Secondary Students at the Christian school have had after-church -service discussion questions for two weeks now and the response has been so beautiful. The students are thanking us for the opportunity to share with their classmates who don’t know Jesus. The staff are excited for a less formal opportunity to discuss Christianity. We asked an adult choir from a church nearby to come worship with us and help lead our discussion groups. The weeks have been so rich and we praise God for this time of studying God’s Word TOGETHER as church and school.
Response!
Praise God for several women who received the gift of salvation! Now for challenging follow up, especially for the ones who live far away! Pray for Ex, New Mom, and her 3 guests to tell others the Good News they’ve heard, and to hunger and seek for more Truth and to talk much with God.
Rain needed!
While some parts of Madagascar are experiencing flooding, the drought is severe in the South of Madagascar, including the Betroka area where the Bara live. Lack of rain has caused the fields to dry up, and now the people are struggling with no food and no water. God has clearly opened doors for us to use Farming God’s Way as a tool for reaching out with the gospel. But we lack the rain that we need to see the rice, manioc, beans and sweet potatoes grow! Please ask that the Lord of the harvest would send rain and enable all the seeds to flourish – the physical and those sown in people’s hearts.
Thirteen Years Ago
Please pray for my language helper who I met 13 years ago in England!
Recently, I have made contact with her and she is studying her religion and she also invited me to study together! She wanted to compare the two Books – Quran and Bible to see what they say about Jesus! Please pray for her, may God open her mind and give her vision, so that she will know that Jesus is her Saviour!
Outreach meeting
“To be Mwani is to be Muslim” to the extreme that many people no longer consider a person to be Mwani if they have accepted Christ. The Pemba team is planning and praying for a meeting on February 22nd. It will be a time of singing, with Bible story and personal testimony shared by two of the Mwani believers. Pray for God to use these connections powerfully for His Kingdom.
Church planting training
Esther reports that a one-month intensive church-planting training is scheduled to be held in March. Eight students have registered so far, but they need ten. Please pray for another two applicants so the training can take place. Praise God that a missionary couple from Tanzania have come to join Esther in the work. Also, she is leading a program at her church to train small group leaders. This is a new thing for the church to have small groups, but the leadership is excited. Pray that the pastor would train the leaders and that this would be a great ministry for the church.
The Pearl of Great Price
Please pray for Islanders who have heard the truth about salvation through Jesus Christ to realize He is their only hope, and pray that their desire to own that pearl of great price will lead them to sell everything else they have to gain Him. Pray also for holy boldness for believers to gather together to worship their Lord and Savior.
Diaspora in USA
R & C are looking at some new discipleship relationships. Pray those go well and that we can help develop some young faiths.
R has met a Sudanese guy at a local coffee shop! Pray for open doors to share the gospel with him.
Glorify God with One Voice
Pray for many Ik people to hear the gospel and be saved. Pray for this gospel to spread from person to person, family to family, village to village. Pray for a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit to form believers into churches, and for the Ik to glorify God with one voice for their salvation.
Diaspora in USA
Praise for the opportunities we’ve had with Int’l Students to share fun times and the gospel recently. Please pray for the seeds to bear fruit.
Please continue to pray for A., an Indian Hindu student who has shown a great interest in attending church and learning about Jesus.
They Heard It On The Radio
Praise the Lord for many Gabbra villages that have heard the Scriptures via Christian radio and are begging for evangelists and missionaries to come share more with them. Pray for leaders to be trained quickly, and for this new openness and hunger for the gospel to continue to spread far and wide. Pray for a reproducing, Christ-centered church among the Gabbra, and for the missionaries who work among them to be full of wisdom and strength.
Diaspora in UK
Pray for more volunteers at the Thursday night Homework Club with middle and high school Somali girls.
Pray for the startup of another homework club using Christian University students as the tutors for the immigrant middle and high school children.
Pray for spiritual fruit within each ministry activity. Please join us in praying for at least one person from each ministry to accept Jesus as their Saviour in 2020. Bearing in mind that some ministries have gone on for years with no visible spiritual fruit, this is a bold request.
Direct Their Paths
Praise the Lord for the Dorobo churches, pastors and leaders, evangelists and missionaries who are planting new churches in areas where Christ is not yet known. Pray for the Dorobo who feel called by God to be cross-cultural missionaries to other tribes without the gospel. Pray for the Lord to direct their paths.
Diaspora in France
Praise God for E., an eastern-European Muslim teenager who wants to study the Bible and is drawn to Jesus. Her family has been coming to church regularly, but she is the first of the four to step forward like this, and she’s afraid of how they (and her extended family) may respond. Pray that we can start studying the Bible together.
Praise God for R., my friend who’s studying with me via text. We are discussing the Messianic prophecies, and she’s already linked them to Jesus. Pray that God would speak to her and her husband and reveal Himself to them both.
