Cromer Parish Church with St Martins

Thank you for your prayers and support during these difficult financial times. We rejoice in a God who always provides and will keep on providing for us as we trust and obey Him.

I have been challenged recently by Jesus' words to Peter, "Launch into the deep.” NOT, "Let's go fishing," but "Launch into the deep." Jesus knew what a wonderful catch there was going to be and how much others would be blessed by Peter's obedience.

I recently had news of an 11-year-old boy in a Ukraine orphanage, where Kornel and Ruth go twice monthly. He had suddenly realised that his future was in the children's home. Things are not pleasant there, to say the least. The children are beaten and things taken from them. They own nothing and are given only one set of clothes for the week, including underwear. Like many others in the home, he had been abandoned by his parents. Having realised that this was to be his future, he started getting into trouble with other boys. He appeared in court, where the judge decreed he would go to an even stricter home. With no one to turn to for help, counselling or comfort he took his own life. I prayed much about the situation and Ukraine, and I awoke one morning to find God saying to me, "We need another Canaan in the Ukraine."  I couldn't agree more. Recently, I saw a DVD about a "House of Joy" in which children who had been abandoned were rescued... and what a wonderful change it made living in a Christian orphanage! We have contacts in the Ukraine who have told us that half-finished houses are about £20,000. It only needs 20 people to give £1000 each and the project will be on its way! Then there are windows and doors to put into the house and also equipment. We have seen photographs of a house which has a large amount of land and six to eight rooms ‑ quite adequate for a number of children. However, we need to assess that this is the real need. Or should it be that we reach the mother before they abandon their children and support them in a refuge like the one set up in Hungary. With this in view, Daphne and I are visiting the Ukraine in June. Please pray that God will guide us.

God does not require us to understand what He is doing but just to move and do what He says: to obey in unreasonable situations, like the current financial situation; and to have courage and be patient as He unfolds His perfect plan. Please pray with us. We have been promised £7,000 already by various friends but this is only the beginning of such a project.

Canaan Thanksgiving Day, in July, will feature the children's work. The children will also be taking part; so come along and meet them and support Canaan’s vision for them. It is wonderful to see the way God is at work shaping their lives, and to see their spiritual growth in Him. You will have the opportunity to give generously on that day, so more children can be reached for Jesus and their lives filled with the joy only He can give ‑ especially remembering the Ukraine children. We have accommodation for those of you who would like to stay overnight at Canaan and it would be great to see lots of you on July 3rd at 3.00 p.m. followed by a barbecue.

Please pray for safe journeying as Daphne, Frances and I travel to Hungary on the 4th June. It is the opening of the 2nd phase of Kanaan Haz which will accommodate 40 people and the project will then be finished. I think they need another £4,000 to complete, but I am sure by the opening on the 14th June it will have come in. I will be visiting the two orphanages we support in Hungary, meeting Christian friends and renewing vision and friendship, as we encourage them in their work in this needy land.  We return on the 26th June via Slovenia, Austria, Germany and France. We are taking a few days as holiday as we travel back to the UK. Pray for safe travelling, God's protection and cheap places to stay! The Euro seems to go down by the day! Our journeys are exciting as we meet all sorts of people along the way. God incidents!

I am semi‑retired now and have moved into the mobile home in the garden of Canaan. There I have a lovely lounge and en-suite bedroom, so I am quite content and do not have the huge centre to keep clean. In September we hope to have Steve and Sarah Haynes, with their daughte, joining the team at Canaan. Steve and Sarah went out to help Brian complete the Hungarian project at Kanaan Haz, but their three years there have come to an end. They had wondered where God would lead them when they returned to the UK.

Sarah is a caterer and loves cooking and housekeeping. Steve is a builder. So, in a shared role, they will be perfect for the work at Canaan. They see themselves as facilitators, enabling me to do the work which God wants me to do among the children. They will take over all the things that I do not need to do, like maintenance, household stuff and, of course, cooking!! This will thus open Canaan up again as a functioning centre for Alpha groups, weekends, ministry breaks etc. Please pray lots about this; and all it means for me, for them, for the trustees and not least for their wages which we look to God to provide. They are a lovely couple from Yorkshire, so we all get on together really well. I know them from many visits to Hungary over three years and have seen them grow spiritually; although they are still very young Christians, but have been willing to take God at His word to "Go and Obey."

Pray for the Hungarian children's camp, booked to use the centre in July and August; which Kornel and Ruth will be running. Also, the children are coming over from the orphanage in Koszeg at the end of August. Pray also for families who will be coming to the centre during the summer.

Thank you for your support. Love from Evelyn, Jenny and June.

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