David was born in Tamnamore (nr Dungannon and Coalisland) before the M1 was built and moved to Ballynakelly aged 11. Left Tech to become a printer apprentice in Coalisland and when the family moved to Lisburn and became Summit systems in Mercer Street, I moved too. During this time, I got saved after a coffee bar outreach in Dungannon and soon thereafter took digs in Lisburn, next door to my work.
I started attending Mt Zion Free Methodist during the years of the Rev John Doherty’s ministry. Nearing the end of my apprenticeship, I was paid off and a younger apprentice started, so I had to move to Belfast to work. During this time, I attended Park Avenue, Free Methodist when Fergus Bell was pastor.
I felt God’s call on my life and went to the Faith Mission Bible College in Edinburgh, following my Valedictory service in Dungannon Free Methodist under the auspices then of Rev Billy Parke. These were 3 happy years, studying and going out on Evangelism, however, as a young Christian I had read Brother Andrew’s book God’s Smuggler,’ and knew God had given me a burden for Eastern Europe. I had openly shared this with the Faith Mission and they were in full agreement, so I worked my practical time with Robert Maxwell in the South Scottish district.
I had gotten to know Wilma during a previous summer mission in the Highlands and after leaving the mission we were married in 1976, and set out for Austria where we started our missionary experience.
We spent 22 years serving the Suffering church in Eastern Europe from that base, during which time we had the joy of rearing four special sons, and our family was many times blessed by the believers we met along the way, who had suffered immensely for their faith in Christ. Our boys had the privilege of seeing God answer prayer on a daily basis, therefore they knew He loved them and was interested in each one of them, and as a result each one came to faith in Christ early in life.
In 1987, an independent trust was formed called Mizpah Outreach as we were led to be of assistance to various believing fellowships and to work alongside various missions, who needed help with their ministries. We had worked into all the Eastern European countries until the collapse of Communism and then in the intervening years there was relative freedom for many believers, so we were able to help them with camp ministry, bible teaching and evangelistic outreaches, which was something they had not been free to do for many years.
When the war started in Former Yugoslavia, we were drafted in to help the Red Cross and churches who were running clinics and refugee posts. We brought food, medical, surgical, and other relief supplies on the understanding that everyone who received help would also receive God’s Word. These were hard years and yet even there we saw God save and use His people in amazing ways.
Following this time, we were exhausted and traumatized by all we saw and experienced and took the opportunity to do some further study in Liberty University, Virginia. This allowed us to be close to our boys again for a period as they also studied in this college. During these two years we finally gave in to a growing call to ‘come over into Macedonia and help them,’ and leaving our kids there we returned to the field.
Having visited this area many times, for camp ministry with young people from Eastern Europe, we were no strangers to the area. We have been here now 5 years and are building a mission centre for training and evangelism of both Greeks and Macedonian young people to reach their own people with the Gospel. We are involved in Church ministry, pioneer evangelism, and helping establish various evangelical fellowships in Macedonia. We work with a clinic in Skopje, providing them with the medications and supplies to do their work among refugees and poor people in the community. Every Home Crusade supplies us with literature to transport to Macedonia and it is given through out the centres for the believers to use for evangelism. Calendars in Macedonian and some of the minority languages are provided from groups in Germany for us to transport as well.
Greece is a very needy country, religious on the outside, but hopelessly lost. Foreign missionaries have recently been forced to leave if not here for a business or family heritage reason. This is directly due to pressure from the Orthodox church on the government, but we are glad that some missionaries have been able to find other doors to come back into the country. We thankfully have the advantage of being in the EU and also have lifetime Residence permits so this should not affect us.