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Welcome to the September Prayer Letter. As with all of the Lord's work, there are encouragements and difficulties together, and in this letter are several reasons to give praise as the Gospel is proclaimed around the world.
An area of frustration for us is that some of our packages take a long time to arrive (several months!) or never arrive at all. We have had problems in Tanzania, Cambodia and Burundi, along with Yangon, Myanmar (while in other parts of the country, books have been arriving safely). We are still waiting to hear of the safe arrival of our first package to San Salvador.
Please pray that these books find their way across vast distances into the hands of those who will use them to serve the Lord.
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The following is adapted from Abraham's newsletter. We originally made contact with Abraham through MINTS. He now works with Africans Teaching Africans (ATA).
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Last week I arrived home safely after my long trip to Northwest Kenya. I had a lot to accomplish in Kalobeyei and Kakuma Refugee Camps. Thousands of refugees are eager for Bible teachings despite all sorts of challenges they face. I am amazed to see how they are thirsty for the Word more than our own natives who are much more comfortable in life. There is no gain if we value our own comfort rather than seeking first the Kingdom of God (Mathew 6:33).
To be precise, I wish to thank God for giving me strength to travel by bus, motorcycle and foot as I move from place to place opening ATA centers. I managed to open five ATA centres catering for 262 students. It is my prayer that they will be more effective in their ministries and preach from the Bible.
As you see from the numbers above, many pastors are eager to study God’s Word in the Refugee Camps. Almost none of them have Bibles. In one of the classes, I asked the students to put up their Bibles and I was surprised that only 7 students out of 65 had Bibles. Imagine how difficult it is when a student is eager to read the Bible yet he has none. The Bible is a very important tool in our ministry because our focus is to teach the Bible to untrained pastors and church leaders. Currently there is a demand for 212 Bibles. We are praying for God’s providence.
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Some of our students received Bibles in Kalobeyei Refugee Camp.
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In the above picture is Pr. Thwol Omot Odolla; our teacher at Kalobeyei. He is a refugee from Ethiopia. Pray with us as we make plans of introducing ATA in his denomination back home called Ethiopian Evangelical Mekane Yesus. It will be good if we can find someone who is sound in doctrine so that he can lead the ATA program in Ethiopia.
Below is a picture of me quenching my thirst after a long way walking from one region to the other. You can see how difficult it is to be in the desert. It is really dry and hot. Most pastors doesn’t like serving in such conditions but I thank God who gives me grace to serve Him in such places. It is through your prayers and support that I move to such marginalized areas with the Gospel.
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Translation in North East India
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McZou Ginlianthang has been working with a team to translate 'Nine Marks of a Healthy Church' into his local dialect.
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Wow! Praise the Lord. At last we will able to print 9 Marks of a Healthy Church in Vaiphei.
Since last year we have been eager to have this very important book in our local dialect. We, the translation team, are blessed with this book. We do hope that through this book our churches will begin to revive again according to the biblical pattern, from shallow Christianity to true radical disciples of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Lord is faithful to us in spite of all our short comings, as we could continue to do projects with Christian Books Worldwide - I praise God for that. Working with you is a tremendous blessings to us. Even though we couldn't share every testimony, we are blessed individually and as a church too. Our Pastor, leaders and even many lay members are blessed individually. One of our elders was in his eighties. He said that he was so happy to see Reformed books in our local dialect while he was alive. Please continue to pray for us so that we may grow more in his truth as a church for his glory.
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McZou (centre right) with some of the men who worked on the translation.
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When I am reading some of these books, I am getting new ideas to accomplish with members. I am making lots of changes to my sermons after reading the books. It is very nice.
Maharashtra, India
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I write to notify you the receipt of a parcel containing 20 books and an ESV study Bible. I am very thankful for the life changing books you have given us (for they will not only help me but also the people around me).
Believe me, I on behalf of all the beneficiaries of their contents, have run out of words to express our gratitude for this gift. Let God alone be glorified in what He has done to us through you. I am hopefully believing He is going to increase His portion of blessings on you.
As a new ministry we have a starting point. May God bless you and continue using you to shoulder us where need be.
Liwonde, Malawi
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'May our Lord God bless you and keep you always,' is our prayer. We give thanks for your books, they have been a great blessing for our ministry.
Those books are not the kind of books that you skim through, they require a deep analysis. We have been stirred up by them. We are still praying and singing the praises for the ministry.
Villa Clara, Cuba
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The latest news from one of our regular contacts, Joster Jumbe.
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The past 2 weeks have been very busy. We have been traveling to many parts of Malawi by different means of transport. We have been training and distributing books to many people in the rural areas. We could only get to some areas by canoes.
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On our way to James Training Centre.
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Upon seeing the books, the young men who operate these canoes asked if we could also give them a few books. They told us that they do not have an opportunity to go to church because they are always busy paddling the canoes across the river. One man had to paddle his canoe to get us at the middle of the river.
This center is located on the other side of the river. There’s only one way to get there, but it is very long and expensive. In addition to this, it is also blocked by another river that drains its water into this main river. The leaders are faithful. We always find people ready waiting for us. They enjoy learning reformed teachings. I have a very dedicated team. Pastor Pelete represents the Baptist churches in our team and Pastor Chikaonda represents the Presbyterians. It is a team whose objective is to promote Reformed teachings within these two Christian churches.
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Leaders receiving instructions from Pastor Pelete and Mr. Chapola.
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Last Friday we went further to the East close to the border between Malawi and Mozambique. The elders could not hide their feelings. They thanked for the gifts of books. They told us that these books help them a lot in understanding of the Bible.
Pastor Pelete also expressed his thanks for the publication of The Foundations of the Christian Faith. He has collected hundreds of them for distribution. We have already received a request from Mozambique and Zambia for these books. I ask for your prayers for both Zambia trip to made on the 20th of October and the Mozambique trip to be made on the 22nd of October. I need much strength as it will involve traveling almost over 2000km. The work is growing bigger and bigger.
We thank the CBW entire management for the unforgettable support for our ministry. We could not have registered any success without your generous hand. May almighty God bless you abundantly.
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Pastor Pelete collecting Foundations the Christian Faith books by Roger Weil for his churches.
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"Good books are cisterns that hold the water of life in them to refresh you; so when you find a chilliness in your souls, and your former heat begins to abate, ply yourselves with warm clothes, get those books that may acquaint you with such truths as may warm and affect your hearts."
Thomas Watson
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CBW is a sister mission to Pastor Training International.
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Board of Directors
Jeremy Marshall • David Ide • Mike Taylor • Sukesh Pabari
Robin Asgher • Chris Embleton-Smith • Thys Storm
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