March 2013 1 Fri. Annual Conferences CLC Japan has their Annual Conference this weekend. The devotional speaker will be Mr. Nishizawa, a former member of CLC. During this time there will also be Leadership Team elections. Please pray for a time of refreshment, and that God would speak to the team through the devotional times and discussions. Pray too for wisdom and unity in decision-making. CLC Ecuador is also due to hold their conference this weekend. 2-3 Sat/Sun. UK – Ipswich “The Ipswich bookshop is now situated between two empty shop units – one has recently been vacated and the other has been empty for a long time. In addition, a video rental shop (part of a national chain) on the corner of our road has closed. Pray for CLC Ipswich, and other bookshops in similar positions, as many British shopping areas are in decline, with chains and individual shops closing.” Penny Rivett, Manager 4 Mon. Kenya - Elections and Easter A general election takes place today in Kenya. Please pray that all will go well and that there won’t be a repeat of the terrible violent protests and unrest following the elections at the end of 2007. Edith Wamalwa, the Director for CLC Kenya, writes to say that they recognise the need to ‘Give thanks in all circumstances’ (1 Thess 5:8) and the team have already been thanking God for the elections. Please pray too that they will quickly get back to work as normal after the elections. 5 Tue. Bolivia – Preparing to Open Please pray for Gamaliel and Marlene
Padilla during their first few weeks in Bolivia. There will be many issues to resolve both on a personal level and for the commencement of CLC in Santa Cruz. Pray that they will soon feel at home in their new surroundings and make good contacts with people and for clear guidance from the Lord in choosing a suitable CLC property. Neil Wardrope, CLC’s International Director, will be visiting them this week.
6 Wed. USA – Publications Please pray for two new CLC Publications titles, God on Fire by Fred Hartley and Choices of the Chosen by Marty Berglund and Glenn Kantner. These are some of the first new books published by the new editorial team led by Tracey Lewis-Giggetts. Please keep Tracey and her team in prayer as they work on many more new books to release this year. (Photo above with author Tracey Lewis - Giggetts)
7 Thu. Barbados - Post Elections “One of our Government Ministers recently expressed the view that ‘Barbados is not firing on all cylinders’. We have, like the rest of the world, being going through a very difficult financial recession, but here at the CLC bookshop in Bridgetown we are thankful to the Lord that our December sales held up quite well. General Elections for a new Government took place on 21st February and now we pray that the months ahead may continue to show some improvement.” Marion Manning 8 Fri. Annual Conferences CLC Chile team members meet together for their Annual Conference from the 10th to the 12th of March. The agenda includes leadership elections and looking at the need for new workers. Please pray for guidance and unity in the decisions that are made. Neil Wardrope (CLC International Director) will be attending the conference. CLC Colombia meets for their conference next weekend, March 16th/17th 9-10 Sat/Sun. UK – Inverness Please pray for 2 bookstalls in March. The first one, ‘Life Matters’, on the 9th, is a day conference with Care for the Family, Mission Scotland and the Evangelical Alliance. Then, on the 16th, there is a day event with the Church of Scotland Ladies’ Guild - an annual bookstall that is always very much appreciated and well used. 11 Mon. Canada – Leadership Change Please pray for Oscar Cardozo who, as of January 1st 2013, is the new National Director for CLC Canada. He is doing well but it is a steep learning curve for him, especially as the ministry is going through a time of change and expansion during the first half of this year. Please pray for all of the team, that they would maintain good working relationships and have the energy and vision to cope with all the demands on them at this time. Rod Fowler, the previous Director, continues to serve in CLC. 12 Tue. Canada – Relocation After many months of planning and waiting, CLC Canada finally relocated the Westmount Page 2 (March)
bookshop, in Montreal, at the end of February, to a new area of the city. The shop is now in Verdun, just ten minutes drive from Westmount. Please pray for the manager, Kathy Fowler, and the rest of the shop staff as they settle in after a busy few weeks of preparation. 13 Wed. Canada – Expansion This month, CLC Canada hopes to open two more bookshops in Montreal. One will be on the South Shore, where we took over an existing bookshop 18 months ago, but the shop had to relocate and, as a shortterm measure, it merged into the main CLC bookshop in Westmount. Now the time seems right to move back into this area. It will be a small bookshop attached to a CLC warehouse. The other bookshop will be on the east side of Montreal. Current staff members will be taking over management positions in the two new shops, but there will be a need for more help and support for them. 14 Thu. Austria – Staff Matter Please pray for guidance and wisdom concerning the staff situation in the Graz bookshop. This month one of the team comes to the end of a six month contract and is not going to continue working with CLC. We need to see God’s provision of a permanent staff member to assist Edeltraud Heumann - or perhaps we should be thinking of another solution. Pray that God would show us the way forward. 15 Fri. Portugal – Board Meeting Tomorrow the Board members of CLC Portugal will hold their annual meeting to analyse, discuss and approve the annual accounts for 2012. 16-17 Sat/Sun. UK – Retirees Prayer Retreat Give thanks for the retired members of CLC, many of whom are still involved with the work in various ways. Pray that God will bless them as they meet next week – 20th and 21st of March - to pray for ministry of CLC at their prayer retreat. Phil Burnham, the CLC UK Director, and Sheena Wardrope from the CLC International Office will lead the prayer sessions.
18 Mon. Uruguay – Praise Points Points for praise from Humberto Urrutia, the Director of CLC in Uruguay: Praise the Lord for the distribution of 20,000 calendars for 2013. 12,000 of them were CLC calendars, of which 10,000 had extra information included about churches in Uruguay. The website is now functioning as an on line shop and many customers are using it. Praise the Lord for our spacious property in Montevideo where we have a wide range of stock. (Shop photo above)
20 Wed. Liberia - Monrovia “We have been praying and asking God for opportunities to extend the ministry of CLC outside of Monrovia. Several opportunities have presented themselves through individuals and pastors who wish to represent CLC by displaying our products in their places of business or by setting up booktables at their churches in South Eastern Liberia and the counties of Grand Bassa and Nimba. Please for God’s wisdom, guidance and discernment.” James Cooper, Manager CLC Monrovia.
19 Tue. Belarus – Retired? Gregory Torchillo officially retired from CLC in February. However, having served since the work started in this country, almost 20 years ago, he will not be leaving the team just yet! Please pray for Gregory as he steps down from his role as Director but continues to work with CLC in various ways. Pray too that God will show the team who is to replace Gregory as National Director. (Photo below)
21 Thu. CA3 – Approval Needed “At the time of writing, our books are still not on general display in the bookshop after a law was introduced last year prohibiting ‘unapproved’ outlets from selling such books. If we can obtain this licence, it would mean each individual title would need approval too. With God there is a way – please pray for it to open up for us.” The Director 22 Fri. Italy - Evaluation “At the end of March, CLC Italy’s leadership team will meet to do a financial evaluation of every single bookshop. In some cases sales have decreased significantly, so we will have to come up with solutions to cover the expenses or re-launch these bookshops. Many of the team already feel tired because of extra efforts made during 2012. Volunteer helpers are welcome in almost every bookshop!” Andreas Bader, Director CLC Italy 23-24 Sat/Sun. UK – Leadership team Please pray for the UK leadership team as they meet from the 22nd to the 24th. They continue to seek the Lord’s leading for the way ahead both in the short and longer Page 3 (March)
term. Retail sales remain flat and the economic outlook gloomy. They need to continue to discern the shape of CLC’s future ministry in the UK. 25 Mon. PNG – Boroko Pray for the Boroko shop as two of our staff, a security guard and a part time helper who did the banking etc., both resigned last year. We value your prayers that God will direct us in this matter, and show us how we are to cover the responsibilities that these two men had. 26 Tue. CA2 – Facing Obstacles Please pray that the Lord would grant us favour with the government and with suppliers in Russia as we continually face obstacles to getting Christian materials here. 27 Wed. French Speaking West Africa We thank God for the renewed and increased involvement and support of CLC France in the ministry of CLC FWA. The project “Donner une segonde vie a vos livres” (Give a second life to your books) has been very successful, as two substantial shipments have been made of donated Bibles and Christian books via our warehouse near Montelimar. Also, Herve Lessous (Director for CLC France) made his first visit to Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in February. Please pray for continued creative opportunities for developing this renewed partnership. 28 Thu. Russia – Russian Life! The work of arranging and approving documentation for services and amenities for our shop is an ongoing task. Please pray for protection from malpractice as we hopefully approach the final stages of getting our electrical documentation sorted. We have two opportunities to celebrate Easter in this country! We have Easter on March 31st (Western calendar) and again on the 5th of May (Orthodox calendar). Pray for the shop staff as they seek to provide relevant and helpful materials over this extended Easter period.
Page 4 (March / April)
29 Fri. France – Femmes 2000 Heidi Lauber, manager of the bookshop in Chateauneuf du Rhone, will be taking books to the women’s conference ‘Femmes 2000’ next week (April 3rd-6th) in Strasbourg and Mulhouse. This will require careful planning and skilful handling as the bookstands are set up and moved between two locations and there will be titles in French, English and German! Please remember Heidi and her volunteer helpers at this busy time. 30-31 Sat/Sun. UK - Wolverhampton Pray for the CLC Bookstall at the Elim Bible Week conference, 1st to 5th of April, and for the team from CLC Wolverhampton who will be running the operation. Pray also for protection for the Wolverhampton shop, which has suffered from two significant incidents of theft (a break-in and theft from the office during shop hours) in recent months. Shoplifting is also a growing problem.
April 2013 1 Mon. France – Stock Check Over the next two days, April 2nd and 3rd, CLC France will be doing their annual stocktaking. All the shops and the warehouse will be working from the same computer system for the first time. Please pray that the process will be done smoothly and accurately. CLC France has 14 bookshops, including one in Martinique and one in Guadeloupe. (Photo below)
2 Tue. Philippines – Conference The annual conference for the staff of CLC Philippines is taking place this week. Please pray that the staff would be refreshed and attentive to God’s word and direction concerning the ministry. CLC Philippines is also in the middle of the annual Daily Vacation Bible School period (March-May) and there is a lot of training and orientation going on at the moment for teachers who have a calling to share the gospel with children. CLC plans to host a seminar specifically on this subject sometime in April. 3 Wed. European Conference Next week, the Leaders of CLC countries in Europe, plus some other invited guests, will meet in Budapest (Hungary) for the twoyearly European Conference. Please pray that all the final travel arrangements will be in order. Pray too for those leaders who find it hard to take the time out from their busy schedules or to cover the costs of this trip through their CLC funds. Pray especially for Gary Chamberlin, the Regional Director for CLC Europe, in his responsibilities for coordinating the whole programme of meetings, seminars and other activities. 4 Thu. Colombia – On the Road Many miles are covered by members of the team who take Bibles and books to areas of the country where there are no bookshops. Currently, Daniel Moray and Lorenzo Rincon are on a 12 day trip. Please pray for protection as they travel, and that the customers they serve will receive blessing through this important part of our ministry. (Photo below)
5 Fri European Conference Pray for Patrick McElligott, a former missionary in Japan with CLC and WEC International, as he prepares to lead the devotional sessions at the European Conference next week. May the message God has given to him for this event be blessed and used to challenge, encourage and inspire each one at their point of need. 6-7 Sat/Sun. UK – Staff and Volunteers Various CLC bookshops around the country are looking for both CLC staff and good local volunteers. Please pray that God will send us the people we need to fulfil His calling and share our vision. We need effective teams built up in order to serve our local communities. 8 Mon. Philippines – Davao CLC Davao, our newest bookshop in the Philippines, needs a manager. Currently Tess Alamares, (CLC Malolos) is managing the shop, training three new staff members and giving direction to the ministry. Please pray that we will have someone qualified and able to lead this work soon. 9 Tue. Philippines - Naga CLC Naga is in a new location. The bookshop has downsized and the focus is now on distribution as well as retail. Pray that, with this move, we may able to reverse some losses that have occurred in recent years. Pray for the shop manager, Cristy Vazquez, and her husband Sonny. 10 Wed. Liberia – National Director “Having successfully coordinated the reopening of CLC Liberia, we thank God that Mr. Jusu Wai Sawi has been appointed as our National Director. Please pray with us that Jusu Wai will continue to have valuable input into the new CLC work in Monrovia, without any detriment to his CLC responsibilities in Sierra Leone.” James Cooper, Manager of CLC Monrovia 11Thu. Belarus – New Staff Member Praise the Lord for Dima Klimyk, a young man who joined the Belarus team in January. He has a university degree in system engineering and we believe he will be able to move our Page 5 (April)
ministry forward in regard to modern technologies. We also hope that more young people will be attracted to join us. 12 Fri. Italy – Prison Libraries CLC Naples, in partnership with the rest of CLC Italy, has a project to collect books that cannot be sold - because of minor damage for example - to be donated to prison libraries. Volunteers have taken one delivery of books to a prison near Naples already and we hope to give more books, as we are able, in the future. (Photo below)
17 Wed. Sierra Leone – Joint Conference This year, we are going to have a joint conference for Sierra Leone and Liberia in Freetown from the 19th to 21st April. Please pray for our brothers James and Isaac who will be travelling by road from Monrovia to attend this conference. They intend using James’ car for this trip so that they can take stock and some fittings back to the Monrovia shop. Please pray for safety for them on the road, and also that time spent at the conference will be a blessing for both teams. 18 Thu. Austria CLC Graz will be running a bookstall at a women’s conference this weekend, April 19th/20th. Edelraud Heumann, the shop manager, will have help from Sarah - who left CLC Graz last month but is volunteering at this event. They would appreciate prayer that the books they take would be used to bless and encourage many people.
13-14 Sat/Sun. UK - Cambridge CLC Cambridge is providing the bookstall at a women’s conference today. Pray that the day will go well, with good sales for the shop. Members of the shop team have been suffering with various health issues recently so ask God to give them the strength and stamina they need for each day. 15 Mon. Italy – Rental Costs In some of our bookshops the rent is particularly high (Florence, Bari and Palermo). The ideal solution would be to be able to buy the premises or, otherwise, to find a cheaper location. Pray for the Lord’s guidance, and the necessary finance, for any changes we should make. 16 Tue. Chile – Property Purchase We give thanks to God that, four months before the arranged date, we have paid off the balance owing for the new property we have acquired in Santiago, which formerly belonged to Casa Bautista Publications. Page 6 (April)
19 Fri. USA – Conference “Please pray for the CLC USA team as they hold their annual conference on Sunday, April 21st, and Monday, April 22nd, at their headquarters in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. This year they will be electing the National Director and two of the members of their Executive Committee. Please pray for wisdom and unity in making these decisions.” Dave Almack 20-21 Sat/Sun. UK – Sheffield We are providing the ‘bookshop’ at the Festival event that takes place at Cliff College again this year - from May 24th to the 27th. Please pray for the necessary preparations as there is a lot to organise and wisdom is needed in selecting the right books for the conference. Pray too for sufficient staff and volunteer help. It is a real blessing to see good books, Bibles and other resources being bought. 22 Mon. Korea – Small Bookshop (photo) Last year CLC Korea opened a small bookshop on the second floor of the Headquarters building. Its purpose is to sell
CLC Korea publications and the main goal was to sell backdated titles that we had in stock. Thanks to Facebook advertising, and through a network of seminary students, the shop is proving to be a success. (Photo below)
23 Tue. Indonesia – Medan Please pray for the future of the CLC bookshop in Medan. Donny Kairupan, the Director writes: “CLC Indonesia had planned to close the Medan bookshop at the end of last year. The rental agreement was too difficult to meet due to low sales. However, the landlord has agreed to change the terms so we can now pay monthly instead of on a yearly basis and it works out easier for us to pay this way. We recognise this as God’s grace.” 24 Wed. Burkina Faso – Student Help Please pray for Ben Saxe, a student from the USA, who will be spending his summer vacation (June and July) with CLC in Burkina Faso. Ben is raising his own support for this. Among other things, Ben will be helping our French West Africa Director, Prosper Weda, to make significant progress with learning English. This will be very useful for Prosper in ministry relations, especially in the wider context of CLC. 25 Thu. Togo – Essential Four P’s “Please pray for ongoing discussions about re-launching CLC’s ministry in Lome, the capital of Togo. Please pray for the essential ‘four P’s’ of people, place, partners and provision, as well as the Lord’s timing for this project.” Liz Patten, Regional Director for CLC in Africa
26 Fri. Philippines–Recruitment Requirements “Pray that the Lord will continue to send us workers who have potential for leadership. We are looking particularly for workers who have background in marketing and/or IT but who love the Lord first and foremost.” Romualdo Macinas
27-28 Sat/Sun. UK - CRT Christian Resources Together (CRT) takes place next week – on the 29th and 30th of April. There will be several CLC staff members present at this retreat for Christian booksellers and publishers. Pray that good contacts will be made, friendships formed and fellowship enjoyed as the Christian book trade considers common problems and opportunities. (Photo below of CLC Wholesale booth at CRT 2012)
29 Mon. Italy – Other Bookshops A couple of Christian bookshops have contacted us to ask whether CLC would be able to continue their work for them, as they are struggling financially. We need God’s wisdom to know how to respond to these requests. Please pray. Page 7 (April)
30 Tue. South Korea – Recognition & Advance At the end of 2012, CLC Korea had two of their titles selected for awards by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism. With support from the Government, they were also able to publish these books in eBook format. Praise the Lord for this recognition and advance. Pray that CLC Korea’s publications will continue to reach out with the gospel message to a wide range of people and places.
Sign up to receive Prayer Focus
by email or by post here: office@clcinternational.org
In the spotlight!
John Watkins, the manager of Stockport’s CLC Bookshop recently took part in BBC2’s TV interview on Stockport’s high street regeneration project. Well done, John! Watch the interview here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ news/business-21476323