Military Ministry with Noel and Meryl Dawes

US Army Chaplains' Preaching and Spiritual Renewal Conference, 1-5 May 2006

2006-10-07T17:12:00.000-04:00

Equipping Military Chaplains

A Chaplain’s life is hectic, stressful and at times overwhelming. But it brings rich blessings when a soldier’s faith is deepened as a result of the chaplain’s influence.

In times of war, soldiers of all ranks turn to their chaplain for answers: What happens when I die? Why did that person die and not me? I shot two people yesterday in an operation and now I can’t even look at myself in the mirror.

Recognizing the need for compassionate answers, the U.S. Army holds an annual training conference for chaplains. This year’s conference—“Army Chaplains Preaching and Spiritual Renewal Workshop”—was held May 2006 at Fort Leavenworth.

And Alpha for the Military was invited to take part. After the first three days under the Army’s leadership—exploring such relevant topics as Islam and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—the 120 chaplains moved from Fort Leavenworth to Church of the Resurrection in nearby Leawood, Kan.

There, chaplains received instruction on preaching and gained insight into organizing small-group ministry in the military context.

Next, chaplains learned how to host an Alpha Course. These powerful courses are now being held on bases in the United States as well as in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Okinawa, Germany and elsewhere. Fort Leavenworth’s Alpha team helped present the material.

Each chaplain was given a Deployment Kit—a duffle bag containing sufficient Alpha resources (sales value about $400) to train, equip and carry out a course for 12 soldiers. Marriage Course materials were included in the kit as well. Alpha USA had raised more than $25,000 from individuals and churches to underwrite the costs.

One head Army chaplain later wrote, “Thank you so much for the gift of Alpha materials. . . . One of my chaplains is to deploy this summer, and it will be a welcome addition . . . as he ministers to soldiers in tough times and places.”

Chaplains are front-line pastors for thousands of soldiers around the world. Please pray for their strengthening and for the healing they offer. For more information on Alpha for the Military, please call (800) Do Alpha or visit the Web

(www.alphausa.org/military).

(Originally published in Alpha News, Fall 2006 edition: published by Journey Group, Charlottesville, VA and available on the web at http://www.journeygroup.com/clientcontent/alpha/AlphaNews_Fall06.pdf)

US Army Chaplains' Preaching and Spiritual Renewal Conference, 1-5 May 2006

2006-10-07T16:01:00.000-04:00

Alpha for the Military team member prays with Army Chaplain

How to run an effective Alpha course: Army Chaplains listen to Alpha for the Military presentation

Army Chaplains learn how the Alpha course changes Soldier's lives: Alpha for the Military presents

2006-09-28T12:18:00.000-04:00

Christianity During Wartime

During the recent Israel-Lebanon conflict, many Lebanese Christians "realized the bloody conflict had renewed their deep commitment to the displaced," as Christianity Today reports at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/010/13.130.html.

A4M at Raleigh, NC Alpha Conference, 20/21 Apr 06

2006-09-26T01:29:00.000-04:00

A small team from Alpha for the Military (A4M) attended the Alpha Conference at Edenton Street United Methodist Church, Raleigh, NC on 20 and 21 Apr 06. Led by National Director, Lt Col (Ret) Noel Dawes and his wife, Meryl, the team interacted with a number of folk enthusiastic about the Alpha course in the armed forces and presented a one hour workshop explaining what A4M is all about. Another highlight of the Conference was a new workshop on 'Listening' which Alpha USA trialled for Track II (advanced practictioners of the course) program.

Mr Lynn Gilfus, A4M Advisor at Fort Bragg, NC was a member of the A4M team at the Conference. He has advised on the Alpha course at this important US Army base since 2004 and has assisted two Chaplains run courses at the base. Diana Paz (left) designs web pages for Alpha USA and works out of their head office in New York. Ayanna Chew (center) also works for Alpha USA as a human resources coordinator.

A delight of the A4M Workshop was the testimony of an Army vet who served for 12 months in Iraq a couple of years ago. Her husband had also served there for a year, but more recently. They had a difficult time readjusting to each other when he returned and their marriage was on the rocks. She suggested they should do the Alpha course being run by their church last Fall. Attending the course was important for these two Christians as they were able to talk and share togerther about what they heard. This was the catalyst that focused them away from themselves and their feelings and back on each other. She said there was no doubt in her mind that doing the Alpha course had saved their marriage! Praise God!

We made a new friend at Raleigh!

This Vietnam Veteran, Jim, found that Christianity was, for him, anything but boring, untrue and irrelevant!

Jim served in VN as a US Army photographer from 1968-70. He suffered for years from combat stress (PTSD). Although he gained some understanding about his debilitating condition over the years, it was not until he attended an Alpha course two or three years ago that he found a tremendous measure of healing in his life. And he was initially reluctant to go!

During the course, Jim decided to follow Jesus, because only He has the words of life. He is our healer. Jim was filled with the Holy Spirit and now experiences daily the peace of God that passes all understanding in his heart.

His PTSD has been significantly healed and Jim now lives a much more fulfilled life. What a change to that filled with fear, anger and other stress symptoms which undermined him for over 30 years.

Praise God!

Easter 2006

2006-04-17T15:36:00.000-04:00

(L-R) Toby, JoAnn, holding Oliver, Charles and Meryl at Lake George, NY

Two sons and their Mom! Toby (left), Charles and Meryl

Meryl and I are staying with our son, Toby, and his lovely wife, JoAnn for a few days. They live in the northern part of the State of New York in a rural city called Queensbury. It is about 560 miles/900 km from our home in Chesapeake, VA. Queensbury is about 45 miles/70 km north of Albany, NY, the State Capital. We originally planned to arrive here last Tuesday but we had a major mechanical problem with our minivan and had to get the automatic transmission rebuilt. This took the garage several days and cost over $3,500/EUR2,900/GBP2,000. We are trusting the Lord will provide this money before the interest starts getting charged on our credit card in October! Thus, we were delayed by 24 hours, arriving last Wednesday.

Our other son, Charles, arrived the next day and stayed until Easter Day. Providentially, he had been at a professional convention for his job in Atlanta, GA and had the time to come and see us for a few days. He is now back in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He had found the convention extremely interesting and useful.

We leave here tomorrow, Tuesday 18 April, my 60th birthday, to drive to an Alpha conference at Raleigh, NC, arriving there on Wednesday evening. The conference is on 20 and 21 April and I am presenting a workshop on Alpha for the Military on Thursday afternoon. We had hoped to visit the large US military bases of Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base but this has not worked out. Instead we will go home on Friday and be there for a busy weekend and following week.

We have had a lovely time here with the family. We went out for a meal on Wednesday evening and Thursday was a working day for each of us, although we enjoyed Charles arriving that afternoon and had an enjoyable time of family togetherness in the evening.

On Good Friday, we thought a lot about Jesus death of the Cross but were also able to take a lovely car trip for several hours to visit a beautiful and peaceful lake, have a picnic lunch and enjoy each others company.

On Saturday we relaxed and in the evening, Charles treated us to a wonderful dinner and a very smart restaurant – all to celebrate my 60th birthday!

Yesterday we went to a special Church service at a local church where they acted out a very good dramatization of the resurrection and its meaning for the disciples. JoAnn’s parents were there and, later, with JoAnn’s sister and brother in law (Jason is a Children’s Pastor) they came for a special Easter celebration lunch at Toby and JoAnn’s home. We had a very blessed time with a lot of good conversation and fun, especially as we watched some videos that had been taken over the last few years by Charles and Toby.

Today, Monday, is a work day again! But, we will relax as we enjoy a wonderful meal coked by Meryl. We all love her Cottage Pie, a traditional English pie of meat and potato, served with other vegetables. Toby loves this dish and always asks his mum to cook it for him whenever we/they get together! Such is family love!

We pray and hope you all had a lovely Easter and that your church was full for the special services I am sure you held. Please give our love to all your congregation. We miss you so much!

For more news about us, please see http://noeldawes.blogspot.com

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel and Meryl

Easter 2006, Halleluiah! Our Saviour Lives! HAPPY EASTER!

2006-04-15T16:30:00.000-04:00

Hello dear friends and family,

Christmas 2005 came and went, New Year passed by and here we are in April 2006 and it’s Easter. Some of you will no doubt wonder what has become of us since you have heard not a word!

At Christmas we were overwhelmed by Meryl's mother’s illness. She is now doing better and has relocated from Minehead, at the seaside, to a full care nursing home near Birmingham to be once again closer to family.

Charles continues to do well in Amsterdam. He and Sarah had some good skiing in Switzerland and the sailing season starts again soon. After last year's Fastnet race, what next?

Toby and JoAnn and their cats, Gibraltar and Megellan, along with new addition, a dog they named Oliver Cromwell, have all moved to a new home in Queensbury NY. JoAnn has changed her job to work closer to home she now works for an insurance company. Sadly after the joyous news that they were expecting their first child this year JoAnn had a miscarriage. We are very, very sad for them but are thankful they are looking to the future, even as they deal with the reality of the now. Meryl and Noel continue to be ever hopeful that they will be grandparents one day.

