Welcome to the second issue of the wider church prayer letter in its new format. The PDF format allows many more people to access the document in a more presentable and portable form. The newsletter looks the same viewed on the web or printed out and can be easily spread about to others.
As time goes by I hope to be a bit more adventurous with the overall appearance and perhaps some of the features within the newsletter itself. If you have any ideas as to how I can make the newsletter of more value please contact me. I might not go for every idea, but some may be just what I need.
To view the Aussie Outpost Wider Church Prayer Letter in PDF format you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader that can be downloaded from the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
SOUTH AFRICA - BETHESDA OUTREACH MINISTRIES
HAMMANSKRAAL - RENE AND SONIA EINFELDTAnother house is being prepared at Bethesda Village for the orphans, with Rene Einfeldt involved in work on that. The village seeks to provide accommodation and other needs of orphaned children (especially due to AIDS), with the view of leading them to Christ. In other news at Bethesda there are zoning problems with the new site for a village.
Current national house-parents at the village are Pastor Elias and Mamitjie Mateni (who have just taken up the role) and Jones and Lenah Phago. Christina Motsisi is an assistant to the house-parents. Please pray for them in these roles.
Sonia Einfeldt has cut back her involvement with Bethesda to a couple of days each week in order to pursue outreach in the community. She has a number of useful contacts and is developing literature for distribution. Opportunities have opened up for Rene to assist in the evangelisation of several French-speaking people also.
The latest news from South Africa has the Muslim dominated government seeking to outlaw the reading of the Bible, prayer and speaking of God in all schools. Please pray about this disturbing development.
The Einfeldts’ are attending a small church to the north of Pretoria, where Sonia is playing the piano.
SAN MARINO
San Marino is one of those very small countries in Europe. This one is within Italy, with a population of 28 000 people. Most of the population is Roman Catholic as you would possible expect.
There is freedom of religion in San Marino. However, evangelisation is frowned upon in San Marino. There are no Evangelical churches in the country. Christian missionaries have been deported for preaching in the country.
INDIA
Of continuing concern for Christians is the state of affairs in India. Recently the parliament of India's Gujarat state has passed a law requiring people wishing to convert to Christianity to gain government permission. All this is meant to protect religious freedom if you can understand that. Apparently it is meant to stop ‘forced’ conversion. Offenders face $1 000 fines and a 3-year jail sentence. Other states dominated by Hindu nationalist parties have passed similar laws.
INDIA - FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
India has a population of some 1 billion people, made up largely of people of Hindu (81%) and Muslim (12%) belief. Christians are said to make up 2.3% of the population. What this means is that there are about 999 000 000 people in India that are unsaved. Pastor G. Raj Kumar of the First Baptist Church at Bethany Pet, Bhimavaram in India, has asked for us to pray for the work of God in India.
The work that Pastor Kumar is involved in is located in southern India They are seeking to evangelise throughout the area, as well as providing food and shelter to the poor.
INDIA - BIBLICAL BAPTIST CHURCH
Pastor Billa Nelson of the Biblical Baptist Church in New Colony, Bhadravati, informs us that his wife Ruth is now recovering after her recent serious illness. This is something that we can be thankful for, as well as rejoice together with our brother. Billa asks that we also pray for Israel who has a blood clot in the brain and is currently in hospital at Bangalore.
Also pray for the church's building project and for the spiritual growth of new converts in the church. The church has gained a loan enabling them to put a roof on the new church meeting place. More funds are still required to continue the rest of the building project and to meet loan repayments. If you are able to aid the church in India, please contact me and I'll pass on details of how you can assist the church at Bhadravati.
INDIA - JASON AND JEMIMA DEUTSCH
The church needs as many good books as possible for its library. Any course notes that can be made available for the use of the church will be appreciated also. These can be sent to:
Jason and Jemima Deutsch
Flat No.38, Daffodil Co-op Housing Society
Godrej Skygardens,
Takka Panvel,
Maharashtra 410 206
India
IRELAND - REFORMATION IRELAND
The Reformation Ireland website has undergone a makeover. Keep an eye on the website at:
http://www.reformationireland.comA new Reformed Baptist work has begun in southern Dublin, with seven adults and four children attending. The group is known as the 'Ballinteer Baptist Meeting.' On Sunday evenings the group is studying Acts, while in the mid-week meetings the group is studying John.
Richard Bennett will be visiting the Greater Belfast area between May 11 and 13, 2003. Reformation Ireland will have a bookstall at some of the meetings to be held. More information is available from the Reformation Ireland website. Please pray about these meetings.
For photos of the Reformation Ireland team in action and to meet the team, visit:
http://www.reformationireland.com/gallery.htm
http://www.reformationireland.com/committee.htm
KENYA - TOM AND KAREN RICHARDSON
The Richardson family had been hoping to begin missionary work in Kenya about now but this has not been possible. In the meantime Tom will be teaching drafting and construction at The Master’s Mission. When this is completed in August, the Richardsons’ hope to be near ready to leave for Kenya. They hope to be living and working in and around Nairobi. Please pray about all of this as they wait on the Lord’s will for them.
RWANDA
The small country of Rwanda is in eastern central Africa, surrounded by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Congo. It is populated by 7.3 million people, including the Hutus and Tutsis peoples. The country was the scene of the worst ethnic cleansing attempt in living memory, when Hutus attempted to wipe out the rival Tutsis in the 1990s civil war begun by the Tutsis people.
After the atrocities of the 1990s it is hard to believe that 90% of the population claim to be Christian. 20% are said to be Evangelical.
Prayer points include the obvious racial tension that continues to this day (especially tensions involving Christians). AIDS is also a major concern for Rwanda, as it is for most African countries.
JAPAN - BRIAN AND YOKO BROADDUS
Brian and Yoko are currently attending Kariuzawa Horizon Chapel while at language school. The church is a new church plant by Kikuo and Yuki Nishioka, who are only a young couple. There are only a few attending at this stage, so please pray for the church as it establishes.
IVORY COAST
It would appear that the situation has quietened down in the Ivory Coast, not that the civil war danger and situation is over. Rebel forces currently control a large area of territory. The small numbers of Reformed churches are continuing to minister in trying situations. Please pray for the brethren in the country.
SAMOA
Samoa is an island nation northeast of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean. The nation has a population of some 180 000 people, mostly native to the islands. It is an extremely poor country, relying on foreign aid for survival.
Samoa has freedom of religion with most people professing Christianity of some sort. However, Mormonism claims some 35% of the population. The church in Samoa is largely nominal.
Please pray for believers who are seeking to witness in their communities and for those that have moved elsewhere as missionaries.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - UKARUMPA - COLIN AND DIANNE LORD
The Lords’ are attempting to learn the trade language known as Tok Pisin in order to effectively witness to the people. They are also considering becoming a support couple for those in the field doing translation work.
ISRAEL - VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
Through the use of an advertisement in a local Russian newspaper (remember many Jewish people returned to Israel from Russia) some 290 responses were received in the towns of Shterot, Ashdod and Beersheva. Voice in the Wilderness is looking at starting a work in the Shterot area. Shterot is often hit by missiles fired by local Palestinian fighters. Please pray about the situation in this town.
PHILIPPINES: CUBAO REFORMED BAPTIST CHURCH
The Cubao church is continuing to grow with several having become members or soon to become members in recent times. Part of the outreach at Cubao are street meetings on Saturday afternoons aimed at reaching the children. These meetings occur at Benitez St in Cubao and Agham Road. Also new Bible Studies may soon begin at Benitez Street and Miami Street, both near Cubao.
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
Sao Tome and Principe are small islands off Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. The 170 000 population is predominantly Roman Catholic. There is however freedom of religion. Evangelicals make up a small portion of the population with only a couple of small churches and missions operating. There is clearly a need for a growing Evangelical witness and pastors, with some areas being unreached by the gospel at this stage. Apart from these various meetings, Cubao have many more Bible Studies and outreach ministries going on. Please pray for this church.
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.
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