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January 2003
Dear Friends,
Praise items
Praise for the nearly 50 people who attended Group 1, twenty
of which came for the first time. The last day, we gave an opportunity
for people to share the blessings they had received. One old man,
Gopi Ram, who has come repeatedly but never made a clear decision
for Christ, was just bubbling over with excitement and joy. The
Lord had somehow spoken clearly to his heart during the meetings.
He was the first to stand up and say that he had come to realize
that Jesus is the only true Savior-a difficult concept for Hindus,
who are very inclusive to multiple gods and icons. Three times
more he popped up between others who were sharing, to share other
new insights he had received. With a beaming face he said, "My
life is completely changed! I feel new inside."
Praise for good security provided by the government. They are
on alert to guard places of worship. Sunday mornings the city
church here has four to six armed guards posted all around the
compound. One of them used to guard our New Life Center and has
become a good friend. He took great interest in seeing the film
on Jesus and has been reading Christian literature. Praise God
that many of the guards posted at churches around the country
are now in contact with witnessing Christians and appropriate
literature. We believe there will be fruit from this for many
years.
Praise for the 20 newly literate boys who took an active part
in the literacy rally, December 12-15. Most come from Hindu homes
but many have become believers through the daily Bible teaching
they receive in their literacy classes. Pray that they will continue
to be true to their faith even while surrounded by Hindu beliefs
and customs.
Praise for good times of fellowship and teaching among our teachers
and evangelists. The fact that they are facing an uncertain and
difficult future with the closing down of the ARP work here, seems
to have brought them closer to the Lord and made them determined
to continue to witness in every way possible. There is a good
spirit of unity and concern for one another, as well as earnest
prayer for the future of this ministry.
Praise for a refreshing time at the beach with Paul, Pat and
family during the week after Christmas. We saw large sea turtles
laying eggs at night and the kids rode one down to the ocean.
Nearly every day we were able to rescue newly hatched baby turtles
from dogs, crows, and hawks and enable them to reach water safely.
We built sand castles of various designs and defended them in
vain from the waves at high tide. We caught and dined on dozens
of crabs. How about that for the "sacrificial missionary
life"? God is so good!
Praise that Nicky, Esther and Luke were able to spend the Christmas
holidays with Lois and Kyle Scott and family in Minnesota. The
cousins were delighted to be together again and Nicky found it
to be a time of healing.
Praise that Sara and David Treece are having opportunities to
share newly translated portions of the Word with some tribal folk
who are amazed and delighted to find such literature in their
own language. Several good opportunities to share their faith
have opened up. They have also learned hymns and prayers in their
tribal tongue--helpful for future ministry.
Prayer Items
Hurmat, the lovely young wife of our literacy teacher, Daniel,
died on December 13. She had become weak after she miscarried
twins two months ago. She was just regaining strength when she
contracted typhoid. It was mistakenly diagnosed as malaria by
the village "doctor" who was poorly trained. He prescribed
powerful pills that further weakened her. We sent her to the mission
hospital three hours north of here where she was properly diagnosed
and made good progress. However at home the fever returned and
she was again taken to a local ill-trained "doctor"
who gave her more powerful medicines. The next morning she said
to her husband twice, "My time has come," and quietly
died. She expressed very genuine faith throughout her illness,
and always wanted prayer first and foremost. We greatly fear she
may have died of too much medicine. She leaves behind two sons,
one 6 years old and the other 20 months. Pray for Daniel and the
boys during this time of sorrow.
We went to the village to mourn with them. Quite a few from their
extended family have come to faith within the last couple of years.
This has sparked antagonism on the part of Daniel's maternal grandfather,
Hussu. He has been urging the clan to refuse to invite Christians
to weddings and special occasions. Praise that nobody expressed
any antagonism during the funeral and mourning times. In fact
God used this to soften their hearts.
Pray for the future of the ministry to Meghwals. An organization
of spiritually minded Pakistani leaders is prayerfully considering
taking responsibility for this ministry. Pray that they will offer
to take the New Life Center on lease and that this offer will
be accepted by the ARPs. The center will have to close for some
weeks until new arrangements can be worked out. Pray for those
who have the authority to make these crucial decisions. George
and Gail McBane return January 16 for two weeks to pack up and
close the Center. Pray for their future ministry. Pray for wisdom
for us as well, to know how best to use our time and how to encourage
the workers.
Pray that there will not be war with Iraq! The consequences here
could be disastrous, not only for foreigners but for the Christian
church as well. Pray that they will be strengthened to bear persecution.
Pray for the following programs planned for January:
- January 13-15: Group 1 will be studying the "Man Born
Blind" (John 8) and his growth in faith. We expect a big
group because cotton harvest is over and people also want to
be at the Center before it closes.
- January 19-20: A special Workers' Meeting with the McBanes
to pray about the future of Meghwal outreach.
- January 27-29: Final Workers' Meeting when they receive severance
pay and saving funds. Pray they will spend these wisely and
continue to feel a call to work and witness for their faith.
Praise for the unusual response in many hearts due to the volume
of prayer requests from us these days.
Many thanks!
Margie and Fred Stock
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