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Louise and Peter Lynch
March 2026
Seasons
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Last week we were congratulated on being truly Bengali. As we coughed and spluttered our way through March our colleagues said, 'Look - you get seasonal flu like us!' Even illnesses get attributed to the seasonal patterns of Bangladesh and the pattern to life here is shaped around the six seasons. As March draws to a close, we know we are two weeks away from the summer 'hot season'. With the heat, we see an end to winter vegetables and the fruit stalls will once again fill up with local produce. It is the time when we gaze wistfully at the small mangoes on the trees and the awkward jackfruits appearing out of the tree trunks, willing them to grow quickly enough for us to enjoy before we go.
The big revival meeting season has ended, the weather is too unpredictable and hot now for long meetings outside in tents. We have been out in Jessore, Khulna, Gopalgonj, and Dinajpur, preaching, teaching and meeting hundreds of familiar faces. We will miss the energy and vibrancy, but not the prominence of speaking on large platforms – it's never been our preferred style and takes us well out of our comfort zone.
As the big meeting season ends, the smaller scale training and workshops begin. In some of the rural areas where churches are small and Pastors are few, we have been training young people how to lead worship so that churches do not stop meeting together and so that young people are able to flourish and take up their calling. There were over 20 young people in each area so these are signs of hope for new seasons ahead. Then, in the next couple of weeks the new trainees for church planting will start their work and courses and the next young people's Action Teams will be trained and sent. We are excited that candidates are coming forward and excited about linking youth teams with mission areas this time around.
Obviously for us, we have become used to the ebb and flow of our work life for the last eight years – rolling with the seasons of Bangladesh as well as the balance of work here and the work when we are home. Now, we are beginning to mark the end of this particular season with some uncertainty about what may come next, but knowing that there is a time for everything.
Where we see work extending in the outreach fields it is really encouraging. We often receive pictures from the fields of work where we see small groups meeting for Bible study, women doing literacy classes together, children and young people gathering, and baptisms taking place. Last week it was great to visit one of the evangelists who is working in a majority context who is now sending 4 people to train at Baptist Mission Training Centre so that the work among his network can be extended. We are seeing the value of building teams of workers in mission areas so that evangelists are less isolated and so that in the places where there is an open door for engaging with communities we are able to respond to the invitation and opportunity.
A highlight of late February was visiting one of the BMTC couples working in the south of Bangladesh. During their first year, their work had gone well, there was an openness in the village to hear about Jesus and they established some much needed work amongst the children. Then they began to face threats and intimidation. They wanted to keep going because of the relationships they had built up, but the decision about whether it was safe to stay or whether they should move weighed heavily on them.
When we visited in February, they had their bounce and happiness back. They were working in a new area and they had built rapport with a group of 10 families and were sharing the gospel and praying with people. We were amazed at the depth of the relationships they had developed. We were curious how this had happened and so quickly. They explained, it was through an introduction. One of the women in their first village had told her son about them, and as a significant person of standing in the village, he had given them an invitation.
It was a delight to sit and eat together with these families. We prayed together and enjoyed the seasonal fruit and vegetables they were growing that felt like quite a nice metaphor for what had happened. The seasons change, but as one opportunity closes down, God was already opening another fruitful opportunity.
Praise God that the national election in February happened relatively peacefully, as has the transition of power to the newly elected Parliament.
Give thanks for all the different ways that God is at work in Bangladesh.
Pray for the situation in the Middle East to be resolved and that Bangladesh and other Asian countries will navigate the negative impacts we are already experiencing of fuel shortages and inflation.
Pray for our colleagues as they contemplate this new season without BMS mission personnel being physically present with them. Pray that God will raise up the right people to continue His work.
As you can guess, this reflection on seasons has a significance for us as we prepare to end our season in Bangladesh. Please keep praying for us that God will give us the grace and energy to do this well.
With our love
Louise and Pete