The senseless violence continues in Pakistan as a suicide bomber exploded a device near a children’s playground in Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in Lahore on Easter Sunday evening, targeting Christian families out celebrating Easter.

The BBC is reporting 70 people killed including 23 children and many more injured in the attack. For latest news please visit BBC News website

A state of emergency has been declared in Lahore and three days of mourning. School and markets are closed.

Thank you to all those who have sent messages to support for Hammad and family. Hammad had left Lahore on 22 March and his family are all safe – thank God. We continue to pray for all those who have lost loved ones and those injured in the attack. Please pray for the security forces in Pakistan that they will act quickly and decisively to defeat the terrorists who appear to operate freely in Pakistan. May God’s justice and mercy rule in this nation.

Thank you for your continued prayer support. I got home safely on Thursday morning after 18 hours delay due to fog in Lahore and then a missed connection in Doha, but thankful I was comfortable, able to stand when necessary and sleep for a few hours on the way.

Hammad is on the last leg of the mission tour and has travelled to Sahilwal today for a Christmas Gloria concert which will feature his brother’s band Crisma as well as Hammad and his band. This has been arranged by ARP church Youth. Please pray for Hammad’s health and for good voice as he is recovering from the flu. Please also pray for energy as he has to drive home immediately after the performance tonight to Lahore (3-4 hours drive). Please pray for safety on the road and security at the venue.

Hammad will spend his last night in Pakistan tonight and fly home on Monday.

His flight time has been changed so instead of departing at 9am he is on a 14.30 hours flight from  Lahore to Doha but with only 40 minutes connection time in Doha for a flight that arrives at 10pm in London. There is a high risk he will miss this connection (as I did on Wednesday night) and have to spend a few hours in a hotel in Doha before catching the next available flight to London which arrives at 6.30am on Tuesday morning. Please pray that Hammad has a comfortable journey, is able to sleep for a few hours and arrives in good time.

On Tuesday evening Hammad and I will be rehearsing for the Chesham Town Carols, so we pray that Hammad will arrive and catch up on lost sleep quickly so that he is in good voice to perform at the Town Carols.

Many thanks for your continued prayer support and encouragement. I received a lovely warm welcome in St Mary’s today, and am in good spirits after a preaching on the genealogy of Jesus from Matthew 1. We have been blessed and received many answers to prayers in the last three weeks. On the mundane side the electricity meter has been replaced and the payments were not as high as expected. In the family another baby has been born to Tina & Luke (sister of Leah who had a baby last week). This time a girl – yet to be named. Please pray for these babies and their parents.

I’ve just had a text from Hammad in a panic that he has lost his wallet (with driving license, ID and bank cards). I’m praying for insight and that God will show him where it is lost.

p.s. Unfortunately it was never found, but Police report filed and cards cancelled before Hammad left Pakistan.

Hammad arrived home at 10pm on Monday 14^th December without any delays praise God!

Still in Pakistan! I’ve just got back from Lahore airport which is Fog-bound. No flights leaving until 1pm later today. Will return to airport at 10am to see what flight I can get connecting in Doha and what time I will get back to Heathrow. Will be at least 10 hours’ delay which puts it at 11pm or midnight arriving in London.

Please pray that the fog clears quickly in the morning and the airport is not too congested, I’m expecting chaos when we go in the morning, well a bit more chaos than normal for Lahore airport! At least I get to sleep in my own bed for a few more hours before setting off again. Please pray for a good connection in Doha so that I’m not delayed any further.

Please pray for Hammad, he came back from the Singing Competition judging tonight with a high fever and flu symptoms. Please pray for a swift recovery as he only has one day rest before his next performance. Thank God he is not required on Wednesday evening meeting so he can rest, before Thursday’s show.

Thank you for your continue prayer support, we are both safe and in good health although a little tired from the weekend.

