October Prayer Letter Colour

Miriam Ford, InterAction Worker – Brussels October Newsletter Avenue de la Couronne, 162, 1050 – Ixelles, Brussels, BELGIUM [email protected]

+32 470 579270 +44 7738 356096

Hello again! Wow has it already been two months?! Sorry, I’ve even confused myself over which month this letter should be entitled as! The last one was September though, so this one is news from October and other things it would be great if you could pray for during November!  You might remember that in my last letter I mentioned that there

camp’ towards the end of October, open to

was going to be a ‘

all students involved in the GBU in Belgium. This took place in a town in the south east of Belgium called Spa, from 23rd-25th October. We studied Revelation in four sessions, and there was also time to pray, sing and study together. It was a great opportunity to spend time with students, and to build up relationships in a more relaxed environment than at a normal GBU meeting. Personally, I didn’t find it as tiring as I thought I would. I got the gist of most of the talks on Revelation, and really enjoyed spending time socially with students (this quite often involved playing games, notably the Belgian version of ‘Mafia’ – ‘les loupgarous’ or ‘werewolves’. There are two groups at the same campus in

Woluwé as it is predominantly for medicine students who are often on placements etc. Having two groups means that students can usually make it to one or the other of the meetings. Monday lunchtime

Bruxelles-Centrale Wednesday 17h15-19h No one new came in off the back of the 1000+ flyers we gave out. However, a non-Christian guy heard about the group in the Christian bookshop next to the building where we meet and decided to come along last week, to what happened to be a social event! Please pray he will return next week as we continue our studies in Mark (we decided to go with Mark rather than Colossians in the end). Praise God there are usually 6 or 7 present, but please pray for stability in the group and for the leaders (Hannah - above) and Alex, as they prepare and lead the studies.

There are usually between 5-10 people at the meetings where we’re currently studying Habakkuk. It’s mainly girls in the group who are already close friends, but it was encouraging that the only guy in the group brought another (male) Christian friend for the first time last week. Monday evening There have only been two of us at the last two evening group meetings which has been a little discouraging. However the group leader’s attitude to the situation has been great. Last time she shared her testimony with me of how she became a Christian, and felt called to come and study in Europe to be able to act as a missionary amongst students here.

I haven’t been to many Erasmus events this month, but did have the opportunity to go to Bruges with an English girl I’m friends with. Thank God for our friendship, and for the fact that we managed to meet each other amongst some 300+ Erasmus students studying here, and please pray for more opportunities to spend time together, and that I will be bold in talking to her about Jesus.

Personally, this month has been quite hard in everything becoming “normal” and getting into a bit of

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a routine, it’s made me miss uni quite a lot. Although I think I’m over the worst of it now, I’d really appreciate your prayers in this area! I’m really enjoying the French lessons I signed up for, and think I might actually be starting to understand the

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subjunctive (a crazy tense for which there are apparently no rules!!) - woop!  I’ve found a church family to settle in called ‘L’Eglise Evangelique Libre de Bruxelles’. It meets in the Belgian Bible Institute and is pastored by an English guy called Paul Every. Praise God that I’ve found a welcoming, French-speaking, Bible based, easy to understand church family here to be a part of, and please pray that I will find opportunities to serve and encourage others there.

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pray: That students, both Christian and non-Christian, will hear about the GBU groups and want to come and find out more about Jesus. That students involved in the GBU across Belgium will be bold in living and speaking for Jesus, and will be eager to find and take opportunities to share the Gospel with their fellow-students. That groups would bond as mission teams and be seeking to reach other students with the good news of the Gospel. That group leaders wouldn’t be discouraged by low numbers, but fix their eyes on Jesus and serving Him faithfully in their whole lives. For opportunities to study the Bible one to one with some of the girls in the groups I attend, (it’s seen as a bit of a weird thing to do here!) That coming home for a weekend won’t make me miss people even more. But that it will be encouraging both for me, and the people I’ll have an opportunity to talk to about what I’m doing. Please pray that the new prayer diaries and monthly prayer meetings for the GBU that Lucy and I are trying to put together would be well organised, and be useful and encouraging to people.

Dates for your Diary Saturday 7th November Focus: a meal followed by talk on subject “Can you be a Christian and a scientist?” (it sounds catchier in French), by a Christian lecturer from ULB; Pierre-Étienne Labeau. (open to Christians and non-Christians) 19th-23rd November My long weekend at home, including UCLan CU houseparty where I’ll be sharing a bit about the GBU in Belgium. Sunday 29th November Focus: conference/debate (subject tba)

Thanks so much for reading and praying! This one’s been so hard to write and make concise (and I know it still isn’t really), but thanks for persevering! You can find out more about the work of IFES around the world at www.ifesworld.org and more detailed (and rambling) accounts of things I’m getting up to, and learning, on my blog at: http://miriam-ford.blogspot.com Much love, Miriam xx “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” Psalm 63:3-5