Latest news from Andrea and Mark, MBC’s BMS partners in Chad
Here’s the latest communication from Andrea and Mark Hotchkin, our BMS Partners in Chad.
This is actually a rough screenshot of their message – you can access and download a much clearer pdf copy by clicking HERE News from Romania – family support, youth camps and student bursaries are just three of the many initiatives MBC’s Romania Support Group champions
As part of MBC’s continuing involvement in Romania, earlier this year we were pleased to be able to send the following support totaling £4,500 to the churches we are linked with there. They are:
Manastur Church Cluj: Family Support £500, Young People’s Camps £500 and student bursaries £500. Other Initiatives in Cluj: Nicu children support £500, Gypsy Church Pastor £500 and the Gypsy Church Floresti £250. Cserefalva / Udvarhely/ Vlahita shared £1,250 and VIA Church Cluj £500.
Huge thanks to everyone here at MBC for enabling us, the Romania Support Group, to support this work.
We have also received the following letter from Zsuzsi and Andor Ferko both of whom are ministers at the main church in the Hungarian speaking town of Udvarhely (Hungarian name) or Odorhei Secuiesc Romanian name) in central Romania. Some of you will recall that Andor and Zsuzsi spent a year with us here in Leeds and Zsuszi is the daughter of pastor Noemi.
Dear Moortown Baptist Church, Romania Group, our friends and our English family!
We would like to greet you with the word of God: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
With your love and mission and help we could organise the camp for the youth this year also. We were in Lokod, between 2-6 of August. There were 64 young people in the camp. From this 11 students as we started a new student bible study group and they came for volunteering in the camp. It was a great help for us and also for the youth so that they could see that even when you are older and you are studying in a different town or country, God is still part of your life wherever you go. We asked them to share their faith and how they met God. It was very powerful because not just the pastors shared God’s word.
Every day we had two evangelisation led by the pastors, we had worship, many team building games, camp fire, we had an excursion to a nice cave and after that we ate fish and chips.
There was an opportunity for the youth for pastoral care and counselling. I was amazed how many young people used the opportunity. I was very happy that God also in this camp used my pastoral care studies (here this is not a common thing). I was thinking also and I am very-very grateful for how God used you in shaping my future. Thank you very much!
During the pastoral care, many youth came and I was shocked how many serious problems they have like abuse, family alcohol problems, parents are not attentive enough, they do guarding. The world is giving them so much false teaching and we have a week when they come and we can evangelise them. That is why it is so important to keep the camps and we are so grateful to you all that we can do this. There are many families who struggle financially especially now and it is a great help for them the support what you give.
From your gift we gave 350 Pound to the camp. We supported the students who came for help so that they don’t have to pay their whole costs. They were helping us a lot and their presence was a great gift for us. We also helped those who were not able to pay. We gave 200 Pound to the small church in Vlahita as they are struggling very much to stay alive.
God bless you richly! We are very-very grateful for all your help and support. We keep you all the whole church in our prayers. We miss you a lot and looking forward to see you!
We send our love and blessings to you all! May God in His richness bless you with all you need, keep you safe and in faith.
Zsuzsi and Andor
Encounters: I can see clearly. Mark 10 and Mark 8. Jane Coates’ “first person” take on two sight miracles
Bartimaeus of Jericho. I live in Jericho. I spend my days sitting by the roadside, unable to work or provide for myself. It is lonely by the roadside, but I have learned to listen carefully, to read the mood of passers-by and to know if they will help or ignore the blind man begging at their feet. I have learned to listen to the crowds, to the children with their games, to the mothers scolding or singing to their children. I have also heard tales of the Teacher Jesus, the Jesus of Nazareth who people called the son of David and who they hope will be the One to save Israel.
I will never forget the day it happened. On that day there would be a breakthrough in my life that I could never have thought possible. Let me tell you how it happened. I was begging by the roadside as usual when I heard the noise of a very large crowd. Someone shouted across to me that it was Jesus of Nazareth and His followers on their way out of the city. So, I started to shout out for help. “Son of David, have mercy on me!” I got louder and louder. “Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd tried to shut me up. They told me to stop, to leave the roadside. They would have kicked me into silence if they could have. But I shouted even more and called out even more loudly. I would not be silenced. I would not be rebuked or held back.
He had such a gentle voice. I heard Him say “Call him.” He had heard my cries and called for me. I was helped up to my feet and throwing off my cloak I was directed into the presence of Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” He asked. My words were brief. “Rabbi, I want to see.” He simply said, “Go, your faith has saved you.”
