Praise God that ‘Ma Fiona’ on the plateau is considering getting ‘dunked’, as well as ‘Ma Fae’ who has believed for a while now. Pray that they would both get a clear confirmation from God that this is His will and have courage to declare their commitment. (Dunkings here are semi-public events: of course we do not seek attention, but there is no way of guaranteeing complete privacy at the river or sea.)
Hosting boy again
Pray for the little boy that the worker will host for the 4th consecutive summer, Lord willing. May this be the summer of salvation. Ask the Spirit to bring to his mind the stories he has heard and soften his heart to believe.
Many are believing!
Two older men believed about two months ago… one married to the other’s sister. They spoke to their wives and neighbors and they believed. Each had an older daughter who hadn’t yet believed but last week after receiving several audio passages of Scripture said, ‘We gather as a family with our neighbors to hear these and I send them to my friends. Every one who hears these says they are wonderful. The Lord God Jesus is powerful!” Pray for the Lord to continue to gather His people together and mature and strengthen new believers.
John
A leader in the church on Nosy Mitsio was able to attend a meeting in Nosy Be with other Malagasy missionaries in a time of worship and sharing strategy. He was greatly encouraged as he is the only faithful Antakarana believer in his whole village. Pray for John as he faithfully shares Jesus with his community.
Translation projects
Please pray for the Lopit Bible translations projects that are happening. Pray for wisdom and discernment in how to best communicate God’s truth.
Pray for the schools to function well so that literacy will improve. When translations come out, pray that people will accept them and understand them even if there are differences in dialect. Pray that audio versions will soon become available. Pray that the Lopit would grow in their love and knowledge of God’s Word.
Feeling light.
One young woman couldn’t sleep because of terrible dreams in which she contemplated suicide. She was so afraid to go to sleep. After a brother and sister told her that she could find rest and peace in Jesus, she began to request them to pray over her. She was able to sleep. As she read the Scriptures she had received, she fell in love with Jesus. Today she read aloud from John 1: 3 and prayed with such joy and hope and said she felt light, like flying. Pray for this new sister and those like her who are new in the faith that they will abide in Jesus and bear much fruit. She said today she wants to tell her younger sister.
Floods
Please pray for all the people in Mossurize ( I’m betting most of Mozambique as well)- recent rains have flooded many of the crops which are the Ndau’s livelihood. So much has been lost. Please pray for us for wisdom how to help.
Times of connection
Diaspora in Oregon: Praise for some wonderful gatherings around Christmas both in homes and larger groups met together. We were incredibly blessed by the relationships and the growth in them that we’ve seen over the past year. What a joy!
Pray for more opportunities to share scripture and discuss things of Jesus with our friends. Pray for times of connection that surprise us and go far beyond anything we could ever ask, think or imagine!
Lacking Leaders
Please pray for a village church outside of Tabora that has a thriving youth group who love to sing in the choir, but there isn’t anyone who is willing to continue to lead the church as elders or deacons, even though members have served in these positions in the recent past. The lay pastor/evangelist would like to hold a congregational vote, but no one is coming to vote or to step forward to serve. Please pray for a renewed call to serve the church and for encouragement for the lay pastor to not be discouraged. Pray that God will raise up those with proven character to be inclined to serve with servant leadership and compassion for the Nyamwezi who do not yet know Jesus.
Lonely
Diaspora in France: On Christmas Day an international student from Lebanon came for dinner and spent the evening with us. She is a newish believer and knows very few Christians in Paris. She has been here only two months and it’s her first time away from home. Pray the Holy Spirit will strengthen and encourage this new young sister, growing her faith despite loneliness and being mocked in her workplace (an internship) because of her faith in Jesus.
Asking about Christmas
Pray for Pastor J – a Karana friend reached out to him to ask about Christmas. Pray that this door remains open for the sharing of the Good News of Jesus.
Study the Bible
Diaspora in France: Pray that *Asha, a student from Morocco with whom we have become good friends, will start studying the Bible with me. We can see God working in both her and her family.
Worth more than many sparrows.
Today several brothers listened to Matthew 10. They prayed for those who are suffering and in prison for the name of Jesus. Please pray for those who have denied Jesus in pain or fear. And for those facing suffering. May they know their hairs are counted by God and He sees every sparrow that falls… and they are worth more than many sparrows.
Follow up
Pray as we follow up with patients and visit some in their homes and share the gospel. Pray they may see Jesus working in their lives and call out to Him for salvation.
Christmas camp went well
Diaspora in France: Our winter Christmas Camp went really well, praise God! The Lord worked out all of the details and provided the way for all of our students, team members, and volunteers to come, some even in spite of challenges. Pray that the Gospel seeds that were planted will take root and grow!
Another attack this morning
Please pray urgently for the people in Narus, South Sudan. It was attacked again this morning at 4:00 AM. Our disciples have run to villages for safety. Rebels attacked Narus at 4 am but they retreated because of government troops. They came back again at day time.
We are asking for:
God’s protection over civilians, leaders, and our teams.
Peace and stability in the area.
Safety and wisdom for those responding.
Comfort for families who are afraid and affected.
Pray that God will use our disciples while in villages for His glory and the salvation of many.
Pray for provision
Pray for the love of Jesus to transform the hearts of those perpetrating violence and war, for miraculous provision of healthcare, food and water, and for protection and comfort for the masses of displaced Sudanese.
