November 2024 Fiji, Ukraine, UK
FIJI Brother John Mazlin from QLD, Australia [ex Wanganui NZ] writes:
"Having reflected a lot on my walk with God recently, I felt challenged and compelled to do more. I see what others do and though it is not about comparing I did feel I could and should do more. We all have different talents which can be used for our purpose which is to follow him and be fishers of men. As such I have been blessed with an opportunity to spend some time in Fiji and while I was there, I gave away a few bibles. What better way of loving your neighbor than just gifting them Gods word. There is no pride in this as all glory goes to God, but I thought I would share because anyone can give away a bible to their neighbor no matter where they are. I took a leap of faith and God opened doors and did the rest".
UKRAINE Since Donald Trump's win in America, there's a big perception that American support for Ukraine will be removed, forcing a peace agreement based around the current front lines. That may or may not happen, but it's the perception, and so there is a strong Russian push on Ukraine at the moment. Bombing has been stepped up all over Ukraine, and the front lines are definitely being pushed back daily in the East. According to the BBC [ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8jyrn4z1gko ], the bombardment has tripled in intensity over the last few months: "Russia is massively increasing drone strikes on Ukraine. More than 2,000 were launched in October, according to Ukraine's general staff - a record number in this war... Russia fired 1,410 drones in September, and 818 in August - compared with around 1,100 for the entire three-month period before that. It's part of a wider resurgence for Russian forces. The invaders are advancing all along the front lines".
With this in mind, please do pray for brothers Mark and Duncan as they go to Ukraine for 2 weeks, seeking to visit our brethren and sisters, baptize contacts and evacuate those in most danger. And for our brothers and sisters and their children, living under the huge stress of this endless bombardment and wailing of air raid sirens.
UK
LISA has lived a life with type 1 diabetes, resulting in a lot of nerve damage and pain in her back and legs. She read the Bible as a child, but her family weren't religious but has gone through life really wanting to be a Christian. She lives with her two dogs in a run down, cold flat in one of the huge tower blocks opposite Lewisham Hospital in South London. She's on the 12th floor and gets out to walk the dogs and go to the shop using a mobility scooter. She was introduced to the Lord by a friend who knew one of our sisters, who got her ready for baptism. We got there and found her eagerly waiting outside the block with the dogs. She was so desirous of baptism. She took us up to the flat, which really needs a lot of work doing on it. She spends much of her time in bed, with the dogs. We had a good long chat, and then ran the water in her bath tub. But the hot water was out in the block. Only cold water, very cold. She was so eager for baptism that she didn't take up our suggestion of boiling some water to take the chill off. She spoke passionately of the love of the Lord Jesus for her in dying for her, of His pain, and how she was willing to take some pain for Him as she symbolically died and rose with Him. So, despite all her very evident nerve pain, we did the baptism in that cold water. And the lord Jesus was surely glorified by it, and will be, as she goes on in and for Him, to His glory. Our texts afterwards show her great appreciation. See Lisa bravely struggling with her nerve pain as she was baptized, and her interesting testimony to God's grace:
https://youtu.be/0JD8s6aqVYw
Duncan adds:
I was born in Lewisham hospital. I grew up in Lewisham. Driving back from Lisa's, I went through the streets of my youth, trying to remember the short cuts. Back in the day, there were ecclesial members living in so many of those streets. Now they're all gone. The ecclesias of South London have shrivelled in membership over the last few decades, almost to nothing, compared to my youth 50 years back. But now there is without doubt a revival happening in South London. We just need some more mature workers to come and be part of it.
Later this week, the theme continued- of someone with great nerve pain deliberately choosing to be baptized in cold water, to fellowship the Lord's sufferings. We've noticed this before, people in totally different situations and locations have a parallel experience and make a similar response. It all bears the hallmark of the Divine, the work of the Spirit.
MARLON had been reading the Bible all his life, but he and his famiy had never found a truly Bible based church they were comfortable with. He was savaged by the family dog some time back- the dog got into lockjaw on his foot, severing his foot from his body. He lost much blood and was in a coma for three months. Amazing surgery managed to fix his foot back on, but the dog destroyed his ankle bone, which was never replaced. So he has no ankle bone, and lost much skin in the various skin graft operations required. He came in contact with us from seeing the Croydon Church in a Pub videos. Despite the resultant pain- he insisted on being baptized in the open air. With all the pain an intense discomfort caused by freezing water. There's a lake on the council estate near where he lives in the UK and so he bravely was baptized there early one morning, with the temperature only slightly above freezing. You can see the video of it at
https://youtu.be/ZVVoFjURa9o
He is truly brave, and spoke of how the flesh fought against the Spirit... but he has let the Spirit win. May he continue.
Marlon's dog attack, which changed his life, happened when he was 12. Lisa in her testimony says she began reading the Bible when she was 12. Again... the Lord is working in parallel. We think of how the woman with a blood disease had been ill for 12 years, and at the same time as she was healed, the Lord raised Jairus' 12 year old daughter (Lk. 8:42,43). Truly we're seeing God's hand at work. We also can reflect how Lisa was baptized in cold water and so was another Lisa a few weeks ago, in the very cold North Sea, shivering uncontrollably from the cold in the video. Why do these two brave sisters have the same name? We can't figure these things out, but we sense God's providential hand.
PRAYER POINTS - for those recently baptized
- For Marlon's family to also be baptized
- For Lisa and others in urban isolation, elderly or disabled living in high rise blocks all over the world
- For blessing and safety on our trip to Ukraine
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks