Praise God that:

• Cases of COVID-19 are definitely coming down in the UK.
• Over 1/4 of all adults in England have now had their first vaccination against coronavirus. (We are still waiting to be called for ours.)
• After months of silence and delay, leaders of city council are giving us until the end of March to press our case to develop a new church, community centre and housing complex.

Please pray for:

• Conditions to allow for a socially-distanced outdoor gospel event that we had to postpone in December due to surging cases of coronavirus.
• Wisdom as our pre-planning application is formulated and submitted to city council for the end of February.
• Encouragement in what is a trying time for us all.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
– Psalm 27:13-14

We appreciate you,

George and Karen

O come, all you unfaithful
Come, weak and unstable
Come, know you are not alone
O come, barren and waiting ones
Weary of praying, come
See what your God has done
Christ is born, Christ is born
Christ is born for you

O come, bitter and broken
Come with fears unspoken
Come, taste of His perfect love
O come, guilty and hiding ones
There is no need to run
See what your God has done
Christ is born, Christ is born
Christ is born for you

In a year we find hard to celebrate, this news is a balm to our souls!  He has come so that we are never alone in our emotional upheaval and fears. All we need to do is come to HIM!  

(Karen says:) One evening recently, as George and I went for a walk in our neighbourhood, I stopped to exclaim over something I noticed and wanted George who had kept walking to come back to see. His response was, “I don’t want to go backwards!” And so I was forced to go forward (and then showed him my discovery on our second time around the block). But it was a good spiritual reminder of refusing to  languish and long for what was or choosing not to live under an umbrella of guilt over past regrets. 

So, let’s “go forward” knowing the Lord is able to make something good out of this “not so good” year! And indeed, God has been at work this whole time working out His purposes.

We look forward to the imminent addition of a new grandchild (#9). We look forward to getting our Covid “jabs” and God willing, finally being able to travel back to Canada to see our family and some of you.  Karen looks forward to being with “her ladies” again face to face on a regular basis. We both look forward to the day when our whole church can worship again together under one roof – as do you! In the meantime, we “press on” and claim His enduring presence and help in time of trouble. 

May God give you His peace, joy, hope and love this Christmas season and into this New Year as you come daily to Him. 

Thank you for all you mean to us!

George and Karen

July brought “baby steps” towards a “new normal” with the reopening of our church on Sunday mornings with all the safety measures in place. Karen, clad in mask and face shield, bravely invited just two of her ladies to meet with her once weekly for one on one tutoring in the church hall, safety measures also in place. George began to meet weekly in person instead of on zoom in the church garden with a small “steering committee” in regards to the church’s future (progress continues–please keep praying!). He and the local leaders from the Baptist churches in our part of Birmingham began to meet once again in the backyard of our home. We were able to visit an outdoor bird park for our wedding anniversary. We even ate out at our favourite Pakistani restaurant on the half price “Eat Out Help Out” deal the UK government sponsored. And we hosted a going away drop in style party in our church garden for our colleagues as well as said our final sad goodbyes with delayed Canada Day celebration BBQ in our own backyard later that week.

When schools resumed on September 4th, Karen began to consider inviting more ladies to come back to class and adding another class time. Her ladies’ exercise group started to get excited about the prospect of getting fit together again. But then the “R rate” soared! Almost 7,000 tested positive today (Sept 25)! Hospital admissions are rising. 34 more deaths today. Already several schools have been closed down as students or staff have been diagnosed with Covid.

So instead of being able to take more baby steps, we have had to pull back and put on pause almost everything as the government placed Birmingham, among other communities throughout the UK, under new tighter restrictions. The prime minister warns that the new rules might last for as long as six months! At the current time, this means there is to be NO social interaction between members of different households and masks are now the law in most public places. Our church is still allowed to stay open since it has all the safety measures in place so is considered safe. We are thankful for this – especially for the sake of those who do not have internet in their homes, but also because it is an emotional boost for those of us who do attend to just be there in each other’s presence! One unsaved husband we are praying for, who would not watch the weekly church YouTube at home with his wife, is very happy to come back to the church with her and watch it with everyone there! Every Sunday as he leaves he says, “See you next week – if we are still here!” May God use this in his heart so he is ready if this should happen to him!

We admit we are feeling frustrated, upset, sad, anxious, and a myriad of other emotions, as you, in all likelihood do too! It is tempting to despair, feeling like “we can’t go through this again”! We thought it would be done by now! And what if “our luck runs out” this time and we (or our loved ones) catch the virus? Sleep is often disturbed. We anxiously do our necessary shopping and then hunker back down in the relative safety of our homes. We try not to think about it, but the fear is always lurking just under the surface of our emotions.

This is why we need to fill our minds with God’s words and remind ourselves that God can replace our fears with His peace as we place our trust daily, moment by moment, in Him (2 Timothy 1:7; Proverbs 29:25). George is currently going through the Psalms in his weekly messages for our church body. These can be found on YouTube under Stechford Baptist Church. He is still keeping quite busy with various zoom meetings and church recordings. Karen has cancelled all her outside activities for now in line with the government restrictions but feeling rather sad about it. Her ladies are not computer savvy (and neither is she!) so zoom tutoring is not really an option. Please pray for good communication via other social media and for God’s continuing work in their hearts.

Please pray for us as well, and let us know how we can pray for you. We are in this together, and together we will trust in God through to the end of these troubling times.

God bless you,

George and Karen King

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, 
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 
to deliver them from death 
and keep them alive in famine. 
– Psalm 33:18,19

In April we reported that 18,100 people had died so far from coronavirus in the UK. Today that figure stands at 45,750–a sobering reminder that the pandemic is not over. That being said, the situation is improving. Our Sunday morning church services resumed 4 weeks ago with mandatory face coverings and a completely pre-recorded service projected onto a large screen. We make the same service available on YouTube for those who stay at home due to personal health concerns. Two weeks ago, Karen resumed teaching one afternoon a week with just a few ladies. They all wear masks and take measures to stay safe.

Work to obtain the former leisure centre site to build a new church, community centre and housing complex continues. George has had countless virtual meetings as well as several socially distanced planning meetings outdoors. We are working towards a late August deadline to submit a business proposal to the Birmingham city council. Your prayer is appreciated.

Recently, George has had some opportunities to be a guest on an online talk show run by a Bangladeshi British Muslim to give a Christian viewpoint on various topics. We pray that some things he has said has piqued interest in some of the listeners. 

Please pray for a young mother in our church who has an aggressive cancer and is in treatment.  Also please pray for a newer church attendee whose partner was stabbed when he tried to help someone in need.

We have been thankful for health and strength–true gifts from God’s hands, not to be taken for granted! We are thankful God is at work and has His purposes in all of this. We celebrate 40 years of marriage on August 1.  

George and Karen
Birmingham, England