Oct. 4, 2004
Dear Friends,
Praise items
Praise for the opportunity to join our son Paul’s September
training session for 17 new part-time village workers. This came
after their third month of trying to set up three village centers
each, where they can have a Sunday school, start a literacy class
and/or have a regular weekly worship service. Some were full of
joy at being positively received. Others were downhearted. One
young man was welcomed by a village group who promised to meet
with him regularly. On his next visit he was forbidden entrance
to the village and angrily told never to come back. Right after
his previous visit a goat with sharp horns had suddenly gored
a child in the stomach. The village sorcerer laid the blame for
this sudden attack on the young man who had just visited. He has
been unable to find acceptance there. Pray for these struggling
village workers and for receptive hearts. The meetings revived
our enthusiasm to get back into the ministry here in Rahim Yar
Khan, after four months of enjoying our role of Grampa and Grandma.
Praise for 15 young men who came to the literacy rally. They
enjoyed contests in sports, looking up Bible references, Bible
memory work, reading proficiency and Bible knowledge. Several
of them have entered local schools after two years of adult literacy
study. They are doing well and eager for more Bible study. Pray
for their families who in many cases are still not believers.
Praise for a good village tour, September 19-22, to check worship
and literacy centers. Evangelist Lazar lives on a compound with
six brothers and their families. An older brother was married
to Lazar’s wife’s sister. She died three years ago,
leaving seven children. He earns for them, but Lazar and Meera
feed them and show them loving daily care along with their own
six children.
The youngest brother Aziz was baptized with his family last spring
and has stopped running away from home. His mother put great pressure
on them to worship idols at a special ceremony last month. Aziz
refused to eat the feast and stood firm in his faith.
During the summer the whole family slept outside. One night Lazar
was restless. He felt urgently that he should go outside the wall
of the compound. Stepping out of his gate he saw a man about to
jump through a hole he had made in their bedroom wall to rob them.
Seeing Lazar, he fled. The wall he was digging through has a cross
made of bricks just above the hole he was making. Several non-Christian
neighbors told him, “It was that cross that saved you from
robbery.” And of course the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
A neighbor woman who was baptized last year told us her asthma
was so much better she has been able to sell melons all summer
and make a living. Meera too praised God for healing from allergic
rashes.
Praise that our literacy teacher Toloka and his family were saved
from a band of thieves who beat Toloka, demanding money, jewelry,
and animals he didn’t have. When neighbors raised the alarm
the thieves fled empty-handed but fired shots as they left. One
bullet hit Toloka’s wife who was lying on her bed trying
to calm the youngest of their five daughters. The shot went through
six inches of her thigh and hit the wooden edge of the bed. It
bounced up, missing their only son who was lying in a bed beside
her. Toloka’s wife was taken to the hospital in a police
car that came to investigate. She arrived at the hospital about
3:00 a.m. but wasn’t treated until eight! Praise for God’s
protection. Pray for freedom from fear due to this trauma.
Praise that George and Gail McBane arrived safely back September
27th in time for the workers’ meeting. Praise that they
are now busy settling into their newly rented home. Praise that
his mother, Lucile, is settled in an appropriate home. Pray for
peace and joy for her in this final era of her life.
Praise for the miraculous recovery from cerebral malaria of Ayoub,
the 3-year-old son of Daniel, the literacy whose wife died two
years ago. Pray for Daniel’s new fiancé, Sugana,
an earnest Christian girl in her early teens who is a good literacy
student. Pray the Lord will prepare her to be a good helpmate.
Prayer items
Pray for security. We sense tension rising as terrorism escalates
in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Police protection of Christian
churches has been discontinued—a sign of stability. Praise
for the wise leadership of Pakistan’s President, General
Pervez Musharraf. Pray for his safety, which is always at risk.
Pray for the following programs planned for October. Cotton harvest
is in full swing so villagers are very busy. It is a good time
to give training to leaders.
- October 4-8 - Leadership Seminar attended by five of our men:
Lazar, Keval, Muradu, Rattan, and Narsinga. This is led by an
American team who give excellent Bible studies and practical
lessons to leaders of various churches in the area. Pray they
will be sensitive to the culture and mind-set of the people
here.
- October 6-8 – Third quarter examinations for all literacy
centers. This involves extensive village touring. The students
are now reading their Bibles and will soon start a series of
Navigator Bible study booklets.
- October 11-14 - The second session of a new leadership training
program for chosen village Christians. We pray all twenty men
who attended the first session in August will return and bring
their wives. Pray for these key leaders that they will begin
to see themselves as able to help others to grow spiritually.
- October 18-20 - A refresher course on the Navigator Bible
study booklets for our four literacy teachers.
- October 22-23 - An inter-tribal conference on Christian death
ceremonies to be held in Rattanabad, Sindh. We hope some of
our workers can attend to learn more about effective substitutes
for Hindu death ceremonies. Our son, Paul, and his team have
been effectively used in funerals and memorial services using
Christian rituals.
- October 25-28 - Workers’ Meeting to plan for November
programs. We are pleased that the men are learning to plan wisely
and to teach more creatively. They are taking increasing ownership
of this ministry.
Thanks for your faithful prayers and support. We love hearing
from you.
In Christ,
Fred and Margie Stock
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
198 |
