Mark Pickering Writes:

As the nights begin to draw in it’s back to the books for CMF’s student members for another year. Freshers’ events are going on up and down the country aimed at welcoming new Christians and communicating the gospel message to those who need it. Pray for many new CMF student members and for the leaders as they seek to be salt and light on their campuses.

Russian Interns

Anya Runasova and Denis Smirnov, two young Russian doctors well known to CMF summer team members, have been appointed as IFES interns to work exclusively amongst medical students in Moscow and Chilyabinsk respectively from August 2004 to July 2005. CMF has contributed a total of £1,800 towards their support, about half of the total required.

Upcoming CMF Events Students

Leaders’ Conference

Around 35 came to the lovely surroundings of the Gaines Centre in Worcestershire on 24-26 September to hear Alex Bunn (former London CMF staffworker) give three inspiring talks from Nehemiah, highlighting particularly his passion for holiness and repentance, concern for those he led and his effective integration of fervent prayer, hard work and delegation to get a huge task done. We were pleased to be joined by students of nursing, law and therapy. Students left very encouraged for the year ahead with lots of good principles and practical advice to help them. The lower numbers prompted us to rethink the timing of leaders’ training and next year’s conference will probably be in March – watch this space!

Nucleus

The October issue will be the last for Helen Barratt as student editor. We wish to record a huge vote of thanks to Helen for all her hard work and growing expertise over the past four years as committee member and then editor. She now moves on to her final year and has just completed the MA in bioethics at St Mary’s College, Twickenham – it looks like doing finals will be something of a rest! Do pray for Gavin Ling as he takes up the baton and begins as the next student editor.

Summer Teams

Teams went during July and August to Kursk and Samara (both Russia), Simferopol (Ukraine), Bulgaria, Spille (Albania), Kazakhstan, Latvia and Yerevan (Armenia). All teams went well with local groups being strengthened and some new believers resulting. The Samara team was rocked by the random killing of one of the local student leaders a few days before the camp. This was apparently unrelated to the camp but had mixed effects on those present, with some being more responsive and some less so. Please pray for lasting effects from all camps and the continuation of relationships between the UK regions and overseas groups.

ICMDA European Conference

8 CMF UK students joined around 250 students and junior doctors for the preconference of the ICMDA European Conference in Krelingen, Germany on 5-8 September. This was followed by the main conference with around 600 from over 50 countries. John Wyatt (UK), John Patrick (Canada), Pablo Martinez (Spain) and Chris Steyn (Holland) gave excellent teaching at the preconference. Students testified to being inspired by this and by meeting such a range of students from varying situations and countries, all following the same Lord and seeking to serve him in medicine.

We made good contacts in a number of countries where we have previously had few links, especially France. There was also the first real meeting of a good number of ICMDA Area Student Reps from across Eurasia. It was a great time of feedback and brainstorming for developing this network of students and junior doctors who support student movements across the world.

Real Right Through

The 2005 National Students’ Conference will be on 21-23 January at the Hayes centre in Derbyshire. Richard Cunningham from UCCF will speak from 1 John on ‘Real Right Through – authentic faith in a superficial age’, whilst Dave Stevens from CMDA USA will give the conference address on ‘The Marks of a Christian Doctor’. Seminars will include biotechnology, transsexuality, addiction and alternative medicine. Publicity will be sent out with this mailing and students should book quickly to avoid disappointment.

There will be an International Students’ Preconference in the week preceding the conference, where we hope to have student leaders from some of the newer Christian medical movements across Eurasia