One young woman sent pictures of the beatitudes asking for explanations. Together with a sister in Jesus, a believing Berber brother wrote back with personal examples of mourning, being comforted, of being persecuted and blessed. Pray that the Berbers scattered around the world would continue to minister to each other in love.
Bribes and Threats
A young Sandawe man has resisted both bribes and threats from his extended family who are trying to turn him from his decision to follow Christ. Pray that he will continue to stand firm and that the Lord will use him to be a leader as many observe his example.
Deeper and Deeper
Pray that the Borana believers will grow deeper and deeper in their unity and in their spiritual maturity in Christ, and that they will share the gospel to the farthest corners of the Borana tribal homelands. Pray that through their brave witness many will be liberated from Islam and freed to serve Christ.
Logistics
Please pray for the logistical hurdles to be overcome for a M family to begin regularly studying the Bible together. The husband and wife work very long hours and finding a time to meet with them is difficult.
Persistently Praying
The S. Asian family for whose salvation we have consistently been praying are in a time of many transitions, family fractures, and disharmony. Stress and unhappiness abound. Yet they have not yet turned to Christ for salvation and answers to their problems. Please continue to ask, seek and knock even more persistently for the Lord to save each member of this extended family!
Filled with compassion
The house of a recently orphaned teenager burnt down. A new believer was filled with compassion and shared her clothes, dishes… and also the Word with her. A brother in Jesus wrote a song about God as Father to be sung for her. Ask that the believers would continue to speak the Word as they minister in love.
Strategic training
Please join us in prayer. Today we will have 3 Farming God’s Way training and 1 Story-Tellers Training: Evangelism strategies. We are receiving 24 Evangelists, 6 Pastors and 22 Bible Teachers from different parts of Southern Madagascar. They are from Lutheran Church and work in Bara area. Our desire is that the Lord will help them to look beyond towards the Unreached Bara people and use the stories as well as Farming to reach out to Bara people. May God grant us grace to teach well and grace to the 5 Malagasy Co-workers we have: Pr. Emanoella, Pastor Haja, Pastor Tolotra, Justine and Armand. They will also teach. Thank you.
Increasing Illness
Lately there has been an increase in Malaria and Hepatitis B cases among the Ik. A few elderly have died. But both can be prevented either through using mosquito nets or vaccinations. Please pray for the local health center and the village health team. Although these resources are a blessing to the Ik, there is no doctor on staff. Pray that the health workers have wisdom to know how to care medically for the patients. Pray that the Lord will intervene and people would see His good hand of mercy.
Elizabeth to know her Healer
Elizabeth is a community member that our missionaries have been working with for a while. She is facing major health issues as her liver is failing, and it is causing her to have a hard time providing for her family, including her young children. Pray that Elizabeth comes to know Christ, and that she knows Him as her Healer.
Chief Amadu
Pray for Chief Amadu whom one of our team visited last year. He was friendly and interested in further visits from the team. Sadly they were unable to continue contacts with him and his group, and now we have no idea where they have fled to escape the fighting in Zemio, CAR. Pray for him and his group to find the help they need and to come in contact with someone who will share Christ with them.
Pray that God’s peace and prosperity flow like a river in Karamoja
Please join me in praying Isaiah 48:17-18 for the Karimojong people. That they would truly know God as their Redeemer, they would know Him as the Holy One, they would let the Holy Spirit teach them and lead them in the way they should go.
Pray that they would pay attention to His commands and as a result that righteousness would light up this region and God would be glorified in changed lives.
Rain
It is the time of year when the folks are preparing their fields by burning them. Sadly the fires are getting out of control and burning houses to the ground. Many have lost their houses already. Please pray for good rains this year so that the folks can have good harvests.
Loving the Light
One Arab woman saw her Berber friend reading the Word and began to read with her. Later she texted: ‘I love to read the Word; will you study with me too? I love the Lord Jesus.’ Ask that she follow Jesus wholeheartedly as Lord and that those who believe will continue to hold out light to friends!
Hungry Hearts
Pray for the Lord to move in the hearts of many Didinga that they would take time out of their busy days to learn about Jesus. Pray as hearts hunger to know Jesus that a disciple making movement would take root and move swiftly through the hills. Pray for the few believers that they would remain faithful to the Lord. Pray for a strong man to come pastor the small church in Nagishot.
Released!
No evidence was found against friends who were held without bail for three months. They are especially grateful to be home just before the new planting season begins. We visted several times while they were in custody, leaving Bibles and booklets. They specifically thanked us for our visits and prayers for their release. Both of them also mentioned excerpts from Scripture that they had been reading while in custody, including the need to forgive those who had accused them. Pray for this as they reunite with family and villagers. As we rejoice over their physical freedom, pray also for their salvation- spiritual freedom. “Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name!” Psalm 142:7
Family of believers!
Praise Jesus for the family with at least four believers who love to study the Word and pray together. Ask that God give them courage to continue and disciple their children too.
Tribal Tensions
Tensions have been high among neighboring tribes, the Turkana and the Karimojong. The Ik live directly between them, which puts them on high alert. Pray for continued safety among the Ik. Pray also for peace among all three tribes, and that soon they may know of the love and grace and peace found in Jesus Christ.
Warm welcome
The Zigua have just received a team of believers. Pray for curious and open hearts, grace to welcome new neighbors, and patient language helpers to step forward. Praise God for sending Light into the darkness.
A movement to begin
A woman, Hk, responded to the Gospel this week! For her to share her newfound faith boldly will certainly mean persecution. Pray for others in her extended family group to respond, and that a Disciple Making MOVEMENT may begin. Pray for the whole mission team to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue to share the Good News broadly – and that as we abide, God will bless with much lasting fruit! Pray for Hk’s protection, wisdom and boldness. Pray that she grows strong as we disciple her. PTL for a new Sister in Christ!
Unexpected opportunities
A couple of days ago I was unexpectedly blessed when I sat down in my best friend’s shop to read the story of Jesus and Bartimaeus to her and an older, partially blind gentleman happened to walk up and start listening to our story. Those few minutes of his listening turned into getting to share 4 stories from the Word and all of us discussing them together. Both of them have asked to continue hearing stories and see great value in the lessons they teach. Pray that as Swahili people hear stories of Truth, they would be captivated not only by the wisdom, but by the person of Jesus. Pray they would see the Truth of who He is in each story we share.
Great need for Godly teachers
Our Christian schools need godly Christian teachers. Pray for God to work in the hearts of teachers and that the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in their lives. Pray that mature Christian teachers can be found who are willing and able to teach at Tirrim school and share the gospel with Rendille students.
Seeking prayer in the wrong place.
Recently a Digo woman came seeking a large loan so she could travel to another town and have a spiritual leader pray over her. She has been unable to sleep for many months, but the doctors can find nothing wrong with her physically. When prayer in the name of Jesus was offered instead of the loan, she was unable to accept it and went away.
Please pray that these disturbances will be used by the Holy Spirit to open her heart. Pray the Lord will appear to her in a dream.
Heavy Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual warfare is being felt very heavily right now. One Ik man has been going missing for hours or days at a time and always coming back in a trance. His family is very worried and has called in a local witch doctor to aid in his healing. Another young girl had been having pain in her knees and neck since getting injured in the river. The Ik have a lot of superstitions surrounding rivers, so an exorcism was performed on her. Pray that the Ik can see that Jesus is Lord over all of creation, and that they have nothing to fear about the rivers when He is their God. Pray also that they be freed of spiritual oppression and possession and come to Christ for all their needs as He alone is the great healer.
Remove the Veil
“Lord, remove the veil from the eyes of the Nyamwezi and give them a longing to know your truth, that they may have new life in Jesus.”
We are thirsty!!!!
“Fernando, our people are thirsty. Could you come to our village to broadcast the film Jesus?”
People are becoming tired of their old ways, specially when they see that all the witchcraft they use isn’t able to protect them from evil. Demons keep attacking many Bara villages. Could you pray that God would touch their hearts to turn to Him? That God would manifest his power and love among Bara people so they would leave behind all their witchcraft practices and become followers of Christ?
Already Roofing the Classroom
Thank God for his blessing, because we are already roofing a classroom, and now join me to pray for finishing the floor, windows, doors and plaster. This is a place for Muslim high school students to come after school for tutoring and to learn about Jesus Christ. Thank you and be blessed in Jesus Christ.
May the Husbands and Children Love Jesus, too.
Pray for two households with believing wives who listen to recordings of Bible stories in Alagwaisa and Scriptures in Swahili in the evenings together with other family members. Pray for their husbands and children to be drawn to Jesus too.
