Links Magazine November 2014

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Plus much more besides , all showing Links in Action - God at Work!

in Zambia

Working with Shiloh Hands of Hope

in Malawi

Micro-Enterprise Training

Links on a Mission

ANDY READ

CHANGING LIVES, TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES NOVEMBER 2014


EDITORIAL LINKS INTERNATIONAL ‘LINKS’ WITH PARTNERS IN THE WEST AND IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO INSPIRE, EDUCATE, EMPOWER AND RESOURCE INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES TO BREAK FREE FROM POVERTY AND DISEASE. LINKSINTERNATIONAL.ORG.UK 03 04 06 08 09 10 12 15 16 18 20 21 22 23 24

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EDITORIAL TEAM Andy Read // Lynda Hubbard // Holly Bollinger

Dear Partners Andy on Mission Malawi Water Filter Kits Mosquito Nets Ghana Links Gifts Gala Dinner Kenya Norman and Grace Act4You Fundraising Kingdom Resources Contact Transformational Investment

DESIGN Sam Hubbard Design

It’s that time where we look up and suddenly realise that an entire year has passed us by. As we reflect on the previous months of 2014, we are humbled and grateful for all that we as an organisation have been able to participate in. We have travelled to 5 continents with good news for those in poverty that has resulted in lives being changed and communities literally being transformed. There is no sign of letting up in 2015, and the diary is already full with trips that will bring health care, microenterprise development, agricultural education, marriage enrichment, leadership development, and much more to the ends of the earth. We are so grateful for all of you who partner with us to make the most of the opportunities we have to change the world. Your investment into Links through financial contributions, consultations, church and business relationships, and going on trips is a beautiful picture of how working together allows us to accomplish more than we ever could alone. We are also grateful for our partners around the world who are giving their lives to those in need. It is an honour to journey with you all, and we look forward to the expansion that 2015 will bring. Please let us know if you have any questions or would like to be more involved in any of the exciting news you read about in this magazine. Additionally, you can stay current with us via our monthly eLink newsletter, Facebook and Twitter.

CEO, USA Office


LINKS ON A MISSION

LINKS ON A MISSION

Mission Within Reach As a Christian, faith-based mission and development charity, Links International shares many values and practices with other agencies engaged in similar work. It is also important to recognise that underlying our work are some vital, theological foundations. For me, those foundations are rooted in a fundamental belief in (and experience of) the loving God who is Himself on a mission, reaching out to creation. Mission is not, as some Christians suspect, a job creation scheme, dreamed up by a distant and inactive God, to keep His followers out of trouble. No! Mission is the activity of God, in which we have the privilege of participating. In his book ‘Mission of God’, the theologian Chris Wright puts it like this: “It is not so much that God has a mission for his church in the world, as that God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission - God’s mission.”

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So what does this mission look like? Where should we look for guidance; what portions of the Bible can help us? I am sure many of you may be reaching for your bibles and turning to Matthew 28:1820, or perhaps Acts 1:8. Both very good, and important passages…. but I would like to take us to a different and perhaps less well used reference. In 1 John 1:1 we read, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life…” John, one of Jesus’ closest friends on earth, is explaining what it was like to encounter the eternal Word of God. Firstly, the Word was heard. Jesus came and He taught, He spoke out, He proclaimed truth, He announced love. But there are examples of God speaking from Heaven in an audible voice. Surely if hearing was all that is important He

could have done the same again - but for longer! So what else? Well, the Word Jesus - was seen, looked upon, closely and in detail. But even then, seeing can be impersonal or removed from direct experience. It is the next description which puts the finishing touch - literally. ‘Our hands have handled’. The Word was close enough to touch. As John explains in his gospel, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us - or as Eugene Petersen translates it in The Message version, ‘moved into the neighbourhood’. This is what the Mission of God looks like. God reaching out, coming to live with us, so He is close enough to touch. This is our model. Going to people not just with words, but being present and real to them. Telephone calls and emails have their place, but it has to be so much more. I have mentioned on these pages before a very helpful Kikuyu saying, taught to me by our friends in Kenya. The saying is ‘Ndugu ni makinya’, which can be translated ‘Friendship is steps’.

I think this is a great rendering of the concept of the Incarnation; God desiring friendship with us and taking steps towards us in order that it could happen. Going further, what should those steps look like? What can we do to show the possibilities of eternal life and God’s love? Or to put it another way, this time considering Jesus’ prophetic declaration of the words of Isaiah, what can ‘Good News to the poor’ look like? (Luke 4) Back in the introduction to his letter, John goes on to say that eternal life was ‘manifested’ to us. I looked up what the original Greek word used means. Strong’s concordance tells me it is, ‘to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way.’ I love that! We can use words. We can use deeds. And when we have exhausted

words and deeds, we can do it any other way! That is what undergirds all that we do. We want to take God’s love to those in need - to take Good News to the poor of this world. We can’t do this at arm’s length - we must be present, close enough to touch. And we must do it in any way we can, words, deeds….. and anything else. So whether that is with life enhancing and preserving health care education, or teaching sewing skills, or small business training, or explaining the creation of pit compost, or leadership development, or investing in building latrines, or handing out mosquito nets, or giving micro loans, water filter kits or resources or ‘anything else’, we want to do it. Will you join us?

If you are interested in taking those steps – taking part in a Links overseas trip – please see our Trip Enquiry form on our website www.linksinternational.org.uk

Andy Read

CEO

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LINKS TRIPS

LINKS TRIPS Malawi Trip SEPTEMBER 2014 John & Vicki Race, along with Ian Linton, travelled to Malawi for microenterprise development training and review. Malawi - wonderful country, people and wonderful partners. Our objectives for this trip were to spend time with all the MED committees that Links is involved with and review how they were getting on, provide advice, support and further training where necessary and visit some of the businesses supported by the committees. Additionally, we wanted to form a view of how successful the Links supported MED activities were in Malawi. The short answer to the latter was excellent with many, many people lifted out of a ‘hand to mouth’ existence to a sustainable lifestyle where they were able to support their immediate and extended families - the gospel in action! In addition, two of the teams who were trained sonographers were planning to undertake some follow on training for operators in a hospital in Northern Malawi. All of our objectives were achieved.

The team was able to visit all the MED centres in Malawi; Mzuzu & Kande in the north, Lilongwe & Kalulu in the middle and Blantyre in the south. All the committee members are volunteers within their communities and it was really exciting to see them working in partnership with the loan beneficiaries to achieve thriving and successful stand alone businesses.

Ian Linton

During September a team went to Malawi with the primary aim of reviewing MicroEnterprise Development with all our partners. This meant a couple of days in four different areas of Malawi with quite a bit of travelling in between. In total the team met with 10 MED committees, all working within their local communities. Each committee has made huge progress and has been making small loans to both people with existing small businesses and to people who have never been in business before. We spent some time talking to each committee about how they run their projects and any problems they may be encountering. We then watched them train borrowers and potential borrowers in what makes a good business and how MED works. On the second day in each area we met beneficiaries and heard their stories of how a small MED loan has changed their lives. Over and over we heard how they were struggling to meet their family’s basic needs, but now, due to MED, they are able to feed their families,

send their children to school, and even build houses! Everywhere we went we heard the same positive stories, but also met people still waiting for loans. Every committee had waiting lists of people asking for loans, who had the training and were ready to go into business as soon as funds were available. Although funds are recycled through the committee, this takes time, so the team felt that each committee could do with a further injection of funds to continue their work, and that they had the capacity to be able to manage a larger group of borrowers.

Vicki Race

MED is a great way of seeing donations go a very long way, as loans are paid back and recycled. Could you give to our MED fund? Even a small amount can make a huge difference.

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Water Filter Kits

MOSQUITO NETS

Water Filter Kits Links partnered once again with the Shiloh Hands of Hope Foundation to provide water filter kits to the Lundazi district in Zambia. This is their report. Three districts in and around Lundazi came together for community healthcare training and for the distribution of water filters in order to improve the sanitary conditions in their community. 60 community members were trained (30 in business management and 30 in community health care) on the importance of good and clean water and how to use these water filters in their community. A total of 40 water filter kits were given in this effort. Each water filter kit provides 10 litres of clean water per hour for 2 years. That is about 40 cups of clean and safe water per hour. The program has shown great progress as far as the health condition of our partners in Zambia. This distribution program has lead to the high demand of clean water and services in the surrounding area and has greatly

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MOSQUITO NETS contributed to the reduction in water born diseases. It has also contributed to the reduction of other infection among community members with which water aid has helped - boosting their clean water sanitation. The community has also learnt optimum care and support for the community member as first aid before they go to the Hospital which has created a more supportive community intervention and an environment that is safe for the entire district. They are now experiencing an improved life in terms of good and clean water, first aid, and community transformation. Many lives have been given a new hope and positive opportunity for the future.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), whilst the rate of deaths from Malaria is dropping worldwide, it is still true that approximately half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria. WHO estimates that in 2012 there were approximately 627,000 deaths caused by Malaria. However, other evidence suggests that the figure could be much higher – perhaps as much as double this figure. (Heath Metrics and Evaluation study, published in the Lancet medical journal). Even taking the lower WHO figure, the country statistics for some of the places where Links currently works are shocking. The following numbers are for deaths in 2012 per 1000 of the population: Ghana 136, India 138, Kenya 141, Malawi 146 , Uganda 184, Sri Lanka 174, Zambia 192. For those of us living in non-Malarial areas, imagine those statistics transferred to the town where you live.

Although there are several contributory factors, there is only way in which Malaria is transmitted – namely the bite of one type of mosquito. Sleeping under a treated mosquito net remains an effective method of bringing those shocking figures down. For this reason, we remain committed to doing what we can – even if it is small – to help our partners to help their communities, by the provision of nets to those who cannot afford one.

“I would like to thank you for the 200 mosquito nets. Because of the high demand of the nets, we prioritized women with babies and expectant women. To let them be committed, each beneficiary was paying MK500 (about $1). This money was put into Pamoza Christian Centre account. Thank you so much once again for the help. God bless you.”

We were recently able to provide 1000 nets to our partners in Malawi. This is something to celebrate. However, when divided between the five organisations with whom we work in Malawi, this obviously only gave them 200 each – and all of the organisations reach out to thousands of households. And of course, Malawi is not the only place that needs mosquito nets. So, whilst we were happy to be able to provide this much needed supply, there is still much to do!

Steven Chisale

By donating to Water Filter Kits (£45) or Mosquito Nets (£7) you can save lives in a very direct way.

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LINKS TRIPS

LINKS TRIPS

GHANA REPORT At the invitation of the Church of Pentecost, a small team from Links International travelled from the UK to work with village communities overseen by Apostle Johnson Agyemang Baduh and Apostle Anthony E. K. Ekuban. The team comprised of Andy Read (CEO of Links) and volunteer team members Chris Jones, Chris Lush and Mireille Wildon. Community members from Tettegu, Yahoman, Oduman, Nsakina, Afuaman and Ayikai Doblo travelled in each day to the church centre at Odorkor. The training followed the usual pattern for Links International, with the first day largely being given to a Needs Assessment process. From this, important foundations were laid for the remainder of the training, starting with a consideration of the good features of each community and then moving on to the challenges each village faces. The training we gave, addressing some of the challenges raised, was not

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simply aimed at imparting knowledge, but also suggesting methods by which the community members can now go and teach others. Role plays, use of questions and demonstrations will all be used in the action plans created by the teams. These plans of action will be reviewed on the next Links team visit, and then further training will be given. The whole Links International team hugely enjoyed this trip and expressed great appreciation for the hospitality shown by Church of Pentecost. We all look forward to a fruitful partnership going forward.

“This has been my first mission trip. It is something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl. It has been an amazing experience being in Ghana. The people are so beautiful. I have loved the time I spent with the communities and being apart of helping to make a difference in their lives and giving them new knowledge to teach and carry forward. It has also been an inspiring experience that has made me want to go out there and do more!”

Mireille Wildon

“I joined this trip to Ghana at the last minute which was a good way to start my first mission trip i.e. little time for any ‘buyers remorse’! I trust Andy greatly but even so I was quite nervous at the beginning. However, this rapidly evaporated due to the wonderful Ghanian people and their amazing hospitality. The 4 days of training passed in a blur of the business of training and pleasure of new experiences e.g. sitting, talking and

laughing with the chief and elders under a village tree, seeing people learn new ways to help their community (diarrohea prevention role play anyone?), incredible singing, and special new relationships. I can safely say that I have received far more than I have given. So what next? I’ll leave the final word to this African proverb, ‘He who drinks from the well of Africa must return to quench his thirst.”

