Fall 2021 Mission Update
Keep Running
“…And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
Dear friends of Christian Salvage Mission,
In March of 2020 I was at Falconer, NY where I went to provide an update on CSM to the First Baptist church. Soon after I crossed the border to return to Canada, the authorities closed the border in an effort to stop the spread of COVID. You could say that I barely escaped being stuck in USA. So much has happened in these 18 months.
Apart from the tragic stories of sickness and death that we have been hearing, we have heard several stories of being stranded in foreign countries, stranded in airports due to flight delays. Stories of job and business losses, depression due to loneliness and so many more. This pandemic has re-written the normal way of living and has effected every area of our lives. We don’t know when we will, or if we ever will, return to the old normal. We are humbled and so thankful that even during this tumultuous times, the Lord was gracious to keep all at the mission and their families safe and secure.
Of all the lessons that the pandemic has taught us, the one that really stands out for me, is the realization of the importance of time and the need for running the race ahead of us with more urgency than ever. The World was and is scrambling for a cure or remedy for the virus, gripped by the fear of death as they don’t know what is expected on the other side of life. Those in Christ Jesus have an eternal hope and confidence of security and peace on the other shore. My friends, this knowledge was gracefully revealed to us by the Lord and there is nothing more valuable than this truth and the hope that it brings to us. But the World around is perishing and the Lord’s will for us is to share this Gospel of grace to those around us.
We thank you for standing alongside us in our efforts to spread the Good news to others. We praise God for your continual support and prayers for the mission even during this time of trial. All the work at the mission is going ahead smoothly with a steady influx of materials and our volunteers and Murray working extra hard to keep the workflow. We were able to send a container in July and August, both to organizations located in Ghana, and are praying for smooth sailing of the materials to the country. We again request your continued prayers and support as it your co-operation that has kept the mission activities going.
Blessings, Philipson Philip, CSM President
What's New at CSM?
After three months of prayer and working from home in whatever capacity we were able, we were finally able to re-open in June! Since then, we’ve received an absolute outpouring of materials and support. Our volunteer coordinators and transporters, most of whom would only have a small amount of collected materials to keep at one time, have sat patiently on heaps of boxes in the garage.
In some cases, our volunteers are still holding piles of boxes to help us here in the warehouse not become overwhelmed.
Our inside volunteers, the sorters and the packers, and staff are working as quickly as possible to process a backlog of books. What would normally take a month or more to sort is taking just a couple of weeks. Somehow, everyone is managing to do the work of two people. We are grateful and humbled.
As we head into the Fall season, we are hopeful to be able to stay open and continue our work. We know that despite what happens in the world, the Good News must be spread and we want to do our best to support ministries everywhere.
Memorial Notices
We were saddened to hear of the loss of several of our long-time supporters and volunteers over the past few months.
William (Bill) Unrau of Welland, formerly Beamsville , ON, served on CSM’s original Board of Directors when we first started sending books in the 1990’s. Bill was a gifted fellow and helped us on numerous occasions for many years, in addition to service on the board. We will miss him and his fellowship. Bill was in his 84th year.
Longtime volunteer area coordinator, Les Tulloch, of Sault Ste. Marie, ON, went home to Christ. Les was a local favourite, and we always enjoyed receiving phone calls letting us know of an enormous shipment of books a few times a year.
Retirement Notices
Our heartfelt thanks go out to the following volunteers who are retiring: Ken Donald of Brantford ON, Hank Schriel of Ottawa ON, Randy Carter of London ON, and Bill Howie of St. Catharines ON. Thank you gentlemen (and supporting spouses and families) for the work you’ve helped with and your generosity of spirit and time!
Testimonies
Hill Top Intercessor Church, Ghana
Hello CSM,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus. I hope by the grace of God you are doing well as we are doing here. We are very to writing to you this letter of appreciation, to say thank you much for the boxes of books and Bibles you send to support our ministry. Please attached are pictures from the distribution and I hope it will help motivate others and your partners. You are really appreciated and may the good Lord bless you all in the mighty name of Jesus.
