Prayer Focus: 2013 August
1 Thu. Uruguay – Drop in Distribution
“In recent months we have noticed a drop in distribution, due to economic problems with Argentina. May the Lord give us wisdom to know how to act and react in these circumstances. We are thankful to the Lord that despite the situation we are able to continue the work and we see His hand on us.” Humberto Urrutia
2 Fri. Venezuela – Team Needs
CLC Venezuela have asked for prayer as they have a number of people from the team involved in the CLC Regional Leaders’ meetings taking place in Chile later this month. Jose Quintero, the new Director for CLC Venezuela, also asks for prayer …“for the physical and spiritual health of all marvellous team here in Venezuela!”
3-4 Sat/Sun UK - Trustees
Give thanks for the UK trustees and for the time and effort they put into guiding and advising the UK work. Pray for Eddie Olliffe who has recently joined the trustees. He is well known in the Christian book trade having worked with STL, and more recently, with CWR. Give thanks for the help and advice he has already given to the warehouse and pray for him as this continues and extends to the shops. His outside objective view is proving invaluable as CLC’s trading operations evolve and adapt.
5 Mon. Russia – Family News: a Wedding
Yulia Shabalina will be getting married in September and will be moving to the USA. Please pray for her in this new stage of her life after many years of service with CLC helping to establish the work in Russia and, before that, in another Russian speaking country. Pray too for the team in Moscow as they need to find and train someone to take over Yulia’s role in the bookshop.
6 Tue. Kenya – Family News: a Birth
Patrick and Mercy Omukhango are expecting a baby this month. Mercy is a former CLC staff member and Patrick is on the leadership team and has the responsibility of running the wholesale department. Please pray for them in their work and family responsibilities, and may God give them joy through this addition to the family!
7 Wed. Colombia – Family News: the Team
Please pray for the CLC Leaders from North and South America and the Caribbean as they are about to meet together in Chile. Elsa Maria Sanchez, the Director in Colombia, asks for prayer for the group attending from CLC Colombia: Denice, Blanca, Diego, Nancy, Lorenzo and Elsa Maria. May God bless and encourage them during this time.
8 Thu. Regional Conference
From August 11th to 17th the leaders of CLC in the Americas and Caribbean will be meeting in Santiago (Chile). The theme of the conference is ‘How shall they hear?’- from Romans 10:14 - and a pastor from Trinidad will be the devotional speaker. Gerardo Scalante is the Regional Director and he and his family have just moved from Philadelphia to Miami so this will be an extra busy time for him! Please pray for the different people attending during this time of discussion, planning, fellowship and prayer together.
9 Fri. International Office
Over the next few days, Neil Wardrope and Rudy Kuyer, of the CLC International Office team, will be holding a bookstall at a gathering of members from another Christian organisation. A lot of work has gone into the planning and preparation of this event, and we will be selling books in a number of languages. Please pray we will have the right material to bless and encourage these folk who live and work in countries where it is not easy to share the good news.
10/11 Sat/Sun. UK - Chatham
Please pray that the new volunteers will settle in to our mission here at CLC, and will learn the true value of the work we do for the Lord. Pray that we have a good flow of customers as at present we only average about 10 customers a day.
12 Mon. USA - Publications
Please pray for the CLC Publications team as they help to launch two more new books by Stuart and Jill Briscoe in August. Stuart’s book, Taking God Seriously, is a great study on the Minor Prophets and Jill’s book, Running On Empty, is designed to be an encouragement to anyone struggling with being overwhelmed or dealing with burnout.
13 Tue. Bolivia - Currency Concerns 1
Please pray as we seek to buy foreign currency in Venezuela, the country that sponsors the project. CLC Venezuela needs to do this in order to fulfil its obligations to send funds for the ongoing process of initiating the bookshop ministry in Bolivia. Pray too for the importation process, that there would be no extra delays or problems; the process already takes about 2 months.
14 Wed. Venezuela – Currency Concerns 2
“We give thanks to the Lord for His great love and kindness; despite the political, social and economic problems in our country, He has helped us to continue the ministry. We value prayer that the state agencies would not be slow in granting us U.S. currency in order to honour our commitments with suppliers and allow us to buy more stock.” Jose Quintero, Director
15 Thu. Books to Prisons
A number of CLC countries, including Italy, Papua New Guinea and Dominica, are involved in providing Bibles and books for prisons. Praise God for these opportunities and may He guide, and provide, so we can sponsor more projects like this.
