Chris is attending the WEA Mission Committee conference in Chang Mai, Thailand. This is a forum for practitioners and academics to assess the state of world mission today. The emphasis will be on the realities of post-Covid mission and its implications for the future of mission. Everyone attending will be contributing to the various areas of discussion through small groups and personal interaction. This will be the first time everyone has been together since 2016 so there will be a lot of catching up to do as well. Pray for the organisers that it all would fit into place over the five days of the conference.

Thank God for his faithfulness through the house extension project and soon we will be able to gather. Pray for the divine intervention in gathering the people and teams and what does the house faith community looks like. Thank God for bringing people alongside who want to be discipled.

Please pray for the position in the different faith communities where we are. It takes wisdom, flexibility, and discernment to participate in different circles of believers and to do and be what God requires of us. Should we become elders/leaders or is it enough as a family to be part of different faith communities? Please also pray for our village Palomares del Rio and our city of Seville. It is our desire that people meet the Lord Jesus and find hope in Him. We are looking for openings for more contact with our neighbours and fellow villagers and the city.

Jim Memory has been seconded from ECMI to be the Co-Regional Director for Europe for the Lausanne Movement along with Usha Reifsnider. From today, 27 – 29 January, Jim will be speaking at a retreat for the workers of France Évangélisation and through the year at many other events to strengthen the Lausanne Movement across Europe. Pray for inspiration and wisdom.

Please pray for God's wisdom and creativity in producing resources for the promotion of ECM and the gospel needs of Europe. Please also pray for my husband and I to pass on our faith in the Lord Jesus to our four children in creative and deliberate ways.

Pray as we plan for the New Year and that a new place to meet would come up for the church here that would allow more ministry to develop.

Give thanks for three new ECM Ireland members - Noah and Suzi Bartlett (long-term) and Diane Nicholls (short-term) who are all working with ECM In Greece.

Pray that we have innovative evangelistic strategies for the new year that begins. Pray for the churches of Montargil and Mora. May they be missionary churches. Pray for our missionary travel planning in 2023: Croatia and Brazil. Big challenges.

Please pray for the decisions the church in Desenzano will take in the next months regarding the building, that we can understand what God is saying about this situation.

PORTUGAL: Aldeir and Nicéa Lopes in Ponte de Sor

Thank God for a fruitful and empowering outreach among Ukrainian children and youth and their parents, and elderly Ukrainian men and women! The two Ukrainian church plants in Burgas are growing and following up with the refugees. Thank God for a successful mission outreach among Muslim refugees in refugee camp Harmanli. The local church is growing in its understanding of cross-cultural missions.

As we have entered the year 2023 only God knows what is ahead of us. Please pray for the protection of our church plant especially that we will grow deeper in our relationship with God. Also, for unity that we will continue to go as one body of Jesus submitted to the head who is Jesus. Pray for protection for our family and that we will keep on a daily basis seek God’s face through His word and spending time with him.

Please could you pray for us to get our Portuguese ID cards? We’ve been trying ever since Brexit, and have made some progress, but still waiting. This is needed so we can travel within Europe, for instance, to the Biennial!

Continue to pray for Ron Anderson and myself as I help Ron with the Lausanne Church Planting Network listening calls and meetings. Praise the Lord for the progress that has been made. Pray that Cathy and I would have wisdom and guidance about attending the 2023 Biennial conference. Pray that God’s provision and timing would be evident.

Please pray for a 14 year old girl. She had already experienced many terrible things in her life. Now she started taking drugs. Please pray that she will find God who can help her and give her all she needs.

Post-Covid syndrome is limiting my work a lot. These months I will rehabilitate, working one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon, then build this slowly up to more. It’s encouraging to see God can use us even when we can’t do much. The therapist asked me whether my faith gives me strength. ”Usually patients are quite desperate,” she said. ”You aren’t.” I answered, ”I know I’m precious to God, even when I can’t do much.” ”Wow!” she replied.

From today until 21 January, we start a week-long Spiritual Transformation retreat in English, held in the Acueducto house in Catalonia, Spain. Please pray that each person attending will be able to connect with God and receive from Him in powerful and freeing ways. Pray for the team and for spiritual protection and guidance.

May the Lord give us strategies to disciple Ana, Rafael and Maura, new converts from the Tramaga Mission. Please pray for the youth theatrical play which is coming up: it’s about missions. May the youth and the churches be awakened. Pray for new ministry partners.

Please continue to pray for the relief efforts and witness of all of our missionaries in Ukraine. In Irpin the church and its satellite volunteer centres continue to serve the community, distributing bread and other food to the needy, sharing the Gospel as they do so. The church has been able to help families who have lost their houses by building new wooden homes for them. In Lviv the team has tirelessly served the refugees and local community, met a wide variety of needs and shared Christ's love.

Thank God for a good first term in my new role in charge of the church’s youth work. Thank God that some of the teenagers seem more interested in getting involved in the Bible studies than they have previously. Please pray for these young people that they would want to know more about God, grow in their faith and be willing to share that with their friends.

Today, 10 January, is the closing date for applications for the position of Senior Pastor at the International Baptist Church of Sofia. Please pray for the right people to apply and for the Pastor Search Committee as they seek to process the applications – may they have wisdom and insight to make a godly choice.

From January 10-14 there will be a few meetings with members of ECM Netherlands, the GZB (Dutch Missionary organisation) and the FeG, a German Partner Church. The goal is to look at what we can do and achieve together, how we can look for our workers and set goals together. Thank God for this partnership and pray that these meetings will be fruitful.

Please pray for the main speakers and seminar speakers as they prepare their teachings. Please pray for the children’s program and for the teams coming to help and for all of the preparations underway. Please pray for the Biennial Planning Committee, that all the details will come together smoothly and that the conference will be a blessing for every attendee.

It is still Christmas in part of Europe so today, January 7, we celebrate our Christmas day. Please pray that we are able to share something of the love of God.

Thank God for the fantastic results of the Camarma village-wide evangelistic campaign that was held in October. Over 800 attended the open-air presentation of the gospel and 190 people responded to the call that was given and walked to the front of the crowd.