GregAndSuzanne

Good morning, World!

2011-10-17T09:01:00.001+01:00

I'm starting to love my new routine of getting up bright and early, not always so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but moving in the right direction at least. I decided that being woken up by a baby isn't really the way I want to start the day - I say woken up, but what I really mean is sleepwalking to Liya-Jean's room, fetching her and letting her 'play' in our bedroom for however long it takes for us to 'rise again' - so I'm trying to beat her to it. We're really fortunate though as she normally doesn't wake up before 7am.

I'm also loving ibethel.tv. They upload the weekend's worship set ready for Monday morning. A great resource.

If praying is your thing, please pray for us here in Slough, especially Every Nation Slough. I feel we're on the brink of a new season, which is always associated with some sort of resistance (sometimes that's the best way of telling you're close to breakthrough). We've been experiencing a real weariness over the past few weeks even though we've been excited about what's ahead. My radical insight into the situation is that we just have to stay submitted to God, resist the devil and wait for him to go running. So, please pray along those lines. Muchas gracias!

Oh, I'm getting ready to lead an outreach to Spain next week. So please pray for that as well. Open doors and open hearts.

Peace to you!

Finally!

2011-10-07T19:25:00.000+01:00

After months of promises and walking around with loads of guilt and condemnation, I have finally updated the photos and videos on our blog! It feels good, although I'm not sure it was worth it... It's never good to spend too much time on the laptop on our family day!

Anyway, things are going really great in Slough. We are very happy and enjoying our daughter so much. We have had to force ourselves to get into a new rhythm as Suzanne went back to work about a month ago. She's back at the coffee shop in the mornings and does about 4 or 5 aerobics (I'm actually not supposed to call it that) classes a day. This means that I have the baby during the mornings, which is great for bonding, but not so much for productivity. So I'm spending more time working in the evening, etc. I think we're getting there...

Church-wise, things are also really good. There is a real sense of experiencing God in a deeper way, which is totally awesome. I am more and more convinced of the life we're supposed to live by God's power and that believers should really push to see it become a reality. If God really is who He says He is, then we should experience it, right? Well, I feel we are, so that's really exciting!

Peace to you all.

PS my brother is coming to London next week and he'll be stopping by at ours, which we're really looking forward to!

Bye bye oupie and oumie...:(

2011-08-26T17:40:00.000+01:00

We have had the privilage of our parents visiting us here in the Uk for 5 weeks now. Man, what a pleasant time we shared. Greg and I felt like we were part time parents, and we loved knowing that our little one is recieving all the love that she can handle in this time of a full house family.
We are also proud owners of a beautiful garden thanks to Dad and Liya's cupboards are back in order, thanks ouma. These grandparents have served us with such abundance in every area, we are left speechless, knowing that no thank you could truely show our gratitude towards their visit here.

I totally get why in some cultures families all live in one house. I believe I would love that. A house where all the parents and the kids live. Obviously some space for just you and your little house hold, but I think that would be ideal. Mmmmm, how could we make this happen....I can just see my dad rolling his eyes at this. I think it would be great!

Liya-Jean has grown so much! 2 Teeth, crawling, and babbling on in her daily routine. She has been so blessed with constant affection and care, shame the poor little thing, won't know what hit her when we are left alone, just the three of us. Its ok though, she too must learn that there are seasons of abundance and seasons of just enough. Our little princess.

August has been a month of adjusting to go back to work for me but in the whole we have had a slow pace month of alot of free time and family moments. I am working at the coffee shop from 8-12 every morning and I am blessed enough to have 3 hours a week permanent aerobic classes. So in September we will have to learn how to plan our time carefully - Liya-Jean will be with Greg in the mornings. May God bless our plans and make them successful.

That was just a quick update, I know we have been promising photo's, watch this space, they will come.

Miss you guys, God bless, bless, bless xxxxx

TRUTH

2011-07-14T00:02:00.000+01:00

We heard some bad news this week and I am urged to write about it.
I declare a blessing to all who read this to understand this message in its fullness. I hope that you would listen out of respect of my character, knowing that this isn't a light hearted declaration but I am moved by compassion for everyone that I know.
Please, think on this:

About 6months ago, Roy, a man who had a heavy heart, walked past our church one Sunday morning and decided to go inside with the hope that his burdens might be lifted. He was in great need in all areas of life. The church helped him out with some of his physical needs.

Yesterday we heard that Roy had passed away...

This seriously impacted me. I reflected on every time I met Roy. I only new him the last 6months of his life. I had opportunity to speak to him about God, but I didn't, I suppose I wanted a better suited time. And I did not want to offend him in any way.
When we heard that he died I was devastated. If I could turn back time to ask him about his faith I would, but unfortunately I had missed the opportunities I had and I am not sure where he finds himself today. Did he accept the eternal price that was paid for him? We aren't sure. We thought he might have but we didn't make sure. I do not want to find myself in this place again. I do not want to be regretful to anyone I might have known in my life. I love you all so much, you are so important to me. Your destiny matters, your eternal destination matters so much. This letter is a substitute for every time I have neglected to ask any of you about this.

I want you to have clarity and understand the love of God. How He made a way for us to live in connection with Him through His Son, Jesus who died for our sins. We can be in relationship with God while we live here on earth. If you would like to digest this statement, please, contact me, come visit us, email, phone, skype, whatever it takes, let us talk through your doubts, fears and areas you struggle to believe. Or find someone you trust and ask them about it.

I am moved to shout it out on the roof tops. If you chose that the full message of Jesus is not the truth, your eternal destiny will be that of pain and despair, for ever and ever and ever....Eternity will never end.
But for those who have accepted the offering Gods son made to reconnect us to the Father and by doing that it secures our inheritance, our eternity will be forever one of joy, love and peace. A place of rest. A place where God is present in His fullness.

Here in this life, there are never ending benefits to being connected with the One whom created you, so it does not only play a part after death, but seeing that my heart is stirred in the area of the afterlife, I choose to focuss on this in this letter.

If you don't usually think on these things, I urge you to seek the truth today. Please, if you are not convinced, reach out to God and ask Him to reveal Himself to you, He will.

For those of you who would like to grow in your faith, go to the church, that you feel called to and stay there, plant yourself there and grow there, don't leave because of offence. Start learning how to truely love others. The church is filled with people and people are not easy to deal with, but let's start learning how to live in harmony alongside our differences, after all that is what real grown ups do. God wants to reveal Himself to you. He loves you, so much. It is your choice, you have the liberty to choose for Him or against Him but there is no middle ground. And you never know when might be the last time you have the gift of that choice.

God loves you, He created you. He wants you to be in relationship with Him. If you want that, invite Jesus into your life right now. Just ask Him. Jesus, come and live in me. It is that simple. Then start following Him. He will lead you.

I love you all, I pray Gods blessing over you and your family. Over your spiritual freedom and growth. May the grace of God increase in you.

Suzanne

Sunny Saturday

2011-07-02T12:44:00.000+01:00

Woke up this morning with a beautiful sun kiss. Oh how we love the sun, praise God for the sun!
Yesterday Liya-Jean watched Jan de Wet, Loflaaities and she was super gripped by it. Her first TV experience, she was so fascinated by it. So cute. I will post a video of it soon.

Other than that, we went to a ball the other night, so lovely. We 'danced', well I have to say it like that cause between me and Greg we aren't the best couple to strut our stuff on the dance floor, mmm, maybe we should take some classes...We just had such a good time with our friends, chilling, laughing, eating great food. We have got to do that stuff more often. Let our hair down.

I have been refreshingly reminded that praise is the best way forward. Gratitude, and focusing on the stuff we do have and celebrating life. Let's enjoy life, stop taking it so seriously. I am sure many of us wonder how we can glorify our God more, and I am convinced that this would be the way. Enjoying and celebrating the life He has given us.

Life is good people

We love you guys xxxx

life...

2011-06-20T22:24:00.000+01:00

So much to say. About God, about family, about life... Gratitude flows out of our bellies. Our lives are growing stronger, our existence is becoming more purposed filled and our understanding, even though still small, it is more than we have ever experienced.

It is always difficult to put into words what God is doing. But today I just want to speak life and encourage all of us. God created us, every good thing around us. He is yearning to be a part of your lives. Every waking moment He is revealing Himself to us. OPEN YOUR EYES, LISTEN... He is always speaking. With and without words. Inside of you is a understanding of the one whom created you. Inside of you is the ability to understand all that He is revealing. I pray a blessing over you, to hear and to see.

We are grateful for our little joy, Liya-Jean, she is sooooo unique and soooooo well behaved. She is just the greatest pleasure we have ever experienced. I see her grow every moment and every next step is something to celebrate. She is sooo loved. We are in awe of creation.
Please look at the latest videos, she speaks for herself. (greg will post it this week)

We have gained insight into the spiritual world by Amanda Buis and her team visiting us this week. We are still digesting the knowledge given to us, but we strongly believe that we have taken a leap in the Spirit. Yeah!!!!!

I know we have been absent in blogging, we are sorry about that, our lives have been really busy and filled with to do lists and must do's. I am looking for a God given job. I have started my aerobics classes and love choreographing the routines and instructing the classes. A group of ladies join me on Saturdays for their weekly exercise. As fun as it is, I am hoping for a fixed role in one of the nearby gyms. Will keep you posted.
Greg is doing really well, I can see him move from strength to strength. He is such a good father to Liya-Jean. He is raising her up with so much security and love. Thank you God!

We love you, miss you, would love to hear from you.

xxxx the Allies xxxxx

Krakow!

2011-05-09T10:53:00.000+01:00

I just arrived at my little hostel in Krakow, Poland. It's quite an interesting place. The beautiful old buildings have been converted into labyrinths with tiny bedrooms. It's nice and clean, though, and the staff are friendly.

I'm here to join our pastors from all over Europe for a few days of equipping. I'm really looking forward to it. It only starts tomorrow, though, so I can wander around the old city a bit today. But first, some breakfast and then a siesta. I've been up since 3h30 and haven't really eaten!

The single life

2011-04-30T20:07:00.000+01:00

Gosh... It's been almost 2 months since our last post. Quite a lot has happened since.

Suzanne and Liya-Jean is in South-Africa at the moment. They went to visit the family (and arrange a visa for Liya-Jean) at very short notice, in fact super short notice. We decided they should go last Thursday, bought the tickets last Friday morning and they flew that night.

So, it's been a little over a week that they've been away, sending me straight back to single life. I've gotta say, it's not pretty! Apart from drinking from mostly the same mug for the last few days and eating McDonalds late at night, I've been putting off cleaning the fridge and mowing the lawn for a week now. I'm not sure where the time is going, though. I suppose I'm doing a lot of work and did watch a lot of Band of Brothers, which is really excellent by the way! I also watched Back to the Future - such a classic!

I've been skyping the family pretty much every day and it's been amazing to see how Liya is growing. She will be turning 4 months tomorrow. Apparently, all she wants to do at the moment is stand. She doesn't want to sit or lie down, just stand. So, whoever's holding her has to hold her upright all the time ('cause she obviously can't stand by herself), otherwise she makes a bit of a scene.

I really do miss them loads, especially tonight. I think writing is helping, though.

One thing I've been so mindful of the last few days, is my utter dependence on the Holy Spirit. Without Him things are really... dead. He breathes life into everything we do, even into our dependence on God the Father. I'm so glad that He is with me, in me, upon me... and that I can drink deeply from Him.

Peace to all of you,
The bachelor

Routine

2011-03-03T22:36:00.000Z

Finally life is starting to seem normal again. I have been on a leisure holiday since beginning November allowing myself to do what I want, when I want...the good life. I must confess, I miss the structure of daily activity and so, after the family have all gone I have set aside March to get back on track with a new schedule. Struggling to get up in the mornings, even with our little princess around, she is so easy going that most mornings I manage to still sleep till about 9H30. My challenge is to wake up earlier. Hold thumbs;)

I can't believe it is already March! On the cards for this month is getting fit and ready for pursuing my aerobics career in June. Ladies, I am sure you know the battles to fight concerning getting back in shape. Lets just say it is not the loosing of weight that is my greatest challenge..;)

Greg and I are doing very well. We are trying to make more time for each other. Life manages to run away with us, and our conversations mainly stream around how adorable our little girl is. We try and talk about other things, but we have a long way to go in that area. Greg is flourishing as a pastor, I am so proud of him. He has truly been inspired by his leaders in France and I am eager to see what God will lead him to this year. I have to find my place in Church at the moment, being a new mom, cuts off my usual business a bit, but i am all ears for what God wants me to do.

As for being a mom, I don't think anyone could ever say what a pleasant journey it is. I am so surprised. I knew it would be good, but this is just GREAT! Liya-Jean is such a joy and a pleasure to me. I go about my business during the day with her by my side. I am enjoying it before she finds her legs, I am sure things get a bit more tricky then but for now she always by my side. When I exercise she watches me with a look that states 'what are you doing woman?' and 'how long are you going to carry on doing that?'. When I took my bicycle out she was very intrigued, she even started kicking her legs while I was peddling. Hopefully this is the beginning of her loving movement as much as I did;)

I didn't say much, just wanted to 'show my face'

Much love to you all xxx

'Oumas' and more

2011-02-22T09:13:00.000Z

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun... Or time disappears when you have a baby!

It's been five great weeks since my last post. Liya-Jean will be 8 weeks old on Saturday, which will also be the day that her 'ouma' (Afrikaans for grandmother) leaves to go back to South Africa. The baby had been spoilt rotten by both oumas! Actually, her third 'lola' (Tagalog for grandmother), Rosanna, has also been adding a great deal to the spoilage! I don't know how Liya is going to cope with her two boring parents after all of this.

It's been a real joy to see her develop into her own little personality. She is such a happy and contented baby. She's been showing off the most beautiful smiles lately. And she doesn't feel the need to entertain you if she's not in the mood - she just avoids eye contact when she's tired of people getting in her face and making strange noises.

I will hopefully add a few recent photos and one or two videos of her soon.

Another awesome thing to rapport is that I had the privilege of going to Marseille, France, to attend our church planters boot camp. It was really, really good. I feel equipped with enough strategy to change the world for Jesus! The only challenge is to somehow get that strategy into real life, which is what we're trying to figure out at the moment. It's a good challenge, though, and I believe that God is really working with us so that we can be as effective as possible for Him here in Slough.

If that's your kind of thing, please pray with us as we go through this process - it's much appreciated.

Over and out for now... Peace to you

2 weeks and still running

2011-01-14T15:40:00.000Z

Tomorrow it'll be 2 weeks since we were entrusted with this little creature of ours. There have been a few interesting moments (like this afternoons technicolour display all over my Diesel jeans!), but in general it's been nothing but sheer joy having her join our family. She is so good. Eats just about every 3 hours, produces a nappy at more or less the same time and sleeps pretty well most nights. Needless to say, we are very thankful. I've added a few more photo's and video's if you'd like to see.

Suzanne's mom arrived from South Africa today, which is really exciting. She'll be staying with us for the next 2 weeks or so. I'll be off next week as well, so we are looking forward to a great week of enjoying Slough and it's surrounding areas.

On another note, church has started with a bang this year. We've had two amazing services so far during which we enjoyed the presence of the Living God. I am so excited about all that He has in store for us this year, but also this week (which is why I am really looking forward to Sunday)! The Bible contains the most amazing promises of what the church is supposed to look like in our age and as for me and my household, we won't settle for anything less! No, we will imitate those, who through faith and patience, inherited the promises. Let Your Kingdom come!

Peace to you

Blog address change

2011-01-06T22:29:00.000Z

No big deal, just that you can now access this blog by going to 'gregandsuzanne.co.uk' rather than 'gregandsuzanne.blogspot.com'. Hopefully prevents me from having to answer 'dot what again?' every time. The old address will still work, though.

Update from Zaan

2011-01-05T19:15:00.000Z

4 Days ago this little lass entered our lives with a bang! Even though she is quiet, calm and collective, her joy is evident and complete. Obviously we talk about her to each other most of the time and our family gets updates, pictures and videos etc. I know that next week is peeking around the corner and life has to go on from there. Greg is back to work and routine slowly but surely will start finding its way into our little family. But for this week allow me to focus on her completely and talk about nothing else!

I am 70% recovered from giving birth, my greatest need now is to discipline myself to sleep when she does, I am far from that. My body is foreign to me and I can not wait to get back into shape starting February, but for now I am pushing it to the back of my mind.

I will be lying if I didn't say that we are missing our family in this special time and that we wish they could pop in and enjoy their gran daughter whenever they wanted to. I am so sad that this is the reality... I trust that God will bring us together more than we could ever have hoped for.

