Good World News

Good World News:

God is still at work

It’s easy to despair at the state of the world right now, which is why we wanted to remind you that God is still at work in powerful ways. We checked in with Ben Drabble, who heads up our Supporter Care Team, in his home office, to see what good news he has to share from our partners and projects around the globe. Turns out, God is doing some amazing things – and in many of them, he’s chosen to work through you!

Want some good news? Check out this video!

Download this video and share it with your church!

1. Baptisms in Bangladesh

Earlier this year, we found out that up to 80 people are preparing to be baptised in Bangladesh, thanks to BMS World Mission partner the Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha. That’s 80 people who will be accepting the love of Jesus into their lives! Your support and prayers for our work in Bangladesh have made this possible.

These are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you’re part of their story. If that’s not good news, we don’t know what is!

Up to 80 people were baptised recently in Bangladesh
30,000 face masks were sewn in Mozambique

2. Coronavirus global response

BMS supporters have given over £200,000 to our Coronavirus appeal to help people around the world in the fight against Covid-19. We are so thankful for your incredible generosity!
Here are a few ways your support has made an incredible difference in more than 22,000 lives during the Coronavirus pandemic:

  • You’ve enabled women in Mozambique to sew a whopping 30,000 face masks! All these masks will go to Maputo General Hospital and will be used to curb the spread of the virus.
  • You’ve supported the creation of a satellite hospital in Bardaï, Chad, built on the site of a disused police station. You’ve helped purchase specialist equipment, refurbish the police station, and fix up the water supply.
  • You’ve helped provide food parcels, hygiene products and PPE to people across the world, from Peru to Sri Lanka, Tunisia to Nepal.

If you want to find out more about what your support has achieved, visit our Coronavirus news page to stay updated.

3. Solidarity Sunday

Churches across the UK held Solidarity Sunday services via Zoom and other online platforms back in May! It was so amazing to see UK Christians joining together in prayer for the global Coronavirus response, and we’re so thankful for everyone who took part. You’ve played a real part in saving and protecting lives.

And if you didn’t get a chance to hold a Solidarity Sunday service in May, all the resources you’ll need to hold one are still on our website. Check them out today!

4. Resources for your church

We’ve made it possible for you to request a member of the BMS Speaker Team to join your online service, whether that’s a passionate Speaker Team volunteer, a member of our UK staff team with behind-the-scenes insights or one of our mission workers straight from the frontline! If you want to hear stories from the heart of mission, contact Carolyn Ogi, our Church Engagements Administrator, on 01235 517631 to request a BMS Speaker today!

We’ve also got tons of brilliant resources you can use in your church service, whether you’re keeping things online or beginning to move things back to your church building. From inspiring sermons and video messages from mission workers, to  PowerPoints to guide your prayer for the world, we’ve got a resource that will work for your church. Find them all right here.

PowerPoint slide with the text "Join Christians across the UK to pray for the global Covid-19 Coronavirus response"

5. Operation: Chad is coming!

Operation: Chad, our 2020 Harvest appeal, is coming!

We’ll be transporting you to Guinebor II hospital in Chad, and we can’t wait to share stories of the incredible staff there who dedicate their lives to providing healthcare in a country with 1 doctor for every 25,000 people! Stay tuned for updates on how you can join Operation: Chad very soon!

Thank you so much for all of your support for BMS World Mission over these last few months. You are a crucial member of the BMS community – and we hope that this instalment of Good World News helps you to remember that! Don’t forget to download the video and share it with your church!

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Words and video by Laura Durrant.

BMS Coronavirus world response

BMS Coronavirus world response

You are playing a key role in the global response to the Covid-19 Coronavirus through your support of BMS World Mission. 

Supporting this

Coronavirus has changed the world – and every one of us has been affected. Yet, while the pandemic threatened to disrupt our local and international bonds, you have been standing with your brothers and sisters across the globe and saving lives.  

You have been at the heart of the global Baptist Coronavirus response through your support of the BMS Coronavirus appeal. As of November 2020, you have helped more than 36,000 people, in 24 countries, across four continents. You have so far donated more than £288,000 to help thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people survive this pandemic.  

And, with your support, BMS will continue to respond for as long as help is needed. 

The impact of your gifts has been experienced by people in countries across the globe, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chad, Colombia, Greece, Mozambique, Nepal, Peru, South Sudan and Yemen. You have kept hospitals running, fed the hungry, counselled the fearful, prayed with the isolated, healed the sick and helped to stop the spread. 

Coronavirus global response: you helped more than 36,000 people

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted every single one of us, and many of our global neighbours do not have access to the health and social care systems we are blessed with here in the UK. You have chosen to make a difference to tens of thousands of these people through your generous giving. Thank you for sacrificially choosing to help others when things in your own life may have felt uncertain. 

BMS is continuing to accept financial gifts to support the global Christian Covid-19 Coronavirus response. Visit the BMS Coronavirus appeal page if you would like support this critical work. 

Most of our mission workers and partners remain in their countries of service, following social distancing measures and continuing to bring hope and help in the communities to which they are called. We are so thankful for your ongoing support for all of our team and our work across the globe. 

Image of a cross stopping dominoes falling and text 'You can help. Visit the BMS appeal now. Coronavirus appeal.'
Go to the appeal

Our local response

BMS UK staff continue to work from home wherever possible. Our commitment to churches and supporters remains as great as ever, so you will continue to enjoy resources, hear updates and receive news about your part in God’s work around the world.

If you need to get in touch with us, you can give us a call, drop us an email, or write to us using these contact details. We want to do everything possible to support you and your church family at this time.

BMS workers on home assignment are following Government guidelines and continuing to share stories of their work with UK churches through virtual speaking engagements. BMS Speakers are also available for virtual visits. If you would like a mission worker or BMS Speaker to ‘visit’ your church, please contact Meg by emailing mchester@bmsworldmission.org  on phoning 01235 517631.

BMS Coronavirus response

This is what we have achieved, together: 

  • Kept hospitals running in Nepal by providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff and contributing to hospital running costs 
  • Provided emergency food parcels for vulnerable families in Sri Lanka 
  • Provided food and hygiene parcels to people with little to no daily income in Nepal 
  • Enabled the BMS-supported Guinebor II hospital to continue saving lives in Chad, safely 
  • Counselled frontline workers, Coronavirus patients and affected families in Afghanistan, as well as providing PPE. Averting suicides and spreading positive key messages across the country 
  • Helped slow the spread in Mozambique by providing soap and handwashing guidance to thousands of children and teachers 
  • Provided food parcels and basic PPE to at-risk families in Albania 
  • Supported the provision of medical care in Yemen
  • Enabled pastors to continue supporting their communities (which had been impacted by Covid-19 and Cyclone Idai) through the provision of phone credit in Mozambique 
  • Improved food security in northern Uganda through the provision of seeds
  • Set up a Covid-19 hospital in northern Chad, providing the initial equipment and medicines needed 
  • Provided food parcels and soap to vulnerable families in Bangladesh 
  • Delivered food parcels and basic hygiene items to struggling families in Tunisia
  • Supported preschool education in Mozambique by supplying workbooks for children and support for teachers 
  • Provided food parcels for vulnerable families in Peru 
  • Distributed more than 28,000 meals to people struggling to find work in India 
  • Provided food and basic hygiene items for struggling families in western Uganda 
  • Provided face masks and food parcels for health centres in Mozambique 
  • Helped provide food and hygiene supplies for those struggling in Lebanon 
  • Provided face masks for refugees living in Lesvos, Greece 
  • Provided food supplies for struggling refugees in Turkey 
  • Provided small grants and training for people to re-start and strengthen businesses in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru 
  • Provided food and medical support for vulnerable families through churches in Palestine 
  • Provided food and raised awareness of Coronavirus in Nigeria 
  • Provided food parcels in South Sudan 
  • And more! 
Outside a Chadian hospital.
Your support is enabling crucial temperature screening at a BMS-supported hospital in Chad.

Thank you for your continued support

The actions of faithful Christians like you are even more important in times like these, as we seek to do more to fight the threat to life, health and wellbeing posed by the Coronavirus pandemic. We ask that you continue to pray for the world as it responds to Covid-19. Here are some prayer points to guide your prayers, which you can download and share with your church family. Please feel free to download the prayer points PDF and email or message it to your fellowship or small group. 

  • Pray for the response to the virus around the world. Pray that God will enable the work of our partners to continue where possible, and that our workers who are actively fighting the virus will remain healthy.
  • Pray for our mission workers and UK staff. Pray for those who have travelled back to the UK, that they are able to continue their crucial work remotely.
  • Pray for people spending time in quarantine or self-isolation. Pray that they might receive the support they need, and that they might stay safe. Praise God for the commitment of those in voluntary isolation, that they will play a real part in slowing the spread of the virus.
  • Pray for governments and world leaders globally. Pray that the Lord will bless them with wisdom and that they will make proactive decisions that will benefit their countries, and the global community.
  • Pray that God will slow the spread of the virus. Pray in the name of Jesus that those who are ill will be healed and pray that God will bless the work of the people and organisations who are working on a treatment. Please pray especially for the medical workers around the world who are risking their own health to treat the most vulnerable. Pray that they will stay healthy and that their work will be fruitful.
Support the global Coronavirus response
Download the prayer points

Prayer resources

In addition to the prayer resources available below, we have a wide range of video updates from our workers and other resources to help your church engage with the global response to Coronavirus.

Visit our online church resources page to download these copyright free for your recorded or live online service.

Take me to the online church resources page

The most dramatic day

Sahel surgeons:

The most dramatic day

Supporting this

Truckloads of injured fighters. Surgeons donating blood. Chicken pies for tea. All in a day’s work for BMS World Mission workers in the Sahel, Andrea and Mark.

Oh my goodness, these guys. The things they see. The help they give. They’re amazing. And inspiring. And deserving of your support. If you don’t know them, let us introduce you.

Andrea and Mark Hotchkin are BMS medical workers in Bardai, in the northern part of Chad, and they are some of our favourite people. They are experienced and highly skilled surgeons who are living in a two-room dwelling in one of the most remote locations BMS works. They sleep on the floor (in sleeping bags to keep out the scorpions). They have an outdoor loo and washing area. And they are, as you will see a little bit later, magnificently understated about the work they do and the situations they face.

A man and a woman outside a hut in the desert.

Take their latest prayer letter. Andrea and Mark work in a Government hospital, alongside dedicated Chadian staff, building capacity and raising community trust in what is an important medical centre in this part of the Sahel region of North Africa. Lately, they have been dealing with some of the fallout from the conflict in the Sahel that you may have read about. It’s pretty intense and dramatic, but Andrea and Mark open their latest prayer letter with characteristic calm:

Since the start of the year we have been using a morning prayer from the Corrymeela Community:

May we make room for the unexpected, may we find wisdom and life in the unexpected. We recall our day yesterday: May we learn, may we love, may we live on. Help us to respond graciously to disappointment.

It helps us reflect on our lives, the joys and the difficulties of each day, and the fact that it is often through relationships with others that we can truly live and encounter God. So on Friday the 21 February we prayed that we may make room for the unexpected, whilst at the same time hoping for a normal day’s work before expecting a quiet weekend as we have been exceptionally busy over the past 2 months and just needed a bit of rest.

A desert sunset.

So far, so just-the-same-as-most-of-our-Fridays, right? Wrong.

At one o’clock, three military pickups arrived without warning from the local airstrip. They had 11 badly injured fighters who had been evacuated by helicopter from a gold field 300 km (a day’s drive) to the North on the Libyan frontier. The battle had been a couple of days before, we had heard some news, but as such things are quite frequent and often we get two or three self-referred casualties at a time, we hadn’t thought much about it. Thankfully, a couple of weeks before, we had opened a new seven-bed ward (that had been used before as a storeroom), so the two patients in there were moved next door and the room filled. Four extra beds were added when it became clear that they were needed. It sounds efficient, it wasn’t; but amazingly it was possible.

Casual. Three trucks full of wounded fighters show up without warning. You beat yourself up about the efficiency of your bed-moving. These guys are incredible. And helping people who are in real trouble. Like this:

There was one teenager in shock with a bullet wound to his abdomen and another with a bullet wound puncturing the lung and paralysed from the waist down. The rest had a mixture of open fractures of legs and arms caused by bullets and closed fractures of leg, chest and pelvis from being hit by armoured vehicles. All had received no treatment or dressings since they were injured three days before. Where to begin? The entire hospital staff sprang into action, all six of us: two Chadian doctors, two Chadian nurses and us.

A hospital in a desert.

Wait, what? Six people? Yes. Because BMS sends people where they are needed most, rather than where it’s easiest, and we send them to work alongside the people already making a difference. Chad has fewer than 500 doctors to serve a population of 11 million people, and places near the Libyan border really need medical capacity. The Chadians working there are real heroes, and Andrea and Mark are proud to work with them. And work they do…

We needed fluids for resuscitation, antibiotics, anti-tetanus serum, pain killers and dressings in large amounts. The hospital administrator who is currently running the pharmacy had never seen anything like it. Fortunately, we have boxes for major surgical emergencies from the Ministry of Health: drugs, dressings, stitches and swabs all in a big box. Soon everyone was pulling together and an unexpected four nurses came from the small military clinic to help to assess and treat the patients. An emergency chest drain was put in, saline drips started and everyone was assessed, wounds dressed and notes made. The first patient with an open fracture was operated on, the second with maggots in his wound had drunk a litre of juice supplied by the local community (along with blankets and food the next day) and the patient with an abdominal injury was vomiting as he too hadn’t been able to resist a drink. At that moment, four hours after the first casualties, a second convoy arrived with twelve more patients, about half walking wounded and the rest with bad fractures.

Six people stand in a hospital ward.

That’s right. More. But did the amazing mix of British and Chadian staff panic? No. Or maybe yes. We don’t know. What we do know is that they just got on with it and did what was necessary.

A second ward was cleared and, as first treatments were being given, we took the man with the abdominal wound and peritonitis to theatre as he now had a palpable pulse and measurable blood pressure. We have no blood bank but a unit of much needed blood had been given by a mission colleague and very fortunately, a couple of days before, an electrician had fixed the ceiling lights so that we now had six, rather than two bulbs, which, along with our head torches, made up for the fact that the operating lamps are broken. The operation went well, two perforations of the small bowel were removed, and as he was still shocked at the end of the operation, despite Andrea’s best efforts, at midnight I gave him a unit of my blood. And once we had finished cleaning up the operating theatre for the next day’s work and checked on the newly arrived patients, we were ready to walk home.

So, to be clear: operating using head torches and donating your own blood to patients you’ve operated on. No fanfare, no fuss. Just doing what you do. Andrea and Mark and the amazing local people who they work with are an inspiration to us. We hope they are an inspiration to you, too. People who have sacrificed an easier life at home to help people where the need is great, working and living alongside the hard-pressed local heroes who are able to do more because people like you support BMS.

You can support Andrea and Mark regularly Click here

Andrea and Mark wouldn’t be able to be there without your prayers and without your giving. So please pray now for Chad, for peace in the Sahel and for Andrea and Mark, as well as all the staff at this heroic hospital.

A desert sunset.

And here’s our favourite part of this letter form the Hotchkins. The understated cherry on the top of their day of drama:

The final unexpected event of that eventful day was a chicken pie that our mission colleague had dropped off at the hospital for our tea. It was 2 am and we fell asleep with the alarm set for 7 o’clock.

You can support Andrea and Mark by giving regularly or you can make a one-off donation to support this and other life-transforming work around the world. Whatever you do, we are grateful. Thank you for your prayers.

They are the very opposite of ex-pats living the high life, separated from the real lives of the local people they serve. And they experience some of the most intense and challenging situations you can imagine.

Want to help? Click here
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Answers from God

Answers from God

Praying for this

Lives are restored, fellowships flourish, abundant life flows. This is what happens when we speak to God. This is what happens when we pray together.

Mission is powered by prayer. That’s why we encourage you to pray with us, asking God to move mountains overseas and at home. And your prayers have been working in powerful and wonderful ways. Here are just a few stories about how God has been faithful. Thank you for praying.

1. Anointed and far from disappointed

On the road to Macchu Picchu, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, lies a small village called Pisac. BMS-supported Pastor Amilcar is planting a church against a backdrop of the majestic Andes mountains, where local Baptist pastors feel that many don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.

A photo of Pastor Amilcar with an arrow to the mountains of Pisac.
Pastor Amilcar heads up BMS-planted church "El Puente" in Cusco. Now he's gone from the city of Cusco to the mountains to plant a church in the village of Pisac.

Remember when we asked you to pray for Pastor Amilcar? He had also been praying, for a new leader for this new church plant. But as his fellowship was so new, he wasn’t sure any of them felt confident enough to take on a leadership role.

In December, an answer to prayer emerged as a dedicated member, Joseph, expressed an interest in studying God’s Word and becoming a church leader. “The life of a pastor can be really lonely sometimes,” says Pastor Amilcar. “But now I have a partner.” Praise God!

2. Unforgotten in the floods

After floods destroyed homes, crops and livelihoods across Bangladesh last year, we asked you to pray with us for a swift recovery, that food supplies would reach those with the most need. Thanks to your prayers and support, BMS partner Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha (BBCS) was able to supply food parcels in Sreemongal, Manikgonj and Shiragonj and in the Hill Tract area, where mudslides devastated lives. “When we arrived, people said nobody had come to help them,” says John Karmakar, Assistant General Secretary of BBCS. “But BMS quickly sent aid.”

“Most days feel like an answer to prayer!``

We also asked you to pray for BMS workers Louise and Peter Lynch, who work with BBCS and went out to help during the recovery efforts. “The distribution of help and the delight of recipients was very moving,” says Louise. “Most days feel like an answer to prayer!”

A map of Bangladesh highlighting Dhaka and the Hill Tracts area.

Louise and Peter Lynch singing a worship song in Bangla

3. French Connexion

We know that many faithful members of the BMS family in the UK have prayed for more young people in France to be transformed by Jesus’ love since we asked you to remember them. And we’re delighted to report that that is what is happening. French Christian youth camp “Connexion” took off in October with 460 people in attendance! Action Team France, a group of four young people on a BMS gap year, were amongst the volunteers.

Four young people in fancy dress with cakes behind them.
Team France: Hamish Rice, Jennie Lockett, Ruth McCormick and Bridget Turner

The event was all about seeing young people engage with God. “People were surprised to see that we chose to spend our gap year serving God in France, when we could have just gone travelling,” says Hamish. “They were excited to see young mission workers.” The team also led last year’s Christmas service, at the church in Gif-sur-Yvette, where BMS worker Christine Kling is minister. Over a hundred people attended, filling the building to capacity. What an incredible answer to prayer!

4. Bringing the world into churches

We wanted UK churches to hear what their prayer and financial support was achieving directly from the people who were doing the work. But getting visas to visit the UK is not always easy. Sometimes we even doubted whether our workers from Uganda (Benon Kayanja and Genesis Acaye) and Mozambique worker (Carlos Tique Jone) would be allowed to visit churches in this country. So, we prayed. And we asked you to pray.

Three BMS mission workers looking at the camera and smiling.
Three incredible BMS mission workers: Carlos Tique Jone from Mozambique, Benon Kayanja from Uganda and Genesis Acaye, also from Uganda.

We waited months, weeks, without permission for all of our African friends to enter the UK. And then, in God’s time, the visas were granted, and Benon, Carlos and Genesis set off to visit churches across the UK, telling people about the amazing impact they are having through BMS work overseas. “Without you BMS wouldn’t be able to do this work,” says Genesis, who helps farmers get the most from their crops in Uganda. “Really, you are doing the work.” Genesis loves to thank BMS supporters. And we want to join the churches our overseas workers visited in thanking them!

“Thank you so much for bringing Carlos to Park Baptist Church,” says Elizabeth, the BMS representative from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. “He was an inspiration.”

5. The magnificent six

We’ve been asking you to pray for more people to serve in Chad for years, and now, we’re so happy to give you the praise report of six wonderful workers for Guinebor II, a BMS-supported hospital in Chad. Six wonderful people, all serving as long-term BMS workers in this marginalised and under-evangelised country.

With the existing G2 team, they’ll deliver healthcare to 19,000 people a year. Please continue to pray as we urgently need a second surgeon for this busy hospital.

The magnificent six are:
1. Bethan Shrubsole – developmental music therapist
2. Gareth Shrubsole – G2 hospital manager
3. Mel Spears – health specialist
4. Tom Spears – GP
5. Brian Chilvers – nurse
6. Jackie Chilvers – nurse

Three photos of three mission worker couples
Another answer to prayer is actually six answers - six mission workers for Guinebor II mission hospital in Chad.

With the existing G2 team, they’ll deliver healthcare to 19,000 people a year. Please continue to pray as we urgently need a second surgeon for this busy hospital.

Prayer warriors unite!

Want to see even more prayers answered? Join us!
We are so excited to invite you to the annual BMS Day of Prayer on Sunday 9 February. Join us as we pray for BMS projects, partners and mission workers across the world. Whatever your style of prayer, whether using Bible reflections, sung worship, using creative prayer spaces, individually or in a group, we’d love you to join us.

You can find all the BMS Day of Prayer resources you need. Let us know what you’re praying for on Twitter and Facebook. We would find it so encouraging. We’re so grateful for everyone who prays for our work and we know God will do incredible things thanks to you.

Praying for this? Click here
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Words by Melanie Webb.

Top 5 stories of 2019

Top 5 stories of 2019

Supporting this

Your support for BMS World Mission made amazing things happen in 2019. We’ve selected some of our favourite stories of God’s work from this year to show you the powerful things your prayers and giving have achieved. Here’s to God doing incredible things in 2020!

1. Serving in the Sahel

Head and shoulders photo of Claire Bedford

We caught up with the wonderful Claire Bedford, a BMS pharmacist serving at Guinebor II hospital in Chad, to get the low-down on what’s been going on behind the scenes at this busy BMS hospital. Claire shared how things have changed since she moved to Chad in 2016, and some amazing answers to prayer!

Catch up with Claire!

2. Pictures from the frontline: South Sudan’s Refugees in Photos

A South Sudanese farmer stands in the field of corn that he grew using seeds provided by BMS supporters.

These beautiful photos from behind the scenes of our South Sudan’s Conflict Survivors appeal show how your support is empowering South Sudanese refugees to help each other in the wake of a devastating civil war. It’s not too late to stand alongside these incredible people. You can donate today or hold a South Sudan’s Conflict Survivors service.

See the photos

3. The Good Zacchaeus

A woman standing in front of a hut

You wouldn’t expect a mission worker to take money from her neighbours, but BMS worker Laura-Lee Lovering does. Read this story to find out why, and why her local community of La Union, Peru is all the better for it.

Read the story

4. Where Christians dare to tread

A man sat cross-legged in front of a map of Bangladesh and holding a Bible.

“I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me to places where no-one knows of God, and those places get transformed by him.”

Pastor Simon* knows his calling. He delivers messages of Christian hope to those in Muslim communities in Bangladesh – despite the dangers presented by religious extremist groups. Read the full story and find out everything you need to know about Pastor Simon’s incredible faith.

*Name changed.

Be inspired by Pastor Simon

5. Are you sitting comfortably?

We couldn’t round off 2019 without mentioning legendary BMS church planter Ben Francis! We were lucky enough to film him sharing the step by step journey of a believer from ‘seeker’ to ‘disciple maker’ earlier this year. Watch it now and be inspired to share your faith.

Read the story
Even more powerful stories from 2019
  1. The Reel Deal – check out the beautiful photos from our talented cohort of 2018/19 Action Teamers!
  2. Cyclone Idai: Mozambique needs your prayer – we asked you to pray for Mozambique after the devastating cyclones last March – and your response was overwhelming. Thank you!
  3. New Director for Mission appointed – we were blessed to be able to appoint Rev Dr Arthur Brown as our new Director for Mission this year.
  4. The Girl Who Was Hiding – children who can’t see are being empowered in D R Congo thanks to foundations laid by BMS workers.
  5. Breaking Cultural Captivity: How to Mission – at our How to Mission event in July, we learnt from World Church leaders how to conduct God’s mission in our local contexts.

All of this work has been made possible thanks to your prayers and giving. Without your support, we would have nothing to write about! And we wouldn’t be able to share God’s love across the world. If you want to help us continue to do God’s work in 2020, please sign up to be a 24:7 Partner today! It’s the best way to make sure we can be there for the most marginalised when they need it most.

Want to do even more amazing things? Give today
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Words by Laura Durrant.

Serving in the Sahel

Serving in the Sahel

The wonderful Claire Bedford serves as a pharmacist at Guinebor II (G2) hospital in Chad. We caught up with her recently to hear stories of answered prayer, a girl cured of a tumour and God’s provision in one of Africa’s poorest nations!

How have things changed since you first started working at G2 hospital?

It’s amazing that it’s nearly four years ago that I went out to Chad in January of 2016. The hospital itself has changed a lot in four years. We’ve done a lot of building work to improve the infrastructure. We’ve also hired a lot more Chadian staff – we’ve gone from 65 to around 85 staff now, over and above what we had when I first arrived!

Head and shoulders photo of Claire Bedford

That’s so great to hear! Could you tell me a bit more about all the building work that’s been going on?

Thanks to a very generous legacy left to BMS we were able to build a new surgery centre, which opened for use in May 2018. That’s been really beneficial to the hospital as we now have three operating theatres whereas before we only had one, so that means that we can do simultaneous operations. It’s happened in the past that a patient was just about to have their operation start and someone knocked on the door saying that somebody else needed an emergency caesarean section. Fortunately, they hadn’t started the surgery yet, so they were able to switch them over and deliver the baby. It was worrying that that could happen in the middle of a surgery, so it’s really good that we’ve been able to expand how many theatres we’ve got.

You could make a difference just like this.

Claire and her colleagues are able to serve their local community in Chad so much better because one generous person left a gift to BMS in their will. By leaving a legacy to BMS in your will, you can help us change lives in years to come. Click here to find out more.

A group of people in scrubs sit in a room in a hospital.
Claire and her team are able to serve their community so much better thanks to one generous donation.

Following on from that, we converted the old operating theatre into an emergency room and converted the old emergency room into an office for our administrator. After that, we still had some of the legacy money left, so we were able to expand the pharmacy stock room and our lab. All of this has been made possible because of one very generous legacy to BMS. We’re all so grateful, and we really appreciate the generosity of this one donation.

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You’ve obviously got lots of patients coming into the hospital. Can you tell me any stories of people who’ve come to G2?

We recently admitted a little girl called Achta, she is just six months old and she had a massive tumour on the back of her arm. It turned out that she was born with it and it was just the size of a peanut then, but when she arrived at the hospital, it was huge and weighed about as much as she did. The operation took place in the new surgery centre that was funded by the legacy money and the tumour was successfully removed. Her mum is very happy because now Achta is going to be able to have a normal life. It’s really great to see.

Four photos showing the removal of a large tumour from a Chadian baby.
Thanks to Claire's team at Guinebor II, Achta will be able to live a normal life after having her tumour removed.

The area you’re working in in Chad is made up of a Muslim majority community. How is it for you living as a Christian there? How do you live out your faith?

The area we’re working in is about 90 per cent Muslim, but people know that G2 is a Christian hospital. There’s a massive Bible verse outside the front gate. It’s Psalm 23: 1, “The Lord is my shepherd.” I just try to treat my staff, colleagues and patients with compassion and love. I always pray when we go round on Wednesday mornings, I have a standard prayer that I pray in French and part of that prayer is always that they will feel the love of Jesus.

You’ve been talking a lot in your prayer letters about answered prayers. Could you share some with us?

Anyone who’s been following my prayer letters for a while will know that I have been asking for prayer for more long-term mission workers at G2 hospital – and I’m really excited to say that those prayers have been answered! In 2020, there are going to be three groups of people coming out to G2 hospital in Chad.

In January, we’ll be welcoming Mel and Tom Spears with their two daughters, Maisie and Rosa. Tom is a GP and Mel has got a public health background. Tom will hopefully hit the ground running and begin training some of our Chadian doctors.

The second family that are coming in January are Bethan and Gareth Shrubsole, with their three children, Sam, Jonah and Eva. Gareth will be taking on some of the project management, administration and finance responsibilities at the hospital and Bethan is hoping to use her music therapy skills at G2 and possibly at another project in N’Djamena as well.

Then, in September of 2020, Brian and Jackie Chilvers will be coming to Chad. They’re both nurses, so we’re looking forward to them coming out and joining our nursing team. We’re all really excited that these guys are on board and on their way to Chad!

What would you say to the people in the UK who have been praying for you and giving financially?

I would say a massive thank you. I couldn’t do what I do in Chad and at G2 hospital without the financial support and the prayers of people back in the UK, that’s for sure. It’s a very simple word and it doesn’t cost me anything to say but it is meant from all my heart, I’m really grateful.

Support Claire Bedford as a 24:7 Partner! Click here

Want to support these new families serving with BMS?

The Chilvers, Shrubsoles and the Spears families are all looking for church partners to pray for them and support their ministry – you could help them! Click here to find out more about church partners today!

Brian and Jackie Chilvers will be moving to Chad in September 2020.
Bethan and Gareth Shrubsole travel to Chad in January with their children, Sam, Jonah and Eva.
Mel and Tom Spears will travel to Chad in January with their daughters, Maisie and Rosa.

Please keep Claire, her colleagues and the work of Guinebor II hospital in your prayers.

  • Pray for the Chilvers, Shrubsoles and Spears families as they go through French language school before going out to Chad. Please pray for them during this transition period, and that they’ll get on well when they arrive.
  • Pray for ongoing stamina and strength for the Senior Management team and the Chadian staff at the hospital.
  • Pray for the future development of Guinebor II hospital. Please pray for additional human and financial resources for the ongoing work and the development of G2, so that it can continue to serve the local community.

Words and interview by Laura Durrant.

From the frontline: stories to inspire you

From the frontline:

stories to inspire you

From giving critical medical aid at night, to helping a rural community grow crops, our mission workers have had a very busy, challenging and blessed start to the year. We thought it was time to share some of their news with you.

The surgeons in Chad who came to the rescue after dark

Andrea and Mark Hotchkin in traditional Chadian dress in front of a sand coloured wall
Andrea and Mark Hotchkin dedicate every day to helping others in Chad, no matter where they are in the country.

We’ll paint a picture for you. One day you’re in a fancy hotel in Chad’s capital city, N’Djamena attending a Ministry of Health meeting. Then just a few days later you’re hours from the nearest town, it’s late and you’ve spent the day driving from village to village assessing healthcare provision. Word reaches you that two local people are seriously unwell and no-one has made any effort to get help.
This is what happened recently in the lives of BMS World Mission surgeons, Andrea and Mark Hotchkin. If you didn’t already know how amazing they are, you certainly will when you read their latest blog.

Read the Hotchkins' blog

Giving hope for a better future

A woman dressed in black stands behind a table covered in neatly arranged clothing
You’ll probably never meet Shama, but thanks to your support for BMS you’ve helped her and her family.

Consider this: you have five children, your husband is unable to find work and one of your children has tuberculosis. You have to spend every day not knowing how long you have to make the small amount of income you do have last. This is the life that Shama has known in Delhi. But thanks to your support for BMS workers James and Ruth Neve, Shama and others have been given hope of a new life-changing income. To find out how, read the Neves’ latest blog by hitting the button below.

Read the Neves' blog

A night of praying with women in pain

Evening street scene in Bangkok with neon lights
The light of Christ is being received in Bangkok’s red-light district, helped by BMS worker Ashleigh Gibb.

In the red-light district of Bangkok, women are learning they are children of God and that he loves them. BMS worker Ashleigh Gibb writes in her latest blog about a special event at a hotel where women who work in some of Bangkok’s bars gathered for a meal and prayer. Please read Ashleigh’s blog, and please continue to pray for her and the people she meets in one of the world’s darkest places.

Read Ashleigh's blog

‘The seeds we received are a gift from God’

Carlos Tique stands in front of a house and some green foliage
By supporting BMS worker Carlos Jone, you’re helping people in Chassimba, Mozambique not only fight hunger, but also earn their own money.

There’s a rural village in Mozambique called Chassimba, where your faithful support for BMS work is transforming lives. Men and women are not only being given seeds to grow crops, they’re learning how to take care of them better. And with increased production comes an income. BMS worker Carlos Jone visited Chassimba recently, and shares in his latest prayer letter the beautiful response he received from villagers.

Read Carlos' update

News in brief from around the world

  • In Guinea, BMS worker Ben*, along with a professional football coach, visited football training sessions to strengthen links with non-Christians. Ben has also started to meet with a prison group as he continues to show God’s love among the marginalised.
  • In France, the BMS Action Team has been helping at a refugee centre for women, supporting youth work, forging friendships and developing their language skills. Check out all their news on their blogs page.
  • In Peru, BMS worker Laura-Lee Lovering has been kept busy through attending the Peruvian Baptist Assembly (her seventh!), catching up with BMS short-term volunteer Becky Richards, and meeting Action Teamers.
  • In Mozambique, BMS worker Sergio Vilela has put in a lot of miles (around 3,000 in two weeks) meeting people through our partnership with the Mozambican Baptist Convention. Meanwhile, fellow BMS worker, and Sergio’s wife, Liz Vilela has been doing great work with child protection training, which she touches on in her latest prayer letter. Please check it out and pray for the Vilelas!
Want your church to support life-changing mission work?

Your church can get behind our mission work by becoming a Church Partner. It’s ever so easy to join and gives your church the chance to focus on a region or ministry, or on specific people.

We’d love to talk to you, so please don’t hesitate to contact Jo in the Church Partners team with any questions. Call her today on 01235 517600 or email her at churchrelations@bmsworldmission.org

If your church isn’t in Church Partners, talk to your minister today. Get involved, be inspired, express your heart for mission!

These stories are just a snapshot of what our mission workers and partners have been up to. In countries like Uganda, Kosovo, Bangladesh, Nepal, Ukraine, Albania, Lebanon and India, your support is being felt through training, nourishment, heating, education and much more. We thank you today for all that you do for BMS, for your giving and prayer, and your encouragement. Thanks to you, God is meeting the needs of people like you and me around the world. We praise God today for your support and give thanks for our incredible mission workers.

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*Names changed for security reasons.

Fearless: taking on the Sahara Desert, raging rivers, and the sex industry

Fearless:

taking on the Sahara Desert, raging rivers, and the sex industry

There’s nothing overstated about the headline above. BMS World Mission workers enter isolated, extreme and often dangerous places because God has empowered them to change people’s lives for the better. They tread fearlessly knowing you are standing alongside them in prayer. So please read on for some of their latest blogs.

1. When you get lost, stuck and weary in the desert

Nightmare journeys home usually consist of heavy traffic, train cancellations, or flight delays. Not so for BMS surgeons Andrea and Mark Hotchkin. For these two brilliant mission workers, along with their children Ruth and Rebecca, the journey home to Bardaï in northern Chad involved getting lost in the Sahara desert, camping outside as lightning struck, and digging for hours to release their vehicle from sand. And if that wasn’t challenging enough, a dust storm then hit. Read the Hotchkins’ blog to find out how they got home!

Read the Hotchkins' blog
Truck stuck in the mud in a desert
The Hotchkin family not only faced flooding in a desert, they also had the problem of sand becoming mud.

2. Cable bridges, landslides and a lot of walking – just to reach schools

Simon Hall holding a book as children surround him
Children’s books (and Simon Hall) are clearly popular at this remote school in Lamjung District

It’s fair to say that Simon Hall put in a lot of effort to reach the school in the photo above. That’s what’s needed in Lamjung District, Nepal, where BMS teacher trainer Simon serves. The school you can see was one of 15 that Simon and three of his colleagues visited in just one week. Reaching them involved crossing cable bridges over raging rivers, walking for hours up steps, and then travelling in jeeps up to altitude-sickness-inducing heights. The journey was understandably draining, but it was nothing compared to what was to come for Simon. Please read his blog today and pray with him using his prayer points.

Read Simon's blog

3. Joining the fight to eradicate TB

Can you imagine being part of history? BMS mission workers James and Ruth Neve don’t have to. As part of the Indian Government’s plan to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) from the country by 2025, James and Ruth are going to be giving training to people who have been cured of the illness. Their training courses will teach vital skills to help some of the poorest and most marginalized people in India generate a better income and turn their lives around. Read James and Ruth’s blog post about the day they decided to help change the world.

Read the Neves' blog
Ruth Neve signing TB agreement
Ruth Neve signs a life-changing agreement

4. ‘I want women to understand that God created us beautiful’

Ashleigh Gibb witnesses pain every day. She serves with BMS in the red light district of Bangkok, where she enters bars and brothels to speak words of love and kindness to women who have been trafficked. She also works in a coffee shop, that gives women who have managed to escape the sex industry the chance to learn new skills. Ashleigh’s blogs are always very powerful and heartfelt, none more so than her latest post in which she writes about the importance of loving those around us, even those who are hard to love.

Read Ashleigh's blog
Ashleigh Gibb in Bangkok
BMS worker Ashleigh Gibb takes the light of Christ into the darkness of Bangkok’s sex industry.

5. ‘May you know that you are loved with a constant and eternal love’

The Ovendens sit together with new baby Eleanor
Please keep Joe, Reuben, Lois, Eleanor and Connie Ovenden in your prayers.

This may not be the frontline of mission work, but we’re confident you’ll want to read about it. There was much joy in the BMS family when news came through about the newest Ovenden. Eleanor Ada Joy was welcomed into the world on Tuesday 18 September, a third child for BMS workers in Uganda, Joe and Lois. We give thanks today for the blessing of new life, and for everything that Joe and Lois do for BMS. They’ve posted a prayer for Eleanor in their latest blog. After you’ve read it, please pray for Eleanor.

Read the Ovendens' blog

God is with our mission workers, as are you. It is your faithful prayer and giving that enables them to be on the frontline of mission, helping the sick in Chad, children in Nepal, women who have been trafficked in Thailand, and many others in need around the world. Our mission workers across the globe write blogs about their work and we often post them on our Facebook page, along with prayer requests and videos. Please check it out, and please do comment on the blogs with words of encouragement for our workers! We love to hear from you.

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The sick baby, the pharmacist and the hospital that needs you

The sick baby, the pharmacist

and the hospital that needs you

Claire Bedford is an extraordinary pharmacist, but she’s not superhuman. She could do with some extra help at work, as could her colleagues. This is where you come in.

