Me again!

I think several people who were walking through the park thought I was crazy for talking to my computer without an internet signal. At least, they looked at me as if I was crazy... Actually, nevermind. I get that look even when I don't have my computer.
As I mentioned, a team from Holland Road Baptist Church in Brighton arrived today. They were able to come to the Bible study at St. Lukes this evening. It was a good time of fellowship, study, and prayer.

There is a scripture I would like to share before I turn in for the night... "Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!" -Psalm 31:23-24

For us who are the saints of God, (Born again followers of Christ) we should love the Lord.
Most of our love and affection is temporal, but our love for God is something eternal. We are commanded to love the Lord... "This is the first and greatest commandment."
Because of His great love for us, we then have a desire to show our love to Him. We love Him... why? Because He first loved us.
Without Him reaching out to us, we would have continued in darkness blindly and obliviously to the doom awaiting the end of our life because of sin.
A good example of real love?
"Greater love hath no man than this; than he lay down his life for his friends" -John 15:13
As I write this now, I think of so many ways to describe (or at least attempt to describe) how awesome and powerful the love of God is... Alas, I do have to go to get some sleep soon though.

One of the biggest downfalls of love, whether to each other or to God, can be our pride.
Pride goes before destruction the Bible reminds us. And love is no longer true nor pure when you are the center of your own universe.
Is that not exactly what we are doing when we tell God, "oh, I'll pray later... I'm too busy" or, "I have something else I want to do right now" Are we are declaring ourselves of more importance then God?
Try using those lines to the person you love. Not really! I'd antcipate a bad outcome for you...
So instead, let us be the faithful and follow Christ where He leads us. And as the passage says, it takes courage... but knowing that the creator of the universe loves us should provide us the strength to trust Him, and be patient for His timing in our lives.

There is so much wisdom in this passage, there may be a part 2 in the future... but for now, goodnight and God Bless.

In Christ,
David Bunce

P.S. Even though I'm not sure she'll see this... I want to wish my big sister Mandy, a Happy Birthday! :)

Recap, and new adventures!

First of all, Happy Memorial Day to everyone reading in the U.S.A.! Thank you to all the veterans in my family for serving. And we remember and honor those currently serving and those who have gone before in protecting our country. Especially to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

In only two days, I will be halfway through my missions trip. It's so hard to believe that much time has already passed since I left home.
As far as my fun/experiences are concerned, here are some of the things I've done over the past month... (warning: the following montage of events may be overwhelming and possibly grammatically incorrect. Hope you enjoy anyway!)
Climbed Pen y Fan, visited Cyfarthfa castle(several times), went on exploration adventures in Merthyr, rode on Welsh public transportation, decended into darkness at the old coal mine of 'Big Pit', visited Barry and climbed it's rocky coast, made some new friends, met back up with some old ones, saw the Queen, saw the Olympic torch, watched the Avengers (before other Americans), saw Eurovision for the first time, got addicted to tea and "Britain's Got Talent", ate at a few new restaraunts, lost an eating contest, won just about everything else, shopped at TESCO, walked more in a month than in the rest of my life, and I even had a golf match with sheep as the audience!

Olympics Bus in Merthyr

The weather has been absolutely fantastic this week!

On the working/learning/growing side of things, I have another list:
I've learned several Welsh words and phrases, my historical/geographical knowledge has been expanded, I've been able to lead several Bible studies, I've heard some great sermons, I've gained ministry experience particularly in preaching the Word of God (so far on 3 separate occasions), I was asked to give communion for my first time, I've done some church paperwork, I was able to go with the van ministry for some outreach in the community, The street pastors let me accompany them a few times, I've helped with some missions trip coordination, I've been able to help out with a few different children's ministries and outreaches, and one of those was started today with a great outcome! (at least 25 kids stopped by).

Only one month remains before the groups from New Hope, Turning Point, and Holland Road arrive here in Wales! Looking forward to see what God has in store for these next couple of months!

Goodnight all!

Something you don't see everyday

Hello!

Sorry I hadn't posted anything for awhile... This week has been quite busy.
Where to begin...

Even though it was a busy week, nothing was too much out of the norm. The usual Bible studies and meetings took place. This Thursday at the Gurnos I led the Bible study. This week was about Anthropolgy (The study of man).  I'll try to give some more detailed info about my week in the coming days... but the main reason for this post was to let you all know that I saw the Olympic torch today! This morning it passed through Merthyr... (As you can see from the picture below) It was pretty cool to have a chance to see the actual torch, as well as the festvities which accompanied it.

As for my current state, I am going to sleep so I can get up in a few hours to go share my testimony/message at St. Lukes. :)

God bless,
David

Blue Skies + Big Pit = Good Day

Me addressing a few people about the events of my day... Lucky that you get to see the video below...

(yes the picture is fake)

OH, and one more thing!!!

Weekend in Aberdare

Hello Everybody!
Another weekend completed... And time just keeps ticking on faster and faster. I can't believe that we only have 11 more days left in the month of May! With more ministry opporitunites than you can 'shake a stick at' I'm absolutely trying to grow and learn as much as possible!
I was in Aberdare this weekend at Moriah Baptist church with Pastor Dale and his wife Helen. I went over to their house last night, after food bank collection at the Gurnos Christian Centre. Which we collected 6/10ths of a ton this week alone!

This morning I preached to the congregation in Moriah Baptist about The Gospel.

We looked at our plight of sin, as it relates to a courtroom. In which God is the Judge. We know that He is love but God is also just and must punish sin.
He demands perfection because He is holy and righteous. And beginning with Adam, humans has committed a crime.
Romans 3:23 tells us “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
Man cannot redeem himself. The Bible tells us that even our good works are as filthy rags.

All of the good things we do are simply an extension of our own pride.
“Sin is a deliberate treason against the majesty of God, an assault upon His crown, an insult offered to His throne.” –Charles Spurgeon
So as we stand before the Holy Judge, we have no witnesses who can attest to our perfection, we stand fearful and disgraced for breaking the very laws of God.
Of spitting in the face of Creator, ruler, and sustainer. And all the guilt and shame leveled right at each and every one of us seems too much to bear.
We look up at the judge with contrite hearts yearning for a way out. Yet we know there is nothing we can do to lift the verdict which is sure to declare you and I guilty.
Rom. 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death….”

But God had an eteral rescue plan.

Someone else comes and takes our punishment...
Rom. 6:23 cont. "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
In first John the Bible says Christ was our Propitiation: It means an atoning sacrifice.

Jesus took our sin on himself when he was crucified.

All that is required of us, is to be born again. Which is laid out for us in Romans 10:9-10 Admit, Believe, Confess.
Perfection in and of ourselves is not possible. But through Christ we are made righteous.

So our final verdict as Christians is innocent.
We are now eternally seen as blameless, forgiven, redeemed, and justified. However, it doesn't end there...
We have been commissioned to spread the Gospel. What a privilege to be representing God the very name image and reputation of God almighty!

So in application, we must live the Gospel.
-Remember what Christ did for you. And don't be afraid to share it. Romans 1:16
-Behave as a child of His... Not out of law (becasue we have to) but out of love (because we desire to please and glorify Him)
-Apply the Gospel to every day life. (for example: forgive others as we have been forgiven)

This was some of I covered...(plus a little more) It was a 3 hour sermon.... Just kidding! (it was much longer)

Then this evening, I heard Jon Dyer preach in Park Baptist.
Afterward, I went out with some friends for food at Nando's for evening meal.
The food was delicious, and I was challenged to eating the spiciest sauce with my meal... At first I was hesitant. But I knew I couldn't just back away. So In the end, I had burning lips but I won the challenge! All in all a quite busy day. And back to work tomorrow!

Goodnight All!
In Christ,
-David

TPN International

We have long been wanting to launch the international branch of our Turning Point Network. And now we have to perfect timing to start. Please, join us now as William from TPN brings us today's headlines, plus a surprise interview!

Trusting God

Happy Wednesday everyone! Actually, that's only for the U.S.
It's already into Thursday here in the U.K. So for those reading in the U.K., go to sleep, and read it later!

Today I taught a Bible study at St. Lukes. The topic we covered was "Trusting God". And simply looking at scripture and learning more about what it says about His sovereignty.
I believe that's a very relevant topic to our lives every step of the way. Whether it's through a tough situation, through a hard decision, or even day in day out life. We must remember:
"All things work together for good for those who love God. For those who are called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28

