April 4,2004
Dear Friends,
Praise items
- George and Gail Mc Bane have safely arrived. House-hunting
has been discouraging with no suitable place available. Just
today we heard the house they reserved originally which was
tied up in a court case is being vacated. Praise for this answer
to prayer. Pray repairs will be made quickly so they can move
in later this month.
- Praise for a good but small Jesus Celebration (Group 1)—all
Marwari speakers as the Saraikis were busy with weddings. Thirty
came, many for the first time. They were an interesting mixture
of young teenaged boys (several of whom have grown up in Christian
families), and illiterate women (with their children) who have
had very little Christian teaching. It was fun to see their
reserved attitude at the beginning gradually change to active
interest and eagerness to learn how to tell the story of Peter’s
denials and restoration.
- Thank you for your prayers for our retreat at Tank Christian
Hospital. We were surprised to see what a big staff they have—19
Pakistani couples, 30 single women, 9 single men plus 9 missionaries
from 5 different countries. Patients are tribal people from
all along the border with Afghanistan. Praise for a responsive
spirit and good fellowship there.
- We were blessed by the chance to prayer-counsel Salamat a
young Pakistani driver who was eager to be free of occult influences.
He had learned black magic from his “Christian”
uncle and practiced it for three years before he became a Christian.
Praise for his humble, open spirit. Pray for complete freedom
for him.
- With trepidation we met our new district visa officer. We
had heard from others that he was difficult. Many were praying.
To our surprise he called us back to his home behind the office
(we arrived before the office opened that day), he offered us
tea and shared poetry he had composed in praise of the prophet
Isa (Jesus) and wrote “urgent” on our papers, assuring
us they would come through by early May when we need them. He
was very friendly and helpful. Thanks for praying.
- Praise for the excellent LEAD seminar for less educated layleaders
that took place in Rahim this week. Only three Meghwals were
able to attend, Lazar, Narsinga and Chinko (Sukh Das), but they
were stimulated by contact with other groups and challenged
to share what they have learned with others. Haima and Kevel
went to the Lahore seminar sponsored by Brother Andrew. Pray
that they too will bear good fruit in their lives as a result
of those studies.
- Praise that Fred will be celebrating his 75th birthday on
April 3rd. God has been so good to give us both good health,
work that we love, and loving, supportive co-workers both missionary
and Pakistani. We do not know how long we can or should continue
in this ministry, but rejoice that we are still able to do so.
Prayer items
We were astonished to hear from Presbyterians for Renewal that
we have been chosen to receive the Bell-MacKay prize at a breakfast
meeting at the PC(USA) General Assembly in Richmond, Virginia
on June 30th. We will have a chance to speak for ten minutes about
missions and will receive $5000 toward our work. We feel very
honored and grateful for these much needed funds. Pray for visas
to come on time, and for all the travel arrangements.
We have both been realizing recently that we have cataracts forming
that need surgery. Margie also has some hereditary glaucoma which
may need attention. We have decided to go to California by mid-May
to have this taken care of before General Assembly. We are grateful
to Dr. Norval Christy for arranging our surgery, and delighted
that we can stay at House of Rest, 784 Santa Barbara St., Pasadena,
CA 91101 with our daughter Sara Treece with David and baby Joshua
who are on home leave from Central Asia. Pray the surgeries will
go well and we will have opportunities to see friends and relatives
while there.
Pray for the following programs planned for April. Most of the
tribal people will be busy cutting wheat with a little hand sickle
during the harvest month of April, which limits what can be done
both in making village visits and in holding retreats in Rahim
Yar Khan.
- April 5-11: Both McBanes and Stocks hope to make village visits.
Several are ready to publicly declare their faith, including
Resham and her husband Daniel, Lazar’s brother Aziz and
his wife Rani and others. Pray that these services will be meaningful
to them and to the many watching. We also hope to have Good
Friday and Easter services in villages. Many villagers are still
not familiar with these wonderful Christian festivals.
- April 12-21: We are having our annual physical exams and careful
eye checks in Karachi on the 13th with follow-up consultations
on April 20th. Between those dates we will be visiting our son
Dale’s former station Tando Mohammed Khan, to encourage
the evangelists Karam and Dharmo who are faithfully working
there. We will also spend three days with our son Paul with
Pat and children in Mirpurkhas.
- Pray for George who will be taking a few prayer warriors with
him from Pakistan to join an international team in Nepal for
special prayer these same days (April 13-19).
- April 21-22: A special consultation to prepare appropriate
indigenous Christian funeral services and practices connected
with the time of mourning.
- April 24: Day of Prayer for unreached peoples, to be held
in our home. Pray for more people to be vitally concerned for
this.
- April 26-28: Workers’ Meeting for fellowship and to
plan programs for May.
May the Joy of Our Risen Lord be yours this Easter.
In Him,
Fred and Margie Stock
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
198 |
