February 2023

February 2, 2023

CRM Supporters,

In Galatians 1:14-16b we read “And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles...”

CRM has been blessed of the Lord to work with field partners who, like the Apostle Paul, were at one time zealous for religious traditions which were leading them astray. Our heavenly Father had other plans for their lives, plans which were set in place even before they were born. He graciously intervened in their lives in remarkable ways so that, first and foremost, Jesus might be manifested in their lives. Having saved them and set them apart for His gracious purposes, He then called them to share the gospel with their own countrymen, and people of other tribes and nations.

Now it is our privilege to pray for and support these brethren in ways that will empower them to share the gospel and make disciples within the particular spheres the Holy Spirit has led them to live and serve. The reports and testimonies they have sent have both challenged and encouraged us. Through their experiences we have been powerfully reminded that the same God who called, equipped, led, and provided for Paul, is at work in our own day, and in contexts of spiritual darkness equal to anything the Apostle faced. 

In this newsletter, I want to share with you more of their testimonies, give you updates regarding ongoing plans and past prayer requests, and new prayer needs.

Alan and Peggy McAlister in Zambia with Scripture Union
After several years of delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and happenings within Zambia, Alan and Peggy were finally able to carry out a Story Cloth training event for leaders affiliated with Scripture Union. That ministry has government permission to teach in public schools all across the nation. Therefore, it has been their desire to teach SU representatives how to train teachers in using the Story Cloth for teaching the Bible, as well in teaching general courses, i.e. math and science. They concluded the event just a couple of days ago. Alan wrote: 

“David, just finished. Best group ever. Working with Scripture Union is great! Teachers came from 8 out of 10 provinces. Rain and flooding were a problem for some. Think they will follow up and follow through. Thanks for checking.”

Thanks to your giving, CRM shipped 500 Story Cloths to Zambia last year so that those trained could return home with cloths to distribute to schools. Thank you for praying for this long anticipated event!

Food Relief for Southern Kenya and Bush Evangelism Team
Your prayers have been heard regarding Send Relief accepting the proposal John Rampei submitted to them to fund a large relief food project for the Maasai of southern Kenya. The project proposal amounted to $1.6 million. Send Relief has accepted to fund half that amount so the work of buying and distributing food can get started. They said they will provide the remainder as God provides. This week CRM sent directly to the Calvary Baptist Convention the $5,385 it received designated for food relief, so that our brethren could provide foodstuffs to the families most affected, while they wait for Send Relief funds to arrive. Please pray for John Rampei and the other Maasai Baptist leaders who will oversee this project, as it will involve a lot of work.

The bush evangelism team led by Steve Whitted of the Sevier Heights Baptist Church, just completed its calling to share the gospel in southern Kenya. They were thrilled to report that just over 1,000 Maasai people indicated they received Jesus as Lord and Savior when invited to do so after hearing a gospel presentation. This CRM affiliated team used the first Story Cloth as their means of sharing the Good News of Jesus. They reported that everyone remained healthy and were returning to the USA rejoicing.

Carl Smith and David Crane Feb Trip to Tanzania
Thank you for praying for me as I worked with Emmanuel Lazier and Michael Tatile to arrange the logistics for our upcoming February 13-22 trip to northern Tanzania. We will visit the town of Handeni which is located in the region to which thousands of Maasai have migrated over the last 10 years. Our Baptist brethren have already started 5 churches there, but many more are needed. Our goal is to discover if a 5-day Story Cloth training needs to be done in this area, and if CRM affiliated evangelism teams should also work there. We will also visit areas where we believe our Lord would have us help local believers build two Bible school compounds, as well as church roofs for maturing new church starts. Our aim is to return home with information which will help us set a course for Maasai work for several years. 

Sudan
1. Safe Delivery of 400 Messengers
Last week Ala returnmed to Sudan with the 400 Messengers provided by In Touch with Charles Stanley. Alam reported that when he arrived at the Khartoum Airport with them, Customs agents told him to return with a letter authorizing him to import the devices before they would release them. He obtained a letter from the Sudan Council of Churches, and together with his brother, returned to the airport. Over a 3-hour period, he was “bounced” from one official to another, as none of them appeared willing to sign off on approving their release. Alam said he enjoyed asking each one “do you not serve Christians?” Finally, their case was brought to the attention of the security officer they have dealt with in the past. He told his colleagues “I have listened to what is on these devices, and it is good for our people.” He assessed them a very small amount as import duty and released the players. 

2. Taxi driver receives Jesus
When A... was riding in a taxi to deliver the Messengers to different bus stations, so they can be delivered to various points in Darfur, the taxi driver was listening to a radio broadcast of a Muslim cleric. The cleric said something to the effect “O Allah, forgive the sin of your people.” A... heard that and asked the driver, “What if God answered that man’s prayer and offered full and free pardon of sin. What would you do?” The main replied “I would give thanks.” Then Adam asked him “how would receiving forgiveness change your life?” He replied, “I would no longer sin.” A... then witnessed him and gave him a Messenger. That night the driver called him to say he had received Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

3. Hotel Receptionist listens to a Messenger
After retrieving the Messengers from the airport, A... stayed in a Khar... hotel, and he placed the Messengers near the reception desk. Unknown to A..., the button of one Messenger was pressed and started playing the digital NT in Sudanese Arabic. It played all night long and the receptionist listened to it. The next day, the receptionist told people what he had heard. When Adam appeared again, the receptionist asked him “What was that playing in your bags? Was that a Q’uran or Christian?” A... told him “It was the Christian New Testament.” The receptionist and others gathered there then began asking A... questions. One was “Do Christians teach that after they have received a full pardon of sins that they can live just as they desire?” A... wrote that the Holy Spirit prompted him to go to his room and bring his Bible. He read from Romans 6-8 and testified to them of the gospel. Adam said that when he finished explaining the gospel, the people were happy and were giving each other high fives. They then expressed their desire to receive a Bible for themselves.  A... returned the next day with five Bibles.

4. Testimonies from believers in Darfur who received their CRM funded hard copy Bibles in December
a. Pastor Yagub wrote, 
Our loved ones in the Lord. Greetings from S.... church. We sincerely appreciate CRM’s big gift. We got our Bibles in December. It’s a great history for our nation’s lifetime. Our people are daily experiencing salvation. I am not able to show you the joy that believers have expressed. When Halima received her Bible, she leapt up with joy and shouted for happiness. She said, “May the Lord who redeemed us bring joy, peace, and happiness to anyone who dropped his coin for the contribution of the word of God.” I wished you could have attended the day these people received their Bibles. Brother Alam, please know that our people have got hope from the word of God. The learning process has started people are asking different questions. Pray for us to obtain knowledge and grow deep in the word of God. Our sister Naima has more than sixty people who pray at her house. She requested Bibles. Please pray for her and the people who are praying at her home, that the Lord will provide for them Bibles.

b. Pastor Mubarak 
Greetings from G... Church. We honour the Lord, Jesus, for his love and provision. We have been sharing the gospel in our villages. Sometimes, we end up sharing the gospel with more than 50 Muslims in a day. The response of people was quite positive. But the only challenge we got was the lack of Bibles. Muslims who accepted Jesus Christ they immediately asked us to give them Bibles to read. But unfortunately, I and my friend Umar only had our one Bible. We kept telling people that they should pray to God for He is going to provide. We will also ask our brothers to send us Bibles because we can not find them here in the market. So last year, when you sent us the fifty copies, it was a great breakthrough. It was a joyful moment when we distributed those Bibles. Many people prepared meals at their homes and brought in our church children, and people ate the food and expressed their thanks to the Lord. It was a direct answer to our prayers. Our brothers and sisters helped us in different places to share the gospel. Instead of we two preaching now, there are more than fifty preaching points. We were all persecuted when we accepted the Lord, it was not easy . But these days, it’s just normal for people to be saved. But what we really need is prayer for us to get more Bibles. Our generations are more active in reading. However, we need audio proclaimers for the old generation. For they have not gone to school. We also have seen some committed people who need to get some training to help us share the gospel in more detail. Our sincere thankfulness for our brothers and sisters who have never seen us and yet shared their love with us. Praise be to God our Lord Jesus Christ.

Alam wrote just two days ago to say that the Christian bookseller has another 1,300 diglot Arabic language Bibles (Kitab al Hayat, $11 each), 250 Arabic study Bibles ($49 each), and 150 illustrated Children’s Bible storybooks ($6 each). Testimonies like the above encourage me as the president of CRM to continue asking you, our faithful supporters, to continue your generous giving, so that we can continue to place Bibles into the hands of both new believers as well as seekers. Our Lord Jesus is obviously doing a big work in Sudan, and access to the Word of God is the fuel for that fire.

Planning for April Sudan Trip
Please continue to pray that our Lord will guide us in finalizing the logistics for the planned Story Cloth training event in Khar... in late April. At present there are seven of us committed to making this trip. Pray that the Lord will make it clear if we are to recruit more team members, or alternatively, recruit and use African brethren whom we have trained in the past to provide the number of story tellers and small group leaders required. Praise the Lord with us that A... has found a very good venue for the training. He has pulled together a proposed budget which accounts for all in-country expenses. Please consider sponsoring one or more of the 40 Sudanese we hope to train at $250 per person.

March 30 CRM Banquet, Knoxville
On March 30, a Thursday, beginning at 6:00 p.m., the board of CRM invites you to attend a catered banquet at the Calvary Baptist Church located at 3200 Kingston Pike in Knoxville. During this time, we will celebrate God’s goodness to us over 25 years of ministry. Yes, it has been 25 years since the Lord led John Shepherd to retire from the pastorate so he could devote his energies to working with the IMB personnel ministering among the Maasai. Written invitations have been mailed to partnering churches, but I wanted to also announce this milestone event via newsletter. We do ask that you RSVP if you can join us. You can do that by email using dcrane@calvaryroadministries.org, or dropping a note to me at 418 Jane St., Cherryville, NC 28021. Come join us in celebrating God’s goodness. If for whatever reason you know you cannot attend but would like to send a letter, please use one of the same addresses. We will read as many of them as time allows at the meeting. We would love to hear from how the Lord used your experiences with CRM to bless your life.

~ David Crane