The one from a season of grieving

The Clark family are in mourning for the passing away of John Clark, Daniel's father, after years of poor health. Known to many readers of this prayer letter, John had been a BMS Mission worker in Brazil and Ecuador prior to his retirement, being involved in church planting, theological education and leadership development. Daniel led the funeral service on August 23rd for family and a Thanksgiving service will be held on September 20th at Sudbury Baptist Church where he had been a member for the last fifteen years.

Meanwhile, we are staying with Daniel's mum while our situation is sorted out. This provides us with some stability, after staying at eight different residences in the last eight months, especially for Regiane whose neck pain has been particularly affected by all our moves. She has had an MRI scan and is waiting to hear back from the Spinal Clinic team with regards to what treatment will be necessary.

This is also a time of change of direction. We have been in discussions with BMS with regards to our return to France, believing that changes needed to be made to the structure around us, so that we could move forward. Without going into too many details, we and BMS agreed that Regiane should move to work alongside Daniel in BMS' Department of Intercultural Learning and Collaboration and also be seconded to IBTS. We are having conversations in September to discern what Regiane's role in IBTS will be.

This will entail settling in the Netherlands, through Daniel obtaining an Irish Passport through his Irish grandmother. This has required chasing after different certificates. It has also meant significant investigative work, not least because there were doubts about whether she was born in Belfast or Dublin. Eventually, through a free trial at a genealogical site, and a search on an Irish registry of births Daniel was able to see the record of her birth in Dublin.

Meanwhile, Daniel has tried to get on with his responsibilities with IBTS. This is easier now that he is able to set up a temporary office, with a functioning computer, as opposed to try to work on a dying Chromebook in the kitchen of a flat we were sharing with Ana's friends. Recently, he has been engaged with course evaluation, reading and analysing student feedback from the previous year and reviewing the forms to be used this year. He has also been involved in helping to develop an apprenticeship programme within IBTS. This programme seeks to provide young leaders across the European Baptist Federation with training, mentoring and the possibility to explore in depth themes which are important for their personal development.

In the midst of all these trials and changes we have also experienced God's provision. A source of stress has been helping Ana to find accommodation for her second year at Bristol, as the initial plans had fallen through. However, in God's mercy, the night before John's funeral we received news that a local minister in Bristol had spare space in her home and was able to take Ana in.

Please pray:

For the Clark family in this time of mourning.

For Regiane's health and that she can soon have an appointment with the specialist.

For our ministry with IBTS.

For the process of Daniel applying for an Irish passport and our planned move to the Netherlands.

For Ana as she starts her second year at medical school.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."