Continue to touch hearts
Diaspora in Finland: Praise for a good turnout and really good Christmas services. Pray that God will continue to use these special times together to touch the hearts of the people who don’t know Jesus yet.
Open their hearts
Diaspora in Florida: Praise God that I have re-established relationships with the two local imams and have been able to resume mosque visits. Pray for the Lord to open the imans’ hearts to the gospel.
Translation work
Pray for our translation work. We’re checking Galatians and Titus, and trying to get the new Matthew, Luke, and 1 Timothy apps up and engaged with! Pray many will find and use the apps to read the Word in their heart language, and that they would believe the message.
Pray for TikTok followers to follow Jesus
Continue to pray for my friend D. He now has 20k followers on TikTok. Pray that God will transform his heart to know and love Jesus and D’s 20k followers will also know, love and follow Jesus.
Fear
Diaspora in Wales: We have noticed an increasing presence of fear among the immigrant and asylum-seeking communities due primarily to the highly publicised political forums against asylum-seekers and immigrants in the U.K. Pray that the Christmas salvation message shared in the English and Sewing classes will stir hearts as we continue discussions this month.
Open hearts
Diaspora in Alberta: Pray as the new semester starts tomorrow Jan 12 at the New Canadian Hub. Pray for wisdom as we meet new ESL students, so that we would know who to invest our time with. Ask the Lord to open hearts for gospel conversations.
Students engaging with scripture
Classes for Superior 1 and 2, as well as Character 2, begin tomorrow January 12th.
Pray for wisdom and clarity for the teachers as they share God’s Word and connections with their students. Pray for the hearts of the students as they read and engage with Scripture.
More workers
Pray for the discipleship network around the area to increase so that many can hear the gospel. Pray for more workers to engage in the area for the harvest is plentiful!
Learn from the words of Jesus
Diaspora in Minnesota: Pray for some Muslim friends to join ‘The Journey to the Mountain’ and learn from the words of Jesus. Ask the Spirit to speak to many and draw them to Jesus.
Beginning of a church
Diaspora in Michigan: PTL for a good Christmas gathering with our Afghan friends. Pray for a regular Bible study among Afghans that would be the beginning of a church.
Remember those in prison
‘Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.’ (Heb. 13:3) And remember their families and the other believers living under threat.
Hike
Diaspora in Georgia: Pray for a hike with a Senegalese friend on Saturday (January 10th) — that we would deepen in friendship and that she would start to realize there’s a difference between Islam and Christianity.
New believer
Pray for ‘Natalie’, a new believer who came to faith through a social media campaign. Pray for her to have good support from locals and expats. Ask for wisdom as she shares with her children – they attended the big Christmas gathering and seemed to really enjoy it.
New believers to gather
Pray for all the seeds that have been planted to bear fruit, and for discipling and gathering of NBs –which remains a huge challenge! Pray for God’s Holy Spirit to be poured out with power to give NBs more hunger and thirst for truth, to convict and deliver from any roots of sin, and to nourish, grow and bless them to become strong disciples of Jesus!
Life in the midst of loss
Diaspora in Wales: Praise God for the recent baptism of S who is from a closed country and attends our English classes. In September, several of us went to the funeral of her daughter-in-law who succumbed to a rare cancer. Pray for S, the first believer in her family, and for her family as they continue to grapple with life in the midst of loss.
Settling in Kenya
Pray for the Somalis being deported from the US to Kenya, that we may connect with them and show them the love of Jesus.They will most probably settle in Kenya where they have their families as well as large property investments.
Fearing the worst
Diaspora in Michigan: Pray on Jan 7 as I take a refugee woman to her appointment at homeland security. We are not quite sure the purpose of the meeting and she and her family (husband and 2 children) fear the worst.
God’s provision
Pray for God’s provision of food and more water sources. This season has been challenging and many are complaining of hunger due to farms being affected by severe drought.
Pray for all elders of Toposa community as they age, may they encounter Christ and His love.
New term
Diaspora in England: Praise God for a good spiritual discussion at the end of term in the English conversation class, and for the opportunity to dispel some common myths about what Christians believe.
Pray for the 30+ Smli women who received goody bags with Scripture calendars in Smli, that they would read the Scripture verses and want to read more of the Bible.
Pray for the start of the new term, that we’d have a good number of women at both classes and that we’d deepen our relationships with these women.
Serve with grace
Pray for all the 9 local pastors who work with us in the Bara area – they work hard to spread the good news of Jesus. Ask God to strengthen them spiritually, physically, and emotionally to be able to serve with grace and wisdom.
Met for Christmas
Diaspora in Ontario: Pray for believers Hafi*, Kevin*, Stuart* and Bob* living in Afghan!stan being discipled over the internet, now studying the book of Acts. Praise the Lord 3 of them were able to gather for a mini underground Christmas celebration. Praise the Lord they got coal to keep their families warm through sometimes subzero winter weather there. Pray for their safety going through every Tal!ban checkpoint in their cities. Pray for God to open a door for them to leave the country if He wills.
Persecution
Pray for peace and unity among the local communities.
Pray against the spirit of persecution that is still a challenge to pastors reaching out with the gospel.
Raise up leaders
Please continue to pray for the Ndau youth to bow their knees to King Jesus and grow in faith, and for God to raise up new leaders.
