I’m not sure if I should eat full English breakfasts before playing football! I did spend most of the afternoon burping and generally holding back on sudden movements! I think this afternoon was the first time I’d played with the young people associated with church and been on the side which got a good battering. Saying that, quite a few people who we’d never met before joined in and we got to know more people from around the community. A great way to spend a warm Saturday afternoon.

After the match, a couple of us made haste to Hayes for Beth’s baptism. In a way, her testimony was not of Damascus Road proportions, but at the same time it demonstrated the magnitude of what God had done for Beth. In the city of Thyatira, almost 2,000 years ago, the books of Acts tells us of a lady by the name of Lydia who believed in the one true God and lived an upright life. Yet, when the apostle Paul visited that city, God caused Lydia to realise she was a sinner and only the salvation available through faith in Jesus Christ would make her right with that one true God. It was encouraging to see that God had enabled Beth to realise this also, and for Beth to identify with her saviour through baptism.

The rest of the evening was spent round Sarah’s chilling, eating and playing games. The only thing I possibly lacked was a shower!