I mentioned to several people today that it's incredible to think that only one year ago, I was working at a bakery/cafe and taking a few college classes. No big plans for my immediate future, but I was looking forward to my two week missions trip out to a little country just west of England called Wales.
Only God could have orchestrated everything from that point until now. I couldn't have told you last year that God would have put me here a year ago. And again, I wouldn't be able to tell you where I'll be one year in the future for certain. I could guess, "man makes his plans" but what? "God guides his steps." And it's His immutable and perfect plan we must trust. Which bring about our good, and His glory.
What IS up to us, is how we are going to react to situations and tests which arise on the path He's put us on.
Also, speaking of trusting God, I had a bad bus experience today. Usually the public transportation here in Merthyr is quite reliable. However today, this was not the case. The first bus I rode on this morning was late. Then, on my way back from the meetings and Bible studies, I got on 'the evil bus'. (It wasn't truly evil) but it was pretty bad.
It squeaked and squealed with every turn and every bump we went over. Actually, I thought we lost the back half of the bus while going around a round-a-bout!
Not only the bus, but the driver had a problem too... he moved his head like a bobble head... even when the bus was not moving.
And this seemingly unimportant problem, soon became a bigger problem when I realized he was bobbling a little to close to the oncoming traffic!
Thankfully, as you should be able to tell, I survived.
Sure, I may have exaggerated a tad, but still... I had to trust God in that situation too. But I will tell you this, if I find that same bus and driver combination, I'll probably get some more excercise and just walk to Gellydeg. (pronounced similarish to Gethydeg)

Tonight I taught the lesson for Oasis at Park Baptist. We discussed the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 people. Then we discussed how we should give the things we have, like talents, time, or money. And God can use those things to help others. And we can have a chance to be a part of it.

I closed out the evening with a Arizona Nacho Grande burger from McDonalds. They are currently promoting 'tastes of America' so each week in May the burger is supposed to represent a different place in the U.S. I have to admit the Arizona was quite tasty!

your brother in Christ,
David Bunce


Also, don't be shy about leaving comments on the blog as well, if you have had a favorite post, or have any questions about Wales, this would be the place to tell about it or ask you question. :)

Interview with Pastor Andy

Greetings all! Everything is still going great here in Wales. Things have turned a little colder as far as the weather is concerned...It was about 3 degrees (Celsius) this morning. And as I looked out at the distant mountain peaks, I could see that they were completely covered in snow!
Today, I helped move some appliances with Paul (the pastor of St. Lukes) And now I'm getting some lesson, and sermon prep done for the coming week.

Also, I wanted to introduce you to Andy Pitt. He is the Pastor of Park Baptist, and my host for this trip.
Click here to watch the interview: http://youtu.be/rVm9rNC9MDg

Sightseeing then preaching

Hey everyone! Oh, where to begin... So much has happened within the past few days I'm not sure where to start.
On Saturday I went with some friends to a place called St. Fagans. It's a Welsh historical museum, with old houses from around Wales. Over the years they have been taken apart and then rebuilt on the estate.
more info about the museum
Afterward, we went to Barry. Where we were able to walk and climb the rocky coast along the shore.
                                  
                                   

Not sure if it's considered the English channel or not... I think it's a little too far north to be part of the channel. Either way, it was really cool to go up on top of a hill looking out to England on the other side of the water. Sometimes I forget that I really am on the other side of the Atlantic ocean. Still really cool though.

Then today I went to St. Lukes in the morning. And went back to the house to prep for my sermon in Clyne.
The congregation is very small there, probably about 20 people in attendance. However, it was still a pretty big deal to them and to me. Especially since it was the first sermon I've preached in Wales!
Look out Lloyd-Jones! (Famous Welsh pastor) And trust me, I'm being sarcastic. I think everything went well, it just felt very different actually leading a church service... Different, but a really great experience.
Any anxiety I had was mostly due to the fact I knew I would also be in charge of communion... (for my very first time.) And besides the few people who took me from Merthyr to Clyne, I didn't know anyone there. So it was slightly nerve wracking.
Thanks to God's mercy, everything went okay. I think I imagined every possible way to mess up a communion service. haha, not really. I had a great time just fellowshipping with other believers and sharing the Word of God with them!

Which by the way, the sermon went well too. (At least that's what the congregation told me) I spoke on 1st John chapter one. Mostly dwelling on the topic of Fellowship.
And next Sunday I'll be preaching in Aberdare.


P.S. I want to wish my awesome Mother a very Happy Mother's Day! Or in Welsh a "Sul y mamau hapus" Without whom I obviously wouldn't be on this trip... And the world would be missing out on so much.

Past and Future

The Bible study was great tonight! We got to study tonight on the subject of Pneumatolgy (The Holy Spirit). And while we didn't get to finish it all tonight, it was very good to see everyone learning and asking questions. So next Thursday evening we'll be finishing up the Holy Spirit lesson and start the study of man, or a.k.a. Anthropology. This Sunday evening will be my first official sermon whilst here. So please be in prayer for that. And following this Sunday, I'll be speaking almost every Sunday to follow up to my departure which is July the 20th.

It's hard to believe, but today is the anniversary of the first day in the U.K.! I've already been in Wales for one whole month! Exactly one month ago I arrived in Heathrow airport, and rode with Pastor Andy and Udo to Merthyr. Time has flown, and there is still soooo much more to do in the next two months I'm here. Only 1/3rd of the way through though, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for these next two months!
Many projects are on the horizon, one of those of course being the Mission's trip with the missionaries from New Hope, and Turning Point!
So to comemmorate this day, I have bestowed upon myself this picture of an inflated balloon!

Yaay!

This next week, I've planned to do something along the lines of a newscast to try and give another informative and entertaining update.  I'll soon be uploading to youtube a video made awhile back from our church. It will give you a background as to why this upcoming newscast idea was first started.
                                   
Coming soon I'll be broadcasting 'Live' plus I'll be other clips and interviews so you can meet some more people from around here.

To Subscribe, or see other videos I've posted... go to www.youtube.com/dbunce91

Monday?

For some reason, I was truly confused this morning. And I went through the first half of my day thinking it was Monday. Bank holidays have that effect on many people here. I did finally get it right however, and made it to the Bible study out at St. Lukes on time.
Part of the day I also spent at the Gurnos... If you're wondering what exactly is this Gurnos Christian Center I keep talking about?? Here is the website for it! www.gurnoschristiancentre.co.uk (yes center is spelled different on purpose. haha)

Tomorrow evening I'll be in charge of the games for the Oasis kids club... So hopefully all goes well there! Last week we made a mural and I was in charge of creating a boat with Jesus in it. The kids added the paint for the hills, sky, grass, etc. And also self cut out portraits of themselves.. Here below you can see my amazing artistic rendition of Jesus calming the storm....

I know... it's amazing! please hold your applause and sincere adulation. I'll sell prints of this for 20 quid apiece and be a millionaire before I return home!
Ok, yes I know it's not great, but it was fun doing a project with the kids from the area. Of course BGT semi-finals are this week, so every evening that is a must watch before turning in for the night.
I'll be catching a bus in the morning back to St. Lukes, then I'll be leading a Bible study after lunch. So we shall see how that all turns out tomorrow!

Nos Da!
David Bunce



The treacherous climb up Pen y Fan

Today I began my perilous journey across the Brecon Beacons! This time on foot.

Didn't quite look this clear today, I took this pic last time I was in the Beacons.

At 2,907 ft above sea level, Pen y Fan is the highest peak in South Wales. Only second in the entirety of Wales to Snowdon.(Which I shall hopefully climb too before I leave in July!) Today the forcast called for rain all day, so as we went to the Brecon Beacons, we (Dale, and his neighbor Alan) could see the clouds building and the impending downpour of doom approaching. Thankfully however, we did not get rained on until we were alomst back to the car as we prepared to leave.

Most of what we saw on the way up... yep.

After exiting the vehicle, The three amigos began their trek up the mountain.
Dale joked about the dangerous things in the woods that avoid Welshmen and eat Americans. I thought it was all a joke, until (begin fake story) I noticed red eyes peering at us from the tall grass. It lunged out from the grass and I knew right away this must be one of those 'Pen y fanwolves which only appear when fog is on the mountain' he was soon joined by several packs. Only their eyes were visible through the dense fog. Dale and myself fought off the werewolf attack as best as we could to allow time for Alan to quickly run to the car to make for a quick getaway. Unfortunately, he was stopped before he was even ten feet from us. Now the only option was to turn and head straight for the mist and fog covered path. (True fact alert) The Romans are the recorded builders of the path shown below. If this is the case, the road I traversed today is indeed quite old!

Normally, you would see part of the mountain
where the sheer white at the end of the road begins.

Anyway, back to my story. As we ran blindly up the incredibly steep hills it became obvious we were surrounded on every side by creatures of unspeakable horror! (sheep)
And becuase of these deadly creatures coloring, (fluffy white fur) they blended in with the fog. So you never knew when another could cross the path.
So we had to build a mound of rocks to keep all evil creatures of the mist away! (I actually did take a rock from the bottom to the top of one of the peaks... as is tradition) Yaay! The End. (of incredibly cheesy and fake story)

Then as we decended the mountain, the fog began to clear. And I had some absolutely amazing views of the valleys and mountains surrounding me. It's hard to show the majesty of the scenery in a photo, but hopefully you'll get an idea from the few I've posted here and the ones on FB.

Much better on the way down!!

Anyhoo, it was a great day... And I hope you all enjoyed seeing some of it too!

                           I'll leave you with one little update I filmed while on the mountain.



Studies in Merthyr, Pizza in Aberdare

Even though there was no great excitement to report this weekend, I was quite happy because this weekend gave me plenty of time to study... plus a little time to sleep.
Apparently I've been looking a little tired recently. And after seeing the last video I posted, I have to agree. But there is so much to do and I don't want to waste any time with such frivolities! I'm sure you can empathize in some way with that mindset...
Anyway, some of my study consisted of reading the Gospels with a friend over the past couple weeks.. It's amazing how I can read the same passage over and over, yet see something new each time. I believe this is very obvious evidence to the fact that God's Word is indeed alive.
If you haven't read John 6 in a while, (especially verses 26-59) I strongly encourage you to read it. That is the chapter where Jesus talks about being the bread of life. I'll share these later, I don't want to give away any sermons which I have not yet preached! ;)

The Thursday Bible study group in the Gurnos has been going well! I led the group in a discussion about the Trinity this past week... (The Bible and Christology before that) Understanding that all three persons of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are still one God (Deut 6:4) is vital. And they are equal in power and eternality.
Wrapping our minds around this truth can be difficult. As one of the members of our group wisely stated; trying to fit God's knowledge into our mind is like trying to fit the entire ocean into a small hole in the sand. Or as stated by John Wesley, "Show me a worm that can comprehend man, and I'll show you a man that can comprehend the triune God."
This Thursday we begin Pneumatology - The study of the Holy Spirit. This will be most interesting to see what discussions ensue.

I'm heading up another Bible study at St. Lukes on Wednesday afternoons... Last week we covered the fruits of the spirit and the rotten fruit of sin. I'm actually not entirely sure yet what I want to speak about this week, there are so many different studies I'd like to do. Just have to narrow it down to one.

Then of course all the other meetings, sermon prep, etc. I've told you all about in an earlier post is still ongoing.
Then this evening I'm staying the night with Dale and his wife Helen. They are really great people; and we all had a great night talking, watching tv, and eating pizza after the evening service at Park Baptist. When I first pulled up, they had a U.S. flag on their house as a sort of "welcome banner".

And as I mentioned before, tomorrow is the trek up Pen y Fan... Hopefully the rain will be kept to a minimum. At least for some of the time we're up there. But I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow. So long for now!

Wales Update

                                 Just me saying hey! Letting you all know I'm still alive and well!

Saturday night check-in

 Hello all! Just a quick check in tonight. Everything is going very well, not too much to report today. I spent most of the day reading and getting things ready for later this week.
Bank holiday is this Monday so I'll have some free time. Monday morning I'll be climbing Pen y Fan with a friend (Pastor Dale) from Aberdare... Hopefully it won't be pouring down rain, so it will be an enjoyable climb!

A view of the garden in Pastor Andy's back yard

I was very thankful to recieve this gift from Geraint! This is a rarity in Wales.

Everyone have a great rest of your weekend! Don't miss tomorrow's blog, I hope to have a video update in adddition to a brief overview of the Bible studies I've been leading.

In Christ,

David Bunce

Routine, and wildlife...

Croeso!
Welcome!

I have now been in Wales 25 days... It's hard to believe almost a full month of my trip is already over!

I've been able to help some already, but there is still so much more to be done. And time is a precious commodity, so I am trying my best to make good use of the rest of my time here.

I've now settled into something of a routine: Gurnos Christian Center starts off most of my days during the week, then Monday evening is prayer meeting, Tuesday evening is Bible study at St. Lukes, Wednesday morning - afternoon I'm in St. Lukes for prayer meeting, lunch, and Bible study. Then in the evening I'm at Park Baptist for Oasis kids club, Thursday evening is the "meat" Bible study at the Gurnos, and Friday evening is high 5 kids club and the van ministry.
Tomorrow (saturday) I'll be looking forward to a day of rest. And then Sunday, I'll be at Park Church for morning and evening service this week.

Plus, I already have several upcoming opportunities to preach... And then in my spare time, I have planning for the mission to keep up with as well. So I'm definitely keeping busy!

Animals in Merthyr:



Above right, is another member of the Pitt family. Her name is Rags. She may be getting a little old and sort of set in her ways; yet she was kind enough to welcome in the foreigner (and his pet sheep). She is especially fond of me when I'm sitting in the living room with any type of food. She'll usually jump up on the couch and slowly inch closer hoping I'll be kind enough to share.

A Day at the Gurnos

Yesterday, we had a little bit of free time, so we (Jon, Geraint, and myself) decided we could show you all what a typical day is like for me at the Gurnos... So please watch below for the full picture.

(WARNING: The following video is not an accurate depiction of missionary work in Merthyr, and in by no means approved or supported by Gurnos Christian Center or Park Baptist Church.)

ENJOY!!