Prayer Focus July - August 2012

July 2012 1 Sun. UK – Holiday Season

As UK CLC bookshops increasingly look for opportunities to sell ‘beyond’ the shop, the approaching summer holiday season gives many shops the chance to provide books for youth and children’s camps. Pray for wisdom as stock is selected and orders are placed. Pray that God will use the Bibles and books displayed to extend His kingdom.

CLC Italy Team

2 Mon. Italy - Conference (photo above)

CLC Italy are currently holding their Annual Conference (June 30th-July 5th). Please pray for them in their times of fellowship and in the planning sessions where they will be looking to ways of developing the work in the future. Director Andreas Bader writes: “We are looking for renewed inspiration so we can serve the Church even better, and be a blessing to our nation.”

3 Tue. Australia – Cairns

As part of the phased closure of the CLC bookshops in Australia, CLC Cairns reopens today under new ownership and a new name - LifeStore. The location and the staff remain the same and the future of the shop looks secure. Praise the Lord!

4 Wed. Barbados – Unusual Book Table Venue!

Every July, teachers both local and from the wider Caribbean gather here to evaluate papers submitted to the Caribbean Examination Council. For the last few years CLC has been invited to provide a booktable at this event. Please pray that this opportunity will continue, that we will be wise in choosing appropriate books to take and that we will be blessed with good sales.

5 Thu. France - Summer Bookstall

We will be holding bookstalls over three weeks (July 8th-20th and August 10th18th) at Gagnières Christian Convention again this summer. Heidi Lauber and Hervé Lessous will be taking turns to run the bookstall.

6 Fri. Colombia – Miami (see back cover) The new CLC warehouse in Miami opened officially two months ago. We hope the warehouse will improve the distribution of CLC Spanish publications in Latin America and among Spanish speaking communities in USA. Pray for Ruben Reyes, the manager, as he oversees the orders and shipping and also promotes sales.

7-8 Sat/Sun UK – Administration

During the next couple of months Tim Bloomfield, the current Administrator, will be travelling around the UK visiting quite a number of the bookshops and CLC owned properties. Please pray for safe travel and wise use of time to get everything done that needs attending to on these visits.

9 Mon. Hungary – Debrecen

“From today until Saturday, CLC Debrecen will be holding a bookstall at the ‘Debrecen Summer Worship School’. It is a great opportunity to make contacts, mainly with

young people, from all around the country.

We attended the event last year and sales were very good – we trust it will be the same this year.”

Zsolt Karpati, Director Photo of Hungary Book Table 2011

10 Tue. USA - ICRS

Please pray for the CLC USA team as they will have a booth at the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in Orlando, July 15th-18th. Their desire is to effectively promote the many new titles available from authors like Michael Catt, Stuart Briscoe and Warren Wiersbe, and to have a number of ‘divine’ appointments with buyers from all over the world.

11 Wed. Cyprus - Camps

“We have been asked again this year to hold booktables at three Christian camps: a children’s camp in July and family camps in July and August. We thank the Lord for these opportunities, especially as sales have been low recently, but also because it means that the bookshop ministry will become more widely known among the Christian community.” Sotos and Eva Photiadou

12 Thu. Mozambique – Conference in Maputu

The annual Pastors’ Conference organised

by Editora Fiel, a Brazilian supplier, will be held in Maputo for the first time this year (13th-15th July) and CLC has been asked to attend with a booktable. Please pray that this new opportunity will be an encouragement for Alexandre Bila, the shop manager. Editora Fiel would like to partner with us in other ways and Liz Patten, the Regional Director for CLC Africa, hopes to be present at the conference to meet with Fiel’s representative. The AGM of CLC’s Board will also be held during that week.

13 Fri. Russia – CLC Conference

A Conference for our Russian speaking staff (from various countries) will be held near Moscow from July 14-18. Neil Wardrope, 2

CLC International Director and Gary Chamberlin, Europe Regional Director, will also be at the conference. Neil will be bringing the morning devotions. Pray that the participants will be encouraged by the devotions, the training and the fellowship.