Yours, Pastor. William
Kumasi, Ghana
Our ministry is grateful for your love for the kingdom of God, we are very grateful to God for the Books and Bibles you sent to support our Ministry, we received 20 Boxes, and may God richly bless you all. Please in the process of the distribution we took some videos and photos, I am sending them to you to confirm that we have received the Books and Bibles you sent to us. Thank you and may God richly you all.
Yours Faithful,
Rev.Emmanuel Quarshie
Shipping Updates
Arranging for container shipments can be complicated and trying at the best of times. Between dock strikes, rail strikes, container shortages, and a pandemic, its been very trying indeed. Despite all that, or perhaps because of it even, the Lord has been faithful in providing us with the materials we need. He’s given us hands to sort and pack the materials and funding to pay for the containers and day-to-day expenses needed to keep the ministry running.
March—Kerala, India 31,257 lbs.
Usually, we would have seen two or three containers shipped out by March. It seemed frustrating to have to wait so long to be able to send, but Salem Mercy Home in Kerala, India, was happy to receive their container in good, if delayed, order. We had a crew of five volunteers load up the container on our end. We’ve had word that distribution is well under way. Salem Mercy Home is a long-time, regular, recipient and we trust they will spread the books far and wide. Total shipping costs for this container were $4,737CAD.
July—Kumi, Uganda 30,197 lbs.
Just a few short weeks after we reopened, we loaded up a container to a first-time recipient from CSM, the Christian Revival Center in Uganda. We had a larger than usual loading crew for this container, which worked out well as it was a very hot day and extra breaks were needed! This container was cleared in early September, and we expect distribution information any time now. The total cost to send this container was $6,564CAD.
July—Accra, Ghana 29,496 lbs.
We have a running joke around here about never actually seeing the “back corner” of the warehouse. No matter how many containers we ship, we just never seem to clear out the last four skids. Well! This was the shipment that showed us the back corner! This container is en-route to Ministry Pastors Network International, who is also a long-time recipient of CSM’s. We should be hearing very soon about distribution as it was just cleared through customs on September 20th. Estimated total shipping costs for this container are $6,063CAD.
August—Kutunse, Ghana 27,780 lbs.
This container was something of a surprise. We had it scheduled for a particular day, only to receive a call that the shipping line had moved up its departure and could we load the container tomorrow? Our volunteers thankfully were available on extremely short notice! We expect the container to arrive in Africa early November, and the books to make their way to the Ofankor Bible Ministries shortly thereafter. Estimated total shipping costs for this container are $6,200CAD.
September —Manila, Philippines 17,879 lbs.
Prayer Items
As we head into the winter months, please keep us in your prayers. We are hopeful the Lord will make a way for us to send a partial container and one more full container before the end of the year.
4 Comments
Titus Mambwe
We would like to learn from you on how you can come alongside us and partner with us here in Chingola ,Zambia through global missions by extending your programs and ministries to us here .
We are requesting for literature to use in our Evangelistic outreaches and Discipleship programs .
We are praying for Bibles ,Bible Dictionaries and commentaries ,magazines ,Christian books ,Sunday School teaching materials ,tracts and other literature’s .
Thank you in advance as we remain looking forward to hearing from you and working together as we labor together in the service of our Master for the extension of His Kingdom and precious Soul’s .
Titus and Paita Mambwe.
Serving local communities in Zambia .
csmcanadainc
Thank you for your support and prayers. Please contact us via the contact form to find out more information about containers.
Protus Masika
I’m very happy to see this great ministry doing greater work.
Kindly let me know if we can also receive books and bibles.
Our ministry is called
Emmanuel full gospel ministries fellowship.
Praying for you all the staff and layworkers.
csmcanadainc
Thank you for praying for CSM! Please contact us via email to find out more information on containers.