by Brant Holladay, Editor/European Director

It was 1982 and I was driving Dr. Lee Roberson to the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. It is no exaggeration for me to say that Dr. Roberson was my hero. His life was lived above reproach and his great ministry at Highland Park Baptist Church of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was world renown.

Late that night as I sat in the driver's seat with the preacher by my side, I shared that my wife and I would soon be returning to England to continue our ministry that had begun in the 60's under BIMI. As we talked, I asked that he would pray for God's anointing on our lives. I well remember how I opened my heart about our determination to make a new start in church planting. What Dr. Roberson said that night was to shape my whole perspective for future service.

That night Dr. Lee Roberson quietly advised me to find a building in some populace area where a church could be most beneficial. The words of the preacher's instruction were simply stated: "The building is the key." In this issue of EUROPE you will see how BIMI missionaries are working this truth out in practice. Read and rejoice to see how God is at work in Europe today.

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by Mickey and Christine Schrimshire
BIMI missionaries to England

In Acts 16:9, a man appeared to Paul in a vision saying, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us." Peter McCandlish said to me basically the same thing, "Come and help us." Even though I have heard this request many times here in England, this one was special because Peter is a deacon in the Old Warford Independent Baptist Church.

This small, aging congregation meets in an 18th century Tudor barn which was converted into a church in 1781. This chapel at Greater Warford near Manchester is probably the oldest building in continuous use for Baptist worship in England. Its roots go back to the time of Cromwell and the English Civil War. Many members of Cromwell's New Model Army were Baptists, determined to secure religious freedom. As Cromwell's army travelled about, the Church spread.

The Greater Warford Assembly claims 1642 as its date of origin, but its true roots may go even further back than that. In 1712, a member of the Baptist church at Warrington leased to the Warford congregation a part of a field with a cottage and small Tudor barn on it at the price of two shillings a year for a thousand years. The barn was altered to form a chapel. The original Tudor walls can still be seen. There was a gallery on each end of the chapel and the pulpit was raised and centrally placed on the north wall.

Later the church was divided to provide a cottage for the pastor. Otherwise, little has changed inside the chapel, retaining its simplicity and charm. The furnishings are believed to be original; the floor is now flagged where rushes were once strewn and the roof is stone slabs instead of thatched reeds. I was impressed that it was spotlessly clean and lovingly cared for by its present small congregation.

As I recently preached in that ancient pulpit, I felt that many a Godly preacher of the Gospel was peering over my shoulder, and I hope I had their approval as I preached about the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Now the congregation is faced with the heartbreaking reality that this 300-year-old meeting house will become a relic of history soon if they are not given some help. They have not been able to afford the salary of a full-time minister for several years now.

All the people of Old Warford Independent Baptist Church need is a pastor. Like many independent churches in England, these dear Baptist people need a missionary pastor who can move in and, at no cost to that church, begin to rebuild it on the foundation of many faithful years. These folks have stood by the stuff and well deserve help.

This story could be repeated in many places across this ancient land. About half of our 27 years in Scotland and England have been invested in this type of restorationministry. Not only have new churches been started, but old churches have been reestablished in strength. We know this works. God has held the door open to the United Kingdom. We should not waste this opportunity. Please pray that God would send more laborers and also consider supporting those who are coming to help us. We owe the Gospel back to the descendents of those who brought the Gospel to us.

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Matthew Hudson
BIMI Missionary to Ukraine

As our family was driving through the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains and enjoying the overwhelming beauty of God's creation, I remembered the time when I first saw the Carpathian Mountains. It was seventeen years ago in 1993, while I was riding a train from Prague, Czech Republic, to Kyiv, Ukraine. God was speaking to my heart about mission work, and I was praying about and seeking the perfect will of God.

The Soviet Union had just opened up to the Gospel in 1991, and it was my privilege as a college student to be on a mission trip to the former USSR. I vividly remember standing in that hot and stuffy Soviet train and looking out the little window at the river flowing through the mountains along side of the train tracks. I recall praying and surrendering to do God's will for my life, even though I was not sure what that would entail.

Through this mission trip our family took to Onok, God graciously reminded me of all the blessings and joy that have come in my life and ministry since that quiet moment of surrender on the train. On July 2, 2010, my wife and I celebrated 13 blessed years of mission work in Ukraine. No Regrets!

On September 12, 2010, we were able to have the first service in our new building almost one year to the day after we started construction, Our church is located on a street named "On the Mount." We tell people to come hear a "Sermon on the Mount." It was extremely exciting to see the new auditorium almost completely full. The news of our opening service spread throughout the village, and many visitors came to see what was going on.

There were 83 in attendance and three people trusted Christ as their Saviour during the invitation. Praise the Lord! Bro. Bob Ross preached a message on the theme: "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" which summarized the last several months for our church.

Before it was completed, this is the view from the balcony looking toward the front of the auditorium where the platform will be. Stanislav is on the left of the picture and Kolya is on the right. These were the first two men saved and baptized in the church 5 years ago. They have worked very hard on our building.What a blessing!

As we have worked on our new building here in Kyiv and have seen God answer our prayers, I am reminded to share a burden and prayer request for Ukraine. We believe Ukraine is still a very ripe harvest field.Many cities and villages have yet to be reached with the Gospel. Please pray that God will raise up laborers and empower Ukrainian nationals to reach their own people.

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Glenn and Charlotte Palmer, BIMI missionaries in England

On July 18, 2010, Calvary Baptist Church celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. For all these years, God has blessed our work - even though we have had a rented building in which to worship. BUT, after waiting on the Lord and looking for a church facility for years, God has given us a proper church building with unlimited use. On August 20, the trustees of our church signed the ninety-nine year lease agreement for the church building. We had our first service on September 12, 2010. There is a Mother and Toddler Group already set up and many more opportunities to reach people with the Gospel. Praise the Lord with us for this new building.

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Marinela's Story

BY ED HEMBREE
BIMI Assistant European Director

Sometimes the greatest blessings of the Lord come from unexpected directions. Carole and I went to Romania with a desire to plant churches and train national pastors and workers for those churches. We worked very hard in the first few years to establish a church, develop curriculum, and begin a Bible Institute. We have seen God's hand of blessing in all this work.

Opening a children's home was something we had never really considered. However, as we ministered week after week to several of the children from the local State Orphanage, the Lord began to burden our hearts to do something to help some of the children in a more permanent way than just Sunday School. Eventually, this burden led us to purchase a house in the village where our main church is located. We renovated the house, added a large addition, and began praying about the children we could help.

Around this same time, the Chifa family was nearing a time of tragedy. Mr. & Mrs. Chifa had seven children - ranging from age eleven to a newborn. When the baby was a few months old, Mr. Chifa died of cancer. Mrs. Chifa, with a history of psychological and spiritual problems, was incapable of caring for the family. The death of her husband just pushed her over the edge. There was no one in the extended family who had the resources to care for all seven children.

One cold December night, Mrs. Chifa, perhaps under the influence of some drugs she was taking, took her children into the middle of the street where she attempted to murder them because she could see no alternative. God didn't let that happen; He had the neighbors intervene and rescue the children. Mrs. Chifa was taken to a psychiatric hospital, and the aunts and uncles came to the house to temporarily care for the children. One of the uncles, Mr. Chifa's brother, had helped me a couple of years before on our church building project. During that time, I had told him about our plans for starting a children's home. Remembering that conversation, he asked us to please take his brother's children.

He said that since nobody in the family could take them, they would be taken by the State and placed in different orphanages according to their age; as a family, they would be lost.

Carole and I told him that we would pray about the situation and would meet with the family to see what could possibly be done.We simply didn't have the financial resources to immediately take seven children.We didn't know what we could do. The first time I saw Marinela Chifa is indelibly impressed upon my memory. Carole and I drove down to their village where the aunts and uncles were waiting for us in the courtyard. Since it was December, it was cold out and the children were all inside. We entered the single room where they lived and saw all seven children in one bed together. There was a bed, a stove for heating and cooking, and one or two chairs- that was all.

When I looked at the children, most of them, who were old enough to understand what was happening, covered up their faces because they were afraid. It was obvious that they were malnourished. They didn't know us and, although we spoke Romanian, it was clear to them that we were foreigners. In that instant of time, God broke our hearts for these precious children. We told the family that we would take them and raise them. We didn't know how, but we knew it was God's will. We have always believed that where God guides, He provides.

We came back in a few days and took the children to our house. Because of her mother's problems, Marinela had been responsible for the children for a long time. It was clear that she had been required to be a mother to them. She had been carrying a very heavy burden for a girl who was only eleven years old. She had a great deal of resentment toward her mother and distrust toward us. Because the conditions at our house were so much better, she felt guilty because she liked our place better than her home. There were so many issues from the past and so much fear of the future.

Our home was different, our church was different, her school was now different, and we were different; it was a huge adjustment for a young girl. Marinela, as all her siblings, is a very intelligent young lady; however, healing from emotional scars has very little to do with intellect. Her healing was slow but steady. It took a long, long time forMarinela to learn that she could trust us and accept our love.

When Marinela graduated from the eighth grade, she had high enough scores to win a place at the best high school in Lugoj. During the next four years she worked very hard and applied herself. It was our joy to see her graduate in May 2010 as Valedictorian of her High School class.

This summer Carole and I took Marinela to Timisoara where we enrolled her in the University for the fall semester. She will come home every weekend to be with the family and church. I watched her as we went through the enrollment process; I saw the joy, excitement, a little nervousness but, most of all, HOPE!

I think of what would have happened to Marinela Chifa had God not prepared a place for her. She would have been placed in a state orphanage, probably ended up on drugs or in prostitution or both. But now she is a child of God, a student in University, belonging to a strong loving family, a wonderful church: a young lady with a future shining brightly with HOPE. Marinela has come from a tragedy to a real TRIUMPH!

Carole and I praise the Lord that he laid that burden on our hearts and that we have had a part in His plan for redemption for Marinela. One of our greatest blessings in Romania has come from a very unexpected direction!

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In a small German Bavarian village on March 23, 1938, a baby boywas born to the cabinetmaker and his wife.Unfortunately hismother, his sister, and he had to live for years without their dad for he was forced to go to war. Life was difficult without the provider, husband, and father.

For this little German boy, war was very "natural." He did not know what peace was. The bombing of the nearby city, the hysterical crying of the women, and the planes in the air trying to shoot each other down were just part of life. When he was told not to go outside when the planes were fighting and shooting, he said, "Nothing will hit me for I am so small and there are houses, streets, and fields to be hit..." I was that little boy.

While the Americans and the fighting came closer to our village, the people were yearning for the war to end. During the three days fight to capture our village, more than two-thirds of the houses and buildings were either burned down or destroyed by grenades. Many ugly noises and pictures are still in my mind. Finally the Americans did capture the village and, with relief and rejoicing, some of the women embraced the American soldiers knowing that soon the war would be over. We children learned quickly some English words. The first ones were "chocolate," "chewing gum," "candy," and "oranges." We became little beggars for the American soldiers were eager to give us sweets and throw gum and oranges from their trucks to us.

Life slowly started to become more normal. We were governed by a temporary American government. My uncle was appointed to be the driver for the American governor at the nearby city. For my sister and me it was absolutely fantastic when my uncle visited us with the governor's great Cadillac and took us for a ride.Wow, we enjoyed that! For us children school started again, two and three times a week, three hours each time with eight grades in one big room. Some of the men of the village slowly came back from the prison camps including my dad, all very tired and discouraged. After six years in the war there was no life left in him. He did not have enough energy to play or do anything with his son.

When I was ten years old, something significant happened in our school. Each student was to receive his very own book. Until this time, all our books for learning belonged to the school.

The book each one of us received was a Bible and I was very excited to have my first, very own book. Many years later I discovered that the American Bible Society of New York gave money and the military government permission to print 50,000 Bibles and I did receive my "missionary" from the USA.

My life in the small village became more unsatisfactory; I was bored and there was a longing for something I could not explain. I did read many books of adventure; so at the age of eighteen, I decided if I went to the USA I might find what I was yearning for in my life. One of my uncles who lived in America sponsored me and it was quite a change from our small village to the big city of Chicago. I did not go alone - my "missionary" was also in the suitcase.

In the USA, things went very well for me. I immediately had a good job, money, friends, and a car; but what I was looking for I had not found…the emptiness was still there. I did not want to live like this my entire lifetime.

God in His mercy to me turned me to HisWord and my "missionary" started to speak to me again. I read the Bible at every free minute I had, for about six weeks. It showed me that I was a sinner before a holy God, it showed me the Love of God, and it showed me that Jesus Christ died for me and my sins. One evening I knelt beside my bed and asked the Lord to forgive my sins and come into my life and save me. I also surrendered my life to His leading.

A wonderful change took place in my life. The emptiness was gone. I know my sins were forgiven and that I was on my way to heaven. I thought I was the only saved person in the entire city of Chicago!

The Lord called me to preach his preciousWord. He gave me my precious wife, Thrasilla. She was my first convert. The Lord called us to be missionaries to Germany and we arrived for the first time in Germany on June 19, 1970. I thank the Lord for my personal "missionary" from USA!

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Compiled by Maylou Holladay

AUSTRIA - Todd and Kim Lapato (language study in Germany). We were passing out invitations and tracts in a small village near Garmisch and met a woman who later brought her husband to our German service. He is actually an Austrian, which made him our first Austrian visitor!

Reta Burns. Joy Bible Camp was held on a farm in the fens of Lincolnshire. Four different churches were represented with twenty-nine young people. Marcia and I helped with the kitchen work, craft and free time, and teaching the missionary lessons.

Ferrell Kearney Family. We are so grateful for God's bountiful provision for us as we approach our 45-year mark with BIMI. For four months, we will be filling in for Glenn Palmer in Spalding at Calvary Baptist Church.

Marcia Kittleson. We have had several firsttime visitors to our Coffee Morning with good conversations about the Bible and the Lord. Alan is a retired science professor from Leicester University who comes to have theological discussions about evolution.

Jack Moorman Family. The two weeks before the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, we distributed our John 1 and 3 tracts. This is the sixteenth year we have taken advantage of large sporting events for Gospel distribution. The game will soon be over but the Gospel is forever!

Glenn Palmer Family. On July 18, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the founding of Calvary Baptist Church here in Spalding. Fourteen-year-old Sebastian has recently received Christ as his Savior and followed the Lord in baptism.

Glenn Pizor Family. We have a church football (soccer) team, the Lighthouse Baptist Lions. Please pray for Carl and his mate Adam as they talk to Ray Rose, the team coach, as to how a person is to know when they are ready to become a Christian.

Mickey Schrimshire Family. The Amazing Grace Market Ministry has begun. We set up our soul-winning tent at Eccleshall Car Boot Sale.We now have five people on the team for this market ministry. Over a thousand tracts were given and five people prayed to receive Christ as Saviour.

Bill and Debra Smith. Here in Blackpool, we have had 10,000 leaflets printed. Our folks and I have given out about 2000 of them already. We are rejoicing in the salvation of a young lady who has been coming to our services. She is a friend of our youngest daughter Emma.

Harry Stanley Family. While visiting with an elderly lady from our church, I read Scripture and prayed with her. Her 52-year-old daughter, Andrea, came by to check on her. When I proceeded to share the Gospel, she could quote John 3:16 with me. She started crying and understood that God sent Jesus to die for her personally.

ESTONIA - Rob Willoughby Family. My Estonian Bible study is going well. The unsaved lady who is coming has not yet made a decision for Christ. The other lady, a believer, plans to be a part of our new church when we start one! Even her husband has come to our study once.

Ron Winkler Family. When I received the final draft of the book DONE, which I had been translating, I asked Irina to proofread it for me. I could tell the Holy Spirit was really working in her life as she read the book. She agreed to do a Bible study with us, listening attentively to what the Bible had to say about salvation. Recently, she asked Jesus Christ to be her personal Saviour.

