CLC Prayer Focus May & June 2013

May 2013

1 Wed. Germany – Major Bookstall!

A two-yearly gathering for Christians from all over the country is organised by the Lutheran and Reformed churches of Germany. This year it is being held in Hamburg from today until May 6th. Our CLC team, plus plenty of volunteers, will be holding one of the six Christian bookshop stalls in the huge display area. We will also be holding booktables at around 20 smaller events in surrounding churches. Valentin Schweigler and the rest of the CLC team have prepared around 6,000 titles for their booktables. Over the five days around 150,000 visitors are expected to attend the event. This has taken months of preparation and is a lot of work. Pray that it will be worthwhile in every sense. (Shop photo above.)

2 Thu. Belarus – More Bibles At the time of writing, the second run of Bibles in Russian, published by CLC Belarus, should be ready for release from the printers. Praise the Lord for this progress. CLC Belarus started almost 20 years ago and the bookshop in Brest celebrates its 10th anniversary this July. The team, although small in numbers, has big plans for the publications department this year and they also want to celebrate the 10th anniversary in some significant way. Please pray they will have the wisdom, resources and energy to accomplish the things they need to do this year.

3 Fri. Bolivia – Getting Started Gamaliel and Marlene Padilla (from CLC Venezuela) arrived safely in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in February. They give thanks for the excellent contacts they have made to enable them to complete legal processes, rent an apartment and a bookshop / warehouse for CLC, and purchase a vehicle. Many ‘coincidences’ have taken place to enable them to move towards starting the work of CLC. Praise God for this encouraging start!

4-5 Sat/Sun. UK – Marketing Amanda Lutes, from CLC UK’s Marketing department, will be attending the mission event ‘Go 2013’ at the WEC International UK headquarters on May 6th. Please pray that Amanda will have good opportunities to share about the global reach of CLC’s ministry in the ‘Global Village’ missions’ exhibition tent.

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pra� DISCOVER GOD’S FOR THE NATIONS SATURDAY 4 MAY 2013

8am @100 9am (cover 10am photo) 11am 12pm 1pm 6 Mon. WEC This year there are a series of celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of WEC International by C.T. Studd. CLC was one of a number of ministries that have grown out of WEC, and we still share our core values and sense of mission. There are active links of fellowship in many parts of the world. Praise the Lord for all the work done through WEC - souls saved, churches planted and lives restored. CLC USA has published the book ‘Beyond the Edge – 100 stories of trusting God’ which contains many stories from over the years.

2pm

MAIN STAGE Jackie Pullinger God’s justice

MAIN STAGE LOCATION 6

KID’S ZONE Age 3 to Year 6 [3mths-toddlers Location 11]

KID’S ZONE LOCATION S1

BIG ISSUE Children in

KID’S ZONE Years 1-6 [3mths-Recept

LOCATION S2

WORKSHOP Kairos-Lite Europe

CHAPEL

WORKSHOP Poverty

NEW LIBRARY

LOCATION S3

GARDEN ROOM LOCATION S4

PRAYER STREAM

PRAYER ROOM

BIG ISSUE Is the gospe really good

The prayer room is open all day for quiet and reflection.

LOCATION 16

Global Village Experience Open from 10am except during main meetings: Meet Christian worker Vocation Zone Find out where you can get involved in reaching the nations with the gospel. Ther PLUS VISIT GORADIO

GLOBAL VILLAGE LOCATION 7

RADIO STREAM

ATRIUM

LOCATION 15

Open all day from 10am for picnics and walks.

Drinks and snacks a reavailable to purchase.

GROUNDS & REFUEL LOCATION 8

YOUTH ZONE

CAMPERS ONLY DINING ROOM LOCATION 8

Breakfast 8.15-9am YZ Mess (L17)

Get up and GO 9.15-10.15am Warehouse (L10)

BREAKFAST 8-10am Tea & coffee for sale all day

Youth Zone meetings 10.30am-12pm Yrs 7-9 (L10) Warehouse & Yrs 10-13 (L6)

Lunch 12.30-1.15pm YZ Mess (L17)

LUNCH 12-2pm Tea & coffee for sale all day

Chill out 1.30-5pm

7 Tue. Romania – Publishing Progress Praise the Lord for three new titles translated and printed so far this year. CLC Romania has also reprinted two titles and published some books for children - including colouring books. Ronela Micula writes: - “So far, our desire to increase our publishing activity seems to be going in the right direction!” Good news!

8 Wed. Ecuador – Flood Relief Earlier this year Ecuador was suffering from an unusually wet winter and many people lost homes and belongings because of flooding.

Praise God for the opportunity CLC had to help people by providing mattresses and bed linen to a number of families affected by the severe weather conditions. CLC also partnered with The Bible League in Ecuador to share the Gospel with these people.

9 Thu. Bangladesh – Difficulties The CLC ministry in Dhaka needs our prayers.

There are many difficulties in running the bookshop including problems obtaining stock, which affects sales and finances, and increasing threats and religious opposition. At the time of writing, a meeting of the Board with Christopher Robert (CLC/ELS India) and the Dhaka shop manager Dominic Cadet was planned for mid April. Please pray that the Lord would show everyone concerned the right way forward.

10 Fri. Canada – CLC Verdun (photo) Praise the Lord for the newly located CLC bookshop in Montreal. The transition from the Westmount area to Verdun was made in March.

Pray that previous customers will continue to visit (the new shop is not too far from the old location) and that new customers will also find us! Pray for the shop manager Kathy Fowler, and her team.

(Photos below)

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11-12 Sat/Sun. UK – Newcastle The staff working for CLC Newcastle would appreciate prayer for two bookstalls they are running this month. The first is on May the 11th at a women’s conference entitled ‘Faith, Hope and Love’. The other is on May 18th at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland - an event run by the Methodist church called ‘Equiping, Calling, Going’ and around 500 people are expected to attend.

13 Mon. New Zealand – What Next?

CLC New Zealand closed down, or handed over, its wholesale and retail operations in 2012. However, the team did not feel that this necessarily meant the end of the CLC ministry in the country. Praise the Lord for the opportunity earlier this year to send some remaining stock (mainly educational material) to a school in Zambia. At the time of writing it is not known what future plans, if any, were proposed by the CLC Board when they met in April. Pray for a peace, and a clear sense of God’s guidance, whatever the outcome.

14 Tue. Bolivia – Starting the Ministry Once we are legally registered in the country, the big challenge is to import Bibles and books from the USA into Bolivia. As a land locked country this is a very expensive business. Pray that shop manager Gamaliel Padilla will be able to offer the books at affordable prices, both for bookshops and the public.

15 Wed. Myanmar – New Publications CLC in Myanmar has had a substantial translating and publishing programme for a number of years now. Each year they provide more Christian books and resources for the Burmese people. Please pray for the initial process, already underway, of translating and publishing the CLC Bible Companion into Burmese.

16 Thu. Spain – Training and Changes Darwin Vergel, the manager of the CLC bookshop in Madrid, is going to CLC Colombia for two months to receive training in a number of areas. The CLC Spain distribution and the retail outlet in Madrid are being combined, in the bookshop premises, to combat the ongoing economic situation.

Darwin will have increased responsibilities with this change.

17 Fri. Sierra Leone – Workshops CLC Sierra Leone will be partnering with the African Pastoral Training (APT) Ministries to organize a workshop for pastors and church leaders – May 22nd-24th. The aim of the workshop is to train the participants in how to make the best use of the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. It is hoped that around 100 church leaders will attend this first workshop to be held in Freetown. Please pray for the success of this workshop and for Chuck Ballard and Wellington Morris of APT ministries as they travel from the US and Liberia respectively.

for improvement in the future. The shop has a large and faithful group of volunteers and this is not an easy time for them. Please pray for Bertus Keuter, the manager, and the rest of the team during the closing down process. We are glad that another Christian bookstore remains in the town so that people will still have access to good literature.” Els Ooserhuis, National Director

CLC Bookshop Katowice, Poland

21 Tue. Poland – RD Visit Gary Chamberlin, the Regional Director for CLC in Europe, will be in Poland again to visit Eva (CLC Katowice) and Jola (CLC Wroclaw) from May 21st to 24th. Together they will assess the current situation regarding staffing, finances, the website, social media and publications. Praise God that three Roy Hession books, including Calvary Road, have been published by CLC Poland in the past few months. Pray that they will sell well and be a blessing to many people.

CLC UK Team!

18-19 Sat/Sun. UK – Conference The UK Annual Conference takes place from the 19th to 22nd of May. The Conference speaker will be Patrick McElligott. He and his wife have worked with CLC and WEC in Japan. Pray that the whole team will be blessed and encouraged as we pray, worship, and talk together.

