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.

God is Drawing Persians from Iran to Jesus in London

Since our arrival in London earlier this year, it’s been our privilege to serve and reach out to members of many different unreached people groups here. One of the most significant of these has been Persian asylum seekers from Iran and Afghanistan as we have been learning from our much more experienced co-laborers in the Gospel at IPC-Ealing who’ve been reaching out to Persians in London for many years.

Yesterday we praised God together as a church at IPC-Ealing as we baptised a new Iranian Christian, who we will call “N”. "N" is the fourth member of her family to be baptised at IPC-Ealing, following her son, daughter, and son-in-law into saving faith in Jesus Christ from Islam. "N" and her grown children have suffered much to come to London from Iran as asylum seekers, having literally lost almost everything to come here and to now follow Jesus.

Please join us in praising God for "N" and her family’s faith in Jesus Christ and for their family’s bold witness as they continually reach out to others with the Gospel. Please also join us and our Iranian friends in praying for the people of Iran as they continue to suffer under an oppressive Islamic regime that suppresses the Gospel and Christ’s church in their home country, and many Iranian Christians, moderate Muslims, Zoroastrians, and secular Iranians have fled Iran over the past several decades and come to London.

Britain's Newest PM And London's Current Mayor Are From UPG's

This is not at all a political post....but... many of you have no doubt heard by now that we here in the United Kingdom have a new Prime Minister today! Politics aside, both the new Conservative Party PM, Rishi Sunak, and the current Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (a member of the Labour Party), paint a fascinating picture of just how diverse the United Kingdom is today and exactly why God has called our family to serve here in London.

Each of them are the first ever non-white and non-Christian holders of their respective offices in the history of Great Britain, and each are members of what missiologists would describe as “Unreached People Groups”. Incoming Prime Minister Sunak is a Hindu, born in Southampton (along the southern coast of England) to Punjabi Indian parents who emigrated to the U.K. from East Africa, and was named as the new PM today, during the middle of the Hindu festival of Diwali, one of the most important Hindu holidays (we have heard and seen fireworks all over the city of London these past few days for Diwali).

Meanwhile, Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Sunni Muslim, was born in the South London neighbourhood of Tooting to Pakistani emigrant parents. Each of these men are the children of South Asian emigrants to the U.K. and come from polar opposite ends of the political spectrum, are thoroughly British in every way imaginable, and illustrate just how amazingly diverse the United Kingdom is today. Each of them are widely respected in Great Britan as leaders and success stories of their respective communities, and each of them and the communities they represent (and the U.K. as a whole) are deeply in need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is such a enormous privilege for us to live and serve as ambassadors for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations God has gathered together in this amazing place called London. We are blessed to have 45 different nationalities represented within our host church, IPC-Ealing, a church God has been been pleased to use since 1969 to reach the nations in London and beyond. Our newly launched House Group that began meeting in our home last month, has 7 different nationalities represented just within our group!

Please pray as we continue to minister here in West London, and as we look to launch a new weekly Free English Class ministry next month at IPC-Ealing to help our church love our neighbours and share the love of Christ with them. Thank you so much for your prayers and partnership in the Gospel!

Back at All Souls for Evangelism Conference

Shanna and I are back at All Soul’s Church again today for an Evangelism Conference with Randy Newman, author of “Mere Evangelism”! Really great content and I’d recommend his book of the same title strongly for those who’ve a heart for sharing their faith and an interest in C.S. Lewis.

Learning From All Souls About Using English Classes to Serve and Point Our International Neighbours to Jesus

I’m at historic All Souls Church near Oxford Circus in Central London on this rainy British evening to research and learn about how they use their free English classes and other ministries to care for and reach internationals in London with the Gospel. They have a really great and well established program that we are hoping to learn some things from. Prayers appreciated!

Elizabeth II: 1926-2022

We have heard in the last 24 hours since her passing yesterday afternoon HM Queen Elizabeth II described by so many in the British press as “Britain’s greatest monarch”, and that claim may very well be accurate. She certainly was the longest serving and the one who saw the most change in the world in her lifetime. We would do well to recognise that this great monarch knew well where she herself stood in light of eternity and the Lord whom she served and bore witness to, and do likewise.

A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight!

Well, you may have seen in news reports that the United Kingdom is currently suffering our worst heat wave in recorded history right now as we stare in disbelief at a very "Texas Summer" type temperature of 39° Celsius (102° Farenheit). While its tempting as Texans to just shrug off this kind of temperature as normal summertime heat, we have to bear in mind that most of the U.K., and especially homes, schools, churches, and much of our public transportation system here, are completely un-air conditioned! 

 

Mary Elisabeth’s last day of school will be this upcoming Friday, and her school decided to allow the girls to wear their “sport kit” uniforms rather than their usual school uni’s and to have early release at noon both yesterday and today since their 200+ year old facility is not air conditioned. As well, we as a church made the decision to cancel our usual Tuesday lunchtime service today in hopes of keeping the older members of our congregation safe and out of the heat, as many of them typically walk or take public transportation to the church to attend.

Because 99% of the time air conditioning isn’t necessary here in the U.K. and much of Europe, on the hottest days, staying inside here doesn’t necessarily mean staying cool unfortunately, and heat related hospitalisations and deaths will increase significantly. Please pray especially for the most vulnerable members of our church and community today as we are expected to break the 40° C mark (104° F) for the first time in England’s history.

Thank you so much for your prayers and partnership in taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of the United Kingdom!

Mary Elisabeth’s school is having early release yesterday and today at noon and decided to allow the girls to wear their “sport kit” P.E. uniforms rather than their usual school uni’s to help them tolerate the heat.

The Full English Breakfast

Norwegian church planters Thomas and Niko ham it up as Niko dares to try the Black Pudding from his "Full English" breakfast at one of our local pubs. A "Full English" breakfast typically consists of fried eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, and toast, and was on the guys' to-do list for their time in London with us. Even though it was lunchtime, the kitchen staff at our local pub were thrilled to make it happen for the "out of towners"!

***Please note that the pictures we post in this private group have been shared with the permission of those pictured. When necessary we obscure the faces and name tags of some of our friends who may one day have to return to a home country where their involvement in a church sponsored event, associating with a missionary, or even walking into a christian church may put them or their family in danger. Please don't share these images further without permission. Thank you for helping us keep them safe!!!***

Catalyst 2022

This past week our host church here in London, IPC-Ealing held our annual equipping conference for church planters, pastors, missionaries, and emerging leaders, Catalyst 2022. Over 250 attendees from numerous denominations and independent churches throughout the U.K. and Europe benefited from three days of fellowship and Biblical teaching from renowned Scottish theologian Sinclair Ferguson, Westminster Seminary professor Jonathan Gibson, American pastor Jonathan Landry Cruse, and some really great local church leaders from here in the U.K.

Shanna and I, and our entire church staff put in many hours to help make this year’s Catalyst conference a success, and we couldn’t be more happy with the results. For many of these church planters and pastors, who faithfully spend tireless hours preparing sermons and Bible studies for their churches and disciples each week, this is a rare opportunity to sit under good Biblical teaching themselves and rest and “recharge” with good fellowship with one another.

Among those in attendance were our friend and fellow MTW missionary and church planter Jonas Stava and three members of his church planting team, Niko, Thomas, and Kenneth from Hamar, Norway. These brothers don’t just envision planting a single church, but an entire network of Gospel-centred churches in Norway! We were thrilled to get to host them in our home on Tuesday evening for a cookout in our “back garden” (backyard) along with a key leader in the IPC denomination, Gethin Jones and his wife Katie who serve together in Paris, France. In addition to being an IPC pastor in Paris, Gethin serves as the stated clerk for the IPC and was able to visit with these church planters and answer their questions about their church plants joining the IPC and how the IPC can help and encourage them in their church planting efforts in Norway and as their churches mature into fully formed congregations.

It’s an honor and privilege to have such an encouraging gathering happen (literally!) in our own backyard that we hope the Lord will use to help strengthen Gospel-centred church planting in Norway!

***Please note that the pictures we post in this private group have been shared with the permission of those pictured. When necessary we obscure the faces and name tags of some of our friends who may one day have to return to a home country where their involvement in a church sponsored event, associating with a missionary, or even walking into a christian church may put them or their family in danger. Please don't share these images further without permission. Thank you for helping us keep them safe!!!***

🇬🇧 Tea with the Queen... 🇬🇧

 

....Or at least as close as we'll ever get! Today begins The Platinum Jubilee and HRM Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday celebration commemrating her 70 years of rule and 96 years of life. So to celebrate in solidarity with our host culture we enjoyed a pot of tea and watched the celebration of the "Trooping the Colour" parade at Buckingham Palace from the comfort of our living room!

The annual celebration of the Sovereign's birthday, traditionally celebrated each year in early June (no matter when the sovereign's actual birthday falls) is the most patriotic time of year in the United Kingdom and celebrated with parades, flyovers, fireworks, street parties, and a four day weekend complete with Union Flags and bunting.

Car Broken into at Church

Well, its been a bit since we've posted an update from London, but mainly because we've been so busy with life and ministry and settling into a routine here! Unfortunately, we did have a bit of frustration happen yesterday and would so appreciate your prayers. Just after church, while most of the congregation was still inside visiting and setting up for a church dinner to honour one of our retiring elders after many years of service to the church, one of our children was trying to be helpful, and without us knowing it, took our things out to our car for "safe keeping" while the chairs and tables were being moved around to set up for the dinner. 

Apparently, they were seen putting our things in there by some nefarious characters, and within minutes our car was broken into directly in front of the church building by two "young blokes" who sped away on bicycles. This was witnessed by a couple of our Persian members who caught the getaway on video with their phones in a very kind attempt to be helpful.  Shanna's purse and my bag, along with our wallets, keys, credit cards, Texas drivers licenses, and U.K. Biometric Residency Cards were all stolen.  

Fortunately, within a couple of hours we were able to locate our items because my keys and wallet both had Apple AirTags on them and were able to track them with our phones. Two of our church members, who happen to be off duty members of London's Metropolotan Police Force, Ollie and Aaron, were very kind to come along with us to help locate and retrieve our items "just in case", and we were so grateful for their help. It turned out that our items had been discarded by the thieves by throwing them over a fence into an abandoned and badly overgrown Serbian Orthodox churchyard about a half mile away.

Our cash was of course missing (about £100-£200 between both of our wallets), and the thieves used one of our bankcards to purchase about £90 worth of items at a nearby "Off Licence" (what we would call a bodega or convenience store in the States) before we could freeze the cards, but other than that, nearly all of our items were retrieved including our drivers licences and residency cards. We did of course have to cancel our credit and debit cards and request new ones and the ones from the U.S. are going to be take a while to get replacements, so we are going to have some difficulty making purchases with accounts we've normally used here until new cards arrive from the U.S.  We would so apreciate your prayers as we navigate life in London for a couple of weeks without a way to use our primary U.S. bank account that we typically use to pay for everyday needs here. 

While this is a relatively minor frustration in the big scheme of things and all of the amazing ways we've seen the Lord at work since our arrival in London back in January, our kids were a bit shaken up by this after growing in confidence about their surroundings after traversing all over London to school and back these past several months and getting to know the culture as teens here typically do on their own with public transport and walking. Please pray for their hearts that they would not become fearful or bitter, but that they would perhaps instead develop a healthy level of caution and "situational awareness" necessary for living wisely in a major city in a different culture.

Lost & Found

Yesterday afternoon Shanna Hymes Bean and I found these two lost Yanks, Lourdes Obregon Ariceaga and Rodrigo Ariceaga milling about Paddington Station and decided to show them around London! In all seriousness, we were so encouraged and honoured for Rodrigo and "Donna Lou" from our home church in Texas to take time out of their 25th anniversry trip to Europe to be our first visitors from the United States. We so enjoyed getting to catch up with them and show them a bit of our host culture, and the kids loved getting to share a fun meal with them at our local pub, The Duke of Kent. We only wish that they could have stayed longer!!

***Please note that the pictures we post have been shared with the permission of those pictured. When necessary we obscure the faces and name tags of some of our friends who may one day have to return to a home country where their involvement in a church sponsored event, associating with a missionary, or even walking into a christian church may put them or their family in danger. Please don't share these images further without permission. Thank you for helping us keep them safe!!!***

Help for Ukrainian Refugees

Some of you have asked how you can provide practical or financial help to the now 3 million+ refugees from Ukraine seeking asylum throughout Europe, our MTW teams on the ground there, and the folks they minister directly to in our church plants. Our MTW teams in Ukraine have set up a website for those who are looking for practical ways to help, up to and including offering a place to stay for refugees in homes/AirBnB’s/hotels, etc. in the U.K., Europe, and North America.

Go to the “Needed!” tab and there is a link to a form where you can sign up to offer to house refugees at http://voice-of-ukraine.com/, or the link directly to the form can be found at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejE4fSLTFKg3dh8cRp2K6bU_A1uglq2Q6z8ATWdzyYddAb1w/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

As the most diverse and 2nd largest city in Europe (Moscow is the largest), London is already home to thousands of migrants from Ukraine and other Eastern European countries, and with recent announcements from the U.K. government about accepting and processing Ukrainian refugees to come here, we are anticipating that many Ukrainians are already on their way to London as their #1 choice of places to seek asylum to reunite with friends and family who already call London home. Please pray for us and our church members here in West London as we prepare to welcome Ukranians to our church family and even some members' homes in the days ahead and minister to their physical and spiritual needs during this unimaginably difficult time for Ukraine.

Meetings in Prague

I’ve had the incredible privilege of spending the last several days in Prague, Czech Republic encouraging and being encouraged by the network of pastors, elders, church planters, and missionaries from across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East whose churches make up the International Presbyterian Church (IPC). Founded by Francis Schaeffer in 1969 as an evangelical denomination in the reformed tradition, the church that we serve with in London, IPC-Ealing, was the very first church planted. It’s an honour to serve with these Godly men and pray with and for them as they have shared about the amazing things King Jesus is doing in their churches and communities as they press into God’s Kingdom work through church planting, evangelism, and discipleship. What an incredible blessing.

The IPC is not a large denomination, and IPC-Ealing is no mega-church. Not by a long shot. But out of IPC-Ealing an entire network of Gospel driven churches has been planted, and we’re amazed by the ways God is at work in and through them. We’re reminded of Jesus’s words in the Parable of the Mustard Seed:

“And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

-Mark 4:31-32

It might be tempting to look at the incredible cathedrals and basilicas of Prague and all over Europe and think that the Kingdom of God is big, flashy, and expensive, but sadly, as beautiful as we may find them, most of post-Christian Europe’s cathedrals are empty of people, and sadly often, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They're beautiful, but all too often they are little more than museums that memorialize a time long past when the Gospel saturated this continent. I’m thankful for God’s faithfulness to work in and through tiny Gospel preaching churches dotted around the world like those in the IPC and other denominations and networks who would rather give and work sacrificially to plant the next Gospel centred church in a place where the Gospel isn’t present than build a cathedral.