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Page 6 I GOOD NEWS I Summer 2020 THE REAL MIRACLE OF DUNKIRK HOPE AND A FUTURE AS I WRITE, more and more of normal life in the world is being shut down in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Whether its church services or the Olympic Games – everything was being cancelled, postponed till better times ahead. When you read this, it may all be over – or you may still be in lockdown. So much is uncertain. We may lose some of those we love. You may be able to return to work, or your job may have been lost. The pandemic threatens to steal our hope and even our future – but there is a rock solid hope that can never be taken from you. Why? Because one thing can never be cancelled – God’s love for you and me and us all. A famous quote from the Bible goes like this: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” In times like this, when fear and death stalk the land, many people return to the faith they had forgotten or abandoned, or find a relationship with God they never had before. This could be the silver lining of the cloud hanging over the world right now. God has reassured me personally with the words of that Bible quote at key times in my life when I needed him to speak to me the most. Even if life throws the worst at us, if we know Jesus Christ is walking through it with us, we can be certain that we have an incredible hope and a wonderful future – if not in this life, then the next. Millions of Christians testify to the fact that God has been their anchor in the middle of the storm. "God is our refuge and strength, an everpresent help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging" (The Bible, Psalm 46:1-3). GOOD NEWS Issue no. 229 www.goodnews-paper.org.uk Published by the Good News Fellowship UK, a registered charity, no. 1167287, in association with the international family of Challenge newspapers. Please note that some stories in Good News may be unsuitable for children. Editor: Andrew Halloway. Address: Good News Editor, PO Box 9831, NOTTINGHAM NG2 9JN. Email: goodnewseditor@ntlworld.com To order your copies of Good News: Please order 5 weeks before month of publication. Office hours are 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri. CALL 0115 9233424 and ask for Good News, or email: mandy-goodnews@ ntlworld.com GOOD NEWS SUPPORTS PAPER RECYCLING All the newspaper made in the UK is now made from 100% recycled paper. TV documentaries and public memorials often overlook the national call to prayer that preceded the rescue at Dunkirk. As many of us again turn to prayer in the face of a pandemic, Mike Popplewell takes a look at the event in May 1940 that turned the course of history, and his personal connection to it… EIGHTY years ago, Britain’s future as a nation was in peril. King George Vl, the father of our Queen, took the remarkable step of calling our nation to prayer. What followed is often referred to as ‘The Miracle of Dunkirk’ – the amazing rescue of most of the British Army from destruction on the French beaches. Historians call it a miracle because it was an incredibly unlikely event. With the sea at their backs and German Panzer divisions in front of them, there seemed no way out for the trapped soldiers. But Hitler inexplicably stopped his tanks from advancing for several days; without that, the majority of the British Army would have been wiped out and our ability to continue the War would have ended. In addition, the weather changed at just the right time to allow hundreds of ‘little ships’ to join the rescue effort. But it was also a miracle because it was an answer to the prayers of the nation – thousands who never usually darkened the doors of a church poured into churches across the country, joining the regular churchgoers in obeying the King’s request. There were long queues outside cathedrals. The National Day of Prayer was held on 26 May, the day before the rescue effort was to be launched. The King called on the people to turn back to God in a spirit of repentance and plead for divine help. Two events immediately followed: a violent storm arose over the Dunkirk region, grounding the German planes that had been killing thousands on the beaches. Next, the sea turned extraordinarily calm, allowing the little ships to cross and get close to shore to pick up the men. Hitler hadn’t reckoned with the faith of the King and millions of British people. The response to the call to prayer was truly amazing – not just in prayers but action. Boat owners of the coastal towns and villages along the south and east coast launched an ‘armada’ of small ships. But it was not only the men who responded. In the North Yorkshire town of Whitby lived 50-year-old Dora Walker. Dora had left industrial West Yorkshire and moved to the coast to help ease her bronchial problems. Dora had found a new life on the sea – she was the only woman skipper in the North Sea fishing fleet. Her strong Christian upbringing also left her with no doubt as to what her response to the crisis should be. She was a distant cousin on two branches of my family tree. Her great nephew, continuing the family business to this day in Mirfield, is immensely proud of Dora – who named her coble (fishing boat) ‘Good Faith’ because of her beliefs. It was a faith that saw her buying fish and often selling them at a loss, to help feed the poor and preserve their dignity – a selfless act that never came to light until after her death in 1980. Steering the ‘Good Faith’ through the North Sea minefields on that day in May 80 years ago, Dora and her helmsman contributed in their own small way to the rescue of over 300,000 French and English men from the beaches, while under continuous fire. Why did Hitler leave his tanks idle for three days? Why did the notoriously unpredictable North Sea stay calm enough for a week as the small boats sailed back and forth? It has been suggested that Hitler wanted to leave England with some selfrespect as they pursued a peace treaty. Discussions at government level were going on even after the evacuation was in progress. Alternatively, German officers were quoted as saying the ‘Fuhrer’ said: “Leave them to the Luftwaffe [his favourite force] to finish them off.” Other theories include Hitler taking bad guidance from astrology. But the fact remains that countless officers of the Panzer Division expressed incredulity at being halted at the precise time the British Army could have been captured or killed in days. The truth is that our fighting men needed a miracle to survive and it was a miracle they got! Coincidence, sceptics say. But I believe that national call to prayer stirred God to reach out a staying hand and halt the steamrolling German advance. Otherwise the battle against the evils of Nazism would have turned out very differently. BRAVERY: One of the ‘little ships’ joins the rescue, as portrayed in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 movie

GOOD NEWS I Summer 2020 I Page 7 7 9 BREAK TIME CROSSWORD 1 15 16 Across 4. Made from pressed milk curds (6) 7. Deer-like animal (8) 8. & 11. Jesus said: “ ---- ---- ! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Bible: Matthew 14, NIV) (4,7) 9. Hard durable wood (4) 10. Small, elongated freshwater fish (5) 11. (See 8 Across) 12. Genuinely; really (5) 15. Stringed instrument (5) 17. Kenya’s capital city (7) 20. Unearthly; strange (5) 21. Calf flesh as food (4) 22. ‘The King of ---- my shepherd is’ (hymn) (4) 23. Crested parrot (8) L 24. World’s largest country by A landmass (6) H T Down 1. Stationery item (8) 2. Large drinking cup (6) 3. Study of animals (7) 4. Large evergreen tree (5) 5. Bible book (6) 2 3 4 5 6 11 12 22 24 GOOD GARDENING Through the gardening year with Cat Bailey 10 19 17 14 20 21 23 8 18 13 6. Vigour; activity (6) 13. Smooth-coated retriever dog (8) 14. Large edible sea fish (7) 15. Underground room (6) 16. Makes or becomes less in extent, value, etc. (6) 18. Make known (6) 19. About; approximately (5) APRIL 2020 ANSWERS DUE TO this coronavirus crisis, many of us may have more time to spend in the garden this summer. As garden centres closed at the end of March it was difficult to get hold of seeds (apart from online/mail order), so maybe a 'quick fix' of bedding plants when you can get hold of them is needed. These short-lived but brightly coloured plants cheer up any summer garden. • See June 2020 issue for solution O C K G A L I L E E A A I G I O M B L L A G E D P A R A D I S E O E D X E R L D U MMY S T O R K S U I P E B O N N E T GULLY R T O A A C E O R N A M E N T O A M E N S M E A R L M V I O U O J A V E L I N E T O N PRAYER REQUESTS If you would like prayer for whatever issue you are facing, or help to become a Christian, call the UCB Prayerline on 01782 36 3000 (UK local call rate) or 1890 940 300 in the Republic of Ireland. The Prayerline is open Monday to Saturday from 9am till at least 10pm and on Sunday evenings from 6.30pm to 11pm. Trained Christian volunteers will take your call and pray for you and with you. BRAIN SIZZLING SuDoKu FILL in all the squares in the grid so that each row, each column and each of the 3x3 squares contains all the digits from 1 to 9. It's generally assumed safe to plant bedding plants out from mid-May onwards after being hardened off (gradually acclimatised to outdoor conditions). The blues and purples of low-growing Lobelia, planted alternately or in blocks of colour with white Alyssum, look stunning at the front of a border. For height, plant Begonia, Geranium, Petunia or Busy Lizzie behind them. These bright, flamboyant blooms are so eye-catching. Cosmos, Snapdragon and Rudbeckia bring an architectural elegance to the back of the flower bed. God is a great artist and bedding plants in full bloom are a beautiful masterpiece. These and other bedding plants can tolerate sunny and partial shade positions in the garden. Give them a good watering in their trays before planting. Using a trowel, insert each plant so that the top of the root ball is just below the soil surface, and firm down the soil. Water them in once planted and keep moist on dry summer days. Go on, get creative with colour in your garden this summer! Summer jobs 1. Deadhead flowers on bedding plants to encourage new buds 2. Capture and store rainwater to use on your garden 3. Plant up and hang out hanging baskets 4. Keep on top of the weeding, making sure to get as much root out as possible to limit re-growth. APRIL SOLUTION BORDERING ON PERFECT: Blue, purple, pink and white Lobelia by Shogun with Chef Mike Darracott Flavours to Savour Stuffed eggs with peppers & garlic mayo Try these eggs stuffed with garlic, peppers and mayonnaise – simple yet very tasty. They can be part of a main meal or used as a starter. Always use fresh eggs; a top tip for checking if your eggs are fresh is to put them in a bowl of water. If they stand up a little on the bottom of the bowl, that’s OK, but if they start to float they are getting old. I always err on the cautious side and don’t use them. Ingredients 4 hard-boiled eggs, shelled Half of a red pepper, finely diced Half of a green pepper, finely diced 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp paprika Salt and pepper to taste 7 tbsp of mayonnaise 2 tsp of vegetable oil Serve with some salad that you like For more recipes see www.chefmike.co.uk HELP FOR READERS HOW TO KNOW JESUS FOR YOURSELF AS you have read through Good News, we hope you have seen the difference knowing Jesus Christ makes to people’s lives. If you would like to know more about this, read on, or see: www. goodnewspaper.org.uk and click on the Finding Faith section. THE CHRISTIAN FAITH is not some philosophy, dreamt up to make people feel better, or to be a crutch in times of need. It is based on a person. Our time itself is measured from the day of his birth. His life is a fact of history: Jesus Christ. In Jesus, God became a man, lived a perfect life, and died on a cross – taking God’s punishment for all your sins and mine. But he came back to life to prove his power over death, then went back to heaven and will one day return again. In Jesus, we are offered a person to follow, a power to transform lives, a purpose for living and eternal life. If you would like to know Jesus Christ for yourself... 1. Read aloud, meaningfully and sincerely, the prayer opposite, and 2. Fill in the coupon below so we can send you information to help you in your new life. Method 1. Put the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the red and green peppers until cooked. Put aside on a plate. 2. Boil your eggs and take off the shells. Allow to go cold, then cut in halves, spoon out the yolks and put the yolks into a bowl. 3. Add salt and pepper to the yolks to your taste, then the mayonnaise, garlic powder, paprika and your cooked peppers. Mix together well, then carefully spoon the mixture back into each egg half. Place in fridge to chill. Before serving, prep your plates with salad of your choice and then put two egg halves on each. Serves 4 people PRAYER Dear God, I believe Jesus died so that I can be forgiven. I admit I have done wrong things and not lived my life how you want me to. I’m sorry. Please forgive me, and come into my life to help me live your way. From this moment on, I want to follow Jesus’ example and join other Christians in serving you and other people. Amen. FREE OFFER FOR THOSE SEEKING FAITH... I want to make a new start in my life and would like: o The free DVD ‘So Who Is This Jesus?’ o The free booklet ‘Love is the Bridge’ o Contact from an experienced Christian, to help me learn more about Jesus. My tel. no. is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We regret this offer is only available to UK and Ireland readers. My name and address (print) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Post code ....................... Send to: Good News Newspaper, PO Box 9831, NOTTINGHAM NG2 9JN or email: mandy-goodnews@ntlworld.com If you have any questions about faith, email: brianward369@btinternet.com Summer 2020