It was instant, dramatic, life changing. I saw the crowd. I saw the face of Jesus, the Teacher, the One who had healed me and at that moment I made the decision to leave everything and to follow Him.
The man of Bethsaida. I live in Bethsaida. One thing that you should know about me is that I am blind and so I depend on others to lead and to help. One day, news spread in the town, with great excitement, that Jesus, the healer was travelling through with His disciples. He had been this way before and so His reputation had gone before Him. The news was now out there and could not be silenced. My friends had heard of this Jesus and were determined to get me to Him. “Surely He will heal you” they said, “as He has healed others”. So, they almost dragged me out of my home, leading me hurriedly to the Healer. They brought me before Him and pleaded with Him, begged Him, urging Him to consider my situation and to show mercy and to heal. What happened next was strange beyond words.
The Healer gently took hold of my arm and carefully led me out of the town to a quiet place, away from prying eyes. I am used to this kind of help, but His hand, His touch was different- gentle, sensitive, loving. What happened next was even stranger, almost bizarre and totally unexpected- a shock really. I was aware of Him spitting on my eyes and gently touching them. Then He asked me “do you see anything?” Things at first seemed to be blurred, unclear, hazy and indistinct. Once again, He touched my eyes and as I looked intently into the far distance I could see clearly, perfectly and the realization of what had just happened began to dawn on me. I could see men. I could see clearly. And I could see Jesus. But the strangeness continued as He told me not to go straight back to town. “Do not enter the village,” He said. I believe that He did not want me to immediately broadcast what had just happened to me. But surely within days the news would spread? How could I keep this quiet?
Thoughts
It was after this event that Jesus took His disciples to one side and asked them some very significant and searching questions. “Who do people say I am?” and then “Who do you say I am?” Jesus. I believe that He was asking them to deeply consider what kind of Christ they thought Him to be. What was their understanding of Jesus as Saviour or Messiah, and could they understand the nature of the suffering that He would encounter?
Often, I lose sight of Jesus. I don’t have my eyes fixed on Him. Quite often my vision is blurred, out of focus or just short sighted. Like the man of Bethsaida, I need to look intently, carefully and to keep looking. I need to see Jesus for who He is and to keep Him in my sights. The Message version puts it this way. “The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight, saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus”. v 26
May we have Jesus in twenty-twenty focus and follow Him.
Jane Coates The Body: many parts, many talents, one Lord – new series starts 11am, Sunday 12th September
Dear friends
I write to you at the end of a week that began with the Hebrew New Year. It began at sundown on the 6th September and usually starts with the blowing of a shofar, the ram’s horn, which is meant to ‘wake up the people from their slumber’. Whilst in Lancaster, I used to be part of a church that did just that every Rosh Hashanah and my sister and I had a go at blowing the ram’s horn with varying degrees of success! It marks a new season of carrying out good deeds of hope, whilst saying sorry about mistakes made in the past year in giving them to God. I’ll be including some of this in our talk on Sunday which will introduce a new theme. It’s not totally brand new as you’ll see, as we want to continue with what we think God is saying to us all. So from being Devoted, looking at the story of David and ending with some focus on spiritual battles, we move on to combine all this in ‘Building the Body’.
Here are the key readings and themes over the next few weeks. You might want to look ahead, follow them yourself, with one other or in a group. We’ll be looking for people who might want to join in leading some of this over the next few weeks so do let myself or the ILT know if you want to pray, read or lead something else. Or if you want to help facilitate a gathering by welcoming people for example. We’ll be looking to make the theme as accessible as possible to all ages and experiences so feel free to share your thoughts in a creative way.
PLEASE JOIN US FOR ANY OR ALL OF THESE SERVICES AT 11am IN CHURCH EACH SUNDAY OR YOU CAN WATCH THEM LIVE, AT HOME, ON MBC’s YOUTUBE CHANEL.
Date: 12th September
Title: Christ the Head of the Body
Reading: Colossians 1:15-23
Date: 19th September
Title: Unity in the Body
Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16
Date: 26th September
Title: Our head Part 1 – The Tongue
Reading: James 3:1-12
Date: 3rd October
Title: Our head Part 2 – The Eyes
Reading: Matthew 6:19-24
Date: 10th October
Title: Our head Part 3 – The Mind
Reading: Romans 12:1-8
Date: 17th October
Title: Our heart
Reading: Proverbs 4:20-27
Date: 24th October
Title: Our hands
Reading: Mark 10:35-45
Date: 31st October
Title: Our feet
Reading: Isaiah 52:1-12
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5
In Christ
Shelley
New life, even after the most savage pruning
On a recent visit to York Garden at Adel one of our members took this picture. It’s of a yew tree that not long ago had been cut back right to the ground.
It hardly needs a caption; suffice to say that no matter how savage a gardener prunes away the old, provided what’s left is rooted in fertile soil new life will grow.
Sunday 5th September – MBC in church and on line
ROAD CLOSURES – SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 5th
This coming Sunday, the 5th of September, the Leeds Half Marathon will once again be passing MBC. However, for obvious reasons unlike in previous years we won’t be handing out sweets and drinks. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the fact that at the time of our morning Service the chosen route means that Meanwood Road, from the centre of Leeds to Waitrose junction, Stonegate Road between Meanwood and the King Lane roundabout and King Lane down to the Ring Road will all be closed to traffic. Please be aware of these closures and plan your journey accordingly.
At the Service, which will begin in church at 11am (and all being well will be streamed live on our YouTube channel) we will be taking a look back over the last few weeks and asking what we may have learned from the exploits of David, a truly remarkable person who from being a rosy cheeked, giant killing shepherd boy went on to be the man God chose to head up a “house and a kingdom that shall endure forever.”
Encounters, the Good Samaritan, Luke 10. Another of Jane Coates’ superbly crafted Monday morning thoughts
Perhaps I was foolish for being a solitary traveller on that mountain road, but my journey was urgent. The attack, when it happened was brutal, shocking and I lost everything that I had including my clothing. I was left for dead with no means of identification, little chance of discovery or help. Although barely conscious I was aware of two people who had passed on the road without stopping. I was frightened for my life, fearing that it would end here, battered, abandoned and alone. But then my rescue came and from someone who would be regarded as my enemy, the ‘other’, the outcast, the infidel, the foreigner and the despised one. It was life-saving compassion. He had no regard for my ‘otherness’, my tribe, status, religious connection or observance. He dealt with my wounds and made plans for my care. The Injured
When I saw the tangled mess of flesh and blood how could I turn away and not stop to help? Here was a desperate man struggling with injuries that could cause his death. His identity, status, racial group became irrelevant. At that point, he became my neighbour, my family, my brother – a relationship not defined by any normal boundaries – but by his sheer need. I had the means to help him. The risk to my own life on that road was hopefully small. I knew the road, the Inn and I had the means to help. The Inn keeper knew that I am a man of my word and that I would be good for the money when I next returned. My heart stirred and action followed. The Rescuer
Thoughts
The Samaritan offered a costly compassion. He could have acted out of fear and so taken no action but to move along, considering his own safety. But he did not act out of fear. He acted out of compassion for ‘the other’. It was scary, involved physical effort and energy, was financially costly, took initiative, planning, promises and assurances.
“Who is my neighbour?” My neighbour may be one to whom I would least expect to be a neighbour. Jesus changed the question round completely to “what does a neighbour do?” Jesus showed a very clear picture of what a neighbour does. His final words are “Go and do likewise” further reinforcing the message “Do this and you will live”. May we never act out of fear but always out of love.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9 v 36
Pray Our Afghan neighbours are experiencing acute distress and terror. Afghan Christians are vulnerable and fleeing to the hills to hide as escape routes out of Afghanistan are closed to them. There is the constant fear of being reported to the Taliban. Women, and girls over the age of twelve, avoid going out on to the streets. Those who worked for NATO and western countries may be left behind as the August 31 deadline approaches and evacuation concludes. Families who are re-settled in the west face dramatic adjustments to their circumstances, culture and language. We pray for compassion and practical care for those in Afghanistan and those who are re-settled in a new life in western countries.
Jane Coates – Monday 30th August
ENGAGE with BMS World Mission
Kosovo, Peru, Mozambique and Uganda are just four of the countries that feature in the latest edition of the BMS World Mission magazine, ENGAGE. Filled with news and comment from some of the army of BMS workers who are spread out across four continents ENGAGE is available free of charge through the post or on line.
To sign up for your regular copy go to www.bmsworldmission.org, call 01235 517700 or speak with Roger Robson, MBC’s missions link. Roger also has details of several other support initiatives that you can register for.
Thank you.
Sunday August 29th – David’s focus. 1 Samuel Ch 17, verse 46
This Sunday we reach the penultimate week our theme on David and Goliath and we will be looking at ‘The Right Focus.’
Join us in church from 10.30am for Sunday Café, which includes a Facebook stream at 10.45am hosted by Jan Fennell and then, with the addition of a live “sermon” we will watch our YouTube playlist which has kindly been put together by Adam Argyle.
If, however, you cannot make it to the building you can watch all this from the comfort of your home. The links you will need are Facebook live for the welcome and MBC’s YouTube playlist for the prerecorded material.