Real Lives

Real Lives Clydach’s
October 2013
very own
Good News Paper
Bethel Evangelical Church, Heol Y Nant, Clydach 01792 828095 www.bethel-clydach.co.uk
By Mark Barnes,
minister of Bethel
Evangelical Church
Few would have
predicted that
wales would win
the Six Nations or
the Lions would
romp home to a
41-16 victory over
Australia. And
we’d barely finished watching that when
Andy Murray became the first British
man since 1936 to win a wimbledon
singles tennis title. And how can we
forget Jessica ennis, Mo Farrah and the
other Olympic Champions?
They’ve beaten their biggest rivals
to claim sporting immortality (perhaps).
But there is one who has achieved
not sporting immortality, but real
immortality. 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ
was killed on a cross, and buried in the
ground. Yet three days later he defeated
the greatest enemy of all – death itself.
Only he is truly immortal.
I’ll never be in a victorious Lions
Tour, or stand on an athletics podium.
But I do enjoy sharing in the success of
those sportsmen and women because
their victories are for each one of us.
I wouldn’t last five minutes against
James Horwill and will Genia, but as
a welshman and a Brit I could still say
‘we won!’. If that’s true of rugby, it’s even
more true of Jesus Christ’s victory over
death. There’s no way I could ever defeat
death, but he defeated that enemy for us.
And if I’m on Jesus’ side – or to put it a
better way, if he is on my side – then I
can share in his victory, and live for ever
in heaven.
So inside this paper you’ll find
interviews with champions – with people
who are sure that even though they will
die, they will live forever, because they
are sharing in Jesus’ victory over death.
They are not sporting superstars, they
are ordinary local people, just like you
and me. That’s exciting, because it means
that their story could be your story.
Their stories are good news,
because it means we don’t have to
attempt the impossible – to get into
heaven by our own efforts. I’d have more
chance of singlehandedly defeating the
Aussies with both hands tied behind my
back than I would in persuading God
that I was good enough to live forever
in heaven. But Jesus’ victory over death
means I don’t have to. If he is on our side,
if our trust and faith is in him alone, then
we can honestly say, ‘we won!’. want to
know more? Just come along to our Real
Lives events and see for yourself!
Issue 3
Religion & Rebellion
Jan: I HAd A GreAT upBrINGING
but I was known as the black sheep in the
family, wanting to rebel against everything.
during the early 70s I was heavily involved
in the drug scene and festival cultures like
Bickershaw and Glastonbury.
Stu: Being brought up
in a religious family, going to
church was the norm. Looking
back it was only when I was
about 14 that I started to take
a real interest in wanting to know more
about God.
Jan: Three years of partying left me
utterly confused. Someone once asked me
‘who or what do you worship?’ I said ‘trees’
– I wouldn’t even sit on park benches as I
Attacking
Jesus
was my
hobby
“I was just depressed
and felt rubbish and
unclean.”
Page 6
thought I’d hurt the feelings of
the wood! I was just depressed
and felt rubbish and unclean.
Stu: during 1963-1964 it was
the factory scene. we’d work
hard in the week
and then the boys
would let loose
on the weekend with drinking
and girls. But something told
me that God was real so I
didn’t get involved but continued to find
out more about him.
Jan: I really tried to get a better life
but I just couldn’t. Then a man called
Ceri Jenkins one day asked me to go to a
Christian meeting. I went along thinking
“That night I prayed
God would change
me and for the first
time I felt clean!”
Living
my life
my way
Page 4
this would be a laugh but I heard how
Jesus loved me even though I’d been a rebel
against him. I felt the urgency of getting
right with God knowing that Jesus was
coming back. I knew that if I didn’t I wasn’t
going to heaven. That night I prayed God
would change me and for the first time I
felt clean! My dad gave me two months at
being a Christian. It’s been 40 years! I keep
reminding myself that the Bible says, ‘If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.’
Stu: To be honest I can’t pin a date on
when I became a Christian. Looking back
it was as though God had been directing
my life. My friends were living one way but
God was pulling me to him. By 1971 I knew
that God had made me a Christian, and I
was committed to following Jesus, so it was
then that I got baptised.
Stu & Jan: we met in 1982. Three
weeks later got engaged and six months
after that, we were married. we’ve been
blessed with two boys and a granddaughter.
There have been many joys! But we’ve both
struggled with our health for a
long time. Jan has been in and
out of hospital for almost 30
years. Stu almost went blind in
the early 90s.
But we know the
realisation that God is with
us in our struggles. we don’t
always feel it but we know and trust what we
read in the Bible. when difficulties come we
learn to trust God and remember this verse
in the Bible that says Christians can have a
‘peace that passes all understanding’. It can
get a bit frustrating sometimes because of
things we’d like to do but can’t. But God
gives us what we need and with that we can
be content.
Coming
back
to god
Page 8

Where is God
when things
go wrong?
By John Blanchard
HAve yOu ever Asked tHe AGe-OLd
questiOn, ‘WHere is GOd WHen
tHinGs GO WrOnG?’
IT’S SIMpLe to put the case against the
idea of an all-powerful, all-loving God:
How could such a God preside over
natural disasters such as earthquakes,
floods, volcanoes and hurricanes, sweeping
thousands of people to their deaths in a
matter of hours? Can he possibly stand
idly by while millions of accidents wound
and kill countless people every day? Is he
supervising ‘man’s inhumanity to man’,
from international wars to one-on-one
violence — and doing nothing about it?
Many people go beyond accusing
God of powerlessness and declare that he
doesn’t even exist. But if God does not exist,
we are not part of God’s creation, and are
nothing more than biological accidents. If
that is true, why should we be concerned at
other ‘accidents’ such as natural disasters?
If we are the chance products of mindless
evolution, how can we make moral
judgements that define good and evil? How
do conscience and our sense of personal
obligation have any importance if we
were not created by an all-righteous God?
Strange as it may seem, the fact that we
can even talk about evil and the suffering it
causes points towards the existence of God,
not away from it! Getting rid of God leaves
us hopelessly trapped in a broken world
from which there is no possible escape.
The Bible doesn’t give us all the answers
to our anguished questions about evil and
suffering, but that should not surprise us.
After all, God is not ‘one of us’, but he is
eternal and immortal. There is no way in
October 9th at 7.30pm
Pontardawe Arts Centre
Free Admission
which we can get an inside track on how he
is thinking and working — and he is under
no obligation to tell us everything we want
to know. Yet being left with questions is not
the same as being left in the dark. The Bible
tells us all we need to know — and begins
at the beginning.
God created the world without
any imperfections and
crowned his creation with
humanity, made ‘in his
own image’ (Genesis 1:27).
everything was ecologically
and ethically perfect until
Adam first sinned by
disobeying God and taking
the forbidden fruit. This wrecked his
relationship with God, shattered his own
personality, condemned his body to decay,
disease and death, and even threw the whole
universe out of sync. As the representative
head of the human race, Adam took the
entire species with him, with the result that
by nature we are all rebels against God and
repeatedly contributing to the world’s sin,
sadness and suffering.
Yet the Bible promises us that God will
end the suffering and evil in this world, and
when he does, ‘God himself will be with
them and be their God. He will wipe every
tear from their eyes. There will be no more
death or mourning or crying or pain...’
(revelation 21:3-4).
Those verses from revelation tell us
that God himself will wipe away the tears
from our eyes. So how do we come to God,
“Many people go
beyond accusing God
of powerlessness and
declare that he doesn’t
even exist.”
so that he can wipe away our tears? The
Bible explains, ‘Christ… suffered once for
sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to
bring you to God’ (1 peter 3:18). Isn’t that
remarkable? To bring us to God, to end our
suffering, Jesus Christ suffered an agonising
death on the cross, bearing the weight of
the sins of the world.
This means that God
not only understands our
suffering, but in the person
of Jesus Christ, he has
experienced deep, deep
suffering. God the Father
knows what it is to watch a
loved one die. God the Son
knows what it is to be despised, rejected,
beaten and even killed.
where is God when things go wrong?
when Jesus saw the suffering of Jerusalem,
the Bible tells us simply, ‘he wept over it’
(Luke 19:41). That gives us a deep insight
into the heart of God. when we cry because
the ones we love are suffering, we do not
cry alone.
But if Jesus died to end suffering, why
is there still suffering in this world? The
Bible explains that to deal with suffering,
God must deal with sin. And to deal with
sin, God must deal with sinners — and
that means he must deal with us. There will
come a day when God judges and punishes
sinners, but thank God, that day has not
come yet. The Bible puts it like this, ‘he is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance’
(2 peter 3:9).
So where is God when things go
wrong? He is with us, and he feels our
pain. But we can say more than that. He
promises to bring an end to suffering and
pain, and if we come to him, he will wipe
every tear from our eyes. His promise is
no mere platitude. remember, ‘Christ…
suffered once for sins, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God’. Christ
suffered for us, that our suffering might
be brought to an end. God is ‘gracious and
compassionate’ (psalm 111:4) and he pours
out his ‘unfailing love’ (psalm 33:5) on all
who truly turn to him. Millions of people,
over thousands of years, have found these
things to be true in their lives. why not put
God to the test?
is GOd PAst His
seLL-by dAte?
evening with John blanchard
tuesday 8th October, 7pm
@ Ffwrness, Llanelli

Crying
to god
LIFe HASN’T ALwAYS BeeN eASY and
my Christian faith has been tested on many
occasions. My first baby was born with
poorly working kidneys. His illness wasn’t
diagnosed until he was four months old,
and as a first time mother I wondered why
he cried all the time, didn’t gain weight and
wouldn’t sleep. I remember lots of evenings
crying to God for strength. when he was
finally diagnosed and taken into hospital,
he needed to gain weight. To do this he
needed a naso-gastric tube. I remember
rhys screaming as the nurse struggled to
insert the tube into his nose. I ran to the
toilet and cried to my God and saviour.
when I returned, the tube was inserted,
and all was calm. when looking back at
these moments, I’m reminded that God is
interested in all of my life and he hears my
cries for help.
God has kept me and given me
strength through some very difficult times,
but I haven’t always been a Christian. My
mother is a Christian and took my brother
and me to church every week. I loved the
stories, singing the songs, and taking part
in the annual Christmas services. I thought
I knew Jesus, that he was my friend; it
was a huge shock when I heard the gospel
message for the first time. I was told I was
a sinner who deserved hell. Over the next
few months the Lord gently worked on my
heart and I knew that I needed to ask him
for forgiveness for all the wrong things I
had thought, said and done. I asked him
to be my saviour and my friend. There was
no bolt of lightning, but I felt peace in my
heart; I knew I belonged to him.
I’ve been blessed with two more
children, and rhys had a kidney transplant
this year. even though at times I’ve been
afraid and had little faith, God’s love for me
has remained constant, promising to never
leave me nor forsake me, no matter what
may lie ahead. psalm 121 says, ‘I will lift my
eyes to the hills - where does my help come
from? My help comes from the Lord, the
maker of heaven and earth.’ I have found
that to be true.
Ladies’Meal with Kath Hamm
and Andy Christofides
saturday 6.30pm 5th October
@ Manor park, clydach
Tickets required, please contact us (see cover for details)
Forgive a terrorist?
MY dAuGHTer-IN-LAw phoned me
about 9 o’clock. distressed, she blurted out
‘Steve has been murdered.’ It was a dreadful
evening as you can imagine. The press
came the next morning and one asked, ‘Mr
Oake, what do you think of the man who
killed your son?’ I wasn’t prepared for that
question. As I paused to answer I prayed
in the silence. I looked the journalist in
the eye and said, ‘I don’t know the man, I
Kath Hamm
don’t know the circumstances, but I want
to forgive him and I pray that God will
forgive him.’
Immediately the whole atmosphere
changed. Someone yelled, ‘what, how can
you as a policeman forgive a terrorist?’ I
am a Christian - I trust and believe in the
death of Jesus to forgive all my wrong. I
follow Him. Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’
This was hard to do but I wasn’t bitter,
rObin OAke will be sharing more of his story on:
Friday 4th October 7.30pm at Bethel evangelical Church, west street, gorseinon
Tuesday 8th October 7.30pm at Lonlas Gospel Mission, off park avenue, skewen
Friday 18th October 7.30pm at Mount Elim, Brecon road, Pontardawe
youth evenT
FRee!
Music perforMance by:
Written
in Kings
Speaker: John Orchard
FRiday 7.30pm 11Th OcTObeR
Waterfront Community Church
Langdon Road, Swansea, SA1 8QY
www.waterfrontchurch.com
FOR MORE DETAILS CONTACT: PAUL DANIEL (07951 257441)
I wasn’t angry. I wanted justice, but I didn’t
want retribution. For nearly two and a half
months we sat within twenty feet of this
man in the Old Bailey, where he was found
guilty of killing Stephen. As we were sitting
next to him, we were praying for him. I
still pray for him every day. I can forgive
because I know what it is to be forgiven by
God himself.
Robin Oake

I wAS drIvING HOMe, and suddenly I
felt so empty and lost. I became really upset,
wondering where I was going with my life.
what changed? I’d moved to Cardiff with
work, and two people on my team became
Christians. I’d watched them get baptised,
and they’d told the stories of how their lives
had completely changed for the best – and
it made me seriously think! I
thought I had a nice life doing
what everyone else was doing,
focusing on things I thought
I wanted and needed but I
wasn’t happy. deep down I was
crying and I remember calling
out to God to help me.
So I began to read about what it meant
to be a Christian. I thought I knew what
Christianity was all about, having gone to
church as a child, but it became clear that I
really wasn’t sure about lots of things. I had
wasted enough time. I was an adult now,
Gorffennwyd
Gan Dawn Wooldridge
CLYwAIS yr efengyl am y tro cyntaf pan
oeddwn yn blentyn 11 mlwydd oed a
minnau newydd ddechrau mynd i’r Ysgol
Sul ym Methel. Cyn hynny roeddwn i wedi
bod yn mynychu’r eglwys Anglicanaidd
gyda gweddill y teulu, ond roeddwn yn cael
y gwasanaethau yno’n hir ac yn ddiflas, gan
deimlo bod mynd i’r eglwys
yn rhywbeth yr oedd rhaid ei
oddef yn hytrach na’i fwynhau.
I fi, roedd duw yn dduw pell
i ffwrdd ac yn un nad oedd ganddo fawr o
ddiddordeb ynof. Yn fuan des i ddysgu fel
arall.
pan ddechreuais fynd i’r Ysgol Sul
ym Methel rwy’n cofio cael fy synnu wrth
weld bod gan bawb eu Beiblau eu hunain
– roeddwn wedi arfer â gweld yr offeiriad,
a’r offeiriad yn unig, yn darllen o’r Beibl
– ac ar ôl sawl wythnos roeddwn i wedi
perswadio fy rhieni i brynu Beibl i fi hefyd.
Ond yr hyn a wnaeth fy synnu yn fwy na
dim byd arall, yn ddiamau, oedd yr hyn yr
oeddwn yn ei ddarllen yn y Beibl a’r hyn
yr oeddwn yn ei glywed gan fy athrawon
yn yr Ysgol Sul. Clywais nid yn unig am
“I had wasted enough
time... I needed to
figure out what life
was all about.”
“I fi, roedd Duw yn
dduw pell i ffwrdd.”
and I needed to figure out what life was all
about. I had this sense of God, looking at
the beauty of nature, the complexity of life,
design was everywhere! I thought of dying
too... coming face to face with God. There
would be no excuse I could give him. Surely
this is the biggest question in life, so why
was I doing nothing about it?
I started attending
Bethel Church in
Clydach. Later I went on a
Christianity Explored course
which helped clarify things
for me and I really started
to understand what being
a Christian was all about.
It was about Jesus; why he came and why
he died. I realised that the world we live in
is a broken world because of the sin that
entered it. This caused us to be separated
from God, wanting to live our lives our
own way, without answering to him. That
hanesion yr Hen destament a gwyrthiau a
damhegion yr Iesu, ond hefyd am bechod
a Chwymp dyn yng Ngardd eden, am
Nefoedd ac uffern, a pham yr oedd rhaid
i’r Iesu farw ar y Groes. doeddwn i erioed
wedi clywed pethau fel hyn o’r blaen. At
hynny, roeddwn yn gallu gweld bod fy
athrawon i gyd yn credu’r hyn yr oeddent
yn ei ddysgu a’u bod yn nabod duw –
doedd dim angen llyfr gweddi arnynt
wrth weddïo, roeddent yn gweddïo o’r
galon. Serch hynny, er i fi
fwynhau mynd i’r Ysgol Sul
yn fawr iawn, ac er fy mod yn
argyhoeddedig o wirionedd
yr efengyl ac eisiau dod yn Gristion, roedd
yn saith mlynedd cyn i hynny ddigwydd.
Yn ystod y saith mlynedd hynny,
daeth fy chwaer a’m rhieni yn Gristnogion
a nes i barhau i fynd i’r Ysgol Sul yn ogystal
â’r Clwb Ieuenctid a’r oedfaon dydd Sul. I
bob golwg, roeddwn yn Gristion. Yn wir,
roedd fy ffrindiau i gyd yn meddwl fy mod
i’n Gristion. Ond roeddwn i’n gwybod fel
arall, gan deimlo’n rhagrithiwr llwyr am
barhau i fynd i’r eglwys bob wythnos. Felly,
er fy mod yn dyheu am iachawdwriaeth,
penderfynais yn un o’r oedfaon na
fyddwn i’n mynd fyth rhagor i’r eglwys.
Fodd bynnag, yn ystod yr oedfa honno,
Living
my life
my way
estHer’s LAte teens Were MOstLy FiLLed
WitH GOinG Out, drinkinG, CLubbinG, And
bOyFriends sO sHe didn’t Give MuCH tiMe
tO tHink AbOut GOd. sHe Pretty MuCH
WAnted tO dO Her OWn tHinG And Live LiFe
Her WAy. tHen One dAy, when she was 24,
everything began to change.
brokenness was true, it described me!
But, I also realised that God loves me
and has given me a way out to be saved
from this. He sent his Son, Jesus so that
I could know God through Him, and if I
trusted in Jesus’ death on the cross… in
my place, for my sins… then I could be
forgiven! Because Jesus dealt with my sin
on the cross, it meant I no longer had to be
separated from God!
This ultimate love and sacrifice deeply
moved me and I realised I was a sinner and
felt guilty for the way I had been living my
life. I prayed honestly to God, I confessed
to him the things that I was ashamed of and
asked for his forgiveness.
That year I had great opportunity at
a Christian conference in Aberystwyth to
really focus and learn more. The message
of the Bible became more real and started
fitting together.
At the beginning of this story I told
dywedodd Mr Mainwaring, y gweinidog
yn ei bregeth, wrth fynd heibio fel petai,
‘Os ydych yn chwilio am iachawdwriaeth,
rydych chi yn y lle iawn. peidiwch â stopio
dod yma tan i chi ddod o hyd iddi!’ A
diolch i dduw, des i o hyd
i’r hyn yr oeddwn yn chwilio
amdano cyn hir iawn.
rai misoedd yn
ddiweddarach, pan oeddwn
yn ddeunaw mlwydd
oed, roeddwn i yn un o’r
cyfarfodydd ieuenctid yn
yr eglwys. roedd y siaradwr yn esbonio
arwyddocâd yr hyn a ddywedodd Iesu
ar y Groes, yn enwedig ei air olaf, sef
‘Gorffennwyd’. roeddwn yn gyfarwydd
iawn â geiriau Iesu ar y Groes. Yn wir,
roeddwn wedi clywed nifer o bregethau
arnynt, ond y noson honno wnaeth y gair
‘Gorffennwyd’ fy nharo i’r byw. roeddwn
wedi bod yn ymdrechu am flynyddoedd i
ddod yn Gristion, gan feddwl bod angen
i fi fod yn fwy edifar, neu fod angen i fi
weddïo’n fwy cyn i fi allu cael fy nerbyn,
ond y noson honno des i ddeall, o’r diwedd,
nad oedd fy iachawdwriaeth yn dibynnu
ar fy ngweddïau na’m dagrau o edifeirwch.
roedd Iesu wedi gwneud popeth a oedd ei
angen, wedi cyflawni pob dim, wedi gorffen
“Roedd fy ffrindiau
i gyd yn meddwl fy
mod i’n Gristion ond
roeddwn i’n gwybod
fel arall.”
you about driving home deeply upset
because I wasn’t happy. I’d just heard a
friend tell me how God had changed him.
He was so happy and full of this joy. I hadn’t
felt that way myself. I had been sceptical of
what he told me. I just didn’t understand
how it could be true.
And now I was driving home from the
Christian conference in Aberystwyth. This
time driving home was like no other day.
Something wonderful happened. Suddenly
it all made perfect sense. My eyes felt like
they opened and I could see the world
clearly. I was just so moved by the power
of this conviction that I was crying. It was
amazing, and I knew that this was it. I knew
that I really did believe that Jesus died for me!
Life didn’t feel right before because
that separation from God was the cause
of the emptiness I was feeling. No longer
being separated from God has made me feel
so complete and at peace. It was incredibly
liberating. Before the conference, I was
worried with what people would think,
so I hadn’t told anyone I was going to a
Christian conference for a whole week!
But after, I wasn’t worried anymore of what
they thought. I just honestly told whoever
asked. It felt I was finally being true to God,
being open about my trust in him. I wasn’t
hiding away what I believed anymore.
It keeps on amazing me how this
conviction has changed my life! All those
years ago I did not think submitting my life
to God would be the most exciting thing in
the world. But now it feels like I’m finally
alive and nothing else compares.
Come and hear
more of Esther’s story
sunday 6 October
10.30am
at Bethel Church
y gwaith. Nid oedd angen i fi wneud dim
byd ond ymddiried yn ei waith cyflawn
ef ar y Groes i’m hachub. Sylweddolais yn
raddol fy mod wedi bod yn euog o geisio
ychwanegu fy ngweithredoedd pitw at waith
gogoneddus Crist a’i bod yn
amser rhoi terfyn ar yr holl
ymdrechu ac ymddiried
ynddo Fe yn unig. Ac wrth
i fi ymddiried, teimlais
dangnefedd a gorffwys a
sicrwydd anhygoel, sydd
erioed wedi diflannu ers
hynny.
Mae’n wir dweud i bopeth newid i fi y
noson honno. efallai na fyddai pobl wedi
sylwi ar newid mawr ar y tu allan, gan
fy mod eisoes yn mynd i’r eglwys a byw
bywyd ‘parchus’, ond roeddwn yn berson
hollol wahanol y tu mewn. Yn wir, rwy’n
credu bod y trosiad o ‘gael eich aileni’ yn un
addas iawn i ddisgrifio’r hyn sy’n digwydd
pan fydd rhywun yn dod yn Gristion.
Ces i lygaid newydd, gan weld y bobl o’m
cwmpas mewn goleuni newydd. Ces i
dafod newydd i drafod pethau ysbrydol. A
ches i ffordd newydd o fyw. dydw i ddim
yn byw bywyd perffaith, wrth gwrs, ond
gwn fod gen i Iachawdwr perffaith. Iddo
ef y mae’r holl glod.

A tale
of two
families
Alison’s story
I Grew up IN CLYdACH in the 1970s.
My father (John davies) was the minister
of Trinity presbyterian Church and then
Bethel evangelical Church. Like many
people, we later moved away and in 1989
I met a young man called Geraint. we had
only been courting for three weeks when
he proposed! we were married that year
and moved to Folkestone, england so I
could begin teaching in a primary school.
what followed was not only great joy but
great difficulty. Our son deiniol was born
in 1992, but that same year Geraint was
diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis. God’s timing
was perfect. Having had
three serious miscarriages
previously, deiniol’s birth
put a traumatic diagnosis in
perspective. Having learnt
from early in our married lives that God
only has what is best for us we were able
to trust him with the MS. In the following
years our daughters, Sioned and Meinir,
were born but Geraint’s condition was
getting worse.
By 1994 we had moved to wrexham
and Geraint had to give up work, first as
“We married and
what followed was
not only great joy
but great difficulty.”
an excellent primary school teacher, then
as a not-so-good financial advisor! By
1996, I too had given up teaching so that I
could care full-time for Geraint. Over the
years the doctors tried various treatments,
but Geraint had every possible MS
symptom and from 2003 his health rapidly
deteriorated. By 2007 it was clear that he
was not going to live much longer, and in
November 2009 Geraint died at home with
the family around him.
kevin’s story
I went to Thames valley police aged 16 to
start fulfilling my childhood
dream of becoming a police
officer in the traffic division.
As a police cadet in Thames
valley, and a police officer
in Yorkshire, I had to handle
many complex and critical
situations. However, it wasn’t just in my
professional life that circumstances were
critical.
I met Jennie in 1981 and we married
July 1982. She was a devoted secondary
school teacher. In the following years our
sons were born. david in 1984, Ben in 1986
and Sam in 1988. In 2000 the unexpected
Where i belong
MANY YeArS AGO I was very involved
in a Methodist church. I taught in Sunday
school and my children went regularly. I
tried to do what I knew was right. After
the children had grown up and we moved
I stopped going to church as there was no
church near where we lived, but I still prayed
and sometimes read my Bible, especially at
times when things went wrong.
Then about four years ago I was
accosted one day on High Street in Clydach
by a very nice, tall young boy called Tim.
we got talking, and he asked me if I was a
Christian. I said, ‘I believe I am’ but when
he asked me if I went to church I had to
say ‘No’. He told me about some special
meetings going on in the church, just like
the ones advertised in this paper. He invited
me to the coffee morning and asked if I’d be
interested in hearing Henry Olonga’s story.
when I went to the meeting, Tim
was looking out for me and sat with me. I
was unsure of what to expect, but I found
the people were warm and welcoming.
I enjoyed listening to Henry Olonga’s
story of being a Christian and a cricketer.
Afterwards Tim said ‘why don’t you come
on Sunday?’, so I did.
what I found really helpful in Bethel
was that on Sundays the Bible was being
explained. As I listened to the church
services I felt I wanted to know more, so
I kept coming. I got to know more about
what the Bible meant and about its relevance
for me. I even did a Christianity Explored
course which helped me understand who
Jesus Christ was and why he came. Before I
came to Bethel, I had thought that going to
happened – Jennie was diagnosed with
breast cancer. The various operations and
treatments did at first seem to help and
Jennie was able to continue the job she
loved.
But in 2005 everything
seemed to go wrong. In the
summer, Jennie’s cancer had
returned. On 7 July 2005 I
was on the Circle line on
the London subway and was
caught up in the Aldgate explosion. It
was that year too that my mum died. By
2007 Jennie had given up work and on
1 december 2009 she died at home with the
family around her.
tHeir story
Just before Geraint and Jennie died, our
sons Sam and deiniol became very close
friends. Knowing their Mum and dad did
not have long left to live, they forged a close
bond. This was the start of a friendship that
would change the course of our future.
Alison: Kevin’s son Sam spent summer
2010 with me at a Christian conference
in Aberystwyth. After chatting with him
I sent Kevin a book about grieving and
bereavement called Tracing the Rainbow.
church and reading your Bible and praying
must mean I was a Christian, but I began
to understand that’s not what makes you a
Christian.
One night I was doing a Bible study
with paul from the church. As it was being
explained to me, all of a sudden, I knew! I
said to him ‘I finally know what you’re on
about and I want to give my life to Christ’.
I asked God to forgive me, once and for all.
I am a much calmer and happier
person since I became a Christian. I’m
not perfect but I know I can ask God for
forgiveness and he helps me. I also feel
part of the church, I belong there now
and I want others to experience what I’ve
experienced, so I try to tell people about
what’s happened to me.
Being a Christian hasn’t always been
easy. My husband david died a year ago
and I’m still asking God ‘why?’. But I know
that I can trust God for everything and I
“Life has not
been easy, but
God has always
been good to us.”
I thought he might find it helpful,
totally unaware that his Master’s degree
included the whole aspect of grieving and
bereavement counselling!
Kevin: I replied to Alison’s
letter, and we started writing to
each other until we met finally in
Bridgend during October 2010,
which was also organised by Sam
and deiniol! By March 2011 we
were married!
Life has not been easy for either of us,
but looking back, we can see that God has
always been good to us. Our Christian faith
has helped us every single day – if we hadn’t
known that God is with us even in the most
difficult times, we would probably never
have been able to cope. And we’re able to
testify that although our faith has been
tested by the deaths of Geraint and Jennie,
God has seen us through, and we know that
they are in a far better place because their
trust and hope was also in Jesus Christ
alone.
Come and hear more of
Alison & Kevin’s story
on Friday 11 October 7.30pm
at Bethel Church
know that God is going to look after me. I
often think, ‘why did we move to Clydach,
when we didn’t know anyone here?’ and
‘why did I go to High Street that day?’ – I
don’t even remember what I was doing! But
if Tim hadn’t accosted me I would never
have gone to Bethel and never become a
Christian. God knew what he was doing
then, so I can trust him for everything that’s
in store.
By Mary Ayers

AttACkinG
Jesus WAs
My HObby
PAuL JOnes turned dOWn An invitAtiOn FrOM keitH
riCHArds tO join the rolling stones and insteAd
became the lead singer of Manfred Mann (do
you remember ‘do Wah diddy diddy’?!).
“peOpLe SAY I missed out on all that sex
and drugs and now looking back I can say
‘thank God I did’. There were times I drank
too much, but as for drugs, I was just plain
scared. I saw the effect they had on others
and I was worried I’d get addicted.”
But if paul was scared of getting
addicted to drugs, it wasn’t because of any
deep religious convictions. “At that time, I
was violently anti-Christian.”
In fact, he was so anti-Christian, he
was invited to a Tv debate to speak for
atheism, with Cliff richard speaking for
Christianity. “when they asked me to come
on to attack Jesus and Cliff, I told them
that was my hobby. I would have done it
for nothing, but to be paid to debunk the
Christian myth and Bible gobbledy-gook,
well that was just too good an opportunity
to miss.
“I was really nasty to Cliff. I mean,
I didn’t just argue with him, I insulted
him personally and told him how stupid
Christians were. I dismissed Jesus as a
fairy story and Christians as deluded fools.
I wasn’t just a casual atheist, I was totally
hostile to Christians. I’d actively seek them
out and tell them how much I despised
them and what they stood for.”
So paul was pretty surprised that Cliff
regularly invited him to dinner parties that
he held. “I can recall upsetting his guests
with my anti-Christian stance, yet Cliff
would still invite me back a few weeks later.
One night, I asked Cliff if he hated me after
that programme. He laughed and told me
he just went into his dressing room with a
few Christian friends and prayed for me –
me, the guy who’d just slagged him off on
Tv! I was amazed. remember Cliff was,
still is, a big star and I’d just denounced him
and everything he stood for.”
Over the years, paul’s attitude slowly
began to change. “I had begun to sense my
atheism crumbling to dust, but of course it
wasn’t replaced by anything else. So I was
almost more lost than I had been in the
first place. I didn’t know what to do, I just
knew there was a God after all. But how
you approach him, and what you do about
the fact that you now know there is a God
– it was completely a closed book to me. In
a sense I just went on with my life as before,
just filling it with work and filling it with
fame, which was my drug.”
By this time, paul had become a stage
actor, and had fallen in love with Fiona
Hendley, who had been his leading lady
in more than one production. But despite
paul’s doubts about atheism, God didn’t get
much of a look in. “we were still very much
attached to all the worldly things we were
doing, and one of those worldly things we
were doing was living together.”
But that was about to change, in
dramatic fashion. “One day my phone
rang, and it was Cliff richard. He asked
what we were doing on a certain day, and
I said ‘why?’, and he said that he wanted
us to come to this big football stadium and
hear this Luis palau.” Cliff had told paul
that Luis was a Christian preacher, but paul
accepted the invitation, partly because Cliff
had kept up the contact through all those
years, despite paul’s opposition to God and
Christianity.
“Luis started to expound the first
PAUL JONES & FIONA HENDLEY
chapter of the book of romans – it’s about
people who choose to live their lives
without God and deny the evidence for his
existence, which for goodness sake is all
around us. And I thought, ‘Cliff richard
has told this man all about us.’”
At the end of the sermon, Luis palau
asked those who wanted to commit
themselves to God to come forward, and
paul’s partner Fiona suddenly stood up.
“I said, ‘where are you going?’, and Fiona
said, ‘I’m going to go down and make Jesus
Lord of my life’. ‘That’s terrific’, I replied –
‘but where am I sleeping tonight?!’”
paul and Fiona looked at each other,
and knew that if either of them committed
themselves to Jesus Christ, then they
couldn’t just go on as before. As Fiona
hesitated, paul seized the initiative, “I
said, ‘Now, will you marry me?’” Fiona
immediately agreed, even though she had
previously refused to get married because
she was scared of the commitment.
“It was like a double commitment
confronting us at that point, because not
only were we committing our lives to Jesus,
but also we had to make this commitment
to each other. That evening was so powerful
for us, because it was a double commitment.
I gave my life to Christ, asking him to
forgive me for everything I’d done wrong
and committing the rest of my life to him –
me the hardened atheist! And then the next
thing we did was to go the church and say,
‘we want to get married!’.
“I apologised to Cliff, several times,
for my behaviour. despite my antagonism,
he never gave up, never stopped praying for
me. For years I rebelled against God’s word
and I thought I was doing alright. I was
intellectually so proud of myself, yet at the
same time I was spiritually shrinking and
dying. Now I see how wrong I was, and that
summer was the moment God gave me the
chance to dedicate my life to him. I’ve been
so happy ever since.”
Come and meet Paul Jones (ex-Manfred Mann Singer, Radio 2 Presenter) together with his wife, Fiona Hendley (star of West-End productions)
for a special evening in which they will share about their faith in Jesus through song.
Monday 7.30pm, 7th october 2013 - adMission Free!
This will take place (subject to professional commitment) at Libanus Church, Market Street, Morriston, SA6 8dA
FRee!

My Mate’s
gone mad!
By Graham Daniels
‘dAnieLs, GO HOMe And Get
yOur kit, yOu’re PLAyinG
tHis AFternOOn!’
LLANeLLI GrAMMAr’S 1st XI was short
of a few senior lads and they needed some
younger kids to fill in. But who cares? A
whole afternoon of cricket and even better,
missing double maths and biology.
Our opponents were fifty miles away,
just outside Cardiff. we beat them soundly,
the game finishing early. On the way home
I sat right next to the opening bowler,
Gwyon Jenkins.
I asked what Gwyon had done over
the previous weekend. He replied that he
had gone to church. what? To church?
Gwyon was in the upper Sixth. My brain
was scrambled so I blurted out the first
thing that came to mind.
‘does your mother still make
you go to Sunday School at
the age of eighteen?’
Then it got worse.
Instead of cringing he
answered gently, calmly and
clearly: he chose to go to church because he
was a Christian. Oh no! Thirty miles to go
I’m sitting next to a Bible Basher. All I can
remember thinking was ‘How could this
be?’ This guy was normal. He was a good
sportsman and could even have a laugh.
But he was a Christian.
Meeting and getting to know Gwyon
was the beginning of a seven year process.
I overcame the first of three barriers that
were blocking my path to a life-changing
experience. In due course, I understood,
experienced and entered into a restored
relationship with the God who made the
universe and made me to worship and
“Oh no! Thirty miles
to go I’m sitting next
to a Bible Basher.”
enjoy him both now and forever.
Getting to know Gwyon kept
reminding me that my stereotype of
a Christian had been based on pure
ignorance. But in order to cross the second
great barrier to faith things couldn’t end
there.
It only starts to be overcome when
you find yourself thinking ‘If Jesus can
make that kind of difference to my friend,
could he perhaps change my life too?’ That
word ‘perhaps’ is the key turning point. I
left Llanelli to study in Cardiff at the age of
eighteen. I thought I might have got away
from Gwyon. OK, he wasn’t weird, nor was
his faith irrelevant to him
and I could see that it might
be relevant to me too. But, I
didn’t even believe in God.
For the next three years
Gwyon wrote to defend
the truth of the claims
of Jesus Christ. He was thorough. we
discussed everything. Could you prove the
existence of God? Is there evidence for the
resurrection of Jesus? why would a good
God allow suffering? what about other
religions?
