A fantastic week of ministry, community, and just a little mud. Keri opened the Bible Week by saying “I’m glad you made it”. Right from the start through the prophetic word God that said He wanted to bless us and soak us in the Holy Spirit, and that is what He did throughout the week. Keri ministered from the life of Jabez, a man to whom the Bible devotes only two verses in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. Jabez cried out to God “Oh, that you would bless me, and enlarge my territory! … And God granted his request”. We were exhorted throughout the week to know our identity in Christ, to give our whole selves to seeking the King and His Kingdom. On the Tuesday afternoon the sun came out and we had a BBQ on the Manchester site, it was great to see the family of God fellowshipping together and breaking bread.

We recently returned from a fantastic family holiday in France. We had such a good time and did so many things together but one of the highlights had to be our Mission 193 visit to Bordeaux. Bordeaux is very much the capital of the Aquitaine region of France. I had made a contact with a Christian in Bordeaux through the internet before we left for France. He had invited us to visit his church one Saturday evening so we decided to spend a day in the city and then stop on for the church meeting in the evening.

Richard and Judith were really blessed that 7 year-old Luke and 5 year-old Josie were keen to play an active part in the mission. We stood together as a family in a large square between the Town Hall and the Catholic Cathedral. We took turns to read the prophetic scriptures and to pray and claim the nation of France for the Lord. We asked the Lord to show us who to present with our Bibles and the letter we were carrying from Keri. We felt that although they would already have Bibles, we should give them to someone at the church we would be visiting as a prophetic symbol of God’s Word advancing in the nation and of prayer and support coming from the UK.

When we got to the church meeting it turned out that our contact was unable to come. But we met a fantastic young couple who were really interested in what we were doing. They introduced us to the young man’s father who was one of the elders of the church. We presented them with the Bibles and with Keri’s letter. They immediately understood the significance of what we were doing and were so encouraged to hear all about Mission 193. The elder invited Richard to give a testimony in the meeting which seemed to really bless the church. Luke and Josie had a fantastic time in the children’s group even though they don’t speak any French and nobody there spoke any English. Everything about our visit to the church felt ordained by the Lord and full of prophetic purpose.

We would encourage anyone considering Mission 193 that you really can make it a fun, enjoyable and very meaningful part of a family holiday. Our children have already asked if we can go on a mission to another country. It’s exciting to know that they are growing up with mission as such a natural part of their lives.

Richard, Judith, Luke, Josie and Nathan Anniss.

As part of my third year at university I have to undertake a geological mapping project, working for a month in the field mapping an area of 16km square. One of the exciting things about this part of my course is that you can do it in the UK, Europe or even further away. A group of three others and myself decided we wanted to make the most of this opportunity and will be going to Chile, in the west of South America from the 6th August to the 25th September.

This is a really exciting opportunity… an opportunity to explore a beautiful region of the world, experience a different culture, increase my knowledge and understanding of the geology of this region and develop teamwork and leadership skills. As exciting as these things are this is more than an expedition for myself and Pete (one of the other members of the team, and a good friend from the local Church I’m part of in Cambridge), it’s also a mission… to make Jesus famous!

The thing that excites me most about going to Chile is seeing what God will do, and what opportunities He opens up. We will travelling a fair bit in the country and so will come across a lot of people, from diverse backgrounds. We will be taking time to speak the prophetic word over the country, praying for the nation, and taking Bibles and letters to give to the righteous people God leads us to… in line with the vision of Mission 193. We’ll also be taking time to meet with a local body of Christians over there, to hear from them about their passions and dreams for their nation.

I don’t believe it’s by chance that this opportunity to travel to virtually any country in the world has occurred in the same period of time as Mission 193. God has been so faithful in providing finance, so that I have to contribute hardly anything to the costs of going. Please be praying for this exciting opportunity… to make Jesus famous, build His Kingdom and take His gospel to the ends of the earth.

Once again this year, it is our privilege to be able to sow into the Bible School in Nadiad, India that Chandrakant Chavada heads up. From the tithe, we have sponsored five of the above students as they are trained and equipped to take the good news of the Gospel into the various regions of India.

Chandrakant reports of great testimonies from the students who were at the Bible School last year:

“Raman Gavit was a last year student in the Bible School. After completion of his school he decided to go back to his own village in Dangs. His village was very poor. He started introducing the message of the Kingdom of Christ. One by one people started loving and receiving this message. In less than 3 months time 49 people from his own village have experienced a dramatic change in their lives . The new covenant community has taken place . The village is filled with great joy”

We are planting and sowing into good soil here – let’s believe for a great harvest for the Kingdom both in India and here in the UK.

On the 6^th June a team of 5 guys from the UK including 2 guys from King’s church Manchester, Dan Owen and Jimmi Nelson left for Italy. Our objective was to share the gospel using football as a platform, in conjunction with Mission 193.

The first 3 days were spent in Rome running tournaments for local churches. Several churches got involved and invited a number of non-Christian players. Each of the tournaments was well attended and we had the opportunity to present the gospel each time. The messages were well received and led to numerous opportunities for local Christians to invite players to their churches.

One day was spent visiting Rome’s city centre, it was amazing seeing the various ancient ruins and structures. We scrambled to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica where we were treated to a breath taking view of Rome. Amongst the crush of tourists squeezing round the tiny balcony we prayed that God would bless Italy and break through the constraints of religious ritual.

The remaining week was spent in a considerably poorer and less attractive town 20 miles outside of Naples called Castellammare. The sights of Rome were replaced by streets covered with refuse and graffiti. A member from the church we were working with told us that the town was in this poor state largely due to the oppression and corruption enforced by the local mafa.

Throughout the week we worked with around 100 youths between 5 – 17 years old. To cope with the language barrier we were accompanied by four missionary children in their late teens who translated for us. It was extremely hard work as they weren’t very well behaved and proved a challenge to keep control of through our young translators. However God answered our prayers as their behaviour improved greatly and we were able to build friendships and trust with them.

We held two separate awards presentations within the areas we’d be coaching. Both events were in public places and all the kids attended along with families and intrigued passers by. There was a fantastic atmosphere there and God was once again faithful in answering our prayers to touch the lives of the young people. By his grace 25 of them made first time commitments to accept Jesus into their lives, praise God! It is encouraging to know that the church in Castellammare has a very active children’s work in which these new Christians can be discipled.

On the team we took to Castellammare was a guy called Mateo who is not a Christian or from a believing family. He met our church contact Fabrizio at a tournament two weeks before the trip and invited him along with us. It was clear God had been challenging him throughout the week and when we offered him one of the Bibles Mission 193 had given us to take out there he almost took Dan’s arm off!

Thank you to everyone from King’s Church who supported this trip, it was such a blessing to be a part of what God is doing in other nations. I would encourage everyone to get involved in Mission 193 and see just how vast and advancing God’s kingdom is throughout the world.