You might recall that at the beginning of 2017, CLC Chile began distributing an evangelistic book pack that included Way to God by D.L. Moody and More than a Carpenter by Josh MacDowell. At the time of writing, the team was happy to report that two thousand packs had already been used for outreach. What a great way to get this precious literature into the hands of numerous unbelievers. May these books continue to light the Way.
Please pray for our team in Liberia that has begun planning a launch event for the Africa Study Bible this year. Due to concerns about the uncertainty around the elections taking place in March, the team is looking at a date in June. Please pray for the many details of this huge event to come together. We also praise the Lord that we now have the full funding needed to make these Bibles available, thanks largely to the generosity of those who attended the CLC USA Fundraising Banquet last November.
Although we don’t have any publications planned as yet for 2018, it is our hope that we will be able to further develop the early stages of a partnership with a local Board member in Maputo for a Print-on-Demand system. Please pray for us!
Thursday (8th) – Canada:
We are working hard to develop a project that seeks to influence pastors to engage their audiences in good reading habits. We have joined together with the Francophone Christian publishing community to create this programme. Please continue to pray for us.
Friday (9th) – Sierra Leone:
We were truly blessed by the implementation of the Print-on-Demand equipment in June 2017. We praise the Lord that we have already printed over 5,000 books, including the 2018 Scripture Union daily devotionals. We are currently experiencing some technical challenges with the cartridges. We need and would value your prayers that God will give us wisdom in handling these challenges.
The Weekend (10th/11th) – Kenya:
In December 2016, we partnered with our first Children’s Home in an effort to establish book libraries for less fortunate children. Please pray for our team as we plan to select a second orphanage for this programme this year.
Week 11: More Global Praise Points (March 12th - 18th)
Monday (12th) – Germany:
During the G20 meetings in May (2017), we were very concerned for our shop and ministry because many black-clothed protesters caused a lot of damage in our area very close to the shop. However, the Lord kept us safe. We were able to use our window displays for evangelisation, to be seen by those passing the shop. We were very encouraged when people took photos of our windows, and we later found ourselves featured in a Christian magazine article.
Tuesday (13th) – Thailand:
Praise the Lord for the recent opportunity to provide a young lady with her first Bible. She approached a CLC book table being held for a conference in the hotel where she worked. She said she was a Christian but had never had her own Bible. Pray that she will have a hunger to read it and to grow in her faith.
Wednesday (14th) – Mexico:
We thank the Lord for His constant provision and for the growth our ministry has had during the last three years. We also praise God for the opportunity to acquire a van for mobile ministry thanks to a donation we received via the CLC International Office.
Thursday (15th) – Belarus:
This year marks the 15th anniversary of when we opened our CLC bookshop in Brest. Praise the Lord with us! May God continue to develop our ministry. Please pray that each of our CLC teams around the world will always take the time to quiet our hearts so we can hear His voice and follow as He leads.
Friday (16th) – Chile:
During 2017, there was very little growth in the economy in Chile, but we thank God for His provision and for sustaining our ministry. We were very blessed in a variety of ways: having the quantity and variety of inventory available to meet customers’ requests; the arrival of an online payment programme, Webpay, which allowed for immediate online sales and growth; and, finally, the renewed encouragement for our website team led by Silvia Costero from Venezuela.
The Weekend (17th/18th) – Mozambique:
2017 was an exciting year for our small team! At the time of writing (early November), we have achieved 80% of the goals we set for ourselves for the year. We are especially thankful to God for His blessing for the Mozambique Bible Project—10,000 copies of an economy Bible (version “Bible for Everyone” in modern Portuguese) in partnership with the Bible Society of Portugal. We are expecting these Bibles to arrive in Maputo at the end of November 2017. Our prayer for 2018 is that the LORD will surpass our expectations in the Bibles’ distribution to reach the length and breadth of the country!
