Reflecting on the impact you made possible

In 2023 we launched the Thailand Spring appeal and were completely blown away by your generous giving. Because of you, lives across South Thailand have been transformed. You’ve empowered people to pursue their dreams, much like Thew and Suree with their new food stall selling fried chicken and sticky rice. You’ve equipped individuals like Ajarn Arreat to answer the call God has on their lives – Ajarn is one of our newest BMS-supported workers, and she’s faithfully dedicated herself to helping run the church in the village of Ban Dara. Most importantly, you’ve partnered in helping people discover how deep God’s love for them truly is, restoring and healing them. When Helen and Wit Boondekhun first arrived in Thailand over five years ago, there were no churches or believers in the region. Thanks to you, there are now three blossoming churches in the surrounding area, and the church in Wang Daeng is in the process of building a new church site, as they’ve outgrown their current one!

It’s been a season of change for the Guinebor II (G2) Hospital in Chad. We waved goodbye to the Shrubsole, Chilvers and Spears families, who are leaving the G2 in the capable hands of Chadian staff and BMS mission workers Claire Bedford and Kalbassou Doubassou. The hospital has also installed new solar panels to replace the dirty and expensive diesel generators that it relied on for electricity during power cuts. Your donations provided 25 per cent of the funds for the solar panels, and we are so grateful for your generosity. BMS mission workers and Chadian staff at G2 and Bardaï hospitals would not be able to care for the sick and share Christ’s love without your prayers and support.

Barbara loves her children and wants them grow up happy and healthy. But drought and companies that force farmers to sell at low prices mean that she can’t always afford to pay school fees for her children. Your support for Days of Plenty, the BMS Harvest Appeal for 2023, helped Barbara avoid exploitative middlemen by selling her crops through the co-operative Cek Cam. She also received seeds and agricultural training from BMS partners. Now she can afford to send her children to school and train other women on how to kick-start an abundant harvest. You can learn more about Barbara’s story by checking out the video above!

At the end of the year, you joined us in praying for COP28, the United Nation’s annual climate conference, hosted in the United Arab Emirates. Sahara told us about how Nepalese women are bearing the brunt of natural disasters and Susan in Uganda shared about how conflict over scarce water is causing domestic violence. You also faithfully prayed for our gender justice champions and joined in with 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. Your dedicated prayers help BMS partners come alongside women in faith and action as they both steward God’s beautiful creation, and boldly champion gender justice in their communities.

War broke out this autumn in Israel-Gaza, and in Armenia. It was tragic to watch these conflicts unfold on our TV screens, but your prayers and generous giving do make a difference. Our partners in the Middle East and Europe are deeply grateful for your prayers, and your support is helping displaced Armenians rebuild their lives. We would also like to thank you for how you gave so generously after earthquakes struck Türkiye and Syria, Afghanistan and Nepal. Your prayers and donations meant that communities received the food, shelter and mental health support that they need in the aftermath of disaster.

Thank you so much for the difference you’ve made in 2023. Without your generous giving, faithful prayers and dedicated volunteering, our work would not be possible. As 2024 begins, you can be sure that your support will help even more people across the world hear the good news about Jesus and experience fullness of life through Christ.

Words by Chris Manktelow and Ed Axtell
BMS World Mission