20 Mon. Netherlands - Arnhem “Sadly, we have decided to close down CLC Arnhem in the near future. The shop has made a loss for many years and as we see a decline in sales in the physical shops, it does not give hope

22 Wed. USA – Interns Please pray for the American university students who will be serving with CLC as interns over the next few weeks and months. They are participating in a brief orientation course at the CLC USA Headquarters today and tomorrow before moving on to work with CLC in the USA, the UK and Burkina Faso (West Africa).

23 Thu. Netherlands – New Hymn Book On the 25th of May there is a festive introduction of a new hymnbook as a replacement of an older one, which will be used by many protestant churches. It contains some good songs, but also some ‘liberal’ songs. We are very concerned about the impact this might have on the church and its leaders. Please pray for wisdom for us to know how to handle this issue.

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24 Fri. European Leaders’ Forum Over the next few days, May 25th-30th, Gary Chamberlin will be attending the European Leaders’ Forum (a non-CLC event) south of Katowice on the Czech border. Pray that it will be a time of refreshment and for making good contacts with many Christian leaders from all professions and from the entire European continent.

25-26 Sat/Sun. UK – Sheffield (See ad below) We are providing books and resources at Cliff College Festival from May 24th to 27th. Please pray we have the right materials available for those attending. The theme this year is “ and make disciples” which follows on from last year’s theme of “Therefore go…”. The days are long but vey fulfilling as we see good resources going out.

People come from all over so it’s exciting because you just don’t know where the books will end up!

27 Mon. Thailand – Significant Needs There are significant needs in CLC Thailand. In both the Bangkok and Chiang Mai shops there is a need for additional staff with the ability to communicate in English. This is not just for the sake of customers who request books in English, but also for dealings with CLC outside of the country and in particular with the CLC Regional Director for Asia.

28 Tue. Swaziland – Praying for Progress We are praying for progress for our Manzini bookshop. We need to increase the volume of stock, and to find a trained manager to take the work forward. The Swaziland economy has been hit by new taxes that affect us, and we need to find new solutions.

29 Wed. Canada – CLC Brossard Hopefully by now, a ‘new’ CLC bookshop, with a small adjoining wholesale facility, will have opened in Brossard – on the South Shore of Montreal. It was due to open at the end of March. Please pray for the staff that work there and for good custom. CLC took over an existing Christian bookshop in this area over a year ago but due to the lease arrangement, the shop was absorbed into the main CLC bookshop in the centre of the city until the time was right to move back into the area.

30 Thu. Cyprus – Current Crisis “The current economic crisis in Cyprus affects in some measure every aspect of life, with much uncertainty concerning the future. No one knows as yet where all this will end.

As a bookshop, we have been affected considerably; we pray for the whole situation and we know that the Lord is overruling and has control over everything. Please pray that this will be the means by which many people will turn to the Lord for salvation and reality.”

Sotos and Eva Photiadou 31 Fri. Romania – Partnership Project Last year the World Health Organisation released data showing Romania had the highest abortion rate in Europe – more than twice the EU average. CLC Romania, as a special project in partnership with OM International, has just published Randy Alcorn’s book ‘Why Pro Life’.

Please pray as the team look for ways to effectively distribute this book throughout the country – pray too that the book and its message will have a real impact in Romanian society.

Christian Christianbookshops bookshops BOOKS BIBLES CARDS GIFTS MUSIC BOOKS BIBLES CARDS GIFTS MUSIC

Registered as a charity in England & Wales (no. 1015793) and in Scotland (no. SC037939) Nationwide Shops: www.clcbookshops.com/clc-bookshops/store-finder.aspx

The CLC Sheffield bookshop team are thrilled to be serving you at this year’s Cliff College event.

Please stop by the FESTIVAL bookshop and pick up some great resources sure to assist you as you go ‘...and make disciples!’

£7.99

At our bookstall!

RRP: £9.99

Whether you need evangelism, discipleship, spiritual growth or various other resources, CLC has just what you need! If we don’t have what you are looking for at the event, please do let us know or visit us at: CLC BOOKSHOP 103-105 West Street, Sheffield, S1 4EQ Telephone: 0114 272 4663 Email: sheffield@clcbookshops.com

You can find us on: To shop online visit: www.clcbookshops.com

While online you can find our shops in the UK by simply click the ‘Shops’ tab.

Mission website: www.clc.org.uk

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Making Disciples.indd 1

Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples

by Francis Chan

David C. Cook

ISBN: 9780781408233 28/01/2013 10:42:21

June 2013 1-2 Sat/Sun UK – Chatham (photo) Please pray for all the new volunteers that have recently joined the CLC team in Chatham. Pray too that the work CLC does in partnership with churches (booktables etc.) would continue to grow. We thank God for helping us as we promote the mission and ministry of CLC both within and beyond the bookshop.

and the team in PNG this month. The decision was made recently to close the bookshop in Alotau so we now only have the shop in Port Moresby.

Pray that Romualdo’s visit will be a blessing and that he will be able to help the team in practical ways and encourage them to give their best to the ministry.

3 Mon. USA - Shop Closure Please pray for Jim Pitman (Retail Director) and Phil Westhuis (shop Manager) as they work together in planning and implementing the closing of the CLC store in Northfield, New Jersey, in June. The last day that this store will be open is Saturday, June 15th. Praise the Lord for the work done in this location over the past years.

4 Tue. France - Shop Closure CLC France has made the decision to close one of its bookshops in the near future. At present they have 14 shops, including one in Martinique and one in Guadeloupe. Please pray for our staff and customers in Saint Etienne as our time in this city comes to an end. Pray that the books bought from the CLC bookshop over the past years will continue to bless people who read them.

5 Wed. Ecuador – Shop Re-location The CLC bookshop in Quito would benefit greatly from being in a place where customers can find parking nearby. Please pray for Director Carlos Marin and the rest of the team as they look for a more suitable and convenient place for the bookshop.

6 Thu. Ecuador – Warehouse Re-location As well as looking for a new location for the bookshop in Quito, we are also looking for a new home for the warehouse. Currently the wholesale department for CLC Ecuador is based in Quito, the capital city, but it would be more convenient to have it in Guayaquil where we already have two bookshops. Guayaquil is a major port, has a growing economy and the population is double that of Quito! In addition to this, 60% of the sales from wholesale are from the coastal regions.

7 Fri. Papua New Guinea – Visit Please pray for Romualdo Macinas, the CLC Regional Director for Asia, as he visits Vere Babona

8-9 Sat/Sun. UK – Aberdeen Praise the Lord for opportunities to reach out to people of many different nationalities in our shops! Recently a Chinese man came into the Aberdeen shop wanting to find out about Jesus.

He has started to attend a local church. Please pray he will come to know personally the One he is searching for. Praise the Lord too for a lady from Latvia who recently came to know the Lord in the bookshop. Her life has really changed and she has just been baptised. (Photo above) 10 Mon. India – Bookshop Management Please pray for more staff for the CLC (ELS) India team; in particular for people who are capable of taking on leadership or management roles in the bookshops. Currently a number of bookshop managers are officially at, or past, retirement age but are continuing to work as there is no one who can replace them. Please pray for the current leadership team as they actively and prayerfully look for the right people to lead the ministry in the future. Pray for good health, strength and blessing for the older team members.

11 Tue. New Director – Canada At the beginning of the year Oscar Cardozo took over the responsibility of National Director for CLC Canada from Rod Fowler. He has taken on this new role at a very busy time - one bookshop has just relocated, two more are in the process Page 5 (June)

of opening and a small wholesale facility is also opening at the time of writing! Pray for Oscar and the team.

12 Wed. New Director - Venezuela Please pray for Jose Quintero, former manager of CLC in Barquisimeto, as he has now moved to the main headquarters in Valencia and is the new National Director for CLC Venezuela. The former Director, Gamaliel Padilla, has moved to Bolivia to start up a new CLC ministry in Santa Cruz.

help. In addition, her husband has serious longterm health problems. The plan is that from June to August the Heumanns will have a much needed break while, hopefully, previous staff and current volunteers keep the shop open.

(Photos below)

13 Thu. New Director - Japan Please pray for Satoru Nakano (CLC Ochanomizu, Tokyo) who became the new Director for CLC Japan earlier this year. Former Director Mitsuhiko Fujio continues as the manager for the Kanazawa bookshop and on the Leadership team.

14 Fri. New Director - Netherlands “ On September 1st, I hand over responsibility as Director to Bertus Keuter, in whom I have full confidence. He will work closely with Corine Brijs (Manager of CLC Apeldoorn and bookkeeper) and they have complementary gifts. I will concentrate more on the Amsterdam shop and Bertus will have more time to work on our webshop - the only shop with rising sales.” Els Oosterhuis 15-16 Sat/Sun. UK – Accounts & Administration John Auger, the new accountant for CLC UK, joined the team in May. Pray for John as he settles into the role and gets to grips with our accounting procedures and needs. Also in May, Jill Fanning stood down as the UK administrator.

Please pray for her replacement.

