April 2020 Apps, Latvia, Ukraine, Pandemic
We strongly recommend you download the
"Bible Companion" app, from where you can access
Carelinks messages, daily Bible readings,
Bible Basics, commentary on every verse of the Bible and audio exhortations on every chapter of the Bible.
For Android / Google Play at
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carelinks.bc and on the App Store for Apple / iOS at
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bible-companion/id1475914490 You can see the list of exhortations at
http://christadelphia.net/audio.htm We are continuing our online breaking of bread on Facebook on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. GMT, on our Carelinks Ministries Facebook page. And there is an Australian online breaking of bread on Tuesday evenings Australian time using PalTalk.
PANDEMIC We are now receiving requests for assistance from those we've baptized around the world over the years. We are sending assistance to them as best we can. But those on the bottom rung of the ladder are clearly going to go under water if everyone has to take a step down. They were already living very precarious lives. We are sending more assistance to brethren in Italy and Sicily especially, and will report later on this, Lord willing.
APPS We released the
Bible Companion app exactly 6 months ago, and the Russian version 1 month ago. Response has been amazing. We are flooded with appreciative comments. People are being baptized all over the world from it.
There have been 180,000 downloads [from almost every country under Heaven] with around 100,000 active users. There were over 2,200 downloads last Wednesday alone. And those users seem to like the app- they're using it, as reflected in our stats. Currently, someone is starting up the app every few seconds- 24 hours / day, 7 days / week.
People are sending in answers to
"Bible Basics" or requesting literature at least every hour. Probably at no time in the Truth's history has there been such a huge scale opportunity to distribute such a full statement of the Gospel and our understanding of the Bible. And people worldwide are considering it, and responding. And we're only 6 months into it. And of course at this time, most of the world are sitting at home with the lockdown. Playing with their phones, and thinking [for a change] about life's deeper questions. There are plenty of articles online commenting on the great surge of interest in Christian websites and media, and an upsurge in Bible downloads worlwide. It was clearly God's hand that we got the apps out there before the virus crisis happened. And clearly the app is playing a huge role in the pastoral support of thousands of converts.
Given all the humanitarian needs we are currently trying to assist with, it's been difficult to decide whether to continue with this preaching element of our work. But this is a time of global opportunity without compare. The greatest thing we have to offer our fellows is the hope of the Gospel, the Lord Jesus in spirit and truth, that blessed Hope of the resurrection and the eternal Kingdom of God on this earth. And that will always be our first perspective.
We would like to continue advertising the apps on Google Ads, and to continue working with where God's hand is leading us. And we have the material for the apps ready to go in Farsi [it will be invaluable for the many Iranian contacts and brethren and sisters], French and Spanish. And so we are currently working to raise funds for those projects, which is difficult when so many people are struggling financially themselves in such times as these. We'll say no more than that, but that's how it is.
AUSTRALIA Someone downloaded the
Bible Companion app from Shelburne QLD 4874, that is Thursday Island area, facing Papua New Guinea.. From Wikipedia: "Shelburne is a locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Shelburne had a population of 31 people.". This is the most northern point of Australia. It was in response to Google Ads advertising by the Cairns ecclesia. So, the Gospel is going to the ends of the earth, certainly to the ends of Australia quite literally. "And then shall the end come".
LATVIA We continue the feeding scheme in
Riga. We are now about the only soup kitchen operating. With night shelters closing, people unable to get odd jobs, jobs being retrenched... the numbers attending are increasing. It's the same scene as described before- soup prepared, sandwiches put in a plastic bag and coffee in cups. Then this is placed on a table in the entrance. Cindy keeps the supplies flowing, whilst Max and Duncan ensure the people [we had 65 on Tuesday] line up with 2 meters distance between them; and then, which is far more difficult, ensure they go and eat away from the entrance and 2 meters away from each other. You can see a brief clip of a sister doing this at
https://youtu.be/8l85JGjlL3o and a picture of her below. Note her walking stick and ruck sack containing all she has. The folks are so worried and have so many questions and need for information, about what is open and where, etc etc. So we try to help them with those questions whilst keeping them apart from each other:
We continue our English church services but online, and get viewers from all over the world, over 300 sometimes. Our Indian contacts and brethren here are turning to the Lord even more; they are all students here, and funds are drying up from their parents in India for fees and living costs. And they cannot find work here. And with the borders closed and no flights, they can't return home either. So we're pleased to tell you of the baptism of KANSHA who was already highly committed to the cause of Jesus; you can see her here by the halls of residence
UKRAINE The situation in Russian occupied Eastern Ukraine is quite bad enough without Coronavirus. Hostilities continue, and in the last few years of fighting there, 12,000 have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced, wounded and driven into poverty. Brother Yuri however sends us heartening news of how he managed to baptize a contact, KATYA, in Donetsk [which is totally in the hands of the rebels]. She is an art teacher and sent a picture of her trying to sell her paintings:
Brother Yuri sends a message from the small group in Donetsk: "All is well with us in that we live daily with the Lord and do not fear the virus, the world situation and the situation here in particular is all foretold in God's word. Despite the war, our group is slowly growing, and I want to share with you about the baptism of Katya, and to remind you of our prayers and love. And we here as the ecclesia of Donetsk want to encourage you not to be in any way discouraged, because our redemption draws near!".
And Amen to that.
PRAYER POINTS - For all those reading and listening from the Bible Companion app
- For wisdom and empowerment to get the app out there in Farsi, French and Spanish
- For those now suffering real poverty as a result of the pandemic
- For our wisdom in how to help them
- For those recently baptized
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks