Summer 2022 Mission Update
Boldly Sharing
The definition of Christian means our behaviour and heart reflects Jesus Christ. As outlined in the New Testament, “Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26). Jesus taught them during His 3-year ministry what it meant to do the will of the Father. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)
Today, we are busy with many facets of our lives. When was the last time you focused on the Great Commission that we were all given? How are you spreading the gospel throughout the world, or even in your community? You may not have the gifts necessary to be a missionary in the far reaches of this globe, but you can still be involved and active in God’s plan. As partners and volunteers with CSM Canada, you can have an impact on the world.
CSM is just one small ministry here in Canada, but we impact dozens of ministries throughout the world. The Bibles and books you gather that are not being used here at home are put to effective use all around the world. In this effort we encourage you to ask your church for permission to place a basket or receptacle in the lobby that others can pass along materials also. You can ask for a list of what ministries are looking for by calling our office, or you can download the type of resources that we collect from our website for individuals and organizations in distance lands.
You may not be able to travel to these remote locations, but we are always looking for volunteers that can assist with sorting and packing the material to be sent overseas. This can involve a day, several days, a morning, or whatever time you have to work along side with other Christians as we prepare these “presents” for individuals all over the world. We may never meet, but they will be thanking and praying for each one of you for your efforts.
Another opportunity would be a transporter, who picks up material from churches, individuals, and organizations to bring to our warehouse. We have material being sent to us from Victoria to Halifax, as well as within your region. You can contact the office for more information on this possibility, which can be adjusted to fit your schedule.
Our organization runs on volunteers, but that still requires funds to pay for the warehouse costs, shipping costs, brokerage fees, etc. Therefore, we appreciate any and all financial support that you provide to us to continue with our mission. And most important of all, we need your prayer support for ourselves as well as the many ministries that we partner with to do God’s will. Numbers 6:24-26
Dennis Cheredar,
CSM Board Chairman
What's New at CSM?
It doesn’t seem like its been long enough for another newsletter, but time has flown in 2022! Thankfully its been a quieter year, and slowly but surely CSM has been building up to pre-pandemic levels of activity.
We were pretty excited to add the shrink wrap onto pallet #800! To be fair, CSM only started numbering pallets of books in 2016, so there have been many more than that (by my estimate, somewhere near 2,800). It made for a fun Monday though!
In late April, we heard the news that long-time friend of the mission, Doug Hysert, had passed away. Doug wore many hats at CSM, including sorting volunteer, container loader (grunt labour!), board of directors member and chairman, and volunteer BBQ host, among others. Even after faithfully serving for 19 years, Doug still picked up books and delivered them. Everyone at CSM extends their heartfelt condolences to Doug’s family and our gratitude at sharing him with them. The Lord made Doug a faithful man and we are all the better having known him!
Cheerfully in Christ, Valerie in the office
MARCH 2022 GHANA 29756 lbs
CSM’s very first container of 2022 headed out to Ofankor Bible Ministries in Ghana. It arrived at beginning of May and we have already started receiving letters of thanks from the recipients. Shipping costs for this container was $6,388.
APRIL 2022 GHANA 29974 lbs
Our second container of the year also headed to Ghana, this time to Ministry Pastors Network International. The container arrived late May and the materials are in the process of being distributed. Shipping costs for this container was $6,555.
MAY 2022 PHILIPPINES 30135 lbs
We were blessed to be able to send a container to support the expansion of Havesters Baptist Church (London, ON) into new areas of the Philippines. This container is expected to arrive at the end of July. Shipping costs for this container was $6,823.
Help Needed
The past year has seen a huge increase in materials coming into our Hamilton warehouse, above and beyond our capacity to sort through in a timely fashion. While we do have some storage space here for unsorted materials, we are full to bursting and could use some help in the warehouse!
There are two types of volunteers at the warehouse: sorters and packers. Packing is the simpler of the two and entails, you guessed it, packing! Just about anyone can pack, after a little training, and it’s a great way to working up to the more challenging sorting.
If either volunteer positions sound like your cup of tea, please contact our office for more details.
Spotlight: Ghana
The first container CSM sent to Ghana was in 2003, and was our fifth large shipment. Over the years since then, we have sent 37 containers filled with 1,223,603 pounds of Bibles and evangelical Christian literature to the country.
The country of Ghana is located on the west coast of Africa and its main seaport is Accra. Around 71% of Ghana’s 31 million people claim a Christian denomination, with about 20% identifying as protestant. Three out of four Ghanians are literate and English is the country’s official language.
We have always had a positive response from the people receiving Bibles and books in Ghana, but recently we’ve received some amazing testimonials and photos that we just had to share so you could see more of your support in action!
Testimonials from Ghana:
“I am thankful for your outfit for the good work you are doing for our people. We at Orphans Hope Plight have received boxes of Children’s Bible Story Books, Tracts, and some Bibles. Therefore I want to thank you for the resources you supplied to support our ministry, may God richly bless Christian Salvage Mission, and may God richly bless these resources. I have attached some photos of the distribution of the books to the children’s service. Thank you. Yours Faithful, Christabel A.”
“It’s great joy here to see many people trooping in for Christian books and Bibles to either support their ministry, convert in prisons, or for their families who need it. Our ministry receives several requests from different institutions across the country all of them looking for different types of books and Bibles to support their organization and we’re proud to be in the position to support them in their times of need. We’re grateful to God and to you CSM for shipments of Christian Books and Bibles you sent to our ministry which is impacting generations across the nation. We thank you for your continuous support and may God richly bless you. In His Service, Ps. Daniel”
