December 2021 Newsletter

GOOD NEWS

December 2021

The Best Gift to Give AND Receive Ask yourself: What’s the best Christmas gift I ever received? Maybe it was something big, like a bike, or something special, like an engagement ring. Now, ask yourself: What’s the best Christmas gift I’ve ever given? Was it something homemade for a parent? Something sentimental for a spouse? Scripture tells us that it is better to give than to receive — but that doesn’t mean that both aren’t a blessing. We know this because the greatest gift we can both give AND receive is Jesus Christ. Jesus gave himself to us when he was born in that Bethlehem stable — born to give His life for us on the cross. Because of Him, we have the joy of new life today and the promised hope of eternal life tomorrow. At Every Home for Christ, we have a model for witnessing called “See and Tell.” We believe that before we can tell someone about the difference Jesus will make in their life, we must first see the difference Jesus has made in our own lives. Christmas is an excellent time to do both. As you reflect upon the amazing gift we have in Jesus, we hope you will take time to pray two specific prayers with us. First, let’s thank Jesus for how He has transformed our lives. And second, let’s ask Him for opportunities to share Him with others. This year, you have a special opportunity to send the truth and love of Jesus to families around the world. Will you give to send the Gospel to a world that needs to know about our greatest gift, Jesus? Wishing you Christmas blessings.

Dick & Dee Eastman

“…the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 6:23 The best gifts send an unspoken message. These are the gifts that say: I know your heart, I see your need and I love you. That is the message you send to the nations when you give a gift through Every Home for Christ this Christmas.

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 above gospel leaflet, printed by Every Home for Christ, is going to be advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald to 9.4 million people on Saturday December 4th 2021. Pray people will request a copy of this gospel leaflet and many will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an incredible opportunity to make Christ known. Your prayer will mean so much in this spiritual battle against the forces of darkness. It's not often we have an opportunity to present the Gospel to 9. 4 million people. This is truly doing as Jesus said to "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel". Many people will be reading the Gospel for the first time in Sydney!

with a readership of 9. 4 million people 4

A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR EVANGELISM

The best gifts send an unspoken message. These are the gifts that say: I know your heart, I see your need and I love you. That is the message you send to the nations when you give a gift through Every Home for Christ this Christmas.

New Testaments and Bibles Nothing helps new believers grow in their faith like their very own copy of God’s Word. Will you prepare them for a lifelong walk with the Lord by putting that copy in their hands?

Bicycles, Motorcycles and Vehicles Often, the only thing stopping pioneer missionaries from taking the Gospel to the farthest regions of their nations is a means of actually getting there. Will your contribution help to equip them for the journey?

Launching Works in Six New Nations We’re exploring opportunities to open new works in Finland, Micronesia and a few other nations — and a gift of any amount makes a big difference. Will you send Every Home for Christ teams into new territory with the Gospel?

What makes these gifts special is that each of them, in its own way, gives the gift of Jesus. He is the One who knows people’s hearts, sees their needs and loves them like nobody else. But we get to be the ones who let them know.

Israel – God’s Witnesses “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers” Deuteronomy 7:6-8 “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” Isaiah 43:10 From the verses above we can see that God chose Israel, as a nation, to be a witness of His existence. Going back to Genesis we see God’s purpose has always been with this nation. Here is a promise made to Abraham – the father of the Jewish nation: “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

In the New Testament this very statement is called the gospel message. Paul explains that through faith in Jesus Christ and a belief in the Gospel, we become heirs of the promises in Genesis – heirs of Abraham through faith. See below: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed” Galatians 3:8 “…And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”. Galatians 3:29 So the message of Genesis 12 is very important to any Bible believer. Old and New Testament come together in a clear and distinct way. God made of Abraham a great nation and the purpose of this was so that eventually the whole world would be blessed. The benefit that is being offered to the whole world is the forgiveness of sin, through the descendant of Abraham, the promised seed, Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:22 & John 1:29). Although the Jewish nation did not accept the Messiah, Jesus Christ, they are still God’s people and they have a huge part to play in God’s future plan and purpose. So then, Israel have been chosen by God.

WISHING YOU CHRISTMAS JOY AS YOU CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF JESUS ... FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR OUR FAMILY ALL THESE YEARS ERIC & LORRAINE LEACH

CHRISTMAS IS A TIME OF JOY AND OF GIVING LET’S MAKE SURE NO CHILD MISSES OUT ON A GIFT THIS CHRISTMAS

Children are children no matter what part of the world they live in and we have the wonderful privilege of sharing our blessings with children in India and Bangladesh who are not as fortunate as us, our children or our grandchildren. Every year at Christmas we ask for a special donation for Christmas gifts so that we can buy a gift for each child in our sponsorship program, whether they have a sponsor or not.

WE DON’T WANT ANY CHILD TO MISS OUT!! Normally we buy the children some new clothes and they are very happy to receive these as they have so little in the way of clothes. If you are a child sponsor please know that your sponsored child will receive a Christmas present and in the New Year we will send you an updated photo of your child with his or her present. PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN; IT WILL BRING SO MUCH JOY TO THESE CHILDREN.

JOY TO THE WORLD

BANGLADESH AS WELL AS GIFTS FOR THE CHILDREN WE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A GIFT TO EACH OF THE WORKERS & TEACHERS IN THE EVERY HOME FOR CHRIST SCHOOLS PLEASE SEE THE REPLY SLIP

DECEMBER 2021 Bible Readings: This month the daily text will be taken from the book of 2 Samuel and 1 Kings. For those wanting to do the one-year Bible reading program these chapters are in brackets.

PRAY EVERY DAY FOR THE GOSPEL LEAFLET - "WHAT IS LIFE FOR?" printed by Every Home for Christ, to be advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald to 9.4 million people on Saturday December 4th 2021. Pray thousands of people will request a copy of this gospel leaflet and many will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Samuel 7 (Luke 24) PRAY FOR DICK AND DEE EASTMAN Dick is the International President of Every Home for Christ with a large responsibility for EHC ministries across the world. 2 Samuel 7 (John 1:1-18)

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. 2 Samuel 8 (John 1:19 to 4:54) 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. 2 Samuel 9 (John 5 - 6)

CREATIVE ACCESS - SOUTHEAST ASIA A group of believers has been threatened by the police and they may be evicted from their homes because they love Jesus. "They are facing persecution and need the strength to endure," the Every Home for Christ team in this closed nation says. Please join us in praying for their protection and ministry. 2 Samuel 12 (John 18:1 to 20:31) MEXICO Pop. 128,900,000 Map. 178 "Praise the Lord for our last special project, The Good Samaritan, which has reached hundreds of new believers," the Every Home for Christ team in Mexico says. "This project is focused on helping the hundreds of poor people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic." Please pray that this will help draw many families to Jesus. 2 Samuel 13 (John 21)

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! 2 Samuel 10 (John 7:1 to 11:53) LITHUANIA Pop. 2,700,000 Map. 99 The Every Home for Christ team in Lithuania asks -"Please pray for Lithuania, that revival will come, that people will open their hearts to God."2 Samuel 11 (John 11:54 10 to 17:26)

DEM. REP OF THE CONGO Pop. 89,600,000 Map. 19 "Pray for all the believers in the DRC Central ministry," the Every Home for Christ team in this nation asks. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare the way for these teams as they share about Jesus in their nation. 2 Samuel 14 (Acts 1 - 2) ALBANIA Pop. 2,900,000 Map. 75 The Every Home for Christ team in Albania has restarted home-to-home outreaches in the villages of Babrru and Fresk. "Please pray that many homes will be open to the Gospel," they say, "and for God's blessing upon our volunteers who share the Good News every week." 2 Samuel 15 (Acts 3:1 to 8:3)

PRAY FOR ISRAEL ROMANS 11:28

CREATIVE ACCESS CENTRAL ASIA The Every Home for Christ team in this closed nation is reaching two communities. "A large number of Muslims live in this region," they say. "Please pray for the Lord to protect our teams from threats as they conduct outreach. Please pray for the hearts of Muslims in these communities to be soft to the life-changing message of Jesus." 2 Samuel 16 (Acts 8:4 to 11:18) ZIMBABWE Pop. 14,900,000 Map. 9 "We have an audacious goal to mobilise, train, equip and deploy 10,000 missional believers to share the truth and love of our Lord Jesus Christ annually," the Every Home for Christ team in Zimbabwe shares. "Pray for every program to be effective. 2 Samuel 17 (Acts 11:19 to 12:25)

SIERRA LEONE Pop.7,900,000 Map. 44 "Please pray for divine protection and guidance as we cover hundreds of miles each week with the Gospel on roads that are prone to accidents and other dangers," the team in this African nation asks. Pray for their safety as they travel and "pray that many who hear the Gospel will receive Christ." 2 Samuel 20 (Acts 15)

HUNGARY Pop. 9,700,000 Map. 79 "Let us pray for spiritual movement, for conversations, for hearts to open up during our visits home-to-home. Let us ask our Lord to send enough workers for the mission." Please join this team in praying for families to be transformed by the Gospel in their nation. 2 Samuel 18 (Acts 13 - 14)

CREATIVE ACCESS - SOUTH ASIA A new Christ Group fellowship has recently been established in a mountain village with nine new believers regularly attending. "Please pray that the Lord will continue to help them to grow in the Lord and for the Gospel to reach the rest of the villages in that area," the team in this closed nation asks. 2 Samuel 19:1-22 (James 1:1 to 3:12)

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Pop. 10,800,000 Map. 192 The Every Home for Christ team in the Dominican Republic is developing new discipleship training to nurture many new disciples in knowledge and commitment to the Word of God. Please join them in praying for new believers to grow in their faith. 2 Samuel 19: 23 - 43 (James 3:13 to 5:20)

LEBANON Pop. 6,800,000 Map. 114 The Every Home for Christ team in Lebanon has seen success in their virtual outreach groups and people are receptive. "Pray that God's Word brings life and faith as they read the Gospel or our Christian materials" this team asks. 2 Samuel 21 (Galatians 1 - 2)

CREATIVE ACCESS - CENTRAL ASIA The Every Home for Christ team in this closed nation asks for prayer as they reach out to a specific people group. "The region they live in is one of the hard regions in our nation because the social system is so tribal and it's hard for them to accept Christ," they say. Please pray for a breakthrough. 2 Samuel 22:1 - 26 (Galatians 3 - 4) MALI Pop. 20,300,000 Map. 49 "Pray with us for the success of a special project as we evangelise in prisons," the Every Home for Christ team in Mali says. "May the Lord open the hearts of prisoners to receive the message of salvation with great gladness and real joy." 2 Samuel 22: 27 - 51 (Galatians 5 - 6) PHILIPPINES Pop. 109,600,000 Map. 169 A number of Every Home pioneer missionaries and their families have been infected with COVID-19. Hospitals in the Philippines are at full capacity, so these brothers and sisters are simply being quarantined in their homes. Please pray for God's wonderful healing and provision. 2 Samuel 23 (Acts 16)

Send your prayer request to us and we will pray for you too! 11

CHAD Pop. 16,400,000 Map. 34 "Pray for Marcus, one of our strategic leaders who lost his 7-year-old daughter," the Every Home for Christ team in Chad says. "Pray for comfort during this difficult time." The loss of a child is tragic and difficult to process. Please pray for this family to feel the Holy Spirit's presence as they grieve. 2 Samuel 24 (Philemon 1)

GHANA Pop. 31,100,000 Map. 39 "Please pray for Ghana," the Every Home for Christ team in this nation asks. "There has been a rise in ritual murders and this is causing fear and panic across some countries." Please pray for families in Ghana to be safe and for the hearts of those committing acts of violence to be transformed by Jesus' love. 1 Kings 4 (1 Thessalonians 4 - 5)

FINLAND Pop. 5,500,000 Map. 96 Though there is not an active Every Home work in Finland presently, our leaders in the area are testing a pilot project in this nation. "Pray for a successful start," they say. Please pray that the Lord will guide our teams to mission-minded churches to partner with. 1 Kings 1:1 - 27 (Philemon 2) VENEZUELA Pop. 28,400,000 Map. 214 Unable to visit homes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the EHC team in Venezuela is planning to resume the work that has been on hold. "Let us pray that partnerships can be established with the churches," they say. 1 Kings 1: 28 - 53 (Philemon 3) RWANDA Pop. 12,900,000 Map. 17 The EHC team in Rwanda is praising God as the government scales back its COVID19 mitigation measures which allows EHC to carry out evangelism activities across the community once again. 1 Kings 2:1 - 23 (Philemon 4)

CHRISTMAS DAY Please rejoice with EHC staff and evangelists around the world as they celebrate the birth of Christ with their families. 1 Kings 2: 24 - 46 (Acts 17: 1 - 10) CREATIVE ACCESS CENTRAL ASIA "We ask you to pray for revival," the team in this closed nation asks, "that the Gospel would fill our country and each person would hear the joyful news of Christ! Pray that the church would be courageous to carry the Gospel." 1 Kings 3 (1 Thessalonians 1 - 3 )

GERMANY Pop. 83,800,000 Map. 83 In the weeks leading up to the end of the year, the Every Home for Christ team in Germany is sharing 30,000 evangelistic calenders with the families in their nation. Please pray that each one reaches a family and transforms hearts with the truth and love of Jesus. 1 Kings 5 (2 Thessalonians 1 - 3) CHRISTMAS OUTREACHES The Christmas season is one of the most fruitful times for special Christmas outreaches worldwide. Please pray for the success of these programs and for many families to come to know the Saviour for the first time. 1 Kings 6 (Acts 17:11 to 18:11) CREATIVE ACCESS MIDDLE EAST "Pray for us as we minister in a difficult situation and troublesome context," the EHC team in this nation asks. Gospel outreach in this nation is always a challenge and believers risk much to share the Gospel. 1 Kings 7:1 - 26 (1 Corinthians 1 - 4) CZECHIA Pop. 10,700,000 Map. 82 "We are trying to reach university students in cities," the EHC team in Czechia says.”We are partnering with churches to share several thousand gospel messages with young people as they study. Praise God for faithful co-workers," this team says. 1 Kings 7: 27 - 51 (1 Corinthians 5-7)

In New Zealand many of our EHC friends are receiving the newsletter late. Please accept our apology; the newsletter arrives in Auckland on time but there have been holdups in delivery because of Covid lockdowns.