Summer 2003
MACEDONIA AND KOSOVA
The church leaders in both of these countries are actively involved in church planting. Our base was in Skopje, and from here we travelled throughout Macedonia visiting various churches. As new churches are established we can come alongside them and supply guitars for their worship teams. It was a privilege to see their enthusiasm. They really appreciated the quality of the instruments that we gave them. We believe that this is the first of many trips to this area of the former Yugoslavia. At the height of the Kosova crisis in 1999, we took aid to the refugee camps in Albania as hundreds of thousands of people had fled their country. It was rewarding to visit Kosova and see that life had returned to normal. Artur and Driton (shown right), both pastors and brothers, chose to be among the few who remained in hiding in Prishtinë throughout the war. God has rewarded their faithfulness and the church in Kosova is growing. Many of the churches are in need of instruments and it is our intention to meet this need.
As individuals and churches receive the guitars, they are often interested in who sponsored the instrument. This particular guitar (shown left) caused considerable interest as it had been paid for by some of the inmates at Exeter Prison. They said, “We know Dave, and where it’s going, we want to do something worthwhile and give happiness from a sad place. Our donation will make a difference”. The guitar box was covered with messages of goodwill from the prisoners. This guitar will be put to good use in the new church being built in the south of Macedonia.
Romania and Hungary
During the 13 years I have been involved in missions, my wife Liz has always wanted to visit Romania. Recently we were able to visit both Romania and Hungary, taking guitars that would help enrich the worship in the places that received them.
Overseas visitors
During the 13 years I have been involved in missions, my wife Liz has always wanted to visit Romania. Recently we were able to visit both Romania and Hungary, taking guitars that would help enrich the worship in the places that received them.
Kazakhstan
A group of young people from Kazakhstan made the journey to Exeter during a 3-day stopover in the U.K. They left with 8 guitars that would have been impossible to obtain or afford in their home country.
THAILAND
The Thai nationals told us that there was a great need amongst the churches in Thailand for musical instruments. They were really excited to be able to receive guitars that had been sponsored by people in the U.K.
AFRICA
It was a pleasure to travel to Cornwall to visit a group of Pastors from Africa. They represented churches in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Zimbabwe. We have already received letters of gratitude since they returned home, telling us the difference the instruments have made to their worship.
We are now planning our next trip to Eastern Europe and we hope to visit Romania, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. If you would like to sponsor an instrument to go to one of these countries it would be very much appreciated. Remember, for £39 you could change someone’s life.