I just got word that the 2005 BJ British Ministry team was not in London this morning when the bombings occurred. The team was, in fact, hundreds of miles (even more hundreds of kilometres) away in Scotland, near Edinburgh.
Also, Darla's aunt and uncle who are missionaries in Slough (west of London) are also safe. They are out of town at a conference with the new BJ chancellor.
Praise the Lord for his sovereign protection.
(I guess now we kind of understand how Scott felt on 9/11, not knowing where we were in NYC that day.)
UPDATE (7/7/05 10:55 a.m. EDT):
Here's an e-mail from the team:
Dear friends and family,Hello from Falkirk, Scotland. We are again enjoying sunny weather and balmy temperatures. The Lord has been so good to us during our trip.
We wanted to send out a quick update in light of world events. As you may know, the G8 conference is taking place near us, but thankfully we have been isolated from all of the peaceful (yet violent) protests. Most of the problems are in Edinburgh. When we traveled around Edinburgh we experienced very few traffic problems. Please pray that we will have very few problems again on Monday when we travel to Oulton Broad. Thankfully, our last two stops are very removed from London!
You may also have heard about the recent bombings in London; it appears a branch of al - queda was responsible. In light of this, we're praying about our plans to spend a final day of sight-seeing in London. As our thoughts develop, we will keep you all informed.
Thank you for your prayers; we need them every day.
In Christ,
David Schwingle
UPDATE (7/7/05 4:20 p.m. EDT):
Mike and Janice Berbin are GFA missionaries bound for New Guinea. They are staying at Darla's aunt and uncle's in Slough on the way there. Below is an update from GFA via Sandy, an e-ink reader and friend of the Berbins.
We were concerned about our GFA folk in England, including the Berbins who were sight-seeing there. We just were able to get through to them. Apparently they were on their way to see some sights when the explosions occurred. Mike said they spent 5.5 hours touring the non-touristy sections of the city in a bus - roads were quickly closed after the bombs went off. They are back in Slough where they are staying at another missionary's home. So, it's a blessing to hear of the Lord's protection!Posted by JRC at July 7, 2005 10:45 AM | TrackBack