Claire didn’t have to go into work. It was her day off and it had been a hard week, just as every week is at Guinebor II Hospital near Chad’s capital. But BMS World Mission worker Claire wanted to go in as a courtesy to the facial surgeon holding a clinic. And God clearly wanted her there too.

One of the first patients to arrive was three-month-old Ache*. Her parents had travelled for a day on terrible roads to attend the clinic at the BMS-supported hospital, and they were desperate for help.

Precious little Ache had a huge growth covering her left eye, preventing it from opening, and it was spreading down her cheek. The surgeon knew immediately what was needed to treat the growth – a mass of small blood vessels known as a haemangioma – only the hospital didn’t have the drug in stock.

Ache’s father hurried into nearby N’Djamena to find a supply, but when he returned to Guinebor II there was a problem: the tablets were too large for a baby.

A three-month-old baby with a growth over her left eye is held by one of her parents.
Ache was unable to see out of her left eye when she was brought to Guinebor II.

Everyone turned to Claire for help. She calculated what the baby needed according to her weight, and used a pill cutter she’d sourced in the UK to chop the tablets to the required dose. Ache and her parents went home with the medication and instructions on what to do with it, and Claire stayed on to help more people.

We tell you this story because it demonstrates how your support allows Claire to show God’s love to patients at Guinebor II. But you should also know that only a few days before, Claire was not in the pharmacy, or on a ward supporting sick people, she was deciding what to do with a pit latrine blocked with bottles and nappies. She was the one making the decision because there was no-one else to do so.

And that’s not the only way pharmacist Claire is called to help with the running of the hospital. She recently had to negotiate the cost of tiling the hospital’s new emergency room, while at other times she’s taken on a HR role.

Her colleagues pitch in too, taking on administration work to ensure the hospital can continue taking in patients like Ache, and those from the Muslim-majority community that surrounds it.

Claire Bedford, a pharmacist in Chad, holds two babies while on a hospital ward
Join BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford at Guinebor II Hospital in Chad and you'll be part of beautiful and inspiring work.

But here’s the thing – you can help make things better.

We have a host of important positions available right now at Guinebor II Hospital. We just need the right people to apply.
“The patients aren’t being neglected,” says Claire. “But we could do so much more if the job vacancies were filled.”

Could you help Claire? Check out these vacancies at Guinebor II

General Manager: this critical role needs to be filled so that Claire and her colleagues can have the weight of administration, finance, and building and project management work taken off their shoulders. The right candidate needs to have managed a small to medium sized organisation. If that’s you, get in touch.

Surgeons and doctors: Guinebor II currently sees 14,000 outpatients a year, has 2,000 inpatients, carries out 1,300 operations, and delivers 1,800 babies. The team urgently needs more surgeons and doctors to cope with the demand for healthcare both now, and into the future. If you think you can help, find out more today.

Nurses: we’re looking for nurses who are well qualified and can train others. Find out more now.

Ophthalmologist: you’ve probably got access to an ophthalmologist at your local hospital, but there isn’t one at Guinebor II. If you’re an ophthalmologist and feeling called to serve God overseas, we want to hear from you.

Family GP: the doctor who takes on this role will be providing life-changing care for those most in need. If that’s what you’re passionate about, we want to hear from you.

Obstetrics/gynaecology doctor: there is no reliable gynaecology service for women in the community that Guinebor II serves. We want to change that by filling this position.

Midwives and community health specialists: Chad has one of the worst maternal and child mortality rates in the world. Help change this by working at the maternal health centre we opened in 2015. Find out more about this role today.

Endoscopist: waiting for an endoscopy can be frustrating, but at least most of us can get one. In Chad, you need to go private, which means you need money. If you’re an endoscopist, we really want to hear from you.

Paediatrician: if you’re a paediatrician, then please consider the infants, children and young people you could help at Guinebor II. Find out what to do next here.

You may not be qualified for any of the roles we’ve told you about today, but it’s quite possible you know someone who is. Tell them to find out more. Tell them about Claire. And tell them about Ache – for she was brought back to the hospital recently and Claire got to see her again. She is getting better, and we hope she’ll have full vision soon!

“Her parents were overjoyed,” says Claire. “You could just tell in their faces how happy they were. The father couldn’t stop saying ‘shukran’ (thank you). With my limited Arabic I couldn’t really converse with them, apart from replying ‘afwan’ (you’re welcome).

“It was a humbling experience to know that such a simple treatment was making such a huge difference to this young girl’s life.”

A baby with a growth over her left eye just about manages to see out of it
Ache can begin to see out of her eye thanks to the help of BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford.

Claire and the team at Guinebor II are desperate for more people to come and join them. If you have any of the skills we are looking for, we would to love to hear from you! You could make a huge difference to patients like baby Ache.

* Name changed to protect identity

Three survival stories from a hospital filled with Jesus’ love

Life on a children's ward:

three survival stories from a hospital filled with Jesus' love

Supporting this

Three children in danger. You helped them all at a hospital in Chad.

A girl fighting malaria. A boy hurt in a camel fall. Another with a snake bite. Step onto the children’s ward at Guinebor II, a hospital near Chad’s capital that is supported by BMS World Mission.

Two female nurses stand next to a male nurse on the children's ward of a hospital
Patients on the children's ward at Guinebor II Hospital receive the very best healthcare from a wonderful team of medical professionals.

The girl with malaria

Mariam* was bitten by a mosquito and fell sick. The mosquito was carrying malaria, a disease that brings on a fever, headache, vomiting, and severe sweating, and kills a child aged under five every two minutes. Three-year-old Mariam needed to be rushed to hospital, but she wasn’t, because street medicine sellers and the local health centre are often chosen over hospitals by poor families in Chad. Whatever treatment Mariam was given didn’t work. And so she was finally taken to Guinebor II, where Christians in a Muslim-majority community pray for their patients and provide the best healthcare for miles.

Mariam was given the drugs her body needed to fight malaria. The drugs worked, and Mariam survived. You helped make this happen by supporting BMS pharmacist Claire Bedford, who dispensed the drugs that saved Mariam’s life. Claire regularly goes on ward rounds, advising doctors and nurses on the medicine needed to treat patients and bringing her trademark friendly smile to people who are often scared and hurting.

“The infant and child mortality rate in Chad is shockingly high,” says Claire. “So it’s of vital importance that we have a facility where we can provide high-quality, affordable healthcare for the precious children of this country.”

If you support BMS, you’re helping to make that care possible.

What’s a working day in a Chadian hospital pharmacy like? Let Claire Bedford explain

The nomad boy who fell from a camel

Hassan* and his nomadic family travel on camels, using the traditional mode of nomad transport to carry their belongings from place to place. One day, seven-year-old Hassan came off his camel, hurting himself quite badly.

After days of abdominal pain and finding blood in his urine, he was taken to Guinebor II, where the doctors and nurses got to work, taking x-rays and running an ultrasound scan. The tests showed Hassan hadn’t suffered any major damage, but he remained barely alert to doctors and family, and just slept and slept. The team at Guinebor II catheterised and monitored him, and gave him antibiotics. Gradually, he began to pick up.

And then one day, as Claire was doing her ward round, he sat up and smiled. After a little more observation, Hassan’s urine began to flow clear again, and his catheter was removed. Hassan was better and free to return to the only life he knows.

Seeing children get better and go home is such a joy. Thank you so much to everyone in the UK who supports Guinebor II.

Men and woman wait in a shaded area outside a hospital in Chad
The waiting area at Guinebor II is often packed with people waiting for the brilliant care the Christian doctors there provide.

The boy bitten by a snake

Imagine this: you’re ten, it’s night-time, and you feel your skin punctured by fangs. You look down and see that creature that makes so many of us shudder with fear: a snake. For Saleh* that fear was justified. A snake had bitten him and now the clock was now ticking. He needed a dose of anti-venom to counter the snake’s poison and save him from the risk of paralysis or even death. Saleh was rushed into Guinebor II where he was given an anti-snake bite injection and painkillers. The treatment worked and the threat to Saleh’s life passed.

“Seeing children like Saleh get better and go home is such a joy,” says Claire. “Thank you so much to everyone in the UK who supports Guinebor II in prayer and by financial giving. Both are so important and make it possible for us to help.”

You’ll probably never meet the three children you’ve just read about. And you won’t meet the ones being cared for today on Guinebor II’s children’s ward. But thanks to your giving, Claire Bedford can dispense the medicine these young children need to get well. We think that care is worth celebrating. Please share this story to encourage others to support our work in Chad.

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Help our surgeons save lives in Chad

In the north of Chad is a beautiful, isolated and dangerous place called Bardaï. It’s where BMS surgeons Andrea and Mark Hotchkin provide life-transforming healthcare at the district hospital. By giving to our Bardaï appeal, you can help keep them there.

* Names changed to protect identities

5 ways you’re making the world a healthier place

5 ways you’re making the world a healthier place

Supporting this

Saving mothers and babies in Afghanistan and helping pregnant refugees. Discover five of the ways your generous support for BMS World Mission is helping to provide healthcare for thousands of people around the world.

1. Meeting medical needs in Chad

There is one qualified doctor in Chad for every 25,000 people. Nearly 40 per cent of children have stunted growth because of a lack of food, and illnesses such as malaria, HIV and Aids affect many people’s lives. But thanks to you, hospitals in Chad (one near the capital and one in the north of the country) are providing much-needed medical treatment and helping people survive. Your giving has enabled us to fund pharmacists, surgeons, doctors, nurses, malnutrition prevention workers, midwives and other hospital staff who are giving the right care to thousands of people. They’re treating gunshot wounds, cancer and malaria, and delivering babies, thanks to you.

2. Giving children with disabilities the support they need

Children with disabilities in Thailand face huge challenges. Many families struggle to cope with the needs of their children, and government orphanages are often unable to provide the one-on-one care and support they need.

Thanks to your giving, BMS worker Judy Cook is providing therapeutic and respite care to children with disabilities at Hope Home, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Hope Home currently provides full-time care for ten children, and offers respite care for many other children and their families.

Check out the amazing work you’re supporting in this video:

3. Coming to the aid of pregnant refugees

The South Sudanese women who make it to Bidi Bidi refugee camp in northern Uganda after fleeing conflict are often in danger of dying during pregnancy or childbirth. But thanks to your giving, an electronic device that measures people’s blood pressure and heart rate is helping to save lives. At least 7,000 pregnant women will receive medical checks that could identify any problems and save their lives, and the lives of their unborn children. To read more about how the device works and the impact your support is having, click the button below.

Read more

4. Saving the lives of mothers and babies in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has some of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. In remote mountain villages, it’s difficult for pregnant women to get to clinics to give birth, and unsafe birthing practices such as smearing dirt on the umbilical cord, or pushing on the mother’s stomach during labour to make the baby come out, can lead to infection and even death.

You’re enabling us to help train men and women in safe birthing practices in the mountains of rural Afghanistan. You’re helping them learn to spot when something is wrong, and to dispel unsafe birthing practices, and you’re saving the lives of mothers and babies as a result.

5. Giving children a voice through speech therapy

Being unable to communicate your feelings and needs to the community around you can be incredibly isolating. In northern Uganda, BMS worker Lois Ovenden is providing speech and language therapy to children with disabilities. We’ll leave it to her to explain more of the inspiring work she’s doing in this video:

By supporting BMS, you’re funding life-transforming health work like this around the world. Thank you! You can help us do even more by making a donation today.

Inspired to give? Click Here
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10 reasons why you should serve with BMS

10 reasons why you should serve with BMS

Praying for this

Choosing to serve with BMS World Mission could be the most incredible, life-changing step you ever take, and it might just be around the corner. If you’re wondering if God can use you overseas, here are ten reasons why you should push that door open right now and find out more.

1. You'll help transform lives around the world in the name of Jesus

A woman uses a sewing machine at skills centre in Uganda.
When you serve with BMS, you’ll witness the incredible joy that a transformed life brings.

When you serve with BMS, you get the chance to show people what Christ’s love feels like, and looks like, and it will be one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever do.

From accountants and doctors to development specialists, our workers are helping bring life in all its fullness to some of the world’s least evangelised and most marginalised people – and you can join them. You can confront injustice. Teach children robbed of an education. Alleviate poverty. Free women from trafficking. Introduce people to Jesus. This is what we do at BMS, and we’ll be with you every step of the way.

2. You won't be going alone

People stand and worship at the Baptist Assembly in 2017
During your challenges overseas, remember that Christians back home are praying for you.

BMS has been supported by Baptist churches across the UK for hundreds of years, and we still are today.

Christians you may never meet will pray for you every day, lifting you up to God, because when you serve with BMS, you’re part of a big, beautiful family.

The training is second to none and is of vital importance for preparing you for long-term overseas service

3. You don't have to be rich

Money is not everything. But it’s not nothing, either. Being able to take care of your family and think about your future are not things you need to sacrifice to serve with BMS.

That’s why we cover housing costs, living expenses and even pension contributions for our workers.

4. You’ll get to work in some amazing places

Afghanistan is beautiful. Seriously, seriously beautiful. Just take a look at the photo below, at those magnificent colours, and remind yourself how stunning God’s creation is.

An aerial view of mountains in Afghanistan

Well, you could be in Afghanistan, making a very real difference to people’s lives.

“Hearing first-hand how the work you have been involved in has helped change lives is both humbling and rewarding,” says BMS development worker in Afghanistan, Tim*. “You also experience amazing hospitality, and share in the joy and the heartache that your local friends, colleagues and neighbours are going through.”

And if you don’t find yourself in Afghanistan, you could be in Chad, where BMS is making a huge impact on the health of local people, and where the sunset over the River Chari is stunning:

The sun sets over the River Chari in Chad.

Or, you might be in Guinea, working on projects to empower women and children, and you’ll get to see scenery like this:

A tree in Guinea

Mission isn’t tourism. But it is an opportunity to see parts of God’s creation most of us never encounter. We should also mention that your annual travel costs to and from the UK are covered, you receive a generous leave allowance, and when you return home we will help you travel round UK churches telling people about what God has done in and through you.

5. You’ll join an amazing, global team

Members of the BMS-supported legal team in Mozambique stand in front of their office entrance
The BMS-supported legal team in Mozambique speaks up for the poor and needy, and is made up of BMS workers from the UK, Uganda and Mozambique.

This is one of the very best parts of serving overseas with BMS. The people you work alongside are some of the most passionate, wonderful Christians you could ever hope to meet. They are our fellow workers and partners overseas. They’re the World Church. They’re our brothers and sisters, and you will learn so much from them.

Want to find out more?

Just click here to get in touch and find out more about serving overseas with BMS.

6. You'll be well prepared

Language studies. Living in community. Biblical and mission training. We will help you with it all, in the field and at our mission training and hospitality centre. You’ll learn about God, you’ll learn about yourself, you’ll be discipled for service in another culture. Tempted yet? Let pharmacist Claire Bedford tell you more.

“The training is second to none and is of vital importance for preparing you for long-term overseas service,” says Claire, who is serving at a BMS-supported hospital in Chad. “Many months of UK training gives time to adjust to the fact that you’re going to be leaving the UK for quite a while, as well as learning how to live in community.”

Unconvinced? Let our very own Mission Bros address your concerns

7. You'll make history

Albania was a closed communist state until 1991. Nepal, a Hindu kingdom hostile to the gospel. When they opened to mission, BMS was there. And you’ll be serving in countries where we have faith that God has more exciting plans in store.

8. We take security and your welfare very seriously

We have someone on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready to answer your call in an emergency.

