May 2004

Praise Items

• Praise for 19 who publicly took a stand for Jesus this month. Fifteen were young people from the family of the first Meghwal believer. Jamna, his widow, has continued to work as an evangelist in spite of a slight stroke she had a year ago which has confused her speech somewhat. She was delighted to see these family members come to personal faith. The teenaged grandchildren had learned the eight verses George likes them to know to help them resist temptation and remain firm in faith. They also understood the truths behind them. Two daughters-in-law, both called Resham, were new believers. One Resham is the heart patient whom we have come to respect and love and for whom you have been praying. She had learned all the verses but then forgotten some of them, but her prayers and testimony made it clear that she has a genuine growing faith and was eager to declare it openly. Her health remains poor. She had a bad coughing spell shortly before the service, but praise God she didn't cough even once during the service. Her family remains opposed to surgery, as it is very risky. Keep her in your prayers.

When she returned to her in-laws she said nothing until the first worship service they had. At that time she gave an offering of sweets and told them her decision. Her obvious change of heart and genuine desire to commit her life to the Lord persuaded us all that she too should be included. So it was a very joyous service for us all.

• Praise for good results from our physical exams including stress tests. Our eyes are the weak point. Both of us need cataract surgery in both eyes, and Margie for glaucoma also. Our first appointment with the eye surgeon in Los Angeles is for May 18 and surgery for one eye of each of us is scheduled for May 25. We hope the second eye of each can be done about two weeks later. Pray the operations will be successful.
• Praise that a new Meghwal christening service has been prepared and was used today for the first granddaughter of our center cooks Guman and Gairki. Rattan’s first baby is due next month—church growth!

Prayer items

• Pray for further negotiations with the ARP Mission concerning the return of the New Life Center to be used for Meghwal outreach. Pray we may all know the Lord’s will and timing in this matter.
• Pray for George’s mother, Lucile McBane, whose health is suddenly deteriorating. Pray McBanes will know if and when they should return to the United States to see what can be done for her.
• Continue to pray for a suitable house for the McBanes. Disgruntled tenants trashed the house they hoped to get. Now at least two months are needed to make necessary repairs. Pray for the right house soon.
• Pray for Fred’s return visa for Pakistan. Margie’s has been granted, but Fred’s is held up at present. We need it by May 5 in order to carry out our present travel plans.
• Pray for our following travel plans:
  • May 5 - train to Karachi in order to have a final doctor’s consultation on May 6 and pay for our air tickets.
  • May 7 - visit to our former station, Kunri, to check up on evangelists and projects we support there.
  • May 8 - visit with Paul and Pat and the grandchildren in Mirpurkhas.
  • May 9 - Swiss Air to Boston and flights on to Erie to visit Dale’s family—Nicky, Esther, and Luke.
  • May 17 - Flight to Los Angeles to stay in Pasadena with Sara and David Treece with baby Joshua.
  • May 25 - Cataract surgery on one eye for each of us. (Second eye for each will probably be done in two weeks.)
  • June 27 - to Richmond, Virginia, for award at General Assembly breakfast on June 30. Praise that Ruth and Habib Iskander, Sara and David Treece, Dorothy Wilder, and possibly Nicky and Luke can join us.
  • July 14 - flight to Albania to visit Ruth and Mark Stoscher and Lois and Kyle Scott families in Erseke.
  • August 22 - return to Pakistan. (The last two dates are tentative and may be changed.)

Pray for the following programs planned for the Meghwal work during May:

• Pray for McBanes who will be carrying the load during the hot summer months.
• May 17-19: Jesus celebration for inquirers and new believers. Hopefully harvest will be over and many can attend. The lesson is on Cain and Abel and our need to give offerings out of pure love for the Lord.
• May 27-29: Workers’ meeting to plan June programs. They will be concentrating on producing services and rituals to be used when a Christian dies. It is important to replace Hindu idolatrous rituals with Christian ones that are meaningful and appropriate. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in this.

Your prayers uphold us and strengthen us more than you can imagine. Many matters work out so smoothly because they have been “oiled” by the Holy Spirit in response to your prayers.

In Him,

Fred and Margie

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 198