A new gospel

deleted....

Kiva

Greetings from sunny Florida.

I spend a lot of time in Romania. We work with a lot of young ladies in a Placement centre in Valenii de Munte. The centre looks after the girls until they are 18 (or until they have to leave school if earlier or later). But when they become 18, they are on the streets if they have no family. Literally out on the street. So it doesn't take much imagination to see where they will probably end up.



So my dream (and it's going to happen soon!) is to build a home where half a dozen of these girls can call home and can learn life skills, moral values and get to know about Jesus. Romania is a growing economy at the moment and property values are rising. So could we get some well-off Christian people to fund this house, with the promise of getting their money back in 5 years? At that stage someone else takes over the investment. It's just a thought, but I think it can work.

When researching it on the internet I found an amazing site called Kiva, it's KIVA.ORG. Have a look at the amazing work that they are doing.

Larry's gone

Most of you will know that Larry Norman passed away a few weeks ago. I still find it hard to credit. He could be a real pain in the arse (can't we all), but boy was he a gifted communicator. And he loved Jesus.

Thre's lots of stuff on youtube about him, but if you nothing about Larry - have a look at the video they showed at his memorial service. It's on his website here.

http://www.larrynorman.com/multimedia.html

It brought back so many wonderful memories and brought a tear to my eye - many tears actually. He was truly one of a kind. In a very real way it also had a profound effect on me. Larry IS gone now, and only what he did for Jesus remains and matters. As I sit here this week trying to figure out the way forward, it's only the lasting things that I will do for and with Jesus that will matter. One day people will blog about me after I am gone (well, hopefully someone will!) and I hope there are lasting things that I have done which will make a difference. Sounds trite but it's so true. Miss you Larry.

Daytona Beach

Flew into Daytona Beach earlier this evening to the usual weather - gorgeous. Drove down to Orlando and to my favourite salad restaurant, Sweet Tomatoe.
No-one has been in Norman's house since I was here last - fridge is still full (yugh), so are the bins. And the air conditioning isn't working. You can imagine how i handle that - I don't. I'm sweating like a pig.
But it's good to be back. I've a full week to relax, read, write and think. Should be good!

Leaving New Orleans

Tomorrow I fly out of New Orleans. It's a lovely city. Big old houses line the streets, music permeates everything and a sense of unity abides in the people. Shared suffering I think it is.

I went and bought a new GPS in Walmart tonight - £75 for a Tom Tom 1! And it worked a treat. I took it out in the car, typed in Chili's, and it took me to my favourite restaurant. The ribs are still unbeatable........

There's something I love about the USA - the food, the weather, the freedom, being away from work and stress, time to think, the cheap prices - or maybe all these things. But in many ways I wish I lived here a bit more than I do.

Talked to the kids on Skype - that was great. Miss them a lot.

For those of you who haven't heard, my brother Mervyn's getting married. Yes, you read that right - Mervyn is getting hitched. June 7th is the big day and I'm really happy for him. Companionship will do him the world of good.

That's about it for tonight - tomorrow I fly to Daytona Beach and drive down to Orlando. Weather is in he mid-80's. Life's tough!