Dear prayer partners and friends,
As I write these words I am concerned for our brothers and sisters in MYANMAR. It seems that those who are under pressure seem to be the ones who have more pressures and problems heaped upon them! Not only do our workers and their believers (and other Christians) in Myanmar have to deal with the pressures of a heartless governing regime which seeks to stop them sharing the Gospel with their fellow Burmese and which seems to care little for their basic human rights or the needs of the people, but they are now suffering the effects of a very hot summer and a very serious lack of clean water. Most of us take very much for granted the fact that we can turn on a tap at any time and be assured of a supply of safe, clean water.
Pastor T. wrote as follows late last week…
“Dear fellow workers
Our climate is very hot from 44 to 46 degree C. Because of no rain, many wells, lakes, streams, are all dry. Some people, animals and fishes were dead now. Many people are suffering from stomach disease, head ache in hospitals. Some people cannot work their jobs. Many villages have no water. They need pure water for cooking, drinking, and washing. In my experience water is more important than food.
Therefore please pray for 1. Rain 2. Pure water for drinking, cooking, and washing. Our people really need your prayer and help.
God bless you abundantly.”
A few days later he wrote…
“The climate is more and more hot now. We are getting electricity only half hour in one day. Yes we can buy good bottle water but very cost now.”
His fellow worker Pastor D. wrote a few days later…
“By the grace of GOD we all are fine and ministry are going well. But the weather is very very hot in our country. Some place of (name of city withheld) and other there is no more water for drinking. Could not sleep at night time and we could not go outside in the day also. As you know we have no aircon, fan and the electric, also not come and off always. Kindly help us in your prayer for our country.”
But Pastor T wrote this the same day as his first message above …
“We all are fine. One man converted from Buddhist to Christ at my Church today. Please pray for him regularly his name is MW.” (Name changed for security)
So the ministries go on in spite of the problems – and God continues to bless and answer our prayers!
Will you please pray for these folk every time you turn on the tap in coming days?
We have sent some funds to help a little with the purchase of clean water – if you would like to further help them through this situation we would be very pleased to hear from you.
John and Maeo Middlewood in THAILAND
have adopted 7 “daughters” for the school year!
John says in his recent newsletter….
.
“Praise and thanks to God. God continues to bless us in so many ways that I can’t even count them anymore. We will start with our 7 “daughters” that we have had move into our lives. Three of them have accepted Christ and have been coming to the Christian Mission for over a couple of years now. They are Ae, OhAe and Amporn. Ae and Oh Ae have decided to enter the special English Program at our city High School. In order to do that, they have to take 10th grade over again. That in and of itself was a major decision for them to make because of the loss of face with their friends. Amporn is entering 11th grade and probably would have quit if we had not taken her in. She is a special child for us – a slow learner – who really tries. Please pray for her. We will be having her tested within a couple of weeks to see just where she is exactly and what needs to be done to help her. She has also accepted Christ and become a leader among the youth here at the mission.
Our other four children come from a village about 30 miles from the city. They were challenged by me to take the entrance exam for the special English program at the city high school and all four passed. Then began the challenge to me because I promised them that anyone that passed would have their tuition paid by me. Praise God, he has provided for everything in his time and he is opening doors I never knew would be opened.”
He continued…
“Praise God that all financial matters have been taken care of up to this point. If you don’t believe that God provides, you only have to spend a short time here with us and you will be a believer. Thank you to all of you that hear the call of God to help us here” and “[The girls have] a full, full load, so please pray for these kids for strength and determination to continue.”
Please pray regularly for John and Maeo as they work mainly with children and young people. Their view is that it will be more effective in the long term to convince the young people of the love of God and His plan of salvation than to convince the adults to move away from their deep seated beliefs in Buddhism and spirit worship.
John continues his ministry of teaching English in more than 30 Elementary and High Schools in the area around their base at Naratchakwai, and is accompanied by Maeo wherever he goes. This commitment brings long hours and much travelling – please pray for good health and safety for them both
It is summer holiday time in INDIA
and most of the churches of the Advent Christian Conference of India and the Fellowship of Blessed Hope Churches have once again conducted Vacation Bible Schools and the Mission again funded the purchase of lesson and activity materials. We estimate that close to 16 thousand children have attended, with many of them coming from Hindu families. As in the western world, Indian parents look for school holiday activities for their children, and so many Hindu children hear the lessons presented by our churches and those of many other evangelical denominations. Praise the Lord and thank Him for the hundreds of Pastors, Bible Women and lay people who have been willing to spend a full week of their summer vacation teaching the children. Pray that the seeds that have been sown in many young lives may grow and bring forth fruit in days to come.
For many months I have been asking you to pray for the leasing of the land at Guindy that the Mission has occupied for many years. We are seeing the Lord’s answers to our and your prayers, but as sometimes happens, the Lord’s will is proving different to our expectations.
About two thirds of the land is owned by the Advent Christian Conference of India (ACCI) and a third is owned by the Mission. Leasing the land has proved to be very complex and very expensive and finally impractical, so the decision has been taken by the Indian Conference and the ACGC in the United States to sell the land and put in place suitable, legal arrangements to protect the capital received by the ACCI in a trust fund which will be invested and will produce monthly income on an ongoing basis for them for the long term future. The Mission’s share of the proceeds will also be invested and will provide good income to fund existing ministries and much more, without the need for financial subsidy from the United States.
Negotiations with the ACCI have proceeded well, with Immanuel handling this responsibility in Chennai, and legal documents are presently being drafted for the agreement for the capital funds to be held in trust on their behalf. Immanuel has also been talking to prospective purchasers and there is presently something of a “queue” of such people who are showing keen interest in purchasing this very valuable land which is in a prime location on a main arterial route. It is anticipated that the trust agreement between the Mission and ACCI will be ready for signing in early June and, God willing I will be travelling to a nearby country to meet with Immanuel, ACCI representatives and our lawyer to sign the relevant documents, so that the sale of the land can then be completed. Please continue to pray for all concerned in these negotiations – the ACCI leaders, Immanuel, our lawyer in Chennai Ravi Paul, the ACGC leaders and myself – that all may go smoothly and the formation of the trust and the sale may be completed quickly and without any hitches. When this is complete both the Mission and the ACCI will be financially stable and will be blessed with resources sufficient for greatly increased social and spiritual ministry.
Thank you once again for your fellowship and partnership in prayer for Advent Christian ministries in Asia.
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