Sheila’s Experiences

Women Alive is one of the leading Christian Magazines in the UK.

I was recently contacted by someone who wanted to join Christian House Sitters and I asked her where she had heard about our service. She said it was through an article in Women Alive. I had not seen the article but naturally got a copy.

Here is what they wrote on page 9 of the January 2012 edition. I would like to thank Sheila Jones for her lovely comments.

 

 

I’ve become a house sitter’

Sheila Jones (65) from Great Wyrley in the Midlands is a retired researcher and teacher in higher education, and currently an artist. She worships at St Mark’s and spent her summer house sitting for a couple in Beaconsfield. A few years ago, she joined a worldwide organisation called Christian House Sitters, whereby one looks after a house for anything from a week to several months. She has so far looked after properties in France, England and New Zealand. Sheila has two grown-up children and four grandsons. She has been widowed for 30 years.

About five years ago, I was browsing the internet and wondering if there was an opportunity to house sit in New Zealand, when I came across www.christian-housesitters.com. It is not a house swap, although I could put my house on the website for someone to look after while I am sitting for someone else if I wanted to. It costs just £25 to sign up and it’s a matter of seeing what locations and properties fit in with the holiday time you have.

I went to France last year and New Zealand the year before that. The longest time I have spent away is nine months in New Zealand. This year, I stayed in England and went back to a lovely house in Beaconsfield, where I have been several times before.

As a house sitter, you often have to look after the family pets. Sometimes it’s cats or dogs, and this year it was also chickens. But in return, I had all the eggs!

It’s an affordable way of seeing different parts of the country and visiting other parts of the world. I have enjoyed taking part in worship in other churches and it’s lovely to come back and share those experiences.

I usually go on my own, but I have on occasions taken my son or daughter. However, it’s important to let the owners know if there is more than one of you going, so they can get the rooms ready.

I would love to go to Canada, but although there have been houses that have come up from time to time, so far they haven’t fitted in with my free time.

Sheila’s Tips:

If you do house sit, make sure you are there before the owners leave. It enables you to meet them properly and know where things are.

One of the questions asked when you are linked up is whether you would like to be put in touch with one of the house owner’s friends. I would say yes and I always try and go to their local church when I am there. It is always good to see how others worship.

Have a spirit of adventure. If you are retired, it helps you get out of the “retirement mindset”.

~~~~~~~

If you are interested in knowing more about Christian House Sitters please visit our website CLICK HERE.

God bless you

Ray

Praying Hands by Ashley Reece

We are continuing our periodic series of articles by published Christian authors in which they tell us a little about themselves and also suggest some vacation reading for when you are next housesitting with Christian House Sitters.

Today we feature the work of Ashley Reece

Ashley Reece was born and raised in Detroit, MI to her parents Pastor William Reece & Angela Reece.  She In December 2010, she founded blessedfyi.com.   Blessedfyi.com is an online Christian magazine for youth.  Ashley attends the Blessed Community Baptist Church in Michigan.  Her father Pastor William C. Reece, Jr. is pastor. 

Ashley write:

My parents instilled in me at a young the importance of believing and following Christ.  As a preschool teacher, I learned that many children had no idea about praying.  Some also had no idea about Jesus Christ.  That bothered me and I feel that everyone should not only know about Jesus, but also praise and worship his name.  I’m a firm believer that Christ is the only way we are able to wake up and live each day.  He is the only one that makes all things possible in our lives. 

Strong Little Praying Hands-Christian Prayer Book for Youth

By: Ashley D. Reece

The Lord had placed on my heart last year to write “Strong Little Praying Hands”.  I’m a strong believer in Christ and if I did not have him I would not be here today.  We all have had trials and tribulations.  I’ve been lied on, mistreated and unemployed.  I woke up some days and had no idea how I was going to make it.  Jesus was all I had and sometimes you have to be at your lowest to get closer to him.  I prayed everyday and every night.  I remained faithful and did not give up.   The Lord answered my prayers and he is still blessing me.  “Strong Little Praying Hands”, is a prayer-book for children.  Prayer allows us to communicate with God, and children should learn the importance of prayer early on in their lives.  This book contains twelve prayers and twelve related bible verses.  While reading this book, children can recite prayers that relate to their everyday life and learn bible verses about praying.  I want the youth to know that they can pray to God about anything.  They should get in the habit of praying daily and not just when they need something in their lives.  We should pray when we’re happy and sad.  We should pray when things are going right in our life and when their going wrong.  I’m a witness that the Lord will continue to bless and protect us if we believe in his word, follow his commands and pray.  

Strong Praying Hands-Christian Prayer & Devotion Book for Everyone

By: Ashley D. Reece

Since Strong Praying Hands for Youth was published, I decided to write a book for adults as well.  Strong Praying Hands is a Christian Prayer & Devotion Book for Christian’s all over the world. Great for readers who want to grow closer to Christ, learn about topics that affect us every day and how to handle them with the guidance of Christ!  The book contains prayer, related bible verses, and discussion topics.  Some topics discussed are gossip, friendship and more.  Praise God, pray, read & learn at the same time!

Both books can be purchased at http://ashleydreece.com

Or Amazon.com

To find out more about how you can enjoy a rent-free vacation through Christian House Sitters or to ask us to arrange for someone to look after your home and pets while you are away please visit our website

CLICK HERE

God bless you,

Ray

A wonderful article from Washington

It is always exciting when a major publication does a feature on Christian House Sitters so I was thrilled when the Washington Times recently published a lovely article about our work.

The article was copyright but I contacted the reporter, Ruth Hill, and she has kindly given me permission to reproduce her work. If you have friends or family who may be interested why not point them to this as it clearly explains what we are doing.

You could even share it with your church.

 

 

Christians have keys to free worldwide lodging

Thursday, January 5, 2012 – Contemporary Christian Travel by Ruth Hill

WASHINGTON, January 5, 2012 — Are you a member in good standing of a Christian church anywhere in the world? If yes, you have the keys to free house stays and/or house and pet care while you are away. In a world of rising vacation and holiday travel expenses, this can be great news.

At non-profit Christian House Sitters (CHS), you can register as a house sitter – one who stays rent free in homes around the world and cares for pets and premises – or home owner – one who provides the premises and receives free caretaking – or both. Member registration in the sitter category costs 25 British pounds a year and all proceeds go to charity. Home owners register for free.

And there’s more good news besides free vacation stays. CHS founders and managers Ray and Marilyn White donate all membership fees to the Home for Peace ministry in Kenya for orphaned children.

Why Kenya? The couple both have personal and ministry roots in Africa. Marilyn was born in England but grew up in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Ray also has roots in South Africa, where he grew up. Johannesburg is where they met and married. Now semi-retired in the UK (West Sussex), they manage CHS and continue other ministry endeavors. There’s more about their professional backgrounds and hearts for the Kenyan children on the CHS website.

Ray and Marilyn founded CHS a few years ago after they did a two-month house sit in France. The Whites advise home owners how to qualify house sitters, but function primarily as a connection site for members who are connected to a recognized Christian church.

“We cannot guarantee to find you a house or a house sitter, but we can list details for people who choose to join the service,” said Ray White. Privacy is also a hallmark of CHS. White said they do not disclose member information beyond what they receive for publication on the site. One house now on the CHS site is available in St. Antonin, France for three weeks in February. A German Shepherd and three goats come with the four-bedroom property. Houses in Australia, South Africa, England, Wales and Canada are looking for sitters.

Though CHS participation is pretty much on the honor system, the ministry has many satisfied members who have cut costs for their personal travel as either house sitters or home owners who rely on other members to care for their homes and pets while they are away.

“We live in a ranch style three bedroom house located in Tacoma, Washington and we have one cat,” said John, a CHS home owner member. “We worry about leaving the house unoccupied when we vacation so on finding Ray’s service we decided to give it a try.

