A  Little Personal History ...

Born on his parents farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1947, Denis G Beedie at the age of 18 years in 1966  began studying the Bible on his own, in his quest for a spiritual understanding to life.  He then began attending the Aberdeen Salvation Army at the city`s Castlegate in November 1966 at the recommendation of a work colleague.

In 1967, at 8.45pm in a church service under the ministry of Brigadier Harlow who was the Commanding Officer of the Aberdeen S.A Corps, Denis at the young age of 19 years, surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 In that same year he received a Call to the Ministry during the preaching of the Word by a visiting Salvation Army Officer who called on men and women to consider serving God in missions work and for almost 55 years now, he has held Divine Healing campaigns in hundreds of churches throughout the United Kingdom and Overseas.  

In 1971, as a young man visiting the Mount Ephraim Fellowship of Pastor Burnett of Reading, Berkshire, Denis was introduced to the Fasting ministry of Franklin and Helen Hall (of Phoenix, Arizona) and for the first time in his life entered a 5 day season of fasting and prayer. During that week God revealed His healing and deliverance power in an awesome manner during prayer for a very ill Asian lady whom doctors had given but a short time to live but who was instantly healed of her infirmity.

 (Read the amazing story in our web-page above...  (Part 1: Fast and Pray the Bible Way).

Below : Sister Pritto Jittu

 This beginning of healings in Denis`s ministry launched him into a lifetime of fastings and prayer on behalf of the sick and suffering. Countless testimonies of amazing cures have since those early days followed his ministry.   

Some years later, in March 1982, he was appointed to the pastorate of the Southall Assemblies of God Church West London, where he and his wife Polly laboured for the Lord for several years. During these years in Southall they witnessed amazing miracles and healings amongst the Hindu, Moslem, Sikh and Christian communities of Southall  and the surrounding areas and hundreds of lives were touched by the power of God. Even today, more than 40 years later, the effects of those early years amongst the Asian community are still felt and seen. A number of young men and women who sat under his ministry in those early years are now in full-time service for the Lord as pastors, evangelists and church leaders themselves, some of them having an international ministry. Others are well-known businessmen and women in the Community noted for their uprightness, honesty, integrity and deep Christian Faith. 

Below : Southall Assemblies Of God Church, West London.

Our Calling to Southall….  London`s Largest Asian Community

1982 - 1988 .....  MIGHTY MIRACLES OF HEALING !!

Polly and I in early 1982 were living in the home of Pastor Bernard Porter and his wife, Ida, of the Paddington Assembly of God Church, since our marriage 6 months earlier, and on numerous Saturdays we had been visiting Southall because we felt the call of God to come to this lovely Community to do a work for God.

We knew that there was already an AoG church in  Hortus Road, in the area known as Old Southall, and so, not wishing to encroach upon the work there, we visited the Southall Broadway area of the town.

Pastor Porter had no knowledge that we had been visiting Southall on numerous occasions, praying and seeking the will of the Lord regarding our possible ministry there, but one day he called us to come and chat with him. He told us that the then current Pastor of the Assembly of God Church in Southall, William G. Keen, (the son in law of the Founding Pastor) had been pastoring the Hortus Road work since 1932 but was now very ill and desired that God would send someone with a heart for Southall to come and care for the Work there. Brother Porter asked Sister Polly and I if we would consider seeking the Lord in prayer concerning pastoring the work. This Assembly of God Church had first begun it`s Ministry as an Assembly of the Christian Brethren Movement in 1924, but it`s Founder came into the experience of being `Baptised in the Holy Ghost` and the Assembly was then affiliated with the Pentecostal Denomination of the British Assemblies of God in 1926.

We then told Pastor Porter of our numerous visits to Southall and our desire to work for the Lord there. He was quite surprised that we had already sensed the wooing of the Spirit to come to Southall and was greatly encouraged by this news. He informed us that Brother Keen was very afraid of handing the work over to anyone else, but because of severe, long term illness he was forced into such a situation.

Brother Porter himself had pastored his work at Paddington since the 2^nd world war, had been involved in every council in the Assemblies of God organisation in the U.K. and was at the time, chaplain to Wormwood Scrubs Prison and was held in high esteem by the AoG organisation. Thus it was that Pastor Keen felt that Brother Porter in his wisdom could find suitable candidates to Oversee the Southall Assembly.

After much prayer by Sister Polly and I, we felt that it was the guiding of the Lord to accept the offer to oversee the Southall Assembly, and so a Meeting was arranged in March 1982 where we met and were introduced to the Flock. At that Meeting  a vote was taken by the members on whether or not they would like us to be their new pastor. The vote was unanimous, and we were elected to be the new Overseers of the work.

THE KEY ...

TO  REVIVAL!           ..                                                                                       

We had sought the Lord in much fasting and prayers concerning the Key to revival in the Community and we believed God has shown us what that Key was.

Healing Unlocks The Door For Salvation!    

As a new minister in the area, I thought it appropriate to visit the other Pastors and Church leaders in the Community, introduce ourselves, and through heart to heart talks, asked these dear Brothers what they felt was the key for a move of God in Southall. I had many varied answers, but the enduring one of them all was, that all these Brethren had gone from door to door with leaflets inviting the local residents to their Meetings but there had been very little, if any  response. I sensed a deep sadness in their voices at this admission.

The Key that Polly and I felt that would open the door for our work in Southall was the Healing Ministry. We therefore invited many Evangelists from home and abroad including Melvin Banks of the AoG to come and hold weekends of Healing Services in the Church. During those many meetings the Hall was packed to capacity with people coming and seeking a touch from the Lord. With this wonderful response, we felt that this was God`s `Amen` on what should be the `thrust` of our ministry. And so it was, that at every Service, Tuesday Prayer Meeting, Thursday Bible Study, Saturday Street Meeting and Saturday Youth Meeting and both Sunday Services, opportunity was given at some point in all these gatherings to pray for the sick. Word soon spread of healings taking place and the local Asian community began to come seeking the Lord.

Our Moslem neighbours would come to our door and ask us to come to their homes to pray for loved ones who were sick. For instance, our neighbours Noorjan and Mohammed had a brother stricken with meningitis, and one day they asked if we would go to his home and pray for him. We went along to Villiers Road and I spoke to the young man who lay in bed and told him about Jesus and His saving and healing power. I asked him if he had first asked his Priest at the Mosque if he had invited him to pray for his healing and the young man said, “I asked my Imam to ask Allah to heal me, but he told me we must accept Allah`s will” .. At this point the young man broke down and wept and said to me, “I don`t want to die, I don`t want to leave my 2 children without their father!” I replied, asking him if he would like me to pray for him and he said “Yes” ..I then said, “When I pray for you, I will be praying in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, is that ok with you?” .. and through his tears he said, “Yes, please pray to God for me!” And so we laid hands on him and prayed for him, and within 15 minutes he was out of bed completely healed in the name of Jesus Christ, HalleluYah!! His sister Noorjan was so happy that she couldn`t stop speaking of the healing every time we met her after that.

On another occasion, a local Sikh Business-man came to us and told us that his father-in-law was very ill, and would we come and pray for him. A meeting was arranged for the following Wednesday at the sick man`s home. We went upstairs and found this very sick elderly man lying in bed with boxes of medication lying around him and a large oxygen bottle nearby. We were told he suffered from severe heart problems, lung problems and diabetes. We chatted with him for a few minutes about the love of the Lord Jesus, read some words from the Epistle of St James, and then laid hands on him to pray for him. As soon as we did so, an amazing thing happened… his whole body shook violently from head to toes and the bed itself shook strongly. His family came running upstairs to see what the commotion was, and we informed them that the Healing Power of Jesus Christ was flowing through him and not to be at all concerned. God instantaneously healed Mr Bedi and he went out and got himself a Bible to read more about the Lord Jesus.

One day, Two young Hindu men came knocking at our door and asked if we healed the sick. We told them, “No, but we know Someone who does…the Lord Jesus” These 2 young men explained that their mother who was always in and out of hospital, had just been sent home once again, and that the doctors at the hospital had told them “There is nothing we can do for your mother..The best thing to do is find a holy man who will pray for your mother!”  Increduously I asked the young men, “Did the Doctor really say that?” and they replied, “Yes, and we asked around and were told to come to you, and that`s why we are here, Will you come and pray for our mum?” We said “Yes” and went to the home of these Hindu brothers, prayed for their mum and saw a wonderful deliverance from her affliction.

A dear lady from the West Indies whose son was a  `Seventh Day Adventist`  Pastor came into Hortus Road Church one Saturday morning whilst Polly and I were cleaning the Hall. Hungry for God and wanting to dedicate her life to Jesus, we prayed with her and led dear sister Monica in the `sinner`s prayer`. She became a truly dedicated lover of Jesus with a constant beaming smile on her radiant face, HalleluYah!!

We had many such experiences of folks just `dropping in` and getting saved!!

Healings unabated!! …

Oh, we could go on and on about the many, many healing miracles, Bro. Ram Gharu of the MOT Test Centre, Staines Road, healed of a 12 years illness; Mr Ajula, a prominent and well-known Sikh gentleman who worked for the local government, healed of severe knee pains after enduring several knee operations; Sister Sidhu, an elderly pensioner of Featherstone Road, healed of blindness; Little  8 years old Daniel Mashi healed of numerous nodule/warts that covered his body; A Sikh lady with an alcoholic problem and with a diseased and enlarged liver was not only healed but also Born Again as was her young son; A bedbound Hindu woman on the border of Hayes and Southall whom we prayed for at her home, was instantly healed and her son delivered from alcoholism at the same time, and became followers of Jesus. (I recently met them again and they testified to their healing and deliverance many years ago); A young teenager whose family had never heard her speak was delivered in our meetings and began to speak; A Roman Catholic nun called us to pray for her parishioners and one afternoon we visited many many homes praying for the sick and afflicted and afterwards received word from  Sister Marie that many had been healed. We truly felt the Power and Presence of God that day as we went from house to house, bed to bed.

Church Growth!! …

The Hortus Road Fellowship grew so much that we had to bring into the church more seats and benches for the people and they even had to sit on the Pulpit platform (above the baptism tank) as we had no more seating space.

Young Asian men and women surrendered their lives to Jesus, (we were forever filling and refilling the Baptismal Tank), they became His dedicated followers and some entered the ministry becoming evangelists, pastors and Bible-teachers. Many of these young aspiring preachers often asked me, “Pastor Denis, what is the Key to the Healing Ministry? And my reply was always ..  “LOVE” .. If you cannot truly love with all your heart, unconditionally and with no strings attached, the people to whom you are Called, you will never win their heart!!..  Love, Love, Love is the Key to Winning Souls to Jesus!!

Shaneen Clarke, International Evangelist and author of the book `Dare To Be Great` , a young teenage member of the Hortus Road Church during those days, received the Call to serve God and is now an International Speaker. Her brother Lal whom I also baptised is now a pastor, as are several others. Hortus Road Fellowship was the Foundation for many in the ministry and their work continues even so today.

A Vision Unfolded!! ..

In closing I would like to say, that as a young man touring the USA with a Scottish Gospel Group during the decade of the 1970`s, we were at the PTL Broadcasting network of Jim and Tammy Bakker at Warrenton, West Virginia in November of 1978; One evening our little Gospel group of five people were having a meal with Bro. Bakker`s brother and with Dennis and Rita Bennett, the Episcopal priest whom God used to spearhead the charismatic move amongst Episcopalians and Catholics in the 70`s.

Afterwards, when I went to bed that night, I had a fearful and awesome vision from the Lord who informed me that He was `Commissioning` me for the `Healing of the Sick and the Saving of Souls`.  That awesome vision scared me for days regarding the absolute purity and holiness of God and that without `holiness no one could ever see the Lord or even enter His presence`.

The Commissioning Work of Healing the Sick that God ordained me to that November night in 1978 in Warrenton, West Virginia began in earnest at the Glad Tidings Assemblies of God Church, Southall 4 years later and the best is yet to be, HalleluYah!! Amen.

 (Denis : Resume Cont.) ....

 As mentioned earlier, during his 55 years ministry, as well as being an Evangelist, and also holding pastoral positions for 15 years, in London, England and in Scotland, Denis has also had the privilege of ministering the Word of God on television and radio on numerous occasions, and has for the past 40 years laboured almost unceasingly amongst the Asian communities of the U.K. and overseas, with many remarkable testimonies of healings being recorded.

He has ministered in Roman Catholic Churches (Scotland & USA), Anglican, United Reformed, American Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, Elim, Apostolic Churches, Trinitarian and Oneness (Jesus Only), the many-varied Afro-Caribbean Pentecostal Churches of God as well as Christian Brethren, Methodist, Baptist and Scottish Presbyterian Churches, in fact almost every Denomination.

In December 2015 Denis gained a Doctorate in Literature and had an honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology (honoris causa) conferred upon him by Dr Paogin Mangte of the ApostolicTheological Seminary New Delhi,  www.abtsindia.webs.com

Below : Dr. Paogin Mangte Of The Apostolic Biblical Theological Seminary... And Pastor Denis

Pastor Denis is married to Polly Ramsumair whom he met at the Assemblies of God Church at Paddington, West London in 1980 and who came from Trinidad & Tobago to train as a Theatre Nurse in Neurological Diseases in London. They have a son  Andrew Ajay.

Sister Polly Passed From This Life And Went To Be With The Lord Jesus Christ In Glory, At The Age Of 71 Years...On Sabbath Day, August 18th. 2018, And Is Interred At Hortus Cemetery, Southall, Middlesex, West London, Awaiting The Glad Resurrection Morning At The Second Coming Of Our Great Shepherd And Redeemer, Jesus, Amen !! 

'SAFE IN THE ARMS OF JESUS' 

 Below :

Family Background and Photos

AGNES KINDNESS BEEDIE (Nee MARR)

(1919-2007)

DENIS` MOTHER



Below

JAMES BEEDIE

(1899-1980) :

Denis` father with family members.



I

Photograph taken at the family farm `WINDYHEAD`, NEW ABERDOUR

(circa: 1950)

 Below:

 MARY ANN MARR (1886-1958)





DENIS`S MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER

(With a young John Mitchell, Denis`s cousin) circa 1950

BELOW:

DENIS`S PATERNAL  GRANDPARENTS AND  GREAT-UNCLES AND GREAT-AUNTS.......

ALSO HIS GREAT GRANDMOTHER,

 Isabella Barclay Beedie (1816-1905)

(Front row, seated 2nd from right)

2nd Left, Back Row is Reverend Robert Mitchell Beedie (1841-1897) and seated immediately in front of him is his wife, Elizabeth McPhun Beedie

Rev. Robert Mitchell Beedie and his wife Elizabeth were Missionary Colleagues of Mary Mitchell Slessor, (Scottish Missionary) at Old Calabar, Nigeria, 1873-1897.

On extreme right, back row is James Mitchell Beedie (1843-1903) and seated immediately in front of him is his wife, Mary Robertson Beedie (1858-1938) Denis` paternal grandparents.

 Photograph taken at the family farm, `Backhill of Ironside`, New Deer, Scotland.

Circa 1890

WILLIAM MITCHELL BEEDIE and his spouse ISABELLA BARCLAY who were a deeply religious couple and very supportive of Missions Work in Africa had 4 sons, WILLIAM, ROBERT, ALEXANDER and JAMES (above: left to right) and 2 daughters, (daughters not in photo) Ann and Helen.

(THE FAMILY RAN 2 FARMS AT NEW DEER,  AND ONE AT WINDYHEAD, NEW ABERDOUR, ABERDEENSHIRE, SCOTLAND).

A HIGH CALLING 
Their son, Robert Mitchell Beedie (1841-1897), in the early 1870`s trained with and was ordained by the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland as a Minister and Missionary to Old Calabar, the then Capital of Nigeria. He and his Missionary-wife Elizabeth McPhun laboured together in the Mission Work there. 

