Welcome to The Aussie Outpost Wider Church Prayer Letter for January 18, 2003. Yes, I'm ahead of schedule for the release of the first fortnightly version of 'The Aussie Outpost Wider Church Prayer Letter.' Hopefully this will become a worthwhile improvement to the newsletter and will be of greater assistance to you as you pray for the wider church.
I also mentioned in the last prayer letter about trying to get a version available for people that will make it easier to actually print off copies for others you know that may not have Internet or computer access. I now have a couple of software programs to experiment with and sometime in the next couple of issues this will hopefully be achieved.
Guatemala:
The New Testament is available to the people of Guatemala who speak the Cakchiquel language. Now the Old Testament translation in that language has been completed and is ready to print. As good as this news is, the difficulty is that the government changed the alphabet during the translation work and so many people now need to learn the new alphabet in order to read the new translation. Please pray about this matter, that the Lord in his providence would bring his people understanding of the new translation.
Germany:
There are only three German speaking Reformed Baptist churches in Germany and an additional 3 English speaking Reformed Baptist churches for American forces in Germany. The Heibronn Reformed Baptist Church has both German and English services.
The city of Heibronn has a population of over 130 000 people and the church is trying to reach these in its evangelistic efforts. However this takes a fair bit of money and the church is asking for prayer concerning this. The church is seeking to place tracts in every letterbox in the city. The church also seeks to witness to the population of Heibronn via a book table, street preaching and working with the homeless and drug addicts. Also needed by the church are songbooks in German.
The church also has a German Chat Room Bible Study which currently has 15 to 20 people regularly tuning in to the studies.
Visit the church online at:
http://www.fb-gemeinde.de
Nepal:
In Nepal, Maoist rebels are attempting to force missionaries through intimidation to support their cause, including the demand for financial assistance. Please pray for believers in Nepal.
Colombia:
Christian missionaries in Colombia face the daily threat of guerrillas and rebels, kidnapping, extortion and murder. Colombia is a country torn by strife, with many difficulties faced by missionaries. Please remember the brethren in Colombia, thinking especially of Stan and Bev Lines in Bogota.
North Korea:
In North Korea, 'unworthy citizens' are being sent to secret torture camps where they are subject to water torture, sexual assaults, beatings and psychological abuse. One camp alone holds 50 000 people. Christians should remember that such unworthy citizens include Christians, with some 100 000 thought to be imprisoned in these camps.
Pakistan:
Pakistan, the home of much anti-Christian sentiment by Muslim extremists, has seen a continuing move against Christians and Westerners. There seems to be a determined effort by Muslims in that country to push all Christians out of the country. In fact, the killing of Christians is now seen as a duty of all Muslims. In one of the latest attacks, this time on Christmas Day, saw three girls killed in a church bombing.
Mexico:
Publicaciones Farode Gracia is a non-profit Spanish publishing ministry seeking to provide both pastors and churches with good Reformed literature. To find out more about the ministry of Publicaciones Farode Gracia, visit:
Also in Mexico is the ministry of David and Tommi Sitton. From June 6-13, a mission will be held in Mezquital. They are seeking a team of some 45 people, who will minister on the Island of Men, Media Luna Island and Fish Town. The cost will be $310.00 US for the week. There will also be a mission to Matamoros. For more information on these missions, visit:
India:
The growing movement for a Pro-Hindu state is growing in momentum, especially in regions such as Gujarat. In Gujarat, Christians that seek to evangelise a regarded as committing a public outrage.
In the Madras region a group of 10 000 people who were seeking to be baptised was broken up by Police, with quite a number arrested. Soon international journalists and press arrived, allowing some of the group to actually be baptised when the Police backed off. Thousands of Indians belonging to the lowest class of Hinduism are attempting to reject Hinduism in favour of Christianity. However, a growing movement of fanatical Hindus are moving against those seeking Christian conversion, including a move to fine those who convert to Christianity with a 100 000 Rupee fine and four year jail sentence. Some Christians have also been killed.
Philippines - Cubao Reformed Baptist Church:
There are some 84 million, largely Roman Catholic, people in the Philippines. There is freedom of religion in the Philippines, with some 15% of the population regarded as Evangelical. There is also a strong Islamic area in the south of the Philippines, which is seeking to become a separate Islamic state. This Islamic region is largely unreached with the gospel.
Meanwhile the Cubao Reformed Baptist Church now has some 10 evangelistic Bible studies, with 70-80 people attending them. The number of people attending and joining the church itself is also growing. On Wednesday nights after the prayer meeting, an evangelistic team visits the shopping area in order to witness and distribute tracts. Each Saturday a group visits the local hospital and there is also a childrens meeting held in a large squatter area.
On the 9/1/03, a large fire broke out in the nearby squatter area, leaving some 2 500 people homeless. The Cubao church is seeking to give as much assistance as possible to the people who have suffered the loss of everything in the fire. This may also be an opportunity to bear a greater witness to the people in the squatter area.
The Grace Ministerial Academy has seen a growth in numbers attending, including the eleven students who were formerly attending the Pentecostal denomination. Many of these students find it difficult to meet the financial requirements of the course, etc. If you would like to help Cubao and a student of the academy, please contact Brian Ellis at btellis@info.com.ph .
The book ministry of Cubao Reformed Baptist Church continues to struggle along. It has made a loss for the last three years and obviously it can't continue in this way. Please pray about this situation.
In other news from Cubao, Matthew Gamston from Trinity Baptist Church, Gloucester, England, will be going to Cubao in July to serve as a missionary.
You can visit Cubao Reformed Baptist Church online at:
Ireland - Reformation Ireland:
The Reformation Ireland website is soon to undergo a makeover. Keep an eye on the website at:
http://www.reformationireland.com/
VISIT US ONLINE
Please visit The Aussie Reformed Baptist Outpost online at:
http://particularbaptist.com/index.htmlThe Outpost Wider Church Awareness Site can be found at:
http://particularbaptist.com/wider/widerindex.htmlFor email contact and further information regarding aid to the various ministries mentioned in the prayer letter, Kevin can be contacted at:
nrbcpastorkev@yahoo.com.auIf you are of Reformed Baptist persuasion and would like to add news of your church or work, or add requests for prayer to this prayer letter, please contact Kevin on the above Email address.
For 'snail mail,' write to 'The Aussie Reformed Baptist Outpost, 27 Middle Street, Cardiff South, NSW, Australia, 2285.
We thank all sources of information that have made this prayer letter possible and ask the church at large to commit to praying for one another. Brethren, please pray for us.
TOP
Prayer Letter Directory
Outpost Homepage
10/10/2006
AN OUTPOST PRODUCTION