Missions Notes

Wes Richardson – Chairman

Email: Missions@MIdwayPCA.org

September Notes from the Missions Committee

On behalf of the Ilford, England mission’s team, I would like to thank all of you who prayed faithfully for us July 27 – August 4! Thank you also for your financial support of the team as well. Because of your faithfulness, love, prayers, and support, many people of various religions heard the good news of the gospel.

Let me give you a brief day by day history:

Friday, July 27 – departed for London, 6:45 p.m. Arrived 8 a.m. Saturday, July 28.
Saturday, July 28 - Ate lunch and supper (bangers and burgers) at Dave and Jan’s house. This is the team leader for Ilford. We had the pleasure of being with Chuck and Wyema, and Tim and Nicole, whom we support through Midway missions.

Sunday, July 29 – Met Stephen at Ley Street Chapel. Stephen is our Scottish leader for the next week as we begin preparing for Holiday Bible Club. He is pastor of this church, which is supported through London City Mission. There are about 15 people in church for the morning worship service. The message was about Jonah, since the Holiday Bible Club will be about Jonah and the big fish. In the afternoon, we went separate ways to explore the town. Later that day, we met with David and Tim to discuss what the week will hold for us.

Monday, July 30 – We went to an amusement park/zoo about 1 hour away from Ley Street Chapel. There were about 100 moms, children, and a few husbands on this trip as well. When we arrived, our team separated and went with any families that we felt comfortable. We had a great opportunity to develop relationships with these people, and now there are many new contacts that our supported missionaries may visit.

On this evening, Nathan and I had the opportunity to go to a “thing tank” with 8 other men. The topic was “Islam and Integration.” What a topic (yawn)! Actually it was interesting, and we were able to find out about two of the men there who were converted Muslims to Christianity. What a great witness these two men had to the others in that room!

Tuesday, July 31 – this was preparation day for HBC. We spent hours rearranging furniture, finishing crafts, setting up a police booth, and finding out who Doctor Who is. Please ask any of the team members who this “famous” English character is. Tuesday evening, we were invited to David and  Jan’s home for a traditional fish and chips meal.

Wednesday, August 1 – our first day of HBC! We had about 35 children ranging in age from 4 to 12. It was wild and crazy, but our team held the attention of the children by the stories, crafts, and great snacks that we brought from the States! Dr. Who made his appearance and brought one of the sailors from Joppa (and the police booth) into the chapel. After HBC, we were able to go to a local Mosque. If you have never been in a Mosque, please take the opportunity to do so. You will be enlightened to this ever growing religion. The “enlightened” Imam that spoke with us gave a sad glimpse at this dark religion. He “hoped” that he would go to heaven because on his scale of good and bad, he hoped the good would outweigh the bad and therefore be accepted by God.

Thursday, August 2 – our second day of HBC! Again, we had 35 children. Again, the children were wild and crazy, but like Wednesday, our team grabbed the attention of the children as Doctor Who brought a Ninevite into the room. This “Ninevite” told the story of how she had seen Jonah, all covered with seaweed and bleached from head to toe! What a sight!
After HBC, we made a beeline for the train station, as this was our day to go to London and see the sights. Stephen was a great leader – getting us to London proper and delivering us right in front of Parliament and Big Ben. The weather had been completely cooperative until we got to London. Rain, fog, etc. greeted us, but soon stopped. We basically ran through London taking in all of the sights and souvenirs as best we could. I believe we have a total of 5000 pictures from the 7 hours or so that we blitzed the city!

Friday, August 3 – our last day of HBC. Again, the same amount of children came, and we had another visitor from Nineveh. This one shared how she came to know Christ through the preaching of Jonah! What joy and excitement this convert had and how boldly she shared with the children! After HBC ended at 12:30, we stayed to get all of the children’s crafts and worksheets together. At 2:00, the children and parents were invited back for an awards ceremony. The children and the team all sang the songs we learned during the week. The children recited our memory verse, and a gospel presentation was given. Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, and other religious groups were present. Afterwards, tea and cookies were served.
The only thing left was cleanup, but with many hands, we were able to put the chapel back in some semblance of order. Friday evening was spent finishing our souvenir shopping and packing.

Saturday, August 4 – Our trip started at 7 a.m. with a train ride to Gatwick airport. We only made one small detour along the way, so we had plenty of time to spend the rest of our pounds in the airport! Our plane was early getting into Atlanta, but one of the purchases at the Gatwick airport made customs a nightmare for some! I never knew that a bomb could be made from marmalade!

A few thoughts from those on the team:

Jennifer: I really enjoyed going to London and seeing how diverse the culture is there. It was great to connect with a group of Indian women and their children. They are moms just like me and they need a Savior just like me.

Halie: On our London trip we got to experience the environment and people that our friends the Mares and Thomaes deal with, whether they are Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion. The trip showed me to appreciate how blessed we are to live here.

Paige: Going to London exceeded all my expectations. I loved being able to visit another culture and get a small taste of another way of life. Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf. I would definitely go back to London or any other mission field. Reaching out to the children and spending one-on-one time with the missionaries was an amazing and special experience

Nathan: There are two things that stood out to me about this trip. The first was the impact that reading the Scriptures in their native tongue can have on a person. The second was the provision of the Holy Spirit for evangelizing. I had no idea when I saw a common and ordinary sheet of 8 x 11 paper that said "no flytipping", on a sidewalk rubbish can, that this flyer would be useful. Two days later though, it provided the perfect analogy for how there is but one way to get to God. I will go back.

Emily: I enjoyed spending time with the three sisters who befriended me on Monday. It was nice to have familiar faces at the Bible Club, and the girls were sweet. I also enjoyed spending time with their mom at the park. She even gave me snacks and juice. They were kind of like my family away from home.

I also learned to trust that God will work out all the little details. Before we left, it was easy to get anxious about what exactly would happen and if we would be adequately prepared. I had to really trust that everything would come together, and that God already knew everything that was going to happen.

Lexi: Overall, I really appreciated being able to learn about the work of our missionaries. When thinking of mission work in London, one might think “ A tourist location? Sounds more like a vacation than a mission.” It is often times difficult to understand someone’s work without seeing him in action. Our Midway team is now aware of how diligently our missionaries there are working each and every day to spread the Gospel, and we now know how to pray for them more effectively than we were able before we left.

Working with the children who attended our Holiday Bible Club was a great joy. It was especially to see how certain children, who were like brick walls at the start, became more open each day. I would love to have been able to spend more time with them. Perhaps we will be able to send another team next summer and be able to work with some of the same children and see how they have grown; to see how God has been working in their lives over the past year.

Evan: London was a great learning experience for me. I learned tools that helped me communicate with Muslims and I can use those tools wherever I go. I believe God blessed the ministry of this trip and that He will continue His blessings on the ministry of the missionaries there.
Thank you again! Please continue praying for the work in Ilford. Many people of many nationalities and religions are being ministered to daily. Please pray that God will make Himself known to these people. Pray that God will deliver them all from the grip of the various religions that are enslaving them.

For the UK team,

Scott Keesee

Also occurring in the upcoming months:

Please be in prayer for:

Huck Whitener with a medical team to Jordan 8/31 – 9/9.

September 30: David and Jill Martin, MTW missionaries to Ukraine and Esther Hunter, WBT missionary to Chad will be here to speak at the evening service.

October 5 – 7: World Missions Conference, Claude McRoberts, keynote speaker.

November 18: Clay Quarterman, MTW missionary to Ukraine will be bringing the evening message.