Pray for Tanzanian collegues Deogratius and Gabriel, both from Usandawe area but who are now missionaries serving among the Sonjo and Maasai up near Loliondo in northwest TZ. They are ‘tent-making’ to support themselves and moved to the area this year. Pray for fruitful ministry.
Stolen wheelchair
There is a young Tsimihety man who fell from a tree a few years ago and has been paralysed ever since. He came to the Good News Hospital for care at that time and was able to get a wheel chair, but it was stolen from his home in the village the next day, and he has been bed bound since then. Praise God that he has had some contact with the missionary team, and was encouraged to get back into the hospital and get another wheelchair. Praise God with his new wheelchair he was able to attend his village church on Sunday! Please pray that his knowledge and faith in Jesus would flourish, and that he would point many others to Jesus!
Needing breakthrough
Pray for the team among the Toposa. We feel the enemy is fighting against us reaching out among the Toposa, Nyangatom and Jiye. Pray for our school ministry, teachers and their spritual life. Other places among the Toposa area are closed and the people are not welcoming the gospel. Pray for the existing churches, evangelist, and apostolic team that the Lord will give us breakthroughs in reaching out.
Discipleship of Somali MBB’s in East Africa
Please pray for MBB’s, especially in Kenya, that they may grow more in the knowledge of God’s Word. They have been reluctant, and in most cases not willing, to study individually or in groups. Pray that God will give us wisdom in ways to walk this journey together with them.
Growing!
One member of the team started studying the Word with a friend. On the second meeting, his brother was there and then this last week another guy joined. May this group grow in size as they grow in knowledge of the One who saves.
Great potential
Pray for Iffy to come to know Christ. He’s a young man on a medical internship at our mission hospital. He is open to hearing and studying God’s Word, but has not yet received God’s gift of salvation. He has great potential for being a leader in our medical ministry if he would submit to Jesus instead of Islam.
Accepted Christ!
Pastor John and pastor Daudi are continuing to deliver the Gospel to the Digo. Just the other day, there was a Digo man who accepted Christ! Please pray that he will grow in faith. Please also be praying for the two pastors that they would continue to be eager to deliver the Gospel to the Digo.
New church!
We celebrated the inauguration of the church in Sambane this week! Please pray for the congregation as they are located between two refuge camps. Please pray for courage to evangelize and that the hearts of the people in the camps would be soft to receive the gospel! Please pray for Pastor Joaquim and his wife Julieta in this new step of responsibility and faith pastoring the church.
Jealousy
Pray for the many people involved in witchcraft in the village. So many people live in constant fear and mistrust of others as there is a strong spirit of jealousy and greed among the people, which leads many to seek dark forces/witchcraft in order to hurt their fellow community members. Pray for the light and love of Christ to set them free!
Hearts of stone
After months of showing up each week in Tiringot to share Bible stories and pray with people, Love feels it is time to move her efforts elsewhere. The people in this village seem very hardened to the gospel, uninterested in anything Love has to offer since there isn’t any “physical benefit” to them. Pray that the Lord would “remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekial 11:19). Pray for Noblesse, who lives in the village closest to Tiringot, to have wisdom about how to reach this community and continue to water the seeds that have been planted.
Lay hold of
“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.” From Psalm 32
Repentance is such a restorative gift from God which many Alagwa seem blinded to. It is common for people to feel that they don’t sin or if they do, it is not a problem between them and God. Pray for this spiritual blindness to be lifted so that they may come to Jesus! Please pray for the believers to really lay hold of lives which are open and honest before God, confessing their sins and joyfully finding forgiveness.
Heavy burdens
Diaspora in Georgia: Praise the Lord for a Nigerian sister in a nearby mobile home park who has opened her home and invited neighbors to come for Bible study. Pray for that group to grow and especially for the immigrants who live there to come. Pray for the gospel of John and the fellowship time to greatly encourage the women who have many heavy burdens.
Ancestral worship event
Keep praying for the big ancestral worship event happening here this week. Practically it will be a burden to the local villages since so many will come and the wells barely have enough water to support the local community. Spiritually it will be an oppressive time. Pray for believers to be filled with the Spirit and protected from evil spirits.
Pray for unity
Ask for protection from notice and suspicion, as a couple of groups of followers meet together this week. Ask that the Word would fill their time together and the HS would give them wisdom and understanding. Pray for unity.
Seek peace
Robert and Carole greatly desire to see the church at the forefront of the effort to promote peace between the warring Lopit communities. The years (decades?) old hostilities have left the people in these villages in fear for their very lives. Pray that as Robert and Carole disciple believers in Iboni, these men and women would set the example for all the Lopit to seek peace, “not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead…[to] turn away from evil and do good; [to] seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:9-11).
Amazing work of salvation
Pray for Tsandy. She converted in 2010, from a very bad life; Christ changed her heart and till today she has been a faithful servant of Jesus and also my wife’s best friend. Jana has discipled her and now she is telling Bible stories to Bara children. A generation telling another generation about the Glory of Christ.
Please, take one minute to praise Christ for this amazing work of salvation.
Kicked out
A new believer has been kicked out of the house by her mother and brother for her faith. Please pray for Celia as she looks for a new place to live. May this experience strengthen her faith and cause her mom and brother to have a ‘Saul-to-Paul’ experience with the living, loving God!
Stand firm
Pray for encouragement for the female believers, that they may stand firm despite many challenges.
It’s another long holiday, pray that the youth will be able to stand firm in doing what is right.
Communicate meaningfully
Pray for followers of Jesus here in Wonderland to be salt and light and to learn to communicate Truth meaningfully within the culture.
Ministry of reconciliation
The conflict in the Middle East has far reaching consequences. There is heightened animosity toward all non-Mslms. Ask that believers would still engage in discussions and seek to be ambassadors for the Prince of peace. May those who know Peace carry on the ministry of reconciliation even in the face of threat and hostility.
New neighborhood
Diaspora in Georgia: Praise the Lord for ongoing friendship and visits with Ms families. Pray for the salvation of S’s family and M’s family. Pray for an open door to minister in another new neighborhood where there are several Africans from Cameroon. Pray that my friend Cindy will open her home to host a women’s gathering. Pray for salvation to come to that neighborhood.
Local evangelists
One of the missionary families that have been working for 13 years with the Gabra people is finishing their assignment, and during the last 4 years, four local evangelists have been raised up and joined the ministry team in Hurri Hills.
Pray for the local workers as they continue the ministry, that they would be full of God’s grace and wisdom. Pray that God raises people to mentor and support them in ministry. Pray also for their financial support.
Angelo update
Angelo (a Laarim believer who had been a part of the Laarim ministry for several years) is diligently studying in Kenya, planning to return to Kimatong once his nursing training is complete. Pray that he will do well in his studies, and so be able to use his training to serve his community’s physical needs. His real heart is for evangelism, so pray that he would also grow in the bold sharing of his faith, even among his teachers and fellow students, in preparation for declaring to the Laarim “that the Lord… is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. But those who hate Him He will repay to their face by destruction” (Deuteronomy 7:9-10).
Healing and friendship
Diaspora in Georgia: Pray for A, an Afghan M woman I recently visited with an outreach group in Clarkston, GA, for healing from her cancer and most important, spiritual healing.
Pray that friendship would continue to develop and deepen with my friends F and Z.
Camp visit
Pray for an upcoming trip to the refugee camps. Pray that relationships would be built and God would be glorified!
Thanksgiving
We want to thank God for enabling N**, an MBB, to work so well in our team and boldly sharing his faith with other S** as they listen in shock. We pray that God will continue to sanctify and mature N**. We also pray that He will soften the hearts of the listeners to understand and believe the message of the Gospel. Pray for God to strengthen and comfort N**’s family that is persecuted in his home country due to his faith.
Resist
Please pray for all the believers to resist the pressures of the cultures around them to see Jesus as simply one source of power and instead to surrender to Him as the Lord of their lives. May they have joy in worshipping and seeking His face. Please pray for them to have the longing Paul expressed in Philippians 3:
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
Question
Pray for Ma Fae and Ma Dorcas on the plateau, reading and hearing truth each week. Ask for open hearts and courage to question long-held beliefs.
