“I” is a friend from Somalia who calls frequently. He made a commitment to follow Jesus in the past. But he struggles with mental health issues. His relatives plan to take “I” back to Somalia soon. Pray that Jesus will heal “I”‘s mind and heart and that he will remember his commitment to follow Jesus.
Open doors
Pray for the work among the islanders living in Madagascar. Pray for open doors into islanders’ lives and homes and for hearts to be transformed by the word of God.
Seek the Lord
Pray for the Didinga people, that as local believers share God’s Word with them, they will “seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near…the wicked will forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts… [they will] turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them…He will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).
Monthly gathering
One of the sisters wants to see the local believers grow in fasting and prayer. She wants everyone to gather for monthly corporate fasting. Ask God to guide them. Pray for unity amongst the body here and they would continue to make meeting together and encouraging one another a priority.
Needing help
Pray for Bilton, our South Sudanese brother who is working in the Toposa village of Lolim. There are several challenges he faces that he asks prayer for: learning Toposa – he is finding this language difficult to learn; work in the clinic – Bilton is serving the community with his training as a clinical officer, but the needs and health challenges in the community are great; sharing the gospel – Bilton has discovered that the best time to meet with people is in the evenings, however by the time he is finished his work at the clinic he is very tired. He is also quite alone in the work. So, pray for language learning, his work in the clinic, opportunities to share the good news of Jesus, partners in ministry, and strength from the Lord. Pray for many in Lolim to be receptive to the gospel message.
Needing more workers
Marlene has been back in Ohilang for about a week now. She is closing her ministry there for a time, either to lead the Inbound team, or until the team builds up again so she won’t be out there alone. Pray that these few weeks she is in the village will be a blessing, both to her and the community. Pray the Lord will continue to strengthen and build up the Lopit who have come to faith. And keep praying for more workers to participate in reaching the Lopit with the gospel.
Push through
Please pray for one lady who was initially and for a long time full of excitement and joy to study God’s word and was thinking about baptism. She now seems to have “hit a wall”, as we call it. Please stand with her and pray she will persevere. Whether she is now counting the cost, or is facing some other barrier, may she push through and surrender her whole life to Jesus. Pray for other seekers, that they would push through the barriers before them.
Visit home
It was great to have a visit with Angelo a couple of weeks ago when he came through Torit on his way to Kimatong. He has had a successful semester in his nursing program in Kenya, and chose to spend his month of holidays back in the village. Pray that during his time among the Laarim, he is able to “set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12); pray also that Angelo will hold fast to the calling he has received to be a witness among his own people. Please lift up Angelo and Noblesse as they travel by road to Kenya over the next few days.
Church
Pray the Lord will strengthen the little church among the Digo, filling the believers with His Spirit, encouraging and strengthening each one, and granting grace to many more to believe.
Visit
Jordan was able to arrange for the mission coordinator for this region and one of the women in the church, to go out to Iboni to visit Luka and Umjuma. Owinja and Betty spent 3 days with Luka and Umjuma, participating in their ministry to the Lopit, as well as encouraging them through fellowship. Betty came back to Torit with a new perspective about the plight of the Lopit. Truly “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Pray that Owinja and Betty will serve as catalysts in the Torit church to send out more laborers to preach Christ among the Lopit and other unreached peoples in South Sudan.
Strengthen the church
Pray for the Borana believers to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Hm, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.
Read and share
Pray for the Y people who have been given the scriptures to continue to read them and share them with others. Pray that many would believe and put their faith in Jesus.
eyes opened
Ask the Lord to continue to heal and strengthen John and to bless the translation work. Pray for Suri as they read God’s word in their own language, that their eyes would be opened to believe the message.
Walk in faith
Pray for the believers to fix their eyes on Jesus and walk in faith, pleasing the Lord and sharing with others the good things He has done.
Hold on to Jesus
Please pray for Swahili believers, especially one who was divorced by his wife after he received Jesus Christ as person savior. Eric has been saved since beginnig of this year and he was baptized April 2021. After this event his wife complained and went to the government leader but she didn’t get any solution from then, so she made decision to leave Eric.
We continue to encourage Eric to hold on to Jesus Christ. Pray for him.
A Warm Welcome
The church’s visit to a nearby Neem village to tell them about the reason for Christmas went well: A good proportion of the church went, some to cook, some to pray and others to do acts of service and then go to visit people on the streets and in their homes. People warmly welcomed us and showed interest in listening especially to Neem audio recordings about the Christmas story. We also showed the Jesus Film with a good attendance.
Pray for this village. Many whom I spoke to had never heard of Jesus. The great challenge is that most of the women and children only speak Neem. I am learning Neem (pray for me) but there are no others in church who do. Pray that I can return to speak truth and that others of my small church here might also go.
The harvest is ripe but the workers are exceedingly few… Pray to the Lord of the harvest.
Growing interest
Noblesse has struggled with getting a DBS group started in the village of Ngarahac. The village is far enough away that it requires him staying overnight, and the number of people interested in attending the Bible study has been very small. However, he was encouraged recently by increased attendance, as well as by meeting a woman, Natiyote, who expressed the desire to learn the Word of God. Pray that her desire would continue and would grow, and that she and others in the village will faithfully attend the Bible study.
Go viral!
Praise the Father for resources being developed in the local dialect. A recent video of the story of Jesus from birth to ascension is being sent to local contacts. Ask that they would forward it on and the Truth would go viral!
Churches
Pray for Simon Lomwa, Lokure Mary, Peter Peta, Lochakuwa, and chief Lochebei who are church leaders in Jie. We praise God for newly planted churches in Nawoyagule and Lobarbar and their leaders Sarah and Angelo. Pray for the church to be strong despite the physical hunger and thirst that is sweeping the Jie people especially the area of Lopeat due to the drought.
Out of darkness
“…because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.’”
May many Alagwa will be guided onto the path of true peace, wholeness in God. Praising God for his tender mercy, we ask that Jesus, our rising sun, would lead Alagwa out of darkness and the shadow of death.
Women’s ministry
Umjuma is trying to start a women’s ministry in Iboni. Her desire is for all the women in Iboni to come together. That’s a big dream! But pray that she will be faithful to whatever the Lord is calling her to do, not to give up, and not to become discouraged. Pray the women will come and that God “will make [Umjuma] a light for the Gentiles, that [His] salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).
New sister!
We’re celebrating a new Sister… heard yesterday that a friend of Roza’s who she met in April, gave her life to Jesus on Christmas day! Pray for Roza as she walks with this new Sister and that as this Sister ‘comes off the mountain top’ over these next weeks, that her joy would be rooted in the Light and Life from the King of kings!
Study together
We have only seen *Abraham and *Salome once since they asked for a Bible. They are both working as teachers and very busy but have a break from 23rd Dec to 4th Jan and they plan to see us then. Pray that an opportunity for us to study God’s word with them both together and that God’s word would speak to them as they explore the Bible they now have in their home.
Joyful noise
“It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High…to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp” (Psalm 92:1-3). Lokwan and Lomua are 2 boys who meet in Kali for Sunday morning worship. They recently made shaker instruments for use in the Sunday gathering. Pray they (the boys and the shakers!) would be used to make a joyful noise to the Lord. Pray that the believers and seekers meeting in Kali would continue even after Dan and Joel leave next month. May God grow this church in greater ways than we could ask or imagine.
Faith’s light
Faith is a young Didinga woman who has been discipled by Jacinta in Fara Sika. Recently she came back from school and went immediately to the village to spend school holidays with Jacinta. Faith is a committed believer with a heart for her people. Pray that Faith would be a light among her people, declaring God’s salvation for all who will believe; that she will “say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’” (Isaiah 49:9).
Healing
Pray for the healing of a long standing rift between 2 groups of believers here. Praise Father for a small group of sisters (2 families from different groups) who have recently started meeting to read and encourage one another. They live in the same village but neither knew of the others. May they grow in love and trust for one another and pave the way for reconciliation.
meeting together
Noblesse has been encouraging Khalifha, a Laarim Christian in the village of Chawua, to start and lead a DBS in his village. After several months of praying and waiting, Khalifa shared this with Noblesse: “I have started to gather my family and we read the Bible with them…I have invited others and they have come.” Thank God for Khalifha’s commitment to Christ and growth as a leader. Pray that he will be faithful to follow through on his plans to lead this Bible study (the makings of a church!) in Chawua.
New believer
Pastor Guyo reports that they have a new believer coming for regular meetings. His wife has also been coming for some teaching. Pray that the wife will also believe and that they will both grow and share their faith boldly and wisely to make more disciples!
Serving with Light in the Darkness
Pray for this year’s graduates from Bible School as they return to their local villages to serve in ongoing and expanding church ministries. May they Biblically handle with wisdom any spiritual battles as they lead. These areas are steeped in witchcraft, and congregations often struggle under the burden of strongholds, and attacks from the enemy. Pray that believers will live with power and purpose in Christ and know that the authority of Christ will set them free.
Remove obstacles and proclaim good news
Pray for all those who identify as followers of Jesus in town (many workers in government institutions and businesses). Pray that at this time of celebration we will see the opportunities which are available to remove obstacles and misunderstandings and proclaim good news through our lives and words. Pray God would be glorified.
Tea times
Continued concerns over Covid mean our usual big Xmas parties aren’t happening this year, but many tea times are instead. The smaller context actually makes it easier to have spiritual conversations and many in our group are using the character of Joseph in the coming of Jesus to talk about how God talks to us, obedience, and Immanuel/God with us. Ask for courage in these conversations and receptiveness to the Word.
know their Saviour
Please pray for Alagwa believers this Christmas. May they know their Saviour more deeply and share the good news of salvation with many others.
Final weeks
There are only a few weeks left for the Kimatong “men’s team” until Noblesse, Dan and Joel’s terms come to an end. Pray that even in these final weeks the Lord would give wisdom as they seek to help establish the believers as the Laarim church. Pray that God will establish His church among the Laarim. Pray from Jeremiah 17:7-8 for the Christians there: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Special showing of JF
In one village, there will be an afternoon showing of the Jesus Film especially for women this Wednesday. Please pray that God will prepare hearts to receive him.
Christmas opportunities
Pray for all the planned Christmas sharing, meals and hospitality to be received and responded to -that a breakthrough of a disciple making movement may begin in O land!
Goodness
On December 23 we are hosting a team outreach party for local followers and local friends who do not yet know Christ. Please pray that the Light of the World would shine brightly during that event and those who believe would be encouraged and bold. We pray that those that do not yet know the Savior would experience the Love of Christ and see the goodness of the gospel of grace.
Being watched
The believers were planning to meet for Christmas but two of the older believers have been pulled in repeatedly by intelligence these last few weeks so they are wondering if the gathering should happen. And if so… where to meet? Both places they have used are being watched now… one of the local brothers, whose wife doesn’t yet believe, opened his home for a small group of men last week… but I don’t think he’s willing to open it up to women or a larger group… pray for courage and wisdom please.
Deep discussion
In class yesterday, one of the students mentioned about the death of a friend and I shared that two of my friends had died the previous week. This led to a lengthy discussion on death, where we believe the dead go, … we touched on paradise, eternal hell, purpose of life, money, God, … and the main discussion was actually about our purpose in this world. The Som** students agreed that our purpose is to worship God, obey Him, serve Him, and relate well with others.
Pray that we will continue with the discussion next week as I want to introduce them to Jesus and the reason He came. We all agreed that this is the most important topic. Also pray that God will touch their hearts to see the true Light of the world especially as we go into Christmas.
We have invited them and other friends for an outing on 23rd December. Please pray with us that God will guide our conversation to explain about Christmas.
Jiye update
Pray for God to open many doors for fruitful ministry for the disciples in Kassengor.
Thank God for brother Shalo in Nauyapuru. Ask God to bless his ministry.
Pray for the Jie disciples to be disciple makers.
Mama S
Mama S lives across the street from me and due to the very hot weather we have been sitting together under the shade on a mat sewing and talking about life. I had the chance to talk to her about Jesus twice. She listens and then changes the topic. Please pray for an open heart to hear the Word.
