The Sac-6 with the Leaches in England, September, 2016
I have a very worn pair of shoes that I love to wear when the weather turns warm each year. Around March as I go digging in my closet for sandals and flip-flops, I would go find my very old pair of blue Birkenstocks.
Don’t we all have things in our lives that just feel welcoming and familiar? Yes, it’s always comforting to return to the familiar. That’s exactly the feeling I experienced as my husband Arnold and I, along with Joe and Chris You and Nelly and Dennis Shun, a.k.a. Sac-6, returned to Brandon, England to visit and minister with our friends, Larry and Kathleen Leach (a missionary couple with Biblical Ministries Worldwide).
In light of the recent turmoil over Brexit and other unsettling problems in England, our goal for this particular visit was to encourage the believers to finish strong, keeping their eyes on the Lord as they face a future that may seem uncertain at times. Thus, we chose “Finishing Strong” as our theme, focusing on these scriptural verses: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1,2).
This was our third visit in five years, and we were excited to renew friendships at Brandon Baptist Church (BBC) and to see firsthand how it had grown. We were warmly welcomed by familiar faces—Jim and Patty Love (ministry partners with the Leaches in Brandon), Sarah, Samantha, Steve, Laura, and a host of others. We were especially taken with the many new faces, including a handful of American military families. This unique blending of British and American believers has helped create a more vibrant church family.
It was a packed six days in Brandon, filled with individual and group Bible studies, communal meals, small fellowship meetings, a women’s tea, and even community clubs (camera, art, and quilt clubs) where the leadership participates to build relationships with unbelieving locals. During a midweek Bible study, Chris shared on the topic of suicide and its deep effects on those left behind. Her husband, Joe, a gifted wood carver, did several presentations at the camera and art clubs. Arnold and Dennis gave their testimonies during services and at a men’s morning Bible study.
A highlight for me was to meet with several moms who had begun praying together after our first visit in 2012. It was a blessing to share from our hearts, affirm each other in the Lord and pray for one another. For others like Joe and Chris, their very special memory involved a young man named Mike whom they encountered on their walk to the church one morning. He asked if they were the Salvation Army, to which they replied “no.” He then mentioned he knew a couple of people from Brandon Baptist and said he had some questions about religion. As they engaged in further conversation, the Holy Spirit moved in Mike and he prayed to accept Jesus into his life! Joe would like us to please pray that Mike would continue to grow in his commitment to Christ.
Joe and Chris stayed with Jim and Patty Love, career missionaries who have lived in England for 35 years and raised a family of five children while there. They have this to say about their time with the Loves:
“This second stay with the Loves gave us a deeper appreciation for 
their passion and the challenge they have in building relationships with locals, allowing them to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jim is constantly striving to develop contacts through his involvement in local groups and is currently working with locals in Bible study and discipleship training. His excitement at seeing relationships develop into Gospel sharing moments keeps him focused on the people he comes in contact with every day.”
The church ministry continues to evolve, its numbers still small by American standards, but nevertheless, thriving. A new area of growth has been among the young adult/career age group and young couples. Larry and Kathleen are excited to see this age group grow, and they see this as an important group to encourage and spiritually develop in the coming years.
Others in the Sac-6 team have also made similar observations. Dennis Shun recalls how his experience at BBC has changed over the span of four years, from knowing only the Leaches on the team’s first visit, to having made new friends and seeing more enthusiasm among the people in reaching out to the community on this recent visit.
“Since our first visit,” observed Dennis, “we made many new friends, some of whom had passed away, with the remaining ones discouraged by how the gospel was being received. But we saw a ray of hope when we met a young man named Billy who was baptized during our second visit. When we returned this year, there was a desire to establish a Moms in Prayer group and a kinship group for young couples. Billy and another man named Adrian are meeting for discipleship training with Larry and Jim Love.” Dennis continued to marvel that this time around, the Sac-6 saw a church that wanted to serve the Lord and make an impact in their community.
Nelly concurred, “Two years ago, some of the believers were saddened by the decline in church attendance and the general lack of interest in Christianity. There are many empty churches with an average attendance of 20 to 30 people.”
“We ask for prayer for this group of believers, especially for the Leaches and the Loves,” says Joe, “Pray for the many who are eagerly serving in a spiritually poor country. Once the center of worldwide mission, England is now in need of missionaries to point her back to a living God.”
Overall, it was a very fulfilling time with Larry and Kathleen and their partners in ministry, Jim and Patty Love. There continue to be struggles the Lord has allowed to bring growth to the people at Brandon Baptist; older members pass on to glory, the young leave for bigger cities, families get relocated, evangelism results can feel delayed, etc., but the faithful remain just that—faithful, looking to the Lord to finish strong as we continue to partner with them across the “pond.”
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