Pray for the ministry of CLC Barbados under the directorship of Marion Manning. Points for prayer include the need for a turnaround in the island’s economic circumstances and, for CLC specifically, easier accessibility for the bookshop. We are often told, “We would come to your store if you had somewhere for us to park.” There is an empty plot of land next to the store that we would love to acquire for CLC.
This small island, with a population of 72,000 people, was hit by tropical storm Erika last year. The island’s basic infrastructure was devastated and the damage takes the island back about twenty years in terms of development. The government estimated the rebuilding costs at nearly 300 million US dollars. Pray for Davis Laudat, CLC Manager in Roseau, as he leads the ministry in difficult times. Pray also for sufficient sales, and for opportunities to minister to people in despair after this catastrophe.
Marlene Ramroop was faithful, committed and an inspiration to the CLC team under her leadership. Although she was unwell, her entry into the Lord’s presence last May was unexpected and a challenge for the team. Sandra Robinson, who looked after the CLC accounts, took over Marlene’s responsibilities and with the support of the team, she has taken the ministry forward. There are still challenges to face but the team is committed to the ministry of CLC in the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago.
The manager of the bookshop in St. John’s, Arah Martin, and her co-worker Cecilia Ferrance are seeking God for new ideas to take the ministry forward in 2016. Please support them in prayer, asking God to open doors for ways to make an impact in the country. They are looking for opportunities to present book tables in churches, schools, youth events and street fairs and some contacts have already been made. Of course with increasing activities, more help will be needed so please pray for volunteers willing and able to engage in this type of outreach.
At a CLC leadership conference last September, the decision was made to divide the CLC Americas and Caribbean region into two. This means that North America (USA and Canada) and the Caribbean islands will have their own Regional Director in future, and Latin America will form the other half. Pray that, rather than separate us, this decision will enable us to grow and minister more effectively. David Almack, CLC USA’s Director, was chosen to take on the role of Regional Director for North America and the Caribbean which will take effect later this year.
Week 4: CLC Helping Hands
Monday (18th) - CLC USA / CLC Philippines:
“One of our authors, Fred Hartley, had an event taking place in the Philippines. His organization, the College of Prayer International, was expecting over 1,000 pastors to attend, for which they wanted to purchase 1,000 copies of Fred’s latest book. However, they had not factored in the need, and time required, to ship the books across the ocean from the publishers, CLC USA! We investigated options for air freight but it was too costly. Then we connected with CLC Philippines to see if they could help. Praise the Lord, they got the book printed locally at a very reasonable cost and, importantly, in time for this event.” Dave Almack CLC USA Director
Tuesday (19th) - CLC Indonesia / CLC USA:
CLC USA has publishing rights for many Christian books, mainly classics and local authors. They also partner with CLC in other countries, allowing them to translate and publish their books. In Indonesia this is providing a boost to their publishing work with 7 titles now in print, including Too Soon to Quit by Warren Wiersbe and Praying Through by John Kitchen. There are several other titles in preparation for publishing – more books by Warren Wiersbe and some Watchman Nee books. Pray that these titles will be a blessing and also boost sales for CLC Indonesia.
Wednesday (20th) - CLC Russia / CLC Belarus:
Books published by CLC Belarus have been distributed in Russia through one of the biggest Russian Christian publishers. Now, however, CLC in Russia are going to take on some responsibility for this. By the time you read this they should already be the distributor for a new title from CLC Belarus, Christian ABCs. Another new connection for CLC Russia is the regular provision of stock to a CLC bookshop in Central Asia (CA1). This particular bookshop has had major problems obtaining Russian Christian books and we trust this will be a great benefit to them.
Thursday (21st) - CLC Sierra Leone / CLC Liberia:
CLC in these neighbouring countries has had good communication between the teams and team leaders in the past. However, this relationship was affected by the outbreak of Ebola and for over a year they could not meet for fellowship or discussions regarding their work. Now both countries are officially clear from the virus, please pray for opportunities to get together once again.
Friday (22nd) - CLC Canada / CLC France, CLC USA and CLC Colombia:
“We maintain excellent contacts with CLC in other countries, especially with CLC France [CLC Canada is based in Montreal and sells books in French] and CLC USA. This has resulted in the publication and printing of books here in Canada recently. In addition, we made contact with CLC Colombia through its distribution centre in Miami, and are very encouraged by the agreements we will have with them for the importation of products in Spanish.” Antoine Roberge, National Director
The Weekend (23rd/24th) - CLC Spain / CLC UK:
Nacho Sanchez, and his wife Laura, served with CLC Spain for many years in both the Madrid bookshop and the distribution warehouse. Nacho was also the National Director for a while. After a brief time out of CLC, the couple felt led to offer to work for CLC in the UK. They moved to the new UK Wholesale facilities in Chester a few months ago. Pray for them and their two sons as they settle into a new country, culture and language. Despite the fact that they have a lot of experience, this will be a steep learning curve for them.
Week 5: CLC Europe
Information from Gary Chamberlin, CLC Regional Director for Europe
Monday (25th) - Website Training:
Ivano Cramerotti is responsible for CLC Italy’s website and he recently provided essential training for several European leaders on how to keep their CLC websites properly updated. CLC Spain hosted the event with Darwin (Spain), Carlos (Portugal) and Bertus (Netherlands) attending. This 3 day course was the first of many we hope to have in the future. In addition to the training, and results, we thank the Lord for the fellowship and growing friendships of all the participants. (From left to right: Ivano, Darwin, Gary, Carlos, and Bertus)
Tuesday (26th) - Book Fair Events:
Last October, three CLC European leaders attended the world’s largest book fair in Frankfurt. Many major publishers are present at this event. Hervé Lessous (France), Andreas Bader (Italy) and Gary Chamberlin met with a number of Christian publishers and, as a result, new titles are now being considered for publishing in many languages by our CLC editorial teams across the globe. Gary hopes to take other CLC Directors to this annual event. Pray that we would be led to the right titles that will truly bless lives by leading them to Christ and helping people to mature in their faith.
Wednesday (27th) - CLC Poland:
After our manager in Wroclaw resigned, we searched for months for a new manager but could not find anyone and we had to vacate the premises. However, there may be a silver lining! We are in contact with a major Lutheran church, well situated in the city centre, which is considering the possibility of providing a newly renovated room, with street access, for use as a CLC bookshop. We are praying that CLC can re-open in Wroclaw and, if this is the right place, we trust the city council will look favourably on this idea and that the church will be happy to work with us in this way.
Thursday (28th) - Central Asia 1:
Gary Chamberlin and Nikita Sapunov (CLC Moscow) will visit the small team in CA1 in February; this is a follow-up visit to one last August. For years it has been difficult for the bookshop here to obtain new products in Russian but we are pleased that finally this can be provided on a regular basis through CLC in Moscow. Please pray with us for continued encouragement for the team, and that this new strategy will provide the needed stability for our work to continue for years to come.
Friday (29th) - Publishing Training:
The second ‘CLC European Publishing Training’ will take place in the Netherlands in March. William and Carine MacKenzie, Christian Focus Publishing, will offer training and CLC representatives will come from Portugal, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belarus, Romania, Poland and Bulgaria. This training is part of our project to double our global publishing in 10 years. CLC in Portugal, Netherlands and Bulgaria have begun to publish after training in 2014 and in France, Italy and Poland they have significantly increased their publishing efforts. We praise God for this opportunity.
The Weekend (30th/31st) - Austria:
The CLC bookshop in Graz closed at the end of October 2015. The future of the shop had been uncertain for some time. Edeltraud, the manager, has found it increasingly difficult to run this busy shop and care for her husband who has been seriously unwell for many years. While we pray and wait for possibilities of opening again in a better location, with help and cooperation from local churches, sales continue through the website and on-line shop.