May 2022

Dear Family and Friends

Last month I started with the following sentences, and I want to repeat them for this month - Thank you so much for your continual prayers and support. This past month has been full on in so many ways and I have truly felt your prayers getting me through.

This past month I flew to Lisbon (Portugal) to do a mission trip with our new church plant. 12 years ago we sent a couple from Slough to plant a church in Gent, Belgium and in the middle of Covid our Gent church sent Elvis & Joyce to plant this church in Lisbon! This couple has faced many challenges over the last 2 years getting settled with 2 young boys, facing isolation from Covid and adapting to the Portuguese culture. In the midst of all the challenges though, they have been able to slowly build some relationships on and off of the university campuses in Lisbon.

On May 23rd I flew in with a small team from Gent to not only spend a week encouraging Elvis and Joyce but also going onto one of the main Universities in Lisbon to do surveys such as the God Test and the Mental Health Survey. It was the first of many missions to come to help this church grow. The surveys showed us, as expected, that most students have no belief in God and more than half of the students I surveyed on mental health, have done or are in counselling because of the affects Covid and their studies are having on them. There was also a real sense of loneliness on campus. The week was fruitful in that we were able to make connections with students that Elvis and Joyce are now following up and we are praying that these students will encounter a real relationship with God. We were also to pray for so many students at the end of our talks. Even though most of them said that they didn’t believe in God, I would always tell them at the end of our conversation that I was aware that they were in exams and would ask if I could pray for them. All of them said yes and some were even brought to tears! (pic of 2 female students we surveyed after we prayed for them) Please pray for Elvis and Joyce as they follow these students up and pray for salvations on the campuses in Lisbon.

This past Saturday we also had one of our Freedom Days! During this day we teach on topics such as Destructive Patterns, Spiritual Error, Identity, Sexual Sin, Addictions, etc and then have an incredible ministry time with people individually. Saturday was definitely a day where people experienced Freedom!

I’m sitting at the airport at the moment about to fly to America for a much needed trip to raise my support and thank some of the amazing people who make it possible to do ministry here in Europe. If you are in America and have not yet been in touch with me about meeting up – please email me. I would love to see you!

Finally, I also wanted to say thank you for praying for Wolfi. Please continue praying for him. He needs a miracle. He has had 4 rounds of immunotherapy so far and the treatment has caused many side effects especially severe nausea. Please continue praying for healing!

Thank you again for all that you do!

Loads of Love

Traci