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April
2008
Prayer
Letter of Challenge Literature Fellowship (Aust.) Inc.
There are times when people ask me why we actually produce the Challenge newspaper and how effective is it.
Well when I received this email from Paul Dondoh who is the Director for Peacemaker’s Fellowship International
in Kenya, I think his little story sums up very much what we are about as a paper and how important literature is as
a seed. Again and again I am reminded that the Spirit of God can take a seed like Challenge and as it were like an
arrow to the heart bring conviction and ultimately conversion into the life of a needy unbeliever. So let me just relay
the email that Paul has sent with some minor editing so that you can see exactly what God is doing.
Clement’s testimony
Clement and his family have lived in Nakuru for the last 25 years and he had developed a thriving little business
as a bicycle repairer where he had a big garage with many customers, so he was able to adequately supply the needs
of his family. His children went to the best schools in town and he had a dream of buying a piece of land to settle his
family and continue enjoying life. Clement’s wife is a believer, but not Clement.
Clement became ill and when I visited him at Afraha Stadium he was an IDP (Internally Displaced Person)
because of the violence we had been experiencing in Kenya. Clement narrates his story as to what happened that
fatal morning:—
“The post election violence brought about many changes. I am a Luo by tribe and most of my customers were from
the Kikuyu tribe. We had lived together for the last 25 years peacefully. After the December Election Kikuyu’s were
heard saying all Luo’s will have to go back to their ancestral home in Kisumu. The rumours spread like wild fire but
I did not take them seriously. So I continued to go to my workplace each day.
“That fatal morning as I arrived at my garage, word went round that all Luo’s should get out which led to tension
everywhere. A group of rowdy youth’s chanted anti-Luo slogans. Sensing danger I decided to go home but it was
too late. A group of about 50 youths followed me and caught up with me as I entered my house. They had pangas,
knives and crude weapons, with which they attacked me mercilessly. I tried my best to block the weapons from
hitting my body, but to no avail, they broke my arms and I fell down losing consciousness. They thought I was dead
and left me there. Thankfully my family had taken off and were in hiding. I regained consciousness about an hour
later, only to realise that I was covered in blood and I could not walk or raise my hands. I was taken to hospital and
admitted for 13 days. My family sought refuge in the Chief’s Camp and after two days in the cold, the Red Cross
evacuated them to the IDP camp in Afraha Stadium where I later joined them, to start a new life — a life of being an
IDP in my own country.
“One sunny afternoon, word went round the camp that there was a Pastor by the name of Paul Dondoh coming to
preach and give out a gospel newspaper called Challenge. I was thinking about going along to listen to him when
my son came in carrying a Challenge paper — entitled “PLANTING SEEDS OF HOPE” — I really wanted this hope
— so I requested that Pastor Paul should visit my tent, which he did. I told him my story, and after speaking to me for
some time he led me to the Lord Jesus. I am now a born again Christian.
“I have forgiven the people who tortured me. I am planning to go to my rural home. Please pray for my family as
we leave the IDP Camps and return to Kisumu.”
—
Carl Carmody, Editor of Challenge
Praise Points
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First of all let me say a huge thank you to all of the people who have given gifts towards the work of Challenge
this month. We have received some generous gifts which are very much appreciated and much needed.
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Secondly we want to praise God for the work of Mobile Mission Maintenance and all that they have done in
our office this past month. We have now got some very nice partitions for office space. It really has made a
big difference to the look of our office.
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Praise God for a second hand Hi-Ace van for Paul Dondoh, for which we have been praying, for some months.
Also praise God for some new bikes and Bibles for Peacemakers Fellowship International and their 17 churches.
The Bibles are also used for those who have made commitments and require a brand new Bible to help them
in their growth.
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Praise God for the Explorers magazine that is used by Outback Patrol ministry based in Sydney and headed up
by Les and Martha Nixon. They have indicated that this magazine is a vital part of their ministry to outback
schools.
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Praise God for our first edition of the paper for Malawi which is our first genuinely bi-lingual edition. We are
really excited about this and are delighted to be working with Jonathan Newell and Charles Tembo.
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We praise God too for the Evangelism Conference for the Southern Baptist churches of Ohio in the US. Doug
Cornelius our US representative and Tom Pendegrast the senior pastor of Urbancrest Baptist Church were
there with a team to promote the work of evangelism through the US edition of Challenge. We praise God
for the some 15-20 churches who expressed a keen interest in the paper and we look forward to ongoing fruit
from this conference.
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We do praise God for a great response to the Easter edition of the paper and it is our great delight that we have
sold out of this edition. We printed almost 80,000 papers and we trust and pray that God will bless each paper
as it is distributed.
Prayer Points
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Please pray for the upcoming visit of Carl Carmody and Graeme Jacques to the US for further promotion and
development of the US edition as well as the raising of mission funds for other overseas ministry work. Please
pray for safety in travel and effectiveness in ministry.
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Please pray too for the Easter edition of Challenge that has been distributed and that there would be many
responses to the gospel as a result of that.
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Please pray also for the Explorers magazine and the ministry of Australian Outback Patrol. These magazines
are used in remote outback schools where the gospel is being brought into the lives of primary school kids.
We print 4000 copies of this magazine each month and each one goes to every 3 students which means we are
reaching somewhere around 11-12 thousand students each month. They need a big improvement in giving.
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Please pray for the Australian edition of the paper as we look to grow and develop it this year. Pray for Andrew
Trezona and his wife Karen and family who come into the work on 5 May to take on the development and
promotion of the work here in Australia and New Zealand. We really want to see a lot of improvement in our
distribution over the next year or so as Andrew takes on this important role.
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Please pray for the needs that we have to provide for Andrew with a vehicle for transport as well as funding
for a computer etc.
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Please pray for the Lord’s care and protection of the building and contents as we are in a spiritual warfare and
I can assure you that the enemy is never happy when the gospel is going out.
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Please pray also for the Challenge team and their families as they continue to work together in getting out all
the different editions of the paper in the different parts of the world.
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Please pray for all our partner organisations around the world as they are a key part of what helps to get the
paper distributed and do the follow-up for the various commitments that are made.
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Please pray for a much needed increase in funding for South and central Africa and South America. We need
to meet a budget of $120,000 to cover our present needs.
Special Request: We are still collecting books to send to African Pastors. If you
have any good quality books on Christian Living, Commentaries, Biographies,
etc, that you are no longer using, please contact us here at Challenge.
Send your testimony to Challenge — Your conversion to Jesus Christ is a miracle,
and is a wonderful means of witnessing to a lost world — Ring or write to Challenge
for a testimony outline sheet.
Challenge
Literature Fellowship
PO
Box 978, Cloverdale 6985
Phone
(08) 9453 3311 Fax (08) 9453 3006
Webpage:
www.challengenews.org — Email: info@challengenews.org
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