Please pray for three chosen Mahafaly apprentices who are studying with our team this week. Pray for understanding as we teach on marriage and Jesus as fully God and fully man. Pray for wisdom as these men take this teaching to their churches. Pray also for boldness and love as they address issues their churches face: marriage issues among leaders, temptations to waver between faith in God and ancestor worship, and the heavy months of heat and drought that may be coming.
Meeting again
The small group of believers has begun to meet again and pray for and encourage one another. Thank you for praying! Pray for courage and sweet fellowship.
English Lessons and More
This past week I was able to teach my Somali lady a few lessons in English. And after praying and seeking the Lord for a method to bring the gospel, I used the King of Glory book as part of our reading and listening lesson. She was happy to hear how God created the universe.
Let’s continue to pray for more of these lessons. Praise God that He listens to our requests.
A Fragrance of Christ
Praise God that at this time Christians are being raised up by God to live among the Zigua and share the gospel with this Muslim tribe. Pray that they will be the fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved, an aroma of life to life. Pray for their prayers for the perishing to be powerful in turning people from dead works to serve the living God.
50 New Laborers for the Harvest!
We have been praying for more laborers for the M harvest field and God has answered in an amazing way! The Lord blessed the training of 50 M disciple makers last week. He broke down walls of division and brought unity among the believers. Five M Disciple- Making teams were organized by key locations, and each team appointed three representatives/ leaders who our team will be working with to do follow-up and ongoing mentoring and training. They went back to their different villages truly unified in love as one body in the Lord, equipped with a new vision and a practical plan in place to abide in Jesus first & foremost, and to obey the call to make disciples among their own people, together.
Reflecting Jesus’ Glory
Praise the Lord that the Zaramo are made in His image, and therefore have the capacity to glorify God. Pray that those who come to know the Lord Jesus Christ will reflect His glory as they read and meditate on Scripture. Pray that they will bring light into the darkness, and others will also be saved.
A Wide Variety
Please pray for the needs of the Swahili peoples along the coast of Kenya and Tanzania. They come from a wide variety of places and backgrounds, and yet they are almost all Muslim and in deep need of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for the gospel to spread rapidly and multiply, and for them to embrace the Saviour and receive eternal life.
Pray for Life
Two babies died today on Nosy Mitsio, one last night and one at the funeral. Last week another child died. Two of them were from diarrhea and the other from unknown causes. Please pray that the people here would be comforted and that they would open their eyes and ears to the life that God wants for them.
The God of all Peace
May the God of all peace, who by Jesus’ death and resurrection broke down the barriers of the dividing walls between tribes and peoples, bring Somali people into peace with Himself and with each other through faith in Jesus Christ.
A Christian Movie
Praise God for an evening when a Muslim family watched a Christian movie with their neighbours in which the gospel was clearly presented. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will work mightily to bring each family member to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that they would stand united against the pressure they receive from their community.
Baptism class
A group of Gabbra has been meeting together to learn God’s Word. When asked about baptism, 30 raised their hands! Praise God! Pray for them as they go through baptism class. May they be firmly established in their faith and be a light to their friends and neighbors!
Sweet Fellowship
Praise God for the Sandawe pastors and evangelists who serve in lonely situations in order to reach their people with the gospel. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give them very sweet fellowship with one another, and that their united efforts will deeply attract other Sandawe to the Saviour, who makes us one.
Wisdom from Above
Often when people come to faith in Christ, they still struggle with old habits. Pray that the Samburu will be completely set free from their old ways of relating to one another, and that they will be filled with the wisdom from above that is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, not partial or hypocritical. Pray that this spirit of God’s wisdom will permeate their lives.
Outreach
Pray for a special outreach planned for next week by local workers. Pray for God to stretch out His hand and draw many to Himself.
Training
Praise God the first day of training in discipleship and disciple-making went well. Pray for the 47 people attending and for the trainer. May there be lasting fruit!
Set Free Indeed
Praise the Lord for the many Rendille who have come to faith in Jesus Christ out of their previous fear of evil spirits. Pray for the many who are being pressured to exchange their African traditional religion for Islam. May they realise that if Jesus the Son will set them free, then they will be free indeed.
Faithful Men and Women
Praise God for the faithfulness of several Rangi evangelists and pastors, and the courage of their wives to persevere in sharing the gospel together. Pray for more and more Rangi to become believers in Christ, and to share the good news about Him among their people. Pray for the power of Islam to be broken among the Rangi.
Pastor’s Requests
A local pastor serving with the San people made the following prayer requests: Please pray for healing of those who are sick among the people, and for people traveling for Christmas. Pray for spiritual strengthening of our Chief and church leaders and that they would fully participate in Church activities.
Light of the World
Please pray that the darkness and hardness of heart that is keeping Ndengereko people captive to Satan will be illuminated by Jesus, the light of the world. Pray that those who believe in Him will no longer walk in darkness but will walk in the light of life, and that others will come to know Him too.
Needing to connect
The extended family of new believers just arrived in Europe. One brother was shot before leaving for having the Word on his phone; a sister and nieces/nephews followed him soon after. Each has tried to find other believers. Pray for each to connect with believers that they can communicate with. On her last FaceTime call, the sister said many were kind but she couldn’t talk to them.
He Came Near
Praise the Lord for His work among the Gabbra. Pray that this remote, pastoralist tribe will begin to recognise their Creator as they see the stars at night as they sleep with their animals. Pray that they will hear the good news that the faraway God who made those stars has come near to them in the person of Jesus Christ.
More and More
Praise God for the Dorobo pastors and evangelists who are carrying the gospel to hard-to-reach parts of their tribe. Praise God for those who have a deep hunger for His Word, and who sing His songs. Pray for more and more Dorobo to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Like a Fire
Pray for the Word of God to spread rapidly and be multiplied among the Digo. Pray that everywhere it goes it will be like a fire, igniting passionate commitment and zeal for Jesus Christ.
Sharing Stories of the Good Shepherd
Please pray that the Datooga Christians who are cooperating to craft and record Bible stories will not only complete the set they are working on, but also will continue to teach Scripture this way. Pray that the recordings will be widely spread throughout this nomadic tribe, and that many will put their faith in the Good Shepherd as they listen to them while herding their sheep.
New Life
New life is evident everywhere as the rains begin, quenching the thirsty land. A dreary, dry landscape has been transformed with green grass, trees displaying every hue of green, and land freshly plowed. On Sunday, a boy who came to church received Christ as his Savior. He and three others were baptized. Pray for growth of new Christians and for more to come to know Jesus as Savior to experience life renewed, born again. Pray for harvest among the Nyamwezi!
Redeemed from a Futile Way of Life
Please pray that the Borana people will realise the blood of Christ was shed to redeem them from their futile way of life inherited from their forefathers. Pray that they will fully appreciate the great sacrifice their Redeemer paid and will put their faith in Him.
Jesus set them free
Pray that the Alagwa will be set free from their fears to follow Christ. He is the one who came to deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Pray He will do that for the Alagwa.
Discipleship training
Please pray for the discipleship training among the M. More and more believers are asking to attend, from more and more villages. Pray for the Lord to greatly work in that meeting the last week of November, unifying them in their Christian love for one another and making them vibrant witnesses and disciple-makers among their own people.
Wisdom to match zeal
A young man meets today with experienced translators to discuss how to translate the Word into his dialect. Pray for patience to match his zeal and that he will be able to work well with others. Also ask that the Word would continue to amaze and delight his soul…often he will stop to say, ‘God is talking’ or ‘I love Jesus so much.’
Our Newest Member
Praise God for the salvation of a Swahili man who came to church to seek healing. He had limped into our marriage seminar the day before and then returned the next day for our church service to ask for healing prayer for his crippled foot. After the church finished praying for him at the end of the service, he said he also wanted to give his life to Jesus – so right then and there the body led him in a prayer of repentance and acceptance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Praise God! Please continue to pray for his physical healing and for the church to lovingly enfold our newest member into the body.
