Kingfisher International Family News - May 2019

KINGFISHER INTERNATIONAL FAMILY NEWS

MAY 2019

ISSUE 8

The Gospel in turbulent times These are turbulent times in which we live. Around the world, the Gospel is spreading, and yet there is a rising tide of persecution. The figures regarding the spreading Gospel are staggering, for example:

• More Muslims in Iran have come to Christ since

1980 than in the previous 1000 years combined.

Before Khomeni's revolution in 1979, there were about 2000 Iranian believers. After years of intense persecution, there are now more than 15,000, with around 500 people coming to faith in Christ every month (Vision 2020)

• Everyday, the number of people added to the body of Christ around the world averages 174,000.

3,500 new churches are opening every week around the world.

And yet, so also is the rise of persecution. With the Easter Day bombings of churches in Sri Lanka, the Christmas Day bomb attacks that killed at least 34 Christians in Baghdad, the recent mass killings of Christians in Nigeria, the Archbishop of Westminster declared recently that Christians are the most widely persecuted religious group in the world today. In China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and increasingly in India, churches are burned down, Christian leaders are arrested, and in some cases there are forced conversions of Christians to other religions.

• In AD 100, there were 360 non-Christians for

every true believer. Today, the ratio is less than seven to every believer. (Vision 2020)

• Christianity has grown by more than 300 million

believers in the past ten years. About 10 million of these are new Christian from North America and Europe, and the rest... around 290 million... are from developing nations such as Nigeria, Argentina, India and China.

• In China, there are now about 80 million

There has never been a more urgent time for Christian brothers and sisters to come together in prayer.

evangelical Christians - growing at a rate that is five times that of the general population. Around 30,000 conversions a day take place in China alone. (Open Doors)

When persecution broke out against the early church, the believers met together and prayed for boldness to speak the word of God (Acts 4:29 - 30).

As we pray for each other around the Kingfisher International Family, let us come together in particular for one day of concerted prayer - the International Day of Prayer 2019, on June 30th. In these turbulent times, let us pray for protection, for breakthroughs, for God’s victory and let us pray ‘Your Kingdom come! Your will be done, here on earth as it is in Heaven!” (Matthew 6:10).

• Africa has become the first continent to become majority Christian in a single century. Over 20,000 new believers per day are added to the church in that continent. (Vision 2020)

• In a single summer in Mombassa, Kenya recently, 56,000 Muslims came to faith in Jesus Christ. In one baptismal service in the ocean on the coast of Angola in Southern Africa, 10,000 people were baptised in one day.

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African disaster relief update

Dumagat Education Program update

Prayer needs around the International Family

KINGFISHER INTERNATIONAL FAMILY NEWS

African disaster relief update Over the past month, two cyclones have hit south east Africa, causing immense damage and bringing loss of life, with at least 921 people being killed by Cyclone Idai. Just weeks later, Cyclone Kenneth, the biggest ever recorded cyclone in the southern hemisphere, made landfall on 26th April 2019.

The leaders from Mozambique, who were being given plastic sheeting to make emergency repairs to their buildings when they arrived home reported that the newly-repaired Kingfisher Centre in Mauza, Mozambique had withstood the cyclones and remained intact. The roof of the centre had only recently been rebuilt as it had been blown of in other, recent storms. The Centre is now serving as a place of refuge for homeless families as well as a focal point for the relief effort in the area.

Whilst Mozambique bore the brunt of the two cyclones, the impact has been widespread and devastating. Around 1.5 million children have been affected by Cyclone Idai and in Mozambique alone, thousands of people are still missing. James Burn has just returned from a visit to Malawi where he saw some of the impact of Cyclone Idai. He also travelled to the boarder with Mozambique to meet with various church leaders from that country to get a first-hand account of the devastation caused. During that time, the second cyclone, Kenneth, struck Mozambique.

Many Kingfisher church members, both in Malawi and in Mozambique have lost everything. Homes, crops, family members - they have all been washed away. In the midst of the disaster there is some good news, however:

The mood in Malawi is one of determination to regroup and carry on. Street markets are still in operation, maize and tea crops seem fairly unaffected and the resilience of the people is amazing. Malawi has an infrastructure that Mozambique lacks, which is enabling it to cope better with the disaster. Charles is coordinating with Fuloresi Dempster to transfer as much relief as possible to Mozambique, and they both value all of our prayers.

Left: distribution of plastic sheeting to leaders from Mozambique

Kingfisher in the UK and Fellowship of the King in Spain have responded by sending aid to our National Director in Malawi, Charles Mithowa. Charles has been able, with this money, to begin to coordinate the distribution of emergency aid to the families affected, both in Malawi and in Mozambique. Fresh water, maize, plastic sheeting and more has been purchased and Charles and his team have begun the distribution process.

Left: Street market in Malawi Right: tea leaves ready for transportation to be processed

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KINGFISHER INTERNATIONAL FAMILY NEWS

Dumagat Education Program update Bulak primary school and Sigbug elementary school both held a Recognition Day recently, on March 28th and April 1st respectively. All the DEP pupils at Bulak were recognised because of their hard work and eagerness to learn and seven Sibug DEP students received honours and awards. There were lots of very proud students, parents and teachers at both schools as they celebrated another succesful school year. The children will now move up to the next grade with some of the students moving up several grades.

Left (standing left to right): Nick, Garry, Monique, Rexie, Lalet, Jay, Matet, Teresa and Monica. (sitting from left): Martan, Darwin, Rene and Bubot (Not pictured: Daniel, Caleb, Raymond and Rita)

Bulak school

Sibug school

Left (from left to right): Jerick, Jay-Anne, Alessa, Mark Nathan, Mary Grace, Monica and Angel

The DEP distribution of supplies and feeding program, April 2019.

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KINGFISHER INTERNATIONAL FAMILY NEWS

Prayer needs around the International Family India

ons, rent electi nt r u c e th r Fo me ew govern that the n lerant of the would be toith and allow fa d live Christian to grow an to s e h c r chu in peace.

Zimbabwe For Joseph Maravanyik a, the pastor in Zimbabwe who has the vision to establish Kingfisher in the country. Pray for his chur ch and for the country in general, as inflation is ou t of control, poverty is extreme, unemploymen t is rampant and things in general are very hard for the Zimbabweans. Josep h reports that things were very hard under Robert Mugabe, but have become even worse since he was deposed.

The country is strongly Christian, but many are nominal and Christian in name only. Pray for real disciples of Christ to be raised up and for church es to preach and live the Gospel.

Malawi

For the new train planned for ing centre that is the south country. Th e land has b of the e e n bo and the bric ks have bee ught purchased, n b work needs ut the construction to rainy season begin now that the has e be accomm nded. There will o classrooms, dation blocks, o kitchen facil ffice space and will all get b ities. Pray that this uil provide the t, that the Lord will fi many will c nances for it, that ome and stu new facility dy in this .

For recovery from the re cyclone dam age. For fam cent ilies that have lost th eir that have lo homes, churches people who st their buildings, have lost lo ved ones.

ines The Philipp

h g of the fift The buildin n block for the atio accommod milies attending Dumagat fa ug is underway. ib school in S that growing r fo y a r P more more and s a y it n u comm ove in. families m be e n est has not v r a h r e g ue to The gin this year, d ions. very good it d n ather co adverse we umagat would be eD Pray that th sell their crop able to faith nd plant in a s s le e th r neve ar. for next ye

Phase one of the refurbishments at the Kingfisher church centre at Limbe, Malawi is complete!

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q ue Mozambi hard

hit has been onth y tr n u o c am The clones in by two cy of the country is and much . Praise God that ter under wa her Centre is still s fi the King ousands have lost th t intact, bu omes and their at their h se pray th a le P . s n possessio that is being ug h the aid cially thro ill e p s e ( d distribute sher network) w the Kingfi ing and will help be a bless ack on their feet. et b a many to g e Centre in Mauz th r t fo Pray tha beacon of hope a e r would b used by many fo the area, d community. shelter an

Spain

Pray abo u the failur t the uncertainty e t o se cu that re in the UK is causin a Brexit deal g. The ch in Nerja is u and very still without a pa rch st or much in n please pr ay for a b eed of one reakthro ug h there.

Thank G od congrega for the growth in tio John and n in Mojacar and the faithful m Jan, Dave and P for a Howard, inistry there, as w m’s the new p ell astor in A as and Suki lbo his fresh ano wife. Pray for w x inting fro a reach ou t to share m God to News wit the Good along the h the communitie sou t h coa s st of Spa in.