“We contacted CHS one week last spring, and in a few days we had received applications from eight families who all wanted the house” he continued. “We chose a Canadian couple. The couple supplied us with two references from their local church fellowship and we checked them out. We then spoke with them a couple of times by telephone and agreed to the details. They did a magnificent job of looking after our home and our cat. We now consider them friends, and later this year we will again be contacting Ray for a sitter so we can go to Calgary and visit with our sitters, Helen and Roger.”

CHS can be your new ticket to 2012 travel around the world. Check it out as a way to reduce travel expenses for trips around the world!

This article is the copywritten property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media.

Reproduced with the kind permission of Ruth Hill

 

Visit the Christian House Sitters website CLICK HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Wonderful Christmas.

Christian House Sitters has 2 reasons for existing.

1. We enable Christians all over the world to save loads of money and enjoy wonderful rent-free vacations

2. We use all our income to support children at the Home of Peace Childrens Home in Kenya. Children who would otherwise be homeless, living and often dying on the streets.

In this post I would like to share some of the pictures we received from the home after Christmas.

These pictures were taken as the children celebrated with a party and each child received a new item of clothing thanks to the generous gifts of our supporters.

Waiting to receive their special ‘party plate’ of treats 

Enjoying their special treats. Wearing their new items of clothing.

Games after lunch

Outside the new Nursery Room we build for them in 2011

Our wonderful team of workers

Please continue to pray for these children.

Our next challenge is that we need to pay school fees and buy uniforms for the 80 children this month.

 We also urgently need more regular sponsors to provide the funds for food. We send out money every 2 weeks but each time it is an ‘adventure in faith’ waiting to see how God will provide what is needed.

You can read more about the Children’s Home by CLICKING HERE

You can read more about Christian House Sitters by CLICKING HERE

Worldwide Christian Ministry.

I am often asked to explain what Christian House Sitters is all about. because it is Christmas I decided to make my life a little easier by simply reproducing an article that appeared a while ago in JOY MAGAZINE.

The only correction I would make is that the article says we plan to increase the percentage of income that we donate to the Children’s Home in Kenya. Well we can’t increase it any further as we give 100% of all income.

If you are starting to think about your next vacation why not look at our website. We may be able to help you.

God bless you,

Ray

 

Something Different

This blog post will be very different to my normal posts. I usually write about the work of Christian House Sitters and how you can enjoy a rent-free vacation but this is about the ministry that Christian House Sitters supports.

As we approach Christmas it is time for our annual appeal to  make a donation to support the children’s home that my wife, Marilyn, runs in Kenya called Home of Peace Children’s Home.

All income from Christian House Sitters goes to this ministry.

We have 80 children who would otherwise be living on the streets. We also have 9 members of staff. Their only income is from money that we are able to send. This provides for their food, accommodation, medical expenses, clothing and school fees. The staff do not receive a salary but get gifts of around £10 each per month and their food.

Each Christmas we ask people to prayerfully consider a love gift. No gift is too small (or too large).

We like to be able to give each child some much-needed clothes for Christmas and we also like to give them all a good special Christmas meal. To do this will cost about £10 per child or a total of about £800.

If your church or group want to help that would naturally be wonderful! You can read up on the work on our website at www.Christian-housesitters.com/kenya.htm

We will put up a running total on the web site at http://www.christian-housesitters.com/update.htm  were you will see how much has been received but we will NOT identify who has given. The total will be updated daily.

In order to make a donation please either go to the website www.Christian-housesitters.com/kenya.htm and click the donate button at the bottom of the page.

God bless you,

Ray

You CAN afford a good vacation!

You CAN afford a good vacation!

I have just finished reading the Expedia Vacation Deprivation Study

They say that the Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation study is an annual analysis of vacation habits across multiple countries and continents.

It is a fascinating but rather depressing study and you can see it in full here

But there is an answer.

According to this study the vast majority of American workers do not take their full vacation allocation even though they are only entitled to 14 days per year while in the UK the entitlement is 25 days and Germany and France it is 30 days. Seems to me the Americans are being short-changed and they really need to use their 14 days but they do not with most only taking 12 days a year off work.

Why?

The study looks at the reasons for people not taking their full entitlement and the reason is the same everywhere …. money! In the USA 34% said that they can’t afford to take their full vacation.

Now that is really sad! We all know how important a vacation is for your mental and physical health. Cutting it down because of cost is not necessary.

We can help you!

 

How?

Register with Christian House Sitters and you can enjoy rent-free vacations all over the world. We can also arrange for a Christian to look after your home and pets while you are away.

For more information please have a look at our website

God bless you,

Ray

Some Strange Canadian Laws

Over the past few weeks we have had two very different series running on this blog. Articles by well-known Christian authors suggesting some vacation reading and articles featuring odd laws from around the world.

Today we continue our Odd Laws and this time we are focusing on Canada.

Why are we looking at odd laws? Well really because I personally find them amusing and interesting but my official excuse is that with Christian House Sitters  you could end up having wonderful rent-free vacations all over the world so you need to be informed.

In Quesnel, British Columbia you must not exercise in a manner that frightens a horse – without permission

You may have thought of moving to St. John’s Newfoundland to raise cows. If you are successful in your quest, remember not to drive your cattle through the streets of the city after 8:00 am. There is nothing to stop you from doing so before that time, however, as long as they are trained to obey traffic lights and stop signs.