Rev. Robert M Beedie who, prior to his Missionary Training, had trained as a Civil Engineer and Architect, also designed and oversaw the building of East Nigeria`s largest Church in Duke Town where Nigeria`s Royalty were later Coronated.

Indeed, one of Africa`s noble sons, Efik Etim Ofiong who had converted to the Christian Faith and had gone to Scotland to train at the Bible College in 1872 and received Ordination was accompanied on his return in 1874 to Nigeria by the Rev. Beedie to work as a Missionary amongst his own peoples.

Rev. Robert M. Beedie, a talented musician and linguist, helped in the translation of educational literature from the English language into the Efiki language. He also encouraged the expansion of industrial and technical education during his many years in Nigeria.

MARY MITCHELL SLESSOR the famous Scot`s Missionary who was born in Aberdeenshire, also received Ordination as a Missionary from the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and travelled to Nigeria in 1877 working alongside Rev. Beedie as Colleagues together in the Mission Station at Old Calabar, Nigeria.

Indeed, it was no co-incidence that both Robert M Beedie and Mary M Slessor held the `middle-name` Mitchell, for they were both descendants of the same grand-parents from Oldmeldrum, a little village in Aberdeenshire.



(Left)   DUKE TOWN CHURCH AND STEEPLE-BELL

ROBERT MITCHELL BEEDIE SUCCUMBED TO MALARIAL FEVER DURING HIS LABOURS IN NIGERIA AND RETURNED TO SCOTLAND. HE DIED OF THE FEVER IN 1897 WHILST STAYING WITH HIS BUSINESSMAN FRIEND, THE DUBLIN CONFECTIONER, ROBERT WOODS.

REV. BEEDIE WAS INTERRED IN MT. JEROME CEMETERY, DUBLIN, EIRE. HIS WIFE, ELIZABETH DIED AT AYR, SCOTLAND, IN 1927 AND WAS INTERRED ALONGSIDE HER HUSBAND AT MT. JEROME CEMETERY.
________________________

MARY MITCHELL SLESSOR : (1848-1915)

(Denis`s Grandfather`s Cousin)

(SCOTTISH MISSIONARY TO OLD CALABAR, NIGERIA)

CONTINUED HER UNPARALLED MISSION WORK IN THE NIGERIAN INTERIOR

(A SHORT BIOGRAPHY)
The story of Mary Slessor's battle to bring the gospel and civilization to Africa.... the "Dark Continent."

The place is the Calabar River on the slave coast of Africa. The time is an afternoon in September 1876. A rusty ocean steamer is heading toward the mouth of the Calabar. This part of Africa is known as the White Man's Grave, and only a fool could come here without being afraid. The land a few miles from shore is unexplored. Killer elephants and lions, swarms of insects, witch doctors, and cannibals live there. To enter that land would mean death.

Life means little along the Calabar. Slavery is common and to kill a woman or a slave means nothing. If a family has too many children, they will just leave the unwanted child in the bushes to die. The birth of twins is thought to be an evil sign. Twin babies are cruelly murdered, and their mother is driven from her home to die in the jungle.

There is no respect for truth and honesty here. "Do right" would be a meaningless phrase, for these people do not understand what is right. The law of the jungle is "do whatever you can get away with." For this reason, people live their short lives in fear and filth.

The boat drops anchor well up the Calabar River beside a rough town. This is Duke Town. The mission station at Duke Town is the destination for the only woman traveling aboard the steamer. Mary Slessor is coming from Scotland to serve God in this harsh climate. A small boat from the mission comes alongside the steamer and takes her to shore.

Mary Slessor is 29 years old. She comes from a poor family. Her father was a drunkard, but her mother was a godly woman. Since she was 11, Mary has earned her living working in factories for twelve hours a day, six days a week. Despite these hard circumstances, she served God faithfully in Scotland, and the hardships have helped prepare her to serve Him now in Africa.

The Duke Town missionaries have had some success in the coastal regions. They have built a school, hospital, orphanage, and chapel at the station. Through their preaching and teaching they have been able to stop some of the worst heathen practices. The village leaders are beginning to realize that what they call "God-law" (the teachings from the Bible) makes sense. On any Sunday there are several hundred natives in services.

This was the situation when Mary Slessor began her work teaching in the mission station and visiting in the coastal and river villages. As soon as Mary could learn the local languages, she went without a translator. She was told that it was dangerous to travel alone, but she found that she could get to know the people better in this way.

The farther Mary traveled from the mission station, the greater needs she found. Mary told the natives the good news of Christ. She urged them to quit worshiping the skulls of dead men and not to be afraid of "evil spirits." The new missionary taught, "Do not kill the wives and slaves of a 'big man' when he dies. They cannot help him in the next life." She showed the women better ways to fix food and keep homes and children clean.

Sometimes at night Mary would lie awake on a dirt floor in some coastal village. "Oh Lord," she prayed, "I thank Thee that I can bring these people Thy Word. But Lord, there are other villages back in the jungle where no white man has gone. They need Jesus, too. Help me reach them!" Then, whenever she had an opportunity, she would ask another missionary or a native about her going to these villages. The answer was always the same: "No. You would be killed. They cannot be reached."

Her worst enemy was the tropical diseases which hit her so suddenly. There were many times when it seemed as though she were about to die, but she pulled through. It was a real temptation to forsake this unhealthy area and return to the cool mists of Scotland.

The Scottish missionary did go home on a short furlough, but she soon came back to Africa. She was thrilled to learn that she was now to be on her own at an outstation. Her new home was Old Town, some distance upriver from Duke Town.

Her first view of Old Town was of a human skull swinging from a pole in front of the town meeting house. Each hut had its own little gods. Mary's "home" was a mud hut next to a trader.

Her days were full of treating sick, teaching the Bible, and visiting neighbors. Mary became known throughout the area for her wise, fair counsel. There was a Christian chief, King Eyo Honesty the Sixth, who often asked Mary for advice in dealing with white men. She, in turn, asked him for help in working with the natives.

Mary was successful in Old Town, but she was also deeply burdened for the remote Okoyong tribe that had never heard the gospel. How could she bring the love of Christ to these people as well? They valued only three things: guns to have power, chains to keep their slaves, and liquor to dull their minds. But God was leading her there, and Mary was willing to trust God to show her how to win these savage people to Christ.

Mary prayed for God's leading. At last, in June 1888, she quietly announced that she would go upriver alone and find a place to settle. "You will die. You will die," her friends told her. They wept at the prospect of her leaving.

King Eyo Honesty said that if she must go, he would send her as a "big person" in his own special canoe. It was the grandest canoe in all of Calabar. Mary accepted Eyo's offer and headed for the land of the Okoyong. The farther they went, the more her twenty paddlers wanted to turn back. They feared the Okoyong. But the Lord was with the group, and they arrived safely. The Lord had also prepared the heart of the chief of the first village they found. Mary was the first outsider ever allowed to live there. The chief also said that she could build a school.

This area was far more wicked than any Mary had seen. The people respected only vengeance and cruelty. To a people who did not know what love was, Mary brought the love of Christ.

This was a wild time for the missionary. Hardly a day went by without a serious crisis. Mary knew that she could not expect to change their lives immediately, but she could not merely stand back and watch these people do wrong. She got little rest and her health was bad. But she was always there when she was needed.

Whenever Mary heard of any trouble, she would rush to the scene. As she approached, the men would be preparing for war. They passed around liquor, danced, and yelled threats at the other side. They were in war paint, and their spears and shields glimmered in the sun. The skulls and scalps of earlier victims waved from poles.

Just as the two sides were about to rush together, they saw a small, seemingly calm woman standing on a log between them. "Out of the way, Ma. We fight!"

She ignored the shouting warrior.

"Out of the way. You die, too, white Ma. Move on!"

"Shoot if you dare!" she called back.

When the two sides came to remove this gray-haired obstacle, Mary knew that she had won. She would scold them as children, plead with them to show mercy, or suggest they move to the shade of a tree to talk. Mary knitted while they talked, and she got a lot of knitting done. After hours of talking the men were calmer and too tired to fight. They went home without bloodshed.

News of trouble might come too late for Mary to get there in time. If this happened, she would go to her table, pull out a fine piece of parchment, and quickly make big marks all over it. She then sealed this with wax and tied it with a great red ribbon. A runner sped this important document to where the fight was about to begin. Mary's scribbles were nothing but nonsense, but none of the Okoyong could read! The warriors would spend the day puzzling over the important piece of paper sent by the "white Ma." They would still be studying the document when Mary arrived in person to settle the dispute.

After a time, Mary realized that as long as the Okoyong had nothing else to do, they would get drunk, and drunkenness always led to fighting. "Perhaps," she thought, "if they knew there was something better, this would stop."

Mary displayed her nicest possessions: some cloth, a teapot, and an old sewing machine. The Okoyong liked what they saw. "You can have nicer things than this if you take the palm oil and yams to the traders," she told them.

"These things you have--very nice," said one chief. "But it is no good. Traders afraid to come here. No good for us to go to them. River gods kill us."

"I will go with you. You will be safe.

"No. Too much bad."

Mary told of the wonderful things down the river. Finally they agreed to go and loaded a canoe. The chiefs and warriors shook with fear as they set off towards Duke Town and Old Town.

King Eyo hosted a great feast for the visiting chiefs. He showed them the good things they could have if they gave up their old ways. He told them that the God of the "white Ma" was the true God. Eyo was kind to the poor, backward Okoyong chiefs. Before they left he gave them each presents, including some fine cloth. The Okoyong could hardly believe their good fortune.

As a result of these meetings, the Okoyong region was opened to outsiders. Mary had done what traders, soldiers, and diplomats had been unable to do for four hundred years. There was now a reason for honest work. This experience was a turning point in the life of the Okoyong people.

In time, many of the Okoyong would accept the gospel. Free of their pagan fears and drunkenness, they could now understand God's love for them. The idols disappeared from the villages and in their place small churches were built. A court system was established to settle disputes, and Mary was made the first judge.

Civilization came more quickly to the Okoyong than it did along the coastal regions. For hundreds of years the white traders along the coast had tried to force the natives to change. It was not until the gospel changed the people's hearts that real progress was made.

As for Mary, she felt a tug on her heart for the region beyond the Okoyong. Her converts in Okoyong protested, "We love you. They will kill you. Do not go." Mary loved the Okoyong people, just as she had loved the people of Old Town. But her call was, "Onward! I dare not look back."

Mary's reputation as a great and wise woman and as a fair and honest judge had gone before her into the land of the Azo, a dreaded cannibal tribe. At first the Azo people seemed to show little interest in her message, but soon many accepted Christ. Mary reported that there was one town that had two hundred converts. None of them could read, so she pleaded for pastors to come to instruct the new Christians.

