Dave Hodgson 14 February at 15:50 One of the draw backs to living in Spain is being so far away from friends, family and my elim family. There are times when if i let myself i can feel quite upset and then i pull myself together and then something will happen that will remind me of why I am where I am. I remember Gordon Neale once saying "the safest place for a Christian is smack bang in the centre of the will of God" that is so true and at times we can feel vulnerable but we are quite safe. Its when in the natural we play it safe that we are most at risk of attack and at our most vulnerable.

So to all who like me kinda feel its all to overwhelming remember it beats the alternative.

My old youth pastor Steve Kempton (although he still looks younger than me) use to say you have only failed when you fail to try. So sometimes i feel down, big deal! I remind myself I am in Gods will and pick myself up. after all playing it safe can be boring.

why dont you commit yourself to doing something that if God wasn´t in it you would fail. its a bit nervey but bye golly it beats being safe.

Ironically its then we are at our safest.

One of my biggest weakenesses is that i get bored and inpatient way too easily. I dont really like meetings much and i can relate to Bill Hybels when he uses the term "death by meeting" but I am realising the great lesson of waiting for the promise. I ask myself would I had kept waiting in Jerusalem for the promise of Gods Spirit maybe i would have gotton bored after a few days and gone home and missed all that God was about to do.

There is no doubt about it sometimes there are times of waiting, times of just turning up and carrying on. but lets not estimate how important it is to be in the right place, because one day like the day of Pentecost God is going to do something awesome. One thing i realise is that life is what we make it. following God can lead us to places we would never of dreamed of visiting.

So next time when like me you are bored of waiting remember our life is a pilgrimage, if you are seeing the same scenery then you are probrably on a roundabout. Go and do something new for God, step out in faith and spice things up a bit. hopefully i will take my own advice and just maybe i will enjoy the wait.

News

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latest

Hi friends,

just thought i´d bring you all upto date with what is happening down here in Spain.
God has been so good to us here. yesterday we had high numbers in the church around 60 people so praise God for that. We have seen new people join the church since summer last year. we have had a small influx of twenty and thirty somethings of late. So i decided to set up a ministry aimed at that age group. Our first meeting was saturday where 10 people came to eat drink and get to know one another. everybody enjoyed it and we are planning to do some more.

Radio
I was invited back to sit on the panel of the sports show on TRE so that was great talking about Rugby Golf football and tennis etc and after that i stayed on to do an interview on the Richie Allen "tonight show" . Richie the night before had interviewed David Icke and Pastor Jones from America (the one who wanted to burn the Korans). Richie wanted a balanced opinion on that so i answered his questions. Thank God for the door which he has opened for the message to go out right across Spain and the canaries. The 2 revs show is going well and i am currently lining up an interview with a creatinist scientist back in the UK

Bible study
I started a midweek bible study last summer with around 10 people we had 22 last wednesday so Praise God for the growth we are seeing.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support.
Every Blessing

Dave and Naomi.

रियल faith

Yesterday i was preaching on the shumanite woman. she recieve a miracle baby from God, a son. When her son suddenly is taken ill she acts in desperate faith and goes to Elisha for help. she is persistant and that faith is rewarded.
Elisha clearly sees the woman is in bitter distress yet she says everything is alright with me. clearly it isnt alright otherwise she would not had been there in the first place.

so is he decieving herself or denying reality, i believe not. She is exercising awesome faith. it takes real faith when the circunmstances around us become desperate. real faith doesn´t deny reality it recognises it, but when your trust is in God real faith recognises God is more powerful.

so whatever you maybe facing this week remember we can face our problems and challenges knowing that God is soveriegn and he can help us and is able to help us.

may you understand your circumstances and really comprehend Gods awesome power in the lives of those who trust and follow him.

just a thought i had to get us going this monday morning....

Every blessing, Dave

Newsletter

Well let me the 82th person to wish you happy new year etc etc.

We had a great time back in blighty seeing family and spending time in Coventry. To those i didn´t get chance to see well maybe next time.
Great to see my friends in Coventry Elim church and spend a day with you all.

if you would like a copy of our latest newsletter then please reply to this message with you email address and i will send you a copy asap.

Hope you had a great Christmas,

keep in touch,

Love Dave and Naomi. x

Dave Hodgson 16 August at 13:12 Hi friends and supporters or both.

Last week God really blessed myself and Naomi with a really cheap holiday in benidorm. We originally wanted to got to the Elim festival (fraisthorpe camp) however we quickly realised that this was not financially posssible. I missed camp so much this year.

Whilst in benidorm we stayed at our friends Tim and helen cobhams house to them we are really grateful. One morning we went to an English bar for a healthy full english breakfast. The woman who served us asked us where we were from and we replied Costa del sol. ohhh she said i listen to a radio station from there called talk radio europe. i replied by saying i presented the 2 revs show on that station. WOW she said and became slightly starstruck (no i haven´t experienced this before) she said i have loads of questions for you. I asked her "what is the biddest question" she replied "WHY?". She explained many of her family have died at a young age and wanted to ask God why. i sensitivly said to her to not allow her questions to hinder her finding God. i said God loves you and she began to cry, we didn´t get much time with her as other customers came in. she said i wish you lived on the costa blanca i would love to talk more. then i was reminded of my friends Tim and Helen fellow elim missionaries who live just 15 minutes away. i asked if i could pass on her info to them so they could talk to her. she said yes by all means.
As i was leaving she turned to me and said "out of the 2000 bars in benidorm you came into mine, God sent you to me.

please pray for barbara and the many others that God is using us to reach out too.

its because of your giving in prayer and finances that wea re able to minister here in Spain to a dark continent.

We are currently running on a monthly defecit and really need regular sponsors how ever small amount a month. I am looking for 10 familys who can give just 20 pounds a month. this will give us more security and the freedom to work full time in the church here. I am believing that one day the church will be able to support me until them i continue to rely on my friends and partners in the ministry. if you feel you can give whether a one off gift or a monthly gift please contact Elim missions in malvern or reply to this for more info. thanks to those who are faithfully supporting us, time doesn´t allow to share with you all that God is doing, just be aware that God is blessing as a result of your faithfulness.
p.s i hate asking for money i have always worked to earn it, now i feel very humble in asking.
Love in his service, Dave and Naomi xx

doughnuts

getting back on the doughnut of life
To members of Spanish Steps (Daves mission to Spain)
Dave Hodgson 03 August at 12:33 Getting back on the doughnut
I have a new tradition that has started in my life since moving to spain (a year and a half ago)it is to visit one of our local aqua parks at least once during the summer it’s a day of fun and frolics and getting sun burnt (must get a higher factor next year). One of the water slides involves you sitting on what can only be described as an over sized doughnut made of rubber and air. The object of the slide is to get down the flume and stay on or at least with your doughnut.
About half way down the slide there is a pool which you land in and this is where the problems arise well for somebody of my build anyway (lets just say I am no twiggy) I landed and came right off the doughnut (rubber ring thing) I tried to get back on and I couldn’t the water was to deep and the sides were too slippery (I actually paid for this experience) I tried again and what seemed like an hour later (just a few minutes in real time) the attendant who was helping people get through this bottleneck came over and helped me get on my way again, my wife and friends certainly had a chuckle at my expense after that one. I resolved never to go on that slide again. A few minutes later I was back on (the power of peer pressure and not wanting to look like a weakling) I was determined to hold on and this time I made it all the way down sitting in my doughnut and at the bottom I got out of the water to cheers from crowd and euphoria at my achievement, ok it wasn´t quite like that but I was relieved.
In life we can be happily moving along when smack! Something hits us from out of the blue, our health, family issues, bereavement or loss of a job. Its at times like this that we need to know that we can turn to God in prayer and that he hears us. I use to think that God was just a man in the sky who wanted to tell us off and beat us with broom (bit like a neighbour i had when I was a child) but that is not what the bible teaches, Jesus said “Come to me all who are weary” sometimes the last thing we think to do is to cry out to God for help, but it can be the most productive action we will take. You see the attendant (on the waterslide) had a stick not to tell us off for getting into trouble but a pole that I could grab hold of to pull myself through. God leads and guides if only we can swallow our pride and say Lord I need help. On many occasion God has helped me get back on the ride of life again. Its because of his grace that I want to know him more personally.

To members of Spanish Steps (Daves mission to Spain)
Dave Hodgson 26 July at 10:43 Hi friends,

well its been a busy ole week here in Benalmadena. let me begin by giving you a little back ground.

In Spain the prime authority in any municipality is the Ayuntamiento (town hall) led by the mayor. for many years Evangelical churches in Spain have been frowned upon and the Catholic Church being the only state recognised church. consequently evangelical churches have been tolerated to a degree. they to this day are not allowed to use council buildings to meet in ie town halls and schools. before arriving in Spain i was reading about evangelical churches being closed down by the mayor for simplie being too noisy (this by the way is one of noisiest nations in the world second only to Japan).

But God is changing this nation bit by bit. I am hearing of church leaders in estepona being given a chance to pray for their mayor. The church in torremolinos being given a public square to hold a 3 day evangelistic crusade. Just this last week here in Benalmádena i was given confirmation that the Mayor would hold Q and A session in our church building, a time where he can reach out to the English speaking community.
now this is common place in the u.k but let me assure you this was unheard of Spain just a few years ago. this came about as a result of me building up a friendship with one of the councillors in the town hall.

Spain went from dictatorship to democracy over night in 1976 and now i believe its changing spiritually too.

thanks to all of you who support me financially you are making this mission possible and a special thank you to my sending church coventry elim for investing in this much needy nation.

I need more sponsors how ever small amount a month, please prayerfully consider our mission here. for more info email me davehodgo@aol.com or contact Elim missions in malvern.
may God richly bless you as you bless others.

i will have more news next week, p.s i need to go on diet any suggestions i have tried eating less but thats too hard!

To members of Spanish Steps (Daves mission to Spain)
Dave Hodgson 05 July at 10:28 Last week was a fantastic week here on the coast in Spain.

El Dorado, i know what springs to mind when i write this word either the failed BBC soap opera about british expats (which was filmed about 20 k away from where i am sitting now) or the fantastic John wayne western. Its also the name of one of newest newspapers on the costa del sol.
last week i met one of the editors for a coffee as a result of that, we are now their religious section. the paper is quite eclectic it features tarot reading, a diary of a single gay guy, as well as the news etc and now it will have a thought for the week from yours truly and the rest of the leadership here. so praise God for that.

Later on this week i will inform you about our brand new television programme acts4today which will be going out on the believe channel.

last night myself and Naomi attended an outdoor concert/outreach of the church in torremolinos. I was honoured when witha n hours notice the Pastor in charge (Bernard) asked if i would close the 3 day event in prayer for the nation of Spain. alongside Spanish pastors and a nigerian pastor i prayed for Spain in english and declared to the streets of torremolinos and all those listening that God will break through and move mightily in this nation.
I felt so privaledged to be up there praying with local pastors, God is good all the time.

well there is loads more to tell you but i don´t want to peek to early.

Prayer request: I have a friend in the U.K who has just been diagnosed with breast Cancer, i´m not giving her name just yet but God knows who she is. plaese can you pray for her complete healing.

also i have been taxed wrongly this month and i would value your prayers that the inland revenue would see this error and rectify it as it has left us very short financially.
thank you for your ongoing support. love Dave & Naomi