Graeme Wylie

Ireland | OM International

Frances and I were in France 71-74. Fran (nee Marshment) was in Paris, church planting in the 15th arrondissement. I was in Avignon with a student team, then in Cavaillon with a church planting team.

One incident I remember from my first year: We would go to Montpellier at weekends to do outreach in the university. One weekend we had just enough money for petrol to get us there, none for food or for petrol to get us back. We spent some time as a team deciding if we should go. We chose to trust God to meet our needs.

When we got there we joined the queue at the university canteen though we had no money or tickets. As the queue got nearer the serving area we wondered what we were going to do. But just as we got there a Christian student turned around and gave us all tickets!

At the end of the weekend we still didn’t have the money to get home. We picked everyone up and when we picked up the last girl she had just been given 100 francs. The Sierra Leonian student she was staying with had been trying to send the money to a missionary in Sierra Leone, but couldn’t do it. She asked if we wouldn’t mind taking it for our work.

We had three great years on OM, challenging and difficult at times, but a good preparation for the lifetime of ministry which followed. That’s where we really got a vision for church planting.

In 1980 we moved to Galway planting a church and helping to develop a family of churches in Ireland - the Plumbline network of churches. Our daughter is now about to head off on mission with YWAM.

Credit: OM International
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