Literature Testimony and Construction

March 2, 2022

Dear friends and family,

It is time for another quick update on our activities. So many exciting things are happening, and we cannot share them all at once. Today we will bring you a couple stories from the publishing ministry at the hospital and an update on the new print shop construction.

One of our friends, Beni, spends a lot of his time ministering to the spiritual needs of the patients at the Bere Adventist Hospital. We supply him with literature, and he is able to distribute literature to those that want it. He often prays with the patients and tries to encourage them. Below is a testimony he shared with me recently. Here is what he said:

"Truly, it is sad news that I heard this evening. Earlier, there was a patient who came to the hospital for a surgical operation. His name was Stephen. I gave a Bible to him and prayed for him and I went one time to his house and prayed for him.
"This evening I saw a message that he sent to me on my phone. It was strange to me. Stephan’s message said, 'I need to talk with you immediately. Please call me.' Before I could call him, he called me. He said, 'Beni?' I replied, 'Yes, I hear you.' After that, he said, 'Today, it is finished for me. I will die. I have suffered a lot. But, I want to thank you because of the Bible that you gave me. I believe in the Word of God. I believe that Jesus has saved me from my sins. I have repented from all of my sins and Jesus has forgiven me. But today, I am tired, and I am going to die.'
"A few minutes later, I got a call from his sister saying, 'Your friend Stephan just died after talking with you.'
"Now, Stephan is no more. Truly, pray that God will console his family. We hope that by God’s grace, when Jesus returns, Jesus will resurrect him. Since he accepted the truth, repented, and believed in Jesus, we thank God."

The Word of God is powerful, and life-changing. Here at Desert Tree Ministry, our stock of French Bibles is depleted, and we are currently researching where we can get a large number of Bibles printed. We hope to print at least 10,000 Bibles with study guides in the back. If we include shipping for a recent quote we received, the Bibles would probably be around $6 each. Please prayerfully consider if the Lord would have you help us financially with this project.

Please pray for Beni as he ministers to the patients at the hospital and continues to distribute gospel literature. Here is a picture of him and his family.

Part of our ministry includes helping those who are truly in need. We are surrounded by enormous suffering. We cannot help everybody, but we are happy to be able to help a few. Because of a generous donation of clothes recently, we have been able to help many people with better clothes. Many people only have one or two outfits, and those are often torn and raggy. One lady we were able to help was a blind lady who has been doing what she can by making bricks. It is amazing to watch her feel around with her hands and form bricks to build a small wall near her house. She was very grateful to receive some better clothes.

Construction on our new print shop is almost finished, for now, until our container of equipment and supplies arrives.

The concrete floor is poured, including the porch area in front. Most of the painting is also finished.

We are very grateful for a donation of a very nice solar system. We have installed 12 panels on the roof and a very nice Outback controller/inverter/storage system in our electrical room.

Recently we were able to mostly finish the ceiling in the layout and design room.

For now, most of the construction is paused until our container arrives. If everything goes well, it should arrive before the end of March. Then we can finish the electrical work and the interior work in the machine room. Please pray that the container will pass through customs and transportation without troubles.

In the meantime, we have plenty of work to do. Writing, translation, editing, layout continues.

If you need specific prayer requests, here are a few ideas:

• Peace in Chad
• Protection and health for our entire team
• Wisdom to make wise decisions
• Our order of Bibles
• Spirit of Prophecy books project about to officially start
• Our paper order

That's it for now. We'll share more next time. As we watch events around us locally and around the world, we have no doubt that Jesus is going to return soon. May we all be found faithful, serving Him when He returns.

In His service,
Jonathan, Melody, Gideon, Liliana, and Eliora Dietrich