A letter from Tom and Judy Harvey in England
June 2014
Dear Friends and Partners in Mission,
One of the joys of being a partner in mission overseas is you get wonderful letters from young Presbyterians who seek to know more about what you do as a missionary. Recently I received just such a request from Russell and thought it might be helpful and informative for our friends and partners to listen in on the reply:
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New OCMS students
Dear Russell,
I work in England at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS). OCMS has 113 students studying from around 40 countries. They use research to enable local mission work, evangelism, economic development, peace, alleviate poverty, and many other important matters. New students have just arrived from Burundi, Tibet, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, the U.S.A., England, Iran and Australia. May I encourage you to take a moment to open Google Earth and locate these countries on the globe to learn something about them?
My job is serving as the Academic Dean. That means I work with the teachers and students to design, develop and maintain our program. Our students are doctoral students. They are not medical doctors, but some refer to them as “doctors of the church” in that they seek to keep the church healthy in its ministry and mission. To get a doctoral degree you need to produce “new knowledge.” That means you must come to understand some area of knowledge that has not been understood before. It is not like normal school, where you learn from the teacher what is already known. Instead, the doctoral student must know everything important in his area of study and then venture beyond this to contribute new knowledge. Naturally this is challenging, but also very exciting.
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Conference on China
OCMS research work includes “The role of forgiveness in the re-integration of child soldiers in Sierra Leone,” one of the current studies. This research looks at the lives of young boys kidnapped by soldiers from their villages and then trained to kill other people. Sadly many of these young boys commit brutal crimes even at a very young age. When the war ends, these boys must return to their villages, but their hearts and minds are scarred from the violence they have experienced. They often become men psychologically wounded who are a danger to themselves and society. Our researcher examined the crucial role forgiveness plays in healing these boys’ hearts and minds so that they can rejoin their families and lead productive lives. As you can see, this is very important research and it is only one of many very important studies going on at OCMS.
What I like about being a missionary is that I get to travel all over the world and meet interesting people. Though they often face difficulty and poverty and often struggle against injustice, through faith in Jesus Christ and sound research they are taking effective steps to better their societies and to share the love of God with their own people and others. As a teacher I am welcome in their homes and get to see how people really live. Sometimes this is in big cities, but often it is deep in the jungles or wilderness areas of the world. It is exciting work and every day is different. I have good friends from all over the world and wherever I go I’m greeted as a long lost friend. Further, I get to see all the good things the churches are doing around the world: caring for the poor, the lonely, the sick, pursuing justice, sharing the Good News of Jesus, working to establish friendly relationships with neighbors and even enemies.
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Dot Stone (OCMS) speaks to Jonathan Wang (China) while a listener looks on.
The hardest part of my job is that it is very complicated. I must be an expert in graduate research at the highest level.
I also have to raise a lot of money to provide scholarships for our students because most come from very poor nations. I also have to pray a lot because we rely on the grace of God and the gifts of Christians from around the world. Nonetheless, God is faithful and our needs have been met and our centre is growing both in size and reputation. Indeed, it is the gifts of faithful Presbyterians that allow us to work and serve at OCMS. Do pray for us as we take on this important work.
Blessings upon you, Russell. I am honored that we have been able to be in touch. Begin to pray now where God will lead you and what work he has for you in his Kingdom. I’m sure it will be exciting and fulfilling. There is one sentence all Christians should long to hear from our Lord at the end of our work: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Dr. Tom
Dear friends and partners, we received the good news that we have been approved for another term at OCMS, and so we wish to express our thanks and appreciation to all of you for making this happen. Without your prayers, notes of encouragement and financial gifts, we would not be able to serve at OCMS.
For those of you who may be reading about our work with OCMS for the first time, may I invite you to come alongside us and support this important ministry through your prayers, encouragement and financial support. We know these are challenging times economically and financially both for individuals and churches. So do know that we are in prayer for you even as you keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Blessings,
The Harveys
Tom, Judy, Joe, Paul and Emma
Address: 25 Hayfield Road
Oxford OX2 6TX England
Tom’s e-mail: ttctharvey@yahoo.comJudy’s e-mail: madiganharvey@yahoo.com
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 309
Read more about Tom and Judy Harvey's ministry
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