April 12-19: Zimbabwe in Shambles, Free gospels of John, Gary Weeks' CD, WorldMapper, Update on Abdul; Ted accepted at Oxford, Company named Bookling
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe's women now have an average lifespan of 34 years, the lowest in the world, acccording to a UN report released earlier this week. (Men: 37 years.) Zimbabwe was one of the most prosperous African nations just a few years ago. Today, it is in shambles. Inflation is at at least 800% (compare to Canada's: about 2%). Adult HIV prevalence: 20%. AIDS deaths each week: 3,000.
Last year, the dictatorial president Robert Mugabe (82), in an attempt to "clean up" Zimbabwe, ordered the bulldozing of countless slum/shanty town shelters. At least 700,000 already-destitute people--men, women, children--were displaced. People are starving. See a BBC web video about it here and pray for Zimbabwe. (Sources: UN, BBC, ZimbabweSituation.com, ZWNews)
Personal Evangelism Get a free gospel of John from LivingWater.org. Or make a small donation and get a box-full. Version: "Logos21" (General Editor: Arthur L. Farstad, also Executive Director of the NKJV). Great to give away! Give them to: people you meet, friends, your taxi drivers, etc.
Also good to give away for evangelistic purposes: Gary Weeks' "Eternity" CD. Also free. Contact me if you're interested.
Amazing world maps that we can use to pray for the world: WorldMapper. Maps adjusted for population, land area, births, etc.
Update on Abdul Rahman. Received the following from a missionary couple in Afghanistan today:
"Since Abdul Rahman, the convert who was facing a possible death penalty, was moved to Italy his case appears to have moved off the radar. But the issue of freedom of choice in religion will definitely reappear. Some in the streets say he should die as he has disgraced the religion of Islam. Others say that he should have the freedom to choose. Pray for the future of Afghanistan."
Personal News: For those who know my brother Ted, rejoice with us over his official acceptance to a Postgraduate Diploma of Theology (a prerequisite for a PhD) program at Oxford University (UK) this Fall. That means Ted and I will be based in the same city (London) for the school year 2006/2007!
"Bookling" (and bookling.com) was the winning name in the "Name-that-company" contest. We have defined a "bookling" as an "adorable little creature that loves books." We asked Dave, the one who suggested the name and therefore also the winner of the contest, what he will do with the grand prize - a $50 missions gift certificate. He was unsure how he could possibly spend so much money, but is leaning towards buying some Logos21 gospel of John booklets (above) for his multicultural high school students. :)
1 Sat eve ~N's b'day party 2 Sun 4pm Malkutha Bible mtg 3 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 8pm ph call (NC in Australia) 5 Wed 1pm lunch (M/KW) - Mississauga 6 Thu (1) 11am mtg (JSh), (2) 1pm funeral (An.; JeNY staying over) 7-8 Fri-Sat w/ boys (~J working Fri and at shower in Oshawa on Sat) 9 Sun (1) Church, (2) poss. lunch (PY/AC) 10 Mon Kids Kapers party (stat. holiday) 10-16 Mon-Sun holiday - Collingwood (GV passed away 14/Apr) 16 Sun baby dedication - Scarborough 21 Fri MVT board mtg 22-24 Sat-Mon Winnipeg ministry trip
MAY
2 Tue 2:40pm med appt 3 Wed 12:30pm l'ship mtg 4 Thu 2:30pm video mtg (Ppls,JBau) 5 Fri time w/ TW; ~Ch dropoff/pickup (~J working) 6 Sat eve special dinner for Som/Saj 9 Tue 3:30pm video mtg (AA) 10 Wed (1) 8:30am Int'l steering mtg, (2) 12:30pm l'ship mtg 11 Thu 11:30am brunch (JMy) - Newmarket 12 Fri 8pm ~J w/ friend (NaG) 13 Sat SL w/ boys 14 Sun (1) Ppls Church, (2) 4pm neighbourhood Bible mtg 15 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 1:30pm video med appt, (3) 3:30pm hosting ORU students, (4) 5:30pm dinner w/ JY/L + dessert w/ others 16 Tue (1) 11am mtg (KBr), (2) 7:30pm prayer mtg 17 Wed 12:30pm l'ship mtg 18 Thu SL w/ ~Ch 19 Fri 3:15pm ~Co's b'day party 20 Sat ~Co's b'day 22 Mon SL w/ ~J/C/C, Som/S, MG, Mp+ 23 Tue (1) 11am video mtg (Saj/I), (2) 12:15pm ph call (AA) 24 Wed (1) 9am video mtg (SM+), (2) 12:30pm l'ship mtg 25 Thu 3pm video mtg (JSh)
27 Sat (1) 11am Commencement speaker at R. University, (2) ~3pm+ time w/ V/AR+ 29 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 3pm mtg DerCh - Mississauga 30 Tue (1) 10am ph call (AA), (2) 5:30pm video mtg (IsTan), (3) 8pm neighbourhood prayer mtg
JUNE 1 Thu (1) 11:30am Zoom mtg (LM), (2) 4pm mtg (VS,KBr) 2 Fri (1) 10:30am ph call (PVDW; SL w/ boys; ~J working) 3 Sat SL w/ boys and MG 5 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer mtg, (2) 2pm Europe call, (3) 5pm mtg/walk (YM) 6 Tue (1) 11:30am lunch (GD) - St. Jacobs, (2) 4pm mtg (AF) - Cambridge, (3) 7:30pm worship night 9 Fri ~J's b'day 10 Sat North Bay trip 13 Tue 11am mtg (DAy) (~J school trip w/ ~Co | text BD) 14 Wed 9:30am time w/ BD 15 Thu 4:30pm video mtg (Paul T.) 16 Fri (1) 9am video med appt, (2) 15-km run (Prayer Journey "warm-up") 17 Sat Prayer Journey (my own: 50km GTA bike-ride; Jessie's: 5KM) and speaking at GTA after-party 23-25 Fri-Sat poss. SL 26 Mon 2pm Europe monthly call 29 ... July 7 Thu-Fri poss. holiday in Arkansas
JULY ... 7 Thu-Fri poss. holiday in Arkansas ~8-17 SA+ in Toronto; P/H Bell likely visiting too 15 Sat aft+ baptism (Saj; NaB may be coming) 17-21 Mon-Fri Kids Kapers camp 24 Mon 2:45pm med. appt 26 Wed (1) 11am video mtg (SM), (2) 3pm Zoom mtg (SMa,SB), (3) 7pm ~J speaking at Greenhouse/Zoe - UofT downtown 27 Thu 10am video MVT board mtg 31 Mon 3:05pm med. appt July/Aug CCWM board mtg / AGM
AUGUST 2 Wed 11am video mtg (SM+) 6-12 Sun-Fri Cottage w/ O/DN+ and UB/AC - Windermere; plus Muskoka 19 Sat poss. ~J fam beach day - Brighton area 25-29 Fri-Tue MoveIn staff retreat - southern Ontario
2023+ Sep 21 Thu - MVT board mtg Sep 23 Sat poss. date of GV memorial Sep 24 Sun ~Ch's b'day Sep ~26-28 Poss. time in Lushnjë, Albania Sep 29 - Oct 6 MoveIn Europe Conference+ - Durrës, Albania Oct 21 Sat poss./unlikely date of GV memorial Oct 21-27 Dollar-a-Day week Early Nov Poss. fundraising event - Niagara Nov-Jan Poss. time in India - Goa; Philippines - Manila+; Indonesia - Jakarta/Bali; LA/San Diego
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