Catrina Benham's Blog

A brilliant and very full day today! For Liz Norris it was the long awaited visit to Kankoso School which was really exciting. The school has built new classrooms that they are very proud of. We observed lots of lessons and found out such a lot of useful information. Other highlights: Visiting 3 families of orphans and vulnerable children Seeing lots of goats including one only 3 days old Sharing lunch with some Volunteers Eating little bananas straight off the tree Watching Liz read "The very hungry caterpillar"to a group of attentive students and also adults! Meeting Jean again (the grandmother we stayed with in 2007) Catrina

A great day out in schools and the community. We started by going to Ibolelo High School - watched lessons , chatted with teachers and pupils, toured the school, met Mr Phiri the headteacher. We presented a gift and watched a DVD presentation from Garth Hill. Lots and lots of information and knowledge gained today - lots of filming and photos taken. Lots of stories told and relationships built - ALL great for developing links. So much more happened today - more details to come but we also visited Zambia Compound and the Girls Dormitory plot! Chicken for dinner tonight ( haven't been presented with a live one yet!) and we will no doubt have lots to talk about! Catrina

Wonderful day in Serenje - lovely blue sky and hot weather. Bread of Life Church was great - it was very moving to walk in to see and hear the worship - there's nothing like it .  Highlights include  meeting old friends Shaking hands with the entire church Meeting new friends Seeing Leah "in action" Working with a translator "being Pastor Simon" and bringing a short message and greeting to the church We've eaten really well ...and there's lots of cold water to drink! Catrina

Saturday 10am  We've safely arrived in Zambia :) Have had breakfast and a wash at a lodge in Lusaka. Now we're off to buy a few drinks and provisions and to change our money into kwacha (8000 to £1). Then were off on the road to Serenje. Saturday 7pm After a long day travelling we are at the lodge in Serenje - settling in and soon we're having chicken and rice for dinner. We've already visited Bishop Kasele and his wife Ruth in their home. Bed soon and hopefully a good nights sleep then we will have a beautiful day in Serenje and a morning at Church to look forward to! All well and all in good spirits. Catrina

Today I'm travelling to Serenje, Zambia! A group of seven women will be leaving on the 7pm flight, travelling through the night and arriving in Lusaka at 6am Saturday. Then, after a quick stop for food for the journey and to change some money, we're off on the 5 hour journey north to Serenje. By Saturday night we'll (hopefully) be settled into our rooms in the lodge, and enjoying our first Zambian meal. This time round we're focusing on linking the two educational communities, so the team consists of teachers and those working in education. Ruth Jackson is a member of Kerith, and also the Deputy head of Crowthorne C of E school. Liz Norris is the Headteacher of Sandy Lane Primary School. We'll be visiting both their link schools, Kankoso and Kashitu, which will be really exciting. We're also visiting Ibolelo High School who will be linking with Garth Hill College. Ibolelo is the school that Martha attends, as do many of the girls who are presently living alone

Great news about Real - Our first large group booking from another Church has come in! Really excited to hear that 12 women are coming up from Ringwood for the conference - I hear that the hotel's been booked and no doubt some of you are already planning what to wear, and what to bring for midnight snacks?! We're delighted that you'll be joining us - and really look forward to meeting you all! We're now over the 200 mark, and looking forward to the next milestone. Each individual, unique woman is celebrated and prayed for (your list of names is getting longer and longer in my diary!) If you're not yet booked in, then please do that. If the money is a barrier to you booking in, then please don't be anxious about that. Have a word with a good friend, share it in your small group and pray about it - let's see if we can meet eachothers needs. Perhaps you are able to pay a portion of the cost? Write your details on a Real registration form (available from Ke

What are you reading? Who influences you? How could you start your day in a positive way - listening to positive voices that take you up in your lift? Well it was great to wake up to read these words today (on my new phone!) and I pray they bless you too. " Gratitude protects us from our hearts being darkened. In other words if we are grateful for the blessings we have in life, and intentional about thanking God and people for what they have done to help us, then we feel blessed and our hearts are made stronger. Why not give it a go, I know it's working for me." (Sandra's blog) (Kay Warren) ‎"When I keep my hands out of things, His will is accomplished, His name is exalted, and His glory is magnified." Chuck Swindoll Charlotte Gambill ( @CharlGambill ) 24/05/2011 21:56 The word of God is amazing. Dont take my word for it read it yourself !!   Do you need to hear today that our Lord is God of the second chance? http://www.jenniclayville.com/

Apologies to all of you who get my blog by email, as you somehow received a random blog from April! The good news is in seeing the (then) current figure for Real was 91...and now it's 210!!! So that's exciting. Just a quick note to say that I'm off to Serenje on Friday - more details in my next blog. Whilst there I'll be sending reports and pictures back for you all to enjoy. If you have time to write a quick card or letter to bless a lady in Serenje, that would be great. Either give it to me direct or leave at Kerith reception. I'd love to take a whole stack of letters with me! Perhaps even write me an email and I'll print it out for you. There are some guidelines and a sample letter on the Unique page of the Kerith website, so take a look there if you need some inspiration! "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118

