On Jun 13, 2018 you prayed for this request: “Two different local churches are hosting kids camps over the next two weeks. Please pray that the teachers would be full of joy and have wisdom as they teach these precious children. Pray that the children would learn more about Jesus and if they are already Believers, that they would know Him better and love Him more through the camp ministry. And for those that don’t yet know Him, ask that the children would be so drawn to Christ, that He would be irresistible to them.” And God answered: “A local missionary and a visiting student joined each camp group for one afternoon to play games. It was hilarious and delightful. Even the adults got into the fun. Children seldom have opportunity for play so this gave them a chance to enjoy play in this way and to laugh together. Isn’t laughter a wonderful gift from God!” Praise the Lord.
New believer needing prayer!
This past week I heard about M – a young man who has been seriously studying the Quran from a young age. He has traveled to the Middle East to further his knowledge of the Quran and was teaching others here in the capital city. Through M’s own intense study of the Quran he gained an interest in Jesus Christ and eventually realized that Jesus is the way to salvation. M secretly sought out Christians and a church where he could find answers to his many questions. Not long ago he even took the step of being baptized. Family members soon found out about his new faith and beat him and locked him up several times. A local church recently decided to help him head back to his home area in eastern Chad but after being dropped off at the bus park, relatives found him trying to escape and they beat him and took all of his stuff and destroyed it. A fellow brother in Christ took care of M’s wounds and this past week helped this brother to again secretly travel out east. M was able to get on the bus but there has been no word since his departure – we are fearful that he was found by family members and that they have done something to him. Please pray for M and that his faith would stay strong despite whatever he may be going through at the moment. There is a small MBB church in his hometown out east that is led by some men from his same people group. Pray that if he has made it out there, that he would somehow be able to connect with this church.
Villagers listened!
Praise! The village of Andavakabiby met together on Thursday to continue to listen to the gospel of Matthew. They listened to chapters 1-5. One prominent man stated how this was good truth, and he wanted to have the stories on his phone so he could listen to them while he worked. They all agreed that Jesus was correct when telling us to turn the other cheek and love your enemies. Pray that their ears would continue to be open to the story of Jesus and that other villages will accept the offer to come and have the stories played for them.
Four areas of Evangelism
Africa Inland Church (AIC) is currently focusing on four areas where they are evangelizing: Mogos, Lotien, Riwotoo and Kapoeta Town. Mission leaders are being trained to plant churches and to equip new believers to share their faith. Their hope is that there will be an evangelist focused on teaching Bible stories in every Toposa village. Pray that the Word grows deep roots in the hearts of believers and that they are bold to share their faith.
Following Jesus!
Praise God for the six Samburu women, two Samburu schoolboys and one Samburu man who followed Jesus in baptism on November 4. Pray with us that they may stand strong in their faith and grow in their love for Jesus. We have been praying for five Samburu men in our area to follow Jesus. Praise God for this first Samburu man. Pray that his testimony may influence others to consider the claims of Jesus Christ, so that more Samburu men will make a commitment to Jesus.
Finally they Understand
We had the joy of recently hosting a seminar on Grace which both Christians & seekers attended. Finally these seekers, who have been wavering between works based salvation in Islam & salvation in Jesus by grace through faith, said they clearly understand it must be through Jesus alone – there is no other path to salvation. It can’t be both. Praise God! Pray they would put their faith in Christ alone.
More disciples!
Praise God for news that more disciples are being added to remote discipleship groups! Ask God to renew the minds of these new believers, fill them with the Holy Spirit, and give them boldness to share their faith with others.
6 children saved!
Praise the Lord and pray for the 6 kids that went forward in church to make Jesus their personal savior. Pray that they will continue to grow in their faith in Jesus. Pray for their protection from Satan and persecution. Pray for our team as we go forward as to how to disciple them well. May His word be planted in good soil.
Music workshop
From 27-29 November, the Sakalava music group from Nosy Be are visiting Mandritsara to have a three day workshop with Tsimihety worship musicians, looking at ways of sharing the story of the Bible through songs in local dialect. Please pray that this would be a real encouragement to both groups as they share testimonies and ideas. Please pray that this would lead to the growth of God’s church amongst the Sakalava and Tsimihety people.
Diaspora in Wisconsin
We need wisdom to know when and how to share spiritual truth with our ESL students. Ask the Lord to open the hearts of our students. Pray they would ask questions about faith. And pray that the Lord would raise more workers for the ministry here.
