On Sunday afternoon we were joined at Bible study by a group of young teenage boys. They listened attentively to our sister Nasur as she shared her testimony and encouraged them to look to the Lord and seek His wisdom. Please pray that what they heard will impact their lives and draw them closer to Christ.
Seeking asylum
Diaspora in Hong Kong: Please pray for refugee B and his family who fled from Y*men. Since their arrival, B has been volunteering with some Catholic nuns at a shelter in Hong Kong while seeking asylum for a few years. Recently, an opportunity to resettle in Canada has arisen. A church in Canada is now considering helping him and his family to resettle and continue the gospel work with this family. May this process leads this family to encounter Jesus. May God guide us in exploring creative ways to engage with M*slims through resettlement ministry.
New Believers
Pray for our Dorobo church on Mount Eburru called AIC Songoroi. We visited a few weeks ago. We were encouraged by the growth in the church. One older man named Joseph who had resisted the Gospel for years had made a profession of faith a few weeks before and stood up at church to give his testimony. Joseph’s son Luka has finished school and made a profession of faith last June when we had visited his school and shown the Jesus film and has been faithfully attending church. Pray as he prepares to take a driving course with hopes to get a job as a driver. Continue to pray for Pastor Josphat Musanga who drives 40 kilometers on his motorcycle once or twice a week to disciple and encourage the believers at AIC Songoroi.
Connections
Diaspora in Minnesota: Pray for a new English class started at an apartment complex Friday, Feb 2. Pray for the students who showed up for good connections being made.
Pray for a few S people who attended a Christ-centered Christian wedding this weekend with us. Pray that it will lead to good discussions about our faith.
Remove the blinders
Pray for our language helpers. DJ studies the Word a lot in lessons. He is growing in his understanding. We pray he would fully submit to Jesus. The ladies’ language helpers, however, have been rather resistant or uncomfortable with Bible stories and spiritual conversations. Pray that the Lord would open their hearts to desire the Truth, and pray that the blinders which are on their eyes would be removed and that they would see that the way of Jesus really is the Truth!
Seeds beginning to grow
Diaspora in France: Our team’s holiday camp outreach for international university students was a big hit, and many gospel seeds were planted. Some seeds have even begun to take root and grow! Please pray for them.
Audio Bible
Earlier this month we were able to take a Proclaimer (an audio recording of the New Testament which is loud enough for group gatherings) to one of the communities outside of town. Please pray that it will be well used and be a blessing to the community that enables many to grow in their relationship with Christ.
University break time
Diaspora in Brazil: Keep praying for the Lopes family during university break time, which means that the MANY African students have nowhere else to go. Opportunities are PLENTIFUL in the Lopes’ home, where they have many plans to host meals, watch movies, and even host events for these African students. Pray for good times of fellowship, discipleship, and sharing of God’s Word.
Oral translation
Pray for the Bible translation that is going on. It is taking longer than we planned. The desire is to record the Bible orally in the Bara language since 80% of the Bara can’t read their own language.
Enemy
Pray for the team working among the Toposa. We feel the enemy is fighting against us reaching out to the Toposa, Nyangatom and Jiye.
Genesis 1-10
Sambivelo, who was trained as a healthcare worker, is a trusted worker in the community now. People are very happy with him. But it is difficult for him to help everybody. On top of that, Malaria is raging, and it is hard to get enough medicine. Pray for him.
The first 10 chapters of Genesis are ready to be checked and digitalized. Continue to pray for the translation work.
Pray for RAIN
The Sahel is dry in every way, physically and spiritually! Let’s pray that it RAIN on this earth and in the hearts of these people, and that this rain brings LIFE! Let’s pray that the power and glory of God will be manifested in this place!
Answered prayer
A long time ago two of our colleagues prayed for a secretary in an office close to ours. They prayed that she would be able to get pregnant. She came to us recently and told us that she is now 6 months pregnant! Our Island colleague was able to share the story of Elizabeth and her miraculous pregnancy with this lady. Pray for her heart to be open to more of Him because of this answered prayer and the similarities in hers and Elizabeth’s stories.
