Upcoming Trip to Muslim Majority Country, Please Pray

Hello friends, I just wanted to let you know that our public giving site, which has been located at www.mtw.org/bean since joining MTW staff a few years ago, is going to be “anonymised” sometime in the next few days (we’re not sure when exactly), with the removal of our family picture, names, and any personally identifiable details. But don’t panic, it’s not because we are leaving MTW or the mission field. We will be traveling to visit a team in a Muslim majority country in late March to encourage them and learn from them in hopes of becoming better equipped to reach our friends and neighbours from the Islamic world.

While we can't tell you the name of the city or country we'll be visiting, we can tell you a little bit about it. We can tell you that it is statistically "97-99%" muslim, and that the majority of Muslims there are Shia, with a large minority who are Sunni Muslims. With the exception of westerners who have moved there to do business in their growing economy, over 96% of its citizens are are members of Unreached People Groups and the number of Bible believing Christians in the country is only about 0.2% of the population. The good news is that Christianity is slowly growing there at a modest growth rate of just less than 4% per year, and they border another Muslim majority country where Christianity is growing faster than anywhere else in the world. (For comparison, Christianity's global annual growth rate for all countries is 2.6%, in the U.S. it is 0.8%, and the U.K. is 0.0%)

For security reasons, in order to keep the team we're visiting and the folks they are reaching in their host country safe, we can’t really say much more than that right now, and that is why our giving site will be changed soon in case any government officials or others may do a web search on us as part of our visa application, or other interactions that may happen while we’re in country. We’re also in the process of trying to remove anything from our social media that may be publicly accessible with a web search that would associate us with the organisation that we and the team we are visiting work for, including our Facebook group, which I have now changed the settings for to private and hidden except for people who are already members of the group.

We would be encouraged to have your prayers for this trip, both for us and for the team we will be visiting, and if you may feel led to give toward our travel expenses to learn from our colleagues there, we would be so grateful. For now you can still give online at our www.mtw.org/bean website, but we hope to have a new secure link soon that will be considerably more “bare bones” that may have not have any more information on it than our personal MTW ministry account number (400513).

Finally, if any of you tech gurus out there want to “snoop” for us with a search and let us know if find anything out there on the “World Wide Web” that we need to shut down, including mentions of us on church websites, newsletters posted online, etc. that could be helpful as well!

Bible Study Prep For Home Group in Multiple Languages

This is what my prep for Home Group Bible Study on Ephesians 2 looks like for tonight, and no, I don’t speak Farsi or Arabic. Why do you ask?

Google Translate For Our Home Group Chat Group

It warms my heart that sometimes we have to use Google translate to understand what’s being said in our home group’s WhatsApp chat!

Home Group Off To A Start for 2024

Hey friends,

After a very busy month of outreach in January with Hope Explored and getting our weekly Free English Classes off to a good start for the term, we were finally able to kick off our first Home Group Bible Study of 2024 tonight, starting a new study in Ephesians. We had our biggest group yet with 28 in attendance, including a really encouraging influx of newcomers from English class and Hope Explored, most of whom are not yet Christians and new to studying the Bible. Our friend Kit from Hong Kong came, as well as three other friends from Hong Kong, Calvin, Barbara, and Benson who I've been meeting with regularly to read the Bible together. 

Our Kuwaiti friend Khaled from English class came as well, even though he speaks almost no English whatsoever. Thankfully we had two other newcomers in attendance who can speak Arabic, Nadia (Iraq) and Habib (Iran) and were able to help translate for Khaled, and we also had some Farsi speakers who were new as well, Davood and Nayesh. Habib and I were able to visit more with Davood and Nayesh after the study to find our more about their story and they shared with us that they are from a Muslim background in Iran, but came to London in December wanting to learn more about Jesus. Last but not least one of our English class regulars, Mila from Ukraine came tonight as well who Shanna and I were really encouraged to see connect really well with one of our Polish friends Patrycja Pe-Ka who is a strong Christian and one of our Home Group regular attenders. Patrycja and her husband Dawid Kaliński and their children are very dear to us and have been such an encouagement for our family over the past 2 years here in London.