Opportunities to share
Lift up a local believer who is having opportunities to share with government officials. Ask for boldness, for faith against fear and for a fruitful witness. Give thanks for how the current political climate could open people’s minds to search for lasting change and hope.
Courage to rise up with faith
There are people who contact radio or TV stations saying that they believe, but when they receive a phone call from a brother/sister, they say they do not believe. Ask for courage and discernment, for fellowship, for each believer to rise up with faith!
Harvest time
The rainy season is coming once again. We ask, as always, not only for a harvest that will provide food and material needs for the coming year, but we pray for a spiritual harvest among the Sandawe people. Pray that Believers will be bold in sharing their faith with their neighbors, that they will not be ashamed of the gospel. We need more workers for the harvest but our prayer is that those workers would be other Sandawe Christians, that local churches would flourish and grow and that new churches would be planted.
Diaspora in Philadelphia
Please pray for our Iraqi friends W and A, as they return home soon and contemplate extremely difficult decisions regarding possibly trying to seek asylum. Please pray that they and their family would cross paths with other Christians and that the Lord would help them to turn to Him.
Creation to Christ outreach
There are plans to take the Maba ‘Creation to Christ’ recordings to several Maba villages next week where there is no witness. 2-3 times before this has been tried and hasn’t worked out. This time one guy essential to the plan is unwell. Pray that he will be well enough to go and that those who hear will want to listen to the full set of 40 stories and that they will believe what they hear and put their trust in Jesus.
A Challenging Seminar
Please pray that in our next Kairos course at a Christian hospital (challenging people to reach out in missions to the unreached) the Lord will place the desire to serve and witness to the Somalis on the hearts of some of the trainees. The course will run November 29-Dec 5.
Village headman
On Sunday the headman of the village of “Andavakabiby” accepted the invitation to come listen to a Bible story. He heard the story of Jesus’ birth and baptism in Matthew chapters 1-3. Pray that this would take hold in his heart and that he would come back to continue to hear the rest of the story of Jesus in Matthew.
Grow and Not Wither
God has been bringing about a movement within the region! We have been praying for a harvest and it is very exciting to see and hear and witness what God is doing! Two households have recently committed themselves to Christ, and there are others coming to Christ, too. As a farmer sows seeds, the farmer doesn’t see what is happening to the seed, but then, the sprout comes up, and new life is suddenly visible. It is the Holy Spirit, the Word, and the Father at work, watering and causing the growth. Pray for the new life to grow and not wither!
Finding Living Water
Pray for a Laarim man who recently heard the Word of God on the solar “treasure” and then had a dream of Jesus speaking to him about finding water. May You, Lord, continue to reveal yourself to him. May those who know You assist him in his search, and support him in his quest for a new source of water/life!
Requesting prayer
I thank God Zaruna came to church. Continue to pray for him. Pray also for ten other people I preached to and prayed for. Now others are continuing to ask for prayers and request we continue to pray for them.
Amazing protection!
Two local guys were led to the faith by another believer that our team was instrumental in leading to the Lord. During the month of Ramadan, the families and communities of these two new believers found out about their faith and took them before the local police to have them arrested and put in jail. Neither believer would recant their faith. Both family members and imams accused them of apostasy and wanted them to be beaten and imprisoned. The local police commissioner let them talk and then got in their faces and reminded them that Chad is a secular country – that anyone is free to worship as he pleases. The police commissioner went on to say that if they were to walk into his home right then that they would find an Injiil in his armoire! The commissioner continued on and actually threatened to imprison the family members and religious leaders if they ever gave the two new believers problems about their new faith! He then proceeded to give his personal phone number to the two believers and told them to give him a call anytime if they were given any more problems.
Love your enemy
Mama Anita wants to follow Jesus, but she is having trouble loving her enemy. Pray that she would have courage to do what Jesus says.
Outreach report
Thank you for praying for the Global Disciples training. It was very much enjoyed by the trainees. During the second two weeks doing outreach in a nearby area, they found that some people were willing to listen and discuss but others were not- trainees were chased away by people with sticks. Please pray for courage and the encouragement of the trainees, and softening of people’s hearts towards the Gospel.
Diaspora in Europe
Pray for R in Marseille, France, as she begins visiting patients at a new hospital close to her, where there tend to be more Comorians. Ask the Lord to open the hearts of patients and family members to talk about spiritual truth. Please pray that the Lord will guide R to seeking friends and that she finds opportunities to share her faith.
Spreading the Gospel
Believers are being trained to share their faith in other villages- pray for their protection and provision as they go to more remote locations where the Gospel has not spread yet. Pray that God would go before them and prepare the hearts of those who will hear the Good News to believe it!
Diaspora in Canada
Please continue to pray for the family I mentioned last month. The Lord is working in the hearts of Omar, his wife and three children. May He open their eyes and hearts to Himself and may they take steps of obedience to Lord.
Pray for open hearts
Pray for the Antakarana on Nosy Mitsio- that they would welcome and care for new Malagasy missionaries living amongst them. Pray for good new relationships and for open hearts to the Gospel message.
Threshing
Several new believers are fighting depression, loneliness and despair. Ask that each would learn to “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulations and be constant in prayer.” Pray that as each goes through times of pain, they would receive the tribulation as threshing, a means of separating chaff from grain… (a tribulum is a threshing tool). May all dry husks of self and flesh be peeled away and the true grain of the Word remain.
Crossing Cultures
Please pray for the Lord to strengthen Samburu churches that are not only planting churches among their own Samburu people, but also that are reaching out cross-culturally to other tribes around them that do not have much gospel witness. Pray for a movement of the Holy Spirit stirring up cross-cultural evangelists from among the Samburu Christians.
Obstacles
The group of seekers has continued to meet and discuss weekly. Attendance is inconsistent, and they often circle back and canvas the same issues. T is considering directing individuals toward some books and resources that would challenge them where they are. Pray for discernment and that the individuals could move past the obstacles that keep hindering the group from making decisions.
Survey 16 Nov
Please be in prayer for UPG (Unreached People Group) survey targeted for November 16-20, 2018. This will be done in coordination with 2 local churches, AICT and KLB. Pray for discernment to understand the needs and what our role should be.
She Liked the Movie
A S. Asian widow watched The Case For Christ movie with several Christians. She seemed deeply touched, very glad to be invited, and remarked afterwards, “That was really such a good movie.” Pray that she will come to faith in Christ.
Godly Leaders
Pray that the Lord would provide godly leaders for His church. Ask our Father to provide all His workers in Lopit communities with wisdom about how best to disciple leaders, and pray for strength for these leaders as they face spiritual attacks of cultural pressures and discouragement on a daily basis.
2 groups update
Ongoing prayer is needed for the 2 family groups who expressed interest in studying the Word, plus a couple of other potentially interested people. Very positive relationships and input continues- yet they’ve not yet invited us or agreed to regular extended family group study. Pray Mk 4:20, that they would be like the “others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – 30, 60 or even 100 times what was sown!“
Pray for the ‘belly button’
Please continue to pray for the village of Mangasta. Pray that pastors and evangelists and local Believers will make time to go visit and build relationships there. Islam has only been present in this village for about 10 years, having come as a result of economics/trade. But almost all the villagers are Muslims. And all are Sandawe. It is known as the “belly button” of Usandawe, what we in the west would call the “heart”. Pray that Christ will be made known in Mangasta and that the gospel will spread far and wide from there.
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.
Outreach report
Jesus film outreach in Ruhatwe and Kikole went amazing. Both villages have no witness of the Gospel. Both villages very strongly Islamic. Both villages openly received us and over a dozen prayed to receive Christ. Both AICT and myself were blown away by the unexpected response. Both village leaders invited us to start ministry. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers. The harvest is there. PTL
Jesus Film
On November 12 the M version of the Jesus Film will be shown publicly for the first time in a Muslim village. Please pray for protection from the Lord for all the logistics. Pray that many people will come see the life of Jesus, and hear the invitation to receive Him by faith. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will work powerfully to overcome any obstacles, and that many people will come to Christ this night.
Writing a Christmas song
One of our team members is working with her village chairperson to write a Zigua Christmas song for our Christmas celebration with our neighbors. Pray for wisdom for the song writers. Pray that this song would sink deep into the hearts of the Zigua and glorify God.
No Movement Toward Christ Yet
We are still praying for our Muslim students at school. The interested ones have made no movement and in some ways have begun showing less interest. We keep praying that God will use the word planted in their minds and draw them to Himself. Please pray for a breakthrough soon.