On Thursday last week Hammad launched a second video of Goa Goa Goa on his face book page.  Thanks to the amazing network of friends reposting the video there were approx. 1,600 views in the first 24 hours, now up to 3,6000. Hammad has been visiting many TV channels in Lahore giving them the HD quality version of the videos so they can run them on the cable and satellite stations in the run up to Christmas. He has also recorded some Christmas messages that will play out in Christmas week.

On Friday the concert in memory of our friend Frank went very well. It was extremely moving to meet Frank’s mum and his brothers and sister. They were so thankful for the evening together and for our support. We had expected about 70 people to be present but in fact there were 150 people crowded into LEM’s upper room.  Pastor Waseem Khokher did an amazing job with his network of contacts spreading the word and inviting pastors by text message. We had a 2 hour programme with singing many lament songs including Psalm 23 in Urdu and English, we had a bible reading and short talk from me and then a wonderful tribute from Frank’s brother Charles. It was good to remember all those who lost their lives in the attacks on churches in Youhanabad in February this year as well as giving thanks for Frank’s life. We took up a collection for Frank’s family and presented them with flowers. We sang a couple of upbeat Christmas songs to encourage everyone and then the evening ended with a meal and fellowship.

On Saturday we drove to Sangla Hill for the interschool singing competition for the Presbyterian Education Board. There were 10 soloists and 10 Choirs with a very high standard of performance. Everything was well organised except for the fact that the regional Governor was supposed to appear as a guest of honour so the end of the event was delayed for over an hour and in the end the governor sent his senior represented and there were pictures and speeches. Lunch was finally served at 4pm and we were back on the road 2 hours late having lost the daylight. There were road works on the way which meant some scary driving with oncoming traffic on our side of the road ignoring the cones to separate lanes and mostly with headlights on full beam. Thanks to your prayers we arrived home safely, tired but in one piece – Praise God. There was a family party locally and much pressure for us to attend so after one hours rest we got all dressed up and went for a couple of hours.

Sunday morning we were up early and off to JDMN church (Jesus Disciple Ministry for Nations www.JDMN.org) with Pastor Yousaf Bhatti. What a wonderful man and so humble, his whole team were servant-hearted and we felt very welcome. We arrived early in order to set up the sound system before everyone arrived for a 10am start. I spend some time with the Pastor’s children, 2 boys aged 2 and 4 both of whom are disabled (unable to hold their head up and with poor co-ordination, the younger one seemed blind as well). The pastor’s wife was busy in the church and I sat in the office looking after one boy and then the other, feeding them from a bottle. It was such a privilege to help in the this small way showing love and total acceptance. It came to me that although the boy was blind he could see the spirit world and was fascinated by the angels. I told their mother her children were beautiful and they could see the angels. The church was very small and the generator was not working, the electricity went off every other hour, so we were only able to perform for 40 minutes although we were there for 4 hours, chatting, encouraging them and having lunch together. They were very generous giving me flowers, and gifts to both of us. Pastor Yousaf has many ministries teaching church leaders, organising gift boxes for poor Christian Children and doing women’s ministry. There was a picture of him with Heidi Baker on the wall and many examples of his outreach work working with different poor community. He also run a TV channel called Holy Fire Christian TV. Our performance was recorded so will no doubt be playing on the channel in the coming weeks. He was invited me to come and talk at a leadership conference next year. Let’s see if it’s in God’s plan.

Sunday evening we had a family gathering with a traditional Christmas dinner, so I roasted 4 x 1kg chickens (no turkey available or larger chickens!). 21 family members gathered to enjoy roast dinner with chicken gravy and trifle for sweet. It was lovely to see Hammad’s sisters, and brother and all their children who live in Lahore together. Hammad’s nephew Luke’s wife is expecting a baby any day now, so I have celebrated with them in anticipation of the birth which will probably happen after I leave shortly.

