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!!

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.