May 2007

"Fifty cents makes a difference....! Fifty cents to a man who makes $50 a month is like $35 to a man who makes $3,500 a month. Would you think hard before spending an extra $35 on a book or Bible? This makes almost any English book from the USA totally unavailable to minister to the needs of most Africans whose yearly incomes are measured in hundreds of dollars."1 The average annual income in Ghana is about US $400. It is much less in Haiti. We want to continue to serve those who serve by providing books and the other resources which will enable them to do their ministries better.

Stories from the May 2007 InterKnit newsletter:

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1Seen on the Oasis Int'l, Ltd. website. Oasis Int'l, Ltd., based in Geneva, Illinois, is an organization that trains nationals to produce, distribute and retail Christian books at affordable prices, especially in Africa, and assists other ministries in supplying their literature needs for Africa.

God is Using Your Partnership With East West InterKnit
To Serve Our International Partners Who Serve Others or The Sake Of The Gospel

Your prayers and financial support have impacted lives and vital ministries worldwide.

  • You have participated in the support of the festival pictured to the right [in India]. Those who indicated a desire to follow Christ are being counseled. This same ministry is using resources to aid, disciple, and send out hundreds of widows as witnesses in the community. Pastor Frank recently traveled to a town badly affected by the tsunami, providing food for those still struggling to recover. While he was there, about 200 came to hear him share the message of the gospel.
  • You have provided funds to purchase computers for the Good News (Ghana) computer lab and other essential equipment as well as a DVD for their film outreach ministry. Your support has also provided aid for the special needs of students in addition to covering the cost of shipping books and Bibles for their library and for outreach.
  • You have enabled work to proceed on the construction of a Christian children's home in Guinea.
  • You have allowed us to assist the Jehovah Shammah Children's Home and outreach ministry in India to meet unusual expenses caused by illness, injury, storm and other damage, and to provide for other special needs.
  • You have provided for the shipping of clothing, materials, office and school supplies, medical supplies and medicines to Haiti. You have also allowed us to support them in their efforts to train thousands of children in their Christian schools, to provide vocational training programs, to keep their clinic running, and to send some of their future leaders to Bible school.
  • You have made it possible for us to provide a little supplemental assistance through our partner ministries to support the work of evangelists going out into areas where the gospel has not yet penetrated so that they might preach, disciple and plant churches.
  • You have enabled EWI to provide for the training of future church leaders in Bible schools and seminaries through our scholarship program -- students who would otherwise be unable to attend.
  • You have made it possible for us to purchase tools that enabled some of our partners to minister in areas in which they could not otherwise have worked; some to be much more effective in reaching people with the gospel; and some to train others for the work of ministry, etc.
  • You have made it possible for EWI to take select teams to minister alongside our national partners so that both they and we might be encouraged, blessed, and grow in faith and understanding.

All of this is done in cooperation with effective national Christian workers who have faithfully persisted in the face of all kinds of adversity to fulfill their calling to share the Good News of the gospel and to meet physical needs of those with whom they come in contact. Your prayers and financial gifts are an encouragement to those who face persecution, a shortage of trained helpers, limited resources, their own illnesses and injuries, and tasks that could seem overwhelming if faced all alone.

Thank you!

Focus On Two Ministries: JSCH and GNTCS

J. S. Children's Home in Southeast India

Narsapur Children On Steps

The children at the J. S. Children's Home gather every day to sing, study God's Word, and to pray. Every time they write they remind us that the children pray for us, and they ask us to pray for them. This has been a season of struggle for them with so many unanticipated expenses due to accidents, injuries, illness, and equipment failures. We assist by offering hand-made lace products for sale that they have sent us and by telling their stories and encouraging your partnership with us on their behalf. The JSCH has been faithful in caring not only for the physical needs but also for the spiritual needs of the children and the surrounding communities.

Evangelist Gideon

Over the nearly forty years that this children's home has been in existence, hundreds of children have become followers of Jesus Christ and, because of education and training received through the sacrificial work of the JSCH, have become faithful Christian citizens and leaders. Several of the evangelists sent out by JSCH were products of the home and are currently serving in some of the most difficult regions to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who have never heard. The man pictured on the left is Pastor and Evangelist Gideon, whose life was radically changed when the founder of JSCH faithfully preached in his village. Pictured below is John, one of the Evangelists raised at JSCH.
Evangelist John

Good News Theological College & Seminary in Accra, Ghana

The five computers purchased with the help of EWI partners this month and two that were hand delivered by an EWI team make up the Good News Theological College and Seminary computer lab. Everyone is anxious to learn and the classes are large so additional computers will be needed but they are happy for this good start.

A schedule has been arranged and showings begun using the DVD purchased with EWI support. Evangelistic and training films are being shown in churches, on campus, and in other settings including outdoors. EWI funds will be disbursed as we are able, to allow them to purchase the additional equipment necessary for this outreach program and, in the long run, will be far less expensive than renting equipment that often is not in good working condition.

Current Prayer Concerns

Please pray

  • For SH, who continues preaching, conducting various outreach ministries, teaching, and holding Sunday school and Bible school programs, while suffering from an apparent hernia. He has been told he needs surgery and is asking us to pray for God's will to be done in this situation.
  • For Pastor Frank and his wife, who is also a vital part of his ministry, as both face health problems and increasing threats and vandalism from the majority community.
  • For the needs of the children's homes including the JSCH, three homes under Pastor Frank's mission, the home in Guinea, and the care of children in several other locations.
  • For the mission clinic in Haiti, that they will find a suitable doctor, and that they will effectively meet both physical and spiritual needs of those they serve.
  • For the raising up of trained assistants to share in the work of the mission in Haiti.
  • For the kind of development that will enable those served by the training programs of the mission in Haiti (and elsewhere) to become increasingly self-sufficient.
  • For the EWI staff and board as we make decisions regarding partnerships, effective use of all resources, travel, and volunteer help.
  • For those facing persecution from their non-Christian neighbors.
  • For resources for Christian workers — Many pastors struggle to pay rent, send their own children to school, and meet the needs of their ministries from their own pockets. Evangelistic outreach in many places has no significant church or other group to help support it.