Hitchman News - February 2023

February 2023 ... Young Adults, Ministry Centre and a Wedding.

Ministry Update

A big thank you!

In our last newsletter, we told you about the death of our 21-year-old Ford Galaxy and made a big request to help us get car a that would do all we needed it to do in ministry. We are so thankful for your generosity! As you can see we were able to source a Dacia Lodgy which meets the criteria of having 7 adult-sized seats. The cost of the car is not quite fully covered yet but we are close and are blessed by the people who have stepped up to help with this need. If you think you could help us get across the finishing line we would really appreciate your help.

Young Adults.

Also, in the last newsletter, we let you know about an exciting opportunity to reach out to International Students attending universities within our local city. We have continued to pursue this opportunity and have invested time drawing them together with events like city visits, coffee shop meetings, and joining a quiz night at the university. The group is gelling together, and there is a healthy, mutually supportive community developing. As you can see from the photos the new (to us) car has played a necessary role here. We have blurred faces because many of the international students come from countries where Christians are discriminated against, hence their acceptance on the Christian Scholarship process.

Paraszt Haz Ministry Centre

Until we get the heating finalised in the house and the electrical second fit completed, work has had to stop over the winter months. However, before the temperatures dropped and stopped work we did manage to level the floors and make some progress with prepping the walls.

You might remember Ben Epton, who came out on an internship just before the pandemic closed the country. Ben is now back with us and working hard to move the project forward during his stay through February.

Wedding

Over Christmas time we travelled back to Northern Ireland, visited some of the churches that support us and spent some lovely time with family. It was good to be together as a complete family, this hadn’t happened for 18 years and was made possible this year as everyone made a huge effort to travel to Northern Ireland to celebrate Ryan and Bethany’s wedding. We are delighted to welcome Bethany to our family! Now we have in-laws from Denmark, Netherlands and Northern Ireland so we are quite the international family! A huge congratulations goes out to the happy couple.

Prayer

We are on the lookout for a venue in the city that will facilitate a Bible Study and discipleship class for the International Students.
We are extremely thankful for all that you do to keep us on the mission field. Without your love and support we would not be able to invest in the lives of those who God brings to us. Elim Missions has however made us aware that we have a funding shortfall, and we now need to do something about this. Please pray that we understand what God is asking us to do to rectify this situation.
On February 12th, Lainey and I will be running a marriage workshop/presentation for our city. It will be part of National Marriage Week. Please pray for those who will attend and also for us as we prepare.

We deeply appreciate all the love and support that you have given us in this last year. We know that we would not be able to do what we have been called to do without your partnership.