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December 6, 2004
Dear Friends,
Praise items
- Praise for the blessing brought by the five women who came
to fast and pray for Pakistan. They felt God wanted to use them
like the five smooth stones David chose for his sling as he
faced Goliath. Only three were able to come from Omaha, but
they were joined by two from Afghanistan. They spent most of
their time in praise and worship, opening the doors of Pakistan
to the Lord. They felt that you and hundreds more who were praying
at home could then send your prayers in to disable vital spiritual
strongholds in this land. We and the McBanes were blessed and
refreshed as we joined them in worship. Lazar, Daud, and Martha
came for special prayer and intercession. They too were blessed.
We are looking for new responsiveness to the gospel.
- Praise for 17 keen young men who came to take Bible courses.
Fifteen of them are from the Saraiki Meghwal tribe, which is
increasingly open to the Lord. Pray that the Marwari Meghwals
will respond more.
- Praise for the celebration of 50 years of ministry by our
sister mission in this area, now called SIM. Merle and Gloria
Inniger, close friends and co-workers, were with the original
group who started the work in 1954. They returned to help celebrate
and shared memories of early days. Merle gave very helpful messages
in our Workers’ Meeting as well.
- Praise for an excellent seminar on marriage, held in Rattanabad
for tribal believers. We joined Paul and Pat in teaching biblical
truths that were revolutionary to their thinking and culture:
(1) that God created women too in His image and gives them equal
honor, though different functions (2) that wives should not
be beaten, but informed of what husbands are doing, where they
are going and when they are coming back (3) that wives should
be consulted when making decisions (4) that a husband’s
first allegiance is to his wife, not his parents, and (5) that
they (not the grandparents) have authority over and responsibility
for their children. It was fun seeing the couples learning to
share, talk, and pray together in a way often difficult when
living with extended family.
- Praise that daughter Sara and husband David were given a 60-day
visa and are back in Central Asia. They were also given permission
to live in a rural area for the first time. Pray as they look
for housing and decide on community development projects most
needed in that area. Pray also that they will be given more
permanent visas.
- Praise for 65 adult baptisms and over 40 confirmations this
month in Tando Mohammed Khan, fruit of Dale and Nicky’s
ministry and the faithful follow-up teaching of evangelists
Karam and Dharmo. Nicky continues to prepare to return to be
nurse at Murree Christian School early in 2005.
- Praise that David and Rachel McBane are coming for their Christmas
holidays. Pray for safety for David, who is now in Afghanistan
for three weeks supervising relief projects for his NGO.
Prayer items
- Pray for the following health problems, especially among our
workers:
- Daud who is having surgery soon for bladder stones. We hope
it can be lazar surgery.
- His wife, Martha, who struggles with stomach ulcers, frequent
fevers and general poor health. She perks up whenever she has
a chance to evangelize.
- Lazar, who has quite severe chest pains at times, but no cause
has been discovered. Pray that the reason for this will be discovered
and treated.
- Hussu and his wife Khatu, who are both starting a new treatment
for asthma and allergies. They live and work in a desert area
with lots of dust. They have been greatly hindered recently
by coughs and difficulty in breathing.
- Rani, wife of Sakundar, whose spine was injured by too rough
a massage after her fifth baby was born. She now has great pain
and difficulty in walking. They were baptized last year and
are growing in faith. Rani’s father died last month. Her
extended family is begging us to come often for worship and
teaching—an open door!
- Pray that Rattan’s wife Momal will take interest in
spiritual things and in learning to read. She is a good homemaker
but lacks spiritual hunger.
- Pray for the following programs planned for December:
- December 5: Worship in Sakundar’s village, his uncle’s
village and Rani’s home village. Pray their interest
will deepen into conviction and commitment.
- December 6-10: Open Theological Seminary course on Paul
for our advanced students and those of other churches. Merle
Inniger and Mohib are teaching it.
- December 12-14: Village tour in Keval’s area. Pray
for reconciliation between Jani and Paru, father and son,
who are both strong church leaders but not on speaking terms.
We will be trying to bring them together once more.
- December 16-18: Timothy group. Pray that all 17 students
who took the first half of these courses in November will
return to complete the courses. Pray that these young men
will become strong in faith and take leadership in their
villages.
- December 20-21: Christmas party for workers and their
families—an annual event when workers’ families
are included in fun, worship and celebration. This year
they are staying overnight. Pray for good fellowship.
- December 23-25: Christmas village tour with Lazar, Keval,
and Daud. The McBanes will be touring with Hussu and Hama.
Pray that Christmas will be meaningful to many new inquirers
and believers.
- December 27-29: Workers’ Meeting to plan for January
programs.
- December 30-January 4: We plan to join Paul, Pat, and
family in Karachi for a week at the beach. Pray for safety
and good fun and fellowship as we have that week together.
Elisha returns to boarding shortly afterwards.
Thank you so much for taking time to pray for us. It means much
to us!
In Christ,
Fred and Margie Stock
The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
112
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