Katherine Franks in Africa
From the desk of Katherine Franks September 2009 My dear EHC friend, I looked out my window in both sadness and disgust… I was in Africa and there was a beautiful little girl… going to the toilet… in the laneway right outside my window! “What is she doing?” … then her mother came… Then a bucket of brown water and a washcloth, time for the morning shower… I remember thinking… “How unhygienic, what if the rains come, I might step in that!” Then my next thought was “how demeaning… I know a grown woman would not choose to go to the toilet like that, nor choose to teach her daughter that – had she another choice…” and I felt incredibly sad. That was the point – she had no other choice… Incredibly 40% of the world’s population suffer this same indignation, that is 2.6 billion people living without access to safe sanitation… going to the toilet in such an unclean and insulting way… something we all deal with every day – but in the cleanliness of our own bathrooms… Because there is nowhere safe for billions in the world to go to the toilet, children are dying at a rate of 5000 a day due to poor sanitation. The poor are often left with bad health, impacting nutrition, schooling, work… a huge issue worldwide in both urban and rural settings. For many the risk to go to the toilet is high, especially at night; there is the risk of snakes, scorpio o go to the toilet… Disease is usually spread by insects, by unwashed hands, by rainfall… For me… that is enough to do something to help… So what can we do? Provide toilets… we can work through our local Every Home for Christ staff to build sanitation facilities that will help curb this terrible situation… why should millions of people have to go to the toilet in the open…in plastic bags…on railway tracks…in laneways…in gutters…in public places…when we have one, if not 2 toilets in our house. Not only is a lack of safe sanitation unhygienic and deadly, it is also unsafe, particularly for women. Toilets are a necessity, not just for health, for life, for safety; but also for people’s dignity. Through your donations we can provide toilets, training in sanitation, and soap; and that will give people a choice… The cost of a toilet is $250.00. Many, many thanks for your love and concern.
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EHC Overseas Projects Manager
$250 will buy a toilet - See Reply Slip
He’s happy now he had a toilet! 2.6 billion people don’t have access to one. Many people get very ill and it all stems from having no toilet. To smell the stench, its disgusting. Fevers, coughs and terrible diarrhoea and other diseases are often the result of having no toilet.
SENEGAL - AFRICA
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he quiet West African nation of Senegal is a stronghold for Islam, which claims 92 percent of the nation’s population of 12.6 million people. A tolerance for Christians among the Sufi Muslim majority allows believers to worship and share their faith in Christ, but there are still many challenges. Modern Senegal emerged from a region where competing colonial powers exerted influence until the French gained control in the late 1600s. Senegal re-emerged as an independent state after French rule came to an end in 1960. Islam gained a foothold in Senegal in the 11th century but experienced its most explosive growth in the 20th century. Between 1900 and 2000, the number of Muslims in Senegal increased from 45 percent to 92 percent. “Islam covers the region, with the construction of mosques everywhere,” says EHC’s National Director, who prefers
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Muslim family but accepted Jesus Christ after a miraculous healing through the prayer of our pioneer missionary,” the EHC director reported. “Her mother did not appreciate that her daughter got rid of the talismans, which the marabou had put around her waist and neck for her protection and cure. There is now a tension between Oli and her mother.” missionary shared the Each day requires a Good News home to new step of faith for home. In another EHC workers as they region a Christ Group share the Gospel in was formed and grew towns and villages to 54 members within across the nation. But four months. Another they gain new team of EHC workers confidence as they established seven see the Lord answer new Christ Group prayers and open new fellowships in places doors for spreading where there had the Good News. never been a church “We thank the Lord before. for His assistance “Pray God will bless during our home-toeach member of the home campaigns in Christ Groups, to Senegal,” said the EHC assist them, to director. “We express encourage them and our gratitude for His to strengthen them in Word, our source of the Holy Spirit,” the life. It transforms us as EHC director said. various obstacles and “Pray they will remain attacks are broken by firm in their faith” His Spirit. We move The faith of new from victory to victory believers is often put for He never to the test quickly, as abandons His children. a young woman We are more than con named Oli discovered. querors!” “Oli was born to a
Each Day Requires a New Step of Faith.
to remain anonymous for security reasons. “In many towns the marabous (religious leaders) reign as supreme masters. Children are removed from the public French schools and placed in Koranic schools. The activities of our evangelists are suspect, but they refuse to give way to all kinds of threats.” Several pioneer missionaries have gone to live among unreached people groups, devoting their lives to the evangelistic campaign. God is blessing their courageous efforts with encouraging results. Recently, an entire village turned to Christ after a pioneer
NEPAL In the beautiful land of Nepal there are still people who are demon possessed. Some of this demon possession often begins in the Hindu Temples as people kill animals. While the blood is spurting out of the animal they are making a way by the blood sacrifice to a Hindu god.
have come to Christ as a result of someone visiting them with a gospel booklet and for many it is the first time they have ever understood or even learned about the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they are formed into a fellowship known as a Christ Group.
Maharaji Mahato, an Every Home for Christ worker tells how he met a demon possessed woman. He says…. “I was on my way to distributing gospel tracts and I met a demon possessed lady who had been suffering for the last nine months named Swarsoti Gharti (35 years old). Her body had been covered by unknown wounds. She couldn’t walk or even eat food properly. She had gone to witchcraft doctors and had several medical treatments but her illness remained the same. I shared with her about the Lord Jesus Christ and she accepted him as Lord. She requested me to pray for her. I prayed for her illness and that day she was freed from the demon and the bondage of her sickness. Now, she and her family members are regularly attending in a Christ Group fellowship. These Christ Groups are made up of people who
Christ group members gather from many Christ Groups
An EHC worker visiting home to home with a gift of a Gospel booklet.
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HONDURAS - CENTRAL AMERICA
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ordered by three neighboring nations, Honduras also separates the waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. The country’s mountainous terrain and unique mixture of people groups and cultures make Honduras ripe for a variety of evangelistic outreaches. Every Home for Christ has been partnering with local churches to spread the Good News since 1962. Over 50,000 people have responded to the Gospel and 108 Christ Group fellowships have been formed throughout the nation, with many new opportunities for evangelism. More than 100 churches participated in a recent EHC campaign, visiting families in their homes, sharing God’s love and distributing gospel booklets. The Koinonia Baptist Church in Tegucigalpa mobilized and trained 30 married couples to help share the Good News home
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New Opportunities for Evangelism to home. The initial goal of reaching 500,000 people in 100,000 homes has already been reached and the campaign continues. Gospel booklets in Spanish, English and Miskito have been shared. As people opened their homes to the EHC workers, they also opened their hearts as the workers expressed God’s unfailing love. “We have cried with many parents that lost control of their children, and we have
also consoled many children and witnessed reconciliations,” said EHC Director Humberto Reaños. “The Lord has allowed us to come to more than one home where a person had just made a decision to commit suicide. And we have prayed in homes where couples were ready to get di-vorced because of pornography. Thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for enlightening the
Every Home for Christ
Australia: PO Box 168 Penshurst NSW 2222 New Zealand: PO Box 31-260 Milford North Shore City 0741 www.everyhome.org.au
mind and heart of a dear brother, resulting in the preparation of the booklet, ‘Love Letter from a Father.’” Special EHC teams have also ventured into remote regions of the nation to take the Gospel to impoverished rural communities and neglected people groups. Landmines placed in border regions during the 1980s are being cleared, but continue to be a threat. EHC workers brave the dangers to visit homes and distribute a special booklet in these land mine areas.
Telephone: (02) 9570 8211 Facsimile: (02) 9570 4738 Telephone: Free call 0800 900 200 Facsimile: 0061 2 9570 4738 ehc@everyhome.org.au
Bible Readings: This month the daily text will be taken from Jeremiah, Lamentations and Ezekiel. For those wanting to do the one-year Bible reading programme these chapters are in brackets.
September, 2009
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PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM PSALM 122:6 AND THE WORLD.
NO TOILET! Pray that enough money will come so many more people will be able to have a toilet and thus save lives from the awful diseases that come from having no toilet. Jeremiah 50 (Isaiah 24 – 27) SOUTH AFRICA – Pop 46,600,000 Map 1. EHC workers are facing challenges in reaching the citizens of KwaZulu Natal Province. The people in this area are often unapproachable and the EHC team encounters hostile situations. Pray for open and receptive hearts and a willingness to listen to the message in this area. Jeremiah 51 (Isaiah 28 – 35) MONGOLIA – Pop 2,600,000 Map 174. Praise God for 238 people who recently made decisions to follow Christ. Pray that they would grow in the Word of God. Also, pray for the summer outreaches underway to nomadic herders and for the volunteers needed to reach them and effectively communicate the Gospel. Jeremiah 52 (Isaiah 36 – 39) ARMENIA – Pop 3,000,000 Map 103. After visiting 10,000 families in the city of Yerevan, 400 responses flowed into the EHC office. Praise the Lord! Pray that God’s grace will spread over this nation and that the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations would not be put into effect to hinder EHC’s work. Lamentations 1 (Isaiah 40 – 43)
SERBIA – Pop 7,800,000 Map 70. In the town of Kragujavac (population 170,000) a small church has been planted. In the course of two weeks this church visited 15,000 homes. Pray that the literature that was distributed will continue to draw hearts to Jesus. Lamentations 5 (Hosea 1 – 3) ARGENTINA – Pop 38,800,000 Map 222. The coverage is complete and over 216,000 homes have been reached with the Gospel in Corrientes. Pray for a lasting impact in this city. Churches there are reporting that individuals are testifying daily of their decision to receive Jesus. Ezekiel 1 (Hosea 4 –
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CHILE – Pop 16,700,000 Map 219. Pray for Punta Arenas located in the far south “at the end of the world” with a population of 120,000 people. There is a great need to hear about Jesus in this isolated city. Also, pray for the communities that are opening their schools to the Gospel, and for the volunteers to reach them. Lamentations 2 (Isaiah 44 – 48) ANGOLA – Pop 17,500,000 Map 13. The Ministry of Education is working together with EHC’s field coordinator, Jose, with the possibility of inserting bible classes into the educational system as a classroom subject. Praise God! Pray that this would indeed become a reality. Lamentations 3 (Isaiah 49 – 57) MADAGASCAR – Pop 17,800,000 Map 4. Praise the Lord for a literature distribution project with 20,000 gospel booklets that took place in the city of Mahajanga. Pray for many lives to be changed by the power of the gospel as a result of this outreach. To date, more than 350,000 homes have been reached with 147,549 people responding. Lamentations 4 (Isaiah 58 – 66)
BANGLADESH – Pop 152,400,000 Map 131. Pray for this nation that is passing through a crucial time politically, economically and socially. A cyclone left hundreds homeless with the threat of disease. Pray for an outpouring of God’s grace and mercy on Bangladesh. To date, more than 10.7 million gospel booklets have been sown across this nation. Ezekiel 2 (Hosea 8 – 13) NEPAL – Pop 28,500,000 Map 132. The translation of 63 DVDs for training materials is progressing with four translators hard at work. Pray that the Lord may guide them to translate accurately and finish in a timely matter. Also, pray for Nepal’s political situation which is still chaotic. Ezekiel 3 (Hosea 14) RWANDA – Pop 9,000,000 Map 17. Pray for the two new Christ Groups planted in the Bugeseara District, and pray for Pastor Seminega Fulgence who has the vision to see this district saturated with many more EHC Christ Groups. To date, 55 Christ Groups have been planted across this nation. Ezekiel 4 (Micah 1 – 3) BELGIUM – Pop 10,300,000 Map 86. EHC’s work of home-to-home visitation with the printed gospel message has already enabled the Good News to be presented to about 450,000 families. Among the rema ining districts to be reached, 14 do not have an evangelical church. Pray that workers would feel the burden to reach these areas. Ezekiel 5 (Micah 4 – 5) MYANMAR/BURMA Pop 48,800,000 Map 134. Pray for Rev. U Myint Soe and U San Shar who will be going to Bagalay Township to show the Jesus film and have fellowship with the new believers engaging in the construction work ministry. Pray for lasting fruit from the showing of this film and for the outreaches currently underway. Ezekiel 6 (Micah 6 – 7)
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NICURAGUA – Pop 5,600,000 Map 182. Many Nicaraguans are without work yet want to meet the needs of their families. Pray that the Lord would make provision for their every need. Also, pray that the Lord will continue to keep doors open for sharing the gospel in the Sandinista schools and universities. Ezekiel 7 (Nahum 1 – 3) DEM.REP.of CONGO – Pop 64,300,000 Map 19. Truly the harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Join in prayer that the Lord of the harvest will send forth faithful and bold labourers into His harvest. EHC Christ Groups are needing leaders to pastor them. Pray that the Lord will bring shepherds for each group of believers. Ezekiel 8 (2 Chronicles 33 – 34) GERMANY – Pop 81,900,000 Map 82. Praise God for zealous workers such as Klauke-Mako-wiak. He seeks to reach the town of Saerbeck with its 2,700 inhabitants. Thank God for his passion and obedience to the call on his life. Pray that there would be a great harvest of souls from EHC workers dedicated to the vision of reaching every home. Ezekiel 9 (Zephaniah 1 – 3) INDONESIA – Pop 229,200,000 Map 142. Pray for the training sessions scheduled for this summer in several provinces, including Batam and Central Java. Also, pray for Asia Bible College students who are being presented with training materials preparing them to start multiplying Christ Groups in Central Java. Ezekiel 10 (2 Chronicles 35) LESOTHO – Pop 2,000,000 Map 2. EHC pioneer missionary Pastor Aaron Setati asks for prayer for his outreach to two mountain villages where gospel literature will be distributed to every home and the Jesus film will be shown. To date 285,492 homes have been reached in Lesotho. Ezekiel 11 (Habakkuk 1 – 3) HONDURAS – Pop 7,200,000 Map 181. Several ministries have encountered the cancelling of their legal incorporation charters from the government. Pray that God’s favour would rest upon EHC. Praise the Lord for 11 new Christ Groups planted as a result of a recent outreach. Ezekiel 12 (Jeremiah 1 – 6) GHANA – Pop 23,000,000 Map 30. Praise God for a fruitful Heart of Man outreach held in conjunction with a church in Accra. The result has been so encouraging that the pastor wants the program repeated in the near future. Pray that this would be a similar pattern in other churches. Ezekiel 13 (Jeremiah 11 – 12) ROMANIA – Pop 21,100,000 Map 77. In this time of economic crisis, pray that people’s hearts will be softened and listen to the voice of God realising that their hope is not found in material things. Pray for the home-to-home gospel literature distribution that is taking place in southeast Romania this summer. Ezekiel 14 (Jeremiah 26, 7 – 10)
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UGANDA – Pop 30,800,000 Map 26. With the launching of the mobile training centres comes the responsibilities of its management. Pray for the effective oversight of this vital training ministry. Ezekiel 15 (Jeremiah 14 – 20) BRAZIL – Pop 194,100,800 Map 217. Evangelical churches are facing challenges due to the unemployment of many believers. Pray for pastors, EHC workers, for their families and for the missionary work to continue despite these financially difficult times. To date, more than 120.3 million families have been reached with the Gospel. Ezekiel 16 (Jeremiah 35 – 36) ETHIOPIA – Pop 83,400,000 Map 29. EHC’s vision is that within five years every city in Ethiopia would be reached with the Gospel. Pray for workers currently being equipped to train others. Praise the Lord for the significant increase in new Christians among Muslims, Buddhists and atheists in this nation. Ezekiel 17 (Jeremiah 45, 25) NAMIBIA – Pop 2,100,000 Map 11. Himba believers in Ondie have no electricity, running water or communication system in place. Nevertheless, a crowd of 70 people gathered together under the local “church tree” to hear the Gospel during a recent EHC outreach. Pray that many Himba would come to know and love the Lord. Ezekiel 18 (Jeremiah 46 – 49)
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SIERRA LEONE – Pop 5,900,000 Map 43. Recent evangelistic outreaches have taken place in Kakuama, Kuyour and Benseh. Pray for fruit that remains as many people made professions of faith, but sadly, poverty and other difficulties have caused some to renounce their faith. Pray that the gospel seed would be sown on fertile soil. Ezekiel 19 (Jeremiah 13, 22 – 23) SWITZERLAND – Pop 7,500,00 Map 61. The gospel booklet for Fribourg is being prepared for printing. Pray that this booklet would be completed and printed quickly so that distribution efforts could begin. To date, more than 3.9 million gospel booklets have been distributed in French-speaking Switzerland. Ezekiel 20 (Jeremiah 24, 27 – 29) TANZANIA – Pop 40,600,000 Map 16. There is a significant need for bicycles for EHC field workers as well as a reliable vehicle for the EHC ministry tools. To date, more than 3.7 million families have been reached in Tanzania with 1.1 million responses. Ezekiel 21 (Jeremiah 50 – 51) BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA – Pop 3,900,000 Map 69. Pray for a closer cooperation with churches especially in Evaneoska, Crkva, Brchko and Bijelijina in order to spread the Gospel in the region of Srpska. Also, pray for the churches in Mostar and Chapljina and the surrounding area in the south part of Herzegovina. Ezekiel 22 (Jeremiah 30 – 33)