Dear Friends,

The front line of the church is the steward.   If first impressions are lasting, it is the steward who creates that impression.

We need friendly people as stewards, those with a smile and a warm welcoming personality.

We need sympathetic people as stewards.  Not everybody will be approaching the front door of the church with the same frame of mind.  Some will be happy, some will be sad. Some will already feel at home; for some it will be their first experience of our fellowship, and they will not be too sure of what to expect.  The steward cannot deal with everyone in the same way.

We need tactful people as stewards.  We need to know if people are looking for a spiritual home, or whether they are just passing through and are members of another fellowship. Some like to tell us all about themselves, others are reserved or shy.  But it will be helpful if the steward can find out the name, and write it down or remember it!

We need responsible people as stewards.  They need to be at church early when they are on duty.  If they cannot be there on the day of their duty they need to find a reliable replacement.

We need humble people as stewards.   They are not only in the front line but, when everyone else has gone, there are still duties to be done.  Clearing up! Locking up! Seeing everything is in order for the next meeting in the church.

It is not an easy job being a steward, but it is easier if the job is shared.  We are looking for some more men and women to share the burden.   If you think you could do the job one Sunday morning a month, please see one of the deacons, as we would like to enlarge the rota in the autumn.

Don't wait for someone to approach you, accept this letter as an invitation to consider the work.

In Christian love,

Roger Collins
Moderator.
 

Mrs Norma Hernandez is keeping a bright outlook despite suffering the loss of a second brother, Carlton, within the last five months;  please remember her in prayer.

Let's pray that we recognise and accept God's will with thanksgiving regarding the choice of our pastor as we meet up with our current candidate on 1st October first, and then church members only on the 14th to decide.  He is experienced in promoting evangelism among other aptitudes, and has preached here 'with a view' recently. For those who aren't familiar with the term, it means to preach with a view for both congregation and candidate to seek God's will for the candidate's future with regard to our church.

Congratulations to Jaap and Louise van der Weerd on the birth of Martijn, born on 9th September in the evening at 8 lbs 2 oz.  Doesn't he look like a thinker and budding musician too?

Praise the Lord that people are turning to Him - Mrs Blair is putting herself forward for baptism, and hopefully Florence Mwaijande and Hannah Devereaux will also be accepted into membership on our church anniversary!  God bless you all and let's pray that we will build each other up in Him! Everyone is encouraged to join the Bible Study and Prayer Meeting on Wednesdays:  we continue a four-part series on Baptist Basics, reviewing the significance of baptism and the meaning of membership. It's been very informative and stimulating to learn and discuss about these issues -  for certainly more than anyone considering membership!  Our Moderator, Rev Roger Collins, is guiding us through this time of fellowship and growth.

Our youth are on the move in academics again this time of year. Tania Legore, Mrs Ivy Legore's daughter, who graduated from Brunel University last year and more recently from Guildhall Law School as a solicitor. David Bennett, our drummer Allan's and Janis's son, received his B.Sc. in Computer Science from Luton University on 12th September.  Congratulations, Tania and David!  Rebecca McGlynn is beginning her studies in Psychology at South Bank University and Chanel Grant her A Levels.  Let's share any of their needs in our prayers!

It is good to see Mrs Shirley Peart back from Jamaica recently, as well as the others back from travels or holidays during the summer.

The efforts of one of our members, Mrs May Richards, were brought to fruition again this year by touching the community with a gospel outreach and raising funds for sickle cell and thalassaemia sufferers with her Family Gospel Festival.  Some members of our congregation pitched in again this year as volunteers and there was a first ever appearance outside the church premises from our current choir, plus contributions from Rochelle Billey, and Allison & Rebecca McGlynn!

Please remember our shut-ins, including Mrs Ward, Miss Mabel Johnson, Janette's nan and Miss Olive Persson,as well as Mrs Hazel Whitehead and others looking after any of them.
 

Our Pastoral Care Team is available to help and is especially eager to hear about anyone who has been missing from our fellowship or who has been ill, that they may be given a visit or prayer or spiritual encouragement.  The team members are:

           Thornton & Leola Reid
           George Wheeler
           Grace Tyzack
           Hilda Gosling
           Clare Lee
           Margaret McGlynn
           Gloria Bipta
 
 
 
 

Knowing our Candidate - Wed. 1st October
A meeting has been arranged to get to know our pastoral candidate better.  Everyone is welcome whether or not you are a member? bring friends if you wish!  Come prayerfully as we begin with a buffet tea at 6:30 until about 7:30 during which you will be able to mix and chat informally with the minister.  Do bring some sandwiches, other simple dishes, or drinks to share if you can!
Immediately following this there will be a session closing around 8 pm where you will have a chance to ask him questions about his vision and plans in specific areas for his next church. Thus, both the minister and we will be able to pray thoughtfully whether God is indicating that he is the pastor He has chosen for our church.  The church will reach its decision collectively at the special members meeting, described below.

Church Anniversary
The baptism of Mrs Blair is being planned for the morning service of our 176th Church Anniversary on 12th October.  Come to support her and to welcome new church members hopefully being inducted.  We celebrate with our choir, a Boys and Girls Brigade parade, and with their officers and others holding office, including Sunday School teachers, renewing pledges to their responsibilities.

Special Members Meeting - 14th October
Members are encouraged to come in large numbers to this Tuesday meeting from 8 pm to determine the suitability of our pastoral candidate.  Further to the recommendation of the deacons and our own deliberations we will seek God's will in prayer and consider Him in view of the needs of our church.

Youth Programme Prayer Meetings
Brief prayer meetings are being planned to support all those involved in our Sunday School and Brigades this year.  Anyone willing to join these prayers is most welcome to join in - details to be announced.

Light Party
Brighten up the end of half-term by bringing your children (and neighbours' children) to our Light Party on Friday 31st October. It will take place in the church hall from 6.30 pm until 8 pm.
There will be food, drink, games and fun and this party is intended to focus on the light and love of Jesus in our lives - and not the more sinister ideas and activities that happen elsewhere on this Hallowe'en evening.
Please encourage any children - from 5 to 12 years - to come along and enjoy themselves.  There is no charge.
Thank you.
Janette

Remembrance Sunday
Please make a note to come earlier than other Sundays as this service, on 9th November, begins at 10:45 am to observe the two-minute silence at 11 am along with a bugle call.  The GB and BB Companies will be on parade.

Members Meeting - Tuesday 18th November
Your interventions are welcome as you express any concerns or encouragement about the growth of our church as the Lord prompts you.  Hear also what our various sections have been doing as they report at the Annual General Meeting, starting at 8 pm, and review the selection of our officers by vote.

Jesus is Born!
The Sunday School and Youth Group warmly welcomes you to our Nativity Service on Sunday 21st December at 11 am.  Please come and share the celebration of Christ's birth in a special way as the children and young people lead the service.
There will also be our usual B.M.S. appeal and offering.
See you there!
Best wishes,
The Sunday School and Youth Group

Christmas events
Stay posted for further announcements, including the alms house carols and a concert by the White Webbs Band!

This magazine is your magazine!  Help shape TBC whichever way the Lord leads you.  Write, tell, e-mail or dictate to the editor any articles, news - new arrivals, graduations, anniversaries with pictures if you wish! - prayers, poems, quips, etc. that you want to share, or speak to him about any issues you would want in these pages!

Jose Jurado Aranda
E-mail:  tbceditor@hotmail.com

You can also read Focus online at:
http://freespace.virgin.net/jamesimac.mcglynn/tbc.htm
 
 

It's Shoe box Time Again!

Yes, it's time once more to astound your friends by showing them just how much you can pack into a shoe box - woolly hat, scarf and gloves, socks and woolly tights little toys, sweets, toothbrush and paste, soap and flannel, hair bands, brush and comb, colouring pencils and pad, pens, pencils, pencil case, sharpener, rubber, ruler and paper and once they've seen what you can do they may (hopefully) feel encouraged to fill a shoe box, too!
For the past two years, we have sent nearly 50 shoe boxes to children and young people in need in Eastern Europe via the Christian Charity "SMILE International". "SMILE" sent an amazing 5,500 thousand shoe boxes filled with presents to children in orphanages in Bulgaria, Montenegro and Macedonia as well as to many fatherless children in Kosova. This year, the shoe boxes will be going to Romania, too.
The following items cannot be included: second-hand or used items, toy guns and knives, military or monster characters, battery operated items, make-up, items in glass bottles and other breakables and books.
Please cover the box and lid - separately - with wrapping paper and secure the box with a rubber band as it will need to be opened at a later stage for checking. Label it clearly "Boy" or "Girl" with the age: the youngest is 3 years and the oldest is 16 years.
Pass your completed shoe boxes to me by Sunday 2nd November at the latest - sooner if it's ready.
Thank you in anticipation of your generosity and kindness. You will help to bring a smile to many young faces along with the love of Jesus in a very real, practical and lovely way.
Janette Whitehead
 
 

THANK OFFERING  2003
We shall be celebrating our Church Anniversary on Sunday October 12th and on that day we shall be taking up our Thank Offering.
This is the one time in the year when we, as a church, acknowledge God's goodness to us throughout the year in a special gift to our Church.
Once again we shall allocate this offering towards the disability access and new toilet facilities required in the church buildings.
Envelopes will be available in the lounge or on request for friends of the Church.

Prayer request

Please pray for my daughter Tania Legore, who has graduated in Law.  I thank the Lord for His blessing.
Mrs Ivy Legore
 
 

The Lord Transforming Lives
There are great testimonies heard on UCB Talk.  You can hear how God transformed lives for the better on this radio station, as well as other Christian programming.  It can be heard on the internet at http://www.ucb.co.uk/talk/index.php, on digital satellite channel 891, or by scanning/searching for it on The God Channel.  It is a sister radio station of UCB. See how God is alive today, touching lives, and tune in!
 
 

BMS
Birthday
Scheme

OCTOBER        MRS B PLUNKETT           28th

NOVEMBER    MRS K HATCHETT            4th
                          MASTER ALEXANDER JAMES KING-SPARKE   15th
                          MISS M JOHNSON           16th
 

History in the making

A Baptist seminary in north east Brazil led by our BMS Link Missionary John Dyer is changing methods that have been in place for over four centuries.
The seminary in Natal, Rio Grande Do Norte state, was inaugurated on 2nd August and represents a new way forward for theological education in Brazil.
It is the higher education wing of the Baptist School for Ministerial Formation, which belongs to the state's Baptist Convention. John, who is Director of the School and runs other leadership courses in the state, explains:
"Among Brazilian Baptists, seminaries are still seen as places where pastors are trained. Our recently adopted mission statement proposes a new approach to theological education. The present system has been going for 450 years! To our mind the new seminary should be a training ground for all those who wish to do theology at a higher level and not just future pastors.
"The seminary will encourage all its students to go on serving the Lord with the gifts they possess as pastors, teachers, administrators, evangelists and disciples. What a wonderful team effort that would be in the local church!"
The seminary is in a prime location on the main avenue in and out of Natal. It has got off to an excellent start, attracting 20 students and six teachers. John is assisted in the work by wife Maria, who is Administration Co-ordinator, and Maria Lêda, Brazilian Education Co-ordinator.
Plans are in hand for two extensions in the interior of the state, in the town of Mossoró and the Seridó region. Preliminary discussions are also taking place between the seminary and nearby Potiguar University to grant recognition for the degree course. Marigia, the Extension Co-ordinator at the university, says, "The moment is right for the seminary and university to strike a partnership."
John is enthused by developments in Natal. "We are extremely pleased with what has happened. People here are telling us that this is history in the making! It's a great privilege to be here for such a time as this. Baptists in Natal are becoming more and more excited about this new development."
Some comments include:
"It's so much easier to get to." (Solange, student)
 "My church has several people interested for next year." (Pastor Valderi)
"I was going to study in Recife, but can now do my theological training in Natal." (Junior, student)
"The breath of the Spirit is bringing new life to the Baptists." (Pastor Marcus)
John and Maria Dyer have been with BMS World Mission in Brazil since 1978 and in Natal for the last four years and are known and prayed for here at Tottenham Baptist Church, where they have visited with their son, João Marcos.
As well as directing the seminary, John pastors Living Water Baptist church, which became a fully-fledged Baptist Church in June. Mariaalso works to improve literacy in the region.
 
 

Birthday Scheme Raising Health Standards in Albania and Worldwide
Throughout the world there are also BMS World Mission workers helping to raise the level of health care for some of the neediest people in some of the poorest places.
By using their specialist skills the Society's workers are helping to improve the quality of life for thousands of people. Donations made through the BMS Birthday Scheme enable them to be in these places on a long-term basis.  On average every month, members of the BMS Birthday Scheme give an amazing £24,000. Every penny of this goes to support the health work of BMS around the world.
Nikki and Roger Pearce are one of BMS' couples involved in health work, helping to change people's lives.  They are full-time workers with BMS in Albania where they've been based for seven years.  As one of the poorest countries in Europe, Albania experiences low levels of basic health care.  Nikki is a nurse and works at the ABC clinic in Albania's capital, Tirana, where she helps to improve the quality of people's lives and raise the standards of health care.
She says, "With the fall of communism in 1990, the borders of Albania became open to mission workers for the first time in 50 years.  It immediately became apparent that there was a desperate need for honest, professional medical care and, as a result, our clinic was founded.
"As in all situations, the poor of society always suffer the most and in a country with a health system that requires you pay the medical staff for every act of service, many cannot afford to visit the doctor.  The ABC clinic seeks to demonstrate the love of Christ in the very practical manner of providing excellent primary health care at affordable prices to the Albanian people.
"Our vision is to see the nation of Albania being transformed by a growing, new generation of godly Albanian medical providers who are living out their Christian principles in their practice.
"One of the poorest groups in Albania is the Romany or gypsy community.  Over the last year we have been developing a relationship with a number from this group and have been ability offer them free consultations and basic medication.  Please pray for this expanding area of our work and for opportunities to help people."
 

BEGIN AGAIN

Let us cast aside the hurts that rankle in our heart.
         Let's try to mend old quarrels and make another start,
   Forgiving the old grudges and bitter words once said,
         Decide to fill your life with love and happiness instead.

   Harbouring resentment will destroy your peace of mind.
         We find our views distorted, unloving and unkind.
           Forgiveness is the gentle balm that comes
                             like fresh spring rain,
              Blessings all within its reach when we begin again.

From People's Friend, by Kathleen Gillum
Submitted by Kathleen Hatchett
 

Books for you
If you have Christian books at home, which you would like to give, share, or borrow to help Christians grow and build each other up we would be happy to hear from you!

Margaret McGlynn and Claire Lee
 
 

For really young ones - Pharaoh's Disobedience Brings on Plagues

Remember reading how Moses had approached King Pharaoh of Egypt and told him to let God's people - the Israelites - go and worship Him in the wilderness -  (See the second last issue). King Pharaoh was stubborn and would not let them.  Then the Lord again told Moses to go back to Pharaoh.
Can you read this story yourself, or get someone to read it along with you?  There will be a puzzle at the end of this story, so pay attention!

The Plague of Blood
When Moses asked King Pharaoh this time, he warned him what the Lord told him about the big river Nile, which brought so much water to feed Egypt's people and its crops:  "'With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.  The fish in the Nile will die and the river will stink;  the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.'"
Moses' brother, Aaron, was also told by the Lord to take his staff. He would stretch out his hand over Egyptian streams and canals and ponds.  So the other waters in Egypt also turned to blood, even water in buckets and jars!   But King Pharaoh saw that his magicians could do the same things he did a dangerous thing again:  he disregarded God's message once more! His heart remained stubborn and he didn't obey God even though all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile to get drinking water

The Plague of Frogs
A week later, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh:  "This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials.'"
The LORD God had Aaron to stretch out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.
Could Pharaoh's magicians do the same things?  Yes, but the Bible doesn't say that the magicians could get rid of the frogs!
So Pharaoh appealed to Moses and his brother Aaron to pray to God about the frogs  But he didn't ask God to have mercy on him.  This time, Moses looked like he was losing his patience with Pharaoh: Moses replied that in his prayers he would ask God to rid them of the frogs, except for those that remained in the Nile
When King Pharaoh saw that there was relief he hardened his heart again and would not listen to Moses or his brother.

Plague of Gnats
The LORD then said to Moses to tell Aaron: "Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground," and so the dust in all of Egypt would become gnats.  Gnats are like flies, but many of them bite!  By now, Pharaoh's magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts and couldn't.  The gnats were on men and animals, and the magicians declared to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh remained stubborn: despite all of God's signs he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.  So a fourth plague would come on Egypt

The Plague of Flies
In the early morning, Moses went to Pharaoh with another message from God:  "'If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses even the ground where they are.'"
"'But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live;  no swarms of flies will be there so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. I will make a distinction between my people and your people"
So flies ruined the country, except in Goshen  Then Pharaoh asked Moses:  "Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land."
"That would not be right", Moses replied.  "The sacrifices we offer the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us?"
 "I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God in the desert but you must not go very far. Now pray for me," answered Pharaoh.
Then Moses left and prayed to the LORD that all the flies would leave and that Pharaoh would not act deceitfully again to ensure he let the Hebrew people go.  And the flies left, but again Pharaoh hardened his heart.  So Pharaoh brought another plague on himself and his people

The Plague on Livestock
Moses again told Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, and warned him that otherwise another kind of plague would come:  "If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, the hand of the LORD will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field-on your horses and donkeys and camels and on your cattle and sheep and goats." And the LORD God would only afflict the Egyptian animals - not those of the Israelites, who had been oppressed by Pharaoh's orders.
But again, Pharaoh did not appreciate God's power nor did he fear His justice:  he didn't let Israel go, and so all of the livestock of the Egyptians died while the Israelites' remained alive, and worse things would happen for Pharaoh and his land
 

Puzzle:  Pharaoh's Disobedience Brings on Plagues
Can you fill in the missing words from the story and fit them in the grid?

Plagues came on Egypt because Pharaoh did not .... God's commands. (Four letters)

God wanted His people to ....... Him in the wilderness. (Seven letters)

Insects called gnats came up over Egypt when Aaron stretched out his ..... and struck the ground with it at God's command. (Five letters)

God wanted Moses to lead His people, called the ...........,out of Egypt.  (Ten letters)

See solution next page. Look for the sequel in the Bible at the Book of Exodus, Chapters 9-13, or read about it in the next issue!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

For 11 year olds and up - The Bible's Scientific Accuracy

The Bible contains many scientific truths which man did not discover until centuries after the Bible was written. The fact that the Bible writers knew these things is evidence that they were directed by some power wiser than man.
The following are some examples of this scientific foreknowledge:
For centuries most men believed that the world was flat. Later, it was discovered that the earth was round and was hanging in space. But centuries before this discovery was made, Isaiah mentioned the circle of the earth (Isaiah 40:22 "It is He that sits above the circle of the earth..."). Solomon wrote of the circle of the deep (Proverbs 8:27 "When He drew a circle on the face of the deep...."). And Job wrote that God "Hangs the earth on nothing." (Job 26:7). How did these men know these things, unless they were directed by the inspiration of God?
Astronomers have discovered that there is a great empty space in the North. By turning their telescopes every direction they may find countless stars, but when they look to the north they find none. This is a fairly recent discovery to the men of science, yet in the long ago Job wrote, "He stretches out the north over empty space;" (Job 26:7).

 Until recently little was known about the importance of blood. Also, men have finally discovered that all men are made of one kind of blood, regardless of the colour of their skins. Though our blood may differ in types, yet it is one kind of blood and can easily be identified as that of a human. Paul said in his sermon on Mars Hill in Athens that God has made of one blood "every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth," (Acts 17:26). And in the long ago Moses wrote that the life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). This is another scientific fact that men did not know until many years after Moses. Yet Moses knew it. How could he have known it unless God told him?
Solomon once wrote, "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full..." (Ecclesiastes 1:7). We are told that about 286,000 cubic miles of water flow annually into the sea. This has been happening for centuries. Today scientists can explain the mystery of evaporation and the cycle of water, but how did the writer know it? We must conclude that the matter was revealed to him by God.
In addition to these examples of scientific foreknowledge, it is also interesting to notice that the writers of the Bible were not influenced by ideas and errors of the age and countries in which they lived.
Two examples of this are seen in the writings of Moses and Daniel:
Moses was "instructed in all wisdom of the Egyptians." (Acts 7:22) Yet in none of his writings are to be found the theories of the Egyptians concerning the beginning of the world from a flying egg, or the origin of man from the white worms of the Nile. Instead he wrote that God created all things (Genesis 1-2). How was he kept free from ideas of the Egyptians, unless God directed and protected him as he wrote?
Daniel lived in Babylon. The Babylonians sought him for his wisdom, but he did not seek for theirs. Nowhere in his writings do we see a trace of the myths and legends of these people. He wrote none of those things. How did he know they were not true? Surely God must have directed and revealed to him as he wrote.
The Bible not only agrees with modern science, but it disagrees with modern error. The theories of today that are not scientifically true also contradict the Bible.
For example, the theory that man came by the process of evolution contradicts the story of the Bible. This theory also contradicts science in the following points:

It fails to account for the origin of life and how life entered into matter so as to produce man.  It fails to account for the change of man from purely matter to consciousness.  It fails to explain how man became a rational being with some ideas of moral living and with personality.
Science has never discovered any truth that contradicts the Bible. The theory of evolution is not in harmony with either science or the Bible.
From www.plvcc.org
 

Solution:  Pharaoh's Disobedience Brings on Plagues

 Most people find it difficult choosing hymns for a service of Remembrance Sunday.  People come with different memories and needs, so would some members of the congregation be upset if for an instant the hymn 'O God Our Help in Ages Past' was omitted? However, many prefer the hymn 'Thou Whose Almighty Word', based on the opening words in Genesis' creation story:  'Let there be light'.
The author, John Marriott, followed the same path as many of the other hymn writers of the period:  public school, rugby, Oxford University and then ordination.  There was no shortage of men for the church in those days.  John Marriott was immediately snapped up by the Duke of Buccleuch to be the family chaplain and private tutor to his eldest son in Dalkeith Palace in Scotland.
Here he met Sir Walter Scott, and finding they both had a love of literature, they became firm friends, no doubt reading each other's efforts because John actually contributed to one of Scott's publications.  Sadly, this period of his life was to be short-lived as his young pupil, George, became ill and died at the age of just ten years.  John and his wife suffered from very poor health and spent some time on the Devonshire coast convalescing from one ailment or another, until John was finally diagnosed as suffering from ossification of the brain.  None of John Marriott's hymns were published in his lifetime because he was too modest to let them be published.  After his death in 1825, the hymn was published in two hymnbooks and it became very popular.
So why this hymn for Remembrance Sunday?  Well, what could be more relevant than a prayer for God's wisdom, love and might to be boundless as ocean's tide and that through the whole world far and wide these words should ring out:  'Let there be light!'

Submitted by Vi Maddison
(taken from 'More Hazel's Hymns')
 
 

With black hair, an enormous smile and utterly determined, Adjeet does not know how old he is.  He guesses ten, but his parents in his mountain village in Burma never registered his birth and cannot remember the year.  When he arrived at the community, which he has just joined, he could not speak any language that anyone else there was using.  He spoke one tribal language while the other children and the grown-ups spoke a different one, and Adjeet had no Burmese at all.

He had been found by an enterprising evangelist;  she was touring the remote jungle villages looking for children who could benefit from secondary education.  She has a plan that one day they will take all that they have learnt back to benefit their home villages.  She had been told about Adjeet, and his outstanding character by the teacher at his village infant school.  His parents had done their best to get an education for him by sending him to the local Buddhist monastery.  There he was subject to the harsh discipline of the monks and the teaching was narrow and limited.  His meals depended on his ability to fill his begging bowl at the doors of the other villagers.  Now he is living in a small house with twelve other young people like himself.  They all go to the local secondary school and to his great joy he has found that Jesus is his friend.  He is younger than all the others and when he first arrived he was unable to communicate either at school or at home.  He set to work to put this right.

At the end of the first term he failed all his exams and to his bitter disappointment his teacher recommended that he leave the school.  However, she was persuaded to change her mind and at the end of his second term he passed every one.  One of the youth leaders is helping him to learn the local language. In return, Adjeet does his laundry, squatting on the ground beside a big wok full of suds and spreading the clothes on the hedge with painstaking care.  When the vegetables are being planted it is Adjeet who carries the heavy buckets from the pigsty and if older boys are chopping firewood for cooking, it is Adjeet who struggles to carry the biggest pieces of timber from the pile. When the children sing in the evenings, he takes his songbook in his hand and tries hard to look as if he is joining in, opining and shutting his mouth in all the wrong places.

Surely his determination, his devotion to Jesus and his love for the family that has helped him will guide him through life in that tragic, broken country.  His great wish is to go back and serve his village.  Young Adjeet has what is needed to make a great contribution and he is a fine example to us all.

From a Bognor Regis Methodist Church bulletin
Submitted by Anne and Jim Tarrier
 

Meeting Nicodemuses today
 

The witness of others is a useful way to sense God's goodness. Are we prepared to tell others how good He is?

Because she is prepared to tell her witness about Christ, Janis Bennett, a member of our church, is a Christian whom God works through to tell of His love.  She recalls how she had been struggling with the implications of making a commitment for Him: "I went through a phase of wondering, of asking myself, 'Am I good enough?'" She recalls how she was deliberating about making a commitment to Christ as her Lord as a schoolgirl ?through confirmation in the Church of England.  Many of her peers didn't really seem to understand the importance of making such a decision...  They were just expected to do so as the 'in thing'.  "I was conscious of the meaning of my decision. I thought, 'It's like making a promise.'  I said to myself, 'No. It has to mean something to me.'" So at fourteen, she thought about the significance of the commitment and wanted to be sure she could fill it, as she still doesn't like to go back on her commitments.  "I thought, 'I'm not ready to go through confirmation.'''

But from an early age, God had been enveloping her with His love, holding her in His care, reaching her in many ways, and especially through one hymn that was sung at her church school: My Song is Long Unknown (Mission Praise No. 478), which had struck her for a long time.

