Prayer Focus Sept - Oct 2013

September 2013

1 Sun. UK – Aberdeen (Photo above) In July, CLC took over the Café at the Credo Centre where our Aberdeen bookshop is located. This arrangement will be for a sixmonth trial period and then the situation will be reviewed. Praise the Lord for the possibility of taking on this exciting project. Please pray for Ruth, who is the cook at the café, and for adequate volunteer staffing for both the bookshop and café.

2 Mon. Netherlands – Change of Director As of this week, Bertus Keuter is the National Director for CLC Netherlands. He will cooperate closely with Corine Brijs who is the manager of CLC Apeldoorn and the bookkeeper for CLC. Bertus also has responsibility for working on the ‘web shop’. Els Oosterhuis, the previous Director, will now focus more on the work in the Amsterdam bookshop.

3 Tue. USA - New Release Please pray for the effective release of the new CLC Publications book, Resisting Gossip, which will be launched today, September 3rd. This vital and very persuasive book was written by Pastor Matt Mitchell and has already received a great deal of interest as there are very few

books available on this subject.

4 Wed. Korea – New Website For the past six months, CLC Korea has been working on a new and improved website with an additional ‘shopping mall’ feature that the team hope will do well. The site was due to be launched sometime during August.

5 Thu. Portugal – New Project “From September 6th to 8th, CLC Portugal will be involved in the first ‘Christian Spirituality Encounter’, a conference which hopefully will become an annual event. The project is in partnership with another non-denominational Christian organisation, TeachBeyond, and a local church. The event will be held in three different locations, starting in Coimbra where our CLC bookshop is located. At least 200 people, in particular Christian leaders and teachers, are expected to attend. The main speaker will be a Brazilian author.”

Carlos Cunha, Manager 6 Fri. Philippines – International Book Fair Once again CLC Philippines will be present at the Manila International Book Fair with our biggest stand to date - six booths. Praise the Lord, we have sponsorship from publishers for one booth and another publisher is sharing some of the costs with us. CLC will have a 20 foot container van to transport all the books and Bibles for display and sale. The staff at the head office and main bookshop in Valenzuela will run the stand with help from CLC staff in Malolos and Cebu. The Book Fair runs from the 11th to 15th of September and almost 100,000 visitors are expected.

7-8 Sat/Sun UK – Shop Managers The dates for the next shop managers’ meetings are September 10th/11th and 17th/18th. One week is for managers in Scotland and the north of England, and the other is for the south of England managers.

Please pray that the time will be used wisely and productively as the managers consider practical issues concerning the running of the shops. Mick Goodman, Head of Operations, and John Auger, the Accountant, will be spending time with them.

9 Mon. RD Meetings – Digital Project Significant progress has been made towards launching the CLC eReader App for Apple iPhones and iPads. We hope to be releasing the app over the next few months. The participating websites will need to be prepared for this change and contracts agreed with publishers. This is a major undertaking for CLC but we believe it has the potential to ‘Make the Message Global’. Please pray that God will overrule in every aspect of this project so that it will glorify Him and reach many people with the Good News.

10 Tue. RD Meetings – Publishing The Regional Directors will be considering the many possibilities we have for extending the

scope of our publishing around the world, including multiple editions in different languages.

Please pray for the human and financial resources to make this a possibility.

11 Wed. RD Meetings – Struggles The Regional Directors Meeting will spend time evaluating our CLC countries that are experiencing difficulties. The economic climate, combined with changing technologies, places great strain on the work in certain countries.

Pray that we will be able to identify the right path forward.

12 Thu. RD Meetings – POD At the last Regional Directors’ Meeting, we investigated the possibilities for Print On Demand equipment being installed in some of our locations. This would facilitate the printing of books on site without the delay of a long supply chain. There are many issues to be resolved but this technology has great potential.

From Sept. 9th to 12th, the CLC Regional Directors will be meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.

They have a number of major issues to discuss - some of which relate to the whole CLC world, not just individual countries. Collage below of the RD team with their family & friends.

Gerardo & Silvia

Liz with CLC Ivory Coast team

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Romualdo & Deedah

Gary & Anita

Lewis & Elsbeth

Neil & Sheena

13 Fri. Colombia – Mexico CLC Colombia is in the process of opening a bookshop and wholesale facility in Mexico City.

At the time of writing, the legal documents for CLC Mexico are already in place and a rental property of almost 700 square metres, over two floors, has been acquired. Over the past few weeks a lot more has been done in preparation to open this new work, in a new country for CLC. Please pray as the shop and warehouse prepare to open for business and service.

14-15 Sat/Sun UK - Head of Operations Mick Goodman, the new Head of Operations for CLC UK, sums up his prayer requests as follows:• To meet and get to know the people in CLC • For wisdom and insight to quickly grasp what I need to understand to fulfil my role • For grace and strength to adjust to new working patterns One of Mick’s priorities will be a review of the IT systems used by the warehouse, shops, and accounts department, so that he can recommend a way of integrating all three.

18 Wed. Portugal – Bible Studies The second floor meeting room in the CLC bookshop in Coimbra continues to be well used by different groups. This month the Chronological Bible studies, which are designed for people interested in the history and content of the Bible, will start again. Over the past few years a number of people have come to faith in Christ through these studies.

19 Thu. Hungary - Miskolc The future for Ilona Szuhánszky, the manager in Miskolc, is uncertain. Her husband is a pastor, and the couple may need to move to another town in Hungary with his job. At the time of writing there was no final decision on this, but the situation should become clear by November.

Please pray for Ilona as she contemplates yet another move – it does not get easier as you get older and feel the need to settle in one place! Pray too for someone to take her place in the Miskolc bookshop if Ilona has to leave.

16 Mon. India – Online Shop Sales from the ELS (CLC) online bookshop, that was launched last November, are doing well.

A recent internet advertisement campaign helped to increase sales significantly. One of the staff members, Ravikumar, has now been trained to take over the responsibility of this CLC UK Praise TeamGod 2012 Confernence ‘bookshop’. for the growth of the online sales, and pray for Ravikumar as he works on this project.

17 Tue. Portugal – Counselling A new ministry, based in the Coimbra bookshop, started in June of this year. A small but growing group meet together on a weekly basis for training and equipping in Christian counselling.

Carlos Cunha, the shop manager, asks for prayer that this initiative would grow and provide much needed help and encouragement for both believers and non-believers in the local community.

20 Fri. France – Meetings The Annual General Assembly for CLC France will be held on September 22nd. Following on from this, the bookshop managers will meet together from the 23rd to the 25th. At the beginning of September a new member, Christian Piaget, joined the team and has taken on the responsibility for Purchasing for CLC France. Pray for him in this demanding role.

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The Future

21-22 Sat/Sun UK – Birmingham (Above) Having been almost blocked off for over eighteen months by redevelopment work, a new entrance to the main railway station now means that many more people walk past CLC Birmingham. Give thanks for greatly increased sales and pray that the remaining work on the road outside will not be too disruptive. Pray for the manager, Tracey Simpson, and the shop staff as they encourage former customers to come back to the shop.

23 Mon. Netherlands – Book Fair CLC will be attending the Annual Christian Book Fair today, September 23rd. This is a place to meet up with friends and colleagues in similar ministries, and to buy new material. Please pray for wisdom for the CLC staff to make good, God-honouring choices, given the wide variety of products on display.

24 Tue. Ecuador – New Computer System A new computer system has just been installed in the CLC Ecuador bookshops and headquarters.

This advance has been an additional expense and the shop personnel will need some training to use it. Please pray that the accounts, inventory and billing processes work well and prove beneficial for the team and the ministry.

25 Wed. Switzerland – Lugano-Agno “CLC has been in Lugano Agno, southern Switzerland, for 5 years this month. Sales Page 4 (September)

Our Reality are down on previous years but costs are the same, so we pray that God will help us find ways to lower costs and, at the same time, ways of reaching out to more people. We would like to relocate the bookshop to another part of the city and trust the Lord to lead us to the right place.” Carlo Ciafani, Manager 26 Thu. Japan – Managers’ Meetings “From the 30th of September to the 1st of October, we will have meetings for the bookshop managers. As a ministry and as a team, we are experiencing economic difficulties in these days but we plan to discuss strategies for good sales in the Christmas season, and to spend time praying for one another. By God’s grace our mission continues. Thank you for praying for CLC Japan.” Satoru Nakano, National Director 27 Fri. France – Protestants en Fête This weekend (27th to 29th) CLC France will be attending the large Evangelical gathering in Paris — Protestants en Fête — with a bookstall.

Praise the Lord for the opportunity to promote

the ministry at this event which takes place once every three years. Pray for the CLC members who will be running the bookstall.

28-29 Sat/Sun UK – Newcastle The Newcastle shop staff would appreciate prayer for some upcoming events and activities.

On October 19th, they will be running a large bookstall for the Messianic Jewish Conference in Gateshead – this is a twice yearly event.

During September, invitations have been sent out for the CLC Newcastle ‘Christmas Book’ evenings. Please pray for a positive response to these invitations.

30 Mon. Austria – New Shop Staff Please pray for our ministry in Graz, Austria. At the time of writing, we assume that Edeltraud and Armin Heumann will be returning to Graz in September, after a time of extended leave. We praise God for a young German lady, Marina, who joined the team at the beginning of September to assist Edeltraud in the bookshop. Please pray for Edeltraud and Marina as they work together and prepare for the Christmas season which is always a very busy time for CLC Graz. Gary Chamberlin, the European Regional Director, will visit them next week - October 11th to the 14th.

October 2013 1 Tue. USA – Pastors’ Breakfast “Please pray for CLC USA’s annual Pastors’ Breakfast that is due to take place tomorrow, October 2nd. We hope to have two CLC authors, Matt Mitchell and Fred Hartley, as the main speakers. Our goal is to have up to 100 pastors in attendance at this event.” Dave Almack, CLC USA Director 2 Wed. Ecuador – New Warehouse Manager “Jimmy Caiza has been working with us in CLC for the past 4 years and has just taken over the

responsibility of Manager for the Wholesale department. Please pray for him that God will give him wisdom to direct the team in this department.” Carlos Marin, National Director

Ecuador Wholesale team with new manager Jimmy Caiza in the middle.

3 Thu. Italy – Mission Promotion Even though CLC has been present in Italy for more than 55 years, our missionary identity is still widely unknown and often customers believe that the bookshops belong to the local manager! We hope to be able to communicate our mission purpose in new ways through short presentations, leaflets and a dedicated website for CLC’s international literature projects.

4 Fri. Spain – Annual Conference Please pray for CLC Spain as they have their Annual Conference from October 4th to 7th.

Nacho Sanchez will be stepping down from leadership and the new Director will be Darwin Ashley Vergel. Darwin has been the manager of the Madrid shop for the past few years. Gary Chamberlin (CLC European Regional Director) and Neil Wardrope (CLC International Director) plan to attend the conference.

Darwin Ashley Vergel

5-6 Sat/Sun. UK – Distribution Details More changes to the distribution patterns in the UK Christian book trade recently are unsettling Page 5 (September - October)

to both retail and wholesale. Please pray for the warehouse team as they adapt to distributing new lines - making the best use of their limited space - and for the shop teams as they get to grips with new supply lines during this busy preChristmas period. Pray that we can all meet the needs of our customers for Bibles, books and other items swiftly and efficiently. Pray for those in the wider Christian book trade who have recently lost or changed jobs.

7 Mon. Colombia – Miami CLC Colombia opened a warehouse distribution point in Miami last year and now they are preparing to open a bookshop in the city as well.

Currently the shop property they have chosen is due to become vacant in October and then refurbishing work can take place with a view to opening possibly before the end of the year.

8 Tue. Romania – Great Books!

We thank God for the help we have received as we seek to improve our publishing activities.

We are pleased that we have been able to translate and publish great books like Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray and Not Good if Detached by Corrie ten Boom. We need God’s help to maintain good quality work in terms of translating, editing and printing – and we need to find the right people to help us.

9 Wed. Korea – Translation into Chinese “We are planning to translate 5 different Korean titles into Chinese - which will total 5,000 copies. We would value your prayer that the books would be used to spread the Gospel.

Pease pray too that the translation process, and the printing in China, will be done well.”

Young-Ho Park 10 Thu. International Office Trustees The Trustees of the International Office carry out a vital but rarely seen responsibility. They meet today in Sheffield, UK and their mandate is to ensure the legal and financial health of the organisation. Please pray for this group led by Graham Ince.

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11 Fri. Burkina Faso – Short Term Service Thank God for Ben Saxe, who did short term service with CLC in Ouagadougou earlier this year. Among other things, Ben was able to help team leader Prosper Weda with learning English. This is very useful for Prosper’s wider role in CLC, as he is sometimes required to travel to English-speaking countries. Pray that Prosper will be able to continue with his new skills and add to them.

12-13 Sat/Sun. UK – Accounts Team Pray for John Auger, Will Cerri and Oliver Burberry – the newly formed accounts team for CLC UK. Pray for them as they process all the daily and weekly figures. Pray for John as he starts to work on budgets for the 2014/15 financial year as well as preparing the monthly accounts this year. All their background work is vital to the smooth running of the mission, and is often unnoticed by the wider world!

14 Mon. India – Bombay Earlier this year a major portion of the concrete ceiling of the Bombay bookshop collapsed. Thankfully there were no customers in the building and the two staff members on duty at the time were unharmed. Praise God for His protection. Books and display racks in the centre of the shop were badly damaged however, and the shop had to be vacated for a few weeks while repair work was carried out. The shop premises, which belongs to ELS (CLC), was not very old and this has meant an unexpected expense for ELS India. Pray that the shop will make good sales in the coming months in order to cover some of the losses.

15 Tue. Philippines - Relocation CLC Cebu has been located in the Elizabeth shopping mall for almost ten years but now the shop needs to relocate – by the end of November – as the present location is being taken over by a large fast-food chain. At the time of writing, two possible shop venues were being considered. Please pray that the move will go smoothly to a place that will suit our staff and customers’ needs.

16 Wed. Sierra Leone – Building Project The Sierra Leone team has a lot of vision and there are many projects on their hearts. One project is to complete the building in Freetown, where CLC has constructed a small complex of apartments. The rent from these apartments is a great help for the ministry, which can hardly keep going by the sale of the books alone. Funds are needed to complete the project, preferably in the near future.

17 Thu. Germany – Prayer for a Customer Recently, a former drug addict who had become a Christian visited us in the Hamburg bookshop. He was drunk, and asked in an aggressive manner, for money once again.

What a sad situation! Please pray with us that this man will continue to come to the shop but in a better condition, and that he takes his duties as a husband and father seriously.

18 Fri. Cote d’Ivoire – Covering Costs Earlier in the year, we shared that we want to sell a CLC property in order to pay major supplier debts. We are still in the process of doing this and would appreciate prayer.

We have discovered that some important documents are missing, which complicates the procedure and makes it more costly. We have also tried to reduce our regular costs by reducing staff numbers in two of our three bookshops. Please pray that these measures will enable the ministry to survive and thrive.

19-20 Sat/Sun. UK – Welling Please pray with us for a new team member.

With the increasing need for Luke Potgieter to

work on our social networking, the necessity for another volunteer is becoming more evident.

Pray for someone committed and called by the Lord to the ministry. Pray also that our CLC presentation at a Baptist church on the 27th October would be fruitful and informative. We would like to make more appointments with churches for Sunday morning presentations.

Welling, UK

21 Mon. Romania – New Possibilities Gary Chamberlin is visiting Ronela Micula and the team in Romania later this month. Please pray as Ronela and Gary talk about many issues concerning the work in Brasov and Timisoara.

There are also plans to visit Cluj-Napoca, the second most populous city in Romania, to meet with several pastors about the possibility of supplying Hungarian language books to the large Hungarian-speaking population that lives in Romania. Please pray for wisdom in this important matter.

22 Tue. Canada - Annual Conference The annual staff conference for CLC Canada will be held from October 23rd to 26th. At the same time, we will be celebrating 60 years of CLC in Canada. David Almack, the Director of CLC USA will be the keynote speaker, and Neil and Sheena Wardrope from the International Office will also be attending. Pray for the National Director Oscar Cardozo and the team during these important and significant days together.

23 Wed. Netherlands – Witness in the Streets “Due to various circumstances, several Christian bookshops had to close down in the Netherlands this year, including our CLC shop Page 7 (October)

in Arnhem. With sufficient volunteer help, there were over 250 Christian bookshops in the Netherlands until recently. Now we are down to around 217 with more shops expected to close. It is important that people still have access to good advice and help with buying books in the shops or online. Please pray for a solid future for our trade, which also provides a visible Christian witness on the streets.” Els Oosterhuis 24 Thu. Uruguay – Consolidation & Expansion “We are thankful to God for His faithfulness to us this year and grateful for a growth in sales during the period July 2012- July 2013. We are using this time to consolidate the team and make plans for expansion either in another area of Montevideo or a different part of Uruguay.

We are also actively seeking new staff with a love for Christian literature who would be able to take on the mobile work – taking Bibles and books to the interior of the country.” Humberto Urrutia 25 Fri. Portugal – Annual Board Meeting The annual Board meeting for CLC Portugal will be held tomorrow, October 26th. Pray that this day will be a time of refreshment, encouragement and God’s blessing as we face and discuss all the challenges ahead of us – publishing, printing, eBooks, bookshop and internet sales, counselling and partnerships with other ministries.

26-27 Sat/Sun. UK – Leadership Team The UK Leadership Team meets this weekend.

Pray for them as they review the year so far and make plans for the coming months. As always, much wisdom and insight is needed as they look at ways of developing the ministry in a sustainable manner. Give thanks for all the opportunities CLC has had to do event and conference bookstalls in the last year, and pray as we allocate resources, people

and equipment for this expanding area of our ministry in the coming year.

28 Mon. Colombia – Bookshop Renovations CLC Colombia are not only extending their ministry into Mexico and Miami this year, they also want to refit two of the CLC Colombia bookshops - in Cali and Barranquilla. Please pray as they redesign and equip these shops that the changes would be beneficial to, and appreciated by, both staff and customers.

Praise the Lord for His enabling and provision for all these major projects.

29 Tue. Philippines – Looking for Authors CLC Publications in the Philippines wants to develop in the area of eBooks and they are searching for Filipino authors with a relevant message to share. Please pray about this need and also for the negotiations for publishing rights.

30 Wed. Pray for the Pray-ers!

Give thanks for the faithful group of retired CLC UK workers that meet twice a year to pray for the CLC family worldwide. They will be meeting to pray together today and tomorrow - they also pray right through the year of course! We will only know the true value of this work when we get to heaven!!

31 Thu. Italy – Media Matters CLC Italy has a steadily growing ‘media’ branch, with a couple of evangelistic DVD’s so far. In June we completed work on two DVD’s of the Friends and Heroes Bible cartoon series and we have another project involving the dubbing of the film October Baby. Through DVD’s we hope to reach the non-readers. It’s essential though to sell a certain number of the DVD’s produced so far, to be able to do other projects.

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