In the time she had left, Mary did all she could. She walked the paths until she was too old and feeble. Some Scottish friends sent her a cart that could be used to pull her to the villages. They urged Mary to come to Scotland for a rest. She wanted to, but prayed instead that God would give her the strength to finish the job among the cannibals. Strength came and she worked faster and harder.

Two years later, in January 1915, the Lord took Mary home to be with Him.

A government boat was then sent to carry her body down the river to Duke Town. She was buried on a hillside by the mission station where she had first served.

The group which gathers on that cemetery is a testimony to the life Mary Slessor lived. There are high government officials who found they could trust this woman's advice. A dignified tribal chief, once a cannibal, stands there. He found the "white Ma" a faithful friend. There is a young man whom Mary nursed through a fever. Twins are there who would have been murdered at birth had she not come. As they look up from her grave to the land around them, they see a country that Mary Slessor claimed for Christ while standing on the deck of a rusty ocean steamer almost forty years before.

This land cannot be the same again, nor can they!!

Below : MARY SLESSOR`S GRAVE IN DUKE TOWN.... 

*Reprinted from FAITH for the Family (1977). Bob Jones University,

www.bju.edu/faith.

All rights reserved. Used with permission.

______________________

 BELOW:

ISABELLA BARCLAY BEEDIE (1816-1905)

WIFE OF

WILLIAM MITCHELL BEEDIE

(1809-1877)

(DENIS` GREAT GRAND -PARENTS)

ALSO PICTURED, HER SON, ALEXANDER BEEDIE (1848-1920) ... Denis`s Great-Uncle

(Photograph taken at one of the Family Farms ` Ironside`, New Deer, Scotland. (circa 1890)

Denis` Paternal Lineage

The Early Years

Following the final withdrawal of the Romans from Scotland in the 4th century, there were a number of tribal groupings whose boundaries changed over the centuries. In the north, the Picts covered the Highlands and parts of the Lowlands as far as Angus, Fife and Stirling. Although little is known of the Picts and apart from late lists of kings written in Latin, they left no written record. The earliest king who is more than just a name on a list is Bridei in the 6th century who was a son of the Welsh king Maelcon. Bridei won a victory over Gabran, the most powerful of the Scots in Dalriada which was roughly where Argyllshire is now. Bridei was the first Pictish king to show an interest in Christianity and he met St Columba at his power base near Inverness.

The House of Alpin was founded around 500AD by Fergus, the chief of the Scots of Dalriada who became established in Argyll. Their capital was at Dunadd, near Crinan.

Left :   The illustration here is of Dunadd, with a footprint carved in the rock in the foreground where the kings were proclaimed. While king lists have survived, little is known about them as individuals until the 35th king, Kenneth, son of Alpin, burst upon the pages of history. His name is variously written as Kenneth mac Alpin or Kenneth MacAlpin or King Kenneth I.

His father died in 834 and Kenneth came to the throne. His mother may have been a princess of the Picts but he had over-run the lands of these original inhabitants by 843, thus uniting the whole of Scotland north of the river Forth under one monarch for the first time as the kingdom of Alba. What is even more surprising about this development is that the Picts had conquered the Scots in the century before. The Picts then over-stretched themselves by attacking the kingdom of Strathclyde. It is thought that the Picts were further weakened when they lost their king in a battle with the Norse invaders in 839AD.

It is said that Kenneth held a banquet at Scone after his succession and murdered seven earls of Dalriada who might have disputed his position.

Under increasing pressure from the Vikings on the western shores, Kenneth moved the religious centre of his kingdom to Dunkeld and his secular capital to Forteviot.
During his reign, King Kenneth pushed the boundaries of his kingdom south of the river Forth until it stretched as far as the river Tweed. However, the kingdom of Strathclyde, based at Dumbarton, remained untouched. On his death in 858 in Forteviot, Kenneth was buried on Iona. Kenneth's brother became King Donald I. Described at the time as "the wanton son of the foreign woman" Donald extended Dalriadic law into Pictland and died of natural causes near Scone, Perthshire in 862.
Of Kenneth's five children, two later became kings - Constantine I who took over on the death of King Donald I, ruled from 862 to 878 and was killed in a battle fighting the Danes. Another son, Aedh (who reigned from 878 to 879) was killed by his cousin Giric, a son of Donald I. Kenneth's three daughters married well - to the King Run of Strathclyde (laying the foundation of a further extension of Alba), the Norwegian King of Dublin and the High King of Ireland, Aedh Finnlaith.

Denis` Paternal Lineage (cont.)

 KENNETH MACALPIN 1st., OF SCOTLAND; 35th. KING OF DALRIADA.

 Kenneth I (REIGNED: 843-858)
Kenneth mac Alpin or Kenneth, son of Alpin, was 35th king of Dalriada. By inheritance (his grandmother was a Pict) and by conquest, he also became king of the Picts in 843 and by 858 ruled as far as the river Tweed (near the current English border). One of his daughters married the King of Strathclyde and their son became King Eochaid (below). On his death in 858, Kenneth's brother became King Donald I and his cousins later became Kings Constantine I and King Aed.

He had a son...

 CONSTANTINE 1st., OF SCOTLAND

Constantine I (REIGNED: 862-878)
A son of King Kenneth I, Constantine faced a number of Viking invasions and was killed in a battle fighting the Danes.

He had a son...

DONALD THE 2ND.

KING OF SCOTLAND

Donald II (REIGNED: 889-900)
Donald II was the first monarch to be called "Ri Albain" or "King of Scotland" despite the fact that much of northern Scotland as far as Moray was held by the Norse Earl Sigurd from Orkney. Donald was a son of Constantine I and was described as rough and cunning. He was killed by men from the Mearns near Dunottar and, like most of the early kings of Scotland, was buried on Iona.

He had a son...

MALCOLM 1st.

KING OF SCOTLAND

Malcolm I (REIGNED: 942-954)
Malcolm I was a son of Donald II. He was killed in battle with the men of Moray and was buried at Iona.

He had a son

KENNETH 2ND.

KING OF SCOTLAND

Kenneth II (REIGNED: 971-995)
Kenneth II was the son of Malcolm I and therefore a great-great-grandson of Kenneth I.

He had a son

MALCOLM 2ND.

KING OF SCOTLAND; LAST OF THE HOUSE OF ALPIN

Malcolm II (REIGNED : 1005-1034)
Malcolm II was son of Kenneth II but, due to disputed succession, he did not come to the throne until ten years after his father's death, having killed his cousin Kenneth III. The last of the House of Alpin, he did not have any sons to succeed him so he arranged good marriages for his daughters. His daughter Bethoc married the Abbot of Dunkeld and their son became Duncan I. Another daughter married Earl Sigurd of Orkney and their son Thorfinn brought the lands of Caithness and Sutherland under the control of the King of Alba. Malcolm made an alliance with the King Owen the Bald of Strathclyde and together they defeated King Canute at the Battle of Carham in 1018. When King Owen died without an heir, Malcolm claimed Strathclyde for his grandson, Duncan. His enemies disliked this and murdered him at Glamis in 1034.

HE HAD A DAUGHTER....

BETHOC, PRINCESS OF SCOTLAND

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Denis Paternal Lineage (cont.)

DUNCAN, MORMAER (RULER) OF ATHOLL born : 940 AD died : ?

had a son....

CRINAN, MORMAER (RULER) OF ATHOLL

born: 984 AD died 1045

MARRIED  BETHOC, PRINCESS OF SCOTLAND

born: 984 AD

(DAUGHTER OF MALCOLM 2nd; KING OF SCOTLAND)

She had a son...

DUNCAN 1st., MALDRED FITZCRINAN OF SCOTLAND

LORD OF ALLERDALE AND CARLYLE. KING OF CUMBRIA.

born: 1007 died 1045

MARRIED

Ealdgyth of Northumbria born: 1015.

They had a son...

COSPATRIC MACRINAN,

1st. BARON OF DUNBAR.

born : 1040 died 1072

Married

AETHELREDA, PRINCESS OF ENGLAND

born: 1042 died :?

 They had a son...

 
COSPATRIC,

2nd. BARON OF DUNBAR

born : 1062 died Aug. 23rd. 1138

Marrried

SYBIL MOREL OF BEARLEY

born: ?. died 1095

They had a son....

COSPATRIC,

3rd. BARON OF DUNBAR

born :1090 died 1166

MARRIED

DIEDRE (DERDER)

They had a son...

COSPATRIC,

4th. BARON OF DUNBAR

born : 1127 died 1182

MARRIED

THE SISTER OF EDMUND

They had a son...

 
SIR PATRIC,

5th. BARON OF DUNBAR

born : 1152 died 1232

MARRIED

ADA PRINCESS OF SCOTLAND

Born: 1164 died 1200

She had a DAUGHTER...

 
ADA (de Courtenay) DUNBAR

MARRIED (her cousin)

WILLIAM DUNBAR OF GREENLAW

born 1208 died : 1266

 They had a son...

 SIR WILLIAM OF HOME (pronounced Hume)

born : 1240 died 1300

MARRIED

ADA QUEEN OF ENGLAND

born/died? ?

 They had a son...

SIR JOHN DE HUME

The 5th LORD HUME.

born : 1330 - died ?

also known as `Willie The White Doublet`

MARRIED

LADY CHRISTIANA

 They had a son...

SIR THOMAS HUME OF THAT ILK

born : 1355 died 1427

Married

BARONESS NICOLA PEPDIE/PAPEDY

HEIRESS OF DUNGLAS

born : 1358 died ?

 They had a son...

SIR ALEXANDER HUME OF THAT ILK

born : 1373 died 1424

Married

JEAN(ET) HAY

born : 1375 died 1424

 They had a son...

 SIR ALEXANDER HUME

born : 1407 died 1489

MARRIED

MARION MARIOTTA DE LAWEDRE

born : 1407 died 1443

 They had a son...

 SIR PATRICK FASTCASTLE HUME

born: 1440 died 1507

MARRIED

MARGARET EDMONSTONE

born: ? died 1480

 They had a son...

 SIR CUTHBERT FASTCASTLE HUME

born : 1480 died Sept. 9th. 1513

MARRIED

ELIZABETH MURITENE MEDHOPE

born :1482 -died?

 She had a DAUGHTER...

LADY ELIZABETH HUME

born : 1500 died 1543

MARRIED

SIR ROBERT RESTALRIG LOGAN

born: 1500 died 1540

 They had a son...

SIR ROBERT LOGAN

born: 1533 died 1561

MARRIED

LADY AGNES GRAY

born : 1541 died 1581

 They had a son...

SIR ROBERT RESTALRIG LOGAN

born :1555 died 1606

MARRIED

LADY JANET KER

1568 died 1596

They had a son...

(SIR) ROBERT LOGAN

born : 1577 died 1645

MARRIED

LADY HOME

born/died ??

 They had a son...

 JOHN LOGAN

born: 1615 died ?

MARRIED

MARGARET WATT

born: 1613 died ?

 SHE HAD A DAUGHTER ...

 BARBARA LOGAN(E)

born: 1648 died 1677

MARRIED

GILBERT BEEDIE

born: 1640

 They had a son...

ALEXANDER BEEDIE

born: 27.10.1677

MARRIED

ISOBELL FROSTER

born: 03.05.1686

 They had a son ...

WILLIAM BEEDIE

born: 10.03.1723

MARRIED

Elesbeth McCay

 They had a son ...

 THOMAS BEEDIE

born: 11.09.1768

MARRIED

MARGARET MITCHELL

born: 1771

They had a son ...

 WILLIAM BEEDIE

born: 20.07.1809

MARRIED

ISABELLA BARCLAY

born: 18.06.1816

 They had a son ...

JAMES MITCHELL BEEDIE

born: 03.06.1843

MARRIED

MARY ROBERTSON

born: 19.08.1858

 They had a son ...

 JAMES MITCHELL BEEDIE

born: 15.11.1899

MARRIED

AGNES KINDNESS MARR

born: 14.10.1919

 They had a son ...

 DENIS GRAHAM BEEDIE  MARRIED  POLLY PRISCILLA RAMSUMAIR

born: 1947 -                                              

 had a son...

 ANDREW AJAY BEEDIE

born 1981 -

____________________

DENIS` LINEAGE (Grandmother`s line : Mother`s mother)

JAMES MARR born: 1791

had a son
WILLIAM MARR born: 1821

had a son :

JAMES MARR born: 1841

had a daughter:

MARY ANN MARR born: 1887

had a daughter:

AGNES KINDNESS MARR: born: 1919

had a son:
DENIS G. BEEDIE born: 1947

___________

Denis` Paternal Lineage (Grandfather`s line; Mother`s father)

ALEXANDER KINDNESS: born: 1780

had a son:
ALEXANDER KINDNESS: born: 1810

had a son:

ALEXANDER KINDNESS: born: 1834

had a son:
SAMUEL KINDNESS: born: 1859

had a daughter:
AGNES KINDNESS MARR: born: 1919

had a son:

DENIS GRAHAM BEEDIE born: 1947
_________________________________

JUST BEYOND THE SUNSET MOUNTAINS` ......

 "The Words of This Song Came To Me In The Middle Of The Night.
I woke With The Words Running Through My Head, Again And Again. I Felt Compelled To Rise from Bed, Fetch Pen And Paper And Write Them Down As They Came To Me.
They Proved A Tremendous Blessing And Comfort When Only Two Days Later A Very Dear And Much-Loved Friend Was Taken From This Life, Suddenly And Unexpectedly."

Photo Left : Denis G Beedie in 1973

 The Music Is Robert Lowry`s (1826-1899) Score To Fanny Crosby`s Hymn, `All The Way My Saviour Leads Me`
Music:

http://www.nethymnal.org/htm/a/l/t/altheway.htm

To Listen To Melody, Click On Music Link Above.



 `Just Beyond The Sunset Mountains`

(Words By Denis G Beedie) .......

Just Beyond The Sunset Mountains,

Just Beyond The Silver Sea,

Just Across The Shining River,

There`s A Home For You And Me;

Lo, Our Saviour There Is Waiting,

And His Love Fills all That Land

How My Heart For Heaven Is Longing,

Over By The Golden Strand,

How My Heart For Heaven Is Longing, Over By The Golden Strand.

Just Beyond The Sunset Mountains,

In That Paradise Of Rest,

There`s A Garden Full Of Roses,

God Has Taken Just The Best,

Here They Bloom But For A Season,

Now In Heaven They Fade No More

And to God their Heavenly Father

Round His Feet Their Fragrance Roll..... (repeat last two lines)

Just Beyond The Sunset Mountains 

There`s a Home For You And Me,

`Tis A Land Of Joy Unending,

`Tis A Home Of Victory;

And All Those Who Trust In Jesus

When This Pilgrim Life Is O`er

Will Be Carried O`er The River

To That Blessed Glory Shore.... (repeat last two lines)

Just Beyond The Sunset Mountains,

Many Loved-Ones Watch And Wait,

Longing For That Glad Re-Union,

When We Meet At Heaven`s Gate,

Then With Rapture All-Consuming

Through The Pearly Gates They Bring

All Those Who On Earth Have Waited,

Songs Of Praise In Heaven To Sing...(repeat last two lines)

 Oh My Brother And My Sister,

Do Not Weep For Those Who`ve Gone,

Though The Parting Will Be Heartache

Just A Few More Years To Come

Then We Too Will Cross That River

And From Them No More to Part,

O What Knitting Severed Friendships,

O What Healing Broken Hearts... (repeat last two lines)

 Just Beyond The Sunset Mountains,

In That Heavenly Realm So Blest,

God Our Father Reigns In Glory,

With The Pilgrims Now At Rest;

Hark The Anthems Of The Angels,

Rolling Down From Realms Beyond,

Fills My Soul With Sweet Assurance,

Of His Tender Saving Love ...... (repeat last two lines)
_____________________________________

 All the way my Savior leads me

(Words By: Fanny Crosby)

All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heavnly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whateer befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whateer befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

 All the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread;
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter,
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Fathers house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way.