Speaker Bio - Peter Calvert

Peter & Rachel last joined us in 2008 and  work as church planters in South Central France with France Mission.  They are currently working in the large provincial town of Saint-Etienne, pastoring the church that they planted there seven years ago. 

As foreign missionaries, they are keenly aware of the importance of training local leaders to take forward the work of the gospel in France.  To that end, Peter heads up a national programme called New Generations, which aims to promote the recruitment and training of France's future church leaders.

"Take the teachings that you heard me proclaim in the presence of many witnesses, and entrust them to reliable men, who will be able to teach others also." (2 Tim 2:2)

Peter and Rachel have three little girls aged between 2 and 6. Between them they enjoy country walks, hockey, making cabins, talk radio, Thomas the Tank Engine and P.G. Wodehouse.

David Eastwood & Family

As many will remember, David and family joined us for the convention last year whilst home on deputation. He returned to work in January and we received the following update. Please remember David in your prayers.

We arrived in Taiwan on Saturday afternoon after 3 flights and two long waits in airports. Arriving home we were rather dismayed at the state of the house. Everything was covered in dust and grime, the inside of the car and fridge were covered in mould and the phone and internet were not working (they were supposed to have been reconnected).

I was able to get my motorbike started but not the car or Lucy's motorbike. Lucy cleaned the fridge while I swept floors but we soon ran out of energy and decided to go to bed.

Sunday - and we couldn't really face the grime so we went to the Taiping church meeting. The numbers were low this week but there was a new lady who attended for the first time. In the afternoon we all set to scrubbing floors. I cleaned the inside of the car and pushed it out of the house onto the street, where with the aid of a neighbour we got it going. So this morning we were able to drive Naomi to school. Today was more frenzied cleaning and also the phone and internet were connected so things are slowly becoming normal. Just Lucy's scooter to fix now and a few more rooms to scrub clean.

I am teaching a course this evening and off to Taipei tomorrow. Please continue to pray that we will quickly adjust back to life here.

Funding the Family

There is an exciting training event organised by Stewardship in Belfast on the 9th March 2013. Funding the Family Business is a one-day seminar hosted by Belfast Bible College, led by Myles Wilson, specifically for those who raise personal support for Christian mission. The attached flyer gives more detail on the content.

The cost of the seminar is normally £50 which includes a light lunch and a copy of the book to take away, however for Stewardship Account holders or members of Global Connections, the cost is reduced to only £35 per place, with a further discount available for couples.

For more information on Funding the Family Business, visit http://www.fundingthefamilybusiness.org or go straight to our online shop to make a booking. To take advantage of the reduced price, select the discounted option. If you would like to discuss any aspect of the training before making a booking, please contact Fiona Mearns at Stewardship on 020 8418 8880 or at education@stewardship.org.uk

Prayer Update

Bible Readings
As has been the case in the last couple of months, our principal request is for guidance to the person of God’s choice for the Bible readings. Since our previous update we have tried a couple of doors but these have not opened for us. We are grateful for those who have taken the time to write in with their suggestions and will continue our search but please pray that it will come to a successful conclusion soon. Our first wave of advertising will be going out shortly and it would be good to have this aspect finalised by then.

Tatyana Ball
Give thanks for the good news relating to Tatyana Ball – on of our speakers from 2012. She has just received the all-clear after an extended period of treatment for cancer and the family hope to resume their work in Eastern Europe soon.

Church Alive
Please pray for a new initiative which we have arranged for 2013. In conjunction with Open Doors and Christianity Explored Ministries we are having a Spring Convention in Bangor ( Hamilton Road church ) on Saturday 4th May at 7.30 pm. We will have speakers from two countries where the church is under pressure and yet in spite of this is expanding rapidly. Hence our title for the day – CHURCH ALIVE. Rico Tice will also be present ( DV ) to bring a closing message. More details about this event will appear on our website but please pray as we finalise details of the programme for the day and especially regarding the decisions to be made about publicity.