After 15 years of faithful labor among the Lopit in Iboni, the Lopit believers have cleared a spot under a shade-tree to be used for worship – the first church plot in Iboni! This is a great encouragement to Robert and Carole, who long to see Lopit believers become a faithful and fruitful church. Pray that these believers will “grow up in [their] salvation, now that [they] have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3).
Needing healing
Please pray for Mzee A., a local witch doctor, who has reached out to the missionaries with some health concerns. Pray that he would realize his own darkness and see the light of Christ through the missionaries. Pray God will heal him physically and spiritually!
Many opportunities
Diaspora in Brazil: Pedro and Benvinda have had many opportunities to reach out to African immigrants in Toledo through an NGO. Praise God for many contacts that seem so open and ready for relationship. Pray for wisdom and words of life in these conversations.
I will go to Heaven!
Every Saturday a group of boys is eager to come for chai, games, and Bible stories. Last week I asked the question, ‘Who is ready to go to heaven if we die today?’ One boy said, ‘I will go to heaven…because of the grace of God.’ Yes! However, another boy answered, ‘I will go to hell because I am a sinner.’ I turned now to our memory verse from Romans 5:7: ‘But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ With this focus on the gospel and our wonderful Savior, the second boy was able to joyfully declare, ‘I will go to heaven!’” Pray that these young boys will fully surrender their lives to Jesus and place their faith in Him alone.
MBBs
Pray for A** (a MBB) who is being discipled by a colleague. She is very passionate about God’s Word. Pray that God will continue to work in her heart as she learns the Word and applies it to her life. She is also eager to share with and bring along some of her contacts to the classes.
Pray for N** (MBB), a friend who is eager to reach out to his unbelieving friends. May God enable us to work together and start meeting individual contacts for one-on-one evangelism.
Next generation leaders needed
Pray for the next generation of leaders in the Rendille church. Current leaders have noticed a gap in leadership between those in leadership positions and the next generation of leaders in the church. Pray for the continued work to train and develop young leaders.
Audio Bible being shared
Pray for the audio Bibles being distributed. Praise God for the news that a family is still listening to the scriptures after leaving the hospital.
Pray also for two other families we shared the audio Bible with, pray they will listen and the Spirit will open their hearts.
20 churches planted!
Pray for the 474 villages visited with the Jesus Film since 2016. May God make the seeds planted flourish and produce a great harvest. At least 20 churches have been planted among the Bara. Pray that they grow in faith and don’t go back to the old cultural practices.
There are still many villages that haven’t been exposed to the Gospel. Pray that God will raise funds and partners to help our local partners to go.
Weddings
Praise the Lord with us as we will be having 4 Christian weddings this year! 2 of the couples are part of our youth program and the other two are leaders in the churches. Pray for God’s blessing on these marriages.
Pray for the youth who are taking stances in the culture for Christ.
See Lord’s provision
Pray for a new Saharawi friend who is a single mom with a child with special needs. May she see the Lord’s provision and love on their behalf and come to have a relationship with Him.
Receptive hearts
Diaspora in Wales: The women in the Tuesday English conversation class read and discuss chronological Bible stories. Most have never heard these stories before. They would like to meet for additional class time so I will be teaching Thursday classes beginning this week. We thank God for their openness. Pray for receptive hearts to the Truth.
Bible college students
Pray for Hamisi and Salim, Digo Christians studying at Shimba Hills Bible College (AIC). Pray they would grow strong in their faith and God would prepare them for fruitful ministry. The mission to plant a new church at Ng’ombeni is still in progress and our plan is to move Hamisi to this station as soon as he completes his studies in November.
Neighbors
Often, because the Mbororo are nomadic and are traveling with livestock through other peoples’ lands, the local sentiment towards them is “Keep moving – don’t settle here!” Ask the Holy Spirit to stir the hearts of believers in Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa Republic and South Sudan to see the Mbororo as their neighbors. Pray for “Good Samaritan moments,” where local believers can reach out with the love and good news of Jesus to those who they currently see as a foreign nuisance or even as enemies.
Retreats
Diaspora in Quebec: Praise for the fun weekend and lots of great gospel conversations during the men’s Algerian retreat. Please pray that God’s grace and truth would penetrate their hearts and that this desire to know more would result in a spring weekly Bible discussion. Those who were particularly interested are (names slightly altered): Chari, Hamil and Khalil. Pray for them.
