March 2020 Tenerife, Australia, Nigeria, Latvia, Italy
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 We are continuing our online breaking of bread on Facebook on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. GMT, on our
Carelinks Ministries Facebook page. And there is an Australian online breaking of bread on Tuesday evenings Australian time using PalTalk.
ITALY / SICILY The situation in Italy is desperate but especially for the African migrants who are outside the health system, and were in any case struggling to survive by getting odd jobs here and there. The lockdown and economic collapse means no such work. So many are going hungry. We've sent funds out there and a brother who is an established migrant and Italian citizen has been able to buy food and take it out to those who are hungry. The health service just can't cope in Italy, thousands of people every day need to be hospitalized, and recorded deaths have been around 1000 daily.
And the African migrants are outside the health system. In
Sicily there is urgent need for clean water, and you can see our brother distributing it to African folks using his motorcycle, along with mealie meal. Some of those in the photos we baptized in happier days. The funds have clearly been spent properly and used legitimately so will send some more. Please support as you can in prayer and materially.
Here are the photos from his food distribution today. And a video of gratitude and showing the distribution ongoing at
https://youtu.be/6A30oYU8me4 
LATVIA We had a really hectic time at the soup kitchen this week. Today people just kept coming. Max cooked them soup, so, they had sandwich pack, soup and coffee. They really are hungry as we are one of the few remaining sources of free food for them. The hardest thing was enforcing the crowd kept 2 meters apart from each other, both when lining up outside for the food, and when later eating it outside in the street. It is natural for them to congregate and chat. Not sure we totally succeeded, but some got the idea. And the line snaked all around the hall.
Dear old sister Tatyana dutifully walked away with her food to a grassy verge, put her walking stick down in the grass, prayed for her food and ate it standing up.
Others of course hung around chatting together on the street. There was a good range of conversation audible- about spiritual things, about gossip about the virus... is it being carried and spread by cats... but a good spirit all round. Max really worked so hard preparing the sandwiches, cooking the soup etc. As fast as Cindy ladled it out, Max was taking it to the little table we placed in the doorway, so somebody could take it. And then there was the next one, and so on. Plus keeping the coffee flowing. We were at absolutely full stretch. Everything went . We have bought them 'disposable' bowls and wooden cutlery to try to be as environmentally friendly as possible, and are encouraging them to reuse them. At the end of it, the three of us (Maxim, Duncan Cindy) were pretty exhausted. When the last soup and sandwich had gone we just looked at each other and clapped, not sure why.
Funny how God put the three of us together here in Riga at this time. We seem to have the right skills between us to do what is needed and what the Lord clearly wills to be done for His people. Please, do continue praying for us to have wisdom, health, resources and strength.
You can see the video of it all at
https://youtu.be/s3rQco89Mf8 We're sorry to say that we had an attempted break in at the hall, they only broke the first layer of security glass not the second one. Appreciate your prayers. Shape of things to come?
AUSTRALIA Thanks to donations, we are able to continue advertising the
Bible Companion app on Google ads, with great results. There has been a huge jump in response as country after country wakes up to the reality of the pandemic. The day after Australians were ordered off beaches and were put into lockdown, downloads of the app shot up in Australia- and the spike remains there. The graph below shows it:
We are open to donations so we can keep advertising the app and developing new apps, in other languages, so we can reach yet more people.
TENERIFE, CANARY ISLANDS Spain is under lockdown with over 700 deaths / day and coronavirus cases increasing by many thousands each day. But again, this has led to the Gospel spreading on Tenerife. This seems to be the pattern worldwide. Sister Marianne reports:
"I have now had the pleasure of inviting the old lady and her son of 55..(just the next flat) to consider reading the bible basics,,as we now have good contact ,,because I give them fresh produce from the garden,,and with this lock down,,I have an open door to evangelize,,and to cheer folks up telling them why I am so happy and in peace...So when they ask how I can be happy and calm with this pestilence ect,,I tell them about God,,and how all is going to plan,,and that if you walk with Jesus..not even a Serpent will bite you...God needs us here,,he wants us to be busy,,and loving and cheering and caring,,and then folks look up,,and for some yeh ..They "twig" that God is real,,and that we are in this incredible book..Then I give them a couple of the Spanish leaflets with one theme ,,such as ..
Is the Trinity biblical. ?..ect ect...Well now they have got to liking the idea of popping into my flat..and to do the readings ( but in Spanish)... I am desperate for more Spanish bibles, and The 'Introduction to Bible Basics'..( The smaller booklet).. This is great as its not like taking on board too much info in one fell swoop...They are borrowing my last Spanish bible..and now Ruben is visiting every day I need another....Tis great to sit with someone whose eager to delve into the holy writings...and we sit up till 2.30am and dont notice the time....So my dear brother ,,I am now learning how to evangelize..and God keeps me busy."
We are still looking for folks to read and translate material in
Spanish for the production of the
Bible Companion app. Let us know if you know anyone.
NIGERIA A young man, currently a law student, has been studying
Bible Basics on the app and came to a very clear understanding of things. Not only doctrinally but also in real spiritual terms. So it was with joy that we ran an online baptism service for KELVIN and he balanced his camera so we were able to observe his immersion in a bath tub. Connection quality was very bad but you can hear an edited version of the event at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFfXQMQJIbo At the end of it you can hear a 1 minute message of deep appreciation from our new brother, showing again that this was a conversion to Christ in spirit and in truth.
Do encourage folks to consider self baptism, and feel free to refer them to us if that would be helpful.
PRAYER POINTS: - For the work of getting food to our hungry brethren and others in Italy and Latvia
- For all suffering economic and physical effects of the crisis
- For those recently baptized
- For all those now turning to their creator, that we might be able to teach them and help them be baptized
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks