Ivory Coast Trip - 10th - 25th June

Please remember William on his next trip to Ivory Coast. 10th - 25th June. The container from Every Home Crusade is on its way containing containing 18,000 French Bibles and 250,000 copies of the Gospel of John, Pardon and Assurance booklet and Scripture Booklets.
Also included in the container will be a quantity of French books published by Evangelical Press provided by 'Pastor Training International'. In addition 'Immanuel Studios' are providing Children's Bible lessons in DVD format.

It should arrive in I.C. around 16th June.

Please pray for this great 'team' effort:

• The protection of the container in transit
• That it will be released from customs quickly in Abidjan.
• For the logistics of storage and distribution of its contents.
• For God to open hearts to His Word!

UFM Worldwide European Conference 2007

The 2nd UFM worldwide European Missionary Conference was held from the 22nd to 27 Octubre 2007 in Lloret de Mar, Barcelona. Unfortunately we couldn't attend due to a bout of chickenpox, but we do know that it was a special week of great blessing for all those who attended. Sorry we missed!

If you want to see the faces of those that attended:
http://picasaweb.google.com/alandavey/UFMEuropeLloretDeMarPeople?authkey=vr027g1g0J0

And if you want to see Lloret de Mar:
http://picasaweb.google.com/alandavey/UFMEuropeLloretDeMarAndTossaDeMar
Thanks Alan for these!

Jonathan & Susan

Supporting our brothers and sisters in Turkey

Thought you might like to see this short video. It is a demonstration in response to the murder of 3 believers in Turkey. A demonstration of this nature took place in all the major cities of Spain at the same time, the message we wanted to convey is: "Persecuted believers of the world, you are not alone, Jesus loves you and we are praying for you".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GsRnZ_XqRc

Some of this year's activities.

Just to let you see a few of the things we have been involved in this year.

Above: Children's Aventure Camp

Above: Saturday Youth Club

How quickly time goes by!!!

It's hard to believe that Abbie is now 5 and Lois 14 months. Where does the time go???

It's been great to spend time with the girls over the summer months, at the beach (when on holiday, as the beach is a bit far away) and at the pool. Children really are a blessing from the Lord and how often do they put things into perspective, when everything else does'nt make sense. Here's a photo of the girls taken in early July at the coast.

We're back!!!!!!!!!!

To all UFM,ers out there, we have not added items to this blog for some time now due to just not making the time to do it, but hey, its important! Please take the time to post items on this blog as its a great way to share info about your work with not only supporters of the missions but also with many people throughout the world. This is also a great way to encourage prayer!

It's also encouraging for us missionaries to catch up with you and your work. God Bless you all!

First UFM Worldwide European Missionary Conference

The 23rd to 28th October 2006 saw the first ever UFM Worldwide European Missionary Conference held in the sea side resort of Tossa De Mar, Girona Spain.
UFM missionaries travelled from, Ireland, UK, Turkey, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. A number of UFM staff also travelled from the UK for this special event. The Rev Colin Tamplin (Birmingham) took the devotional each morning.
We had a special visit by Francisco Portillo (Secetary of the FIEIDE in Spain) who gave us an overview of the work and challenges in Spain.
Throughout the week we discussed matters such as, Evangelising students, planting and strengthening churches, training pastors and Mobilising Churches and christians for Mission.

There was an interesting boat trip one afternoon! Just ask James McMaster!!!

We praise God for His presence during this week of conference, for the fellowship and fun that was enjoyed by all.

Irish Folklore Concerts in Spain

The 10 to 16th October a group from the Lisburn area of Northern Ireland travelled to Puertollano to perform in a number of concerts that we had organised in the region. The idea of the group coming was simply to evangelize. The group SLEMISH consited of 6 men along with 2 audiovisual technicians. One of the group is Andrew Herron (Irish Baptist Missionary in France) who flew in from France to play with the group.

Each evening we travelled to different towns in the area of Ciudad Real (Royal City) and the group shared a little of the irish culture in music and also my means of audio visuals the history of Saint Patrick was presented as well as evangelistic presentation and at the end the gospel message was clearly told. At each concert there was over 100 people, not bad considering that the churchs represented only have around 25 members. In two of the towns the local council provided us with the towns auditorium which was a real blessing and in the other towns the concert was in the local church. The group brought a plaque from the Lord Mayor of Lisburn with the idea of inviting a memeber of the local council to the concert. In three of the five concerts the minister of culture attended, infact they stayed for the whole concert which lasted 1 1/2 hours.

The group played and sang a number of traditional Irish songs, as well as hymns and each concert concluded with 'Jesus all for Jesus'.

During the concerts there was a real sense of the Lord´s presence but of course satan was unhappy and we also were very aware that we are in a spiritual battle.

We are so thankful to 'Slemish' for taking the time and effort to come to Spain at their own cost to serve the Lord in this way. Only eternity will reveal the fruit from their efforts.

Left: George (Slemish) presenting the Lord Mayor of Lisburn with plate from Puertollano city council and also a book from the town council of Moral de Calatrava.

Below: Minister of Culture of Puertollano being presented the plaque by Slemish.

William & Rosalind Brown

Did you see the Ivory Coast Team play in the World Cup? They are a great team; it is a pity they lost!

Pete Nye and I have just returned from leading another type of 'team' to Ivory Coast. However our team didn't go to play football (although they did that too!) they formed 'Operation Centurion' and helped to build much needed facilities at the Bible Institute in Sassandra.

The Lord provided us with a great team of men who worked together, prayed together and laughed together! The local Christians also rallied round and did their part; women came and carried bricks two by two to the site (on their heads!) young people and children also got stuck in making it a huge cross- cultural team!

The project is a tremendous encouragement to Ivorian Christians and many commented on how moved they were to see a team prepared to help in this way while their country is still 'at war'. The building consists of two classrooms, library, office, toilet and guest bedroom. It is now at roof level and another team will accompany Pete and myself in November in order to finish the job.

In a day when many 'sects' are on the increase and people are exposed to 'every wind of doctrine' we are more and more convinced of the importance of encouraging the National Church to see men trained and equipped for the work of God.

Tools for the Job

Each member of 'Operation Centurion' brought with them tools for the job! Spirit levels, trowels, bolsters, claw hammers… However they also managed to pack in some spiritual tools, gospels of John and 35 sets of chronological children's Bible lessons from Every Home Crusade. One of the highlights of the trip was to present 23 sets of Bible lessons to recently trained Sunday School teachers and to see their joy. Pray for them as they use these 'tools' to teach boys and girls. John's gospels were also distributed at checkpoints along the way and were gratefully received.

Barnabas Ministry

In November when William returns to Ivory Coast, he will be teaching at the Bible Institute in Sassandra. Ben Griffin, a UFM appointee, will accompany him. He and his wife, Liz, and family plan to work in Ivory Coast when the Lord opens the door for them. They are presently involved in pastoral work in England. William and Ben will also spend some time with Pastor Koné in Yamoussoukro in order to give Ben as much exposure as possible to various aspects of the work. Please pray for all the preparation involved… from preparing teaching material to all the practicalities of taking out another team, etc.
Political Situation

As mentioned previously, elections are scheduled for October. Whilst no official announcement has been made it is unlikely that they will take place due to lack of progress in the disarmament process. This could still prove to be a volatile time in the country so please pray for wisdom for the political leaders and that the relative peace experienced in recent months will continue.

The bigger picture

Earlier in the summer we attended our mission's Family Conference in Leicestershire. It was a very encouraging time as we shared with missionary colleagues and met new missionaries preparing to go overseas for the first time. As a mission we have much to praise God for. Since last year 15 new missionaries have commenced their service with UFM. 9 have gone to existing teams in Brazil, France and Papua New Guinea and 6 have gone to countries where UFM did not have any missionaries, Italy, Peru and Portugal. This does not include short-term workers going to Sierra Leone, Peru and PNG. By the end of September UFM will have workers in 3 additional countries, Burkina Faso, India and Turkey bringing the total number of countries in which we have missionaries to 25.

The 21st century presents many challenges; but be encouraged! God is still at work and is sending people forth with the gospel! If you would like more details we are just a phone call away!

Youth Weekend 2006

Application forms are coming in for the Youth Weekend to be held at Oceanview, Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal. 13 – 15 October. Phillip Annett (CEF) is the speaker. Pray that the young people who attend will come with hearts open to God. If you are over 15 and interested in coming, get in touch with us – but hurry – places are limited!

Finally, thank you for your prayers, love and support. You, too, are a vital part of our team as we work together for the glory of God.

Morris' Family going to India

Hebron is an international residential school based on sound Christian principles since 1899. High up in the Nilgiris Hills on the outskirts of the town of Ooty, Hebron enjoys a moderate climate much like our own. There are over 370 students from P1 through to A level, of 20 different nationalities. 60% come from a missionary background and 40% from the local and business community.

Steve & Rhonda Morris

Many of you will now have heard of how the Lord has been leading us towards India. In July we are hoping to continue our ministry with missionary children at Hebron School in southern India. This time we will both be teaching History and Sports. There will be many more responsibilities, which arise as a result of working and living in a boarding school.