August 2020 Iran, USA, Australia, Lebanon, Conference

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. The link to join will be
  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88459599424?pwd=YlRuMjgrQWxDdmUzcGFRbmVzYTdOUT09
Passcode: 429897.
  The program looks very exciting- although we're going to have to edit it a bit to stop it getting too long. Here's the lineup at the moment, liable to change of course:

NEW ZEALAND:
Daniel Aldersley: Music
Guy Collins: From white South African Policeman to true Christianity in New Zealand
John Aldersley: What should church be like?

AUSTRALIA
Mike Flaherty [Queensland]: A voice from mid ocean
John Thatcher [Sydney NSW]: Lost in relationship: My Christian travels
Jonathan Hallett [NSW]: When you lose everything to find the Lord Jesus through the Bible app
Phil Miriam Worsnop [Queensland]: The amazing response in the African community in Australia
Mark Hawkins [Western Australia]: From dope smoking conservative Christadelphian to real conversion

CHINA
Donald Feng: My life for the Lord in China

UK
Barry McCann: Secular man comes to Jesus Christ via the Bible app
Rob Alcock: What it's like to baptize yourself under lockdown
Joe Coutts [Aberdeen, Scotland]: An older man reflects: A personal path with Jesus
Robin Field: A path towards faith: Reflections on a long journey
Frank Campbell: A scaffolding inspector downloads the Bible app and comes to baptism

SPAIN [Tenerife]
Marianne Barbe: My spiritual journey which brought me to having a passion for Christ in the Canaries

POLAND
Szymon Sulgostowski: The path out of agnosticism to commitment to Christ

TURKEY
Ender: What it's like living in Christ in a Muslim society

LATVIA
Cindy Heaster: Attempting to get inside the mentality and situation of the homeless

SOUTH AFRICA
Leonie Verster: My up and down life: Rhodesia, Spain, Costa Rica, South Africa

KENYA / SOUTH SUDAN
Amos Kisuya: Close shaves with death in Malakal; and the first baptisms at the source of the Nile

CANADA
Jim Barton: Google adverts, online church and my own journey
Bill Farrar: "And he was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee"

ARGENTINA
David Vega [Buenos Aires]: What it means to leave a church when you see through the Trinity and the Satan myth

USA
Misty Musser: First time to fly, first time to travel overseas. And it was to Riga...
Brett Musser: My spiritual path
Elaine Pedlar: From the fashion industry to Christ. All that glitters is fake
Ben Funes: My path from baptizing myself to baptizing others
Tom Hammer: From drugs and rock n roll to Biblical truth

IRAN
One wonders how things go in the lives of those who baptize themselves. Well, we enjoy regular contact with many of them and it's amazing to see their growth. It was a pleasure this week to baptize on WhatsApp the family of one of our existing self baptized brothers- parents HAMID and ELHAM, and his other brothers ASHER and AMIN. It was a truly wonderful time of fellowship, and such a blessing to be able to see each other by video link, and to see how a family has been brought to the Lord Jesus in Spirit and truth.

LEBANON
This just popped into our inbox... a request for an NEV Bible from Beirut, Lebanon. So often we have seen this- disaster makes people think about God and some turn to Him. It's rather like we had requests for Bibles from Wuhan, China when the coronavirus situation there was at its most intense. When folks are in any kind of personal crisis, we can reach out into their lives with the Gospel and the perspective of God's word. Let's pray for Francess. We've edited out the personal info.We're so grateful that your donations enable us to print and mail out literature and respond immediately in these cases:
   

AUSTRALIA
Without doubt, the pandemic has made many people think about God.Sister Katie in Ipswich, QLD has done a lot of distribution of New Testaments, and the pandemic has led her to witness even more. She is riding her bicycle around Ipswich with her "Free Bibles" vest, with a supply of Bibles in her pannier to give to those interested.
Sister Miriam Worsnop captured her on camera and interviewed her about her preaching work at
https://youtu.be/Nj1qDyvJcqI
Miriam has also produced a very impressive florescent face mask advertising "Free Bibles" and our web address. What a great and fearless preacher she is. May the Lord bless her efforts to spread His word. Do have a look at the brief video. Let's all be inspired to share the Gospel.
              
The Worsnops have made a video interviewing the African Australians recently baptized there. It is an in depth discussion of how their lives have really changed. It is a powerful testament to the ongoing power of the Lord Jesus today, and His activity in the hearts and lives of those who accept Him. It was intended for the upcoming Zoom conference but at 25 minutes it's too long for that. But it's too good to just cut it so it's now on YouTube uncut.
You can see it at https://youtu.be/6frRwX11DdU
It is wonderful encouragement to go on preaching the Gospel. Lives really are being changed, radically. To His glory.

USA
In the spirit of sister Katie in Australia, brother Tim Anderson in Virginia USA is also by all means getting the word out there by advertising the Bible Companion app on his vehicles, which he's been driving long distance. He writes:
"Our Lord's return is ever so near, let us pray our neighbors and community respond to the gospel message. Thank you for giving me an outlet to share our hope in a world that has fear and death happening all around us with this pandemic. A nursing home a few miles from my home has experienced 45 Covid deaths. Come Lord Jesus!... Thought using the word "Listen" rather than "Read" [the Bible] would be more inviting. "Listen" fits with Romans 10:17, "Faith cometh by hearing".
People don't take time to physically read now, but time to listen is abundantly available and easy now. Hope someone on our 1700 mile trip jotted it down! All those tailgating truckers had to see it!"
Let's get in the spirit of his bold witness. Tim was actually driving those 1700 miles "just" to hold a breaking of bread meeting at a motel with some isolated believers in Christiansburg VA... under COVID restrictions. Great example of loving care. He sent us a pic of the group.
          

PRAYER POINTS
   - For those recently baptized
   - For all the efforts to witness being made by brothers and sisters worldwide
   - For those faithfully meeting alone or in small numbers
   - For those learning the Gospel in difficult situations which are liable to distract them, Iran and Lebanon in particular

With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks