NGO committee informal

 This morning there was a 90 minute debate over whether country names should reported when they ask a question of an NGO. This was to do with press releases that the UN release on the NGO committee.Apart from this things have been going well.

Snowman

The UN is closed today . My boss in London ,John Smeaton , told me to build a snowman . Here it is.

My snowman making skills are poor !!!!!

I must learn to do better selfies.

Snowing in New York

Expecting 30 inches of snow today. UN closed at 2.30pm today and closed tomorrow.

At the UN

Well here I am at the UN again , attending the NGO committee meeting. 

We are expecting a lot of snow today , should have brought my snow shoes !

Graffiti - East 7th St Baptist Church

Pastor Taylor Field , myself & Theresa Guubran


This morning I got to give a word of testimony about how I got saved and then talk about how I became involved in pro-life work. This is the church I have attended in New York for the past 20 years. I was given a poster designed by Rick  Kestler which has a pro-life theme.

Tomorrow I will be attending the NGO committee at the UN . This will last 8 working days.

In Memory of Rev. Steven Foster

Around noon on Tuesday I was checking my e-mails and read one from Gillian informing me the Steven had died.       The funeral is to be at Christchurch, Walshaw (Steven’s own parish church) on Wednesday 28^th January at 12 noon.  It will be taken by the Bishop of Bolton who, Yvonne says, has been brilliant and so pastoral."

I first met Steven at a SPUC Evangelicals Committee meeting in 1994 at the home of the Rev. Ian Brown. These two great men changed my view about  Anglican vicars for the better. Steven had a physics degree and worked in the oil industry a few years like an engineer. This was our first point in common. He then trained for the Ministry studying again at Cambridge , and then spending 35 years as an Anglican vicar. I also studied for the Ministry , but never got a call to a church. Steven was a word -smith  par excellence , my worst subject at school was English.

At one time Steven and his wife Yvonne home schooled some of their five children at home. They received a visit from some local council officials to see if they were qualified to teach their children. Steven's first comment to them was " Well my wife and I are both University graduates ". This was not said as a boast but just a statement of fact. He was also the Governor of the local C.of E. school.

Steven edited a book called " Love your Unborn Neighbor " as well as the vast majority of SPUC Evangelicals literature. He was not only brilliant at written English but has a superb knowledge of the Bible and Church history. He could regale you with sad incidents of church heresy and division throughout many centuries. He was the most well informed Evangelical pro-lifer that I have met.

Steven was very kind to me over the past 20 years , he only got as little cross with me for wearing slippers at the odd National Conference.  He also was very generous in my teasing of him especially if Australia beat England in the cricket. He was a quintessential English gentleman of  the first order. 

Steven was a founder of SPUC Evangelicals and served on that Committee for over 20 years. Some of this time as Chairman at others as deputy chairman. Going to those meetings was a great joy to me as he was such great company. He was a wonderful peace maker. In fact your were normally on your best behavior when around him , he brought the best out in people.

I know Steven was very fit , but only recently found out he played squash up until a year of his death.

Steven and Yvonne met at a Church they both attended and were friends for quite some time. Yvonne told me recently that their love for each other grew over time. They were married for quite some years and Yvonne could not conceive , so they knew what it was to desire to have children but to have none. However the Lord was gracious to them and they have five children , all who know and love the Lord. 

I am so thankful to the Lord for having been able to give Steven his Pro Life Hero award  on the 7th January  ( see my blog on that date ).  I was also able to spend some time with Yvonne who had cared for Steven at home for almost a year. Her devotion to her husband was amazing.

Please pray for Yvonne and her five children especially at the funeral  on Wednesday 28th January . 

 I am very distressed that I am unable to attend as I am in New York at the United Nations. 

I have a very strong impression that Steven has already heard the Words , well done good and faithful servant , enter into the joy of thy Lord.

Alliance Defending Freedom ( ADF )

Amb. John Bolton addressing meeting.

It was my birthday so some friends wanted a photo with me.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a reception put on by ADF in New York. The keynote speaker was pro-life Ambassador John Bolton who served as US Ambassador to the UN in 2005/6. It is very clear to me now why many at the UN hated him. He is pro-life and pro-family and did not support giving away national sovereignty . Around 40 diplomats and ambassadors attended this excellent meeting. This was an great networking opportunity . ADF are a key player at the UN and are doing a great job.

Please see : http://alliancedefendingfreedom.org/

For John Bolton see :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Bolton

At the UN

Well here I am at the UN again for the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) . Got here safely last night. San Francisco was again fogged in , so I got a direct flight to New York and my suitcase was not left behind. I have made a solemn declaration never to fly through San Francisco again.

At the moment there are a lot of general statements on SDGs. But there are always things to do.

My brother Bruce

Bruce where he works,

For the last few days I have been attending a conference in Arizona. Just prior to this I went to visit my brother in Southern California. We worked on the the second edition of our book " The Convict Pioneer ". This is the story of our great great grandfather who was transported to Australia in 1845 , for stealing two shirts.

Tomorrow I fly to New York to lobby at the UN. Please pray that my luggage gets transshipped OK in San Francisco,

Outboard working

As you can see my "new" outboard is working. A nice water stream on the left side.

Pro-Life Hero Award- 2014

Myself giving Steven his certificate

Gillian giving Steven his engraved crystal vase.

Today , along with Gillian Foster , we were privileged to give the Rev. Steven Foster the SPUC Evangelicals Pro-Life Hero award for 2014. Steven was a founding member of SPUC Evangelicals and has been involved in the pro-life battle for over 20 years. 

Please pray for Steven and his wife Yvonne. Just under a year ago Steven was diagnosed with secondary cancer. Yvonne has been nursing Steven all of this time. They have five children who are all believers.

Good news

Yesterday I attended Ayr hospital to get the biopsy results from my surgery of 14 Nov. The news is very good , I had a Nodular Basal Cell Carcinoma. This is the least problematic of all the skin cancers. So I was very grateful to the NHS , even though it took three and a half months from start to finish. I was also praising the Lord for good health.

 Tomorrow I travel to Bury in England to present Steven Foster with the Pro-Life Hero award for 2014.

On Saturday I fly to the USA for nearly 4 weeks.