CHRISTMAS BLOG

Hello dear friends,

May we wish you a very, very happy and blessed Christmas time! We are sending out a techie greeting to save on the pennies.

As Christmas approaches - rather more quickly than we are ready to cope with, this is just a short update as we continue to make progress on the bunkhouse.
All the work on the septic tanks, drainage and the driveway is now all but complete, just a few tidying up issues. It looks very different to the time of writing the last blog.

In our last blog we spoke of the down stairs walls being ready to insulate and line, however due to the delay in having the windows, there has been a knock on effect and the downstairs is as it was. But thankfully there has been progress.
The drying room has been completed and we are ready to paint.

The water pressure tank and filtration system is connected and up and running.
The upstairs and downstairs have now seen the first fix of electricity for lighting, plug sockets and fire alarms plus all the outside lighting. The whole of the heating system is now complete and was passed as ready to use just a few days ago.

The newly commissioned windows have just been installed and they look beautiful. The upstairs has been plastered which is very exciting and it all has a more finished feel about it. Just the skirting boards and the fire doors to go.

This is as far as we can think of progressing at the moment, even though there won’t be much more to do. We’ll be completely out of funds once we’ve paid a few bills and although we know we can trust God to complete the project, it’s another period of waiting on Him to supply our needs and learning more lessons in trust and patience. Feeling a little weary now and not a little frustrated!

Our hens have been very generous in their egg laying and at present, we have a rather magnificent looking Jacob ram with us for a couple of months, known affectionately as Shadrach! We are hoping that by early May there will be a few lambs on site. We’ll all enjoy seeing them but Ffion should be over the moon.

Luke still enjoys life in Stockholm; it’s the longest he’s been in one place for quite a while. Lloyd, Menna and Ffion have visited him for a few days before Christmas and they’ve all travelled back to the UK for us to have Christmas together along with my parents. Emelie, Luke’s girlfriend is in her first year of a nursing course under the eye of the Red Cross which means she’ll be qualified to nurse in areas of conflict or natural disasters.

Menna is thoroughly enjoying her course in Outdoor Education at Trinity St. David’s in Carmarthen. She is in her second year and the time seems to be whizzing by. Just last week she was canoeing on the River Wye and sleeping in a hammock slung up in an open barn, how we would have loved this a few years ago. Not now I’m loathed to say! Plans for next year hopefully include sea-kayaking around the Scilly Isles, rock climbing in Greece and France and climbing in Snowdonia in the clothes women would have worn a hundred years ago. She and another two girls from the course are applying to Landrover to re-enact a journey made by some army wives in the 1950’s to the Himalayas. There’s a lot of work to be completed before the application can be submitted but it sounds very exciting.

Ffion is a pretty, chatty little girl. She spends quite a lot of time with us, as Menna studies or is away on expedition. She’s happy with us but is always glad to see Mama return.

Lloyd has now completed his first term at WEST (Wales Evangelical School of Theology) He has settled in very well and is enjoying the course. It’s good to have him closer and we see him regularly. He misses his Tunbridge Wells friends but he’s making new friends and is helping out in a small local church.

Clive and Gay are happy and both involved in our not so local church, being 25 miles away! Clive has become an elder – in more ways than one – and Gay as usual, is helping out with the kid’s work. The church is growing and we are enjoying the ministry of our pastor.

Well that’s about it and once again, our love to you and heartfelt thanks for friendship and support.

God bless you all,
Clive Gay Luke Menna Lloyd and Ffion x x x x x


Photos here as always:

Winter 2011

AUTUMN BLOG 2011

AUTUMN BLOG 2011

Well, this didn’t fall hot on the heels of the last blog as promised. Apologies.
As we write, our drive way has been described as a scene of carnage! You may agree when you see the photos, though these do not convey the depth of the mud. This is all due to the installation of a new septic tanks and drainage system. Hopefully this will be the last of the really messy jobs.

We are moving forward slowly and we have so much to thank and praise God for. Some of you will know the wonderful answers to pray we have been blessed by, we’ll tell you all now, that you may join with us in giving praise and thanks to God who alone is capable of completing this project.

You may remember us saying in our last blog that we needed about £25,000. The builders completed a very good phase of work and needed paying. The Lord impressed upon us a wonderful verse in Ezra 8 v ….Clive did indeed approach the bank – read this in the context of the last blog. While sitting in front of the banker he had a change of heart and told her that as God had always been so faithful in the past, we would trust Him for the future and terminated the interview. In the space of a few days we received gifts of about £20k, a day before the builders gave us their bill of £19k which we were able to pay them on the spot. God’s timing is indeed perfect and it has given us many opportunities to tell of the Lord’s goodness.

Then in the last few weeks we had a quote of £7K for the drying room etc and we saw £8 arrive just when we needed it. How can we adequately thank Him for His kindness to us?

The last joiner who was to have made the windows and doors let us down quite badly so we have placed the order with a local man and they should be ready in about six weeks. In the meantime the builders will be back in to insulate and line the downstairs walls and ceiling. With all the building regulations we are insulated to the nth degree and although the building should be lovely and warm, it does mean we lose lovely stone walls but hopefully we’ll keep the beams as we have done upstairs.
We have been blessed by seeing many friends visit us and we have both had opportunities to visit Tunbridge Wells, though not seeing as many folk as we would have wished due to other commitments there.

We are both keeping well. Clive had an MRI quite recently to keep an eye on what’s happening to the small tumour as he’s experienced a few more blackouts of late. He’s seen the neurologists and all is well.

Luke is still settled and happy in Stockholm. He and Emelie are pleased to have got a new flat in the centre of the city which will be more convenient for them. We look forward to seeing him at Christmas.

Menna is now in her second year of her course in Outdoor Education. She is in the process of working towards her rock climbing award, mountain leadership and kayaking qualifications. She has now moved into a house with a girl from college but we still look after Ffion a few days a week. Ffion is a beautiful, chatty, curly haired little girl with a mind of her own! She loves splashing in puddles and with the rain we’ve had lately there’s been plenty to keep her amused.

Lloyd has commenced his three years at WEST (Wales Evangelical School of Theology) He has settled in well and seems to be enjoying his lectures. It’s good for us too as we see him more often.

Gay’s Mum and Dad are reasonably well, now in their 71st year of married life! Dad’s Alzheimer’s makes its own steady cruel progress. We see them at least once a week and it will be so wonderful for us to be together at Christmas, all four generations. Hopefully this year, with a new water system in place, we won’t be breaking ice on the river or hauling water from kind friends in the village again!

Please keep in touch with us, the best email address is gayp@hotmail.co.uk we would love to get your news. We would really appreciate your on-going prayers for the project, particularly:
*Safety for the workmen and more conversations about the Lord.
*Further funding to complete the project, there is now light at the end of the tunnel.
*Godly decision making for the remaining work.
*Early prayers that God will be glorified in all that takes place in and through Hiraeth Bunkhouse

Thank you for your time, your prayers and your friendship,
God bless you and all those you love,

Clive, Gay and Family

AUTUMN PHOTOS HERE:

Autumn 2011

At long last - Summer 2011 Update

This was written a couple of months ago.
Recent news will come hot on the heels of this blog.

Hello dear friends,
After a dry and beautiful April, we’ve had quite a lot of rain; consequently the fields, mountains and gardens look spectacular in so many shades of green. Though we lost a number of plants due to the severe frosts of the winter, it’s truly amazing that so many plants have burst into life with a ‘Look at me, I’m back looking more beautiful than ever!’

I think the best way to show you the progress being made is by way of our photos this time. However here too, is how we see it in words...

The carpenters have now completed the dormitory walls, complete with sound proofing and two layers of special plaster boarding. One of them remarked, ’There’s more sound proofing between the dorm walls, than I put into some semi detached houses!’ Such is the wisdom of the directives issuing out of Europe.
The first fix of the electricity has also been installed upstairs.
It’s quite exciting walking around the rooms, praying in each one and planning how they will look when completed.

The water tank is now in situ and will shortly be connected to the bunk house.

The ground floor has been excavated the damp proof membrane and the drainage installed, the first layer of insulation laid and the first layer of concrete has been poured. Once that had dried, more insulation went down and the pipes for the under floor heating went down and finally the screed.
The outline walls for the wet rooms, four of them, and the drying room have also been laid.

The joiner is about to commence work on the windows – to European standards of course! They should be installed in the next two weeks.

Now that the work has begun, we are realising in takes on a momentum of its own and if we had all the finance, the work could be completed very quickly indeed. We have all the work men we need. Now all that is necessary is the financial wherewithal.

To be specific, we are needing £25K very soon and another £35K to continue and complete the work!

So, we are spending much time on our knees.

Help us. Keep on reading, praying and seeking God’s mind for us dear friends.
Do we keep on praying and make arrangements at the bank, or do get taken to the wire and wait to see God at work. We are finding it very difficult at the moment.
Clive likens it to the time of his cancer. He asked people to pray and he sought medical help. For us now……………?

If you would pray for guidance for us, we would be very grateful.
We know that for us personally, the journey we make in this venture, is as important as the end result. We want to be the people God intends us to be.
We remember the first trip we made to the Soviet Union back in the Seventies, how the preparation for the trip was as important as the trip itself. What we learned about prayer, fasting and stewardship are life lessons for us as Christians even now. Those days were and remain extremely precious.
We don’t want to miss out on something wonderful that God has in store for us but we also realise that workmen and bills have to paid promptly.

The word we seem to be coming across on a regular basis in our prayer times is, Persevere.

We are all well. Can’t believe Ffion was two years old July 1st. She’s a very chatty little person. We lost a chicken recently, it went missing for nearly two days. It appears that the little girl had picked it up and put it in the spare coop we have and shut the door!! Inside we found eggs and a very hungry and thirsty hen.

So dear friends, walk this road with us. Enjoy the photos, we’ll send more as progress is made.

Write or call (01550 777 144) we would love to hear from you.

With our warmest love and prayers that God will bless you and all those you love.

Clive, Gay, Menna and Ffion in Wales
Luke in Sweden
And Lloyd in Tunbridge Wells
x x x x x x x x

PHOTOS HERE:

Summer 2011

Greetings from a very lush Wales!

Greetings from a very lush Mid Wales!

April, like the rest of the country was very dry and pleasant but lately it’s rained and the country around us has burst into life and beauty.

We hope our blogs may be a little more regular as work commences. We only have finances to go so far at the moment but we continue to bring our needs before the Lord.

Work has started on the first floor of the barn. Dear friends that we worked with in the past while at People International came to visit us from the States, one of them via Pakistan and Afghanistan. They gave us two weeks free labour and made a wonderful start, insulating the eaves and getting all the timber frame work in place for the dormitories. We were so encouraged to see the work actually get off the ground.
Since then the carpenters have picked up where Chuck, Cathy, Ron and Donna left off.

A 2000 gallon water tank was delivered this week, shortly to be partly sunk into the ground and fed by a new spring.
This week should also see the ground floor excavated.

After this then who knows? We are trusting God knows. He knows all things, the end from the beginning and every star BY NAME!!
Psalm 147v.4

We’ve just said goodbye to good friends from our previous church in Tunbridge Wells. Sixteen arrived on Friday evening and worked so hard, erecting fences, clearing brambles and weeds and making the entrance to the property much prettier and more welcoming. The fellowship was sweet, food was good and six folk even slept in the semi constructed rooms in the barn! We must thank our dear friend Alan from our church in Carmarthen for all his help with the catering over the weekend.

We are all well here. It’s hard to believe that Ffion will be two in the not too distant future, Menna has completed her first year at University and Lloyd commences his first year in September.
Luke is still living in Sweden, though we are really looking forward to seeing him and girlfriend Emelie in July.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, we hope you enjoy the photos.

From all the Pritchards with our love.


Photos here:

Spring Summer 2011

More photos from Menna's degree:

Menna - University

Spring 2011 at Min Yr Afon

Greetings to you all from what has been a pleasant spring. It’s good to know we are almost past the threat of anymore really cold weather. We lost our water on several occasions this winter, so to know there is milder weather ahead of us is quite a relief.

To look at the building here, there would seem to have been little taking place and construction wise that is true. However much has gone on in preparation. Inevitably, there has been more waiting. Waiting on building regulations, waiting to know whether we have been granted help from a local investment fund under Carmarthenshire C.C. and most of all, waiting for quotes from builders.

However we feel we are at last on the cusp of moving forward on phase one of the work. At the risk of boring the socks off you, this will include:

Harvesting more spring water and sinking a holding tank and pump. This will ensure there will always be a good flow of water when twenty people arrive off the hill all wanting showers and a hot meal.

Secondly, we have to excavate the ground floor put in a damp proof membrane, hard core concrete, an insulating layer, the under floor heating pipes and a screed top coat. The drainage goes in at this stage as well.

A friend has been more than helpful in advising us and working out costs of the very demanding specifications with regard to insulation. In fact many of the specs. in the building regs. are incomprehensible to the lay man!

We also have friends arriving from the States – via Northern Pakistan! - to help construct the dormitories up stairs, that is, if we have the go ahead from official channels.

Funds will always be a challenge. We can complete phase one but after that……………………only the Lord knows! And He does. He just asks us to trust Him and on His past dealings with us, we have absolutely no reason to doubt His provision. As fund raising in the current economic climate is not easy, it is more reliable to trust the God of the universe don’t you think?
Can I be bold and ask, that if any of you go to a Church that would like to support this project, we would really appreciate hearing from you. A kind friend printed a fund raising leaflet for us and this is available if you would like to receive some. This explains our intentions in setting up the bunkhouse and the charitable trust.

At a family level, we are all well.
Luke continues to live in Sweden, learning the language and looking forward to spring after a long snowy winter. We are hoping to see him in May, which will be great as we haven’t seen him since Christmas.

Lloyd has been offered a place in WEST (Wales Evangelical School of Theology) to study for a degree in Theology. He will really miss his friends and the church in Tunbridge Wells, however we are looking forward to him being closer to us.

Menna is loving her course at Trinity Carmarthen. This term she’s been caving, and working on the hill, she spent five days in Snowdonia rock climbing and four days on the river this last week.
She has also been chosen to assist with a party of school pupils from the British School of Paris, as they have an adventure holiday in the French Alps this summer.
We are grateful that Menna walked away unhurt from quite a serious car accident recently.

Ffion is learning new words all the time and is a busy, chatty little girl, just like her Mum! She gives the chickens a hard time as she loves picking them up and dancing around with them. They don’t seem to suffer from the experience and they lay copious numbers of eggs!
She is still very wakeful through the night.

Gay’s parents keep in reasonable health, both of them now in their nineties. We see them at least once a week and now that the really cold weather is over, we hope they will spend more time here with us.

Clive had another MRI on his brain quite recently. He’s had a tiny tumour for a while now which we have been told is nothing to be concerned about.
The doctor has told him that this tumour is very dense and they are not sure what it is, he sees a neurologist soon so we’ll know more then we expect.

Church is great, enjoying the ministry and the fellowship. After saying that we felt our time for serving in a church context was past, we are both fully involved again. Inevitable I guess!

So that’s about it. If work starts soon, we will up date the blog more regularly and send some pictures of the work in progress, ooh, that sounds good!

Please continue to pray for us. Do please send us your news, we would love to hear from you.

Much love and God bless you.