1. India – Mary Benjamin, the wife of
Pastor V.S. Benjamin has suffered from diabetes for several years. Recently she
has been diagnosed with kidney failure. She was admitted to the hospital for
tests this week and possibly dialysis.
2.
India – Pastor Isaiah, an assistant teacher at Immanuel Bible
College of the CLC-India, has been ill for some time now and has been told by
his doctor to take some much-needed rest. Pray for him, his wife and children,
the congregation he serves, and those who are filling in for him while he recuperates.
3.
India – A Hindu nationalist party currently holds the majority
in the Indian government. Part of their platform is to promote Hinduism as the
national religion of India. New rules and regulations that govern the transfer
of money to India from foreign countries has created a great deal of
difficulties for our CLC Treasurer and our brothers and sisters of the CLCI.
4.
India – The police in certain parts of the country where our
brothers and sisters in Christ are working are taking advantage of the pro-Hindu/anti-Christian
positions of the ruling party by demanding bribe money to leave them alone.
5.
India – Even amid the government crack-down on Christianity
mentioned above, the doors of opportunity to train faithful pastors to proclaim
the truth of God’s saving word and start new congregations is overwhelming. There
is seemingly no end to the opportunities before us. Pray that the Lord would
provide the necessary resources, man-power, courage and zeal to continue in
this harvest field that is so ripe for harvest.
6.
India – thank the Lord for His blessings on the 2018 Joint Asia
Lutheran Pastoral Conference held on February 6-8 in India with pastors from
India, Myanmar, Nepal, and the U.S. in attendance.
7.
Mexico – Pastor Juan Jose Olvera and his family were involved in
a hit and run automobile accident in early January. His wife is still healing
from the injuries and Pastor Olvera is trying to purchase a new van that is
used to pick up church members for weekly worship services and Bible studies.
8.
Australia – Please keep Tim Stiller and his family in your prayers as they contend for the faith in
Australia and mourn the loss of his father who went to be with the Lord on February
13th.
9.
Liberia – Pastor Joseph
Kwiwalazu of the CLC-Liberia will be making an exploratory trip into Guinea
soon to visit with mission prospects.
10.
Myanmar – Pastors Koenig and Ohlmann have arrived safely in
Myanmar where they will be working with the Church of the Lutheran Confession
of Myanmar and the National Lutheran Church of Myanmar. They will work with
Pastors Kham, Thang, and Edwards to host three day Gospel outreach seminars in
Kalaymyo and Yangon.
11.
Tanzania – The district chairmen of the CLC-Tanzania have sent a
proposal to begin formal training of pastors to the CLC Bd of Missions for
their consideration at their April meetings. The name they have proposed for
the school is Wartburg Lutheran Theological Seminary of Tanzania.
12.
Tanzania – A new CLC-TZ congregation is beginning in Dar es
Salaam. This congregation regularly has Muslim women who attend secretly because
they are forbidden by their husbands and families.
13.
Tanzania – Pastors from the CLC-TZ will be visiting new contacts
in Mwanza in the North-West part of the country. These contacts are a group of
ten pastors and congregations who had left the ELCT (the ELCA of Tanzania)
several years ago and have been inquiring about the CLC for the past few years.
14.
Tanzania – Pastors of the CLC-TZ will also be visiting contacts
on the island of Zanzibar in the coming months. There are at least four pastors
who have interest in the CLC-TZ.
15. Tanzania – Pastor Malyi, who serves
as the chairman of the Moshi district of the CLC-TZ has diabetes and suffered a
heart attack about a year ago. He has been slowly recovering from the
heart-attack and is being treated for diabetes. He spent quite a bit of time in
the hospital and has a lot of medical bills. The CLC Bd of Mission was able to
assist him with some of his medical debt so that he was able pay for his
medications,
16. Nepal – Following the Myanmar visit, Missionary
Ohlmann will be in Nepal in early March to work with the pastors and leaders of
the HCLCN. He will also be on hand for the first graduation ceremony when four
students will receive their certificates of completion as the first graduates
of the Himalayan Bible Institute. The school was started two years ago in January of
2016.
17. Pray for the individuals in Senegal,
DR Congo, Haiti, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh who continue CLC Online Theological
Studies correspondence courses. Three is also a young man in Myanmar who plans
to begin courses soon.
