The Vivienne Stacey Story

, ‘more than learning about being strategic, I am encouraged to seek to be true to Christ's call, intentional in investing the gifts and abilities that I have, and patient in trusting in God's unfolding purposes...As Ramez Atallah commented, “I think she is a true testimony of the fact that ordinary people can do extraordinary things with God’s help.”' (Carol Walker) Vivienne had vision for the girls she and other teachers trained at United Bible Training Centre. Some who came to them had only the equivalent of 8th class pass...Yet in them Vivienne saw a potential missionary force for the Gulf. (Jim Tebbe) ‘In some ways I had been very vague or visionary... God led me into many things that were not on my agenda... I took a fresh look at the Bible to see how God had used dispersions of peoples to further his purposes.’

‘Once Vivienne was traveling as a single foreign woman on a rural bus. She heard the passengers around her discussing who she was and what she was carrying in her bag. So she responded, “I have seed in my bag.” “No you don’t,” they said. “It looks like you have books.” So Vivienne took out the books to show the tracts and the Christian literature in Urdu. “See,” she said. “It is seed. These words give life and produce fruit.” She handed out the materials. Different passengers read some of the pieces out loud with others listening and commenting. “This may be seed,” one passenger said to Vivienne. “But it is foreign seed and won’t grow in Pakistani soil.” “Oh no,” said Vivienne. “This seed is Middle Eastern and was prepared for the whole world.”’ (Jim Tebbe)

‘Marmalade or Bible Study, there has always been a certain precision in Vivienne's approach to what is served up. Though, in saying that, one has to remark that appearance and presentation have never been the central concern; memories of slide shows, in which pictures were back to front (clear from the wording), or upside down (clear from the sky!), or locations forgotten (Oh, you know that picture three back that I thought was Dubai, I have just remembered it was Brighton!) evoke recollections of laughter, but also of how accessible, rather than awesome, Vivienne has always been. ‘Vivienne had a lovely way of sidestepping...fights and accepting the stormy response with a laugh and a smile. She would step back, only to bring up the issue at another time and another way later.’ (Carol Walker) Anne Cooper describes Vivienne as 'concerned, unconventional, practical and with a lively sense of humour.’

‘One mission interviewer in the UK had grave doubts about my suitability for work where learning a language was essential. She had taken me to church and realized how unmusical I was. However, I found that if you put your tongue in the right place and controlled the amount of breath used with consonants, the sounds generally came out right.’ ‘ Vivienne has tended to prefer using restaurants as a place of hospitality...Nevertheless, many of us have enjoyed the uncomplicated freedom of a refreshing stay at Vivienne's apartment during the years she lived in Paphos, after her retirement, and probably all who did so have savoured the one speciality she learnt to cook – sword fish...Vivienne...also taught herself to make marmalade, and would banish all others from the kitchen once a year when the ripened oranges were collected, to fulfil her chosen duty.’ (Carol Walker)

‘In compiling this book, in fact in all of my writings, I like to think of my friends of other faiths and of no faith, looking over my shoulder. I hope that students and graduates, men and women, people of other faiths and philosophies, as well as Christians will read this book. Much history has been written by men so maybe the frank recording of eight women’s lives will be refreshing.’ Vivienne’s writings cover four areas: relating to Muslims; understanding the history and growth of the Pakistani church; Bible study material for Muslim enquirers and Muslim-background believers; and spiritual warfare, folk religion and the occult.

‘The next question was what career I should follow. I wanted to be a writer. I was to write articles and booklets but not to try to earn my living as a writer. My mother had warned me against teaching. I did not really know if I had any gift for teaching or not. So I decided to apply to Cambridge and London to do a postgraduate diploma in education. I asked God to guide through these two applications. I lost my papers for Cambridge but was accepted at the Institute of Education of London University. I discovered that I liked teaching. I prayed for a teaching post that would be good preparation for work abroad. ... I took up my post at the United Bible Training Centre, Gujranwala ...I was determined to succeed as a writer in my own culture before I wrote for Pakistan and other lands... The Pakistani church at that time had less than two hundred titles in Urdu. Transition to pioneering with the IFES in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf was followed by a transition to retirement from Interserve which ‘was easy and smooth. I planned to continue writing, itinerant teaching and…

‘The Community Development Team at WCH referred to Vivienne as “teacher” – we were her students - she gave us “homework”. But despite the rather stilted terminology, I believe that this relationship between the team and Vivienne was true mentoring – and Vivienne a great mentor. (Barbara Dyatt) While she helped many to be reflective and intentional ‘I have never known Vivienne relate to anyone as if they were a project.’ (Carol Walker) ‘Vivienne was the major reason . Her creativity in finding ways to communicate with Muslims, her infectious enthusiasm, her vision to have Pakistani Christians become a major outreach arm of the church in the oil rich states of the Gulf absolutely captivated us. In our search process someone had told us that we should choose a mission based on the people we would want to work with rather than the location or the actual job. We chose to follow that advice... Vivienne casts a long shadow not just within Interserve but also outside the Fellowship.’ (Jim Tebbe)

‘I left the meeting knowing that God had called me to work abroad...‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded...’ (Luke 12:48). I knew God had given me much - new life in Christ and the benefits of a good education. For a while I struggled but when I told God I was willing to do what Mary was going to do , I found that he did not require this from me, but he wanted my willingness... I had Muslim and Hindu friends in the college and I knew that it was hard to influence Muslims. Somehow this drew me to Muslims and I recognized God’s calling to the Muslim world. I wanted to see what the living God would do for Muslims.’ ‘I began as a missionary from the West. I became a missionary from the East and I ended up a world Christian.’

‘At the age of six I was enrolled in a Church of England primary school in Ruislip. I remember tormenting the vicar who could not keep order. I enjoyed walking the mile between home and school and playing on the way, as I was often in trouble in both places. I soon got myself expelled from my dancing class. I learned a lot from my high spirits and punishable escapades that proved an enormous help when I myself became a teacher. ...Although I was very young I still remember the sense of foreboding...World War II broke out when I was eleven... After experiencing some of the bombing and blitzing of London in 1940 our mother decided to take my brother and me to greater safety in Wales ...In every school I attended we seemed to study A Midsummer Night's Dream and I became allergic to it for a while... I developed a great dislike of Welsh nonconformity. Everyone went to Chapel so I soon stopped going. For some years my only interest in visiting churches was to study the architecture.... After I matriculated at the age of fifteen we moved back to England... I...studied English, Latin, French and History for…

‘I developed a fairly strong conviction that I would never marry but I did not rule it out. I never renounced marriage but I never sought it. Now I very much enjoy being single. I once had a conversation with an Arab student who was on standby for terrorist activities in the Middle East... He asked me what my work was so I told him I was a writer. Naturally he asked what I wrote about so I showed him what I had written that morning for a Bible study on St Paul’s letter to the Romans. We had a short Bible study together after which he said, ‘Do you mind if I ask you a question?’ He asked, ‘Why aren’t you married?’ I said, ‘Before I answer you may I ask you a question?’ ‘Why aren’t you married?’ He replied, ‘I am on special assignment.’ So I said, ‘So am I’. He understood perfectly. Later through the love of God he experienced in that home he became a follower of Jesus and sought a new way of life in yet another country seeking to share the good news about Jesus.’