Thank you to the congregation of St. Boniface Bunbury for your gift of £450.00
"Give thanks in all circumstances" said the apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Thessalonica (1 Thess. 5:18). As we receive gifts of money regularly from parishes and individuals throughout the country, we try to ensure that we give thanks for all the gifts we receive in a way which will bring encouragement to the donors.
In this letter I hope you will feel encouraged by some of the experiences of Derek and Jennifer Elton, two of our Mission Partners who have recently retired from overseas service. Having spent twelve years in South India up to 1970, they returned to England and Derek became a country parson in the Norwich Diocese while Jennifer worked as a teacher.
In 1988 they felt it right to offer for overseas service again and after further training they went to Algiers where Derek was appointed Chaplain of Holy Trinity Church. In Algeria they lived alongside Muslims, of course; Derek acknowledges that Islam is a great faith and many Muslims live marvellous lives of devotion, sacrifice and courage. "Yet", he says, "the Gospel is for them". In fact, there were many opportunities in Algeria for sharing Christ at a deeply personal level with all sorts of men and women. While Derek was involved in his duties as Chaplain, Jennifer found great joy in teaching primary-age children from all continents of the world. They were both very sad when circumstances required them to wind everything up and leave the country along with most of the expatriate community.
For their final period of overseas service Derek and Jennifer went to Eritrea for four years. Again Derek was a Chaplain (at St. George's, Asmara) and during his ministry there the congregation grew considerably and included representatives of more than a dozen countries. Meanwhile, Jennifer founded the International School in Eritrea which started in a little cafe with seven pupils and built up to sixty with a "proper building". With so many opportunities for the Gospel, they naturally had very mixed feelings when the time came for them to leave.
As we praise God for the ministry of Derek and Jennifer Elton so we thank God for the generous giving from parishes and individuals which has made it possible to send Derek and Jennifer, and many others overseas. In faith, we are seeking to increase the overall number of Mission Partners and we pray that the level of financial support will grow in parallel.
The above letter was received recently by St. Boniface Treasurer, John Elsworth. It is reproduced in full to underline the importance of the ongoing work of CMS.
Please keep the Society - and indeed, all Missions of the Church - in your prayers. Please thank God, too, for people like Derek and Jennifer Elton and all Mission Partners.