François and his wife have been sent for theological training by the Christians of 7 cell groups in one region because they are longing for a leader. François is now in Antsirabe following a 3 year course of theology.
Pray that they adapt well to living in a large town with different climate.
They both have a bachelor degree in nursing. So we think they’ll be ok with the challenges of studying all day and doing research. But still, the course is quite hard, with Greek, Hebrew, and English in the first year.
Please pray for enough financial support. The project Hopitaly Vaovao Mahafaly is helping them, but it’s not enough to cover all the costs. Pray that his wife will find a job.
Outreach
The team is praying that they will be able to reach out to 11 unreached ethnic groups in Darfur and win first generation men and women of peace to Christ Jesus. They hope to expand their outreach to 7 new villages. Pray for fruitful ministry.
Pray that believers will engage in community service such as volunteer in schools and community activities, local fundraising for rebuilding schools and clinics, and community mobilization with the aim to be salt and light among our communities.
They are praying for a center in Khartoum for use as a central home church and training facility. Please join them in prayer for this need.
In need of prayer
Continue to pray for island brothers and sisters we have mentioned in the past, like Jonny whose wife died this fall leaving him as a single dad of 4 kids, and Dorcas who was kicked out of her family home because of her faith. Continue to pray for her relationship with her family. The crisis moments may have passed, but they continue to live in challenging situations in need of prayer.
Seeking and Believing
Diaspora in Wisconsin: I have an ESL student who is seeking. Pray that the student’s heart would be open to receive the truth.
My husband is starting a Bible study with A, a new MBB. Pray that he gets grounded in the Lord and becomes bold to proclaim his new found life.
Oral Bible
Pray for Bible translation efforts that have started in the Northern dialect. It will be a multi year project done in Nosy Be. The goal is to have the entire Bible in audio format in the dialect. Pray for the team of 6 Malagasy translators and their facilitator Laura B.
Marriage problems
Pray for some local believers who are having difficult marriage problems. Pray the Lord would speak to them and give them grace to love.
Growth and maturity
Please pray for the churches that do exist would grow in Christ and not in religion. Like so many church problems around the world, being transformed by Christ is not popular but doing “churchy” things that look good is easy and attractive. Please pray for spiritual growth and maturity.
Please pray for Godly leaders! Polygamy is accepted here and unfortunately something not easily given up! Please pray for this new generation, to embrace the gospel and have courage to leave these practices behind.
God at work
Diaspora in Oregon: Pray for A from the Middle East whose brother lives in their home country and has believing neighbors! His brother has accepted these foreigners unlike the rest of the neighborhood. Pray that both A in the US and his brother in their home country will accept the truth of salvation.
• Pray for N and N, recent arrivals who had been seeking to know Jesus for several months prior to arriving and were met at the airport by believers. Ask for their hearts to push away any hesitations and accept God’s gift of salvation.
Let the children come
Please pray for the 10 Digo children who come to my house every Sunday to listen to the Word of God. Please pray for them to know who Jesus is and accept Him as their Savior. Also please pray for their parents to continue to allow them to come to our house without hindering.
training
Praise God for the 12 training sessions our team mates (AICT Pastor and Evangelist) are planning to run over the next 6 months. These Global Disciples training sessions will help teach and equip church members to share their faith in their communities. Please pray for excitement among the believers, for full engagement and much fruit.
Women’s ministry
During a recent trip to Khartoum, S found the MBB believers had no women’s ministry. During the trip women gathered and agreed to have a ministry devoted to women-to-women care, individual discipleship and group discipleship.
Women empowerment ministry has begun and women are being encouraged to share the gospel with their fellow friends and family members, and to stand firm in faith as they experience persecution.
A group of 23 women met together and 7 of them recently accepted Christ. Pray for these women to grow in their faith and for the 4 other women who came back with more questions about the Christian faith.
Salvation Soon!
Diaspora in Georgia: Praise the Lord that He has now brought two Africans to my ESL class. Pray that all eight of the students will give a clear testimony of faith in Christ by the summer.
Pray for the salvation of a young Ms woman, Amna, before April. She will share at a spring banquet how the Pregnancy Resource Center has helped her. We would like her to know the Lord Jesus by then, and testify to how He has helped her!
House of Peace
There’s a 4plex apartment building where much seed sowing has been done faithfully since 2018. There’s been some turnover in tenants through the years but it has remained a house of peace for reaching into the Y community. Ask that the 3 Y families living there now would be hungry for Truth, and that the ladies would seek friendship with our team member living in the 4th apartment! May she have opportunities to speak more about our Way. Ask that those who’ve heard the full story would keep searching for truth and wrestling with the empty promises of trusting their own goodness. Ask for us to receive more invitations into this community.
in-depth discipleship
The two Rangi men who accepted Christ in November have both moved down to Dar and have started an in-depth discipleship program with a very godly local believer. Praise God for this opportunity and pray for continued strength against the enemy and maturing of their faith.
Better way
Please pray for the disillusioned young people on the island who feel forced into gangs and violence, seeing no other option. Ask for believers to find them first and show them the better way!
Word of God
I would like to give thanks to God for helping two local pastors (one is a Digo pastor) to read the whole Bible during August last year and to study the Westminster Shorter Catechism in a week last December. Pray the word of God would dwell in them richly.
A local pastor and I go out to deliver the Gospel to the Digo tribe every Saturday. In the morning we study Systematic theology and in the afternoon we go to far away places to meet the people inland. Pray for many to believe our message.
Coming to church
Diaspora in France: I have just started meeting with two older North African ladies to practice English – but mostly to build friendships, as they are very lonely. They came to church Jan 29 and plan to come again for our church service & dinner Feb 5. Pray that they would be touched by the presence of God in our midst, that they would feel embraced by the community, and that they would continue coming and want to discuss what they are hearing.
Trapped
Please continue to pray for the gospel to be made known amongst the Ndau people who are still trapped in bondage through witchcraft and ancestral worship. Pray that they would encounter and turn their lives over to Christ Jesus and be set free from ancestral/traditional fear which enslaves them.
CE online class
Diaspora in Canada: Paise the Lord for 4 new Iranian Muslim background believers and 8 baptisms from students that attended our in-person Christianity Explored (CE) course from July to December last year. This movement prompted me to advertise a free online CE class to Iranians living in key areas of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), Ottawa and Montreal. Pray that the Lord brings seekers to the class in His timing and in His way. Class is planned to start today, but there are no students signed up yet.
Village of Mahabo
Our Partners from FJKM church (reformed church of Madagascar) have also gotten the vision to evangelize! Blessed be the Lord who empowers and sends His church!
They have visited 7 villas in the village of Mahabo so far this year! Pray for the gospel seeds that were sown to bear much fruit.
The Visible Church
Pray for bold proclamation of the Gospel through Christ-centered, reproducing, culturally appropriate churches. Praise God for village believers who have begun two new churches planted around the Tabora area. These outreach points are places where new believers may come to join others in fellowship with the family of God. Pray for the vision for the visible church to be not only in Tabora, but physically present and active in every village surrounding Tabora, too. Pray for increasing ways for the Good News to be broadcast into communities through radio, preaching, discipleship, visitations, love and care, teaching, etc. Pray that those who are seeking to know Jesus will see clearly where God is at work in and through his visible church.
Remain close to God
Pray for S, a young Rangi girl who accepted Christ a few months ago. She went back to the village for school and is so thirsty to learn more but there’s no one in the village to teach her. Pray she will remain close in God and pray earnestly. Pray also as she hopes to tell her father about her conversion, pray he will receive it well and that the Lord would even miraculously work in his heart through his daughter.
Difficult to reach
The San people believe in a creator god, but they are not considered religious. Despite there being a couple of San churches, they are largely unreached. This could be due to living in remote/inaccessible areas, a nomadic lifestyle, and a unique and difficult to learn mother tongue. Pray that San believers, and other close-culture Christians, would commit to bringing the Gospel to the lost. Pray for work to be done in bringing oral translations of the Bible in the San language, bringing the beautiful Good News to those who are perishing.
Things get in the way
Mama Fae is a seeker, who’s studied our first story set. She is not yet convinced that Jesus is the one way to the Father, but wants to keep studying. I’ve been trying to meet with her to study John, but many things get in the way – work, family illness, children’s behaviour. Please ask for protection over her family and work, wisdom to find a good time to study, and most importantly an open heart to receive Jesus as Lord.
Gems
The churches we’ve visited seem to show the characteristics of a people “cast down but not destroyed, persecuted but not forsaken” (2 Cor 4:8). Within these churches we meet many gems, small groups of people dedicated to prayer and the battle to raise godly children. Praise God for slow but solid growth within the ministries across this region. Three Makwe men are now faithfully running the radio station, reaching many with the Gospel over the airwaves. Pray for one MBB called Bwana; he faithfully and boldly goes out to share the word of Christ, and more of the believers are wanting to join him. Pray that the Lord will provide all of their needs according to his riches in glory and bring many more Makwe to faith in Jesus!
Translation work
Many years ago a small team of mother tongue translators translated the book of Matthew. The Sakalava people began to listen to the word of God in their mother tongue. A local Sakalava (secular) band became friends of the team created songs made up of the translated Bible verses. Later they themselves became Christians, and many Sakalava people came to faith. One of our missionaries, Rosina—a Sakalava herself—writes, “I have been invited by an organization called Spoken to lead a team of mother-tongue translators. They are partnering with AIM and I will be based in Nosy Be, my home.” Pray that the translation work in Sakalava will bring the Bread of Life to the hungry, the Living Water to the thirsty; pray that the funding and resources needed would be generously provided; pray for those who will make up this team of Sakalava believers, that they would be committed and hard-working, all for the glory of God.
Purify your church
Come Holy Jesus and purify the church by your blood. Remove the hatred and unforgiveness. Let each one live at peace as far as it depends on them. May your children long to gather and fellowship and praise God together.
Good connections
Praise God that a new missionary family will soon be moving to Madagascar, and reaching out to the Karana-Gujarati people there. Pray for strength and energy, for clear minds and wisdom, for good connections with K-G people through the local church; ask the Lord to provide divine appointments with those who need salvation and freedom from Islam. Pray for the local church to put aside prejudices against this people group, and instead have the compassion and love of Christ to share the treasure they hold in jars of clay.
Come out in the open
We are now part of Som** Prayer Network. This groups is made up of MBB’s and missionaries from other organisations. We seek the Lord’s guidance as we passionately seek His face as we move forward as joint labourers’ in His vineyard. In the last meeting, an MBB requested that we pray that they will no longer be seen as a secret (home) church but come out in the open and boldly declare that they are part of the Church of Christ that is lighting the world. Please pray with us for that.
Lost found
Praise the Lord for a large team working amongst the Mwani people, serving him by bringing the Good News to the lost! This team is an intercultural team: please lift them up to the King of Kings as they navigate working together and serving one another “…so that (they) may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…” Col. 1:10. Pray that as team members interact with Mwani friends, neighbors, shopkeepers, etc., that the Lord would use them as instruments of his peace, love and truth, and that many lost will be found and brought into the Kingdom of God.
Burning coals
While praying through Rev 2 a believer received a picture of small candles trying to get charcoal going… one white hot spot directly above the candle… but until the whole chunk turns white hot… it doesn’t affect the ones around it. And if you take it out by itself… it burns out. But once the whole chunk is white hot those around it also burn… and you can pour lots of new charcoal on top and it will still burn.
Praying for each disciple to be baptized with the Spirit and fire, for first love to not grow cold, for strong deep roots and bold proclamation.
Hard times
The body of believers have had a rough couple of weeks. One had a young cousin who passed away suddenly. Another is facing a difficult situation with her children. One couple is struggling to have children. Please pray for these precious brothers and sisters as they walk through the trials of life. May they know that Jesus is with them in the grief and sorrow, know His love and comfort, and continue to trust Him even when things seem so broken. Pray for wisdom for us as a team to know how to encourage and support the local followers during these difficult times.
Walking with Jesus
Heidi and Lucy continue to walk with Jesus. They spent the morning today walking and praying in the park. They are growing and reading Scripture daily. Zohar, their sister, is afraid to surrender fully to Jesus, but continues to join us when we read Scripture together. Elise is boldly sharing the gospel online and rejoices with two brothers choosing to follow Jesus. Please pray for these precious ones.
Hunger and thirst
Pray for “Ruth, Jane, and Faye” that they will thirst to know God and his word better. Ruth already seems to want this; Jane has just returned from the fields to live at home and knows very much less. Pray that Faye will seek opportunities to listen and reflect.
Needing discipling
Praise God for a group of new believers in Mbate. They have asked Yohana, the evangelist in Ruhatwe 10 km away, to come and disciple them and lead worship services in their village. Pray for Yohana. He is trying to go there every other week. Pray these new believers would grow strong in their faith and share with others.
Hope in Jesus
Please pray for our neighbors, Bibi M & her husband. She had expressed interest in watching the Jesus film some time ago, but it never seemed to work out. Recently we showed the Jesus film in the market nearby and she said that some people on the path prevented her from coming. Her husband has had a stroke recently and is housebound. He joked about us carrying him to watch the film. We have offered to come and bring it to their house. Some of the family are trying to say that he’s not strong enough, but he really wants us to come. Pray that we would be able to find a time to watch this film with them and to talk about the hope we have in Jesus.
Next training
We plan to have the 4th training day for local followers on Thursday January 26th. So far, there are 4 who are committed to participating each month. We will be following up with them about daily abiding and prayer, and challenging them to ask the Lord to lead them to a small group of people in their neighborhood interested in doing a Bible study. Please pray for courage for the followers as they step out in faith and ask others to join them in studying God’s Word. Pray for new pockets of believers to grow in each neighborhood.
God has gathered his children.
God has strengthened the men to keep gathering faithfully and reaching out to invite the others to join them. Paul, Andrew, Jimmy, Mayor, and Fraz study the word of God and pray for each other, give to the poor, enjoy fellowship together. Also, Meryl meets at the same time with Kathy and her two girls to read Scripture and pray together. These believers are growing in faith and love. Praise God for these faithful ones.
Heard the gospel
At Christmas time we had several new visitors to our church celebration, as well as a event organized at the home of a few of our team members later that week, where several people heard a presentation of the gospel for the first time. Please pray that these interactions may be seeds planted in good soil, and that they would generate more interest and questions from the people in our communities, and ultimately lead to locals coming to know the saving love of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Younger generation
Pray for the younger generation of Saharawi who may have questions about Islam and are seeking answers. Pray also for those who may be apathetic – that the Lord would give them a spiritual hunger to know what is true.
