Engage spring 2014

SPRING

2014

CBEEBIES’ GEMMA HUNT, CHRISTIANS IN SPORT, MISSION NEWS KOLKATA’S STREET CHILDREN: An emotional bus ride

“I saved my friend in Congo”

PHILIP YANCEY ON SUFFERING

THE FREE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FROM BMS WORLD MISSION MISSION STORIES / PRAYER / NEWS / OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE

HigHligHts

Engage

Chris Hall

welcome Our front cover picture of Jesus is striking and thought-provoking.

So often Jesus is portrayed looking like a white Westerner but we know that he wasn’t. This picture reminds us that our upbringing and culture leads us to make a Jesus in our own image.

We live in a diverse world and that diversity is increasingly apparent here in the UK. For us to share Jesus with those from other cultures, we need to understand who Jesus is for them.

That may require us to listen and to learn before responding with what we believe. Some of the common attitudes to Jesus from other faiths are explored in our main article (page 10).

We not only share Jesus through conversations but also through our compassion and care for others. The Good News Children’s Education Mission (page 14) is a brilliant example of doing just that.

BMS World Mission PO Box 49, 129 Broadway, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 8XA Tel: 01235 517700 Email (general): mail@bmsworldmission.org Email (editorial): magazine@bmsworldmission.org Website: www.bmsworldmission.org General director: David Kerrigan Managing editor: Jonathan Langley Editor: Chris Hall Regular contributors: Vickey Casey, Fiona Castle OBE, Nabil K Costa, David Kerrigan, Jonathan Langley, Aidan Melville, Sarah Stone Guest columnist: Paul Hobson Design editors: indigoninja.co.uk, Pepperfish.co.uk and Ruth Povall at BMS World Mission Printed by: Halcyon Print Management, Tunbridge Wells, TN3 9BD The views and opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of BMS World Mission.

10 Who do you sAy i Am? How does the world see Jesus? How can we help change their minds about him?

14 A bus ride through the city of joy

Sarah Stone embarks on an emotional journey through Kolkata to see how God’s love is being shared with the city’s forgotten street children.

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i sAved my friend in congo

the big intervieW: PhiliP yAncey

Andrew North recalls his life-saving trip from a remote hospital in D R Congo.

The bestselling author talks about Christian attitudes to suffering, the subject of his new book.

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5 minutes With gemmA hunt

24 hours in… tunis

The star of CBeebies’ Swashbuckle juggles her TV career with leading Christian youth events.

The top places to visit in the Tunisian capital according to BMS’ Graeme Riddell.

Baptist Missionary Society Registered as a charity in England and Wales (number 233782) and in Scotland (number SC037767) © Copyright 2014 BMS World Mission ISSN 1756-2481 Printed on material from sustainable forests

Sign up to receive Engage magazine for free four times a year at bmsworldmission.org/engage

missioN News /news–blogs

BangLadeSh:

Bangladesh experienced “the deadliest election violence in the country’s history” ahead of the poll which took place on Sunday 5 January 2014.

The controversial new parliament was sworn in on Thursday 9 January.

BMS World Mission workers, Andrew and Gwen Millns serving with BMS partner Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha, said that the situation was, “very tense and uncertain.”

“We have to be careful about travelling within Dhaka and now leaving Dhaka is not an option,” Andrew said.

What happens next will be determined by the resolve of the opposition and whether the new government can get international recognition.

LeBanon:

Refugees stRuggle thRough winteR Syrian refugeeS in LeBanon’S Bekaa VaLLey faced harSh conditionS thiS Winter SeaSon, Many Without the proper MeanS of Staying WarM.

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hen a storm at the end of 2013 froze Syrian refugees in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, BMS World Mission partner organisation, the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD), stepped up to help the thousands of refugees living in harsh conditions throughout the valley and surrounding mountains.

“There is a shortage of stoves, fuel and winter clothing, especially for

centraL african repuBLic:

PRiest PRotects MusliMs In the midst of violent attacks between Muslim rebels and Christian militia in the Central African Republic, a priest is protecting Muslim families in his church.

Xavier Fagba, an abbot in the town of Boali, northwest of the capital Bangui, offered Muslims refuge after seeing them being chased by militiamen with

© Christina Malkoun / IRIN

© Joe Athialy

Political instability aRound elections

knives and machetes. Over 700 terrified Muslims have sheltered in the church, protected by French troops who are trying to restore order in the country.

“I am not going to let anyone hurt the people inside my church, it doesn’t matter whether they are Christians or Muslims,” said Xavier Fagba. (France 24)

the children,” said the Director of Community Development and Relief for LSESD, Rupen Das. The weather and lack of supplies also prevented families from doing the small jobs that fed them. “They are unable to earn the bare minimum that they used to when the weather was better,” said Rupen. On some days LSESD workers were unable to distribute supplies because of the weather and the rapidly increasing numbers of people needing help. Through donations, BMS was able to give a grant to the LSESD to purchase winter and relief supplies for the refugees.

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missioN News /news–blogs

peru:

gRateful PastoRs gRaduate BMS giVeS VitaL training to peruVian paStorS Looking to heLp their churcheS and coMMunitieS.

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uk: going to chuRch Reduces cRiMe people who regularly attend a church are less likely to commit petty crimes.

That is the finding of a study by Mark Littler, a criminologist at Manchester University.

Participants were asked if they had been involved in criminal or delinquent behaviour including littering, skipping school or work, using illegal drugs, fare dodging, shoplifting, music piracy and property damage. They were also asked if they went to a place of worship regularly. The results showed a link between those who attended an act of worship and those least likely to commit these offences. Littler deduced contact with people who ‘espouse pro-social ideas’ was the reason.

© Ronald Hudson - fotolia.com

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round 25 pastors graduated in December from leadership and theology courses developed and run by BMS World Mission workers at Nauta Training Centre in north-eastern Peru.

Courses were mainly led by a combination of local and national Peruvian pastors (through the Peruvian Baptist Convention) and BMS workers Gill Thurgood, Harland Rivas and Laura-Lee Lovering.

The Nauta Training Centre, opened in 2012 and partly funded by BMS, was created when local pastors requested training. They recognised the huge need in their communities where levels of poverty and hunger are very high, and pastors sacrificed time and money, travelling up to ten hours by boat to come to the training.

Among this year’s six week period of courses was a session on integral mission, led by BMS worker James Henley. “Integral mission in Peru is generally a new thing,” says James. “Most of the pastors at Nauta recognise the huge amount of need in their communities. They are desperate to do something and in some ways teaching on integral mission has given them permission to do that under the banner of their role as a pastor.”

The graduates left Nauta with a new set of leadership and pastoral skills that would help them enrich their families, congregations, and communities.

chRistians no longeR MajoRity for the first time in a century, christians are no longer in the majority in new Zealand.

Census results released in December showed a drop in the total number of Christians from 56 per cent of the population in 2006 to 47 per cent in 2013.

The number saying they had ‘no religion’ is now 41.5 per cent making New Zealand one of the most secular countries in the world.

The Most Rev Philip Richardson, Archbishop of the New Zealand Dioceses, said that the decline in numbers of Christians “liberates us from notions of self-importance and turns us back to our fundamental calling.”

uk: catalyst confeRence a hit BMS World Mission’s first Catalyst Live event hosted some of the biggest names in theology and apologetics in Manchester and reading at the end of november 2013.

Influential thinkers such as Professor Jürgen Moltmann, who spoke on hope for the future and the “sad sin of despair” and Yohanna Katanacho, who detailed his experience of being a Christian in Israel/ Palestine, gave challenging and thought-provoking talks. Video and audio versions of each talk can be found at bmscatalystlive.com/videos and some will be featured in BMS’ magazine, Mission Catalyst. Plans are underway for a second catalyst Live to be held in autumn 2014.

© Alex Baker Photography

neW ZeaLand:

thaiLand: new woRkeRs join coMPasio teaM

on 15 January, new BMS mission workers, Brian and Lydia english, left the uk to join Bob and charmaine trendell and BMS partner organisation compasio to work in Mae Sot, on the thai-Burmese border.

“For us, short-term mission experiences were like God giving us a little taster of things to come,” says Brian. With Lydia employing her music and administration background and Brian using his communications and fundraising skills, they will be helping to mentor Compasio’s local Thai and Burmese Christian staff and build relationships with the community.

WorLd: chRistian PeRsecution on the incRease open doors has announced their 2014 list of the top 50 countries with the highest rates of christian persecution.

