Training Developing World Church Leaders
Chris Wright (formerly principal of All Nations Christian College) has just taken over from John Stott as International Director of The Langham Partnership (UK and Ireland), an amalgamation of the Langham Scholarship Programme and the Evangelical Literature Trust. By the end of 2001 the Langham scholarship programme had helped 100 Third World biblical scholars to obtain their doctorates and return home to teach. It also offers library grants to over 1,000 seminaries in the developing world each year and distributes books to over 60,000 theological students, pastors and seminary faculty members. If you would like to support the work of these and other similar initiatives to build the church in the Developing World, then contact the Langham Partnership for details. Tel 020 7209 0915.
ICMDA European Conference 2004
The sixth European Conference of the International Christian Medical and Dental Association (ICMDA) will be held at Schloss Eringerfeld, Paderborn, Germany on 8-12 September 2004. There will be a student precongress from 6-8 September.
International Christian Medical and Dental Association
Answers to prayer
February 13 was designated an ICMDA prayer day around the world. In the Cambridge office that day Dr Ricardo Zandrino (Argentina), ICMDA’s regional secretary in South America, asked us if we knew that God had a telephone number. ‘It’s 333’, he said - Jeremiah 33 verse 3, 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know'. This was indeed our experience that day and in the three succeeding days as we sought to allocate bursary funds for Taiwan, interview for the post of ICMDA General Secretary and deal with many related matters. Much of this is fleshed out in the interview article in the current edition of Triple Helix. The committees were distinctly conscious that people had been praying and that this had a significant impact on the smooth flow of decision-making, most of which, hopefully, reflected the mind of the Lord. We had enthusiastic responses and assurances of commitment to prayer from many parts of the world, notably from those in small, struggling and emerging situations. Is there a lesson for the rest of us there? James says something about those ‘poor in this world’s goods but rich in faith’.
Student Developments
East African students are holding a retreat over Easter in Mombasa. Some will be travelling long distances to take part in this. We continue to hear regularly from the small group of students in Belgrade. We have recently heard from students in several medical schools in Brazil. In one the daughter of American missionaries in Brazil has found herself called back to Brazil to enter medical school there with the parallel intention of establishing Bible groups among the students in that medical school. Russian students held a winter camp in Samara in February (Brrr!) with representatives from seven Russian cities and one from Central Asia. Examples of this kind of mushrooming work could be multiplied. Do nurture this future generation of colleagues in your prayers.
Taiwan World Congress - July 2002
This is also mentioned in the interview article in Triple Helix. Most of the arrangements are now in place. We are particularly keen to see both graduate and student delegates from Cambodia, China, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal and Thailand. Do pray for the clearing away of bureaucratic obstacles and the financial provision for such to attend.
If you plan to attend and have not yet made flight reservations, good discounts can be obtained through China Airlines, the Taiwan national carrier if you state that you are an ICMDA Congress delegate. You need to call China Airlines office in London direct on 0207 436 9001. We will need to validate your registration to them. Pressure on flight bookings to East Asia is very heavy, due to World Cup Football in Japan and Korea at that time. Do pray that delegates will not be hindered from coming through lack of seat availability. Updated news on the Congress can be seen on the Congress website at www.tcma.org.tw
