All throughout EMF’s 60-year history, women have played a pivotal role in the work of the gospel in Europe. Some as individual outreach workers, working with women and children; others as wives actively supporting their husbands in church leadership, others working within fellowships teaching and working with women in the churches. The particular challenges and trials of missionary life can often fall heavily on the shoulder of the women, and these can be acute when long-sufferance is needed and disappointments are many. But these challenges are rarely voiced or shared with supporters.

Jean Woods, Pilar Cano Vivienne Birch and Jenny Mariotti have all been EMF missionaries (the latter in Italy, the others in Spain), serving for many years in different capacities, both by themselves or alongside their husbands. They will be discussing this important topic, and enabling us to gain insight into the joys and trials of missionary life, and enabling us to understand how support the women workers in Europe more faithfully.