BBC/Mammoth Screen
16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • TELEVISION 3
Earth invaders Could hostile Martians be the the least of a couple’s problems? asks Sarah Olowofoyeku
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NEMIES from another world launch their attack on an unsuspecting corner of planet Earth in BBC One’s The War of the Worlds tomorrow (Sunday 17 November). As the alien invasion causes chaos across Edwardian England, young couple George and Amy, who have attempted to defy social norms, must also deal with their own personal problems. The three-part series, an adaptation of the sci-fi novel by H. G. Wells, begins with George (Rafe Spall) and Amy (Eleanor Tomlinson), newly arrived in Woking, visiting their neighbour, astronomer and scientist Ogilvy (Robert Carlyle), who has invited them to study the planets with him. Excitedly, he shows them the unusual pillar of smoke he has spotted emerging from the edge of Mars, which he believes could be a volcanic eruption. To welcome them to the neighbourhood, he gives them a picture of the phenomenon. Taken aback by the gesture, Amy responds to Ogilvy by saying: ‘We’re pariahs, George and I.’ She doesn’t reveal what she and George have done, but the glances from other neighbours as the couple go about their everyday lives
suggest that they know and that the disapproval is widespread. Some days later, amid news reports of an unprecedented attack by Russia, the whole neighbourhood is alarmed when they hear an explosion and find that a giant spherical object has landed in the woods. Having spoken to Ogilvy previously, Amy wonders whether it has come from Mars. Uncertainty fills the air as no one
Feeling alienated might be a familiar experience knows what the new arrival could be. After more explosions, it is clear that the incidents are not freak accidents. They may be attacks. George, who works as a journalist, travels to London to pitch the story to his editor, who is not as enthusiastic as he’d hoped. But his seeming indifference is perhaps due to something other than a lack of interest in the strange incidents. ‘You cannot expect to do what you’ve done and have no consequences – you’re lucky to have a job at all,’ he says to George.
George and Amy’s actions have jeopardised his career and forced both of them out of the city. Their decisions have resulted in their becoming outcasts. Feeling alienated is an experience that may be familiar to many of us. Perhaps we have been rejected by family for doing something that they did not like. Maybe our lifestyle choices have made us feel that we are not accepted in certain places. We may have done something which has had serious consequences, and be struggling to move forward. It can seem as though our mistakes are the defining part of our story. The Bible is filled with reports of people who made terrible mistakes but were not rejected by God. And nothing has changed. No matter what we have done, God will accept us. One figure who made his fair share of mistakes but experienced forgiveness wrote: ‘God holds nothing against you’ (Psalms 32:2 The Message). His experience can be ours. There is no uncertainty about the forgiveness and acceptance that God wants to offer us. If we choose to put our confidence in him, we can discover his love – which is out of this world.
NIGEL BOVEY
8 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 16 November 2019
A love
labour
of
To mark World Prematurity Day tomorrow (17 November), CLAIRE BRINE tells Sarah Olowofoyeku about the shock of going into labour at seven months and the challenges that followed
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PPROXIMATELY the size and weight of a coconut, at 31 weeks in the womb, a baby is very active and still growing. The motherto-be has at least six more weeks of nesting to go and will soon be starting antenatal classes. But for first-time mother and War Cry assistant editor Claire Brine, week 31 of her pregnancy was when her baby girl made her entrance into the world last year. ‘After coming home from a full day at work, I had some bleeding,’ says Claire, 36. ‘I phoned my sister to ask what she thought was wrong. She said it was probably okay, but I should get it checked out.’ Claire and her partner, Allister, made their way to the hospital about three miles from their home in London. ‘The doctors examined me and told me I was two centimetres dilated,’ she says. ‘But they said not to worry, the baby wasn’t likely to come.’ After an entire evening spent trying to locate her wriggly baby’s heart rate, hospital staff sent Claire home with an instruction to return the following morning to get an injection. ‘I rang my boss to say I’d be coming to work but would be late because I had to
get a jab. At the hospital the next morning, I remember getting what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. I asked if the doctor would look at me because I didn’t feel well. He did and said: “You’re further gone. Let’s take you to the labour ward. You’ll be having this baby today.” ‘Immediately I burst into tears. I’d come in for an injection, not to have a baby. I was only seven months! I said: “She’s not ready. I’m not ready.”’ Claire was taken to the labour ward and prepared for premature birth. She was
When I took in my situation I prayed one of my most sincere prayers given injections to help the baby’s lungs if she came early and steroids to slow labour down. ‘The steroids halted things in their tracks,’ Claire recalls. ‘I was on gas and air, but my baby wasn’t coming any more. The doctors still had to monitor me, so I stayed in hospital for the next three days.’ Finally sent home, Claire was to have more trouble, experiencing ‘the worst back pain I’ve ever known’.
She says: ‘The pain was so bad I put my dinner on the floor and ate on all fours. But I felt as though I just needed to use the toilet. I barely slept, and the next morning I started throwing up. I felt awful. So we went back to the hospital. ‘They were wiring me for the monitors and doctors were coming in to check on me.’ Doctors saw that the baby’s heart rate was high and showing no sign of slowing down. They decided the baby needed to be delivered. Claire remembers lying on the bed and feeling scared as she was prepared for an emergency caesarean section. But amid all the drama, she experienced what she describes as ‘a surprising and striking moment of calm’, at a point when there were no doctors milling around and she was in the hospital room alone. ‘I had time to take in my situation,’ she says. ‘It was then that I prayed one of my most sincere prayers: “Please let me be okay. Please let my baby be okay. Please let everything be okay.” ‘Then in the quietness, I listened to a piece of Salvation Army music on my phone. It included the words, “In the love of Jesus, there is all I need” and a line about finding “perfect rest” in him. I knew
16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 9
Emmeline was born weighing 3lb and spent the first month of her life, including Christmas, in hospital these words had brought my dad comfort when he was dying from cancer, so I decided to cling on to them for myself. In my mind, I said: “If I die today, God, it’s okay; you’re going to make sure it’s okay.”’ Hospital staff were soon back in the room and Claire was wheeled to the operating theatre. Still with excruciating back pain, she had to hunch over to receive an injection that hurt so much she felt she could not cope any more. But, after the injection, which caused her to lose feeling in her legs, she could no
I heard her little cry but I couldn’t hold her longer feel the pain either. Slightly more at ease, she was told she would be having a natural birth and that it was time to deliver. Staff from the special care baby unit warned the parents-to-be that once the baby was born, she’d be taken to the ward upstairs to be looked after. The time had come for Claire to deliver her baby. ‘I was told I had to push even though I wouldn’t be able to feel it,’ she explains. ‘So I pushed, then they said “okay, another push”, and my baby girl was out.
‘I heard her little cry, and she was put on my tummy. But I couldn’t feel her or hold her. All I saw was an arm and leg, and then she was whisked away.’ Claire is still sad that she missed sharing those first moments with her baby. ‘I didn’t get to see her for hours,’ she says. ‘Because of the injection I couldn’t walk after giving birth, so I was put to bed. ‘The next morning, with feeling back in my legs, we went to see her. I was nervous because I didn’t know what I was going to see. I hadn’t had that first cuddle and flush of bonding hormones, so I felt I was going to see a baby that didn’t even feel like mine. ‘We walked in, and there she was – this tiny, wriggly, little scrap of a baby in a massive incubator. She was covered in wires and had a huge nappy on. She was dribbling because of all the tubes going in her mouth. And I thought: “Oh my goodness, that’s my baby.” While I was relieved she was there being looked after, it felt like there was a massive barrier between us.’ It was another two days before Claire held her baby – but it was a moment she will never forget. ‘The nurses put her in my arms and, at 3lb, she was the tiniest, lightest thing,’ she
says. ‘She was bundled up in blankets because she had to be kept warm, and I remember looking down at this tiny face, thinking, “This is weird – you’re mine.” It was a really special, lovely moment. But I still felt quite terrified of all that was to come and knowing that she shouldn’t have been here yet.’ Baby Emmeline spent her first month in hospital, which included Christmas Day. ‘It was hard,’ says Claire. ‘We had no family near us. Friends wanted to come, but
Turn to page 10
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10 INTERVIEW • WAR CRY • 16 November 2019
Emmeline grew stronger, learning to feed and gaining weight
From page 9 they weren’t allowed in. We were isolated. Christmas was going on for everyone around us, but not us.’ Another struggle Claire had not anticipated was feeding. Emmeline was born before her sucking reflex had developed. ‘I wanted to breastfeed but couldn’t because Emmeline was too small, and when her sucking reflex came in she had to learn on the bottle. But so my
We had no nappies because who buys nappies two months early? milk supply didn’t dry up, I had to keep expressing. At home, I had to set alarms throughout the night to wake up to pump. All the while, I didn’t have a baby there that I was pumping for; she was in hospital. ‘Then at the hospital, I’d spend two hours cuddling her before having to pump again. I was pumping milk all the time, I was so tired. She didn’t learn to breastfeed until she was about six weeks old.’ Practically, Claire and Allister weren’t
ready for their baby either. ‘We had no nappies because who buys nappies two months early?’ Claire laughs. ‘The day after Emmeline was born I got a phone call saying I was booked into antenatal classes.’ While there was humour to be found in such moments, the reality of giving birth prematurely did come with some sadness. ‘I missed out on a lot,’ Claire reflects. ‘I went into the hospital one day and the nurses had put a vest on her. I wasn’t the first one to dress her. I wasn’t the first one to change her nappy. I wasn’t there when her belly button fell off. I didn’t give her the first bath. I never got to have a full-term pregnancy. And in my head, I never even got to do labour properly.’ In spite of the difficulties,
16 November 2019 • WAR CRY • INTERVIEW 11
I am grateful; I thought I’d never have a baby
Allister, Claire and Emmeline
o months Emmeline at tw s th and at ten mon
Claire is full of gratitude for the care Emmeline received in the hospital and that there weren’t many complications. There were also parts of her new life that she was pleasantly surprised by. ‘Nothing can prepare you for how good it feels when milestones are reached,’ she says. ‘And they are milestones that in many other circumstances might not be milestones. When she was no longer in an incubator, I remember thinking: “Wow, my baby’s in a cot!” And, after 28 days in hospital, the joy of taking her home was all the greater. ‘I also didn’t realise how strong she would be, even when she didn’t look like she was strong. All premature babies are strong, because they’re all fighting.’ About the time Emmeline was born, Claire and Allister were experiencing other challenges, including a family bereavement. It seemed to Claire as though everything was happening at once. ‘I just wondered how much more could
go wrong,’ she says. ‘I probably said: “Thanks a bunch, God, you’re not much help!”’ But help did come for the couple in various ways, including from the leaders of their Salvation Army church, Steve and Bernie. ‘We went to them for Christmas dinner,’ Claire says. ‘They were a support because they lived so close to us. Friends from farther afield came to deliver meals and give me lifts to the hospital, and I’m grateful. ‘I am quite cynical myself, but most of those who helped us are Christians. I can
see the love of God through their faith and their actions.’ Now living near other family members in Devon, Claire reflects: ‘I am grateful for Emmeline too. I thought I’d never have a baby. I thought I was too old, and our home situation wasn’t perfect to start a family. But I had a baby; I’ve got so much love for her, and so much gratitude to have her. ‘She’s mine and Allister’s, but we can’t take all the credit. Many things were out of our control, and my body took care of the pregnancy. So the only way I can direct my gratitude is upwards. I’m grateful to God.’
12 INNER LIFE • WAR CRY • 16 November 2019
Prayerlink THE War Cry invites readers to send in requests for prayer, including the first names of individuals and details of their circumstances. Send your requests to Prayerlink, War Cry, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Mark your envelope ‘Confidential’.
Becoming a Christian There is no set formula to becoming a Christian, but many people have found saying this prayer to be a helpful first step to a relationship with God Lord Jesus Christ, I am truly sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free. Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Holy Spirit. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit to be with me for ever. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen
Mark
Nigel Bovey gives chapter and verse on each book in the Scriptures
ARK is the shortest of the four gosM pels and, dating from about AD65 to 70, was the first to be written. Some 90 per
cent of the contents of Mark appears in Matthew, and nearly 50 per cent appears in Luke. It is thought that the disciple Peter was the writer’s main source. Untypically for a biography, Mark’s Gospel contains little information on Jesus’ family background and no narrative of his birth. Instead, the book focuses on the things that Jesus did. Like a journalist meeting a deadline, the writer records events and reports quotes with minimal personal comment. The repeated use of the word ‘immediately’ reflects the pace and excitement of Jesus’ ministry. After his baptism and a time in the desert when he prepares himself for his ministry, Jesus calls disciples, casts out demons and an unclean spirit, heals sick people, preaches in synagogues and cleanses a leper, all within chapter one. Every chapter, until the account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in chapter 11, records Jesus performing at least one miracle. Generally Mark describes these acts with the Greek word ‘dunamis’ which means ‘power’. These ‘power works’ fall into four categories. Jesus physically heals a paralysed man (2:1–12), a man with a withered hand (3:1–6), a haemorrhaging woman (5:25–34), a deaf-mute man (7:31–37),
two blind men (8:22–26; 10:46–52) and many others (1:34; 3:10; 6:56). He casts out demons from a cave-dwelling man (5:1–20) and from two children (7:24–30; 9:14–29). He controls nature by stilling a storm (4:35–39) and by twice feeding thousands of
The writer records events and reports quotes with minimal personal comment people with a picnic lunch (6:30–44; 8:1–9). Jesus demonstrates his power over death by raising a dead girl back to life (5:21–43). Jesus’ own death and resurrection, and the events immediately preceding them, occupy the final third of the gospel. Scholars debate the authenticity of the final 12 verses of chapter 16. They are absent from the earliest manuscripts. The casual reader might note that many of the events they describe occur either in other gospels or in the Acts of the Apostles.
Key verse
ar. God has come ne ‘The Kingdom of ’ s! w ve the good ne Repent and belie n) io ternational Vers (Mark 1:15 New In
Extract from Why Jesus? by Nicky Gumbel published by Alpha International, 2011. Used by kind permission of Alpha International
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