May 2013
Dear Prayer Partners,
We really appreciated your prayers for us in the month of April as we celebrated our annual conference at the US headquarters in Fort Washington, PA. We were blessed to have Fred Hartley, author of the CLC Publications book, God on Fire, as our devotional speaker. Much time was spent in prayer and thanksgiving for all that God has done and looking forward to what He will do in the days to come. It was a great time of fellowship, worship and learning for us all.
This month, I would ask you to pray for CLC's church bookstore partners. Currently, we have partnerships with four large African American churches in the Philadelphia area. Each of these stores are operated and managed by a team of dedicated volunteers. Many of the volunteers work full time in other vocations and give time to the book store as they are able. These stores have been a blessing to their congregations and the surrounding community and are often located in places where there is no other Christian bookstore nearby. Please pray that God would bless their efforts.
As you celebrate Mother's Day with your family, you may want to consider purchasing the new CLC book, The Sure Path, by Susan Sutton as a Mother's Day gift. It is our book of the month for May and is available for 25% off the retail price in our stores and on line.
Dave Almack
U.S. Director
CLC International
1 Wed. Germany
A semi-yearly gathering for Christians is organized in Hamburg, Germany by the Lutheran and Reformed churches starting today until May 6th and CLC team will be holding a stall. We will also be holding book tables at 20 smaller events in surrounding churches. Over the five days, 150,000 visitors are expected to attend the event. Pray that it will be worthwhile in every sense.
2 Thu. Belarus
The second run of Bibles in Russian, published by CLC Belarus, should be ready for release from the printers. CLC Belarus started almost 20 years ago and the bookstore in Brest celebrates its 10th anniversary this July. The team have big plans for the publications department this year and they also want to celebrate the 10th anniversary in some significant way. Pray they will have the wisdom, resources and energy to accomplish the things they need to do this year.
3 Fri. Bolivia
Gamaliel and Marlene Padilla arrived safely in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in February. They give thanks for the excellent contacts they have made to enable them to complete legal processes, rent an apartment and a bookstore / warehouse for CLC, and purchase a vehicle. Praise God for this encouraging start!
4-5 Sat/Sun. UK
Amanda Lutes, from CLC UK's Marketing Department, will be attending the mission event 'Go 2013' at the WEC International UK headquarters on May 6th. Pray that she will have good opportunities to share about the global reach of CLC's ministry in the 'Global Village' missions' exhibition tent.
6 Mon. WEC
This year there are a series of celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of WEC International by C.T. Studd. CLC was one of a number of ministries that have grown out of WEC, and we still share our core values and sense of mission. Praise the Lord for all the work done through WEC - souls saved, churches planted and lives restored. CLC USA has published the book Beyond the Edge - 100 Stories of Trusting God which contains many stories from over the years.
7 Tue.Romania
Praise the Lord for three new titles translated and printed so far this year. Two titles have also been reprinted and some children's books were published. Our desire to increase our publishing activity seems to be going in the right direction!
8 Wed. Ecuador
Earlier this year Ecuador was suffering from an unusually wet winter and many people lost homes and belongings because of flooding. Praise God for the opportunity CLC had to help people by providing mattresses and bed linen to a number of families affected by the severe weather conditions. CLC also partnered with The Bible League in Ecuador to share the gospel with these people.
9 Thu. Bangladesh
There are many difficulties in running the bookstore in Dhaka including problems obtaining stock, which affects sales and finances, and increasing threats and religious opposition. At the time of writing, a meeting of the Board with Christopher Robert (CLC/ELS India) and the Dhaka store manager Dominic Cadet was planned for mid-April. Pray that the Lord would show everyone concerned the right way forward.
10 Fri. Canada
Praise the Lord for the newly located CLC bookstore in Montreal. The transition from the Westmount area to Verdun was made in March. Pray that previous customers will continue to visit and that new customers will also find us! Pray for the store manager Kathy Fowler, and her team.
11-12 Sat/Sun. UK
CLC Newcastle would appreciate prayer for two bookstalls that are running this month. The first is on May 11th at a women's conference. The other is on May 18th at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. Approximately 500 people are expected to attend.
13 Mon. New Zealand
CLC New Zealand closed down/ handed over, its wholesale and retail operations in 2012. However, the team did not feel that this necessarily meant the end of the CLC ministry in the country. Praise the Lord for the opportunity earlier this year to send some remaining stock to a school in Zambia. At the time of writing it is not known what future plans, if any, were proposed by the CLC Board when they met in April. Pray for peace, and a clear sense of God's guidance, whatever the outcome.
14 Tue. Bolivia
Once we are legally registered in the country, the big challenge is to import Bibles and books from the USA. As a land-locked country, this is a very expensive business. Pray that store manager Gamaliel Padilla will be able to offer the books at affordable prices, both for bookstores and the public.
15 Wed. Myanmar
CLC in Myanmar has had a substantial translating and publishing program for a number of years now. Each year they provide more Christian books and resources for the Burmese people. Pray for the initial process, already underway, of translating and publishing the CLC Bible Companion into Burmese.
16 Thu. Spain
Darwin Vergel, the manager of the CLC bookstore in Madrid, is going to CLC Colombia for two months to receive training in a number of areas. The CLC Spain distribution and the retail outlet in Madrid are being combined, in the bookstore premises, to combat the ongoing economic situation. Darwin will have increased responsibilities with this change.
17 Fri. Sierra Leone
CLC Sierra Leone will be partnering with the African Pastoral Training (APT) Ministries to organize a workshop for pastors and church leaders - May 22nd-24th. The aim of the workshop is to train the participants in how to make the best use of the Thompson Chain Reference Bible. It is hoped that around 100 church leaders will attend this first workshop to be held in Freetown. Pray for the success of this workshop and for Chuck Ballard and Wellington Morris of APT ministries as they travel from the US and Liberia respectively.
18-19 Sat/Sun. UK
The UK Annual Conference takes place in May 19th - 22nd. The Conference speaker will be Patrick McElligott. He and his wife have worked with CLC and WEC in Japan. Pray that the whole team will be blessed and encouraged as we pray, worship, and talk together.
20 Mon.Netherlands
Sadly, we have decided to close down CLC Arnhem in the near future. The store has had a loss for many years and as we see a decline in sales in the physical stores, it does not give hope for improvement in the future. The store has a large and faithful group of volunteers and this is not an easy time for them. Pray for Bertus Keuter, the manager, and the rest of the team during the closing down process. We are glad that another Christian bookstore remains in the town so that people will still have access to good literature.
21 Tue. Poland
Gary Chamberlin, the Regional Director for CLC in Europe, will be in Poland to visit Eva (CLC Katowice) and Jola (CLC Wroclaw) on May 21st - 24th. Together they will assess the current situation regarding staffing, finances, the website, social media and publications. Praise God that three Roy Hession books, including Calvary Road, have been published by CLC Poland in the past few months. Pray that they will sell well and be a blessing to many people.
22 Wed. USA
Pray for the American university students who will be serving with CLC as interns over the next few weeks and months. They are participating in a brief orientation course at the CLC USA Headquarters today and tomorrow before moving on to work with CLC in the USA, the UK, and Burkina Faso (West Africa).
23 Thu. Netherlands
On May 25th there is a festive introduction of a new hymnbook as a replacement of an older one. It contains some "liberal" songs. We are very concerned about the impact this might have on the church and its leaders. Pray for wisdom for us to know how to handle this issue.
24 Fri. European Leaders' Forum
On May 25th-30th, Gary Chamberlin will be attending the European Leaders' Forum (a non-CLC event) south of Katowice on the Czech border. Pray that it will be a time of refreshment and for making good contacts with many Christian leaders from all professions and from the entire European continent.
25-26 Sat/Sun. UK
We are providing books and resources at Cliff College Festival on May 24th - 27th. Pray we have the right materials available for those attending. The days are long but very fulfilling as we see good resources going out. People come from all over so it's exciting because you just don't know where the books will end up!
27 Mon. Thailand
In both the Bangkok and Chiang Mai stores there is a need for additional staff with the ability to communicate in English. This is not just for the sake of customers who request books in English, but also for dealings with CLC outside of the country and in particular with the CLC Regional Director for Asia.
28 Tue. Swaziland
We are praying for progress for our Manzini bookstore. We need to increase the volume of stock, and to find a trained manager to take the work forward. The Swaziland economy has been hit by new taxes that affect us, and we need to find new solutions.
29 Wed. Canada
Hopefully by now, a 'new' CLC bookstore, with a small adjoining wholesale facility, will have opened in Brossard. Pray for the staff that work there and for good customers. CLC took over an existing Christian bookstore in this area over a year ago but due to the lease arrangement, the store was absorbed into the main CLC bookstore in the center of the city until the time was right to move back into the area.
30 Thu. Cyprus
The current economic crisis in Cyprus affects in some measure every aspect of life, with much uncertainty concerning the future. As a bookstore, we have been affected considerably; we pray for the whole situation and we know that the Lord is overruling and has control over everything. Pray that this will be the means by which many people will turn to the Lord for salvation and reality.
31 Fri. Romania
Last year the World Health Organization released data showing Romania had the highest abortion rate in Europe - more than twice the EU average. CLC Romania, as a special project in partnership with OM International, has just published Randy Alcorn's book 'Why Pro Life'. Pray as the team look for ways to effectively distribute this book throughout the country. Pray too that the book and its message will have a real impact in Romanian society.
