John Brand, Aim International’s UK Director since 1999, has been appointed Vice-Principal of the Faith Mission Bible College in Edinburgh. He will take up this position in September.

John was the Mission’s representative in Scotland before he became UK Director and he, with his wife Caroline, will have spent over 14 years with Aim. We are grateful to God for the leadership and vision that John has brought to us and we wish him and Caroline all God’s blessing as they move to this new ministry.

Aim’s Board of Trustees have begun the process of identifying a replacement for John. In the meantime Neil Pheasant, our Operations Director and John’s deputy, will act as UK Director.

19-21 October 2007 are the dates for the autumn conference. The Autumn Conference is a weekend conference for Aim aficionados and though's who are wanting to increase their understanding of what God is doing in Africa. The Conference is hosted by our North England/Wales Director, John Cartmell. For more information click here.

In some countries in Africa there are not enough trained teachers to meet the needs of a growing population. There are many opportunities for teachers in government and church schools across Africa.

To see some of the opportunities to teach in Africa, click here. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Our Week of Prayer material comes under the title 'Where God is at work'. This is not meant to imply that God is not at work all over the world, it is more that we wish to illustrate the diversity of places into which his grace is reaching. We have produced material for the week of prayer, which can be downloaded here or you can request one be sent to you through the post.

This material is designed to be used as April’s Pray with Aim or for the Week of Prayer itself (22-28 April) – but could be used at another time if that
week is not convenient.

Click here to find more Prayer Resources for praying for Africa, the church in Africa and the work of Aim International.

Spring time in Bournemouth and that can only mean one thing; the South West Area AIM conference! This year saw a change of venue and we were hosted by Christ Church, Westbourne, where about fifty Aim supporters gathered together to pray and ‘celebrate Africa’, whilst listening to various speakers.

Aim's Board of Trustees elected a new chairman at their March 2007 meeting. Chris Norden takes over from Melanie Fitton who served as Chairman for eight years.

Chris' first contact with Aim was in 1989 when he spent a year as a volunteer teacher near Nyahururu in Kenya. On his return he trained as an actuary and now works in London as a consultant to a number of large pension funds. He joined AIM's Board of Trustees just under six years ago. He is married to Fiona, and they have three children (Benedict, Alexander and Phoebe) aged between 5 and 11. They worship at Haywards Heath Baptist Church, where they are involved in a new congregation plant which meets in the school attended by the three children. In his spare time he enjoys reading, swimming and cycling.

Chris says, "All of us on the Board are very grateful for Mel Fitton's service as Chairman, which has covered a period of major change in Aim. Please pray for me as I take on this responsibility from her. The Board has recently adopted a new approach, under which we will try to take a step back from day to day involvement, and focus instead on our strategic direction. Please pray that this will be effective and that we will be sensitive to God's voice as we face times of great challenge but also new opportunities to work with his Church to reach Africa's peoples."

Aim's Board has 14 members and meets quarterly.

Judith Dunn is Aim’s Youth Worker for Ireland (part-time as she also works with Scripture Union) but her first experience with Aim was as a member of a Summer team to Uganda back in 2001. She then spent a year as a volunteer in Lesotho and, in 2005, led a Synergy Summer Team there. Judith is also a member of the Irish Area Advisory Group. “It is a great privilege to take up my assignment as Irish Youth worker,” says Judith. While studying for her Masters at Belfast Bible College, Judith came to appreciate the need to enthuse and equip young people for local and world mission. Her role includes recruiting young people for Synergy, supporting local churches in their mission programmes, continuing to meet with young people informally throughout the year, university meetings and other youth activities. Judith is a member of Newtownards Elim Church in Northern Ireland. Find out More About Aim Youth work.

Mary Bennett of Weymouth Baptist Church warns: Beware of being an Aim prayer supporter! She became one many years ago and through that met an Aim missionary as she prepared to go to Kenya. On retirement from a career as a primary school teacher in 1998 Mary was able to spend a year in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and from there was able to see Aim’s work at first-hand.

A further link in the chain that brought her into membership of Aim was her church’s ‘adoption’ of the herdboys in Lesotho under ethne, Aim’s Adopt-a-People programme. Three years ago, Mary, along with two others from the church, went to visit them. While there they visited a local primary school. What she saw both concerned and inspired her. God challenged her to return to Africa with the intention of helping teachers.

Mary’s two-year assignment, which began in January, with the Maths and Science faculty of the The Rundu College of Education in the far north of Namibia will enable her to fulfil her vision of seeing

After a being on an Aim summer team in 1997 God has directed Naomi Duff in ways she never imagined.

Naomi taught in Kenya for a year as an Aim volunteer and, after Bible college, worked as a Mission Mobiliser for Mission Africa (formerly Qua Iboe Fellowship). On a Mission Africa team in Nigeria God challenged her about the needs of vulnerable women. As part of an outreach at a local brothel Naomi met Sonia, a young girl whose cold attitude and hardened expression melted like ice when she shared Psalm 139 describing God’s love for her. This had a profound impact on Naomi and on her return to Northern Ireland she enrolled on an MSc in counselling as part of her preparations to return to Africa to work with vulnerable women like Sonia.

Naomi says: “Thousands of girls are lured into prostitution in Africa, most of them with no concept of a God who loves them and can give them hope and a new life. I am acutely aware that only God can restore lives and heal hearts. I look forward to watching him at work!”

Last summer Megan graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in history. Since finishing her degree she has been working in a children’s nursery in her home town of Preston. Megan has been convicted for a couple of years now that God is calling her to spread his love among the peoples of Africa who have not yet had chance to hear the gospel. This conviction was strengthened after a three week visit to Tanzania to visit a family working with CMS. This brief experience developed within her a desire to simply build relationships with people and use these to share the gospel. In November 2005, Megan attended one of Aim’s ‘Into Africa?’ seminars which confirmed to her that joining a Timo team was the right path to follow. Megan says “I count it a real privilege to be able to share God’s love with other people and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for myself, my team and the people we reach out to.”