Prayer Focus 2014 - May
1 Thu. Expolit – May 1st-4th
Every May, CLC staff from Spanish-speaking countries attend ‘Expolit’ – a Christian book fair held in Miami. Pray that this time would once again prove beneficial in all sorts of ways. Praise God for the resources available and ask Him to guide us as we look at new material for distribution and make contacts with like-minded organisations and individuals. May all be done to His glory.
2 Fri. Expolit – From www.expolit.com“
The purpose of Expolit is to promote the growth and development of the Christian industry on a global scale. We believe in taking the Word of God to all parts of the world through literature, music and any other product that spreads His transforming message. We encourage and motivate editorial companies, the music industry, ministries, distributors, etc. so that books, music, and similar products can be attainable to the public.” Please pray for everyone involved in Expolit.
3-4 Sat/Sun. UK – Trade Changes
A major UK supplier, Trust Media Distribution, ceased trading towards the end of March. Please pray for the staff there as they cope with the loss of work and look for new jobs. Please pray also for the UK Christian book trade as it again adjusts to new conditions and works out where to get stock. Pray too for the CLC warehouse staff as they cope with the extra workload this has meant. May they maintain an efficient and friendly service.
5 Mon. – CLC Leaders
Today a number of CLC leaders who have been attending Expolit in Miami will be meeting together for fellowship, prayer and a time of sharing and planning before they return home to their countries of service.
7 Wed. Bulgaria – Difficult Decisions
Please pray for the CLC Bulgaria team in Sofia as they have a difficult administrative decision to make. It will affect the taxes we have to charge our customers and any of the options involve a lot of work, and have implications for our customers. These issues are not our ‘core business’ but they take up a lot of time and energy.
8 Thu. USA – CLC Publications
Please pray for Dave Almack and Sherif Gendy as they represent CLC Publications and attend CLC’s International publishing conference in Korea later this month. This event will be an important time of collaboration between the various publishing teams from around the world with the goal of significantly increasing our publishing work in the years to come.
15 Thu. Pakistan - Publishing
Please pray for two titles currently in the process of being published by CLC in Pakistan. The Urdu edition of ‘I dared to call Him Father’ is being re-printed and Lee Strobel’s ‘The Case for Christ’ is a new Urdu title. Both books were due to be released in 2013 but with Justin’s co-worker, Sohail, being unwell for several months, the work was delayed.
16 Fri. Asian Regional Leaders
From Friday until Monday the leaders from around Asia will be meeting outside Seoul, Korea. This is a time of vision, training and encouragement. Please pray for all the delegates that they will be refreshed and inspired.
17-18 Sat/Sun. UK - Conference
The annual CLC UK conference runs from May 18th to 21st. Prayer would be appreciated for good fellowship and spiritual refreshment as staff and friends gather. Pray for Mick Brooks of CWR as he speaks at the three ‘Worship and Word’ sessions and others who will be contributing.
19 Mon. WEC Intercon
Today, WEC’s International Council (Intercon) gathers for almost two weeks of meetings in Seoul, Korea. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in WEC as they spend this important time together. CLC grew out of WEC and we continue to have strong fellowship links around the world.
20 Tue. CLC @ WEC Intercon
By a happy coincidence, having attended the CLC Asia meetings, CLC’s Regional Directors will already be in Seoul and have accepted an invitation to spend a day with our WEC colleagues (see yesterday’s information about Intercon). Pray for new and productive relationships to be formed between us.
21 Wed. Regional Directors’ Meetings
From today until Friday, the Regional Directors will be meeting in Seoul, Korea for their regular conference. Please pray for the issues and opportunities that need to be addressed. As this will be the fourth in a series of conferences held in Korea over two weeks, pray for the energy and inspiration to hear clearly from God regarding these important matters.
22 Thu. Cote d’Ivoire – New Management
Please pray for our remaining two shops in Cote d’Ivoire, in Abidjan and Bouaké, both of which have been under new management since February. Pray that we can get the right stock at the right time and at the right price. Pray for Martine and her assistant Marlene (Abidjan - photo below) and Marie (Bouaké - photo above). Also pray that we can finally conclude the sale of our apartment in Abidjan so that we can settle a large supplier debt.
23 Fri. Hungary – Worship Event
“The annual music/worship event ‘This Is the Day’ will be held on the 24th of May. It will feature Newsboys, Martin Smith, Graham Kendrick and a number of Hungarian artists. To complement this there will be the Mission Expo, where many Christian organisations will be represented and CLC will have a book table. Please pray for us as this gives a great opportunity to make new contacts as well as very good sales.” Zsolt Karpati (Poster below: ‘Er az a nap!’ means ‘This is the day!’)
24-25 Sat/Sun. UK - Birmingham
Give thanks for the greatly increased sales in the Birmingham shop in Stephenson Street now that the building developments in the area are largely complete. While CLC continues to run this shop until at least the end of the lease, pray for our new shop opening in the Carrs Lane premises, previously used by Wesley Owen. Pray for the staff teams running both operations in Birmingham.
26 Mon. France – Livr’Afrique
Hervé Lessous, the National Director for CLC France, is also a member of the Board of Livr’Afrique. Tomorrow, May 27th, Hervé will take part in the Board Meeting and General Assembly of Livr’Afrique. Please pray for wisdom and that the right decisions will be made.
27 Tue. Swaziland – Board Members’ Role
CLC Swaziland is seeing a change of Board members as TWR missionaries Steve & Lorraine Stavroplous moved on to Benin this month. Please pray for the remaining five Board members, three of whom are new to this responsibility. Their role is crucial, especially during this prolonged period of having no bookshop manager. One of the new Board members, a Pastor, has offered to do colportage with the Study Bibles we stock.
28 Wed. Philippines – Staff Needs
At the time of writing, two bookshops in the Philippines are in need of extra staff. CLC Cebu recently relocated and has a new manager currently assisted by a member of the CLC team from Manila. The Manager of CLC Davao, in the south of the Philippines, left CLC last month. This relatively new bookshop, with all new staff, needs someone with experience to manage the shop. Please pray for God’s wisdom and provision as the leadership team seek the right staff for these situations.
29 Thu. Philippines – Transferring Staff
“Transferring staff from one shop to another is very demanding as they have to adapt to a new culture and cross language barriers*. Also, the position they leave behind will be vacant and some team members will have to take on an added workload. Please pray that we can cope with these adjustments.” Romualdo Macinas *According to Wikipedia, there are some 120 to 175 languages in the Philippines, depending on the method of classification!
30 Fri. CA1 – 15 Years
In June, our bookshop will be 15 years old. Please pray that, as we advertise and celebrate this milestone, the Lord would bless our sales and contacts. Pray too that we will be able to use this time to introduce, or re-introduce, people to the power of books to change lives.
31 Sat. UK – Christian Resources Together
The CRT annual retreat for the UK Christian Book trade takes place June 2nd and 3rd. About half the shop managers and a team from CLC Wholesale will attend. As the book trade continues to face uncertainties and upheavals, particularly in the area of distribution, pray that this event will continue to bring together all parties in a spirit of mutual care, concern and support for the good of Christian literature in the UK.