The individuals and organisations supported financially by the church in 2004 are listed below. The individuals on the standing support list have had close connections with Wade Street church in the past, and are therefore supported automatically. The missionaries and organisations on the optional support list are supported following voting by the church members. Although some have close connections with the church they are organisations rather than individuals and so have to be voted on each year. Standing Support List The Good Shepherd Project Rachel Ely attended the Sunday School at Wade Street Church. She is married to Sansao Campos, and they, with their children used to live in Fatima, Brazil. The aim of the project is to bring hope to the forgotten families of a Brazilian shanty town, and to bring the Good News of Jesus to the people through practical loving care and support. Fatima is a place of urgent need. Children need food, health care, clothing and basic education. Young people need the opportunity to escape the violence of the streets. Mothers need a crèche for their children so that they can go to work to support their families. The project is staffed by local Christians, some of whom are paid while others are volunteers. Although Rachel and Sansao are now back in the UK, the project continues. The website [ www.goodshepherdproject.org.uk ] is redirected to the Projeto Bom Pastor site, so if you use it, your Portuguese had better be good! Dr Andrew Potter, The Christian Blind Mission Andrew works with the Christian Blind Mission in Benin. He speaks to us at church when visiting the UK and describes his medical and outreach work amongst the poor and needy. The church has supported him in this work consistently over a number of years. The website is at [ www.cbmi.org ] Optional Support List The Bible Society - Bibles for Russia A friend of Brenda and Wynne went to Russia some years ago with Open Doors, and smuggled some Bibles in. While he was there, this friend was in contact with a number of churches and he gave them the names and addresses of people in the U.K. who would be prepared to send Bibles if they were contacted. In due course Brenda and Wynne were contacted, and they began to send Bibles to Russia. Further requests came and the work was becoming expensive as the postage was more than twice the cost of the Bibles. Eventually they received requests for 100 Bibles and then 600. Financial help was sought and generously provided by the church. Bibles for Russia has been supported by the Wade Street Missionary Support Scheme for some years. In this time the church has also taken up a membership subscription with the Bible Society 'Bible a Month Club', which is open for additional contributions. The work has passed from Brenda to Wynne and from Wynne to Jack Preston who has continued the work. The bible society is at [ www.biblesociety.org.uk ] Frontier Youth Trust FYT is a Christian network dedicated to advancing the kingdom of God by supporting, resourcing and training those working with and on behalf of disadvantaged young people. It is made up of local Christians who work, or have worked with young people. They offer mutual support, training and advice, opportunities for theological and biblical reflection, resources and publications and also a national team of field staff who help to bring the network together. The website is at [ www.fyt.org.uk ] Gideons International The Gideons place bibles into schools, hospitals, eventide homes, hotels, surgeries of doctors and dentists, and funeral parlours as well as presenting testaments to nurses, police officers and care staff. Personal gifts of testaments are also given when the opportunity arises. In 2001 the Sutton Coldfield branch presented 10,037 testaments to pupils in 37 schools in the area including Lichfield, along with over 500 placements in local hospitals eventide homes and hotels. Nationally 937,285 scriptures were handed out and £1.2 million was transferred to the International account for use in 174 countries in 73 different languages. The Gideons place 1 million bibles every six days across the world and since 1899 over a billion have been distributed. Within Wade Street Church Gill and Alan Beebee and Rob and Gail Dodd are active members who place bibles. The website is at [ www.gideons.org.uk ] Lichfield Christian Schools Work Trust Brian Dash, the Christian schools worker, and his team visit Primary and Secondary schools in Lichfield and some of the surrounding villages. They are involved in taking assemblies and R.E. lessons, going into Primary schools for assemblies three to four times a term. The work of the trust is supported entirely by voluntary contributions. Several church members join Brian in schools to help with the work including displaying their puppetry skills. MAF Mission Aviation Fellowship exists to speed the spread of the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ by word and deed in places of deepest human need - isolated places where flying is not a luxury but a lifeline, every four minutes an MAF plane is taking off somewhere in the world. These flights enable crucial work by aid and development agencies, missions, local churches and other national groups to take place. Wade Street Church has supported this work for a number of years. The website is at [ www.maf.org ] David and Wilma Lyttle, Mizpah Outreach David and Wilma have been known to some at Wade Street for many years. Their family - all boys Bryan, Iain, Jon Marc and Allyn - are pretty much grown up now, and the oldest two are married. David and Wilma will be back in the UK from March to May - including trips to Ireland and Scotland. Including a visit to Rising Brook Church in Stafford, and you could go to hear them there. Their schedule has not enabled them to be with us for a Sunday as we had hoped, but at least they will be in the area briefly before they go back out to serve the Lord in Macedonia. OMF Isobel Searson received our support while she was working with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship. Now that Isobel has a paid job at her school, OMF continue to receive our support in the same way as the other organisations in this section - if they are voted for by those connected with Wade Street Church. The website is at [ www.omf.org ] The Railway Mission Founded in 1881, the Railway Mission remains the major pioneering, front line Christian influence in the national railway industry. The Rev. Liam Johnson is the full time Railway Mission chaplain in the West Midlands with an open door to all sections of the privatised industry. Since his appointment in April 2000 he has received encouraging support from management and staff. Liam and Rita have four children. He is the pastor of a small AOG church in Lutterworth. The website is at [ www.railwaymission.org ] Stephen and Hardy Wilkinson Akany Avoko is a children's home run by the Protestant Federation of Madagascar, managed by the husband and wife team, Stephen and Hardy. There is limited funding from the state, parents and CWM. The state funding has existed in theory only for some considerable time now. Some children are placed by the juvenile court, others are referred by families with special needs. A number were babies who were found abandoned to die on rubbish tips and are taken to the home. Some children stay for years. A Christian family home atmosphere is created. Appropriate skills and training are given and Akany Avoko also provides a half-way-home for otherwise homeless girls. Stephen was presented with the MBE in 1998 by the Princess Royal, who subsequently visited the home in 1999. Stephen and Hardy say "Our earnest desire and prayer is that each of the youngsters in our care shall come to know Jesus Christ as Saviour, Lord and Friend". The website is at [ www.akanyavoko.com ] Wycliffe Andre and Julie Bailey in Dacca, Senegal, were the focus of our support in the past, and we now continue to support the Bible translators with gifts to their General Fund as they seek to make the Good News available to people the world over, in their own language. In many cases the work is truly pioneering as the language has never been written down for any purpose, and so to make the Scriptures available a whole work of recording and analysing has to be carried out. The website is at [ www.wycliffe.org.uk ] For more details contact:- Nigel Parrett: 01543 675107   Last Page Last updated: November 26th, 2004. This Page address: http://www.ldb.co.uk/urc/urchome.shtml Published by:  Lichfield Data Base