June 2022 Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, UK, Ukraine
AFGHANISTAN This week we were able to baptize online GHAFARI and SAHIL . We can pray for our brethren there suffering from the effects of the tragic earthquake that has wrecked parts of the already ravaged country.
CUBA
This week a group of us met online to witness the baptism of ZULEMA in the sea near Santiago da Cuba. This was after nearly 2 years using the Spanish Bible Companion app and correspondence with several sisters. Our sister got her husband to take her to the beach on his motor bicycle; and then you can see her very happy after her immersion:
Our new sister is already spreading the true Gospel to various family members throughout Cuba.
IRAN
This week we baptized online a husband and wife, MOHAMMAD and ZAINAB, and then later MILAD. The Bible app in Persian continues to be blessed with many downloads and much usage worldwide.
UKRAINE
As you likely know, Lisichansk is in the heart of the conflict in Donbas at the moment. It was many years ago that we visited and baptized sister Sofia there, sister of brother Boris in Russia. Then later we went there again to baptize sister Sofia's son, Sasha. Sofia and Boris fell asleep in the Lord some years ago but brother Sasha remained living in his mother's home in Lisichansk. Much of the city is now destroyed, and we just heard that Sasha escaped on one of the last evacuation vehicles, under constant shelling, and has managed to cross the Russian border and is now safely in Moscow. We do give thanks for this.
UNITED KINGDOM
Activity in the UK is really hotting up at the moment. Cindy was able to baptize our friend ASRINE at Southend on Sea, video at
https://youtu.be/NRNmbaH4EcQ
We held our second "Church in a pub" in Croydon, and were thrilled to have nearly 30 visitors, including some young mothers and their children, all local folks, along with sister Astrid from Erith ecclesia. Most who came last week attended and some brought friends. One very erudite and well versed visitor earnestly asked us to start a Bible class in order to go deeper into the scriptures. There was again a good take up of our literature in hard copy- the NEV Bible, Bible Basics, The Real Christ and The Real Devil. You can see a video of the service at
https://youtu.be/wbzkt74NNoQ
There was again a wonderful personal testimony, this time from Mark, who briefly outlined his journey from absolute atheism to the Bible, and through that to belief in God and surrender to the Lord Jesus. It's just amazing to hear yet another secular British man being transformed by God's word, and his brief testimony at the bar of a pub in East Croydon is really yet another triumph for God's Truth-
https://youtu.be/bg6sNKxO8Yk
Some of our visitors are so eager for the Gospel and are discussing baptism with us. Do pray for them. If we continue at this rate of growth, we're going to outgrow the pub. But... do come along if you're in the London area. It's an unusual and wonderful experience.
Our attenders are from a wide range of social situation. We have an Iranian asylum seeker brother who lives in an emergency hotel with his 10 year old son, who gets 8 pounds / week to live on, as his welfare payments are largely taken by the hotel in lieu of meals- which are curry and rice three times / day. So he is living on about 1 pound / day, with a child to support. They were prepared to walk about 2 hours to our meeting due to no fare money, although as you can see from the below, we did persuade him to let us visit him and give him some cash:
PRAYER POINTS
- For those asylum seeker brethren in the UK receiving 1 pound / day to live on
- For those recently baptized
- For our brothers and sisters in Ukraine currently fleeing hotspots
- For wisdom and further blessing on the new church developing in Croydon UK
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks