Our thoughts are very much taken up in these days with preparations for Grace’s departure for Sheffield on Sunday.  As you know she will be studying Biomedical Sciences at the University of Sheffield and has spent the last two weeks packing, buying essentials and doing a crash course in catering for herself.  Thanks to Facebook she already knows six out of the seven other girls she will share a flat with and has heard from both the Christian Union and a number of churches so is already ahead of the game.  She is a little apprehensive but generally excited about all that lies ahead.  Do remember to pray for her and for us over the coming days and weeks.

Alex and Rosie have now started back at school and Alex was very pleased with his modular GCSE results and this has encouraged him that the extra effort he put in last year was worth it.  Continue to pray for them as they seek to stand up as Christians at school.

Since our last Postcard we have been involved in two weddings, one in Gloucester and the other in Leeds.  The second of these saw Rosie as bridesmaid, and the rest of us providing the music, both in English and Spanish, since the bride was from Zaragoza.  The attached family photo is just to remind you what we all look like.

As students arrive at Redcliffe next week we ask your prayers for our ongoing involvement there. Christine will inevitably have a lot to do over the next few weeks so pray for strength for her, and Jim is preparing for his next trip to Spain (6th-14th of September) and for the conference in Holland in November (see our last PfG for more about this), as well as beginning to work on the next edition of Vista.  Jim has found someone to help him with the statistical side of his research for the Values of Europe Conference in Holland and this has been a big answer to prayer.  Pray that this research would not only be of interest to sociologists but also influence and impact the way churches and missions go about doing their mission to young people in Europe over the next decade.

With our love and prayers as always,

Jim and Christine