Many of you will be aware of the worsening COVID situation in India at present. We have a connection in India through our Partner Church, the Reformed Presbyterian Church in India, and the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Dehradun.

APWM has put together a 3 minute video that could be shown in church this Sunday and followed with a time of prayer. The video is a brief overview by the Rev Vijai Tagore, a New Testament lecturer at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in India.

Many will be aware of the devastating spread of COVID in India. The Presbyterian Church of Australia has a very close relationship with the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Dehradun. Please join with us in prayer for the Seminary.

1. Pray that next round of test results for those who have the virus will be negative.

2. The campus nurse and the former Librarian are in a critical condition in hospital. Please pray for God’s healing.

3. Pray that one particular student who is very ill may respond well to medication.

4. Pray for God’s wisdom for the Principal as he makes key decisions.

5. Praise God for the many who are recovering well and pray for God’s protection for the remainder.

6. Pray for safe travel for students who test negative and begin to travel back to their homes.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On Saturday 5th April, Cyclone Seroja struck Timor Leste, one of Australia’s closest neighbours. This resulted in major flooding and landslides which caused damage to property and in some cases the loss of homes.

We have a very close relationship with our brothers and sisters in Timor Leste. Over the last two decades the Presbyterian Church of Australia has had the privilege of supporting our Partner Church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Timor Leste, in may ways: through prayer, encouragement, training, reciprocal visits and financial assistance.

Our Moderator-General, has launched an appeal for funds for relief. We have already sent AUD$4,000 for immediate relief.

The Moderator-General, the Rev Dr Peter Barnes writes

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On 5 April 2021 Cyclone Seroja struck Timor Leste, and caused extensive damage to our northern neighbours, including members of one of our Partner Churches, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Timor Leste. The main church building in Dili survived, but something like 52 church households were deeply affected by the floods. There were quite a number of deaths in the wider community.

To rebuild after such devastation takes determination and a strong morale, and the prayers and support of Australian Presbyterians will be appreciated by our Partner Church. There are, as one would expect, food shortages and threatening medical issues at such a time.

As the great apostle of grace tells us, in the context of his gathering the collection for those suffering from famine in Judea, ‘God loves a cheerful giver’ (2 Cor.9:7).

With warm regards in Christ,

Peter Barnes (15 April 2021)

APWM asks you to do three things:

First, please pray in your gatherings this Sunday for those affected by Cyclone Seroja. Thank you to those who have been praying.

Second, please show this video, from the APWM Vimeo page, at your Sunday gatherings. It runs for three minutes and provides a first-hand perspective. [Video now deleted for security reasons].

Third, would you please make the following donation details available to your congregation? There may be some who would like to contribute to the appeal.

How to Donate

Direct Deposit

Bank: Westpac

Account Name: Australian Presbyterian World Mission

BSB: 032 260

Account Number: 151207

and mark your gift ‘Timor Cyclone’.

Please email finance@apwm.org.au so we can send a receipt.

Cheque

Please send cheques to:

APWM National

1 Clarence St

Burwood NSW 2134

(Gifts are not tax deductible)

Please note, if we receive more funds than needed, these will be used to provide relief from the effects of COVID-19.

Thank you for your partnership.

Rob & El Falls are APWM missionaries preparing to serve at the Talua Theological Training Institute in Vanuatu. They are currently developing their support (now at 87%) and waiting for vaccination and border restrictions to be eased. They were recently interviewed by Eternity News.

https://www.eternitynews.com.au/in-depth/sent-now-stuck-new-australian-missionaries-who-cant-get-to-their-mission-field/

A few years ago the Australian Presbyterian World Mission launched an appeal so that we could buy Bibles for our brothers and sisters from the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan who are in the refugee camps in western Ethiopia because of the ongoing civil war in South Sudan.
The members of our churches were very generous. We recently received confirmation that 9,000 Bibles and 200 audio Bibles have been placed into the hands of the believers in the camps. APWM has produced a ‘thank you’ video, which you can watch here or at APWM’s Vimeo page https://vimeo.com/user16292236

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On Monday 12th April, Cyclone Harold hit northern Vanuatu. This was a Category 5 cyclone – meaning that it was severe.

The Talua Bible College that the Presbyterian Church of Australia supports so much, was badly affected. By God’s mercy, no one was injured. Luganville, 45 minutes drive from Talua, and Vanuatu’s second-largest population centre was also badly affected. Other islands in northern Vanuatu suffered damage but we are yet to receive any reports.

