“Dear Brother in Christ,
I am a social worker in northwestern Sri Lanka. I educate
rural people about sanitation, community development, and health
care. Every day I hold meetings to address the poor rural
people. Because I am a Christian, I also distribute the
Gospel, but the only teaching materials I have for sharing Christ
are posters. One of my friends told me about the Torch Kit and
gave me your address. I’m looking forward to some
details.”
Thus
began our relationship with Mr. A Chanaka Thilakaratna in
October 2000. He was excited as correspondence developed and
wrote, “I have a motorbike with a 12-volt battery. It will
be very easy to show the Filmstrips in the rural areas.”
By August 2001, the Kit finally reached him. “From today, I
start to translate the stories.”
But
months passed with no Reports, only silence until a letter in March
2002. Satan had become aggressive in his attempt to
discourage, to defeat this new AVangelist. “I face a
terrible problem in my life. My wife has left me for another
person last March. She won’t come back. According to our
culture, it is a great shame for the family. She refused even
the pastor’s words of counsel. Please pray for me. Even
though I have these terrible events in my life, God still gives me
daily strength. He is a good Lord. From next month, I
will start using the Torch Kit and will report to you in 6 months
time.”
Chanaka’s wife divorced
him, but 3 years later a Godly woman came into his life, and now
married, she helps care for his daughter and elderly parents.
God has truly rewarded this servant’s faithfulness.
Following our Language
Recording Project in Sri Lanka, he wrote, “I am very happy to
hear about the new Sinhala and Tamil films. I work among both
groups of these people, and these will be very useful in sharing the
Gospel among them. I now have a video player so please send me
copies quickly.”
In
early Media Showings reported, he deferred to others when it came
time for a Gospel invitation. Now he boldly does so
himself. Most showings are to groups under 20. Yet
129 showings have been held for 2,262 people. So far 109 have
accepted Christ, following his AVangelism invitations.
From his own pocket Chanaka has also duplicated 26 copies of our
Sinhala and Tamil translations so that other Christian
workers might spread the Gospel. This is a huge sacrifice from
his small government salary. Please join us in praying for
this faithful servant of God, reaching out to his own beloved
countrymen across the island of Sri Lanka.
 |
|
Doris Anderson (Mrs.
A) | |
WHO WAS THIS MAN, KEN
ANDERSON?
by Doris Anderson (Mrs
A)
Part
1
If
you were to visit me here, you could see a basketful of letters and
another of cards from around the world. Many of these are from
you faithful InterComm Prayer Partners. Your love gifts have
helped many in remote areas of the world to accept Jesus, and we
will meet them in Heaven.
I’d
like to share some things about the man with whom I shared 67 years,
in the hope that some of our story might be helpful to you in your
journey.
Ken
was born in northwest Iowa. He was born at sun-up, and his
mother died at sunset the same day. Ken’s grandmother raised
him, living with his father. Ken’s father rejected him and
filled his mind with words like “You ain’t worth your salt”,
leaving him with little self-worth.
As a
child, they attended church where invitations to accept Christ were
frequently given. Ken never responded in church, but when he
got home, he would go up to his room, kneel by his bed, and pray to
accept the Lord. This happened many times. While at Wheaton
College, he, with his roommate took the train into Chicago to attend
the famous Moody Church. There he would hear Dr. HA Ironside
give the message, explaining that by receiving Christ as Savior you
then can have assurance that you are a child of God. Ken went
forward. For the first time in his life he clearly understood
he didn’t need any longer to pray over and over for salvation.
Now he could thank the Lord that he, Ken Anderson, was a child of
God and was willing to follow “In His
Steps”.
In
the church and with his granny, they would discuss missionary work
like in China, Mongolia, Africa, and India.
After Ken’s Memorial
Service, as the family sat reminiscing, someone asked me, “Mom,
tell me about how you and Dad met.” Ken had gone 1 year to
Wheaton College, and then did not have the funds to continue.
I had left Nebraska to attend 1 year at the Free Church Bible School
in Chicago, now Trinity International University. Ken enrolled
in the same school after Wheaton. Some said of the school that
it was a matchbox where students came from many of the Free Churches
in the USA.
In
high school, Ken had a dream or vision of the woman he would marry
when he got his life straightened out. We met in 1936.
Ken knew immediately that I was that woman. Around school, I
saw him as nervous and shy, yet, always trying to be the
entertainer. After a few weeks of classes, he drummed up the
courage to ask me for a date to hear the Chicago Symphony. I
was very surprised, but I accepted. We both enjoyed the
concert very much and even more so when the conductor looked down
directly at us and smiled.
On
the way back to school and spending more time by ourselves, we both
discovered that God had led us together. I began to see
untapped talent in Ken and was excited at the possibilities for how
God could use him and us together.
Ken
was 19, and I was 18. But by the end of the school year we
were talking of marriage and the fact that we both wanted to be
missionaries. I felt a strong call to Venezuela, though I
wondered how I would manage to learn Spanish, not being a very good
linguist in school.
Ken
inquired at Free Church Headquarters as to what we would need to do
to prepare for the Mission Field. They suggested that he might
seek a student pastorate - which he did in Isle, Minnesota.
The call, however, included their desire for him to have a wife so
they wouldn’t have to take care of him. So we moved our
wedding date up a year and were married November 16,
1938.
The
engraving in my wedding ring is Psalm 34:2 - “Oh magnify the Lord
with me, and let us exalt His Name together.” and the song sung
at our wedding was “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead
Us”.
Part 2 - Next
Month
SEARCH THE WEB?
SUPPORT INTERCOMM!
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internet at GoodSearch.com. You use
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3. Search the
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GoodSearch shares its advertising revenue with charities and
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GoodSearch also has a
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Another way to support
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Join
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today?
2006 PHILIPPINES PROJECT
UPDATE
Recent updates from
co-Project Chairmen, Dr Nora Laus and Bishop Ver
Nallos. “We are excited to tell you that excellent progress
has been made on the literature translations of 4 films into the
Ilongo Language and 2 films into Cebuano.” The Translation
Committee works over many months, completing first a literal
translation, then pursuing a conversational language version, and
finally working on the fit of the language by evaluating the length
of the translation and the amount of time it takes to say the line
on the actual English video. All of these are important
steps in preparing for the future Recording Project. Do please
keep these faithful leaders in prayer, as they complete this work
and also maintain their regular full-time Christian commitments
within their own country.
Prayer is also needed
for the funding process and for God’s perfect timing for us to
return for the Recording Session. Many funding potentials are
yet to respond. So please pray with us that the Holy Spirit will
touch the right people and organizations at the right time to meet
this need.
TOUCHING LIVES THROUGH
FILM
Mr Pius Ozowa from
Nigeria
writes: “We thank God for His grace, covering our recent crusades
where we held children’s AVangelism Film Shows. We are
reaching out to children between the ages of 5 and 16 and some of
the showings God is really reaching out and touching lives through
film. I pray that God will really reward InterComm for all the
things you have done for this vision of ministry and preaching of
the Gospel here in my country. You may not ever know what you
have done now, but I pray that in the future God will help you to
understand it.”
Report of 9 showings
to 2,113 with 81 responding to the Gospel.
VIETNAM - FUTURE
LANGUAGE RECORDING PROJECT?
We
have asked you to be praying concerning our next Language Recording
Project, following our plans in the Philippines. God has
connected us with a vibrant young Christian woman, Miss Tran
Kheim from Dalat, Vietnam, who with her Christian friends
and pastor are praying about the possibility of hosting a future
Language Recording Project for the Vietnamese Language.
Do please keep these saints in your prayers, as we seek God’s will
on this matter.
