The Netherlands
July 2021
Echoing the Heart of Jesus Honduras
Each believer has particular gifts to give, words to say, and prayers on their heart to lift up.
The end of Matthew 15 tells the story of Jesus feeding over 4,000 people with a few fish and seven loaves. In the NIV, Jesus says, “I have compassion for these people… I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” I like how The Message describes Jesus’ heart in this passage. It says Jesus “hurt” for these people. In the ESV translation, it says Jesus was “unwilling” to send them away. The different words in these various versions of a familiar Bible story show us unique aspects of Jesus’ love — his compassion for human frailty and his unrelenting care. You echo Jesus’ heart in your commitment to reach everyone with the gospel and not leave anyone behind. Each believer has particular gifts to give, words to say and prayers on their heart to lift up. Around the world, believers live and speak testimonies to Jesus’ love. “The love of God is like this,” they say. It’s like prayers for the dying, encouragement for the hopeless and food for the hungry. Every unique word, person, prayer and gift is important because each one echoes the truth the world needs most: “Jesus has compassion for you, hurts for you, loves you.” Now, you may be looking around and thinking, “What do I have that could make a difference?” The answer is anything and everything! The gift of loaves and fishes must have seemed so small against the crowd’s huge need. But that gift had a miraculous and eternal impact. We’re still telling the story. Your prayers and gifts have an eternal legacy too. Since the beginning of Every Home for Christ, faithful Christians like you have given what may have seemed like small gifts but these have multiplied into thousands of gospel messages sent to fainting hearts around the world. God multiplies small faith into great change. Thank you for echoing the heart of Jesus with your unique prayers and gifts. For the harvest,
Liberia
Dick Eastman International President, Every Home for Christ
Bibles are put into the hands of new believers around the world.
The Man with the Bibles by Emily Stroble ... June 3, 2021
It’s a pretty ordinary city square, and Nicolae seems like an ordinary guy. Like a lot of people in Romania, Nicolae was raised in an Orthodox family. Growing up, he and his family attended church services from time to time. But he never learned anything about Jesus. Then, Nicolae received a gift that changed his life: a Bible. In the pages, Nicolae met Jesus for the first time. “I decided to repent and become a Christian,” he says. Nicolae joined a church and asked how he could get involved in outreach, eager to share the transforming love of Jesus with others. Unfortunately, no one in Nicolae’s new congregation shared his excitement or interest in taking the gospel outside the church walls. Nicolae wasn’t a trained pastor or missionary. He didn’t have any special tools or resources. He didn’t even have the support of a church family. But Nicolae couldn’t keep the gospel to himself, so Nicolae decided to introduce Jesus to others the same way he himself had met him: through the Bible. Nicolae bought Bibles and Christian books and set them up on a bench in the city square. “I read to people and offered them a Bible or Christian books,” remembers Nicolae. It was a difficult project to do alone, but Nicolae was committed. A while later, Nicolae stumbled across the Facebook page for the Every Home for Christ team in Romania. “I called and told them what I was doing and they were ready to help me,” he says. By this time, Nicolae had joined a new church and a member of the Every Home team met with Nicolae’s congregation, offering support to start outreach projects.
“I am most excited about the Bibles and other Christian books we received. If this didn’t happen, I would have given up this ministry. But through Every Home for Christ and my local church, God encouraged me to keep going!” - Nicolae
God does great things through one believer. Nicolae at the bench where he would read to people. Nicolae’s story is inspiring but not uncommon. As Every Home pioneer missionaries pray and strategise how to reach new neighbourhoods, villages and regions with the love of Jesus, they often meet people like Nicolae. Often, these believers are under-resourced but fiercely determined. Sometimes they are the only Christian for miles. They shoulder the Gospel, sometimes literally in the form of Bibles or literature and take the love of Jesus to their people, often at great personal risk and sacrifice. What else can they do? When Jesus changes everything, keeping the good news to yourself seems more impossible than the obstacles. Tom Rios, an Every Home continental director who leads outreach work in several difficult regions, says that he, “looks for people God has already called.” “There is always someone doing what others say cannot be done. It does not need to be a minister; it can be simply a believer. There is always that one,” Tom says. Thank you for coming alongside believers like Nicolae.
A Report from India by Ernest Vasu, Project Manager
(May 2021)
India is witnessing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. So far the country has recorded over 26.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, including deaths of more than 300,000. Our State, Tamil Nadu, has been recording 35,000 cases every day on an average. In Chennai, 80 people die each day on average due to COVID-19. Some of the major Government hospitals had a line of ambulances and private vehicles waiting with COVID-19 patients.
Many private hospitals have asked their Covid patients to move out to government facilities due to the lack of adequate oxygen support. A shortage of the antiviral drug exists; the family members of COVID -19 patients are forced to stand in long queues in Chennai with no guarantee of whether or not they would return home with a vial of the drug to save the patient. After affecting India’s big cities, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is now spreading fast in rural areas. This spread of virus has affected the Anuppampattu village also. A Nurse from the nearby hospital said about 25 new cases comes from that area every day. Australia: PO Box 168 Penshurst NSW 2222 Telephone: (02) 9570 8211 Facsimile: (02) 9570 4738 ABN: 88001276240 www.everyhome.org.au E-mail: ehc@everyhome.org.au New Zealand: PO Box 31-260 Milford North Shore City 0741 NZBN: 9429043322862 Telephone: Free call 0800 900 200 Facsimile: 0061 2 9570 4738
The second surge of COVID-19 has put children and younger adults at high risk, especially in the rural areas which were spared in the first wave. Now, many children are getting infected with Coronavirus in the second wave. The Government of Tamil Nadu ordered that schools shall be closed from March 2020 until further orders but later during the year 2020, The Tamil Nadu Government allowed the teachers to contact the students and teach them from their homes. The parents of the students collect the texts books and note books at Love Anuppampattu School from their respective class teachers and the children are working from home.
Some of the students could not connect with the teachers to study due to lack of phones so EHC gave low-cost mobile phones for those 14 students so that their teachers could help them learn their subjects. The parents of those students collect the mobile phones from Love Anuppampattu School.
The Love Anuppampattu and Love Koraikupam tailoring classes have also been affected due to this pandemic. The tailoring women learn their skill from their home. The teacher contacts the students and helps them learn their tailoring lessons. Although the lessons are taught, the students are limited to learn the theory lessons alone, as they could not sit at a sewing machine to learn the practical lesson. The tailoring graduates requested EHC to buy them sewing machines under the 50% saving scheme (EHC pays half and the woman pays half ) as it would be of great help to earn money from home during the lockdown to sustain their family. As a result, 8 women from the Anuppampattu tailoring class and 7 women from the Koraikuppam tailoring class received their own power sewing machine.
Since April 2021 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, could only see the deadly new variant COVID-19 cases increasing like wild fire with many succumbing to it. People are scared to come out of their houses as this deadly new variant is airborne. It is more like living in a war zone. The worry for people now is the spreading of black fungus and white fungus across all states, which is more deadly. The states have declared black fungus as an epidemic. Things can change by following the Government COVID-19 guidelines, as it will slow the spread and will give safety for the individual but some still care less and have become super spreaders which has caused the spike in the Covid cases. The Tamil Nadu Government has helped the people by handing out cash for taking care of their basic needs during the lockdown and also arranged for all the people to get their essential fruits and vegetables at their door step through the mobile vendors. By the Grace of God, our Love Anuppampattu staff and students are safe. We from Chennai, India, request everyone from EHC and the Sponsors to uphold us in your prayers for God’s protection. Thanking you!
“So That” Prayers –Dave Butts is the president of Harvest Prayer Ministries
One of the problems that most of us have with praying is that we instinctively know that prayer isn’t about getting what I want from God. It’s about God’s will being accomplished. Yet, there are things we want God to do that are very important to us. How do we reconcile these things? The Bible demonstrates for us a fascinating way to pray that brings together our needs and the purposes of God. I call it “so that” praying. In many places throughout Scripture you will find someone making a request of the Lord for something that is very important to him or her. Then that person closes out his or her prayer by including a “so that” addition. Almost without exception, the “so that” portion takes the prayer and focuses it on God and His purposes. It often has to do with bringing additional honour and glory to God and expanding His kingdom. Though there are many examples, one of my favourite ones is found in Hezekiah’s great prayer in Isaiah 37. Surrounded by the Assyrian army, Hezekiah asks the Lord to deliver them. It is in verse 20 that we find the “so that” portion. “Now, Lord, our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God” (Isaiah 37:20). That powerful addition turns this prayer from being merely about Hezekiah and his people, to being about God’s honour and glory. It makes it a God-focused prayer!
We can use this clearly biblical prayer style in many of our prayers. One of the most common prayer requests I receive has to do with physical healing. I always am delighted to pray for those who are sick and in need of the healing touch of the Lord. But it takes it to a whole new level when I include a “so that” prayer. It might go like this: “Lord, I pray for Bill that You would bring healing to him. But I ask You to do this Lord so that You would receive honour and glory. Would you touch Bill’s family and the doctors and nurses and help them to see how you have stepped in and done a powerful thing in Bill’s life. Lord, draw people near to You as You answer this prayer for healing.” Whether you are praying for healing, or salvation, or for a family situation, or for our nation, you can turn the attention off human needs and make it a God-focused prayer. This is not a “trick” to get things from God, but a heart-felt desire to see God move in such a way that His Kingdom is advanced. This is a biblical way to take human needs and submit them to the Lord in prayer with a desire to see God honoured and worshipped. Ultimately, all prayer should be about “Your Kingdom coming and Your will being done” and the “so that” prayers of scripture are a clear way for this to be done.
ZAMBIA EHC Ingenious hand-washing stations made out of plastic bins!!!
What a difference just 3 months have made to communities in Malawi and Zambia, in spite of the presence of Covid and even some of our staff catching the disease. Clean water, more toilets and the provision of measures to increase handwashing have been key measures taken. In Malawi 2,688 men, women and children now have access to safe water through the building of 4 new shallow wells and the rehabilitation of 8 existing wells, a 76% increase in available water sources. And 2,183 villagers have access to toilets in or nearby their homes, with 21 new toilets being built in the last 3 months. With Covid-19 appearing in this community, the importance of washing hands with soap and water and wearing masks was emphasised and in Zambia 1,081 villagers attended training sessions on how to use ingenious handwashing stations made out of plastic bins!!! We are grateful to those who gave to make this possible.
Thank you
JULY 2021 Bible Readings: This month the daily text will be taken from the books of Numbers. and Deuteronomy. For those wanting to do the one-year Bible reading program these chapters are in brackets.
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PLEASE PRAY FOR THE NETHERLANDS In the last month two of our Every Home for Christ supporters have phoned to ask why we never include The Netherlands (Holland) in our prayer requests. To our surprise, when we asked EHC International about this, they said that EHC has NEVER had an office in the Netherlands and asked if we could join them in prayer for a work to commence there in the near future. PLEASE PRAY WITH US! Numbers 15:1-21 (Ecclesiastes 1 - 2) PRAY FOR DIPLAVE POKHREL Please continue to pray urgently for the Immigration Department to approve Diplave's visa so that he can continue working with Every Home for Christ. Numbers 15:22-41 (Ecclesiastes 3 - 5) PRAY FOR ERIC AND LORRAINE LEACH Pray God will guide Eric in his leadership as Executive Director in Australia and New Zealand and Lorraine with EHC office responsibilities. Numbers 16:1-25 (Ecclesiastes 6 - 8) PRAY FOR YOUR FAMILY - sons, daughters and grandchildren, plus others to come to Christ. Get a piece of paper and write down their names. Get their photos and pray every day for their salvation; eternity without Christ is a long time! Numbers 16:26-50 (Ecclesiastes 9 - 12) GHANA Pop. 31,100,000 Map. 39 The Every Home for Christ team in Ghana asks for prayer for the new believers in their nation. Please pray for these believers to be connected to welcoming churches and nurturing Christ Groups, where they can be established as active members and grow strong in the faith. Numbers 17 (1 Kings 12 - 16)
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HUNGARY Pop. 9,700,000 Map. 79 Church members have partnered with Every Home for Christ to share gospel-themed cards with their neighbours. Digital versions of these cards are also available for believers to share with friends over social media. Please pray that these cards will introduce many to Jesus and lead them to a saving faith in him. Numbers 18 (1 Kings 17 - 19) CREATIVE ACCESS Please pray for the EHC team in this nation as they prepare for outreach. "Pray that many people would hear the gospel and open their hearts to repent and accept Christ!" they say. Pray also for the safety of the team, for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and for soft hearts to receive the gospel. Numbers 19 (1 Kings 20 - 22) NAMIBIA Pop. 2,500,000 Map. 11 Pastor Daniel Muharukua has organised a series of outreaches in the Kunene Region. Please pray for many to come to the Lord. Numbers 20 (2 Kings 1 - 4)
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SLOVAKIA Pop. 5,500,000 Map. 81 The EHC team in this nation is launching a podcast called "Everyone Matters". It is designed to engage as many people as possible - both believers and nonbelievers - and draw them closer to Jesus. Please pray for many to listen and be transformed by the message. Numbers 21 (2 Kings 5 - 8)
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CREATIVE ACCESS This closed nation is a challenging mission field for Every Home for Christ teams. "Pray that the Lord will give us strength and help in walking forward with people and telling them about Christ and the Gospel," they say. Please join us in prayer for the work and for hearts to be turned towards Jesus. Numbers 22:1 - 21 (2 Kings 9:1 to 14:25) CAMEROON Pop. 26,500,000 Map. 24 Please pray for Doulek, a mountainous and hard-to-reach area of the Far North Region. The EHC team has established several Christ Groups over the past few months and are now working to consolidate them. Pray for God to bless their work and for new believers to grow strong in the faith. Numbers 22:22-41 (Jonah 1 - 4) CYPRUS Pop. 1,200,000 Map. 113 Please pray that God would provide a new partner to work with the Every Home for Christ team in this nation. This team is searching for a part-time minister to share in the EHC vision and serve alongside them. Please pray that God would send the right person to them. Numbers 23 (2 Kings 14:26 - 29, Amos 1- 2 )
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CEATIVE ACCESS The EHC team in this closed nation is celebrating: "Thank God for adding 72 new believers to the church in the last month!" Praise the Lord! Please pray that these new believers will find Christian communities where they can grow strong in the faith through Christian fellowship and Biblical teaching. Numbers 24 (Amos 3 - 6) COTE D'IVOIRE Pop. 26,400,000 Map. 41 The Church of the Assemblies of God of Koumassi Philadelphia Centre recently took part in a home-to-home outreach and six people came to Christ. Then, the local church in the city of Yopougon conducted an outreach and 60 people came to Jesus! Praise God! Please pray for these new believers as they grow in their faith. Numbers 25 (Amos 7 - 9) RUSSIA Pop. 145,900,000 Map. 106 The remote village of Svyatogorye has been reached with the gospel four times. Please pray for a church to be planted soon. Numbers 26:1-33 (2 Kings 15 - 17)
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Write your prayer request and we will pray for you too!
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REP.OF MOLDOVA Pop. 4,000,000 Map. 102 Please pray for a group of evangelists who will travel to the villages of Sanatauca, Japca, Bursuc, Salcia and Napadova. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to guide them as they share the gospel home-to-home. Numbers 32:1 - 22 (Psalms 102, 104)
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SEYCHELLES Pop. 98,000 Map. 145 The EHC team in Seychelles has officially launched Majestic Media, a media platform on Facebook that provides two hours of gospel music and life-transforming content every Saturday afternoon. Please pray that many will listen in and be transformed by Jesus. Numbers 32: 23 - 42 (Psalms 105 - 106) CREATIVE ACCESS The EHC team in this closed nation is in the process of transporting gospel literature to remote areas. And pray for many to come to Jesus as a result. Numbers 33:1 - 28 (Psalms 111 - 115)
CREATIVE ACCESS "Continue to pray for safety and protection as we share the Gospel in difficult circumstances," writes the Every Home for Christ team in this nation closed to the Gospel. Please pray that God would bless our team and their ministry and that the harvest in this nation will be fruitful." Numbers 26: 34 -65 (2 Kings 18 - 20) NIGERIA Pop. 206,100,000 Map. 35 Please pray for Nigeria. "Our nation is fast becoming a killing and kidnapping zone," the EHC team reports. "It seems nobody is safe." Fulani herdsmen are targeting travellers, which poses a risk to EHC pioneer missionaries. Please pray for their protection and for the Prince of Peace to change violent hearts. Numbers 27 (2 Kings 21 - 25) LITHUANIA Pop. 2,700,000 Map. 99 The EHC team asks you to join them in praying for their home-to-home outreaches. Please pray that the hearts of their countrymen will be open to the love of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit will lead and that revival will come to this nation. Numbers 28 (Psalms 1 - 2) ANGOLA Pop. 32,900,000 Map. 13 As the EHC team does the work of home-to-home outreach, families share their struggles and challenges, asking believers to pray with them for their needs. Please pray that the hand of God will be with each and every pioneer missionary and will move in the lives of these families. Numbers 29:1- 20 (Psalms10,33) PAPUA NEW GUINEA Pop. 8,900,000 Map. 146 Please pray for Frank Koia, the team leader in the mission field of Kutubu. Frank is very sick. Pray for the Lord to bring divine healing and strengthen Frank's body. And pray for Frank's team to continue to boldly declare the truth and love of Jesus to the families of Kutubu without slowing down. Numbers 29:21- 40 (Psalms 43, 66 - 67) ROMANIA Pop. 19,200,000 Map. 78 The EHC team is partnering with "Voice of the Gospel" Christian Radio to prepare 3,000 packages with Christian materials to be shared in the province of Oltenia. Please pray that these materials will arrive safely and that they will be a fruiful tool for Every Home for Christ pioneer missionaries to share. Numbers 30 (Psalms 71, 89) ESWATINI Pop. 1,200,000 Map. 3 Please pray for the outreaches conducted by teams of pioneer missionaries in this nation. Pray that the Church will be mobilised to participate. Pray also for the Holy Spirit to guide every conversation so that the nation will be saturated with the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Numbers 31:1 - 27 (Psalms 92 - 95) CREATIVE ACCESS "Please pray for us and our country. The people of Central Asia reject Christ and are in spiritual darkness. Pray for the light of the Gospel to shine!” Numbers 31:28-54 (Psalms 96 - 100)
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AUSTRIA Pop. 9,00,000 Map. 80 An evangelistic video created by the EHC team in Austria will be shown on regional television for a second week! Pray that many families will come to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Numbers 33: 29 - 56 (Psalms 116 - 118)
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BENIN Pop. 12,100,000 Map. 37 Odile is a woman living in an area called Zou. "She is seriously threatened by spiritual warfare," the EHC team reports, "but she is willing to giver her life to Jesus." Please pray for God to strengthen Odile and give her the courage to accept Jesus as her Saviour so that she can finally know His peace. Numbers 34 (Psalm 119)
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CREATIVE ACCESS Please pray for every individual who received gospel literature through an outreach in a specific city. "May the Lord open their eyes and change their lives," the EHC team says. This team also visited believers in this city to pray with them. Please pray for the church in this city to be bold in their faith. Numbers 35 (Psalms 120 - 125) UNITED KINGDOM Pop. 67,900,000 Map. 92 Following the school lockdowns for COVID-19, the EHC team noticed that some of the children in the UK have "slipped under the radar" and their needs have gone unnoticed. Please join them in praying that vulnerable children will be protected and provided for by the people of God. Numbers 36 (Psalms 127 - 129)
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BURUNDI Pop. 11,900,000 Map. 18 Please pray for Jacqueline, a woman whose husband is not a Christian. He has ordered her to abandon all church activities and threatened to force her from their home if she will not. Please pray that Jacqueline will be protected and that her husband will come to know the love of Jesus. Deuteronomy 1:1 - 23 (Psalms 130 - 134)
PRAY FOR ISRAEL - ROMANS 11:28