Praise for the four Muslim women planning to come on a retreat this weekend May 10-12. Please pray that God would open up gospel discussions, and for boldness for us Christian women. Please pray for God’s peace and truth to penetrate their hearts. That their fears of the Bible and of the true Jesus would be transformed into a love and desire to know more. Please pray for their salvation.
Become followers
Pray for the Antandroy children who are coming to the children ministry in Betroka. (In 2016 many Antandroy families moved to Baraland.) May God open the hearts of these children and their families and may they become followers of Christ.
Support group
A monthly support group for families with autism has been initiated by some members of the local church here in Mandritsara. It was precious to be a part of that today, to witness God’s word being shared, to see people praying together, and receiving unconditional love and acceptance. Please pray that these families would know and experience God’s love through this time together, and share that with others in their community.
Vulnerable women
Diaspora in UK: Pray for the vulnerable international women that we have met. I cannot mention any details of these situations even by alias name due to the danger it could bring to these women and those who know who assist them. Pray in their distress they would cry out to God and He would hear them and answer them.
New groups
We want to start a Bible study group with women but it has been difficult to organize- there is always a “problem”. Pray for a breakthrough in finding a good time and for people to commit to coming.
We also want to share once a month the good news with our neighbours through a Sunday morning brunch. Pray people would come.
Students
There are 3 students who are genuinely seeking who the Lord is and wrestling with many questions about that. One of them got married last week, which allowed me to pray with him at his wedding and have an open conversation about following Jesus. Pray he won’t hide from the truth anymore, but be bold even as a new husband, and surrender his life to the Lord.
Pray for more opportunities to speak with these 3 students and for them to have visions and dreams about Jesus.
Leadership training
Pray for the launch of the Darfur Leaders Institute – 20 Darfurian leaders arrived in Kenya to begin a 1 year leadership intensive training program. Pray for a good beginning and settling in for these displaced leaders. Pray they would be well trained and go back and be a blessing to their people.
Open her eyes
Pray for Mama A., who has shown interest in spiritual matters and had some questions about God and Jesus and how they were different from her Muslim God and prophet. Pray for her eyes to be opened to God’s Truth.
Kunle and Yusuf
Diaspora in Ontario: I met Kunle, a Muslim refugee from Nigeria, during street evangelism. He had personal questions about sin, in regards to disobeying parents and doing business under the table. I used Bible stories and teachings to address him and Kunle sensed wisdom from God’s Word. Please pray for Kunle’s salvation and a desire to read the Bible.
I also met Yusuf, an Afghani Muslim high school student. The conversation attracted 3 of his Muslim friends from Bangladesh and Pakistan, and we all spoke for over an hour. The gospel and the authenticity/trustworthiness of Scripture was shared. Criticisms against Christianity were addressed and a challenge for them to read the Bible for themselves was given. Please pray for Yusuf and his friends’ salvation.
New brothers and sisters
Diaspora in Washington DC: We’re excited to be seeing new brothers and sisters join the family through baptism last month and this month. Please pray as they share their testimonies with their families back home for understanding and open ears and hearts.
Believers sharing
Loriang and Natiyote, young believers, are sharing their faith with others! Loriang says, “Since I started sharing with Balin about Jesus, Balin has changed. I continue to encourage him to follow Jesus.” Natiyote says, “I told Nakiyo about the death of Jesus and His resurrection from the dead, and that we should live according to His word, and Nakiyo accepted.” Praise God! Pray these seeds will grow and produce Kingdom fruit, and that all the Laarim believers would be inspired to share their faith with others.
Raising up shepherds
Praise God for recent gathering of Somali leaders from the East Africa/Horn region. They gathered to develop collaboration strategies and also address the need for the raising up of Shepherds for the growing Somali church globally.
Pray for them as they work to raise up shepherds for the next 3 years that will provide pastoral care each month to 150 believers across Somalia.
Holiday camp
Diaspora in Paris: Please pray for our next Holiday Camp with the international university students and young professionals taking place next week. We are praying that many will come with hearts prepared by the Spirit to hear and understand the Good News! Please pray for good health for all of us and safe travels to and from the event.
Gospel is powerful
Pray that those living in slavery to sin would feel the weight of those chains and meet believers who speak the gospel. Pray for hearts of stone to be softened to hear and believe the gospel. We know the veil is lifted only in Christ and that the gospel is powerful to change hearts completely.
Weed seminar
Pray for us, we are hoping to hold our first seminar soon, mainly for women. This will be an interactive seminar helping people understand how to avoid a particularly damaging weed that reduces output. Pray that this will open up new relationships and opportunities to share other truths as well as help people farm more successfully.
Pray for permission from the authorities and all the practical details of setting it up.
Sick pastor
Rev. Menza is a very valuable partner, who is pastoring a church in a responsive Digo area but is being treated for leukemia so has to live at home in Kwale about two hours away from his church. His cancer is manageable but he struggles with energy and ability to get around his very large district.
He requests prayer, “Pray for my health and also that I can get means of transport. My family is planning fund drive on November for my ministry car. Transport to me has become so difficult.
Gospel seeds
This past Sunday my wife Esther was discussing with some Datooga women the meaning of sin and the way Datooga view sin and how to be cleansed from sin. Esther was able to share about Jesus. Please pray for these gospel seeds that have been planted to grow and bear fruit.
Sudanese missionaries
Sudan is currently experiencing the world’s largest and worst humanitarian crisis. 25 million people are in need of assistance. 10 million are displaced. There are genocidal activities against minority ethnically African people groups. Pray for peace in Sudan.
Pray for the 17 newly deployed Sudanese national missionaries to unengaged unreached people groups in Nuba Mts.
Spiritual bondage
The Antandroy and Mahafaly are bound in spiritual bondage and ancestor worship. Please pray that God will open their hearts to see the darkness of their own sin and the need of a Savior.
Pray for Pastor Fabien and Pastor Tafita from Presbyterian Church (FJKM) who are working alongside AIM in that area.
Outreach
Pray for an upcoming visit to the Opusimoru area on the Kenya-Tanzania border to organize a June evangelistic outreach to the Akie group of Dorobo hunters who split off from the main Kenya branch and moved into northern Tanzania about 50 years ago. Pray that God would provide a ‘man of peace’ to host our outreach, which is planned for late June.
Dreams and Revelations
As the month of fasting has ended, pray for those who received revelations and dreams, that they may seek to understand them and come to know who the true God is. May He continue to manifest Himself to them in His great goodness.
Pastor Petro ordained
Praise God that AICT leadership is coming to Kwa Madebe to ordain Pastor Petro today!
Please pray that this will be a witness in Kwa Madebe and beyond. Pray for Petro and his wife Lucy as they continue to lead the church there. Please also pray that the church would grow in their love for Jesus and boldness in sharing.
Pray she comes
Pray for ‘Ruth’ who we have prayed for previously. On Friday, while a worker was visiting her, Ruth’s mother in law came and chased away the worker telling her to never return and citing local authorities (Islamic I assume) who don’t want Christians around. We had known that during Ramadan words had been said against us. Strangely, however, the lady said Ruth could come visit me. This morning we arranged by phone that she would come tomorrow. Pray she does so. In the past she made many promises to do so but didn’t come. Today she seemed eager. Pray for Ruth’s faith that this would strengthen her and not deter her. She seems to have been rather wobbly in her faith recently attending Islamic teaching and praying with actions as a Muslim where before she had stopped.
Free at last
We thank God for a successful conference on “Liberty to the captives”. The believers from M background had a chance to renounce the book, the prophet, and the creed of their former religion. Thank God for their step of faith. May they experience new freedom in Christ and truly leave the things of the past.
Pray for their hearts to grow deeper in love with the Lord and for discipleship to continue.
Teresa
Teresa came with her sister one night last year to ask questions about their belief and ours. She is spiritually hungry and on a journey searching for truth. She appreciates scripture and songs I send. She sees many fallacies in the belief system here. Please pray that she reads the word that is on her phone and that we can study together. Ask that she has a dream of a man in white calling her to follow Him. She loves the fact that our belief refers to followers as sons & daughters, not slaves.
For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:8
Ask that Teresa would continue to “seek until she finds”.
See the deception
Pray for open doors for the Jesus Film Evangelism Program and for many to believe the message.
Pray that both Mahafaly and Antandroy people see the deceptiveness of the witchdoctors and witchcraft and turn to God and the Gospel.
Book dedication
Praise God 5 books of the Rendille Old Testament have been completed and will be dedicated on Saturday. The dedication will be for the audio and written form of those books. Pray many will read/listen to these books and believe the message.
Praise for the over 100 adults who will be graduating from the Rendille literacy program tomorrow as well. The graduates now have the ability to read and write in their own language. Through the courses, they have heard a clear presentation of the gospel. Praise the Lord for those who have already come to saving faith in Jesus Christ and for those who will from this work.
