From Brussels with love

Ed Houghton recently received a grant from the mission budget to enable him to visit friends in Belgium. Heres an explanation from him as to why he went. I am so thankful for the money I was given to fund my trip to Belgium at the end of May! The reason for going was to reconnect with friends I made on my year abroad (2009-10) during which I studied at the Insitut Biblique Belge, a small Bible College in the centre of Brussels. The year was a very formative one and has got me thinking about the possibility of long-term mission in French-speaking Europe. It was great to go back and visit for a few days mainly because it reminded me of the big need for gospel workers in that part of the world and allowed me to spend some time with people I might get the opportunity to work with in the future. The photo below is of me with some of the friends I made at the Bible school: Medhi, Alex and Michael (left to right). Alex and Michael are about to enter full time Christian ministry in churches in Brussels and Geneva respectively. According to Operation World, 1.2 per cent of Belgians are Evangelical Christians and when I lived there I only came across two Bible teaching churches plus a real lack of Christian role models. Please pray for Ed as he considers whether the LORD might want him to work in French-speaking Europe long-term. And please remember Alex and Michael in your prayers and the region as a whole.
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9:37-38