House hunting and web site redesign.

Sorry that I have been neglecting this blog for the past few weeks. Life has been rather hectic. As I mentioned in a previous blog the house we presently rent has now been sold and we urgently need to find somewhere else to live. So for the past few weeks Marilyn and I have been rushing around looking at houses to rent but so far we have not found anything suitable.

Are we worried? No but we are concerned as we must move out of here before the new owners move in but we believe God has a place for us we just wish He would tell us where it is so we can get started.

Prayers would be appreciated

With the weather in the UK I thought of this as an option

ON ANOTHER TOPIC
Over this past weekend I was doing some work trying to make the Christian House Sitters website more attractive.

This was prompted because I received an email from someone saying that it was starting to look dated. He actually said it looks 6 years old and that in internet terms that is about the same as dog years. Ouch!

Anyway I have changed the colour scheme, redesigned the FAQ page, updated the Home Page, renamed Comments Received as Testimonials (his suggestion) and tweaked the meta tags to hopefully get us higher ranking in Google.

I am sure that there is still lots that could be done to make the site even better but as 100% of the income from this ministry goes to support a Children’s Home in Kenya who depend on us for food etc. I can’t justify spending money getting in a professional so I will just keep making what adjustments I can myself.

Have a look at the new design and send me your (hopefully) encouraging comments. You can see it at  www.christian-housesitters.com

Also please remember to tell your church, family and friends about our ministry.

It has blessed people all over the world who would otherwise have either not had a vacation or had to make do with something much less enjoyable.

God bless you

Ray

Open Letter to Church Leaders

This is an Open Letter to all church leaders.

If you are not one of the leaders please pass it on to the appropriate person. Please also pass it on to anyone you know in other churches who may be willing to make this known to their church.

This is the time of year when members of your congregation are no doubt starting to plan their vacations. If any of your congregation are interested in having a Christian look after their home and animals while they are on vacation I am sure we can help find the right person.

This is a MINISTRY not a business. Our service will not cost them anything. It is free to house owners.

Home Owners who want to take a vacation and need someone to look after their home and or pets can register and then enjoy their time away knowing that their home and animals are well cared for by another Christian without having to pay house carers or pet carer fees. As I said this will not cost them anything as it is FREE to home owners.

Christians who need a break can also register as House Sitters and enjoy a rent-free vacation while house sitting in different countries around the world with no accommodation costs. With the present world financial problems this can provide a much-needed rent-free vacation.

As I mentioned  we are NOT a business but a Ministry. 100% of all income goes to support a Christian Children’s Home in Kenya. Full details are included on our website. CLICK HERE

You can read media reports on our ministry under the Media Coverage tab on our website. This includes reports in:

WASHINGTON TIMES
WOMEN ALIVE
FAITH FILLED FAMILY MAGAZINE
POBL DEWI
CANADIAN CHRISTIANITY
JOY MAGAZINE
CATHEDRAL CONNECTIONS
CHURCH TIMES

Please can you make this service known to your congregation.   Our full details are listed on the About Us page of our website. These include our physical address and telephone number.

God bless you,

Ray White

Christian House Sitters

 

 

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A Great Idea. Feel free to share it.

I received an email from one of our members telling me that he has just been appointed as editor of their church magazine. For his next edition he wants to include an article about Christian House Sitters and he therefore asked me to send him something suitable.

I have never claimed to be an author (although I have had 2 books published. One is on Stress and the other on Christian Discipleship) so I produced a draft article and sent it to him with permission to edit it, re write it or even dump it as he sees fit.

Now I am by nature happy to work hard but I am also more than willing to relax when it seem appropriate so I decided to use the article I sent him as my new blog post.

I hope that you find it interesting, informative and useful.

Feel free to use it in your own church magazine or to share it with anyone.

 Help for Christian Families During The Recession

The world is going through a period of serious international financial crisis. Recently the UK chancellor announced an austerity budget in an attempt to keep the UK from slipping further into deficit. As a result of the financial problems naturally many people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford a holiday. This is a problem as research has clearly shown that during times of severe stress holidays can be more important than ever and can help prevent many stress related health problems.

Probably the best evidence of the effects of vacations can be found in the Framingham Heart Study, which scientists have been plumbing for years to understand what contributes to our well-being. More than 12,000 men who were at risk of heart disease were followed over nine years to see if there were ways to improve their longevity. Among the questions they were asked annually was about vacations.

“The more frequent the vacations, the longer the men lived,” says Karen Matthews of the University of Pittsburgh’s Mind-Body Center, who analyzed the data to assess the benefits of holidays.

Christian House Sitters is a non-profit ministry that provides a worldwide service to enable members of recognized Christian churches to enjoy a rent free vacations.

It also enables home owners to have a reliable person to look after their home and pets free of charge whilst they are away.

This can save both parties a great deal of money and therefore enable them to benefit form a much-needed break that they may otherwise have been unable to afford.

Out of interest I spent some time today looking at the average cost of a reasonable (3 star) hotel in the UK for a couple with 2 children. The average was around £85  ($136)per night without food.

A small hotel room

For this you get to stay in an impersonal often small hotel room.

An average 2 week break would therefore cost approximately £1190  ($1912) Add to this that if you are a home owner with a dog my research today showed that it will cost you about £600  to have someone pop in once a day for the 2 weeks and feed / walk you dog. The rest of the time the dog is left alone and the house is unoccupied.

A recent listing on Christian House Sitters website

But by registering as a House Sitter you could stay in a lovely spacious house rather than a hotel room and it would cost you no rent at all. An immediate saving of about  £1190  and if you also register as a home owner (you do not need to register as both. You can register as either a sitter or an owner only if you prefer) you save another £600 ($963)  bringing your savings to around £1790  ($2875)

This service has already helped many people from around the world and it is expected that as the credit crunch bites many more will benefit from this facility.

The service is free for home owners and costs just a nominal £25 per year for sitters. All income from the site goes towards running a Christian Children’s Home in Kenya that provides accommodation, food, clothing, education and medical expenses for 80 children who would otherwise be left to either starve, beg or steal in order to stay alive.

Some of the children enjoying Christmas Dinner

Christian House Sitters is their sole means of support and all money is very carefully monitored.

Full details can be found on the Christian House Sitters website http://www.christian-housesitters.com

 

God bless you,

Ray

 

 

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5 Tips to Save You Money on Your Next Vacation

Here are my tips to save you money on your next vacation.

1. Book as soon as possible

Time Flies

I was reading an article a few minutes ago that reminded us that to get the very best bargain on your next vacation you should be booking now.  It says Summer might seem a long way off but having sun, sea and sand to look forward to could just take the edge of the harsh winter months. While last-minute deals often prove to be a bargain, booking early for summer 2013 could save you a bundle.(See full article by Clicking here) 

2.Do not pay for a hotel room.

Stay rent-free in a lovely house instead. Register with Christian House Sitters so that you can benefit from having your accommodation rent-free. We have members all over the world so this may mean you can get to visit that country you have often dreamed of seeing but could not afford. Full details click here

3. Do not fork out a fortune for kennels, cattery or pet sitters.

This is available free of charge. Tell Christian House Sitters your dates and we will try and arrange for someone to come and look after your home and pets free of charge. This keeps your home safe.and it will save you a lot of money on pet care. Full details click here

4. Do not go where the Beckhams are going.

I could not find a royalty free image of David Beckham

I see that David Beckham is taking his wife, Victoria, and their 4 children on an 11 day vacation. So what? I hear you ask. Well the thing that caught my attention was the price. According to the report (click here to read it in full) these 11 days are going to cost him a quarter of a million pounds. Yes that is right it is costing £250,000 or in American money $403,000.Frankly to me that feels wrong. Yes he has  the money but to spend that amount for 11 days when there are so many who can’t even afford a meal or anywhere to live shows a real lack of compassion. The amount he is spending for half a day could rebuild our entire children’s home, equip it with better dormitories, a new kitchen a dining room. new equipment and have enough left over to cover the cost of education and food for our 80 children for a long time. Details of children’s home click here)

OK Get off your soap box Ray!

Sorry but I just needed to get that off my chest.

5. Save on food.

Eating in a fancy restaurant is lovely and I am sure it will be a part of your vacation but there is no need to eat out every day. If you are staying in a rent-free house through Christian House Sitters you will have a fully equipped kitchen and so you can prepare quick, tasty and easy meals at a fraction of the restaurant prices and then use some of the money you saved to have a few really special meals at a local restaurant.

God bless you,

Ray

 

P.S. WordPress are adding adverts to blogs. Seems they are not always shown but if there are adverts on this page please note they were not placed by me, not approved by me and do not imply my recommendation.

Resting and Relaxing at Last

Life has been hectic for the past few months. Loads of different things ranging from church activities through to the difficult time that we have had with Marilyn’s health and her two lots of major surgery since April.

Thank you to all who have been praying for Marilyn. We really do appreciate it.

Even though she has been so ill Marilyn has managed to continue her work running the Children’s Home in Kenya. God has also faithfully been providing the funds needed to keep those 80 kids fed and looked after. To all who have given we say a big thank you.

If you would like to know more about the work in Kenya please use the contact form on this blog.

The view from the back of the house

We are now on vacation in Cornwall where we are house sitting in a delightful house set in fabulous scenery.  It is just so good to be able to unwind at last. No pressure just  time to rest, enjoy the countryside and for Marilyn to start regaining her health.

This morning I watched some TV, enjoyed a good book and went out for a walk. I can’t remember when I was last able to just chill-out.I am already starting to feel the benefit.

Over the next few days we plan to take some short trips to explore this beautiful area.

Out of interest I have just looked up the cost of holiday house rentals in this area. The average if we wanted a 3 bedroom house is £360 for 3 days.

We will be staying in this lovely 4 bedroom house, with 2 lounges, a conservatory, and a large fully equipped kitchen with a separate dining room for 15 days so based on the online prices this would have cost us in excess of £1,800.

We are enjoying it FREE. Thanks to Christian House Sitters. Our only tasks while we are here are to water a couple of indoor pot plants and feed the lovely cat. Actually having the cat is adding to our enjoyment as she is so friendly, no trouble and we love animals.

The front garden

So if you feel that you would also benefit from a rent-free vacation (we have houses all over the world) why not visit the website. Even though we are on vacation the work of Christian House Sitters continues so feel free to make contact.

God bless you,

Ray

 

Dentists and Our Vacation

I was chatting to a friend at church today and he said the financial crisis is so great even the ‘tooth fairy’ is leaving IOU’s

That bothered me because on Tuesday I am going to the dentist to have a lower back tooth extracted.

Now normally I would feel sorry for myself and expect loads of tender loving care from Marilyn but on Thursday she is going into the Guildford Hospital to have all her teeth removed. So my one extraction seems rather unworthy of making a fuss.

Many of you have been praying for Marilyn since I mentioned her health problems in this blog a few months ago. Thanks.

The reason for her dental problems at the moment is because of the poor health that she has suffered over the past couple of years. But with the very major abdominal surgery that she had in April and now her teeth removed we believe this is a turning point and she should soon be back in good health.

At the start of this post I mentioned the lack of funds in the ‘tooth fairy’ account. So it seems we will not be getting any payment for all these teeth but thanks to Christian House Sitters after Marilyn’s dental surgery we are off to have a lovely rent-free vacation in Cornwall. This should give her a real opportunity to heal and start regaining her strength. We love Cornwall but this will be our first time in Bude. It looks lovely from the pictures that I have seen online.

Even though we will be away the ministry of Christian House Sitters will not be disrupted. Where I go my computer follows.

So if you are interested in having a rent-free vacation have a look at our website. We have houses all over the world. The list keeps changing but today we have places as far apart as New Zealand, Australia, America and the UK.

Just CLICK HERE

God bless you,

Ray

Urgent Prayer Request

I normally try to post something interesting every week.

I have not posted for 2 weeks but hopefully this will help you to understand the reason.

MARILYN

As some of you will know Marilyn (my wife) has been fighting for her life for the past year. After being passed around a number of different consultants she eventually got to see the professor of surgery and he has discovered that when she had an operation three years ago for an ileostomy it was not done correctly. They left the damaged colon in place and this has caused major problems. The professor has said that after all this time rectifying it will be extremely difficult and there is no guarantee of success. However he has agreed to perform the surgery to remove the damage and to try to fix a number of the other problems. This will take place on Monday, 23rd of April at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford. Please pray for both Marilyn and the surgical team

HOME OF PEACE

Christian House Sitters exists for two purposes.

We seek to enable Christians around the world to enjoy a vacation and at the same time save a lot of money. We are always encouraged when we receive messages from our members saying how this service has blessed them.

We also exist in order to support the children at the Home of Peace children’s home in Kenya.

Marilyn is responsible for this home and is in constant contact with them. She has managed to keep this going even though she has been so ill. She now needs to urgently get 60 children sponsored at £16 a month.

The Kenyan authorities are complaining that we are taking so long to get enough sponsors and have contacted us demanding that something be done soon! Because of Marilyn’s health we have been able to stall them for another month. If we cannot show to children services that all are sponsored the unsponsored children would have to leave the home to the streets to fend for themselves. This is not logical but these are the rules set by the Kenyan authorities.

We have sponsors for the 20 youngest children but not for the other 60 children. God has faithfully provided for the monthly needs through gifts but we do need to be able to show the authorities that we have regular sponsorship for every child

Once we have all the sponsorship we can put in the official application for registration and then they will allow us a further 12 months to build the other facilities that will be needed such as more dormitories, kitchen dining room etc to bring things to the required standard. Once the children are sponsored funds for building facilities etc will be able to be taken from gift that come in and the fees paid by members of Christian House Sitters.

Please could you ask your church, woman’s work, youth group etc if they could prayerfully consider sponsoring a child at £16 per month

At the moment we have 74 of our children who are in school and this is so important for their future. They are doing very well.

Up-to-date news about what is happening at the home can be seen on our website. CLICK HERE.

If you feel that you cannot help to get a child sponsor then at least please pray for Marilyn as she has to shoulder this responsibility.

The sponsorship can be arranged directly through the website CLICK HERE or by direct bank transfer. Contact me if you need any details.

God bless you and thanks for your prayers,

Ray.

Warning. This post is Different!

Warning. This blog post is very different to what I usually post. Hopefully nothing to offend anyone but be warned it may challenge you and it could save lives.  If you are not willing to be challenged it may be wise to stop reading now.

I was looking through some news reports on household income for people living in the UK and in the USA and was surprised to find that they are virtually the same. According to a report by the BBC the average British income for a couple is £40,000 per year and according to Finance My Money the US equivalent average income is $60,000 which converts at todays rate to £39,000. So really not a lot of difference.

 Taking the UK figure because it is easier to work with the £40,000 pa works out at £3333 per month and while to some that may sound a lot it is low enough for the BBC to ask Is £40,000 really a livable income for families in the UK?

Yes I do understand statistics and I fully appreciate that an average income means many will earn less but equally many earn more. Some significantly more. I know for a fact that this average amount is more than my family income! Dare I say considerably more. And yet we manage to live a happy and fulfilling life so in my opinion the answer to the BBC question is yes it is enough.

Now let us look a little further afield. As regular readers of this blog will know Christian House Sitters has a duel ministry.

We help Christians all over the world to enjoy rent free vacations and we support a Children’s Home in Kenya.

In order to support this we give 100% of all income that is earned by Christian House Sitters to the home.

We also ask people to sponsor a child and to consider giving a gifts. Finally we hold the occasional fund-raising event.

As a result we are able to send out about £1,000 a month to support the home. This money needs to provide food, clothing, accommodation, schooling, school uniforms, medical expenses etc for just over 80 vulnerable children and 10 members of staff.

It is simply not enough! It works out at around £11 per month per person. The BBC questioned if £3333 per month is enough for a couple with 2 children. That is £833 per person. We are trying to save children’s lives on £11 per month.

Yes I do know that the cost of living is far higher in the UK and the USA but hopefully this will help you to understand why we need to appeal for more sponsors.

Please can I ask you to give this some serious consideration. Mention it to your friends, family and church. We have set the sponsorship at £16 per month but if you can’t afford that anything you can manage will help us to save lives.

If you want any more information please feel free to contact me.

You can read more about Christian House Sitters and how you can save money by having rent-free vacations by going to our website CLICK HERE

You can read more about the Children’s Home by seeing the Kenya page CLICK HERE.

From the Kenya page you can also easily and safely arrange a donation or a sponsorship.

God bless you,

Ray

WOW Another Blessing!

The last few weeks have been amazing. God has been so good and given us publicity in the Washington Times, Women Alive Magazine in England and now in the American magazine Faith Filled Family.

This article takes you a little deeper into what we do and why so I am reproducing it below.

Ray White was born in South Africa. His wife, Marilyn, moved to South Africa from England at eleven months of age. They now live in England but they have seen the needs of the people in this region, and their heart is to help Christian work in Africa. .

Their organization, Christian House sitters enables them to support a children’s home in Kenya with proceeds going towards this charity.

Faith Filled Family: How did you come up with the idea for Christian House Sitters?

Ray: When we retired, we had very little money as it had all gone into the work of the Christian Counseling Ministry so in order to be able to have a good vacation we needed to find an alternative to paying full price. We heard about a Secular House Sitting organization and registered and ended up in a house in France for 3 months. It was a wonderful experience but we found it a bit lonely as we knew nobody and could not find a church. Also the home owners who were not Christians left some statues and things around the house that made us feel uncomfortable. Marilyn said that the next time we should use a Christian organization so we searched and could not find one anywhere. Marilyn therefore suggested we start one which we did and the result is Christian House Sitters.

Faith Filled Family: It is my understanding that you two started this ministry on your own. Would you please explain what the CHS does?

Ray: We seek to help home owners and house sitters find each other. People can register as a Sitter, an Owner or as both. If you register as a home owner we help you to find a house sitter to move into your home while you are away on vacation. They will look after your home and pets for you free of charge and in return they receive a rent free vacation in your home. So as an owner you save money by not having to pay anyone to look after your home and pets. You also have the security of knowing that your home and pets are being looked after by a responsible Christian.

