Dear Family & Friends, 

In Birmingham, UK, 94% of the people are unreached with the gospel and over 50% of them are multi-cultural, so Bobby and I are attending a church plant in the center of the city that is focused on reaching different people groups in our neighborhood. Our apartment is a 10-minute walk from where the church meets in a youth center (you can see the area of the city in the picture below). It’s been wonderful getting to know the core team, who is almost half our age, and being a part of helping this church grow. On the right, I took a picture one Sunday as a young man was giving his testimony before being baptized. 

Last Sunday, we held an event called “Park Life,” where we invited everyone from the neighborhood to join us for food, games, and crafts for the kids. Over 300 people came for the day. It was an excellent opportunity to share with the parents to bless the families living in this part of Birmingham. As a follow-up, we invited people for dinner to the townhomes of some of the members. We went to the pastor’s home, Jonny and Anneli, where we talked with British families, Germans, Jamaicans, Iranians, Ghanaian, and one Greek guy.  

I prayed for Merat, an Iranian young man who is 20 yrs old. He was scheduled to have his visa interview the next week, and Merat told me that if he were denied, he would have nowhere to go. He also said he will never see his family again. Ashamed at having worried about getting our visas for the UK, I thought about the security we have of being able to return to the US any time.    

Ganda (picture above) is also from Iran and a hairdresser. Her English is limited, but she tells me she always understands Bobby and me when we talk to her. Ganda has been waiting for several years for a permanent visa. 

Tomorrow we fly to the US for 6 six weeks to apply for a two-year visa. All of our friends tell us we won’t have any problems. It makes me sad knowing there are so many others who don’t have the same privilege we do as Americans. 

 • Please pray for my dad. He is experiencing severe pain in his back and can hardly walk. Anyone who knows him understands how hard this is for someone who has always been active. 
• Pray for the Gate Church in Birmingham, UK. Jonny, his wife, Anneli, and the small group of believers are trying to reach a challenging neighborhood.
• Pray for us to get our visas so we can return in August.

Thank you so much for your prayers, Teresa