ACMissioNZ Prayer Supporters’ Update – 24 April 2020

Greetings to our friends, supporters and prayer partners, and welcome to this second update for 2020. Once again, my thanks for your support and encouragement in so many ways.Thank you especially for praying – God continues to answer your prayers in wonderful ways, and we see the Advent Christian ministries in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, India and the Philippines continuing to touch lives for the Lord Jesus Christ.

I suspect that wherever you are as you read this, you will be or will have recently been in some kind of “lockdown” because of Covid 19. Here in New Zealand, we are just about at the end of a four week “Level  4” total lockdown, which as I typed this, has been extended by the government for a further 6 days until April 27 when we will move to Level 3. Level 4 has seen everyone except those who are involved in a relatively short list of “essential activities” which of course includes those involved in all facets of the health system, confined to their homes for the duration, with the only exception being to purchase food or to get attention for health matters. Level 3 is only a little less restrictive for most of the population but allows those in some industries and activities to restart their operations and/or to prepare for Level 2 after two weeks which will allow us to leave our “bubbles” as they have been called and the country will become much more social and sociable again as we transition to what I suspect may well be a very different “normal” to what we have known in the past!

One of the effects of the fight against the virus throughout the world has been that we as members of His great, worldwide family have been unable to gather together to worship and praise our God and His Son Jesus Christ. It has been amazing how those who know their way around s today’s marvellous technology have been able to enable us have fellowship together on-line, but it has reminded me how blessed we are to be able as individuals to fellowship with, to worship and to pray to our God at anytime, anywhere, in any situation – not even Covid 19 could stop that!

An organisation I am connected with – Harvest Prayer Ministries – recently suggested the following ways that we might pray at this time …

“Pray for the Church to stand against the enemy’s attempt to use this virus to damage and paralyze the Church:
Pray that God’s people will overcome anxiety with peace:
Pray for the end of the spread of this deadly virus across the nations of the earth:
Pray for the Church to step into the gap to provide supernatural generosity and help for those who are in need:
Pray for the Gospel to spread faster than the virus and for spiritual awakening to be poured out upon the earth:”

I have been in touch recently with most of those who serve in Advent Christian ministries in the countries we support and pray for, and most of them have had lockdowns of some kind and their ministries have been curtailed in a similar way to that which we have experienced.

INDIA | Yesuway Jeevan Mission

Pastor Balu Nayak, one of YJM’s ministry partners, assisted by members of his congregation, has been active in his home city of Mahabubabad in Telengana State in South India and in the villages around the city as he continues his ministries to the poor, and homeless and orphans and underprivileged, in the Name of Jesus Christ

Please pray for Pastor Balu Nayak and those who assist him bring Christian care and compassion to these needy folks in the Name of Jesus.

He distributed rice parcels and fruits to folk in Mahabubabad

He provided cooked food for the poor and orphans at his usual meeting place – the railway station

He distributed vegetables and clothes to the gypsy people and orphans in the villages around the edge of the city

Rev. Solomon Raj, Director of the Shelter Trust Hostels which care for those who suffer from AIDS or are HIV Positive, also works with other groups of underprivileged folks –commercial sex workers and transgender folk.  Pastor Solomon recently has joined together with Pastor Paul Nilivan from the ADDRES Centre and three other pastors to provide food and water men and women from these groups, to poor people and the homeless and others on the streets of various suburbs of Chennai.

Preparing the food parcels

Some of the grateful recipients

When Pastor Paul Nilivan and his team from the ADDRES Centre are not assisting Pastor Solomon Raj with his ministries, they are distributing food and water and encouragement to the poor and hungry and differently-abled folk they find on the streets of the Ambattur and Red Hills suburbs of Metropolitan Chennai.

Please pray for Pastors Solomon Raja and Paul Nilivan and all those who are assisting them to bring these blessings to those in need, in the name of Jesus Christ. Pastor Solomon has asked if we can provide him with financial aid for this ministry, and we hope to be able to send him some funds very soon.

In line with the national lockdown in place in India, the Yesuway Jeevan Mission office is closed and most of the staff are on annual leave during the lockdown. Please pray for Mission Manager Immanuel and all the Guindy staff, especially those who live on the compound.

Please also pray that the churches of the Advent Christian Conference of India and the Fellowship of Blessed Hope Churches will find ways of bringing the Vacation Bible School experience to the thousands of children and young people who usually attend. These are normally held during the annual, summer, school vacation month of May, but the lockdown for Covid 19 is likely to mean that that cannot happen at this time this year.

THAILAND Christian Mission Naratchakwai

Sister Ploy has advised that they are in a national lockdown also, and they have had to put their church services, and children’s ministries and the SOUP OF LOVE on hold in the meantime. She recently wrote…

“Our country is in lock-down and we are all in quarantine. In Nakhon Phanom, people can't get in or get out. Most restaurants are closed and there is a curfew is from 10 pm. to 4 am. This is a hard time for many people, losing their jobs, no work, no money and can't get home! There was a person who was sick from Covid-19 in Nakhon Phanom and she is fine now. The supermarkets still open only for necessity products and the food zone.

