EHC October Newsletter 2021

Myanmar

75 Years of Lives Changed by Jesus Jesus changes everything! It was true in 1946 and it’s true today. This month we are praising God for how He has used friends like you to change the world with the good news of the Saviour for the last 75 years!

GOOD NEWS

Haiti

September 2021 October 2021

What Matters Most The moon landing. The fall of the Berlin Wall. Smartphones. The list could go on…

A lot has happened in the past 75 years. But through it all, pioneer missionaries have consistently carried the Gospel and families have met Jesus.

If we look up news headlines from any year since Every Home for Christ began, we’ll find economic worries, political tensions, armed conflicts and astounding technological developments. These were big concerns with big consequences. But when we step back to take in all that the Lord has done over the decades, those big concerns seem to shrink.

Suddenly, it’s much easier to see what really matters:

People Families, individuals, hearts. God made them, loves them and died to save them. They need to know! Nothing more important has happened in history, and nothing more important will happen until Christ returns. Jesus knows the first person who was saved because of Every Home for Christ back in 1946. He knows the person who is coming to faith in Christ as you read this now. And he knows the name of every person who is now a believer because of your partnership with this ministry.

From the very beginning, Every Home has relied on the prayers and support of friends like you. You’re the ones who inspire and equip believers around the world to shine the light of Jesus’ love in their nations — and millions of lives have been transformed as a result.

As we reflect on the 75th anniversary of our ministry, there are two messages I want to convey. First, thank you. And second, let’s keep going — to the last home! God is making an eternal impact through you.

For the harvest,

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Dick Eastman International President Every Home for Christ

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” — Psalm 145:4 (ESV)

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Free Indeed

As I wobbled on my new bicycle, my Dad encouraged me: “Once you get it, you’ll never forget how to ride.”

And then one day, I did “get it.” I flew down the street. I was free. I could go anywhere.

Until I hit the parked car.

As I soared around a curve in the road, I lost control, forgot how to brake and careened into the back bumper so hard that my body slammed into my handlebars. My Dad came running.

“I couldn’t stop,” I cried. Shaken and hurting, I told my Dad I didn’t want to ride anymore.

The fear and embarrassment of falling grew so large in my mind that I was willing to give up the freedom of sailing down the street on a summer evening.

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But my Dad made me get back on the bike.

Fear and shame — these brambles grow wild quickly, choking out the good seedlings of freedom.

Jesus promises in John 8:36 that “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Yet even a Christian can follow the beckoning hand of an old temptation. Even a Christian can feel dogged by fears and shame that they thought they had left behind.

The vines of pain, anger, and despair creep up from where their roots wind deep around a broken world. And it would be easy for a briar-strangled heart to ask: “Wait, doesn’t Jesus change everything?”

If freedom is the evidence of salvation, but I don’t feel free, does salvation through Jesus really change everything?

Lives are transformed by the Gospel; they number in the thousands daily. The cost of lives offered in martyrdom and lifetimes given in unsung service is also great. In a world of brokenness, violence, suffering, and profound need, we’re preaching Christ and Him crucified. And that whole, incredible Christian claim hangs on the simple belief that Jesus is the answer to the great mess of the world, that Jesus changes everything.

Fear and shame — these brambles grow wild quickly, choking out the good seedlings of freedom.

Every time we use the bike, we can experience the freedom of mobility it provides.

My Dad once said, "Once you learn how to ride a bike, you can't forget."

Perhaps it would be more true to say that a bike always works the same way. A tumble does not evidence a flaw or ineffectiveness in the bike. However often you fall off, the bike will continue to function on the same principles you first learned. If we pedal, we move forward. If we brake, we stop. The love of Jesus always “works.” If we stumble or become overwhelmed by the world’s brokenness, the truth and love of Jesus remains the same Gospel we first learned.

Our sin-debt is paid through sacrifice. Our shame is covered by belovedness. Our fear is proved powerless by faithfulness. Not just once, in the moment of a special prayer, but forever.

Every time we trust and abide, we experience freedom. The truth and love of Jesus don't change but as we abide in Christ we are truly and consistently changed.

As Jesus says earlier in John 8: “If you hold to my teaching…

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

GOOD NEWS

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Avalanche of Ministry - Honduras - Everything you can to reach an entire community in four days Abraham Lozano, Every Home’s area director in Central America, tells the same story in every outreach training. It’s not a story about a thrilling adventure, a jaw-dropping miracle, or hundreds of lives transformed. In fact, some might consider it a story of failure. It’s probably not the story you’d expect to launch an event called “Avalanche of Ministry.”

“Avalanche of Ministry” is a special outreach strategy Abraham and his wife, Lidia, have used in cities and towns across Honduras since 2018.

The goal, Lidia explains, is to “do everything you can to reach an entire community in four days.”

“Doing everything” includes coordinating local churches for intensive prayer and evangelism training, blanketing the community in home-to-home outreach, and hosting an evening showing of the Jesus Film.

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As a part of each training, Abraham tells the story of an “Avalanche” in a city called Jicaro Galan in the southern region of Honduras.

Abraham calls it “Sin City.”

From the moment the team entered the town, the hold of sin on this place and its people was evident. The team would discover later that Jicaro Galan is a hub of prostitution in the southern region of Honduras. Brokenness follows exploitation and the team could see the brokenness of Jicaro Galan marked in the faces they passed on the streets.

“We came to a house where several young women were [gathered] around an old lady in a chair,” Abraham says. “We said, ‘Good morning.’ The girls ran off and left the lady alone.

Abraham was filled with compassion for this woman, abandoned by her friends and family in a place that uses people rather than loves them. Even the people who had been with her when Abraham’s team knocked on her door left her behind.

“I told her, ‘Ms. Francesca, you are not alone.

The Lord is your husband, and he is here to help you, to save you,’” Abraham continues.

“That morning, that lady came to the Lord.

She was the only person in that city who received Christ.”

But Abraham doesn’t count the Jicaro Galan Avalanche as a waste. One of the guiding principles of Abraham’s ministry comes from a fellow Every Home director: “We believe in the proclamation of the gospel, but we also believe in the demonstration of the Gospel.”

“We believe in the proclamation of the gospel, but we also believe in the demonstration of the gospel.”

So, I approached her and said, ‘My name is Abraham. What’s your name?’

“She said, ‘My name is Francesca, and I am 84 years old.’ “She was sitting in a wheelchair. I put my hand on her arm, and I felt immediately when I touched her there was something wrong. I asked her, ‘What is wrong? What is not well?’ And she started to cry… “She said, ‘You don’t know me, but I am alone. My husband left me. I had a stroke, and now I am sick and in this wheelchair.’”

The world calculates risk and return. The Gospel, however, insists that one lost sheep is worth every risk to rescue. One transformed life is worthy of the most extravagant celebration (Luke 15:3-7).

In a world that abandons what it cannot use, love that goes to extraordinary lengths for just one powerless person is a shocking demonstration of the Gospel.

Your gifts and prayers empower someone like Abraham to go any distance and do everything it takes to reach everyone.

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“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:13, NIV)

Pioneer missionaries will share the Gospel in 112+ spoken languages.

With populations growing at an increasing rate, the task of sharing the truth and love of Jesus with every person on earth is becoming more and more difficult. But we're determined to saturate every nation with the Gospel, leaving no one behind. The scope of this job is incredible. As we open new works in the remaining 60+ nations, here’s some of what we’re up against:

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Diverse Languages Religious Contexts Geographic Environments Political Contexts Diverse People

Bangladesh reopens schools after 18-month COVID shutdown - one of the world’s longest coronavirus shutdowns Schools reopened on September 12th after 543 days of closure as the country’s virus situation eases and more people are vaccinated. For the first time in 18 months, children find themselves wearing a school uniform and standing in a queue as EHC staff stand at the gate, dispensing hand sanitiser to those entering and checking their temperatures.

One child expressed his joy - “I can’t describe in words how I am feeling getting back to my school. “I am meeting all my friends after ages. It’s great.”

The students have beern instructed to maintain hygiene and distance from their friends in the classroom.

Opening with caution The students of the first to fourth grades and sixth to ninth grades will attend classes once a week for an initial period of three weeks. To re-open the schools, almost 97 percent of the country’s teachers and staff were vaccinated, according to the government.

Bangladesh on Sunday (12th September) recorded 51 deaths from COVID-19, taking the total death toll to 26,931. With 1,871 new infections recorded, the number of total infections is more than 1.5 million.

Please pray that our gracious Heavenly Father will protect the children and the co-workers.

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

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Bangladesh EHC helps the poor during the COVID shutdown - Rickshaws and sewing machines enabling the poor to earn a living as lockdown eases.

Women were trained in their homes and each received a treadle sewing machine so they could earn an income using their new skills.

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Monoranaj was one of the men who received a new rickshaw so that he could provide for his family living in poverty.

OCTOBER 2021

Bible Readings: This month the daily text will be taken from the books of Judges.

For those wanting to do the one-year Bible reading program these chapters are in brackets.

1 2 3 4

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.

Judges 1 (Jeremiah 21, 34) PRAY FOR DIPLAVE POKHREL Thank you so much for praying; Diplave now has a Visa which allows him to stay and work with EHC for 5 years. Please continue to pray, this time for permanent residency.

Judges 2 (Jeremiah 37-39, 52) 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.

Judges 3 (Jeremiah 40-44) 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!

Judges 4 (Lamentations 1-5) NAMIBIA Pop. 2,600,000 Map. 11 Please

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GERMANY Pop. 79,900,000 Map 83. The EHC team in Germany recently designed evangelistic “stickers” containing a short gospel message for several social media platforms, including WhatsApp. Hundreds of app. users are now using these stickers to creatively share the love of Jesus with their friends and followers.

Judges 9 (2 Chronicles 36:9-21, Psalm 137) CREATIVE ACCESS- CENTRAL ASIA Despite the powerful influence of Islam in this closed nation, the Every Home team reports that “many people are hearing the Gospel and believing in Jesus. God is healing the sick and unbelievers are witnessing His power.” Praise God for His mighty presence among the people of this country.

Judges 10 (Ezekiel 1-3) GUYANA Pop. 700,000 Map. 213. The

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specially designed gospel literature. Please join the team in praying that many children would be impacted by this effort and discover Jesus’ great love for them.

Judges 11 (Ezekiel 4-11) ALBANIA Pop. 3,000,000 Map. 75 Every

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pray for the people of Namibia who are experiencing a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases. The Ministry of Health recently announced that intensive care units are at full capacity. Please pray for the healing of Namibia and for protection and strength for the EHC team. Judges 5 (2 Chronicles 36:1-8, Daniel 1-4) BRAZIL Pop. 213, 400,000 Map. 218. Praise the Lord! God is doing amazing things in Brazil. Please join the EHC team in praying that the Lord will bless outreaches that are soon to be conducted along the Rio Negro. The team hopes to reach many of the villages along the riverside and several indigenous communities.

Judges 6 (Daniel 5-6)

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DOMINICIAN REPUBLIC Pop. 10,500,000 Map. 192. Please join the EHC team in praying for a “season of increased discipleship” and that the seeds of new life in Christ planted through evangelism would grow strong in the coming months. Pray they would see many people baptised in the name of Jesus.

Judges 7 (Daniel 7-9) LEBANON Pop. 5,200,000 Map. 114. Hundreds of cars are lining up under the hot sun at petrol stations so EHC had the brilliant idea of giving each driver a cool bottle of water and something to read from the Word of God. Pray many will be touched by this outreach.

Judges 8 (Daniel 10-12)

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Every Home for Christ team plans to share Jesus with about 20,000 children through

Thursday, the Every Home team in Albania conducts outreaches among the students in the city of Tirana. Many students have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour and are going to church! Please pray for more students to open their hearts to Jesus and become Judges 12 (Ezekiel 12-17) faithful disciples.

CAMEROON Pop. 28,500,000 Map. 24

Praise God! The Every Home team is seeing an amazing work of God in Cameroon. Recently, a gathering of families in a home resulted in around 12 people professing faith in Christ. They have been baptised.

Another man miraculously regained his sight. Now his village has great interest in the Gospel. Glory to God! Judges 13 (Ezekiel 18-20)

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CREATIVE ACCESS- MIDDLE EAST

Please pray for a relief project in this closed nation. The EHC team is hoping to provide vital help to around 300 people! Please pray that this effort will be a success and a comfort to everyone the team meets and that many hearts will be open to the truth and love of Judges 14 (Ezekiel 21-24) Jesus.

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BANGLADESH Pop. 164,000,000 Map. 132 "Pray for us,” the Every Home for Christ

team asks. This nation is experiencing serious challenges as a result of COVID-19 cases. Please pray for health and safety for the team and healing for the whole Judges 15 (Ezekiel 25-28) nation.

PRAY FOR ISRAEL ROMANS 10:1 11 "Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved."

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SWITZERLAND Pop. 8,400,000

Map 62.

Please pray for a new EHC outreach team that will be sharing about Jesus in the villages of Muraz, Venthône, Miège, and Mollens. Approximately 8,000 people live in these villages. Pray that God will help this team Judges share their message with passion and clarity.

16 (Ezekiel 29-32) CAPE VERDE Pop. 500,000 Map. 43 The Every Home team asks for prayer that God would bless their planned outreach to the island of Boa Vista. Please pray for safe travel and many open hearts “Pray that many would hear the good news of Jesus Judges 17 (Ezekiel 33-35) and believe!”

URUGUAY Pop. 3,300,000 Map. 224. “We are praying for revival in our country,” the team in this nation says. Please join our brothers and sisters in Christ in praying that God would soften the hearts of the families who hear the Gospel and that “the Church would fervently reach out with the love of Jesus.” Pray that God will raise up leaders in local churches.

Judges 18 (Ezekiel 36-39)

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RUSSIA Pop. 142,300,000 Map. 106. We have a very serious prayer request,” the team in St. Petersburg shares. Please pray for Akim.

He recently received the Gospel and openly confessed his faith in front of all his relatives. “There will be an Islamic trial right in the mosque,” the team says. “His life is in danger!”

Pray for protection and courage for Akim. Judges 19 (Ezekiel 40-42) CREATIVE ACCESS-CENTRAL ASIA The team serving in this nation asks for prayer over the hearts of the women currently participating in discipleship programs at a discipleship centre run by EHC. The centre offers Bible lessons and training in prayer. Pray for protection and that the Lord will bless the Judges 20 (Ezekiel 43-48) faith of these women.

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MYANMAR

Pop. 57,000,000 Map. 135 “Please pray for our pioneer missionaries as they work with local churches to reach every home,” the EHC team in Myanmar asks. Pray for a move of the Spirit in the local church. Christians serving in this nation face a difficult context for evangelism. Ask the Lord for grace Judges 21 and courage for each of them.

(2 Chronicles 36:22, 23. Ezra 1:1 to 5:1) ITALY Pop. 62,300,000 Map. 65. The EHC team serving in southern Italy asks for your prayers over their partner churches on the island of Sardinia who are faithfully conducting home-tohome outreaches and street evangelism in their communities. “Pray for open doors and a great harvest!” the Ruth 1 (Haggai 1-2) team asks.

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CREATIVE ACCESS-SOUTH EAST ASIA

“Pray for Brother N.,” and his team who are working with 12 local churches to share the Gospel through home-to-home outreach. Please pray for God’s blessing on this effort. May Brother N. and his team Ruth 2 walk in safety and see a great harvest.

(Zechariah 1-8)

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DJIBOUTI Pop. . 900,000 Map. 31. The Every Home team serving in Djibouti asks for prayer for believers who are in prison and for their families. “Pray that the Holy Spirit will comfort them and that God would give them peace,” the EHC team asks. May God’s grace work through the trials His people Ruth 3 (Zechariah 9-11) face.

NICARAGUA Pop. 6,200,000 Map. 183.

Our team in Nicaragua reports escalating political tensions in their nation. Please pray that God will bring peace to Nicaragua and give the EHC team wisdom and grace as they minister amid these challenges. Pray that God will continue to provide for them Ruth 4 and smooth the way before them.

(Zechariah 12-14) KENYA Pop. 54,600,000 Map. 27. The EHC team reports that, due to the impacts of COVID-19, many people have lost jobs.

Crime has increased. “All of this is creating a devastating social, economic, and political crisis that will leave deep scars,” the team says. “We need gospel revival!"

1 Samuel 1 (Psalms 107, 126) UNITED KINGDOM Pop. 66,000,000 Map. 92. Please pray for the EHC Prayerwalk 21 Prayer Project team who are planning upcoming outreaches and activities. Pray that God will give them creativity, passion and renewed energy. Pray for God’s blessing on all their efforts. 1 Samuel 2 (Ezra 5:2 to 6:22) VENEZUELA Pop. 29,000,000 Map. 214.

Please pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the central region of Venezuela. The EHC team there is praying to see the power and grace of God in that area like never before.

Please pray for transformation and for the Word of 1 Samuel 3 (Esther 1-2) God to reach every home.

ZAMBIA Pop. 19,000,000 Map. 14. Please pray for the 15 pioneer missionaries who have been appointed to serve in the Mugurameno area of the Chirundu District. Ask the Lord to give them passion and clarity as they spread the Gospel 1 Samuel 4 and that many will receive their message.

(Esther 3-7) SOUTH SUDAN Pop. 10,900,000 Map. 32 The EHC team requests prayer that the Lord would raise up prayer teams “who will begin breaking up the spiritual soil of South Sudan through worship and intercession.” Please pray that God will equip and empower key leaders to declare the Gospel.

1 Samuel 5 (Esther 8-10)

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BURKINA FASO Pop. 21,300,000 Map. 40. Please pray for refugees in the Sahel, an area of 3,360 miles, crossing Africa between the Sahara in the north and the Savannah to the south. Families face homelessness and a lack of access to education for their children. Pray God will provide for them and, in the midst of this hardship, His love would be evident.

1 Samuel 6 (Esther 7-10)

WRITE YOUR PRAYER REQUEST and we will pray for you.