Leaving in 9 Days!!!!!

Our next adventure to the UK is only 9 days away! That’s right! We leave June 7 to fly to Newcastle upon Tyne (name of the city), Tyne and Wear (name of the county), in northeastern England. We will actually be living just south of Newcastle across the River Tyne in the city of South Shields. South Shields is a city of about 80,000 wonderful English folks and sets right on the North Sea. This will be very different to the countryside of rural Oxfordshire where we were last year.

Westoe Road Baptist Church (WRBC) in South Shields has extended this invitation to us and we are very excited about the things that are going on there. The church has around 40 members and is actively seeking to reach those in the surrounding area. They are a church with a heart for missions. In fact, as we are writing this entry, there is a group from WRBC headed to Lithuania for a week of mission work. In the past few months they have experienced additions to the church in the way of baptisms and 10 new babies born to church families. There is a very energetic daily nursery and after-school children’s program called Whizz Kids. Women’s Bible study meets weekly as well as a ladies group called “Knit and Natter” who faithfully pray for the church and have participated in Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan’s Purse. “Coffee Pot” is a weekly time of fellowship and is stated to have been called “the best café in South Shields.” Wait a minute! Shouldn’t this be “Tea Pot?” After all, it’s England, right!? We’ll have to check on that and report back to you :).

WRBC even has a Facebook page so you can check them out by searching for Westoe Road Baptist Church. You’ll be able to see many of the members as well as some great pictures of the church. It is updated regularly. We are so impressed by the progressive nature of this church and appreciate how they have already welcomed us. When a church enlists the help of an American Interim, they accept the responsibility for finding a home for us to live in as well as a car for us to drive. Angela Pino, the church secretary, has been wonderful to keep us updated as their teams have progressed through these responsibilities. She has posted pictures of our house on Facebook, so you can check those out on either of our Facebook pages. Our new address is:

152 Bamburg Ave.
South Shields
England, UK
NE34 7SZ

They are brave souls to provide Americans with a car . . . with the steering wheel on the wrong side. We can hardly wait to brush up on our driving skills!

We are eager to meet the wonderful folks at WR and see how the Lord will meld our hearts and minds together by His Spirit. We look forward to seeing what He has for us to do in His Kingdom work there. We would appreciate your prayers for:

• Relationships to develop quickly
• Shared Vision in ministry
• Dennis as he prepares to preach each week
• Brenda as she teaches Bible Study (We’ll start with Colossians)
• Opportunities to meet our neighbors on Bamburgh Ave. as soon as possible and that those conversations will rapidly become spiritual conversations that will result in their salvation
• Our home to become a place of hospitality and fellowship with church members as well as those we meet in our neighborhood

We hope you enjoy following us on this blog as well as on Facebook and we will attempt to keep you up to date as to all that the Lord does during these next 7 months.