VERY ENGLISH

I feel embarressed to be English this week having wasted a lot of time following a shambolic performance. all i will say is come on Harry redknapp now is your time, lets have an English manager again.

I also felt very english this week i went to a fiesta called San Juan, where all the Spanish go to the beach and at midnight they all run into the sea for good luck. During the night they make fires on the beach where the young men run through the fire apparently to impress the young ladies. the reason i felt English was because that would never happen with our health and safety pc brigade. So i was wincing at the possible danger, but then reminded myself they have been doing this for hundreds of years.

i also felt very english at a friends wedding, for a few reasons 1. the language barrier although my friends are good at keeping me informed (thanks ismael) 2 i did not know any of the songs and the traditional "dexys midnight come eileen" song was not even played once.
and finally our English weddings end early compared to Spanish ones, we arrived back home at 6 in the morning. i felt all of my 34 years that morning.

The catholic ceromony (which i am told can be quite tedious) was very good the deacon spoke about giving up on your pre-concieved ideas of church and that the most important thing is to know God. quite refreshing and i certainly was not expecting such an informal and warm service.

thats what its all about for me and Naomi, to make people know that it is possible to have a relationship with God.

May you have a great week in your relationship with God. He wants to know us to know him personally this week.

Love Dave and Naomi

ही friends

Hi friends and supporters.

To all those who follow this blog on Facebook you might be wondering where the video is. Well i have been told that my face is more suited to radio and i´m scareing little children (only joking)
i thought i would go back to typing for this week. It was great to see so many friends at conference and to find out that so many were following all that i am doing via facebook and twitter etc. a special hello to David and Pia Woodfield whom i respect so much thanks for reading these updates.

God really blessed me at conference i really enjoyed the dary northrop sessions and keith was great not to mention sy. it was a great conference. I also spent some time with family in Derby and preaching in Coventry. It was great to see all my friends and sharing a chalet with Iain and Rachel Hesketh along with Sean Charlesworth and Mrs C. thanks for that.

As you look to the future it can be quite fearful sometimes. No longer guaranteed a stable salary and pension and i always find it hard weighing up the balance of living by faith with your finances and also being a good steward of them. I realise i am completely dependant on the generosity of my friends and family, that too can bring feelings of guilt like am i acheiving enough for the Lord in order that their giving is justified.

However when i look back over this year i can truly say i have seen God do some amazing things and in spite of me sometimes, he is great. we have more people attending the church, more publicty and better relations with the town hall.

Faith and fear have the same definition "seeing those things that are not as if they are already" its what you choose to believe, radical faith or irational fear.

this i find hard to do, i find it really difficult to ask for support financially. prayer is fine, talk about money thats harder.
the truth is i need to be bolder in this. so here goes...

i need more sponsors. those who have caught just a wiff of the vision to see this nation changed. if you can support me with a one off gift that will be great if you can support on monthly basis even just 5 pounds a month then fantastic. there is security for me and Naomi when we know a certain amount will be there it helps us to budget better. if you would like to support than either message me back or contact Elim Missions
www.elimmissions.co.uk for contact information. you can remain private in your giving if you wish.
thanks to those including my sending church coventry who are already faithfully supporting me.

if finance is not an option i dearly value your prayers again this is the most powerful way of supporting me.

thanks for taling time to read this longer usual update.
lots of Love from the Hodgsons

Well all set for my trip back to blighty and i am preaching at coventry Elim this sunday and then off to conference for a week. This will hopefully be a time where i can catch up with friends and family back home and publicise all that is happening here in Benalmádena, España. see you soon

Next week i have organized for the town hall of Benalmádena to come and do a seminar about living in Spain and in the municipality of Benalmádena. this is part of our ongoing relationship with the ayuntamiento (town hall)-

please pray that we have a great turnout. Wednesday 19th of May 2010.

thanks

a few weeks ago i emailed the ayuntamiento thats the local goverment as a result of that initial email i secured a meeting with a representive of the foreigners department. Myself and Howard met with them last week to highlight the community work of the church. all went well and looks as if a good working relationship may come blossom. the ayuntamiento (town hall) hold all the power in the municiplality so its vital that as a church we can build up strong relationships with them.

please pray for Gods ongoing favour in this area!

you may like to support me in prayer and finances you can do by contacting

0845 302 6750
Direct Telephone Line: 44 (0)1684 588 940
Fax: 0845 302 6752
Email: missions@elimhq.net

Well the flights are booked and i´m starting to pack, well maybe not yet. I fly into the UK on friday 4th of June and preach at coventry Elim Church on 6th of June. its then onto the Elim bible week for a week of seeing friends and recieving great ministry. so if you are around i will see you in Coventry in a few weeks time.

Update

Well thanks for your prayers guys, i am currently recovering and i have an xray on friday morning to see if my enflamed kidney has gone down. value and thank you for your prayers.

June the 6th a little behind schedule, i will be preaching at Coventry Elim my sending church all day on the sunday. then i will be spending the week at the Elim conference in Prestatyn

we have seen quite a few new people coming to our new midweek meetings, some have come as a result of listening to our weekly radio show. A woman called Anne who is into escoterical stuff came along and has been coming to our sunday services through listening to our radio show.

thanks for your prayers and financial support without which the ministry here would simply not exist.

Three Days in an English Hospital.

Well we were all set ready to go and see friends and family in the UK at Holy week and it being a school holiday in Spain it was to be a break for Naomi too. We arrived at East midlands airport and went and stayed with my Brother, so far so good until a kidney stone re-occurred and severe pain with it. I spent monday night in agony and was hoping the pain would subside, it didn´t and so the next day i went to the hospital where they admitted me. for the first time in my life i was to stay in Hospital over night and in fact it would be for three days. this was quite distressing for Naomi who came each day to visit me in Hospital.

I passed the stone on the wednesday, at the exact same time the prayer group back in Spain were praying for my healing. i was discharged on thursday night under the orders to rest once i get back to Spain. the following day we flew back to Spain, unfortubatly missing opportunities to meet with friends in England, i never got around to calling anyone.

I am on the mend now and thank all for their prayers, i apologise for not being in contact earlier i have not had internet access.

it has been quite a week but hopefully i will be back to normal soon and get on with all that God has for me here in Spain.
thanks for your ongoing prayer and financial support.

In his service, Dave x

Feeling Sick

i would really value your prayers as i have had continued urine infections. the only way i can describe it is by reminding you what it feels like when you are on a long journey and nature calls. there are no places to stop so you think i will hold on till i get home and then the pain well its like that for me all the time at the moment. i am awaiting results from the hospital in the mean time will you remember me in your prayers.

sorry hope i wasn´t too graphic.

since being in Spain i have had one infection after another and feeling sick on a regular basis. i am not normally a sickly person so i would really value your prayers for complete healing.

on a better note, God is really blessing the church and all the midweek programmes.

thank you for your ongoing support. Muchas gracias y adios from a wet Spain.

Dave

Newsletter

I am currently shifting all my files onto a different computer so i apologise for the hold up on the newsletter in will be out soon. meanwhile you can keep upto date by staying logged on here.