“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Psalm 40:3

It has been twenty years since Mel, the children I left Albania, where we served for 15 years, and arrived in the UK to plant a Portuguese-speaking congregation and help them integrate into the life of the local English congregations so they would not be merely tenants renting the building for occasional meetings.

The ministry was so blessed; we were, by God’s grace, able to plant and help establish five congregations, which are still going strong to this day. Not only did we form congregations, but we also helped people connect with each other. Can we imagine Portuguese-speaking people from 9 different countries but with very unique cultures?

In our experience of working with migrants, we have noticed that the migration process tends to isolate people and rob them of their identity, making the emphasis on the collective—the who we are— becomes more important. “They begin to look at identity through a lens of global solidarity, communion, and shared humanity.

Last year, as we were praying, God put in our heart the desire to create a hub to bring the many Portuguese-speaking churches in the UK. Unofficial figures state that there are around 300 spread throughout the country, with the main concentration being in Lodon. We have noticed that many of these churches still find it difficult to work with each other and integrate into the local British churches, have poor leadership training, and have low awareness of mission and evangelism.

After a process of discernment and lots of prayer, we are delighted to let you know that Solidus Foundation UK has been officially registered in the Charity Commission. Solidus, which means “on behalf of the whole”, is a non-profit that will act as a hub to help these congregations be more efficient in their outreach, provide resources for networking, and work in partnership with local British churches and others

At the moment we are working on setting up the website, where you will find a more detailed description of the Solidus objects. We are going to keep you posted.

Above is the picture of Solidus trustees (directors). From left to right: Mel, Ana Paul, Luis and Jorge.

Please continue to pray for us:

• For the consolidation of Solidus
• For our finances. We still need partners since our pledges are just at the 25% level
• For renewing strength.

May the Lord continue to bless you richly.

Jorge & Hermelinda Damasceno

IM and JAMI missionaries in the UK