The occasional newsletter of the

Southeast London Fellowship of

Operation Mobilisation

P.O. Box 660, Forest Hill, London SE23 3ST

Ph: 44 (0)20 8699 6077 Email: info.spj@om.org

July 2014

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On June 20th we had a wonderful event to celebrate 50 years of bookshop ministry in Bolton, Lancashire.

It was in this building (above) that we lived when

our daughter Christa was born. She turns 50 in a few days. We look forward to being at her fancy dress birthday party at the end of June.

It was in the same building, 86 Deansgate which used to be a pub, that we opened our � rst book shop in the UK. We had the main OM conference there 1964 and it was in that very building that we � rst spoke of getting a ship for world missions.

The shop has moved twice and is now run by one of our favourite ministries, CLC. They helped to organise this special event.

Memories of BoltonGerry Davey

In the summer of 1963 I had just come back to England from the USA after completing my graduate studies in aer-onautical engineering. My brother urged me to go on the OM summer outreach campaign in France and then the autumn conference in Bolton. I stayed on for the year programme.

George asked me to lead a team of mostly Dutch young men. We used The Kings Arms pub for the UK OM o� ce and a Christian bookshop. Young Dave Armstrong from Bolton helped our little team, and we opened the bookshop twelve days before Christmas, 1963.

Managing that bookshop laid the foundation for lifelong Christian ministry. Later, under the name of Send the Light, we ran � ve bookshops in the UK as well as a worldwide wholesale operation.

And more than the above, Bolton has special signi� cance for me and for Jean, as it was here that we met 50 years ago!

Bolton 1964 - 2014 50 years of ministry and service

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On June 20a wonderful event to celebrate 50 years of bookshop ministry in Bolton, Lancashire.

It was in this(above) that we lived when

our daughter Christa was born. She turns 50

50 years of ministry and service

Looking back in gratitude

In the summer of 1963 I had just come back to England from the USA after completing my graduate studies in aer-onautical engineering.

George asked me to lead a team of mostly Dutch young men. We used

The event in Bolton was � lmed by Dave Armstrong (see his article on page 2) and a DVD is available. To receive a copy, please request the Bolton Anniversary Event from:

vera.zabramski@om.org

My mistakesGod’s blessingsMay Huay is from Malaysia and has spent many years in England. Over the years she has worked with OM Turning Point and also typed letters for George. Her passsion for evangelism has led her to many places, but above all to the streets of London.

“About 25 years ago George was asked by a Prison Chaplain to send Bibles to prisoners. George managed to work out a good deal with STL. My job was to type out the address labels and send them o� to STL in Carlisle.

“Well, the requests came in by dribs and drabs but they exceeded the amount that had been agreed. Without consulting George I continued sending them out. At the end of the month a bill came from STL for £50,000 extra. George was furious with me. He negotiated with STL not to charge the full price for each of the Bibles and through much hard work George managed to pay the bill.

“I recently came to know that prisoners today are not allowed to receive books any more. God knew today would come 25 years ago!”

OM Southeast London Newsletter is an occasional letter of the Southeast London OM Fellowship, 39 Honor Oak Road, London SE23 3SH, UK ● Phone: +44 (0)20 8699 6077 ● Email: info.spj@om.org

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For our prayers

Vera Zabramski

Debbie Mero�

May Huay Ho

our amazing world

Great churchBeautiful partnershipWe were in Singapore for the month of May, mostly ministering to people in our church. We are thankful for this beautiful partnership, a great church working with us in world evangelisation.

We spent time with the church mainly to encourage mission vision, which they do not lack. More than 100 people from the church have been on short term mission teams just in 2013.

One of the several small meetings we took was a meeting for the parents of disabled children—Radha with the Mums and I with the Dads. We shared from our experience of bringing up Sunil who su� ered from Asperger’s syndrome and other health issues all his life. Although we only scratched the surface, we felt the hours spent together were bene� cial.

Chacko and Radha Thomas

Still working for IndiaIt is almost two years since I moved away from London to Bury St Edmunds. I have been down to London many times this year for meetings or to be in the OM India o� ce while Molly is away. She is in India helping with some restructuring of � nancial systems.

Together with the director of the Dalit Freedom Network, I have visited some Members of Parliament at Westminster, as well as meeting up with other groups. At the end of August, I will be visiting India for about one month.

Rosemary Morris

A special plea for prayerGerry Davey led STL for over 20 years He and his wife Jean need our prayer for health challenges. They are still

very active both in Special Projects and the Hession Trust. Please request a free copy of the classic Calvary Road to read or to give to a friend.george.verwer@om.org

very active both in Special Projects and the Hession Trust.free copy of the classic Calvary Roador to give to a friend.george.verwer@om.org

As this letter was being prepared Vera was called away to be with her mother in America. She writes: “My mother broke three ribs in a fall and was retaining � uid, which they drained three times. They decided she needed surgery which she had soon after I returned. It was successful, but very painful. Slowly she is recovering and regaining strength. She is a real trooper — giving winks and kisses to the nurses. My sister hopes soon to be out of the Rehab Center where she has been relearning how to walk. It’s been a challenging eight months for our family. I continue to do my work for George via my faithful laptop and so am able to keep up with all that needs to be done. Thanks for your prayers.”

Debbie Mero� left London in early May to relocate to Maine. She has just written: “I am transitioning out of OM in September but I plan to continue writing and contributing to the mission cause—it’s in my DNA! This is me with the key to my new house, just received, and a view of the lake I’m on (Sabattus Lake in Maine).”

just written: “I am transitioning out

India emergency medical and educational needs.

Dave and Mathilda Armstrong Pat and Lisa Tracy

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Giving to Special ProjectsIf you would like to make a gift to Special Projects, you can send a cheque to any OM O� ce or you can

also donate online. Follow the links from:www.georgeverwer.com

www.uk.om.org

How we thank the Lord...and all of you...George Verwer

We are in the � nal day of our team fellowship retreat. How we thank the Lord for our friends from Oak Hall Travel and Otford Manor who make this possible. We also have fantastic weather. We really also want to thank all of you who follow us and our ministry in prayer.Our special thanks go to all who participated in our recent matching fund, which is now closed. We reached our target. Let’s take a moment to give special thanks to the Lord for this.

One of the the reasons we send out this letter is because we really esteem those who receive it. I pray personally for many of you. Some of us were together in the past and are good friends, but now we don’t see each other. That does not mean our friendship is less important. It does mean we have to work harder to keep the friendship � res burning.

Please remember my personal email address: george.verwer@om.org

Please don’t use the Hotmail address any more. I was hacked and some of you got a strange email asking for funds. Be sure anything like that would not be from me. You can always phone me: UK: (+44) 7860426426 or USA: (+1) 201 657 0130

Please remember some of the major ongoing projects that need funding.

Bibles for African believers

in their own languages.

Evangelistic DVDs for

Russia. I will be preaching in Moscow again in July.

Evangelistic DVDs in many

Indian languages.

Leadership materials in

many languages. Leadership materials in

The support of important

ministries in Pakistan.Leadership materials in Leadership materials in

Production and distribution of

Why Pro Life by Randy Alcorn AIDS Action by Patrick Dixon

in many languages.

New Testaments and

Gospels for distribution in many nations.

We have many requests.

Children’s Bible stories for

Syrian refugees— and other needs connected

with the Syrian crisis.

New Testaments Children’s Bible stories for

My list could go up to 100 but space is limited and your time even more limited. We love to hear that you actually read these letters—especially if you use them in prayer.

Musings of George’s gopherWe spent about a month in America. George as always took lots of meetings but I had a break from meetings and got involved on a Youth Ranch, repairing the sprinkler system. During the week I worked with George and spent the weekend at the Ranch.

Now I am going to Turkey to work with TACO, the Arts-based evangelism team. My time with George is up at the end of August and I will return to my home in Canada. I really need guidance and counsel to know what my next step should be.

Cory Ingram

around our world

Can any good thing come out of Bolton?In 1963 OM arrived in my home town of Bolton. A small team visited Hebron Hall, my Brethren Assembly. I hadn't been a Christian very long and I was drinking in this new Christian teaching. They said they were going to open a Christian Bookshop on Deansgate, one of the main streets in town. I wanted to meet more of these OMers so went along as a volunteer to help paint the shop.

That's where I met Gerry Davey, the shop manager. I was saving up to go to Bible college but I was so impressed by these OMers who had "left all to follow the Master" that I decided to join OM for a year. I resigned my job with British Rail in December 1963 and the next month I joined OM. I enjoyed serving the Lord with OM so much that I stayed for the next 25 years!

For many of those years Gerry was my manager. I learned so much from him and today we still feel very much a part of Gerry and Jean's family. We went together to celebrate the Bolton Christian Bookshop '50 Years of Ministry & Service.'

Dave and Mathilda Armstrong

A small team

DaveOctober 1965Roving rep for Special ProjectsPat and Lisa � rst joined OM in 1996. “It was my privilege to be Captain of three of OM’s ships and I am now part of the technical training team for the ship ministry. I also teach at a Maritime School in Baltimore, but my ‘real’ job is with OM Special Projects. Lisa and I have three sons, all walking with the Lord.”

George is in contact with Pat all the time, asking him to follow up on projects he is involved in. He has travelled to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon — to visit places where Special Projects is involved. That also enables Pat to report back to people who are interested.

“I visited Afghanistan some years ago. Our team at that time was quite young and inexperienced. They were there to identify materials needed for building schools and roads. It was amazing to me what God could do with a couple of guys who were willing to live and to serve simply.

“I later came to know that a couple of the Afghans they were working with became believers. Those young men had a platform to witness that we could never have.”

Andrew Day Gareth and Malou BoltonI have just returned from Africa where I spent the past eight months for my “Gopher Graduate Year”. This took me to Senegal, Mali, Niger and Chad, all in the area known as the Sahel. These are some of the poorest countries on earth. It is an area I knew well as a child as I was born in Senegal and my uncle is still serving as a missionary there. I am now praying about returning to work there in church-planting.

It was a life-changing year for me. I was doing some research for Special Projects. Throughout the trip I had many opportunities to share Christ. I had the privilege of leading a Senegalese guy to Christ at 4am on Christmas morning at the bus stop on my way from Mali to Niger.

God’sGopherGraduate

I (Gareth) have just addressed a group of Bible School teachers and lecturers in Valencia, Spain. It is encouraging to witness the increase in the number of churches, yet for the most part Spain remains a nation ignorant of the Biblical Gospel.

In a few days, we will leave for our second visit to Green-land where we will be involved in church meetings as well as evangelistic camps. Many of the Greenlandic people are hurting and in distress, yet few have ever heard that there is One who can ‘heal the broken-hearted’. It remains very much a pioneer mission � eld. Thank you so much for your interest and for your prayers for us.

Gareth always� shing

Dave A

rmstrong—

photo taken in India