* We praise God for English classes running successfully for the first month at all three sites! Please pray for consistent attendance and deepening relationships between students and teachers. Pray students will ask good questions about truth and faith.
* Please pray with us for the first Trauma Healing Group among our staff and volunteers that will begin this month. May God grow and stretch us closer to Him and provide healing for our heart wounds through Jesus and be equipped to help others.
TEE
TEE (Theological Education by Extension) is a practical training for village church leaders. When they finish after 3 years, they start a cell group in a new area. As a fruit of this, 7 cell groups have started in the Loharano community area. Pray for these leaders and cell members to grow strong and bear much fruit.
François and his wife, and Bertrand have just been sent to a seminary where they will study for 3 years, to be a pastor. Pray for them to mature and grow and be well prepared for ministry.
Diaspora in Brazil
Pray for the new university study room A and W are opening in their home. Pray that God would bring in just the right students to participate. Pray that they would have wisdom and courage in knowing how best to reflect Christ to these African Students.
Pray for the African immigrants J and A are teaching Portuguese to. Pray for their salvation and that God would bring in other longer-lasting, stable students. Pray for courage and wisdom in sharing God’s love.
Visiting and envisioning
We’re looking forward to visiting with some of the local believers we have discipled who are in different biblical training schools. We intend to prepare them to think about helping the local church here and some adjacent areas once they finish. Ask the Lord to call them to this work.
Diaspora in Canada
* Please pray for our Impact Kids Fall program – that as families hear the gospel, God would grant them repentance and faith.
* Please pray for our men’ soccer night: Tuesdays at 9pm, we’ve rented a big gym and will have a bunch of people from church playing with a bunch of Muslim men to foster friendships and gospel sharing.
* We are launching a “homework club” in October one day a week to further develop our relationships with the Muslim families who go to Impact Kids- please pray as we invite families and determine how best to use this as a bridge to the gospel.
* Please pray that as many from our church connect with their Muslim friends/colleagues and even family members through our Bridges course- that seeds would be planted and that we would even see some come to faith.
Final appeal
The brother in jail is in his last stage of appeal, all previous ones have failed. We are asking that this final one would be heard with a favorable outcome. And if not that he would persevere under this trial and serve his sentence counting it fellowship with JC and as an opportunity to keep walking in The Way before a captive audience.
A Lamp and a Light
Pray that as more have access to Bibles there would be increased Scripture engagement through daily reading of the Word, memorizing passages, orally retelling the Scriptures to others, acting in skits that teach the Bible, singing the Scriptures, preaching, teaching and discussing the Word in small groups, in-depth Bible studies, seminars, or Bible courses. Pray believers would frequently share testimonies about how God’s Word is a lamp and a light to them. Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Diaspora in Europe
* Pray for Jerez team in South NA1 to conduct a medical mission among two Berber UPGs. Pray for the follow up we will do from October 10-16th.
* Pray for D.S. as she begins a new work in Toulouse reaching international students.
* Pray of all the new international students that came to first events in Nantes, Strasbourg and La Rochelle during the first week of school. Pray for ongoing good Gospel connections.
Look at Jesus differently
Bobby and 4 other men attended a Farming God’s Way agriculture course. 3 of those men are Muslim. Each day they had devotions and time of worship. Pray these men will look at Jesus differently now and start seeking.
Found
Update on older post:
Disappeared
by jennyio | Nov 21, 2021
A young believing girl has been trying to leave the country for a while… but from all we see, she has a loving family. She wants more freedom and says she is suffering. She disappeared yesterday and her mom has been frantically calling. (Over 15 times in 2 days.) We have talked to all our connections but can’t find her. Pray for her and her family.
Update:
She is back in contact with her mom and is in a neighboring country. Believers are helping her and actually her mom is sending her money and helping her from afar too. She has had a difficult time… and her mom now wants nothing to do with Christians bc they ‘took her daughter’. But she is being discipled and is being cared for.
Influential women
Recently I did a home stay for 5 nights with Suzanna, the former witch doctor who has given her life to Christ. I was also invited by the head wife of chief Ramijio to do a Bible study on their compound. Pray that as I interact with these influential women in the community, they would be used by God to encourage other girls and women to “seek [God] and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:27).
Diagnosis and treatment
Jake & Sadie are back here in O land, feeling great and so grateful for a clear diagnosis of Addison’s Disease, and medicine to improve symptoms so quickly. THANKS for praying!! Pray for wisdom for the long-term management and medications – and praise God for energy and returning health and strength to continue their vital outreach ministry among the O. May many O respond to the gospel message which is shared so often through our whole team and the few O believers (like Jake and Sadie).
2 years of drought
Our region is suffering from 2 years of drought. There’s been no rain at all! Even the manioc is dead. For this reason, and also because of Ukrainian war and COVID, the price of food has gone very high making Madagascar the fourth poorest country in the world. Pray for rain, please. Lots of rain! So people can plant and have life normalized.
Because of this insecurity, we’ve started having assaults, break- ins, and thefts.
People are hungry, jobless, there’s no food, no crops; they come to steal. Very sad and frightening. However, Tthe gospel is being preached throughout Bara land, please
pray for the seeds to germinate.
Needing Peace
Things with the gangs are getting way worse. Someone was killed near our neighbourhood recently. We are waiting to hear what the prefecture will do about it. Things are escalating a lot quicker than people thought. Please pray for peace and for the government to be wise in knowing how to handle the situation and prevent any further increase in violence. Pray this crisis would lead people to call out to the Prince of Peace!
New students
Pray for the many islanders who are currently applying for different university programs in Madagascar: for success and for opportunities to meet children of the light who will be testimonies to them. Pray particularly for JJ and Z who are focussed on reaching the Islander diaspora living in Madagascar.
Four wives
We continue to ask for prayer for a family within our church community – a husband with four believing wives. For now, the women have been allowed to return to church, but the threat of divorce and other consequences are still present. Please continue to pray that the husband would come to know the Lord. We praise God for some breakthrough and softening towards prayer and church.
1pm prayer
In our country of North Africa, many of us have set the alarm on our phones to go off at 1:00 pm daily, for the purpose of stopping and praying for our dear cousins here. Would you consider doing the same? Please set your alarm for 1:00 pm. When the alarm goes off, pause for a moment and ask Father to transform the hearts of our cousins here and around the world and to open their minds and hearts to Jesus’ love for them. Pray John 15:7-8 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Based on this promise, ask that He would be glorified in bearing much and lasting fruit here!
Open and ready
Praise God that S and her daughters T and T have returned to Jerez from their visit to the refugee camp. Please pray they are ready and open for gospel conversations.
Testimony
I had a guest, who is a Christian from a Muslim background, at my house last week to share her powerful testimony with many of my neighbors. There were 12 people who came. Afterwards some Muslims asked questions about her journey to find Christ. Pray their curiosity leads them to Jesus as Savior.
Sharing
Two sisters are boldly sharing with another young woman. Today they each took turns sharing the gospel from Gen 22 and John1-3 with her and began the Jesus film. In two days we meet again. Pray for her salvation and that many other believers would also speak the gospel.
Maria update
Maria, who had been injured in an attack some months ago, is back in Kimatong after taking a few months to heal and rest in Juba. (It was determined that she had suffered a concussion from the blow to her head and would not be able to rest properly unless she got away from her duties in the village.) Pray that the Lord’s care and provision for her throughout this ordeal will help to strengthen her faith and witness now that she is back in the village.
Break spiritual bondage
We have been praying for a long time that the spiritual bondage on the Island of Nosy Mitsio would be broken. Last month every week a different person came asking about the Bible and God’s word. There is interest! but it comes with fear that the elders in the area will be against worshiping Jesus. Pray for courage and pray that the stronghold would be broken down and pushed back like the rising sun brings light to a new day.
Retired chief
A retired chief and his wife spent 5 days staying in our home for his medical needs and follow up. We took many opportunities to share the Good News – pray that they will receive Jesus as Savior and lead their family and community into God’s grace in all of its truth.
Refusing to recant.
A young man was condemned to death Sept 18, 2022 for leaving Islam. He has been imprisoned since 2019 for following Jesus and has refused to recant. The execution date passed but there has been no news of either his death or his release. Asking that he will stand firm and that believers will not be afraid but instead encouraged by his faith.
Two new churches!
1. We praise God that 2 churches are being born among Bara!
The village of Matsinzo ( Bara Tevondro) received us and the evangelist we sponsor to be there. Pray for people to believe the message and be saved.
2. We visited the village of Bekisoly on Saturday 24/09 and preached the Gospel.
Sunday, 86 Bara Tevondro people came to the “house church” of the evangelist Zoromana that we sponsor and said that they wanted to learn how to pray to God-Jesus. Pray they grow strong in the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Fishers of Men
Pray that God will raise up a whole new wave of harvest laborers both locally and assigned to this region from other areas. Pray all serving in the church will have a heart and mind to be fishers of men among those yet needing to hear God’s Word. Pray they would not be discouraged to go into the harder to reach areas, including literally leaving the taste of fresh fish behind. Pray for God’s provision for those sent. Ask God to remove any fears and stereotypes which would cause stumbling blocks in sharing the Message of Truth.
