7/31/2007
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: August 1, 2007
<br><br>Boy....talk about culture shock.  Its hard to believe there is actually a place on Gods green earth where you cant get a bowl of white beans and cornbread with some sweet tea.  We recently found such a place in Newport, Wales.  Get this, they drink tea alright, but its hot with milk and a little sugar.  They eat biscuts, but not with gravy or a big slab of bacon on it....their biscuits are cookies.  Imagine their horror when we asked if we could have jelly on our biscuits.  Jelly on cookies sounds gross enough, but to make it even worse, over there jelly is jello.  This list of language culture shock could go on and on.  The bangs on your forehead are called fringe.  If you tell on someone, you have grassed them.  If you think something is cool or neato, you say its lush.  If you find a spot of grass to play ball on you have found a pitch.  Needless to say, we didnt hear many yalls or aints.  Aside from those trivial differences, which of course included driving on the wrong side of the road, we found Wales to be a scenic and historic location.  The landscape is dotted with castle ruins and hillsides with lots of sheep.  It rained about every day we were there, although we did see a few bits of sunshine. We shouldve bottled it and brought it home.<br><br>Paul and Casey Halliday are doing a wonderful job at the Newport Church of Christ.  Paul is a native of Scottland and Casey is originally from Alabama, which makes for an interesting pair.  They are still newlyweds, having only been married for a few months, but they seem to be adjusting well as husband and wife in the ministry.  Casey will soon begin teaching Theatre and English in the local school system.  They are young and full of excitement about the work going on there.<br><br>The Holiday Bible Club (VBS) went very well.  It began every morning at 10 and ran until around 12:15 or 12:30 each day.  The attendance averaged around 30 children each day.  Many of them, if not most, were from the surrounding area around the church building.  We sang a number of VBS type songs each day....some that we were familiar with and others that we were not.  Johnathan, a twenty-something member there, lead the songs and did a wonderful job.  Each day Paul and Casey would do a skit relevant to the days activities.  The kids grew to love Jo Ann and Harry Totty real quick as they were in charge of the cookies, (biscuits), and kool-aid (which by the way, they call squash).  Chris Wright was the official mission photographer and odd food taste tester. (steak and kidney pie among other things) The teenagers....Miles, Allison and Kaylee....were very well behaved and did a great job interacting and playing with the children.  They left several new friends as we departed.  Angie and I were so blessed to be able to travel with these folks.  Its an experience that none of us will soon forget.  Thank you so much for your prayers and support.<br><br>I hope you are making plans to be with us on Sunday, August 12 for out first annual Motor-<br>cycling For The Messiah Biker Sunday.  It promises to be a wonderful outreach to the two-wheelers of this community and beyond.  Whether you ride a Suzuki or Honda, Harley or Moped, we want you to be here, ready to ride.  Maybe for some, this ride will lead to a walk with Jesus.<br><br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin