May 2011

May 2011

A Gospel Booklet For Every Home

THE PHILIPPINES 50 YEARS OF FAITH

This month marks the celebration of the 50th anniversary for EHC Philippines. More than 55.1 million gospel booklets have been distributed home to home, yielding a harvest of 210,624 responses. And 65 home fellowships called Christ Groups have also been formed in remote areas where there were no evangelical churches.

Even during unsettled times when both Communist and Muslim separatists were mounting armed revolts against the government, EHC's pioneer missionaries risked their lives to venture into areas of conflict and share the Good News.

During a volatile period in 2007, EHC Director Sam Evangelista travelled to Cagayan to help coordinate EHC's evangelism efforts. "Praise God for His guidance and protection," Sam's wife, Emerlinda, wrote in a prayer and praise request for EHC intercessors. "The outreach ministry in the province is ongoing, despite the presence of armed separatists in some areas."

During another difficult time, Sam revealed a new concern when he wrote: "A Catholic priest was kidnapped and killed in Zamboanga City, Mindanao, in the place we visited last year. We are asking for God's protection for our partners in ministry."

Even reaching remote areas to share the Gospel is often difficult and dangerous. "Travelling from one island to the other on rainy days is

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difficult, as well as riding motorcycles in mountainous places," Sam said. "This is the challenge of our lives, being the followers of Christ. The EHC team and volunteers join hands in this endeavour, bringing the Good News to every doorstep."

Over the years EHC has worked in cooperation with ministries like World Missionary Press and the Philippine Bible Society to enhance evangelism efforts throughout the nation.

EHC's Mobile Training Centres also help provide church leaders with a biblical foundation in Scripture studies, theology, discipleship, and evangelism.

More than 55.1 million gospel booklets have been shared.

In its 50 years, EHC Philippines has also coordinated gospel outreaches to prisons, schools, and even military bases to help spread the Gospel through all levels of society. EHC helped coordinate a special medical outreach to 300 schoolchildren and their parents in Atimonan, Quezon. Christian medical workers tended to health needs while EHC workers shared the Gospel. "Thank God for the service of our medical doctors, dentists, nurses, village health workers, pastors, and church workers,"

Sam said. Everyone had an opportunity to hear the Gospel and see the healing hands of the Great Physician in action.Sam is mobilising local churches and dispatching pioneer missionaries to help distribute gospel literature to more than 364,000 families in Quezon, Tarlac, Marinduque, Sarangani, and Ilocos Sur. As always, there will be challenges.

"There are some islands where the pastors have to cross the sea in order to reach the homes," Sam said. "There are mountainous regions where the teams must be cautious because of the presence of leftist rebels. The presence of Muslim rebels always makes us more cautious in our travel to villages in Muslim areas. Rainy days sometimes hinder ship and boat travel.

There are some difficult roads where motorcycles are the only means of transportation."

Despite the dangers and difficulties, EHC workers and those cooperating in partnership with EHC, press forward to reach the last home, knowing people will come to know Christ, churches will grow and new Christ Group fellowships will be formed.

"Join us in praying for our country," Sam urges EHC partners worldwide. "We Christians need to be bolder in spreading the Good News to every home in the Philippines. This is an opportunity to magnify the life-changing power of God through our lives and to those who are around us. As we reach homes with the printed message of the Gospel, families come to know the Lord.

The task of reaching more homes for Christ will continue as we mobilise for the transformation of our nation. Spreading the Good News to every home is a challenge, but we know all Christians should continue with great fervour to be the light and salt of the World."

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Rio de Janeiro - Brazil Dear Brother Eric, Greetings!

We really need your prayers: we are distributing the Gospel booklet the "Father's Love Letter" version for children, we are working in Rio de Janeiro, the country's most violent region.

Police are raiding the slums (where reigns the drug trade and prostitution), and the slum dwellers are taking revenge on the police for trespassing on their city streets, waging war against the police, killing many policemen, burning cars and also killing innocent people: there is fear and terror throughout this place.

In this region we are distributing gospel literature... God has given us courage and power to keep doing the work: only Jesus can give us the desired peace, and although our distribution is slower, we will not stop! Sao Paulo, like many other large cities, is now also very violent: children and teenagers are tortured, raped and selected for great wickedness, and even cut into pieces.

Hugs brother and friend, JosĂŠ Messias EHC/BRAZIL

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A BRIEF HISTORY The ministry of Every Home for Christ began in 1946.

The first Every Home Campaign (systematic home-to-home literature distribution outreach) began in Japan in 1953.

There have been Every Home Campaigns in 206 countries; 97 have had at least one complete national coverage.

The worldwide ministry of Every Home for Christ reaches an average of 163,000 homes per day wit the Gospel, sharing God's word with 720,000 people every day.

More than 3 billion gospel booklets and face-to-face (home-to-home) evangelism encounters have already been made in 206 countries during EHC's 64 year history.

An average of 26,726 decisions/ responses are received by EHC offices every day.

More than 29,000 workers worldwide participate in Every Home for Christ's evangelism outreaches. Of this number, more than 90 percent are volunteers.

Five - Year Harvest Picture Year

Amount of Literature

Number of Homes

Number of Responses

2006

83,104,249

40,816,954

5,237,666

2007

145,168,128

60,933,172

8,495,101

2008

129,097,430

69,412,525

10,239,761,

2009

141,316,638

66,574,603

12,579,570

2010

147,685,651

76,372,622,

11,126,720

Total

646,372,096

314,109,876

47,678,818 5

CHRISTCHURCH CATHEDRAL

6 Photo by Andrew Panckhurst

DECIMATED Decimated by floods and earthquakes and one story of how Every Home for Christ helped in Christchurch New Zealand.

Serious injuries including amputations on site to free trapped victims, homes devastated and destroyed, jobs lost, hundreds of schools evacuated and destroyed, as a 6.8 magnitude earthquake measuring only 5kms deep, struck Christchurch in the middle of the day when the city was humming with workers, shoppers, school children and tourists.

On that day a huge pall of dust rose like smoke, blotting out the city centre. Car alarms were going, sirens screaming, people crying and bloodied, and buildings reduced to rubble, many with people still trapped in them.

The emergence of testimonies began to flow almost immediately as TV crews took to the streets to capture on film the events that were unfolding to bring to our homes across NZ and the world this tragic event.

In the days to follow Christchurch would witness a mass exodus of terrified victims fleeing the beautiful Garden City, as it has long been known, from the devastation and aftershocks to find solace elsewhere with family, friends and strangers who opened up their homes to offer comfort and support away from a city which lay mourning.

The 22nd of February 2011 at 12.51 will now sadly be etched firmly on all New Zealanders' minds forever.

Help flooded in from here and all over the world in the form of finance, search and rescue, supplies, medical assistance, counsellors, Work Place support, food, and water, plus hundreds

of Porta loos which now line the streets in and around the city as homes struggle with no water, sewage or power.

Everyone pitching in to help lives damaged, misplaced and hurting.

But amidst all this you may be wondering ‘Where was God? ‘ Well we need to go back to the 4th of September 2010 when the big one struck at a magnitude of 7.1 in the middle of the night. No lives were lost for which we all praised God, even the media kept reporting the words, ‘it’s a miracle’ and yes it was. But God knew and was preparing our Christchurch for the Big One. Many people had prepared themselves both physically and mentally and the authorities had all systems up and ready to go if something were to happen again; for that we can thank God, because indeed, this would be the case!

News briefs soon began to emerge how miraculously an annual meeting of the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand was being held in Christchurch which had attracted more than 600 Australian and NZ Doctors and Nurses.

This was happening right in the Central Business District at the time of the earthquake, meaning expertise was right at hand immediately to assist with the magnitude of numbers that lay injured and in desperate need of first aid. How amazing!

The Royal New Zealand Navy were anchored in the Lyttelton harbour at the time of the earthquake making it possible to respond to this emergency situation immediately with supplies, personnel etc.

Others spoke of personal miracles of survival.

GOD IN THE MIDST!

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A banner outside one of the local church read, "Our building is cracked but the Church is ok".

For Every Home for Christ, the Rob Innes concert tour was due to kick off the following week after the quake with its campaign for raising funds for Mosquito nets for the Children of Africa.

Immediately the emphasis was changed from Mosquito Nets to the Christchurch Earthquake appeal. Our first concert was held in Blenheim which was a great success. From there we travelled to Mosgiel for a concert at the East Tiaieri Presbyterian Church, then onto Oamaru at the Salvation Army Citadel and from there to Christchurch at the Burnside Elim Church where we all experienced a large quake with a magnitude of 4.8. The building swayed, thankfully only for a few seconds, and not stopping the concert from getting underway.

During that week we had been approached by a member of the public who had attended one of these concerts last year and had received notice that we were returning for another concert in Burnside, and wondered if we could bring our concert to Lyttelton, an area that was hit badly by the earthquake. So on receiving approval from the Police, and the Christchurch City Council we were issued a Tunnel Pass and the local Lyttelton club to hold the event. Things escalated and soon it turned from not only a concert but a community event for all the family over a meal which meant we needed to approach businesses for donations of food in and around Christchurch, Lyttelton and even Oamaru.

The response was staggering.

So this time we donned our aprons and cooked lunch for over a hundred people including the Australian Police who were

there at the time, the Fire Brigade personnel and all the locals that came out. We ministered our love to these folk through song, food and listening to their stories of what they all had experienced.

There are over 300,000 people in Christchurch, therefore, over 300,000 stories to be told.

Also, the Christchurch City Council asked if we would be willing to do another free concert in the Sumner region, a suburb east of the city centre, the same day as the Lyttleton concert. So that evening after Lyttleton, we headed to Sumner and repeated the event all over again with dinner for over 120 folk while Rob Innes sung and entertained.

It was truly amazing, as we watched the locals come together and swop their harrowing stories of survival many now without homes. To see them laughing and hugging their neighbours and friends was special to say the least.

We left there tired but invigorated and knowing for just a moment their lives had been touched.

Even the local Member of Parliment turned out.

Pastor Murray Gee, with Paul and Helen Hartstonge from Burnside Elim Church cooked food and helped too.

People would come over to us throughout the concerts and ask... ‘why are you here?

What made you do this?’ What an honour!

Being involved in the healing process was such an honour.

John & Sharon Ealand

Every Home for Christ

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Australia: PO Box 168 Penshurst NSW 2222 New Zealand: PO Box 31-260 Milford North Shore City 0741 www.everyhome.org.au

Telephone: (02) 9570 8211 Facsimile: (02) 9570 4738 Telephone: Free call 0800 900 200 Facsimile: 0061 2 9570 4738 ehc@everyhome.org.au

Thank You

You may remember the devastating effects of the 2010 floods in Pakistan...1700 lives were lost, 1.8 million homes were damaged or destroyed, and one tenth of Pakistan’s population – 20 million people – were affected!

With the recent impact of the floods in Australia it is incredible to think of the so much bigger impact of the floods in Pakistan on life, on jobs, on family....

The moving body of water was equal in dimension to the land-mass of the United Kingdom. I personally find this very hard to comprehend.

Amazingly though, through your generosity, Every Home for Christ was able to bring relief to over 130 families by distributing food packages, tents, rugs, clothes and a first aid box. A medical team was formed also to assist those in immediate need.

The reports that came back from Pakistan were encouraging, but to help the people was quite a challenge due to the breakdown in infrastructure and roads!

I will share a line from one of the reports from the National Director in Pakistan: “The task is huge and the needs desperate, but it's so hard to travel from here to the needy areas....the roads are destroyed and with the trucks full it takes a day or two to reach their destination... sometimes the trucks cannot go the full distance so a team of men have to carry the food, tents and blankets to the flood victims camps, its freezing there in the flood victims camps and there are no warm places for people...things are hard... on one journey we had to take-out and reload everything from the trucks 3 times due to the situation of bad roads. When we arrived the people were so happy that some started dancing! Women and children ran for the warm clothes and blankets and especially for the food....Thank you so much for helping these needy and poor farmer flood victims.”

He has said it all!

The task is huge, but thanks to your assistance, and the faithful workers in Pakistan we have managed to help 130 families who were badly affected by the floods....

Thank you so much for helping these needy and poor farmer flood victims.

Katherine Franks

A tent to get people out of the flood rains

Food given to flood victims 9

IS IT FINALLY TIME TO MAKE OR UPDATE YOUR WILL? It's wise forethought and it's the only way to make certain that your worldly possessions go exactly where you want them to go.

After you have made your Will you can revisit it as many times as you please.

If you want to change your Will substantially, all you need is a Codicil with the changes.

At Every Home for Christ we have some information we can send you to help you in preparing your Will - this information is sent to you free of charge.

Also, let me encourage you to pray about including Every Home for Christ in your Will. You will be blessed just as you are when you give a gift for the Lord's work.

May God guide you.

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Bible Readings: This month the daily text will be taken from Judges & Ruth For those wanting to do the one-year Bible reading programme these chapters are in brackets.

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM

MAY, 2011

PSALM 122:6 AND THE WORLD.

