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Galatians 4:4-5
“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
Laura Jo Emma Hollie
JOHN
is now in his 5th
year as Pastor of
Hopehall Evangelical Church. He
continues
to enjoy the challenge of local church leadership. John also has strong
links with SIM as he is chair of the Scottish Council.
John has had a frustrating year running with a calf injury that has proved difficult to heal. There is good news though as thanks to the local hospital physio department he is running again and plans to get back to his goal of 1,000 miles a year. John continues to enjoy his golf and the highlight this year was winning a knock-out competition at the club he joined.
KATRINA continues to be involved in the youth work at church which is always a challenge as well as exciting as we see our young people grow in their personal commitment. Katrina is in the 2nd year of her course which will end by this time next year!! She continues to enjoy teaching deaf children full time, finding it a very fulfilling side of teaching. In order to find some peace and quiet she has joined a gym and enjoys improving her fitness level as well as enjoying the luxury of some ‘time-out’.
JO (17) did very well in her higher exams in the summer gaining 4 A passes and 1 C pass. Jo is staying on at school for another year taking Advanced Higher in Maths and Highers in Art and Physics. Jo is applying for Physiotherapy in University for next year. Jo is very involved with FireStarters and this year she has been funded by Project Scotland which is great!
EMMA (17) also did very well in her Highers gaining 2 A passes, 2 B passes and a C pass. Emma has now left school and is doing a one year Arts foundation course at Cardonald College in Glasgow. Emma is applying to Art College in Edinburgh for next year. Emma is also very involved with FireStarters and benefiting from Project School which involves a internet based study programme.
LAURA (15) has just completed her prelim exams for her standard grades next May/June. They have given her a good idea of what the real exams will be like. Laura is involved with FireStarters each month and with her sisters helps on a Tuesday night at our J-Zone group for Primary school children and takes her turn with Sunday School.
HOLLIE (13) is really enjoying her music having lessons on the flute and guitar. This year she had an exchange student from Germany staying for 10 days and Hollie is planning to visit Judith’s home in Germany next May. Hollie has a number of Christian commitments with FireStarters and Discipleship, both once a month.
HOPEHALL EVANGELICAL CHURCH
We are all very involved at Hopehall in our different ways. It is good to be part of a church where we all feel committed and have the opportunity to serve God as a family. This year has been a good year for us as a church as we have been seeking God about what we are doing. In our house groups we have been studying God’s purpose for His church which has raised a number of issues that has been very helpful. From January we are starting groups studying ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren. We believe this is going to be a key time for us as a church as we seek to go deeper in our walk with God.
In April we are having a church weekend away at Blaithwaite Hall in Cumbria.
If you want to find out more about Hopehall do have a look at our web site if you have access to the web site: www.hopehall.org.uk
HOLIDAYS
We
had a family holiday this year … two weeks camping at Le Pas
Opton, the Spring Harvest site in France.
It was a long drive from Paisley to Portsmouth for the ferry and then
from
Caen
to Le Pas but well worth it. We had a great time; the weather was
excellent (after the first day of rain!) and we were able to travel
around and see lots of interesting places. We also
spent a couple of days with a family from our church
who are missionaries in Nantes. (see
photo to the left) It was so good to see them in their church and home.
The
Sunday we visited the church had a picnic and a walk so we were able to
join in.
We also had a few days away over Easter in the highlands of Scotland. We stayed in a cottage and though it was very cold we had a good few days break.
FAMILY NEWS
Over the October half term we visited Katrina’s parents in South Wales and John’s parents in Liverpool. We had a good time as it is always special to spend time with our families. We are looking forward to spending time with our families in the week between Christmas and New Year.
John’s Dad (Phil) has not been very well recently. He had been waiting for a hip replacement but a couple of weeks ago was rushed into hospital as an ulcer ruptured and he needed an emergency operation. John went down to see him last week and he was showing signs of improvement but over the weekend needed a further operation as there was infection in his stomach. The latest news is that Phil is recovering well and the doctors are hopeful for a full recovery. We would value prayer at this time.
With love from
John, Katrina, Jo, Emma, Laura & Hollie
Contact details....
Address: 8 Stanely Drive, Paisley, PA2 6HE
Phone: 0141 8848282