Frequently Moving
Because the Datooga are pastoralists, during seasons of drought they move their animals to other grazing areas. It is hard, therefore, for people to study the Bible consistently over many months. Pray for those who are producing recordings of Bible stories, that even when the pastoralists move, they may continue to hear and grow in their knowledge of the Word of God.
The King of Glory
Please pray for the Spirit’s work of salvation in people’s hearts in the village of Wairo. A film titled “King of Glory” has been shown in two parts recently. Pray that people will realise Jesus Christ is the King of Glory and will turn to Him for forgiveness of sins and salvation.
Asking Questions
Please pray for a high school student named Hassan. He is a Muslim. He’s been in a Christian school for years, so has heard a lot about the Bible. Recently, he’s been asking lots of questions in Bible class and last week he asked to come talk about the Bible. I was excited and prayed a lot before he came, but by the time it worked out for us to meet, I think he got cold feet. We talked, but mainly about his family, not about the Bible. He knows the door is open for him to come any time. There’s a real spiritual battle going on for his heart and mind. Please pray for God’s power to overcome. He’s a nice boy, hard working and needs Jesus!
Families Discovering the Love of God
Please pray for opportunities to share Jesus with family groups. Sometimes it can be hard to find times when everyone is together. Pray that as families discover the love of God they can choose to follow together and support one another.
Syncretism
Syncretism is the mix of religions. We saw many times in the Bible that even Israel practiced this: “… they pray to the Lord, but also sacrificed in the hills…” Could you pray that those Bara that are turning to Christ, will be changed in a such way, that their old religious practices will be thrown aside and only Jesus will be exalted, consulted, and worshiped!
Still Discovering who Jesus Really Is
The Muslim widow who loves Jesus and has started praying in His name still does not believe He is the Son of God, just an amazing prophet. But whenever she reads the Bible, she listens and learns and thinks about what she read. Pray that she will continue reading the Bible and that she will believe it, and realise the things her religion taught her about Jesus are not true.
Drawn to the Son
Pray for whole Nyamwezi families who are drawn to the Son, hearing chronologically stories about God’s character and man’s need for a Savior. Also the Jesus Film has been shown to numerous groups in public places. The response is unclear except that the film is watched with attention to what is being spoken. Some are requesting to see the again, and if it might be shown at their homes so their entire household and neighbors may see the film. Pray that those curious would know the Truth, and that the Truth will set them free.
Impact their Lives
Please pray for the Alagwa involved in the translation week last month. Pray especially for those who are not believers; may the word of God continue to impact their lives and turn their hearts to him.
May This Man Follow Christ
A young Samburu man is good friends with Christian missionaries in his area. Recently he got married and they attended the wedding. Pray that he and four other men will openly follow Christ and become open, committed members of the local church, which so far is only attended by women and children.
Growing Leaders
As the new Mahafaly churches work to disciple their “children churches,” they have chosen two leaders to study God’s Word more in-depth. These leaders will then teach the other leaders. In the last month, two other leaders have felt God’s call to take this next step. Praise God!
Pray for:
– the churches as they confirm and support these (possibly) four leaders.
– protection for the families of these leaders.
– wisdom for all the leaders as they disciple new believers in villages where they’ve planted churches.
– passion for all the churches to press out to the furthest reaches of the Mahafaly: the town of Ampanihy.
Persisting in Seeking Jesus
Please pray for an older Alagwa lady in one village, who is really persisting in seeking Jesus. Recently, when troubled by demonic attack, she asked a team member to pray for her. The team member also encouraged her to pray for herself, which she did in the name of Jesus. Soon after, she was released and was able to get up and just carry on her daily activities! Please pray for this lady, that she would continue to grow in her hunger for Jesus and would be emboldened to commit her whole life to Jesus.
Rendille Breakthrough Prayer
“Break the power of Islam over Rendille hearts and minds by opening their eyes to the truth of Your Word.”
Starting To See The Answers!
Praise God! He is answering our breakthrough prayer for the Swahili … for “whole Swahili families to turn to Jesus with faith that endures and bears fruit.” Mama & Baba F have welcomed the believers into their home for prayer, joined them for Sunday worship & are openly following Jesus! Please pray for their spiritual & physical protection and for their children to follow Jesus soon. Pray their faith would endure & bear fruit!
Now please pray the same for new believer Mama S – that her husband would come to faith in Jesus & her children would be free to follow Jesus too! Her husband comes from a well established & respected Muslim family here & the resistance will be strong against them. But He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world! Praise the Lord!