The top ten ordered by name are: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Maldives, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. BMS works in six of the countries on the list. Open Doors say that persecution of Christians has nearly doubled since 2012. Syria was the country where the highest number of Christians were killed.

Get more exciting stories every week online at

bmsworldmission.org

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David Kerrigan

postcard from © Michael Foley

General Director, BMS

Chad

Working in a hospital with limited resources brings with it a real sense of amazement when lives that look to be in serious danger miraculously are turned around.

In December we saw a tiny baby girl born two months premature in her village. She is her parents’ first and they are clearly besotted by her. Being so tiny though, feeding her was difficult and despite her parents’ best efforts she came to us very dehydrated and having difficulty breathing.

Her outlook did not look good when she stopped breathing but through resuscitation she started to breathe again. My weekend passed in a blur of giving fluids, antibiotics, monitoring her heart rate, oxygen levels and wrapping her up in yet more blankets, hats, jumpers and booties to ward off the chilly 25°C nights!

By Sunday afternoon the little listless rag-doll that had been brought in two days previously was wriggling around and no longer needing oxygen. By Monday she was drinking all of her required milk so we could stop giving her fluids every two hours by the drip in her hand. As I sat with her parents helping them with feeding their precious little girl they told me they had given her the name Rebecca. What a privilege!

With best wishes

Rebecca North

UndErstanding

JESUS

JeSuS May neVer change, But hoW We See hiM doeS. hundreds of years old, weather-beaten and eroded – a celtic cross in a village three miles from where i live stands as a reminder that the christian faith has spanned the centuries, and spanned the globe.

Just as today’s world is completely different to the world of our forebears, so too their understanding of Jesus will have been different to mine. That may sound a strange thing to say. After all, isn’t Jesus Christ the same ‘yesterday, today and forever’? Isn’t he always Lord and Saviour?

To which I say a resounding ‘Yes’. But look again at what I said.

Not that Jesus was different, but that our understanding of Jesus may be different.

When mission workers travel to different parts of the world, one of the questions asked is how the gospel best connects to people there. In one place Jesus is worshipped as the liberator of the oppressed, in another he is victor over the evil spirits.

As we can see in the article on page 10, it can be easier to introduce the person of Jesus to a community who hardly know him at all. Elsewhere, Jesus may be accepted, but as a special ‘one amongst many’ and not in the unique way we believe the gospel demands. And in other countries, we can sometimes mistake a different way of relating to Jesus for a wrong way. That demands careful discernment.

So, are we to be the arbiters of the correct view of Jesus?

I hope not. We do have a gospel to share, and share confidently.

But our commitment to following Jesus is a commitment to lifelong learning. Maybe even for us the Jesus of our youth will be different to the Jesus of our later years.

BMS worker in Chad

david kerrigan is general director of BMs World Mission

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0 in... e n 1 o d s a h p S To s BM

Medical Centre

hey’ve reduced infant mortality, started an international preschool programme that helps thousands and trained up loads of Christian leaders – it’s true, for the last 60 years BMS World Mission workers in Brazil have been pretty busy!

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1 O

Helping around 8,500 disadvantaged preschool children achieve their full potential every day through PEPE. Since its inception in 1992, the PEPE preschool education programme has grown hugely – today it is run in 18 countries across Latin America and Africa.

2 O

Sending young Brazilians to UK Baptist colleges by granting scholarships for those with leadership potential. All over Brazil you can bump into people of God, Convention Executives, Mission Directors and Seminary Principals, who were BMS scholarship students in the UK.

3 O

Saving countless babies’ lives by encouraging women to breastfeed and teaching oral re-hydration solutions for diarrhoea in Trapiá, north eastern Brazil. The result: infant mortality in Trapiá was massively reduced, from over 50 per cent to virtually nil.

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Planting pioneer churches all over Brazil. From the deeply superstitious and drought ridden north-east to undeveloped areas in the centre-west, BMS has always had a vision to do mission in places not yet on the radar for mainstream Baptist work.

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Setting up social action ministries alongside Brazilian Baptists.

Encouraging and enabling local churches to start social and medical projects, and then creating Social Action Departments, first at state level and then nationally.

The Tim oth y

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s iai und sM issõe De M nta Ju

Here are ten of our highlights (in no particular order):

Training College

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Giving over 500 children Space-to-Fly by working with partners to start an after-school club for seven to 11 year olds from low income families. Spaceto-Fly is now run in six states across Brazil and is being adopted by the Brazilian Home Mission Board.

7 O

Equipping Brazil’s pastors and church leaders by setting up and improving training colleges across the country.

8 O

Laying foundations for the huge worldwide work of the Brazilian Baptist World Mission Board (JMM) by helping to restructure it.

Two of the JMM’s flagship mission programmes were created in partnership with BMS.

9 O

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To the UK

g n i th

Providing thousands with online theological training through the Timothy Project. The free Portuguese resource for lay leaders has been used by well over 2,000 people in Brazil and beyond, and has now been translated

PEPE

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bique

into Spanish. An English version of the Timothy Project aimed at African countries is also being developed.

10 O

Leaving now the local church is strong enough. Thanking God that Brazilian Baptists have a huge mission capacity, supporting and partnering with them as they serve overseas in countries like Mozambique, and finding exciting opportunities to send mission workers to new places where the need is still great like China and North Korea.

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overseas partNer

Genesis Acaye

the dj fArmer of gulu eVery Sunday at Midnight in uganda, WhiLe MoSt are aSLeep, BMS partner Worker geneSiS iS JuSt Starting hiS BuSy Week.

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even days a week, Genesis Acaye packs his days with ministries, working alongside BMS World Mission and within his community.

Every Sunday from midnight until 6.00 am, Genesis can be heard on radio station Choice FM, hosting his programme called God’s Kingdom Plan. Since his introduction to the station 13 months ago, he has prayed for listeners, preached sermons and given farming advice to his loyal listeners. Despite challenges like power cuts during the rainy season, Genesis faithfully broadcasts each week, inspiring and enriching the lives of his listeners.

An hour or so later, he is at church starting up the generator and helping to set up the equipment for the morning service. Once everything is up and running, Genesis either takes his place with the band or preaches his youth sermon. Genesis has a passion for music and singing and

has learnt a variety of instruments.

“When I gave my life to Christ in 2003, gospel music became a part of me,” he says. Since then he has added the drum set, guitar, piano and western-style music to his repertoire.

Genesis spends the rest of the week working with BMS worker Alex Vickers to help the poor farmers in and around Gulu lead better lives. “The farming project is interesting because it’s putting faith into action,” says Genesis. “It fills me with joy to see families getting better lives through the advice and training that we share with them.”

Pray every way you know how… and especially for rulers and governments to rule well.

1 Timothy 2: 1-2 (The Message) Will you partner with us and many other individuals and churches as we continue in our commitment to pray for North Korea?

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KEEP

Fiona Castle

ENGAGED Find us on facebook BMS World Mission We’d like to introduce you to Lego William carey, a BMS World Mission creation who has found his home in an unusual nativity at Bessels green Baptist church. check out our story to find out more: http://bit.ly/1eseowv Like · Comment · share 21 people like this

BMS World Mission please pray this week for uk based BMS staff and for catalyst Live taking place on Wednesday and thursday Like · Comment · share 9 people like this

Lindsay caplen Praying for you all. I think this is a significant and exciting event and I will be praying that the Holy Spirit leads you, guides you and fills you afresh each day. Remember the Holy Spirit has already gone ahead and prepared the way! God bless you :-D 2 likes

denis Mats God bless you

your TweeTs Richard Littledale

HUGE thanks to @BMSWorldMission for their Catalyst Live event yesterday – a real thinkfest: bit.ly/thinkz

Chelwoodbaptist

Thanks to Gemma Leadley from @BMSWorldMission who came to talk to us about her impending trip to Bangladesh #inspiring

Ali Boulton

Delighted that a BMS Action Team are visiting us at Easter! @bendrabs @BMSWorldMission

Speaker and writer

the uniqueneSS of eaSter EaStEr Should havE MorE of an iMpaCt, SayS fiona CaStlE.

“T

here is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them.” Acts 4: 12 (NLT) Christmas is probably the biggest universal celebration in our year. It causes us to send cards and parcels across the world, often spending more than we can afford and causing a great deal of stress.

Decorations and sparkling lights abound in the streets and in our homes.

Easter doesn’t have such an impact. Hot cross buns and Easter eggs and the occasional Easter bunny hunt is as far as it goes.

Yet without the resurrection of Jesus from the horrendous death he suffered, Christmas would mean nothing. Christianity would not have emerged as the greatest, liberating, life-saving faith in the world.

Sadly many people go along with both celebrations without any idea of the real meaning of them.

I remember Selwyn Hughes’ comment – that Christianity is unique, because in all other religions, man is reaching up to God, trying to get on the next rung of the ladder, in order to meet God’s approval. Whereas with the Christian faith it is quite the opposite – God is reaching down to man, because of Jesus’ willingness to give his life for us, so that we could be forgiven and accepted.

It applied 2000 years ago and it still applies today.

We are saved; we are set free; we have new life, not because we’re good enough, but because of Jesus’ willingness to pay the price. That is the wonderful message for which missionaries have risked their lives over the centuries, to tell this amazing news all over the world!

Let us celebrate this Easter and continue to be God’s messengers wherever he sends us.

“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone everywhere.” Mark 16: 15 (NLT)

WE arE SavEd; WE arE SEt frEE.

Keep engaged at facebook.com/BMSWorldMission twitter.com/BMSWorldMission and @bmsworldmission

fiona castle oBe is an international Christian speaker and writer. Her late husband roy was an entertainer and tV presenter.

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When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’

They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’

‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16: 13-20 Who is Jesus to you? If Jesus was to walk in the room right now, what would he look like?

What would he say to you? What would you say to him?

Your answers to these questions will be dependent on a number of things. How he looks may be triggered by an actor who has played Jesus on television, or a painting or picture in your children’s Bible when you were growing up. What he is like may be inspired by the Bible and what Christian leaders have taught you. Your relationship with Jesus will be another factor, whether you see Jesus as a friend or a God to be feared.

We all hold a perception of Jesus that we will probably think is an accurate one but it may be quite different to someone who

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we share our faith with. Should we change their perception and if so, how do we do this, especially if they are from a different culture to ours?

How do those who practise other faiths see Jesus? BMS General Director, David Kerrigan, has found that people from different faith backgrounds often find Jesus an attractive figure.

“People are surprisingly open to hearing about Jesus,” says David. “He is a revered prophet in Islam, and whilst not accepted as God he is seen to have qualities that many will identify from their own religion.

Having an understanding of other religions can give us greater insight into how best to share the

good news of Jesus with those who see him differently.”

Rev Kumar Rajagopalan, London Baptist Association Regional Minister responsible for racial justice, agrees. Kumar was born into a Hindu family in India before moving to the UK when he was nine and becoming a Christian at university. He says Hindus are very open to the person of Jesus.

“Hindus are very warm to the person of Jesus,” says Kumar. “Jesus to them is a number of things: a guru, a teacher, he’s a holy man, he renounces everything for the kingdom of God and to serve the father, he doesn’t get married and has an ascetic lifestyle. All of those things resonate with Hindu thinking. They hold such people in high regard and veneration, so Jesus is deeply respected by them. On the other hand they see a disconnection between Jesus and the Church or Christians. ‘The Jesus you preach is not the life that you live’ they often think. That disconnect jars with them and they can’t reconcile it.”

Kumar believes that Christians need to do more work on understanding other faiths and need to relate to them on the basis of friendship.

“With Hindus, it is the consistent friendship that will win through with them,” he says. “Being consistent in terms of friendship, prayer and being there in the ups and downs in order to receive a hearing.”

In other parts of south Asia, Buddhists respect Jesus but are also distrustful of Christianity. Here is the view of a former Buddhist who converted to Christianity from the region.

“Buddhists

think Christians misused Jesus and his teaching in order to stabilise colonial rules in the past. They believe that the same thing is happening today in modern colonialism mainly by the USA. Therefore, most Buddhists look at Jesus as a good religious leader, however, they view Christians as enemies and betrayers.”

In Islam Jesus is Isa and is featured in the Qur’an as a great prophet, healer and miracle worker but no more than that.

Wissam al-Saliby, Partnership Manager at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut, Lebanon, says Muslims are keen to challenge the fact that Jesus is God, so focusing on Jesus the person when discussing him is more productive.

“It is much more fruitful to approach a conversation about Christ by focusing on his earthly life and ministry, and on his words and deeds. And to leave space for Christ to reveal himself more fully in their lives by the Holy Spirit.”

In Russia and Eastern Europe, despite a strong Orthodox tradition, most view Jesus from the context of an atheistic society as purely a historic figure. This mindset makes the concept of Jesus being God and of having a relationship with him harder to resonate with people.

BMS partner, Russian Ministries, is trying to encourage the next generation of Christians in Russia and other Eastern European countries to be more open about their faith where they study and work by giving them training and resources like

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Bibles that will be attractive to young people and professionals.

“We want them to live lives that will help people engage with Jesus differently,” says Sergey Rakhuba, President of Russian Ministries.

Sergey thinks it is often harder to share your faith with people born in Russia and Ukraine who believe they are automatically Orthodox Christians.

“It is more difficult to reach out to people that nominally consider themselves Christians and help them to accept Jesus as a personal saviour,” says Sergey.

Mary mourning Jesus from a Good Friday procession in Mottola, Italy. Taken by former BMS intern, Bekah Swanson

This is the challenge that BMS mission workers, who work in predominantly Christian countries, where understandings of Jesus can vary, face. Huw Anderson has been ministering in Italy with BMS since 2006. The challenge he faces as a pastor is overcoming two deeply ingrained images of Jesus for Italians: that of baby Jesus, meek and mild, or crucified Jesus who stays on the cross.

“Jesus is either a baby or he is on a cross, his body broken,” says Huw. As Western evangelicals, we talk of having a personal relationship with Christ but, according to Huw, Catholics in Italy are likely to find his mother, Mary more approachable.

“The role of the Madonna is huge, at times almost bigger than Jesus,” says Huw. “Mary’s the one you can have a relationship with, you don’t actually relate to him. That’s why they pray more to the Madonna and the saints.”

In Peru, also a predominantly Catholic country, BMS workers Julia and James Henley have encountered a deep fear of God, with a default position held by Peruvians that God is angry with them.

“Jesus is another deity, another God to be appeased,” says Julia.

“There is a lot of fear. It is almost like they need to cover everything, they need to pray for everyone they know because if they don’t, something bad may happen and that will be all their fault.”

The Henleys, who finished their service with BMS in Peru in February 2014, tried to change perceptions of who Jesus is gradually through relationships and Bible studies.

“Our approach has been wanting to share as much as we can of the forgiveness of God, the love of God, the fact that though God sent his son to die for us, he didn’t do that so he could then just go and punish us all over again,” says Julia.

“It is a wonderful moment when you see that penny drop, and you see that look on their face as they realise, ‘so actually, God doesn’t hate me?’ It’s a process and takes a lot of time, a lot of prayer, a lot of conversations to bring it home.”

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When BMS Manager for Mission Projects, Steve Sanderson, was a mission worker in Uganda from 2005 to 2009, he saw the Church in Africa had much vitality compared to the West.

“The great strength of the Church in Africa is that it lives by faith and walks by faith. The extent to which God is at work is incredible and there is a lot we could be learning, from places like Uganda,” he says.

Steve did notice though an emphasis on pleasing Jesus so as to gain spiritually and especially financially from the teaching of the prosperity gospel. Some poor people believe if you give a certain amount of money to the Church, then God will lift you out of poverty.

“Traditional African religion dominates the imagination of many people across Africa,” says Steve. “You give a sacrifice to the leopard God and he makes your crops grow. Jesus is very often portrayed as the leopard God of the jungle who will ensure that you have prosperity.

“There is an extent to which often the character of Jesus, the humility of Jesus, the servant character of Jesus, is missed.”

BMS works in many of the least evangelised places around the world. But we also work in some predominantly Christian countries.

Here, there is often less of an emphasis on a personal relationship with Christ.

“There are strong believers in Catholic, Orthodox and other Christian denominations across the world and we rejoice in that,” says David Kerrigan. “But these can also be places where it is appropriate to stress that Jesus is on our side, to preach and live the message that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The key, wherever we are, is understanding how others see Jesus and from there explaining what we believe to them.

Then perhaps we will all be closer to knowing the real Jesus.

Right now we only see in the mirror darkly. One day we will see him face to face.

the Big 10picture

Medical Centre

Training College The Tim oth y

Clean from head to toe, the children laugh and joke as the BMS Action Team help to button up the fresh blue shirts they’ve been given to wear. They’re ready for their morning at school.

