Every prayer is answered, one way or another

Firstly, Dora had never done a project like this before and she lives in a completely different part of the country from where the stoves have been installed. In fact, bad weather and impassable roads has so far made it impossible for her to visit the stoves herself. Nevertheless, she reported last week that the stoves had already been built and were being used by the two families selected to participate in this intentionally very small pilot project.

Secondly, the critical eco stove materials - the iron hotplate and galvanized aluminium chimney - needed to be transported from Piura to Wichim. The journey was due to consist of overland coach, boat and finally an hour's walk carrying all the materials through the rainforest to the village. However, the village arranged donkeys, at their own initiative and expense, to carry the materials for that last hour. Furthermore, the two families each provided all the sand and gravel needed for the cement mixture, something which was also unexpected.

Thirdly, Pr. Harmitaño, with whom I worked on the first eco stove projects in Piura, had to travel on his own to the region for the first time, meet the local missionary (Peruvian) and the pastor serving the village for the first time, and work together to build the two stoves from scratch. By all accounts, Pr. Harmitaño managed his debut as eco stove technical specialist and construction trainer with competence and success.

Sadly, I don't yet have any pictures but Dora is due to visit in collaboration with CEBP's Department of Evangelism and Missions in October and I look forward to seeing some photos from this visit when Dora will also be able to evaluate how well the stoves are being used and any other issues.

- Below is a photo I took from a different Awajun village in the same region a couple of years ago. It gives you an idea of the terrain! Let's pray that this pilot stage confirms the appropriateness of the project for this community and that all the learning can be used effectively for when it's hopefully time to scale it up in 2027.

- Let's pray that these stoves are used well by the pastor to point the beneficiaries to their Creator God, who loves each one, who cares about their well-being and has created them to be good stewards of creation.

- This coming January at the CEBP Assembly, Dora's role of Director for Social Action is up for re-election. Please pray for the right person with a genuine passion for holistic mission to be elected and may the ministry of the eco stoves continue even if Dora is no longer in the role.

Much closer to home, July and August saw me dusting off my British Camping Credentials and heading first to a beautiful quiet rural campsite just outside Narberth in Pembrokeshire with my sister, my niece and their dog; then on to the 7,000-strong Limitless Festival, a Christian youth festival held at Stafford Showground, as a member of the youth leaders team with a small group from my church youth group. As you can imagine, they were both very different camping experiences. One boasted a tranquil view across green countryside to the Preseli Hills; the other boasted the UK's longest inflatable assault course. In both cases, God's infinitely variable blessings did abound!

At the end of August I took the train to Brussels for the assembly of the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN). Not only was this the first time I was attending an ECEN event, it was also the first opportunity to finally meet Aline Nussbaumer, my co-lead for IBTS's Creation Care and the Gospel programme, since about 18 months. We had an excellent time of fellowship amongst believers from a variety of denominations all active in creation stewardship from across Europe - we also heard from some excellent speakers, including Dr. Ruth Valerio who graciously agreed to a photo with Aline and I!

Returning to the UK, it was a real joy to be invited to speak on creation stewardship within the work of BMS recently, not once but twice in the same day! Thank you to everyone at Chatsworth Baptist Church in West Norwood who received me so enthusiastically and were so hospitable. Thank you also to everyone at the Iglesia Bautista de Londres, a Spanish-speaking church who meet in Chatsworth BC's building on a Sunday afternoon, who also gave me the opportunity to bring out my Peruvian Spanish. ¡Muchas gracias!

Finally, previously I also asked for prayer for the Creation Care and the Gospel programme and specifically the brand new online course that Aline and I wrote during the Summer. The course officially starts in the last week of September and in fact we don't have the minimum number of participants required, but IBTS has asked if we're willing to run it anyway. We've agreed to do this - this time...please continue to pray for divine guidance on what should happen with the programme next year. We still have one more webinar with Dr. Ruth Valerio on the 11th November, which already has a good number of people signed up for and you can still register for this here: https://www.ibts.eu/programmes/how-to-survive-in-a-world-of-crisis

Meanwhile in October, do keep a look out for BMS's Ethical Fashion Guide and small group resources, for which I've had the privilege of preparing the Creation Stewardship Thread. Researching it was quite an eye-opener but the resources and the Guide itself provide really practical ways in which we can all respond positively.

Thank you and God bless!

Love Laura x