Please pray that the Lord would give us good opportunities to continue to follow up with each of these newcomers about Jesus, and that they would continue coming to Home Group and Free English Classes that God is using to help us connect with people, and especially that they might come along to church with us on a sunday morning or evening.

Please Pray for Asylum Seekers from Iran

Hey folks, would you please pray for our friends Bijan and Najme and their daughter Artemis? They came to London as asylum seekers from Iran just a couple of months after we arrived here in the U.K. ourselves, and yesterday at 3am they were evicted from the hotel near the church that the U.K. government has put them up in for nearly 2 years now. They recently received their approval for asylum status and granted the right to work in the U.K., which is good news, but that also meant that they were now put into a different category and no longer qualified under the contract the government has with the hotel for housing them and countless others of our refugee friends here in London from the Muslim world, Ukraine, and Russia.

Unfortunately, we have seen this as a common theme with asylum seekers in the U.K. After spending the night and most of yesterday in a homeless shelter, thankfully, a couple from church has stepped in to take them into their home for a couple of weeks while they try to find a place of their own to live nearby, and the church’s deacons and others are also stepping in to help as well.

Bijan, Najme, and Artemis arrived here with almost no English in 2022 and have been very faithfully attending church at IPC-Ealing, Persian Fellowship, and our English classes for the past 2 years, and Bijan’s need to learn English was actually one of the driving forces behind us starting an English class at the church that men could participate in. They are strong (though new) believers in Jesus coming from a Muslim background who have been through a lot and fled persecution for their faith in Christ, first from Iran, and then Turkey before landing here in Ealing.

Please pray for them to find a home near the church and Artemis’s school that they can afford so that they do not have to completely lose the community of care and support that they currently have around them in the church, and have to start from scratch with a new church, new school, and new community far away. Please also pray for their job search as they now finally have the right to work here in the U.K., but their job prospects will be slim as they continue to learn English.

Also, we have quite a number of our friends who come to our Free English Classes, the Persian Fellowship, and who we encounter every day here in Ealing who are in very similar situations and live in this same hotel and others like it nearby who are asylum seekers. Many of them are either new Christians, or very open to talking about the Gospel, especially as they experience care and friendship from Christians and the church. Often they had very good and successful careers in their home countries and then find themselves stripped of everything, including even the ability to communicate and work after fleeing for their lives to find safety in western nations like the U.K. and U.S. Your prayers for them would be so appreciated.

**This is not a picture of Bijan, Najme & Artemis, as it would not be safe for us to share a picture of them with you. This is a picture of another Iranian family who were denied assylum status in Sweden several years ago because they had become Christians, and were sent back to Iran. Right now the Christian faith is growing faster in Iran than in any other place on Earth (https://www.persecution.org/.../the-worlds-fastest.../). If you would like to read more about their story, you can click here:

https://www.persecution.org/2013/03/27/iranian-christians-denied-asylum-even-though-arrest-torture-and-death-await-back-in-iran/

https://www.charismanews.com/world/38808-sweden-denies-asylum-to-christians-facing-persecution

https://www.christianpost.com/news/iranian-christians-fleeing-severe-persecution-being-denied-asylum-in-sweden.html

Hope Explored Session 2 tonight, please pray

Hey friends, please pray for session 2 of our Hope Explored outreach tonight at IPC-Ealing at 7pm London time (1pm CST). We had a really encouraging turnout last week of about 55 for dinner and discussion about the Gospel, and many of those who came were not Christians and not in a church anywhere, and from many different religious backgrounds including those from Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu, as well as secular backgrounds.

Please pray for our associate pastor Reuben Hunter's talk on Peace from the Gospel of Luke and for good discussion, and pray that many would come back from the week before as well others who were not able to make it for session 1. Please pray for our friends Kit, Alicia & Edward from Hong Kong, Adil from Pakistan, Jorge from Chile, Khalid from Kuwait, Francesco & Diana from Italy, and many others who may come along as well.

Here's a short preview video with Rico Tice to give you an idea of what the programme is like, especially if you might like to give it a try at your own church or just at home with non-christian friends. It works equally well in small groups or one-to-one (if not better) as it does in more of a programme setting at a church, and can be done using the videos or someone giving a talk on the topics in person. Blessings to you all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8AbJ2N8NAY

Thank You For Praying For Hope Explored

Thank you so much for praying for our first of three Hope Explored outreach events last night at the church- we have two more weeks the next two Wednesday evenings so please do keep praying! We had a really encouraging turnout with about 55 in attendance for the discussion and a couple of great talks on the topic of “Hope” by Christianity Explored’s Rico Tice and our associate pastor Reuben Hunter. Please pray for the many non-Christians who came along, including Mary Elisabeth’s friend’s mum Kit and Kit’s nephew Edward (who are both Buddhists from Hong Kong), as well as Jorge (from Chile), Adil (a Muslim from Pakistan), and Nadia (an Assyrian Catholic from Iraq), who all come regularly to our English classes and are meeting with them for one to one Bible reading together. 

I had a really encouraging conversation for about an hour after the event ended with Adil from Pakistan (pictured in the black coat at our discussion table) about the Gospel where he just about asked me every question about Jesus that you can imagine. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work in his heart and the hearts of all who came and heard the Gospel. 

Finally, please pray for a newcomer named Khalid, a Muslim and refugee from Kuwait who showed up seemingly out of nowhere to our English Class Christmas Party last month and since then has shown up to not only Free English Classes, but also Sunday morning church service and now Hope Explored. We are working very hard to try to communicate effectively with Khalid using things like Google Translate, but Arabic is his first language and he speaks almost no English whatsoever, but he seems very friendly and interested.

More Home Group Members Joining the Church

We were encouraged this evening to have some more of our Home Group Bible Study members join the church this evening. When we started our Home Group after arriving in Ealing in 2022 we wanted to gear it toward newcomers to the church and those on the “periphery” who were not already plugged in. We also hoped that it would be a safe place, both for non-Christians who we and our members are building relationships with to be able to come with their questions, and for hurting and broken people to experience the grace and loving care of the Lord and his church.

While new to IPC-Ealing, Rico, Lucy, and their three children have been anything but on the periphery, and have jumped right into church life and our Home Group since moving from Central London to just around the corner from us here in Ealing over summer. We’ve been so encouraged by their faithfulness to the Lord, their heart for sharing Christ with others in evangelism, and how they have already helped in caring for other members of our group!

Rico has a gift for evangelism and will be leading a Hope Explored dinner outreach at IPC-Ealing the next three Wednesday nights of January on the 10th, 17th, and 24th, which we and many other church members are inviting non-Christian friends to. Shanna and I will also be helping with the outreach by hosting a table at the dinner each night and facilitating discussion. Please pray for the Lord to be at work to bring many non-Christians to the Hope Explored events, and that he would use these next three Wednesday evenings to clearly present the Gospel to those in attendance.

An Encouraging New Years Eve Email From Japan

Hello Friends, we received such an encouraging email on New Year’s Eve from our friend Kaoru from Japan who you may recall us requesting your prayers for this past spring. It’s not every day that we get to hear from those we’ve had a chance to minister to after returning from the U.K. to their home country, so it’s a special treat to share this with you. 

After meeting with Kaoru several times and him coming along to English classes and our Home Group Bible Study in the spring and summer, it became apparent that Kaoru was already a Christian, which was an encouraging surprise! We’re so thankful to hear from him about what an encouragement our ministry to him was while he was away from his home culture, wife, and children, and that he was able to pass his Japanese government service English exams with distinction. 