Alpha for the Military, especially here in the USA but also world wide, continues to be more than full time work. This is great but we still struggle with competing, often immediate and near term, priorities, as well as with finding enough time to relax. Our month to month finances have, if anything, got worse in the last two months as necessary costs have increased faster than income. So please pray for more supporters for the work of Alpha in the Military and the spreading of the good news Easter brings.

Remember we are only an E-mail away. Please keep in touch with us.

The Lord bless you and all your family.

With Love, Meryl and Noel

Some Thoughts on this Summer, Alpha for the Military and Freedom Fest

2006-04-15T16:26:00.000-04:00

The period from May to September looks unusually quiet. We hoped to go to Bulgaria and Ukraine to lead Alpha courses at vacation camps but these do not appear to be falling into place. We could still go on a normal ministry visit, but at the moment we do not feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to add anything to the calendar. Why we do not know. We want to travel to Europe for the Alpha conferences and to visit Meryl’s mother but it is not clear how any trips will be funded. Your prayers are asked for in this respect.

We still feel the Lord wants us to organize a series of Consultations and Alpha Briefing Days (each a 1 or 2 day event) at 4 locations in the USA, and for US forces based on Okinawa and in Germany during 2006. Dates are not yet known but the first one might take place at Fort Bragg/Pope AFB on 22 Apr 06. Please pray the rest will fall into place.

Freedom Fest is a seeker friendly outreach to the military in the Hampton Roads on 29 Apr 06. By showing our love for the military community of our local area, we hope to encourage them to consider the spiritual basis upon which their lives are based. We are organizing an entirely free and fun day out for the family including children's activites, a meal, some modern Christian music, a Memorial flag display to those who have died in the current war on terrorism and a dignified memorial service to those who have died in all other wars. The climax of the afternoon will be a spiritually motivating talk by an active duty Chaplain who will tell of his experiences as the spiritual advisor, mentor and pastor to a Marine Corps battalion in March/April 2003 in the first days of Gulf War II.

Update, 31 March 2006

2006-04-15T16:24:00.000-04:00

We thank the Lord for the faithfulness and prayers of so many on our behalf.

We look forward to Spring – it is just around the corner! And we are so grateful for the warm weather in Chesapeake, where we live. We think it has already arrived. However, we know from experience that colder weather often comes again later in and even in April. The storms that come from both the north west and north east are particularly nasty here. Thankfully we don’t get them both at the same time! Actually the Hampton Roads area is heading into a drought period this eyar. We have had about 3 inches of rain since 1 Jan and normally expect to have about 12 by this time.

We left home on Monday 13 March and drove to the ACCTS Staff meeting at Bethany Beach in Delaware. We had missed both meetings in 2005 so we were looking forward to this one. We were not disappointed. We gave veteran staff member and one-time long serving Executive Director, Dell McDonald, a ride each way and it was good to spend time with him. He is a wonderful friend although we don’t see as much of him as we would like. Dell was the one who invited us to join the ACCTS staff way back in 1993/94.

The meetings were held in an excellent spirit of family fellowship and were ably chaired by recently appointed ACCTS Deputy Executive Director, Don Martin. The range of topics that were prayed about, discussed and sometiumes planned were very wide ranging and extensive. Every continent was in focus and many, many countries were highlighted. Christian ministry is going on in every one of them to a greater or lesser extent. Some countries are having difficult times, others not. Every one is different and it was awe-inspiring to be involved in a Gospel-led missionary agency that has such a far reaching ministry for such relatively little financial expenditure. Main subjects this time were Interaction 2006, American-English Langauage Training, future ministry potential in some of the more challenging nations of the world, the growth of the Alpha course in the armed forces of the world, and a lot of discussion about how to structure ACCTS effectively now it has become an organization with so many staff members.

We drove home again on Saturday 18 March and, as we approached the restaurant on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, we had a phone message from Toby telling us of the very sad news of his and JoAnn's miscarriage. What a sad end to a lovely week.

After a hectic weekend helping to lead the Alpha course we are doing at our church (including hosting several Korean and US out of town friends here for the FCMM meeting) and facilitating the follow-on Alpha course, A Life Worth Living, at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA, we organized and led the annual Naaman Initiative meeting on Mon 20 Mar at Fort Story Chapel. This meeting prays about a specific strategic military ministry outreach, well known to those who are involved. The following 2 days were taken up with the annual Fellowship of Christian Military Ministries meetings, which also went extremely well. Altogether, an excellent although tiring week.

Since the meetings finished it has been all go on helping to get the word out about Freedom Fest which takes place on 29 April; and on getting ready for the Alpha for the Military (A4M) workshops at the Alpha Raleigh, NC conference on 20/21 Apr 06 and the US Army Chaplains Preaching and Spiritual Renewal Workshop at Fort Leavenworth, KS from 1-5 May 06. Everyone involved in all these activities is stretched to the limit and some, like me, are burning the candle at both ends. Not the best way to give one's best to the Lord, but where are the other helper's one can get involved?

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel and Meryl

JoAnn and Toby's Baby

2006-04-15T14:25:00.000-04:00

It is with enormous sadness that we report that JoAnn suffered a miscarriage at home in the early hours of Saturday morning, 18 March 2006. She spent about 36 hours in the hospital immediately following this and is now home again and doing well. Naturally this has been a difficult time for the whole family. Please pray for the Lord's comfort and hope for us all and especially for JoAnn and Toby.

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel and Meryl

Dawes Family News February 2006 (Late Posting)

2006-04-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

We missed sending out our traditional Christmas letter in 2005 because most of our time in November and December was entirely devoted to caring for Meryl's mother, Beryl back in UK. Doctors expected her to die during the Christmas weekend but she became the hospital's Christmas Miracle! Praise God! She was our miracle too!

Just 5 days after this, on 30 Dec, we were able to move her direct from Minehead hospital into a full care nursing home in Birmingham close to my brother’s home. This turned out to have been the very best decision as between then and mid-February she spent 5 weeks in a local hospital, curiously, the same hospital in which both Charles and Toby had been born. Meryl's brother has been able to see Beryl almost everyday as she is only a short drive away rather than the 160 miles away in Minehead.

At 86 and with deteriorating Parkinson’s, very bad Macular Degeneration, heart valve failure and recurring low blood sodium levels, life is not much fun for Beryl at the moment. After getting back to her new home from hospital a few weeks ago, she is understandably still adjusting to things and has said a number of times she wishes she could have ‘gone’ at Christmas. But Toby and JoAnn’s latest news gave her a big boost.

In mid- January, Toby and JoAnn moved into their own home in Queensbury, NY after 5 years of renting. They soon adopted a puppy dog from the local pound, thus saving it from certain death. He is a German Shepherd whom they have named Oliver Cromwell! As yet their cats, Gibraltar and Megellan, have not welcomed him to their home!

The best news is that they told us last week (early March) that we are to be Grandparents in September this year. We are thrilled with this news, as are they. It looks like Sweet Pea was a ‘made in England’ baby!!! Mind you I wish I was 10 years younger. Noel will be 60 and I will be 59 this April. I also wish I lived closer to them, 560 miles is a long road trip. I don’t think being a long distant Grandma will suit me! We will visit them over Easter to see the new house and meet the dog.

Charles had a great year of sailing last year; his final race was the Fastnet. An amazing experience. He has just had a great ski week in Switzerland. He is always busy at work but makes time to play field hockey each week. He continues to enjoy his job and life in the Netherlands. Sarah is working and living in Newcastle, UK and they spend 2 or 3 weekends together each month. They don’t discuss their future with us except to say they are good friends. Grandma was pleased that both Charles and Sarah visited her recently. This was Sarah’s first visit to a family member for 3 years. We hope to see her this Thanksgiving at Toby’s in November.

Work with Alpha for the Military is so very busy. Last year we did conferences, workshops and meetings. Noel spends hours on the telephone and E-mail. He could do with some help but it’s hard to get volunteers these days. I try to be as supportive and helpful as I can. There of course is a lot more to all our lives than these few words can tell, some of which can been seen on the web sites: www.noel.dawes.net, http://noeldawes.blogspot.com, www.alphausa.org/military and www.accts.org.

Thank you for your Christmas greetings, cards and E-mails we hope to do much better this year to keep in touch with you all. Please keep in touch with us. We value your friendship and your prayers.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

Meryl and Noel

ACCTS Staff Report For October 2005 To March 2006

2006-03-09T01:16:00.000-05:00

Overview: This period was characterized by ministering to Meryl’s aged mother, Beryl. We have had ongoing financial challenges, especially being able to pay for our health insurance monthly premiums. We had moderate success in fund raising efforts for Alpha for the Military (A4M). We have been incredibly busy in five main areas of military ministry outreach (A4M in the USA and Bulgaria, organizing that part of Interaction taking place in Hampton Roads in early Nov 05, Freedom Fest 2006, the FCMM/Naaman Initiative, local A4M ministry at NAS Oceana, leading the Alpha course in our home church). Finally, we rejoice that we are to become grandparents in late Sep 06, God willing.

Beryl: Beryl seems to have aged rapidly during the last 6 months. She has spent much of the time in hospital, some of the stays on an emergency basis. She is not enjoying this part of her life. Meryl rushed back to England in early November for 2 weeks, expecting not to see he mother on arrival. She did! Beryl was close to dying on 23 Dec 05 but got better in a miraculous way that enabled the family to move her to a full care home 150 miles away from where she had lived since late 1995. Although Beryl asked to move back nearer to her original roots it has not been an easy thing for her or anyone else. However, it has clearly been the right decision. She was in hospital from late Jan to early Mar 06 and is now back at Aston Court, the care home. As I write she does not sound at all strong or happy and we all take each day as it comes.

Ministry – ACCTS in USA: With the sterling help of Maj Sam Tate USAF (Ret), an OCF Stalwart in our area, we organized a very successful Interaction visit for one group to the Hampton Roads region for 3 days in early Nov 05. They visited and were challenged by and about the plethora of military ministry taking place at Langley AFB, Fort Monroe and the Norfolk Naval Base (Operation Iraqi Freedom and local shore based ministry),

Ministry – A4M in USA: The number of Alpha courses in the US military continues to grow but it is difficult to know how many are running at any one time. Chaplains and leaders do not give us feedback in spite of agreeing to do so. Many courses run only once or twice, tending to go with the chaplain when he or she is re-assigned. We believe that about 40 courses have been run in 2004 and 2005. I am asked to give advice and help by phone and email, sometimes by personal visit, about 3 or 4 times every week. Often the advice does not come to fruition as new courses starting, or they start between 9 and 24 months later. The very successful Marriage Course has been run by a number of chaplains. My team of regional A4M Advisors did not grow in 2005. It includes Frank Cole, ACCTS staff. Time and other employment often precludes the Advisors doing more. As has been said elsewhere, the Alpha course is frequently hugely discouraging but also hugely encouraging, often at almost the same time! I am currently leading a 9 week follow on Alpha course called A Life Worth Living at NAS Oceana, which is being well received and people’s lives are being changed for the good. Meryl and I are also involved leading the Alpha course in our church. The current course could be described as an A4M course! All the other leaders and helpers, in addition to us, are active duty US Navy and Coast Guard members and their wives. God and not man put this together!

Ministry – A4M in Bulgaria and Elsewhere: Following on my 2 week visit to Bulgaria in August 2005, the pastor of the church which hosted me started an Alpha course in the church in October 2005. His aim was to train several of his members to be leaders on future courses. These folk were mostly retired military, as is he. The course was a great blessing to the church, cementing relationships and helping to birth a vision for meeting in small groups. The pastor’s hope is that a special Alpha course can be arranged for the Bulgarian military as a vacation activity in summer 2006. However, due to the pressure of much other ministry and too few people to help, it looks like this course may not happen. A similar situation exists in Ukraine, where Vasily Khimich, the leader of their MCF, OXBY, has indicated it is unlikely that an A4M course can start there within the next 3 years. It is not likely that an A4M course will happen in Albania in the near future for similar reasons. Huge steps of learning still need to happen in these former Communist countries to build trust, delegate and show willingness to give others partial control, whilst retaining accountability and supervision.

Ministry – Freedom Fest 2006: I am the promotion coordinator for this seeker friendly event taking place in Hampton Roads on 29 Apr 06. This is the largest ever evangelistic outreach to the men and women of the US armed forces in this region. I got involved somewhat unwillingly a year ago, even though I felt the Lord calling me to do so. The follow up aspect of the festival has significant possibilities for using the Alpha course at local chapels and churches.

Finances: For the whole period we have struggled with too little income. My British Army retirement covers about 30% of our total ministry and living requirements. Donation support covers about a further 30%, leaving about 40% that we trust the Lord to supply each and every month. Wonderfully, in the reporting period, our monthly health insurance premiums have been covered by donations from two individuals (a month each) not associated with ACCTS or military ministry in any way, by one church (one month) and from two chapel designated offerings to A4M (month each). We were able to cover one month ourselves. This month the situation is reversed and the health premiums are paid but we are short by about $600 to pay all our other bills mainly utilities. We continue to pray the Lord will provide, and so far He has, even though we almost decided to retire in August 2005.

Fund Raising: As mentioned, ACCTS and Alpha for the Military have received one designated offering each for the A4M ministry. Last November, we held a dinner to generate support. The enthusiasm of those attending endorsed that we are in the right place, doing the ministry the Lord has for us. However, the income did not cover the cost of the dinner. This was in spite of a huge amount of hard work to carefully select and invite the guests. Many guests did not answer the RSVP (even after being personally reminded) until after the deadline for payment of the meals, but on the night there were more guests than we dared hope for. Organizing the dinner alone was very challenging and, at times, extremely frustrating and dispiriting.

Ministry and Family Update, 8 Mar 06

2006-03-08T18:25:00.000-05:00

The Alpha course we are leading in our church continues to go well and several folk are clearly being ‘loved on’ by the Holy Spirit. The numbers have reduced a little and last Sunday we combined into one group. It is interesting that although a church course, it is in effect, an A4M course with a difference. In addition to us and our role with A4M, all the other group leaders and organizers are either active duty military or their spouses. Interestingly none of the guests are!

The Life Worth Living course I am leading at Naval Air Station Oceana is now in week 5 of 9. It is going well and has increased in numbers from 10 to 12 each week. Again, the Holy Spirit is at work in people’s hearts. We have one active duty family taking part in the group and another lady is the youth director for the base, a key appointment, albeit secular in nature. The chaplain was re-assigned to a higher status and more influential post last Monday morning having received his orders in a phone call late last Friday afternoon. He was shocked, as he was not anticipating moving until June, and then to a completely different role. He will continue to take Sunday services until a new chaplain arrives. This large base now has no Protestant chaplain aboard (remember it is a Navy base on land, so we still use Navy-speak!). We are praying for a Godly person to come as the replacement, who will not seek to control everything nor dictate a program according to his or her personal desires. We need someone who will see where the Spirit is leading and working and give the volunteers and para-church military ministries working here under the authority of the chaplain-just-left the continued freedom do carry out their ministry unhindered.

My ministry with Freedom Fest 2006 (see www.hrfreedomfest.com) is very busy. It takes place on Sat 29 April. I almost wish I had not got involved in this a year ago. The work load is massive. I got involved because I felt the Lord say so, even though in my human spirit I knew what was going to happen! It is the most significant evangelistic outreach to the military community ever held in the Hampton Roads region and there is clearly great potential for the Alpha course being used as one of the follow up activities. Please pray for the success of this event; for strength and wisdom for the small band of people who are organizing it; for more volunteers to get on board; for sufficient finance. What is clear to me is that any success will be so clearly because the Lord has done the work, not us. We have been able to do so little compared to what needs to be done.

Please pray for Meryl’s mother, Beryl, in England. Her health and morale give great cause for concern and it is very painful and stressful for us all to see her rapid deterioration, especially for Meryl. Yet she hangs on to life, still has a good appetite and can crack a joke! Other than Meryl going back to England to literally sit with her mother to keep her company all day long, we can see nothing else we can do to help make the her quality of life any better. Even if Meryl, or both of us, went back there is no certainty that she/we could bring any improved quality of life to Beryl.

We rejoice that we are to become grandparents. Toby and JoAnn are expecting their first child towards the end of September this year. Praise God!

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel

Thank You for Praying for Meryl's Mom, Beryl

2006-02-13T17:03:00.000-05:00

A big thank you to everyone for your prayers for my mom.

Although she is back in hospital (she was only home for 2 days last week) she is quite bright. Today is her 86^th birthday so we are praising the Lord for her.

Looking forward to (Lord willing) to being in contact with you all again soon!

Happy Valentines Day tomorrow to you all.

Love from Meryl xxxx

Good Update for Praise and Prayer - Beryl and Meryl and all the

2005-12-29T12:29:00.000-05:00

Dear Praying Friends,

Here is a good, positive update about Beryl, Meryl and the rest of our family as at the evening of Wednesday 28 Dec 05. For a brief summary, please read just the sentences in bold type.

In short, a miracle has occurred, for which we rejoice and praise God from the bottom of our hearts! This has been great for us but has also made us acutely aware of those who do not see similar things happening in their lives. We think, particularly, of two pairs of good friends who respectively lost a relative and a good friend who died over Christmas. Without seeking to suggest that others less blessed, and realizing that challenges to our faith come frequently and unexpectedly, we humbly share with you what we have seen God do in our lives in the last week. We are also very much aware of several other friends whose relatives have had a series of health crises in the last several months of their lives, although there is not much we can do about that! For every one of us, the exact timing of our death is outside our control!

