Two members of a Bradley Stoke church are raising funds for a two-year non-salaried missionary trip to the Philippines.
Steven and Portia Greenhalgh, members of the congregation at Holy Trinity Church, will be leaving in July this year to go on mission to Manila.
Portia is a qualified teacher and Steven recently completed a TESOL course (Teaching English to Speakers of Overseas Languages).
They have been accepted at Faith Academy, Manila where Portia will be teaching at pre-school level and Steven will be assisting with English Language Learning (ELL). They will also be involved in mission outside the academy with street children and the underprivileged of Manila.
The positions are non-salaried and so the couple are in the process of raising start-up costs of £8,000 and monthly expenses of approximately £1,700.
Faith Academy caters for children of missionaries, from pre-school to high-school, whose parents are serving all over Asia on medical missions, pastor training, Bible translation, church planting and tribal missions. There are over 700 children at the school and more than 120 staff. Twenty different nationalities are represented.
The couple will be greatly missed by their church family whilst overseas. Portia has played piano at Holy Trinity for nearly eight years and for much of that time Steven has been responsible for IT and multimedia. They have also, over the last twelve months, jointly held the position of Church Treasurer.
Jean Higgins, one of the couple’s support team, said:
“Steven and Portia have served their church, Holy Trinity in Bradley Stoke, with steadfast loyalty and commitment for many years, and I have no doubt that Faith Academy in Manila will be truly blessed by the same total, sacrificial, dedication.”
Steven and Portia told The Journal:
“We want to be seen as ambassadors for Bradley Stoke-reaching out to those less-fortunate than ourselves, giving them a hope and a future”
“Obviously, the more support we are able to raise between now and when we leave, the more effective we will be and the more people we will be able to reach out to.”
If you would like to offer support to Steven and Portia there are a number of ways to help:
By Standing Order – For regular giving, please email either Steven or Portia V. Greenhalgh at stevieg1266@gmail.com or porshvg03@gmail.com to obtain a copy of the Gift Aid & Bankers Order Form. Kindly complete and send it to this address:
TeachBeyond/Janz Team UK , Suite 9, West Retford Hall, Retford, Nottinghamshire DN22 7AY
By Cheque or Postal Order – For either single or regular giving, please send cheques made payable to JANZ TEAM UK. Kindly make sure to write on the back of the cheque or on a slip of paper Donation for S & PV GREENHALGH (for office reference). Please send cheques to the address above.
Portia and Steve can also provide tubes of Smarties which can be filled with 20p or £1 coins (after enjoying the Smarties of course!) and then taken to Holy Trinity Church. You can also buy your own Smarties and fill the tubes too!
Volunteers are also needed to help with upcoming activities, please email Portia or Steve with your details if you are willing to help, or for more information.
“We really want to thank everyone for the support so far,” added Portia and Steve. “Please consider helping us to help others.”
The Bristol Evening Post has picked up this story: Couple set for new life as missionaries