In Nova Scotia a person is not allowed to water their grass when it’s raining. Not like someone would do this, but it’s against the law in Nova Scotia!

In Cobourg, Ontario if you have a water trough in your front yard, it must be filled by 5:00am!

In Ottawa, Ontario you are not allowed to eat ice cream on Bank St on a Sunday!

In Fort Qu’Appelle Quebec it is illegal for a teen to walk downtown main street with his shoes untied?

In London, Ontario it is against the city by-law to allow your grass in your front yard to grow any taller than an inch and a half. If you do, the city will come by and cut it for you then give you a fine for $200.

Alberta Provincial Laws state that it is illegal to set fire to the wooden leg of a wooden-legged man

While in Wawa it is illegal to show public affection on Sunday.

In Montreal The Queen Elizabeth Hotel must feed your horse freely when you rent a room.

To find out more about how you can enjoy a rent-free vacation or have someone look after your home and pets free of charge while you are away please visit our website. www.Christian-housesitters.com

God bless you,

Ray

A Supernatural Adventure

Regular readers will know that Christian House Sitters  are committed to helping Christians enjoy the best holiday at the lowest price.

In fact rent-free.

When I am on vacation I like to relax with a really good book. We have therefore been running an occasional series where well known Christian authors write a short article about their work. Hopefully these articles will encourage you to read their books on your next vacation.

Jovan Jones is the
DESTINY IMAGE FICTION AUTHOR OF THE YEAR.

She is a Christian and has written three very exciting books.  Here, in her own words, is the story behind the stories.

The Descent Series is the exciting, unbelievable, yet TRUE tale of one woman’s two year odyssey deep into Hinduism and the Lord’s unconquerable grand design to bring her back. In truth, the series is based upon a two year period in the author’s life when she disappeared from Harvard graduate school in order to live in a South Indian ashram as a Hindu.

The Descent Series details the epic battle of good versus evil as it is played out in the life of a young African American woman, Maya, when she moves to India to live as a devout Hindu in an ashram of a famous guru. Catapulted into the high stakes conflict are her parents, Paul and Marie, who must battle for her return.

The first book of the series, Chasing the Avatar, opens with Maya, who has the best the world can offer: Harvard graduate school, teaching and advising undergraduates, extraordinary prospects but intense discontent. Her discontent compels her to explore meditation and Eastern religions. In her search, she meets Cha Ma, an Indian guru. Quickly, Maya comes to believe, as many Hindus believe, that Cha Ma is an avatar—a human incarnation—of Kali, the most malevolent and destructive of all Hindu deities. Spellbound, Maya immediately closes her life in Boston and, within three weeks, is on her way to Kerala, South India to live in Cha Ma’s ashram.

The series shares the fantastical tale of Maya’s life in the ashram. It is humorous—as when Maya falls into the toilet hole and when she encounters the Indians’ reaction to an African American woman. It is terrifying—as when she takes a Kali mantra and when she learns of how insane Kartika became so. It is romantic—as when Narayana, a Hindu monk, watches Maya from afar. It is heartbreaking—as when she finds herself on the temple roof attempting to jump.

Simultaneously, the tale of Maya’s parents is tenuously balanced and intricately interwoven with Maya’s tale of life in the ashram. Maya’s choice hurls her strong Christian parents, Paul and Marie, into a battle far beyond their wildest imagination. Against growing obstacles and intense spiritual warfare, they must battle for the return of their daughter. Theirs is a story of prevailing intercession in the face of alienation from each other, debilitating physical disabilities, a pseudo-brain tumor, extended unemployment and attacks of the enemy upon their minds—all efforts to quell their intercession. Yet, in the face of such attack, they stand fast.

It is their prayers that introduce much of the supernatural in this book. Throughout the book, the Lord’s angels confront Satan’s minions, for undergirding the human story is the spiritual warfare between the Lord’s angels and the demonic.

The second and third books of the series continue to draw the reader deeper into Maya’s fantastical world as Cha Ma reveals more and more of what she is—Chamunda Kali, a demon extraordinarily malevolent and conniving. However, Maya is in too deep and is too blind to see.The warfare against her parents increases in order to stop their intercession; yet they battle and pray against the mounting odds. The third book follows Maya as she travels around India with Cha Ma. It culminates in the Lord’s triumph over Satan.

If you desire to be swept away to strange lands, accosted with outrageous, yet believable characters doing outlandish things, then the Descent Series will captivate you. If you yearn to peer into the supernatural and catch a glimpse of the thoughts and activities of angels and demons as they engage humankind and each other, look no further, Chasing the Avatar beckons you.

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God bless you,

Ray

Parking an Elephant and other odd laws

My apologies for not posting anything this past week but we moved house and life has been chaotic. But I am back!

As I mentioned in my last post one of the joys of running Christian House Sitters is having contact with people from all over the world. But as our members travel around the world I thought it was time to introduce you to a few of the really strange laws from different countries.

This post will focus on some rather odd American Laws.

Alabama:

It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.

Alaska:

In Fairbanks it’s illegal to feed alcoholic beverages to a Moose.

Arizona:

Donkeys are not permitted to sleep in bathtubs.

Florida:

If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

Georgia:

It’s illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole.

Kentucky:

It is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket.

Louisiana:

Biting someone with your natural teeth is “simple assault,” while biting someone with your false teeth is “aggravated assault.”

Nebraska

In Lehigh it’s illegal to sell donut holes.

Tennessee:

It is illegal to use a lasso to catch a fish.

Washington:

A law to reduce crime states: “It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town.

Over the next few weeks I will feature strange laws from other places so if you know any do send them to me.

Meanwhile remember if you want someone to look after your home and pets while you are away or if you would like a rent free vacation the place to look is our website. CLICK HERE

God bless you,

Ray