not only did we visit them in their class rooms, we also played with them in their break. I am not sure who enjoyed it more, us or them.Here are some of the kids we met

After a couple of hours sleep we went to a birthday party for a 4 year old. It was pretty interesting as there was about 50 adults there and they wanted us to preach! After doing the we went to an Ignite church in a village called MR Palem. I brought a greeting and Nigel preached. There was a great response and we were honoured to pray for many people. This movie should give you a flavour

Today we have arrived in Rajamundry after travelling for about 28 hours. Rested for 2 hours and now going to visit an Ignite India church. Here is Nigel with Prasad checking directions. To be continued...

The last few weeks I have been reading the book "Walking with God" by John Elderedge. I love his style of writing and was really touched my his best-seller, "Wild at Heart". I think that any life coaching that you can have that helps you hear the voice of God and walk closer with him has to be worth the investment.

My pattern whilst reading the book has been pretty consistent. I take my coffee, sit at the table in the garden, quieten my heart (yes it's amazing even early in the morning my brain is bombarding me with to do lists, worries and irrelevancies) and then begin to read. With a pen in my hand and underline, journal and weigh Elderedge's words against my experience. The challenge however is to discover the authentic voice of God.

It has been such a pleasure to spend time in the garden. I am surprised. I have never been a garden sort of a guy. Since moving house we have worked hard to transfer a nice space into our garden. There is still lots of work to do but it is getting there and it's such a privilege to be part of the work in progress. Initially as I took my book and my strong black coffee into the the outdoors I was struck by a number of things. The colours, the scent of the roses and the distant hum of traffic on the road to the airport. As I became aclimatised to the sound and the sights, I began to notice other things. In the tree nearby I could hear wood pigeons. By putting seeds on the ground they began to regularly drop onto the lawn. After a couple of days the began to venture closer to where I sat. The were not nervous when they spotted me. On another day I saw that however early I got there, I was never there before the bees dancing on the flowers. More recently I saw the intricate threads of many many spiders webs. Few would make it to their full fly-catching potential but the sheer number of silk strands was outstanding.

Today, I got up extra early. Following my usual pattern I headed out to my favourite seat. A dry night meant that I did not need to spend time drying the chair and table. I just sat. As I looked at the book I realised I would most likely finish it on this sitting. As I began to focus on God I began to ask the question "Lord in what way can I hear you more clearly now?" Thoughts came straight to me. I had embraced key words that God had dropped into my heart - Focus, despondency, generosity. I considered things I had seen in His word. Lessons from the life of Pau, Jesus, David and Abel to name but a few. The reality that I could trust the verses he was whispering into my mind. So much more....

An then. Something happened. Something changed. I heard something. There was a subtle shift. I looked up and on the branch of a sun flower I saw a blue tit.

It was so tiny. So light. In fact it flew onto the head of a flow

er and the stem only moved slightly. In moving around the garden I realised it made almost no sound. And yet. It made some sound and I could hear it. I had edited out all the sound of the traffic in the distance. The coo of the wood pigeons and the caw of the rooks was the background harmony to the melody of the movement of this tiny birds' wings. How could I hear this? It did not make sense. Then it did. It did make sense. I had attuned my self the sound of the garden. I knew its sounds so that anything that was out of the norm, was instantly recognised as such.

I knew that this was God's pleasure to show me this truth. His truth. "When you seek me with all you heart you will find me" (Deut 4:29). In my intentionality in Seeking with Him, Walking with Him, listening for Him and to Him, he showed me how he visits with me. He is the God who appears in the still small voice (1 Kings 19:12).  I loved that he authenticates Himself in His word:

"Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." 
~ Jeremiah 29:12-13

Life doesn't get much better than this. I was made for days like this.