Please continue to pray for Kaoru, that he would continue to walk with Jesus while living in his home country of Japan, one of the world’s largest unreached people groups, where less than 0.6% of Japanese people are Bible believing Christians and Christian fellowship and good teaching can be very hard to find. Please also pray for his efforts to be promoted to a foreign service post with his government in the U.S., U.K., or other English speaking country, or that the Lord would give him more and greater opportunities to witness to his faith in Christ at home in Japan.

While you’re praying for Parham, would you also please pray for Benson, as well as his cousin Barbara and her husband Calvin? Benson, Barbara, and Calvin all come from Hong Kong and have been coming to free English Classes, the Sunday evening service at IPC-Ealing, and Benson & Barbara have begun coming to our Home Group Bible study recently as well as some of our recent Christmas parties.

Benson and I have been meeting weekly to read and discuss the Gospel of Mark together. Many of our English students are keen to meet one to one or in small groups to read the Bible, initially perhaps to practice their English, because they are wanting to make friends, or even because they are interested in learning more about Jesus. Please pray that Benson and his cousins would come to fall in love with and put their faith in Jesus.

London's Cutest Evangelist

It’s been a very busy week for us here, with multiple Christmas party events, carol services, and even a funeral of a friend from seminary, but one of the of highlights of this week was getting to see Shanna Hymes Bean share her testimony and clearly present the Gospel to the ladies gathered for the Free English Classes women’s Christmas party on Wednesday morning at the church with women in attendance from Iran, Ukraine, Japan, and several other nationalities who do not have access to the Gospel in their home countries. I’m not often up there for the women’s class because some of the women come from cultures that discourage them from interacting with men outside of their family, but I had to go drop some things off at the church from our co-ed English Class Christmas Party the night before, and I just happened to walk in right as Shanna was getting up to give her talk and was able to snap a sneeky pic of my cute evangelist.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would be at work among the ladies present for the Christmas Party to hear Shanna’s talk, and that many of them would come to one of the church’s four upcoming Christmas Carol Services over the next week to hear more about Jesus.

Please Pray for Parham

Would you please pray for our friend Parham from Iran? I’ve met with Parham probably 4-5 times now over the past several weeks to answer his questions about Jesus, and we began reading the Gospel of Matthew together today. Parham came to London to pursue a master’s degree in renaissance art, and first began considering the Gospel after his dissertation research led him to a book called The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, by the German political economist Max Weber.

Weber argued in his work that it was Christianity (and specifically the Protestant Reformation) which has led to the progress and prosperity of the western world, which to Parham, seemed to stand in stark contrast to what he has seen in his homeland, dominated by Shia Islam and Sharia law which have led Iran and other predominantly Muslim nations mostly to inequality, poverty, injustice, and systematic oppression. So Parham sought out a Reformed Protestant church like IPC-Ealing that might be able to help him understand the message of Christianity better, which is how we met.

In God's amazing providence, Parham came to IPC-Ealing for the first time in the middle of a Sunday afternoon after the morning service had ended, and the only thing going on at the church at that time was our Persian Fellowship Bible Study as we discussed that morning's sermon in English and his native language of Farsi. Since that time, Parham has been coming regularly to our Free English Classes outreach, our Home Group Bible Study, and to the Sunday evening church services. In his own words, Parham is at a place right now where he is no longer a muslim, but he's not sure yet if he is ready to trust in Jesus.

Please pray for Parham to trust in Jesus, and not merely in an intellectual or pragmatic way, but so that he might repent and be saved.

Thank you for praying for our Tuesday night Free English Classes Christmas Party outreach this evening!

We all had a fantastic time and I honestly have no idea how many people we had, it was like counting fish in an aquarium, they wouldn't stop moving! Probably about 60+. Nearly all of them were non-Christians, several of whom we’re connecting with regularly and sharing Christ with through small group and one-to-one Bible reading, and so many of them have become some of our favourite people!

Regardless, we had a merry time and there were several newcomers who came along, including an entire family of Persians who emailed me out of the blue just yesterday, and a very sweet Pakistani family who’ve been coming and brought several family members who’ve never come to English class before. At one point I did have to answer a question from a newcomer named Abdul about whether or not the mince pies we were serving were "Halal friendly" or not, which honestly was not something I'd had to think much about before!

Dawson read the story of Jesus’ birth from Luke 1 & 2 in front of the group before dinner and spoke about the hope of Christmas in Jesus Christ, as well as expressing our gratitude and appreciation to our team of teachers and volunteers with some special gifts, all of whom we could not run our weekly Free English Classes outreach without!

Our Wednesday morning women’s Free English Class will have their own Christmas party in the morning, which Shanna will be sharing her testimony at in front of about 40-50 women. Please pray for the Lord to work in the hearts of these women in the morning and for those who came to the party this evening to come to know our great saviour Jesus Christ.

Please Pray for Our Free English Classes Christmas Party Outreaches at IPC-Ealing

Hi Friends, December is such a wonderful time for Gospel outreach to our friends and neighbours! Please pray for our upcoming Christmas Parties with our students from our Free English Classes outreach at IPC-Ealing next Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Nearly all of our students are new to the U.K. and many of them are coming from various world faith backgrounds including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, or no faith background at all. Students have been invited to bring along their families to the party as well, and we hope that this will help us and our volunteers and teachers (all are IPC-Ealing church members) come into contact with even more people to share Christ with. We will also be sharing the story of Jesus's birth narrative from the Gospel of Luke at the party.

Please pray that we would have fun, make good connections for the Gospel, and that we would continue to be able to follow up with students for evangelism, discipleship, and one-to-one & small group Bible studies. We will also be holding four different Christmas Carol outreach events at the church later this month, as well as running a Christianity Explored course at the church in January, which we'll be announcing at the parties and extending personal invitations to students to come along with us to.

Thank you for your continued prayers and partnership!

Thanksgiving in London

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! We've had a busy few days of life and ministry between Home Group, a trip to York for Presbytery on Friday and Saturday, and a very full day at church yesterday, so sorry we're just now getting around to posting this. On Thursday evening our Home Group Bible Study celebrated a very international take on an American Thanksgiving Dinner with guests and dishes from around the world.

Even though Thanksgiving is celebrated in several countries other than just the U.S., including Canada and Brazil, the United Kingdom is not among them. In fact, many British people and many other nationalities often don't know much about Thanksgiving or why we celebrate it. So because of Thanksgiving's origins and orientation toward thanking God for the blessings in our lives, it’s a really great opportunity to talk about Jesus. Before dinner Dawson gave a very brief explanation of the origins of Thanksgiving and a short devotional from Psalm 100 before praying for our meal.

This Thanksgiving will be especially memorable for our family as we gathered together with our regular Home Group members as well as a few non-Christian friends who we’ve been getting to know and reaching out to from our Free English Classes outreach. Please continue to pray for our Home Group Bible Study and for our outreach to international friends through Free English Classes.

Please pray especially for non-Christian friends Parham (Iran), Adil (Pakistan), Benson (Hong Kong), Dmitri (Russia), and Francesco (Italy) as Dawson meets with them weekly to read and discuss the Gospel of Mark one to one. Please pray also for growing Christian friends who we are meeting with regularly as well for one to one discipleship, including Eduardo (Spain), Zuri (Brazil), Justin and Zuko (both from South Africa), Fenno (Kenya), Amirreza (Iran), Yuki (Japan), Prateek and David (both from India), Dawid (Poland), as well as many others, and that the Lord would continue to open doors for new opportunities for evangelism and discipleship through Free English Classes, church, Home Group, and the Ealing community.