14-15 Sat/Sun UK – Stockport

A fire broke out in the building next to the CLC Stockport bookshop seven weeks ago.

The damage caused was significant; the next door building had to be demolished and we had to vacate our premises indefinitely because of the extent of the damage, which included the roof over our shop. At the time of writing, we are looking for a suitable temporary property to use as it could be several months before we can return.

Please pray for John Watkins, the manager and his team at this time.

16 Mon. Swaziland – VAT Matters

Please pray that the registration for VAT (this is new to Swaziland) will enable the shop to expand their range of gifts and music from suppliers in the Republic of South Africa. This is needed to help with the continued re-growth of the business.

17 Tue. Panama - Relocation

The main CLC bookshop in Panama City relocated at the end of May. The new building is smaller, but it is brand new and more affordable. It is strategically located on a main street and just a block away from an underground station that will be opened next year. Pray also for the plans to buy a property specifically for the CLC offices and warehouse.

18 Wed. Panama – Meetings for Booksellers

Today and tomorrow, CLC Panama is hosting its 4th ‘National Meeting’ for booksellers.

Ten publishing houses will be participating in this event. Please pray for God’s blessing on the time spent together, and that all the hard work put in to this venture will be rewarding for everyone.

19 Thu. Kenya – Location, Location

CLC Kenya needs to find a suitable site for their next ‘Shop-in-a-Box’ project so that they can get on with purchasing and converting

a shipping container to be used as a bookshop. They also need to re-locate their Warehouse and HQ and plan to move much further out of the city to find somewhere affordable. At the same time they would like a ‘downtown’ retail outlet that customers can also use as a ‘showroom’ for ordering from the warehouse. Please pray.

20 Fri. Colombia - Tunja

CLC Colombia opened a bookshop in the town of Tunja last month. Jairo Nieves and Shirley Santos, who married recently, have moved from the HQ in Bogota to manage the bookshop. Pray that they will settle well into married life and, with the Lord’s strength, adapt to all the changes they are facing. Pray that this new shop will be a blessing to many.

25 Wed. Tanzania - Container Shop

At the start of the year, the CLC ministry in Tanzania was seriously struggling.

We were down to just two staff, Organ and Salome Mapinda, and our last few Tanzanian shillings. The rent for the shop in Dar es Salaam had recently doubled and we needed to move out. Praise the Lord that with help from CLC UK, and Organ’s hard work, a shipping container was purchased and converted into a CLC bookshop. At the time of writing however, the future is still uncertain. Organ feels the time is right for him to leave CLC (his wife plans to continue with CLC for the time being) and the offer of a location for the shop is in doubt. Hopefully by the time you read this, the shop will be in the right location, adequately staffed and operating. Please pray. (Shop photo below)

21-22 Sat/Sun UK - Canterbury

We give thanks for our two student helpers, David and Nancy, who have been faithful workers for the past three years. We shall miss them, and pray God’s blessing on their future, as they return to Malaysia. Also Imon, an intern from India who has been with us since February, has to go back to India to renew his visa. Please pray for him as he wants to return to live in the UK.

23 Mon. Paraguay – Slow Progress

Please keep praying for the opening of a CLC bookshop in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.

The process of taking over an existing bookshop is taking much longer than we originally thought. The couple who own the shop are now back in their home country, New Zealand. Almost every legal paper has to pass through a legalization and certification process that means progress is much slower and more expensive than expected.

26 Thu. USA – Containers

At the time of writing, CLC USA is preparing a container of materials needed for the remodeling of the bookshop in Freetown, and stock ordered from US based suppliers for CLC Sierra Leone. A container of stock also left CLC USA at the end of May for the re-launch of a CLC in Liberia. Please pray that it arrives safely and on time. It should be in Liberia by the beginning of August.

24 Tue. Canada – Future Leadership

Rod Fowler has been the National Director of CLC Canada for about 15 years. After the first six years of service in this capacity, he took a break from the job but returned to do a further year or two – but this has extended to nine years already! Please pray as Rod feels it is time to step down. Over the next few months we need to find the person of God’s choice for this role.

Container leaving CLC USA for Liberia.

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27 Fri. Sierra Leone - Container

Book Aid, in the UK, is preparing a container for shipment to CLC Sierra Leone. As well as stock and other useful items, there will be a number of shop fittings donated by CLC UK. Please pray for the safe arrival of this container (probably estimated to be in August) and for smooth clearance from customs in Freetown. A mission team organised by CLC USA will be travelling to Freetown in October in order to work on a major re-fit of our HQ shop in Circular Road.

28-29 Sat/Sun UK – Ipswich

Karen Markwell has worked part time in the bookshop since January 2011. Prompted by the Lord, she applied to become a fulltime worker and has been accepted. Pray for Karen and her family in this new phase. Pray that Karen is able to balance home and work life wisely and that her role in the bookshop brings her much challenge, encouragement, satisfaction and blessing..

30 Mon. Romania – For Praise

“We praise the Lord for His constant blessing and help. It is a miracle that in the midst of all the financial uncertainty in our country, we can still keep going, and even growing. With God’s help, our sales have been fairly good and we have already published a number of new books and reprints this year. We plan to do more publishing in the second part of the year.” Ronela Micula, Director

31 Tue. Romania - Accounts

“We need to make changes in our accounts department – both to the system and in the personnel. We are looking for God’s guidance in this matter. Praise the Lord for voluntary assistance recently from Ligia, an accountant. She has really helped me to have a better understanding of our financial situation and the steps required in order to increase our profitability. We hope to be able to involve her more in future.” Ronela Micula, Director.

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August 2012 1 Wed. Kenya – Busy Months

“The months of August and September are usually busy months as far as book tables at conferences and meetings are concerned. We desire that we would have the opportunity to attend as many of these events as possible, and that we would move a level higher in how we display stock, present ourselves and interact with the participants.” Edith Wamalwa

2 Thu. Papua New Guinea – Imports

Praise the Lord that two delayed shipments of books finally cleared customs earlier this year, however it was more expensive than expected as our regular customs agent no longer takes on this kind of work. We have now found a new and reliable agent for future orders.

Romualdo Macinas, Regional Director for Asia, plans to visit CLC PNG this month.

Please pray for wisdom in planning for the future of the ministry.

3 Fri. Romania – Shop Access

Development work is being carried out to the ‘old town’ in Brasov and the town square, which is very close to the CLC shop, is being turned into a pedestrian area with access to tourist buses only. It is not so easy for customers to access the shop and there are problems with parking and road diversions. Added to this, sales are normally lower at this time of year as it is the holiday season. Please pray that the shop would have good sales despite these difficulties.

4-5 Sat/Sun. UK – Need for Staff

There is always a need for more staff on the UK Team. Please pray in particular for the right person to take on the role of Administrator when Tim Bloomfield, the current Administrator, leaves and moves to New Zealand later this year.

6 Mon. Italy - Publishing

Praise the Lord for the four new titles produced recently by CLC Italy; a revised and renamed version of a ‘Biblical Guide for Evangelists’ by Billy Graham, a book written

by a missionary who has served for many years in Italy, a book for teenagers and CLC’s first Manga in Italian.

(Photo above)

7 Tue. Myanmar – Publishing

Praise the Lord the country is settling down both politically and economically and there is great hope for the future. Please pray that the Lord will give the CLC team strength and courage in their publishing work. They are currently working on several titles that need to be completed. Earlier in the year, CLC Myanmar was able to provide some training for the Director of a publishing house in Cambodia. Praise the Lord for this opportunity to help others in similar ministries. (Shop photo below)

at our HQ on the 2nd July at the latest, but our computer software supplier is still working on our software at the time of writing. Please pray that by the end of August - at the very latest - we will be able to go over to the new system so as to have time to adjust, synchronize with the shops (they are already using it) and resolve all ‘teething problems’ before the run-up to Christmas!

9 Thu. Liberia – Re-launch

Praise God for the progress made towards the re-launch of CLC Liberia. We are now re-registered in Monrovia, and there is a container full of stock on its way from the USA. Please pray for its safe arrival (estimated to be around the beginning of August so it may have arrived already!) and smooth clearance from customs. Also pray for the practical preparations of the bookshop, and for someone to help our CLC worker Isaac Dweh with this.

10 Fri. Panama – Josh McDowell Conferences

This weekend, August 11th and 12th, CLC Panama will be attending conferences with Josh McDowell and co-ordinating the sale of his books. Please pray for our ministry and also for the ministry of Josh McDowell and his team. Between April and September this year they are visiting many towns and cities all around Latin America with their ‘Bare Facts’ campaign.

11-12 Sat/Sun. UK – Inverness 8 Wed. France – Computer System

We had planned to install the new system

In two weeks time the Inverness shop will be launching a new book by Catherine Campbell - Broken Works Best. The event is organised by CLC Inverness and the ICF 5

Book Club. Please pray that the launch event will be well attended and that the book will be a blessing and encouragement to many.

sensitive to the Lord’s leading in appointing the manager and staff for this new enterprise.

13 Mon. Canada – Move

17 Fri. French West Africa

14 Tue. Japan – New Staff

A new member of staff joined the Ochanomizu branch of CLC in Tokyo in May. Please pray for Shihori Onuma, who will be working part time, as she settles into her role in the ministry and finds her place in the team. The staff are very grateful to have this much needed extra help.

15 Wed. Indonesia – Plans to Boost Sales

Please pray that God would encourage and guide the CLC team in Indonesia. The bookshop in Medan in particular is going through a difficult time and would like to see increased sales. Sales in CLC Surabaya are being maintained but it would be good to see growth here too. The Surabaya team, led by Donny Kairupan, the shop manager and CLC Indonesia National Director, have many plans for booktables and are visiting other bookshops with the view to them taking our books on consignment.

16 Thu. Zambia – New Bookshop A group of Christian business men from Zambia, in association with CLC, are planning to open a bookshop in Lusaka soon.

This is the first time CLC has tried this type of business model. Please pray for wisdom in the working out of procedures. Pray that we are able to get the company registered, and stock ordered in time for delivery to Lusaka for the opening at the beginning of October. Pray that those responsible are

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Prosper Weda, CLC FWA Director, was encouraged recently when he received a letter from a supplier in Europe acknowledging an order for books from CLC in Burkina Faso. The supplier said they don’t usually send books to Africa, but because the request came from CLC, they were willing to make an exception! Please pray for all our teams, that we will always work with integrity and thereby honour the Lord’s Name as well as maintain the reputation of CLC International.

18-19 Sat/Sun. UK – Dundee

Next Saturday the Dundee shop has a large bookstall, at the Caird Hall, for the Church of Scotland Guild. The author Jennifer Rees Larcombe will be the key note speaker and over 2000 people are expected to be at the meetings. Pray for the CLC staff as they have to attend to both the bookshop and this large event on Saturday. Extra help will be needed.

20 Mon. Panama – International Book Fair

“We will be participating in the Panama International Book Fair from August 22nd - 26th. Please pray as always that we can pass on the message of salvation, through means of Christian literature, to the thousands of people who visit this fair.”

Milton Cheng, Director

Yes, we’ll be there... please pray!

At the time of writing, the CLC HQ, offices and main shop in Quebec is preparing to move to a smaller location, having sold the building CLC Canada previously used. Please pray that all the work to prepare the new location will be done well and on time. Pray that we will make the best use of the space available and create somewhere inviting and suitable - both for our needs and for those of our customers.

21 Tue. Bolivia – New CLC Shop

A Christian lawyer is currently working on the CLC registration process but it could take up to nine months before we can open the shop. Please pray that we’ll be able to do all the paper work in good time. Gamaliel and Marlene Padilla from CLC Venezuela will leave the National Director position to move to Bolivia at the end of this year and will be responsible for getting the new shop established.

22 Wed. Sierra Leone – New Staff

Praise God for Lavinia Kamara, who joined CLC Sierra Leone as the new Finance Officer in May. We are grateful for the experience that she brings to the role.

Please pray that she will settle quickly into the team and be able to make a dynamic contribution in the face of the challenges of her tasks, which include bringing the [auditors’] accounts up to date.

23 Thu. New Zealand - Closure for CLC CLC New Zealand recently had to make the difficult decision to close down some of their operations. At the time of writing, two shops and the wholesale operation have been taken over by another Christian bookshop chain. While it was not an easy decision to make, Stewart Rowe, the Director was at peace about the changes. At the time of writing, the future of the third CLC shop, New Plymouth, was under review. Plans are being considered to continue with some form of literature ministry and the team is expectant that God will lead them on to something new.

24 Fri. Kenya – Wisdom in Ordering

Please pray for wisdom in the ordering process. We desire to order what reflects the heart of God and is relevant to our customers. In this way we know that the stocks will turn over well and we will avoid the problem of having slow moving stock.

25-26 Sat/Sun UK–Holiday Weekend Over this UK holiday weekend CLC are running bookshops at two large events. The biggest, in Lincoln, is ‘One’ (originally called Grapevine) and a team from Alresford (CLC Wholesale) will be there. The other is ‘North 2012’ and is run by New Frontiers. John Watkins, from CLC Stockport, will be taking the books. Pray for safety in travel and setting up the bookstalls. Give thanks for these opportunities to sell Bibles and books and to bring the work of CLC to people’s attention.

27 Mon. Korea – Changes

CLC Korea has recently concentrated only on publishing and distribution but, in response to customers’ requests, they opened up a small bookshop within their HQ building in June. The wholesale work continues to expand and grow. A second new CLC warehouse, beside the one built last year, should be completed and ready for use by now. Praise the Lord for these developments.

28 Tue. Europe - Sales Opportunities

This could be said of most CLC countries around the world but please pray for increasing opportunities to sell books, and make CLC’s work known, through booktables at churches, conferences, Christian camps etc. A number of countries in Europe need to see increased sales such as Switzerland, Poland and Spain to name but a few.

29 Wed. Romania – Choosing Books

“We need God’s guidance to choose appropriate books for publishing. We know it is a great opportunity and responsibility to put in people’s hands either books with eternal value or just ‘another’ book; we pray for wisdom to choose books of the first category. Please pray too that we will continue to improve the quality of our publishing, in order to produce books at a high professional standard, even if not all of us are ‘professionals’ in these matters!”

Ronela Micula

30 Thu. Philippines – Book Fair

“The Manila International Book Fair will be held from September 12th to 16th. Please 7

pray for wisdom as we do the necessary preparation to make this bookfair a success.

Pray that the Lord will give us many new contacts, customers and opportunities through this event.” Romualdo Macinas

31 Fri. Australia – Last Bookshop

Tomorrow, September 1st, the last CLC bookshop – CLC Lawnton, in Brisbane - closes. There will still be a few months of tidying up the remaining stock and administrative tasks to oversee after such a long, established and effective ministry

comes to an end. Please pray for David Scouler and others as they work to conclude CLC’s affairs. May the Lord encourage them and lead them forward into new things He has prepared for them.

Thank you CLC Australia for all your years of hard work, dedication and great love! God bless you as you face what lies ahead!

New beginnings in Miami, Florida, USA as CLC Colombia’s Colombia opens their newinwarehouse!

CLC new warehouse Miami, Florida!

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