16 Fri. Korea – Web Design
“We have hired a web designer to completely re-design our CLC website. Please pray that the result is more user friendly and will increase our on-line sales.” Joseph Park
17/18 Sat/Sun. UK - London
Give thanks for the increasing numbers of visitors finding the London shop. At the recent funeral of Margaret Thatcher, a Chinese couple with no Christian came in and bought a Bible having seen the word Christian on the newly installed sign outside. Pray for them. Pray too that Petra and the team can find ways of directing tourists to the shop. Give thanks for the good sales of foreign language Bibles, but pray that the shop can continue to get the right supplies at good prices.
19 Mon. CA2 - Partnership
“Praise the Lord for a partnership with another Christian business that is renting part of our bookshop, and selling gifts. Please pray that we learn how to partner together well - in business and ministry.”
20 Tue. PNG – Points for Concern & Praise
Violence against women is on the rise in Papua New Guinea and the government seems powerless to deal with it. Pray that the Church will rise and address this issue. We have seen public nationwide demonstrations and petitions being handed to the Prime Minister by NGOs. Pray that changes will take place and that our ministry will make an impact through literature. As a praise point, we don’t seem to have enough Bibles as these are sold out as quickly as we receive them!
21 Wed. Mozambique – Board Members
Please pray for the appointment of new members of the local Board. Our treasurer, a missionary, will be going on extended home leave in August and so, as well as praying for his replacement, we give thanks for all the help he has given us in this role. As well as a new treasurer, we also hope to be able to recruit some Brazilian contacts onto the Board, in order to strengthen the links with Christian publishers in Brazil, from where nearly all our stock has to be imported.
22 Thu. Colombia – Mexico
CLC Colombia is making progress with plans to open a CLC work in Mexico. Please pray with them as they search for the place and people of God’s choosing for this project. Pray too for good communications with the authorities, publishers, distributors and potential customers in this country.
23 Fri. Ecuador – Reasons to be Thankful
CLC Ecuador is thankful to God for the following answers to prayer: For good sales so far this year; for the Thompson Bible workshops that CLC has been involved with; and for our new shop in the south of Guayaquil that is doing very well.
24/25 Sat/Sun. UK – Events in 2013
A team led by Chris Magee is again providing the bookshop for ‘ONE’ (23rd-27th), an all-age conference attracting about 8,000 people. Also a team from Stockport return to the New Frontiers Churches event: ‘NORTH’ (22nd-26th). Give thanks for a great time at both events last year and pray that the stock and service we provide is at least up to the same standard this year. Please pray for stamina and good health as both teams are camping and the days are long and intense. Pray also that the worldwide work of CLC is suitably presented to all who visit us at these and all other events where we are present at this time of year.
26 Mon. Uruguay – Mobile Ministry
We urgently need an answer from the Lord regarding our need for a new team member — someone committed and called to the ministry of CLC — who can take charge of the book mobile work into the interior of the country.
27 Tue. Japan – Overheads
In all of the CLC bookshops in Japan, the high rental costs of the properties are becoming an increasing pressure for the shop managers. Please pray for good solutions to this problem.
28 Wed. Ivory Coast - Paying Off Debts
Our ministry in Ivory Coast is struggling financially and, earlier in the year, the decision was taken to sell an apartment belonging to the ministry, in order to pay some supplier debts. In addition, it has been necessary to reduce staffing levels at all three of our shops. Please pray for the sale of the apartment, that we would get a fair price and that the ministry would be able to begin to find its way forward again.
29 Thu. Hungary – Wholesale Plans
“We give thanks to God that there is a small but growing list of items - books, music and gifts - we can offer to other bookshops. Recently we got in touch with 3 new retailers, and hope to build a wholesale ministry to all Christian bookshops in Hungary.” Zsolt Karpati
30 Fri. Philippines – Preparations
Two weeks from now, CLC Philippines will again be taking books to the Manila International Book Fair. This is one of the longest running book fairs in Asia with more than 60,000 visitors expected and 10,000 square metres of exhibit space occupied by foreign and local publishers. CLC has 6 booths, measuring 54 square metres, to fill at this event. We thank God for our sponsors - three publishers from the US have shared the rental costs. Please pray that all the ordered stock will arrive on time and that our products will be a blessing to many.
31 Sat . UK - Warehouse
As the run up to Christmas begins, the warehouse gets busier. Pray for the team there as they pick and pack increasing amounts of stock for CLC and independent shops and also receive in goods from our various suppliers. Pray for wisdom and focus for Chris Magee (head of wholesale) and Geoff Bearham (warehouse manager) in their contact with suppliers and as they seek to anticipate and meet the needs of our customers, most of which are bookshops.