Prayer meeting, and Merthyr Facts!

Today was somewhat routine, nothing particularly extraordinary to report. I worked at the Gurnos, helped move some donated furniture to the church, went to prayer meeting at the church, and talked with some friends and family back home.

Pastor Andy read from Psalm 113 in prayer meeting tonight, which says :

　

                                        "Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!

² Blessed be the name of the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore!

³ From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the Lord is to be praised!

⁴ The Lord is high above all nations,

and his glory above the heavens!

⁵ Who is like the Lord our God,

who is seated on high,

⁶ who looks far down

on the heavens and the earth?

⁷ He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

⁸ to make them sit with princes,

with the princes of his people.

⁹ He gives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother of children.

Praise the Lord! "

We need to remember what God has done for us through Jesus, and then we truly can praise the Lord at all times, through both the good and the bad!

In other news, my church, Turning Point at Calvary has put me on it's missions page with a link to this blog. Please feel free to visit the website to learn more about TPAC @ www.tpcalvary.com

I also learned today that one of my friends from Park Baptist (Jon Dyer) has a website which he created and updates. It has some really good stuff! The site is www.jtdyer.com

The following info is actually from Jon's site. So without further ado, here are some very interesting facts about Methyr:

Merthyr Tydfil: Merthyr Tydfil (Welsh: Merthyr Tudful) is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr' The archaeological record starts from about 1000BCE by the 'Celts'. Then the Romans had arrived in Wales by about 47-53CE and in 74 CE they built a Roman auxiliary fortress at Penydarren, overlooking the River Taff (Taf). It covered an area of about 3 hectares, and formed part of the network of roads and fortifications. Christianity was introduced throughout much of Wales by the Romans, but in Merthyr it seems that, it may have been introduced later by monks from Ireland and France who made their way into the region following rivers and valleys. Local tradition holds that a girl called Tydfil, daughter of a local chieftain named Brychan, was an early local convert to Christianity, and was pursued and murdered by a band of marauding Picts and Saxons while traveling to Hafod Tanglwys in Aberfan, a local farm that is still occupied to this day. The girl was considered a martyr after her death in approximately 480CE. “Merthyr” translates to “Martyr” in English, and tradition holds that, when the town was founded, the name was chosen in her honour. A church] was eventually built on the traditional site of her burial. Until 1754, Merthyr Tydfil was little more than a village, it was recorded that the valley was almost entirely populated by shepherds. Merthyr was situated close to reserves of iron ore, coal, limestone and water, making it an ideal site for ironworks and in the wake of the Industrial revolution the demand for iron led to the rapid expansion of Merthyr's iron operations. The 1801 census recorded the population of Merthyr as 7705, the most populous parish in Wales (however, the built-up area of Swansea, covering several parishes, then exceeeded 10,000). By 1851 Merthyr had overtaken Swansea to become the largest town in Wales with 46,378 inhabitants. By this time, Irish immigrants made up 10% of the local population, and there were substantial numbers of English, together with some Spanish and Italians The population of Merthyr reached 51,949 in 1861, but went into decline for several years thereafter. As the 19th century progressed, Merthyr's inland location became increasingly disadvantageous for iron production, and only the Dowlais works invested in steelmaking technology. Since the end of the Second World War, much of this has declined, with the closure of long-established coal mining collieries, and both steel and ironworks. Despite recent improvements, some parts of the town remain economically disadvantaged, and there is a significant proportion of the community who are long-term unemployed. In Britain today, Merthyr: Ranks 13th worst for economic activity. Ranks 13th worst for life expectancy. Has 30% of the population suffering from a limiting long-term illness. A controversial Channel 4 programme rated Merthyr Tydfil as the third worst place to live in Britain in 2006 following areas of London Hope that was informative, and now you can see a gimpse into what some of the struggles are that the people here deal with every day. Please remember to be in prayer for the people of Merthyr and the people of Park Baptist church.

Facts about Merthyr Tydfil Landmark Cyfartha Castle Geographic 10° 33´30´´ eastern longitude, 52° 58´ northern latitude Nearest city Cardiff (23 miles) Population 55,600 Local features Postal Code CF47 / CF48

The start of a beautiful weekend.

