An old man approached our stall today on the Market in Rostrenen. He told us that when he was young, the Roman catholic church prohibited people from reading the Bible because it was a deadly sin. He admitted that he had never read it. But he refused to take the one I wanted to give him. Why? He believed what he’d been told as a child. He would rather stay in darkness than come to the light because he was afraid reading the Bible would send him to hell. Or maybe he was afraid he would come to see for himself the lies of the Roman Catholic church.
Category: Ministry
What would you do if your email account got hacked into?
On Monday, I was contacted by one of our church members whose gmail account had been hacked into. Whoever had hacked into her account had changed the password, set up two-step security and changed the backup email address as well as the backup phone number. Then, that hacker had sent an email to all her contacts asking for money. The sister was in distress and didn’t know what to do.
She’d already followed the steps suggested by Google to try to recover her account. There wasn’t much I could do. I helped her set up a new email and explained that it was unlikely that she would recover her old mail box and contacts. But who knows? Google might do something. In the meantime, it was urgent to change all her passwords on the sites where she used the same one. I was hoping the hacker hadn’t already done that for her. As I left, she noticed that it was like having someone breaking into your home. The hacker had access to all her emails and part of her personal life. It was distressing, hurtful.
We often dismiss the possibility of our accounts being hacked into until it happens to us or someone we know. What would you do if your email account got hacked into? You probably store many passwords in your archive. A lot of personal information is in it. The hacker could probably make a lot of damage (and possibly profit), before you even notice it.
On my part, I am reviewing my online security steps. I am setting up two-step identification wherever I can as soon as possible. It’s a pain, but I am sure it is worth it. I will also review the sites where I’ve used the same password and change these. The following article should get you started: How secure are you online: the checklist — Lifehacker. have you thought of the possibility of your email account being hacked into? Think about it. I am sure you are keeping passwords, confidential prayer letters, details from christian friends working in closed countries…. What would happen if someone hacked into your email account?
Back home
We came back home almost two weeks ago. It was a good trip, and we really enjoyed seeing many friends and some of the family. We spent the last few days in the UFM family conference in England. It was relaxing time and great to hear about God’s work in many parts of the world. But it is nice to be home at last.
Britain 2012, Days 8 to 15
We had a lovely time near Carmarthen with our friends Geraint and Magali. It’s a Franco-Welsh couple, and it was good to get to know each other better. The children played well together. There was a lot of French spoken, some Welsh, and hardly any English.
On the Sunday, I was preaching in Lampeter Evangelical church. Our two families had been invited and we had a great day, eating in the sun at the Hedyn Mwstard (too many people for Gareth and Liz’s house), and watching the kids play in the park. I preached in Welsh in the evening service. First time ever. But it went well.
On Monday, we went to Fishguard for lunch with some Friends, and I had a warm Welcome from Carmarthen Evangelical Church.
On Tuesday, we relaxed and went to see Esther’s uncle and aunt in Carmarthen. I spoke in the English Evangelical church in the evening.
On Wednesday, we headed towards Cardiff after lunch and stayed with friends from the Heath Evangelical church. I spoke there in the evening. It was lovely to be back in our home church.
On Thursday, I went to London, leaving the family in Cardiff. The train was slightly late, but I enjoyed walking in London, around Oxford Circus and Regent street. I visited the Apple store and Hamleys (a huge toy shop). I spoke in Kensit Evangelical church in the evening and met their new Pastor.
I went back to Cardiff on Friday. There was no meeting in the evening, and we had a lovely time with another couple from the Heath Evangelical church. Maxime was unwell and fell asleep on the sofa. He slept the whole time we were there.
On Saturday, we made our way to North Wales, taking our time and enjoying the sunshine.
Britain 2012, Day 7 — Bala to Carmarthen
It was an awful journey, from North to West Wales. It rained, we came across road works, there was more rain, more road works and traffic… But we made it to our friends Geraint and Magali. We’ll be staying with them until Wednesday while I am speaking in several churches in the area.
The program for today, 6th July 2012
We’re off to Carmarthen this afternoon to stay with our friends Geraint and Magali. Heavy rain is forecast for the whole day. No meetings tonight nor tomorrow.