Engage issue 56 – 2023

The BMS World Mission magazine

FIGHTING FOR THEIR RIGHTS Tackling period poverty in Guinea

A CHURCH ON THE RISE Rejoice in those coming to the Lord, from France to Thailand

FANTASTIC FUNDRAISERS Thank you for all your support!

WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

BMS World Mission works in fragile states and unevangelised communities, serving some of our world’s most marginalised people. We also work with people on the move, supporting them on their journey from insecurity towards peace, or enabling them to remain in the nation they call home.

With your help, we send UK Christians and support local believers, working alongside trusted partners on four continents. Our highest goal is to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ and experience life in all its fullness.

Have

www.facebook.com/bmsworldmission

@bmsworldmission

April

2023

These words from Isaiah 43 are words we at BMS World Mission have kept close to our hearts over the past few months as we experience many changes, both in the world as a whole, and internally at BMS. But they’re words too that I’ve found myself repeating as I’ve shared the news with friends, family and colleagues that I’m taking on the editorship of Engage magazine!

I have many people to thank for this opportunity: the previous Engage Editors for offering me advice and support (hear more from Hannah Watson on the carrier sheet!), those at BMS who have been taking chances on me since I arrived here, and for you, our wonderful BMS supporters, without whom the contents of these pages wouldn’t exist. These stories are here to inspire and inform you, but also to show you how important your role in the BMS family really is. It’s your prayers that are helping grow the church in France (page 14), your calls for justice that are fighting period poverty in Guinea (page 16), your generous gifts that are feeding families in Uganda (page 10) and so much more.

And so I hope you enjoy the stories included in these pages and that you’re heartened by your own involvement in them. Any feedback you have is so welcome, so feel free to get in touch on magazine@bmsworldmission.org if you have any thoughts, or you want to pass on any messages of thanks to the previous Editor, Hannah. I so look forward to hearing from you!

Use

God bless, Laura Editor Write

We look forward to hearing from you! www.bmsworldmission.org

“SEE, I AM DOING A NEW THING!”

Laura Durrant

4. News

The first x-ray machine in Bardaï, Chad!

5. Your place in the story

Dr Kang-San Tan on the hope we gain from the Easter story

6. Thank you! Your creative fundraising for mission

7. Continuing the gospel story in Thailand

Hear Thew’s story of coming to faith in Wang Daeng

10. I am Susan You can change families’ lives in Uganda

The most powerful thing a girl can have How one conversation could change everything

18. Letters from Cambodia and the UK

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! 14

A different kind of light

A thriving church in France

BMS World Mission Website: www.bmsworldmission.org

Tel: 01235 517700

Email (general): mail@bmsworldmission.org

The Baptist Missionary Society: registered in England and Wales as a charity (number 1174364) and a company limited by guarantee (number 10849689).

Managing Editor: Hannah Watson

Editor: Laura Durrant

Design: Malky Currie

Front cover photo: Alex Baker

The views and opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of BMS World Mission.

© Copyright 2023 BMS World Mission ISSN 1756-2481

16.

X-RAYS IN CHAD TURN FROM DREAM TO REALITY

You may remember fundraising legend Kenneth Hall, featured in Issue 51 of Engage, who rowed a whopping 400 miles on his rowing machine to raise money for an x-ray machine at Bardaï hospital in Chad. Kenneth chose that distance because that is how far away the nearest x-ray facility is from Bardaï. Well, it was that far away – until now.

Just before Christmas (and after a much-delayed flight), a printer weighing almost 20 stone, a desktop computer, the x-ray cassette reader, a nurse ready to be trained and a pilot, Phil, who blessedly doubled up as an electrician, touched down safely in Bardaï. Phil and Onésime the technician set about fixing the temperamental electrics at the hospital, which had left the team in darkness and on the brink of having to deliver a baby by Caesarean section under torchlight. Once light returned, the training could begin.

After a two-week course led by an experienced radiographer from N’Djamena, the first ever x-ray at Bardaï hospital came back crystal clear! Since then, life has been busy for everyone at the hospital. And such is the radical nature of the new machine, it appears anyone with any pain anywhere, past or present, turns up at the hospital to be x-rayed (and are often gently turned down).

But such novel inconveniences are worth it when set against the dozens of necessary x-rays performed! And especially worth it in the case of one young boy brought to the hospital exhibiting symptoms of tuberculosis (TB). In the past, the only options open to the medical team were a risky biopsy under anaesthetic or a hazardous 400-mile trip to the nearest x-ray machine. Now, the diagnosis of TB is risk-free and rapid – and meant this young boy could start treatment that same day. What an incredible life-changing development for this hospital!

£25,000 approx. project cost for x-ray machine

400 miles to nearest x-ray machine before project 2 weeks training to perform digital x-rays

AFGHAN WORK PAUSED IN ACT OF SOLIDARITY

The de facto authorities in Afghanistan brought in a ban in December on Afghan women working for nongovernment organisations (NGOs). It is hard to overestimate the enormous contributions made by Afghan women to NGOs offering crucial services and programmes up and down

the country. In response to the ban, and with the full support of BMS, our partner organisation in Afghanistan has paused operations to stand in solidarity with its female staff. At the time of writing, this pause is still in effect. We invite you to pray as our partner works in collaboration with other NGOs to lobby for a solution.

QUAKES DEVASTATE SYRIA AND TÜRKIYE

Earthquakes struck Syria and Türkiye (formerly Turkey) on February 6 leaving over 45,000 people dead, many more injured and even more without shelter. Within 24 hours, BMS World Mission partner the Baptist World Alliance Forum for Aid and Development transported specialist workers and equipment into Türkiye. In Syria, a war-broken healthcare system was

overwhelmed, a situation made worse by severe winter conditions.

Baptist networks, established through BMS partners in Lebanon and the European Baptist Federation, rapidly responded to critical needs with kits such as blankets, heating tools and mattresses for churches across the regions which became places of refuge.

All information correct at time of writing.

From the General Director

YOUR PLACE IN THE STORY

Kang-San Tan

Let me start by saying thank you for your generous giving to BMS so that Christ’s good news is shared and communities flourish amidst global crisis and inequality of resources. I am acutely mindful that rising inflation, coupled with the cost of living crisis placed many of us in very difficult place.

I grew up thinking of resurrection as primarily about assurance of personal salvation in heaven. While this is true, scholars such as NT Wright have rightly emphasised that “The resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s Kingdom… It is the decisive event demonstrating that God’s Kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven. The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.”

What does Easter mean for us in a suffering world? It is an invitation to join with BMS to make a difference. In January, I had the privilege of seeing the tremendous impact of your support through the work of BMS’ partners and mission workers in Thailand. Judy Cook has made such a difference to children with disabilities over the past 26 years, Paul and Sarah Brown have empowered youth and women through livelihood and IT training, and Helen and Wit Boondeekhun have pioneered church planting among largely unreached Thai communities. Easter is about placing our individual hopes, griefs and sorrows into God’s bigger story of bringing healing and rebirth among the nations. And I hope you can see your place in that story through your support of BMS.

Photo taken in 2018

Your amazing fundraising!

Members of Stanley Road Baptist Church were inspired by God’s creation in the creation of their 2023 calendars!

Capturing creation

“Why are we creative? Because God’s creative!”

It was this thought that started Stanley Road Baptist Church on a journey of getting in touch with God’s creation and their own creativity, which ended in them putting together some beautiful calendars to raise money for BMS World Mission!

“We decided to do a ‘summer of snapping’ and take photos of God’s creation,” explains Steven Hewitt, Pastor of Stanley Road Baptist Church. “We encouraged people to get creative and there

was a really good response.”

In September, the photos were exhibited and showed a beautiful glimpse of God’s creation across the UK, from Morecombe promenade to the streets of Bath.

The church voted on which photos were their favourites to include in their calendars, which were sold in support of BMS, as well as two other local charities. Altogether they raised an amazing £345!

Thank you so much to everyone at SRBC who contributed to the calendars, we think they’re wonderful!

BMS Christmas treats!

Thank you so much to Sudbury Baptist Church for your festive BMS prayers!

BMS Rep Jennie Hembery put together a wonderful Christmas tree with BMS decorations, as well as some BMS-themed goody bags of sweets. Each bag was labelled with either the name of a mission worker, the name of a BMS partner or the name of a department at the BMS UK office for people to pray for.

And what made the goody bags BMS-themed? Each sweetie started with either a B, an M or an S! Thank you so much for your prayers, we can’t wait to see what creative ideas you come up with next Christmas!

The fundraising superstars in Haddenham!

When BMS staff saw amazing pictures on Facebook of the folks at Haddenhamcum-Dinton Baptist church growing pumpkins to raise money for BMS, we thought it was fantastic. But it turns out the fundraising spirit goes even further! From movie nights

to concerts to quizzes to coffee mornings, their yearly calendar is packed full of events to raise money for world mission. Thank you so much to every member of Haddenham Baptist who’s given to support BMS over the last year – your pennies and pounds have made so much possible!

continuing the gospel story in Thailand

Thew grew up longing for stability and peace, having never experienced them in his own family. Now, through his new-found faith in Christ, Thew is part of not just one but two life-changing families.

dreamed of having a normal life,” says Thew, whose parents split up when

Uttaradit province of Thailand. And it was here that Thew’s journey to the peace he had always wanted began.

Family ties

But, to tell Thew’s story, we need to go back to Wang Daeng’s first believer, Suree. Suree found Christ thanks to the faithful witness and support of BMS World Mission church planters, Helen and Wit Boondeekhun. When Helen and Wit moved to Wang Daeng, they were the only Christians in the village of around 2,000 people. “Our aim is to bless and benefit the community, and to build bridges so we can share the gospel with these people

when the time is right,” said Helen when she and Wit arrived in the area in 2016.

Two years on, through her involvement in an incomegenerating project run by Wit, and through Helen and Wit’s faithful and sensitive sharing of the gospel, Suree became the first resident of Wang Daeng to find Christ. For a time, Suree remained a secret believer: too nervous to tell her Buddhist friends and family about her new-found faith. Fast-forward to today and the church in the village has around 20 regular attendees – and nine of those people, including Suree’s now son-in-law, Thew, have recently been baptised.

Five prayer requests for Wang Daeng from Engage magazine, 2018

For ten people to come to know Jesus Christ

Helen and Wit saw nine new believers baptised in Wang Daeng last summer

Branching out

Helen and Wit are now continuing their ministry in the nearby village of Tao Hai, conscious of God’s call to new areas still waiting to hear the gospel. They see this move as an extension of their mission and stay in regular contact with Moses and Mary, the new leaders of Wang Daeng’s church. Along with youth worker, Fluk, Moses and Mary are continuing to build relationships in the community through Bible studies and income-generating projects. “I want to say thank you so much for the people in

the UK supporting us,” says Thew.

It is thanks to your support – through regular prayers and giving – that all five of the prayer requests from Wit and Helen when they arrived in Wang Daeng have been answered (see box opposite). But as the fellowship in Wang Daeng continues to grow, the next harvest field depends on your continued prayers and giving to help more Surees, Thews and Soms find the peace and purpose that comes from knowing Christ. •

Thew and Som have a brighter future now they’ve put their faith in Jesus.

30-year-old Susan is very many things. She’s the caregiver for her 97-year-old grandma. She’s a talented farmer. She’s the lifeblood of her family. The cheerleader for her four kids. She’s a dreamer. And, with your support, she hopes her children will grow up to be even more.

Photos: Alex Baker

I AM A DEDICATED MOTHER

At 16 years old, Susan, who lives in northern Uganda, left school. “Me and my siblings were 12 in number… It was my elder brother who had to pay our school fees, which was difficult for him, especially after he got married.”

Susan always hoped she’d get to go back to school. But in rural Uganda, life isn’t often that easy. Instead, Susan soon found herself on a very different path: that of a wife and a mother. Now, she’s committed to making sure her children get to finish their education. Working and saving for them.

“I have a dream for them,” Susan admits. “I don’t know what each of them would love to study, but I’m thinking the first one should study law and become a lawyer, and [all of them] should achieve some good level of education.”

Susan’s eldest son, Joshua, has a problem with his lungs. It means he’s often sick. The treatment he needs is expensive. Susan and her husband David are saving for it – but with school bills to pay, food to put on the table, and everything it costs to run a home and raise a family, it’s going to take a long time to save enough.

“It always breaks my heart,” says Susan, speaking about the times Joshua gets sick. “Especially when he’s staying at home, when others are studying. He’s supposed to be at school, and I feel bad.” Farming is the source of Susan and

her family’s survival. But every year, it gets harder for farmers like Susan to grow the food they desperately need. People in northern Uganda used to be able to predict, almost to the day, when the rains would come. The devastating effects of climate change mean that now, the rains are unpredictable – and sometimes they don’t come at all. Just last year, in northeast Uganda, hundreds of people tragically died of hunger due to famine.

The BMS World Mission team is working to make sure farmers like

Susan have the skills and seeds they need to keep growing food in this rapidly changing climate. And to look after the earth as they do it. This training has equipped Susan to grow more food. Food she can use to feed her family. And food she can sell to help raise her children – paying for their education, their medical fees, their day-to-day life.

“I want to thank God so much for the project that has come,” says Susan. “[Before], I would prepare my field and I would lack the seed to plant.” After receiving seeds and training from BMS worker Genesis Acaye and his team, this year, Susan has grown a bountiful harvest!

She has bags full of beans, ready to sell and eat, as well as peanuts, onions, maize and African eggplant. “I will take some to church for my tithe,”

I HAVE A DREAM FOR [MY CHILDREN]… I’M THINKING THE FIRST ONE SHOULD STUDY LAW AND BECOME A LAWYER

I AM A SKILLED FARMER

“Every day you wake up, you need to think of how to get food for your family,” says Susan.

she says. “I will sell others to pay for my children’s school, and also keep others for food.”

Susan’s able to make the money she earns from farming go further by being part of her church’s savings group (which was originally set up almost a decade ago with the help of BMS supporters!). Through the savings group, Susan and the other members save money together, so they always have some reserves to draw on when they have an innovative business idea, or when an emergency strikes.

“The savings group has helped us in a lot of ways,” says Susan. “I’ve borrowed money several times. For example, when my firstborn was sick, I had to rush and borrow money to take him to the hospital. Or sometimes the children will be chased from school because of school fees. So you run to the savings group and borrow money to send them back to school.”

Susan loves meeting up with the women in her savings group on Monday afternoons – her neighbours, fellow businesswomen, friends –finding out how they’re doing and encouraging them. Some of the women in the group don’t belong to churches, so Susan invites them to join her at church, too.

“As a Christian, the main thing that you should do is to make sure you

show God in whatever you do,” says Susan. “How you live with people, how you relate to people... People should see that you have God with you, so that they are encouraged.”

It’s not only her four children Susan is working hard to support. She’s

I AM A CHRISTIAN BUSINESSWOMAN I AM A BELOVED GRANDDAUGHTER

also the dedicated caregiver for her grandma, 97-year-old Aciro. At nearly 100, Aciro’s mind is still as sharp as ever. She’s constantly making people laugh with her quick wit and dry humour. And she tells countless stories from the past, like about how men

used to court women properly in her day, not like they do today. But while she can evoke whole worlds with her words, Aciro’s body is failing her. She struggles to walk, suffers from kidney disease, and has to make regular trips to the hospital for checks on her liver.

It can be challenging to care for Aciro alongside the daily grind of life as a farmer, and the constant demands of motherhood. But Susan clearly adores her grandmother. “It’s very painful when she’s sick or in the hospital,” says Susan. “I’m very close to her. It’s my responsibility to take care of her, because there’s no-one else.”

30-year-old Susan is very many things. She’s strong. She’s wise. She’s dedicated. And she’s incredibly hard working. She loves her family, her friends, and her God.

Like every good mother, she wants the best for her children. And she can envisage a future where, instead of fighting for their survival, they can fight for the rights of others.

This year, Susan is one step closer to achieving that dream. Her children are one step closer to completing their education. She has more savings, meaning her son, Joshua, is one step closer to receiving the medication he needs. Long-term change is slow. It’s hard work. But you can keep helping to make it possible for Susan and her family.