Last night I joined several people from Park Baptist for the van ministry which we do every Friday night. This entails us going to a local car park (at the college) and giving out free tea, coffee, and hot chocolate to anyone who stops by. It's a great way to connect with the community; especially with the younger crowd. Many of them will just go out there to sit and chat with friends. It's kind of the local hang out spot.
Once they found out about my car, they all were very interested. At least one of the guys there was a big car fan, so it gave us something we could both relate to. I think it's important to show that the church doesn't stay locked up in an ivory tower, but we genuinely care to help people or just enjoy their company. We are called to be "in the world, but not of the world". How can we be in it, if we spend all our time trying to avoid anyone not from the church?
It was a little slow, so I was told, but it gave me a good chance to meet a few people and learn a little more about another ministry of the church.

  Before that, I had a chance to help with the High 5 (Gurnos kids club). It was really just a game night, as we are transitioning from one material to a new one we will start next week. This next one will be about the world God has created. Exploring various things like space, plants, animals, etc.
  Afterward, Geraint and I battled it out on the air hockey table as Jon watched. I won't say I won, (even though it's true) because that could be considered bragging. But the margine of victory was so large that it's not really bragging. haha.
 Then today I helped with the food bank collection. A local supermarket donated many boxes of food, so we collected it, weighed it, then sorted it.

It took us about 3 hours and it was well worth it. Our food pantry is stocked well for the distributions later this week.
Then this evening I went with some friends to see the new Marvel Avengers movie! It came out here before showing in America, it was a great film. Plus I got a chance to visit a British cinema! So it was a new and exciting experience in two different ways.
 

I'm now going to 'fly' off to sleep, and hopefully not sleep through my alarm in the morning!

The Queen visits Cyfarthfa castle

Below is a video of the Army Cadets marching for the Queen. (similar to our ROTC) You can very faintly see my head pop up on the far right side of the video. I had claimed a large rock for myself, (and America) so I could have a good vantage point.

Here is the news story covering the visit of Queen Elizabeth II:

BBC News - Queen's visit to Merthyr (1:20 into the video tells about her visit to Merthyr)
It has been 46 years since the Queen had visited Merthyr Tydfil. And most people were very happy to see her. Only a few people who are not Royalists, know here as republicans, are not for the monarchal rule; so there were a few protesters. However, from what most people have said, she has done a great job as queen. This is her Diamond Jubilee tour, so that means she is celebrating her 60th year as Queen. She took the throne in 1952. She flew in on the Royal helicopter, then she and her husband (Prince Phillip - the Duke of Edinburgh) rode up to tour the castle and hear the cadets perform (above). I thought it was pretty cool to have been able to be a part of the celebration!

To see the rest of the photos I took today, check out my FB page: www.facebook.com/dbunce91 I'll post them under 'photos' then the album 'Wales 2012'.
One of the members of Park Baptist Church, (Scott Reid - the museum curator) got to take the Queen on a tour of the museum while she was there... I'm sure we'll not hear the end of this for quite some time. Just kidding Scott!

To see the extended news story and some interviews about the Queen's visit, click here
Afterward, a few friends and I went to Frankie and Bennie's; an Italian restaraunt in town.
I had the hot American style pizza, I figured 'you eat what you are' right? haha.
Then we had our Thursday night Bible study at the Gurnos Christian Center where we talked about the person of Jesus Christ, about Him being both fully God and fully man.  About His eternality, virgin birth, sinless life, atoning sacrifice, and resurrection. It was excellent. And our memory verse for the week is: John 20:28-29:
"And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

Overall, a great day... looking foreward to another tomorrow! Already been here for over a fortnight and there's so much to do, I'm glad I have so much time left! :)
Goodnight, and God save the Queen.

-Dafydd B.

Busy Days...



I thought several things about this sign:

1) Why did the emergency helpline change their number?? Not really. Actually seeing the difference in number was helpful. but,
2) I thought the difference between discovering or suspecting a fire was funny. So even without evidence of a fire I should adhere to the steps below?
3) The best of all, "fight the fire...with the appliances..." So, I went and grabbed the refrigerator and toaster, then proceeded to fight the imaginary fire!

Today was pretty productive, I started the day at St. Lukes church with the morning prayer meeting held every Wednesday morning.
After prayer, we had a delicious dinner (lunch) of jacket potatoes (baked potatoes), chili, and salad. Of course accompanied by coffee and tea.
Next, unexpected by me, after lunch a few of the people from our Prayer meeting stay a little later to have a Bible study. I was asked to lead the study, And of course I didn't mind... but I had think of a passage of scripture for us to talk about. So I chose Galatians 5:19-26, and we explored the fruits of the spirit.

I then traveled to the Gurnos for just a little while to catch up on some work via my first experience of public transportation here in the U.K. The buses here are fairly nice. The only thing not nice about today was the constant, drenching, dowpour of rain and hail. I walked back to the house from the Christian Center and it wasn't raining at first, but as I rounded the courner I saw I would have a very uncomfortable 10 minute walk. Indeed, to say I was soaked would be an understatement. But thankfully I had my rain jacket, so it could have been much worse. I again journeyed in song, singing in the rain, minus the spinning with an umbrella. It made my otherwise dreary walk much more pleasant!

About 10 minutes (and a change of clothes) later I headed up to Park Baptist to help out with "Oasis". Oasis is an older kid's ministry for those of about 10 years of age to 14.
They seemed to think my accent was quite entertaining. I got to meet a few of the kids and talk about the parable of the sower with a few of them. Then we did some word games and it was quite a good evening. I've been asked to come along for a weekend trip with the Oasis and YP (Older teens) groups in June to help out with games, lessons, etc. It will be up at the Beacons (the mountains I've shown you before) :)
Tomorrow I'll be seeing the Queen. Unfortunately, the weather forcast predicts heavy rainstorms all day. However, "the show must go on". And I'll update you on how the day has progresses tomorrow evening.

Tada!

Tour of Merthyr!

I just uploaded a video I made in Methyr Tydfil today. It's still a little rough, but for 2 o'clock in the morning... I'm quite happy. :) It's taking to long to load here though, so here is the FB link to see the video. Enjoy! http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=3852127305348

The Singing in the rain incident was the funniest part of the day.
Anything you would like to see or know about specifically, please ask. I'll take all suggestions or comments into consideration for future blog posts and videos. :)
-DB

Dydd Sul

The title simply means Sunday. How to pronounce it? I have no idea... other than two d's makes the "th" sound. You now have one Welsh lesson, congrats! You may pay me later. ;)
I'm learning that Welsh can be a very difficult language. For instance, to make words flow better, the language literally morphs when combined with other words. Letters will change simply based on the letters surrounding them. (at least that is my current understanding of how it works.) It's quite interesting to hear spoken though. Celtic influences on the language can be clearly heard.

There was nothing too abnormal about today I suppose, I'm just continuing to learn and absorb as much as I can about the people and culture here in Merthyr.
Pastor Andy preached from the first couple chapters of Genesis this morning, part of the sermon was pertaining to how pre- and post-fall man is contrasted in light of today's culture. Quite good, and if you ever want to hear any sermons preached at Park Baptist church here in Wales or just see more about the church, the website is: www.parkbaptist.net
Then after the evening service, I went to McDonald's with a few friends. It's nice to have a Big Mac... Even though it's not quite as big. It's also interesting just how many fellow Disney enthusiasts I've already found. Good to be amongst people friendly to Mickey.

Future plans? Back to work tomorrow at the Gurnos, and I'll be sharing my testimony with the church in prayer meeting tomorrow night. At least I have a diary (day planner) to write everything in now. So now I should, in theory, know what I'm doing each day. :)

Until tomorrow... this is David wishing you a nos da!

Brecon Beacons

An amazing part of South Wales are the Brecon Beakons, a beautiful and majestic range of mountains. Including the tallest mountain peak in South Wales called Pen Y Fan.
I captured some of these scenic views displaying the awesome wonders of God's creation, and some of the often missed beauty of Merthyr and Wales. I put together a little video just showcasing some of what I observed today...
 

        
                 This video can also be viewed on my facebook page:  www.facebook.com/dbunce91

Then we returned to Park Baptist for a child dedication ceremony. I helped run the tech, as Pastor Andy consecrated the child to God, and encouraging the parents to raise her in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
The Gospel was also presented to all of the family, friends, and visitors in attendance. It seemed quite obvious most of the people there had rarely, if ever, been in a church. Some even left before the service had ended. But such can be the case when the name of Jesus is proclaimed. Our job is not to make them believe, only to tell them the truth. The rest is in God's hands.



Afterward, Pastor Andy, and his son David Pitt, invited me to come along with them for a 9-hole round of golf. Not having played in a long time, I played okay. But it was more fun just enjoying the cool (sometimes chilly) weather and having a bit of sport coupled with scenic views.












David and David (right) A very common name here too. When people ask for David, usually about four or five people speak up asking, "which one?"





It was a very nice day of relaxation. After dinner we watched a bit of Britan's Got Talent. Quite humorous to see the similarities and differences between talents presented here, and in the U.S.

By the way, this blog has just passed 300 views! Thank you all for keeping up, I'm glad I can inform and sometimes entertain everyone following my adventure, work, and fun. :)

-David

Calon Lan and chicken curry

Song "Calon Lan" sung by Welsh choir. This will be sung for the Queen on her visit next Thursday.
Hope you enjoy as much as I did. :)

Here are the Lyrics:
Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus,
Aur y byd na'I berlau mân:
Gofyn wyf am galon hapus,
Calon onest, calon lân.

Chorus: Calon lân yn llawn daioni,
Tecach yw na'r lili dlos:
Dim ond calon lân all ganu
Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos.

Pe dymunwn olud bydol,
Hedyn buan ganddo sydd;
Golud calon lân, rinweddol,
Yn dwyn bythol elw fydd.

Hwyr a bore fy nymuniad
Gwyd I'r nef ar adain cân
Ar I Dduw, er mwyn fy Ngheidwad,
Roddi I mi galon lân.

English Translation:

I don’t ask for a luxurious life,
the world’s gold or its fine pearls:
I ask for a happy heart,
an honest heart, a pure heart.

Chorus: A pure heart is full of goodness,
More lovely than the pretty lily:
Only a pure heart can sing -
Sing day and night.

If I wished worldly wealth,
He has a swift seed;
The riches of a virtuous, pure heart,
Will be a perpetual profit.

Late and early, my wish
Rises on the wing of song,
For God, for the sake of my Saviour,
To give me a pure heart.  -Written By Daniel James

An amazing song indeed!

On the personal side of things, I'm feeling much better today. I again am back to eating my favorite mexican chicken sandwich from Gregg's.I've had at least 4 since I've been here.  I also went shopping at Tesco's, picked up a wardrobe, and dropped off a massive amount of clothes to be donated. After all of this strenuous labor, I had a delicious helping of chicken curry for tea (evening meal). Now I must catch up on my Bible reading plan, and get some sleep.

God Bless and goodnight to you all!

-David

Meat, and strange names..

Good evening from Wales!! Hope you all have been having a marvelous day.

I learned a little more about Wales today, particularly about a certain town called... Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (not joking!)  My brother Chris had inquired about the longest city name. So there it is. I probably will not actually visit the city because it is at the complete opposite end of the country. But it still was quite an interesting and entertaining fact to become privy to. :)
Still fighting a cold today, hopefully I can get some rest in the next couple of days and return to
tip-top health. Hence, I shall try not to be overly inspiring or entertaining as usual. (like that will happen)
Tonight I led a Bible study in the Gurnos Christian Center. We started the book "meat: for growing christians" (A Bible study book I learned about while at Turning Point) Tonight we studied Bibliology which is the study of the Bible. Particularly dwelling on the points of God's Word being infallable, unchangable, indisputable, and powerful. We discussed how the Bible is the only book with the power to truly change the human heart, and create life from death.
Despite being sick, the Lord helped me to continue through and help everyone to learn more about God's word and just how precious it is.
Psalm 12:6 "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."

Have a great evening and stay tuned!!!



Pastor Andy(left) and Jason (right) at St. Margret's church.

My new Cousins!

Video from me to you! Hope everyone is having a great day :)

Valley communication

Today I went along to several important meetings about the missions trip in July. Pretty much making sure all the churches in the different valleys are on the same page, that everything is running smoothly, and seeing if there is anything we can do to help until July.

One of the churches we met in today. -located in Ebbw Vale

So I had a cup of tea, put my laptop into the boot of the car, and took off to attend our meetings!

We had a great time of prayer and fellowship in both valleys we went to today. As well as worked on getting the details together for the trip... Which of course means more work for me, but I don't mind! :)

That took most of the day today, I'll explain further what was discussed in the meetings at a future time. But right now I shall unwind for a little bit and then go to sleep.

-D.B.

The Lord's Day in Wales

Church weekly newsletter

 Sunday here is much like in America, a few technical things were different. As I'm sure you would find in many churches within our own state. There was a 11:00AM service, as well as a 6:00PM service. This week, both were led by special guest speaker John Wooley from Cardiff.

I was honored to be a part of the prayer time before service with the pastors (Andy and John) and worship leaders (Udo and Kevin). Per usual for a baptist church, the front two rows were practically vacant and clapping and movement during worship was allowed but kept to a minimum. haha. Remember, I'm a Baptist, so just joking... no offense intended! :)
After morning service, a very good meal of baked chicken followed. Then we enjoyed a time of rest (& study for me) before the evening service. I was familiar with most of the songs, there were only a few I had to employ the use of "watermelon" to the tune of "twinkle, twinkle little star". Again, joking!
Overall, today was an amazing day of joining fellow believers in worshipping the one true God, and joining in fellowship with one another.

Inside Park Baptist Church

Praying for each and every one of you!
God Bless!
-David Bunce

p.s. Please feel free to leave me comments or questions either here or at my e-mail dbunce@ymail.com I may not respond right away, (remember 5 hour time difference) but I'll get to them all eventually! :)

Shining a light

Most of what you have seen from me so far is the beauty of Wales, both majestic and simple beauty. But as with any place or culture, there is a dark side as well. It is our place as Christians to step up and shine a light, no matter how small, into this dark world.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Last night from about 8PM to half-past 12, I was an "observer" as I accompanied a group of Street Pastors here in Merthyr.

"What is a street pastor"? you may ask... Simply put, they do the job of shepherding the community. Each week, a group of local church leaders will go out through the streets of merthyr picking up trash, giving food to the homeless, helping the alcoholics and drug abusers, and pretty much doing whatever needs to be done for the community... while at the same time being witnesses for Jesus Christ.

Something which quite suprised me, was the incredible support from the local government and
Police. The Pastors are even given radios to be in contact just in case there is a problem which the police would like the pastors to handle.

Of course many people would mock us as we walked by, some would be curious, while others got in our faces and cursed us out. There was a young lad probably about 14 years of age at the cinema who had just been using drugs and alcohol with some friends. So we gave him some water, and a couple quid (pounds) for a coffee at McDonalds before he headed home. One person was dealing with an enormous amount of guilt and just needed people to listen. Some of the homeless sleep on cardboard boxes throughout the alleys, or on doorsteps of office buildings. And we give them blankets, or hot soup since it was quite cold last night. For the people who come out of the pubs drunk and wearing high heels, we offer them flip flops. Simple things to show love for people. When asked why, we tell them it's because we are Christians and God demonstrated His love for us so how can we not do it for others. Obviously not the main goal, but a great byproduct is crime has been decreased by 45% since this ministry was started.
A few times I felt ashamed, because I thought, "how many times have I had the time or opportunity to do things like this in my own country, yet did nothing?" I think for many of us it's out of our comfort zone, or we fear being rejected, or we fear what may happen to us. But if we have the love of Christ in us, can we not demonstrate His love to others? To let the light of Jesus shine before men.

4/14/2012

Cafarthfa Castle in Merthyr... (The Queen will be visiting next week during her diamond jubilee tour)

I was able to visit the Castle this morning, only abut a ten minute walk away...It was a very informative and educational place; and I was able to learn all about the Iron and coal works which had at one time made Merthyr a much larger city than that of the modern day capital.(Cardiff) Merthyr history(though much older than our own), had many of the same struggles as America(communism, strikes, unions, war). It also told of the first invented locomotive, which was made by a Welshman. However, he was a bad businessman and was not able to gain to riches or acclaim for many of his inventions.

And now, a  very important semi-final Football game is going on... two Liverpool teams are facing off at Wimbley. Much shouting and cheering has already ensued. Good to see that the sports fans don't change just because of location.

Now I'll probably head to the Gurnos for a bit, and get some more work done. So long!

Video from the Gurnos

Today I spent most of the day at the Gurnos Christian center... Still have more to do, and more left of the day. I'll try to let you know later today or tomorrow what else transpires over the course of the day. :)

"Missions is the overflow of our delight in God because missions is the overflow of God's delight in being God"- John Piper

Welsh BBQ, and the sweet taste of victory!

Today I started the day with some Bacon and Eggs in the morning with the Pitts, along with a spot of tea.
Then I journeyed to St. Lukes (local Anglican church) with St. Lukes pastor, Paul Knowlson. He showed me around his area. It is now not as bad as it had been in the past years, but that side of Merthyr is still one of the more rough parts of town. Drugs, sex, and alcohol are very large problems there. Someone in fact had been assaulted just recently. (Don't want to give too many details, but needless to say it was pretty bad.)We were informed of it by a local Bobby. I don't know why Bobby wanted to share the info... j/k. Sorry, I had to get at least one corny joke in. ( After Paul introduced me to his wife, Paul and I went to help a local church memeber get some pictures to assist with her selling of her house.
We then went to a local pub... no drinking though! We had a good conversation as we both shared our testimonies of how we came to know Christ, and then how to avoid theological heresy and blunders in the modern day church. I had a delicious BBQ chicken panini, with chips, and a J2O juice. (Orange and passion fruit juice) 

After our travels, I came back to visit with Pastor Andy as we discussed preaching sermons, and everything that goes along with it.
Then I explored a little of the area on foot... most everything is within walking distance. I then got to visit some of the areas I had seen last year, and picked up a few needed items from TESCO. On these adventures, I was accompanied by Sir Archibald Chauncey Lambert A.K.A. Super Sheep. A very brave sheep who managed to smuggle itself into my luggage. And just will not leave! Thankfully, he doesn't east much. He's always "stuffed". Ha ha! sorry again.. that was two wasn't it?

Then it was tea time... which here, means dinner time, or evening meal time. I had a delicious tea time of bangers and mash... (sausage and mashed potatoes) I think anything with potatoes and meat smothered in gravy would be an instant favorite with most of the Turning Point at Calvary staff! Finally, to cap off my day, David Pitt and I completed our Monopoly game. Currently, I reign supreme holding the title after putting up 9 hotels. Even using different currency, my monopoly skills remain!

Well I must be heading to bed, I'll have more for you tomorrow. Be sure to check back!

God Bless Always!
David (and Super Sheep)

P.S. Pen blwydd hapus! (Happy Birthday) to my big bro Ben! Hope you had a great day!

Meetings, Hail, and Prayer.

(Above) View from my room in Pastor Andy's house, located in Merthyr Tydfill, Wales.

Today started as all great mornings should; a 9AM wake-up call, a cup of coffee, and the view I've posted above. Little did I know, that later that afternoon, that same sky would be sending innumerable pieces of hail pelting me and Pastor Andy and we struggled moving a couch donated from a local citizen into the Park Baptist church van. When I asked if this was normal to many people today, everyone replied "No". When I told them I've only seen hail a few times, they seemed shocked. Yet dealing with a hurricane a few times is absolutely ridiculous... Of course unless you have similar stormchaser tendencies as I do, you might not care for hurricanes either.

I met Paul and Pam from St. Luke's church today. Very nice people, and tomorrow I will be spending most of my time helping them. After a spot of tea, I headed to the Gurnos Christian Center about 10 minutes up the hill (mountain to me). Where I got to see Jon Dyer who I had met last year, and his younger cousin Geraint. He too is going to see the Avengers as soon as it is released, so when I have free time hopefully a visit to the cinema will be in order. We went out to lunch to see some of the culture on High Street. I had a hot dog and chips (french fries). Then it was back to business. The Gurnos Christian Center is a place where we can really reach out to the community and share the love of Jesus with others. Every morning we open up a sort of coffee shop where people will come to visit. Live are already being changed through that ministry, former drug dealers with transformed testimonies, people getting plugged in to church ministry, and ministry to children who may not ever have a chance to be in that sort of environment otherwise. Their food bank took precedence of importance today.Over 600 people have already benefited from the food bank project which was only started the end of last year! God gets all the glory! 5.5 tons of food already donated, and then we offer Christian counselling or any other help we can give to those in need.

To try to raise awareness and get funding, a few people (myself included) took the journey to Ponte Pridd (Ponte Preeth) this afternoon to go before a local Welsh council, giving a voice to the efforts being made. (They gave voice, I listened and pretended to be CIA) Most were supportive, some even about how the higher ups in parliament have overlooked this matter. Us having the chance to share today was a great battle in itself... This place wasn't even in the same valley. One of the questions raised after the presentation was about the Christian counselling. The person stated they are a Christian, but "...what if someone doesn't want prayer, or they have a different sexual orientation, have a different religious background?" Sound similar everyone? The answer was, "...they don't have to take the help, but being that Christ is at the center of this operation, we are to love God first, and then love our neighbor as ourselves." Overall, positive feedback. And the decision will be taken to council.

Then to top off a great day, we went to prayer meeting where Udo preached about Jesus coming to visit people after His resurrection in Luke 24. One of the key verses he talked about was "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" -Luke 24:32
We should have a burning desire to know God, and when we read and hear His Word. The fire is not extinguished, it is only further kindled. (My sort of paraphrase if you will)
Then we sang some hymns. No music, just the people of God raising their voices to heaven. And it kind of shocked me for a moment, and I realized that I had become somewhat comfortable with my own method of worship. Truly, worship comes from our heart not our flesh. Then we prayed, many prayed for me. That I would be a blessing, and receive a blessing. I prayed with them as well, and met some new people from Park Street. I also volunteered to do whatever was needed. Even if it meant, scrubbing floors with a toothbrush... Someone almost took me up on that offer, so I quickly explained that our toothbrushes are much larger, maybe resembling a mop?

It is now almost 2AM, so I must hit the hay. But thank you for reading, hope I was informative... please let me know if you want to know anything else.and I'll try to get another post in tomorrow!

In Christ,
David

4/10/2012

End of day 1.
I am so thankful for this opportunity that God has given me to be here. And I appreciate all the help and prayers I have already recieved!

It is again difficult to adjust to the differences which separate America from Wales. For example: Driving on the "wrong" side of the road, I suddenly am the only one with an accent, and here you want to gain pounds instead of lose them.
However, McDonald's is still the same. That seems to be the case no matter which country you visit. The only difference I have noticed, is the burgers do seem to be just a little bit smaller here... Maybe they just ahve smaller cows?
Tonight we watched the Liverpool soccer team win in the last minutes of the game. Much cheering and jubilation ensued! It may only be their second win, but it is still indeed a win!
I have had a great start to this trip, and I know it will only get better!

In Christ,
Dafydd (pronounced "Dafith") Bunce

Welcome

Welcome to my Wales missions page! My trip just began yesterday, not many hang ups. And everything went smoothly through customs this morning. The long flight has already been well worth it! I look foreward to all that God will do, and all that I will learn through my time here. I'll give updates whenever possible. God bless, and stay tuned!

-David