If you register as a house sitter you get to travel and stay rent-free in lovely homes all over the world rather than in expensive and often characterless hotel rooms.

How does this work in practice? When you register as an owner we list your house details (without the specific address) on the restricted section of our website that can only be viewed by registered sitters.

We also email all registered sitters drawing their attention to the listing.

Sitters then decide which houses they are interested in and click an enquiry button. That automatically sends the owners their details and their profile info. Then it is over to the owner to make contact and decide which application they like best, check references and arrange the sit.

Faith Filled Family: How can someone sign up for either being as an owner or sitter?

Ray: It is really very easy. All they need to do is visit our website www.Christian-housesitters.com and click on the link to register. They will be asked for their name, the name of their church and minister and for some information about themselves. As long as they are members of a recognized Christian Church we will accept them as members. We also write to the named minister informing him or her that these members of the church have joined CHS.

Faith Filled Family: Can I be an owner and a sitter? What about paying, if I am both would I still pay the sitter fee?

Ray: You can register as a sitter, as an owner or as both. Registration as an owner is FREE. Registration as a Sitter is £25 per year.

Faith Filled Family: How does a sitter gain access to the houses available and the timetables?

Ray: When a sitter registers they select a password. This enables them to login to the members section of the website and see details of all available houses. From here they can also notify home owners of their interest in a house. Also whenever any new house is listed with us we send an email to all registered sitters giving them the details and reminding them that if they are interested they should login and contact the owner.

Faith Filled Family: What advice do you provide for both parties?

Ray: On the website we have a number of sections to help people. These include:

Tell Your Sitter, Advice to Sitters, Suggested Agreement and also more general info under “House Sitting Explained” and under FAQ

Faith Filled Family: How many countries has your ministry been extended into?

Ray: At the moment we have active members in Canada, USA, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales

We are also looking into expanding into other areas as well.

Faith Filled Family: I would think this is a fluid ministry in that owners and sitters are changing. Is this true?

Ray: Yes and no. Many owners remain with us and use our service every time they have a vacation.

There is no limit on how often they can ask for a sitter. We also have many sitters who renew their membership every year. But naturally there are some owners and sitters who do not remain with us and there are also always new people joining.

Faith Filled Family: I understand that the benefits from the sitters’ fee go towards a particular charity. Where does it go?

Ray: 100% of this money goes to support homeless children at a Christian Children’s Home in Kenya.

The cost of running the site is covered by us so all income goes to these needy children. You can read more about the children’s home as www.Christian-housesitters.com/kenya.htm

Faith Filled Family: Please explain how and why you chose your beneficiary?

Ray: When we first started we decided that we wanted to support Christian work in Africa because of our personal experience there. Initially this money went to a Christian Organization in South Africa.

Meanwhile our church had been helping a Children’s Home in Kenya. For various reasons the church could no longer afford to continue this financial support and after much prayer we decided to take it on as our project. The work had not been run very efficiently in Kenya so Marilyn, who is experienced in business management, set up a strong accountability structure with herself as the leader. She appointed local Christians to run the home on a day-to-day basis under a local leadership team.

But all major decisions need to be approved by her and she also makes certain that the money is properly accounted for and used wisely. She has had contact with local officials and the home has been inspected by both the area Chief and the District Commissioner who expressed their delight in how well it is being run.

Faith Filled Family: The Home of Peace Children’s Home in Kenya; how many children are cared for at the home?

Ray: This varies slightly but we normally have between 80 and 85 children who would otherwise be living on the streets, begging or stealing to stay alive. We provide them with accommodation, food, clothing, medical care and pay for their schooling. This is all done in a strong Christian atmosphere. As a result we are seeing lives transformed.

Faith Filled Family: You have explained that Home of Peace Children’s Home in Kenya Is supported by the CHS. Does the ministry cover all expenses?

Ray: At this stage we are their only financial support. Over the past 12 months we have built them 2 toilet blocks (before this they had to use a field which we felt was not satisfactory), we have built a nursery room for the younger children, and we have got additional beds for the children. They now all have bedding and mosquito nets and we have been able to keep them in food, medicine and clothing. It is often really difficult and each time we send out money it is an adventure in faith asking God to supply but He has never failed. If we had additional funds we would love to improve the facilities, build some more dormitories, turn our temporary kitchen into a real kitchen, etc.

Faith Filled Family: If someone desires to donate to the Children’s Home, how would they go about doing so?

Ray: They can do that from our site by clicking the donate button or by sponsoring a child. Full details are at www.christian-housesitters.com/kenya.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information see www.Christian-housesitters.com

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