Thank you, God, that we are farmers in the countryside; we plant vegetables and have animals and fish enough for the quarantine period and it isn't affecting us too much. But for many people, Covid-19 is the big problem in the world now, it affects everything.​ We can't do anything, we can't meet each other except people in our family and neighbors because we don't know that we get sick from Covid-19 or not. Some people have Covid-19 but they don't feel sick and spread the virus to the other without protection. So staying home is the best way to help ourselves and the others. Next month my family are going to plant rice as usual, the time is coming so I get a job now! Being a farmer is great and I like it. :-)​

​Our church is closed, following the government for stop spreading Covid-19 and we don't know when we can open the church again, it may be next month or next two months. Anyway, we still send the Gospel to each other on-line or Messenger and send the prayers for everyone to pray for the others. ​I hope all these problems will be gone soon. I miss the church and miss everyone. I always pray for everyone and I hope they are fine.

​Maeo is sick from "Herpes Zoster"{Shingles}. I visited her and took care of her for a few days and had to come back home. Her son and her daughter in-law went to Bangkok last month but couldn't come back to the hometown so they have had to stay in Bangkok until the situation is better. Maeo is staying home alone but thank you that Dtee, her brother, is staying by her side. He can visit, take care and help her. Please pray for Maeo.​”

Ploy also sent us a letter from the pastor of the Kudsakoi Church, which is one of the members of the Christ for All People Church Association, of which Christian Mission is a founding member. We have been assisting the church financially and prayerfully, as they seek to overcome a problem situation with their original building, which Brother John Middlewood encouraged them and assisted them financially to build a number of years ago, but which was never completed following his death. Their congregation is growing and many of their congregation are elderly and/or infirm. The original building had the church sanctuary on the first floor which made it difficult for some to climb the stairs. We sent some funds in mid-2019 and were able to send some more recently to assist their efforts – they had raised significant funds themselves to get the rebuilding started.

Pastor Siripong Subjarern wrote (translated by Ploy)

“April 11, 2020.

Subject:  Thank You for Prayers and Support Kudsakoi Church's Construction

Dear Mr. Ernie Schache and the Teams

Thank you God for everyone that helps and supports us and greeting to our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. I'm Siripong Subjarern, the pastor of Kudsakoi church, I would like to say thank you for your recognizing and praying for our church regularly and thank you Mrs.Wipada Kaewbudta for helping us too.

Thank you for still praying for us even though the situation of Covid-19 makes many things hard but we believe that God is always taking us to his plans and uses us to take the peace to the others.

I would like to tell you about the construction, we started building the church and we finished the rooftop now and the walls and the tile floor, we couldn't continue building so we had to stop and wait until we have enough funds to continue.

And this morning we got good news from Mrs.Wipada that Mr. Ernie and the team help us again. We received the funds already. Thank you very much. God bless you and your family.

We ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to keep praying for us and may God bless you all.”

 Please pray for Pastor Subjarern and his congregation, and for the other six member churches of the C F A P C A as they seek to share the message of LIFE in Jesus Christ with their people.

 Please continue to pray for the team at Christian

Mission – Rear row from left - Ploy, Pastor Boontaa, Dtee (driver)Maeo and Parn. Front row from left – Lita, Kaopun, Job, Guitar and GungGing. Pray especially for for Ploy who leads the team of young ladies..

Thank the Lord for the time and effort they put into planning and supervising every aspect of the ministry, including the English lessons.

 Ask the Lord to help the girls balance their service for Him with their studies at High School and University.

MALAYSIA | Kluang Advent Christian Group

 Please continue to pray for Sister Ruth, Brother Wilfred, their family and their small group of faithful, Advent Christian believers who usually gather weekly on Sundays for worship in Ruth and Wilfred’s home in Kluang and in members’ homes for Bible study and communion during the week. Christian ministry is not easy or without danger in Malaysia, but Ruth and Wilfred faithfully continue their one-on-one ministries of friendship, practical assistance and counsel to friends, neighbours and other contacts.

Sister Ruth wrote recently…

“We want to thank you so much for praying for us. Thank you for your care and thoughtfulness. Here, by the grace of the Lord, our group and our family are fine. During the Stay At Home Order, it is a time of reflection for our group here, to draw closer to God and putting things right in our lives, and to increase our dependence upon Him, in a time of chaos, fear and confusion. It is increasing our faith in Him, that we are not alone, and He is control of all things, bringing greater assurance to our hearts.

PRAISES TO GOD.

1. One of the young men from our group, met with a serious accident on the highway, about 100 km from our place, in the month of January, 2020. He was badly hit by a speeding vehicle which was overtaking him. Together with his motorcycle, he was stuck underneath that vehicle which dragged him into a ditch. He remembers crying out the Name of Jesus. The next thing, he was totally unconscious. The paramedics were shocked to see him alive. They actually thought that he had passed on. It was soon discovered that his ribs were broken, and one of the broken ribs could have damaged his heart. We have been visiting him regularly, and praying for him. We thank you for your prayers. He is recovering very fast, and he testified that he can feel the healing within his body, and he is full of smiles. Because of the present Stay At Home Order, we are unable to visit Him, but only pray for him from home.
2. One of our contacts had two heart surgeries, a few years ago. His family had been keeping in touch with us for the past few years. They have been visiting us too. Last week, he passed away peacefully. They have been very supportive of our work here.We want to thank you for your prayers for our group and our contacts. Because of the Stay At Home Order, we only pray for them from home and encourage them with the Word of God over the telephone. Pray for them, for God's peace to overshadow, console and comfort them during this time of grief.

PRAYER REQUEST.

Pray for our group and contacts who are at home here, and outstation, that God's protection and safety will be over them, during this difficult time. Pray that the present situation will cause them to draw closer to God, so that they will be able to overcome all kinds of fear and find strength in God's Word.”