There is no Neem scripture published although two books were translated. Recently however, a set of 40 chronological stories was completed and is available on micro SD cards to put in phones. Twice there have been plans to go out into local Neem villages to let people listen to these stories accompanied by two of 3 Neem-speaking believers. On both occasions the trip was postponed. Pray that these stories will bear much fruit and that, when rainy season is finished, such a trip can be accomplished.
Believers needing strength
Please pray for the Ndau folks that have already converted. We are finding that they have difficulties in leaving the cultural issues that go against what the Bible says. Some of them, especially women get pressurised by the unbelieving family into brewing beer for the ancestors and to partake in the ceremonies. Please pray for them to stand strong and to realise that they have the Holy Spirit in them.
Pray for hearts to turn
Proverbs 1:23 “If you turn at my reproof, behold I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.”
Please pray that the Karimojong will turn their hearts to the voice of wisdom and learn from her! Pray that they will learn from the suffering that comes from being foolish and choose to fear the Lord and ultimately follow the One in whom is hidden all treasures of wisdom, our King Jesus.
They can kill my body but not my spirit!
On Sunday “Masi” went to the “Pg” village where he is discipling a small group of new believers. Someone attempted to take his life by putting rat poison in his food. He said that as he ate the food he could taste the poison so he stopped eating it and left for home. Soon after he left he started to feel very sick. He came to a place where there was water and started guzzling as fast as he could. He then cried out to God for help and started to throw up. After some time he started to feel a bit better and was able to make it back to his house. Praise God He was totally fine by the next morning! He shared that he is not afraid and though they can kill his body they cannot kill his spirit. He is determined to continue to go back to that village to disciple these new believers. Pray for the Lord’s protection and blessing on Masi, and for conviction of sin on whoever tried to poison him.
Relationships
Please pray for our neighbors’ hearts to be good soil, and for the gospel seeds to take root. Pray our friend Ju will hear the gospel with open ears and a tender heart. Pray that “R” will want to know more about Jesus.
Grow and share
Pray for Lokulung, the caretaker of the small church in the Didinga mountains. Pray that he would grow in his faith and have an overwhelming desire to share the Gospel with those in the Didinga mountains.
Stand firm
Pray that the believers who know the Lord among the Toposa will not fear the reproach of men (Isaiah 51:7-8), but will stand firm on the Word of God and live out their faith boldly in their communities.
Diaspora in SA
We are using a seminar called ‘Awareness and Evangelism of Refugees and Immigrants’ as part of our plan to help the Brazilian church to reach out to African refugees and immigrants in South America. There are so many opportunities, particularly as the immigration policies are changing in North America and Europe, South America is becoming an alternative for a lot of refugees. Today we have in Brazil more than 1 million immigrants from 79 different nations and many of them come from Africa. Pray for the church to have a vision for this opportunity.
Gospel proclamation
Praise God for the opportunity to explain faith in a public setting tomorrow! Pray the truth will be clearly presented without compromise or ’embracing the good of all religions’. Ask for hearts to be sensitive to hear and challenged to consider what is shared.
Medical ministry
Pray for those contacted through the medical ministry. Pray that their physical needs will be the gate to their spiritual needs. Little five year old Lokine and his family and his ward mates are listening to the Treasure recordings of Bible stories and songs much of the time, along with observing the lives of believers.
Theological Education by Extension (TEE)
Praise the Lord for the three men who are working through the TEE program. Pray that Thomas, Clement and Aaron may be faithful in attending the program sessions and that the Lord will increase their knowledge and understanding of Him and His ways through this program. Pray that what they learn might be worked out in their lives each day and have a great Kingdom impact in their communities.
update
“In the last week there have been at least 4 more believers from the unity team in the “Nm” village that have gone out to different areas to find open people to share the gospel with. This team of over 70 has been praying weekly for the last few months asking the Holy Spirit to fill them and lead them where He wants them to go.
Please pray that the Holy Spirit will give them boldness and lead them to the people that He has prepared. Also please remember to be praying for protection for all the new believers and groups and that they would grow in their understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done for them.
Radio ministry is on the air!
The radio station is up and running! Many people are starting to tune in, but our hours are limited due to lack of power. This has been the chief complaint from our listeners. They would like to listen all day but we have only been able to broadcast from 4—9pm. Pray we can find a solution to getting power. Also pray for my meetings in the next few weeks with Sonset Solutions (HCJB) and another radio group about possible expansion of our radio ministry to reach into new and unreached areas via relay towers.
So much is happening! We rejoice that many people are now hearing God’s word for the first time!
Evangelistic outreach
Sometime in August, and evangelistic team from another area of Tanzania will be visiting the village of Mangasta. This village is 100% Sandawe and almost 100% Muslim. The visiting group is called Nuru which means light. This is the first evangelistic outreach to this village though missionaries have been praying for this village for several years. Please pray for the people of Mangasta that they will receive the Light!
Kids’ club
Just a quick note to ask for your prayers for all the details of our planned Kids’ Club – starting this afternoon, and hopefully finishing next Friday. Pray for lots of lasting fruit from all the seeds that are being planted, and pray that God will keep the clinic load down, and especially no ‘on-call’ stuff during those important afternoon hours. Pray with Jesus power and authority that God will speak powerfully through us all, and that those “rulers and authorities, and powers of this dark world” (Eph 6:12) will be prevented from keeping the kids and parents who help from hearing and understanding AND RECEIVING the Gospel truths!
Coming to church
Please pray for young people who have started coming to church with us. A mix of boys and girls aging from 10-15. Pray they will be changed by the Word that they hear. Pray that Jesus would be their Savior. Pray they would find truth.
Big ask!
Some local workers have felt led to ask for 100 new brothers and sisters for the month of August. This may be a place and people historically known for seeing slow movement and little fruit, but that doesn’t keep us from being expectant and asking big as we remember the One who is able! Ask for an outpouring of the HS over this nation and people. Blind eyes opened to see, deaf ears opened to hear, closed minds opened to understand, hardened hearts softened to believe and receive.
Prayer for Fruit of the Spirit
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
Please pray for this fruit of the Spirit to grow abundantly in the lives of Karimojong believers (as well as all foreign believers!!) in Karamoja. The Karimojong culture is harsh, and most people have not seen/are not used to gentleness and patience with their children (as an example). Please pray that God’s Spirit will reveal the heart of Jesus and grow it in all of our lives here.
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.
Needing courage to persevere
Pray for Sa and Ha (daughter of Ab and Ci) that together they will be able to follow Jesus. Ha is very keen, and it seems like Sa believes too, but he has grown up in a very dark home- there is a long history of fear and violence in his home. Pray for Ku, our deaf friend. He came to faith, pray that the seed will take root and not be taken away by his mother who is strongly opposed to it or by the young men who would turn him away.
Seekers
I have received a message from Bu in Kon TZ of three ladies who have regularly come to church on Sundays. One of the three has fully accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and the other two are still seeking to know the truth. Please pray for Ami, Zuhu, and Had (fake names), but real seekers! Thanks
Bible classes
Some of the women in our church have expressed interest in baptism. In May, a Samburu pastor came from Maralal to explain to the women the meaning of baptism and how our church practices it. He also taught the first Bible lesson for those desiring to be baptized. Since then we have a Bible class in our living room almost every Saturday morning. Usually twenty or more women and two men attend. We are excited that some may be ready for baptism this fall. It is especially exciting that one man has faithfully attended the meetings. Pray that God will open hearts and minds to hear and understand His Word. Pray that God will call some to follow Him whole-heartedly and make their commitment to Christ known through baptism.
Daily prayer request
Join our team in praying daily in the name and authority of Jesus the Messiah that all of the schemes of the “prince of our O area“ will be bound and prevented from keeping people from hearing and understanding and responding to the truths of God’s Word.
Set free from bondage
At the end of June, I was in Tsumkwe to meet with a team of four from Johannesburg to minister to the Tsumkwe secondary school children on how to overcome drug addictions, alcohol and all other related social challenges Tsumkwe people face. The good news is that the team ended up ministering to the teachers, police officers and inmates of the Tsumkwe holding cell as well as to a group of San youth at the Dutch Reformed church.
There was a positive response. The speaker kept pointing to Jesus as the ultimate deliverer from all the bondages of addictions.
There was a huge and evident sign of hunger- people want to hear the Word of truth being taught.
Pray that those who heard the teachings would be set free from bondage and that they would share with others about the power of Christ.
Know the Lord
Pray the Kachipo would know Christ as the Lord, and that apart from Him there is no other saviour they can turn to (Isaiah 43:11).
Pray for Benjamin
Pray for Benjamin, a young evangelist who is working with a new church on the Lokwa border. Pray that he and his young family (wife and baby son) will be a godly example to those around them of a family grounded on God’s Word and following the Truth.
Full healing
39 Tsimihety women suffering from obstetric fistulae have recently been operated on during a special camp at the Good News Hospital in Mandritsara. Please pray for these women – for their physical healing and that their full honour would be restored in knowing Jesus.
Church rebuilding
Pray for the Dorobo church at Songoroi on Mt Eburru that partially collapsed during recent heavy rains. Pray that the rebuilding project will galvanize the believers as they work together, raise funds together and complete their building. Pray they continue to be a light in this area.
Suffering crops
The Ik are seriously concerned about their gardens this year. Due to rodents, army worms, and heavy, early rains, the Ik are planning for a small harvest, if at all. Please pray earnestly, that God provides for the Ik in a very real and practical way, through a bountiful harvest with enough food for the coming year. Pray that they can see God as always good, despite their circumstances or whatever happens.
May the church reach out
Pray the churches among the Nyang’atom would see the Great Commission as a command to tell those around them the Good News, and through them their brothers in South Sudan would hear and respond to the Gospel. Pray that they would “tell of the kindness of the Lord and the deeds for which He is to be praised” (Isaiah 63:7).
Diaspora in SA
We are helping a young Brazilian who was a Muslim. Awhile ago, he started to search for the Christian version of Jesus’ death. He got a bible from his neighbor and as he was going through the Scripture, he had a powerful encounter with Jesus. There are many people like him in our nation as well. A few days ago in Sao Paulo, a refugee from Africa told me: “I was very interested in finding out the truth and I did some research online but I didn’t find anything. It was through a Christian here that I discovered I was seeking a God that I never met in my country.” Pray the Lord will help us find more Africans who are seeking Him.
Open their eyes
The Toposa were created for a great purpose in the Kingdom of God. Pray that one day they will be able to see that they were created by God like clay formed by a potter’s hand (Isaiah 64:8).
Something is happening
Praise God for the new thing He is doing among many M. He has delivered many from the kingdom of darkness and brought them into the kingdom of His dear Son. Pray for the leaders and new believers to grow in faith and be protected from the schemes of the Enemy.
May Ha’s family and neighbors come too.
Pray for Ha, our neighbour to the south, she has come to faith in the past six months! Since Easter time, I have regularly had time reading through the gospels with her. Pray for her husband Da, that he too will believe. He and his brother Ma have been eagerly listening to the Fulfulde audio recordings that we gave to Ha. Pray for Ka, a widow and Ha’s neighbour. Pray that she will not be afraid to call Jesus Lord, that she will not fear community ridicule.
Meeting together
Pray for the small groups of believers that are meeting. Pray that these groups would be places where believers would come to understand more and more their new identity in Jesus. And where they are equipped to do the good works that God has prepared them to do. Pray that their meetings would be characterised by worship, love for one another and joy.
May they come to know the Shepherd
Pray the Didinga would know Him who “tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11).
Abide in the word
Ask that new believers would hold tightly to the Word of God and be discipled in the truth. Ask for those in the diaspora and those in-country to humbly abide in the Word… and know the truth that sets them free.
New believers
Pray for the new believers who are youth. Three young men were baptized this past week, and ten more youth will be studying the discipleship lesson on baptism this week. One who was recently baptized with his family members is an unschooled youth with definite spiritual insight. Pray for the believers’ boldness and courage to share their testimony and all that they are learning with others.
Mobilizing
Today on the bus, I met a young man from Kilwa who is a believer and wants to get involved in outreach. His name is Mwekwa. Pray for the right connections to get him trained and plugged in. Pray for many more local believers to reach out to their Muslim neighbors.
Captivity
Recently the sorghum gardens, which were looking great, were attacked by stalk borer. As the Lopit people continue to walk as captives of this world and the deceptions of the evil one, they sought the ‘land lord’ to perform a ceremony in order to remove this plague. Pray for the hearts of the people to turn to the Creator of the world, rather than His creation as they seek solutions to the daily challenges of life in this harsh land. Pray for release from fear and that they may receive freedom in a knowledge of our loving heavenly Father and His care and provision for us.