Baptism
May the Lord Jesus be praised! The other day, I baptized four Muslims who had accepted Christ. Pray for them to grow and be established in the faith. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s work here.
Stay strong
Please pray for two local brothers Z and C who have had the police come looking for them at the house several times this week. Word got to the authorities that they (and others) are following Jesus, but each time they have come to the house a friend in the police has warned them. Pray that the Holy Spirit would enable these men to live free of fear and stay strong in their faith.
Shelter of the Almighty
One brother has felt released from the paralyzing fear of being found out and has been really boldly sharing with 3 friends. 2 seem to be following the Way now! But the enemy came at him with lies and fears this week. Ask that he would be renewed in his trust that he is in the shelter of the Almighty.
Christian Wedding
A couple weeks ago our team organized a wedding celebration in a nearby village. One of the believers there had gotten married elsewhere earlier this month, so as a church we put together a service and meal to share with the community. It was a special time of celebrating and outreach to the Muslim neighbours who joined us. Please pray that the message shared and the witness of a Christian wedding would make an impact on all who attended; for some it was the first Christian event they had ever experienced.
Needing courage
Father is using the internet to draw people in North Africa to Himself. They google a question about Jesus and are led to a site where they ask questions. They are invited to study the Word and, if they complete the study, are invited to be connected with a believer in the area they live. However, taking that leap to meet face to face is frightening and often logistically hard for these seekers. Please ask that Father would give these seekers the courage to meet and talk with other believers, who can encourage and walk with them. Pray that gatherings of believers would result. He will build His Church!
Blessed to be a blessing
A new young Kenyan couple are joining our team early October for the next 2 years (and hopefully more). There has been opposition from the closest neighbors to their proposed housing. Pray for these neighbors to be drawn to Jesus! Pray that God will give our team and Don & Linda wisdom, grace and discernment for all details and decisions and that Don & Linda will be blessed to be a blessing in our communities and will abide deeply and bear much lasting fruit!
See their good deeds
Please pray for the Alagwa believers to stand strong. May they surrender to Jesus in every area of lives and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. May their lights shine in their communities so that people may see their good deeds and praise their Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16).
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke in the Antanala dialect continues to receive a lot of attention. Not only in our village but in the whole region people are eager to get a copy. Several Malagasy missionaries are looking into the possibility of using the booklets in their areas. Praise the Lord! Pray that many will believe the gospel message and be saved.
Reading the Word
Pray for all those who are reading or have read God’s word in the past. In the last month many people downloaded a text and audio app of the book of Exodus, and just today a worker on another team told me about a student who (in the midst of the teacher’s explanation about baptism to an English class), quoted John the Baptist’s words about how the one who would come after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire! He must be reading from the app. Pray that as seekers and believers read God’s word they would meet the Living Word and be transformed!
Women outreach
Pray for the women of Ubembeni. We have started meeting weekly to teach practical skills, like carpet making etc., to our Muslim and Christian neighbors. Pray for the Christians to desire to sit with their Muslim neighbors and build friendships. Pray for the Muslims to be open to a love they’ve never experienced before and ultimately see it comes from Jesus.
Drought and famine
We read in the Scriptures about tough times of drought and famine and sometimes these stories seems to be so far away from our reality and we even wonder how people survived. Well, it’s been a reality among the Gabbra people throughout their history and once again so many families nowadays are struggling with illness and loss, lack of water and food. Please pray that we’d see God’s mercy and favor and miracles during this season and that people open their hearts to seek for Him. Pray that God would send us rain that quench the thirsty in physical and spiritual ways.
Needing jobs
It’s is really difficult for our local brothers to find and/or keep jobs. One bother was recently offered a position but it was taken away at the last minute. Ask that they could find meaningful work so they can offer a meaningful contribution to the community.
Love would abound
Please pray for Lokwar, Locom, and Nyao, three young men Jacob is meeting with in Kimatong. They have been showing an eagerness to learn more of God’s Word and have a desire to walk closer with him. Pray for these young men, that as they meet with Jacob for regular fellowship and prayer, the Lord will draw them closer to Himself, and that their love would abound more and more for Him and for one another.
Self-righteousness
Oh Lord, humble those who still believe self-righteousness saves. Please rescue these rebellious ones. Let them see they are helpless. Only God is righteous; only Jesus redeems and cleanses us. Silence the lies of the evil one and let the lost hear the truth through your children and through your Spirit.
