151
DONERVILLE ROAD LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA
17603 717-285-1900
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151
DONERVILLE ROAD LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA
17603 717-285-1900 |
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3,925 clubs
in 108 countries RECENT NEWS FROM SOME OF OUR ADOPT-A-CLUBS Read what is happening in some of the clubs which we support. |
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NEWS FROM: *BRAZIL CUBA *INDIA INDONESIA *ISRAEL (GAZA) *JORDAN KAZAKHSTAN PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES RUSSIA SOUTH AFRICA *VENEZUELA *recently updated |
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Additional clubs supported for 2008 - Israel Jordan Pakistan Kazakhstan |
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| Jardim Iracema Baptist Church, located in a
suburb of Fortaleza, Brazil, has a successful Awana club. Its success at
drawing in neighborhood children, however, proved to be a challenge for
the church. Many of the children in the community are left to fend for themselves
during the day while parents and other relatives wander the streets. A flood
of children from needy unchurched homes – three times the number of
the church's own children – taxed the club’s ability to provide
leaders and materials for the children, which adversely affected club discipline.
At one point, church leaders locked the front gate of the church at club
time, only to see children climb over the gate to get to the club. One leader proposed that church members “adopt” children, individually or as a family, and provide the finances for their club materials as well as establish contact with family, visit on a regular basis, and get to know more specific needs and prayer requests for each child. Soon after this project began, the leaders noticed a significant change in the clubbers, and have seen many come to Christ as a result of this personal interest. In addition, many families have opened their homes to receive spiritual teaching and attend church services. 3/11/08 |
| Diogo and Patricia Henrique, Awana missionaries to Brazil, joyfully reported some great news about a soccer clinic that reached many kids for Christ. Diogo wrote: "We had an Awana soccer clinic in Ipiranga. We had an MIT team of nine teens from the U.S. to help us. God blessed us so much! We had 92 children in attendance during the week, and 60 children raised their hands trusting Christ as Savior. Juca Cerpe, my fellow Awana missionary in Brazil, helped with the soccer skills. Pray that these children continue faithfully at church and that their parents come to know Christ as Savior." |
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There are 157 adopted Awana clubs in Brazil |
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There are 494 adopted Awana
clubs operating in India. |
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| This is a story from an orphan clubber in Elshaday
Awana club: "My name is Otto. I am in Sparks club. I like Awana. I received my entrance booklet and can sing the Awana Theme Song. I have memorized the Sparks motto and key verse. My father and mother died when I was 5 years old. Now I am 8 years old. I am very happy to have received my Awana uniform. I know Jesus from the Awana motto. I have always prayed with the leader, but now I can pray by myself even though it's short. I cannot afford to buy the handbook because my parents are dead, but the leader and I are praying for my needs. Yepmum lakon lao Awana kae yum. (Greetings to Awana friends worldwide.)" 2/1/08 |
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There are 31 adopted Awana
clubs operating in Indonesia. |
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A new club has started in Beit Sahour (next to Bethlehem), and the first-ever Awana club in Ramallah has been restarted! A Messianic group in Tel Aviv helped to finish and print the second Awana handbook in Hebrew. We take this opportunity to thank you for all the support you have provided for our Awana club. Your support is a great blessing to our club. You have managed to draw a smile on 25 children's faces every Friday as they gather for the Awana meeting. They are enjoying it very much and are being blessed by it. Team members also want to thank you for helping us in providing interesting, great material to teach the children. That was a great help for us ... Pastor Kakish and the leaders of the Awana Club in Ramallah. 3/11/08 |
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| CROSSFIRE KILLS AWANA BUS DRIVER - Gaza's Awana bus driver died instantly in crossfire between rival Fatah and Hamas militant factions vying for Gaza's control ... Rocket explosions echo throughout the tiny parcel of land inhabited by 1.5 million people, less than 2,500 of whom are Christian. Only some of them are evangelical. "It is very dangerous for everyone," Gaza Baptist Church leader Khader Khoury noted. Their church building dedicated in November of 2006 has also been scarred by gunfire. "We are just saved by the Lord. We don't have anything to protect ourselves." Their focus amid ongoing violence is a four-hour daily prayer movement. Following morning prayers, evangelicals visit homes of those too afraid to venture to the church. Ultimately Gaza's evangelicals trust that God holds Gaza and He will prevail. "God is good, and we are in His hands," said one leader. "He's our father and He will take care of us. I know it's very difficult. But He's still in control." | ||
 Christmas in Gaza |
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| Awana began in Israel in 1979. It started in the First Baptist Church in Ramallah. Currently there are four clubs, including three in Palestine. |  |
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Two coordinator candidates received training
and helped with the training of an Iraqi club in Mahatta to restart Awana.
3/11/08
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Awana began in Jordan in
1995. It was the first country to have Awana in Arabic. There
are currently three clubs in Jordan. |
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| When we heard
about the Awana program, we have accepted it and decided to work with children.
On November 5, 2000 we had our first session in a school gymnasium.
Many children of different age (7-13) came. The kids participated
eagerly in both games and textbook activities. They achieved remarkable
success. We thank God that He brings new children to us for many years,
He entrusts us the children's souls; enables us to rent the gymnasium by
endearing the school principal. But most importantly, God allows us
to see the fruits of our work: several girls, who were participating in
the club, have accepted Christ and are serving Him in the church now. Although the club leaders' team has changed several times for these 6 years, God blessed us, gave us unity, new ideas and encourages us to work for His Kingdom. This year we went out into nature for the first time, in honor of the sixth anniversary of our club. We rested well and socialized: we sang our favorite songs at the campfire, offered prayers to God thanking for His grace, went hiking, played games that would help us understand each other and learn more about club work. We have 35 children now. They willingly attend the lessons. They study God's Word and follow it in their lives. We believe that they will be great Christians. We and the children always need your prayers. Dear brothers and sisters, please pray, that God woulod grant us wisdom, patience and perseverence to sow the seeds of love, faith and hope in children's hearts and would send awakening among children! We appreciate it with all our hearts that you provided us with the manuals and equipment! Our team would like to continue our cooperation and communication in the future! Best regards, Awana club leaders from Ust-Kamenogorsk.
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NOTE - Awana began in Kazakhstan in 1992. There
are currently eleven clubs here. Materials are translated into Russian |
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There
are currently 40 adopted Awana clubs operating in Malawi. |
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| Thanks be to God for
His guidnce that we have so far 3 books duly translated and printed into
National language of Pakistan, Urdu Language. These books are Skiper,
Dove, and Deer. Hiker is ready for printing. Eagle is ready
to review for final shape. The translation of the Climber needs to
be checked and reviewed. We are going to work on Lion book in the
month of March. What a joy it is to share the work of Awana Clubs in Pakistan. Pakistan has a small Christian minority. Most of the Christian minority has not modern facilities to join such wonderful and systematic program. But we are thankful for Awana Clubs that it felt a real burden to reach the boys and girls and the families of this country. There were no text for Children Ministry in protestant and other Free Church Movement. But God opened the door for us that know the Text and it will be available for the Pakistani Christian children. Thank you for your prayers. |
| NOTE - Awana began in Pakistan in 1997. Currently there are eight clubs. Islam is the faith of about 97 percent of the people of Pakistan and the country is constitutionally defined as an Islamic nation. However, freedom of religion is guaranteed, and Hinduism and Christianity form the leading minority religions. Urdu is the official language, but English and Punjab, Pashto, Baluchi, and other ethnic languagtes are spoken. |
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| Hi. I'm Aisamae D. Amba. I'm 10 years old. I'm
a grade IV pupil. My parents are Christians. My father and mother are Bible
students. I am a new Flame clubber. My sisters are JVers. I like Awana because
I learn many verses and am happy to recite. I was saved July 25, 2004 when
I recited Ephesians 2:8-9. My leader explained it, and I accepted Jesus
Christ into my heart as my Savior. I then was baptized and became a member
of the church. I thank God that our church has this kind of program for
children." 2/1/08 |
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There are currently 92 adopted
Awana clubs operating in the Philippine Islands. |
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| There are currently 58 adopted Awana clubs operating in Romania |
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In Krasnoyarsk, Russia, Central Baptist Church
held its first youth camp several years ago. So many youngsters came that
they couldn’t accommodate them all in Sunday school after the camp
was over, prompting them to launch their first Awana club. The first year,
10 teenagers accepted Christ — and today, one of those teens works
with her husband as an Awana missionary in Russia. Central Baptist Church
has grown by 300 new members since Awana was launched and at one time
boasted 100 children and youth in the club. |
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There are currently 98 adopted Awana clubs operating
in Russia. |
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There are currently 52 adopted Awana clubs operating
in South Africa. |
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| The following is a
report from Owal Garcia, Awana missionary in Venezuela: It wasn’t long after Juan began to attend the Sparks club at Spring of Life Church in Venezuela that the young boy understood the truth of the gospel and trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior. Juan immediately became burdened for his parents to hear and believe the gospel message that had impacted his young life and began to pray with his leader for their salvation. Some time later, Juan’s father was seriously injured in an accident at work. Juan’s Oansa leader visited the father and shared the gospel. The father trusted Christ that day. Together, the father and son began to pray for Juan’s mother, that she, too, would trust Christ. A short time later, the mother was involved in an accident that focused her attention on God, and she, too, came to accept Jesus as her Savior. The entire family now serves the Lord at the Spring of Life Church. 3/11/08 |
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There are currently 182 adopted Awana clubs operating
in Venezuela. |
FOR REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
SPONSORED BY AWANA, GOTO ADOPT-A-CLUB TESTIMONIES |