Datooga People Coming To Jesus
Praise the Lord that more and more churches are being planted among the Datooga. Praise the Lord for the Scripture recordings that have spread far and wide. Praise the Lord that there are many Datooga who are coming to faith in Christ. Please pray for missionaries to be raised up who will live among the Datooga in some of the villages that have no witness and no church yet. Pray that they will be able to stay a long time and train leaders who can carry on when they are gone.
Diaspora in Brazil
Pray for the B. family as they visit the city of Caxias do Sul in February so that we can prepare the last details of partnerships and they can start their assignment there in March.
Pray that God will help us to advance in the relationships that we already have with our African friends and we can start making new disciples of Christ among them.
Pray that the Brazilian church and its members will know how to welcome the refugees and the immigrants as Jesus welcomed us, without fear, but with generosity and love.
Continuing to Meet
Praise the Lord that the Borana Christians continue to meet for Scripture reading, worship, and evangelism. Pray that their churches will continue to be united in spirit, intent on the purpose of making the gospel known in every Borana village and town. Pray for a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit among the Borana.
Diaspora in USA
Pray for RAISE, a non-profit organization in Noel Missouri, to find a building to base its services for refugees. There’s a vacant grocery store building that would serve well but the asking price is too high.
Pray for wisdom in coming along side members who are in need of support and encouragement.
Pray for our (slowly) growing relationship with Mo from Noel.
Faith in Christ
Pray that in many towns and villages, Bara people will come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Pray that the Lord will gather them together into Christ-centered churches. Pray that those churches will multiply and plant more churches. Pray for a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit among the Bara.
Diaspora in Portland
Pray for the ministry in Portland through our friendship center. M & J particularly, have never had such intense opportunities AND opposition, all at the same time—there is definitely stuff going on behind the scenes! (even spiritually)
Remember our prayer request for the Iranian ESL student who is very ill with cancer? My Christian Iranian friend and I have set up three appointments with this student and his wife—and a medical emergency has stopped us each time. Finally, last week, MC and another Christian Iranian met with him, prayed, and shared the Gospel again. But he was still not ready. We are sad, but while he still has breath, we pray for a change of heart.
They Are Listening
Pray for two young Somali men who are in contact with Christians and enrolled in a program that includes Bible study several times a week. Pray that through the Scriptures and through the circumstances of their lives God will lead them to recognize that there is no salvation except through Jesus Christ. Pray that they will commit their lives to Him and become bold and faithful witnesses.
Diaspora in Wisconsin
Praise for a very fruitful Pastors/Imam meeting and lunch last month. Keep praying for the follow-up discussions with the imams. Pray for open and soften hearts and a willingness to hear the Gospel News. Pray that their presumptions about Christianity will not keep them from wanting to know the truth.
Lonely and Searching
A S. Asian Muslim woman is lonely and searching. What things are actually commanded by Islam and what things are just cultural? How can she be more free, more sure of herself, more “positive”? She has received a Bible and is willing to read it when her Christian friend comes to visit. Together they pray for her needs. Please pray for her salvation, and that of her family.
Diaspora in Detroit
Please pray for avenues for new connections. We would like to grow our influence with more immigrant families AND have more church people come alongside to help us.
Please pray for an evangelical Arabic church to partner with us.
Coming to Christ
Praise the Lord for Jiye who are coming to faith in Christ! Praise the Lord for spreading His Word among the Jiye! Pray for reproducing, indigenous, Christ-centered churches among the Jiye people by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Diaspora in Canada
Praise for good relationships already established with some of our Somali friends.
Pray that some hostility experienced by our intern from a very few people will not deter interaction with the rest.
Pray for A, a young Somali man from a Christian background who has lost hope. Please pray for SF as he ministers to him and other Somali Christians who are currently struggling.
A Young Believer
Praise for ongoing internet contacts from a young Somali believer who was baptized in Kenya last year and is now part of small house church in a city in eastern Ethiopia. Pray for his growth in grace and knowledge of the Gospel.
Cross Cultural Missionaries
The Borana have been traditional enemies of the Gabbra, often at war with one another. Pray for the Borana churches to continue to reproduce, for leaders to be trained, and for the Borana believers to have a passion to reach across tribal lines and carry the gospel to the Gabbra, who are particularly open and receptive to the gospel just now. Pray for Jesus Christ to work mighty reconciliation between them.
Diaspora in Missouri
We have set a date for our first trauma healing group. It will be February 21-23. Please pray for the preparations and that each individual who comes will find healing in the Son.
One of our ESL classes has requested conversation partners for the students outside of class and JR has offered to help with this need. Pray for opportunities to connect with several of the students and build relationships with them.
