CLC Bookshops

Impacting the World with Christian Literature

Pray For Us

CLC Prayer Focus

March 2010

1 Mon. Annual Conferences
We are now moving into the main season for CLC Annual Conferences when CLC teams meet to review the past year, plan for the coming year and bring everything before the Lord, seeking His will and direction for the ministry. Please pray for the blessing of God over these times. CLC Japan meets today and tomorrow for their Conference.

2 Tue. Philippines – Annual Conference
Romualdo Macinas, the National Director asks for prayer as the team meet from March 3rd-5th for their Annual Conference – “…a time for re-directing our focus, a time for a ‘spiritual feast’ together and a time of recommitment to the Lord and the ministry he has called us to.”

3 Wed. Colombia – Annual Conference
Pray for Director Elsa Maria Noy de Sanchez and the CLC team in Colombia. They have their Annual Conference this week - March 4th to 6th. There are plans to expand the ministry in this country, and a number of new bookshops may open over the next two years. Pray that God will clearly lead and guide them according to His perfect will.

4 Thu. USA – Publications
CLC Publications are releasing two new titles this month. Punishable by Death, by R. W. Stice and A Passion for Prayer by Tom Elliff. Please pray that these books will have a great impact in the lives of those who read them.

5 Fri. Hong Kong - Booktables
The small team running the CLC centre in Kowloon write to say that although they are already challenged with the work load, they will be running two large booktables this month; one at a day conference for women (March 6th) and the other at the Hong Kong Keswick Conference (March 11th-17th). There is the added difficulty of these conferences being some way from our shop making it difficult for our staff to reach them with stock. Please pray for Casey and Mare Allison and Yu Wing.

6-7 Sat/Sun. UK - Aberdeen
“We have supplied 500 copies of the Why Jesus booklet to the ‘Healing on the Streets’ group that minister in the city centre every Saturday afternoon. This is a new venture that just started before Christmas. Pray for these booklets as they are given to people. Also, we will hold an ‘Eikon Bible Art’ event for Sunday school teachers on the 6th of March - this will be an opportunity to use the cafe area adjoining the shop. Pray that there will be a good response to invitations.” Andrew Martin, Manager

8 Mon. Panama – Conference and Bookfair
Remember Milton Cheng and the team in Panama over the next few busy days. For the next two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) they will be meeting for their Annual Conference. Milton asks us to pray for wisdom and direction from the Lord as they make decisions. Following straight on from the conference CLC Panama will be involved, for the second year running, in the International Bookfair in David (March 11th -20^th). They had a very good experience there last year with many testimonies as a result of their involvement.

9 Tue. Ecuador – Annual Conference
CLC Ecuador started in 2001 under the direction of CLC Colombia, and now has 4 bookshops. Remember the team in Ecuador as they meet for their Annual Conference later this week (March 11th -12th). Here are some points for praise from Carlos Marin: - “We give thanks to God for good sales over the past year, and for the opportunity to start this year with a new bookshop, in the city of Manta. We are also grateful to God for giving us a more stable team with a vision for the future.”

10 Wed Swaziland – Nhlangano and Mbabane
“In February we are planning to have the official re-opening of our Nhlangano Branch that has recently moved to new premises. Please pray with us that this event will be a great success. Please continue to pray with us regarding the opening of a branch at Mbabane, our capital city; we believe God has called us to operate even in this place.” Patrick Mhlanga

11 Thu. Spain – Staff Changes
Praise the Lord for good fellowship and unity among the team that met for a mini conference early in January -this was important as immediately after there were some major changes and challenges to face. Jose Manual and Mili, who have served in CLC for the past 13 years, most recently in the Warehouse and with the publicity, left CLC. Also Nacho Sanchez, CLC’s Director, has moved from the Madrid shop to take on responsibilities in the warehouse. Pray for Nacho’s wife Laura as she continues to work in the shop until a new manager is found; this is a real need for prayer at the time of writing.

12 Fri. Chile – Annual Conference
CLC Chile hold their Annual Conference from Sunday until Thursday (March 14th -18th) For the first two days the team will meet by themselves then they will be joined by about ten representatives from various publishers from Argentina, the United States, Spain and CLC Colombia. Director Isaac Zuniga asks for prayer during this time of communion, training and refreshment. The publishers tell us that they really appreciate this time of fellowship with our team.

13-14 Sat/Sun. UK – Bolton
Recently six Christian bookshops, in Cambridge, Coventry, Bolton, Guildford, Kingston and Stockport, joined CLC UK. Julian, the manager in Bolton writes: “We would appreciate prayers as we continue to settle into CLC. Our customers are delighted that we are still open but many people are still under the impression that we are closing. Our stock levels are severely depleted in places so please pray for wisdom as we see publisher representatives and start to restock the shop. Please pray that our work might bear fruit in Bolton and beyond. We have a large number of un-churched people coming through our shop as a result of the gifts that are in the window. Please pray that we might be able to interact with these customers more, and be a good witness.”

15 Mon. Korea – Warehouse Work
All the paper work, regarding the purchase of land and construction contracts, has now been completed so that the building of a new warehouse for CLC Korea can go ahead, hopefully this month. It is anticipated that work will be completed within three months. Please pray that the process will go smoothly and that this much needed resource will soon be available for use. Remember Young Ho Park in his responsibilities as National Director for the CLC ministry in this country that currently focuses exclusively on publications.

16 Tue. Dominica – This Year
Davis Laudat writes to say that the team thanks God that they were able to start this year without any debts. Plans for this year include re-establishing the distribution of tracts to local churches and to expand the range of Bibles they stock. Please pray for wisdom in selecting and ordering these items. One ongoing prayer request is that God will help them acquire a property that CLC can call its own.

17 Wed. France – L’ALEPEF
Operation ‘Springtime in your Christian Bookshop’ is being launched in March by L’ALEPEF, which is an association of 35 Evangelical Christian bookshops (15 of which are CLC shops) and publishers in France. The bookshops will be giving out 6,000 books from the various publishers. We are hoping to promote renewed interest in the ministry of Christian bookshops in France, and to let the public know more about l’ALEPEF.

18 Thu. Sierra Leone – Bookfair
Please pray for Alfred Kaikai and the team in Sierra Leone. They will be holding their Annual Bookfair at the end of March. This event was very successful last year - please pray that it will yield more fruit this year and that many people will benefit from it.

19 Fri. Canada – Major Expenses
The CLC bookshop in the centre of Montreal is facing several major expenses over the next few weeks; a new air conditioning unit, new carpet for the shop and the roof needs to be redone. Please pray for the necessary funds, and for wisdom to do things in order and as economically as possible.

20-21 Sat/Sun. UK – Leadership Team Weekend
Please pray for the CLC UK Leadership Team as they meet this weekend for a time of prayer and planning together. Their tasks and responsibilities have increased recently with the growth of the ministry - may the Lord equip and enable them to do their work well, and in His strength.

22 Mon. Philippines – Vacation Bible School
“From March until May is the ‘Daily Vacation Bible School’ season. Please pray for the many workshop seminars being held for teachers over the next few weeks. CLC is planning at least two seminars and hope to have around 250 people attending each one. Following on from these training sessions the teachers will be running children’s events. Please pray that many will come to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour through this ministry.” Romualdo Macinas

23 Tue. New Zealand – Possibilities and Opportunities
Stewart Rowe and the team in New Zealand would appreciate our prayers as they consider various possibilities and opportunities that have arisen recently. One concern is for the city of Hastings that is now without the witness and resources of a Christian bookshop. There may also be wholesale opportunities for consideration. Please pray for the Lord’s word to us in these matters.

24 Wed. Japan – Retired Workers
There are four members of CLC Japan team who are past the official retirement age: Kashima-san, Aramaki-san, Akeda-san and Kamiya-san. Please pray for them as they continue to work. May the Lord give them the strength and energy they need. Please pray, too, for new younger team members to join.

25 Thu. India – Sales Trends
Christopher Roberts writes: “Praise the Lord that despite the recent recession there has only been a slight drop in sales in two of the larger bookshops and we have been encouraged to see a considerable increase in sales in the smaller bookshops. The relocated bookshop in Bangalore has seen a significant decrease in sales but this had already started before the move last September”. Please pray with the team that sales in the main Bangalore shop will pick up as the shop becomes established in the new location.

26 Fri. France - Stocktaking
Please pray for CLC France as on the 29th of March they will be stocktaking for the last time with their old computer system. This is becoming precarious because of the rapidly ageing computer software. They will not have external help this year for the integration of the stock values from different centres so Etienne Audier and Pierre Glassmann need special prayer.

27-28 Sat/Sun. UK - Newcastle
Please pray for the shop staff, Brian Taylor (Manager), Justin Dummer and Kathryn Marsh with all the changes in their family circumstances over the next few weeks. Congratulations to Karthryn who is getting married to Duncan today, March the 27th. Brian and Wendy are expecting their first grandchild in April and Justin and his wife Rebecca expect their first child in June.

29 Mon. Germany – Shop and Staff Changes
“We are glad that the bookshop in Cologne, that CLC handed over to new owners towards the end of last year, is still distributing Christian literature, and that Reinhard and Ulla Hoppe, who worked there with CLC, are still able to help in the shop. We are also thankful for our motivated co-workers in CLC Hamburg, including Sandra, a new part time worker who joined us recently.” Adelheid Schweigler

30 Tue. Central Asia 1 – Rising Costs
“Praise the Lord for encouraging sales in December – the best since Christmas 2002. Praise the Lord too that he does not leave us when we are in difficult situations. At the beginning of this year the government increased the cost of electricity and heating by 100%. Our financial situation in CLC will be affected as a result of this so please pray that God will give us wisdom as we try to maintain and improve sales.” The bookshop manager

31 Wed. Italy – Facebook
“Last September we launched a Facebook page (Librerie CLC Italia) and by the end of January we had had well over 1,300 friends! Since it was so well received, two of our shops have also created a Facebook page and more should soon follow. We have seen how well we are able to communicate with people through this online social network to promote great books and special events. Many Facebook ‘friends’ then visit our internet website. Pray that this will grow and be an effective tool in promoting good evangelical literature!” Gary Chamberlin

Office Address:

CLC UK Offices

Festival Buildings

Coombs Road

HALESOWEN

West Midlands B62 8AE