BE THE LIGHT

For the last time, we want to use this opportunity of THE BLOG to thank you all for being a part of our lives over the last five years, and for allowing us to be a part of your church over this time. We cannot believe that now five years and two weeks are over - equally we cannot believe that we have been the longest ever serving officers at the corps in its history!!! Those five years have been full of so much, but we cannot fail to look back and see the Hand of God among us - and we pray it will continue. We know that God's hand is going nowhere - but we know too, that God's people have to allowed His hand to lead, touch, bless, restore, save, heal and deliver - and that would be our final reflection to you all. Allow God's Hand to be in the right place!!!! Don't rely on man to do anything, but trust God to do everything! Without God you can do nothing, and as Captain Sue reminded us on our farewell Sunday - we can get through trials, we can get through problems and situations - if we want to, and as believers we are promised with God all things are possible, so there is no reason why we can also be victorious is we allow the Victious One to lay His hand on our lives and touch us where it hurts, where He needs to be touching. We thank each and everyone of you for allowing us to be a part of what God has done in the last five years (and two weeks) and we trust that we will continue to visit this blog, and to hear from you all, as to what God continues to do. There is no reason why the church need not continue to grow, continue to see new members welcomed, continued to see our outreach, our mission and ministry effective lives - the only reason why it may not happen is because we do not allow it to; because we stop being involved; because we stop believing; because we stop the Hand of God doing what He wants. Our prayer continues to be, Lord use your people to do Your will and to fulfil your purposes. Each one of you who are members and friends will be receiving a little personal note from us in the next few days or so, but we wanted to just now say thank as we conclude our responsibility as pastors and leaders of this church - and to remind you that we continue to pray for you, love you and care for you, and will not cease to do that. Moving on for us we means we loose so many regular faces from our daily lives - but we have a picture which holds you all on in, and daily will be remembered of many friends who we know will also be praying for us.

We ask you please to continue to pray, and in that continually for your new Lieutenants, Emma and Mark. We ask you to support them more than you have us, and to ensure they are accepted and loved in the ways you have us - and more. We believe you can do that, and entrust to you, two more servants who come, sent by God and The Salvation Army to be part of what God is doing - not to do it, not to be left to get on with it, but to serve alongside you a God who has called us to build His Kingdom, to minister to one another and to minister to Him. May your life continue to be a blessing to Him.

And, we ask you to continue to remember Adam, Grace and Hope as they adjust to these changes. They will always be pleased to hear from you. We plan to set up email addresses for them (mayeb not hope yet), so you may want to contact them. You have been such a special part of their lives and developments.

Finally - to the leaders, members and friends, thank you dearly for everything. To Val and Carl, for all they did in the lead up to our leave, the leaving day, and since, thank you. To Emma and Mark, we love you and believe in you, and support you for the days ahead. We will always be here for you too. For the gifts, for the invitations to your homes for meals, meals out, coffee, Garys Poem, cards, hugs, texts, emails and more - thank you. Each is treasured and valued.

Thank you finally, to the Marshalls for taking on THIS BLOG and keeping us in touch. We will look forward to regularly visiting and seeing what is happening. And, we will certainly look forward to reading the great and exciting things.... all of which you can be part of

Continue to BE THE LIGHT OF JESUS - and to enable that, you need to be living within that Light, and growing in it, reflectign it, ministering it and sharing it. May His Light shine in you and then through you.

Our heart aches to say Goodbye - so its just, see ya, and thanks, and look forward to meeting soon - we will meet again, don't know when, don't know where, but we know we'll meet again some 'sunny' day!!!

Susan and Ian xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Grace, Adam and Hope