Blythswood News
Number 91 Summer 2026
A Transformative Message
The Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. (Isaiah 61:1)
Margarita has a transformative message to bring to her town in Bulgaria. And when you read the stories in this issue of Blythswood News, you’ll see she’s not alone. Preaching good news to the poor, binding up the broken-hearted and proclaiming freedom for captives is being done again and again through international partnerships and through gospel opportunities in our charity shops.
The good news we share and the practical help we bring allow us to bind up broken-hearted people like Elizabeth in Ukraine, making their present reality that bit more bearable. And there’s good news for disadvantaged children like Marinela, as she receives the educational support she needs at Talita Kum in Romania. For her and for children such as Brian at Sargy school in Kenya, freedom from poverty and exploitation will be a great result.
Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled uniquely by Jesus, who took these words upon his lips and declared them his own personal ministry: ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’ (Luke 4:21). By his Spirit, we seek its outworking in our own day, changing lives for good and forever.
Yes, we can bring good news to the poor and change their lives for good. The Bible tells us to care for the most disadvantaged, the orphan and the widow. But there’s more to it, a message that changes hearts and lives forever, the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. It’s the best news ever, in the words of a visitor to one of our shops, ‘so precious, so precious, so precious’.
Your support is part of this ministry. Thank you very much indeed.
Jeremy Ross
Chief Executive
A Transformative Message
The Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. (Isaiah 61:1)
Margarita has a transformative message to bring to her town in Bulgaria. And when you read the stories in this issue of Blythswood News, you’ll see she’s not alone. Preaching good news to the poor, binding up the broken-hearted and proclaiming freedom for captives is being done again and again through international partnerships and through gospel opportunities in our charity shops.
The good news we share and the practical help we bring allow us to bind up broken-hearted people like Elizabeth in Ukraine, making their present reality that bit more bearable. And there’s good news for disadvantaged children like Marinela, as she receives the educational support she needs at Talita Kum in Romania. For her and for children such as Brian at Sargy school in Kenya, freedom from poverty and exploitation will be a great result.
Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled uniquely by Jesus, who took these words upon his lips and declared them his own personal ministry: ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’ (Luke 4:21). By his Spirit, we seek its outworking in our own day, changing lives for good and forever.
Yes, we can bring good news to the poor and change their lives for good. The Bible tells us to care for the most disadvantaged, the orphan and the widow. But there’s more to it, a message that changes hearts and lives forever, the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. It’s the best news ever, in the words of a visitor to one of our shops, ‘so precious, so precious, so precious’.
Your support is part of this ministry. Thank you very much indeed.
Jeremy Ross
Chief Executive
Help for those left behind
Irma belongs to a generation that spent their best years working in the fields of communist Europe for scant reward and now face old age with little claim on the new prosperity which surrounds them.
Nutrition & education go hand-in-hand at Sargy
Without Sargy, Brian wouldn’t be in school at all. His father is dead and his mother is very unwell.
Sewing skills opportunity for Kelly
Kelly is looking forward to starting a new chapter in her life as she embarks on sewing skills training in Harare, Zimbabwe, provided by Streams of Hope with support from Blythswood.
Volunteering lets you meet other people
Having worked in retail and in recycling, Pete was between jobs when a friend suggested he might like to volunteer for Blythswood.
‘Spoons and police trained matt for Blythswood
Sunday evening in Tain Parish Church. Matt was 11, and his grandfather was in the pulpit: “He held up the Bible at the end of his sermon and said, ‘I wouldn’t give this up for all the money in the world.’
Helping young people secure their future
An eighteenth birthday is regarded as a milestone by most young people growing up.
The gospel in action in Bulgaria
Why did Christ come? The answer in Isaiah 61:1 was one of the messages that Margarita Dimitrova took to the town of Nova Zagora in southeast Bulgaria in the lead-up to Christmas.
‘I ask God to take me home’
Semion used to be a key figure in his village in central Moldova. As team leader in his kolkhoz or collective farm, and as the tractor driver, he was respected as a hardworking and reliable man.
Most precious item ever found in a Blythswood shop
‘We were so encouraged and blessed to see your shop posters with the Word of God on display as we stepped off our ship.’
Help for children who struggle to make the grade
Marinela does not excel at schoolwork. But at 14, she has reached seventh grade without having to repeat a year.
Support for the elderly in rural Romania
The villages of Salaj County, Romania, can look idyllic on a sunny day.
A burden shared in burdiehouse
Cancer has turned *Liam’s life upside down. Surgery followed by multiple rounds of treatment has left him unable to work.
Help in time of war for families with special needs
Caring for a child with special needs is always demanding. Doing so under war-time conditions is an extra challenge.
Ukraine: support for family in forced relocation
Elizabeth is a firefighter! At nine years old, she may be a bit young to do the job for real but at least she can try on the helmet during a children’s club visit to a museum.
Beacon centre 2 a place of hope and safety
Six-year-old Asraf is one of more than 60 children to benefit from after-school tuition and care at Beacon Centre 2, run by Safe Harbour Mumbai with support from Blythswood.
New kitchen for children’s care home in Kenya
Emily and her co-workers prepare meals for 18 children at the Kware Care Centre on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya – twice a day on school days and three times on Saturdays and Sundays.