October 2022 Iran, Latvia, Turkey, UK, Ukraine
IRAN Things are pretty bad there with the protests. Use of WhatsApp has been banned and for whole days there's no internet in some areas. So our online meetings have pretty much dried up with those in Iran at the moment.
LATVIA It was great to spend a couple of days in Riga this week with our beloved ones, friendships in the Lord stretching back very many years now. Always sad to hear of yet more who have fallen asleep in the Lord, but for sure our labour of the decades in Riga was not in vain and they died in the one and sure Hope. Our blind sister Larisa managed to find her way to the cafe where we provided a meal and had our Bible studies and breaking of bread. And it was wonderful that sister Sandra was able to bring our dear Vladimir, for many years Duncan's right hand man and assistant in pastoring the group. Despite being totally blind, he still retains his formidable knowledge of the Bible text, especially the Old Testament, and he was able to give us a short talk in addition to our study on Isaiah 53. He was clearly so happy to be back in some kind of service to the Lord amongst those he served so well for so long. Energy costs are so high in Latvia, they're one of the two EU countries to have a direct border with Russia. Everywhere there is tension and economic difficulties caused by the war. The Winter is going to be extremely difficult for many; we plan another visit later in the year to provide more help, Lord willing. Appreciate your prayers for them all, and thank you for all the support over the long years of our ministry in Riga.
TURKEY Very happy this week to baptize TAYYABA, a very committed to Jesus woman from Iran currently seeking refuge in Turkey, in difficult circumstances.
UK We had really a great time preaching on the streets of Croydon with 75 year old Spiro, of whom it can be said "the truth has made him free". Not just good to be able to explain to folks at length that hell is the grave and not eternal torment, but to play the old school Gospel songs and hand out tracts encouraging folks to download the
Bible Companion app. There was a lot of joy there and the Lord was surely working with us.
Full video of the talk about hell is the grave followed by the music and street preaching at
https://youtu.be/yRfV2hME5pE 
We also had a go at preaching in Russian in central Croydon, seeing one hears Russian spoken so much, what with many from both Russia and Ukraine now turning up in London,
video at
https://youtu.be/DRAr8CTVP1k And we're pleased to tell you of the baptisms of NAVID and his wife KIMIA in the river Avon. They and their young child were brought to the UK by traffickers who kept them for 2 months in a location they are unaware of, beating them and threatening the child, in order to get more money out of them. They are now finally safely in the UK seeking asylum. We need to pray for all those with PTSD, diagnosed or not. Despite all that trauma, their faith in the Lord Jesus and His Father is totally wonderful, and we had a long and wonderful time of fellowship together. The baptisms were slightly unusual in that they were performed under sustained attack from swans, who bit Navid's toe as he was being baptized.
Video at
https://youtu.be/C67oOjmQAdY 
UKRAINE The situation for civilians is increasingly tense in Ukraine, with the resumption of widespread bombing, power outages, and the onset of Winter. Ukrainian losses are also heavy, and the repeated complaint is that the hospitals are so full of wounded soldiers that there's just no space for operations or procedures- unless one goes private. There's also been a huge outmigration of medical staff, amongst the millions of working age people who have left Ukraine recently. One brother has been quoted 500 Euro for a hernia operation- a fairly standard procedure but hard to live without. We are open to your donations, and brother Mark Hawkins and Duncan are going to make a trip to Ukraine in a week's time, Lord willing. Perhaps easiest and most direct through
https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/11372 We do really appreciate your prayers.
PRAYER POINTS
- For those recently baptized
- For those in Iran at this unstable and dangerous time
- For those of our refugee brethren and their children with PTSD
- For the very difficult situation in Ukraine and our efforts to assist
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks