November 2022
CRM Supporters and Prayer Partners,
The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." This is the fourth Beatitude spoken by our Lord in His Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5-7. The verbs "hunger" and "thirst" are employed to drive home the intensity of the longing residing in the heart and mind of the truly "blessed" person.
Most citizens of first world nations have never truly experienced long term physical hunger or thirst. When I was walking the Appalachian Trail for 109 days, there were short periods of time where I experienced both extreme hunger and thirst. The hunger came from burning between 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day. The debilitating thirst occurred when certain water sources dried up creating spaces of up to 13 miles without a way to refill my two 1-liter bottles. However, I always knew that my plight would be short lived. My life was never truly in danger. I was never tempted to sell my camping supplies to get a morsel of food.
Jesus employs the verbs of hungering and thirsting in relation, not to physical food or water, but to spiritual realities. He did the same in Matthew 4:4 when He said to Satan "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Those who are, or will be, blessed, are people whose highest aspirations and values are based on God's Word. They simply will not settle for anything less than knowing and doing the will of God.
I give this message that preface because I want to invite you to support CRM in its current attempt to address both spiritual and physical hunger.
You have read the testimonies in our latest newsletters from Sudanese believers who were fortunate enough to receive one of the New Arabic Version (NAV), Kitab Al Hayat, full Bibles. Twice you have responded to our appeal to donate toward buying hard copy Bibles resulting in a provision of 1,500 full Bibles, 50 Arabic study Bibles, and 500 praise song books in Arabic. We now have the opportunity to purchase another 850 full Bibles, 500 praise song books, and 100 study Bibles. Their total cost will be just over $17,000, apart from whatever shipping costs may be incurred.
The Christian Bible book seller based in the capital city has brought these materials from a neighoring country in small quantities. He is willing to release to our Sudanese partners these materials on faith, believing that we will provide the funds as quickly as we can. Conditions within Sudan are growing worse on every level, every day. The fear is that the ruling military junta may crack down even harder on every perceived threat, resulting in a possible return to civil war. This means it is extremely important for us to enable our brethren to distribute as many Bibles and scriptural resources as possible while the window of opportunity is open.
Regarding helping to alleviate the physical hunger I mentioned above, I have been requested by our field partners in Kenya to help them provide relief food to the families in greatest danger of starvation. Here is the URL to an article which contains a good write up and map Kenya | Famine Early Warning Systems Network (fews.net). If you look at the map in the article, look for the Kajiado and Narok Districts on Kenya's southern border. Our field partners live and minister there. Their zone is not pictured in red yet.
This week I have communicated with the IMB missionary, and former colleague, who directs the work of Send Relief (formerly Baptist Global Response) about the request of our partners. I was pleased to discover that Send has already been heavily involved in providing relief foodstuffs in northern Tanzania and other areas. He committed to communicating with our field partners about their particular request to help those most drastically affected in their area. My desire is to coordinate efforts with Send Relief. If Send does create a project number for our partners' request, CRM would then funnel all donations to Send. If Send cannot commit to creating such a project, CRM will then send donations designated for this need directly to our partners, trusting them to buy and transport the foodstuffs to those they have identified as facing critical need.
Click here to donate online. Of course, a check could also be sent, made out to CRM, to 4100 Fulton Road, Corryton, TN 37721. A note of designation should accompany the check and it can simply read "Food Relief for Kenya."
The Lord Jesus dealt with people holistically and as HIs followers, we desire to do the same. We know from past experience with providing food relief that doors will be opened for the Gospel. We thank God for partners who are willing to do all the forms of hard work connected to conducting such relief work.
Further Prayer Requests
The families of both Alamadin and Adam are dealing with sick children. Both of those brothers are also currently dealing with severe pain in their lower back. Adam has been in a Chinese operated hospital in Khartoum all of this week. Please pray for physical healing, and for the peace of Christ to rule in their hearts and minds.Pray that our Lord will protect everyone involved in the packing and shipping of Bibles to Darfur. Pray that angels will protect each precious shipment.Pray that our contact with Send Relief will clearly discern God's will regarding the request of our partners to assist with food relief in their area. Thank God that Pastor Raj has successfully completed recording the 42 stories of the first Story Cloth into the Hindi language. Thank our Lord for the support of the Shai Fund in enabling our Darfurian partners to stock the house they have rented in a new area to serve as a ministry center. The items they purchase will belong to them, so when the day arrives for them to move back to the Central Darfur State, or set up another temporary center elsewhere, they will be able to move with them.
For His glory and honor,
David Crane