My name is Fiona Harvey and I am married to Paul. We have a busy household of seven children, two who have been fostered, and I work as a hairstylist. At 16 years of age, I dropped out of school with no qualifications and was also pregnant with my first child. During this time, I felt lonely and rejected and subsequently started taking alcohol and drugs. My life was quickly spiralling out of control but, at the age of 25, my life took a dramatic turn when I asked Jesus to be my Saviour. I have two Facebook pages (‘Prayer Covid-19’ and ‘Fiona Harvey – Sharing Thoughts’) and also lead women’s life groups.

Hi, I’m Michael, I was born and lived in Belfast where I worked in the aircraft factory. Five years ago my wife and I retired to Millisle. This place is very special to us, not just for the sea view, but because this is where I finally gave my life to the Lord at a meeting in the local Elim Church. I have been married to Joyce for almost 50 years and we have a daughter and a son and 5 grandchildren.

I was born in Scotland, the third of five siblings. The family moved around Scotland, the Shetlands, England and Northern Ireland with my father’s work. Having moved so often we became a very close-knit family. However, it wasn’t until I was thirteen that I heard the gospel in a way that changed my life. We had moved to Northern Ireland and during the summer holidays, aged 13, one of my school friends invited me to Portballintrae during CSSM week. My heart stirred as I heard the gospel and I walked forward at the end of the meeting to accept Jesus as Saviour. It has always been my wish to serve the Lord whether at home or in my working life. During my working career I worked and travelled across the UK and Belgium. Little did I know that this was God’s way of preparing me to serve him in Israel. It was the fruition of an earlier vision when I answered an advert placed by the Church of Scotland for missionary service in Jerusalem. The Lord had used the intervening years to give me the qualifications and experience required to fulfil this job. My application was successful, and it meant eventually selling our house in Scotland, but my husband and I went without hesitation. Three years later we left Israel, with a love for the land, the people and a closer relationship with God. God blessed us when, two years later, we were called back to Israel to serve with CMJ. It meant once again selling up and putting furniture into storage. Any service requires sacrifice, but also brings a deeper relationship with the Lord and we saw His hand in so much of the detail and planning during these years. On our return to the UK the Lord opened the door for us to settle in Northern Ireland, close to family, with two short intervening periods serving with Ellel Ministries in Scotland. It was during this time I served with Marc in Coleraine as he began his evangelistic ministry. As part of Marc’s ongoing prayer team, I have seen how Marc & Heather have waited faithfully on the Lord to lead them into ministry. It has been a difficult journey for them and it is wonderful to be part of this heartfelt calling which has led to the formation of Hope2Families.

Amanda is married to Graeme and they have a beautiful 3 year old daughter, Abigail. Originally from Monaghan, she now lives in Newtownabbey and attends Abbots Cross Congregational church. She works as a Biomedical Scientist in the Ulster Hospital. Amanda has been battling melanoma since early 2018. Her world was turned upside down when she received the diagnosis of stage 4 cancer in February 2021. She was given very little hope that any treatment would do any good as the cancer had progressed so rapidly to her liver & lungs, but God had other plans and she received the news in May 2021 that her lungs were all clear & her liver only had a few tumours left. The battles continues but with God there is always hope.

I have been a believer in Jesus for forty-four years. My late husband and I lived in Cardiff and York, my two daughters were born in Wales, and we moved to York where we fostered for the local authority for nine years. I have five Grandchildren and one Great-Grandson, Levi who is two. Twenty-six years ago, my husband went to be with the Lord, He had a malignant melanoma and eventually succumbed to the awful disease which moved very rapidly through His body. My thoughts at that time were ‘where are you Lord? I have never walked this way before’ but God is a very present help in time of trouble, therefore we will not fear and though sometimes fear filled our hearts during those very dark days, God was always there leading and guiding. He has been faithful to us as a family, He has promised in His word to be a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless, I have stood on those promises down through the years. I have been involved in prison ministry for many years, and with a small team we run a residential discipleship programme for several weeks through-out the year in the granary of a local castle. I set-up a project named The Joseph Trust on a farm in York for kids excluded from school which I lead for 9 years and is still running now. I am a volunteer for Release International supporting the persecuted church.