EHC Newsletter - September 2021 by Every Home For Christ - AU/NZ

TANZANIA

A Story from Itiryo Village

September 2021

TANZANIA

A Story from Itiryo Village This testimony comes from Itiryo village in the Mara region of Tanzania. The people of this village are from the Kurya people group, speak Kurya as their native language and farm and raise cattle to make their living. They have also earned a reputation for violence. Ten years ago, they killed Pastor Joshua Mwita. Pastor Mwita moved to Itiryo with his wife and three children after the previous pastor was threatened by the villagers and forced to flee. He chose this hostile environment because he wanted to preach the Gospel and influence the village elders to abandon harmful traditional practices. For three years, Pastor Mwita courageously fought against these traditions. The village elders held a special meeting to discuss Pastor Mwita and the trouble he was causing them. They sent for Pastor Mwita to join them, but Pastor Mwita declined their order because he was praying with other believers in the church. The youth of the village then dragged the intercessors out of the church and beat them. The other Christians were badly beaten and bruised, but Pastor Mwita was killed. After Pastor Mwita’s death, the church fell into confusion. Those who survived the attack ran away to neighbouring villages. Other believers hid their Christianity while secretly visiting churches in neighbouring villages.

Mama Ester Mugusuhi, a believer who was praying in the church with Pastor Mwita.

Three years after Pastor Mwita’s death, another pastor came along. Pastor Joseph Mniko opened a church and spoke out against the village’s harmful traditions, just as Pastor Mwita had done. One month later, villagers armed with machetes attacked Pastor Mniko in his home. By the grace of God, he survived this attack but he was forced to flee the village. This year, Pastor Joseph Daniel, a training coordinator with Every Home for Christ in Tanzania, felt a burden for Itiryo. Pastor Daniel had worked with Pastor Mwita and got to see how eager the people in Itiryo were to learn more about Jesus. It laid heavy on his heart to bring the Gospel to this village again. So, he reached out to surrounding churches and planned a five-day seminar. He prayed that God would give them the courage to go to this difficult village of Itiryo, and those prayers were answered. Twelve churches participated in the seminar. After training, discipleship and outreach ministries, a total of 60 people became Christians and 34 of them were baptised. While doing home-to-home evangelism, some of the families who killed Pastor Mwita also put their faith in Jesus! Among them, two different families offered land so that a church could be built again. Marwa Wambura Joel, one of the family members who received Christ, told Pastor Daniel: “I am saved today and as the minister said, the moment you receive Jesus you become new and the old is gone. I now feel new. The love that I have received here is immeasurable because I thought Christians will hate me and my family, but instead, they are welcoming. I offer my piece of land to the church to build a church. Amen!”   Regarding the role of prayer in seeing this breakthrough, Pastor Daniel says:

“Prayer has softened the heart of the villagers, has added courage to evangelise and is still sustaining the new church there in Itiryo.”

Church members outside their church building in Itiryo

Pray Like Crazy When we launched the Oikos Initiative in 2019, we committed to taking the Gospel to everyone, everywhere, in a single generation - that’s a crazy goal! What counts as a nation is hotly debated, but most estimates place the number at 217. The good news is that Every Home for Christ is already underway in 154 of these nations - and we’re soon to be in several more. That leaves over 60 nations that still need an active Every Home for Christ ministry. These nations include Yemen and Sudan, Sweden, the Netherlands and Greece, New Caledonia and North Korea. We can’t reach these nations alone. We need your prayer and your support to make it happen. In particular, we need your prayers for “crazy people”. Yes, you read that right. My good friend Jose Seisdedos is one of our most experienced leaders and he says that it takes a “crazy person” to launch a new EHC work. This person must be “crazy” enough to look at the job of reaching his or her entire nation with the Gospel and say with confidence, “Yes, it can be done!” This person must have “crazy” faith. So we are looking for and praying for over 60 crazy people. These will be brothers and sisters with a deep passion for the lost in their nations, the leadership ability to mobilise believers and churches and a steadfast faith in God to make it happen. We’re also looking for crazy intercessors - people who will commit to praying for each of these nations as we launch works to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Will you commit to praying for one - or all - of these nations as we seek crazy people to lead these works? And will you consider giving to support this work of telling the whole world about the saving love of Jesus? Your faithful generosity makes you a a vital part of the Every Home for Christ team. It’s a crazy team - and that’s a great thing.

Dick Eastman International President, Every Home for Christ

It all started some 43 years ago when Eric Leach was appointed the Executive Director of Every Home for Christ for Australia and New Zealand and later the founding Director of Every Home for Christ in the United Kingom. Eric's grandmother, whose husband and son were the owners of the Clayfield Bakery, as pictured above, had a special love for overseas missions and prayed and gave funds to make Christ known in the uttermost parts of the earth. But she died not knowing that one of her grandchildren, Eric Leach, one day in the future would be the Director of the Australia and New Zealand Every Home for Christ and founder of the United Kingdom Every Home for Christ, missions similar to the ones she had supported. Please pray for Eric and Lorraine as they continue to encourage God's people to pray and give funds to make Christ known in the uttermost parts of the world and thank you for your love for the Lord and continuing prayer and financial support.

Eric and Lorraine Leach

Praying the News By Dave Butts It was my father who first opened the door for me to look at world events as connected with God’s Word and His purposes unfolding on planet Earth. It has been a joy and an exciting adventure to watch the news on television or read a newspaper and see happenings as something more than a depiction of events that are out of my control. Instead, the very things taking place around us are an indication that God is indeed in control and has put in His word some amazing details of what is about to happen. All too often, Christians feel powerless and at the mercy of a very big world. Watching or reading of news events can feel like an exercise in futility and even worse, bring a sense of anxiety and worry into our lives. One way to deal with this is to shut yourself off from the world. Turn off the television news and unsubscribe to your daily newspaper. Doing so may provide temporary relief, but certainly does nothing to change the situation. There is a better way. It involves a commitment to change your world through prayer. It happens as you see God’s commitment to prayer as a change agent. You begin to see yourself as a player on the world stage. Rather than passively watching and worrying, or ignoring and hiding, you begin to take significant action to bring God’s power to bear on situations going on in the world. You pray!

The Bible is filled with examples of God’s people watching political and national events unfold around them, and then intervening through prayer to bring change. Sometimes a national leader, such as King Asa or King Jehoshaphat of Judah, prayed when faced with a crisis. In both cases, a military attack against the nation was overcome by the prayer of a godly leader. Sometimes, though, the intervention of God comes through the prayers of more common people such as Anna and Simeon in the New Testament. These two faithful prayer warriors were watching the signs of the times and understanding the prophetic Old Testament scriptures that pointed to the soon appearing of the Messiah. God used their prayers to prepare for Messiah’s coming in ways that we won’t understand until heaven. A group of ordinary believers crowded into a house in Jerusalem when they heard that the Apostle Peter had been arrested and was chained to a prison wall. What a different twist world history would have taken without the powerful leadership of Peter! But God heard the prayers of these little-known believers and sent an angel to release Peter, allowing him to continue helping shape and lead the fledgling church for years. Throughout church history, God has used the prayers of believers to change the flow of events and alter what might have been. One of the more dramatic instances of this occurred during World War II and involved the small group of intercessors that gathered in Great Britain under the leadership of Rees Howell. Again and again, God led them to pray over particular battles and situations, many of which they could not have known about through their natural senses. In numerous situations, the Lord used their prayers to ensure victory and change human history. Obviously, in cases like this, the prayers by themselves did not bring about victory. Men and women in dangerous places fought fierce battles and some paid the ultimate price. But the prayers of Rees Howell and his band of intercessors brought the power of God into the battles and altered history. For further reading on this amazing story, I recommend Norman Grubb’s book, "Rees Howell: Intercessor." Most of us don’t feel like world changers. We’re just trying to get through to the end of the week. But God has provided an amazing opportunity for us to join with Him in intercession and see His power bring transformation. Making the most of this opportunity will take a change of attitude and a different way of responding to the news. Changing our attitude is probably the most difficult. That’s why I’ve spent the time I have to point out that God has always used people’s prayers to bring about changes in world events. If we believe God, then our attitude will begin to shift from passivity to action. Rather than sitting and complaining about things as we watch the news or read the newspaper, we will begin to pray to bring about change. A changed attitude—agreeing with God that someone ought to do something and that He (God) is probably the best someone—will bring us into serious prayer.

That changed attitude will cause us to redeem the time we are using to become aware of world and national events. We begin to approach the evening news or morning newspaper as serious times of prayer. Instead of passive intake, we move into aggressive intervention. I call it prayer! Let’s talk about some practical ways to pray about the news. First of all, decide to become mentally and spiritually prepared and involved. Very intentional praying is required. It doesn’t happen accidentally. We don’t just sit down to watch a news show and in the midst of a particular segment suddenly remember or decide to pray. This is not bad, but it is so irregular. Make a decision to sit down and watch the news as a prayer event. It will change everything about your experience. Second, ask the Lord to guide you as you pray. There are so many times we respond to events by telling God what He should do. You’d think we would have learned that He really isn’t looking for our advice. He is, however, looking for our cooperation in releasing His power into situations. Many times the best question we can ask is, “God, what are You doing in this situation?” Then follow that up by asking, “God, what do You want to do?” Then pray with God’s heart about what you are seeing. Third, watch the news with God. Invite Him into the experience with you. Ask Him to allow you to see things from His perspective. Things that didn’t formerly upset you may cause you to weep in sorrow. Other things that used to make you angry now may become side issues. His ways are so far beyond ours! Fourth, bring your journal to your prayer time. By your prayer time, I’m talking about your time of watching the news or reading the newspaper. Journal what you are praying about. Write down insights the Lord provides over situations you are watching. Fifth, ask the Lord if there are any actions for you to take as a result of what you saw and prayed. Prayer is always the first step but rarely the last. You may need to write a letter to someone involved in a news story. You might be called to give money to someone or something. There might be action steps for your family, especially as it relates to preparation for difficult days ahead. The Lord may direct you to change where your money is invested. He may even call you to move from one city (or nation) to another. Prayerful watching can help prepare you to be a more effective servant in the Lord’s hands. Sixth, bring your Bible with you when you watch the news or read the newspaper. As you pay closer attention to the prophetic Word of God, you will often be reminded of a passage of scripture as you are watching or reading. Having your Bible with you will help you look up passages and verify that you are, in fact, literally living the Bible as you see things happen right before your eyes. In the very near future, you will see many such things if you are watching.

I will never forget June 6, 1967. I was almost fourteen years old. Dad was watching television news and called me in to watch with him. Pointing to the news that Israeli forces had just taken possession of the Temple Mount and the rest of Jerusalem, he said, “You’ve just seen a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Jesus said that Jerusalem would be trampled on by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles was fulfilled. Now you’ve seen it with your own eyes.” That was a powerful demonstration for me of how to view the news through biblical eyes. That brings me to another practical idea: Bring others to your prayer meeting. If you live with family, invite them to join you as you pray about the news. What a wonderful way to teach your children or spouse how to join their prayers to God’s purposes. Perhaps you could have a weekly time when you invite friends to your home to pray about the news with you. What dramatic times of intercession might be unleashed as we pray together over the great events of our day! Prayer Father, give me eyes to see what is happening around me. Help me to see things from Your perspective. I choose to use times of exposure to news from around the world as valuable times of intercession. Help me to be disciplined in praying as I watch and read. Show me how You would have me pray. Thank You for allowing me to be a part of what You are doing in the world today. Questions for Reflection and Discussion 1. Have you ever tried to pray regularly as you watched or read the news? Was it easy or hard for you? Why? 2. Can you think of biblical examples where individuals prayed and national or world events changed? What incidents come to mind? 3. Has there been a particular news event that prompted you to pray? What about that event caused you to pray?

How to Pray Every Day 1. GET A SET TIME Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” To have a consistent daily prayer habit it is most important to have a “Set Time”. You’ll never make it without a set time. Work it out! Plan it! Here is an idea If you start work at 8.30 am Travel to work (1/2 hour), leave home 8.00 am Breakfast, shower and dress 7.00 to 8.00 am Prayer time 6.00 am Then get out of bed at 5.55 am Adjust the above to your own morning program or maybe it is impossible to have time in the morning, then plan time in the afternoon or evening, but whatever, it is important to set a time. It’s not rigid - it’s not a bondage, but a good habit. You’ll miss sometimes but overall you will be surprised how the “Set Time” will make you consistent.

2. HAVE A PLACE Find a place to pray. Go there every day. Maybe a spare room, a lounge chair, kneeling by your bed ...

3. A PLEDGE “The most important thing I will do today is spend my time alone with God” Matthew 26:40 “Then Jesus returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” (1/2 hour? 1/4 hour?)

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

SEPTEMBER 2021 Bible Readings: This month the daily text will be taken from the books of Deuteronomy and Joshiua. 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. Deuteronomy 29 (Isaiah 24-27 ) 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. Deuteronomy 30 (Isaiah 28-35) 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. Deuteronomy 31 (Isaiah 36-39) 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! Deuteronomy 32 (Isaiah 40-43) SERBIA Pop. 6,900,000 Map. 71 The Every Home team in Serbia reports that people are excited to read the gospel literature and books the team provides. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will touch the hearts of many and that they will come to faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 33 (Isaiah 44-48) ARGENTINA Pop. 50,00,000 Map. 223 The team there reports that many people are dying each day of Covid-19. Please join them in prayer that, despite these obstacles, the Good News will continue to spread into the homes and hearts of people who need Jesus. Deuteronomy 34 (Isaiah 49-57)

MALI Pop. 20,100,000 Map 49. The Every Home team reports that there has been violence, unrest, and a lack of security in Mali ever since the military coup that took place last year. Many have died. Please pray for the people of Mali, that the Lord would protect them, that the violence would end, and that many would put their faith in Jesus. Joshua 3 (Hosea 4-7) CREATIVE ACCESS-EURASIA Please, pray for our country. There are hundreds of political prisoners and every week, we receive more and more tragic news. Please pray for the safety of our brothers and sisters, pray for justice to be done, and pray for the Gospel to spread to every family in this nation. Joshua 4 (Hosea 8-13)

SLOVAKIA Pop. 5,500,000 Map. 81. Around the world, the Every Home for Christ work of sharing the gospel depends on local churches. Please pray that many churches in Slovakia will be inspired to work together with EHC to reach every home in this nation. Joshua 5 (Hosea 14) ZIMBABWE Pop.15,000,000 Map. 9. “Pray for an open and effectual door of ministry to the young people and young adults in Zimbabwe,” says the EHC team in this nation. “We will be engaging the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education to have an open door into the schools. May the Lord give us favour with both ministries.” Joshua 6 (Micah 1-3)

MYANMAR Pop. 57,000,000 Map. 135 Please pray for the safety of the pioneer missionaries as they travel to difficult places and that God would protect their families while they are away. Pray that the seeds of the Gospel will grow into a fruitful harvest in spite of much disturbance in the country. Joshua 7 (Micah 4-5) ETHIOPIA Pop. 110,800,000 Map. 29. Please pray for Ethiopia as it is experiencing political unrest and conflicts in the north. People are afraid. “Our work is in danger of slowing down because of the turmoil,” the team reports. “Pray for peace and for change in the situation.” Joshua 8 (Micah 6-7) VENEZUELA Pop. 29,000,000 Map. 214 Praise the Lord! This team recently prayed for Pastor Romero, who was seriously ill with COVID-19. “God gave him the victory,” they report. “He is already restored, and he has already spoken to his church. Hallelujah!” Please continue to pray for those struggling with COVID-19 in Venezuela today. Joshua 9 (Nahum 1-3)

BULGARIA Pop. 133,600,000 Map. 77 The Every Home team in Bulgaria rejoices to report that more and more churches are requesting gospel literature for children. Please pray that the children who read this material will meet Jesus, and pray for all of the evangelistic activities these churches will organise. Joshua 1 (Isaiah 58-66) PHILIPPINES Pop.110,800,000 Map. 169 The Every Home team in the Philippines recently provided groceries to Muslim families in need and were also able to pray with them. Please pray that the Lord would open their hearts and minds to the gospel and that they will meet Jesus. Joshua 2 (Hosea 1-3)

PRAY FOR ISRAEL

ROMANS 10:1

CYPRUS Pop. 1,200,000 Map. 113. The Every Home team in Cyprus is discipling a church that recently gained five new members. “All are men from Africa who are dedicated to following Jesus,” the team tells us. Please pray for these men as they grow spiritually, pray for the church to nurture them in their faith, and pray for the team as they provide guidance. Joshua 10 (2 Chronicles 33-34)

