Praise

1. We have prayed many months for a woman with a very aggressive form of cancer, to now receive news that she is cancer free!
2. Remembrance Sunday’s church-led open-air service at the local war memorial brought hundreds of local people out for the first time in 2 years.
3. Our annual outreach conference went very well, offering both in-person and virtual options for participants from various nations.

Prayer

1. One of Karen’s ladies has contracted tuberculosis. Pray for healing.
2. This week George begins to meet for Bible study with a young man showing great potential for Christian leadership and ministry.
3. Plans for a new church building are stuck in limbo. May the will of the Lord be done.

We appreciate your prayers and support,

George and Karen

Praise God that:

• Karen has been able to resume teaching her English classes again!
• Over 54% of all people in the UK have now had their first vaccination against coronavirus, and the vast majority of vulnerable people have had their second vaccination. We are glad to report that we have been fully vaccinated!
• We are still in the running to obtain the site of the former leisure centre for a new church development. 

Please pray for:

• Grace in the eyes of the various authorities in city council as we work through the complex process of obtaining the land for the future church.
• Wisdom as we inch towards a return to a more normal way of doing ministry. Concerns are rising over the recent upsurge of the Indian variant of coronavirus here in the UK.
• Spiritual impact on those we serve for the sake of the gospel.

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord,
with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
– 2 Corinthians 4:5

We appreciate you,

George and Karen

 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