Week 12: Planning For Our Future (March 19th - 23rd)
Monday (19th) – Uruguay:
We ask for prayer that the Lord will direct us to the right person as we seek someone who has the administrative skills we need and feels strongly that the Lord is calling them to join our ministry. For the future of our mission, we need to continually invest in training and discipleship for new members Please pray that the Lord will help us in our instruction.
Tuesday (20th) – United States:
Please pray that God will help us to attract more missionaries who are willing to consider long term / indefinite service with CLC. We are seriously looking for members who feel committed to serving God through our Christian literature ministry.
Wednesday (21st) – Germany:
For some years we have been looking for a new shop to move into because there are plans to eventually tear down our current building. Hamburg is an expensive city and the prices are always rising, so this has been a real challenge for us. Thankfully, our customers continue to offer us encouragement in our search.
Thursday (22nd) – Canada:
Esdras, our Distribution Manager, has just returned from being on paternity leave. Along with catching up with all that has happened during his absence, we are looking to reorganise our distribution sector so that we may begin to regain prosperity. Please pray for our team as we look at restructuring this department. Pray for Esdras, especially, as he settles back into his role and that he will find a healthy balance between these duties and his family life.
Friday (23rd) – United States:
A big decision needs to be made about the future of our Moorestown, New Jersey, bookshop. We need wisdom in determining if we should move and, if so, where we should move. Please ask the Lord on our behalf to give us the wisdom to make the best decision for future proofing our ministry in New Jersey.
The Weekend (24th/25th) – Philippines:
We are partners with the biggest chain of Christian bookstores here in the Philippines. They contribute around 80% percent of our total wholesale sales. We ask that the Lord will continue to guide us as together we serve the Christian community and reach out to many non-believers through Christian literature. May professional and personal relationships with them continue to strengthen and grow.
Week 13: Answers to Prayer (March 26th - April 1st)
Monday (26th) –Germany:
We are honoured by the many visitors to our shop who are looking for helpful books. Quite often we are blessed to be able to share time and the Gospel with them. There are so many lonely people who are searching for the Lord that it feels like a great privilege to spend time with them and offer whatever helpful advice we can. Please pray that our time, advice and Christian book recommendations will help people come to faith and maturity in today’s society.
Tuesday (27th) – Côte d’Ivoire:
One evening last year, after a long day with very poor sales in Abidjan, a very simply dressed customer entered the shop and made a purchase which came to a greater value than we had taken during the whole day! We are thankful to the Lord for His goodness towards us. We also praise the Lord for the peace and stability in our country, without which we cannot serve God’s people in this nation (1 Timothy 2:2). Please continue to remember us in prayer, especially our shop in Bouaké as it is often the backdrop for armed demonstrations. Pray also for our customers’ safety as they shop with us. Unfortunately, many are now leaving the area.
Wednesday (28th) – Canada:
Praise God that by November 2017, we reached the break-even point in our sales for the first time in several years! This is a great encouragement to our team as we have been working extremely hard to improve our financial situation so we can continue and improve our ministry in Canada.
Thursday (29th) – Russia:
At the end of last year, we went through a mandatory computer (till) upgrade, which was quite adventurous. We found ourselves on our knees in prayer a lot, especially when we were left without any till in the shop for two days in our busy season! Through the whole process, however, we experienced a series of small miracles that led to our situation being resolved and improved. Praise the Lord with us!
Friday (30th) – Myanmar & Korea Partnership:
We give thanks to God for the joint effort between CLC Myanmar and CLC Korea that has allowed them together to publish an initial 10,000 copies of the Myanmar Study Bible, the first ever in the Burmese language! The Myanmar team were responsible for the translation and layout of the Bible along with all the paperwork involved to get government publishing approval. CLC Korea researched the printing costs. We are so thankful for their help in finding the right printer for this project, along with filling in the correct paperwork to obtain an official ISBN number for the Bible. Please pray for the many Study Bibles we hope will find new homes this Easter!
The Weekend (March 31st / April 1st) – Jesus, the Answer to All Our Prayers:
All honour to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family. Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead. And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see. So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day of his return. 1 Peter 1: 3-7 (The Living Bible)