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© Alex Baker Photography

s iai und sM issõe De M nta Ju The staff at Good News Children’s Education Mission wash every child who arrives in their care, cleansing them from a night on Kolkata’s dusty streets. Water cascades over this little boy as he washes the dirt from his face.

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“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me.”

(Matthew 25: 35-36)

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A bus ride through the city of joy Hope is whizzing through Kolkata, and it has four wheels.

Sarah Stone embarks on an emotional journey to discover how education, nutritious food and God’s love are being shared with the city’s forgotten street children.

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I’m driving through Kolkata in a yellow bus. Motorbikes, three-wheeled auto rickshaws, pedestrians, Hindustan Ambassador taxis and cars weave in and out of each other and us. All shapes and sizes. Everyone hoots, it’s noisy – to an outsider, chaotic – but it seems to work.

There were already about 15 kids on the bus when I climbed on. “Auntie, auntie, sit here,” they said. So I’m sitting next to two little boys who have squashed themselves up against the window to fit me in. They can’t be any older than four or five, and they’re teaching me a handshake as we pull in at one of the pick-up points, on the corner of a busy city centre street. Children run, walk and stumble with their mums towards the bus, ready for a few hours away from daily reality – a life lived on the streets of this dusty, colourful, heart-breaking city.

This is Good News Children’s Education Mission (GNCEM): a BMS partner, a mobile school, and the most eye-opening bus ride I’ve ever taken.

More and more children pile in asking me a barrage of questions, but I understand only the word ‘auntie’.

We’re nearly there. At least ten little hands are thrust my way during the remainder of the journey. I’m getting pretty good at this new handshake.

Travelling with us is Rev Subir Roy, who began GNCEM with his wife Eun Ok in 1991. He tells me about their wonderful vision. “Our main purpose is to take care of children who are really neglected,” he says. “We want to let them be educated, to let them know that Jesus loves them and that they are not alone.”

As soon as the bus stops, the process begins. Each of the 50 or so kids is washed clean of the dust and dirt of the streets and given a clean shirt to wear. Splashing water, giggles and a hubbub of activity transform the concrete patio and small classroom in central Kolkata, empty just a few moments ago. Even the uniform is much more than it seems, not just clean clothing but a sign to the children that this is a place they belong.

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The morning passes in a whirlwind of eating, singing, learning, playing and laughing. Seeing the children sit cross-legged, knee to knee, in the classroom – singing Our God is a Great Big God, watching the BMS Action Team mime the story of the Good Samaritan and answering their committed Bengali teacher Brodip Halder’s questions – it’s easy to forget that they spend their nights on the pavements of busy Indian streets.

“

Eleven of our mobile school children have died.

”

“There is much risk for our children,” says Eun Ok, explaining the dangers encountered by those living in makeshift shacks on streets or rubbish dumps. Eun Ok tells the story of a six year old girl who got dropped home by the GNCEM bus. Her mum was cooking daal and, as the girl approached, the pot fell over, scalding her little body with boiling hot liquid. “We immediately took her to the hospital,” Eun Ok says, “but she was already too burnt so they wouldn’t even admit her. She died from the infection.”

“Eleven of our mobile school children have died.”

Perhaps that explains the protective, almost parental attitude of the older children. The way they take care of the younger ones during the morning’s activities, making sure they eat all of their breakfast and lunch, that they have somewhere to sit, that they don’t get missed out. Children so used to being grown up.

“I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like living on the streets,” says BMS Action Teamer Jake Hudson-Wood, who is spending six months volunteering at GNCEM. “Not really knowing where your next meal is coming from and having to deal with that from such a young age. It’s just nice to see them have a time when they can be safe and have fun.”

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It was witnessing the immense poverty of children like these that motivated Eun Ok to start GNCEM. “Most of the street children are lacking love, and many would come to us begging,” she says. “I prayed, ‘Lord, please help them,’ and I felt the Lord tell me, ‘you help them.’

“ ”

I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like living on the streets.

“He saw our children crying and our children’s mothers crying, and he wanted us to help them.” So that’s what they did. Starting with a handful of street kids in a park, GNCEM has gone on to provide hundreds with an education, with hope.

These little children live lives that are far from anything I can comprehend. And, as they hang on the arms of the four Action Teamers, sing about Jesus’ love and learn how to read and write, they really are just cheeky, adventurous, fun-loving kids.

Five of the older girls gather round me on the ride back – three on the seat in front, two squished in beside me. They sing about Jesus in Bengali, then in English. “Telephone to Jesus, telephone to Jesus, telephone to Jesus everyday… hello?” It’s new to me and I instantly like it. They’re smiling, laughing and pinching my cheeks as we drive further and further away from Kolkata’s centre, towards home.

Outside, life continues. Women hang colourful laundry on a line by the side of the road; a family of four pass by, impressively balanced on a motorbike; barefoot children holding dirty babies knock on windows of cars caught in traffic, begging for money; still everyone hoots. Inside I am wondering how I can ever watch these children walk off the bus knowing that, however loved and cherished they are, the place they call home is unprotected, unsanitary and unsafe.

“

I glimpse their houses: shabby shelters of discarded metal, sitting just metres from a rubbish tip.

”

Reaching the final stop, the few remaining kids clamber out of the yellow bus for another day, giving me precious cuddles on their way. Mums are there to greet some of the younger ones, others wander towards home alone.

Through the window I glimpse their houses: shabby shelters of discarded metal, plastic sheeting and the throwaway debris of Kolkata, sitting just metres from a rubbish tip.

We drive away – outside the noise continues, but inside it’s quiet – just a handful of foreigners left, and I wonder if we’re all thinking the same thing. I say a prayer for the children we leave behind, asking that each and every one of them will make it back to the bus again tomorrow. That they will be safe tonight. And that they will know the God they sang of, just a few moments ago, is with them in the darkness.

“Telephone to Jesus everyday… hello?”

“Millions “Millions have have yet to hear the gospel gospel of of Jesus Jesus Christ.”

Ben BenFrancis, Francis,BMS BMSworker worker in in India India

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ItIt doesn’t doesn’t have have to to be be this this way.

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Bms worker profile Andrew North

I SAVED MY FRIEND IN

congo’s jungle exhausted, hungry and suffering from a nail wound, veteran BMS missionary andrew north managed to save his malaria-ravaged friend’s life in congo.

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T

hey were amputating limbs without anaesthetic at the hospital. That’s why I needed to visit it. It was October 1980, and Mobutu’s government, in what was then Zaïre, had taken over the running of the hospital in Bolobo and let it run out of essential supplies. I was going to travel the 300 miles to Bolobo from Kinshasa by Land Rover to prepare the hospital to receive medicines and a BMS doctor. The quickest I ever did that run was 26 hours. The longest was this trip. It took us nearly three weeks and we had to abandon the Land Rover.

The journey was about 100 miles of tarmac road, followed by 60 miles overnight across the sand dunes of the Bateke Plateau and 140 miles of jungle road, with the Kasai River to cross by barge and one big hill to get over. Douglas, a good friend of mine who was working with the Church in Kinshasa and shared my interest in Land Rovers, agreed to come with me.

The trip to Bolobo went smoothly, despite the roads being so rough and narrow that our average speed got down to six miles an hour. But Doug and I got to the hospital in reasonable time. A week later, we started our first attempt to get back to Kinshasa.

We left at three o’clock in the morning to make it to the barge across the Kasai River in time for the crossing, but after 36 hours we had made very little

progress. It was the rainy season and the storms had been so great that trees had been coming down, and we kept having to stop to either cut through a fallen tree or cut a new path around it through the jungle. We were exhausted, short on fuel, food and drinking water and we decided to turn back.

I can’t remember how many times we tried again. On one attempt, we made it to the Kasai River, exhausted and low on fuel, only to discover that the barge had broken down. For three days we waited, and the mosquitoes were eating us alive. Sleeping inside the Land Rover you just could not stop them getting in, so we put four bamboo poles up and hung a mosquito net, sleeping on the roof. It was quite hard, and you couldn’t turn over or you’d fall off.

We didn’t sleep well – the jungle is an extraordinarily noisy place at night and the net was black with mosquitoes.

We had eaten very little, and I had put a nail through my hand on a building site a few days earlier which was not looking too good. Doug had flu-like symptoms and was not a well man. We decided to go back.

Driving back to the hospital that night, we had taken hours to get up a particularly big hill, struggling and dragging mud as we went. Just as we had almost reached the top, the whole of the hillside seemed to slide backwards, trees and all. We found ourselves back at the bottom of that hill, a dent in the roof where one of the trees had landed on the Land Rover, and wanting to burst into tears. We were exhausted and the road had just disappeared. And there’s no AA in the jungle.

By the grace and strength of God, we managed to get back to Bolobo. It was then that Doug started to go downhill with a fever. At the time we didn’t know it, but it was cerebral malaria. At one point he was throwing himself around so much that another missionary and I had to lay across him just to keep him from injuring himself.

With no medics there and no mobile phones or two-way radio, I realised I needed to get help. My wife was in the UK awaiting the birth of our daughter, but Doug’s wife was waiting for us in Kinshasa, and we were already two weeks overdue. I had to leave other people to pray while I got the job done. I had to get back to Kinshasa.

There was an old air strip at Bolobo that had become overgrown. The local school director agreed to let children clear the airstrip, and I made my way back to the river.

I got on the first boat, which was so crowded that parents tied their children to pipes with lengths of cloth to prevent them falling overboard. I had just a square metre to sit on with a mosquito net draped over my head at night when the boat was driven into the reeds. There was a

The whole of the hillside slid backwards.

© Peter Baer

There’s no AA in the jungle.

porcelain toilet out on a metal plate over the back of the boat with no privacy screen – but the less said about that the better!

After two days we were still 50 miles short of Kinshasa, so went ashore and walked into a local sawmill to find quicker transportation. Luckily, their security guards found me before their guard dogs did, and I was able to convince them to let me hitch a ride on a tip-up lorry. I arrived in Kinshasa standing on the back of that truck and that night I found Doug’s wife, Helen. She had been beside herself because of the lack of news.

The next day a pilot from Mission Aviation Fellowship agreed to fly to Bolobo and to land there if the airstrip had indeed been cleared. It had. And an hour and twenty minutes was all it took on that single-engine plane to get Doug out and back to Kinshasa. Thankfully, he made a full recovery, and I saw Doug recently in the UK, where he is doing a brilliant job as a social worker.

I didn’t think I had saved his life at the time. Perhaps God used me in that way, but if it hadn’t been me I am sure it would have been someone else. I’d like to think, though, that by making that trip we helped that hospital save many more Congolese and Zairean people’s lives.

andrew north was speaking to Jonathan Langley

andrew north is BMS Regional Team Leader for Africa and heads up our work in countries like D R Congo, Guinea, Chad, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. His daughter Rebecca (see page 6) is a BMS nurse at a remote hospital in Chad.

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Q&a

tHe Big iNterview ‘What iS god up to in a WorLd of Such tragedy and pain?’ phiLip yancey LookS to hiS oWn Life and WorLd eVentS to aSk if there are anSWerS to thiS perenniaL queStion.

PhiliP

YanceY

internationally bestselling christian author philip yancey talks to BMS World Mission about christian attitudes to suffering and his new book the question that never goes away.

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Q a

Is there a message about suffering within Christianity that the Church may have lost?

I would say the unique contribution that Christianity makes to suffering is that God is on the side of the sufferer. In fact, God has joined the one suffering. Not all Christians understand that or propagate it. Very often, Christians are ‘Job’s comforters’: they will say, ‘It’s because you did something wrong, God is punishing you.’

Conveying that God is against the sufferer. That God is the main cause of the suffering.

In the New Testament, Jesus specifically always refutes that idea.

When Jesus was on earth, he handled people who were going through difficult things; either illness or a disaster, a tower falling on them, an act of terrorism. He never lectured, he never philosophised, he always responded with comfort and healing. And then, of course, Jesus himself

took on suffering. Hebrews has those remarkable phrases that say he learned obedience through the things that he suffered and he was made perfect through the things he suffered. Those are amazing phrases.

We don’t know what to do with them.

They’re just part of the mystery.

Is the attitude of the Evangelical Church to suffering and death less helpful than that of other Christian traditions?

The Catholic Church has a healthier and deeper understanding of the role of suffering than the Evangelic because, in general, we [in the Evangelical tradition] want to have an answer to every problem, we want to understand God completely. We aren’t very comfortable with mystery. But there is a lot of mystery involved in suffering, and I don’t think the Evangelical branch has done a very good job of coming to terms with that. I think the same thing is true of the Orthodox Church which, like the Catholic Church, has a much deeper understanding of the role of suffering in life in general and the world than we do as Evangelicals.

There are times when the prayers of or for the suffering seem to go unanswered, which can have a profound effect on people’s faith. How should we navigate that?

I guess I personally navigate it by an awareness that I have very limited vision, I don’t know all that is going on in reality. That seems to be the message at the end of Job, where God gave that magnificent speech where he [basically] says: Job, you have no idea.

God says: My job is to run the universe and i’m doing that, quite well. Then he turns to Job and says, that’s not your job, you couldn’t understand it, there’s no way you could understand it, your job is to believe me and trust me. That lovely ironic twist at the end where Job’s friends who had all these neat theories of why things happen were dismissed with a snort by God: i’ll only listen to them if they pray through you, my servant Job. And Job did one thing, and only one thing: he clung to faith when there was no reason to do so. And that’s what we’re asked to do in those times when it looks like our prayers are not being heard.

When Stephen is being martyred in the book of Acts, he cries out to God and his prayer is heard in heaven and Jesus is preparing to receive him. It isn’t answered in the way that maybe Stephen’s family wanted it to be answered, because he died. But clearly it had an effect, because one of the people who was participating in that stoning was a man named Saul, who became the greatest missionary in history.

That’s kind of the hope that we have, that Paul expressed so eloquently in Romans 8: that even though our prayers may look completely ineffective and useless, God can use all things for our good, for the good of the world, in ways we can’t possibly understand.

god can uSe aLL thingS for good, in WayS We can’t poSSiBLy underStand.

Is there something that mission organisations like BMS and others who are trying to alleviate suffering worldwide need to keep in mind regarding suffering?

We have a two-pronged message, don’t we? On the one hand, we’re clearly given the mission to attack injustice and to comfort the afflicted. We have the example of Jesus going through life doing that very thing. On the other hand, Jesus also gives the message, so clearly capsulised in the Beatitudes, that it’s the poor and those who mourn, those who are being persecuted who are blessed.

Dr Paul Brand, with whom I wrote three books, was a leprosy specialist. He says that the problem with leprosy is that you feel no pain, you destroy yourself. I love the phrase I learned from him: “A healthy body is not a body that feels no pain. A healthy body is a body that heals the pain of the weakest part.” In a healthy body, the strong are to help the weak, and that’s exactly what your mission society is doing.

At the same time, we know that not all the weak are going to be helped. We’re not going to be able to remove all suffering and solve every problem. And yet, even for those people, those going through persecution around the world for their faith, those in poverty, there can be a message of comfort that comes directly from God. That is Jesus’ message.

Philip Yancey was talking to Jonathan Langley

Philip Yancey’s latest book, the Question that never Goes away: What is God up to in a world of such tragedy and pain?

Is available from Hodder and Stoughton for £9.99 and is reviewed on page 28.

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Lord, teach uS to pray.

(Luke 1: 11B)

We would encourage you to photocopy this page, or to cut out the sections to use in your regular prayer times.

places: china The future is Chinese. By 2020, China will command the world’s largest economy, overtaking the United States. Its ever-increasing influence on world affairs has led many Western governments to seek diplomatic agreements and trade opportunities with Beijing.

Despite China’s world status, millions of Chinese people are suffering in poverty. Illness and disease is widespread in poorer communities and provision for people with disabilities is limited at best.

In recent years the government has relaxed its control over religious movements in China. The Church is made up of the state-endorsed congregations and house churches, both of which are growing quickly with as many as 25,000 people becoming Christians every single day.

projects: eco challenge fund/futureshape “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”

Psalm 24: 1. Originally launched in 2008 to raise the Church’s awareness of creation care, the FutureShape project has evolved into a practical expression of BMS’ commitment towards the environment.

The Eco Challenge Fund allows our mission workers to apply for funding for grassroots environmental projects. It has already supported eco-ovens for riverside communities in Peru and solar panels at Guinebor II Hospital in Chad.

In Nepal, a tree-planting scheme funded by BMS is helping to reduce the number of landslides by combating soil erosion. These kinds of projects make a real difference to communities and can save lives.

PrAy for: • Wisdom and compassion amongst national leaders, that they would recognise and act to resolve inequality and divisions within society.

• Courage and conviction for world leaders in their dealings with China, particularly regarding human rights.

• The Church as it seeks to share the love of Christ with the people of China.

bmsworldmission.org/ecoprojects

PrAy for: • Fresh and innovative ideas for eco-projects from BMS workers and partners.

• Continued commitment among UK churches and Christian agencies towards creation care.

• The millions of people worldwide whose livelihood are at risk because of our changing climate.

people: fresh faces in mission From Essex to Bangladesh: Gemma Leadley moved to Dhaka in December 2013. She is an English teacher at an international school that provides education for mission workers’ children.

This releases their parents to work in wider ministries. She also plans to engage with local community projects run through the local church.

Brian and Lydia English are working with BMS Partner Compasio on the Thai/Burma border. Their main focus is working with women and children at risk and they hope to build good friendships and encourage local Christians.

Get regular prayer points and resources from BMS at bmsworldmission.org/prayer

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PleAse PrAy for: • Language learning and adapting to new cultures.

• Good relationships with their new neighbours and colleagues!

• Health and safety and a continued reliance on God.

aidan Melville is sub-editor for the BMS Prayer Guide

YOUR CHURCH

anger

UNDERSTANDING

the Word

Eliot wrote that “Humankind cannot bear very much reality.” Anger however is very much part of reality, and how we carry it, or bear it, is important.

Where there is anger there is judgement. About a behaviour, a person or the use of power in a social institution. Judgement about a line crossed.

A line we drew in something a little more concrete than sand. We feel aggrieved, on behalf of ourselves or others, and we look for someone or something to blame. Our thinking, when laden with judgements, makes us angry. Whether we vocalise this or not.

This is okay. As long as I know I’m ranting and I’m in control of it rather than it of me. Ultimately ranting is too superficial. Anger co-opts our energy. Limited resources get diverted into “punishing” people rather than being directed into what really matters. Our thinking slips into darkness and suddenly we’re a long way from the values that motivate us for life, and deep into analysis of what’s wrong with others. This may take us into silence or violence. Either way the silence is likely to start off something short of holy, and the violence, verbal or otherwise, to bleed into our internal lives.

Catching the reaction, bearing it carefully, and mining for the meaning behind our judgement opens up something far more powerful. Perhaps these are the thoughts others could bear us to reveal.

verse Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Prayer O you who are our great chief, Light a candle in my heart That I may see all that is within, And sweep the rubbish from Your dwelling place.

psalm 51: 6 prayer from a schoolgirl in Congo.

© bramgino - Fotolia.com

STUFF FOR

Paul Hobson

is Editor of The Baptist Times Online

PitCH

perfect Being a chriStian in Sport iS not eaSy, SayS pauL hoBSon.

“I

battered Moyes.” Former Cambridge United striker Roy McDonough is describing how he “completely lost the plot” with teammates David Moyes and fellow Christians Alan Comfort and Graham Daniels following another disappointing result in a relegation scrap.

“In my mind they were part of the problem,” writes McDonough in his autobiography. “They were too nice on the pitch, not nasty enough to win games, so it was like turning up with eight men each week.”

Christians in sport are particularly open to confrontations about their faith.

A competitive and emotional team environment where trust is of paramount importance throws into sharp focus the differences between players.

Underlying any challenge is the accusation: “You’re weird and that’s the reason why we’re losing.” At a deeper level it’s a question we all face at some point: “What is your God doing when things go wrong?

What use is your belief now?”

But whether on the pitch, in the playground or any of life’s arenas, we can be sure of one thing: Jesus is with us. He knows what it’s like to be mocked. It may be easy to lose heart when challenged about our faith, but we’re called to redouble our trust in him. And a pithy answer is less important than how we live out our call. Can we remain true to the path Jesus has set for us, even if that means rejecting the values of the world?

For living as Jesus intended is certainly not a barrier to sporting success; plenty at the forthcoming World Cup will bear testimony to that. And while David Moyes may have been ‘battered’ by Roy McDonough in 1984, it didn’t stop him going on to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world.

What iS your God doinG WhEn thinGS Go WronG?

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STUFF FOR

YOUR CHURCH nearing retireMent? thiS couLd Be the ideaL tiMe to SerVe god in MiSSion oVerSeaS.

YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD

for MiSSion!

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exPerience counts

do it While you cAn

“We both just wanted to be open to God’s leading.”

Gwen Millns was a Baptist minister working in a multicultural, multi faith church in inner city Birmingham. She was looking for a fresh challenge to use her skills and knowledge.

At the same time her husband Andrew, after 25 years in Baptist ministry, was nearing the end of five years working as a regional minister at the Heart of England Baptist Association, and felt that he did not want to continue in that role.

“We wanted to offer the experience of all those years to do something in a different area and do something completely new,” says Andrew.

In February 2012 the Millns approached BMS to see if they had any opportunities for them. A year later, in February 2013 they arrived in Bangladesh. Currently doing language learning, Gwen will be teaching at the College of Christian Theology of Bangladesh and Andrew is going to be mentoring and providing support to the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha.

Before they went, the Millns had the challenge of selling their home, putting some of their belongings into storage and getting rid of their furniture as well. They also had to tell their four children and four grandchildren they would not be around which took the children a while to adjust to.

Gwen is in her 50s and Andrew is in his early 60s, so how have they found serving overseas later in life?

“There is a lot of respect for people who have got experience and are older coming out to serve here,” says Andrew. “You have to be mindful that you are coming out a little later in life to some other people so you have to pace yourself a little more. Obviously adapting to a different culture takes longer.”

Denise and Ian Mitchell initially went out to missionary school Kathmandu International Study Centre (KISC) in Nepal in January 2013 to volunteer for six months. Denise had retired from teaching in July 2009 and Ian finished a 40 year career in accounting in June 2012. “It was the right time for us to volunteer because Ian’s father had just died and my parents are in their 80s and their health is deteriorating,” says Denise. “I don’t know what the future’s going to hold in a few years’ time and we’re going to get older. Now is the time.”

Before going out, neither knew what to expect. “We didn’t really know what it was going to turn out like,” says Denise. “BMS were brilliant. They eased everything as much as they could. We went to IMC for a week and got to meet the other short term volunteers. We were kind of dreading it, but in fact it was really useful and it did help us to think about the mission aspect. It also helped with the practicalities like health problems, keeping safe, culture shock and other issues.”

During their time at KISC, Denise was acting head of both the Science and English faculties, doing curriculum reviews and planning. Ian was a financial consultant helping with accounts and day to day bookkeeping. They returned for another three month stay in December 2013.

Would they recommend serving overseas with BMS to others nearing retirement?

“Definitely,” says Denise. “Get out and do it while you can. You have got skills you’ve built up in your career over here. Get out and use them somewhere where they will make a huge difference.”

bmsworldmission.org

CUrrEnt opportunitieS

deb and dug Benn became BMs mission workers in Uganda after their son Josh, who took the photos behind them, went on a BMs action team.

there are a number of roles that would suit individuals coming up to early retirement, including (but not limited to) accounting, administration, education, social work and project management. roles are for a minimum of three months up to two years.

Urgent needs include: Teachers/classroom assistants

better thAn boWls Ron and Annette Salmon are volunteering with BMS working with Freeset, a business as mission venture in India, helping to free women from prostitution.

Ron comes from a career in the Royal Air Force as an engineer. “Aircraft engineering has nothing to do with the thing I’m doing out here, but as a manager I do have a lot of transferable skills. Lots of things that can be used in business generally.”

Annette’s background was working for the local council with the council tax. “It gave me good insights into project management, IT, administration, finance and accounts, all transferable skills to have,” she says. Together, Ron and Annette are going to be managing a business incubator programme that aims to equip people from difficult backgrounds, especially girls vulnerable to trafficking, to start new businesses. The Salmons will provide marketing advice, communications, help with product design and logistics to these budding entrepreneurs.

Ron says serving in mission can give you a purpose later in life.

“Rather than just retire and potter around the garden and go play bowls, you can serve overseas. It’s a new adventure and a new life. It gives you a purpose for life rather than just doing nothing with it in retirement. It’s great. A lot of people who didn’t get the opportunity to do a gap year or travel or get involved in cross cultural mission, get the opportunity when they reach retirement or semiretirement age. You aren’t tied to going to the office five days a week.”

To work alongside mission families or in mission schools teaching primary and secondary school children in Tunisia, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Albania and Nepal (six months – two years).

Higher education academics or TEFL teachers We are looking for TEFL or IELTS trained teachers to work in China and neighbouring countries both long (4 years+) and short term (3 months – 2 years).

Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of young people in the Far East today expanding their horizons and introducing them to a new language and way of thinking?

Experienced, business minded/project management leader/engineer To lead a business as mission company in South Asia for a few months to cover a BMS couple on home assignment from July to September 2014.

for a list of other short and long term roles please visit the opportunities section of the website:

bmsworldmission.org/opportunities

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ideaS for STUFF FOR

your cHurcH

YOUR CHURCH fuNdraisiNg

great bms

bake off

the love of baking is seeing a revival and we would love to encourage you to consider hosting a coffee morning in your church to fundraise for BMS World Mission.

This might be after your Sunday morning service or a special event mid-week. The money raised will go to support preschool education work with underprivileged children around the world. All the resources for Coffee for a Cause can be found online at www.bmsworldmission.org/coffee or you can order a pack by calling 01235 517617.

The pack includes a poster, table cards, children’s activity sheet and invitations.

We wanted to get involved at the BMS World Mission offices and so held our own coffee morning. We challenged staff to bake cakes – it was a great occasion and we raised £82.

Below is a wonderful cake recipe from Sarah Brown, a BMS mission worker in Thailand, you may want to use at your coffee morning event.

ingredients:

recipe thai coconut cake Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes

preparation: 1 Preheat oven to gas 4, 180 °C or fan assisted 160 °C. Grease two 8-inch cake tins.

2 Stir the shredded coconut into the coconut milk. Set aside to let soak.

26

Makes: About 2 x 8 inch cakes or 18 cupcakes

5 To the yolks, add the sugar, salt, and melted butter or coconut oil.

Beat to a smooth consistency for about 1 minute.

3 Separate egg whites from yolks.

Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl. Set yolks in a different mixing bowl.

6 Stir the baking powder into the flour, then add this to the yolk mixture. Also add the coconut milk with the shredded coconut.

Beat for 1-2 minutes, or until well combined.

4 Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff (like whipped cream). Set aside.

7 Fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture, or use your electric mixer on low speed beat – just

bmsworldmission.org

· 6 eggs · 360ml coconut milk (not reduced fat) · 7 tbsp desiccated/shredded coconut · 150g white granulated sugar · 1/8 tsp salt · 150g butter or coconut oil (melted) · 300g plain flour · 4 tsp baking powder

enough to combine (20 seconds).

Pour batter into prepared tins and bake 30-40 minutes (this may take less for cupcakes), or until an inserted fork comes out clean.

Cool before icing.

8 Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee.

There are two suggested toppings for your cake including fluffy coconut icing or Mango sauce.

To find these recipes please visit www.bmsworldmission.org/recipes

activity

meet a birthday scheme secretary

nepali communion

the overall communion service follows the normal pattern within the uk using the known Scriptures and words but this adds a fresh expression and insight into communion in a nepali context.

The elements Use flat bread, pitta or chapatti, and orange squash or water as elements. There are no grapes, so no wine, in Nepal!

Use a jug with a spout for the squash/water which everyone has to tip into their mouth without touching their lips.

Preparation Men and women should sit on opposite sides of the church, those who can sitting on the floor.

Process The elders (the oldest people present) distribute the elements to all, bending down as they do so, so as not to raise their heads too high above everyone else’s as a sign of respect and without ever stepping over anyone’s feet. After the communion the oldest person present says the grace.

The grace in Nepali (phonetic) and translation.

Nepali folk song style Prabhu Yesuko anugra ha, tapai songa sarba da rahee rahose The Lord Jesus’ grace be with you forever and ever Ah! Oh! sarba sarbad da rahee rahose Ah! Oh! be with you forever and ever Hamro permayswako Pitaako prem tapai songa sarba sarba da rahee rahose Our heavenly Father’s love be with you forever and ever

joy ransom About yourself I am a primary teacher with a passion for world mission. I attend Dumfries Baptist Church.

About your Birthday Scheme I run the Birthday Scheme with my Mum who is 82! She does all the organising and sending out of the cards and I do anything else that needs doing.

We have been running the Birthday Scheme for about three years and there are about 30 people in the scheme varying in age from 12 to those in their 80s! It does not take a lot of time and is easy to run.

What do you enjoy about running the Birthday Scheme?

It is lovely to be able to give people a card to show we are thinking of them on their birthday and very exciting when we count up the money to send to BMS twice a year.

The Birthday Scheme is a great way to encourage individuals to give. It is another reminder of the importance of thinking of others and doing our little bit in supporting projects in countries where people are much less well off than we are.

Ah! Oh! sarba sarba da rahee rahose Ah! Oh! be with you forever and ever Pabitra aatmako sangatee tapa isonga sarba sarba da rahee rahose The Holy Spirit’s fellowship be with you forever and ever

If you would like to find out more about the BMS Birthday Scheme please call 01235 517617 or visit www.bmsworldmission.org/birthday

Ah! Oh! tapai songa sarba sarba da rahee rahose Ah! Oh! be with you forever and ever

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arts

reviews

stand karl Martin Book

ISBN: 978 1 910012 03 1

Muddy Pearl, Edinburgh, £8.99 (Paperback) Rating:

the Question that never goes Away: What is god up to in a world of such tragedy and pain? philip yancey Book

Stand lies somewhere between being a motivational read for world-weary Christians and a handbook for working through how to live out your Christian faith and take a stand in our pluralistic, consumerist and self-centred society in the UK. Karl Martin speaks in this book in a friendly manner which makes the content very accessible.

The book is structured into five distinct sections exploring who we really are in God’s eyes, recognising God’s pattern for your life and wilfully following it, discussing the need to feed on God’s word and staying focused on Jesus. At the end of each there’s a summary and challenge to take some action, under the heading, “So.” The clear implication is, you’ve read this chapter, “So” what are you going to do about it? The final “So” asks us to imagine what our grandchildren will say about us when we are gone – what did we live for? What was most noticeable about our lives?

Is this book for you? If you want an accessible and simple reminder of how you should be living as a Christian, taking a stand against the flow of contemporary society, then it probably is. review by Alastair Clunie, Church Relations Manager at BMS World Mission

Hodder Faith Rating: It’s been a little over three decades since Where is God When it hurts? but much like suffering itself, it seems an inexhaustible subject.

Surprisingly, well over half the book is a recounting of tales of tragedy – from the global to very personal. Yancey offers anecdotes of his own as material witnesses in this great angst, further adding to his credibility as reluctant mentor on the matter at hand. It’s clear that Yancey’s involvement in the aftermath of these particular, recent tragedies has personally affected him, pleading again for comfort and answers to age-old questions. His response is an empowering gift of recycled hope and action.

Refreshingly though, he does not waylay us by trying to address the ‘why’ question. Instead, this is a study embracing our possible responses to pain. He offers them up humbly and, for the most part, deftly manages to avoid the annoying, angry-making platitudes and spiritual clichés.

While there may not be much new to say in this welltrod territory, it’s good to read something that acts more like a reflective, listening ear than a know-it-all Job’s comforter.

Mission Volunteers Administrator at BMS World Mission

bmsworldmission.org

the bible App for Kids

director: Michael Lawson

you Version

DVD

App, Android, iOS

Pipe Village Trust, £10

Free

Rating:

Rating:

What is it like to be a child in India? This documentary attempts to find out, focusing on the most vulnerable children in the country. In his fifth film on the victimised Dalit caste, director Michael Lawson interviews both children and adults about their harrowing experiences of abuse and loss and the subsequent painful consequences which they still have to live with every day. Near the end he shows how Christian NGOs are trying to improve the lives of Dalit children.

Lawson is a self-taught film maker and this is often evident – the production values could be better and some of the interviews of commentators (Brinda Adinge, Kumar Swarmy and others) could have been edited down considerably.

What makes this film worth watching though are the children Lawson interviews – their stories of child labour, trafficking and sexual abuse are so shocking, so horrific, that at times it is hard to comprehend the ordeal they have had to endure. Seeing their faces and knowing what they have gone through is heart-breaking. In an era where Bollywood movies and IPL cricket shows a glamorous, modern nation, this film effectively shows the darker side of Indian life that desperately needs to change.

The Bible for Kids app is stories from the Bible made for children. There are seven stories that appear like game levels: the beginning of the world, Adam and Eve doing the first sin, the first Christmas, Jesus healing a paralysed man, Jesus dying on the cross, Jesus rising from the dead and the new heaven and new earth.

A man reads each story as you go through a collection of animated pictures that you can press on, such as objects, animals or people and they either move or do an action. In the creation story, when you click on the monkeys, a monkey shoots a banana into another monkey’s mouth.

You get star awards for downloading and reading the stories and answering questions about them. There are also objects to collect like the armour of God [Ephesians 6].

The app is easy to use and the animations look good. There are lots of things to press and it’s fun to see what they do. My five year old sister, Martha, loves it and I think it’s aimed at kids her age. I much prefer games like Jurassic Park Builder and Angry Birds.

ISBN: 978-1444788556

review by Chantelle Baker,

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india’s forgotten children

review by Chris Hall, Editor at BMS World Mission

review by Noah Hall, (aged 8)

5

arts

five minutes with...

gemma

HuNt

SWaShBuckLe pirate geM and cBBc preSenter geMMa hunt taLkS oVerSeaS MiSSion and the Secret to a SWaShBuckLing cheer.

you have worked for cBBc for the last nine years, after getting the role straight from university. that never happens! are you just amazingly talented or did god guide you?

A little of both I think! I was really blessed – I met an agent, sent my showreel and was offered the job before I’d even graduated. I was in the right place at the time. i’ve been enjoying watching your new show Swashbuckle on cBeebies (all in the name of research of course). have you always wanted to be a children’s presenter?

Yes, there’s a nine year age gap between me and my little sister so I think that’s probably where my love of looking after little people came from. I’m definitely in a niche that fits well with my character naturally. is it as fun as it looks being a presenter on cBBc? It is but it’s definitely not as glamorous as you think! Quite often your costume is being held together with gaffer tape and bits of set are being held up by researchers because they can’t get them fixed to the wall in time for the live show!

BMS is a global mission organisation. do you think it’s important for young people to experience overseas mission?

Really important. I went to Brazil when I finished my A-Levels and did a month of mission work, which was brilliant. It was such an eye-opener to me to come straight out of sixth form and serve in a deprived area. There is such richness in the city and yet people are living in the central reservations of the motorway, bathing their babies in puddles.

how do you feel about the expectation that christians in the media limelight should set a perfect example all the time?

It’s hard because you have to be real and I’m the first person to hold my hands up and say I’ve made big mistakes in the past. But you can only feel as much pressure as you put on yourself. It’s because of my faith that I feel like I’m able to conquer those issues and get support. One thing I felt with my calling was to be salt and light in the media, so I wanted to be a good role model. presenting is obviously a very visual and appearance orientated role – is that something you find difficult?

I really struggled for a few years whilst I was doing TV presenting because I developed adult acne. I was very selfconscious and had to really look out for my diet to make sure that I got better. If it helped a young child or teenager think, ‘she’s on the telly and she’s got spots, that gives me hope’, then every single zit was worth it! and lastly, what is the secret to a successful swashbuckling cheer?

Ah OK, this is very important. If you are going to be a pirate you have to say ‘Arr-harrr!’ But do not confuse that with a farmer who says ‘Ooh-arrr’, that would be my tip.

Gemma Hunt was talking to Lucy Vallance

gemma will be serving on the all-age team on week two of Spring harvest, Minehead 2014

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24 hours in…

Tunis

if you ViSited the tuniSian capitaL, here iS Where BMS teaM Leader for MiSSion prograMMeS, graeMe riddeLL WouLd take you.

a foot footBaLL Match African football has been gaining prominence over the past few years and Tunisia boasts one of Africa’s best teams. To the disappointment of the fanatical home fans though, Tunisia failed to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil.

the aLLeyS of the oLd Medina Winding your way through the old alleyways of the walled city of Medina is a step back in time. Running the gauntlet of the persistent sellers is worth it to experience the atmospheric, winding, cobbled street of the old city which has remained unchanged for hundreds of years.

Nabil K Costa Lebanese Baptist leader

L

ebanon has been called the Switzerland of the Middle East and for good reason. With all the beauty and diversity of interests it contains, it not only draws tourists from surrounding Gulf countries but from all around the world.

One popular appeal is the extensive nightlife in Lebanon. Pubs and nightclubs are found mainly in the Christian areas of Lebanon rather than the Muslim areas because according to Muslim culture drinking is not accepted.

Due to the freedom in Lebanon and the easy access to pubs and nightclubs,

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bmsworldmission.org

tuniSian café cuLture Walking down the wide boulevards of the city centre which featured prominently in the Arab Spring uprising, gives one the opportunity to join Tunisians for coffee at one of the many pavement cafes and coffee houses. Eating and drinking together is an important part of relational Tunisian culture.

WitneSS hiStory firSt hand Tunisia is blessed by numerous well preserved historical ruins and artefacts.

Not far from Tunis one can visit and walk amongst amazing Roman ruins at Dougga and Carthage and imagine what life might have been like during Roman times.

BMS partner proJectS After 24 hours in Tunis being a ‘tourist’ get a local minibus or train to one of the other towns and cities to visit the people and projects being served by BMS workers.

BMS’ partner has rightly focused its work in upcountry areas amongst the most marginalised and least evangelised. Focusing on people at risk, rural development, education and health care, BMS workers are living and working at the heart of traditional Tunisian communities sharing the good news and seeing lives transformed.

A BEER IN BEIRUT THE NIGHTLIFE IN LEBANON’S CHRISTIAN AREAS IS CONTROVERSIAL FOR SOME those from a non-Christian faith can develop a negative view of Christianity, perceiving Christians as liberal sinners.

Some non-Christian fundamentalists have even used this view as anti-Christian propaganda and as a result some areas have witnessed violence towards places that sell alcoholic drinks.

It may not be that Christians always frequent these pubs and nightclubs but their presence in these areas gives the impression that Christians condone this lifestyle even though an estimated 10 to 20 per cent of the regulars are Muslims.

Still, this makes it difficult at times for Christian witness, since the image has often already been formed of Christians as liberal.

That is all the more reason for Christians to seek to practice the truth found in Romans 14: 13 (ESV): “Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”

nabil k costa is the executive director of BMs partner LsEsd, a vice president of the Baptist World alliance and a trustee of BMs World Mission.

From the

Archives

100 yEARS AGO 1914

A solemn cAll to

© Frances Major collection

God’s PeoPle

Military hospital that Frances Major served in during the First World War. Frances joined BMs as a nurse after the war, serving in China

When the First World War began on 28 July 1914, BMS remained focused on its mission.

I

n view of the evangelisation of the world, the outbreak of war between Great Britain and Germany is a masterpiece of the devil. That the two Protestant nations of Europe who send missionaries to the heathen should engage in deadly strife with each other is a reproach which it will be difficult to meet in the lands where we have both taken the gospel of peace.

At home, amid the calls of our country, there will also be the difficulty in maintaining the work we have undertaken abroad. In Germany the difficulty will be much greater, and it is more than probable that missionaries who have gone from the Continent will be in serious straits. We have instructed our brethren in the field to render them such emergency help as may be possible; the war of nations must not invade the fellowship of the heralds of Christ.

The very greatness of the time calls for great action. Our devotion to our Lord must not lag behind our devotion to our country. It must well be that some people will be quite unable to give as they have been accustomed to give, but this will be a spur to others to make up their lack. The staff at home and abroad will not be behind in sacrifice. Let Little-faith be rebuked, and Mr. Much-afraid encouraged. Our difficulties are

great, but supported by the sympathy of the churches we shall win through.

Let past experience encourage us. We hear the voice behind us saying: “This is the way, walk ye in it.” When in France, they rose for “The Rights of Man,” William Carey was meditating on “The Rights of God”: In the early years of the Society he founded were years of war, and its subsequent years have proved that the surest way to secure a man’s right is to find them included in God’s.

In the months ahead every economy that is practicable will be enforced, and every expenditure that is not vital delayed.

But we must go on. We cannot turn back in our day of battle.

Solemnly we plead with God’s people to seek His will for themselves, and then, at all hazard and cost to take their part in His plan, trusting in Him who has ever been faithful to supply all future need.

This is an extract from an article which first appeared in Missionary Herald, September 1914 (p 259)

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BMS partners

:7 24 Tur nin g com pas sio n int o act ion

YOUR MISSION WORKER

NEEDS YOU! Be part of a supporters’ team as a 24:7 Partner.

Visit your mission worker’s profile page on the BMS website or go to bmsworldmission.org/partners AS A CHRISTIAN MISSION ORGANISATION WE aiM to SharE lifE in all itS fullnESS With thE World’S pEoplES by: EnablinG thEM to knoW ChriSt, allEviatinG SuffErinG and inJuStiCE, iMprovinG thE Quality of lifE With pEoplE aS our priMary aGEntS of ChanGE – MotivatinG, traininG, SEndinG and rESourCinG thEM.