Prayer Focus, June 2018
Friday (1st) – Burkina Faso:
Let us continue to pray for Luc, Gerard and all those that assist (including their families) in the CLC bookshop in Burkina Faso. This small but faithful team is committed to the Lord and to seeing their nation reached through Christian literature ministry. May God bless their hard work and continuing efforts to pay back the loan they received from CLC Colombia and re-establish the payments towards their pension plans. Pray too that a local prayer support team will be established for the ministry and that those in the area would be open to participating in new ways in order to keep the ministry sustainable.
The Weekend (2nd/3rd) – Philippines:
Regional Director Romualdo Macinas shares, “Praise God for the many new opportunities we have received to have book tables in state universities/colleges and in private universities run by the Catholic Church. We have even been able to reach out to introduce our ministry to the private and public libraries in schools and universities. We also thank the Lord for a new wholesale customer in South Luzon.”
Week 23: Projects Updates and New Opportunities
Monday (4th) – Kenya:
CLC Kenya’s Print-on-Demand (POD) system is touching lives in ways we had not imagined. So many authors have been able to get their messages out, and we are grateful to God for using this team to facilitate this. This project is also a financial blessing to the ministry in Kenya. When bookshops are struggling, the POD system helps the team to manage its cash flow. CLC Kenya also feels that there is a need to engage in training others to use books as the core resource. The team is currently in talks with several organisations on how to partner together. Please pray for direction and wisdom for the Kenyan team, that it will engage only with those that God has appointed.
Tuesday (5th) – Colombia:
CLC Colombia has several prayer requests, but asks especially for prayer for the new CLC bookshop in Chocó, a region with a majority of Afro-Colombians and indigenous people that have many beliefs that contradict the Bible. The team has been doing several activities, supporting the community and inviting them to the shop for Bible studies, Sunday school activities and seminars. Pray with us that the Word of God will produce much fruit in this region.
Wednesday (6th) – Sierra Leone:
During the period when CLC Sierra Leone was printing the Scripture Union devotionals on its Print-on-Demand (POD) system, the team ran out of supplies. Thank God with us that the supplies arrived just when they were needed most. Pray too for this team as it plans to launch the Africa Study Bible on June 8, 2018. Pray for God’s zeal for every member so that they do not get weary or discouraged in their planning.
Thursday (7th) – Canada:
CLC Canada is working hard to develop a project that seeks to influence pastors to engage their audiences in good reading habits. The team has joined together with the Francophone Christian publishing community to create this programme. Please continue to pray for opportunities to share and encourage church leaders to take part in this endeavour.
Friday (8th) – Central Asia (CA2):
In response to the praise point from May 11, at the time of writing, CLC CA2 was preparing to place an order for new Russian Christian books. Please pray for the safe arrival of these new Russian titles and for the Lord to help the team continue to participate in translation projects to make quality Christian books in their local language available.
The Weekend (9th/10th) – Ecuador:
Join us in praying that CLC Ecuador’s bank loan application for a new wholesale warehouse (including offices and a shop) will soon be approved. The team would like to begin construction on its property in the city of Guayaquil in August, but this loan is needed to proceed. CLC Ecuador is also awaiting various building permits and soil checks from the municipal authorities. These permits are a bit complex due to the latest earthquakes, but the team (and the rest of CLC) are trusting that God will be working a special way for these approvals to be granted.
Week 24: More Global Praise Points
Monday (11th) – Cyprus:
It may seem like a small thing, but the timely arrival of books for customers and ministries that are holding events or meetings is a real struggle at times in Cyprus. Since the majority of CLC’s inventory comes from publishers outside of the country, we give praise to God that, once again, a customer’s special order of books arrived just in time! Thank you, Father.
Tuesday (12th) – Papua New Guinea (PNG):
Book Aid Australia (BAA) has promised in the near future to donate, a pallet of good secondhand Christian books and Bibles to CLC PNG. Please pray that CLC’s partnership with BAA will continue to grow and that many will come to faith and maturity in our Lord through these quality resources.
Wednesday (13th) – Portugal:
On February 18th, CLC Portugal had a book launch for its latest Portuguese publication, Mulheres Sem Nome no Velho Testamento (Anonymous Women in the Old Testament), in the Coimbra bookshop. Written by local author, Clarisse Barros, this is CLC Portugal’s second publication with her. Join us in giving thanks to God for this partnership and that the team had such a successful event.
Thursday (14th) – India:
We thank God for the good dedication service of CLC India’s new Tamil title, Biblical Interpretation, that was held at the New Life Assembly of God Church, the biggest church in India, on the February 11. By God’s grace, nearly 500 books sold on the day itself. Pray for CLC India’s publishing team and that the Lord would provide the funds needed to soon publish other much-needed titles.
Friday (15th) – Kenya:
We thank God for CLC Kenya’s partnership with Leadership Partnership Development (UK) as it has been a source of great encouragement for the team. Working with Brian and Sheila Keel is refreshing and, together, CLC and the Keels are looking for ways to better support each other as they co-labour with God to do the Great Commission.
The Weekend (16th/17th) – Philippines:
Praise God that with its Print-on-Demand (POD) system, CLC Philippines was able to publish over ten titles in 2017! Four of these titles were written by local authors. Pray with us that these titles—and those the team prints during 2018—will make a real impact in our readers’ lives.
Week 25: Ongoing Prayers and Concerns
Monday (18th) – Papua New Guinea:
Pray for the churches in Port Moresby and especially for their leaders as the CLC team have noticed a drop in visitors to the bookshop. Online sermons, which are easy to download and do not require much time spent studying the Bible, are creating a society that doesn’t read or have good Bible study habits. Please pray that as a bookshop ministry, CLC PNG will find a way to revive interest as it becomes proactive in getting the message out and encouraging Christians to be active readers and students of the Word.
Tuesday (19th) – Venezuela:
The prayer needs of CLC Venezuela continue to be for the political and economic situation of the country, which affects all the economic, social and daily life activities of the population. Please pray for the CLC ministry in Venezuela and for the provision for the team and their families. We ask God that His provision may never be lacking since, at the present time, each day it becomes more difficult to buy the necessities like food, medicine and clothing due to high prices. Inflation has depleted most of the purchasing power of the population. Each day this produces a greater outflow of Venezuelans to other countries in search of a better future. They must leave the country to help their families.
Wednesday (20th) – Germany:
Praise God that a lot of people are still coming and using CLC’s service in Germany, but each year this figure seems to be dropping. Please pray that God would help us discover new ways and opportunities to draw people back in to the Hamburg shop.
Thursday (21st) – Canada:
Praise God that CLC Canada was able to break even last year, yet it remains financially fragile. Please pray for the team as it continues to find ways to stabilise and sustain the ministry. CLC Canada needs a volunteer who can work one or two days a week at one of our branches. Please pray that God will send the right person with a heart for literature ministry our way.
Friday (22nd) – Bolivia:
We give thanks to God for the new location of the Bolivian bookshop as there is a lot more footfall, providing opportunities for new people to find it. Unfortunately, the CLC team has discovered that this new location is also an area where many protest demonstrations occur. At times, tear gas is used to break up these marches, but, thank the Lord, we have not yet had any broken windows. Please join us in praying that God will continue to protect this shop that is in such a visible and central location to reach thousands each day!
The Weekend (23rd/24th) – Benin:
Please pray for an improvement in the overall economic development of Benin, which depends heavily on the cotton trade for income. Pray for improvements to the business environment, boosts to the infrastructure investment, transformation of the agricultural sector and more inclusive growth. Our CLC bookshop is located in Cotonou, a large port city on the south coast.
Week 26: Answers to Prayer
Monday (25th) – Dominica:
“Alleluia. Alleluia is the highest praise to our God Almighty. Join us as we give thanks. Sandra Robinson, CLC Director for Antigua, Dominica and Trinidad, was recently over to help with our annual stocktake. She had a conversation with our landlord, and the Lord prevailed. Now, we will not need to move! To God be the glory, great things He has done.” Davis Laudat, Manager
Tuesday (26th) – Portugal:
Praise God that after many years of CLC Portugal having only a single full-time missionary, due to recent growth, the ministry is now financially able to support another part-time missionary working in the bookshop. Thank you Father for this answer to prayer! Please pray that God would send the right person to work alongside Carlos Cunha so that he will have the necessary support he needs.
Wednesday (27th) – Ecuador:
We share our thanks to God for His faithfulness! Although CLC Ecuador started this year by closing its shop in the south of Guayaquil City, sales at the shop in the north have skyrocketed! The customers from the closed shop are regularly visiting our CLC shop in the north. Glory be to God! He is always good and faithful.
Thursday (28th) – Canada:
Thank you for your prayers! After a two-year wait, CLC Canada has finally obtained recognition as a charitable organisation for its distribution department. Thank you Father for Your provision!
Friday (29th) – Russia:
“We praise the Lord for the safe arrival of children’s Bibles by Scandinavian publishers, all in good condition. This was the first ‘import’ project for us. Praise the Lord—it went well! We have also introduced some changes to our customer service protocol in an effort to be even more available to our customers. Naturally, there are adjustment challenges, so please pray for us as we adapt to these changes. Pray that we will become better stewards of the Lord’s riches.” Nikita Sapunov, National Director
The Weekend (June 30th/July 1st) – Central Asia (CA2):
Due to shipping, customs and distributor costs, it is not always possible to keep CLC’s prices as low as some online sources. Despite this, CLC CA2 were greatly encouraged by one of its customers who decided to remain faithful and still placed her order with the team. When asked why, she shared that it was because the CLC team always worked fairly with her and responded promptly. Thank you Father! What an answer to prayer. Lord, please continue to help CLC teams around the world to provide the kind of service and ministry that keeps people returning to our shops and choosing to support our ministry.