Prayer Focus: November 2016
Week 44: Answered Prayers
Monday (31st) - Russia:
We are forever grateful to the Lord for His timely provisions all the way! The very week this spring when our finances would have been too little to pay the bills and suppliers, He provided us with our largest sale ever! ~ Nikita Sapunov
Tuesday (1st) – Mozambique:
Some of you may remember the ‘container project’ that supplied secondhand shop fittings for Mozambique following devastation of our shelves by termites in Maputo. When the container arrived, we hit various snags and were not able to complete the shop renovations as we had hoped. We felt overwhelmed, and we prayed that the LORD would send someone to help us put the units together. Instead, he sent a local missionary to encourage us and, after that, we were able to start putting the fixtures together ourselves. It was hard work and slow, but we praise God for the new look at CLC Maputo! ~ Liz Patten, Regional Director for Africa
Wednesday (2nd) – Korea:
In a time when many publishers (Christian and secular) are facing financial difficulties, we praise God that this is not our situation. We are so thankful for God’s leading and direction that has enabled us to become a strong publishing house, and we pray for His continuing guidance so that it will remain a thriving ministry. ~ Gwangsu Jo
Thursday (3rd) – Canada:
We thank the Lord that after a long wait, we were finally able to sublet our warehouse and bookshop property in Brossard. The financial costs involved made it too difficult to maintain our presence there and sub-letting is a significant financial relief. ~ Antoine Roberge Photo of Martine (Côte d’Ivoire) and Antoine (Canada)
Friday (4th) –Papua New Guinea:
We have experienced a lot of unrest in Port Moresby due to the university students boycotting classes to force the Prime Minister to step down. It was predicted that violence would break out if the PM won the vote of no confidence recently, so Christians were praying that this would not happen. When it was announced that the PM had won his seat, businesses and government agencies were concerned
and fearful of violent protests, but praise be to God, we were surprised by total peace! ~ Vere Babona
The Weekend (5th/6th) - USA:
The transition of Multi-Language Media into CLC USA went very smoothly in July. We are delighted to now have books and Bibles in over 80 languages in our warehouse. We had expected it to take a couple of weeks for everything to be set up so that we could take orders. Instead, things went so well that we were able to take orders in two days after the move. In that first week alone, we filled orders for books in Haitian, French, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Hindi, Shona, Tigrinya, Russian, Vietnamese, Japanese, and more. ~ David Almack
Week 45: Focus on Africa
Monday (7th) – Kenya:
The work in Kenya has undergone a major overhaul and restructure in the past months as a result of a new vision in line with current trends and real needs. This has not been an easy transition but now please pray with us for consolidation, team unity, and a new thrust for the work. Patrick Omukhango, National Director, wrote: “Continue to pray with us that in the bid to be financially sustainable, we don’t lose the focus on
why CLC is there in the first place. Every time we have put the emphasis on people coming to faith and maturity in Christ Jesus, God backs us with signs and wonders, even financially... I pray that God will keep us on course”.
Tuesday (8th) – Burkina Faso:
The ministry has been going through a difficult time since being obliged to relocate a couple of years ago. If all goes to plan, by the time this goes to press, they will be relocating again in order to try and address this problem. We need to be where the people are! Please pray for Prosper, Luc, and Gerard that they will have the health and strength needed for these challenging times and that we will be able to ‘re-find’ our
customer base in Ouagadougou.
Wednesday (9th) - Benin:
For a long time, we prayed for Emmanuel to have someone to work alongside him in the bookshop in Cotonou. Praise God that he now has one confirmed full-time person and another part-timer to help as needed. This is especially important now that Emmanuel has taken on the responsibility as the French West Africa Director, which means that he will sometimes need to travel to Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast to
encourage the teams and help develop the ministry.
Thursday (10th) - Mozambique:
Mozambique is vast and there are so many needs for Bibles and Christian literature, but the ministry is not yet financially strong enough to open more shops. Nonetheless, we thank God for a young man, José Manuel, who has started to work as a ‘CLC book agent’ in the area of Inhambane, about half way between our two shop locations (Beira and Maputo) which are about 750 miles apart. Please pray for José as he starts to make our books and Bibles available in his local area, initially through contact with churches.
Friday (11th) – Côte d’Ivoire:
We praise and thank the LORD for the very good progress made in the ministry over the past two to three years. However, there is still a way to go and, for some time now, we have been trying to sell our apartment in Abidjan in order to pay an old supplier debt of significant value. This is not the first time we have published this request, but please pray that we can indeed sell the apartment soon to help us solve this problem which has been hanging over us for some time.
The Weekend (12th/13th) – Sierra Leone:
This year we celebrate 50 years of CLC’s ministry in Sierra Leone! As we do so, we give thanks and praise for all that the LORD has enabled us to do over these five decades! We also give thanks for those who have supported us and helped to make this possible, especially CLC UK and (more recently) CLC USA. As you praise Him with us, please pray that we can continue to meet the challenges of this generation in ways that will make an impact for the Kingdom of God in Sierra Leone. God bless you!
Week 46: Focus on the United Kingdom & Central Asia
Monday (14th) - UK:
As our shops begin to get busier for Christmas, please be praying for all our teams in the UK and around the world that God will give them the stamina and good health necessary to best serve our customers and to share God’s love with those who are feeling ‘lost’ during this hectic time of year. Pray also that they will be able to take some time over the Christmas holidays to truly connect with God and celebrate this joyous season. May it truly be a time of refreshment and joy for each one.
Tuesday (15th) - UK:
Please pray for the ongoing recovery of Eddie Olliffe and Mick Goodman who both had strokes earlier this year. Please pray for the management roles that need to be covered due to their absence. David Scouler is currently in the General Manager’s role, as well as implementing the new Chreos computer system. Pray too for the Trustees who have had a great responsibility in the move of the warehouse and in overseeing the changes made necessary by Eddie and Mick’s conditions.
Wednesday (16th) – UK:
We thank God for the significant upturn in the sales from the warehouse following the move to Chester one year ago. New avenues for sales are being investigated that would enable our books to reach the secular market.
Thursday (17th) - UK:
Please pray for Neil Wardrope who stepped down from his role as International Director in June and will officially start his new role as UK Mission Director in January. The purpose of this new role is to ensure there is a correct balance between business and mission to promote the vision of CLC and to support overseas projects with finance or personnel.
Friday (18th) – Central Asia 1:
We have been having severe cash flow problems for a few years. Because of two special gifts from CLC UK and CLC USA, we were able to do some vital restructuring. We have created a small apartment in the sizable back area of our shop which we will be able to rent. Our shop space will be smaller, but still adequate for our purposes. Please pray that we can find a suitable tenant that will pay the rent promptly each month. And praise God with us for this solution which should almost entirely resolve our cash flow problems and allow us to focus better on our ministry. ~ Gary Chamberlin, on behalf of CLC CA1
The Weekend (19th – 20th) – Central Asia 2:
Please pray for wisdom and God’s provision as we import books. The value of the local currency dropped significantly last year, and the additional 18% added to other customs’ taxes this year is making it very difficult to sell books at reasonable prices. ~ The Director, CLC CA2
Week 47: Focus on the Caribbean Island
Monday (21st) - Antigua:
As we all know, recession can hit a country hard, but we trust that our God can and will bring a turnaround to His ministry! Please join us in asking God for a financial breakthrough in terms of sales and help in getting out into the communities with our Bibles and books. ~ Arah Martin
Tuesday (22nd) - Barbados:
Please pray with us about the possibility of refurbishing our building. There is much work that needs to be done on the roof and, as a long term goal, we would like to expand the front of the store and replace the carpets throughout. Please pray that the Lord would supply the needed finances for these upgrades. ~ Jefferson Alleyne
Wednesday (23rd) – Trinidad & Tobago:
After eight years, since 2008, we finally got a cheque in the mail this July for $48,000, representing some of our VAT refunds that we were due from the Inland Revenue. It was a ‘Wow’ moment, and this has enhanced our cash flow! Praise God with us! Please continue to pray that we would get the balance that is still outstanding on the VAT refund and that we would see an increase in sales in our Tobago branch that opened last year. ~ Sandra Robinson
Thursday (24th) - Dominica:
A slow economic turnover is currently interfering with our ordering of goods and stock maintenance. However, we do hope to see growth as we venture into extra outdoor sales/evangelical projects. Please pray for God’s direction, providence, and protection for these upcoming opportunities. ~ Davis Laudet Photo of Liz (Mozambique) and Davis (Dominica)
Friday (25th) – Martinique (France):
Please pray about the future of the bookshop in Fort de France, Martinique. The shop property is owned by CLC, and the plan is to sell it and relocate to a different part of the city. Please pray that we find a buyer who will pay a fair price for the building and for God’s guidance in finding a suitable new location. ~ Isabelle Marczak
The Weekend (26th/27th) – Guadeloupe (France):
Please pray for our team: Marie-Andrée, Joël (shop manager), and especially for their colleague, Florelle, who has sciatica (nerve problem) in her back. They certainly need her help in the shop during the Christmas rush, so please pray that she is healed from this pain and is able to work. Please also pray that Joël will be able to visit local churches with a PowerPoint presentation about CLC, and that these church ministers and congregations will be open to hearing about our ministry and how we can best support one another to further God’s Kingdom.
~ Hervé Lessous
Week 48: Print-on-Demand Updates & Publishing News
Monday (28th) – Kenya Print-on-Demand:
We are very encouraged with what has been produced (both quality and quantity!) using POD since its inception at CLC Nairobi a couple of years ago. It has been hard work, but well worth it! Please pray that we can continue to be a blessing with this ministry, and especially that we can be an outlet that encourages and enables local authors to express the message that the LORD has given them. National Director Patrick
Omukhango shares, “We are grateful to God for the quick integration of POD into the CLC Kenya mission to impact East Africa with Christian literature. We have served authors from five countries in Eastern Africa. God has surpassed our expectation since the implementation of POD in May, 2015.” ~ Liz Patten, on behalf of CLC Kenya
Tuesday (29th) – Philippines Print-on-Demand:
Thank God for this system as it has created a lot of advantages for our ministry. One of the most visible to us is its impact on our inventory, making it wider in range with manageable stock levels. Please pray that we are able to maximise the use of this machine and that many titles from the USA and locally will be made available for publication. Aside from printing our own publications, please pray that we can extend this service for the small printing demands of churches and other Christian organisations in the area. ~ Romualdo Macinas
Wednesday (30th) – Sierra Leone Print-on-Demand:
We are grateful to the LORD for the help we received with fundraising for a POD system and, if all goes to plan, we hope to receive it by the end of this year. If so, then we will need your prayers! Please pray for the installation and training, but also that we may choose the right people for this work, dedicated and with an eye for detail. Also pray that the LORD helps us to develop a vision for this project that will build up the local body of Christ and help bring others to know Him! ~ Liz Patten, on behalf of CLC Sierra Leone
Thursday (1st) – Publishing in Romania:
We praise the Lord for the privilege to be involved in the publishing of a number of great books by some great authors. We praise God for His help, provision, abilities, and stamina for us as we were able to take the books through the different stages of the publishing process – translation, design, and editing. A very important Bible for us, The German-Romanian Bible for Children, has been published, and we have also recently published books by A. W. Tozer, Andrew Murray, and Billy Graham, and the biography of George Muller by Roger Steer. Please remember our publishing team: Ligia, Daniela, Ruth, and Ronela. ~ Ronela Micula
Friday (2nd) – Publishing in Italy:
Praise God for the blessing that many CLC Italy titles have been over the past years, often becoming bestsellers. It is exciting to see customers responding well to books like Follow Me and Radical by David Platt. We have also been able to publish the book October Baby, which has been promoted by a Catholic prolife organisation. We are now working on Joni’s book, Beside Bethesda; Francis Chan’s You and Me Forever; and John Ortberg’s If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. We are also translating Undaunted, the autobiography of Josh McDowell. Pray that these and other CLC titles will draw people to Jesus and help many to grow in their faith.
~ Gary Chamberlin, on behalf of CLC Italy
The Weekend (3rd/4th) – Publishing in Colombia:
There was a couple from Ibague City who were facing serious problems in their marriage. They called us to ask if we would pray for them and give them some marriage counselling (as part of our Social Foundation). Along with the counselling and encouraging them to pray together, we asked them to read our recent Spanish publication of Francis and Lisa Chan’s book, You and Me Forever. After a month, their pastor called us and invited us to hold a Couple’s Marriage Workshop at their church. He shared with us, “If this book could change that couple’s marriage, we need to know more about this book!” We have now trained all the leaders at this church to help the couples in their congregation that are struggling. Praise the Lord! ~ David Pabón