BRAZIL

27th August 2010
Brazil, PRAY

Ask God’s continued blessing on the life and witness of the church in Recife Diocese and pray for Bishop Robinson and Miriam Cavalcanti and clergy. Thank God for the encouragement of Bishop Robinson’s visit to the Vilellas’ church in Porto Alegre.

 

Marcus and Tamara Throup and Rebekah have a busy ministry in João Pessoa where Marcos teaches in the Anglican theological college, mentors young ordinands, preaches, is studying for a PhD in New Testament studies, and with Tamara runs a group for young married couples. Pray for a right balance between work and family life.

 

Pray for Latin partners Danielle and Josías da Souza and Daniel in youth leadership and preaching in Holy Spirit church, Recife. Ask God to bless this ministry, and for mature, committed and faithful young people to emerge as leaders for the future.

 

Pray earnestly for Ian Meldrum’s health and for the necessary treatment, for strength for Siméa and God’s peace for them both. Siméa Meldrum has been leading the School of Mission for 23 young students in the Living Waters Church. Part of the course uses Tearfund material on preparing for an emergency, teaching them to lead in times of tragedy. She writes, “these youth….overcome difficult situations with more ease than people who always had everything.” Pray they may be empowered by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to assume a leadership role.

 

Keep praying for Andy and Rose Roberts and the staff team at My Father’s House, for daily strength and wisdom to do the work and respond to needs, both the expected and unexpected. Pray for the boys, for their physical, emotional and spiritual welfare, and for their future. Commit to God the need for accommodation, should the road building go ahead through the current property.

ARGENTINA

26th August 2010
Argentina, PRAY

Uphold Bishop Greg Venables and Sylvia, praying for good health and strength for them both, safety in travelling and wisdom in pastoral oversight in the two dioceses in Argentina. Pray for the churches and clergy in Buenos Aires, Rosario and Cordoba, for those training for ordination and for those working with the youth and children. Remember the staff, volunteers and children in Hogar el Alba.

 

Thank God for Mario Ágreda’s gifts in leadership, teaching and with young people. Pray for him and Paula with Manuel and Maite serving in Villa Devoto and also in Lomas. Pray for spiritual growth in the lives of those in the home groups and youth groups and for the emergence of new leaders.

ECUADOR

26th August 2010
Ecuador, PRAY

Uphold the work of Life in Abundance Trust, thanking God for the children’s classes and the new opportunity to have them one day a week in a rural setting, with horse riding therapy. Pray for the group of women who recently had two days of intensive training in working with abused women and pray for the right person to head up this ministry. Remember Uriel and Lina: Lina looks after the PEPE Christian pre-school in Laura Flores.

Red Box News & Prayer Update

25th August 2010
Argentina, PRAY

Sonya Brown from Carryduff Parish who is with the Red Box Project updates us on her 5 week placement.
 
I help 2 missionaries over here, Graziela and Lorena, I am so grateful to having the chance to help these girls in their work on Saturdays making lunch in one of the poorest areas here in Salta and on Wednesdays at the hospital.  This week I am helping them organise for a Bible event for the children this Saturday – busy times!
 
I help in a local school on Tuesdays and Thursdays with English lessons. The teachers and children are so welcoming and its great being there and helping in whatever way I can, whether answering questions, helping with their work, or marking exams!!
 
Your prayers are valued. Pray for the time that I have for myself, that I will reflect on my experiences and take time to refuel! The language is a barrier, in that I can’t build relationships with the majority of the people I meet, which is a tad frustrating to say the least but I’m learning that sometimes words aren’t needed, a smile never fails to get a response!!
 
Also I’m only here for a short time so I ask that you pray that I can plant seeds in the people that I’m spending time with and that I have the energy needed for the long days that I’m out and about, for safety and that my travel back goes as smoothly as arriving here.
 
Many thanks 🙂
love & prayers
 
Sonya xx

FUSION Volunteer departs for home.

20th August 2010
Chile, PRAY

As you all may know my time here in Norn Iron is almost over, as I’m heading back to Chile next Friday (August 27th), but before leaving I just wanted to say thanks to each and everyone of you.

 

In different moments of my staying here, you have blessed my life with your company, friendship, testimony, service, dedication, love and kindness towards me and our great and amazing God.

 

During this past year I’ve shared different experiences with you and all this experiences are now part of my memories and have a big piece of my heart.

 

I really hope in the future I can return to this wee island and see you all again or if you ever want to visit a great and amazing country where you can learn or practice your Spanish, you will be more than welcome in Chile.

 

I had great ‘craic’, ‘all the best’ and ‘keep er lit’! Hopefully this is not a good bye, it’s just a see you soon, God willing.


Un gran abrazo a cada uno y que la gracia y el amor de Dios los bendiga hoy y siempre, con todo mi amor. (A big hug to everyone and may the grace and love of God bless you today and always, with all my love,)

Cristian Ascui P.

Pray for Michael & Silvia Browne and the launch of the Toba New Testament

18th August 2010
Argentina

“The long awaited launch of the recently finished  translation of the Toba (Oeste) New Testament will be on Sunday 29th August in Rinconada. Pray that the consignment of newly translated copies may arrive in time from the printers in Brazil. Pray for Michael Browne and the Toba translators on this significant occasion. My (David) involvement has been to help the translators  by revising the translation and trying to make sure that the phrases flow well. Pray too for the courses that will be undertaken after the presentation, to help people grasp and understand the message of the New Testament, I have been asked by Bishop Drayson to help with these. We plan to be in Argentina for three months. Every blessing, best wishes. DAVID LEAKE”

 

Andrew & Maria Leake prayer items on environmental challenges in Northern Argentina

17th August 2010
Argentina

Meeting the Minister

Together with members of ASOCIANA Andrew participated in a meeting with Salta’s new (latest) Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development. The Minister had invited ASOCIANA to share their views on conflicts arising from the expansion of the agricultural frontier (read deforestation). Andrew was also able to make use of the opportunity to communicate some of the major weakness in the government’s current implementation of environmental impact studies. The Minister and his staff expressed a major interest in this, and suggested we might help them to run training sessions to help their staff to be better able to evaluate future studies. We hope that this link will develop further and that it may lead to a more constructive relationship with the state.

 

Bulldozers on the move

Anta, the region we are focusing (in southern Salta) in our search a suitable area of land to purchase lands for conservation continues to be battered by the bulldozers. Andrew’s criollo contacts in the region have recently reported having to go and literally stand in front of the machines to stop them knocking down forest on land they claim as theirs. We have submitted a written request to the Minister to send an inspection team to the region to verify the situation.

Andrew and Marcelo will be visiting Anta shortly to conduct a preliminary survey of the situation, and in doing so give a hand to local criollo in their struggle protect  their rights. Later in the year we will have the additional help of Emma Parkhouse, a geography student who will be coming out from the UK as part of her study program. Though details need to be finalized, she will be engaged in gathering more detailed data on the impact of deforestation on the subsistence economy of Criollos in the region.

Bird watching

Andrew has recently met with Maurice Rumboll, one of Argentina’s leading ornithologists, seeking his assistance in designing a regional research project aimed at documenting the effect of forest loss across the Chaco. The idea is to document the presence and of species along extensive transects, both in forested and deforested areas, and especially along the transition zone between them. This will be the first time any research of this nature has been undertaken and should prove valuable in demonstrating the hitherto little understood effects that massive deforestation is having on the Chaco ecosystem. We aim to design a method which will enable members from local Churches across the region to help conduct the required surveys. If this works, it should help towards encouraging more churches to become engaged in conservation.

 

Items for prayer

 

·       Thank God for the opportunity of meeting the new Minister for the Environment. Pray that this link may be strengthened

·       Pray for ongoing work with preparing the formal proposal for the Land for Life initiative.

·       .Pray for creative thinking as we design the bird survey study.

·       Pray for our links with Criollos in Anta, that these may grow, and that whilst they help us understand the situation on the ground in that region we might also help them in their struggle to hang on to their lands.

Chris & Alison Hawksbee in Paraguay

17th August 2010
Paraguay, PRAY

Dear Friends,

 
At the beginning of August we have a volunteer group of 6 people coming from the UK to help on various projects in the Chaco. Pray for this, that all goes well. I have lots of work for them and they have raised around 21,000 pounds for the funding. We want to dig 2 hand dug wells, construct 1 water cistern for rain water harvesting, build up to 2 adobe houses (of the 4 proposed), divide our guest house (bunk house) into 2 apartments in order for it to be more practical, also, close in a roofed area for TB patients, recondition a deposit and make some latrines for distribution. Quite a lot! The work will continue after they have gone.

 

Pray that the documentation for my vehicle gets sorted out quickly. The customs made an error when it was cleared for importation. I need the right papers in order to take it out of the country that is, into Argentina. I went into the notary office this morning and they showed me that it has been corrected now and that they need to rewrite the title deeds for the vehicle to include the corrections.

The work with the NGO, Global Chaco is going very well and the beneficiaries are very pleased and enthusiastic with its development. The NGO is implementing the same model in another area as a result of these results. I have been helping Indian communities present their projects to 2 government institutions for help with bee keeping, small livestock, cattle and fish farming. Pray for these as they are slow going in responding. These institutions also ask for lots of information on the communities. I’m also helping another NGO, technically, for the construction of adobe houses, as they may be administering some housing projects in the communities I visit. Pray for Esteban Galeano who will be training them with the adobe making and for Dacio Martinez who will train people in the use of adobes for construction of their houses. It is quite exciting that what we have been doing with the adobe houses is being considered as a viable option for housing projects. It came because of the work of 2 of our pastors making their own adobes. Alison keeps busy with her Open University courses for teaching. Ben is with us for another 3 weeks before going back to the USA to continue his studies. Hannah comes out to visit us for 3 weeks in August. Pray for her getting a new job, she wants to work in London. I was congratulated by the guy who came from the Inter American Development Bank who funds the cattle projects via the NGO. He commented on all the hard work the Anglican Church has done over the years with the Indian groups to prepare them for these projects. I want to thank you all for your support and prayers for the work. It isn’t often churches get congratulated for their work. He has also asked me if I’d consider forming part of an NGO he’d like to start as he has seen that the ideas I’ve been working on are beginning to happen and that I have the knowhow to solve many problems facing poor communities.

  
Love and greetings,


Chris and Alison

 

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