2017 CLC World Magazine Issue 1

Bringing glory to God by making evangelical Christian literature available to all nations so that people may come to faith and maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ.

CLC RLD CLCW RLD CLC WW RLD Pg. 11 - 22

clc.org.uk

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2017 Battle Plan: 1) Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own.

2) Take all the help you can get — every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting, you’ll still be on your feet.

3) TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, FAITH, and SALVATION are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life.

4) Read GOD’s WORD! It is an indispensable weapon.

5) Pray hard and long. PRAYER is

essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray for each other.

6) Keep your eyes open.

7) Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

* This helpful agenda comes from Ephesians 6:13 -18 (The Message)

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In this issue:

From the editor

6

Amanda Lutes

Transplanting the Heart of a Ministry

CLC Book Sample

7-8

Publishing Project 9 Preview 10

Devotional Excerpt 25

How To Get

11-22

Involved! 23-24

4 -5 CLC News

26

28 & 30

Isaac Dweh’s MEMORIAL

OTHER BOOKS WE RECOMMEND!

CLC WORLD

REVIEWS &

CLC International

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Dear Reader Welcome to CLC World! This free mission magazine enables us to share with you, our faithful supporters, current news, testimonies, as well as prayer and praise points, illustrating how we are daily impacting thousands of lives in over 50 countries.

A New Year usually equates to new battles ... but maybe, like me, this year your situation is the same? Perhaps your battle has been raging on for months (or years!) and you just can’t see the way forward? Maybe instead of asking God to change our situation we should be asking him to change our perspective?

Currently, I am still waiting for my US visa so that I can work alongside the new International Director as the new Global Communications Director. This means I am working alone in Canada, separated from my team and restricted in some of my duties.

That being said, I am convinced that this is exactly where the Lord wants me. I recently read this quote from Nicky Gumbel (Alpha) that stopped me in my tracks: Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms you.

In God’s viewpoint, I’m learning that my being in Canada is important for my growth and somehow for those around me. In purposely seeking His perspective, I’ve discovered incredible blessings and divinely appointed opportunities.

Help us make a difference in your community and around the world!

Are you ready to let God reveal Himself to you in the situation you are facing? He wants to but needs your trust and obedience so you can fully understand and experience His love and mercy. Recently, I was reminded that according to God, mercy is ‘love in action’. To fully understand God’s love for us, we have to understand how Jesus chose to fight the battle for our salvation. His perspective was God’s. Are you ready to change your perspective and fight once more, knowing He is with you and strengthening you?

SHOP WITH US

It is my hope that the stories and Kingdom resources you find inside this magazine will help you change your viewpoint to God’s. Remember, though, the enemy will try to stop you, so be sure to put on the full armour of God first!

For magazine feedback or to SUBSCRIBE to CLC World (Single or Bulk), contact Amanda Lutes, CLC World Editor at:

clcworld@clcbookshops.com

3 EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT CLC

PRAY WITH US clc.org.uk/pray

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SERVE WITH US

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CLC is registered as a charity in England & Wales (1015793) and in Scotland (SC037939)

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Genesis 50:20 (NLT)

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Colombia:

CLC Express - A New Look for CLC Bookshops!

There is a new bookshop in Bogota and it is called CLC Express! David Pabón, the National Director, shares: ‘We have observed that large supermarkets and department stores have carried out studies that show that their clients want to shop nearer to where they live or work rather than travel large distances in today’s huge cities. We have adopted this approach with the new bookshop we are opening in Bogota.

This has several advantages: the shop investment and running costs are lower; CLC becomes known in other parts of the city; the customers do not have to travel so far saving time and money; and books and Bibles are specially selected for this type of shop.’ Please pray for this new concept and the new bookshop.

Congratulations as well to the team on their recent 40th anniversary celebrations which were timed to run in parallel with the Colombian Booksellers’ Convention. This meant that the event was celebrated with a number of other Colombian booksellers and a good number of international publishers. What a blessing!

Philippines:

Thank God for Print-on-Demand Systems!

Isn’t it wonderful when you realise you’ve played a part in helping someone fulfill their dream? For many Christian authors who hope to one day be published, finding an affordable printing option in certain areas of the world is a real challenge! The arrival of Print-on-Demand (POD) systems to an ever-increasing number of CLC ministries, like CLC Philippines, is proving to be a real blessing to so many. Thank you God and to everyone who has invested their prayers and finances into getting these POD systems to CLC ministries around the world.

Congratulations to CLCer Deedah Macinas who has just published her first book with CLC. May it be an encouragement and blessing to all who read it and the first of many books to come!

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Burkina Faso:

Urgent Prayer Needed!

We are dangerously close to losing our ministry in this country. Due to high overhead costs, we are currently unable to make the ministry sustainable. Emmanuel, the new French West African Director, has been communicating with a local Baptist ChurchThis about possibility CLCthe USA BookLinkof moving our shop to their premises.

Please pray that shipment is now on its a solution might come, and that willCLC notLIBERIA arrive ‘too wayitto late’! A miracle (mixed with hard work and resilient faithfulness) is needed in order to resurrect this struggling ministry that is much needed in Burkina Faso. Please pray especially for the team at this time: Prosper, Luc and Gerard. (Photo of Gerard and Prosper)

Ecuador:

Guayaquil Property Due to the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador, the country is still experiencing a difficult economic situation. This is delaying the construction of our much-needed new warehouse in Guayaquil. Please pray that we will soon receive the necessary funds as we hope to start building in March. We thank God for helping us find and purchase this property, and that we have already received the necessary building permits from the city.

Scotland:

Highland Mobile Ministry Please pray for strength and stamina for Leslie and Esther Dowey as they travel throughout the Highlands with CLC’s Mobile Ministry. Due to current weather conditions and the roads in northern Scotland, the logistics of transporting heavy boxes is a challenge, so protection is needed. We don’t want them to experience any bad backs! Thank you for praying.

Liberia:

Praise God for Answered Prayer!

We would like to thank God for His financial provision! With help from an amazing Christian foundation we were able to purchase a new (to us!) vehicle for our Bookmobile Project.

We’d like to thank this incredible foundation and CLC USA who provided the leadership in making this venture a reality. It is our fervent prayer that through this bookmobile more people in Liberia will come to faith and maturity in our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We will soon be creating a new cab for the back of the truck which will enable us to have shelving like a ‘mobile bookstore’. Praise God with us for this answer to prayer!

Switzerland:

New addition to the CLC family We praise God for the safe arrival of baby girl, Irene, who was born in September 2016 to Carlo and Sara Ciafani.

Carlo is the manager of the Lugano Agno CLC Bookshop in Switzerland. Please pray for these new parents as they learn to balance their family time with their busy ministry

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Transplanting the Heart of a Ministry: CLC welcomes Multi-Language Media into the family!

By David Almack, CLC USA Director

Jay Krause is a quiet guy with a big heart. In the 1980s, he was on one of the Operation Mobilisation ships travelling around the world. He worked with their huge floating bookstore and saw firsthand the power of Christian literature to change lives. In addition, he helped to find books and Bibles in the local languages of the countries where the ship docked. This required a lot of research and relationship building. When he returned to the USA, God put a burden on his heart to start a ministry to people that spoke and read in foreign languages in America. Nobody was really doing anything comprehensive about this need and yet ministries to foreign students and English Second Language (ESL) programmes were beginning to grow all over the country. With his contacts in so many countries already established, Jay was ideally positioned to start this new work.

At the time that Jay began, both CLC and WEC had small multi-language sections of their ministries in the USA, but both encouraged Jay and, in fact, gave him materials and advice to get started. Over the years, CLC and WEC discontinued this aspect of their own work while Multi-Language Media grew and flourished. As the years wore on, Jay and his wife, Jean, saw God do amazing things through their ministry. Thousands of Bibles and books were sent out in languages like Turkish, Arabic, Chinese, Urdu, French and many more in the native languages of our nation’s immigrants, and they began to get letters about the impact of these materials. People were seeing their friends and relatives give their hearts and lives to Jesus as a result of reading, and many young believers were growing in their faith. God was truly blessing the work of this faithful couple.

After thirty years of growth and development, Jay 6

and Jean realised it was soon time to retire, but they wanted their vital ministry to continue. When the Lord put it on their heart to pass this ministry on to a like-minded organisation, they picked up the phone and called CLC. In a great irony, the person who answered that call was Jim, the same guy who had called them so many years before, searching for an Italian Bible. Jim had harbored a dream for many years that one day Multi-Language Media might become a part of CLC. Now working in leadership at the Fort Washington, PA headquarters of CLC, Jim was ideally positioned to help make this dream become a reality.

This past week, a ministry ‘heart transplant’ took place. All of the books and Bibles were moved from Ephrata to Fort Washington and placed in the very heart of the CLC warehouse building in space that had been specially prepared for this very purpose. The transition team had worked together for several weeks ahead of this momentous move and had expected it to take a couple of weeks until ‘the dust settled’ and orders could be processed.

Surprisingly, it only took a couple of days for the set up to get going and orders were coming in right away. In just the first few days they got orders for materials in Haitian, French, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Hindi, Shona, Tigrinya, Russian, Vietnamese and Japanese.

This multi-language literature ministry really is at the heart of what CLC is all about as we seek to make evangelical Christian literature available to all nations. With so many foreign languages spoken in America these days, we are well positioned to meet the needs and to carry on the important work that Jay and Jean pioneered many years ago.

FAITH: Connecting Our Past and Our Future...

Excerpts from ‘Overcoming Spiritual Vertigo: The Journey from Doubt to Courageous Faith’

by Dwayne E. Mercer Copyright permission from CLC Publications

Faith is the connection of two worlds—the past and the future. It looks at God’s past accomplishments and connects them to ‘Biblical hope’ for the future. God gave us the gift of faith, first received through His Word and then of course when we received Christ Himself into our lives.

The Bible says in James 1:21, “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls” and in First Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” We have the organ of spiritual eyesight to look ahead with reliance, trust and confidence.

Imagine yourself as an illustration of faith. Stretch out your arms. Picture yourself reaching toward the past with your left arm and reaching toward the future with your right. Faith stands in the middle, connecting the two. Os Guinness would say, “Faith’s calling is to live between times. Faith is in transit. It lives in an interim period. Behind faith is the great no longer. Ahead of it lies the great not yet.”

How does the ‘great no longer’ help our faith?

We look to the past with gratitude. Hebrews 10:32 tells us to remember the former days. Hebrews 11 helps us remember what the heroes of the past accomplished. The saints of the Old Testament often began a prayer with praise and thanksgiving.

They weren’t trying to flatter God but were building their faith for the task ahead through praise. The apostle Paul often began a letter with gratitude to God and to the people of the church:.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. Romans 1:8 (NASB) I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.

1 Cororinthians 1:4 (NASB)

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.

Philippians1:3 (NASB)

As we express gratefulness, we remember what God has done for us. This changes our attitude from entitlement to appreciation for what we have. Thanksgiving with humility combats the expectations we often place on God. It begins at the cross and should permeate our lives. Gratitude adjusts our faith to God’s reality. It leads us to see the world from God’s point of view. (Pages 43 - 44) If we don’t deal with those feelings (of entitlement), we will eventually blame all of our problems on God. So how do we reach forward with hope and confidence? The rest of this book explains the struggles we have in doing just that. Let me begin by sharing a basic, overruling concept: The key to faith and all Christian life is to live under the active lordship of Christ.

(Page 49) Why is lordship crucial to our confidence in Christ? A sequence of events occurs in our lives, depending on who or what is ruling them.

1. We choose our master.

2. That master controls our lives.

3. We place our confidence in that master.

(Page 50)

Is Christ Lord of your life? Who is your master?

Some think if they follow Christ as Lord, then He replaces them on the throne of their lives. I think, however, we will discover that something else is already on the throne. It could be money, career, family, friends, even an addiction. But something else that we place first, that leads every decision, that gives us satisfaction, is already there.

That something is the voice deep within our soul that we allow to define who we are. If that voice is not God, then He must somehow fit into our plans, our priorities, and compete with our agendas. If He does not cooperate, we become disappointed with Him. That something else on our throne begins to control and enslave us.

7

Jesus is the only person who will govern your life without enslaving you. He wants what’s best for you and wants you to become all you can be.

What we see, hear or experience may not change; but in order to overcome spiritual vertigo, we must change our faith.

We must realise its true character. We need to connect the dots between the no longer and the not yet in order to see life from God’s perspective.

(Page 51)

(Reflection or) Discussion Questions:

1) (Create and) review your thanksgiving list. Think about why you are grateful for these things and how God has blessed you.

2. Can you say that Christ is ‘active’ Lord of your life? Are you ready to obey God no matter what you see, hear or experience?

and satisfaction?

4. Why do you think you have trouble surrendering to God? (Page 52)

Pick up a copy at your local CLC branch to learn more about Overcoming Spiritual Vertigo.

ISBN: 9781619582255

ISBN: 9781619582309

ISBN: 9781619582323

ISBN: 9781619582170

3. Are you relying on anything besides a relationship with Christ to give your life meaning

Ready for Change? clcpublications.com has a wide range of great Christian books that will deepen your faith... if you let them!

Helping families grow in faith together!

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DOUBLE our publishing efforts around the world in just TEN years?

by Amanda Lutes, CLC World Editor

“Is that even possible?” That was my first thought when I heard this statement from our then International Director, Neil Wardrope. My second thought was, “Wow! Wouldn’t that be amazing? It is totally taking our mission statement about ‘making Christian literature available to all people so that they may come to faith and maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ’ to a whole new level! But again, is it possible and, if so, how do those of us based in the UK help?”

We are truly blessed in our selection of Christian resources here in the UK (and USA), but in so many other countries where CLC is based, our teams are struggling daily to get life-changing Christian books in their language. Between customs restrictions, wars, economical/financial struggles and a variety of other issues, it sometimes feels like the challenges are growing greater each day.

If you’ve ever wondered what CLC UK does with all the money it makes each year in its shops and webstore, well here’s the inside scoop: Just as you tithe towards God’s ministry, each of our teams around the world ‘tithe’ by donating a set amount each year to CLC’s International Office (IO).

These funds are then used to help those CLC teams around the world who are struggling to sustain their ministries, partnering with other ministries (Wycliffe, Biblica, etc.) and, of course, to expand CLC’s ministry around the world. There are still huge areas of the world where Christian resources are next to impossible to obtain! (I sometimes find that difficult to imagine, being as surrounded by them as I am!)

For this reason, in 2016, on top of the set amount CLC UK regularly donates to the IO, they also made an investment of £7,800 towards CLC IO’s ‘Publishing Project’. This project was set up in 2014 when we made the decision to double our publishing efforts (in just ten years!). Already CLC UK’s donation has made a huge impact! We’ve already helped in the following publications: In Indonesian (CLC Indonesia): Love Not the World by Watchman Nee In Italian (CLC Italy): Beside Bethesda by Joni Eareckson Tada and God’s Chosen Fast by Arthur Wallis In Romanian (CLC Romania): Radical Cross by A.W. Tozer and three Billy Graham titles: Peace with God, The Secret of Happiness and Holy Spirit

In Polish (CLC Poland): Mornings with Tozer by A.W. Tozer and The Question of Forgiveness by Brian Zhand In Bulgarian (CLC Bulgaria): You and Me Forever by Francis & Lisa Chan As you can see, a small investment goes a long way!

Andreas Bader, the former CLC Italy Director, shares, “So far, we have already had positive responses to the titles we are publishing in Italian. Beside Bethesda

by Joni Eareckson Tada has been especially well received as there is a large community of people who are suffering with some type of disability and we do not have many Christian books that deal with the issue. God’s Chosen Fast by Roy Hession, although a reprint, remains a title that we believe is vital for the spiritual growth and wellbeing of today’s church. We are thankful to see how the Lord is moving as we dedicate more resources towards publishing in Italy.”

Another book we are receiving a number of testimonies about is You and Me Forever by Francis Chan. So many couples around the world are sharing with our teams (and their friends!) how that book has changed their marriage. We are so thankful to have already had the privilege of publishing this book in Spanish, Dutch, French, Russian, Polish, Romanian and English in the Philippines. Soon we will be publishing it in Italian, Bulgarian and Burmese!

From the many stories and responses we are getting from CLC teams around the world, CLC UK is quickly realising just how important it is that we invest more into this area of our literature ministry.

We’d like to thank you, our loyal supporters, for choosing to purchase your Christian resources via our CLC bookshops and webstore. We know that there is a lot of choice available to you but, through CLC, you can rest assured that the books you buy to bless others are blessing even more people than you could ever have imagined!

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Coming this March from

Stormie Omartian Your prayers have the power to transform your life and the lives of those around you. When you bring your cares to God, you allow Him to heal broken relationships, give you wisdom and direction and provide peace to calm you in the midst of life’s toughest challenges. Let this unique journal be your quiet refuge to pour out your heart to God and receive His blessings as you fill these beautiful pages with colour.

ISBN: 97807369

70143

Lord, I am grateful for Your power extended to me. You

have shown Yourself strong on my behalf countless times because my heart is loyal to You (2 Chronicles 16:9). By Your great and almighty power You have saved and redeemed me (Nehemiah 1:10). You have delivered me, protected me, and provided for me, and I know You will continue to do so.

You uphold all things by the word of Your power (Hebrews 1:3). Thank You that because You are all-powerful, that means all things are possible. Therefore, I refuse to become discouraged or fearful about any aspect of my life. I will not trust in the wisdom of man, but I will trust in You and Your perfect wisdom and power. In Jesus’ name I pray.

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from Your law (Psalm 119: I realise my life only works if I’m living” Your way. there 18). ThaMeet nk You forme the comfort, healing , deliverance, and peace You in the pages and teach me Wo what I need to know.

“Open my r rd brings me.

It is food for my star vinlaw” eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your g soul. (Psalm Help me to rea d it every day so that I have a sol119:18). Thank You for the comfort, and id understand healing, deliverance ing of who You are, who You madsoul. e peace Your Word brings me.meIttoisbe,food for my starving and how I am to live. May You r words me soItha Help me to read it every day live sointhat have solid understanding t when a I pray, I will see answers to my prayers (Joh of who You are, who You made mento and how I am to 15:7).be In Jesu s’ name I pray. live. May Your words live in me so that when I pray, I will see answers to my prayers (John 15:7). In Jesus’ name I pray.

Taken from: The Power of Prayer Coloring Journal Copyright © 2017 Stormie Omartian. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon.

84 www.harvesthousepublishers.com. Used by Permission.

January 2nd - 8th

Week 1: 2017 Goals & Challenges for CLC Monday (2nd) – Gerardo Scalante, International Director:

Most of our workers around the world are nationals, less than five percent of them are cross cultural missionaries. Please pray that we will be able to develop the mission side of CLC up to the point that we can prepare and send more missionaries to countries where this sort of work is much needed. Right now there are open opportunities in areas like Africa and Asia.

Tuesday (3rd) – Gary Chamberlin, Europe Regional Director:

The biggest challenge we face is to find stability in our shops across Europe. There has been a notable decline in Christian retail over the past 8 years as many people now increasingly purchase online. The struggle is to maintain a viable shop ministry in the face of lower sales, which makes sustainability more difficult. The result is often a reduction in staff and a search to reduce costs. One major way that we are diversifying our ministry is through publishing, which is having a positive impact. We look to the Lord in hopes that our internet and publishing efforts will grow significantly in 2017.

Wednesday (4th) – Gerardo Scalante, International Director:

Most of the countries where we are working in Latin America are facing difficult economic situations. For example, due to inflation, salaries in Venezuela are very low and an inexpensive version of the Bible from CLC is worth a week’s salary for many people. We thank God for dedicated CLC members who love God and serve people so that they come to faith and maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ. These team mates continue to explore alternative ways to spread Kingdom resources throughout their countries - knowing how they transform lives!

Please pray that the economies of these countries will stabilise and that they will be given better access to the foreign currency they require to purchase books from US publishers. Pray also for us to be able to make Christian literature available in these countries at affordable prices.

Thursday (5th) – Romualdo, Macinas, Asia Pacific Regional Director:

We have three main challenges that we are currently facing: communications, financial sustainability and cooperation. As each country in the Asia region has its own language, please pray that God will open our ears and hearts to better understand each other. This will increase our unity allowing us to work together more efficiently for God’s Kingdom and to help each other when there is a need that another can supply.

Pray also that each team will regularly communicate with me, especially concerning financial struggles, so that we can develop a clear strategic plan to grow their ministry and make it sustainable.

Friday (6th) – David Almack, North America & Caribbean Regional Director:

Please pray for our CLC bookshops in the Caribbean as they are functioning in islands that have suffered from economic downturns in recent years. One team in particular is still recovering from the effects of a major storm that destroyed infrastructure and roads on the island. Our major goal is for financial stability in 2017 so that we will be able to keep supplying needs for Christian literature. In North America, we desire to impact the culture with Christian books at a time when there many other entertainment options that distract Christians from developing a habit of reading. Another goal is to see many more Christians reading on a regular basis.

The Weekend (7th/8th) – Liz Patten, Africa Regional Director:

Please pray for us, that we will get a renewed understanding of the core values of CLC and how they relate to what 11

we do each day. Also pray that we will be committed and able to work according to the ‘key words’ of the new International Director, particularly with ‘accountability’ and ‘transparency’ in our personal lives and our CLC ministry.

January 9th - 15th

Week 2: Current Global Needs Monday (9th) – Sierra Leone:

Please join us in prayer for a sustainable ministry. We are trusting the Lord for the impossible this year – that we will be debt free before the end of 2017 – because we know that with God all things are possible! We also need His help in supplying the resources that our customers need most as this continues to be one of our greatest challenges. We buy most of our stocks from the USA and UK and we pay for them in foreign currency but we sell in our local currency, the Leones, which currently has been depreciating by the day.

Thank you for continuing to remember our ministry in your prayers. ~ Donald John, National Director

Tuesday (10th) – Mexico:

Please pray for our team in Mexico, especially that God would bring more workers with a heart committed to the ministry of CLC. It is a small team with a big heart and an even bigger dream for what the ministry could accomplish in Mexico. ~ Maria del Carmen, National Director

Wednesday (11th) – Canada:

At the time of writing, we filed an application with the Federal Government asking that our distribution arm become a recognized charity. In the event of a rejection, there will be major consequences for the rest of our ministry. Please pray that the authorities will grant our request. ~ Antoine Roberge, National Director

Thursday (12th) – Bolivia:

Pray for growth in our ministry here in Bolivia. We especially need growth in our distribution department and are praying that God will open the doors of more churches, universities and libraries throughout Bolivia.

Please pray that God will give us creative ideas on how to draw more people into visiting our bookshop, and find more efficient ways of acquiring our stock so that we are consistent and punctual for our customers. ~ Gamaliel Padilla, National Director

Friday (13th) - Spain:

During 2017, please pray that more local churches and ministries will be open to learning about CLC’s ministry in Spain and around the world. Stronger partnerships with them will enable us to better support each other’s ministries. Our team has had a very difficult time financially during the last few years, but it remains our hope that CLC’s ministry will become well-known and well-loved throughout the country, as we know that the amazing Christian resources we distribute can transform lives! ~ Darwin Vergel, National Director

The Weekend (14th/15th) – Panama:

Thank you God that despite 2016 being a hard year financially, which caused us to reduce our team, He is helping us to overcome the challenges we are facing! Please pray that God will continue to unite and strengthen our team and help us find a warehouse (and offices) in a very central/strategic location in Panama. ~ Sara De Gracia, National Director January 16th - 22nd

Week 3: Encouraging Stories from Chile, Cyprus & Central Asia Monday (1th) - Chile:

A former colleague told us that after leaving CLC, the book that most helped him to understand God’s grace throughout all that had taken place was George Verwer’s book More Drops. After reading it, he was able to see how God had used his time with CLC to build up his faith and life. What a blessing it is to reflect on how God uses the ‘disorder’ in our lives to fulfil His purpose for each one of us. ~ Isaac Zúñiga, National Director 12

Tuesday (17th) - Chile:

We thank God for Mónica Tapia, the wife of Pastor Marcos Bianchi, who lives in a small town of 13,000 inhabitants called Taltal. For 3 years she has been carrying material to sell in her church, something unthinkable years ago. We are thankful to God for our sister’s motivation to carry out the ministry of literature in her congregation. ~ Isaac Zúñiga, National Director (Photo of Mónica Tapia)

Wednesday (18th) - Central Asia (CA2):

A little while ago a woman came in the store who was completely ‘covered’. This is rare here but what is rarer is that although a practicing, conservative Muslim, she was clearly wrestling with questions about faith. She asked our assistant Director if she read the Bible and how often, and was surprised to hear it was read daily and that she didn’t need a school to teach her. She said she thought most Christians weren’t serious about their faith and then started asking about the difference between true Christians and sects. She wanted to buy a Bible but said she’d come back when she had money with her. Our assistant Director saw her again on the street later and told her we’d been praying for her because we could tell she was seeking truth about God. She said she’d be in again soon. ~ The Director, Central Asia (CA2)

Thursday (19th) – Cyprus:

Three years ago, a friend of ours had to leave Cyprus to live with her family in Dublin because she was ill and spiritually drained. Since then, our shop helper has been regularly sending her devotionals and books on ‘Christian Living’. Most recently our helper sent to her some books on the Holy Spirit (from the RHP Essential classics series). Our friend replied this week to say she was thrilled with the books and she plans to read them every day! She especially loved Andrew Murray’s Absolute Surrender. ~ Eva Photiadou, National Director

Friday (20th) – Chile:

Some time ago on a local radio station we reviewed the book, Lead Your Family Like Jesus. There was so much interest in the book and about bringing up your family, ‘the Jesus way’, that we decided to go through it bit by bit as a series on the radio. The programme now goes out every Friday morning and we are thrilled to report that a great many Christians have grown closer to the Lord as a result. No doubt their family life has benefitted too. ~ Isaac Zúñiga, National Director

The Weekend (21st/22nd) - Chile:

Recently one of our customers bought the book The Passion of God for His Glory by John Piper. He has been enthusiastically sharing his thoughts inspired by this book on Facebook and it is greatly impacting the lives of many as they share their thanks for his posts. We love seeing how Christian literature can transform one man’s life into encouraging so many others! ~ Isaac Zúñiga, National Director January 23rd - 29th

Week 4: CLC’s New Digital Team Prayer points contributed by Neil Wardrope, Digital Director

Monday (23rd) – CLC Digital:

The demands of the digital world has meant that CLC has had to adapt to new realities. We currently have over 30 commercial websites around the world, which now account for over 5% of global sales. Many more sites and improvements are planned for this year. The next step is the challenge of eBooks and how CLC can supply these via our network of websites. To this end we have been forming a Digital Team.

Tuesday (24th) – Neil Wardrope, Digital Director:

After stepping down as International Director in June last year, Neil has taken on responsibility for our digital strategy. Please pray for him as he heads up the Digital Team and develops relationships with publishers and suppliers of technology.

Wednesday (25th) - Cristi Cotovan, Webmaster:

Please pray for Cristi as he continually updates and improves our commercial websites, as well as having a

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significant role in the eBook project. Pray for inspiration and understanding as he deals with the continual development of the possibilities of the digital world.

Thursday (26th) - Patricio Arenas: Chile and Latin America Web Support: Please pray for Patricio as he supplies support for all the website administrators in seven Latin American countries. He provides training and back up, as well as developing the CLC Chile site.

Friday (27th) - Ivano Cramerotti: Italy & Web Training/Marketing:

Ivano has taken on additional responsibility for training the website administrators in Europe as well as managing the website of CLC Italy. He is gifted in design and marketing and he will increasingly be sharing that knowledge with others involved in the web project.

Photo of Cristi and Ivano

The Weekend (28th/29th) - David Anachkov: Bulgaria Website and eBook Curation

Please pray for David as he manages the CLC Bulgaria website which accounts for around 30% of total CLC sales in the country. In addition he has joined the Digital team to help with the management and integration of the eBooks becoming available on the eBook platform – currently in excess of 5,000 titles.

January 30th - February 5th

Week 5: News from our Teams around the World Monday (30th) - Portugal:

As the only member of CLC Portugal (although he has an amazing support system of volunteers), Carlos Cunha is always on the go! At the time of writing, Carlos has just finished three book tables, each in a different city, at the annual Global Leadership Summits that take place each Friday and Saturday during the month of November. He has one more to do in Porto, but plans to stop in Aveiro to set up a book table there on his way to the event. Meanwhile, he is trying to get new stock, from three different publishers, all into the computer system so he can take it to the different events and on the shop shelves, all before the rush of Christmas begins. Please pray for Carlos’ health, stamina and family. ~ Amanda Lutes, on behalf of CLC Portugal

Tuesday (31st) – Venezuela:

Due to the on-going serious economic crisis in our country, many Venezuelans have emigrated to other countries in search of a better quality of life. A Christian brother who had previously emigrated to Aruba was recently able to return home for a visit. On his way to Merida he stopped in to visit our bookshop in the city of Maracaibo, where he had been a regular customer. He shared with me what a pleasure it was visit us once again and how much he had missed us. He also said how much he would love for CLC to open a bookshop in Aruba.

I hope this story reminds us all that our work is about so much more than selling books - it is about establishing relationships with the people who daily visit us. We are so grateful to God that we are able to see how our ministry makes a mark on the lives of the people we serve each day. Pray for us, that each day we will give the best service we can, and share just the right words and advice with all who visit our bookstores. ~ Yohel Peña

Wednesday (1st) – Côte d’Ivoire:

What a blessing to have such good working relationships with our local and international suppliers! These relationships enable us to better meet the needs of our customers. How happy our customers are to find the books they have long been searching for at CLC. It is also such a joy to watch them discover new uplifting titles while browsing our shelves. Although we operate in a highly competitive environment, God in His grace continues to direct customers to us every day, blessing us often with good sales. We praise His glorious name! ~ Martine Foto, National Director 14

Thursday (2nd) – United Kingdom:

We have been praising God in the Cambridge CLC that we have had a quite a few interesting encounters in our shop lately. One encounter was with an older couple who asked for a ‘Bible for grownups’ that was similar to a children’s Bible, for some friends they had known for quite a while. Recently these friends had been asking about God and so we suggested The Story, a paraphrased Bible by Murray Watts. Please pray for both couples as God works in their lives. We’ve also had encounters with two couples that regularly distribute New Testaments/Gift Bibles to those on the streets. Please pray for fruit from the distribution of these Bibles. ~ Lucinda Sparrow, Cambridge UK Manager

Friday (3rd) – Antigua:

In November 2016, in an effort to celebrate 55 years of ministry in Antigua and give back to our community, we held a two-week sale. Afterwards, a customer called to offer congratulations and to thank us as she was very satisfied with all she had been able to purchase. We’d like to thank God for Andrew who designed our posters for the event and although the sales were not as high as we had hoped for, we give thanks to God and we will not give up! So many local businesses are shutting down around us but we serve a GREAT BIG GOD and He will supply ALL OUR NEEDS. Please continue to pray for us! ~ Arah Martin, National Director

The Weekend (4th/5th) - Colombia:

In October 2016, there was a significant theft of valuable books and Bibles from CLC Colombia’s warehouse.

National Director, David Pabón was interviewed on the local news shared with viewers that although heart-breaking for the team, the situation is first and foremost in God’s hands. The relevant authorities are continuing to study the video recordings and carry out their investigations, but so far no charges have been made. Please pray that the team will continue to illustrate God’s mercy and love in how they share about this loss. Pray also for team unity and that they will experience a deeper sense of joy in the Lord as they work to recover from this situation. ~ Sheena Wardope, on behalf of CLC Colombia February 6th - 12th

Week 6: Publishing News Monday (6th) – USA:

Please pray for the successful launch of a new book by Dr. David Apple entitled Neighborology that came out at the end of last month (January). This is a follow up to his well-received first book called Not Just A Soup Kitchen. In this new book he tackles the real life challenges of doing effective mercy ministry by loving our neighbours well. ~ David Almack, National Director

Tuesday (7th) – Venezuela:

Last year was a very difficult year with a lot of setbacks, but we thank God that even amidst the problems we were able to publish the devotional A Pause in Your Life. Join us in praying that this year will have a lot less setbacks and that we will receive the funding, supplies, raw materials and machinery necessary to help us publish six titles that Editorial CLC (CLC Colombia publishing) has given us the permission to print in our country. ~ Yohel Peña, National Director

Wednesday (8th) - Russia:

In 2016, it was such a delight to our team to see the Lord provide the necessary finances and resources so that we were able to publish two new titles. Once the publishing permission was granted, the translating into Russian and printing of Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom, and Little Hands - Story of Jesus by Carine Mackenzie, were quick to follow.

Praise the Lord with us! ~ Nikita Sapunov, National Director

Thursday (9th) - India:

ELS (CLC) India have several popular titles in Tamil that are needing to be reprinted this year but currently 15

the funds are not available. This is due to a general fall in sales in 2016. Please pray that sales will soon turn around enabling us to reprint the necessary books to help satisfy our customers’needs. ~ Justin Chellappan, National Director

Friday (10th) – Korea:

We thank God that CLC Korea continues to publish an amazing amount of new titles each year. Please join us in praying that God will continue to give them wisdom as they decide which books to publish. May He guide them to select those titles that will greatly impact the lives of the Korean people and deepen their faith in our Lord and Saviour. ~ Gwangsu Jo, on behalf of CLC Korea

The Weekend (11th/12th) – Romania:

We praise God for the resources which will enable us to continue our publishing activity. A financial gift that we received in 2016 is going to enable us to increase the number of good Christian books that we can offer to our readers and to other partners in the Christian trade market. Thank you Lord! ~ Ronela Micula, National Director February 13th - 19th

Week 7: Members of CLC’s International Office Team Monday (13th) - Rudy Kuijer, CLC IO Global Mobiliser:

Please pray for wisdom and good health so that I will find the right openings to share about CLC’s Mission. I am currently contacting Bible colleges and attending a variety of mission conferences across Europe. Pray also that I will be led by the Holy Spirit to develop a clear challenge to our teams for bookshop evangelism. Each of us needs to develop a greater desire to share the Gospel wherever we are working – no matter how busy we are! Remember, “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 [AMP]

Tuesday (14th) - Lewis & Elsbeth Codington, CLC International Development:

The way we meet and encounter people is so varied and seemingly random...on the bus, in the neighbourhood, on the street, unbelievers inviting friends to a study group, etc. I am reminded of Paul as he wrote to the Ephesians, challenging them to make the most of every opportunity as he asked them for prayer that every time he opened his mouth, he would be able to share the Good News fearlessly - even when he was chained up in prison! Paul certainly saw every situation as an opportunity! At any rate, our request would be that we also would use every occasion to share with those who are heading down the broad road or who have not heard.

Wednesday (15th) – Lesley West, CLC IO Finances:

Lesley has the challenge and responsibility of looking after the finances for CLC’s International Office team and its Directors. She also has the challenge of making sure that funds for international projects, teams and suppliers are sent to them in a timely manner. Pray that God continues to give her the wisdom in understanding all the international laws and issues that she faces each day. Pray also that God will give her peace when she discovers situations that desperately need help but the funds to change the outcome are not yet available.

Thursday (16th) - Amanda Lutes, Global Communications Director:

Moving from the UK Ministry Marketing Director role to the CLC IO team is turning out to be an even bigger challenge than planned! Although it involves moving from the UK to the US, at the time of writing, I am still in my native country of Canada awaiting a USA visa. Please pray that the visa will soon be approved and that I will be able to keep on top of the majority of my new duties even though I am separated from my team. Thank you for your prayers!

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Friday (17th) – Sheena Wardrope, CLC IO Administration Support:

For many years Sheena Wardrope was the administrative support for her husband Neil, who was the former International Director. She was formerly the one compiling CLC’s Prayer Focus and a variety of other reports for CLC International. In addition to this she looked after the IO archives and personnel and office enquiries.

She continues to be a part-time support to the new International Director, Gerardo Scalante, and a blessing to Amanda Lutes in her role. Sheena has built up strong relationships with the international teams over the years and is a real source of encouragement to many. Please pray for Sheena as her role in the IO changes and as she continues to assist her husband in his new roles as the CLC UK Mission Director and CLC IO Digital Director.

The Weekend (19th – 20th) – CLC International Office Board of Trustees:

As with most mission organisations, each CLC country has a Board of Trustees.

Each member of this committee brings a unique wealth of knowledge, experience and spiritual maturity to help in the oversight of the ministry. Their main purpose is to keep us in God’s will and help redirect the ministry if it begins to get off track due to a variety of distractions or market changes. The CLC IO is incredibly blessed to have a Board of Trustees with members who have such a heart for God and CLC’s ministry. Please pray for Graham Ince, Ruth Williams, John Raby (Chairman), Jonathan Chamberlain.

February 20th - 28th

Week 8: Prayer/Praise Points from Both Sides of the Pond Monday (20th) - USA:

Please pray for CLC USA’s new Multi-Language Media department and for the new e-commerce website that will enable people to buy Christian books and Bibles in over 80 languages on-line. Pray that we will have wisdom in adding new titles and reaching many more people in the years to come. ~ David Almack, National Director

Tuesday (21st) - Scotland (UK):

We have a wonderful cafe here in the Aberdeen bookshop, and we are looking forward to starting up an acoustic cafe night with local Christian artists. Two evenings were held in November and this is something that will hopefully be ongoing. Please pray for the start-up and continuation of these events, that the Lord may bless this work.” ~ Eli Williamson, Aberdeen Manager

Wednesday (22nd) – Canada:

We have started discussions with an organization that is both a publisher and distributor. In addition, it has a bookstore and several other significant sales benefits. This dialogue could lead to a merger with CLC, with CLC most likely running the bookstore and becoming the distributor for other Francophone bookstores.

Please pray for the success of this merger, as well as an understanding of God’s will for our shared future. ~ Antoine Roberge, National Director

Thursday (23rd) - Dominica:

Due to a slow economy, our stock turnover is struggling which in turn interferes with our ordering of goods and maintenance of stock. We are praying for growth in 2017, as we are making it a goal to venture outside of the shop more often for evangelical projects, events and outdoor bookstalls. Please pray for creative ideas, good health and stamina for our team. Davis Laudat, National Director

Friday (24th) – England (UK):

The closure of bookshops is always heart rending but there is now so much retail competition in the UK that it becomes inevitable. For this reason, the Chatham and Wolverhampton bookshops have closed in the last few weeks. We thank God for all who served in these centres over the years. Please pray that the former shop staff would quickly find what God has in mind for them next. Pray also that our long-time customers/supporters from these areas will find alternative CLC shopping avenues such as our website. ~ Penny Rivett, on behalf of CLC UK’s Leadership Team 17

The Weekend (25th/26th) – Miami, USA (CLC Colombian Team):

Please pray for the distribution work we do for Editorial CLC (CLC Colombia publishing) from the city of Miami. Miami is a strategic place for the distribution of Spanish books to countries in Latin America. Some time ago, CLC moved all the inventory to a logistic company that is doing the storage, fulfilment and the shipping for us. As we grow into new markets, it’s very important to have good communication between the sales department and the logistic company to give to our customers the best service. Pray also for our Marketing Director: Alfonso Guevara, who lives in Miami but travels most of his time giving talks and presenting the Spanish products and resources to pastors, leaders and potential customers in Latin America. ~ Gerardo Scalante, International Director February 27th - March 5th

Week 9: Print-on-Demand (POD) & Bible Projects Monday (27th) – Kenya POD Update:

God continues to surprise us with the POD project. At the time of writing, we have just completed an order of 2,500 books from a Pastor in Nakuru and we are now working on another of his books! He has already placed an order for 500 copies of this second one! Meanwhile, we have a new cutter and binder and we are testing some ink from Korea. Please pray that we can find the best quality products (paper, ink etc.) at the best possible prices so that we can carry out this ministry with cost effectiveness. ~ Patrick Omukhango, National Director

Tuesday (28th) – Philippines POD Update:

We are so thankful to God that local authors, churches, Bible schools and other Christian organisations now have the opportunity to print their resources at CLC. Please pray that the news that we are now a publishing house would spread throughout the Philippines. Recently CLC published Deliver Us from Evil which was written by a local pastor who practices what he preaches. We are hopeful for good sales and that other CLC countries might wish to publish it in their language. Please also pray that we will receive the publishing rights to print English titles by popular authors. ~ Romualdo Macinas, Asia Pacific Regional Director

Wednesday (1st) – Sierra Leone POD Update:

Praise God! After many years of planning we have recently made the final payments owed to Publish4All, so that Sierra Leone will have a POD system of its own. We express our thanks to God and our appreciation to all our generous supporters, especially the CLC USA Team who embarked on an incredible fund-raising drive towards this great achievement. The new POD system will be implemented this April. Please pray that this process will go smoothly, and for Emmanuel Kamara, who will be responsible for the system and supervising all who will be working with him. Pray with us that with this system and a lot of hard work we will be able to meet customers’ demands with punctual and quality services. ~ Donald John, National Director

Thursday (2nd) – Mozambique’s ‘Missionary Bible’ Project:

We are working on a project to print 10,000 ‘missionary Bibles’ for exclusive distribution in Mozambique. At the time of going to press, we are still at the initial stages of planning. However, the idea is to have these Bibles available in a modern Portuguese translation and at a very low cost in order to enable (bulk) buying to give away, as well as serving those with low purchasing power. One of our customers has set herself a personal goal to give away several hundred Bibles and told me, “By the time I reach my goal, I think I will just continue because it will be a lifestyle to give away God’s Word”. She buys a few at a time, and has asked us to pray for her spiritual protection, as we know the enemy doesn’t want people to have the word of God. She also asked for prayer for those receiving the Bibles, that they may receive another gift - that of His salvation.

Praise the LORD! ~ Liz Patten, Africa Regional Director

Friday (3rd) – Belarus Russian Bible Project:

Please continue to pray for this Bible project. Due to the economic situation in the country, the Belarus team was unable to do a reprint last year on their Russian Bible. Before they published CLC Bibles, they had 18

to import them from Russia, and this was an expensive process, which led to having a very limited supply in their shop at times. It is really important that the people in Belarus have high quality Bibles at affordable prices, so please continue to pray for this project. So far nearly 9,000 Bibles have been printed and sold with some of the profits being set aside in hopes that one day a shop will be opened in Minsk, the country’s capital. ~ Lina Pinkevich, National Director

The Weekend (4th/5th) – Myanmar’s First Ever Burmese Study Bible:

Join me in thanking our Heavenly Father that (at the time of writing) I have just finished my final edits on Isaiah chapter 25. Time is quickly passing by and my team and I are hopeful to complete our first ‘final’ draft

by March. This draft will then be sent out to about 20 different people to proof-read so please pray that we will finish on time. Please also pray that our proof-readers will be able to fully understand our translation and that they will have sharp eyes to pick up on anything we may have missed. ~ Jacob Mung, National Director March 6th - 12th

Week 10: Seeing God at Work Monday (6th) – Bulgaria:

We have been experiencing relationship problems with some of our suppliers, as we mentioned in our prayer point last quarter, and already we are seeing that God is at work! Praise God that communications have improved immensely and one publisher has taken the first steps in an effort to improve the pricing politics we are constantly facing. There is still a long way to go with some of the suppliers, but we are blessed to witness the changes God is making. Thank you Father! ~ David Anachkov, on behalf of CLC Bulgaria

Tuesday (7th) – USA:

Praise the Lord for a successful two-year extension of our lease for the Moorestown, NJ store that begins in February. This lease negotiation resulted in a much needed rent reduction that will allow our team to continue to serve their community with Christian resources. ~ David Almack, North American & Caribbean Regional Director Thank you to Josh Street Design & Photography for taking such amazing photos of the multi-author booksigning event at CLC Moorestown.

Wednesday (8th) – Liberia:

When Brother Isaac became too sick to continue working, Sister Nyenatee Appleton, a member of Providence Baptist Church, stepped in to fill the gap. She has been an essential volunteer for us over the past several months, especially on the days when Laban has his college classes. Please continue to pray that God will send just the right person to fill the vacuum Brother Isaac has left. ~ James Cooper, National Director

Thursday (9th) – Germany:

What a joy to witness many Iranian refugees in Germany coming to faith in Jesus. We are so thankful to see many of our Alpha resources being sold to reach out to them and help them understand just how much God loves them. It is such a blessing to see so many being baptised and integrating into our Christian community. ~ Valentin Schweigler, National Director

Friday (10th) – Indonesia:

We are so thankful that Tirianus ‘Teris’ Malyo, from Papua (East Indonesia) was able to join our team last year! He shared with me how grateful to God he is to have been able to join CLC and to serve people with Christian literature. Currently, Teris is also studying for his master’s degree at Theology College. It is his dream to one day begin literature ministry like CLC in Papua. Please pray for Teris and for the future growth of CLC’s ministry in Indonesia. ~ Donny Kairupan, National Director 19

The Weekend (11th/12th) – Côte d’Ivoire:

We thank the Lord for His faithfulness, without which we are nothing and can do nothing. The Lord has answered our prayers for the country’s stability without which we cannot freely exercise our ministry. We remain grateful to Him for the protection of each member of the team and for our strength that He renews each day. Thank you Father! ~ Martine Foto, National Director March 13th - 19th

Week 11: Upcoming Opportunities Monday (13th) – Liberia:

March 13th -17th will be our annual Church Leaders Summit 2017. The summit has become widely recognized by senior pastors as a must-attend annual event. Each year this summit brings together participants from all around the country, mostly senior pastors, elders, deacons and staff, from various denominations with congregations ranging from 50 - 2,000 people. The purpose of this summit is to provide high quality, relevant pastoral and leadership training and to make people more aware of the ministry of CLC. This year we hope to have 500 participants. Please pray that God will grant us this desire. ~ James Cooper, The National Director Photo of the 2016 Summit

Tuesday (14th) – Indonesia:

Praise God for the opportunity to open a new book kiosk near the Petra Christian University, which is a wellknown university in Surabaya. It is an incredible opportunity to further spread the Good News and reach out to more students. We are looking forward to sharing our mission with these students and hope that it will lead to more opportunities that will help our ministry grow. ~ Donny Kairupan, National Director

Wednesday (15th) – Benin:

Benin is currently in an economic crisis and we ask for prayer that we will find new opportunities for outreach and sales in our country. Although I am the National Director for Benin, I recently took on the leadership role of coordinating all of CLC’s French West African countries. Please pray that God will bless me with good health, courage and wisdom in working with these teams so that together can further God’s Kingdom in this area of the world. ~ Emmanuel Ladeyo, National Director

Thursday (16th) – Growth in Asia:

We hope to open a new CLC ministry in Cambodia and to reopen two others (Sri Lanka and Bangladesh).

You may recall that we tried to reopen our ministry in Sri Lanka a couple years back but it was unsuccessful.

Thankfully a pastor has reached out to us as he is very interested in establishing the work in his country again. Last year, due to financial issues, Bangladesh’s ministry was shut down but we are hopeful that it will be reopened this spring. Thank you Lord that You see the way before us. Please guide Romualdo Macinas and his team as they search for your wisdom in moving forward with these ministries. ~ Romualdo Macinas, Asia Pacific Regional Director

Friday (16th) – Philippines:

We will be having our annual Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS) and Workshop on the 1st of April. Please pray that many youth workers will attend and that many children will participate. It is our hope that more churches will create outreach events such as these not only for children but for their parents as well. ~ Romualdo Macinas, Asia Pacific Regional Director

The Weekend (18th/19th) – France:

We are having the inauguration of our recently relocated Paris bookshop on April 22nd, 2017, with several meetings being organized in the afternoon. The musical group, Héritage, from Canada will be performing throughout the day, followed by a concert later that evening at a nearby auditorium. Please pray for our 20

team as we organise this event. We are hopeful that it will be wonderful day for all who attend as well as a great opportunity to share the Gospel! ~ Herve Lessous, National Director March 20th - 26th

Week12: Working Together Monday (20th) – Mozambique & World Relief:

At the time of writing, CLC Maputo has just served, with a book table, at a two-day leadership conference (Willow Creek) organised by World Relief.

We benefitted hugely from the sessions and we were so happy to be able to resource the delegates, some of whom were not believers when they came to the conference. During the programme, an opportunity was given to receive Christ and also to commit to making a difference in this country of Mozambique. We believe we can add value to each other’s ministries though this kind of mutual support and we were delighted when the conference organiser told us that he would like us to come every year! Please also pray that our two bookshops in Mozambique can work together more effectively in 2017. Honestly this is difficult because of the great distance between Maputo and Beira, please pray that we can overcome this. ~ Liz Patten, Africa Regional Director

Tuesday (21st) – Papua New Guinea & The PNG Bible Society:

We are working closely with the PNG Bible Society for the wide distribution of the Bible here in our city and the surrounding provinces. The Pidgin Bible is a very popular translation and we have ensured a steady supply through our partnership with the PNG Bible Society. Please pray for an increase in sales as we make contact with schools and churches in the city of Port Moresby. ~ Vere Babona, National Director

Wednesday (22nd) – Uruguay & Churches:

CLC Uruguay continues with its work in the interior of the country by visiting and working with a significant number of churches in these rural areas. We ask for prayer for each one of these churches, and also that the Lord will continue to open doors with more churches in areas where we don’t currently have access for literature distribution and evangelism. ~ Humberto Urrutia, National Director

Thursday (23rd) – CLC & Thompson Bible Seminars:

Please pray for the many Thompson Bible Seminars that will be taking place in 2017. Already I have reports that two will be happening in Spain, one starting today (23rd – 25th) and the other next week (27th – 1st April). CLC Spain will also be doing another seminar in October in Equatorial Guinea! Throughout Latin America our teams have many seminars booked, including CLC Panama who has five booked for the year. Please pray that each pastor and church leader that attends will be blessed by this training and use it to impact the lives of their congregations. ~ Amanda Lutes, Global Communication Director Photo from CLC Panama seminar

Friday (24th) – Switzerland & Open Doors:

At the time of writing, our team was blessed to have a bookstall at the regional Open Doors conference.

There were two speakers, one from Iran and the other one from Niger. They shared the testimonies of persecuted Christians around the world and how we can best support them (examples: praying, writing letters, sending them food, etc.). As there were about 130 people in attendance, all of whom were very interested in being involved and learning more, it was a great place to have our bookstall of Christian resources. ~ Carlo Ciafani, National Director

The Weekend (25th/26th) – UK & Theological Colleges:

Thank the Lord for the increasing role CLC has in meeting the needs of Theological College students in England and Wales. Pray that the CLC colleagues running the book sales have timely access to the list of ‘essential’ books for each course, so that demand is met. And pray that as a result of our visits, college 21

libraries increase their ordering from CLC Wholesale now that we carry many more lines. ~ Phil Burnham, Events Mobiliser March 27th - April 2nd

Week 13: European Praise Points Monday (27th) – Netherlands:

We are very thankful for God’s provision for us. We had to make some hard decisions in 2015, letting two long-term CLCers go because we closed the shop in Amsterdam. We thank God they are both now employed elsewhere and that after eight years of declining sales, our sales are now stable (even though the rest of the country is still experiencing an average loss of 10% in sales). After such a long period of cutting in expenses for survival, we are now looking ahead and taking some steps to plan for our future growth and investing in projects like publishing our own books. ~ Bertus Keuter, National Director

Tuesday (28th) – Poland:

We want to thank God for the steady expansion of our publishing program. In 2016 we published eight more titles including authors such as A.W. Tozer, Corrie Ten Boom, John Dunn and John Stott. Pray with us as we strive to market these important titles outside the typical Evangelical channels. We now have two established representatives that are trying to promote our books in the secular and Catholic bookshops.

Please pray that God will open these doors for us so that these important titles and future ones can have greater impact. ~ Gary Chamberlin, Europe Regional Director

Wednesday (28th) – Romania:

We praise the Lord for the new shelves we received from CLC Austria as a result of the closing of the CLC Graz shop. This has given us the opportunity to renovate our shop, offering a better shopping experience to our customers. What a blessing it is to know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV) ~ Ronela Micula, National Director

Thursday (29th) –Hungary:

Praise God that Hungary is having significant growth this year - about 30%! All three bookshops plus the internet sales have increased substantially. In addition, they published Prison Letters by Corrie Ten Boom.

Please continue to pray for Annamaria Karpati who took over the role of National Director in April 2016. ~ Gary Chamberlin, Europe Regional Director

Friday (30th) – Belarus:

Praise God for two new records set in 2016! In July, we had the best-ever sales in our bookshop and, in October, we had the best-ever sales via our online bookshop! We are so thankful to the Lord for the increasing number of internet customers, and for the CLCers who have pushed for us to have online bookshops over the years (Cristi Cotovan and Gary Chamberlin). The internet sales are especially encouraging as the economic situation in the country is still not great. What a privilege to see so many people turning to God during this difficult time. Thank you Father for the way You are providing for our ministry. ~ Lina Pinkevich, National Director

The Weekend (31st/1st) – Italy:

‘By chance’ an Italian policeman named Daniele entered the CLC Torino bookshop some time ago wondering what type of bookshop he had stumbled into. He was looking for books on counselling for various kinds of addictions. Gigi, the shop manager explained that we were a Christian bookshop and shared with him about God. Now we know that with the Lord nothing is ‘by chance’, but part of His divine plan. Daniele became interested in spiritual things, began to draw nearer to God and then dedicated his life to the Lord! Daniele and Gigi have become friends and he has invited Gigi to his baptism! ~ Gary Chamberlin, Europe Regional Director 22

Ongoing CLC Projects

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Our team in Myanmar (Burma) are translating the first ever Burmese Study Bible! We hope to publish in 2017.

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Please send me: This magazine regularly CLC’s monthly mission newsletter [email required] CLC’s online shop newsletters [email required] * To sign up for your nearest CLC Bookshops newsletter, simply visit your nearest shop or go to clc.org.uk/shops

Single gift payment - Enclosed is my gift of: £15 £30 £50 Other: Please use where most needed Please use towards this CLC Project (reference code): With a donation of £5, CLC Portugal can send a free Portuguese Bible to Angola or Mozambique for the many pastors, immigrants and schools in need.

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Once again, the donation of £5 to CLC Belarus will enable them to print a beautiful Russian Bible. Already the team has been able to publish around 9,000 Bibles.

The sales from them enable the team to translate and publish more great Christian books, plus set aside funds to one day open a bookshop in the capital city of Minsk.

For more details about our projects visit

clc.org.uk/projects

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Did you know that CLC International has & Publishing: set Translating itself a goal of doubling its publishing Please pray for our teams across Europe! efforts by 2024? One year in and we’ve Many of them are very small teams— made a very good start with the addition with only 1 or 2 members—but they are of Print-on-Demand (POD) systems in two making a huge impact in their country! countries, and more teams taking up the challenge and on publish in are their Half of to thetranslate shops listed the left language/country.

Contactand us ifpublishing you’d like to involved in translating learn how and youother can be involved.

Bibles great Christian books!

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CLC is registered as a charity in England & Wales (1015793) and in Scotland (SC037939)

Thank you for your continued support!

It is that support, whether through prayer, shopping with us or serving with us, that has allowed us to be a mission that has been making a difference around the world for nearly 75 years!

The Key to Spiritual Power

Fom the Grave: A 40 Day Lent Devotional by A.W. Tozer

ISBN: 9780802415097

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24 Some people in reading the Bible say they cannot understand why Elijah and other men had such active power with the living God. It is quite simple. God heard Elijah because Elijah had heard God. God did according to the word of Elijah because Elijah had done according to the word of God. You cannot separate the two.

When we are willing to consider the active will of God for our lives, we come immediately to a personal knowledge of the cross because the will of God is the place of blessed, painful, fruitful trouble! The Apostle Paul knew about that. He called it “the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings.” It is my conviction that one of the reasons we exhibit very little spiritual power is because we are unwilling to accept and experience the fellowship of the Saviour’s sufferings, which means acceptance of His cross.

How can we have and know the blessed intimacy of the Lord Jesus if we are unwilling to take the route which He has demonstrated? We do not have it because we refuse to relate the will of God to the cross.

All of the great saints have been acquainted with the cross—even those who lived before the time of Christ. They were acquainted with the cross in essence because their obedience brought it to them. All Christians living in full obedience will experience the cross and find themselves exercised in spirit very frequently. If they know their own hearts, they will be prepared to wrestle with the cross when it comes.

I must point out here the fallacy of thinking that in following Jesus we can easily go up on the hillside and die—just like that! I admit that when Jesus was here on earth, the easiest and cheapest way to get off was to follow Jesus physically. Anyone could get out of work and say goodbye with the explanation, “I am going to follow Jesus.” Multitudes did this. They followed Him physically, but they had no understanding of Him spiritually. Therefore, in that day, the cheapest, easiest way to dispose of the cross was to carry it physically.

But brethren, taking our cross is not going to mean the physical act of following Jesus along a dusty pathway. We are not going to climb the hill where there are already two crosses in place and be nailed up between them.

ISBN: 9780802413819

More Great Books from A. W. Tozer!

ISBN: 9780802415202

Taken from: ‘From the Grave: A 40

Day Lent Devotional’,©2017 by A.W. Tozer. Used with permission of

Our cross will be determined by whatever pain and suffering and trouble which will yet come to us because of our obedience to the will of God. The true saints of God have always borne witness that wholehearted obedience brings the cross into the light quicker than anything else.

THE FIRST STUDY BIBLE SPECIFICALLY MADE FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM.

where struggleS seem endless, god’s hope is infinite. introducing the Beyond Suffering Bible from Tyndale House Publishers and Joni Eareckson Tada.

Whether for a lifetime or a season, Joni Eareckson Tada and her team at the Joni and Friends International Disability Center share from personal experience how to go beyond the suffering so you can see God’s goodness in it all. Inside this study Bible you’ll find:

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introductions that go beyond a basic book intro, focused on suffering and disability themes.

full-page devotionals to help you engage deeply so you can be blessed or challenged by the message of the Scripture.

Con n e ct ion P oin t s

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indexes to find relevant content within the Bible; god’s story of disability: the unfolding plan of god from genesis to revelation; ideas for starting a disability ministry at your church; and more!

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truths of the bible are not abstract concepts, they’re about real, embodied people like you, and the Beyond Suffering Bible profiles them.

Learn about God and yourself through their stories.

Available Now. “I’m so excited about the Beyond Suffering Bible. It’s designed to help the reader—especially those affected by disability—grasp the goodness of God amid critical questions about suffering.” − JONI EARECKSON TADA Bible features © 2016 by Joni and Friends. All rights reserved. Philippians is from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. TYNDALE, New Living Translation, NLT, the New Living Translation logo, and LeatherLike are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

26

Isaac Dweh Memorial by David Almack “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)

It was a warm day in 2008 when I first met ‘Brother Isaac’ Dweh. I had traveled to Liberia on my first trip to Africa and had been looking forward to that day for some time. I was finally going to get to meet two of my spiritual heroes. Ironically, they were both named Isaac. Little did I know how much one of these men would affect my life.

CLC had established a Christian bookstore in this war-torn country in 1947 and it had operated all the way up to 1996 when it had to close because of the fighting. On the day that we had to finally close, Brother Isaac was the last to leave the store. Unfortunately, in his desire to make sure everything was properly taken care of in the store, he left too late. The rebels that were attacking Monrovia had now entered the city limits and set up road blocks. No one could get by without their permission. Isaac’s family lived on the other side of the checkpoint and he now had to wait in line to see if he could get through.

As he approached the front of the line, one of the rebel soldiers noticed the bookstore bag he had in his hands and signaled for him to step forward.

Isaac did not know if he was being singled out to be arrested, tortured or worse. The young man looked at the bag, saw the CLC logo and asked if that was where Isaac worked. Everything rested on his answer to that question. Keen to tell the truth, Isaac said yes. The soldier gave him a knowing look and waved him on through.

Somehow that bag saved his life.

I learned of that story and many others from Isaac as we travelled together, including what the capital city looked like now as it was beginning to recover from the war. It didn’t take long for me to understand that this man was one of God’s special people.

As we were driving around Monrovia, Isaac mentioned that he needed to stop by the post office. I casually asked if this was where CLC would have gotten its mail in the past, and he replied that this was why he had to stop. This did not make much sense to me since the ministry had been closed for so long until he explained that he had been checking the ‘CLC’ mail for the

last twelve years just in case someone was trying to get in touch with the ministry. Not only that, he had paid the fee to keep this box for every one of these years. What a man of faith!

In 2012, we reopened the CLC bookstore again and, not surprisingly, Brother Isaac wanted to be a part of the new team. He diligently worked with the store manager, James Cooper, to get the store open and to serve our customers who were delighted to learn that CLC was back and that Brother Isaac was too. In both 2014 and 2016, I was privileged to help host a pastors’ training conference for hundreds of local pastors from Monrovia and some of the interior cities as well. At each of these events, Brother Isaac was in charge of the huge book table and was always surrounded by people asking questions about the books. He loved to serve and people could tell.

One day during the first conference, I noticed that some other people were helping him serve at the book table. I asked who they were and he introduced me to his wife and son who were volunteering their time. Ministry was a family business for the Dwehs. Even though he and his wife were no longer young people and their resources were meagre, their family continued to expand as they offered help and support to extended family members, including an infant who had just been born.

One of CLC’s core values is sacrifice, and Brother Isaac lived this out on a daily basis. Despite his failing health from a long bout with cancer, he came into the bookstore on many occasions to serve as best he could. I saw him in March, 2016 and was amazed at his resilience in spite of the pain. He never seemed to stop smiling. What a big smile God must have had when he welcomed Isaac home to his eternal rest in October, 2016.

27

CLC Staff Reviews: Our Recommendations God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew

ISBN: 9780340964927, 320pp Review by Luke Potgieter, CLC Welling Manager Each day, I strive to read Christian books (beyond doing my Bible study/ devotional time) because it is a great way to build my faith and widen my knowledge of my faith. I especially love reading biographies, and this is because I become part of their story. I laugh, cry, get scared and excited with them as they go through their testimonies and life stories.

I highly recommend God’s Smuggler because it helped me in my prayer life pray for our missionaries, our silent churches and organisations around the world. It gave me an overwhelming passion to be able to share the gospel with many more people in the store and outside the store. I Love how God always came through for Brother Andrew and I’m able to share this with many today. The wonderful part about this book is that the ministry spoken about in this book is still happening and is still a very active ministry.

Habits of Grace by David Mathis

ISBN: 9781783594177, 208pp Review by David Almack, CLC North America & Caribbean Regional Director Each day, I strive to read Christian books (beyond doing my Bible study/ devotional time) because I live in world that seems to get crazier by the day.

Reading keeps me grounded and focused on the things that matter for eternity.

I highly recommend Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines by David Mathis. I’ve chosen to highlight this title because it helped me to remember how important the spiritual disciplines are to a growing Christian faith and that they point me to Jesus.

The Scribe by Francine Rivers

Hardback ISBN: 9780842382694, 231pp Review by Liz Patten, CLC Africa Regional Director (based in Mozambique) Each day, I strive to read Christian books (beyond doing my Bible study/ devotional time) because... The sad truth is that I am not currently striving to read Christian books every day, although I do pretty much always have something Christian that I am reading. I think that the ‘every day’ practice has become steadily eroded over the past few years as I have striven to know more ‘about’ the products rather than read individual books from cover to cover for myself. Perhaps I am not alone?

Of course, I do have titles that I can ‘highly recommend’, but the only C ​ hristian book I am reading for ‘myself’ at the moment is a fiction​title​, which is an unusual choice for me as I’m not naturally drawn to this genre. H ​ owever, I​ highly recommend The Scribe by Francine Rivers because it brings home the depth of emotion that some of Jesus’ early followers went through as the church was persecuted. It shows one man’s struggle to be loyal and also faithful to the ministry God called him to​, which I think is something we can all relate to​. ​In this case, t​his ministry was to be a scribe for the apostle Paul and to guard the manuscripts from harm so that God’s people (including us!) could benefit from them. Although not normally a fiction reader, this book is​my​first in the Sons of Encouragement series, and I am definitely looking forward to reading the others.

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New Resources for Small Groups Cover to Cover Bible Study: Joshua 1–10

By Phin Hall

Joshua’s life powerfully illustrates God’s call to each of us to walk by His side and trust in His ways. With these seven sessions, consider God’s guidance, faithfulness and grace for your life today.

RRP £3.99 ISBN: 9781782595427

Cover to Cover Bible Study: The Armour of God

By Lynn Penson

With the armour of God, we are able to face far more than we ever could alone. Over seven sessions, explore how we can apply God’s armour of protection and power to our lives, living every day in His strength.

RRP £3.99 ISBN: 9781782595830

Small Group Essentials

By Andy Peck

Explore ten vital aspects of small group ministry.

Discover how to develop vision, value leadership, seek God’s involvement, allow people to flourish, and a whole host of insights into small group life.

RRP £5.99 ISBN: 9781782596714

Applying God’s Word to every day life and relationships

Publishing & Media CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP. Company Registration No. 1990308. Registered Charity No. 294387.

CLC World Reviews: Our Recommendations Unstoppable by Christine Caine

Review by Jean Mintoft, CLC World Reviewer

ISBN: 9780310341178, 192pp

Wow! This is the most inspiring book I have read in years! With the subtitle, ‘Running the race you were born to win’, the author compares the Christian life to running a relay race.

It’s not an individual thing: we are all interdependent on each other. More importantly, she shows how we are all called to run the race and debunks the myths that some of us are not equipped to serve God in any significant way, or that it is impossible for ordinary Christians to make a difference in God’s world. I find it difficult to explain why this book is so motivating— perhaps it’s simply the Holy Spirit! The author writes with great passion and deals with such realities as human limitations, opposition, weariness, hopelessness and so on. This is an immensely inspiring book, and I would recommend it for Christians of any age and experience. It puts God in His true place as sovereign, strong, limitless and all-powerful, and shows what amazing things He can do with fallible people like us.

Building on the Rock by Peter Maiden

Review by Rev. Brian Butler, CLC World Reviewer

ISBN: 9780857217592, 128pp

Peter Maiden has had a distinguished career in Christian service as the International Director of OM, Chairman of the Keswick Convention and more. With all this experience, he is well qualified to talk about Christian life and especially on the theme of Christian integrity. He shows how the world’s values of ‘image’ and ‘personality’ can get in the way of our understanding of what it means to be a strong and genuine Christian. With true life examples, he uncovers the Biblical secrets of Christian living. Anyone, whether a young or a long time Christian, will benefit from reading these pages with an open mind and heart.

God in Public by Tom Wright

ISBN: 9780281074235, 208pp Review by Dr. Wilma Brock, CLC World Reviewer In this timely book, Tom Wright addresses some key questions relating to the ‘return’ of God to public life and presents an intelligent and thoughtful Biblical critique of this phenomenon. One of the ‘signs of our times’ is that addressing the wider world with the Christian message is difficult and contentious. We have lived for a long time in an implicit split-level universe where ‘God’ is detached from this world, but in his book, Wright demonstrates the many ways in which faithful interpretation of scripture can throw fresh light on the great pressing, political and ethical issues of our day. He brings together the message of Jesus in its larger Biblical context and the challenges of the contemporary public and political worlds. This is a compelling book which challenges us to think through the issues of the day in the light of the gospel of Jesus and address them with courage and wisdom.

Parables by John MacArthur

ISBN: 9780718082314, 288pp Review by Bonnie Brooks, CLC World Reviewer The parables of Jesus may be familiar to us, but do we understand their purpose and meaning? John Macarthur emphasises the need for us to study Christ’s teachings carefully with the Holy Spirit’s guidance if we are to grasp the truth in each parable. As he takes the reader through each story, the author provides helpful information, such as historical and religious background and customs. He is careful to use Scripture to support his comments and arguments, and clarify meaning. His writing is easy to follow and holds the reader’s interest. Even if someone has been acquainted with these parables since childhood, as I have, there is more to learn from this book.

30

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For more information, visit

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ONE MINUTE WITH THE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE

Start or end your day with these

powerful oneminute reminders of God’s work in the lives of women in the Bible. You’ll find encouragement for your own faith journey as you learn how God has comforted, helped and provided for the women in the Bible. Rediscover His amazing love for you!

ISBN: 9780736969710

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