FASTDOMAIN 

PRAYER AND PRAISE:

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UPHOLD ORPHANS AND WIDOWS

uphold orphans and widowsHow are we to "Be doers - uphold orphans and widows"? Jesus Christ, starting His ministry, quoted the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19).

Then He showed His disciples how to preach the Gospel and minister to the sick, handicapped and poor (Luke 5:12-15), and He sent them out two by two and they practiced what He taught (Luke 9:1-2): preach the Gospel, care for the needy and heal the sick. Next, He taught His followers to minister to the same audience: "the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind" (Luke 14:12-13 and 21). After that, He put it into practice: "Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people" (Mat. 9:35)... [read more...]

 

Here's our next free 4-week online course: (click →) Intro: Ministry to Handicapped and Poor – deadline to enroll: Sep. 1 (← click). So enroll today, before you forget!

 


 
 

PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING $5, $15, or $25 TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY! ARS Paypal QR code

Keep our ministry going! Use our QR code or click on "Donate One-Time or Monthly."

If 5% of the people who see this would give $5 per month (just 17¢ per day!) = two cups of coffee with your favorite friend at your favorite coffee shop, we could cover our operating expenses and do much more in spreading the word, supporting orphans and widows, and providing accessible housing for the disabled. My wife and I left our careers over 30 years ago to serve in Russia as missionaries: we're now "semi-retired" – we've put on a new set of semi tires and keep on trucking! We live on our retirement income and volunteer our time: we receive no financial support from Agape Restoration Society. Our websites and ministry are funded by us and just a few friends. ...thanks!

And please Share Our Vision with your family & friends!

 
 
NEXT, THE NEWS:
 

ALLOWING THE DEATH OF A BABY AFTER IT'S BORN: IS IT ACTUALLY HAPPENING, AND IS IT LEGAL?
from: LiveAction

SYNOPSIS: Former President Donald Trump addressed the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago on Wednesday, where he discussed what he called the Democratic party’s ‘radical’ position on abortion, with journalists Rachel Scott and Kadia Goba moderating. No one – male or female – should be awarded the false freedom to deprive another human being of his or her right to not be unjustly killed. Aside from the fact that a “baby” outside the womb is the same being as the “fetus” that resides inside the womb (and therefore, abortion does indeed execute that individual before birth), pro-abortion lawmakers oppose legislation requiring medical treatment for children who accidentally survive abortions. Arizona saw reports of 37 survivors from 2017 through 2019. Since that time, others have survived premature births as young as 21 weeks.
Pray against the "culture of death" – abortion and euthanasia – that is sweeping society as it abandons the sanctity of human life based on Christian morality.

 

ON THE WARPATH AGAINST WPATH’S HARMFUL GUIDELINES FOR TREATMENT OF GENDER-CONFUSED TEENS
from: Mercator

SYNOPSIS: In 2024 two significant events have occurred in gender medicine. The first came in March with the leak of documents from the internal chatboard of WPATH (the World Professional Association of Transgender Health). These shine an unflattering light on so-called “gender-affirming care” (GAC) or “transgender medicine” and suggest that it is leading to widespread medical malpractice on children and vulnerable young people. Its members make staggeringly ignorant and callous comments about their young and confused gender patients, which reveal their own confusion, lack of ethical practice, and lack of a sound scientific basis for decision making. Many WPATH members dismiss or trivialize the lifetime of regret and medical complications confronting many young people. Disgracefully, some WPATH practitioners blame their victims.
Pray that parents of children with gender dysphoria will realize that it is a psychological disorder which requires psychological healing, not irreversible surgeries or hormone treatments.

 

RUSSIA: ANTI-WAR CHRISTIAN PREACHER FACING CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS
from: Forum 18 News Service

SYNOPSIS: In 2023, Christian preacher Eduard Charov was fined for social media comments, including the remark: "would Jesus Christ have gone to kill in Ukraine????!" Most likely, it will all end with a prison term for me", he noted. Charov's second alleged offence, for which he is currently facing prosecution, involved reposting a quotation about patriotism. He could not have faced criminal charges under Article 280.3, Part 1 had he not already been punished under the associated Administrative Code Article. The Investigative Committee in Krasnoufimsk (Sverdlovsk Region) has also charged Charov under Criminal Code Article 205.3, Part 2 ("Public calls to commit terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism, using the internet").
Intercede for Eduard Charov and others like him who are being jailed for speaking out about Russia's invasion and destruction in Ukraine, and that other Russian Christians will have the courage to speak up against this war.

 

WALMART TO OFFER CARTS FOR SHOPPERS WITH DISABILITIES AT EVERY STORE
from: Disability Scoop

SYNOPSIS: The nation’s largest retailer is planning to provide special carts at every one of its locations designed to alleviate the need for caregivers to push both a cart and a wheelchair while shopping. The seat can accommodate people weighing between 35 and 250 pounds. Each Supercenter will have at least two carts, Walmart said, and Neighborhood Market stores will have a minimum of one, though stores can request more. “The decision to expand to all stores is a reflection of Walmart’s commitment to diversity and inclusion as well as responding to feedback from our associates and customers,” a company spokesperson said. With the change, Walmart said it expects to have more than 8,000 Caroline’s Carts across its network of U.S. locations.
Thank the Lord that Walmart is taking this positive step of providing combined wheelchair-and-shopping carts for all of their stores nationwide.