Children
Give thanks for the number of children who attend church in Ohilang village each Sunday. Pray that the stories they hear in Sunday School may impact their hearts and lives for the glory of God. Pray for someone local to step in to help and learn about leading Sunday school. Pray for strength for these young hearts against opposition from Catholic leaders in Iboni village discouraging children from coming to Sunday School.
Ready To Answer
Pray for Christians living among the Nyamwezi that they will have the right attitude, the right answer, and not be surprised by the nature of questions from those seeking answers about Christianity. Praise God for hearts that are wanting to draw near to the Truth and an openness to hear about His Word. Pray that those seeking would believe. Pray that those sharing the Gospel will be adequately prepared with knowledge and understanding about our hope in Christ. May we “always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you for a reason regarding the hope that is in you, yet answer with gentleness and reverence.” 1 Peter 3:15
Two Former Students Ponder Possibilities
Please pray for two of my Muslim former students who met with me yesterday. Abdullahi and Elias. I’m in touch with them both off and on. Yesterday I asked them why they refused to become Christians. They said they didn’t know. One asked me why they should become Christians – in an honest and polite way. We had a good conversation. They have been in Christian schools and know God’s word. Another said that he didn’t see any difference between the Koran and the Bible. We had some good talks. Pray that God will work in their hearts. I believe they are open – but maybe not too serious about what part God plays in their lives.
A Vivid Witness Displayed Through A Wedding
Praise God for a timely, effective marriage seminar hosted by our local church which was attended by both singles and married! At the closing of the seminar day, a young new believer and his girlfriend chose that time to confess and repent before the body of Christ for sin they had entered into. This is radically counter- cultural! The following Sunday they announced before their loving church family their desire to be married in a covenant before God and with their Church family as witnesses! Praise God for the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the body of Christ who is helping them to now plan their wedding! Pray their wedding and marriage will be a vivid witness to the Swahili of Christ’s redeeming love for the church!
Strength in the Body
Pray for growth of the Lopit church leaders as they meet together every other month. May they be encouraged and emboldened as they share the work that is happening in different villages and may they bless one another by holding each another accountable in their individual walks with the Lord.
Loving the Word
There is a lot of testing and translation of the Word happening at the moment – with both believers and non believers alike. Pray that as islanders read and listen to God’s word it would be as sweet as honey to them drawing them back for more and more. Pray that it would be like blows of a hammer shattering pride and other strongholds in their hearts. Pray that it would pierce their hearts like a double edged sword. Pray that no islander would walk away from an encounter with God’s word unchanged!
Break their Bonds, Lord
Please continue to pray for the Alagwa! Pray that God will break their bonds, crush the strongholds that Satan has over them, and usher them into walking in freedom with Jesus.
Bible Study Update
This week the portion of the Word shared in the discovery Bible studies, (DBS), was the story of Job, and what was happening behind the scenes.
Here are a few responses from the participants:
“Sometimes we speak out in anger and say things we shouldn’t say…then we should apologize like Job did.”
“When we are disciplining our children, they may get angry with us and even hit back at us, but we are disciplining them for their own good to train them.”
“When bad things happen, we should not accuse God for them. Rather we should do good and trust God.”
Please be praying that the DBS continue to be fruitful and those present would have clear understanding and changed hearts where needed.
Free Indeed
May the Spirit penetrate the hearts of the Ndengereko, bringing them into adoption, freeing them from being slaves to bondage, setting them free from fear, and allowing them to cry out, “Abba, Father.”
Storying
The church leaders, after completing a storying workshop a few months ago, have been working their way through the Bible stories and connecting these to the good news of salvation in Christ as they teach in church on Sundays. Pray that they may learn more of God’s sovereign rule as they prepare and that they may be faithful in this teaching task.
