On 6 February 2011, twelve students from seven countries arrived in London for one of the highlights of the CMF calendar: the International Student Preconference!

This conference brings Christian medical students from countries all over Eurasia to the UK for one week to receive teaching from UK experts in many areas, including medical ethics, palliative care and developing world medicine, along with leadership and evangelism training. The hope is that participants return to their country encouraged and envisioned in Christian medical ministry within their country, and able to give eternal benefit to other students in their universities with the teaching they have received.

This year we had students from Syria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Latvia, Tajikistan and Russia for the preconference (with another three Hungarians and a doctor from Portugal joining us for the National Student Conference).

During the week we spent time talking over important issues of Christian leadership, ethical issues in our day-to-day practice, and the importance of attending patients' eternal lives as well as their physical bodies.

There were talks from CMF members such as John and Celia Wyatt and Bernard Palmer, members of PRIME, local palliative care doctors, our international ministries team and many more!

Apart from being spiritually refreshing and equipping, the week was also jammed full of fun! This was mainly thanks to the hospitality of those members who opened their homes to us in the evenings and helped with transporting from one side of London to the other.

For most of the students this was their first visit to the UK so, of course, there was a lot of sightseeing to be done! We toured round Westminster and along the Thames with a flurry of photography as we went. Another highlight of the week was Jay Smith's Biblical Tour of the British Museum, and a visit to Burrswood Hospital. This is a Christian hospital where a 'bio-psycho-social-spiritual model' is followed. One of the moments which will stay with me forever was when the staff of Burrswood prayed for us and commissioned us in our future ministry as Christian Doctors.

I encourage you to join me in praying for the participants as Paul prayed for the Colossians. 'For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way...' (Colossians 1:9-10)

If you would like to hear how you could get involved next year, get in touch; we'd love to hear from you!

Liz McClenaghan is CMF intern and intercalating in bioethics