Blessing to the Church
Please continue to pray for our pastors and lay leaders as they grow in the word and stay strong in the Lord. May they be a blessing to the Church.
Dreams and visions
Pray for the Lord Jesus to reveal himself to many Muslim Rangi people in dreams and visions, and for hearts to be open to hear and accept the truth of the Gospel.
Women’s fellowship
Love and Tessa were excited to host the first ever women’s fellowship on their compound last month! Four Laarim believers met with Love and Tessa for a time of singing, prayer, Bible discussion and fellowship! The hope is to meet like this with the Christian women from different villages once a month to help encourage and strengthen one another. Pray that through these times of fellowship, these women will “contemplate the Lord’s glory,” and be “transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Gospel outreaches
Our team has organized three outreaches to outer lying villages in the next weeks and months. This includes open-air preaching, choir performances, times of worship and prayer, and a showing of the Jesus Film. Please pray that God would prepare the hearts of those who will hear the gospel in these places, and that we would be led by the Holy Spirit in our planning and sharing, and that His name would be glorified! Our prayer is that the seeds of the gospel would be widely spread through these events.
Lord, build your church!
Pray for God to continue to reveal himself to those who have heard and responded to the gospel. Pray for a church of MBBs to be birthed in Abdi!
Joy of the Lord
Pray for O believers and the team for the joy of the Lord to be our strength! May our daily abiding in Christ bear so much lasting fruit for his glory! He is worthy!
Fully gave
Robert is doing TEE (Theological Education by Extension) with a couple of Lopit men. During the training, one of the men realized within the first couple of studies that he had not yet fully given his life to the Lord. He did so and is now growing in the Lord! Pray that this new disciple of Jesus will grow deep roots of understanding and faith as he continues to study the Word with Robert.
Harvest is plentiful
Recent surveys and feedback has shown that there are many areas around the city of Ambilobe that are open to hearing the Gospel. However there are not enough missionaries to go to these areas. The Harvest is plentiful. Pray for workers to go and bring the good news.
Save many
Pray for Superior 2 English students to have soft hearts as they discuss Jesus and hear the complete gospel in this class. Pray that God would save many of them this term.
See deceptiveness
Pray for the Bara to have open hearts for true spiritual things. That they may see the deceptiveness of witchcraft and false hope of ancestor worship.
Pray for the 25 local partners that work alongside the Coworker Project in evangelism and discipleship. That God will give them a deep love for the lost and help them to keep up the hard work.
Flooding
Our area of Tanzania has received a lot of rain this year, and there has been flooding in our area that not only poses a problem for the local farmers and their crops, but can also be dangerous for those needing to cross the water to travel to their families and fields. The water has also restricted the movement and gathering together of the local church, which makes it difficult to enjoy fellowship together and encourage one another. Please pray for safety, God’s provision and that we would continue to persevere together, even if we are separated by water.
Needing prayer
The Suri Kachipo community needs prayer: alcohol issues and high death rate are serious problems.
The Bible translation is continuing on. We have 17 books drafted. Gospel of Mark is ready for recording. Jesus film is slated to be dubbed this year.
Please continue to pray for my health. I have chronic lung disease and I’ve been sick.
Bless the new pastor
The FJK church (Church Jesus Madagascar) in the area of our village just received a new pastor. Olive is his name, and he seems to have a very open attitude towards working with us. He gladly received our translated work. Let’s pray that he and his wife will be used by God in powerful ways to bless the church and the Tanala. Please pray for their wellbeing (spiritual and physically) as they settle.
Jesus Film
In December we gave a Jesus film backpack kit to Pastor John Kashu from our Dorobo church in Oloolbung’aiko. Since then he has shown the film weekly. They showed it at Olchorro as part of their Christmas Kesha (overnight) service. And later in the Mau Forest where 11 people accepted Christ. Pray for Pastor Kashu as he is using this film kit to expand his outreach. Pray for the viewers of the film to be touched by the visual images of what Jesus came to do here on earth. Pray for safety as Pastor Kashu rides on the back of motorcycle taxis called bodabodas over muddy roads to share the Gospel in this Dorobo area of the Mau Forest.
Gospel seeds
Thank the Lord for the seeds planted during the youth camp, pray that in His time those seeds will germinate into faith and salvation. Pray for the Youth program, that transformation may continue taking place.
Meet together
Pray for our believing friends here on Vanilla Island. Pray for great encouragement amongst them and a big effort for meeting together more regularly. Many desire to meet but location and distance pose a big problem.
Perseverance in faith
First we want to Praise the Lord, we are seeing young women and children coming to Christ!!! But the older and younger men not only are not showing any interest but are leaving their families to pursue their own lives. Please pray that the Ndau men would come to know Christ as their Savior! Present or not they still run everything. Please pray for the women to have perseverance in their newfound faith!
Living out their faith
We praise God for the recent step of faith a couple of young ladies in Chawa have taken, due to the discipleship of Natiote, a young Laarim believer! Thank the Lord for Laarim believers who are living out their faith, sharing the good news of the gospel, and drawing others from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Pray that God would grow and strengthen His church among the Laarim!
Seeker
We have a young 17 yr old S** whose parents are both mature MBB’s. He is open and seeking to know the truth. Pray that we will join the efforts of his parents in pointing him to the Truth, Jesus.
Know Christ
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings…” Phil 3, 10
Please pray for the Alagwa seekers and believers; may this be the cry of their hearts! May they hunger to know Jesus more and be willing also to share in his sufferings. Praise God for the ways they are beginning in small ways to share scripture and testimony with others. May this increase!
Beacons of love
Diaspora in Canada: Pray for several of the Som brothers and sisters’ families who are struggling with kids leaving the faith. Pray for the families to be such beacons of love and grace of Jesus that the lost will return.
Most of our Som believing families are having serious issues with mental illness and physical disabilities. Pray for their healing and for us to be channels of God’s peace to them.
News
There have been more salvations and several new groups started in several villages. More M and Ndengereko discipleship leaders are being raised up. We have witnessed several miracles the Lord has done recently in some of these new believers that has reinforced their new faith. Though there are great challenges, especially fear of being ostracized. Pray for believers to grow deep roots of faith, gather together, and bear much fruit.
Children learning to read and write
Pray for the Bara children who are learning to read and write in the Be Fitia Project. More than 800 children come to listen to the Bible stories. We estimate that at least 25% are Bara.
Pray that God will save them from the bondages of witchcraft and use them to reach their own families.
Parents from the far way mountains have heard about the project and are bringing their children. (Bara Zafindravala – one of the most difficult sub-Ethiopia Bara to reach with the Gospel.) The Gospel is preached everyday to the children through stories and songs while they learn to read and write their own language and the government official language.
Breakthrough
Pray for a spiritual breakthrough in our village. Pray specifically for our language helpers… B, F, D, and Z. We spend a lot of time with them! Pray the Lord would remove the veil that covers their eyes from seeing the Saviour.
Trusting in God!
May the spirit of the living God draw many O in 2024 to trust in him with all their hearts, to realize the bondage of their darkness and come to Jesus as true freedom in the Light! May they truly see and hear, and understand God‘s grace through Jesus, grace in all of its truth – and turn and be healed in every way!
Followup
Diaspora in Wales: In spite of the reduced attendance due to illness, we are thankful for those who came to the December Women’s English and Sewing classes which explained how and why Jesus was born. Pray for the followup (before the start of Ramadan in March) further exploring why everyone needs Jesus.
Jesus is the only way
Perhaps the greatest challenge keeping people from believing in and following Jesus is their fear of rejection by their Muslim family and communities. Please pray that God would work powerfully through the lives of the believers and that their testimonies of real transformation would help others overcome their fear of rejection. Pray for bold witness and more demonstrations of the power of God, that more Ndengereko and M would know his love for them and that Jesus really is the only way.
