This week, from the 2nd to the 6th, Lohutok is hosting a peace dialogue between various tribes in order to bring stability, and hopefully lasting peace, to the region. It involves State and local government, representatives of the Toposa and Lopit communities, and representatives from the church and missionaries. There is also hope for a dialogue between the Lopit villages of Lohutok and Ibahore for lasting peace. Please pray for this week of meetings, and for all involved to have hearts that are open to lasting peace and reconciliation. Pray for reasonable and truthful communication. And pray that the believers (local and missionaries) would have the opportunity to share the gospel with those attending, even though this is a state arranged meeting.
Light- bearers
At present we have no AIMers working amongst the Mahafaly, but we know of some believers who exist amongst this remote people group. Praise the Lord that he has the power to save, and that he has a remnant of Light-bearers to reveal his way out of the darkness! Pray for one particular believer that we know of who in the past has traveled to distant towns seeking to gather groups of people in order to share Gospel stories. May he continue to be faithful, as his Lord and Savior is faithful. May many, many Mahafaly people stop adorning the graves of their chiefs and kings, but rather bring their offerings—their very lives—to the King of Kings and Chief of Chiefs. Pray that nearby Malagasy churches would take up the mantel that the Great Commission requires and serve our God in Mahafaly land.
A Strategic Opportunity
My South Asian friend sent me an inspirational message about trusting Allah because he is going to work everything out. I said that was similar to what the God of the Bible has revealed about Himself and then I asked if she would like to know more, and she said yes. Please would you stop and pray that the Holy Spirit will help me as I send her a message this week with some Bible verses. Pray for the eyes of her understanding to be enlightened.
Proclaim
Pray for new Rangi believers to immediately proclaim Jesus, saying, “He is the Son of God.” Pray that they would increase in strength and wisdom and confound local unbelievers by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
Young South Asian Women
Young Muslim S. Asian women are typically interested in getting married and having families, but they are also unwilling to settle for the limited roles and confined circumstances they saw their mothers accepting. As more of them become university educated, they search for satisfaction and fulfillment in careers and professions as well as in their families. But this can bring them in conflict with parents and in-laws, even with husbands and brothers. It can bring them in conflict with the Umma, the Community. They ask themselves which of their values are coming from their culture, and which are coming from Islam. Pray for this internal and external struggle to bring them to faith in Christ, who made women and understands their full possibilities, both their potential and their fulfillment.
Little understanding
Pray for a couple who profess but have little understanding. Pray that the regular meetings for study would increase their faith and maturity. Pray that they would greet these meetings with joy and interest.
Nurses
May God call and equip long-term mission-minded nurses to join our outreach team – we need one more Kenyan and 2 ex-pats. The medical ministry brings so many opportunities for deep relationship building and sharing the Good News, and Jesus’ power, authority and saving grace! Though it seems impossible, let’s ask God even for 2 O Christian disciples of Jesus as nurses for our two dispensaries.
Dying without Christ
Please pray for my friend Roza. Her grandfather died this week. This is her message:
“He passed away without knowing who Jesus is. It really hurts me that a member of my family goes without talking to Him and knowing Him. I always pray for them to wake up from their mistake. But it’s a really sad feeling knowing that they go forever in the devil’s way. I’d be relieved if he had gone knowing who Jesus was.”
Praise God for Roza’s faith and pray for her comfort and opportunities to share her faith with her family.
Schools opening
Please pray for the opening of all the Tirrim Schools in Korr Kenya. Many students are traveling, pray for safety and that they have everything that they need. Pray for our teachers that they would shine God’s love to our students. Pray for our Muslim students, that they would meet Jesus in a powerful way this term.
Good Shepherd
Thank the Lord of the Harvest: the Gospel is being spread widely amongst the Tsimihety by faithful Malagasy medical workers, educators and expat missionaries. Through the hospital in Mandritsara, local believers are being trained in providing much needed health services to the outlying villages of the Tsimihety people. They have become the hands and feet of Jesus and are passionate about sharing his love and saving message of hope as they serve. They go out by whatever means they are able: on foot, bicycle, motorbike, 4×4 and even sometimes by helicopter. Pray that many more Tsimihety will see the love of Christ, see that God will go to great lengths to bring them into his fold, and that they’d accept him as their Good Shepherd.
