I have a very good friend who is a Hindu. We have known each other for more than 10 years. I enjoy fellowship in their house at least twice a month, often more. He and his father are very strict Hindu in the visual application of their beliefs. My friend is strongly opposed to talking about anything spiritual. As I labor to turn the conversation toward Christ, he quickly changes the subject. But slowly that wall is beginning to come down, especially with his elderly father. Please pray with us that Christ will draw this family and they will open the door to hearing The Gospel. Pray that they will see that there is only one true God and one true Savior!
Going out to share
Praise God for seeds planted as church members went to share the good news of Jesus door to door in a nearby area two days last week. May there be good soil in people’s hearts for God’s word to take root in. Pray too for the believers who shared their faith; may they grow in boldness and continue to reach out to others.
Turning to God
Please pray specifically that people will turn to God (and not to the witchdoctors) in these difficult and challenging Covid days. Early on, a large quantity of Government advice leaflets were distributed throughout the community and we began a program of teaching people how to wash their hands effectively. We made two short videos – one in Portuguese and one in Chindau– demonstrating this technique and giving advice. Before lockdown, a number of churches were also visited to give a short presentation. This was followed by a scriptural message pointing people to Jesus and encouraging believers to share the hope we have for eternity. Ask that God will continue to bless these efforts and that souls will be set free from bondage.
Two Percent
Pray for the momentum of the church-planting movement among the Sandawe to increase, and that by the end of 2020, two percent of the Sandawe people will be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray also that in every major Sandawe town and village there will be a vibrant, Christ-centered church that is devoted to evangelism.
May they trust in Jesus
The name Abdi means hope or trust – and is a very common name here. Pray that God would draw many of the of ABDI’s and their families to become strong disciples of Jesus who will make more disciples who will make more disciples of Jesus – beginning the O people group disciple making movement!
A Movement of Conviction
Praise the Lord for the few believers who live among the Ndengereko. Pray for a movement of the Holy Spirit to convict the Ndengereko of sin, righteousness and judgment, and that many of them will put their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation.
New believers
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for the way you are transforming individuals and families. Thank you for new believers within one family and for their boldness to share with other Berbers online and for new brothers through their witness. May each new believer continue to abide deeply in Jesus, eat the bread of truth, and speak the gospel.
Waiting for Workers to Come
The Digo are waiting for more Christian workers to come live among them and share the gospel. Pray for doors that hinder to be flung wide open and for the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to the Digo.
Shared Widely
The Datooga are a very large tribe spread over a huge area in Tanzania. Pray that those areas without the gospel can soon receive the good news of Christ and His love. Pray that the Jesus video, the Scripture recordings, and the Datooga Bible will be shared widely, and that hearing the Word of God will bring faith.
Live a life worthy
May each Arab believer live a life worthy of the calling they’ve received, humble, gentle, bearing with each other in love. Ask that willing humble shepherds courageously teach everything Christ commanded in love without any thought to power or position.
Bible Stories
Pray for school age kids being discipled on Nosy Mitsio. Pray that hearing the stories from the Bible will change their hearts and that they will be the generation that turns to Christ.
Every Corner of the Tribe
The Borana pastors want to keep spreading the gospel to all the small settlements and villages where people have not yet heard about Jesus and His salvation. Pray that the Lord will put it on many hearts to take the gospel to every corner of the tribe. Pray that as the number of believers grow, they will be salt and light.
Opposition
Please pray for an Alagwa man who has started to follow Jesus. He is now encountering opposition, including being physically attacked. Please pray that he keeps following Jesus. Pray also that God will send people to encourage him as he works away from home.
Bible study groups
Pray for 4 Bible study groups scheduled to meet this week – that they would not fear but hunger and thirst for truth and righteousness. Pray that the Holy Spirit would grant them understanding, and that many would respond to receive salvation through Jesus.
Translation work continues
Pray for John and his team translating the New Testament into the Suri (Kacipo-Balesi) language. They are currently doing advisory checks on Luke and Matthew, and are drafting chapter 3 of the gospel of John.
Deliverance through Darkness
Due to insurgent violence, the town of Mocimboa has become a place of loss and grief running to the depths of traumatised hearts. Desperation for rescue permeates weary minds. Pray that God would send angels to guard over his people and rescue them. Pray that truth would reign through the darkness of fear. We trust in our good and all-powerful God. He knows each heart and loves them dearly.
A Running Club
In a community center in the predominately Islamic part of the city, many young Somali, Swahili, and Arab girls come to spend time with the Christian staff. We’ve recently started a running club, and are dreaming of many other programs such as art and music classes to initiate relationships with families in this community. The goal in each of these programs, clubs, and classes is always to bring the name of Jesus into homes and to families. Please pray for us workers to be bold in making Jesus famous on the Swahili Coast! Pray specifically this week for the young 20-something girls S, L, and A! (Swahili, Arab, and Somali, respectively)— that they will be drawn to Jesus in the lives of the workers there and that intentional Gospel conversations would happen even this week!
Questioning the Status Quo
On the Island, cultural events have gone underground, with weddings and funerals being held quietly instead of community-wide events. Mosques are closed, a strange thing for Islanders. Pray that disruptions in the normal rhythms of life and worship would cause people to question the status quo. Pray for the brothers and sisters, both local and expat, that they would be people who resolve conflicts, forgive and work together with love and mutual respect.
Watching and Praying
After sharing the Jesus film with one family, we are now receiving requests from others who also want to watch it. Pray for this seed to be watered by the Holy Spirit and that the people’s hearts will be opened to understand what they see. Alongside this, the Bible story set is still in its infancy but the local workers are faithful and it’s going very well. Pray for this group of people as we wrestle with scripture, culture and sharing the good news in a clear, understandable and reproducible way.
Translating the Book of John
Please pray for the Alagwa translators currently working on the book of John. May those translators who are not believers yet come to trust in Jesus as they work. Please pray for many Alagwa to recognise their need to repent and come to Jesus. May they know Jesus the Truth who can set them free.
A New Church Ready to Begin
Praise the Lord. We had done evangelism and showed Jesus film at a Dorobo area called Ilkilorit several years ago near the Tanzania border. AIC evangelists followed up. We just heard they’re ready to start a new church there as soon as the Kenya government opens up permission for churches to meet. Pray for the Dorobo man who invited us for the first visit, and his family. Pray the Lord’s blessing on this new church.
Diaspora in Missouri
Praise that several people whom we have formed relationships with through the garden are interested in having extended outings together. We are planning trips to botanical gardens and parks with walking trails and lakes.
There has been a large surge of Covid cases in Noel, especially among the diaspora communities. Pray that the Lord would protect these who are ill from serious complications and that He would use this virus to draw many in these communities to Himself.
Ongoing Multiplication and Discipleship
A Rendille graduate of the Northern Bible Training Center is waiting for his new ministry assignment. While he is waiting, he got permission from the chiefs to hold Sunday services for a small number of people, and has trained them to go to their villages and share the message he gave in the church. On Sundays, the youth in the surrounding villages share what they’ve heard, and on Mondays, the mothers meet to share what they heard.This new pastor also gained permission to hold sport events within the village. If anyone comes to play from outside the village, the game has to end, but as long as it stays within the village they can play. The new pastor is using this to share the Gospel with young men before they play. Praise God for working through the COVID19 restrictions!
Diaspora in UK
Please pray for four men from the local refugee community who I am meeting with one to one for English Language classes. All of them appear resistant in some way to the Gospel but at the same time they are open about the needs in their lives.
Please pray for the city of Leicester which is one of the most multicultural cities in the UK. The various communities include a large number of people from North Africa and the Horn. The area has been hit hard by Covid, currently around 1 in 10 of all the new UK cases are from the Leicester area. Pray in particular for the churches and those involved in outreach and community work in the city to have an open door for effective ministry.
Praying for the Nyamwezi
Lord we ask that your spirit be at work in believers, drawing them closer to you and calling them to live lives that more fully reflect who you are. We ask that you would give them boldness and courage to speak your words of truth when opportunities arise with their neighbours and friends. Father we ask for our muslim brothers and sisters that they would increasingly find that their religion does not meet their needs, that it is an endless striving for what they cannot achieve leaving them disappointed and disheartened. Lord in this soil we ask that your seed be planted, take root, and flourish!
Diaspora in Canada
Please pray for many local youth who have requested bikes from our bike ministry. Please pray that contacts made repairing, donating, and lending bikes will lead to further conversations about our Hope in Jesus.
Please pray for young Somali Christians who are struggling with addictions,. I have once again been allowed to visit one in jail – he is facing serious charges. Please pray that words of repentance may turn to a heart of repentance and a new life in Jesus.
Diaspora in Detroit
Pray for the 2 in- home English classes in Bloomfield Hills. Pray we can sow gospel seeds in these new relationships. We have 6 in-home classes going.
Please pray for opportunities to come together for the Jr/Sr High kids to serve at a thrift shop alongside youth group kids this summer. Please pray for a soccer coordinator for the last week of July too. We are hoping to have a tournament for this same group of kids.
Praise Jesus for food delivery opportunity during this time of uncertainty. Please pray that it will lead to new relationships for our team of volunteers. As we try to be the hands and feet of Jesus, may we proclaim God’s good news.
Love of Jesus for Them
Please pray for 7 ladies who recently watched the Mary Magdalena version of the Jesus film at my house. Several of them have seemed somewhat closed off to spiritual discussions in the past but were all willing to watch the film with me. One lady in particular seemed moved by it. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would keep reminding them of the Gospel message they heard and the love that Jesus has for each of them individually, especially as women. Pray that God would draw them to Jesus so that they would receive Him as their Savior!
Two More Churches Planted
The churches in Sandawe areas continue to spread the gospel, and continue to plant churches, praise God! Two more have been planted in the villages of Handa and Mabanzini. And there are a couple more lay leaders who are planning to take a Bible course. One pastor also hosted an eye surgery clinic last week. Please continue to pray for the churches and the work that will continue among the Sandawe people.
WhatsApp opportunities
God always does amazing things even in a very difficult situation!
We are not allowed to go back to a normal classroom because of this coronavirus. However, God has opened another door for us to continue the English class. Using WhatsApp to call not only allows us to continue the one -on- one English class, but we have more opportunities to share the good news. Pray for Kha who has watched the Jesus film and asked a lot of questions about Jesus.
Also, please pray for Ay who is struggling with family issues. Recently she accepted to pray in the name of Jesus and to watch Jesus film.
Pray God opens these two ladies’ eyes, the Holy Spirit touches their hearts, and they know that Jesus is their saviour!
Diaspora in Portland
Pray for ongoing opportunities to speak into the lives of our Muslim friends. Some are struggling with cancer and others have the COVID virus now.
Pray that God will open up hearts to the Good News during this time of fear and uncertainty.
May he find the Bible to be true
We have a Hindu friend whose father had a very real experience with Jesus but doesn’t seem to fully understand that he cannot follow both Jesus and Hinduism. We have been “storying” through the Bible with our friend and her father for the past 6 weeks or so. They engage with the stories well, especially the daughter, and understand Jesus to be both powerful and loving. But they don’t seem to see their need to follow Jesus as Savior. Our friend’s brother is very antagonistic. He claims to be an atheist and criticizes the Bible. He has decided to give our family a “presentation” on why the Bible is false and what he believes to be true, which he has planned for this week. We are praying that he as prepares his presentation, he would find the Bible to be true and give his heart to Jesus, along with his sister and father. Please pray with us that God would work mightily in the lives of these friends.
Diaspora in Wisconsin
We have started meeting face to face in small settings for ESL classes and faith discussions.
Last week I met up with two of the Somali youth religious leaders to discuss faith. We are thankful for the opportunity to share truth. They are asking for a follow up meeting. Pray that the Lord would continue convicting them of their need of the Savior.
Hunger for God’s Word
A group of Samburu men met to hear God’s word on Saturday mornings from February 2019 until January 2020. A number of them acknowledged that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. However, traditional celebrations and Covid-19 disrupted those meetings. Last Saturday, these men were again invited to come to the tree to hear God’s Word but no one came. Pray that God will put a hunger to know God in the hearts of those men. Pray that they will once again meet and commit to following Jesus as Lord.
Diaspora in France
Praise for some recent opportunities to share the full Truth with island friends. Pray for the Spirit to open their hearts to Himself with constant reminders of His Word spoken to them.
Pray for direction in ministry for these summer months and onward. Pray for relationships with hearts who are seeking, openness for conversation and for ability to hear well with the mask challenges.
Holy Spirit, Work in Hearts
Pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and families of S. Asian Muslim women. May they receive the Scriptures and listen to them. May the Holy Spirit convince them of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and that Jesus is indeed the Savior and Son of God. May their families also seek Christ together, and be willing to leave extended families and “communities” for the reward of gaining Christ.
Hoping to Re-Open Soon
Pray as our AIC Dorobo churches plan for re-opening. All our small churches have been asked by the area bishop to raise 5,000 shillings ($46) to buy a digital thermometer as part of Covid-19 protocol, so that when churches are allowed to open, they will take temperatures before allowing people into church. It’s a good practical step, but hard on churches with little cash economy. So pray that our Dorobo churches can leap this hurdle on the way to re-opening. In the meantime, our pastors have been visiting members and encouraging family prayer and Bible study. Praise the Lord!
To Seek and to Save the Lost
Praise God for two Alagwa ladies who were really impacted by Jesus’ words in Luke 19:10 this week: The Son of God has come to seek and save the lost. They have each committed to share God’s word with one friend a few times a week. Pray that God will prompt them to do that and make those times fruitful.
Prayers for Toposa
Pray for all the disciples among the Toposa to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
Pray for the recent outreaches and new groups that have started
Pray for second and third generation of disciples (disciples who make disciples).
Pray for disciples’ target to reach many new villages to be successful.
A Team, And Open Doors
A team of Christians have been invited to come live in a village near the coast that is 99% Muslim. Team leaders have been found to lead the team. Team members are being recruited from other countries. But immigration for them might be difficult. Please pray that God will “open for them doors that no one can shut,” and that the village who are begging for people to come teach them about Jesus will have their hunger and thirst for righteousness satisfied.
