Our Easter outreach is Sunday 4-8 pm. Please pray that nothing will prevent those invited from coming and that as they hear the Easter story God will give them the faith to believe it and a desire for a personal relationship Him.
Diaspora in Florida
We have a picnic with Muslims on Saturday. Pray Muslim families will come to this event and the Lord would speak to them.
We have a meeting with local pastors on how to reach Muslims during Ramadan on April 8. Pray they will be inspired and envisioned and inspire their people in turn.
Pray for opportunities to visit in the homes of our Muslim friends during Ramadan as the mosques will be mostly closed.
Easter baptism
Pray for the Likawage church- this Saturday we will baptize eight people! One of them is from the Gindo tribe, his name is Chuti Mkoma. Pray for all eight to mature in the faith and be faithful witnesses to His grace. Praise God He is building His church from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation!
Bible Stories
The 41 translated bible stories are being used to educated new Christians in a small church not far from us. Pray for their discipleship. This church has grown from 15 people last year to 60 plus now!
One village has gathered to hear all the stories and after that I would like to show the Jesus film. Pray for many to believe.
Leaders meeting
God is working and we are glad to be part of it. We are seeing groups and churches multiplying and all these we attribute to God himself as He is using the faithful.
Due to oppositions and persecution in the villages, we’re bringing our leaders together for three days this weekend. We plan to share with them how God used such difficult situations to spread His message. We will use stories from the book of Acts. It is our prayer that they will be able to share the gospel in a wise and humble way avoiding confrontations.
We pray that this will also be a time for these leaders to share testimonies of the great things God is doing in their lives and see how they can be of help to each other.
Interns
This week we will receive six student interns for a month. Pray for their needs and their health and for fruitful ministry. They are from Bible College and they will be in Likawage to learn about outreach and discipleship. Also pray that they would be an encouragement to the believers.
Lord, Bring Your Kingdom
This year we celebrate Pasaka (Easter) 2021 in Tanzania amidst 21 official Days of Mourning in memory of the late presiding president. Pray for peace through the transition time for the leaders in the country. Pray for both church and government leaders that their eyes would be on Christ. Pray for churches as they gather for Easter, that there will be a clear Gospel message of celebration concerning the hope shared in the resurrection of Christ. Ask the Lord to bring his Kingdom. Pray the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God will be fully recognized. Pray for deliverance from the evil accuser who will be thrown down. (Rev. 12:10)
Transformed
In Ambodimanga village, the king & elders welcomed Malagasy missionaries who were allowed to preach the gospel. Pray that those who heard would be transformed and follow Christ. Pray for the elder who, like Nicodemus, came to the missionaries at night to give his life to Jesus and vowed to stop doing ritual sacrifices/ancestral traditions. Pray that the books of Luke and Acts in Antanala would be finished soon, and the church of 60 new believers could grow strong in the Lord as they study His word.
Diabetes
S, a man newly diagnosed with diabetes, has been open to listen to God’s Word. Pray that his fear will cause him to turn to Jesus, to embrace God’s grace in all of its truth.
Vision
Pray that more Island brothers and sisters would have a vision for reaching out to their friends and neighbors like “Mama X”, who after having a dream of sharing the good news in a village, did just that and shared with the exact people she saw in her dream. Pray that as access to scriptures becomes more available in 3 dialects, that Islander believers would study, grow, and reach out to others. Pray that His kingdom would come across the Islands!
Abide
Pray for the leaders and members of the growing Sakalava church to continue to abide in Christ and share their testimonies with fellow Sakalava. Pray that the recorded worship songs and scriptures in their language would reach many more, that they’d be cut to the marrow by the Spirit’s Sword.
Gather
Pray for Harmony for her continued spiritual healing and courage to get involved with the Body again. Pray with us for the Body here to desire to gather for Easter. It would be wonderful to have a special time together. Pray for wisdom and courage.
Light in the darkness
Pray for Malagasy missionaries amongst the Antakarana- that they would be light to those in the darkness, that barriers to the gospel would be torn down, and many would see Christ as their Lighthouse, their Safe Harbor, their God and King.
Open the gates
Pray for continued good relationship with the Minister of Marginalized People, that he’d continue to allow more workers to come into San region, and that more workers would be called to come. Pray for new relationships to be formed with the “gatekeepers” amongst the San, and that Christ would be known by many more in Namibia.
Harvest
Pray for new believers to be established in the faith, for abundant fruit to be gathered together into fellowships, and for seeds of the Gospel being planted to bear much fruit.
Malaria and Luke
Many people in our area are suffering from Malaria (the nasty type). We provide medicine and along with the medicine comes a talk about the Lord Jesus. Pray many would be healed spiritually as well as physically.
The Gospel of Luke translation has been digitalized and is ready to be sent off to the printer! Pray for God’s blessing on His word, that many would read it and believe.
Hold firm the faith
Pray that the young Ndau church, it’s pastors and members, wouldn’t be discouraged or abandon their faith as the Covid-19 pandemic rages. Pray for blessing on missionaries & pastors going house to house to read the word, and pray together with Ndau believers. Pray that old beliefs would be rejected and new strength and trust in the Lord flourishes.
Gospel being shared
The gospel is being shared across Mwani as audio Bibles are distributed, the Jesus Film is shown, and two Mwani believers testify to their faith in Christ. Pray for continued wisdom and guidance as they bring the Good News to more and more Mwani. Also, they’ve been given the freedom to minister in a predominantly Muslim refugee camp: pray that as they talk about Jesus that many will be drawn in by his love, grace and faithfulness.
Pray for Tanzania
On March 17, 2021 the president died while in office. Pray for comfort and peace in the midst of 21 days of official mourning. Pray for the government and officials to be guided by God in the transition. Pray for the health of the country. Pray for the new head of the country as she carries forth her responsibilities in leading. Pray the government will continue to support peaceful freedom of religion, so that the Gospel may be proclaimed unhindered to all parts of Tanzania.
Turning Back to God
There is a new resurgence of prayer and focus on putting God first in the country. Pray that many more will be drawn to dig deeper into what it means to be a follower of Christ. Pray that from this renewal in drawing closer to God that more will understand and accept salvation. Pray for a renewed interest in Bible study and for small groups studying God’s Written Word to multiply and expand neighborhood to neighborhood. “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17
The Right Clothes
A S. Asian woman attended a party and heard about Jesus’ parable of the wedding where one guest was put out because he was not wearing the right clothes. She heard how to “get dressed for Heaven” through wearing the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Please pray that she and the other unsaved women who arrived later will come to know that Savior.
Issues
Please pray for unity in the church that we would be able to provide the support needed for the village outreaches. Currently there are some issues that need to be dealt with for there to be a healthy church body here.
May they see the beauty of Truth
Ask that the Root of Blessing falling here is recognized as He Who Has Come, and none other.
Bring before His Throne those who hear Truth yet remain in the old man’s thinking. Have mercy LORD.
Ask that the Glory of Wisdom miraculously overtakes all earthly nature of reasoning here in men and women’s lives.
Ask that breakthroughs come to listening and pondering hearts –
and they see the beauty and trustworthiness of Truth and follow.
Pray Deuteronomy 30.19-20
that many will “choose life… so that both they and their descendants may live;
that they may love the LORD God, obey His Voice, and cling to Him as life and the length of their days, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given…”
Hearing God’s Word in their Language
Last weekend a missionary visited the Datooga Church in Morogoro. He played the Datooga Bible during the service, and everyone was very excited to hear the word of God in their language. As he was visiting the two local missionaries, Lucy and Rose, their Datooga neighbors were visiting and they listened to the Gospel in Datooga. Praise Jesus that He is working. Keep praying that many Datooga will come to faith in Christ, not only in Morogoro but also in all towns and villages where the Datooga live.
Diaspora in Toronto, Canada
*The devil is working over- time to discourage our brothers and sisters from our favorite people group (Somalis). We’re experiencing a lot of division, alienation, family issues, grief, depression, addictions, and disunity. Please pray for a major revival and that our disunity may become true Christian community, eager for discipleship, growth, Christian maturity and real fellowship.
* Please pray also for deeper connection with our open or seeking Somali friends, even in the midst of our ongoing lockdown.
Run to Jesus
Ask for courage for Arab believers to speak to their families of Jesus, to believe that there is new family in Christ, to willingly follow Jesus even in the valley of the shadow of death. Many have died recently. May believers run to Jesus in their grief.
Another light
We have prayed for God to move in the hearts of Lopit believers, to return to their people to be proclaimers of the gospel among their own. God has raised up a Lopit family who have recently returned to their village, after being in Kenyan refugee camps for years, with a calling to share Christ with their people! Pray for this family to stand firm in the faith and bear much fruit for the glory of God’s kingdom among the Lopit.
Hearing and believing
Pray for the Didinga, who are hearing Bible stories from the team, to understand truth and what it means for their lives. Pray for a growing desire to hear more and understand better the message of the gospel. Continue to lift up Victor and his household, that they will be true followers of Jesus. Pray for Lino to grow in his shepherding of the new believers. Pray for every child and youth who have heard the gospel to believe and be transformed.