Resistance Overcome
Pray for the Datooga churches to continue to multiply and for those Datooga communities that have been extremely resistant to the gospel to become open to it. Pray for long-term evangelists and missionaries who will not only come to stay a year or two in villages that are unreached, but for those who can stay a long time until leaders are trained who can continue planting new churches.
Diaspora in Canada
Praise for great gospel conversations with our Muslim friends this month. Particularly with three Algerian men (Ra, Lo and AbH) and an Algerian woman (Ka)
Praise for continued progress, good discussions and times of fellowship through our Al Massira introductory Bible study with an Algerian couple, Ri (believer) and Fa (still Muslim). After spending the last several months in the Old Testament we finally arrived at the birth of Jesus.
February 15 we are hosting a “Winter Carnival” for the families of Impact Kids (our kids drop-in program), their friends, and the community. Pray that all the planning and details go smoothly and that many people would sign up to come. Pray that this event would deepen our and the local church’s presence in the community and that those who come would feel the love of Christ through the Christian volunteers who will be running the event. Please also pray that through this event, many would sign up for our ESL courses and Kids drop-in program, through which we have the opportunity to deepen friendships and share the gospel.
Please pray for Ab H, an Algerian Berber, who is a devout Muslim. This week we discussed the gospel for four hours together. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would open his eyes to the truth!
Diaspora in Florida
Praise God for opportunities to share the gospel at a Winter’s Tea (lead by believers) and a cooking demonstration (lead by Muslim women)
Pray for God to supply a center for us to do ministry. We need wisdom on the right place to use.
Pray for DM as he travels to India February 15-23 to encourage and challenge his leadership team. There are some problem areas to deal with, pray for wisdom.
Mighty Mercy Poured Out
Recent unseasonal rains have caused floods and a lot of damage in local villages. A new church plant is located in one of these villages, the evangelist family who live there currently have 5 other families living with them! They say many have lost homes, or are at least displaced until the waters recede, but even then there will be lots of damage as many homes are simple mud buildings. The Lord is using even this though, as there have been many opportunities to share the Gospel and minister to those in need. Be praying for the Lord to strengthen and encourage the evangelist family and the new church plant out in the village – May the love of Christ shine through them as they help their community. Be praying for our team and church partners, that we would be able to know the best ways to serve and support them, both through supplies and prayers. Be praying for many to come to faith, for opened eyes to see Christ and His great love for the lost and for each unsaved person individually. May He pour out His mercy as mightily as He has poured out the rains!!
Divisions Completely Overcome in Jesus’ Name
Pray for the Lord to work mightily among Somali believers (and also among those Christians who are trying to reach them with the gospel), breaking down all that hinders them from coming to Christ and being completely “united in Him.” Pray for strongholds of Satan to be broken down in the name of Jesus.
Her Son Is Ill
Pray for a S. Asian neighbor whose son is suddenly ill. She needs the Lord Jesus as her Savior but is afraid to leave Islam. Please pray that this and all her circumstances may convince her that Jesus is truly the Savior who can be trusted with her whole life.
DBS
Praise God for the continuing discovery Bible studies led by team members, Maria, Logwe, and others. Pray for more local leaders to take the message to still unreached areas of Laarim, and even beyond!
Plentiful Harvest
From Dukana: please pray for more workers in the Vineyard! Villages are asking for Bible teachers to come each week as they hear the radio and hear testimonials from others. We want to be consistent and reach all but we are few!
Angelo
Angelo, who helped us immensely with language and translation, continues to lead multiple discovery Bible studies each week, along with working at the local clinic. Pray for his strength physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He will travel soon to Kenya to explore the option of schooling later this year, to become a trained medical provider for his people.
Reading with Neighborhood Kids
Recently, the neighborhood kids have been coming around more and more frequently. We read a few stories together (always starting with a Bible story). They seem genuinely interested in reading together! Pray that the Lord would bless His word and truth as these children listen. That it would be like seed on good soil which takes root and bears fruit. That the children will grow up clinging to truths like “Jesus loves me because He died for me”, and “God is always listening to our prayer when we cry out for His help”, or “God is always with His people so we don’t need to be afraid”. May God use this younger generation to become passionate followers of Jesus in this place as they grow older!!
A Perfect Opportunity
When I arrived at my friend’s house she was writing down verses from the Qur’an having to do with men and women’s roles. As we talked, it became evident she was doing it not only so she could be a good wife, but also so she could point out to her husband when he was not following their holy book! And I thought to myself: “They have a form of godliness but have denied its power.” Even if their book tells them to do good, it has no answer to the question, “But how?” Try harder. Try harder. Try harder. Please pray for this woman and her family as they read the Bible I left with them, that they may see the light of Christ and believe in Him.
