Life in Islamabad April-August 2022

Hebrews. 10:23 ” Let us hold fast the confession of our hope unwavering, for He who has promised is faithful.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here are the highlights of the church life in Islamabad:

Youth Outing/ Blending in April

                  The youth from the 3 districts that attend the YP Meetings had an outing/blending at a park in Islamabad in early April .  (See attached picture.) It took place a day before Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month, in which people, especially in groups, are not allowed to eat and drink openly. So praise the Lord for His sovereign arrangement that the youth were able to have a splendid time blending, eating, and playing games together.

Saturday Night Trainings

                  The Saturday night trainings from 6-8 pm started in early April at one of the families’ homes in the upcoming district, under the night sky.The first training was attended by 36 saints. (Please see attached picture.)

Two Families Were Sent Off From Islamabad To Begin the Lord’s Work in Faisalabad, the Third Largest City

                In mid-April two families (one Chinese-speaking couple and a local full-timer and his family) were sent off from Islamabad to begin the Lord’s work in Faisalabad, the 3rd largest city in Pakistan. (Please see attached picture.) A little ground work was done in the past for the initial contacting so there were already 2 families happy to receive the laboring saints. One of the family contacts has around 25 members!

               Currently, there are around 40 brothers and sisters attending the meetings. Praise the Lord!!!

National Brothers’ Training and Responsible Brothers’ Training in Lahore

             In early May, 40 brothers from the 4 local churches  ( Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, and Rawalpindi) had a 3-day stay-in training in Lahore. The messages were taken from the ITERO Conference April 2022. The brothers had such a wonderful time of blending and pursuing the Lord together.

             Another national training for the brothers was also held last month in Lahore, but this time it was only for the responsible ones. There were 17  in all  that attended it. They had the re-speaking of the messages from the International Memorial Day Conference in May 2022. (Please see picture below.)

Going and Coming of Saints from Taiwan

             In May, the brother from Taiwan that served in Pakistan for several years went back home to serve there. While he was here, he married a local Pakistani lady who was later gained in the church life ( and even many of her family members) after their marriage. They now have 2  children.

              Towards the end of last month, this brother came back for a visit bringing with him 4 elders from Taiwan and the 3 new, incoming serving ones – a newly married couple* (literally speaking, for they got married on July 23 and arrived in Pakistan on July 29! ), and a brother. (Please see their pictures below.) In the first picture, the brother that served here is standing beside his father-in-law. In the 2nd picture, they attended the LTM in Dist. 1 of Islamabad.

               * It’s very interesting to note that we had met the sister (Sister Naomi) in Urbana, Illinois, USA 7 1/2 years ago, when she just arrived as an exchange student at the University of Illinois, and we were being sent off by the church in Urbana (Champaign) to serve here in Pakistan.

 

More Baptisms

               In early July, 2 young brothers were baptized in Rawal Lake, the only lake in Islamabad. Then later on in the month, a few sisters from Dist. 2 were also bsptized. (Please see the pictures below.)

Two-Day Perfecting Training for Islamabad/Rawalpindi Saints in Dist. 2

                Just this week, on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 8-9 being gazetted holidays, we had a 2-day perfecting training in Dist. 2 from 9 am – 3 pm and 8 am – 12:30 pm, respectively. There were around 75 saints in attendance. We enjoyed 4 of the messages from the International Chinese-Speaking Conference held early this year. (Please see picture.)

UPCOMING EVENTS

1. National Sisters’ Training in Lahore (limited to 15 sisters only) on Oct. 13-22, 2022.

2. National Blending Conference in Islamabad on Nov. 12-13, 2022

3.National Brothers’ Training in Lahore on Nov. 14-26, 2022

4. Three- Months Perfecting Training in Lahore ( starting in December)

PRAYER BURDENS

Please pray that…

1. The saints gain more of the Lord through all the upcoming trainings and conferences, experience Him, and enjoy Him.

2. The laboring saints in Faisalabad find more seeking ones so that a strong testimony will be raised up there.

3. The 2 new communities in Islamabad where saints go for gospel preaching and have home meetings will be added as new districts.

4. The Lord allow the saints in Pakistan to have a spacious training center in Islamabad where more saints could be trained and perfected, and have a foretaste of a full-time training.

5.  The serving ones from Taiwan find a very suitable and safe place to stay.

Grace to you and peace be multiplied!!

In His Precious Love,

Raj and Meldy Bhatti