Spiritual Forces

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” Eph 6: 12 Please pray against the unseen spiritual forces of evil which hold many in bondage and inhibit them through fear and deception. May the Spirit of Lord bring freedom! May many Alagwa step out and follow Jesus.

Oral translation of Luke

We praise the Lord for His help in orally translating the first half of the Gospel of Luke! Please pray for the second half. Its a big task and we all need strength and perseverance and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to produce a good translation.

Discipleship training

Please pray for the month-long discipleship training the Alagwa church is hosting, with the hope to plant a church in a neighbouring village. 18 delegates have already arrived from various places and people groups.

Pray for these believers who have travelled far and are eager to learn, that they will be able to see God’s truth and his goodness clearly despite Satan’s attempts to distract and delay. Pray for fruit from this training: that many will be mobilised to share the gospel in new places. Also pray for a lasting effect on the sending churches, that they would have a passion for the lost, and a vision to keep sending people out.

battle for a soul

An Alagwa friend called to say she would be unable to visit our village, because she was sick. When we discussed rescheduling she told me, “tomorrow I have church.” Praise Jesus! This friend is fighting a hard battle right now against the evil of this world. Please pray for her to have continued encounters with Christ. Even if we are unable to meet face to face, may she be able to feel and experience the presence of Jesus daily.

Translation work

Please pray for the Alagwa translators working on the book of Luke, particularly today and tomorrow. Some translators are Christians, but most are not.
Pray for good understanding and a clear translation, so that many Alagwa will be able to hear and understand God’s word in their heart language.
Please especially pray for the translators who are not believers, yet are spending whole days studying God’s word. May their eyes be open to the good news of God’s love for them.

New leaders!

Praise God for the new leadership now in place in the church planted amongst the Alagwa in one village. There are two elders and two deacons. Of the four of them, two are Alagwa and two are not Alagwa but have come in to the area as teachers at local schools. Pray for these men, that they will continue to grow in the love of God and in their leadership.
Pray for the church pastor as he mentors these men in their leadership roles.

Jesus at work

Please pray for S. He was sick with a cold and fever and came to seek prayer, even though previously he had been nervous and not wanted to even come in to our house. This time he did come in, and we prayed for his healing in Jesus’ name. And Jesus healed him! Since then he’s made multiple visits to share with our family. Yesterday he told us about similarities between what the Bible says about Jesus and what his faith says about Jesus. Please join our prayer that he will continue to see and seek these connections, and to tell others about what he is learning as Jesus works in him.

Desire and Excitement

Please pray for an Alagwa man who has been listening to and learning the Bible stories. He now wants to gather his two best friends and share the stories with them. He has a desire and excitement to share Jesus with his friends and then the community. Thank God for his passion and please pray that the Holy Spirit enables him to persevere with his plans.

Overcoming Fears

Please pray that the Alagwa will overcome any fears they have and put their faith and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Pray that those who have done so will be a powerful influence and example to others who are considering whether to take the step of faith.

Bible school outreach a success!

Thank you so much for your prayers; the visit was a great success. Some students left Monday morning already with a sense of calling to work amongst the unreached after finishing Bible college! Many (including elders, pastors, and their wives) left with a heart to continue praying for the Alagwa. They encouraged the believers, especially one student who was an MBB and gave his testimony Sunday morning. Please continue to pray for all who came that the Holy Spirit would water the seeds that were planted in their lives.

mission trip

As a team, we are hosting 29 Tanzanian Bible School students, pastors and their wives, and other church leaders from today. It was organised with the purpose of exposing them to Muslim ministry, and encouraging a heart for mission. Please pray for all the practicalities, but more than anything, that God will use these five days to call many into mission and into mobilising their congregations for mission.

Faith Comes By Hearing

Please continue to pray that the Word of God can be translated into the Alagwa language, and that through this process many will put their faith in Jesus Christ. We know that faith will come by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ that is preached to them.

After 5 Years He’s Softening

Praise God for an elderly Alagwa man who, after 5 years of hearing and understanding the gospel yet refusing Jesus, is finally turning towards Jesus. Please pray that he would continue to open his heart up to God. Please also pray that he would share more with his wife, so that they can follow Jesus together.

Outreach to the Alagwa

A team of students from two Bible schools will be visiting for outreach ministry the Alagwa people in the town of Kondoa on the 25th to the 29th April 2018. We want God to use all of us for the ministry of encouragement, prayers, presence, as well as doing all that will benefit the body of Christ there (the Christian team living among this people group). Pray for good results by the Holy Spirit, good health and the unity of the team. Thanks!

Not So Secret

Praise God for the ladies’ Bible study group in one area, which came out of the desire of a “secret” believer that many other neighbours would hear God’s word. Pray for this believer, that she would grow in Jesus and would seek to run this group completely on her own.

A Hungry Couple

Pray for an Alagwa couple who are beginning to listen to the Alagwaisa Bible stories and seem to have a real hunger to understand the ways of Jesus. The husband is taking a lot of ownership in the process, facilitating and encouraging his wife’s learning. Pray for them to come to Jesus together as a family and for them to live a courageous and clear witness in the community.

Continuing to Rely on Jesus

Praise God for the Alagwa woman baptised a few months back. Despite having come from a hugely demonic background, she is continuing to follow Jesus and rely on him. Please pray for her as she continues to be discipled. Please pray for protection and – Ephesians 3, 17-8- a deepening understanding of how much God loves her.

Open Their Eyes Lord

Please pray that God would open many Alagwa eyes to their need to repent and turn to Jesus. Many eyes are blinded to sin, and people feel that somehow they will be ok with God. May they know the true freedom from sin and the joy of being God’s children.

Encountering Christ through His Word

Please pray for the Alagwa who are helping translate the book of Luke, especially those who are not Christians. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes and give them the skills and wisdom they need to translate God’s word. Pray that they would encounter Christ through his word and commit their lives to him.

A Huge Step For Her

Please pray for the 5 believers who were baptised Christmas Eve, for their discipleship and strengthening. Pray especially for one of them who had been possessed and oppressed by serious demonic forces for many years. She had been challenged to follow Jesus a number of times over the last few years and has been prayed for many times. In the last few months, she finally accepted her need for Jesus and decided to follow him. This is a huge step for her. Please pray for her protection, and that the Holy Spirit will teach, strengthen and protect her over the coming weeks and months.

Boldly Proclaim

Please pray that the Alagwa Christians will boldly proclaim their faith in Christ during the Christmas season, and that others will take courage from their example.

Rapid Progress

Pray for the Bible translation among the Alagwa to progress. That the word of God may spread rapidly and be glorified.

Jesus set them free

Pray that the Alagwa will be set free from their fears to follow Christ. He is the one who came to deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Pray He will do that for the Alagwa.

Break their Bonds, Lord

Please continue to pray for the Alagwa! Pray that God will break their bonds, crush the strongholds that Satan has over them, and usher them into walking in freedom with Jesus.

Storying with a Family

A young Christian woman is going through the Bible story set with her neighbours Mama and Baba S. It is the first time of storying with a family unit who are not believers, where both the husband and wife are committed to learning the stories. Pray that God will use this MIGHTILY in this family’s life! Baba S, in other circumstances, quietly observes and reflects on a new way of doing things, and then one day makes the plunge. Pray that he will make the plunge into faith in Christ.

Two Young Men

At the home of the national pastor, two young Alagwa men came to ask their questions. Is Jesus really God? How can God be a human being? If a person’s sins are washed away by His blood when they trust in Him, what happens when they sin again? Do they once again “have sin”? For over an hour the Christians answered and shared Scripture. Please pray for the salvation of these two young men, and that their families will also embrace Christ.

May the Husbands and Children Love Jesus, too.

Pray for two households with believing wives who listen to recordings of Bible stories in Alagwaisa and Scriptures in Swahili in the evenings together with other family members. Pray for their husbands and children to be drawn to Jesus too.

Families Discovering the Love of God

Please pray for opportunities to share Jesus with family groups. Sometimes it can be hard to find times when everyone is together. Pray that as families discover the love of God they can choose to follow together and support one another.

Impact their Lives

Please pray for the Alagwa involved in the translation week last month. Pray especially for those who are not believers; may the word of God continue to impact their lives and turn their hearts to him.

Persisting in Seeking Jesus

Please pray for an older Alagwa lady in one village, who is really persisting in seeking Jesus. Recently, when troubled by demonic attack, she asked a team member to pray for her. The team member also encouraged her to pray for herself, which she did in the name of Jesus. Soon after, she was released and was able to get up and just carry on her daily activities! Please pray for this lady, that she would continue to grow in her hunger for Jesus and would be emboldened to commit her whole life to Jesus.

As Families

Please pray for opportunities to share Jesus with family groups. Sometimes it can be hard to find times when everyone is together. Pray that as families discover the love of God they can choose to follow Jesus together and support one another.

Emboldened to Commit Her Life

Please pray for an older Alagwa lady in one village, who is really persisting in seeking Jesus. Recently, when troubled by demonic attack, she asked a team member to pray for her. The team member also encouraged her to pray for herself, which she did in the name of Jesus. Soon after, she was released and was able to get up and just carry on her daily activities! Please pray for this lady, that she would continue to grow in her hunger for Jesus and would be emboldened to commit her whole life to Jesus.

Physically Attacked

Please pray for an Alagwa believer, who recently has come to visit family. They have put tremendous pressure on her to return to Islam. Yesterday she made a stand by joining the other believers for church. Later, she was physically attacked by a family member. Please pray for her! May she find her strength and comfort in Jesus. May her family see her witness and repent and turn to Jesus.

Alagwa Breakthrough Prayer

“Father, by Your Spirit bring to the Alagwa freedom from fear, that many will come to know Your love and follow Jesus.”

A Mighty Work of the Spirit

Pray for the Holy Spirit to work mightily among the Alagwa, filling the believers with boldness to confess their faith in Christ to their families and friends. Pray for unity among the missionaries and nationals who are working to reach them with the gospel. Pray that the Word of God will be translated and that many will hear it and believe.

A Week Of Bible Study

Please pray for the next Scripture translation week in July. Pray for all the translators to be able to attend, and for God to prepare their hearts as they come for a week-long Bible study! Particularly pray for the translators who are not believers, that their hearts and spirits would be touched by God, and that they would respond to Him. Please also pray for the challenging logistics to come together well.

Praying for Her Children

Praise God for a believer being discipled who is starting to pray in earnest for the salvation of her children. Please pray with her!

Complete Deliverance from Demonic Spirits

Please pray for an Alagwa believer who is passionate to see his mother released from demonic oppression. His mother has heard the gospel and would like to be prayed for and to follow Jesus. Right now, the demon gives her power her to practice as a witchdoctor and has a fairly large amount of control over her. Last Wednesday evening this man planned to go with two older Christians to pray for his mother. Please pray for this woman’s complete deliverance and that she would commit her life whole heartedly to Jesus.

Planned But Not Yet Started

Please pray for a ladies’ Bible study group, being planned with an Alagwa believer. It has not yet started, maybe in part due to good rains which have meant that farming is taking much of the ladies’ time. Please pray that God will make this group happen in his way and time. Please pray for a continued passion in the heart of the Alagwa believer to see her friends and neighbours hear God’s word and find his truth.

Stepping Out in Prayer

Praise God for an Alagwa believer. She shared how she had been praying for her husband as things had not been good between them. Previously, she had gone to one of the team for prayer. This last week, some of the problems began to reoccur, so she just started to pray on her own, and saw God change the situation around. What an encouragement to see her stepping out in prayer.