Alabama Disaster Relief

On May 25th, nine men from Cliff Temple Baptist Church left for Alabama to help with relief efforts in McDonald’s Chapel (near Birmingham).

Please continue to pray for the many who have suffered loss.

Pictures from Scott Coleman:

 

In London

After a day of travel on Monday from Turkey to England, we arrived at Heathrow Airport on sHedule (as the Brits say). Now that our primary mission has been accomplished, we’re seeing a few sights (at our own expense) on the way home. Following the strenuous task of navigating our luggage through train stations, tube stations (underground trains), and walking to our hotel, we were worn out. Our trek caused the wheel on Sophia’s luggage to come completely off. Welcome to London where everyone travels by foot.

Having lived in London a few years, I (Karen) was the official tour guide for Sophia and Linda. Our first stop was our hotel to drop off our bags. We gave thanks for big fluffy towels and an ice machine, and dreamed of returning to a hot shower and a soft bed.

Monday evening began with a quick journey to King’s Cross Train Station–at Kenny Cheshier’s insistence–to see Platform 9 and 3/4 from the Harry Potter films, and ended with eating fish and chips near Trafalgar Square where Sophia managed to climb up the stone monument to pose on the lions. We were shocked at how much of the city is under refurbishment or construction in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.

Tuesday was dedicated to seeing the primary sites observed by most tourists – the most important being the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. We rode a double decker bus around central London and saw Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, The London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the bridges (London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Westminster Bridge, and Waterloo Bridge) plus a few of the royal parks (St. James, Hyde Park, and Regents Park).

Wednesday was filled with a tour of the Tower of London and an attempt to visit Westminster Abbey, but it was closed for an official ceremony. Thursday’s expedition will be to the town of Windsor for a tour of the castle. Friday we will head home.

Thanks again for your prayers, emails, texts and calls. We look forward to seeing you very soon!

Three worn yet blessed women!

Before eating lunch and leaving Antioch, we received recognition from the leader of the womens conference for the help we provided in caring for the toddlers and babies. Several women testified that they would not have been able to attend the conference without adequate childcare. It is a rare event in the Turkish culture for a man to care for children. Praise God, however, that many of these non-believing husbands allowed their wives to attend the weekend gathering. Most of the 150 or so women live in very isolated locations of southeast Turkey where few Christians are present. For these women to gather with other believers was a very special treat for them, which would have been impossible without childcare.Thank YOU for being a part of this conference by supporting the three of us through your sacrifices of money and prayer.

We are now back from Antioch (2 hours away by autobahn). We’ve called our moms and mothers-in-laws and wished them a happy mothers day. We are showering, washing clothes, stuffing souveniers in our suitcases and preparing to depart for England Monday morning. Continue to pray for our safe journey. Linda and Sophia will be sightseeing and Karen will be attending another conference Tuesday through Thursday. Arrive in Dallas Friday afternoon.

Women’s Conference in Antioch

Arrival in Antioch (Antakya)

Day 3 in Tarsus

Video of Sophia in Action!

Cake decoration Wednesday!

Tuesday in Istanbul

Leaving Hotel Albatros Tuesday morning

Kebap for lunch! Yummy :)

Serpentine and Obelisk (centuries old)

Tulips abloom all over city

Haggia Sophia

Blue Mosque

Inside Haggia Sophia (church, mosque, museum) pic 1

Inside Haggia Sophia (church, mosque, museum) pic 2

Inside Haggia Sophia (church, mosque, museum) pic 3

The Grand Bazaar pic 1

The Grand Bazaar pic 2

The Grand Bazaar pic 3

Praying For Our Ladies

Dear church family, We have all heard by now of the death of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. Nearly 10 years after the attack on the World Trade Center, the word of his death brings both shock and relief to many. I’d like to encourage you to be in prayer for our team that left for Turkey yesterday. They arrived safely and are safe even now; in fact, we have little reason to believe that they will be in any additional danger. But as security is beefed up around the world, let’s increase our vigilance to pray for Linda Bell, Karen Hatley and Sophia Rawlins. Turkey is approximately 95-97% Muslim. While very few terrorist attacks happen there, we want to be sure to cover them in prayer so that they will have no fear and will perform their work and speak their hearts with boldness. For a good commentary from a Christian worldview related to Osama bin Laden’s death, go to www.godissues.com. Thanks for praying and have a good week- Brent McDougal, Pastor, Cliff Temple Baptist Church Wes Keyes, Minister of Missions, Cliff Temple Baptist Church