On Saturday 9th March, the Bulgarian Church in Wood Green was delighted to host Jacqueline Otokpa, the Director of SEC Women’s Ministries. This special Sabbath programme, organised by the church's Women’s Ministries team, celebrated International Women’s Day. The event featured a variety of activities including an old Bulgarian children’s story, violin performances, and inspirational messages from Otokpa, who emphasised the essential role the daughters of God hold as shining beacons of light in the world, commending their grace, strength, resilience, and much more.
During her sermon, “Ignite Your Prayer Life,” Otokpa shared a personal experience demonstrating the power and necessity of prayer in the Christian life. It focused on an event six years ago when she led approximately 200 women on a spiritual retreat to Montenegro, themed “God Restores.” The group encountered several challenges on their return trip to England, initially with a coach driver unable to cross the first border due to an expired passport. After switching to a second coach, they faced significant traffic delays at another border, jeopardising their flight departure from Dubrovnik.
Otokpa recounted many prayers during these tense moments, maintaining her faith that God would intervene if it aligned with His will. Remarkably, despite arriving late at the airport, the group found that the pilot had waited for them, a decision that astonished even the airline staff. Moreover, the pilot managed to compensate for the lost time during the flight, ensuring they landed in England as planned. This incident powerfully testified to the efficacy of prayer, not just in crises but as a foundational aspect of daily Christian life. Otokpa then highlighted four key points about prayer: it ignites change, hope, unity, and forgiveness in our lives and churches, emphasising the importance of our daily communication with God.
Following a delightful lunch, Sister Jacqueline led a session on assumptions. She explored the negative impact these can have on our self-esteem and relationships, whether platonic or romantic. To promote unity in the church, we should be aware of making negative assumptions about others and seek to understand the truth, achievable through communication with our brothers and sisters.
We are grateful to Sister Jacqueline Otokpa for her contributions at the Bulgarian Church and to our church's Women’s Ministries team for organising this special Sabbath to celebrate women from the Bible and in our churh today.