“I want to thank God for [you],” says Susan. “We are now better off than we were before. We are moving forward. So my request is that you can continue supporting us... to have a better life.” •

This harvest, journey with BMS to northern Uganda, and partner with Susan and other amazing farmers like her by sharing Days of Plenty, the BMS Harvest appeal for 2023, in your church. Start preparing now:

1. Ask your minister to SAVE THE DATE for your Days of Plenty service

2. The Days of Plenty video will be released on 10 May, you’ll be able to watch it by heading to www.bmsworldmission.org/daysofplenty

Join

PEOPLE SHOULD SEE THAT YOU HAVE GOD

SO THAT THEY ARE ENCOURAGED.

This is Barbara, you'll meet her this harvest in Days of Plenty!

A DIFFERENT KIND OF LIGHT

CREATIVE OUTREACH AND THE CHURCH IN FRANCE

Imagine a world where someone books time in their diary for four hours of prayer – and then decides that it wasn’t enough. As strange as it sounds, that’s the situation Pastor Marie-Laure Fenet found herself in when her church in Sartrouville, France, opened a creative prayer space to the public earlier this year.

Maybe you’re reading this and feel you’re in the same category as I was: ‘I’ll have to see it to believe it’. I’m spending the weekend with John and Sue Wilson, BMS World Mission pastors who have dedicated the past 38 years to church-planting in France. And when they tell me that we’ll be visiting a creative prayer space for two hours, I find myself wondering how we’ll fill the time.

That’s before we arrive and I see how wrong I was. The church is in the outskirts, beyond the Paris of the postcards and out into the suburbs. This is the France of the everyday, where

kids bounce on trampolines in the front garden and young men in tracksuits gather outside the ‘Tabac’ for a cigarette. But when we step inside the church, it’s like walking into Paris’ loveliest art exhibition.

I’m taken around by MarieThérèse, who has been a member here for the past 41 years. She lovingly explains how each space works – from the banquet table that allows visitors to meditate on Psalm 23, to the room with a cross that enables them to contemplate Jesus’ death and then take home a little nail with a tag saying ‘forgiven’. Each space is beautiful, warm and inviting. I can easily see how four hours could slip by here.

The creativity of the prayer space at Sartrouville is born of a Church that has historically been hidden behind closed doors. And I mean that quite literally: thanks to a legal ruling from the end of the 19th century, John and Sue’s church in the

“We see some people come for one hour, and they want more time after that, because they realise they need to really sit through the Bible texts and listen to God,” say Marie-Laure and Marjolaine, Marie-Laure’s pastoral apprentice.

Words: Hannah Watson

centre of Paris had to be built as a rabbit warren of rooms leading to a vast inner sanctuary, completely invisible from the street. But instead of retreating back into itself, John and Sue’s fellowship has doubled down on their outreach. And whether through the outreach meal the church runs for the lonely, undocumented or those experiencing homelessness, the lodgings they provide for young women who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to study or work in Paris, or the welcome extended to people on the move, it’s clear that the French attitude to mission is making a real difference, especially when it comes to connecting with people who would otherwise be on the edges of society.

In fact, people born abroad or in Overseas France make up the majority of John and Sue’s congregation – but integrating into Parisian culture isn’t always easy. I chat to Glorya, a young church member who has been living in the women’s hostel while she completes her Master’s degree. Raised in Portugal for the first fifteen years of her life, Glorya shares that it was initially a huge struggle to find her place in Paris. “My French was so bad! So I know how hard it is to learn a different language and how hard it is to move,” Glorya laughs. Glorya was used to the expression of faith she grew up with in Portugal, where big Christian holidays, iconography

and even Christian turns of phrase were celebrated. “I don’t want to say that French culture doesn’t like Christians… but it does take issue with people’s expression of faith. Even saying ‘God bless you’ – people look at you strangely. But I was raised that way in Portugal. Even now, I always say ‘blessings!’ to people. It’s not easy, for sure.”

The one thing that kept Glorya rooted during her teenage years was John and Sue’s church. “That was the first step towards us being included,” she says. Living in the women’s hostel has allowed Glorya to thrive in her studies, and also pursue a successful and growing career as a gospel singer. Now, her French is so good that people can’t tell she ever lived abroad.