ROMANIA Pop. 21,200,000 Map. 78 The Every Home team is praising God for a recent outreach in Eastern Romania. They visited 100 families in need to share food and Bibles. Afterward, several families attended church services, including nine Muslims, and one of them became a Christian! Please pray for this new believer to grow strong in Christ. Joshua 11 (Zephaniah1-3) UGANDA Pop. 45,000,000 Map. 26.“There are lots of power struggles and fights among church leaders over doctrine,” says the EHC team in Uganda. “This has left the Body of Christ divided.” Please pray for the Lord to change this situation by bringing unity to the Body of Christ. Joshua 12 (2 Chronicles 35)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA Pop. 7,300,000 Map. 146. Pastor Emmanuel and Every Home Ministry Director Aaron Nikkie shared God’s Word in two classrooms at a High School in Mount Hagen. Praise God and please pray for 140 of these students who gave their hearts to the Lord! Joshua 13 (Habakkuk 1-3)

CREATIVE ACCESS-MIDDLE EAST Please pray for a man named H. who, about three years ago, put his faith in Jesus. When the EHC team met with him recently, he said it was the first time he had ever talked with another believer. He wants to meet more. Please pray that H. would connect with the local church and grow in his faith. Joshua 14 (Jeremiah 1-6) FRANCE Pop. 68,000,000 Map. 89. Teams from different churches in Nice, on the French Riviera, are dedicated to sharing the Good News. They set up 10 “Bible stands” in markets and public places to introduce the people of Nice to EHC gospel literature. Please pray that this outreach will introduce many to the saving love of Jesus. Joshua 15 (Jeremiah 11-12) BURKINA FASO Pop. 21,300,000 Map. 40. “Let’s pray for the Muslim community,” says the EHC team in Burkina Faso. “Let’s pray for salvation.” Please pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of Muslims to see Jesus, even as they worship in their mosques. Joshua 16 (Jeremiah 26,7-10) HUNGARY Pop. 68,000,000 Map. 79. The Every Home for Christ team in Hungary is searching for a new team member who can help them expand their ministry on the internet. Please pray that the Lord will send them to the right person. Joshua 17 (Jeremiah 14-20)

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UNITED KINGDOM Pop. 66,000,000 Map. 92. The Every Home team in the U.K. is meeting with churches to share about the work of Every Home for Christ. Pray that the churches will be receptive to the Oikos Initiative (door-to-door) and that many would be mobIlised for prayer and missions. Joshua 18 (Jeremiah 35-36) GUATEMALA Pop. 17,400,000 Map. 179. Brother Andres is training churches in the town of Samayac. Please pray for open minds, lives ready to be trained in evangelism and for the Church to take the great commission seriously. Please pray that this training will ignite a passion in the Church that leads to the salvation of many. Joshua 19 (Jeremiah 45,25) BARBADOS Pop. 300,000 Map. 207. A recent outreach resulted in several new believers. Please pray for these brothers and sisters in Christ as they grow in their newfound faith. Pray that they would be strengthened in God’s Word, walk in faithfulness with the Lord, and become bold witnesses for Jesus. Joshua 20 (Jeremiah 46-49) GUINEA Pop. 12,800,000 Map. 45. Pastor Elie recently participated in a home-to-home outreach to share the Gospel with families in his nation and now he is facing persecution. Please pray that God will protect him, pray for those he reached with the Gospel, and pray that his persecutors will have a change of heart. Joshua 21 (Jeremiah13,22-23) EAST TIMOR Pop. 1400,000 Map. 144. Please pray for all the teams and churches participating in gospel outreach in this island nation so that they will continue God’s work which is entrusted to them, to win many souls for the glory of the name of the Lord Jesus. May many come to a saving faith in Jesus. Joshua 22 (Jeremiah 24, 27-29)

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HONDURAS Pop. 9,300,000 Map. 182. Brother Rigoberto Rodríguez and Pastor Dennis Banegas are working in the city of Monjarás in Choluteca. Please pray for their protection as they travel to visit homes, pray that the Holy Spirit will prepare the way for them and pray that many will have open hearts to receive the message of Jesus’ love. Joshua 23 (Jeremiah 50-51) CREATIVE ACCESS Please pray for the Holy Spirit to bring a spiritual awakening in this closed country and pray for workers from every church to participate in taking the truth and love of Jesus to every home. May the guidance of the Holy Spirit, partnerships among local churches, and the passion of believers bring many into the Kingdom of God. Joshua 24 (Jeremiah 30-33)

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