Thank you so much for all the lovely Birthday wishes, cards and gifts yesterday - I was really spoilt! It was fun having a birthday on a Sunday - right from the onset when I was sung to by the car-parkers at 8am! You're never too old for a birthday cake - My beautiful mum has made me a cake with strawberries and cream each birthday for over the last thirty years -here's this year's - guess I ought to share?!  Yesterday at Church was phenomenal - the preaching by our 10 preachers was to say the least deeply humbling. Together with the worship, there was such a powerful sense of God's presence - offering hope and strength to each one of us for today, tomorrow, this week - for our individual lives and circumstances. Love this worship song - The Lord is my Rock - it's one of my "on repeat" ones . Listen to it enough times, that as you sing along and get the lyrics inside you,  you really start to believe it, and declare God's truth over your life. Today

Erwin McManus ( @erwinmcmanus ) 21/05/2011 07:45 Hey i have an idea, let's choose tomorrow! One guy wants to see it all end. We choose a future and a hope! Let's be the ones who believe! Sent from my iPhone

Holly Furtick ( @hollyfurtick ) 20/05/2011 23:42 The devil wants me to worry about what's NEXT so I can't enjoy what's NOW. Sent from my iPhone

Holly Furtick ( @hollyfurtick ) 20/05/2011 23:43 The devil wants to discourage me with what's NOW so I can't prepare for what's NEXT. Sent from my iPhone

Kay Warren ( @KayWarren1 ) 20/05/2011 17:26 It is today for which we are responsible. God still owns tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone

“The life of faith is lived one day at a time, and it has to be LIVED – not always looked forward to as though the ‘real’ living were around the next corner.” Elisabeth Elliot"

What a great message we heard on Sunday at Church! Simon preached on Sabbath, and really helped us understand the need for a sabbath rest. Sabbath isn't a religious observence or simply "going to Church". Sabbath is STOP and REST - it's time for a hobby; time for spiritual contemplation and time for physical rest. One of the things that stops us resting and stopping is our attitude to work and achievement. As a culture, we value work, and find it very hard to say we have done "enough". But, as Simon pointed out, God was satisfied at the end of Day 1 of creating the world, and He rested ...nuff said! I find it hard to stop working for a number of reasons - one being that I can write emails at work, at home, in bed(!) - anywhere, anytime. Another being my sense of achievement and value - I can be quite task-driven. Another being that there's just so much to DO!!! I hope you enjoy this extract from the Girltalk blog written by Carolyn Mahaney - it stru

@KayWarren1: May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God &the endurance that comes from Christ. 2Thes3:5

@KayWarren1: There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor. 13:13

@LisaBevere: Never underestimate the power of forgiveness it releases captives-restores relationships-remits sin-heals & saves! Forgive someone today!

My soul finds rest in God alone my salvation comes from Him He alone is my rock and salvation He is my fortress I will never be shaken Psalm 62

@catrinabenham: You're kingdom subjects now live like it! Live out your God created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others the way God lives toward you Matt5v48

Everyday Life Bible (Romans 4): 'I encourage you to take a positive look at the possibilities of the future and speak of those things that are nonexistent as though they do exist. Think and speak about your future in a positive way according to what God has placed in your heart-not according to what you see in the natural. He has a great future for you. Believe it and confess it!'"

How wonderful to sing of God's mercy today at Church...and then to pray for one another for God's mercy in our lives - today tomorrow, this week, month, year. We all need the Father's Mercy. This is Mercy : "The love that God shows when he forgives" "When God shows "mercy" upon us... "His mercies are renewed every morning", He is withholding the judgment upon us that we deserve." "This is God’s amazing grace and amazing mercy; giving us what we don’t deserve, then not giving us what we really do deserve. " Listen to the song...on repeat..let God's truth sink in...His mercy is for you Here I am a sinner Broken and in need of You Take my life and wash my fears away For You are the Great I Am Rest assured I feel Your hand holding me until the darkness fades. Father to the fatherless Redeemer of my soul My life is Yours forever My heart will always know Your mercy saved me Mercy made me whole Your mercy found m

Di "I use my REAL bag to hold my book, glasses, lip protector, notepad, pen etc when I go to chill at Nirvana!!" Elizabeth "Just to let you know where my REAL bag has travelled ! It has been to Wokingham, and around our area , not very interesting ! Also, more interesting, a trip on a Green Line bus to London, not just toLondon but to Westminster Abbey ! Up and down the very aisle that William and Catherine walked last Friday ! Wonderful to see the trees and dying flowers including her bouquet , well dead! Much smaller than it looked on tv". Sue "I keep all my Lush goodies in mine, it smells wonderful!"

The plans for Real are really gaining momentum. Today we were busy discussing the goody bag you'll receive when you arrive on the Friday evening - planning the colours and design - planning how many to order! No more details yet, apart from it's going to be both beautiful and useful! I'd love to hear how you're using last year's bag. Where have you taken it? What's been inside it? Last year's Real bag on tour! Lynne took it to The Sanibel Islands, Florida..... Sarah let it go to her head.... Leah was using it in Serenje Zambia!  

@LisaBevere: The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack-tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven-kept taut by hope.Col1:5 hope-connects

@KayWarren1: Regardless of what else you put on, put on love. It's your basic all-purpose garment. Don't be without it. Col 3:14