ARC-News: May 2024

THE TRUE CHRISTIAN FAITH: DE FIDE ORTHODOXA

Amazon.com has just released my latest book:
(click →) The True Christian Faith: De Fide Orthodoxa - An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.

This book by St. John of Damascus (676-749 A.D.) is a more readable modern English revision of de Fide Orthodoxa in Latin and translated into archaic "King James" English in 1898. Written by a man who worked under Arian Muslim rule in Damascus, this is the first systematic theology of Orthodox Christian doctrines. This saint lived at the time when the Church was still united, so he is considered a saint in both Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Catholicism, and is also commemorated by the Lutherans, Anglicans, and Episcopalians.

To celebrate, I've reduced the price of each of my books to 50% off through May 31! So The true Christian Faith, normally $9.99 for the Kindle e-book and $19.99 for the paperback, now are $4.99 and $9.99 respectively.

My book The Good News of Yeshua, the Messiah, normally $9.99 for the Kindle e-book and $19.99 for the paperback, now are $4.99 and $9.99 respectively. This is the four Gospels blended together into one continuous narrative, about half the length of all four Gospels separately. It is the companion to my earlier...

...book A First-Century View of Yeshua, the Messiah, normally $5.99 for the Kindle e-book and $11.99 for the paperback, now are $2.99 and $5.99 respectively. This is my updated M.Th.S. thesis with an added appendix on my view of how to understand the inspiration of Scripture.

Then, if you purchase and like the book(s), it would be a great boost for my marketing if you would write a nice review on each book's Amazon pages to help spread the word. Thanks in advance!

You can also see all 3 of my books on my author's page:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-Hosken/author/B0CTXVHBVL

Your (not-so-humble but trying to be) fellow servant,

Bob Hosken

Sunday, May 12, 2024

RECOVERY IN EAST AFRICA

Simon's former main road In our special issue last weekend, we sent photos of the flooding in East Africa. Our friend Simon in Tanzania, who has built "Vision Complex" – an orphanage/school center for 50 AIDS orphans, sent us this photo of their former main road to their orphanage/school. It's now a pond for ducks and the only access is an even poorer road full of ruts. They lost their rice crop and the food for the orphans so we sent some money for maize to feed the orphans, but with the loss of their rice crop and seed, they lost $2,000 of income so they need $200 to buy new seed so they can re-plant. Our small non-profit, Agape Restoration Society Inc., has sent money for food, but we have limited income. Can you help us with this rice seed?

Please go to our giving page if you can help. The need is great, and we receive requests almost every day from others for assistance due to the flooding and for caring for AIDS orphans in East Africa. It's more than we can handle alone!

Another person in our 7 a.m. daily "Morning Prayers and Readings" is Maureen, who became an AIDS orphan in childhood: both of her parents died from AIDS. So her grandma, a widow herself, raised her. Maureen grew up, got married, had a baby girl, and then her grandma became disabled, so Maureen took her into their home. But her husband did not like this situation, so he abandoned the family.

Maureen's new dishes This left Maureen to care for grandma and little Kayla, as well as running a stall in the market to support them. Then, after losing her one-room house in a slum fire 2 years ago and rebuilding, now she has lost her new house and stall in the slum market to the flood: see "KENYA FLOODS DEATH TOLL TOPS 200 AS CYCLONE APPROACHES" and KENYA FLOODS: NAIROBI HOMES DEMOLISHED AS CYCLONE HIDAYA APPROACHES."

They were able to sleep in her daughter's school for a few nights, but the schools have to reopen on Monday. So we helped her get some new blankets, plastic dishes and buckets, and rent for a one-room apartment. But now that she's lost her business too, she needs ongoing support for her family until she can get going again. Can you help Maureen, Kayla, and Grandma? Please go to our giving page if you can help.

A Personal Note: Please forgive me for being a day late with this issue: I went to the emergency room last Tuesday and stayed in the hospital until Friday to have an ablation on my heart. Now I'm feeling normal, not dizzy or winded like the past several weeks: praise the Lord!

Saturday, May 4, 2024

FLOODING IN EAST AFRICA

flooding in Tanzania We have several friends in Africa and India who are regulars in our online "Morning Prayers and Readings" at 7 a.m. daily. Our friend Simon in Tanzania has built "Vision Complex" – an orphanage/school center for 50 orphans. They raise crops to help support this complex. Here's a photo from February this year showing their rice fields: at that time there was already heavier than usual rainfall in Tanzania and all of East Africa.

But as of last week, the situation has become much worse: the rains kept coming in Tanzania, Kenya, and Burundi, so much that many places were flooded. I asked our friend Simon today – "How is the situation with the flooding?" And he replied – "On my side I am safe and the rain has stopped almost two days though still network [internet] is not good ... other places in Tanzania the situation is worse but in the town I am living with the school only faced much rain and the roads are what impassable but people are safe to some extent." Then I asked – "How is your rice field? Is the crop OK, or ruined?" He wrote back – "Oh!! Robert, all the crops are ruined... I expect great famine in future... most crops went with flood. I can't tell, very serious...." Pray against famine in Africa! [MAY 5 UPDATE: Simon called us via Skype, saying the cyclone swept away the food for his orphans, so he needs $200 right away, and the loss of their rice crop sets back their budgen by $2,000. Our small non-profit, Agape Restoration Society Inc., is sending $200 today for food: can you help replace the rice crop income?]

Things are especially dire in Nairobi, Kenya: the rain and wind has reached cyclone force, and a dam broke and large areas in the southern part of this capitol city were destroyed and over 200 people have lost their lives: see "KENYA FLOODS DEATH TOLL TOPS 200 AS CYCLONE APPROACHES" and "KENYA FLOODS: NAIROBI HOMES DEMOLISHED AS CYCLONE HIDAYA APPROACHES". flooding in Nairobi More than 165,000 people had been uprooted from their homes including Maureen in Nairobi.

Here's a photo from Maureen, our friend in Nairobi and a regular in our "Morning Prayers." She wrote us – "Please, am in need of ksh950 [about $8] for a motorbike guy to help me in transporting the mattress for sleeping and some utensils for use if you can help, please." But I didn't see her message until later that day, and by then it was too late. I wrote back – "Did you save your mattress & other things?" She replied – "We couldn't because the water came inside the house while we were asleep so we saved nothing apart from our lives." They are sleeping in Kayla's school which is a little higher than the water, but have no food, all they have left is the clothes on their backs, so we sent some money for food. [MAY 5 UPDATE: We through ARS Inc. will do what we can to get her some food, clothing, rental housing, and medicine for her grandma. We're waiting hear from her what she needs right now. But she will also need long-term solutions for housing and employment. Can you help?]

Maureen became an orphan in childhood: both of her parents died from AIDS. So her grandma, a widow herself, raised her. Maureen grew up, got married, had a baby girl, and then her grandma became disabled, so Maureen took her into their home. But her husband did not like this situation, so he abandoned the family. This left Maureen to care for grandma and little Kayla, as well as running a stall in the market to support them. Then almost 2 years ago, a fire broke out in the slums of Nairobi and their little house burned down. So we raised funds to help her build another one-room tin house. Now that house has been destroyed, along with her little shop, this time by flooding.

Please help us provide some assistance to these dear people. We in the West live in nice, cozy homes, have plenty to eat (even too much!) and we worry about what outfit to wear at a wedding or even just about the toilet paper not tearing on the perforation! But these people have lost everything!

PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING $5, $15, or $25 TO SUPPORT OUR MINISTRY!