For the third year, the BTBAB retreat was held at the House of the Open Door in Childswickham. We were blessed with some lovely weather which enabled us to welcome approximately 20 delegates outside before coming together in the 17th century Retreat House. It was good to meet with friends new & old, plus some over zoom. The meeting was moderated by Shirley Cooper, our Executive Director who gave us an overview of the year’s activities despite continuing Covid restrictions – an invisible virus doesn’t stop God working.
“I found the retreat to be a worthwhile visit and really enjoyed the fellowship and the atmosphere. and also the time spent quietly with other Christians.” Alan Leyden
It was a joy to introduce two new trustees to the gathering – Thomas Nelson as Pastoral Trustee and Dan James as the Overseas Community Transformation (OCT) Advisor (see article below for further information). There was a time of prayer as we welcomed them on board; we look forward to seeing God’s purposes outworked in and through them.
We enjoyed two videos this year; one of the UK Outreach which took place earlier in June 2021 and showed the highlights of the mission trip working with refugees and asylum seekers in Coventry and one day with the homeless in the Birmingham City Mission. This video was compiled by one of the team members – Silvie Jelinkova – thank you. The other video was an interview led by Esther of Cathy Miller, the Kids Play Date coordinator, who was unable to be with us on the day, but was still part of the programme, where she shared her heart and vision for the children’s work – thank you Cathy and Esther.
“It was really good to be there and support Esther. I would love to go on a trip when God opens the door for me” Jane Pirson
There was an overview of the ACI recipients both past and present and it was a joy and testament to God’s goodness to see how these young lives had been radically changed by sponsoring them through their education or vocational training, enabling them to achieve their dreams.
Tina gave us an update on what’s been happening with Toolbox including an overview of the last overseas mission trip to Ethiopia. She also shared exciting news about future Toolbox mission trips to Ireland, another one to the UK (see Esther’s article), the Malawi trip is still in planning – we’re awaiting God’s timing for the country to open up to visitors. And last, but not least, another trip to the Golden Triangle in Thailand. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on dates etc in the next newsletters. Spread the word among your family, friends and church. Who knows what God has planned?
And finally, something different, we finished the day with a light-hearted, but sometimes serious Q & A session hosted by Shirley – thank you to the panel of Yvonne, Julie, Esther and Tina.
We give thanks to God enabling us to come together to pray and worship and reflect on all that has happened during this year and also to look forward to what He has in store.