Stuck at Home
A young S. Asian woman is living with her husband’s family. They have one bedroom for all their belongings, and a private bath and balcony. Otherwise they share the house with the husband’s parents and five brothers. Their baby is a few months old; her husband is starting a business so he is gone from morning to night. A few years ago the young woman was a university student, studying psychology. Now she spends hours in the kitchen, cooking with her mother-in-law for a large family. She does not leave the house most days. She has begun asking herself what is the meaning of life, what is the purpose for which she was created, and how she can be happy again. Please pray that she will find Jesus Christ as her Savior, her freedom and her happiness.
Pray for a breakthrough
Pray for fruitful outreach among our neighbors, colleagues, and patients. Ask the Lord to open doors and open hearts to the Gospel. Pray for a breakthrough! So many are blind and deaf to the good news and held captive by the Evil One.
Christian band
Pray for the worship band made up of Sakalava believers, who came to Christ several years ago as a result of a church-planting team there: that they would spread the message of Christ through their music & personal lives. Pray for strength and wisdom in continuing to spread the Gospel according to the Lord’s plan. Pray for the people of Nosy Be, a tourist area: it has been a difficult year financially as the community relies on tourism for a great part of their economy. With the borders still closed due to covid, it has had a great impact on the tourism industry.
Scriptures being accepted
For various reasons many of the local believers have been slow to use the newly translated Scripture, and we have been praying that this would change. Recently some were reading together from Acts in French, however one of the local translators had opened up an app on his phone and when it came to his turn to read he read in the local language. As he read, the believers were excited that they could understand the Word in their language and talked about how having it needed to be a priority. The translator came back to us with a request that the book of Genesis (which has been completed) be provided to them as soon as possible. This is the first major request for scriptures in the Island language from believers! Pray they would treasure the Word in a new way and that the Lord would speak clearly to them.
Ears and eyes
Pray for Jesus to reveal Himself to the Rangi through dreams and visions. That just as in Acts 9 when Saul heard Jesus and believed, the Rangi’s spiritual ears and eyes would be opened as well.
Pray for the believers near to the Rangi that they would embrace the privilege to be instruments of Jesus to carry His Name to the Rangi.
Discipleship groups
So many O have heard the gospel, and many even express much interest. It is such a challenge to get them to actually meet regularly for discipleship or more study. Pray that two men of peace who are welcoming, would be instrumental in starting 1-2 new groups for regular study of God’s Word, and may the Father draw them to choose response and obedience to become faithful disciples of Jesus.
O Families of the Peoples!
“Give to the LORD, you families of the nations, give to the LORD glory and power.” (Psalm 96:7) Praise God for heads of households who have confessed Christ as Lord. Culturally, for the head of the house to say this confession implies that all in the household will now follow Jesus. We rejoice in the decision to turn to Christ as a group, but they need follow up with teaching each to confess and grow in Christ. Pray that these “families of the peoples” will grow together in walking with Jesus. When it comes to worshipping on Sundays, some households may send their kids to church, or only one adult from the household shows up for service, not bringing anyone else with them. There are usually circumstances that keep the others at home, so pray that those who come to church will retell what message was given and bring others with them next week. Pray that the Holy Spirit would work in each of their lives to grow spiritually and serve the Lord together as one: “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Pray more households would be free from that which hinders them from being able to worship together. May the children rejoice as in Psalm 122:1, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
New Pastor
Please pray for the new pastor and his family coming to work amongst the Alagwa who will move here in a few weeks’ time. Pray that God will give him vision and perseverance as he leads the church.
A Family Under Stress
Please pray for a S. Asian woman whose unemployed husband is unkind and depressed, and whose only daughter is stressed by the job she holds that is providing for the whole family. The mother is fearful and anxious. Their situation has gotten steadily worse, and it seems to the mother there is no hope for their future. Please pray that this family will no longer cling to Islam and that they will see that Jesus is a Savior for every life situation.
Jesus is God
Please pray for an Alagwa lady who is a secret believer. She and her sister in law and another guy were chatting in our front room. The guy had been talking to us about how he didn’t believe Jesus is God. He asked her if she thought Jesus is God and she said, “Yes Jesus is God”! This is the first open confession of this kind I have heard from any one in the village. Please pray for her that this confession will give her strength and that she would know Jesus’ presence with her.
Destruction and devastation
The growing Islamic extremist insurgency, which in March this year claimed over 2,000 lives and displaced 700,000 people, continues to affect the Cabo Delgado Province of the Makwe. The destruction and devastation the Makwe and other Mozambicans have suffered continues to weigh heavy in their lives and on their minds. Praise the Lord that the government is allowing Rwandan defense forces to come in to help secure and stabilize the area. Pray that as the Makwe, traditionally Muslim, receive help, relief, and protection from these outsiders, they would see God’s great provision in their lives. Pray that they see the vanity of their trust in sorcery, witchcraft, and ancestor worship, and that the Lord Jesus would reach down and bring salvation to many Makwe across Mozambique.
Emptiness
The Karana-Gujarati tend to be involved in trade, or in operating small businesses, and so usually make a decent living. They maintain many aspects of their home culture and live together in large communities which can be closed to entry by foreigners/other cultures. And they thrive. What more could they need? Oh, that they would feel their need for Jesus! That the emptiness they feel–despite their success, their culture and traditions, their family ties, their financial comfort—would drive them into the arms of the Saviour. Pray that the Malagasy “market missionaries” would have the compassion and boldness they need to bring up spiritual conversations that lead to the Good News as they trade with the Karana people.
Wedding seeds
A mission family had a big Christian village wedding celebration for their last born. So much was shared throughout the weeks of preparation, the wedding day and the follow up – pray that the seeds and relationships will bear lasting fruit and many O will be drawn to respond and receive Jesus!
Steadfast purpose
Pray for believers near the Rangi to persevere in long practice of humble and sacrificial servanthood. May they remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose. (Acts 11:23) Pray that many Rangi will be touched by their testimony and be saved.
Persecution
Please pray for new Jiye churches that are undergoing persecution from local Catholics. Our missionary leader serving there just received word that the Catholics have planned a series of meetings to persecute the disciples. This has been a growing trend as Catholic leadership in the region have felt the new expressions of Christian faith that is growing among the Jiye is a threat to their traditions. Please pray for peace, wisdom and Spirit- led response for the believers as they encounter this. Thank you.
5th Letter from prison
This is my testimony while I have been in jail for my faith in the Lord: Shalom, I greet you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. When we went to prison, the Lord did not forsake us, He stood with us as He promised in His Word. He was not far from us a second, and He humbled the hearts of those around us, He caused the inmates, prison guards, and those visiting us to like us. The Lord has made the prison like a home for me. Prison doors are closed at all times but for the last 3 months I have been living alone in a room where I am able to close or open the door of my room. The Lord has given me perseverance and patience. The Lord has given me wisdom to use with inmates, and they all call me Mother. The Lord has given me all his grace and mercy. He wipes away my tears with His hand, my heart is with Him and He is closer to me than the breath I breathe, He is my Father and I am his daughter. He has raised my head to the point where the director of the prison asked me about the situation of the female inmates because he said, “She tells the truth- Christians do not lie.” I am happy to be a prisoner in the name of Jesus Christ because He has promised me that I will inherit the kingdom of God. My husband and I know very well that our real home is the Kingdom of God in heaven, and surely we are just guests on this earth. I love God with all my heart. Finally, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I love you and I know that you always pray for us because we are one body with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will definitely come out when we have finished the work that the Lord has brought us here to do and we will all celebrate the joy of our freedom. We are waiting for the day when the Lord will answer us. “The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site, And will pursue His enemies into darkness.” (Nahum 1:7-8)
Children’s program
Please continue to pray for our weekly children program, that the seed of the gospel will be sowed widely and find good soil to grow in.
Thank God for acceptance and trust in the community. Pray that through this outreach, we can be more intentional in disciple making.
Ask the Lord for a great harvest!
Pray for the evangelism in Kauto and missionary Joshua as he joins the rest of the team. Ask the Lord for a great harvest!