Hammad is still visiting TV channels daily to record Christmas messages and distribute the videos. This evening is the final judging session for the Voice for Jesus singing competition organised by Rev Patras Bashir and then on Wednesday he is playing at Pastor Anwar Fazal’s Wednesday healing meeting in Bahar Colony (the pastor also runs Isaac TV channel).  On Wednesday night meeting had been cancelled for many months due to terrorist threats but has started again Praise God. Please do pray for security in Bahar colony as Hammad and Lloyd play there on Wednesday evening and Thursday evening Hammad and Lloyd will be playing again in Bahar Colony in a Christmas worship programme organised by Samuel Gill Evangelist / Divine Healing Ministry.

On Friday 11 Dec Hammad and Lloyd will be in Sailkot (about 2 hours’ drive from Lahore) for a Christmas worship programme organised by  The Biblical Pentecostal Church of God Rev Irfan Albert. Hammad gets a rest day on Saturday to do his packing and then final show is in Sahiwal on Sunday (3 hours’ drive from Lahore), and then an early flight back to UK on Monday morning. Please do pray for a wonderful spirit of worship and joy at these events and for Hammad’s energy levels as he will be driving himself as well as performing. Please pray that he gets back from Sahiwal safely and in time for a few hours sleep before his flight on Monday morning. He will arrive back in UK on Monday at 8.25pm.

It’s now time for me to leave for the airport to get my flight at 3.25am arriving at Heathrow at midday on Wednesday 9^th December.

Please do pray for a comfortable flight and a few hours’ sleep. I’m looking forward to seeing my dog Xena and returning to work on Thursday morning. I feel that I have had Christmas already in Pakistan but now Christmas is coming in the UK and I have much preparation to do. Please pray for some focus time preparing for services and for celebrating the birth of Jesus in my home church.

Many thanks for your continued support and your patience reading my long rambling emails.

Dear Friends

Thank you so much for your prayers, Praise God last weekend’s mission was very successful. We are both in good health and now rested. So a quick update on last weekend and then some details of what’s coming up for us this weekend.

On Saturday 28^th Nov the Yadah Praise concert was packed to capacity at the Rawalpindi Arts centre with people standing in the aisles and some turned away. Crisma band played before us with Hanan Baily lead singer (Hammad’s brother). They played some Christmas carols in Urdu and then sang Mary did you know. It reminded me of last Christmas in Chesham. We played for about 2 hour including many Christmas songs in Urdu/Punjabi and Hark the Herald Angels Sing in English a very rocky version that Hammad arranged – see Hammad’s facebook.

It was wonderful to see so many young people worshiping and enjoying. For the last song we did – Utto ae Javano (Wake up youth) Hammad invited his brother and Crisma band to join us on stage and we all sang together. What a wonderful atmosphere of unity and worship. Then everyone wanted to take pictures whilst Lloyd and I are trying to pack all our equipment to go. By now it’s 11pm and of course we have to have food with the organisers so after food and packing all our bags on the roof of the jeep and all the instruments in the boot we set off at midnight to drive to the next show. What I thought was a 4 hour drive turned out to be 6 hours due to heavy traffic and poor road conditions and we arrived as the sun was coming up. Thanks to your prayers I was able to drive through the night singing praise songs to keep myself awake as everyone else slept in the car.

We awoke on Sunday morning to the familiar sounds of village life, cockerels and cows everywhere. Hammad and Lloyd were up and ready to sound check by 11.00am fortunately I was allowed another hour in bed before getting ready. This was one day convention organised by Pastor Kashif Naseem and the Presbyterian Church in Kirto (Nearest town Muridkay – 20 km away on very rough roads!) There was a tented area with rugs on the floor a few seats for the men on one side and ladies and children sitting on the floor on the other side. We went on stage at midday and played 3 sets with 2 sermons from different pastors in between and finished at 4pm just in time for Lunch!  When we started playing there were around 400 people present and by the time we finished the numbers had increased to 700 with people squeezing up, chairs moved out the way as more people could pack in sitting on the floor. The people were very kind, presenting us with Shawls and a plaque, and many young people wanted pictures and autographs. It was quite overwhelming. We were on the road back to Lahore by 5.30pm just as it was getting dark, I was so tired but thank God I managed the 2 hour drive home, still singing Bless the Lord o my Soul! There are some amazing pictures from this place as Sohail Joseph who directs Hammad’s videos was there taking pictures with Hammad’s phone – see attached.

Sunday night we slept well at home in Lahore at last. I spent Monday and Tuesday just doing domestic chores and grocery shopping, there is so much dust in this country I spent at least 2 days cleaning the kitchen and rest of house before I could settle and enjoy the space. Hammad had a couple of frustrating days visiting the Electricity Supplier office and the police station as someone had stolen of our electricity metre for the supply to his studio. He went to the Electricity Office to report the problem and they sent someone out to the house to confirm the meter is gone, then he had to do a report and Hammad had to file a Police Report. Then back the Electricity Office to show the police report. Today he went again to the Electricity Office to try and get a demand notice so we can pay the bill for a new meter and then after a week or so they will fit a new meter. Hammad has been anxious the whole time, as this sort of problem can be very costly with back-handers demanded to resolve things at every stage. Please do pray that we can sort this out before Hammad comes back to the UK.

We had good news last night that Hammad’s niece Leah gave birth to a baby boy Praise God, the baby’s name is Zion. Mother and baby both doing well and home today. Leah is Lloyd’s sister and we spent some good times with her and her family in Islamabad last week. Please do pray for Leah and her baby as they settle at home and she gets used to coping with two small children – her first daughter is 4 years old.

What’s coming up next:

Today Hammad has launched the video of Kya Raat The Woh (What a night it was) which is the Christmas song he will be performing at the Carol services in Chesham in a couple of week’s time. The second video is in final edit stage and will be released in two or three days. We give thanks to God for Sohail Joseph and his work on these two videos, we pray that many people will hear the true meaning of Christmas through this song.

On Friday this week we are playing a memorial concert for our good friend Frank Margrave who died just a few days before I arrived in Pakistan. Pastor Waseem Khokar at Lahore Evangelical Ministries in Youhanabad has kindly agreed to host the concert and invite all the pastors involved in my research project and their congregations. Frank’s family will also be present and we will take up a collection for them. Please do pray for strength for us both to perform in very emotional circumstances. We pray that this will be an event to unite the community in honour of a servant-hearted worshiper who served so many churches and helped our ministry a lot.

We have both been invited to be judges at the Presbyterian Education Board Inter-School Carol singing competition at PEB school system C.G. Higher Secondary Branch, Shahkot Road, Sangla Hill on Saturday 5^th December at 11am (2 hours drive from home). Our friend Lynn Masterson, who is a missionary with Interserve, has been working for the Presbyterian Education Board for about 20 years, she invited us for this event. Her sending church was St Paul’s Slough which is our original sending church. We thank God for this opportunity to meet Lynn and encourage her work here in Pakistan.

On Sunday we are playing at JDM church Mall Road Lahore for Pastor Yousaph who also runs HF TV channel. This is a morning worship service. Pastor Yousaph featured in one of Hammad’s videos for a song related to the tough life of a pastor in Pakistan. He has a small church in a very poor area so it will be a real privilege to go and encourage him and his congregation.

Please do continue to pray for our safety as we travel, and for security at the venues, particularly in Youhanabad on Friday (where two churches were attacked in February this year). Please pray for Hammad’s spirits he is a bit down due to tiredness and the problems with electricity meter. We both wish to experience the joy of worship as we lead and encourage others.

In case I don’t get to an internet café again before I leave, my flight home is 3am on Wednesday next week, arriving at Heathrow around midday Wednesday, back to work in Chesham on Thursday 10^th December. Please do pray for a comfortable flight with some hours of sleep, and a quick adjustment to UK time (5 hours behind Pakistan).