Steve and Rachel were students in GCC years ago before joing YWAM, working on Possil Park estate in Glasgow and then moving to Nottingham. here is some latest news ....

We are delighted to share with you our family’s plan to spend a year on the Anastasis.  The Anastasis is a 159-metre hospital ship and is crewed by doctors, teachers, water engineers and agriculturists visiting some of the world’s poorest countries.

On board the ship, highly skilled surgeons perform thousands of operations to remove tumours, correct cleft lips & palates and give sight to those blinded by cataracts.  Those who benefit from these operations are often the victims of war, inadequate healthcare or malnutrition.

In partnership with local people, Anastasis crewmembers build hospitals, clinics, training facilities and basic housing.  They offer agricultural development programmes, drill wells to provide safe drinking water and train local people in hygiene, nutrition and basic health care.

We feel enormously privileged to be a part of this life-changing ministry as we join the ship for a year starting in August 2004.  There is a small school onboard the Anastasis in which Steve will teach secondary aged children, and Rachel will work in the nursery.  Of course Kathryn (10), Michael (8) and Daniel (5) will be pupils in this floating school.

During our year on the Anastasis, we will sail to West Africa to serve the people of Benin.  The ship will be docked in Benin’s main city, Cotonou from November to June.

If you’d like to know more, or help us…

§         Please visit the Mercy Ships website at www.mercyships.org

§         We have a CD-ROM (10min video) and a VHS video (60 min) which we can lend you to give you a better idea of the work of the Anastasis.

§         Prayer support is essential for us.  We’d love to hear from anyone who can commit to praying for us and we’d enjoy keeping you in touch.

§         We join the Anastasis as unpaid volunteers (just like everyone else on the ship) – in fact we have to pay crew fees.  If you would like to support us financially, we would be most grateful.

§         We need to rent out our 4-bedroom house (in Arnold, Notts.) for 12 months.  If you know of a prospective tenant please put them in touch with us.

Thanks for taking an interest in what we’re doing.

Steve, Rachel, Kathryn, Michael & Daniel Newcombe

                        59 Gedling Road, Arnold, Notts. NG5 6NR

                        stevenewcombe@ntlworld.com