Anyway, hope you are enjoy the random videos and pictures. We want to capture it for our loved ones at home xxx All our love and longings

Oh, what a night!

2011-01-01T20:19:00.000Z

That's right, what a night... one of the longest of our lives. But a very rewarding one. After about 24 hours of labour, Suzanne gave birth to our beautiful little girl, Liya-Jean (yes, the spelling has changed since this morning - sorry grandma's, gonna have to change those quilts), at 7h55 this morning (1/1/11), weighing 3.025 kg.

First things first, pronouncing Liya-Jean... as it's a bit of an issue. Liya is pronounced 'Lee' (as in Bruce 'Lee') + 'Yah' (as in 'Yah'we) or 'ja' (as in the European 'yes'). Jean is pronounced 'je' (as in 'je' t'aime - French for love) + 'an' (as in Arm'an'i). Make sense? Also, I should probably warn you that 'LJ' is not an option, unless you want to face Suzanne's wrath.

A little summary of the labour. Suzanne starting having contractions a few days ago, but things started getting really intense yesterday afternoon at 12h. After a few trips to the hospital, we were finally admitted at 3h30 this morning at which point Suzanne wasn't even in established labour. Two hours later, however, at 5h30 she was just about ready for delivery (almost fully dilated). And two and a half hours later, our baby was born.

Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. Let me just say that I have the utmost respect for all mothers. Suzanne had such intense contractions that we hardly spoke two sentences for about 20 hours straight. She was so brave. I am so proud of her. To be honest, I don't know if it's worse going through labour or watching your wife go through it!

At one point, things were so hectic that Suzanne was desperate for an epidural, but by the time one of our midwives finally finished whatever paperwork she was doing, it was too late. In the end it was by God's grace, because the actual delivery part went really well with Suzanne knowing when to push.

Having said all of that, we are very pleased with the way things went for our first labour and we are very grateful for all God's grace where our faith was seriously tested.

Thank you for all your support and prayers.

For photo's, please click here.

For video's, please click here.

Excited to be parents... Liya-Jean - onwards and upwards,
The three of us

I'll make this quick

2010-12-31T18:15:00.000Z

Because Suzanne is actually in labour as we speak. I know it's quite weird that I'm blogging at the moment as she's obviously having quite an experience, but to be honest there isn't a whole lot I can do... other than being in the same room for support and being fairly inconspicious.

Anyway, there's not a whole lot to say other than that we're very excited to meet our baby, that 2010 has been an exciting adventure filled with God's goodness and that we believe 2011 will be a year of breakthrough in all areas.

Some photo's of Liya-Jeanne (or Liya-Jean) to follow soon.

Peace to you...

4 weeks and counting...

2010-11-23T12:36:00.000Z

Today we have exactly 4 weeks left before the final count down to being parents. I have my moments when I realise how overwhelming it is to make this statement. But, there is nothing we can do about it...she is on her way and we just trust for the best.
The end of year is approaching rapidly and I stand amazed at how productive this year was. We have grown as individuals and as a unit. Living abroad is becoming more and more of a reality to us and we just trust God that our daughter will connect with her family back home in ways that He will orchestrate.

Things are going really well at church. We are growing as a congregation and experiencing different levels of God. He is always faithful to show up, and He makes our efforts here successful.

Just a short hallo from us today. God bless you all, we love and miss you dearly.

Goodness

2010-10-22T09:35:00.000+01:00

Well, here we are, overflowing with all the riches that life could offer us. With humble hearts we are so grateful towards our Father for laying out our lives and enriching it with such depth and love. God is growing in us, His goodness is overwhelming and His care towards us proves His love and affirms His interest in our lives.

I could write a long letter about our jobs, our social lives, our struggles but the above paragraph sums up the total of it...We are the blessed children of the Maker of this earth!

As from Monday, I have 4 days left at work, I will miss it, but I am looking forward to preparing the home for our new arrival. She is active and funny, she makes her presence known, so I guess her little character is already shining through..

Liya-Jeanne, mmm, perfect, Liya hebrew origin: "I am the Lord's" and Jeanne \je(an)-ne\ is a variant of Jane (Hebrew) and Jean (Hebrew), and the meaning of Jeanne is "God's grace".
The best part is that we didn't even know this when we put the name together.

Angus Bucken is here, we have been very fortunate to attend one of his meetings, it was like being back in South Africa, everyone was loving being together, and he really carries such truth about God, Angus has a boldness that is almost offensive, but the message he carries is no ordinary one, it is one of reconciliation, love, forgiveness and responsibility, we are so encouraged by him. A regte boer, engelse boer. He prayed for both Greg and myself and even anointed our little lassy. We have been touched by his extraordinary faith. Thank you God!

We have a nice chilled weekend ahead of us, resting, meeting up with friends and then of course church. Looking forward to it.

God bless you all xxxx we love you guys

Golden Parol video!

2010-10-08T21:13:00.000+01:00

Most of you probably don't know what 'Golden Parol' is... well, it's the band I used to play with in South Africa. Two (initially three) great friends (Ant, Drew and Craig) who made music. Drew's brother filmed our last night, a few days before I flew to the UK in January 2006. It's been my dream to cut the 90 or so minutes of footage down to something that's actually watchable. Finally, almost 5 years later, I did it! It's not the best quality and the performance was probably a bit more hype than actual musical flair, but it brings back great memories of an awesome time in my life. You can watch it here.

Lesson learned

2010-09-23T08:47:00.000+01:00

As some of you might know, we did Healing on the Streets in Slough High Street on Saturday. What an amazing day! It exceeded all our expectations. I think we had about 35 people from at least 4 different churches turn up for the 'training', which was really just a discussion about healing. After a short lunch break, we hit the streets.

It was actually such a crazy setup. We basically walked down to the High Street (like I said, a group of about 35 people), set up a big flag that reads 'healing', knelt down together in prayer and started handing out flyers asking people to come and receive prayer for healing. It was just amazing how much peace we experienced. You would think that we'd be super nervous, but it was so natural. And I realised again that the Kingdom of God is within us, which means that it exists wherever children of God are - and where the Kingdom is, there the fruit (peace, joy, love, etc) and gifts (healing!) of the Spirit are.

We must have prayed for about 25 people, a few of which experienced something miraculous. One guy, who couldn't speak any english, managed to explain to one of our guys that he has arthritis or something in his elbow. After they prayed for him, he jumped up and started hugging and kissing people! You can't fake that kind of excitement!

The lesson we learnt, however, only came the next day, during our Sunday service. We had such a heavy service, like we've never experienced in Slough. Many of our people were feeling burdened and just plain down. We did our best to counter the 'atmosphere' and eventually felt some release, but it wasn't easy. It became very clear to us, that when you stick your head out of the parapet, you attract fire. We've probably always known it to be so, but I've never felt it like we did on Sunday.

So, the lesson learnt is that we should never underestimate the willingness of our enemy to retaliate, which means that we should be super serious about prayer, both before and after something like this... In fact, we should be super serious about continous prayer. Not only is it the place where we are covered and receive from our Father, but it's also the place where we discern things ahead of time and helps us be prepared.

Wow! 'nough said. Otherwise we are well. Suzanne is looking beautiful with her tummy becoming really big now. More photo's to be put up soon.

Peace to you

Liya-Jeanne...

2010-09-09T09:47:00.000+01:00

is probably what we've decided on, as far as the naming of the baby goes anyway. Suzanne and I have always thought that we wouldn't keep the baby's name a secret, as many people do these days. Although, we've had some glimpses of why people do it. If you share the name of the baby before he or she is born, people like to add their suggestions, which are sometimes very random, like Liya-Hotdog (kidding!). If you choose to keep the name a secret, however, and then introduce the newborn baby as Liya-Hotdog, most people will respond with a 'wow, that's really nice... I've never heard that before'!

Things are going really well on this side of Heathrow. The baby seems to be alive and very much kicking. As the due date (23 Dec) approaches, we are getting more and more focused on the house and whether or not it's suitable for the new arrival. The house is really great and spacious, but as the carpets are quite old and manky (and a few other things) we've asked the landlords to make a few changes. If they refuse, we'll have to look elsewhere, which is a bit of a pain, but rather now than after the Liya-Jeanne is born. We appreciate your prayers for wisdom in this area.

Otherwise, church is going really well. We moved into a bigger hall on Sunday, as the previous one was getting really cramped. We are very excited about all that God is doing and leading us into. One big thing that's coming up next Saturday is a healing on the streets initiative that we are starting with about 4 other local churches (check it out at http://www.heartforslough.co.uk/). Please pray that the churches will work together well and that we'll be a blessing to the community (and not be chased away by the council!).

Peace be with you

Good to be home

2010-08-23T13:23:00.000+01:00

Suzanne and I had an awesome time in Ireland. We spent the first few days in a little town called Skerries, which is just north of the city of Dublin. It was a really good time of relaxing (sleeping until late morning/ early afternoon) and connecting with friends like 'Tannie Elly' and Johann - who ended up living in the same town.

Johann took us to Dublin, which is really our kind of thing. We love big cities. We had the opportunity to see the Book of Kells, which is one of the oldest manuscripts of the four gospels. Awesome! We also had an amazing time visiting our Every Nation church in Dublin.

We then hooked up with Chris and Lize and Oom Jakes and Tannie Elly on the west coast, to spend the week in a cottage beside Loch Conn. Again, it was a great time of relaxing and connecting. We did some fishing during the day (with little result) and played cards by the fire during the evening... just what the doctor ordered! We also saw a few beautiful places in the surrounding area.

You can see a few photo's of the trip here.

Having said all of that, it was good to get back. Slough, and in particular our house, has really become home. It was great seeing all our friends in Slough again. Since then, we had a rollercoaster week, which included going to the West End in London and to one of the best beaches in the UK. Unfortuantely, Zaan has to work a full day today, but I am taking it easy.

Peace be with you

First movements

2010-07-27T16:03:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I penned something down. I suppose we've picked up the pace a bit, which is great for me. It's been great to have people over for BBQ's and dinners. Our house is definitely too big for just the three of us, especially considering that one of us is the size of a banana! (Or bana-'nur', as the english say.)

Talking about bananas, the baby has started pushing against Suzanne's tummy. Suzanne has been feeling it on a regular basis and is quite excited. Apparently, it will take a while before I'll be able to feel, so I just nod and smile. :)

We are still excited about going to Ireland, which is happening in a week from tomorrow. To be honest, I'm not sure if it's the best time to be taking a holiday. It feels like we're finally getting back into our groove and everybody knows how a holiday can break one's groove... Actually, I think it's the perfect time... You know you're in trouble when you need to be convinced to take a break.

We're also still running after God's Kingdom. We've been pushing it into the red and I've been feeling some serious spiritual and emotional opposition, which is a good sign in our line of work. I know that breakthrough is imminent.

We are off to see Inception tonight. Everybody has been raving about it, so I am excited. Not before I've fried some beautiful steaks, though!

Peace be with you

A quick hallo

2010-07-17T15:13:00.000+01:00

We have just had 2 wonderful days of relaxing. It was beautiful. I feel refreshed and ready to go for another jam packed week. I visited the midwife this week and I heard the heart beat of our baby, it beats very fast. Really cute. The midwife agreed that I am in tip top shape, so, almost half way through my pregnancy everything is 100% - just how God ordains it to be:)

Lately my desire to get stuck into this community has been growing. We had our first dinner with a couple from our church last night, and I hope that this was the first of many to come. My desire is to know these people and love them and live life with them. This I must say is a revolutionary change from a couple of weeks ago, but that is why we rely on God. We aren't worth much here in Slough without His input and guidance. So I guess all I am saying is that I am grateful for the change of heart and mind.

Greg is doing very well. He is such a happy chappy. I am woken up by his singing and clapping most mornings and it gives me a very good reason to get up in a cheerful mindset. It also seems like he is enjoying seeing the size of my tummy enlarging every day, I think it is the only sign of baby to him. I can see that he is very excited to be a dad soon.

We are mindful of you Gran - we miss you so much and we love everything about who you are. You are a legend. Soon you will be a great Granny filled with endless wisdom for the young ones... like how to properly pin down a sole...

I spoke to my lovely grandma on Friday and it is always a joy to hear her voice - Grans are just the best.

We are off to Ireland in a couple of weeks and we are very excited about that. Will keep you posted.

All our love xxxx

The Kingdom of God...

2010-07-08T10:19:00.000+01:00

Is something that's really been on my heart and mind lately. When I say lately, I mean the last year or so. On the one hand it's a mystery 'like a treasure hidden in a field' and on the other it's part of who we are 'for the kingdom of God is within you'. When I as about 18 or 19, I used to say that people aren't turning to God because Christians aren't living the glorious life that God intended. I know realise that that's 100% true. I also realise that that's what the Kingdom is all about... Living according to God's will through the power that He's given us. What is God's will? Simple. The life of Jesus. That's right... Having an amazing relationship with the Father, loving people with all our hearts, healing the sick, raising the dead and teaching others to do the same. Who's going to say that Christianity is boring, irrelevant or man-made when they meet someone like that?

Thing are going well on the home front. Suzanne passed her aerobics exam with flying colours on Saturday, which means that she'll finally be able to do something that she's been wanting to do for ages. She actually fell off her bike the day before the exam and grazed her hands and leg badly, but as you know, she's a little soldier who keeps on keeping on.

We are excited about visiting friends in Ireland in a month's time. I feel like we need a bit of a break. We are also believing to go to the Philippines at the end of the month. It's where they're having the Every Nation World Conference, which we've never been to.

OK, God bless you.

Settled in

2010-06-27T17:49:00.000+01:00

As most of you know, I have taken my time to settle into this new life of ours. New job, new church, new, new new everything, and much to my surprise I am not as flexible as I might have wanted myself to be. But the good news is that finally Slough is my home and the coffee shop is my job and I AM indeed the pastors wife, oh and the even though our home still smells funny, I am use to it. I don't cringe every time I realise that the smell isn't going anywhere.

Today, I spoke to one of my very pregnant friends, she is due in 3 weeks. I got so exited. Realising that there will be a time where I too will only have a couple of weeks to go! I can't wait! This baby, or dare I say boy, I call the little thing my boy, I am convinced it is a little man. I may be pleasantly surprised if it was to be a little lass, but my gut feeling is saying blue shoes. (sorry ma albrecht)

32 Degrees today, I got a nice tan and it is lovely being to hot! It doesn't happen often. We live in a beautiful part of the town, very close to the river and there are so many paths to walk on - it is stunning. We are planning to go and swim at the weir today, but we will see. Greg spent 7 hrs slaving away in the garden yesterday in the hot sun. Shame poor thing (oh, I was at work, otherwise I would be slaving by his side). I must say, gardening is no game, he only got half the garden done and the next part is only the worst to come. Weeds weeds weeds, Greg is very stiff today, even his finger tips are fragile. But our garden looks sooooo much better! Thank you Greggie.

Otherwise we are still moving forward one step at a time. My love for Gods word is increasing and that is sustaining me in this so called dry season of my life. I have been reminded that agreeing with Gods word is where our true power lies. We need to be reminded of the plans He has for us, because there is nowhere else we will be reminded. The Bible is a source of life.

I am doing my aerobics exam on Saturday so fingers crossed! Then who knows, maybe i will venture out to the gyms and see if they are crazy enough to employ a fatty;)

Ok well, that's all from me today. I love you all and miss you so much.

First scan!

2010-06-15T21:14:00.000+01:00

So we had the privilege of having our first scan of Granie today. It was absolutely amazing! He/ she was so active and we could see his hands and feet and everything. Almost unbelievable... Please click here to see the photo.

Some additions!

2010-06-09T16:33:00.000+01:00

I've added a few pages to the blog. As you can see there are a few tabs at the top, which will take you to these pages. I've just added some photo's of Suzanne's new place of work, which is in Windsor and is really beautiful.

The heart of Slough is beating... for revival!

2010-06-07T09:58:00.000+01:00

The slogan that's been running through my mind lately. I think many people have bad connotations to the word 'revival'. Maybe because the world has seen some weird stuff in the name of revival or maybe because people are afraid of change. The way I see it, though, revival basically means new life... and we need a lot of new life in the world.

God has been doing amazing things in and through our church. To be 100% honest, I'm surprised! I know I shouldn't be, I mean, He's good and He wants to show Himself strong on our behalf. But we're just a few people stumbling over our feet... so, we expect those kinds of results. And that's what I love about His kingdom, the fact that He uses people like us, that we have the Spirit of the living God inside our puny bodies, the love and power to face and change every kind of evil that befalls ourselves and those around us!

At home things are good. A friend gave us a little baby suit yesterday and Suzanne is super excited about it. She was carrying it around as if there's a baby in it. She going to be an awesome mother! Otherwise we are facing a few challenges with our mortgage and the fact that we now have a tenant in our flat, but not to worry.

We'll try to get some photo's up soon, the blog looks a little lame with just writing!

Love and peace to all

baby growth update

2010-06-02T10:45:00.000+01:00

I will only know how far pregnant I am by this Friday, so I think I am 11 or 10 weeks

10 weeks
Congratulations! Your embryo is now called a fetus, which means "offspring". She is about 3.1cm long from crown to rump and weighs less than 4g. She may be small, but she's very active, swallowing fluid and kicking her new limbs.

Her vital organs – liver, kidneys, intestines, brain and lungs – are fully formed and functional, while her head is almost half the length of her entire body. Her forehead temporarily bulges and sits high on her head, but later will change into a more baby-like feature. If you could take a look at your baby, you'd be able to see some exciting details, such as fingernails and peach-fuzzy hair. The outline of her spine is clear to see, too. Spinal nerves stretch out from the spinal cord.
And it's not just your baby who's growing. Your uterus (womb) is now the size of a grapefruit. You may even be able to feel it above the middle of your pubic bone

11 weeks
Measuring from the crown of his head to his rump, your baby is now about 4cm long. He has all his parts, from tooth buds to toenails and his fingers and toes have fully separated. Your baby is busy kicking and stretching. His movements are so fluid they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as his body grows and becomes more refined.

Most of your baby's critical development will tail off in the next couple of weeks. His main task during the next six months will be to grow larger and stronger, until he can survive on his own outside your uterus (womb).

working and weird dreams

2010-06-02T10:40:00.000+01:00

This week I started working at the chocolate theatre company. A pastry chef, who has won many many awards has opened up his life long dream of a chocolate coffee shop. We bake a variety of about 30 different cakes and treats. We also sell a list of about 15 different hot chocolates all made from real chocolate buttons! Our food is just a wide variety of friendly sandwiches, but all in all it is a very popular little place. I am a part time manager there, even though the staff have all been there for years and they manage me, I have the privilege of overseeing the day. It has been quite a adjustment to stand on my feet for 9 hours again, but luckily we are so busy, I almost don't feel it. This little baby in my tummy is most definitely going to be a healthy active one, seeing that I haven't given the poor thing a moment of just being, I am up and about, which I am very grateful for.

Great news is that we have managed to change our scan date to this Friday!!!! I am so happy, finally I am actually going to see the little Granie! Sometimes I feel like I am just bluffing...except for when I look at my weight gain, then I just pray that it is because of the little one;)

Wonderful news arrived here yesterday, one of our very close friends received their little package of love 2 weeks early! Congrats Dupie and Sanri, can't wait to see her!

Now, I have been dreaming some weirdo things this week, not to sure what to make of it. Wondering if it is a pregnancy thing?

Otherwise, we had a very awesome time at church on Sunday. Greg is growing through the Holy spirit and his hunger for God and for Gods touch to go our into Slough is contagious and our congregation is exploding with stepping out in faith in their daily walk. Just this Monday in one of our connect groups (sel groep) 3 people received the revelation of Christ and is now pursuing Him. There are so many testimonies of people being prayed for but we are still waiting to hear that the prayers actually manifested. At least we are all starting to step out. I must confess, I am one of those watching from the side line at the moment, but I am trusting that this too will change. God will use what we are willing to offer. We are very inspired by God and our love for Him is growing daily.

Well everyone, have a wonderful week. We love you and miss you all.

A quick tour of our new house

2010-05-24T15:38:00.000+01:00

We thought we'd give you a little tour of our new place. We're still settling in and only really have the bare essentials, but we're enjoying it. To see the video, please click here.

Little Granie's progress;)

2010-05-21T21:48:00.000+01:00

Every week I google to see the progress of the baby, it is my highlight of my pregnancy because everything is still so unreal. It is just amazing how God knits us together in our mothers womb. Destined and purposed.

Week 8 (this week past)
Many changes take place this week – the embryonic tail is gone, and all organs, muscles, and nerves are beginning to function. Your baby measures about 1.6cm. His hands now bend at the wrist, and his feet begin to lose their webbed appearance. Eyelids are beginning to cover his eyes and tastebuds starting to form on his tongue

Week 9
At the week's end, your baby measures about 2.3cm long. In both shape and size, he resembles a peapod and weighs less than 2g. His eyelids are fused and won't open until week 26. His wrists are more developed, ankles have formed, and his fingers and toes are clearly visible. Arms are growing longer and bend at the elbows and by the week's end his ears will nearly be complete. Though you can't yet identify the sex of your baby by ultrasound, his genitals have begun to form. By now the placenta has developed enough to support most of the critical job of producing hormones.

a 'soppy' letter to our parents and grandparents

2010-05-21T21:27:00.000+01:00

Sitting at home tonight, thinking about our lovely family back home...I miss them. Our parents and grandparents especially. I love to articulate how much I appreciate people, but I so seldom do it to those closest to me. I want to start doing it more...
So let me start with the most important people in our lives - our family, the parents of our family.

We love you and miss you guys so much. It gives us joy to appreciate every single one of you when we think about your unique characters. You each have and still do play such an important part in our lives. Greg and I are very blessed to be so full filled by what we have been given through you. We are grounded in your love and our confidence rests heavily on your blessings over our lives. Thank you for your love, support, long suffering;) and allowing us to become who we are today..

A word to the fathers and oupa:
Dads, together you make a beautiful picture of the heart of a father. Which makes it easier for us to relate to God because we have got such a reality of a dad here on earth. Thank you. May God bless you by truly knowing that we love you and appreciate you dearly.

A word for the mothers and grannies/ouma:
Mommy's, I heard today that the security of trust comes from the affection of a mother towards her little one at a very early age. We both know that we received that from all of you. Your sacrificial love is noted and much appreciated. I pray that I too will love my children with their best interest at heart like you loved us.

Well, that is it from my side this weekend. Hopefully we will get more pictures up soon, and have some news by next week. I am sure that Greg will have some stories to tell when he gets back from the conference.

1st service in Slough (link to sermon)

2010-05-17T14:44:00.000+01:00

We had our first official service in Slough yesterday, which went really well. I shared a bit of my life's story and them some Biblical truth from that. You can have a listen to it here (a few of my other sermons are also on the same website).

Otherwise, I am in Starbucks at the moment, which has become my unofficial office. Not for the coffee, I'll have you know! If I wanted great coffee, I'd go to the Green Bean, Nero or Costa. Starbucks has free wi-fi, though, so their coffee will have to do. Our broadband should be installed by the end of the week.

I'm off to Bristol on Wednesday to attend the Release 2010 conference with guest speaker Bill Johnson. I am really looking forward to it. We've been hearing lots of exciting this from his church, so now I can go and see for myself.

Speak to you soon

Suzanne's first post

2010-05-17T14:34:00.000+01:00

Well, started work this week, the little shop is stunning! I am enjoying not having too much responsibilities but still like the hands on people interaction that the job so generously provides. Of course the beautiful setting of Eton and Windsor Castle in the background is a pleasure to see everyday.
In the next two weeks Greg and I will be apart. I am finally doing that Aerobics course and will be staying in London with some friends. I am a little bit nervous because I have not done any exercise for about 4 weeks due to the pregnancy, but hopefully all will go well.

I went to the doctor this week, must be honest, came home a little disappointed, I was hoping for more information but all they did was work out a probable due date (27th Dec) and then a date for my 12 week scan which is the 11th June, only then will we truly know anything about our little baby (who is now the size of a grape).

We have given the grape a name...thanks to my friend Julise. Granie - short for Greg and Zanie.

Other than that, adapting to Slough is a bit harder for me than for Greg. The pregnancy influences my mood regularly and if I could be at home alone for the next 7 months I would be happy. But I am also aware that I must fight those feelings. God has placed us here for now and hiding in the house is the opposite of what we came here to do. So by prayer and trust in God, this too shall pass.

Something that has really been on my heart is to raise up a prayer shield for us here in Slough. We are praying for supporting prayers. We are indeed not fighting against flesh and bone and we should not be ignorant of that. If any of you are interested in joining that prayer shield please email me at zaanalbrecht@gmail.com so that I can tell you more about it.

Well, that's it from us for this week xxxx love and blessing to you all

The new life

2010-05-10T15:34:00.000+01:00

So here we are... on the other side of 9 May, the day we were officially ordained as pastors of EN Slough. For a long time it was a surreal thought somewhere in the distant future, but now it's been and gone. I must say that I'm probably still a little obvlious to the full reality of what this means... I might get a better understanding when Trevor and Yvette don't walk through our doors on Sunday morning!

On the other hand, the last three weeks in Slough have been amazing. Even though we've only lived here for little under two weeks, we've been attending the Slough church for a while longer. It's been great getting to know many new, super friendly people. I don't think you'll find a more supportive group of people in the UK! We are very thankful.

I suppose one thing that I'm really aware of - more than ever - is the reality of the spiritual world and just how important prayer is. Since we've moved in (like I said, less than two weeks ago), we've had a broken boiler and a car accident - not a serious one, but one nonetheless. Now, you could say that these things happen, but I've come to know that whatever happens in the visible world around us, happens in the invisible, spiritual world first. Like people say, everything happens for a reason, but those reasons aren't always good... or shall I say God.

I think I'm trying to say that we are in Slough to communicate a message of love and freedom to all who will hear and that there will always be opposition to that. We are full of peace and excitement, though, because He who is in us, is greater than he who is in the world.

Good news is that Suzanne got a job. We basically walked into a coffee shop in Windsor for cake and tea and walked out with a job for her. A real divine arrangement, which Suzanne can tell you about if she ever gets to post a blog, not that I'm the most fervent blogger.

I am hoping to get a video of our place onto the web and posting a link here soon.

Peace

In between lives...

2010-04-26T17:20:00.000+01:00

So here we are... right in the middle of our old and new lives. The old life was set in Stratford, the 2012 Olympic village in the east end of London, from which Suzanne managed the chic Green Bean Coffee Co and in which I administrated the Stratford congregation of Every Nation Church London. The new life will take place in the beautiful town of Slough, just west of London, and is said by some to be the city where Jesus lives! Suzanne and I will become the new pastors of the Slough congregation (or chapter!) of ENL as our good friends, Trevor and Yvette - the current pastors, will be planting a church in Gent, Belgium.

At the moment we're in the process of moving... We've been upgraded from a one bedroom flat to a three bedroom detached house! It comes complete with a garden and 'kitch' artificial fireplace. As it stands we should be out of here the day after tomorrow, and are scheduled to have our first BBQ garden party on 9 May (if you're in the area, please come round).

I suppose that's good enough for a first post... Suzanne is watching 24 and I don't want to fall behind, even though I'm really not into it. 24 is massively overrated!