Mission

MISSIONARY WORK OVERSEAS

NEW HOPE UGANDA  (www.newhopeuganda.org)

Nick Battle, Mark Stibbe, Dave Hill and Ian Slade visited and ministered at New Hope Uganda in March.    "Four men went out from the comfort of St. Andrew's Chorleywood.  What we have witnessed has changed our lies for ever.  We met and fell in love with the people of New Hope, Uganda, where orphans are put into family groups, fathered discipled, educated and equipped for life.  Through faith, unstinting and sacrificial love, many over the past 21 years have gone on to become teachers, nurses, farmers, even doctors and many more fathers.  Many have become evangelists.  Some of the children have Aids, others malaria, some are just a mass of twisted bones, just breathing.  All are loved"

Points for Prayer

• For the team as the seek God's heart for New Hope
• For Kathleen, who puts her life at risk as she tends to Aids patients on the Sesse Islands

PAUl, ALESSANDRA, AND TIAGO WILLIAMS IN MACEIO, CHILE 

They have secured a wondeful venue for the Church. Set in its own garden it is flanked on all sides by residential tower blocks where over a thousand people literally look down upon the garden where the new church is meeting to worship. On the first night a couple from the seventh floor heard the worship music and came down to join them! The church is also close to the beach and to a municipal skate board park that attracts a lot of young people. The area presents a fantastic opportunity for the church to serve a diverse local community, bridging the gap between rich and poor.

Points for Prayer

• Give thanks for the Lord’s provision and the new venue
• For the church would become a point of reference in the city as they minister to the local communities.
• For creative forms through which they can build relationships with people in Maceio
• For Lilian and Rosinaldo who have recently given their lives to the Lord
• For people to lead worship, children, youth and student ministries in the church.
• For protection and good health for themselves and for new friendships.

CAROLINE THOMPSON - In Bariloche, South Argentina working with Latin Link on their Stride Programme.

In February, she started teaching scripture in a Christian bilingual secondary school.  It has been a challenging time as the students are unmotivated to participate in the lessons.  Caroline is involved with a small, local evangelical Baptist church where she has formed a youth group for the 12-15 year olds and she teaches the 9-11 year olds at the Sunday school.  She has started a monthly children's activity day for them, english classes as well as discipling an 8 year old girl.

Points for Prayer

• For God's Wisdom as she works through the difficulties at the secondary school.

MARK and KATHY KNIGHT working with OM Ships, based in Carlisle.

Please Pray for Mike who is at college on a one year course – we are praying that he will find God’s direction for his next step and to be excited about his future. He is now 17 and I would like the Holy Spirit to prompt him to following his basic belief through with a public profession of faith and getting baptized, but only the Holy Spirit can do that work.

Please pray for Mark for the work involved in the second stage of the Logos Hope out-fit for service and all the decisions that have to be made. After God so wonderfully provided financially right through the 2 ½ year re-fit stage in Croatia (the ship recently sailed from the ship yard debt free), on route to Germany for the final out-fit stage) OM Ships have started 2008 in a real tight spot financially. Consequently, we may not be able to go home to Australia in the summer as planned for our 3 year furlough. A major disappointment for Kathy. With no light at all shining on where the next bill will be paid from, it was decided to put Logos II back into service to work for 6 months to raise finance for the Logos Hope Project.

Please pray to staffing the “Logos II Caribbean Project” for safety, high energy for staff, and success for good funding
toward ultimately launching Logos Hope.

Please also pray for staffing for the Logos Hope project, as finance permits, we need plumbers, carpenters, electrician and welders in particular, as well as any able bodied people willing to roll up their sleeves to see Logos Hope launched into her ministry without undue delay.

Please Pray for Kathy, I need someone to join me in the International Finance team here in Carlisle, particularly to take over OM’s central treasury fund for 3 months while I’m away over the summer, and I need a Finance Manager for OM Sweden (English speaking is Ok there) - each position should be filled as soon as possible and each for at least 2 years.

Points for Prayer:

• For the staffing needs and the finance to support this.
• God’s provision for the family to return home to
• Australia in the Summer.
• Direction for Mike’s future.

JENNY THORNTON - (The Ark MSC), Jenny is working as an assistant to St. Andrew's Mission Partner, Mike Lyth, at the International Office of Operation Mobilizationin Carlisle.

First of all thanks for the love and prayers that I have received over the last year, I have really appreciated it.

One of the highlights for last year was helping with the Alpha course. It is thrilling to see lives changed and moving on in the Christian life. A couple of folk made commitments, others have started on the journey, while others have had their faith strengthened and reaffirmed. One man died just a few weeks after the course had ended, and there was no doubt that he is now rejoicing with the Lord.

I am still working for Mike Lyth with the Operation Mobilisation International Coordinating Team in Carlisle. I am enjoying the work most of the time. Last year things were difficult as it wasn’t clear to everybody the way forward with some IT issues. The devil loves to cause disunity and distrust. Fortunately we have moved on since then.

At the end of March I hope to attend a missionary conference and would be helping to look after the children. The idea would then be to travel in that area after the conference.

Points for Prayer

• I would value prayers that if I am meant to go there will be no trouble with arrangements.
• I would also value prayer for my future plans; I am not sure what the Lord wants me to do.

JOS LAWRENCE - (Open Door), Works with Rehema Self Help Group in Kisumu, Kenya helping set up business enterprises, she is involved with the Noble Charity, focusing on the elderly and Kisumu Children's Home.