 

ASSUMPTION CATHEDRAL OF THE UOC-MP DAMAGED IN KHERSON SHELLING
from: Religious Info Service of Ukraine

SYNOPSIS: On the night of August 6-7, during an enemy shelling of Kherson, two shells fell on the territory of the Assumption Cathedral of the UOC-MP, the Moscow Patriarchate's puppet church in Ukraine. This was reported by Pravoslavna Khersonschyna (Orthodox Kherson Region news). The explosion damaged the church's altar and utility rooms. This is not the first time the Assumption Cathedral of the UOC-MP has come under Russian shelling. On the night of March 5-6, one of the shells hit the front wall of the St. Nicholas chapel and the sacristy of the cathedral, and another fell on the territory of the church.
Ask the Lord for the Russian military to comprehend that they are destroying their own puppet churches and cathedrals by this indiscriminate shelling of Ukrainian-held cities. Or are the attacks a deliberate effort to eliminate these houses of worship?

 

THE PAIN OF THINKING: HOW MENTAL EFFORT LEADS TO UNPLEASANT FEELINGS
from: Disabled World

SYNOPSIS: Mental exertion appears to be associated with unpleasant feelings in many situations, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 170 studies to examine how people generally experience mental effort. They did so by testing whether mental effort is associated with unpleasant feelings and whe`ther that association depends on the task or the population involved. The results showed that the greater the mental effort, the greater the unpleasantness experienced by participants. If somebody complains that it hurts to think, they may be onto something, as mental exertion appears to be associated with unpleasant feelings in many situations, according to this research.
Pray that people will not be afraid to think hard about difficult issues, instead of making simplistic "like/dislike", "yes/no", and "true/false" choices. Ask that people would make the effort to think through life's difficult problems.

 
 

 
 FASTDOMAIN 

NOW, OUR VIEWS:
 

 

THE WELL HAS BEEN DUG!

 

 

the well has been dug!The well has been dug! We've funded Vision Complex for digging their well another 60 to 70 feet deep so they can have water during the dry seasons. It's already becoming a ministry to the surrounding villagers! Simon John, who runs an orphanage and school for 50 orphans whose parents died from HIV/AIDS and children with Sickle Cell Anemia, needs money now to buy an electric pump and have it installed. Simon writes –

The WELL is done! And the community around here has started getting water from it... and they are helping us put together the fence for free, and will help us set up the garden soon. The challenge we have as for now is how to draw water from the well because it is too deep: the rope we are using to draw water is wearing out, and we can't draw 20 buckets a day because their hands are hurting.

The community suggested that if we can get support for two tanks of 1000 litres each and a motor which pumps water from the well into the tanks, it can reduce the heavy burden of using our hands while drawing water. And again this can make it easier than using a rope for the kids to draw water for watering the plants in their gardens around their buildings. It is dangerous on the part of the kids. Your suggestions here, please!

large flat-screen TVWe've also provided funds for a large flat-screen TV and a PC, also solar cells to provide electricity to run them and illuminate the meeting hall, an internet hookup, and 30 chairs for meetings. Now we've just begun sharing our online "Morning Prayers" (220Mb video: it takes time to download!) with a larger number of people: teachers at his school, pastors, and nearby villagers.

We've already been holding "Morning Prayers" with Maureen in Kenya, Viktor in Ukraine, and others in India, Pakistan, even in Afghanistan and China, for about 4 years now. Starting on September 2, we'll begin teaching our online 4-week "Intro Course - Ministry to Handicapped and Poor": see also the "WELCOME" page there. Also, we can share videos about the Bible with them. Simon's goal and ours is to plant a church at Vision Complex, and it's beginning to happen! But they need $950 to buy the pump and install it, plus $195 for each 1,000-liter water tank. We've asked Simon to recruit the nearby villagers to help by making bricks (these took six weeks to make!) that he can sell, or any other way to raise funds locally. That way, the villagers can have water for their gardens, drinking, and cooking!

ARC sketchesNow "our own well is starting to run dry" in our little non-profit Agape Restoration Society, Inc. Vision Complex needs money to get a pump and install it, but we're running low on funds. We need your help! Our life-long vision has been to provide wheelchair-accessible housing, as shown in these sketches for "orphans and widows, the poor, lame, blind, and lame"; so we'll need significant funds for both projects. These drawings are on the wall over my desk so I'm reminded to pray for this project every day.

Ever since we semi-retired and returned to the U.S. 17 years ago, very few people have contributed to ARS: people must think that retired folks are just rocking away in their rocking chairs, waiting for the death angel to come. But "we're off our rockers," still serving the Lord in our senior years! So please pray and support these projects that will help spread the Gospel, providing spaces for worship, teaching, and ministering – not only here in the U.S., but also in Tanzania, Kenya, Ukraine, and Russia! So please pray and DONATE for these worthy projects!

You can read more about this at our Vision Complex web-page, and share it! Or...

Get this article at our ARC-News blog at blogspot.com and share this link too!

 

 

A Personal Note: Next Wednesday I have an appointment with a surgeon to learn what to do about my left shoulder that is not healing well after my fall six weeks ago and is causing a great deal of pain. So please pray for a good outcome!

 

 

Who Are We?   Please remember to pray for Christians in Secularized Countries, and for...

  Your fellow-servants,

  Bob & Cheryl

  p.s. We have laws against murder, rape, theft, slavery and child molestation. Who says you can't legislate morality?

 

 

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