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INDONESIA - Pop 224,600,000 Map 141. Pray for smooth shipping and distribution of gospel booklets which will then be used by teams to reach portions of the eastern provinces of this Asian nation. Also ask God to bless the results of training sessions for church leaders in two areas using newly-designed discipleship AUSTRIA - Pop 8,300,000 Map 78. Praise God for materials. Judges 9 (Psalm 23) cooperative efforts between EHC and other like-minded SIERRA LEONE - Pop 5,800,000 Map 43. Please ministriesinEurope.Manycontributedtheirtimeandresources pray for the safety of EHC workers in the region of Kaffu to help with recent home-to-home campaigns. Please pray that the Bullom Chiefdom, which is home to drug addicts, efforts of all ministries will have a lasting influence in lives across Austria prostitutes, armed robbers and witches. Pray that God would break particularly children. Judges 2 (Judges 9-12) down strongholds so the light of the Gospel would shine. Judges 10 CHILE- Pop 17,100,000 Map 218. Please pray for EHC’s prison ministry teams in Chile who often (1 Samuel 19:12 to 21:15) SERBIA - Pop 7,200,000 Map 70. Pray for good minister in severely overcrowded prisons. Recently, results of the gospel outreach in seven areas, 80 men lost their lives in a fire at San Miquel Prison in specifically Nis, Ivanjica, Arilje, Batocina, Lebane, Santiago—many of these were believers who had come to Vlasotince and villages around Leskovac. Ask God to protect two know Jesus through the outreach of EHC. Pray specifically for ladies who requested follow-up material, but soon requested their families. Judges 3 (Judges 13-16) that it not be sent due to persecution from their families and MOLDOVA - Pop 3,500,000 Map 100. Praise God for the friends. Judges 8 (Psalm 59) moving of the Holy Spirit as teams worked to take the Gospel TANZANIA - Pop. 44,100,000 Map 16. Please to every home in the southern part of Moldova. Many were ask God for resources to provide a generator saved and teams saw miraculous healings as they prayed over the for the EHC national office, as lack of electricity afflicted. Please ask God to fill teams with His refreshing spirit as they is a major challenge. Pray, also, for the resources needed for continue working in this region. Judges 4 (Judges 17-21) a storage facility for gospel booklets, Bibles and follow-up UKRAINE - Pop 45,200,000 Map 99. Under the materials, as well as resources to obtain more Heart of Man leadership of Anatoliy Kushnir, EHC Ukraine will soon charts and Jesus film kits. Judges 9 (1 Samuel 19:12 to 21:15) begin a strategy of saturating the entire nation with COTE D'IVOIRE - Pop 21,200,000 Map 40. Pray the Gospel every five years. Ask the Lord to raise up individuals that the Gospel message will bear fruit in the to join with EHC in this venture to complete this incredible task district of Zanzan-N’zi Comoé, especially in the city of reaching every home. Judges 5 (Ruth 1-4) of Bondoukou, where there are more than 1,000 mosques. Pray FRANCE - Pop. 61,300,000 Map 87. Pray for continued also for God’s wisdom in selecting leaders to serve in EHC ministry. breakthroughs as teams use the gospel booklets Finding Judges 10 (Psalms 34,56) Hope and 7 Days with Jesus. In just a 12-month period, HONDURAS - Pop 7,600,000 Map 180. Pray for teams were able to reach more than 160,000 families with the EHC’s National Director Angel Reaños and his wife, Good News. Please pray that God would continue to bless EHC’s Lidia, who have served EHC in this nation for more ministry in France. Judges 6 (1 Samuel 1-7) than 30 years. Pray as they work with 32 pastors who have recently PAPUA NEW GUINEA - Pop 6,300,000 Map 144. completed their theological studies and are being trained for Pray against a bill in the parliament legalizing discipleship. Judges11 (1 Samuel 22:1-2, Psalm 57, 142) prostitution and gay marriage. Ask God to MALAWI - Pop 15,400,000 Map 15. Pray for bless the results of home-to-home outreaches this labourers to work the harvest fields and for clear year in the districts of Kimbe, Enga, Central Province, communication between team members. Also, Chimbu and Western Highlands. Please also pray that this is the season when many are busy tending their crops. churches will cooperate in more outreach efforts. Please pray for balance between what is necessary to sustain Judges7 (1 Samuel 8-12) their families physically and ministry with the home-to-home BURKINA FASO - Pop 16,200,000 Map 39. Pray campaigns. Judges 12 (1 Samuel 22:3-23, Psalm 52) that God would open the eyes and hearts of the many Muslims and idol worshippers in the request and send it to us in the enclosed villages of Bagmoussa and Villa Gourma to accept Jesus. envelope and we will pray for you.

Judges 8 (1 Samuel 13:1 to 16:13) BRAZIL - Pop 203,429,773 Map 216. Pray for the safety of the workers in Rio de Janeiro as they distribute the "Fathers Love Letter" and pray many should have their lives changed in the awful physical and spiritual darkness of the slums. Judges 1 (Judges 6-8)

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WRITE YOUR PRAYER

SINGAPORE - Pop 4,800,000 Map 139. Please pray for the great need of printing and shipping of Bibles as churches grow. Also, pray for the influence of two booklets:“Science and Faith” and “Knowing the Truth,” which have brought many to seek God’s truth. A recent printing of 50,000 each has just been completed. Judges 13 (1 Samuel 23, Psalms 54,63) ETHIOPIA - Pop. 83,600,000 Map 29. Pray that the power of the Gospel will penetrate 1,300 villages around the Alaba region, where believers are cautious to plant churches because there is no evangelical presence. Pray that God would break down strongholds in this region and that many would come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Judges 14 (1 Samuel 24-26)

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BANGLADESH - Pop. 155,600,000 Map 131. Praise the Lord for the good attendance at EHC’s largest annual revival meeting.

More than 1,400 individuals came to hear pastors share the message of the Gospel. Pray as teams now begin follow-up to more than 100 people who surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. Judges 22 (Psalms 3,69)

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CREATIVE ACCESS #15 - Ask God to bless the discipleship trainings for leaders in three cities. Thank God for some key government figures and royal family members who have encountered Christ through healings and dreams. This opens a tremendous door for cooperation from the local government. Judges 23 (2 Samuel 16-20)

GERMANY - Pop. 81,200,000 Map 81. Praise the Lord for the quick response to the Gospel in the town of Clenze—a small town with barely 2,100 inhabitants. Pray that workers will experience God’s favor as the gospel seed is sown in several surrounding villages. Judges 15 (1 Samuel 27-31) KENYA - Pop 39,200,000 Map 27. Pray for the discipling of new believers in two areas where 854 people accepted the Lord and six new Christ Groups were formed. Also, pray for the provision of new office equipment to replace items that were stolen during a recent robbery of EHC's office. Judges 16 (2 Samuel 1-4)

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MOZAMBIQUE - Pop. 23,200,000 Map 8.

Praise God for the distribution of Bibles to a large number of new believers in Mukombedzi who were part of the harvest of a recent outreach. Pray also for spiritual fruit from the current home-to-home outreach project in Tete Province. Judges 21 (2 Samuel 12:15 to 15:37)

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MADAGASCAR - Pop 19,900,000 Map 4.

Praise the Lord for the many open doors given to EHC to minister among schools.

Pray for more open doors specifically among schools in the city of Mahajanga and for the resources and LESOTHO - Pop 2,100,000 Map 2. Pray wisdom needed to proofread and print newly-revised for those who attended the “Young discipleship materials. Judges 24 (Psalms 64,70) Lions Arise” conference for young MYANMAR - Pop 50,100,000 Map 133. Praise believers as a discipleship program to keep them God that resources to continue EHC outreaches grounded in the Word of God. Pray also for provision were made available in Mandalay Division, of a solar slide projector needed to minister among Yangon Division and Ayeyarwaddy Division without the Mokhotlong. Judges 17 (2 Samuel 5-7, Psalm 30) interference! Pray for EHC's team members to have new GHANA - Pop 23,400,000 Map 38. Pray strength and fresh vision to serve the Lord through 2011. that God will break down barriers and Judges 25 (2 Samuel 21-22, Palm 18) open doors for the sharing of His Word ARGENTINA - Pop 39,600,000 Map 221. in homes that have previously rejected the message Please pray that the Lord would comfort of the Gospel. Pray as well for the government to use Pastor Francisco Mendez and his family who oil monies to bless—and not curse—the nation. recently lost their 20-year-old daughter, Cesarina. Francisco Judges 18 (2 Samuel 8:1-14, Psalm 60) serves alongside EHC’s National Director Rino Bello, as Christ GUINEA REP. - Pop 10,000,000 Map 44 Group coordinator among the indigenous Wichi people in Pray for the formation of more Christ Groups the Province of Formosa. Joshua 23 (2 Samuel 23-24)

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in Coyah and for spiritual growth of new belivers in Forécariah. Also, ask God to bless campaigns in Bangouyah, Damakania, Grougoudjé, Sinta and Kollet Districts. Praise God for 78 new belivers in the villages of Sokoliba and Niabely. Judges 19 (2 Samuel 8:15 to 10:19)

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MICRONESIA - Pop 111,000 Map 163. Pray for EHC Micronesia as ministry priorities are established and funding avenues are examined. Pray also for favourable negotiations between the EHC office and the Micronesia government regarding the relocation of the EHC office and possible access to government funds to assist with this move.

Judges 20 (2 Samuel 11:1 to 12:14, Psalms 51, 32)

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ARMENIA - Pop 3,100,000 Map 102. Pray for members of EHC’s evangelism team that the Lord would help them stand on His Word as they continue in the home-to-home outreach. Pray also for those within the government who are trying to push through a law that would forbid evangelization.Pray that God would intervene in this situation and continue to allow religious freedom in Armenia.

Ruth 1 (Psalms 4-6) IS IT FINALLY TIME TO MAKE OR UPDATE YOUR WILL? - Please pray.

Ruth 2 (Psalms 7-9)

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