Mac Gafraidh

Written by Uilleam Mac Gafraidh 

This is a very sad article and one that is hard to write, so if you do not wish to share in my sadness then, I cannot blame you! 

The reason for my sadness is that my two dogs, Fudge and Bashful need to find new homes. We have not fallen out of love with them and still regard them as an extension of the family. They are still lovable and still wonderful animals, however we cannot keep them. 

So I am giving them extra walks, trying to spend as much time as I can with them so that I get my fix before they have to leave for the last time, that parting will be very sorrowful and will also remind me of ten months ago when we decided to give their brothers away as we could not afford to keep four dogs. 

The pups were born under the house we rent as strays and in many cases this is the only home they have known (they currently live on our front porch, when they are not exercising!)  as stated above there were four dogs originally, Bashful, Fudge, Sox and Tiny. Sox and Tiny are with two separate owners but they were young enough to bounce back and probably do not remember the ones who rescued them. 

It is hard as if I was angry or hated the dogs then this would be an easy decision, but in truth, neither me or Chelsea has the time to give the love or attention that they both crave or desire, what with working full time and having the blessing of our baby, it is hard to prioritize the dogs and although they have been getting looked after, they have not been getting our best! 

One of the main reasons I write this is that I am in the hope that someone can give them a good home that knows me and is local. I am desiring that the two dogs are not separated if at all possible as they have been playmates since birth, they are sisters and in many cases they are all that each other has. 

I have learned so much from the dogs, they have supplied endless material for my Bible studies. But more importantly they remind me of my relationship with God, God like the dogs is trying to get my attention and sometimes I claim that I am too busy to do so. God will always love me regardless of how I ignore him (like my two dogs) and when I spend time with God he is happy. (You should see the look on my pooches face when I spend time with them, they love it!) 

Please pray for us during this difficult time as both Chelsea and I know that they have to go, but letting go will not be easy. I just pray for the following: 

• That the dogs are not separated
• That the dogs quality of life improves with the new owners
• That they will find a safe and happy home 

It is amazing how attached you become to them as I am quite honestly writing this with a lump in my throat. You see, for years I was diagnosed allergic to pet hair, but for some reason, these two do not set off my asthma. 

So, as you can imagine, this is my first pet and I have nurtured them from when they could barely walk, fed, watered them and walked them, played with them and poured love into them. I am just gutted that as they have grown, I have been unable to keep up my responsibilities and do not want them to be neglected. 

If you know someone who would love some mixed breed orphan puppies who are 10 months old, please let me know. They are a Labrador/Doberman mix who has hearts as big as they are. 

God bless 

Uilleam Mac Gafraidh

Written by Uilleam Mac Gafraidh 

This article has been about a week late in publishing so for that I apologize, for those of you who were aware, Chelsea, Tabi and I went down to the Missions Conference at the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta between the 4^th and 7^th of this month. 

It was a wonderful time of refreshing and recharging our batteries, as you may or may not know, I have been praying for some time about entering into the mission field and what it would take, seeking God’s direction in where we should be and what we should be doing! 

In many cases I am a missionary at present, I am in a foreign land teaching the Word of God to the natives, and hopefully making the place where God has put me into a better place. 

Anyway, prior to coming down to the conference we had the best lunch I have had in the USA, (that was not cooked by my wife!) We went down to the Doner G in Anaheim, a great wee place that does Doner Kebabs, a rarity in this land! I was well happy. 

On Saturday evening we stayed at our usual place in Orange and went out for a meal, I picked up a British flag (that was later given to Pastor Antonye Holyde, who is heading out to England to plant a church) and on Sunday morning we headed to Romoland. 

We attended Pastor Gerry Brown’s church at Calvary Chapel Romoland due to Pastor Gerry’s work with U turn for Christ. Our friend who was with us at the Missions Conference was a graduate from this program. After church we were invited to come spend some time on the ranch and come pray with the folks who were coming through the program. 

So we went up and paired off, I met this wonderful chap, who had been in the program just three weeks, he had just came out of prison, who was hoping to head up to Northern California and get his life back on track when he left the program. I prayed for him, gave him my phone number and told him to call me should he run into problems. I felt that God had laid those people in front of us and I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to help him. 

What a way to start a conference week huh? We got into the conference got settled in and it was such a delight to meet with friends old and new, we saw folks we hadn’t seen since last year, saw folks we hadn’t seen since Glasgow, York and various other places. It was such a delight to be taught, be fed both spiritually and physically and to network with folks from all around the globe who are in the same mind as you, teaching the Word of God to the folks that God places in front of them. 

This conference was such a blessing and I have to thank two people who made it wonderful, Phil Twente, who does so well in organizing it and John Chubick, you are an inspiration. 

God Bless 

Uilleam Mac Gafraidh

Written by Uilleam Mac Gafraidh 

As you might expect as it is coming close to New Years Day and it is the resolution season, I have decided to try to do a few of my own: (these are in no particular order) 

• Lose 30lbs in weight
• Eat less fast food
• Drink less soda and drink more waters/fruit juices
• Read to daughter more
• Eat more vegetables (attempt to do 5 a day)
• Spend more time with wife and baby
• Spend more time with dogs
• Deal with psoriasis
• Get more exercise
• Spend more time studying, maybe even take some learning courses 

Of course some are more achievable than others, some will take discipline and some will just take some slight adjustments in diet, in time management and in some cases maybe getting up that wee bit earlier and not hitting the snooze button to either study or exercise. 

Most of these resolutions are to do with my weight! That is no surprise as I am quite a hefty chap these days. With my weight and my accent I am just awaiting an invite to appear in an Austin Powers movie! 

It may sound selfish a wee bit but I do have an ulterior motive, I am a father now. I want to be around to see her grow up and I want to be more active as I believe that it will allow me to be a better father. 

Also I have a wife who loves me dearly, I am sure she wants to see me being around for a good while yet! I also believe that I can be more effective for God in the area he has send me to serve in if I am able to be much more mobile than I am! 

So it is out with the hamburger and French fries and in with the salad, I am not going to go nuts with it and be sensible, I have lost 30 pounds in a couple of months before so I know that I can shift the weight. I just need to be diligent about not putting it back on like I did last time. 

I need to deal with my psoriasis as what started as a wee bit of dry skin has now spread and I have sizable patches on my legs and elbows. I have a cream that deals with it, but it is just a case of being too lazy to fix the issue. That is now no longer going to happen.   

Also I have 2 dogs who love me very much, so it is only fair that they should get the owner they deserve! 

So these are my resolutions, I plan to update you with them as the year goes on, partly for accountability and partly also to allow me to track my progress. 

I hope this article was a blessing to you all and what resolutions or changes are are you going to make in 2010? 

Uilleam Mac Gafraidh

Written by Uilleam Mac Gafraidh 

This has been a hard day for me, returning to work after nearly a week off and also saying “cheerio” to my parents as they head back to Scotland after a great wee trip to spend Christmas with us in California. 

Time spent with my parents is precious as I only get to see them a few times every year and I have come to respect and cherish the time spent with them! IT could possibly be due to the infrequency of the meetings that we have! 

Don’t get me wrong, I do miss them when they are not here and they bring a wee touch of Scotland to what would be an otherwise American household at Christmas! 

It does make me think about the country that I did spend most of my life in and does make me miss it a little, I certainly look forward to going back at some point this summer and paying homage to the “homeland”. 

In a way I am glad I did not go back in 2009 as it would have been so “cliché” to have gone back in the year of homecoming when I was less than 2 years out of the place! 

I am hoping to see a football (that’s soccer for the Americans) game when I get back, so I pray that we decide to visit when there is a football card on! 

But if you are free this summer let me know, I can’t promise that I will be able to meet and greet with everyone. Should you give me plenty of notice though and will be local to the Glasgow area, then that shouldn’t be too hard to arrange! 

But here’s to you, Mum and Dad, you made a wonderful Christmas even better by coming over to visit your youngest son and bear witness to my daughter Tabitha’s first Christmas, I pray that we made you welcome and that we made your stay wonderful! 

In order to take my mind off things I have to get our house respectable again after the craziness of Christmas, do an army-load of laundry prior to the weekend when we head down south to go to Orange and Romoland, then it’s off to our conference. 

We are heading off to the Calvary Chapel missions conference down at the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta. We are down there for the full conference between the 4^th and 7^th of January. 

I can’t wait, as coming from a mission’s church (which some of my family now attend) called Calvary Chapel Glasgow, it is a real no-brainer that the world of missions and missionaries really flicks my switch. If I could afford to and it was God’s will I would be away on a mission’s trip like a shot! 

Thanks for reading and I pray that this was a blessing for you

Uilleam Mac Gafraidh