Pray for disciples to multiply in many villages.
Pray for the entrepreneurship training to help disciples earn a living.
Eid al-Adha
As Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha (the Festival of the Sacrifice) by sacrificing a lamb or other animal this week to remember Abraham’s sacrifice, pray they will hear of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Ask the Lord to remove the veil that blinds so many Muslims to the truth of the Gospel.
Eid Mubarak
This week millions of Muslims around the world will be buying a sheep ready for the sacrifice in remembrance of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Ishmael. It’s a big celebratory holiday where family gather…but hard for Followers as it’s a clear reminder of the lostness of their families.
Being held Wednesday this week in our country – please pray for our Brothers and Sisters.
Jesus Film tonight
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of salvation of everyone who believes…”
Please pray for the second showing of the Jesus Film in Alagwaisa this evening. May the Holy Spirit touch many hearts and many conversations start in the community. May many Alagwa turn to Jesus together!
Fishers of men
The Nahara, living on the northern coast of Mozambique, are mostly fisherman. Their life and identity are strongly connected to the sea, the shore, and fishing. Knowledge of weather conditions, tide, good fishing ground, piloting canoes, and using nets brings in good catches as well as pride in their work. Pray that the hold of folk Islam, animism and traditional rituals such as ancestor worship would be broken. Pray that those Nahara who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour would become fishers of men; pray that Christ himself, who calmed the wind and the sea, would bring his peace and love to many hearts.
Following Up
Please pray for three African Christian women to follow up on two families of S. Asian women who need the gospel. There are social, economic, educational, cultural and religious barriers, but when they met recently, the women connected and exchanged phone numbers. Pray that they will continue to visit one another, and that through their love and witness the Muslim families may come to faith in Christ.
Lord, send laborers
Antanosy territory is quite hard to reach, and particularly deprived of commerce, basic education, medical care and supplemental food sources. Subsistence farming is the norm, as is child labor (mining, fishing, agriculture). There are so many challenges: lack of infrastructure, poverty, hunger, isolation. Pray that the Lord will stir hearts and call out specific people to leave everything and serve amongst the Tanosy; pray that the Malagasy Church would be brokenhearted and compassionate for these people. Ask God to bring a church planting team, and those who can bring the Good News to this remote area of Madagascar.
New church and answers to prayer
Thank God for Brother Shalo’s new church in Nauyapuru. Pray for the provision of audio Bibles for the church and for each believer to grow in grace and faith.
Thank God for peace between the Jiye and their neighbors.
Thank God for the new school and new air strip in Kasengor.
Bible stories
Lift up those working amongst the San people in Tsumkwe, Namibia. Ask for continued strength and energy as they disciple believers there in the Way; pray for those seeking to build relationships in the community, that they would become spiritual guides to the lost, leading them to Jesus. Pray that the stories from the Bible Story Project which have been shared amongst the San would make deep roots in their hearts, and that the Way, the Truth and the Life would be known to them. May the Lord send more and more workers to San to spread the Good News there.
Pray for peace
Let’s unite in prayer for peace among the tribes of our district (Marsabit). There are many conflicts happening recently, including between family members of the Gabbra and Borana people. Houses have been burned, people killed by shotguns and others seriously injured.
In our region it’s been peaceful, but the fact that it is happening to family members of the tribes we work with consequently affects our community and people are concerned. Pray for peace, protection and for God’s manifestation among these tribes.
meeting weekly
Thank God for the motivation of neighbor women to meet weekly for Bible study.
Pray that they will not fear sharing their faith with their friends.
Pray for provision of jobs for them since many are jobless.
persecution and outreach
Pray against the spirit of persecution in Toposa villages. Ask the Lord to protect and defend His people.
Pray for unity among ministers. Pray for open doors for fruitful ministry. Pray for outreach teams in Kapoeta going North, East, and South.
Lord bring freedom
Pray for a spirit of earnest prayer to be poured out on the churches located near the Rangi. That the church goers would be awakened to pray earnestly for the Lord to bring freedom from spiritual bondage for the Rangi people who do not know the way of salvation through Jesus Christ.
