Tonight I walked down the road to my local kebab shop with two missions in mind. First, to buy some delicious and spicy chicken tikka on fresh nan bread. My second purpose was to give the four Muslim guys working there a special 2013 calendar with scripture verses in English and Urdu as a Christmas gift. As I gave each of them a calendar and wished them a Merry Christmas, a smile broke out on their faces like the sun breaking through the clouds. The customer next in line asked one of them who was particularly smily, “What are you so happy about?” To which he replied, “Someone wished me a Merry Christmas!” I was genuinely surprised that my small gesture of good will would mean so much.

This helps me look beyond the commercial hype of Christmas and see the spiritual opportunities this season offers. This past week we were part of two Christmas witness events, one in a public shopping precinct and the other in a seniors complex. Coming up are two special Christmas services on Sunday the 23rd, preaching at our traditional Christmas Day church service, preaching at the Last Sunday of 2012, planning the New Years Eve meeting, as well as working with Karen on numerous Christmas visits and hospitality in our home. It’s all good. If in any of the activity we can see someone blessed like the kebab shop guys were, praise God.

By the way, we wish YOU a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

George and Karen King

This is definitely not a “Fall” update.

We had to learn the hard way that the British do not think of “fall” as a synonym for “autumn”. That is, by referring to the “fall” while giving church announcements, and then noticing the curious looks on faces as people realize we had uttered yet another North American idiom. The only “fall” you hear about in churches here is the one by Adam and Eve which plunged the world into sin and death.

What’s more embarassing is to talk about “pants” in front of a congregation only to realize that you meant to say “trousers”, because “pants” here are “underwear”. Not that we’ve ever done such a thing 😉

Praise Items

1. Ladies English classes going well.
2. Attended an encouraging Church Planting among Muslims conference recently.
3. A new local network of Christians praying for salvation of Muslims will likely begin shortly.

Prayer Requests

1. Mens English class not doing so well.
2. Discouragement for various reasons in the church, sapping vitality and enthusiasm.
3. That current efforts to unite and equip Christians for local ministry to Muslims would succeed.

Thank you for praying. Keep in more frequent contact by becoming Karen’s Facebook friend.

Yours,
George and Karen King

It has been a busy summer of ministry here in Birmingham, England. Apart from our regular ministries in the church and the community, add the following:

1. 4-day Retreat with families from our men’s English conversation group. The whole group comprised well over 30 men, women and children. Talks on spiritual matters arose naturally as we cooked, ate, and stayed together at a Christian centre in Wales.
2. Olympics Night with games, food, and watching the opening ceremony together on the big screen. Good participation from the community, praise God.
3. Jobsearch Strategies for Youth ran for one week offering tips to improve employment prospects in a city marked by chronic high youth unemployment.
4. Ladies ESL classes continued through Ramadan (the month of fasting) at the request of students, much to our surprise.
5. Hospitality – We had frequent overnight missionary guests. It seemed like we were either enjoying their time with us, or getting ready for the next group of guests.

Now we are looking ahead to the following:

1. Vacation during the last week of August and first week of September, away from Birmingham, somewhere else in the UK.
2. New evangelism thrust as we plan to run “Christianity Explored” for the first time in the fall.
3. Welcome to the Lee family as Jeff, Rachel, and their adorable children who will be joining us in the work here. The Lees are fellow ABWE missionaries who have completed their ministry in Milton-Keynes and now will spend the next 2 years here helping us before they leave England for their first furlough.
4. The Way to Joy adaptation for the Muslim world, as a companion volume to the recently completed Story of Hope. Once again, George will serve on a team doing a major rewrite of the material to help Muslim readers more fully understand and embrace the teaching of the Bible.

Along with these things, of course there is the day-in day-out ministry here in Birmingham. Please bathe these matters in praise and prayer to our heavenly Father. Thank you for your support and interest.

George and Karen King

The Queen seems very pleased with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations these last several days. Thousands of special events throughout the country have commemorated 60 years of Elizabeth II on the throne, and we are happy to say that our church played a part in the festivities. We invited the surrounding community to join us for a Jubilee Big Lunch on Sunday, June 3rd from 1 to 4:30 pm to be held in our church’s backyard. Activities included face-painting, crafts, carnival-style games, and a bouncy castle. Come Sunday morning, it was raining steadily and had been for quite some time. Even if the rain stopped, the ground was too wet to have the party outside. We quickly decided that after the morning service, the church sanctuary would be set up with tables and chairs, while our back hall would become a game room.

Visitors began to arrive, some of whom we knew while others were first-timers. At one point, I looked out over the tables and was struck by the sea of cultures and faiths sharing this time together. White English, Caribbean, African, Pakistani. Baptist, Catholic, Anglican, Muslim, agnostic. With table seating limited to about 45, many stood around in informal groups talking and eating from plates of food. From memory we counted in excess of 100 who braved the rain and showed up at our door, carrying their contribution of food. Everyone involved was ecstatic with the turnout. The rain continued all day, but it left us wondering how many might have come if the sun had been shining.

We created a gospel pamphlet especially for the Diamond Jubilee called “The Faith of a Queen.” It shares the good news about Jesus Christ by way of quotes from the Queen’s speeches over the years. As guests for the Big Lunch arrived, they would find copies of the leaflet on the table and have the opportunity to take it as a souvenir of the event.

As for future events, on Fathers Day we plan to hold a suppertime barbecue followed by a showing of the “Courageous” film. The second weekend after that, we plan to be away on a retreat with families connected to our Monday night mens conversation group. May God bless both efforts.

Thank you for praying and supporting this ministry!

George and Karen King