Submitted by Gregg Sneller: “Simeon”

Worldwide Prayer Concerns

“But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.” Hebrews 10:32-33

IrAN

Voice of the Martyrs In a recent magazine, Voice of the Martyrs shared the story of Ramtin Soodmand and his family. Ramtin had worked as a leader and evangelist in Iran for about 30 years, but always in secret since unauthorized Christian activity is illegal in that country. Then in January 2021, when Ramtin and his wife were watching a movie together at home, plainclothes officers appeared at his door and informed him that they knew of his activities in the underground church. They offered him a deal by which he would become a puppet of the government: he would pastor a church of members chosen by the government, in which he followed the directives of the government. If he refused their offer, they would arrest him immediately. Ramtin knew others who had been persecuted and even killed by the Iranian government, including his own father and the pastor who had baptized him. He told them that he would cooperate, but only to avoid immediate arrest. In the two days they gave him to report to the government offices, Ramtin made arrangements to leave the country in secret. His wife, daughter, and son fled soon after. Pray for Ramtin and his family as they start a new life in a new place. Pray that they experience God’s care and provision for them as they wonder if they made the right choice. Pray for other Christians who are risking everything to share about the love of Christ with others in Iran.

GLobAL sHIPPING

Wall Street Journal Between the grounding of the EverGiven and the backlog at the Port of LA, many of us have become more aware of the global shipping industry and the role cargo and container ships play in moving goods around the world. But sometimes things don’t go right onboard, and the crew of the ship ends up stranded in limbo: waiting for their pay, running out of food, and wondering when they will be able to get home. The Journal reported on the plight of the 11 men aboard the ship Haj Abdullah who languished for three months when their ship developed a crack in the hull after a storm and began taking on water. The ship became stranded in Somalia when it ran out of fuel and couldn’t buy more. The crew was not allowed to leave the ship due to the hazardous cargo onboard. The insurer canceled coverage because they said the ship wasn’t seaworthy. The ship’s owner had seemingly abandoned the ship. They were sailing under the jurisdiction of Sierra Leone. This is not unusual: in order to save money on shipping costs, many ships are now registered in poorer nations such as Sierra Leone. But when the crew asked Sierra Leone for help, they weren’t able to get it for months. Finally the hull was able to be mended and the ship was able to continue towards its original destination of Tanzania, where they are hoping to finally reach an end to their odyssey. Pray for the crew of the Haj Abdullah, and the more than 1,000 other sailors who are facing similar situations on cargo ships worldwide. Pray that they would be treated justly and not be abandoned when problems arise.

HoNdurAs, EL sALvAdor, GuATAMALA

WorldVision.org Pray for people living in the “northern triangle” nations of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Pray for economic opportunities in these nations that would give good jobs to lift people out of poverty. Pray for the government to be able to protect its citizens from violence. Pray that 2022 would bring new hope and opportunity so that parents can provide for their families and build up these nations.

- Jonathan Peske

Update from the Chapmans

simeon

Submitted by Gregg Sneller

In Congo, this time of year, we often had a Christmas pageant. The Congolese are great actors and turn the Biblical stories into great cultural dramas. In the pageant, for example, the platoon of soldiers steal the show with their “keystone cops” version of the Roman soldiers. Another perhaps more serious character is the aged Simeon. He was the one who waited and watched being convinced that he would not die until he saw the Messiah.

There is a Simeon in Congo at the village of Kinkosi too. A couple years ago, we began sending assistance to the village of Kinkosi to upgrade their church. In the 1980s, the people at Kinkosi had put up concrete walls for their church, but had never been able to complete the roof. One of our last graduates at the Kikongo pastoral training program (before it turned into a university) took it upon himself to complete the church project that had long fallen into neglect.

As we prepared last year to help Kinkosi put up a roof, we realized that the existing walls had not been built upon a suitable foundation. It required tearing down the existing walls, and digging a whole new foundation. The project turned into helping Kinkosi with a whole new building project, from the ground up.

The effort to build the church became a community wide project. Without trucks to transport building material, everyone pitched in to carry sand, stone, lumber, and during the dry season, water. Everyone that is, except Simeon.

Simeon is the name that was given to a Kinkosi village elder. He had reached an age far beyond the average Congolese life expectancy. Every morning , he would put his chair in front of his house with a view of the construction site. He kept a close track of everything going on. People who noticed his interest in the church project named him “Simeon”. He declared that he was not going to die until the building was finally completed.

We departed Congo before the church was completed, but the work has gone on in our absence. Recently I received some photos of the building near completion. It is encouraging that in our absence, the work is moving forward.

This will be our last Christmas as missionaries with IM. We celebrate the fact that after over 140 years of missions in Congo, Christianity has a firm foundation.

Thank you for your prayers and support throughout our time of ministry in Congo.

Glen and Rita Chapman