Miriam Ford, InterAction Worker – Brussels

October Newsletter
Avenue de la Couronne, 162, 1050 – Ixelles, Brussels, BELGIUM +32 470 579270
miriamford@hotmail.co.uk +44 7738 356096

Hello again! Wow has it already been two months?! Sorry, I’ve even confused myself over which month this
letter should be entitled as! The last one was September though, so this one is news from October and other things it
would be great if you could pray for during November! 

You might remember that in my last letter I mentioned that there

was going to be a ‘camp’ towards the end of October, open to

all students involved in the GBU in Belgium. This took place in a
town in the south east of Belgium called Spa, from 23rd-25th
October. We studied Revelation in four sessions, and there was
also time to pray, sing and study together. It was a great
opportunity to spend time with students, and to build up
relationships in a more relaxed environment than at a normal GBU
meeting. Personally, I didn’t find it as tiring as I thought I would. I
got the gist of most of the talks on Revelation, and really enjoyed
spending time socially with students (this quite often involved
playing games, notably the Belgian version of ‘Mafia’ – ‘les loup-
garous’ or ‘werewolves’.

There are two groups at the same campus in

Woluwé as it is predominantly for medicine

students who are often on placements etc. Having
two groups means that students can usually make it
to one or the other of the meetings.

Monday lunchtime

Bruxelles-Centrale There are usually between 5-10 people at the

Wednesday 17h15-19h
No one new came in off the back of the 1000+
flyers we gave out. However, a non-Christian
guy heard about the group in the Christian
bookshop next to the building where we meet
and decided to come along last week, to what
happened to be a social event! Please pray he
will return next week as we continue our studies
in Mark (we decided to go with Mark rather
than Colossians in the end). Praise God there are
usually 6 or 7 present, but please pray for
stability in the group and for the leaders
(Hannah - above) and Alex, as they prepare and
lead the studies.
meetings where we’re currently studying Habakkuk.
It’s mainly girls in the group who are already close
friends, but it was encouraging that the only guy in
the group brought another (male) Christian friend for
the first time last week.
Monday evening
There have only been two of us at the last two
evening group meetings which has been a little
discouraging. However the group leader’s attitude to
the situation has been great. Last time she shared her
testimony with me of how she became a Christian,
and felt called to come and study in Europe to be able
to act as a missionary amongst students here.
I haven’t been to many Erasmus events this
month, but did have the opportunity to go to
Bruges with an English girl I’m friends with.
Thank God for our friendship, and for the fact
that we managed to meet each other amongst
some 300+ Erasmus students studying here,
and please pray for more opportunities to
spend time together, and that I will be bold in
talking to her about Jesus.

 Personally, this month has been quite hard in everything becoming “normal” and getting into a bit of
a routine, it’s made me miss uni quite a lot. Although I think I’m over the worst of it now, I’d really appreciate
your prayers in this area!
 I’m really enjoying the French lessons I signed up for, and think I might actually be starting to understand the
subjunctive (a crazy tense for which there are apparently no rules!!) - woop! 
 I’ve found a church family to settle in called ‘L’Eglise Evangelique Libre de Bruxelles’. It meets in the Belgian
Bible Institute and is pastored by an English guy called Paul Every. Praise God that I’ve found a welcoming,
French-speaking, Bible based, easy to understand church family here to be a part of, and please pray that I
will find opportunities to serve and encourage others there.

Please pray: Dates for your Diary

 That students, both Christian and non-Christian, will hear about the Saturday 7th November
GBU groups and want to come and find out more about Jesus. Focus: a meal followed by talk on
 That students involved in the GBU across Belgium will be bold in subject “Can you be a Christian
living and speaking for Jesus, and will be eager to find and take and a scientist?” (it sounds
opportunities to share the Gospel with their fellow-students. catchier in French), by a Christian
 That groups would bond as mission teams and be seeking to reach lecturer from ULB; Pierre-Étienne
other students with the good news of the Gospel. Labeau. (open to Christians and
 That group leaders wouldn’t be discouraged by low numbers, but fix non-Christians)
their eyes on Jesus and serving Him faithfully in their whole lives. 19th-23rd November
 For opportunities to study the Bible one to one with some of the girls My long weekend at home,
in the groups I attend, (it’s seen as a bit of a weird thing to do here!) including UCLan CU houseparty
 That coming home for a weekend won’t make me miss people even where I’ll be sharing a bit about
more. But that it will be encouraging both for me, and the people I’ll the GBU in Belgium.
have an opportunity to talk to about what I’m doing. Sunday 29th November
 Please pray that the new prayer diaries and monthly prayer meetings Focus: conference/debate
(subject tba)
for the GBU that Lucy and I are trying to put together would be well
organised, and be useful and encouraging to people.

Thanks so much for reading and praying! This one’s been so hard to write and make concise (and I know it still
isn’t really), but thanks for persevering! You can find out more about the work of IFES around the world at
www.ifesworld.org and more detailed (and rambling) accounts of things I’m getting up to,
and learning, on my blog at: http://miriam-ford.blogspot.com
Much love,
Miriam xx

“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in
your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing
lips my mouth will praise you.” Psalm 63:3-5