Chris Jones

“This was my first trip to Ghana although I have been on a Links trip to Malawi before so knew some of what to expect. It was great being able to bless the people and being part of the beginning of a renewed partnership. The friendliness and the enthusiasm of the participates wanting to learn to improve their lives and others plus the hospitality of our hosts was a amazing. Being able to go into the villages and seeing difficulties they encountered helped to understands their needs. I know I came home feeling that they blessed me more then I blessed them and hoping that this will not be the first and last trip but one of many.”

Chris Lush

Please pray for the new community teams set up in Ghana, as they begin to take their teaching out to their villages.

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LINKS GIFTS Training course places - Worldwide

Moringa Trees - Worldwide

Mosquito Nets (Africa)

Solar Lamps

Our trips usually provide training in healthcare, micro-enterprise and education. Attendees are keen, so we’d like to accommodate more.

This amazing tree grows at a rate of 5 feet per year, is super-nutritious and anti-bacterial. We’d like all our partners worldwide to have some!

Malaria kills more people around the world than the AIDS virus and a mosquito net can protect a whole family.

For school children to study in the evening, for families, and to generate income from mobile phone charging.

One place at a training course: £20

Five trees: £10

One net: £7

Large: £40 Small: £10

Clean Water - Worldwide

Lifewater Filter Kits kill 99.99% of harmful bacteria, producing ten litres of clean water per hour for a year.

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LINKS GIFTS

One kit (including spare candle) provides clean water for more than two years: £45

Micro-Enterprise Investment

Setting up a family in a sustainable business helps them work their way out of poverty. Loans are repaid over 6 months, so the investment helps two families each and every year!

One initial investment: £100-£250

Links Air Miles

Contribution to Trust Fund

We have calculated that, on average, it costs Links £7.50 per 100 miles to send a central team member to monitor progress at one of our communities.

Our Trust fund pays for the central costs of all that we do and, whilst we aim to be good stewards, core funding is often a challenge.

100 Links Air Miles: £7.50

Sample contribution: £5

These are just some of the gifts that are available. Please have a look at www.linksinternational.org.uk/shop to see the full range of ways in which you can bless others. Thank you for your support.

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E:

GALA DINNER

FORENAME:

ITEM DESCRIPTION

I ENCLOSE AN ADDITIONAL DONATION OF £

CLARATION

PLEASE TICK IF GIFT VOUCHERS ARE REQUIRED

r and want Links International to reclaim tax on all my donations from the date below onwards. must pay sufficient tax to cover the amount reclaimed. I become a non tax-payer or if I change my name or address.

LINKS GIFTS ORDER FORM

Links Gala Fundraising Dinner

In short, an evening of laughter, fun, friendship and open heartedness.

We will soon be putting plans in place for next year, so watch this space!

POSTCODE:

QTY.

TOTAL £

SURNAME:

PRICE

At the time of writing we are still working out the exact figure achieved, with a pledge or two still to come in and the Gift Aid to work out. However, we know that the final sum will come to in excess of £8,000 which is a great result. Thank you once again to all who contributed to that in any way!

EMAIL:

DATE:

TOTAL

please cut along the dotted line

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Thank you to all who joined us for the Gala Fundraising Dinner at the beginning of October. The event took place at Eton Dorney lake and we had an amazing time! There was superb entertainment from Steve Lee, Paul Karensa, plus Tina Oldham and band. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and tremendous hospitality from the venue. The auction contained brilliant items, for which people put in bids of staggering generosity. And of course, there was the opportunity to say something about the work of Links in many nations - the reason for the event.

“Once again the Links Gala Dinner was a fantastic evening! A splendid collection of well-groomed individuals, a wonderful backdrop of comedy and music, with the main feature the generosity of Links supporters to continue to fund the great work of life transformation across our world! Oh… and the Eton Mess was pretty tasty too! Well done Andy, volunteer organiser Sally and the Links Team!”

Matt Bell

Links Board Member “The Links Gala Dinner was a wonderful evening of entertainment, fine food and laughter - but the real achievement is that we got to help raise thousands of pounds for the incredible work around the world that Links delivers tirelessly every year.”

Sim Dendy

Links Board Member

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LINKS TRIPS

LINKS TRIPS

Kenya Trip June 2014 In June, Andy and Ann Edmunds travelled to Kenya to facilitate micro-enterprise development (MED) training along with Paul and Jonah, both church pastors, who are also the Founder Directors of Joy Counselling Consortium, based in the village of Miti Mingi, Kenya. Ann and Andy Edmunds facilitated a 3-day Micro-Enterprise Development (MED) training programme, based in a local village. There has been MED training some time back but due to various issues that had arisen, it was felt that refresher training would be beneficial all round. There were 2 MED committees represented - from Nakuru and Miti Mingi. In addition, a few people, from a Table Top Banking (TTB) Group, also attended, as they were interested in learning more about the principles and practices of a Links MED project. Over the course of the three days, there was much discussion about the differences between TTB and MED

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and the aims and objectives of each system. The TTB system is a beneficial one, in that it enables poorer people to obtain loans and pay back within one month. It provides another level of loans and savings for poorer people but differs in aims and objectives from MED. Seeing how TTB works, if it is put to such use, will be very informative for future developments in MED, savings and income-generation schemes in the future. During the course of the training, discussions, arising from past experiences, were very informative for us all. It was a mutually beneficial time as we learned and gained understanding

from each other. The feedback, from the group, was that they felt better equipped to run the MED projects. There was a real sense of a fresh start in every way for the two MED committees that came together and we look forward to hearing how things progress over the next few months. “Although there has been some surmountable challenges, this program has uplifted some families from abject poverty. Just to mention - a loan of kshs. 10,000 enabled Mr. David to start a bakery business. Today he supplies cakes, small breads and doughnuts to local shopkeepers. In addition to being able to support his family, he has opened a small tea joint where he has employed a mother of three to sell tea and the bakery products.�

Paul Titus

Joy Counselling

Are you a business professional with a heart to help people start very small businesses in the developing world? If so, a Links trip may be for you!

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NORMAN & GRACE

NORMAN & GRACE

Norman and Grace Celebrate 50 Years Recently, Norman and Grace, the founders of Links International, celebrated their Golden Wedding both in the UK and in the US. Here are a few highlights and pictures from their many celebrations. Happy 50 Years Norman and Grace! The first weekend in September was Norman and Grace Barnes’ Golden Wedding Anniversary. We celebrated a wonderful evening with them at Wickbourne Centre in Littlehampton. We ate together, enjoyed great entertainment - and even finished off the evening with a time of Barn Dancing!

“As an old friend of Norman and Grace going back to when we met Norman (age 17) it was a mixture of much joy and some sadness for Christine and me. Joy, because Norman was being Norman, as usual larger than life, and Grace was nudging him and giving her instructions to keep him on the strait and narrow; and it was great to see the way that so many came together to show their appreciation and honour the two of them. Then it was sad to see those who were not around as good friends, who had faithfully served over the years, had passed on to be with the Lord. That aside, it was a great evening full of good food (and the occasional glass of wine), lots of fun and laughter, large doses of nostalgia as we chatted with folks we hadn’t seen for years and some fun entertainment. Well done Norman and Grace, good and faithful servants! Do we get an invite to your Diamond anniversary?”

John Noble

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A few weeks later, in the States, the Links USA Office along with the The Abbey Church in Azle, Texas, held a Golden Wedding Gala in their honour as well. Not only was it an Anniversary Celebration, it was also Norman & Grace’s last trip to the States.

Those of us who have been most deeply impacted by their ministry were honoured to gather to celebrate Norman and Grace’s Golden Wedding Anniversary. Thirty years of USA relationships had finally come together in one common place. In true Norman and Grace fashion, they would not let the evening be about them, but they asked that in lieu of gifts, a legacy offering be taken up to continue the work of the USA office of Links. To date that offering has brought in almost $10,000! We are honored to carry the baton that Norman and Grace have handed to us to continue reaching out to the nations while connecting people with their destiny and to mission. At that Gala, we presented Norman and Grace with a flag that had been flown over the United States Capitol in their honor which read:

THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The accompanying flag is an official flag Flown over the United States Capitol In Washington, District of Columbia In honor of Norman and Grace Barnes At the request of the Honorable Kay Granger Member of Congress It is symbolic of the covering they have provided for us and our nation over the years. Part of that covering includes the future ministry that will happen under the umbrella of Links USA. We have our sights set on growing as an organisation, expanding our network of strategic partnerships, and continuing to take the Good News of Jesus to the poor.

“As we celebrated 50 years of marriage we had no idea when standing at the altar with a passion for missions that we would travel the world and see what has become known as Links International immerge that would be the means of touching tens of thousands of people. We now enter into what is the last stage of our lives and ministry so we wanted to be prayed over, our desire has always been to ‘Finish Strong’ and we now know that we are ready for the next phase of ministry - grateful to Him who gives us destiny and fulfils our dreams.”

Norman and Grace Barnes

Jason Bollinger

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FUNDRAISING

ACT4YOU Enable the Children Enable the Children is a team reaching out to provide Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy care and support to children with disabilities in Sierra Leone. Hannah moves on Monday to her new home. She will be staying at a Children’s Home just outside Freetown, the capitol city, where I live. Ro-Selenah home has 22 kids and most have a disability - some very mild polio or mild paralysis of one side, while others more severe. I am thankful that it seems God has been preparing her. We talk about when I come back to Sierra Leone that I will frequently visit her, I ask her, “Who will always be with you?” and she answers, “Jesus” pointing to her heart. I pray that though this is so difficult we will both grow from this and experience God’s love for us in different ways. Two months I’ve been away from Sierra Leone, with Ebola on the increase. Things actually do not feel very different as I sit in my little community. Yet I do notice the slight difference of the public transport vans carrying only 14 people comfortably instead of 18-24 jammed up against each other. My neighbours

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and friends are no longer offering a hug or handshake but a wave from a safe distance. There are frequent checkpoints, stores, and churches with hand washing stations and temperature checks and we are frequently seeing an ambulance with people in protective gear (when seeing even an ambulance was extremely rare). Many are in quarantine. My friends working with the Ebola relief can tell such heartbreaking stories of families separated, not enough beds, the poor conditions in the health facilities and not enough supplies or help. Fear is still a huge factor in the efforts. We hear stories of people hiding their loved ones and people burying their family members for fear that the government won’t handle the body properly. We also fear for those with medical problems not related to Ebola. Earlier this month my friend and driver died. It was likely something he could have sought medical help for but due to the fear of going to a hospital and contracting Ebola it is keeping many self-treating at home.

comfort, to help, to visit- it is no longer safe to do these things. It causes me to wonder how I can, how we can still provide for our neighbours at this time? I read the story of the Good Samaritan to Hannah yesterday - how this man bandaged the injured man, raised him up on a donkey and provided for him financially! I believe there is something that we can each do, spiritually through prayer and fasting; physically if we can go provide service, sensitization, or supplies; or financially give to an organisation helping fight this virus. We are not powerless, we have a power of the Holy Spirit that drives us more often than not to extend ourselves. Let’s just see if we can extend ourselves to help in this Ebola epidemic.

Race Around Ireland In August, Norman and James Beech rode in the Race Around Ireland to raise funds & awareness for Links. In 2010 we rowed the Atlantic Ocean together, so the importance of having safe water to drink is something we are very aware of! The work of Links International to provide water filters for families really struck a chord with us. It is essential for good health. Supporting people to become self sufficient by assisting micro-enterprise to flourish is fundamental to communities being able to help themselves. It has so much dignity attached to it.

As Christians, we wanted to lend support to this work and we thought riding a tandem in Race Around Ireland would help to raise interest in the work of Links International, as well as, raise vital funds. It was the first time anyone had entered a tandem in Race Around Ireland, which is listed as one of the world’s 50 toughest endurance challenges. 1350 miles in 132 hours. It is a massive undertaking, but every day the poorest people on our planet have to endure far worse, with no certain outcome or immediate end

in sight. We hope our efforts have made a small difference to change things round for a few families and to let them know they are not forgotten. Details of our tandem ride are on www.beechboys.co.uk. Keep up the good work Links International!

Norman and James Beech

Jaimie Reetz

For more information, please visit www.enablethechildren.org

Ebola has been said to go against so much of our human nature, to touch, to

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CONTACT US

KINGDOM RESOURCES LINKS INTERNATIONAL PROVIDES ‘SPIRITUAL FAMINE RELIEF’ TO WORKERS AROUND THE WORLD, MANY WITHOUT ACCESS TO CHRISTIAN RESOURCES. WE CURRENTLY SEND 135 PARCELS TO 40 NATIONS THREE TIMES A YEAR. THESE WERE IN THE LAST PARCEL. Worship Central Sample CD

Book ‘Making Disciples: How did Jesus do it?’ by Tony Pullin

Teaching from Priscilla Reid: What do Kingdom People Look Like?

LINKS OFFICES UNITED KINGDOM (HEAD OFFICE) PO Box 198 Littlehampton West Sussex BN16 3UQ +44(0)1903 778515 office@linksinternational.org.uk SOUTH AFRICA James Bierbrauer james@linksinternationalsa.com UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PO Box 1223 San Marcos, TX 78667 + 1 512 765 4657 linksusaoffice@gmail.com linksinternationalusa.com

£45 blesses someone with three parcels a year. The parcels remind missionaries and workers that they are loved and thought of. Here are some of the many ‘thank you’ emails we recently received: As countless times before, I received your loving gift parcel with equipment material: Your well-designed magazine, worship CD, message CD of Priscilla Reid and Tony

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Pullin’s book on Making Disciples. We are deeply involved in disciple-making and I look forward to receiving new impetuous through the book of Tony. Many years back we had a book of Phil Vogel called “Making Apprentices” which was on the same topic and encouraged us very much. India Thank you very much for the latest Links parcel. I wanted to listen to both CDs before writing to you, (Worship Central sampler and Priscilla Reid), which I enjoyed, but so far I’ve only managed a quick skim over Tony Pullin’s ‘Making Disciples’, enough to make me look forward to reading it, and to

see that there are some important things in it. So, thank you again, and thank you for the blessing and encouragement these parcels always bring. Wishing you every blessing. France Thanks so much for the parcel of CD’s and magazine etc…very much appreciated! God bless those who give in to the project of sending missionaries these precious gifts. We are doing well, always lots going on here. God’s been exceedingly and abundantly good to this simple ministry of love. Kenya

TRUSTEES

Matt Bell (Chairperson) // Sim Dendy // Leigh Hills // Phil Moore // Lina Read

DIRECTOR

Andy Read CEO

BANKERS

Lloyds TSB Bank plc North Middlesex Group, Business Centre, PO Box 2135, Marlow, SL7 3HG

AUDITORS

Hewitt Warin Ltd Harlow Enterprise Hub, Edinburgh Way, Harlow, Essex CM20 2NQ

COUNCIL OF REFERENCE

Norman and Grace Barnes, Founders of Links International // Fran Beckett, Charity Consultant // Stuart Bell, Team Leader, Ground Level // Dr Steve Brady, Principal of Moorlands College // Rev Steve Chalke, Founding Director Oasis Trust // Gerald Coates, Pioneer // Dr Patrick Dixon, Global Change // Dr Rowland Evans, Nations // Mrs Faith Forster, Ichthus Christian Fellowship // Dale Gentry, Prayer Breakout Network // Floyd McClung, Formerly International Director YWAM // Micha Jazz, Peaceworks // John Noble, Spiritconnect

ASSOCIATE MINISTRIES

Links International works in association with the following ministries to present the challenge of world mission to the Church.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Links Magazine is sent free of charge to our partners and on request. All gifts to Links International are acknowledged and used as directed and designated; if the designated project has already been fully funded, discontinued, or cannot be completed for reasons beyond the control of Links International, the Board of Trustees reserves the right to use the funds for other similar projects, where most needed. Undesignated gifts are used for the general purposes of the Trust under the direction of the Trustees. Our accounts are audited annually. A copy of our report and accounts is available upon request. As a registered charity, Links operates its own Gift Aid scheme. Further details are available on request. All cheques should be made payable to Links International. Registered charity number 327000

Links International is a member of the Evangelical Alliance and Global Connections.

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LINKS TRAINING At the heart of what we do lies the training that takes place with our partners and their community teams, across many nations. The people we train are committed volunteers, who want to help others in their communities. They give their time and effort freely, passing on community healthcare knowledge, running micro-enterprise schemes and more. Training them costs money; money for local administration costs, for lunches, refreshments, assistance with transport and sometimes hall hire. Without this training, so much of what we do, and what we help our partners to achieve, would not be possible. Can you help by contributing to our training fund?


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