NEPAL "Come Before Winter"

Here's an excerpt from a report of Dale's recent trip to this central Asian country.Our team of 10 was able to install all 51 solar panel systems in 51 homes in this mountainous region. We lived in tents at about 8,400 ft. in altitude. Life was cold, dark and somewhat dirty in this place where we had no heat source and where the sun set at 6 p.m. and didn’t come up again for 13 hours. We learned to eat rice, lentils and macaroni day after day.Goat meat was a “special treat” about three times during the two weeks.The people are some of the poorest I’ve seen. Chronic respiratory and intestinal problems were common, as well as a lack of warm clothing – children even running around barefoot in the sub-zero temperatures.
But there is an openness to hear the message of the Gospel, unlike what I have seen in many Muslim or Hindu contexts. The four Nepali believers who accompanied us were able to share openly on numerous occasions. A follow-up team of Nepali believers will be coming in for four weeks right after Christmas. We had the joy of attending a newly-started church about 2-hours walk from the village where we were. The vision is to continue to push into this mountainous unreached region, moving towards the Nepal/Tibet border. We're looking for people with a spirit of adventure and a heart of compassion, who are serious about long-term involvement in a difficult place to reach those who have never heard.

"If we don't reach them with our message, they will reach us with their's."

This was the warning we received from a local missionary to the Muslim people of Toronto. He and his family work in a Toronto neighborhood with a population of 30,000 people - almost entirely Muslim. His son is the only white, English-speaking Canadian in his classroom of 30 first-graders. The other 29 children are all from Pakistan. We felt conspicuous as we walked down the street where virtually everyone else was of darker skin color.

The world continues to come in droves to the cities of North America. Of all the peoples and religions who are coming here, Islam in particular has a very clear agenda. They intend to make western countries Islamic. It is already happening in numerous countries of Europe. It is starting to happen in communities of Toronto and other major North American cities. Last week's National Post featured an article about a new housing development on the north side of Toronto that consists of 260 single-family dwellings - all of them owned by Muslims. The developer, a Muslim himself, has named it the "City of Peace".

What will it take for Christians to awake to the opportunity which is rapidly becoming a danger? CrossWorld Canada has been praying about starting a work amongst the immigrant population of Toronto. He has given us our first couple to start the work. Now we need others to join the team. Would you consider moving to Toronto to join us in this work? Would you pray with us that God would use us to reach the nations who are living right here? As our friend said, "If we don't reach them... they will reach us."

A Tale of Two Young Girls...

CrossWorld has been working in this Balkan country for roughly 5 years. The following story that we received from our team there this week illustrates the extreme difficulties that both missionaries and the locals face on a daily basis... 'Johanna' is a very outspoken Albanian teenager. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't want in life. Yet, here, there is no luxury of deciding what she wants out of life. The pinnacle of life for a woman is the hope that she will be the first wife of a good man with a good job and that they will have many kids.

'Danielle' rides her bike on the train tracks to camp every morning because she can’t bear to pass by her old house on the main street. Back in 2004, the Albanians burned 25 Serbian houses in an act of power against the Serbians.

One of those homes happened to be 'Danielle's'. Since then, her life is spent in defense of herself, her family, and her Serbian Orthodox heritage. These determined girls mean so much to me and I will never forget their friendship. I encourage you all to continue to pray for 'Danielle' and 'Johanna'. They are so alike, but their nationality divides them. Pray for unity in this region. There is not one known Christian in the whole city of some 50,000 people, so pray for interest and a church in this area. The spiritual oppression is great, and to become a Christian is to turn your back on your own culture, so pray for whole families and communities to come to Christ.

Muslim background believers...

God is at work amongst the peoples of the world. Listen to what He has done recently in one of the Muslim majority countries where we work. The names have been changed for security purposes.
"Beth led Ahmed (a strong Muslim) to the Lord some months ago. He came to the church on Wednesday with a friend, Jawad. Peter explained the Gospel to Jawad and Jawad gave his life to the Lord. Another disciple of the great Muslim leader walked into the church premises on the same day to ask for money. Our pastor engaged him in a conversation and during the conversation he said, 'I know that Christianity is the truth', then he pulled out of his pocket a piece of paper which contained a Bible verse given to him by a believer (John 10:11). He has been carrying this verse in his pocket for more than a year."
Please pray for Ahmed, who lost his job recently because of his new found faith. Pray for Jawad who has just trusted Christ, that God would strengthen him in his faith. Pray for Muslim background believers in Jesus all over the world who face suffering and intimidation daily. Pray that this fervent Muslim disciple may not only carry the Bible verse in his pocket but would come to know the truth.
If you would be interested in joining a team that CrossWorld Canada will be taking this Christmas to share the love of Christ in one such Muslim majority nation, please contact us.

Quebec...taking it to the streets!

Dear Praying Friends of CrossWorld Canada,
Last month I wrote to you about the desperate need for rain in north-west Haiti, and how God answered abundantly. Bonita and team are now getting ready to go to do a Camp for 200 Haitian kids! Listen now to what God is doing in another part of the world - very close to home!

Virgil and Toni Jones along with their 6 beautiful children arrived in Quebec 2 months ago from Maryland. They're an African-American family who have a radiant love for Jesus. About two weeks into their stay, two of their teenage children were moved by God to begin a week of prayer and fasting to ask God to move among the youth of LaChute, a city of about 12,000 people with almost no known French-speaking believers under the age of 20. That first week they set aside nearly 20 hours for prayer, with an all-night prayer vigil on the Friday.
Then, with a small team of just 4 youth, they went into the streets where the youth hang out, talking to them about Jesus. They were met with much ridicule yet had some great opportunities to share their faith. The youth they encounter are truly lost - lost in drug abuse, immorality, and many other signs of their hopelessness. In spite of the hardness of the soil, these four young people, Marc, Susanna, William and Timothy have kept praying and witnessing in the streets for the past 6 weeks. Then it happened... On Thursday June 28th, three French teenagers bowed their knees to Jesus. The Jones family is ecstatic (as are the angels of heaven).
Would you pray for these new believers - Amelie, Pascal and Jessie? They are in for great spiritual opposition.

I have been to Quebec many times, and know how easy it is to become cynical
- doubting that God can do much to break through the hard-hearts of the Quebecois people. The Jones family is a breath of fresh air! Pray for them too.

Maybe God is calling you to step outside your comfort zone. If we can help in that process, please let us know. We have a great weekend planned for September 21st - 23rd at a retreat centre north of Toronto. It's called "Next Steps" and it's designed for those who are seeking God's will for them with regard to reaching the nations.
Thanks for your partnership,
Dale

Answered Prayer!

Dear Friends of CrossWorld,
On Tuesday I wrote to ask you to join in prayer and fasting for rain on the plateau of N.W. Haiti. Yesterday was "the day", but people had been praying even before. Look at what I received today in my email, by way of an answer:
"Early Thursday morning, I got a phone call from Manis (the ministry leader on the plateau). The church in Haiti had begun their time in prayer Wednesday evening. By now, our praying friends in Europe and Asia had been praying for several hours. He said, "Gigi, last night and into the wee hours of the morning it began to rain. It rained like I have never seen rain before. Water pouring down from heaven. We filled the two 350 gallon tanks and are filling the huge cistern."
God has answered. Even before some of us were awake and praying, God had answered. Today, Manis said the land is soaked with water. The people are rejoicing as their gardens are getting watered. Usually winds dry the water off the land after a hard rain. But this time, the water is sitting on the ground, slowly watering and refreshing the gardens. Manis said this is truly God's continued answer to our prayers. "
"Some of you have rightly noticed that we are a month away from camp. How will we be able to conserve this water until then? Well, with the water holes filling up and the mountain sources flowing again (assuming the dump truck keeps running so we can get to the source) we won't have to touch the water that is in the huge cistern behind Manis' house."
"We are also praying that this is just the beginning of much rain. We need the rain to begin the tree project, and the people need the rain for their gardens. So, it is our prayer that God is just beginning to "open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys... to put springs in the dry land.... to make trees flourish." But, our prayer is that verse 20 will be a reality." they may see and know; may consider and understand, that the HAND OF THE LORD HAS DONE THIS.. THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL HAS CREATED IT." (Isaiah 41:17-20)
On behalf of Manis, Judy and the believers on the plateau, I thank you for your prayers. I leave you today with The Message rendition of Ps 118:23 "This is God's work. We rub our eyes - we can hardly believe it!"

Pray for water...

Dear Friend of CrossWorld,
We desire to keep you informed of what God is doing in CrossWorld, first so that you can pray, and secondly so that you might share these things with others, and personally ask God what He would have you to do about taking His glory to the nations. Following is a brief word about a critical need in Haiti, that affects the summer camp that Bonita Sparling will be involved in in July. Would you pray with us this Thursday and in the days ahead? We'd sure be grateful. We'll let you know when the answer comes.

Read on...
When does a Christian fast? When they long to hear from God more than they long for food.
The water situation on the plateau in Haiti is critical. Holding camp there would be impossible without water. Yet, we know that these precious children need to have a week of fun where they can play together, pray together, study God's Word together and receive an abundance of hugs, smiles and encouragement. Camp runs from July 14 to the 21. It will take a lot of rain to fill the huge cistern behind Manis and Judy's house, but, GOD CAN DO THIS!
Thursday, June 14, we are setting aside as a day of fasting and prayer. If you would like to join us, we would be thrilled. The God, whose creative power not only brought forth water but set its boundaries, can surely fill the cistern to over-flowing, at the same time, watering this parched land and filling up the water holes that the people depend on.
Between now and then, I would ask that you spend time looking in His Word to remind yourself again of the awesome power of the God we serve. In addition, I would ask that you find two people who will pray for you as you commit to this, that you do not become weary in prayer. We are in a battle, and while you raise the rod for Haiti, you need your Aaron and Hur to stand with you. The verse that we are using to guide our day of prayer is Ephesians 3:20 and 21 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever. Amen."