A Year Ago, We Were Still In Texas!

This time last year we were still in Texas, anxiously waiting for our U.K. Visas to be approved! But as we reflect back on 2022, we're amazed by Lord's goodness and the incredible things he has done since our arrival in London in January. From street evangelism to Bible studies, discipleship, and Holiday Bible Club to theological development, we've been so encouraged to see how the Lord has been at work. Tonight we launched our new Free English Classes, Ealing outreach at our church, IPC-Ealing, in hopes of reaching the 40% of Ealing residents who were born outside the U.K. with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray with us for this new and exciting outreach opportunity for us and for our church!

With today being "Giving Tuesday", would you pray and trust the Lord with us as well to raise an additional $23,000 to help our family and ministry to the Unreached in London start out 2023 on solid footing after what has been a rather unpredictable year in the U.K. financially with significant cost of living increases, inflation, rising energy prices, and a wildly fluctuating exchange rate? If you feel that the Lord may be leading you to give a special year-end gift to the Great Commission through our ministry in London, we would be so honoured, and you may give your gift online at www.mtw.org/bean. We so appreciate your prayers and partnership in taking the Gospel of Grace to the Unreached, in London and beyond.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." -Philippians 1:3-5

Happy Thanksgiving American friends! In honour of all of our friends back home in the States I thought I'd post this classic Thanksgiving throwback pic from our days with RUF in Martin, TN in 2013 when our babies were little and my beautiful bride made her very first Thanksgiving Dinner all on her own without the help of parents and in-laws, grandparents, aunts, or cousins!

While we've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the different holidays here that are part of British culture that we don't have in the U.S., Thanksgiving is absolutely one of our favourite holidays back home in the States, maybe even more so than Christmas! But here in the U.K., today is just....Thursday. Our kids are in school all day today and no one here (except fellow American expats) gives a thought about stopping everything to gather with family and friends and consume massive amounts of roast turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and all the rest (that's just a Sunday roast dinner here). And just forget about pecan and pumpkin pies, and American Football!

So, American friends, we are counting on YOU to flood our newsfeeds today with pics and videos of family gatherings, full plates, football, parades, autumn decor, deer hunting, and all the rest that Thanksgiving entails for you and yours! We will celebrate as a family on Friday when our kids have a day off from school, and we have an incredible "American Thanksgiving" Feast planned with our church House Group Bible study after worship on Sunday afternoon. So have a big slice of pumpkin pie in honour of the Beans in London, and don't go easy on the whipped cream!!!

A Visit to Mary Elisabeth's School

After not being able to see much when we initially moved to London in January due to the Covid restrictions at that time, we were recently able to tour Mary Elisabeth's school and meet some of the girls that she is friends with and sees every day. Mary Elisabeth attends The Green School for Girls, where she is in Year 9 (the equivalent of 8th Grade in the U.S.).

Since its founding 225+ years ago, The Green School has been affiliated with The Church of England, and is a tuition-free school sponsored by the state church. So, while there are crosses and bible verses posted prominently throughout the school, you'll also find ideas and attitudes throughout the school that just don't quite make sense with Biblical Christianity, to put it bluntly. But, such is life in the U.K. While there are many wonderfully Biblically faithful Church of England churches and schools throughout the U.K., they are sadly far outnumbered by Church of England institutions that quite frankly wouldn't recognise the Christian Gospel and would actually be quite opposed to it.

Mary Elisabeth has been a real trooper over the past year, braving the bus with her brother Caleb each day for their commute, and we're not talking about an American style "yellow dog" school bus, but a real deal red "Double Decker" London commuter bus, which is how High School aged children commute to school here. Funny enough, when we enrolled Mary Elisabeth at The Green School for Girls, we had to sign an agreement along with other parents that we would not drive them to school each day to help reduce traffic congestion and to "lessen the environmental impact"!

Please pray for Mary Elisabeth and her brothers Joshua and Caleb, that they would study hard, that they would hold fast to the truths of the Gospel, and be "salt and light" in a rather confusing system that often denies those very truths while claiming to uphold them.