More students
Diaspora in Toronto: Pray for Victor as he teaches on the book of Genesis to newer Iranian believers in order to build a good foundation. Unfortunately, very few students attend the class. Pray for their desire for the Lord not to grow cold.
Victor also plans to teach Christianity Explored to seekers coming to church in January. Pray for seekers coming to church to sign up.
Church
We are praying about the community’s desire for a church building in Ohilang. We thank God for Lopit believers who want to gather for services, and for the desire to have a building that establishes a church presence in their community. Pray that the believers will really get behind the effort to gather materials and to work at putting up a simple building. More than a church building, though, pray that these Lopit believers would come to Him “as living stones, built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).
Mosque-Church meeting
Diaspora in Florida: Pray for the mosque and church meeting scheduled for October 14th to discuss, “Who is Jesus?” Pray for truth to be clear.
Salt and Light, Door to Door!
Please pray over a historical Nyamwezi kingdom area where there will be a big emphasis in evangelism door to door from October 12-15, followed by a seminar for new believers Oct. 15 and 16. May the Lord give favor and boldness to His servants, allowing open doors into the homes of those whom live in darkness without Christ. Pray for conversations seasoned with salt at every opportunity, making the best use of their time, sharing the Gospel at all times graciously. Ask the Lord for hearts ready to hear and receive God’s plan of salvation!
Seeking truth
Diaspora in Minnesota: Pray for Mr. M. and Mr. H. Both are seeking the truth. May they find it and passionately follow Him.
Baptism
There was great joy in Kimatong as Nacici was baptized by Jacob last month! It seems that others are now interested in taking this step of obedience as well. Pray for Nabalu, Love’s friend that she has been sharing the gospel with, to make public her faith in Jesus. As the Laarim witness these baptisms and hear the gospel preached, pray they will “be pierced to the heart” and cry out, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Pray for many to “repent…and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of [their] sins…and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38).
Asking questions
Diaspora in France: Praise God for the good visit with Senegalese friends. Praise God for the husband who asked many questions and eagerly took a Bible with plans to meet again for discussion. Pray that Travis can start meeting together regularly even with their busy schedule as restaurant owners.
Praise for Travis’ French friend with a Catholic background who is asking many questions about the reality of a relationship with God. Pray for wisdom for Travis as they meet, and for the Holy Spirit to guide him to salvation.
Ladies event
Praise for the opportunity to host a ladies event with Saharawi friends and believers. Please pray for continued relationship building and spiritual conversations.
Salvation and progress
Diaspora in Georgia: Praise the Lord for the salvation and progress in faith of several ESL students from last year. Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring the students this year to know Jesus through reading and discussing the gospel of John. Pray especially for one Ms lady, A from Sierra Leone. Pray that all the students will come regularly to class so they get the most benefit.
The Word
The last two weeks of September were very full with testing and reviewing portions of the Word that have been translated. Praise Him for the work that was done as well as the number of people that were able to be involved. Pray for perseverance in that work and for the Word to speak to all who read/hear it.
Pray for peace
My host country is currently going through a political crisis. Please pray for peace. Pray for wisdom to know when to return. Pray for the Kingdom to advance.
Adoption
“Praise the LORD, my soul…He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.” from Psalm 146.
Praise the LORD who can and is setting Alagwa free. There are so may spiritual prisoners- bound with fear and occult power they think is from God. Many are oppressed and possessed- may they be set free.
Praise the LORD who is giving sight to the blind. May more spiritual eyes be opened to see the rich truth of unconditional love and salvation in Jesus. May they see their bondage for what it is and have the courage to step away and follow Jesus.
There are many who are bowed down- with all sorts of burdens. May they hear Jesus’ invitation, and come to him whose yolk is easy and burden light.
Thank you Jesus that in you we have a righteousness that comes by faith- please draw many Alagwa to yourself that they might experience your true love and full adoption.