Even though she was drifting away at times, at others there were events that drew her back to Him, such as having to practically run the Girl Guides at her church from the age of 1612 because the usual leaders often couldn't.
"It was only when I was eight months pregnant with David that I gave in."  She explained the role friends and acquaintances had on her:  "There were other mothers who were committed and being around them you find out a little bit more, and a little more And it has nothing to do with being good enough.  God has made the decision after all." Even from the beginning of time, God had chosen us, but we need to recognise His goodness to fully accept His blessings and grasp eternal life.  The time came when the verse in the hymn struck home:  "'Who am I that such a price was paid?' I may not feel worth it, but who am I?  I must be worth so much to Him.  I am so valuable and so loved by this God that you can't refuse Him."  His love was so overwhelming in her life then that she couldn't get away from it.  "When God says go, you go.  You don't have to argue about it anymore."

"God was saying to stand up and be counted, acknowledge Him as my Lord. So my conversion wasn't like Paul on the road to Damascus. It took years for God to wear me down..."  She had reached the conviction about her worth in God's eyes in the light of Christ's self-sacrifice outside the gates of Jerusalem.  "God had such a struggle to get me to recognise Him as my Lord".

Janis has thoughts for those who have been grappling with the issue of commitment and worth in God's eyes:  "Is anybody else struggling out there, struggling about this ? for years and years?"  Perhaps you also have been thinking about God's goodness and thought 'I'm not good enough yet' ? perhaps you haven't made a decision for Him yet   Janis recognised that God loves us so much that His Son gave up His life willingly for us ? so we must have worth.  It's simply up to us to accept His gift of love.

Let's help each other to witness about the Lord and encourage each other by writing about any mission inspirations or thoughts, or by telling some of the witnessing you have done in your community or beyond on these pages.  Please write or tell your witness stories or thoughts on evangelism to the Focus editor.
 
 

  Bible Society News
 
 

Reaching the Untouchables
In India, home to one billion people, Scripture Selections are popular among the predominantly Hindu population and the Bible Society of India receives many letters of gratitude, like this one:
 "Thank you for sending the booklet ? I am very much interested in knowing more about Jesus. Friends and family oppose me but I am reading the booklet you have sent and I am really encouraged. It is comforting me, despite disappointments and discouragement."
Attacks on Christians by Hindu fundamentalists in recent years have increased. Revd Parmar, Secretary of the Gujarat Auxiliary of the Bible Society of India, explained, "Growing numbers of Indians are turning to Christ. This makes the Hindu communities nervous. They feel threatened. But we are not trying to convert Hindus, we are trying to reach the people that the Hindus have always kept at arm's length, namely the 'untouchables', the despised. A casteless person who comes to Christ sees himself in a new way. He straightens his back, gaining self-confidence, self-respect and zest for life. Why shouldn't he? Jesus loves him!"
 

Making the Bible Heard in Prisons ? Sanda's Story
Rahova prison in Romania is home to more than 2,000 prisoners, including 200 women. It is also the site of a pilot project run by the Bible Society to provide mini libraries of Scriptures, including Bibles, Selections and other Christian literature for 15,000 cells in 50 state prisons. The Bible Society also plans to employ theology students to show inmates how to use the mini libraries and teach them about Christianity.
Sanda relates:  "In prison I felt lost. When I was young, I used to read the Bible as if it were a novel. In prison, where I no longer benefited from physical freedom, I once more started searching for spiritual freedom. Seven months after being incarcerated, I finally opened the Bible and started to read, but I was afraid because I had committed so many sins. I read, and as I did, I discovered many truths that made me feel ashamed. But at the same time, I felt an inner light that I had not felt before and so I went on reading.
"The first thing I will do when I'm released will be to go to church to thank God for helping me overcome the pain and suffering I have been through in my life. I can face tomorrow because of God. I know that when I am free again things will not be easy, but I have hope in God and know that I will overcome the obstacles and the shame of having been in prison.
"I have really welcomed the Bible Society's programme here. I often come across prisoners who have never read the Bible or have only seen its cover. I always tell them that they should read it when they are feeling sad or lost because they will find freedom and inner peace on its pages."

Where are you now?

Two weeks into September and holiday-time is coming to an end. Were you able to get away for a "break" this year? WINNIE and LAURIE REED managed a week in Sidmouth in July and are in Shanklin as I write this.  Winnie still needs the reassurance of an arm or hand to hold when she is outdoors and, although she can now see to read indoors, still has difficulty focussing when she goes out.  Please pray that she will soon be fully recovered from the stroke she had in March.

How time flies!  It doesn't seem to me like 50 years since my brother JIM was married to JEAN CRADDOCK at Tottenham Baptist Church, but 5th September 1953 was the date!  To celebrate their Golden Wedding they had a long weekend in Torquay, where they spent their honeymoon.  They now live at Ickenham, Middlesex.

Some of our older readers will remember JOHN and WILLA SYRATT? John was our Church Secretary for a while.  They have been retired for some time and have recently moved from Hertfordshire to Halstead in Essex, where they are nearer to their daughter RUTH.  We wish them well in their new home. (I wondered whether the name of the house influenced their choice it's called "The Old Chapel"!)
 

  "In essentials unity,
          in non-essentials liberty,
                  in all things charity"

Lena Starling

 PRAYER CALENDAR for OCTOBER 2003

Your word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path
Psalm 119 v.106

Pray for or about:
Wednesday 1st The meeting with Revd Malcolm Drummond
Thursday 2nd Give thanks for safe arrival of baby Martijn to Louise and Jaap
Friday 3rd Give thanks for the beautiful past Summer
Saturday 4th Children's Day at Wesley Chapel / BB & GB Bugle Band and Gymnastic Team
Sunday 5th Come to the Lords Table with thankful hearts
Monday 6th Give thanks for a good harvest of all crops this year
Tuesday 7th Deacons and Revd Collins as they discuss Church matters
Wednesday 8th People attending Baptismal Classes
Thursday 9th Past Ministers and wives
Friday 10th Belinda and other Officers at Exec. Meetings at Didcot
Saturday 11th All Teachers, Officers and Helpers at rededication tomorrow
Sunday 12th 176th Church Anniversary and Baptismal Service conducted by Revd Collins
Monday 13th Pastoral Care Team
Tuesday 14th Special Church Meeting
Wednesday 15th Revd Collins and all attending Prayer and Bible Study
Thursday 16th John and Maria Dyer our link missionaries in Brazil
Friday 17th Home Mission Fund and Task Force
Saturday 18th BB & GB National Day at Legoland, Windsor
Sunday 19th Bring your petitions to the Lord and give thanks
Monday 20th Thanks for new members at TBC
Tuesday 21st Your local MP and Councillors
Wednesday 22nd Future plans for our Church
Thursday 23rd Thanks for Janette and all she does for our young people
Friday 24th Miss Maddison, Officers and Boys at BB
Saturday 25th Training at Twickenham for GB Officers
Sunday 26th Visiting speaker(s) for today
Monday 27th Miss Persson and her past playing on organ and piano
Tuesday 28th Thanks for Val Paskell and her musical talents
Wednesday 29th Christian Jews and their witness
Thursday 30th BMS and Home Mission who support many churches
Friday 31st Halloween-- For all attending the Light Party

I obey your teachings; I love them with all my heart.
Psalm 119 v.167

PRAYER CALENDAR for NOVEMBER2003

Listen to my prayer,
and save me according to your promise!

Psalm 119 v.170
 

Prey for or about:

Saturday 1st For families who have lost anyone in war
Sunday 2nd Come to Communion with love and thanks
Monday 3rd Louise and Jaap and all Music Group members
Tuesday 4th Moderator and Deacons as they meet tonight
Wednesday 5th All emergency services and safety at firework displays
Thursday 6th That more young people will come to Brigades and Sunday School
Friday 7th Remember the thousands who have given their lives in the past
Saturday 8th All on parade tomorrow
Sunday 9th Everyone attending Remembrance Services anywhere
Monday 10th Thanks for Mr Paskell our Treasurer and Deacon
Tuesday 11th For all Lay Preachers and the Association
Wednesday 12th Jose our Editor of Focus
Thursday 13th Give thanks for Miss Starling and all she did for Focus and the garden
Friday l4th All folk receiving eye surgery treatment and the surgeons
Saturday 15th LV Christian Education Fellowship Training morning
Sunday 16th Come to Communion to give thanks to God
Monday 17th Thanks for Dial-a-Ride for the elderly
Tuesday 18th Church Members AGM and matters to be discussed
Wednesday 19th All attending prayer Meeting and Bible Study
Thursday 20th GB Officers, Helpers and Girls at Brigade
Friday 21st Christian Police Association who witness while they work
Saturday 22nd Stephen Turner and young boys playing football
Sunday 23rd Visiting speaker(s) for today
Monday 24th Christians who suffer persecution because of their faith
Tuesday 25th Anyone needing Radio or Chemo Therapy
Wednesday 26th Mr Perrin and Mark and all they do for TBC
Thursday 27th Various Countries of the world represented in our Church
Friday 28th BB evening, Officers and Boys
Saturday 29th All Members of Church and any visitors tomorrow
Sunday 30th One parent families and children concerned
 

Always be ready to help me,
because I follow your commands.

Psalm 119 v.173
 
 
 

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