Cyclone Harold bypassed the island of Tanna in southern Vanuatu, where Danny and Jen Cooke serve with their family.

A video with details of the cyclone’s impact on Talua can be viewed here

Our Moderator-General, the Rev Dr Peter Barnes, has launched an appeal for funds for the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu. He writes:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Towards the end of 1982 my family (Lyn, and young Matthew and Graham) experienced a cyclone off Santo in Vanuatu. It actually lasted for three days, although there were intermittent periods of an eerie quietness. Many of the students’ quarters at the Bible College were damaged, and in going to check out how they were faring, the greatest danger came from flying coconuts. It was less dramatic than I am describing it, but it had some resemblance to dodging flying bricks.

Cyclone Harold was a much fiercer threat, and Talua has suffered extensive damage. It is good for Christians to support one another in difficulties (see 2 Corinthians 8-9), and this is an appeal worthy of our prayers and finances. Some aid will be needed almost immediately, but there will be a longer-term plan also. Australian Presbyterians are therefore urged to support our Ni-Vanuatu family, especially those at the college at Talua (TTI).

Peter Barnes (17 April 2020)

Please consider contributing to the Appeal.

How to Donate
Direct Deposit

Bank: Westpac
Account Name: Australian Presbyterian World Mission
BSB: 032 260
Account Number: 151207

and mark your gift ‘Harold’.
Please email finance@apwm.org.au
so we can send a receipt.

Cheque
Please send cheques to
APWM National
1 Clarence St
Burwood NSW 2134

(Gifts are not tax deductible)
Please note, if there are any excess funds, these will be separately tracked and used for future cyclone relief in Vanuatu.

What impact has COVID 19 had on the work of mission? In this video Danny Cooke from APWM talks about the situation in southern Vanuatu and the impact it has had on the local church and his family.

Thank you to Danny and the Cooke family for sharing this with us!

Australian Presbyterian World Mission is starting to receive enquiries from people who wish to donate toward the relief work that will be needed following Cyclone Harold in Vanuatu.

For those who want to help, there are two ways to make a donation:

Bank: Westpac

1. Direct Deposit

Account Name: Australian Presbyterian World Mission

BSB: 032 260

Account Number: 151207

And mark it ‘Harold’
Please email finance@apwm.org.au to let us know you have made a deposit we can send you a receipt. Unfortunately it is not tax deductible because the Australian Government has made it very hard to qualify for such a status.

2. Cheques can be sent to:
APWM National

1 Clarence Street

Burwood NSW 2134

Please direct any enquires to kevinmurray@apwm.org.au

Thank you

(Image from Presbyterian Church New Zealand)

Here’s an update on the impact of Covid-19 on the ministry of APWM.

Our world may seem to be closing in on itself, but God’s mission to unreached people hasn’t shut down! Many of our missionaries have decided to remain overseas so that they can keep on sharing the good news about Jesus through these difficult times. Their prayer letters over the last week have been full of news about the impact of the virus beyond Australia’s borders, and the need for the gospel to keep going out.

So, although our “bricks-and-mortar” office is now closed, we’ve put things in place to enable us to keep serving our missionaries and their supporters. APWM staff will be working from home for the foreseeable future.

We encourage you to keep giving your financial support. APWM and other mission agencies need our Australian supporters to keep on making donations so that our missionaries can continue to pay their bills and so serve the church. It may just take us a little longer than usual to send out receipts, and we ask for your patience with that. For enquiries about financial matters, email finance@apwm.org.au

And we’ll keep sending out our regular prayer updates. There is no ‘social distancing’ with God! Please keep on in prayer for the church on mission, that it may be a light to the world in dark days. The next edition of our prayer points will be sent out before the end of April. Our plan is that you’ll still receive them via the usual delivery method, which means that those who need hard copies will still receive them via regular mail. This would be a great time, though, to join the email list. Just send an email to national@apwm.org.au and ask Sheryl to update your records.

The best way to contact us for other enquiries will be via email: national@apwm.org.au. You can also contact our Director, Kevin Murray, by email (kevinmurray@apwm.org.au) or by calling his mobile phone 0421 366 720.

Phone calls made to our office at Christ College will go to our message bank, which we’ll check twice a week and reply as soon as we are able.