ROCK Monthly Updates

November 2020

November 2020

ROCK Resources

We praise God who is doing “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20-21) in opening doors for ROCK’s resources to equip believers and evangelize the lost. For example, this report just came in from a worker in Central Asia: We are planning a wide scale evangelistic push [for 7 language groups in 5 “closed” countries]. This project will meet physical needs which will open doors for local believers to share the gospel. We will distribute packages of food basics: rice, beans, flour, oil, and sugar. In these bags we will add a copy of the film King of Glory as well as a MP3 player loaded and protected with the audio New Testament. These packages will be distributed to families with whom our national church planters have contact. They will endeavor to sit down with the recipients and share the plan of Salvation with them. One of our partners in [one of these countries] has been doing this for the last two weeks and has led about 13 Muslims to Christ. The fact is that COVID is a huge open door for the Gospel of Jesus Christ as people are hurting. 

ROCKids

Thank you for partnering with us through your prayers and gifts to enable ROCKids projects to move forward. In Tanzania, our prayer is that the last buildings needed to open the Tumaini Jipya (New Hope) Secondary School for Girls will soon be completed. We still have quite a way to go before we have the designated funding www.donorbox.org/rockids-tanzania needed to break ground to build the science labs required by the government. Please join us in prayer to the Lord to provide all that is needed in His perfect time. Praise Him for all that He has provided so far. We are especially grateful for the faithful partnership with the churches in the region. Pray too that the local believers will not grow weary in the waiting. To watch a fresh video about this project, visit: www.vimeo.com/473416370 Pray too for our Niger workers who have just returned to their ministries since evacuating earlier this year; for strength and blessing in their many opportunities.

brianstich1975November 2020
October 2020

October 2020

ROCK Resources

Thank you for your prayerful and sacrificial part in what God is doing worldwide. What a month brings! Many stories could be told from a dozen lands where new language projects are being initiated. This month we received photos and videos from believers on the border of Afghanistan who are copying the KING of GLORY movie (in Dari and Pashto) on SD cards, putting them in match boxes with some pebbles and throwing them across the river to Afghan shepherds and others. A worker to that region writes: The King of glory movie is creating excitement and questions. It was shown in 11 homes near the Afghani border. It was well received and followed by questions and redemptive conversations. One Afghani trusted Christ. As they were watching KoG in another home, the area Imam walked in. He was furious and commanded them to shut it off and reject it. The homeowner replied, “You expect us to spit on our culture and shame our hospitality?” The Imam left. The next day, our men went to visit him. They gave him a swiss army knife and a flashlight as tokens of their friendship. He was amazed by their genuineness and invited them in for tea. As they were leaving, he accepted a KoG SD card. He asked them to come visit again and stay with him, and to bring him a Bible in Arabic. Pray.

ROCKids

Funds were sent to Senegal to build a basketball court in a village where a follower-of-Jesus couple live alongside their Muslim neighbors. This will be great for connecting and building relationships for the sake of the gospel. Pray for a ROCK-connected couple (with their three children) and single girl who plan to return to flood-damaged Niger this month. And continue to hold before the Lord the needs and challenges in the construction of the New Hope Secondary School completed and opened on the island in Lake Victoria for at-risk girls.

brianstich1975October 2020
September 2020

September 2020

ROCK Resources

Thank you for your share in the multiplicity of ways God is using the channel of ROCK and our coworkers around the world to produce and distribute multi-language chronological gospel presentations via radio broadcasts, audiobooks, books, and videos. Last month we reported the completion of the KING of GLORY movie in two more languages, Vietnamese and Pashto. Since then we have received reports of the movie being used in youth camps in Vietnam and we have received photos and videos of believers (in one of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries) putting thumb drives loaded with KING of GLORY in Pashto and Dari (Afghanistan’s two main languages) in matchboxes with pebbles as weights and throwing them across the river to Afghan men on the other side. Pray for protection and lasting fruit from these seeds planted. We praise God too that this month KoG language #41 will be distributed. That language is Tumbuka, spoken in Malawi, Southern Tanzania, and Eastern Zambia.

ROCKids

A new ROCKids project is about to get underway in Senegal: the construction of a basketball/multi-sport court in a Muslim village where a Christian Senegalese family lives. This court will facilitate recreation and development for youth, strengthen relationships, and create a context for showing God’s love and sharing His story and message. Thank you for praying for blessing upon the very process of constructing the court—that this and all such projects will be used of God to draw young and old to His love and truth. Please pray too for the people of Niger during this hard time where about 250,000 have been displaced due to flooding. Pray also for the ROCK-connected workers who plan to return to Niger this month. Thanks too for your continued prayers that the final buildings of the Girls’ secondary school in Tanzania might soon be provided for and completed.

brianstich1975September 2020
August 2020

August 2020

ROCK Resources

Thank you for your part in the many ways the Lord is using ROCK to reach people around the world. Last month several projects reached their finish lines. To name a few: After more than a year of working with partners in the regions of Vietnam and Afghanistan, the KING of GLORY movie’s 39th and 40th heart-languages were completed and released. Vietnamese and Pashto. By God’s faithfulness and the diligence and support of His servants, on the average, a new language is released every 6 weeks. Also completed in July was the KING of GLORY audiobook, which will reach new audiences, such as people who are blind or visually impaired. It is also being used on solar-powered audio players to reach oral learners, and a mission to the Amish plans to use it on a dedicated phone line that Amish people (who are forbidden to watch movies) can dial to hear each episode. Work also continues on FOR THIS REASON, a one-sitting version of KING of GLORY. Also in the final editing stages is a new book by ROCK founder Nate Bramsen, PROSPER: Enjoying Intimacy with God.

ROCKids

Despite the unknowns we all face, we know nothing is a surprise to our God. Please join us as we pray for those throughout the world that have been impacted by COVID-19. We are concerned especially right now for those who collaborate with us in Tanzania, in particular, one friend who is overseeing the building of the girls’ school. He is employed by the local church with which we partner. His work is mostly doing gospel-centered community development and education, but due to COVID, his funding may be cut and he may be forced to look for employment elsewhere. Will you pray with us for this dear brother? Pray too for others who are being forced to choose between their livelihood and safety for themselves and their families. Thank you for the way in which you partner with us through your prayers and gifts to enable ROCK projects to move forward.

brianstich1975August 2020

July 2020

ROCK Resources

Thank you for your part in what God is doing through ROCK’s media ministry worldwide. We are blessed to receive regular stories of individuals and families being touched and transformed as they come into a clear understanding of the gospel. A worker in Nairobi, Kenya wrote to us a few days ago telling us that the Swahili version of KING of GLORY is being shown on television. They receive a lot of feedback. A man named Musa said that he and his sisters are able to relate to the stories because of what they were taught in the madrasa (Islamic school). A newly converted couple told how they watched the movie together with their two small children. They loved it so much and it made them understand the Bible. Another man commented that the Bible is answering their questions as they watch KING of GLORY on television and their children are very excited. He wants to introduce his Muslim friend to it. During COVID, Christians have been giving out food parcels along with SC cards and thumb drives with the movie on it. One who received a parcel wrote: “I was continuously listening to the King of Glory movie on the SD Card. My three siblings thank you for it. It’s so interesting. Those I gave the SD cards too are really enjoying it and saying ‘Thanks-a-lot.’” This week we received requests from workers in 3 language groups that want to produce the movie in their languages.

ROCKids

Thank you too for your continued prayers and support for what God is doing in Senegal, Niger, and Tanzania. Concerning the New Hope Girls’ Secondary School on the island of Ukerewe on Lake Victoria, the construction of the dining hall and kitchen are close to complete. The government required science rooms will be next as the Lord provides. Thank you for your prayers for God’s provision and for wisdom in putting together the staff of Christian ladies who will invest themselves into this ministry to girls at risk. Amid the chaos, God is at work.

brianstich1975July 2020

June 2020

ROCKids

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for what God is doing in Niger, Senegal, and Tanzania. Dr. Rachel Hagues, ROCK board member and liaison with the believers in Tanzania writes, “Progress on the building of the Girls’ School is being made as the dining hall and kitchen are nearly complete. Thank you for your part in moving it towards completion. This is a build-as-funds-come-in project and 100% of donations go directly to the construction. Please also pray for the ways in which COVID-19 is taking its toll on families around the world and that the LORD would use ROCK to minister to people during this difficult season wherever He sees fit.” In Senegal, quarantine laws have brought great hardships on the people and great opportunities for the church to show Christ’s love. Prayerfully and intentionally, Senegalese believers have distributed rice and cooking oil along with sanitation kits and government-required masks (made by the girls of the vocational school). Hundreds of Muslim families have been prayed with and relationships strengthened. We pray that through these tangible acts of compassion, hearts will be opened to the hope found in the gospel.

ROCK Resources

Due to the diligent work of coworkers, the KING of GLORY movie is being segmented into 70 short scenes in many languages to make it more social-media-friendly. Multitudes in closed countries are being reached via YouTube and Facebook. We praise God for the many ministries worldwide that are requesting to use ROCK’s resources. We pray that in this difficult time of isolation, hurting souls will seek and find the true and living God. Pray for the Muslim world. A brother working in Central Asia recently wrote, “Muslims are exceptionally open right now it seems. Many are no longer arguing, they are just listening and asking questions.”

brianstich1975June 2020

May 2020

ROCK Resources

Thank you for your prayers and part in what God is doing through ROCK International. Last month, in one of the stan countries in Central Asia, amid strong opposition, God opened the way for the entire KING of GLORY movie to be broadcast twice on national TV. Individuals and communities are being impacted as the film captures their attention and communicates to them in their heart language God’s story and message revealed in the Scriptures of the prophets. One of the believers wrote: I've been rejoicing all day. During this time of quarantine, Muslims are exceptionally open right now it seems. Those with whom I am dialoging (on social media) haven't even been arguing, just listening and asking questions.

Please join us in looking to the Lord to touch minds and hearts worldwide during this year’s Ramadan (April 23 – May 23), which is like no other in history due to the imposition of social distancing. Typically, after breaking the day’s fast, Muslims spend evenings going to the mosque and socializing in their neighborhoods or in town, but not this year. Here’s another report from Central Asia: Though the world remains in quarantine, the gospel is not bound. The country is severely locked down, nobody is on the streets, so even the believers’ already outlawed underground church services are impossible. Yet, praise God for the trials, although no one can be out, we have found ways to continue meeting and evangelizing on almost a nightly basis. Over the last two weeks we have seen six Muslims come to Christ. Thank you for your prayers. God is being magnified.

ROCKids

Thanks too for praying for Niger, Senegal and Tanzania, where believers face like challenges and opportunities.
Pray too for the ROCK team members who have had to make quick and difficult decisions to return to their
homelands for a time. As one wrote, “We trust in the Lord’s sovereignty and His perfect peace….”

brianstich1975May 2020

April 2020

ROCK Resources & ROCKids

Thank you for your prayers and part in the continuing ministries of ROCK International – for the spread of a clearly understood gospel worldwide “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). While the coronavirus pandemic (a divinely ordered “time-out” for the world) has forced upon us the unique and uncomfortable practice of social distancing, with it also comes unique opportunities to connect and communicate God’s story and message to anxious, seeking souls via social media. Please join us in prayer:

1. that each of us will have the wisdom and readiness to seize the opportunities to spread the hope of the gospel in a contagious kind of way.
2. for God’s good news to spread like never before throughout the Muslim world and beyond. God is at work. One worker wrote recently of Muslims “who were very open to receiving prayer and responding to the gospel.”

3. for the Lord’s people to know His peace, protection, and provision, and for the growth of the church worldwide spiritually and numerically. Thanks for remembering ROCK-project connected workers in Niger, Senegal, and Tanzania during this hard time of social distancing in community/event-oriented societies.
4. that the Lord will guide the ROCK team as we seek to develop and implement a social media strategy that will help God’s people worldwide multiply their use of ROCK’s multi-language gospel resources to reach into communities and countries – to impact hearts and homes for time and eternity.

Thanks again for your faithful part in what God is doing. Take courage in these facts and promises from Him:
The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth… “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a
thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine. … Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
(Psalm 50:1,10-12,15 ESV)

brianstich1975April 2020

March 2020

ROCK Resources

ROCK Resources
KING of GLORY languages #36 (Dari of Afghanistan) and #37 (Telugu of India) were released last month.
Here’s some early feedback from one of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries: “Got to watch KoG in Dari with
the team and a few Afghani friends today. What a time! They are very excited about it.” And posted on
YouTube by a Telugu viewer: “Thank you! This is a much-awaited film!!”
If you like statistics, here are a few: •To produce the movie in a new language (translate, record, dub, and
field test) takes many teams 1 to 2 years, but since numerous KoG teams are working concurrently on such
projects, on the average, a new language is completed and released every 6 weeks. •In the month of January,
the KING of GLORY movie in its 35 languages had nearly 30,000 views with each person watching it for an
average of 12 minutes and 15 seconds each. •Since its release in 2016, the Swahili KoG Movie has had more
than 600,000 views for a total of 73,000 hours of watch time. 420,000 of those views have been in Tanzania.


ROCKids

Thank you for your part and prayers for the New Hope Girls’ Secondary School in Tanzania, which is about to
resume construction after working through a variety of challenges. Thanks too for praying for the team in Niger as
they press on in many realms. The new print-on-demand press at the Youth Development Center is a blessing to
the servants of God in that land for the growth of the church and the spread of the gospel. In Senegal, the radio
and movie media ministries, youth work, and girls’ vocational school continue to bless many for time and eternity.
The ROCK Idaho office team has launched a new Facebook page called ROCKin Homeschool, which features the
KING of GLORY Curriculum (KoG picture book, movie, study guide and coloring book). Share it!
https://www.facebook.com/rockinhomeschool

brianstich1975March 2020