19 Wed. Austria – Long Term Plans If the ministry is to move forward in Graz we need suitable permanent help for Edeltraud so she has a strong team working with her – including people who are able to take on some of the responsibilities for running the shop. There is also a difficulty with the location of the shop – in two units separated by another shop! This is far from ideal but so far attempts to find a more suitable place have not worked out. We need to address this matter seriously if the shop is to grow and progress.

17 Mon. Indonesia – Planning Ahead Please pray for the future of the bookshop in Medan. A recent change in the rental agreement for the shop property means that we can carry on for the moment, but sales need to increase for a viable future. Pray too for wisdom and strength for The National Director Donny Kairupan and his brother Tonny in the Surabaya shop as they look for ways to maintain and expand the work there.

20 Thu. Colombia - Shops Opening!

With news of some closures, and some uncertain futures for other bookshops, it is encouraging and exciting to know that there are places where we have opportunities to grow and extend our service. Please pray with the CLC Colombia team as they consider the possibilities of opening in three new locations in the coming months – in Manizales, Pasto and Cartagena.

18 Tue. Austria – Short Term Plans Please pray for the future of the CLC bookshop in Graz. The shop is doing well and there are many faithful customers and helpers - but there are also significant problems to overcome if the future is to be secure. Edeltraud Heumann, the manager, is working increasingly long hours as currently she does not have long term staff to

21 Fri. Venezuela – More Shops Opening!

Praise the Lord for the way CLC Venezuela has been able to initiate and support the new CLC ministry in Bolivia this year. In addition to this, which included sending their former Director and his wife to head up the work in Bolivia, the team have a vision to extend in their own country too.

Please pray with them as they consider opening retail outlets in Barinas, Maturin and Margarita.

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team as they continue to work and minister in challenging conditions.

22-23 Sat/Sun. UK – ICRS Please pray for Chris Magee (photo on the right), the head of CLC UK Wholesale, as he meets with suppliers at ICRS (International Christian Retail Show) in the USA June 23rd to 26th. Pray for safe travel, good contacts – both new and existing ones - and for wise and careful buying.

24 Mon. Chile – New Warehouse Praise God for the wonderful provision of a warehouse in a property owned by the Bible Society. This will enable us to work even closer with them. The warehouse is a much more suitable building and will make the work of distribution more efficient and effective. Thank you Lord.

(Photo below)

Awaiting Photo

27 Thu. USA - Miami Gerardo Scalante and family plan to move to Miami in the next few weeks. They will use office space in the CLC Colombia warehouse. Pray for all the practical arrangements involved in this move and for their rapid adaptation to their new environment. The move will enable Gerardo to be more centrally located for his work as CLC Regional Director for the Americas and Caribbean.

28 Fri. Philippines – Cebu Please pray for wisdom to know how to proceed in Cebu. The shop rental increases substantially each year and the contract comes up for renewal again this December. The team are looking for a new location in this densely populated city. If they find a suitable place they may transfer the shop this year or, depending on sales and the staffing situation, they may take on another two-year lease and open in a new part of the city when the time seems right to do so.

29-30 Sat/Sun UK - Birmingham The barriers and building work, which has made life so difficult for the Birmingham shop, should now be down and finished. Pray for the team as they build up the business and attract customers back to the newly accessible shop. Pray that the local churches and Christians would be generous in their support. (Photo below)

Awaiting Photo 25 Tue. Chile - Options Please pray with the team as they decide what to do with a commercial building that they purchased in central Santiago from Mundo Hispano, the Baptist publishing group. There are several options open to them but they are praying for guidance.

26 Wed. Pakistan – Continue to Pray You may have prayed before for the building project in Karachi but please continue to pray!

The wheels turn very slowly when permission is required from multiple agencies. We continue to believe that the facilities will be greatly improved with this building project. Please pray for our

31 Mon. Philippines - POD We are considering a ‘Print on Demand’ project in partnership with ‘Print for All’ of the Bethany International. This is a pioneering project of CLC International to be tested in CLC Philippines.

Please pray for the provision for the necessary equipment. Please also pray for wisdom as we try to make the message global through eBooks.

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by email or by post here: office@clcinternational.org “We almost always ask for prayer for our specific CLC work but of course each member of CLC has a home life too and this should be covered with prayer as well! One example is Tanya (CLC Belarus finance director) and Toma (Belarus retail); they have asked for prayer that they would have the time and energy they need to tend to their gardens where they grow their own vegetables and fruit. Please pray for all our CLC workers that they would have a good work, church and home-life balance!