Our dear Brother Basil O’Connell Jones and his wife Kathy have visited us this year again, but this time only for a week.

On Thursday, during “Freshers’ Week”, Basil was invited to share at the Christian Union of Bournemouth and Arts Universities, where students from and outside the Christian Union came to hear Basil’s testimony.

On the Friday evening the church gathered for a fellowship dinner, where a few people invited their friends and family members who came for the first time. The aim was for Basil to have time fellowship time with the church, as he was not able to visit people individually. The evening ended with praise and worship and with Basil encouraging the church to be grateful for our salvation and for the family we have in Christ.
The following night Basil shared his testimony with the church and friends & family whom each one invited. He told us how after he got shot in the head and died, he experienced the Grace of God which brought him back to life and saved him. Basil reminded the church that salvation is a gift from God, a true miracle.

On Sunday morning, the church met for the 10 o’clock service and many new people joined us. Five children were presented to the Lord and we spent a great time in the presence of the Lord.

Basil continued on the fact that we are saved by the grace of God and that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) : because of what Jesus has done for us, we are free from sin and have forgiveness through His blood, repentance being the key to that freedom! He made a clear distinction between being under Law (religion in our lives) and being under Grace (freedom in Christ), encouraging us to be men & women of Grace. This would mean not putting any expectations on ourselves nor on anyone else, but rather to leave the situation in the hands of God, which brings us back to the work of cross of Jesus Christ in our lives. 
At the end, Basil prayed for everyone who feelt to have a heart to evangelise and the church then prayed with them for their trip to the US.

It has been, again, a rich time for the church and we trust the Lord for the lives of the people that were touched. We are looking forward to having Basil & Kathy with us again!