Europe Mission

Switzerland

Hundreds of delegates came to the Calvin 500 Celebrations in Geneva. Delegates came from as far afield as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, South Africa and Uganda.

We had from 6 to 7 lectures every morning in Calvin’s Auditoria, where John Knox pastored the English refugees in Geneva. Every afternoon there were practicals and outings such as tours of the Reformation Museum, St. Pierre and other Reformation sites.

Every evening we had 3 full services and 3 sermons in St. Pierre Cathedral. We would never leave the Cathedral earlier than 10pm. We only arrived back at the hotel after midnight. Sometimes we were still talking to people at 1am or 2am.

It was a full programme, and in between we were helping to produce a Reformation DVD. Tremendous interviews with inspiring backdrops of great historic buildings and monuments. (Great interest in our book table and I must have sold and distributed over 2 large boxes in Geneva alone).

The visit to KwaSizabantu Mission in Kaltbrunn was tremendous. They were having a youth camp up in the Alps among the cows (whose bells chimed all day and night – an alpine orchestra). I climbed up and ministered to their young people in a cowshed. We had the opportunity of going up above the tree line (over 6000 ft) where the edelwise grow and the Swiss cows graze to produce some of the very best milk (and chocolate) in the world.

The services at Mission KwaSizabantu Switzerland were a great blessing. I gave a mission report back on Saturday evening and preached a Reformation sermon for the Sunday morning service.

We also had the opportunity to visit the William Tell museum. It was William Tell’s incredible accuracy with his crossbow and courageous resistance to the Austrian invaders that inspired his countrymen to fight for independence over 700 years ago.

England

In England we had delegates from as far afield as New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Canada and the USA for the “From the Ends of the Earth” Conference. Each morning began with a prayer meeting and devotions in the chapel at 7:30am and carried on until 10pm each night. A full programme. However Lenora and I slipped out to visit nearby Lutterworth from where Professor John Wycliffe translated the Latin Bible into English and sent out the Lollards to preach in the market places throughout England. We also saw the battlefield of Nasby where, 14 June 1645, Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army won the decisive battle of the English Civil War routing King Charles I’s Royalists. This turned the tide and made victory by the Parliamentary forces inevitable.

We were surrounded by much inspiring history, I accumulated much new research material, took many photographs and learned a lot more of our Christian heritage.

It was also invaluable for fellowship and making key contacts for Reformation and missions.

Every part of this mission to Europe was important and blessed: Northern Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland and England. (Book and CD sales were good in each area. I sold or distributed 6 boxes of materials.)

This is a critical time in Europe as there are moves to establish EU (European Union) law as primary throughout Europe. The Treaty of Lisbon (heavily derived from Rome and Babylon) would establish humanistic law in place of the remnants of Biblical Law, which still remains in parts of Europe. England’s Common Law, Magna Carta, Act of Supremacy and Bill of Rights are all at risk and the soverienty of the Realm is threatened. We need to be vigilant in prayer and vigorous in action to wake up God’s people in Europe. There is a desperate need for a new Biblical Reformation and Spiritual Revival in Europe. May God thrust out labourers into His harvest field.

In His service

Peter Hammond