Blythswood News
Number 84 Spring 2024
Your gifts are changing lives for good
Last May I sat with some young Serbians who were participating in Christianity Explored. For Silvana, it wasn’t her first time on the course. She had invited a friend and came to keep her company. It’s exciting to see how this course helps Christians to explain to their friends who Jesus is, why he came and what it means to follow him. By choosing this gift, you enable Blythswood to run Christianity Explored in Serbia (more). Thank you very much indeed.
Andrei’s story (more) helps you to appreciate what the Daniel Centre does for young men who haven’t had the start in life that most of us would want. What a gift it is to come into their lives and, in a safe setting, provide some security as they learn life skills. Over the years, the Daniel Centre has helped 140 young men to live independent lives and to contribute to the wider community.
None of this would be possible without your support. Your gifts help us to carry on working through life-changing projects in three continents. And they enable us to reach out a helping hand to those whose lives have been turned upside down by war in Ukraine (more) or by natural disaster in Pakistan (more).
Our Saviour says, ‘If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.’ (Mark 10:42)
Thank you for being part of Blythswood’s ministry.
Jeremy Ross
Chief Executive
Your gifts are changing lives for good
Last May I sat with some young Serbians who were participating in Christianity Explored. For Silvana, it wasn’t her first time on the course. She had invited a friend and came to keep her company. It’s exciting to see how this course helps Christians to explain to their friends who Jesus is, why he came and what it means to follow him. By choosing this gift, you enable Blythswood to run Christianity Explored in Serbia (more). Thank you very much indeed.
Andrei’s story (more) helps you to appreciate what the Daniel Centre does for young men who haven’t had the start in life that most of us would want. What a gift it is to come into their lives and, in a safe setting, provide some security as they learn life skills. Over the years, the Daniel Centre has helped 140 young men to live independent lives and to contribute to the wider community.
None of this would be possible without your support. Your gifts help us to carry on working through life-changing projects in three continents. And they enable us to reach out a helping hand to those whose lives have been turned upside down by war in Ukraine (more) or by natural disaster in Pakistan (more).
Our Saviour says, ‘If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.’ (Mark 10:42)
Thank you for being part of Blythswood’s ministry.
Jeremy Ross
Chief Executive
Neighbours near and far bring a smile to Alex and Rashid
Eight-year-old Alex and his brother and sister live in rural Kisumu County, Kenya. Their mother died and their father remarried, abandoned the family, and moved away. Only their grandmother is left to care for them.
Simple gift becomes sustainable food source for growing family in Bulgaria
A gift of poultry sponsored by Blythswood’s gift catalogue has been a blessing to Zoya and to her children and grandchildren – especially as her son has been in hospital for several months. Nikolai, aged 23
Talita Kum saves kids from dropping out of school
An eleven-year-old who speaks three languages has been referred to Blythswood by his teachers in what has been described as a desperate last resort as they could no longer handle his behaviour in school. Florentin remains in the third year at school having failed
Gospel outreach to disorientated people in Ukraine
Mykola Semenov, better known as Pastor Kolea, understands only too well the griefs and troubles of the people whom he tries to help – he and his wife and family are themselves fugitives from the war in eastern
Sewing skills training lifts street vendor out of poverty
Vongai is one of 38 people who in 2023 graduated from the sewing skills programme run by Streams of Hope Zimbabwe, with support from Blythswood Care. Growing up in rural Mashonaland, north of Harare, she was just four when she lost her father. She attended
Rules for a purpose help Andrei achieve his goals
“You don’t want to stay there – they have really strict rules.” Andrei had heard about Blythswood’s Daniel Centre long before he agreed to give it a try. And five months after moving in, he’s glad he did. He had left Romania’s child care system at 18 and shared
Exploring doctrine deepens faith of Christians in Serbia
When Andrija heard Blythswood’s Serbian coordinator David Armus speak about the Christianity Explored course, he knew it was something he wanted to do. He already was a Christian and he approached the pastor of his church and persuaded him to order the booklets
Foodbank helps mum in final year
It helps you to keep going when the finishing line is in sight. In her last year of midwifery training, Georgie* was looking forward to qualifying to do the job she loves and earning a salary to support herself and her two young children. Studying wasn’t easy, getting by on
Good books help to build up the church in Pakistan
A good teacher never stops being a student. And Azariah, from Gujranwala, Pakistan, is both. He works as a trainer for Tameer, an organisation which provides training for people in leadership roles in the churches in Pakistan. There he develops modules to teach a
Radio message brings freedom at last
Jérémie, who was raised in a community which practised witchcraft, grew up traumatised and angry. As a young adult he moved from rural Burundi to the capital city, Bujumbura, and then to neighbouring Tanzania, hoping to make a better life for himself. But nothing
Food package helps family coping with mother’s illness
When she graduated in accountancy, Bernadette looked forward to being able to earn a salary and enjoy a good standard of living. But life hasn’t worked out like that. Multiple sclerosis is taking its toll, causing her balance and mobility problems and preventing her from working.
Teacher training helps build Sunday schools in Pakistan
Around three quarters of a million people in Sindh province, Pakistan, are identified as Christians. It may seem a large number but is in reality a tiny minority – less than two percent – of the population. And of these, many know next to nothing about the Christian faith.
Flood relief led to safe water supply
The village in which Jhaman Das grew up, in southeast Pakistan, has a simple agrarian lifestyle. Homes consist of round mud huts under heavily thatched roofs and people raise sheep to make a living. When floods hit in 2022, people’s houses were simply washed away.