FRANCE - Carey Abbett Family. Thirteen children accepted Christ at our family camp. One of them, Alexy (18-year-old boy), was very hostile to the Gospel but was saved two days before the end of camp. Also, what a joy to recently baptize our daughter Juliana!

Bob Huffman Family. Just last Sunday the youth leader shared that seven teens made professions of faith at a dinner and meeting on Saturday night! As our Christians reach out, we are aware that the largest mosque in Europe is only five blocks from our church. Please remember the spiritual needs of Argenteuil.

GERMANY - Dan Dubbe Family. A missionary from Lithuania visited our youth camp and the campers gave $1,000 towards his ministry! One of our men, who was saved and baptized two years ago, had a meeting in his auto shop to try to reach his neighborhood. Our church helped and the evening was a blessing.

Walter Hornung Family. This year my wife Thrasilla and I mark our 40th year in Germany as missionaries. A few Sundays ago one of our families brought 17-year-old Persia to church - he had just accepted Christ that morning at breakfast.

Rodney Kidd Family. One of our major evangelistic opportunities of the year is children's Bible camp. This year we had 92 children. Several accepted Christ and many family members attended our closing service. We also had a baptismal service for two young people in late September.

HUNGARY - Marc Patton Family. Two new families regularly attend our services in Tata. Piroska Szucs was recently saved and has been attending our Bible Institute. Her husband, Gabor, has been in church every Sunday but is not yet saved. Please pray for Gabor. Church attendance has been encouraging with 35-40 in Tat and around 140 in Esztergom.

MOLDOVA - David Gross Family. I invited Tudor to come to church - and he did, with his wife! They listened intently as the preacher clearly gave the Gospel, came forward at the invitation, and accepted Christ.

Keith Herndon Family. Camps are going well with around 2,000 campers for both the northern and central camp, and over 800 campers have prayed to receive Christ as their personal Savior. We will be entering our second year of our full-time Bible school. Pray that we will double our enrollment to 40-50 students.

NORTHERN IRELAND - Ed Bissett Family. We had our most successful Holiday Bible Club ever with 47 children on our high day. An elderly man named David came to our Gospel Mission and has been open to the Gospel. Pray that he will be saved.

POLAND - Darrell Johnson Family. We can see God working in the lives of a precious couple - Tomek and Agata. Agata is growing in the Lord and learning to allow the Holy Spirit to work in her life. Tomek has purchased his very own Bible. His heart is very tender. Please pray for his salvation.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND - Dan Canavan Family. On Friend Day, we had a great service with 57 people filling our 550-square-foot auditorium. Needless to say, we are praying for a new meeting place and have put a bid on a possible new place to meet.

Stephen Finley Family. Four Romanian brothers have come at the invitation of Shoro and Mary - two Nigerian sisters who were saved during Holiday Bible Club! At our second annual Faith Promise Missions Conference, with our director Brant Holladay, his wife Maylou, and the Kevin O'Keefe family, we had a high of 43 people.

Justin Hayes Family. Our people from Lighthouse Baptist Church of Swords, Ireland, took a missions trip to Budapest, Hungary. It was exciting to see them pass out tracts, and preach the Gospel in spite of the language barrier. I also had the opportunity to lead one of our teens, Rico, to the Lord.

Don Thatcher Family. We had a wonderful spirit at our first faith-promise mission conference here in Waterford. Brother Brant Holladay and his wife were here to help us, and our folks turned out in great numbers for each of the services. Also, the husband of our Hungarian family has spoken to me about being baptized.

Bob Zemeski Family. We rejoice in the recent celebration of 5 years ministering at the River Valley Baptist Church. Bob is also very involved in teaching young men for the ministry at the Bible Institute.

ROMANIA - Tom Gentry Family. During one week of camp, we had 87 children coming forward to accept Jesus as Savior. The most fantastic moment was to see leaders crying with the children from the prayer groups.

Ed Hembree Family. It was great to preach in our church in Costeiu. Our baptismal service included two of our children from the home - Beki (8) and Sami (10).

