August 2020 South America, Iran, Italy, Conference, Latvia
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 CONFERENCE
A reminder of our international conference which will be held on Zoom, on Saturday August 22nd God willing. Let us know if you would like to make a presentation about anything. The link to join will be
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88459599424?
pwd=YlRuMjgrQWxDdmUzcGFRbmVzYTdOUT09 Passcode: 429897
SOUTH AMERICA
There have been nearly 120,000 downloads of the Spanish app. The contacts are well followed up by brother Pedro in Florida USA and brother Ben in California USA. Pedro was able to report this week the online baptism of TULIO. We're reaching into areas where we would never otherwise have been able to take the Gospel. People download the app all over the place, and then after using it a while and being exposed to our commentaries and Bible Basics, they make contact with us. For example, from Ica, Peru, which is just a little oasis in the coastal desert in Peru... in this very remote place there's an app user there who wants more contact. Here's what it looks like on Google Maps. Truly the Gospel is going to the ends of the earth:
However, we've been spending around 30 pounds / day advertising the Spanish app and can't continue at that tempo. And yet this is a wonderful way to get the true Gospel into places throughout South America and Cuba where our message would never otherwise reach; and indeed, throughout the Spanish speaking world, including Spanish speakers in many English speaking countries. We are open to your donations to continue this.
ITALY We continue in contact with our African brethren throughout Italy. As you can imagine, they have been very hard hit by the pandemic and the huge economic downturn caused by it. Working as casual workers, often connected to cafes and restaurants, with no state support... the whole meltdown in Italy has driven them into real poverty. This week we visited the group in the Milan-Turin area, which was the epicenter of the Covid outbreak in Italy. We gave significant support to our brethren, thanks to your generosity. There are so many in hard situations. Life's hard enough for African folks without documents. But with the economic collapse and closure of so many places where they were finding work, it's extra hard.
Most are tempted to sell their bodies or sell drugs. Yet the word promises that we will never be given a temptation too great for us. No situation will force the righteous to put forth their hand to do evil. But it takes some believing; when you are sharing a room with say 4 other young women who all do sex work, or with 4 other men who are all 'running errands' connected with drugs. And you refuse. But are still expected to contribute towards the room rent. And so we are the more encouraged that 7 brave people put their hand in God's and chose His way and were baptized. Do pray for them.
They are brother CHRISTOPHER and sisters VIOLET, EVELYNE, LOVETH, GRACE, FAITH and OSARIMA.
Do pray for them. We've put together a few highlights from our time with them, and it's 14 minutes of video worth watching. They had all received
Bible Basics material and instruction from our existing brethren, and their determined confessions of desire to follow the Lord Jesus are really humbling in their simplicity and sincerity. The Bible app is used by them, and we gave them the advertising cards so they can share the app with others whom they meet.
The video is at
https://youtu.be/XAGknGOLta0 As we stood by the river bank, it really was a case of
"In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee." 
Sister Grace gave a particularly moving little testimony of her commitment now to Jesus, both before her baptism and then straight after it. There was true joy here, the joy which alone is from the Lord Jesus. It's in the video
As they stood in the water, they broke into lovely singing of old hymns, like "For ever Your word is settled in my heart", in perfectly natural unison. You can hear that on the video too:
Finding a baptismal place was not so easy. There have been flash floods with the strange weather patterns, and so we crossed a number of fast flowing water courses in search of anywhere with depth of water which was not flowing dangerously fast. At one point the flow was so strong that it became dangerous, and the group had to hold hands to stop being swept away. Holding hands in a chain as we forded that difficult part really did seem in every way like leading men and women to Christ. You can see that on the video too. We were a strange sight to the few local Italians- African women dressed up their best for their baptisms, clutching handbags and shoes as we forded the mountain streams:
IRAN We were pleased to witness the online baptism of MUHARRAM. We are in constant contact with folks in Iran and Afghanistan using the Persian language app. So many are encountering the Bible's message about the Lord Jesus for the first time. The Gospel really is spreading into hearts who have never encountered it before. We get many messages like this:
We have thrown all we could at Google advertising in Iran for fear it would only be allowed temporarily. But the ads are still showing. However, we've been spending around 20 pounds / day advertising the Persian app and can't continue at that tempo. And yet this is a wonderful way to get the true Gospel into places like Iran, Iran and Afghanistan where our message would never otherwise reach. We are open to your donations to continue this.
PRAYER POINTS - For the hundreds of thousands of people studying the Bible with the app
- For those recently baptized
- For those coming to Christianity for the very first time
- For our African migrant brethren in Europe
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks