Jessica Gierlichs

Smile! God Loves You! Jessica Gierlichs

A compilation of the stories of Peter Letchford--communicator, pastor, missionary. About Peter LetchfordPeter Letchford was born February 16, 1917 in Sevenoaks, Kent, England to Arthur and Beatrice Letchford. He graduated as one of the two "poor boys" from Sevenoaks School (1935). He studied at Oxford University, matriculating with a BA, BMus, '42, MA '45. While a student, he served in the leadership of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Upon graduation, Peter answered the call to work with the Africa Evangelical Fellowship (AEF). Along with his colleague Ginger Wright, he was instrumental in establishing the education system in the northwestern part of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Many of his graduates became national leaders at the time of Zambia's independence in 1964. During his subsequent tenure as Canadian Director with AEF in Toronto, Peter met and married Dorothy in 1960. Peter's career included helping to establish the Graduate School of Missions at Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University), senior pastor at Loudonville Community Church (Albany, NY), General Director of The Hildenborough156Evangelistic Trust (England), and as pastoral associate at First Presbyterian Church (Augusta, GA). Peter was an excellent communicator using stories from his young life through to his later life. With this skill he was able to take a subject that needed clarifying by using incidents from his life to illustrate a point he was making. Many of these were told with a sense of humor and wit. Whether in table conversations or in sermons, this gift kept his audiences spellbound. Peter was known for his commitment to God, his love for his wife, delight in his children, belief in others, wisdom, intellectual curiosity, compassion, and humor