Thanks, hugely, for all your prayers for Beryl, Meryl and all of us since I wrote to you on Friday evening, 23 Dec.

Summary – for those who didn’t get the last email. Originally we hoped Beryl would come home from hospital a week ago today but she took a turn for the worse and continued declining through last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. One of the two doctors involved with her phoned Meryl on Thursday afternoon and told her that he did not think Beryl would last much longer. She had developed cellulitis in both legs and they could not treat it intravenously with antibiotics. They might be able to do this if she went to the nearest general hospital 25 miles away at Taunton. Beryl declined this invitation and decided to take things as they came in Minehead hospital, which is basically a triage hospital and looks after less serious or terminal short term patients. The cellulitis continued to get worse. Meryl was constantly at her mother’s bed side simply holding her hand, expecting her to die at any moment. Beryl was only semi-conscious. I was mobilizing prayer and making arrangements for Toby and JoAnn to urgently fly to UK from USA. Charles arrived late on Thursday, on a pre-arranged plan of some months standing. Thankfully, Grandma realized he was at her bedside.

Beryl was no better all day Friday and on Christmas Eve. She was now having antibiotics (painfully) injected into her thighs several times a day. We and you all prayed hard. On Saturday, Christmas Eve, we particularly prayed offensively against the attacks on her body, mind and soul by the arch-enemy, Satan, and prayed positively for peace, comfort, mercy and a dignified departure.

Toby and JoAnn had a long but safe and smooth flight (3 actually) and were visiting Beryl by noon on Christmas Day as we joined them at the end of the church service at Beryl’s church, next door to the hospital. Beryl was overjoyed to see them.

Unexpectedly, but miraculously, in the 24 hour period between the evenings of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Beryl started to get better. Progress has continued this week. Today, Wednesday, the doctor who phoned Meryl last week to warn her of his view gave his clearance that she is well enough to move as originally planned to a full care home in Birmingham on 30 Dec. But we have to be realistic and clear minded. The same doctor tonight said to us that he thinks Beryl’s life expectancy is not great mainly because of her heart condition which will continue to deteriorate. So we will simply continue to lift her up to the throne of Grace and leave all these things, especially timings, in the Lord’s hands.

Beryl got out of bed and walked on Monday, Boxing Day/26 Dec, for the first time in a week. She has walked a little more each day since. She is now taking antibiotics orally and her legs are much better, although not yet fully back to normal. Her sodium levels are still down. She is on a different drug to eliminate the fluid retention and oedema/edema she continues to have because of her failing heart. The new drug seems to encourage higher than necessary potassium levels so there will be an ongoing balancing act with her medications. Her macular degeneration and Parkinson’s continue to advance and Beryl finds life difficult, especially the blindness aspects, although she readily smiles and laughs at a joke. It is likely there will be another crisis in the foreseeable future. However, Beryl seems more at peace, has regained her hope and is shows incredible courage and determination. All she wants to do now is get to the care home at Little Aston, a suburb in the northern part of Birmingham, about 160 miles from Minehead.

We have had much opportunity to pray together with her these last few days and talk about what the Lord has done. This has not been unnoticed by the hospital staff although most of the other 7 ladies in the same ward are not well enough to absorb all this – their health sometimes seems more tenuous than Beryl’s was.

Beryl shared with Charles last week that she fully believes it is God’s will that she goes to Little Aston – we agree!

Beryl told us that she remembers nothing from last week when she was so ill – probably a good thing! Neither did she have an ‘out-of-body’ experience! She recognizes the miraculous nature of what she has been through. We have laughed about the sign on the wall in the nurse’s office: ‘Angels work here – miracles sometimes happen!’ These caring and compassionate nurses take their angelic calling seriously and are full of love and compassion for those they look after, yet retain their ability to keep their patients as independent as they possibly can be.

This week has been challenging for us all in many respects and has been an incredible answer to many, many prayers. We did have a lovely time as a family, unexpectedly all together, even with visiting Mom/Grandma in hospital three times a day. Meryl and I attended a hugely encouraging and inspiring full Anglo-Catholic (incense and all!) Midnight Communion in a local, ancient, Anglican church. This is not our usual choice of worship style but for that occasion it was absolutely what we needed. Charles cooked excellent full dinner meals on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Charles and I walked 4.5 miles along the hills and cliffs near Minehead on Boxing Day afternoon – an all too rare opportunity for both of us and most enjoyable. Today, Wednesday, Meryl and I spent the day with Toby and JoAnn (we also visited Beryl) taking the local historic steam train a few miles down the coast to Watchet where we froze as we walked in the town, had lunch and came back on a later train. JoAnn experienced a steam train for the first time and had a cultural experience as she learned how to open British train doors from the inside out!

We have a crazy few days ahead of us, for which we seek your prayers. Meryl is hard at work sorting out and packing clothes and other belongings that Beryl will take with her to Little Aston on Friday. Her brother, Tony (alone – Rita stays at home), comes tomorrow, Thursday, morning to help take his mother there. Toby and I go to Taunton to find and rent a small van to take Beryl’s belongings to her new home; and we load it on our return. Friday will be spent getting Beryl to Little Aston. We plan to celebrate New Year at Tony and Rita’s home. Meryl and myself, Toby and JoAnn, are staying at the home of some long standing Army friends a few miles from Little Aston so it will be good to see them again. Toby and JoAnn plan to rent a car so Toby can show JoAnn where he grew up and went to school – and she wants to see a ruined castle! We plan to return to Minehead via Watford on 3/4 Jan, meeting Tony and Rita here so as to clear and clean Beryl’s apartment so it can be redecorated and sold. Toby and JoAnn fly from Bristol, England to Albany, NY via Newark, NJ on 7 Jan and, at some stage yet unknown, Meryl and I will go to Watford for a few days, see some other friends in Kent and elsewhere. We plan to make another visit to Little Aston to see Beryl prior to us flying to Washington DC from London on 30 Jan. During all this time I will be trying to keep on top of my work with the Alpha for the Military ministry, knowing that at least four new courses are scheduled to start in US units in January, whose course leaders will need prayers, advice, help and encouragement by phone and email.

Unless there is a significant change in Beryl’s condition, I do not anticipate writing an update about her for a couple of weeks. It has been incredibly difficult, but important, to find time to write this one!

We wish you all a continuing very Happy Christmas, knowing that the liturgical Season runs at least until Twelfth Night and Epiphany.

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel and Meryl
(http://noel.dawes.net and http://noeldawes.blogspot.com)

Please Pray for Meryl and Noel Dawes, Meryl's Mom, Beryl, and the Whole of Their Family

2005-12-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

Dear Praying Friends,

This just in (afternoon/evening, Fri 23 Dec 05).... Please pray for us all at this difficult time.

Meryl’s mom, Beryl, seems to be close to going home to be with the Lord. Please pray that God would be merciful with Beryl and that Meryl and the whole family have God’s peace. This afternoon has been a time of tears for us all. It looks like Beryl will not be moving to the care home in Birmingham on 30 Dec as she was planning – but we will see what the Lord ultimately has in mind.

Toby and JoAnn (our son and daughter in law) are booked to fly to UK tomorrow, 24 Dec, from Albany, NY via Newark, NJ and Amsterdam to Bristol, UK arriving mid morning on Christmas Day. Given God’s blessings in travel etc, they will be with Toby’s dearly beloved Grandma by about noon 25 Dec. We pray they will be in time to say goodbye.

Charles, our other son, arrived here last evening, Thu 22 Dec.

Beryl is very weak and eating little, although she enjoyed a mint and a chocolate this evening. Earlier today she made a decision about her ongoing medical care which we believe was absolutely right but effectively shortens her life. We all want her to be comfortable and as pain free as possible. We want her translation to glory to be with dignity. She has increasing complications from growing heart failure, which has drastically reduced the quality of life for her recently.

She seems to brighten up in the evenings and we had a nice time with her this evening, 23 Dec. She is growing weaker and her breathing is shallow and rapid. But she was able to speak a reasonable amount, particularly this evening. She and Meryl shared some old and happy memories this afternoon. This evening, we were quizzing her on a silly spoof general knowledge test that had been done at a Christmas party Meryl and I went to earlier this week. Beryl got more questions right than I did!

This afternoon, her minister came to Minehead Hospital and gave Beryl communion, which she always deeply appreciates. This evening, Charles and I were able to read her some scripture and I anointed her with oil as I prayed for her. She seemed very appreciative.

Please pray for the whole family, including JoAnn’s family as she and Toby had to cancel their plans to be with them on Christmas Day.

There have been several moments of great blessing this past week since we have been in Minehead and we have praised God for them. Overall, we are very blessed.

In the midst of sadness, there has been at least one moment of humour (British spelling now we are in the UK!). Beryl spent most of Wednesday and Thursday asleep. Meryl, at her bedside, holding her hand, was constantly anticipating that Beryl’s next breath might be her last. However, this was not to be! At one point, on Thursday afternoon, Meryl thought Beryl was asking her to, “Help me, please. Help me, please”. She said to Beryl, “what do you want me to do?” Beryl answered, in a somewhat gruff, imperious tone of voice, “I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to God!”

Although we are not soliciting emails, phone calls, etc, we are happy for you to send messages – but please do not expect or anticipate we will answer them.

We wish you all a very Happy Christmas!

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel and Meryl
(http://noel.dawes.net/ and http://noeldawes.blogspot.com/)

An Interesting Day of Seeing the Lord at Work!

2005-12-01T00:43:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, 30 November 2005 – St. Andrew’s Day

I had an interesting day today, with much to praise the Lord for and much to pray about for the future.

At our church weekly early morning prayer and breakfast study group, we began to show the Alpha course session on ‘How to be Filled With the Holy Spirit’. After the first few minutes, one lady asked if one’s growth in faith followed a sequence from interest to commitment to baptism to being filled with the Spirit, and is this the same for everyone who comes to faith in Christ? This generated an interesting discussion which took all our time up and caused most of us to go to the Bible to find guidance there. Some of the discussion revolved around the nature of denominational distinctives in baptismal methods and their relationship to Scripture. Thankfully the discussion was peaceful and unifying!

I received a phone call from a Christian lady who, although not a member of Messiah, came to most of the sessions on our last Alpha course, just ended, so she could get equipped to be involved in Alpha herself. Her story is a long and exciting one. Suffice to say she writes personal letters in longhand to prisoners in jail. She has laboriously copied the whole of the course through the Manual, including all the Bible verses, and is sending them by mail to prisoners she is in contact with. She met another lady in a launderette/laundromat last week who is also writing to prisoners and so she copied and gave her all the notes she had made. We talked and prayed that she will be able to speak to some other folk she knows who are involved in jail ministry to see if there is any interest in trying to run Alpha courses in local jails.

Pastor Marty, my pastor, asked me to be the point of contact for the Alpha course in our church, Messiah. He gave me the go ahead last week to hold a prayer and planning meeting for the next course, in early 2006. The P&P will be in the church Fellowship Hall between the two morning services at 0930 this coming Sunday, 4 Dec. I am very happy to do this but think a younger person needs to take on the leadership of the Alpha course in Messiah. I pray this added task will not prove to be the ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’, leading to burn out. I have so much on my plate at the moment but feel the Lord has guided me to be so involved.

The Lord allowed me to take a step further forward with the planning for an Alpha course at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, our local US Navy Master Jet Base, by agreeing with the Chaplain there that I will visit and meet the Adult Sunday School class at 0915 on Sun 11 Dec. It seems most likely we will do Alpha’s follow on course called ‘A Life Worth Living’, starting in February 2006.

I went to Dam Neck, an outstation of NAS Oceana, and spent over an hour with a Canadian exchange Chaplain whom I first met in Canada about 4 years ago. We had been trying to organize this meeting for a while and it finally slipped in to place today. I was able to share with him and we ministered to each other. Just before we prayed at the end of our time together, he asked me to specifically pray and consider helping him run an Alpha course for young sailors at Dam Neck on Tuesday evenings starting in February or March 06.

Tomorrow, the Lord has allowed me to go to the annual Alpha Local Office and Specialty Ministry Directors retreat being held near Chicago. It starts tomorrow afternoon and finishes after lunch on Saturday (1-3 Dec). I leave early tomorrow morning and will be back, God willing, late on Saturday evening. I have been given a $300 scholarship to enable me to go. Although Meryl is sad not to be able to come with me (so am I!), it will be a rich blessing to fellowship with, pray for, and discuss future national Alpha plans with the other 20 or so good folk who are going from all over the USA. Until last Monday afternoon, I had got used to the thought that I could not afford to go this year and had planned my week accordingly. Fortunately, I was able to reschedule my calendar and re-focus my mind to go at 72 hours notice and I am sure it will be as great a blessing as it was last year.

Meryl Arrives Back in the USA and We Have a Family Thanksgiving in Up-State New York

2005-11-25T23:24:00.000-05:00

Saturday 19 Nov to Fri 26 Nov 05

Meryl arrived safely back and I met her at Newark last Saturday, 19 Nov.

To get there, I drove for 5 hours from our friend’s home at Alexandria, VA, about 250 miles, to Newark and got there about half an hour before Meryl came through the gate. Just in time to go to the loo/bathroom and buy a Welcome Home balloon to add to the dozen red roses I had already bought her!

Then it was on another 200 miles, 4 hours, to Toby’s, where we arrived safely about 10.30 p.m – very tired and, for Meryl, jet lagged!

Charles had arrived safely several hours previously from Amsterdam via Paris (CDG) and Montreal. Both his and Meryl’s flights had been delayed several hours by fog in UK and on the Continent. His was a cheaper flight than flying to a US airport. He rented a large family car there (a Lincoln Town Car – very large and smart!) and drove a shorter distance than we had to drive from Newark!

On Sunday, we remembered my father’s birthday and gave thanks for his life. He would have been 100 years old and was the Grandpa Charles whom Charles and Toby never had the privilege and blessing of knowing.

Since Sunday we have rested and recovered, practiced at being a family again, done some local shopping, and had a great family Thanksgiving Day yesterday with all of us and JoAnn’s mum and dad.

It was also Charles’s 33rd birthday and the first time for a long time this has been on T Day. We had a very nice time, a lovely late afternoon banquet around Toby’s kitchen table (extended by two extra individual portable tables), watched Charles unwrap his birthday presents, laughed our way hilariously through a film called Johnny English, talked family talk and were challenged as to our cultural ethics by a very well made film called The Crash.

Although it was warmer earlier in the week, it went very cold yesterday and we had about 2 inches of Thanksgiving Day snow, ice and wind – well below freezing. Today is the same temperature but very sunny and total blue skies.

On Tuesday evening we spent a couple of hours with Toby and JoAnn’s real estate agent, who like us, has dual UK/US nationality. She originally came from Newcastle on Tyne to the US via Switzerland and Israel in 1979.

T&J heard that they can get and finance their mortgage in the way they want to and so they signed some paperwork and made an offer to the current owners of the place they like. The offer was countered on Wednesday, at a smaller increase in purchase price than T&J anticipated. So they accepted the counter and the sale is going ahead, hopefully to a smooth completion and move by about mid-January. T&J – indeed, all of us – are very excited about owning their first home. Although it needs some attention on the outside, it is very good inside and a good buy at the agreed price. Hopefully, we may get to see the inside later today.

This evening, Friday 26 Nov 05, we drove 20 miles or so to Albany and watched an AHL ice hockey game between Albany River Rats and Philadelphia Phantoms (1-2 to Philly). We got home soon after 10 p.m. and had a traditional English Christmas Pudding with custard for dessert. It is Toby’s favorite and we will not be here for Christmas, so we had it early!

Tomorrow (Saturday) morning Charles leaves to drive back to Montreal for his overnight flight back to Amsterdam and we leave to drive home to Chesapeake, VA. Meryl and I will try and drive the 600 miles (12 hours) home in one go so as to get back and rest before a friend from Florida comes to stay for a night or so on Sunday evening. We will see how that works out and will stop overnight somewhere if needs be.

Charles flies to London on Monday morning for his routine fortnightly 2 day business trip to supervise the Chello office there. Quickly back into his busy, demanding work schedule! Our week is also likely to be busy with meetings for Freedom Fest and other things happening in addition to getting ready to go to England for Christmas and New Year in mid-December.

We have spoken on the phone to Grandma Beryl several times this week and she was very pleased to hear from T&J about the house and to speak to Charles on his birthday. She seems to be OK within her existing limitations, so hopefully will be all right for a while. It will be better in another week or so when the Care worker situation becomes regularized and will arrive at a time that is more convenient to her and her preferred daily routine.

Praying that all goes well for y’all!

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel and Meryl
http://noel.dawes.net

Up-date on Meryl's Mother, Beryl

2005-11-25T23:12:00.001-05:00

Sat 19 Nov 05

Meryl arrived safely back in the USA on Saturday, although delayed several hours in UK due to foggy weather. We all arrived safely at Toby’s place at Malta, 20 miles north of Albany, NY.

Beryl came out of hospital and went home on Thursday 17 November and Meryl had a good 24 plus hours with her before she left last Saturday 19 November to fly back to Newark, NJ.

Beryl is doing as well as might be expected given her current ailments, but for how long? Please keep her in your prayers.

She is now having home care help twice a day but is not really excited about it. Meryl was firm about her needing it though, as was the home help lady herself. Also she will have the services of a local Red Cross volunteer who will accompany her to the town once a week for up to 6 weeks and help her with anything she needs, for example, going to the library. She already has help to do her shopping once a week. It’s about as good as she can get if she is going to continue to live by herself, which she wants to do.

