Do you know where this tag line is from?  

Martin Luther King Jr wrote this from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1960s.  He was incarcerated for a peaceful march (far from his home) against racism.  His point – we are all inter-connected and so “injustice anywhere will affect justice everywhere.”  

Almost 2000 years before the letter from Birmingham Jail, from his prison cell, the apostle Paul penned about our inter-connectedness in 1 Cor 12: “Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many… If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.”  

Friends, we are interconnected and it seems that isolation (especially imprisonment) brings that realisation home.  

Since the start of 2020, we had been quite isolated from others.  I was in California, the first state in America to go under ‘lockdown.’ I was living in a missionary compound of 22 families but we were not allowed to visit each other.  My sons lived 10 minutes away but we could only have ‘zoom’ dinners with them.  All the groceries we received had to be wiped down with alcohol pads.  We felt isolated.  But it was in this isolation that we realised deeply that we were interconnected.  One family sewed masks to distribute to the rest.  Another family found a charity that would distribute free fruits to us. We started a virtual prayer movement that every family became involved in.  

In isolation, we realise that we are ‘tied together in a single garment of destiny.’  In short, what I do individually have far reaching consequences beyond me.  Theologically, as Christians we are never alone, we are blessed by God through others to be a continued channel of blessing.  

At BTS, just like you, we have felt the loneliness.  But every prayer that you offered for BTS’s ministry, every letter that you penned, every cheque that you wrote for us, reminded us that we were not alone in His ministry.  And today, I want to thank God for your deep encouragement through prayers and giving which have motivated us to persevere creatively through this storm to bless many 3^rd World preachers through biblical training.  

In closing, I would like to make a humble request – as you read this letter will you pray specifically for BTS today?  

For the next 6 months, we are embarking on a journey to sharpen our vision so we can be a better channel of His blessing through your giving. May your prayers empower us to humbly hear God’s heartbeat, resulting in your rejoicing over our fruitful obedience. After all, we are “tied together in a single garment of destiny – His destiny for us.” 

Blessed to be a blessing together,

Peter Lin                                                                                                                                                                                      President