May 2019

Dear Friends and Prayer Partners,

As all Australians would know, we will shortly have another Federal Election. It is said that the people will have their say, and determine the outcome. However, the Bible paints a different picture. The Apostle Paul wrote of the plan of God “who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1.11). Even the great Nebuchadnezzar was inspired to write: “Now I , Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Dan. 4.37). Paul also wrote: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Rom. 13.1). How thankful we should be that we are not subject to a dictatorship (cp. Dan. 3.4-6; Acts 5.29), where the practice of Christianity is forbidden on pain of persecution or even death. In this land, we have the liberty to follow the Word of God, and we have the Spirit to guide us into all truth (see John 16.12). At a time when doors are being closed to missionaries, we still have the freedom to send the Gospel to all the world. Let us seize the opportunity, and pray that the Lord will continue to prosper the work of QMBC.

The students from the various prisons in Thailand and Hong Kong who are doing the QMBC lessons continue to give us much encouragement, and they are always keen to send us the names of new students to be enrolled in the studies. Please pray for all our students who are in prisons in various countries, as they face many difficulties which we know nothing about. We are now receiving the mail from Thailand on an irregular basis, and in batches of 40/50 at a time, approximately monthly. We are not sure why it is being held up like this, but now the mail from Hong Kong is also being delayed, so the problem could be here in Australia, possibly in Customs.

We have a few students who have already enrolled in our on-line lessons. We do not have any direct contact with these students, unless they contact us first. This is a feature built into the on-line lessons by the Mailbox Bible Club, to do with ‘child protection’.

As mentioned in the February Prayer News, our Chairman Kevin Jones was able to make a visit to Papua New Guinea to help organise the new arrangements for collecting and forwarding the mail to QMBC from that country. We are pleased to advise that so far the arrangement is working well, although unfortunately we are not getting many lessons being returned from our students there. We used to get hundreds of lessons from school students, but now we are getting very few. The cost of education in PNG means that many of the parents of our students cannot afford to send their children to school any more. Please pray that we may be able to make contact with some of these past students.

Praise Points

• For the continued provision of funds to meet every need.
• For new student enrolments, sent in by existing students.
• For those students who have professed salvation as a result of the lessons.

Prayer Points

• That the mail from overseas will come through more regularly.
• That we will have many enrolments for the online lessons from our new website.
• That past students who have not done their lessons for a long time will contact us again.

From our Students

Please take time to read the enclosed excerpts from some of our students’ letters and answers to assignments, which we are sure you will find interesting.

From students doing the basic courses:

Andrew, ex PNG student:

Thank God for the wonderful lessons I’ve learned when I was a teenager many years back. I have long forgotten my QMBC membership number [but] I praise God for the wonderful team of people who have been there before and even now, for their commitment to God in helping me to be where I am today. May God richly bless you all and the powerful life changing work you are doing…I am proud to say that I am one of those that did get the lessons and have lived by them through God’s grace…I am eternally grateful to Jesus for your ministry.

Mathias, age 36, Thailand:

I have accepted Christ as my Lord and my personal Saviour. I was born and brought up in a Christian family. I have a good mother and father that were always trying to direct me in a good way. They thought me good and moral. They did everything to influence me of knowing God but I rejected and chose my own way. They said ‘bad companions corrupt good manners’ and that is exactly what happened to me. I was influenced by friends and that is the cause of my present suffering [in prison]. I thank God that I am now a new creature in Christ, everything old in me has passed away and new has come.

Mable, age 69, USA:

My desire is to learn as much as I can about my Lord and Saviour…whenever I do your lessons they give me encouragement that I am spending time with the Father. Even after all these years I still have questions about understanding the Bible. However, I’m doing a lot better understanding it when I do the lessons. I’ve been saved since 1986. I know that my faith in the Lord Jesus is enough for me to receive eternal life.

Ana, age 32, Hong Kong:

To God be the glory! I’m very happy to receive my certificate and another booklet of another course in QMBC. I’m learning a lot of things in every lesson that you send me. I’m really glad to study this Bible course. I’m really thankful that during my lowest point, this Bible course became my turning point to know God more. I will just ask for some prayer request…to provide me more strength and courage to survive every day, and for the people who hurt me. Thank you, and I’m looking forward to get the next booklet from you.

Saran, age 33, Thailand:

I was born into a Buddhist family. When I was young, I knew only Buddha and I also believed in it as my God. My parents used to take me to Buddhist temples for prayers and sometimes to offer something to the monks. Then I began to live a life reflecting the religion and culture of the environment in which I was born. Sometimes I used to wonder if it was actually the truth. In my late teens, I was involved and addicted to narcotics. I became a drug dealer, my life grew worse. I did a lot of bad things, also criminal acts. I was caught by the police in 2011 and I was sentenced for 28 years and 6 months. Now I have been in jail for seven years and some months…After some time I began to meet many people from different countries’ culture and religion. I was moved by the kind of simple lifestyle that they lived. A man from Nigeria told me about Jesus Christ and taught me many things about Christianity and also he gave me a book that I never knew before, it was a Holy Bible. I was very surprised to know about another religion. I started reading the Bible then I joined them in Sunday Church services. In 2014, I took Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal Saviour. I was baptized by some missionary that came to the prison. Right now by the grace of God I am a believer.

John, age 33, Thailand:

I got your [enrolment] form from a friend who requested my enrolment. First of all I thank you for granting me the opportunity of doing your lessons. Since I repented, I met many friends in this prison who don’t know anything about the love of Christ. I talked to them, and some are now believers while others sometimes come to a Christian gathering. I am really interested in the lessons because I know that they will help me improve in my spiritual growth and will also help me move closer to our Lord God by researching and studying the word of God.

From two young students in Australia:

I wanted to let you know that these lessons are amazing! They are teaching us so much and helping me know more about God. All my friends are so happy with it and they love doing it just as much as I do! I live in a Christian family so I have known [about] God all my life, but one night I was thinking what would happen if mummy or daddy died and then I remembered that Jesus died for me and I accepted Him as Saviour. I’m so glad I did because the thought of dying no longer scares me, and He is a friend that is always there and He loves me no matter what I do.

From students doing the Panorama Course:

Paitheon, age 24, Thailand:

My mother was unwell, but on November 6 and January 8 she came and visited me inside the prison. I saw she was stronger than before. God answered my prayer. However, she has not believed in God yet. Please pray for this for me to ask God to make her trust in him, so that she will be happy. In my country (Laos), they are anti-God. If someone declares the Gospel, they are arrested.

Mzila, age 50, Hong Kong:

God is good all the time! Yes! Jesus is my Saviour. He is in me – in my heart – I am sure that the Lord Jesus came into my life here in prison. It was 2015 that I accepted him.

Luke, age 34, Papua New Guinea:

I do have a concern for my family members, and I had an experience in 2017. My brother was attacked by some spiritual forces of darkness. I prayed to God, believing him to heal him, and literally after five days God healed and saved him. My relatives witnessed this miracle from God, and were really amazed.

Ladies’ Bible Study Group, Australia:

We have just started the Panorama of the Bible series. All the ladies are most impressed and there is much discussion. So much so, that we might take ten years to get through it all. They say it is what we need to know in these last days to have the answers for people’s questions. [Average age 75.]

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