November 2020 Chile, Peru, Latvia, Iran
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 break bread live online as follows:
Sunday mornings GMT on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/69292278377 Sundays at 3:00 PM New Zealand time. That's 1 PM in Sydney Australia; 10 PM in New York, USA on Saturday evening [run by Br John Aldersley in New Zealand]
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87515766908 Meeting ID: 875 1576 6908
Sundays at 10am North American Eastern Time [3 PM UK GMT time, 11 PM Sydney Australia time]. Run by Br Jim Barton in Canada.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9123758179 Meeting ID: 912 375 8179
APP APPEAL A reminder of last week's major appeal for significant funds to majorly upgrade the app, and make it available in Farsi, Russian, Spanish and French on Apple [iOS].
PERU We have a really dedicated and fast responsive team of Spanish speaking brethren who follow up on the significant number of Spanish speakers downloading the Spanish app. There were over 6000 downloads of the Spanish app this last week alone. The Truth is spreading to all nooks and crannies of South America. We are in correspondence, for example, with a man from in Peru. We'd never have been able to reach these remote places without the app. The word is getting out to some very beautiful and obscure parts of the world. To His glory. Here's a picture of the town:
CHILE For some years FELIPE has been deeply studying the Bible, and became persuaded of the need to reject the Trinity, pre-existence, immortal soul etc. He is an example of the determined, spiritually minded Bible student and lover of God in spirit and truth. He came to us online, and was able to baptize himself, having especially arranged a pool at his nephew's home. He is heavily handicapped and as you can see from the video, moves with great difficulty. It was by sheer will power, inspired by the Lord, that he was able to achieve a complete immersion, and then struggle out of the water alone. We're so grateful he propped up his phone to share with us. Because it is really a very inspiring 3 minutes of video that all should watch and be inspired by. The still photos don't at all do justice to it.
It's at
https://youtu.be/V2y6XpaN394 Through Google he writes afterwards:
"I want to record that today, November 12, 2020, I have self-baptized following the advice of brother Ben Funes, but I could not leave evidence in a video, because the new camera did not record, but I want to tell the details of how I did it: I did it in my nephew's pool, taking advantage of the fact that he is absolutely alone at home, with a lot of effort, I entered the pool since I suffer from a severe physical disability but that does not prevent me from walking, I entered the pool I sat down, and declared what next: I believe that the Father is the only true God, that Jesus is the Messiah, and I hope for the kingdom of God, by which I am baptized in the authority of the Father, of the son and in the power of the holy spirit, amen".
Indeed, one by one, one here and one there, a great army of sincere, humble believers is arising, sincerely awaiting the Lord's return.
IRAN We had two lovely baptisms this week. Both so absolutely sincere. There was ELIZA, who was really very emotional as she was baptized. She had attended an underground church for 5 years and grew to read the Bible regularly. But the pastor was arrested and the church broke up. It was then that she came to us online. She is really very close to the Lord Jesus. We each prayed, including Eliza, and seeing her hands clasped in prayer, the old hymn came to mind: "Blessed are the hands, strong in the power of prayer". These conversions are clearly absolutely legitimate. There is a deep sense of genuine commitment to the Lord Jesus and appreciation of what it means to follow Him. Nobody in Iran gets baptized without having counted the potential cost.
It is all really a reason for prayer and rejoicing. And gratitude that the technology has been raised up to enable us to do this, in a way that would have been impossible in earlier generations.
Then there was sister MARIA, very elegant lady in her 50s, crying tears of deep, deep appreciation and gratitude. Reza did a great job translating and himself praying. Our new sister sent a message of deep gratitude afterwards: "Thank you a lot for the job that you've done for me, I wanted to do this for a long time and now this is a miracle for me...". But do pray for these people... as you can see from the screenshot from another contact, in teaching folks there we are constantly told of the huge risks.
We'd also like to ask for your prayers for our brethren in Iran suffering from Covid. It is rampant there. As you can see from this chat, one of the brothers with it is suffering from lack of medication due to sanctions and the associated economic collapse. Here you can see his analysis [we've removed his personal info]:
LATVIA We continue not only taking food out to our homeless brethren and contacts, but also managing to do Bible study with them in the various derelict sheds and buildings they are living in. The closure of some night shelters and related accommodation due to the pandemic has put many on the streets, with temper
But you can see a video of some of the work this week at
https://youtu.be/zNCqpuTJqKU and we hope this week to baptize some who are now reading Bible Basics where they are sleeping.
PRAYER POINTS: - For those recently baptized
- For wisdom in further developing the app
- For the safety of those being baptized in Iran
- For protection from Covid and other issues as we minister to the homeless and very poor
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks