Well My mum has gone home after being with us for 5 weeks . She does amazing for 78 hope I am like her when I am that age.

Mike is off to San Francisco tomorrow to get a visa so he can fly to india after our trip to N Zealand and Australia . We did n't realise he needed one until 2 days ago . we leave in a week and it takes 15days unless you go in person !!!The joys of missionary travel !!!He is then flying on to Kanasa city and Seattle for a conference and church consultation .
Getting really excited about seing everyone in NZ and australia.

Hope you like Mike's posting he says he is going to do more now I have showed him how !!!!Bet you could tell it wasn't from me!!!!!

Beccy moved house ( again )last weekend she says this time she is definately not moving again!!! it is a great place 3 bedrooms large kitchen diner etc and just near church and shops . same room mate . Will post photos soon

Seen lots of Films (as always) of late:
Flags of our Fathers - very interesting well made movie -Clint Eastwards attempt at 'Saving Private Ryan' (sometimes the cinematography is is too similar!) - perhaps also a try for best picture Oscar! Disturbing revelations of how the archetypal war image -the raising of the flag on Iowa Jima - was a set piece PR job!
Marie Antoinette - excellent period piece - seems to favour using contemporary music to contextualize a bit like A Knights Tale. Sophia Capolla is perhaps using her own experience as a member of one of Hollywoods aristocratic families to help explain the social dislocation that the young Queen experiences and so placing her more in the victims role than that of the villian.
Man of the Year - much underrated Robin Williams political comedy (I find the Film Critics -including Mr Barry Norman rarely get it right with regards to comedies)- interesting vision of what Younger People are looking for in the political process.
Broken Trail - Fantastic 'salvation story' from the Wild West - Robert Duvals final part in the 'unrelated trilogy' of Western epics ( Lonesome Dove and Open Range being the other two). This 'made for DVD' film is a beauty!
Mike
Ps I will try and bring more of my film watching exploits to the blog ( I probably watch 60 movies a year!)

Sam is on the school swim team and he and his team of boys are unbeaten as a High school team so they are doing great.
Today was the regional finals . Sam was swimmimg 200 and 100 we went to watch him and took photos but its hard to catcha speeding swimmer. taylor is also on the team and she did great in her events. the swim team has certain rituals before a meet . One of them is to carb up ( on pasta) and to hold a shave party !!!! everyone shaves their bodies and heads !!!!! except sam who cut and buzzed everyone elses hair but would n't shave his!!!! They then stand for as long as they can in the cold pools and then dive into a hot tub !!! so all lots of fun . its a great team experience and is so good to see.
We think he has done brillaintly as he had never been that good a swimmer but now swims over 21/2 miles a day and is in the finals . He certainly has bulked out!!!! but has smooth legs today !!!!

Sam is on the school swim team and he and his team of boys are unbeaten as a High school team so they are doing great.
Today was the regional finals . Sam was swimmimg 200 and 100 we went to watch him and took photos but its hard to catcha speeding swimmer. taylor is also on the team and she did great in her events. the swim team has certain rituals before a meet . One of them is to carb up ( on pasta) and to hold a shave party !!!! everyone shaves their bodies and heads !!!!! except sam who cut and buzzed everyone elses hair but would n't shave his!!!! They then stand for as long as they can in the cold pools and then dive into a hot tub !!! so all lots of fun . its a great team experience and is so good to see.
We think he has done brillaintly as he had never been that good a swimmer but now swims over 21/2 miles a day and is in the finals . He certainly has bulked out!!!! but has smooth legs today !!!!

Sam is on the school swim team and he and his team of boys are unbeaten as a High school team so they are doing great.
Today was the regional finals . Sam was swimmimg 200 and 100 we went to watch him and took photos but its hard to catcha speeding swimmer. taylor is also on the team and she did great in her events. the swim team has certain rituals before a meet . One of them is to carb up ( on pasta) and to hold a shave party !!!! everyone shaves their bodies and heads !!!!! except sam who cut and buzzed everyone elses hair but would n't shave his!!!! They then stand for as long as they can in the cold pools and then dive into a hot tub !!! so all lots of fun . its a great team experience and is so good to see.
We think he has done brillaintly as he had never been that good a swimmer but now swims over 21/2 miles a day and is in the finals . He certainly has bulked out!!!! but has smooth legs today !!!!

We had a great time in vancouver a really lovely city with lots of interesting buildings and shops and restuarants.
The conference went well too and met up with some old friends and made some new -always good. some are fromNZ so hoping to link up with them when we go .
Added some more photos because i always think it makes bloggs interesting !!!
Beccy has moved into her new very nice house Photos of this will follow soon

Vancouver

Vancouver is a very beautiful city particularly in Autumn

Well I am off to Vancouver early tomorrow whilst Beccy arrives home today .
I am leaving my mum in charge of sam and the dog, but it is homecoming weekend (which is abig deal here) so it could be chaos !!!
Sam's swim team is unbeaten this season so thats great and means its been worth Sam swimming 2 1/2 miles everyday!!!!
Beccy moves into her new house this weekend too, its bigger than the appartment but in the same neighborhood.
Mike and I return together on Sunday . Mike is speaking at a worship conference called unite over the weekend .
Vancouver is meant to be stunning so I will take the camera and get photos

Beccy is off to Toronto tomorrow to join Mike there. he is flying in from Carolina , they will be doing a retreat and visiting a baptist church where Ian Cambell is the Vicar.
She is busy tracking down and packing all her sheffield cold weather clothes as it is going to be freezing there compared to the beautiful high 80.s here!!! socks and coats are a definate must !!!

I took Mum and Brenda to Sedona yesterday . It is such a beautiful place and the clouds were especially amazing . We had lunch at the Wild flour Bread Company which is the only place in USA that has really decent bread so i brought some home to put in the freezer and to munch on.
Mike is in SCarolina leading the retreat there .
Sam is off school as it Columbus day a strange sort of Bank holiday !!!
Brenda returns to sheffield tomorrow

Just returned from a few days in Dallas working with Leadership network on Planting churches in Europe. we had a great time and brought with us( from all over) a fab team. I think we all had fun and got to know each other a bit better, it feels more like a team now. the first conference will be in spain in March 2007 not that far aawy really so lots to do before then. Libby came from the Uk to learn scribing and blogging . It was ,as ever, wonderful to see her she will be a real assett to the team , she is flying back to sunny sheffield at this very moment .
My mum and brenda held the fort here!!! which was quite an adventure as they had , Mike Breen, Mike Pilavachi, his assistant John, Charlie (the dog) and Sam !!!!!!
Mike is off to S .Carolina on saturday to meet with 12 leaders in key USA churches for a retreat at Dover plantation .