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