Prayer Focus: June 2016
Week 23: Canada & USA
Wednesday (1st) - CLC Canada’s Website:
Our internet sales are increasing year by year but, so far, this aspect of the ministry is not yet profitable. Presently, we are in partnership with a former CLC worker who looks after most of the maintenance for the site. Please pray that we might find the right formula to reach people who can’t or don’t want to come into the stores. Also pray that the internet might become profitable.
Thursday (2nd) - Cedarbrook Plaza (Philadelphia, USA):
We need to find a new store manager for the Cedarbrook Plaza store in Philadelphia. Our current store manager, Sarah Quach, will be moving out of the area as her husband has just graduated from seminary. Please be praying for us as we search for the right person to fill this role.
Friday (3rd) - Multi-Language Media (USA):
Please pray for the successful acquisition and integration of Multi-Language Media into CLC USA this June. MLM provides foreign language Christian books, Bibles and other media to people all over the United States. After 30 years, the couple currently running the ministry is retiring and turning it over to CLC to continue into the future. You can visit their website at www.multilanguage.com to learn more about this ministry.
The Weekend (4th/5th) - Retirement (USA):
Bill and Marge Almack will formally retire from the CLC ministry in April. They have been faithfully serving with CLC for 47 years and we’d ask you to pray for them as they adjust to this new stage in their lives. There was a special retirement celebration at the end of CLC USA’s annual Team Conference in April to honour them. We thank God for their many years of service to CLC’s ministry and for showing so many of us how to serve the Lord with both commitment and love.
Week 24, June 6th – 12th: Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire & Burkina Faso
Monday (6th) - Ebola (Sierra Leone):
For the past two years, we have been fighting with the Ebola scourge that devastated our economy. In November, 2015, the World Health Organisation declared us to be Ebola free. What a big relief for our ministry and the entire country! Recently, we heard about a case that emerged in the northern part of Sierra Leone. Please join us in prayer that this time it will be effectively contained and addressed.
Tuesday (7th) - Radio Stations in Sierra Leone:
We thank the Lord for our involvement in our local radio stations in the city of Bo, Sierra Leone, where CLC has an outlet. The Lord provided an opportunity to partner with two radio stations, one called Radio New Song, and the other, Voice of Faith. We have been highly privileged to use the media facilities to evangelise and, at the same time, advertise our available materials. We also normally conduct a Bible quiz competition via phone calls, with answered questions being rewarded with prizes. Please pray that this type of partnership extends to other radio stations and also strengthens our relationship with the ones with whom we are presently working.
Wednesday (8th) - Sierra Leone Building Project:
Presently, we are occupying a shop space at 2 Bojon Street, Bo, Sierra Leone, that is owned by an ardent Muslim who has tried on so many occasions to evict us due to our nature of operations. To facilitate our leaving the property, he has been constantly increasing his rent and has even informed us that this year’s rent will be increase by 50%. Due to the difficulties in acquiring a suitable and reasonable shop space around the city centre, we have no option but to remain where we presently are. Please join us in praying that the Lord provides the funds for a building project in Bo City.
Thursday (9th) - CLC Apartment in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire:
We continue to request prayer in order to sell the CLC apartment that the Abidjan team owns in Côte d’Ivoire. The funds from its sale are needed quite desperately to help pay off suppliers, like Livr’Afrique, who have already been very patient. It remains very difficult for Directors, Liz Patten and Prosper Weda, to push the sale forward since they don’t live in the country. Please pray that God will bring the right people along to purchase the apartment.
Friday (10th) - Tax Exemption for Côte d’Ivoire:
Please continue to pray for Abidjan Shop Manager, Martine, as she battles to get tax exemption for their ministry. CLC is registered as a not-for-profit organisation within the country and so they should be entitled to tax exemption, but it has not been granted as yet.
The Weekend (11th/12th) - CLC Burkina Faso’s Answer to Prayer:
Some of you will remember that there was an attack on a hotel in Ouagadougou in late January, not far from our shop. An Australian couple, both in their 80s, were also kidnapped from the medical clinic that they have been running in the north of the country for over 40 years. Many Christians were directly affected in these incidents.
Prosper Weda, the CLC National Director, writes: “Just to let you know that CLC staff and our families have been under Divine protection during the terrorist attack on Ouagadougou, which left 29 dead and more than 60 wounded. The hotel [where the attack took place] belongs to our former CLC landlord. Ouagadougou is still in shock, BUT God is good and He will remain good.” Join us in thanking God for his protection of our team and their families, but do please pray for Burkina Faso as it continues to recover from this tragedy and for CLC’s ongoing ministry to the people of this nation.
Week 25, June 13th – 19th: Answered Prayers
Monday (13th) - CLC Thailand:
After praying for many years that an ‘English-speaking’ missionary would join the CLC Thailand team, God has once again exceeded our expectations by giving us not one, but two! Praise God with us and remember to pray for Don and Betsy Velboom (CLC USA) as they settle into life in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They are a mature couple with a lot of experience and expertise in missions and bookselling, and will be a great help to the CLC ministry. However, learning to live in Thailand and, in particular, learning the Thai language is a demanding task. Please pray for God’s blessing and equipping as they study Thai.
Tuesday (14th) - CLC UK:
We thank God for a young Dutch lady who has left her home in the Netherlands to work in the Sheffield, UK CLC bookshop. Marieke de Water arrived in the middle of February, and the plan is for her to help in the shop for the next six months. Please pray for Marieke as she settles into life and work in Sheffield.
Wednesday (15th) - CLC Cyprus:
This year, there was an unexpected increase in the demand for Greek calendars which the churches and individuals buy to give to relatives and friends. These calendars have a daily reading from the Bible and a short accompanying story. Please pray that this increased demand is a genuine thirst for the word of God and that many will be touched by the various messages in them.
Thursday (16th) - CLC USA:
Praise God that the new CLCPublications.com website was launched in December and is working very well in making CLC’s books even more widely available. We also were able to complete our remodel of the Philadelphia ‘Center City’ store, which included replacing the flooring and the addition of several new fixtures.
Friday (17th) - CLC Philippines:
Many of you will remember that we have been praying for a Print-on-Demand (POD) system for our team. Praise God with us as we just received word that they’ve acquired a POD system! This system will enable them to better serve other ministries and allow our team the ability to do small print runs for books that are limited in their demand. This will dramatically improve our service to our customers. Please remember the team in prayer as they now learn how to use this new technology properly and efficiently.
The Weekend (18th/19th) - CLC France:
Praise God! We have moved into the new Paris bookshop. This one is bigger, brighter and more affordable for the ministry. Please pray that our customers will continue to find us at this new location. We are so thankful to God for His provision.
Week 26, June 20th – 26th: International Council Meetings
Monday (20th) - France:
Please pray for the CLC International Council being held just north of London. On Wednesday, June 22, more than 60 delegates will be arriving from more than 50 different countries. Please pray for all the practical details of their trips, safe arrivals and getting over jetlag. Some will be experiencing food, language and climate that is unfamiliar to them, but it will be a wonderful coming together of many cultures. Please pray that we will experience the Lord’s presence in a special way. The Council is always a time for assessing where we are as a ministry, reviewing the last four years, and looking ahead to the next four years.
Tuesday (21st) - Important Appointments:
Please pray for the important appointments that will be made during the Council. Gerardo Scalante is the single nominee for the role of International Director, and the new Regional Directors (RDs) will be confirmed in their roles. The selection process for RD’s for Africa and Asia will also be completed during the days of the Council. Please pray for an anointing on these people for the important responsibility they will carry for the next four years.
Wednesday (22nd) - Guest Speakers:
Please pray for Louis and Susan Sutton, International Directors of WEC International, as they open up the Word of God during the Council devotional sessions. Pray for a sense of the leading of the Holy Spirit as we listen to the Word.
Thursday (23rd) - Council Business:
Please pray for the Council business that will be done during the conference. The new International Constitution will be agreed upon; there will be discussion regarding the meaning of the CLC name; and we will review the established and dependent status of CLC countries. Pray that these will not be simply administrative decisions but, rather, they will help propel CLC forward in a relevant way.
Friday (24th) - Good Fellowship:
It is not all hard work at the Council! On Saturday, June 25, there will be an excursion to central London, visiting some of the main sites and, of course, the CLC bookshop. Pray for a good time of fellowship. Relationships that are formed at such conferences are of great benefit to the work.
The Weekend (25th/26th) - Celebration Day!
On Monday, June 27, we will officially be celebrating the 75th anniversary of CLC with an open day and some special events. We want to express our gratitude to God for sustaining and growing CLC over these years. Our prayer is that we will be faithful to His calling for the years ahead.
Thank you for praying for our teams and projects around the CLC World - you are vital to our ministry!
Please note that there may be slight differences between these online CLC prayer/praise topics and what is available in printed form as we are able to add updates online after our publication has been released.
Thank you for praying for our teams and projects around the CLC World - you are vital to our ministry!
Please note that there may be slight differences between these online CLC prayer/praise topics and what is available in printed form as we are able to add updates online after our publication has been released.