Jos has just spent one month in Kisumu.  Kisumu Choldren's Home hasve recently recieved title deeds to two plots of land, which are being fenced.  Mike and Kate Dare organized a ground breaking ceremony with the local bishop  for a new children's home.  The land now has electricity and water.  JOs took the children to an activity on Lake Victoria as a treat.

There is a lot going on with the Noble Charity.  The feeding centre was falling down and now a 30 foot long mud house has been built to serve the elderly.  This has been cemented to make it a permanent home.  Crops are being planted and some are now growing well with the beginning of the rainy season.  They have two ladies living on site, one is 101 years old!  The town architect has come on board as his heart went out to Lucia, the very elderly lady.  Plans for permanent buildings are now finalised.  There has bee quite a transformation on the land and many busy people are working there to try to make a difference for the elderly folk.

AFIRM - Barry and Gill Rosser (Church Centre), run a charity providing for orphans and widows in India. (www.afirmindia.com)

"Thank you to all who prayed for us during our recent visit to India, we stayed safe and health, Praise the Lord!  During our visit we opened newly built Chapel naming it  New Life Chapel.  This will be used by the children for their times of prayer and worship as well as reaching out to the local villages.  Praise God that there are already new people coming for worship.  The orphans continue to grow and are doing exceptionally well in their school work.  There are always new children waiting to come to the orphanage - this time we wilcomed a girl called Shilpa who is a thalidomide child, both her parents are alcoholics and she was very neglected."

Points for Prayer

• For the Lord to raise up a young person or student to go out for a year to teach English in the school.
• For the lord to continue to bless this work.
• For the hearts of the local people to turn to Jesus.
• For new sponsors to come forward

RICHARD AND JANE GILL - (The Ark MSC) (www.soapboxtrust.com)

In March, they visited Kagando Hospital in Western Uganda.  Jane was again able to help with English teaching in the nearby primary school (78 in her class!), and also helped Ezra, the hospital evengelist, with prayer ministry in the hospital.  Richard again gave medical lectures to the student nurses in the School of Nursing, and helped look after the male medical ward (which was very busy!).  A special answer to prayer was to see a girl of 12, Jovia, gradually recover after a serious head injury, (she continues to make very good progress).  They recieved a letter of thanks from Ezra, who said he wanted to take prayer ministry forward in the Hospital.

On July 14, Jane and Richard are off again to Kilolo in Tanzania, with a new Soapbox Team, to continue the building project at St Michael’s Church Secondary School. It’s been a great encouragement to find a growing, active school (now with 3 years in 2 streams), their last few visits, rather than just a group of empty buildings. The school provides the prospect of an education for many children who would otherwise get only primary schooling, and is part of the Bishop’s vision to help stem the tide of AIDS by giving young people in the area better employment prospects.

Points for Prayer

• That we will gel quickly as a team, and care well for one another.
• For safety, particularly in road travel and on the building site. For health and energy.
• For good progress in the building work; for supplies to be on time. 
• For the afternoon work amongst the local children (games, crafts, and Bible stories if we have an interpreter). We aim to pray with them as well as play with them. 
• That we will be a blessing to the local Christian community at Kilolo. 
• For God’s work in all our lives, and for the two not yet Christians to commit their lives to Him. 
• For good relations with our Tanzanian colleagues and helpers (the building foremen, our cooks, the local pastors).
  

K.I.D.S in Romania, Terry and Sue Wright (Open Door MSC), run a charity in Romania with a vision to relieve hardship for children and families, primarilythrough 'Casa Ioana' children's home.  They visited over the Christmas Break 2007.

We had so many experiences and were privileged in many ways it is wonderful to be able to share them:

• To visit both Casa Ioana and Casa Ruxandra, two privately run Christian children’s homes.
• To go to the hospital for infectious diseases and give out some shoe box Christmas gifts donated by the Samaritans purse along with fruit to some teenage HIV patients and to give some to smaller children who were hospitalised with Chicken Pox.
• To speak in Vladeni Baptist Church.
• To visit 9 of the 15 families that are on our social program where we provide monthly food parcels and to give them the wonderful gifts of biscuits and mince pies so lovingly donated by St. Andrews Church.
• To deliver a computer to the Romanian charities accountant, who does the books for free, another donation from St Andrew’s.
• To have an evening meal with the Director of Casa Ruxandra and her husband.
• To spend New Years eve celebrating with Pastor Marius and his family.
• And not to forget the main purpose of the trip that was to take some 35 boxes of new clothing to be distributed amongst those in need through Vladeni Baptist Church and to the families on the social program.
• We also visited a plot of land.

Points for Prayer:

• For some of the elderly widows and widowers in our program who are struggling with health issues.
• For Clara a 20 month old little girl needing surgery for a heart problem.
• As I mentioned , we visited a plot of land, please can people pray about this, as we believe we are being called to build a
• community centre in the village this would enable us to minister to the needs of the community better. Particular prayer for the way to proceed with all the legal issues on purchasing the land and then building on it.
• For the finances of this project and for the necessary equipment needed to furnish it. And then for the ongoing finances to sustain.

As you can see we did an awful lot considering we were only there for 2 days, it may have taken us 3 days to drive there and 3 days back but it was worth every minute seeing the looks on the faces of the families as we gave them your gifts.  Praise and thanks to God for complete safety throughout our trip even through the snow covered mountains of Transylvania.

• The Carpenters Christian Fellowship
• Chorleywood Christian Fellowship
• Soul Survivor
• Faith Sharing Ministry