He covered every base that I could
think of. I concluded that the Christian
faith was not weird, irrelevant or untrue:
indeed, it was intellectually reasonable as
well as emotionally satisfying. I came to
the conclusion that to trust in Christ as the
ruler of the world and as my rescuer at the
cross was the inevitable and only thing to
do.
GrAHAM dAnieLs will also be speaking at:
Men’s eveninG, Friday 11th October 7pm
at Penyrheol Community church,
Llannant Road, Gorseinon
sPOrts quiz with Scarlets’ prop deacon Manu
Wednesday 9th October 7.30pm
at Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli
So what about you? Meeting and
getting to know Gwyon started the process
of overcoming three barriers to faith that
have brought me to the most important
relationship in the universe, one of
forgiveness of my rebellion against my
creator and of a restored relationship that,
having begun, will last for eternity.
If you aren’t convinced please don’t
stop considering these issues. Look closely
at the Bible and the claims of Christ. It’s not
weird, nor irrelevant, nor untrue.
GRahaM DaniELS went on to
play league football for Cambridge
United. he is now a director of the
club, and General Director of a
charity called Christians in Sport.
Men's
Meal
with Graham Daniels
Thursday 7.30pm
10th October
The Towers hoTel
Jersey Marine, SA10 6JL
Tickets required, please contact us (see cover for details)

Coming
back
to god
ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT God has been
very good to me. I was brought up hearing
the message of the Bible and was very
familiar with it. I had always regarded
myself as a Christian but it was when I left
home at 18 to join the rAF in 1952 that
there was a real change in my life.
I was a driver for the rAF and whilst
driving though the Suffolk countryside
I passed a church which
advertised a gospel service. I
attended the service and Mr
rapheal, the preacher, invited
me to his home afterwards
to meet his family and share
a meal. Both Mr and Mrs
rapheal were very active church workers
and their lives were a real challenge to my
Christian life.
After two years national service I
returned home and continued with my
parents and sister to attend our home
church at Sandfields, Aberavon where John
Thomas was the new minister. under his
ministry I began to grow as a Christian.
I realised that I had been born a sinner,
and going to church did not make you a
Christian. Becoming a Christian meant
trusting in the death of the Lord Jesus upon
the cross for me, where he took my sin upon
himself becoming my substitute, saving me
from hell itself. Through his work I would
be freely pardoned and be received into
heaven – to a place prepared for me. Now
that was what made me a Christian.
But there is such a thing as backsliding
and sadly like the prodigal son we can
wander away and our love for God can grow
cold. In January 1961 I got married which
proved to be a disaster and my marriage
did not even last a year. I also left the family
business and followed my mother’s side of
“I realised going to
church didn’t make
you a Christian.”
By Jack Cooke
the family into farming. For some years
as a single person I continued farming but
my heart was not really in it because of my
broken marriage. eventually I got into the
motor business in port Talbot taking over a
property of my mother’s, my father having
died in 1963.
It was there I met Margaret who came
to work for me with a number of other
Christian ladies. But like me,
she had wandered away from
what she believed. we became
friendly and eventually we
were married. The motor
business came to an end when
our property was demolished
to make way for the M4 motorway flyover.
we then returned to the land I still owned
at dunvant to start a riding and garden
centre. It was then we entered a period in
our lives which showed again how gracious
and merciful God is.
Two Christian ladies invited us to
attend Mount pleasant Church in Swansea.
Mr Morris was the pastor and under his
ministry we came back to the Lord and by
his great love and grace he has kept us over
the years since.
during all our time away from God,
we had found no peace or joy. You cannot
love the world and God. But we are ever
amazed at God’s great love, that like the
prodigal, he welcomed us home when we
confessed our sins – like the Bible says, he
is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.
Come and hear more of
Jack’s story on sunday
13 October 6pm
at Bethel Church
christianity explored is an informal 5-week course for people
who’d like to investigate Christianity, or just brush up on the basics. Looking
at Mark’s gospel, it explores who Jesus is, why he came, and what it means
to follow him.
starting on tuesday 5th november 2013
at bethel evangelical church, heol y nant
For further details please contact:
01792 828095 (Mark) or 07951 257441 (Paul)
reAL Lives: OCtOber 2013
betHeL evAnGeLiCAL CHurCH, CLydACH
date time (all at Bethel, Heol Y Nant, unless specified)
saturday 5 6.30pm* ladies’ Meal at Manor park, with Kath hamm and andy christofides
sunday 6 10.30am harvest service: andy christofides speaking, with esther’s story followed by a free buffet lunch
sunday 6 6pm Guest service: Mark barnes speaking
tuesday 8 7.30pm* Men’s curry night at chilli too with paul hinton speaking
Wednesday 9 10am coffee morning with paul hinton speaking followed by a free lunch
Wednesday 9 7.30pm ‘Where is God when things go wrong?’ with John blanchard at pontardawe arts centre
Friday 11 7.30pm alison & Kevin’s story with paul hinton speaking
sunday 13 10.30am Family service: followed by a free buffet lunch
sunday 13 6pm Guest service: andy christofides speaking, with Jack’s story
bethel evanGelical church, heol y nant, clydach Free entry to all events, everyone welcome!
phone: 01792 828095 Website: www.bethel-clydach.co.uk * tickets required for men’s and ladies’ meals, contact paul (07951 257441)