January 2012
Dear Prayer Partners,
The beginning of a new year always brings new hopes, new desires and lots of new resolutions. Our desire for you this year is that you would grow closer to God in all that you do and learn to love Him more day by day. We are so appreciative of your ongoing and consistent prayers which are the backbone of our ministry here in the USA and around the world.
As you pray this month, please consider taking some time to pray for the re-opening of our store in Monrovia, Liberia. This has been a project that has been in the prayer and planning stages for the last four years and we believe that it is God's time to see the dream become a reality in 2012. The CLC USA team is working hard to prepare a container to be shipped by the end of January and two of us will be taking a trip to Liberia in February to do some advanced preparations for the store opening. Please pray that the container will be filled with exactly the right books and Bibles and that it gets to Liberia as quickly as possible. Also pray for a new team to be formed that will lead the work and be ministers to the Liberian people on a daily basis in the store. We would also ask for any donations of books or Bibles or funds that you would like to make to this vital project.
Dave Almack
U.S. Director
CLC International
1 Sun. Worldwide
As economic uncertainty continues into 2012 in much of world, pray that CLC would continue to be able to share the gospel and the forgiveness, hope and meaning Christ brings to people's lives. Pray for our shops, centers and staff as we continue to navigate our way through the rapidly changing retail climate.
2 Mon. Caribbean
CLC in Trinidad, Antigua and Dominica sends greetings for the new year. Please pray for wisdom, renewed vision, innovative ideas, determination and cooperation as our ministry faces the challenges of 2012.
3 Tue. Papua New Guinea
This month CLC PNG will have a time of prayer and planning for the year ahead. Pray that as we set our agenda for 2012 and do staff training, we will be refreshed and motivated to face the challenges of a new year. Vere & Maraga Babona need God's wisdom to implement CLC's vision and arrange the calendar of events for 2012.
4 Wed. Colombia
CLC Colombia's new warehouse in Miami is now in operation. Praise the Lord for the provision of the property and staff. This is a significant project for CLC Colombia.
5 Thu. Colombia
In addition to opening a warehouse in Miami, CLC Colombia is expanding within the country. Recently they purchased a bookshop in the city of Tunja and are working to open it as soon as possible. Please pray that suitable and experienced staff would be found to operate the shop.
6 Fri. Ecuador
CLC gives thanks to God for the success of their national event for booksellers in November, with speakers and seminars on improving distribution. Please pray for a two-day conference in Guayaquil this weekend for pastors, church leaders and teachers-around 1,000 attendees are expected.
7-8 Sat./Sun. UK Pray for the UK shops as they sort things out after Christmas, sending back stock to suppliers and starting the January sale. Ironically, they will also soon have to place orders for Christmas 2012! Pray for wisdom and insight as they see publishers' representatives, because the investment in the Christmas stock is significant.
9 Mon. Liberia
The project to reopen a CLC shop in Monrovia is moving forward step by step. Praise God for some publishers in the USA who have donated books and given generous trade discounts on initial orders. Please pray for the safe arrival of the first container of books and Bibles. Pray for Liz Patten and our mission partners from Oasis Distribution and CenterPoint International as they meet this month in Monrovia to begin the process of registration and other important details.
10 Tue. Central Asia 2
Please pray for the shop team as they run a book table and order stock while the director is away for a few weeks. Praise the Lord that a new accountant has joined the team; please pray that she will learn her job quickly and well.
11 Wed. USA
Please pray for director Dave Almack as he speaks at the Christian Booksellers Association conference in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 12-13. Dave will be speaking on the topic of social media and how it can be used to develop a community of interest for Christian bookstores, publishers and authors.
12 Thu. Philippines
CLC Philippines is thankful for God's faithfulness in sustaining them through 2011 despite the economic downturn and for all the people He sent to help them fulfill their mission-especially those who helped during the busy Christmas season. They thank God too for their staff and those around the world praying for them, and they give back all the glory and honor to Him.
13 Fri. France
By the end next month, CLC France should complete the upgrade of their computers. At last report, six shops had installed the new system and eight were waiting for it-including the two shops in the French Caribbean. At the same time the program for the warehouse will undergo intensive testing and be ready for installation right after annual inventory at the end of March. Please pray for those responsible for all the procedures involved.
14-15 Sat./Sun. UK Please pray for several family members of the staff at the shop in Bolton. The manager's son has been on crutches for many months following complications from a broken leg; he will probably need a further operation and another year on crutches. The wife of another staff member is being treated for cancer. And recently, the husband of one of the faithful shop volunteers died very suddenly. Please pray for God's peace, strength and healing in these various situations.
16 Mon. Belarus
Praise the Lord for the CLC shop in Brest, which opened ten years ago this month. Lina, one of the team members, says, "We still believe it is a miracle from God that CLC owns this building and has been able to open a bookshop here." Currently two of the staff are on maternity leave and another member has left the team. Two new people have joined-one as head of accounts and the other as manager of the CLC church book outlets. Please pray for Tanya and Timothy in their new roles.
17 Tue. Kenya
CLC Kenya is grateful to God for enabling them to open two more shops in 2011. CLC Kakamega opened in November with an official launch in December, and CLC Eldoret opened on the first of December and will have its launch sometime in January 2012.
18 Wed. Kenya
The first two months of the year are usually slow, but with the new shops in Kakamega and Eldoret, please pray that we will be kept busy serving students. A new academic year starts in January, and Kakamega is a university town.
19 Thu. Myanmar
Praise the Lord for the ongoing ministry of CLC in Myanmar. Jacob Mung and the team hope to start on a three-to-four-year project to translate, publish and distribute the New Believer's Bible. This is a big task, and at last report, negotiations with the publishers regarding the copyright and payment are underway.
20 Fri. France
This weekend the CLC shop in Nimes will close. The shop has been struggling to cover costs for years, even before it came into CLC in 2005. At last report, CLC was hoping that local volunteers might take on the shop. Sadly, the CLC team is also saying goodbye to Lucien Carpentier who has been working faithfully in this shop for 20 years.
21-22 Sat./Sun. UK
Pray for the Newcastle shop as it continues to minister to a city hit harder by the recession than many other places in the UK. Money is tight for our customers and sales have suffered, but the Bibles and books we sell are needed more than ever. The shop ministry has also been affected by ill health of staff and staff families, and this has added to the pressures. Pray for physical and spiritual strength and encouragement so that they can get on with the tasks God has given them.
23 Mon. Poland
CLC Poland continues to struggle because of the low number of Christians in the population, the high cost of living and the continuing economic decline in the country. We praise God that CLC UK recently made significant purchases from us in order to provide materials for the many Poles working in the UK. Please pray that God will open up new channels of distribution for us and that we will be able to keep up with our financial obligations.
24 Tue. Ecuador
CLC in Ecuador has been requesting prayer for some months now concerning their desire for a second bookshop in Guayaquil. Pray with them that the Lord would lead them to a suitable property. They are looking for somewhere in the south of the city.
25 Wed. Philippines
Continue to pray for CLC Philippines that God will send them more workers. They are looking for people who have graduated from college and have the potential to be trained as mangers and future leaders. Most of all, however, they want workers who love the Lord and want to serve Him-and are not looking merely for financial remuneration.
26 Thu. Philippines
Romualdo Macinas, national director, says CLC Philippines plans to open a new bookstore and ministry in the southern part of the Philippines-the Mindanao Region. The target date for the opening is October of this year, but CLC willl make an initial visit to the area in January as part of the planning and preparation for this project. Please pray that the Lord will guide the team to the right contacts in the area, to the right shop location and to a plan of action that is in accordance with His will.
27 Fri. Bangladesh
Dominic Cadet, manager at the shop in Dhaka, thanks God for His mercy and grace to overcome their financial problems over the last year. They have a vision to reach out with Christian literature beyond the city of Dhaka. Please pray that they acquire a vehicle and the extra staff to help them run book tables at Christian gatherings around the country and for outreach.
28-29 Sat./Sun. UK and USA
The financial year for both the UK and the USA ends this week. Pray for the shops and warehouses in these two countries as they carry out the annual inventory. It's not the most enjoyable task, but pray it is done enthusiastically and efficiently. Pray for the accounts department as they receive and process stock figures and complete other year-end procedures on top of their normal routine workload.
30 Mon. Australia
Please pray for the CLC Australia team; they have to make difficult decisions about closing several shops. Both Christian and secular bookshops and distributors are finding it increasingly difficult to do business in recent years. Pray for the future direction of the work, which may well be very different from what it is today.
31 Tue. Thailand Following severe flooding in Bangkok during the last weeks of 2011, CLC in Chiang Mai got involved in sending food aid to the people who were suffering in the city. Martin Holsinger writes, "The first time we sent aid, we hired someone to cook and pack the food, and sent it by plane. The second time we cooked the food ourselves, packed it into 2,650 foam cartons and shipped it to Bangkok to be eaten the same day. It was a lot of work, but it was a great joy to be of service. The funds for the food were donated, and we are very grateful to all those who felt led to give for this relief effort."