Satisfaction
This week I got a message from a Mslim friend. I had invited her to hear a series of recorded stories on the gospel of John. She refused, then said, “I am listening to these Youtube videos that help me learn Quranic Arabic.” How to answer? I did not want to scold her. She is hungry for spiritual nourishment, and still hoping her religion will satisfy. Finally I reflected back, “You want to learn more Quranic Arabic.” She answered, “To understand the divine word better and this professor explains it so well.” Now what? I wrote, “I am glad you seek understanding. I like having you for my friend. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” She answered, “That’s why we click together.” Please pray with me that the Lord will reveal that the satisfaction she seeks, that hunger she feels, will not be satisfied through her religion. Pray that she will one day find that all her hunger and thirst for righteousness is satisfied in Jesus Christ.
Diaspora in Florida
* Our bi-weekly meetings with our Imam friend, AB., has been put on hold for undetermined amount of time. Pray we can reconnect soon.
* D’s close friend, Imam Sh., also has not been available to meet in the last several weeks. Pray we can reconnect soon.
Light and Truth
Pray for schools among the Laarim to be places of light and truth. Pray for Morris, a Laarim teacher and catechist at one of the schools, that his love and knowledge of the Lord would grow. Pray for Celestian, the head teacher at another school, that as he meets with Noblesse to study God’s Word, he will hear Wisdom’s call: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me” (Proverbs 8:17).
Needing to stand firm
Continue to ask for believers to stand firm in the battle, to not deny Jesus, to love him more than family, more than life. A few have been shaken… some because of lack of roots…some because they are lone stalks not gathered in sheaves…. ask for gathering, for discipleship.
Protection
There has been much intercommunal tension and fighting in Lopit near villages that our team is working in. They are not fearful for themselves; rather their concern is for their friends in these villages. Pray for the believers in Lopit to trust God’s promise to “guard the course of the just and protect the way of his faithful ones” (Proverbs 2:8).
Diaspora in Portland
Please pray for a couple of children. One is a grade school Iraqi boy with a dad who is avidly reading God’s Word! Another is our “assistant” for the Ethiopian Bible Class last year, a middle school gal with a heart for God.
Pray for a friend, Abl, to come to Christ with his whole family.
We would love to see Abl’s grade school son have a chance to go to a local Christian school. (Most immigrants have no idea how the public schools wish to shape their children’s values and worldview!)
We are also checking out possibilities for Lw to attend a Christian school.
Pray for continued conversations and deep connections with a Muslim family who moved across town.
We gave a Bible to a friend/student recently, he is reading it and SW is trying to talk to him more one-on-one.
Desperate situation
The water situation now in Jiye land is very desperate and need urgent prayers. The disciples have been sending many messages to missionaries for help especially about the lack of water. This has been caused by a dry season with temps up to 47 degrees (116 F) during the day. Encouragingly, the disciples are still keeping the groups and churches going even at this hard time.
Missionary Elia and other two Toposa leaders are heading there to strengthen the groups and leaders for 3 months from 1st April until June. We hope to receive rains by June in order to have a mass baptism of Jiye believers.
Needing help
Please pray for ladies who are possessed by demons: their names are Husina, Elizabeth, and Mama Sarah.
Also pray for girls who have been struggling with school needs: Mwanahawa, Rahama and Tunu. The church has stepped in to help them. The big need is that the school day has been extended so they do not have time to go home for lunch, so the church is providing that & some of their supplies so that they can continue in school. Pray that their eyes would be opened to spiritual help and not just the physical.
Diaspora in Washington
* We praise Jesus that 2 of the 3 men are studying God’s Word from the Bible. Father, make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. John 17:17
* We praise Jesus for a brother from Africa who is leading a Bible study for our Arabic speaking friends. Lord, thank you for sending workers to your field. Matthew 9:38
* We praise Jesus for many friends joining in with women’s evening conversation class and Saturday morning mommy-and-me time. Lord, keep us declaring your glory and your marvelous works among our friends. Psalm 96:3
Gospel seeds
Pray for *Mark, a kind, gentle, and smart young man. For 10 months he regularly turned up for DBS. He seemed genuinely to be seeking truth and had many deep insights as we studied creation to Christ and the first 10 chapters of John. Pray that God would cultivate and grow the many seeds that were sewn in what seemed like fertile soil and that God’s word would accomplish all that God purposed it and not return empty. Isaiah 55:11
Diaspora in Portland
My precious neighbor and friend moved with her family back to Libya this week. Pray that God would continue to work in the hearts of her, her husband and children and that the seeds planted will grow and that God will bring other followers of Jesus into their lives.
Asking for sight
One young woman felt like God was asking her and others to go to a center for the blind to pray for healing and to speak the light of Jesus. Right now the only book in Braille they have is the koran and this Berber believer said, ‘Someone needs to tell them the truth.’ But the trips have been rescheduled several times partially because of fear in another sister’s heart. Ask that each be delivered from fear and that God provide miraculous sight.
