EASTER 2003 - NEWSLETTER 26
"I will exchange your bronze for gold, your iron for silver, your wood for bronze, and your stones for iron. Peace and righteousness will be your leader!"
(Isaiah 60 : 17)
Greetings for Easter from everyone on the Gypsies for Christ team. At this time we give thanks and praise for the death of Christ and his resurrection - for the wonderful exchange of our old sinful lives for new life in Him. God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even when we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. We have been saved by God's special favour!
CHANGES
We begin this year with many exciting changes. After nearly ten years as Chairman of GFC Sonnie has handed over the reins to David Morgan, who has been one of our Trustees for some time now. We thank Sonnie for all his hard work over the years and congratulate him on reaching his seventieth birthday. He will continue to be involved as a Trustee and with the projects in Eastern Europe. We welcome David and look forward to progress and expansion of the work under his leadership in the years ahead. Please note the new addresses at the top of this letter. We also welcome Margaret Aked as our Minutes Secretary and look forward to her efficient presence at our AGM and Trustees meetings. Rosemary will continue as Secretary until the end of the year so someone to take over from her is urgently needed. If you can help in this way please let David know.
TRUSTEES, TRANSPORT & AID
We welcome Ivor Heaton , Tony Oldbury and Adrian Coe who joined us as Trustees in January and are grateful for their willingness to serve the Gypsy people. Both Ivor and Tony are from Lancashire and are experienced drivers. They have been involved in Christian Outreach for a long time and have made many trips into Eastern Europe. They will make an introductory trip to Slovakia with Sonnie and Rosemary in May to establish contacts there and transport the aid that is, at the moment, in storage. But in the future they will handle the collection and transport of aid for GFC. Adrian is from Peterborough and has been working with Roma asylum seekers from the Czech Republic. He visits there regularly and spent time in Partizanske, Slovakia last summer.
We praise the Lord for all the new members of the GFC Team and ask you to remember them in your prayers.
LAND ROVER DISCOVERY TDI
Thank you all for your response to the appeal for funds for another vehicle. Your prayers and gifts have been greatly appreciated. We now have a dark grey Land Rover that is eight years old and seats seven people. It is economical and comfortable with plenty of space for luggage on the outward journey as the seats can be folded down, and it is ideal for the rough roads in Eastern Europe. It will also be useful as transport for our mission teams. At the moment it is being serviced and thoroughly checked over in readiness for the summer trips.
Our prayer is that all who gave to meet this need will receive a hundred fold increase!
PROJECTS FOR 2003
Last year GFC received a request to start a woodworking project and some tools have been donated for this purpose and also for the garage in Partizanske. Since all the GfC Projects will be developed under the umbrella of SHARON it has been decided that they will be called SHARON Gardens, SHARON Garage and so on. This summer we will be developing these projects and starting a Charity shop. Once they are all up and running they will provide employment and opportunities for evangelism, and one tenth of any profits will be used to further the work of GFC in Slovakia.
Please keep all these projects, the people who will find employment and self-respect through them and the continued need of finance for running costs in your prayers.
USTIBEN APRIL 8TH 2003
This year Roma National Day will be held on Mill Plain in Epping Forest near the 'Gypsy Stone' where a service will be held to commemorate the Christian contribution made by Rodney Smith MBE to society. Other events will be taking place at venues all over the world and will include the lighting of candles to create a 'wave of light.'