Meryl thinks she can live alone for a while longer as do the local social services folk, who provide the home help. The principle in UK is to allow people to live in their own homes for as long as it is possible, wise and feasible, and it is still just about all those. Meryl and I feel that, when the time comes for Beryl to move, it is likely she will miss the care home option which she has her name down for (still no vacancies yet) and will probably need to go to full care.

Thank you all so very much for your prayers for Beryl over the last three or four weeks. They have been royally answered! And we are very blessed and grateful that He has allowed us to go ahead with our, long standing plan to be together as a family in the USA for Thanksgiving.

Noel and Meryl
http://noel.dawes.net

This Year So Far!

2005-11-25T22:50:00.000-05:00

Mon 21 Nov 05

For Meryl and me this year seems to have been the busiest we can ever remember.

Speaking for myself, and not forgetting for one moment any of the multitudes of blessings of the year, I am inundated with emails to the extent that I cannot keep up with answering them. My life seems to demand that every day I deal with the jobs that are immediate - which are so often not the priority tasks that need to be done.

Of course, priority tasks do get done, but often at the last moment, almost in crisis management style. Then they do not always have the best and most prayerful attention they need paid to them.

Somehow, because of the strength and power of God as well as His grace, not too many things fall by the wayside.

For Meryl, even though she has a great peace in her heart about her mother's health and situation, it is, nonetheless, a worrying and stressful time, especially when she has to fly urgently back to the UK as she did between Thu 3 and Sat 19 Nov 05.

On 3 Nov, Beryl had nearly died twice in a space of 4 days and we prayed that Meryl would make it back in time. Thankfully, in answer to many, many prayers, she did and Beryl recovered and was able to go home on Thu 17 Nov, much to all our delight and relief.

Meanwhile, we are enjoying immensely being together as a family with Charles and Toby & JoAnn for Thanksgiving week at Toby's home at Malta, NY, about 20 miles north of Albany. We thank God mightily that He has allowed this to happen when, earlier in the month, it seemed like we might have to change our plans. Praise Him! Hallelujah!

We await the next chapter of our lives to see what the Lord will allow for us in the future. Whatever happens, we know He will give us the strength to follow through and that He is always good - all the time!

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel and Meryl
http://noel.dawes.net

A4M Benefit Dinner Report

2005-11-25T15:52:00.000-05:00

Wed 16 Nov 05

The Alpha for the Military Dinner went very well last Friday evening, 11 Nov 05, in spite of a couple of technical hitches. Forty two adults and two children sat down to dinner. We praise God for that the aim of the dinner was achieved.

The aim was to communicate and share our vision for Alpha for the Military for the future and I sensed this was successfully done. I’ll have to try and express the vision in a report for this blog in the near future, but it is available as a PowerPoint presentation if anyone wants to ask for it.

We were extremely grateful for the great talk given by Alpha USA’s National Director, Todd Hunter. Todd took over the leadership of the Vineyard Christian Fellowships national ministry around the time John Wimber became ill and led them for several years. He flew in from Boise, ID specially to speak at the dinner and attend two other events locally. Todd was the senior pastor of the Virginia Beach Vineyard for several years in the early 1990s. His vision concerning the need for the Alpha course to be done in the military environment included testimony about how an elder brother of his had been killed in Vietnam. Todd, then a teenager, had been angry, confused and could not understand this seeming waste of life. It was only when he became a Christian several years later when he was wonderfully healed by the Lord in then power of the Holy Spirit from all these wounds to his heart.

We were also exceedingly grateful to a US Air Force Chaplain and a US Navy officer, both living locally, who talked briefly about how their lives and ministry had been changed through the Alpha course. Another friend read aloud several testimonies received by email over the last years or so giving similar testimony. Finally, the Alpha course leaders at Spangdahlem Air Base, part of the US Air Force Germany, had sent several powerful testimonies on a DVD and we played two of these.

There were several indications of fruit in the immediate aftermath of the event.

Two people came forward to talk about their possible volunteer help as, respectively, a local A4M Advisor and the first ever local Alpha USA advisor.

Two guests serving locally in a US Army unit were talking with the USAF Chaplain about possibly teaming up to run a joint Alpha course – pray for the who Chaplain is having immense difficulty in finding help within his unit to run a course. Even so, the course he did run, alone, in the Aug/Sep 05 period was blessed by the Lord and saw one person give their life to Christ.

A civilian guest asked to have lunch with me to talk about a particular aspect of the course which is puzzling him. This indicates the Holy Spirit is alive and working in his heart!

Although the aim was not to raise funds, the opportunity was taken to mention the need. About $500 was given, for which we were grateful.

I planned to use the money to pay for Meryl and I to go to the annual and strategically very crucial Alpha USA Directors meeting from 1-3 Dec in Chicago and, thankfully, hesitated to buy the tickets until Tuesday. On Tuesday morning I took my car in for a routine oil change and mentioned about a loud rattle noise coming from the front. The end result was that the car got repaired before I start my drive north today, that something to do with the suspension urgently needed repairing and the bill came to nearly $700!

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away – but praise be the name of the Lord! He is our sovereign God and if He does not want us to go to a meeting we think is one of the most important of the year, then so be it! I prayed with Alpha USA’s Field Ministry Director later on Tuesday that if He does want us to be in Chicago, He will provide the necessary funds as well as the remaining $100 for my health insurance premium for this month.

Anyway, please praise God with us for the wonderful blessings of Beryl’s return home and a most successful Alpha for the Military dinner.

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel

THANKS FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS FOR BERYL

2005-11-25T15:44:00.000-05:00

Wed 16 Nov 05

Thank you all so very much for your prayers for Beryl over the last three or four weeks. They have been royally answered!

Beryl was moved from Taunton Hospital to Minehead Hospital on Mon 14 Nov and was assessed yesterday to see what help she needs when she gets home. God willing, she will be discharged tomorrow, Thursday.

She will now have skilled care assistance in both the mornings and afternoons for a total of about 1.5 hours a day. Coupled with what she can and wants to still do for herself, this is good. Meryl feels at peace about it all and is looking forward to flying back to the USA on Sat 19 Nov, where I will meet her at Newark. We drive on from there to Toby and JoAnn’s home 20 miles north of Albany, NY. This is a 600 mile drive for me from Chesapeake, VA.

Our older son, Charles, flies in to Montreal the same day. He drives to his brother’s home and we meet up for Thanksgiving week. We get home late on 27 Nov.

MINISTRY REPORT - OCT 05 AND 1-9 NOV 05

2005-11-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

October was a difficult month. It became clear the original concept for the Benefit Dinner was not working. After much prayer and consultation the aim changed to casting and inspiring vision rather than seeking funds. Anyone interested could come rather than solely those most likely to be able to make large donations.

Noel attended two significant local prayer meetings at our church. He started going to a mid-week Bible study at the Chapel at Naval Air Station, Oceana which has been very supportive of the ACCTS and A4M ministry in the past. This soon led to the Command Chaplain inviting Noel to give a brief weekly meditation to some young sailors who enjoy playing basketball. Noel bases his talks on personal experiences and the Gospel. Recently he played basketball for the first time since he left school 39 years ago – yes, he did ache, but not as much as he thought!

At a Freedom Fest planning meeting Noel accepted an invitation to promote the event locally between now and 29 April 06, when we hope it will take place.

We were blessed to host some friends in the middle of the month whom we had not seen since they moved to Florida two years ago.

The last week of October saw the final arrangements being made to welcome the ACCTS Interaction team who arrived in Hampton Roads on 30th at the start of their nearly 4 day visit.

Now we are in November already and wondering where the year has gone to!

The ACCTS Interaction program was extremely blessed with very interesting and informative visits to local USAF, USN and US Army bases. We met many Chaplains and lay leaders and the delegates learned a lot about religious accommodation in the US armed forces, especially from the Christian perspective.

At the start of Interaction, we heard that Meryl’s mother, Beryl, had been hospitalized in UK and was seriously ill. Meryl flew to UK on 3 Nov and has been with Beryl since. Praise God Beryl seems to have stabilized and is gaining strength again. She is a determined lady, 85 years ‘young’, who is not ready to be with the Lord just yet!

Concurrently, Noel, in the USA, has concentrated on organizing the A4M Benefit Dinner which takes place, God willing, on Friday 11 November at the Founders Inn hotel in Virginia Beach. The Lord has supplied for our needs in a wonderful way again this month.

2005-11-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

ACCTS STAFF FORECAST FOR OCTOBER 2005 TO MARCH 2006

October 2005

Based at home with minimum traveling.

Preparation for Interaction and Alpha for the Military (A4M) Benefit Dinner.

30 Oct–2 Nov: Interaction in Hampton Roads.

November 2005

30 Oct–2 Nov: Interaction in Hampton Roads.

11 Nov: A4M Benefit Dinner, Founders Inn, Virginia Beach.

17/18 Nov: A4M ministry visits to Fort Belvoir, VA and Catholic Military Archdiocese HQ, Washington DC.

19-27 Nov: Thanksgiving Week with Toby and JoAnn at Malta, NY.

28 Nov: Back at Chesapeake.

December 2005

14 Dec-30 Jan 06: In UK with Meryl’s mother and at Watford pied-à-terre. Working from UK by email and phone.

January 2006

14 Dec-30 Jan 06: In UK with Meryl’s mother and at Watford pied-à-terre. Working from UK by email and phone.

February 2006

Based at home with minimum traveling.

March 2006

20-22 Mar: FCMM at Cape Henry Inn, Fort Story, Virginia Beach, including Naaman Initiative meeting.

Note

It is intended to organize a series of Consultations and Alpha Briefing Days (each a 2 day event) at 4 locations in the USA, and for US forces based on Okinawa and in Germany during 2006. Dates are not yet known but may fall into the Feb/Mar time frame.

Local ministry includes responsibility as the Promoter of Freedom Fest, an evangelization outreach to the military in the Hampton Roads on 29 Apr 06. It also includes ministering at weekly Bible Study groups at the JFSC Norfolk and NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, and giving a weekly meditation to young sailors at the latter place.

ACCTS STAFF REPORT FOR MARCH TO SEPTEMBER 2005

At the beginning of April we flew to Los Angeles for 5 days. We stayed with some old friends at Port Hueneme Naval Base, CA and had a fruitful meeting with two Chaplains. We spoke at an OCF group. We presented a workshop at the LA Alpha Conference and had a most pleasant evening seeing the stage version of The Lion King. Meryl spent her birthday at the zoo, seeing an elephant - her favorite animal! Next, we spent 5 days in Chicago, presenting the same workshop at their Alpha conference and attending the annual Alpha Staff and Director training days. We had dinner with old friends from Albania, whom we had not seen for many years. We re-connected with a Chaplain friend at the Great Lakes Navy Training Center. Back in Chesapeake, we focused on routine health checks and more preparation for Interaction and Freedom Fest. At the end of the month, we were very shocked by the tragic news of the death of our good friend Maj Gen Ian Durie in a road traffic accident in Romania whilst on a mission trip for Accts MMI.

In May, Noel made slow but positive progress in registering a new organization in the USA, called the National Christian Broadcasting Corporation (NXBC). A Canadian friend with a vision asked Noel to be a Director. We ministered in prayer to a USAF Chaplain deployed to Iraq at a time when his family really needed him at home. After seeing the son of another friend graduate from college, we flew to Minneapolis and spent a week with Ojars and Vineta Freimanis, a Latvia Navy Chaplain. Ojars gained his Masters degree at a seminary near the city. We gave a presentation about Alpha to some Chaplains and unit commanders at a USAF Reserve air base. They had started doing a course a few weeks before.

Early June included several meetings and meals with local friends and other supporters whom we see on a regular, if occasional, basis. Noel made a quick visit to Washington DC for some strategic prayer and planning time with the Alpha for Forces International Director. Much time was spent preparing for the USAF Spiritual Fitness Conference which took place at Colorado Springs towards the end of the month. We presented a practical workshop on praying with others. Immediately before the conference we visited some old friends in Denver and the Rocky Mountains at Spring Canyon, CO. After a quick visit to the ACCTS office we flew direct to London to attend the Alpha annual international conference at which Noel undertook Speaker training under the tutelage of Nicky Gumbel. At the end of the month, we helped introduce over 20 UK Chaplains and lay ministry leaders to the Alpha course before visiting Beryl in Minehead. A highlight of the month was seeing two different types of woodpecker on the same feeder at the same time in an English country garden!

July was a family and personal month, although Noel had a lot of preparation to do for his trip to Bulgaria. We took Beryl to the Midlands of England to visit her brother (who died just two weeks later) and sister. Meryl’s family had a big party to celebrate a birthday and wedding anniversary. We spent a lovely, restful week with Charles in Amsterdam. We had dinner with Noel’s brother and sister and their spouses. We enjoyed meeting up with Army friends, not seen for many years, at a special lunch to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Noel’s Army Regiment. This was tinged with grief as 3 soldiers from the STAFFORDS had been killed in action in Iraq the week before – but it underlined the sober reason why we were remembering 300 years of service.

Noel had a very successful and blessed mission trip to Bulgaria at the beginning of August. He concentrated on ministering the Alpha course to military folk but also promoted practical Biblical approaches to resolving conflict and bringing reconciliation. An Alpha course started in a local church a few weeks later. Many military folk attend the church. Returning to the USA later in the month, we were immediately afflicted by serious financial cash flow problems. We were very discouraged for a week or more. The Lord met our needs for the August to October period in a blessed way and we felt better!

In September, we started a new relationship with a military ministry networking organization that shares very closely our vision and values. They had just moved into the area. We wait with interest what the Lord will do through our collaboration. We canceled plans to attend the ACCTS Staff and Board meetings in Denver, with great sadness. We simply had insufficient funds and gas/petrol prices were at an all time high. This gave us time to start preparing for the A4M Benefit Dinner in November and also to attend an important planning meeting for Freedom Fest and finalize Interaction arrangements. We spoke about A4M at one of the Home Groups of our church.

TRAINING CHAPLAINS IN ALPHA; VISITS TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS (4 TO 17 JULY 2005)

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We celebrated Independence Day outside the USA again - our third successive one since we became US citizens!
A couple of days later, we visited a recently widowed friend in south west England. Her husband, a retired UK two-star General and also a good friend, was killed in a road traffic accident in late April whilst on a military mission trip to Romania. He had been invited to speak about Christian ethics in the armed forces to a large group of Romanian Land Forces officer cadets and officers. Three Romanians, including a two-star (the Commandant of their Land Forces Academy), a Major and the car driver were also killed. We pray our visit was of some blessing to her, especially as we went on a day when many others also came throughout the day. It would be more helpful if visitors were able to spread themselves out through the week, but, sadly, it is not always possible for them to arrange this.
Just two days later, on 7 July, the day of the London bombs, Meryl and I were at an Alpha for Forces Conference at Amport House with a strong Alpha for Forces team, carrying out a 2 day training for about 24 British military Chaplains, lay leaders and military para-church workers. Although Meryl and I left early, Sandy Millar, Nicky Gumbel’s senior pastor, was due to speak that evening on ‘How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit’. We are not sure if he managed to travel the 90 miles or so from London in time, given that almost all traffic in London came to a standstill today. Nicky is the pioneer of the Alpha course. Amport House is the British Armed Forces Chaplaincy Training Center – a beautiful, peaceful, large, old country home at the small village of Amport which is full of wonderful thatched cottages deep in the south west countryside of rural England near the small city of Andover – a typical English setting which we Americans drool over!
We heard about the bombs at the start of one of our talks that morning and immediately prayed for the folk in London who had been affected by it in any way. One or two who were due at Amport could not make it either through travel ensuing difficulties or recall to military units, and two left the training immediately to return to their units.
To each of us the ultimate solution is in Christ alone, but we were encouraged by very clear and unequivocal statements today from both the Mayor of London and the Prime Minister. We detect that in the midst of grief there is a definite ‘Dunkirk’ spirit already evident – this will not deter or terrorize us – a determination to prove that the terrorists have forfeited their aim and aspirations before they began. And that everyone will be alert and vigilant but not alarmed. Normal life will continue. Now there is shock that these people seem to have been born and raised in England – they are English! Many people in all communities and from all different cultural and religious backgrounds are offended by this. It’s just ‘not English’ to be a terrorist or to be a (different form of) suicide bomber! Everyone recognizes this is probably not the last time such an event will occur but there is a strong determination to root is out of society and not let it happen again. Of course, for those of us in the Know, so to speak, cultural and political change will only occur through people’s hearts being changed, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The British (and, dare I say it, the American) spirit has been particularly exemplified since the bombs by the wonderfully efficient, calm, smooth and well coordinated response from all the ‘blue light’ (emergency) services in London, including the hospitals, their doctors and nurses. There has been a tremendous and spontaneous outpouring of respect and gratefulness towards them for the calm manner in which they dealt with a chaotic and horrific situation. One surgeon said that in a space of three hours that day, he acquired 6 years worth of casualty and emergency experience in terms of the range and extent of the injuries he dealt with. Certainly several of us at the Amport conference, including ourselves, were very aware that we had traveled some of the same route where the bombs went off, as we traveled to and from the previous week’s very intensive and thoroughly worthwhile Alpha International Week. A BBC commentator said that he felt the recovery of the London Stock Market on 7 July, commensurate with a typical trading day after its initial steep drop, was mainly due to the calmness and example with which the emergency services went about their very tough job. Of course, their counterparts in New York City and our brave and resourceful military coalition in Iraq and Afghanistan know all about that! Thank God for such professionalism and spirit!
Meryl and I left Amport after the conference and drove to Minehead to spend time with Meryl’s mother, Beryl. We focused exclusively for about 10 days on her and Meryl’s family, including visiting Beryl’s younger sister, Audrey, and 90 years old brother, Norman, (who, himself, was admitted to hospital recently with what looks to be a mini-stroke) and going to Meryl’s cousin’s 80th birthday/40th wedding anniversary party last Sunday (Eric and June’s party was a beautiful day ‘in the English countryside’ weekend and included a very happy lunch and tea party).
After leaving Beryl safely back at Minehead, we visited a couple we have only seen once in the last 15 years, and whose daughter is one of my God-daughters. It was good to see these old Army chums and to here their latest news, including about their church and prospective new son-in-law. Since we last saw them, David has written five or six books on different aspects of military history and his reputation as an author is growing.
Having driven almost 1,000 miles in 10 days in England we flew to Amsterdam on Fri 15 Jul to visit our eldest son, Charles for 10 days. Whilst there we hope to visit Jannecke Mollema (Al, her husband, is in Darfur as a member of the Dutch contingent to the UN Observer Force there, three months through a 6 month tour of active duty) and Annelies Poldervaart, Jaap’s widow. All are strong and vibrant Christians who are having challenging times at the moment. Many of you prayed for Jaap during his final year in God’s Kingdom on earth in 2004.
Then it is back to England to attend the 300th anniversary lunch for my Regiment in the British Army on 29th July. It will be the first Regimental function we have attended for many years, so we are looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends from Army days. The main host at the lunch will be our Colonel-in-Chief, Prince Andrew. Please pray we will be better light and salt for Christ than we were when I was on active duty, when our example was not always as authentic as it might have been. This event will be especially poignant as three soldiers, including a platoon commander, from the Regiment were killed in Iraq over this last weekend. Several others were wounded, thankfully, none critically. Having experienced similar losses during Northern Ireland operational tours, we readily understand this situation.
Finally, and just firmed up just a week ago after over 2 months of planning and discussion, I, Noel, will make a mission trip to the Bulgarian military from 1 to 12 August. I am not totally sure what will happen but my aim is to consult with MCF and Alpha Bulgaria leaders and others about the Alpha course (which is translated into Bulgarian) as well as discuss Biblical approaches to resolving conflict and reconciliation.
We fly back to Washington Dulles on 17 August and home the next day, after spending a night with friends. We planned to get back just prior to taking part in an evangelistic outreach to the US military community living in the Norfolk, VA area on 20 August, but we heard a few days ago that this has been postponed until April 2006 as the planning committee could not book the best place for it. We have been part of that prayer and planning team preparing this in partnership with Military Ministry, OCF and other military para-church ministries and local churches and one or two chapels. As you can see, the work of Alpha for the Military in the USA continues uninterrupted by email and phone from Europe whilst we are here. Praise God for the ability and capability to telecommute!

ALPHA INTERNATIONAL WEEK - 27 JUNE TO 3 JULY 2005

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Noel enormously enjoyed the Speaker Training and felt extremely privileged to be invited to take part in it. Although it was inevitably a great rush, it was thoroughly worthwhile and Noel feels sure his ability to speak the LordÂs words through Alpha will be enhanced. It was a huge blessing to get to know Nicky Gumbel, the pioneer of the Alpha course, better personally and to absorb some of his ethos and vision about and for the course.
Whilst Noel learnt how to be a more effective speaker, Meryl was busy attending the National Alpha Office program which she found very interesting and helpful. She made a number of new friends and deepened some existing ones.
On the first day of the conference everyone was asked to stand and pray together. He invited the Holy Spirit to come and do His work amongst us. Some words of knowledge were given and responded to. Noel held back for a while, praying for the Lord to lead him to the person He wanted him to pray with. After a while, someone said to Noel, "please go and pray with that man over there." Noel went over and introduced himself to the tall, slim, sophisticated African gentleman wearing a well tailored 3-piece suit. The temperature was well into the high 80sFahrenheitt (30 plus Centigrade), Noel was very hot in shirtsleeves but Douglas looked completely cool! He said "Can you please pray for the Lord to give me the gift of tongues?" We did and He did, praise God! Then Douglas said, "I am a General from Zambia and I retired in 2004. The Lord has given me a great passion to encourage every member of the armed forces of Zambia to consider the meaning of life through going on an Alpha course!" Noel was overcome byexcitementt and emotion as he heard this. The Lord had yet again proved faithful. One reason why Noel and Meryl felt so strongly called to go to the conference was because they felt He wanted them to make contacts for Alpha for Forces (A4F) and Alpha for the Military (A4M). The Lord did exactly that! Praise God! (Ex 14:14 - The Lord himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still. (NAB); The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. (KJV+); and GOD will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut! (MSG))
The aim of second half of the week was to train National Alpha Office staff for their future ministry. It was hugely encouraging, edifying, vision refreshing and gave a wonderful insight into the spiritual and moral trends of the post-modern world today. Through a series of excellent presentations and discussion periods, we were truly equipped to be Christian leaders who understand the times and know what we should do (1 Chron 12:32).
At the end of the week, Meryl and Noel were extremely blessed to be invited to a cook outbarbecuee lunch at Nicky and Pippa Gumbel's home. It was a pleasure to get to know some of the other 20 plus guests from other countries who also came along and it was a very happy and relaxed time. As Nicky and Pippa move home in September and as Nicky takes over in July as the Vicar, we need to hold the Gumbel family in our prayers as they face some challenging days ahead.

JUNE 2005 - COLORADO; AND USAF CHAPLAINS SPIRITUAL FITNESS CONFERENCE

2005-07-18T10:09:00.000-04:00

After a couple of weeks at home in Chesapeake, we flew to Denver, CO in mid-June to attend the USAF Chaplain's Spiritual Fitness conference, an annual event. It took place in Colorado Springs but first we spent a couple of days with old friends, Craig and Alison Conrad, which included some mutual prayer and planning about a ministry we both share with ACCTS - Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. Craig is now in Africa for a couple of weeks ministering as the Lord leads him at an AMCF Regional Conference in Botswana, before going on to Uganda and Rwanda.

After this precious visit, we went to the mountains and saw five more old friends we had not seen for over 2 1/2 years. Two of them are now quite old and frail. It was a special blessing to visit both of them and to pray with them. In commenting about how the Lord had touched each during the prayer times, it was obvious that one of the reasons why the Lord had led us so persuasively to make these visits was for the spiritual blessing we each received from Him as we prayed.

The USAF conference went extremely well and we felt that more interest was shown about the Alpha course in the military this year than last. We had been asked to minister to any Chaplains, Chapel Assistants and their families who came to our workshop on Ministry on Alpha (a practicum on praying individually with others). A local Alpha prayer team helped with the prayer time and it was clear that all the 16 folk there (10 Air Force; 1 VFW Chaplain; 5 local prayer team) were encouraged and spiritually refreshed. It was a joy to see the Holy Spirit at work in each person present.

We also had a number of good conversations at the A4M display stand we manned and the whole conference encouraged us personally - the musical worship was excellent as was the worship through the talks and presentations.

After the USAF conference mentioned, we flew direct to London from Denver and attended a outstanding and worthwhile but very busy and tiring conference hosted by Alpha International at HTB (see www.alphacourse.org) in London. As it lasted into July, we will post the blog of this under July!

MINNEAPOLIS IN MAY - THE REST OF THE STORY!

2005-07-18T09:07:00.000-04:00

Dear Blog Readers!

Here is our news from May 2005, which we commend to your prayers and praise:

We had a great week in May in Minneapolis, MN! We were able to brief a number of Chaplains and lay military Christians about the Alpha course, thanks to the wonderful hospitality and vision of Colonel Jim Muscatell, the Base Commander at the Air Reserve Base there. We attended the a very happy and joy-filled graduation of our dear friend and Latvian Navy Chaplain, Ojars Freimanis. We were delighted and privileged to be at the Baccalaureate service of his son, Raitis, a week before he graduated from High School; and we had a fun week with the whole family and some ACCTS friends, Vic and Marsha Grazier, who also spent a few days in Minneapolis sharing the friendship and fun with Freimanis family.

With Jesus love and blessings,

Noel and Meryl

VISITING MINNEAPOLIS

2005-05-19T16:31:00.000-04:00

Praise God for our safe arrival in Minneapolis yesterday, Wed 18 May. We had a smooth flight from direct from Norfolk, VA, except for Noel who managed to soak his trousers with very hot water as he tried to make a cup of tea on the airplane!
We picked up our rental car OK - but MSP is not the easiest or most convenient of airports to find one's way around - and drove out to the home of the Freimanis family, who live in accommodation adjacent to a Lutheran church on the west side of the Twin Cities. After a great reunion with our dear friends, and a lovely meal, we drove to the home of one of their friends, in the northern part of the city, where we are to stay for the next few nights. It is a modern, comfortable and clean town house in a pleasant and safe area. We soon went to bed as we were both quite tired.