December 2021 Afghanistan, Australia, Georgia, Germany, Israel
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:
Saturday mornings 09:00 a.m.UK time; on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6697401754?pwd=K0VWNDlScGwzaThPM2tiU0didmNyUT09 Meeting ID: 669 740 1754 Passcode: XPb9Sz.
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] on
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81015280780?pwd=LzAwNDRTTzhNcFpiRGlmaGx6YUpvZz09 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
Also, Bible class on Wednesdays at 7 PM North American Eastern Time
AFGHANISTAN
This week we had the online baptism of ABDULLAH, and many good online meetings with other app users there.
AUSTRALIA
This was a special week for the Gospel in Australia.
Sister Danmui, originally from Samoa but settled now in Melbourne AU, baptized herself a while ago with her daughter holding the camera. She came from the app and has shown a great grasp of both true doctrine as well as spiritual practice. And what a wonderful sister. Every online breaking of bread meeting in the prayer requests, Danmui asks us to pray for her 6 adult children to come to the Truth. And with her teaching them, enthusing about and getting them to use the app, the youngest three have done. It was a really special time to baptize NATHANIEL, SHANELLE and ORLANDO into the Lord Jesus on the beach at Port Melbourne- in the presence of many Muslims relaxing on the beach in this very multi ethnic area.
What a wonderful family. It's especially great to see three siblings be baptized together, and also to see young people remembering their creator in the days of their youth. In a world where at times it seems that the younger generation are lost as man has never been lost and confused before in this world. Danmui was understandably ecstatic, and we will keep praying with her that the rest of her adult children and her family back in Samoa can also come to baptism into the Lord Jesus, in spirit and truth. Video at
https://youtu.be/-SyafqlTXOg
In Sydney, we met up with Rose and Lily Stone and distributed New Testaments in the Chinatown of Sydney, in Hurstville. People were very grateful; the children distributed the New Testaments too, and were given presents of fried chicken, and then a kind Korean woman bought them all sushi and other treats, she was so impressed with being given a free Bible.
Video at https://youtu.be/rvSuY66XO0I
Then there was the baptism of JON in western Sydney, in his bath tub. A more humble and contrite spirit, frankly confessing sin, would be hard to imagine.
You can see the video at https://youtu.be/gjHpm8RZx9k
Jon was eager to distribute New Testaments, and so we went together to Mt Druitt shops and did so. Jon was such a great witness, as you can see from the video. Covered in tatoos from a previous life , Jon was able to get into conversation with another tatoo covered man and you can see them comparing tatoos. It is indeed our shared experience of humanity that becomes the opportunity for our Christian witness; and perhaps it was only a tatooed man who can get a New Testament in the hands of another tatooed man.
We were just finishing our last few New Testaments, when a man walked up to Duncan and said "Hi Duncan". The conversation went something like this; you can hear it summarized in the videos:
"I have been watching you on YouTube. I saw Danmui's children being baptized a few days ago, and I so wanted to be baptized. I've been using your app a long time". The man, JAMES, then showed his phone with the app on it. He explained he had received a hard copy of Bible Basics over 10 years ago, and had read and re-read it until the spine broke. He then got the app, really wanted to be baptized, but lacked the confidence to make contact with us. It was as if God saw that weakness and made him go to the shops that day, and bump into Duncan. James is originally from Raratonga in the Cook Islands [population 17,000 and a tiny island of only 32 km circumference]. His whole journey is a parade example of God's grace and tenacious calling of people. So we arranged the baptism and carried it out on Zoom in nearby Lake Woodcroft. Jim Anne provided us with a rendition of "Amazing Grace" and indeed God's grace is amazing. To hear James recount his journey and apparently "chance" meeting with Duncan at a shopping center in Sydney... is an encouragement to each of us in faith. James was especially grateful to have grasped our teaching about Satan, as he says that people in the Cook Islands live in real fear of Satan and this was a great freedom for him.
Do please see the video at
https://youtu.be/tj0t6aDCwFw
We just marvel at God's grace.
GERMANY
Brother Peter in Munich has now completed his amazing pedal vehicle, with a slogan advertising the Lord's return. Again, by all means the witness is being made worldwide. Notice the snow in the background.
GEORGIA
This week we baptized online SAEED and BAHAREH, relatives of sister Maryam. She was so happy. It continues the theme of sister Danmui's great joy at the baptisms of three of her children in Australia. Danmui was present, along with sister Saida from London UK, who gave a wonderful testimony of her own conversion from Islam to Christ; and sister Miriam Worsnop also participated.
ISRAEL
We have enjoyed the continued company of the African migrant workers in Israel on our Zoom meetings. We thought we had found some stores in Israel from whom we could buy the clothing, but things have fallen through. So we are searching for some other stores, and also accepting that whatever we send over is going to be liable for customs duties. So we continue to be open to your donations towards providing warm clothing and beanies for our African brethren in Israel as Winter descends on them and they continue to be ill prepared for it.
Please channel donations where possible through brother Steve Gretton and the Carelinks UK account. We hope to be able to report more progress on this over the next weeks God willing.
PRAYER POINTS
- For those recently baptized
- For the continued awful situation for our brethren and contacts in Afghanistan
- Special praise for God's grace to James
- For all those facing cold weather
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks