Christopher and Nivedita Benjamin (formerly Macwan) are Indians whose home, before coming to the UK, was in Borsad in the State of Gujarat, in NW India.
Sent by our partners, the Church of North India (CNI), to work amongst the significant Gujarati population living in London, they first arrived in the UK in 1989. Over the intervening years, they have been sharing the love of Jesus Christ with Gujaratis and other Indians, who live in the Wembley area of North London.
Prayerful persistence, patience, perseverance and openness have all helped to establish trust and respect, enabling the Benjamins to become well accepted in the local Asian community.
Every month, Christopher and Nivedita run a Gujarati Fellowship Group in their home, at which a number of their Hindu friends are faithful attendees. This time of worship, Bible study and prayer, which is conducted in the Gujarati language, is always a source of great encouragement and blessing to the Benjamins, as well as to their friends. This includes those who are Hindus, interested in learning more about, and having a better understanding of, the Christian faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ, in particular.
Christopher visits in Northwick Park Hospital, where he leads the weekly Gujarati Fellowship; he is Chaplain to Hillingdon Hospital, in Uxbridge, and London's Heathrow Airport; and he often represents the Christian community at Asian social events. Daily contact with Gujarati women gives Nivedita many opportunities to share her Christian faith.
Every year, Christopher and Nivedita have the opportunity to write special Easter and Christmas messages for the Gujarat Samachar, a weekly Gujarati language newspaper with a readership in excess of 600,000.
For more than a decade, PCI Youth Teams have shared most summers in the leadership of two holiday Bible clubs, in Wembley Park United Reformed Church and St James' Alperton. This has been a great encouragement to these two chuches, and to Christopher and Nivedita, who are members of Wembley Park URC. It is also always an unforgetable experience in cross-cultural mission for the team members involved.
General Prayer Points
Our weekly Overseas Prayerline bulletin contains up-to-date information and prayer requests from our mission personnel and partners overseas.
