January 2020 Ukraine, UK, Mayotte-France, Turkey
We strongly recommend you download the "
Bible Companion" app, from where you can access
Carelinks messages, daily Bible readings,
Bible Basics, commentary on every verse of the Bible and audio exhortations on every chapter of the Bible.
For Android / Google Play at
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carelinks.bc and on the App Store for Apple / iOS at
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bible-companion/id1475914490 You can see the list of exhortations at
http://christadelphia.net/audio.htm Helps for the Bible Companion readings this week:
Genesis https://n-e-v.info/NEVGenesisCommentary.pdf Psalms https://n-e-v.info/psalms.pdf Matthew https://n-e-v.info/NEVMatthewCommentary.pdf UKRAINE We spent a wonderful time at a rehab center in Eastern Ukraine, just back from the former front line of the conflict there. Terrible journey there over roads potholed by shells, heavy military vehicles and years of neglect, but rewarded with the baptisms of VLADIMIR, ALEKSANDR and an older man, BINIAMIN. Amazing testimonies of how God preserved them and brought them to Himself. We sent a box of the newly reprinted
NEV Russian Bibles and
Bible Basics to the rehab center after receiving a request from them last year. The whole area is very poor, due to the war resulting in many industries closing and a huge out migration. Our contact there told us of the great interest in God's word amongst the men there, but they had no Bibles. As it seemed so sincere, we sent them the box. And then, nearly a year later, received news that indeed some of the men had studied the books and requested baptism into the Lord Jesus. So we made the trip.
We hired a sauna, about the only one in the area. It had a hot steam room, and a very deep plunge pool- which was really freezing cold. The rehab center had no facilities for baptism, being in a large wooden building which had been derelict. After Bible study, prayer and discussion, we went into that freezing water for the baptisms, and then shut ourselves in the hot room to recover. There were hats to wear to protect our hair because it was so hot. As we sat there in that hot room... there were some great comments of true appreciation from these men who had been through awful experiences, to come to Christ and the things of the Kingdom in spirit and in truth. We praise God for His working, in such an obscure and humanly forgotten area, to "make up His jewels" and bring more to His saving plan.
It is one thing for men to march off to war to the accolades of friends and family; another to be traumatized and wounded deep in body and soul afterwards. In a country like Ukraine, where the economy is in ruins, the needs of such people are largely ignored. We have made a donation to the rehab center as they are clearly doing a great job with very few resources, caring for about 15 men in that building which needs so much doing to it.
Again, the
Bible Companion app in Russian would be so helpful in this and so many other circumstances. We thank God for your support which enables us to get Bibles out to so many worldwide, and ask your support for the Russian app which we appealed for in last week's Carelink.
TURKEY Our Iranian refugee brethren in Turkey are actively preaching the Gospel, and we plan a Bible weekend with them next weekend. There will likely be various welfare issues and we invite your donations towards what looks to be a well attended weekend with many baptisms.
UK A reminder of the
Carelinks UK Conference, to be held in the usual venue in Selsdon on Saturday Feb. 29 God willing.
MAYOTTE Readers will recall our efforts for a group of refugee brethren stuck on the tiny islet of Mayotte. One by one, many but not all of them have gotten to France. Brother Savery has been settled in Strasbourg; any able to visit him please let us know. We thank God for an amazing deliverance out of an extraordinary situation- and there were times in the whole process when we really felt all our efforts weren't going to work out.
PRAYER POINTS - For those recently baptized
- For our work in Turkey
- For the Russian app
- Thankfulness for the refugee brethren who have got off Mayotte and are now in France; and for those who remain on Mayotte
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks