"Another year, another great week of witnessing God’s power. This year, five of us from Millmead (Guildford Baptist Church) went out to join David and Linda and an amazing team from around Europe to mission in Umag.

"For those who haven’t heard about the Umag mission trip, it involves a few days in Austria, where the James’ are based, to get to know the team and practise the music and mimes. We then all travel to Croatia where, working with the local church we host volleyball tournaments and outreach on the promenade with the Teebus as our backdrop. This includes having sets of music, a sketch involving a Christian message and a short talk relating to the gospel message. Throughout the tournaments and the evenings on the promenade, we try to engage in conversations with the public about our faith and find out what others think about faith.

"One of the things that stood out from this year’s Umag trip was the need to trust in God’s timing. Bad thunderstorms meant we had to adapt the schedule of the week but looking back it was clear that God had a plan. For example, we weren’t sure on whether we should go out to the promenade on one of the evenings due to the weather, however we decided to go out, even if for just a short time, and that night one of the team had a conversation with someone who then wanted to affirm their faith.

"The second volleyball tournament was a highlight of the week as quite a lot of people came to both watch and play, which we were all very encouraged by. There was a great atmosphere around the court and we were also able to do a set of music, mime and a short talk. As David put it, 'It was an awesome day'.

"The power of prayer was present throughout the trip: It removed the pressure of our conversations with the public as we knew others were praying for us as we spoke, and this helped us to trust and let God lead the conversation. This verse was key for us, reminding us that without prayer all we were doing would have gone to waste:

1 Corinthians 3.6: ‘I sowed the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow’."

If you would like to know more about David and Linda's work click here.