We have protocols for evacuation and kidnapping should either situation ever arise, and measures to protect your identity in sensitive countries.

Mission can be dangerous, but we’re risk-aware, not risk averse.

You’re looked after so well, with all aspects of your life cared for

9. Worried about your children? We care about them too

We pay for your children’s education overseas, help them learn the local language, and take care of any medical needs they have, just as we take care of yours.

And some of the happiest kids we know grew up with mission families, learning first-hand what it means to serve the least of these. Take Graeme in the video (above), he grew up as a mission kid – and just look how much good work he is doing now!

10. We've always got your back

You’ll always have someone to turn to at BMS. We pride ourselves on our pastoral and professional support, no matter where our workers are. And we want you to thrive.

“BMS is great to work for,” says Sophie*, who is helping to run the communications of a BMS partner organisation in Tunisia.
“You’re looked after so well, with all aspects of your life cared for, not just the job you signed up to do.”

Click here If you're praying for people to serve with BMS
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Do you feel God could be calling you?

We are urgently looking for people to serve in Afghanistan, Chad and Guinea. We also have other exciting mission vacancies all over the world. If you would like to find out more, email opportunities@bmsworldmission.org or call 01235 517651 and speak to Tom, our Mission Personnel Organiser.

Don’t put off the new adventure God has waiting for you. If you feel God is calling you, and if you have the skills we’re asking for, get in touch today!

* Names changed

People are meeting Jesus in hospital

People are meeting Jesus in hospital

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Hospital patients become Christians in a Muslim-majority community. Thousands receive prayer and pastoral care. And the healing that only Jesus can provide is experienced by people for the first time. All of this happens at a BMS World Mission supported hospital in Chad, where the gospel is being spread in traditional and innovative ways.

Waiting rooms can often be the most terrifying place in a hospital. Anxiety thrives among the rigid rows of chairs. And sadly, for many, so does loneliness.

The waiting area at Guinebor II Hospital near Chad’s capital may appear different to those most of us are familiar with – there are benches, not chairs, and the space is open to the elements on three sides. But we’re all familiar with the feelings that people experience there.

BMS-supported chaplain Pastor Djibrine knows them well too. He sits with patients, talking to them as they wait to be seen by a doctor or nurse.

The Bibles available for people to read provide scope for discussion, as do the Christian films shown on the solar-powered television in the corner.

Pastor Djibrine also makes bedside visits, praying with people, comforting them, and answering questions about Jesus. And while some patients ask to keep the Bibles they find at the end of their beds, others receive Scripture through micro SD cards for use in their mobile phones.

People in the waiting area at Guinebor II Hospital.

The cards contain 35 Bible stories in four languages, and Pastor Djibrine gives them to people interested in the gospel. Your gifts pay for these cards, just as they do for the Bibles. And lives are being transformed.

Pastor Djibrine (right) talks to a man at a BMS-supported hospital in Chad.
Pastor Djibrine (right) shares tea and conversation outside a BMS-supported hospital in Chad.

Abdelhaziz* was at the hospital receiving treatment for cancer. While he was there, Pastor Djibrine spent time with him, chatting and explaining his faith. Through these conversations, Abdelhaziz met Jesus and decided to follow him. When he was well enough to go home, Pastor Djibrine gave Abdelhaziz an SD card and put him in touch with believers in his home town. Having gone into the hospital unwell and far from Christ, Abdelhaziz left with his faith placed in Jesus, and part of a new community.

Another person who wanted to know about Jesus was Hassan*, a young Muslim man studying religion at the University of N’Djamena. Not only did he leave the hospital with his own Bible, he also asked Pastor Djibrine for a copy for his friend. The Holy Spirit at work outside the hospital’s walls.

Healthcare excellence and God's love – BMS worker Kat on the work at Guinebor II Hospital

Look what you've achieved in 12 months:

• Over 5,000 patients at Guinebor II Hospital were touched by the love of God through prayer, conversation, and home visits – work that continues today.

• An average of 35 people a month were given a Bible or CD with narrated biblical stories.

• One hundred people received micro SD cards containing Bible stories.

• Almost 3,500 people watched a Christian film in the hospital’s waiting room, and the films are still being shown regularly.

Through your giving, you’re helping people who are sick and frightened find healing, comfort and strength in Christ. People are getting to read the Bible, hear its truth in their own language, and receive prayer from Pastor Djibrine. And some people, such as Abdelhaziz, have decided to follow Jesus for themselves and have been welcomed into a community of believers.

Thanks to your support, Guinebor II Hospital has become a shining beacon of hope in Jesus, and we think that’s amazing.

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* Names changed

Top 5 stories of 2017

Looking back:

Top 5 stories of 2017

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Last year was filled with inspirational stories of lives being transformed through your giving. Here are our top five most-read articles from 2017.

Students being baptised in barrels. Young French Christians finding community. Nepali children excelling at school. These are just a few of the incredible things your gifts and prayers have made possible this year, through BMS World Mission. There were so many stories to choose from, but only five could top our news story charts! We hope you’ll be inspired as you look back at what we achieved together in 2017.

1. Big thinking for little minds

Millions of children in Nepal are getting the opportunity of a better education, thanks to your support for BMS worker Annie Brown.

With her teacher training programme being adopted by the Nepali Government, every teacher of students aged between five and 13 in all government schools will have the chance to receive Annie’s training. They’ll be better-equipped to teach, and Nepal’s children will face brighter futures!

Read the full story here

2. Pray for our new mission workers

James and Ruth Neve, who are preparing to move to India to work with us.

Tucked away in our centre in Birmingham, new BMS mission workers are busy preparing for overseas service. For them, it’s daunting, but also exciting, as they get ready to serve God abroad in different ways. From a family heading to Nepal to help with disaster relief, to a couple heading to Albania to teach children of mission workers, there are plenty of things we can be praying for.

Loads of you loved catching up with our new mission workers’ prayer requests, making this our second most popular story last year.

Pray for them today by clicking the link below.

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Read their prayer requests here

3. 5 ways you're fighting violence against women

For thousands of vulnerable women and girls around the world, gender based violence is a daily part of life. But, thanks to your support, BMS is taking a stand against it. From helping girls know their rights, to freeing women from prostitution, you’re helping to empower women and prevent trafficking, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Find out more by reading the story.

Learn how you're empowering women around the world

4. Baptised in a barrel in Phnom Penh

Students are meeting Jesus in Cambodia! We loved witnessing the amazing moment when Srei got baptised in a barrel and by our stats it looked like you did too. Read about how she and Chan came to find God at a BMS-supported Christian hostel in Phnom Penh, and how, thanks to your support, more and more people are finding Jesus.

Read more here

5. Feeding of the 400

You’re helping to build Christian community in France – where young Christians often feel isolated and lonely.

Connexion 2017, an event put on by BMS worker Sue Wilson and her team, helped young French Christians realise they’re not alone. Watch the video above to find out about what it meant to the people who were there, and click the link below to read how you’re helping bring young French Christians together.

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Read how you're helping young French Christians find community

Thank you for supporting us in 2017. Your gifts have helped people find God, and have transformed countless lives. With your continued support, we can’t wait to start doing even more in 2018!

Other great stories made possible by you

Five stores aren’t enough to sum-up how much you did last year. So here are a few extra ones we’d love you to read too.

  1. Meet the inspiring Mozambican Christians you’re supporting: they’re bringing justice to abused women and teaching communities their rights.
  2. From witch doctor to church planter: the story of a witch doctor who found God, and then started planting churches.
  3. Baptist church brings light in Uganda: one simple action is raising money, helping people’s lungs and introducing people to Jesus.
  4. Refugees are like you and me: BMS worker Ann MacFarlane has seen God at work in the lives of refugees in Italy.
  5. This is what a life transformed looks like: meet Joshua. You helped give him a reason to smile.