The main thing I’m struck

by as I travel home from France is the immense dedication and love of the people welcoming newcomers like Glorya – but also how much it is rooted in unity. The outreach meal was a collaboration between volunteers at John and

Sue’s church and a church down the road. The prayer space was built not by artists, but by the church’s teenagers who poured so much of their time into the art. Churches across France are working together to welcome in refugees and migrants, to give them the refuge they might not otherwise have received. Ordinary people, coming together, to be used by an extraordinary God.

People like Marie-Thérèse, the lady who welcomes me to the prayer space and who answers so many of my questions. She tells me that the building the church uses was once an old factory. “It used to produce electricity,” Marie-Thérèse says. “Now we’re creating a different kind of light.” •

MY CHURCH WAS THE FIRST STEP TO BEING INCLUDED

John and Sue travelled to Marie-Laure’s church to support her and to gather ideas for a prayer week at their own church. They were just two of the 250 people who visited that week.

Integrating into French culture as a teenager was really tricky for Glorya. John and Sue’s church was the first place she felt truly welcomed.

The most POWERFUL THING a girl can have

Ayoung girl starts her period for the first time. If she were in the UK, she would probably know what that meant, go and tell her mum and have easy access to the sanitary products she needs. She might feel nervous, but she knows she’ll be okay. For a girl in Guinea, the story is completely different. In all likelihood, a young girl starting her period will have no idea what is happening to her. She wouldn’t know where to start looking for resources that will help her

understand the changes happening to her body. She might think she’s sick. She might think she’s dying. Fortunately, your support is helping change that.

Millions of women and girls across the world are impacted by period poverty. Lacking something as small as sanitary products can have drastic effects on a girl’s future – a recent UNESCO report estimates that one in ten girls in sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their period. And like in many parts of the world, girls in Guinea are at risk of missing out

on a bright future for one simple reason: no-one talks about periods. “I would say [sex education] does not exist at all [in Guinea],” says BMS World Mission worker Caroline*. And because girls are so undereducated about their periods, they will often use whatever rags, paper or even plastic they can find when their periods start. But the lack of education can have more drastic consequences than just using unhygienic sanitary products. For many young girls in Guinea, the only thing expected of them is to get married and have children – but

Words: Laura Durrant

In Guinea, many girls will get married before the age of 18

this often means being pulled out of school early, sometimes as young as 14. It might be difficult to know how to help young girls when faced with a context like this. But for Caroline, starting a conversation about periods was the first step.

When a colleague of Caroline’s had to leave Guinea, she left 1,000 period kits from the organisation ‘Days for Girls’ for Caroline to use. The kits contain reusable sanitary pads, wash cloths, soap and new underwear, and are designed to help teach girls about their periods. Having trained as a nurse, Caroline knew that she was well-equipped to start the period conversation with girls in her local community, and began reaching out to local schools to start running ‘biology lessons’ for the female students.

Many of the girls are apprehensive and shy at first but Caroline makes the sessions fun and engaging, getting the girls involved and encouraging them to ask whatever questions they have. They cover things like anatomy, how the menstrual cycle actually works and how to use and care for the period kits they get at the end of the session. And, crucially, Caroline also explains how important their education is and encourages them not to leave school prematurely if they can. And at the end of each session, the change is always dramatic. “They’re so excited,” Caroline says. Her husband, Victor*, joined Caroline for a session once, and said afterwards, “I saw them walk away with such a smile on their faces, and so proud, with dignity.”

While the immediate feedback from Caroline’s sessions is positive, it’s hard to know how much her teaching sticks. Guinean society’s expectations of these girls remains the

same. But, equipped with a little more knowledge, the girls can see that they don’t need to be ashamed or afraid of their periods – and they’re shown that they can achieve so much more than society tells them they can. “My hope for them,” says Caroline, “is that when they have kids themselves, especially girls, that they remember that there was somebody who came to school and talked about these taboo topics. And how important it is that there’s a change in mindset.”

A young girl in Guinea starts her period for the first time but, rather than feeling fear, she understands what’s happening. She has friends she can share her experiences with, comfortable and clean products that she can use, she knows she’s

not dying. And that’s an incredibly powerful thing: one girl, equipped with knowledge, has the power to change the perspective of a nation. • *Names changed.

God’s powerful justice

You’re making Caroline’s work possible by praying for and supporting BMS work in Guinea. Thank you for sharing God’s heart for justice, and please keep praying that women and girls across the world will be free from the constraints of period poverty.

Caroline recently ran a session for girls working in a local tailor’s shop during their school holiday. Every girl got a period kit – and they were so excited by what they’d learnt!

I WOULD SAY [SEX EDUCATION] DOES NOT EXIST AT ALL [IN GUINEA]

A letter from Cambodia

Ray and Pisal are dormitory leaders at a BMS World Mission-supported dorm in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The dorm provides a safe and affordable place for students to live while they study in Cambodia’s capital. BMS-supported church planter Pastor J, who runs a ministry nearby, has also had the privilege of welcoming some of the dorm students to his church and bringing them to faith.

Dear friends,

My name is Ray, and I am from Kompot province. I was raised in a Buddhist family, and I joined Horaios Dormitory in 2018. I didn’t know any English. I also didn’t know anything about Jesus; I’d never read the Bible. But [through Pastor J’s] Sunday service, I came to know about Jesus, I started praying to him and I read the Bible. I decided to give my life to Jesus and got baptised in 2020. I’ve never regretted it, because I know he loves me and helps me in many ways. He taught me how to live with others, he taught me how to be brave and strong, he taught me patience and how to love others. Now I can speak English [through classes at the dorm]. I’ve grown so much as a person and I continue to grow in my spiritual life. I thank God for using Horaios Dormitory to change

my life and I trust he will do more work in me and through me.

Hello, my name is Pisal, and I am also from a Buddhist family. There are Christians in my village, so I used to go to church at Christmas because they shared good food and gifts with us. But I never truly listened to the Word of God. I never touched a Bible. When I came to Phnom Penh for university in 2019 [and met Pastor J], it was the first time I sat down for Bible study. Over time, I began to believe that Jesus is real. I decided to give my life to Jesus and I got baptised in 2021. It was the best decision I have ever made. I also learned how to play guitar and speak English here in the dormitory. I am happy to be a follower of Jesus.

Thank you, Ray and Pisal

I THANK GOD FOR USING THE DORM TO CHANGE MY LIFE

You first met Ray (middle) in Issue 53 of Engage. She’s thriving in her faith and helping to lead the dormitory along with Pisal (right) that enabled her to follow her dream of studying public administration, with the goal of transforming her rural community through a career in local government.

Memories of the stamp bureau

I wanted to belatedly share a story about the stamp bureau. I have fond memories of my Grandad doing this. He was Rev E. Leslie Wenger, who with his wife Freda had been BMS missionaries for many years in India, and he remained devoted to helping in whatever way he could during his retirement. So he collected stamps from his church and sorted and sent them to the stamp bureau. He called it his “knitting”, because he did it at the same time as my Granny knitted. I have very fond memories of the two of them settling down after their evening meal together, Granny knitting, and Grandad snipping and sorting the stamps for BMS. Just wanted to pass that on.

Thank you, Erica Bowler

From the Editor

Dear Erica,

Thank you for sharing that lovely story of your grandparents and their support for the BMS stamp bureau. You describe it beautifully, and it’s heart-warming to know that BMS is connected in some way to such a treasured memory.

Every blessing, Laura

Get in touch!

If you’ve been inspired or challenged by anything you’ve read in Engage, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch using one of the methods on page 2!

Praying for Afghanistan

Thank you for the excellent BMS magazine sent to me. Please could I request a copy of Grace’s* prayer letter who works in Afghanistan. I’m involved in Kay St. Fellowship in Rawtenstall and belong the missionary team.

Thank you,

Eileen Coward

From the Editor

Hi Eileen, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recent issue of Engage magazine, and have been particularly inspired to pray for Afghanistan, a nation that so needs our prayers right now. We’ve made sure you’re signed up for Grace’s prayer letters, so you don’t miss any updates.

Every blessing, Laura

*Name changed.

Blessings from the Birthday Scheme

God bless the work that you are all doing. When I read the BMS magazine I feel so grateful for all that is achieved. Kind regards,

Pam Welch

Birthday Scheme Co-ordinator