Brian Nibbe Family. Our Reformer's Unanimous program is showing results beyond our expectations. Three of the men are already enrolled in the Bible Institute. We have had a total of 15 saved and baptized.

Tim Tyler Family. After passing out about 800 invitations to university students, we had five student visitors to our Student Day. Our VBS had 55 in attendance and 2 children saved. A young mother and her 4-year-old son have been coming every Sunday since.

RUSSIA - Duane Hearron Family. Vlada, one of the girls from our village school, had accepted Christ a few months ago. After being gone for summer school, she recently returned to our services. She was so happy to be back in our church which was a great encouragement to us.We have also seen a mother and daughter begin attending, and the mother has accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior.

Don Ossewaarde Family. Dmitri is a new visitor to our services. Vlad invited him to come, because they are business acquaintances. Please pray for Dmitri that he will see his need of salvation.

David Sterling Family. The building in the village of Shila has been remodeled since the fire. Services should begin again soon. In Elita, at our first service there we had twenty-two in attendance. Please pray for the unsaved who regularly attend our services.

Adam Young Family. Vadim, one of our first converts here, has gotten baptized. After Vadim came out of the water, he shouted: "Christ is risen!" and pumped his fist into the air. Please pray for us as we witness to the two men helping us to build our house/church - Tolya and Mike. We are trying our best to complete the walls and the roof before winter comes.

SCOTLAND - Arvin Devers Family. Not only are we seeing new adults coming to our morning service, but we recently had 46 children and adults in our Sunday School. Also, I am the chaplain of the local primary school and have been allowed to invite the children to Sunday School!

Lea Devers. We helped the Dillman family, missionaries in Kirkcaldy, with their VBS. We praise the Lord for the two children who prayed to be saved.

Graham Forbes Family. The great news about the church is our new location. For a year we have been meeting in two large rooms in a community building. But we have relocated to Tarradale Primary School. On our second Sunday there, we had a good number of visitors which took us to 47 people in attendance.

Dennis Snelson Family. A musical team from Valley Forge Baptist Temple came to assist us for a few days. Over 5500 tracts and flyers were put out by the team and our church members.We had four visitors who attended the concert given by the team.

SPAIN - Julio Velasquez family. About six weeks ago, Stefan (for whom we had been praying) came to church and told us he had repented of his sins and trusted Christ to save him. Another young man, Eduardo, saw our website, requested a Bible, came to church and was saved.

UKRAINE - Robert Fuller. - July 17, 2010, Robert Fuller and Mary Shepherd were united in marriage at Stanley Heights Baptist Church in Chattanooga. They are serving together now in Ukraine.

Robert writes about the ministry: The church in Yevpatoria recently celebrated our first year anniversary. We have had thirteen saved and five baptized since starting the work.

Tony Hess Family. Over the past few years, God has given me the opportunity to help train a few men. Two of these men have proven a blessing in assuming responsibility, taking my SS class, and helping us with a new church plant.

Matthew Hudson Family. We had a high of 54 young people for our VBS. At least 12 young people prayed to receive Christ as their Saviour.

Dan Irvin Family. The church in L'viv used a special type of evangelism in the surrounding apartment complexes. A group of Americans helped by volunteering to clean up the yards of the apartments. When the locals thanked them, they were invited to church.

Polly Irvin. We were able to have VBS at an orphanage with an attendance of 49, and another VBS at an apartment complex with 34 children attending. I have also been teaching choir to the children of three missionary families here.

John Spillman Family. Dawn organized a kid's club program that we used in two different places to minister to needy children. The first was in an orphanage with fifty children present. The second was in an apartment complex where we had about twenty children and teens. Even adults came and watched from a distance. Several children professed Christ as their Savior.

Bob Van Sant Family. During our teen camp, we had 87 campers with three young people saved. At our deaf camp, seventeen were saved! At our Harvest Sunday, we had one soul saved. The food our people brought in was given to the local nursing home.

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Sunday, May 19, 2013

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Noel & Charlene Shrivnauth -  GUYANA
Raymond & Sharon Shull -  CAMBODIA
B Clayton & Joan Shumpert -  ARM PERSONNEL