Dear Friends,

We just returned this week from Budapest, where this year the annual European Baptist Federation Council was held. This is the most important conference of the year for us to attend, for it helps us to keep our list of volunteer positions up to date, and it helps us to refresh our network of contacts in the Federation. We met there with about 160 Baptist leaders from nearly all 50 Baptist Unions from all over Europe and the Middle East. It also makes it easy to receive information about volunteers that served in the respective countries.

The full program for the three days included this year the farewell celebration of Denton and Janice Lotz, the long time general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. Lotz was the International Ministries representative in Geneva in the 1980s, so the Federation feels a special connection with him. Out of the many reports, addresses, and conversations, I would like to high light the Federation's Indigenous Mission Project, and the focus on religious freedom.

The Project was started by the visionary former Federation general secretary just five years ago. In just a few years it has grown to a missionary movement with 65 indigenous missionaries in 24 (mainly Eastern European) countries. Careful estimates say that already more than 1,000 people have come to Christ as fruit of this program. Please pray for continuous blessings to and from the many missionaries involved in this program. Three missionaries in this program are supported by International Ministries. Over the last few years Nora, and I, have been able to visit several of them.

Religious freedom was also highlighted at different occasions during the council. Denton Lotz opened the second council day with a moving speech on this topic, and a Swedish brother led a workshop discussing the findings of a religious freedom questionnaire sent to all Baptist unions in the Federation. In 13 countries there were incidents known of limited, or no religious freedom, even when there is official religious freedom. A pastor in Turkey is assigned a bodyguard by the local authorities, because of realistic fear for his life due to religious extremism. A Pastor in Azerbaijan got a two-year prison sentence for speaking with others about his faith. His name is Zaur, and he needs our prayers for release and for health. (I could give some more details and an address for petitions to the Azerbaijani government concerning him).

Pray weekly for the more than 50 member Unions, it is the turn for France this week:

France is one of the European countries where less than one percent of the people are evangelical Christians. The society is very secularized, and numerous people have no knowledge or connection at all with anything Christian. Out of 38,000 towns and villages in France there are an estimated 36,000 without any known Christian witness or testimony, virtually without any Christians. Please pray for the Baptist Union of France the churches, the pastors and their witness, also pray for the Scripture Reading Association, which is to a far extent a ministry of Baptists, organizing Youth camps and scripture reading materials as well as daily devotions see: http://www.epienligne.com/index.php

Please also pray for our International Ministries missionary and evangelist: Bill Thomas in France.

Pray for our family, and our ministry, and our upcoming short deputation time of the first five weeks in the New Year in the Southern California area.

In His love,

Pieter & Nora Kalkman