Frustration. Don’t wait do it now.

Frustration

Every year, at this time,  Christian House Sitters goes through a period of real frustration.

July to Sept are very popular periods to get away and enjoy a vacation.

The ideal time to let us arrange for someone to come and look after your home and your pets FREE of charge while you are away.

So why the frustration?

Potential house sitters start looking for houses around the beginning of May.

People looking for someone to house sit for them often do not get around to listing their houses until the end of June or even later.

The result.

Sitters become frustrated and give up hope of finding the right place and home owners find that by the time they do list their home there are no longer any suitable sitters available.

Meanwhile I am sitting here tearing my little remaining hair out because I know from years of experience that there will be both houses needing sitters and sitters needing houses but I can’t satisfy either group because of their time difference.

Please help me help you and others.

If you are thinking of going away and would like a sitter let me know asap. Do not wait until the last-minute.
Remember it is a FREE service.

Just visit our website and register as a home owner. It is quick, free and easy. CLICK HERE 

Remember

• It is far safer to have someone in your home while you are away.
• Less chance of being broken into.
• Less chance that something in the home will become faulty leaving you to return to a disaster
• Your pets will be much happier
• You will save money
• You will be blessed and be blessing another Christian.

God bless you,
Ray

 

 

We are part of the registered charity

TLC Children’s Trust

UK Charity number 1156786

http://www.tlc-childrenstrust.org

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The Chicken & the Pig

 

The preacher was an impressive looking man with a deep booming voice. Everyone had told me what a great speaker he was, and I was certainly not disappointed. When he spoke he conveyed a feeling of power and authority.

Near the end of his sermon he turned to the congregation and said; ‘One day a Chicken and a Pig were strolling down the road together when they noticed a small boy sitting at the roadside. He was dressed in rags and was sobbing. The Chicken and the Pig felt sorry for him so they went over and asked him why he was so sad. The young lad tearfully explained, “I’m hungry, you see my Dad is out of work and so there is no money at home and with no money there is no food. I am crying because I am hungry.”

The Chicken and the Pig drew aside and the Chicken said; “We must
DO something. But what can we do”?

They thought for a while then the chicken turned to the pig and said, “I know let us pool our resources and give the kid a meal of bacon and eggs.”

“Just a moment”, replied the Pig,” That’s all very well for you. All you would be doing is making a token contribution but for me it would mean total commitment.”

The preacher thundered ‘God is not interested in our token contributions, He demands total commitment!’

I left that meeting feeling guilty. I knew that I’d not given God total commitment.  How, I wondered does one even begin?

The above is the beginning of my newly released book Balancing Your Life Effectively. A practical workbook on Christian Commitment. In the book you can read all about my search for the answer.

Available worldwide from Amazon. ISBN Number 13: 978-1503209718 

It is also available as a Kindle download.

God bless you,

 

Ray

We are part of the registered charity

TLC Children’s Trust

UK Charity number 1156786

www.tlc-childrenstrust.org

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The Adventure Continues. South Africa

I have been running an occasional mini-series reproducing media articles about the wonderful work of Christian House Sitters from all over the world.

So far we have reproduced an article from Canada Click here

One from the UK  Click here

Two from the USA  Click here   and Click here

Today I will share one from South Africa.

Note this is now a couple of years old so at the end I will update the details.

Let me update this article.

We now give 100% of all income from Christian House Sitters to this Children’s Home. Yes that is right 100% of all income not of all profits. We personally cover all overheads.

We are now a registered Charity and God has blessed the work at the Children’s Home.

So when you join Christian House Sitters you get the benefit of rent-free vacations, you can also have someone look after your home and pets free of charge while you are away and your full membership fee helps feed, cloth and educate vulnerable children.

To find out more about Christian House Sitters please Click Here

To find out about the charity and how you can get involved even if you are not part of Christian House Sitters please Click Here

God bless you,

Ray

We are part of the registered charity

TLC Children’s Trust

UK Charity number 1156786

www.tlc-childrenstrust.org

WordPress are adding adverts to blogs. 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

Thank you Australia

I was delighted this morning when I received a copy of INFORM’D CHRISTIAN NEWSPAPER from Australia and found an excellent article on our work.

We have featured in news articles from all over the world but I think this is the first from Australia.

If you want to see the original you will find it on page 13 of the current edition (9) at http://www.informedchristiannewspaper.com/

Below is a copy of the text from the article and also a small copy of the actual article.

MULTI-BENEFIT HOLIDAYING

Many people are finding it increasingly difficult to afford a holiday these days due to the world financial crisis we seem to be going through. This is indeed 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 holidays 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 at risk of heart disease were followed over the past nine years to see if there were ways to improve their longevity. Among the questions they were asked annually was about holidays.

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

When you look at the average cost of reasonable accommodation for a holiday even without food it is extremely expensive to the average working class family. Add to this, if you have a dog or other pet that needs minding or to be put in a kennel.

Christian House Sitters is a non-profit ministry that provides a worldwide service to enable members of recognised Christian churches to enjoy a rent free holidays. 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 from a much needed break that they may otherwise have been unable to afford.

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.

The service has already helped many people from around the world enjoy a much needed holiday and it is expected that as the credit crunch bites further, many more will benefit from this facility.

The service is free for home owners and costs just a nominal fee per year for house sitters. Christian House Sitters are located all over the world with many of them in Australia.

All income goes to Christian Children’s Home in Kenya and provides accommodation, food, clothing, education and medical expenses for 80 children. Christian House Sitters is the sole means of support for these children and all money is very carefully monitored.

Full details can be found on the Christian House Sitters at www.christian-housesitters.com.

 

God bless you,

Ray

P.S. Here is a copy of the actual article.

Unanswerable Questions

I get loads of emails every day from all over the world. I am not talking about spam. Those I just delete without even reading. I mean real messages from real people who are interested to find out more about Christian House Sitters.

It is fun to look at the timing of the emails. When I wake up in the morning I normally have a bunch from Australia and New Zealand. As the day progresses I start getting the messages from Europe and the UK. Then late in the day and into the evening it is the USA and Canada that dominate my inbox.

We do our best to answer everyone within a maximum of 12 hours. Most are answered far quicker than that.

But among the questions I get there are some that are simply unanswerable.

The most common is from people wanting to know what houses are going to become available at a specific location in the future.

I can’t see into the future. I only know what is available now. I will find out about future houses when their owners decide to list them.

So to try to answer most of the common questions here is a brief summary of what we do and how it works.

Who can Join?

Any Christian who belongs to a recognised Christian Church. People can register as a House Sitters, a Home Owners 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 look after your home and pets for you and in return they receive a rent free holiday in your home. So the house owner saves money by not having to pay anyone to look after their home and pets. They have the security of knowing that their 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 rather than an expensive and often characterless hotel room. You are notified about every new listing and can apply for as many as you like.

By becoming a registered House sitter you will benefit by being able to have short or long breaks in your own country or abroad.

Your only expense will be the actual cost of travelling to and from the destination and your food.

You will know that you are helping another Christian to have a break and that when you arrive you will be introduced to their Church and Christian friends.

Naturally it is entirely up to you to decide if you want to get involved or not.

Having done house sitting ourselves we know that arriving in a strange place knowing nobody can be lonely. This should be overcome through using this Christian website.

So what actually happens?

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.

What does this all cost?

Registration as an owner is free. Registration as a sitter is only £25 (or the equivalent in your local currency)  per year. All of which goes to supporting a Christian Children’s Home in Kenya. The cost of running the service is covered by Marilyn and Ray White as a service.

If you want any more information please visit the website CLICK HERE or feel free to email me

God bless you

Ray

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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

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Keep Your Home Safe While you are on Vacation

How would I ever manage without my friends?

Having so many members of Christian House Sitters scattered all around the world I am blessed to have interesting articles emailed to me from publications I would otherwise never have known existed.

An example is an article from a company called Brown Safe whose website tells me that the company was founded in 1980 and has grown into the premiere safe and vault company providing worldwide security solutions.

Today they published an article entitled

10 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe While Away on Summer Vacation(http://bit.ly/piXxXr)

They begin by pointing out that one of the keys to enjoying a vacation is knowing that your home is safe and secure. It can be very hard to concentrate on having a good time when you are concerned about break-ins and fires back at home.

Number one on the list was …….

1. Get a house sitter: By far, the best way to protect your home is by having a trusted friend or family member who can live in the house while you are away. If you have pets, they can take care of them at the same time. There are also house sitting services that will do this for a fee, but you have to be sure that you trust them.

Excellent advice.

Now can we improve on that advice?

Yes I believe that we can.

Firstly they say that there are house sitting services that will do this for a fee.

True.

But with Christian House Sitters it is FREE. Yes that is right. No catch, no small print and no charge.

Then they say be sure you can trust them.

Again they are correct.

But with Christian House Sitters all our registered sitters are members of a recognised Christian Church and are willing to give you references including one from a leader in their church.

Brown & Co list a further 9 helpful suggestions but if you have a house sitter they are all unnecessary. No need to stop your mail, stop the newspaper delivery, etc.

So why not contact us and let us arrange your FREE membership as a Home Owner and start the ball rolling to get your FREE house sitter lined up for your next vacation

For more information see our website www.Christian-housesitters.com
or
Contact me

God bless you,

Ray

http://www.christian-housesitters.com