Diaspora in Michigan: Praise God that one family who came to the Conversation Cafe on Friday night stayed for the Bible study afterward. Pray that they will continue to stay each Friday night and that others would join them in staying and interacting with the Bible story.
Protection and Provision
Pray for hunger and thirst for truth in the New Believers’ hearts and all through our communities! Pray for God’s protection and provision physically and spiritually! Recently some country wide warnings of insecurity and kidnapping of foreigners were issued. It was nice not to have them directed personally at us – but reminded us to keep on our guard and made us thankful for the mitigations we have in place. Thanks for continuing to pray for good security here in O-land.
Spirit of deception
Diaspora in Florida: Please pray against the spirit of deception working in our Muslim friends.
Pray for conviction of the truth from the Holy Spirit.
Pray for the Muslim friends to whom we minister to become brothers and sisters.
Bible studies
Diaspora in Florida: Pray for the 15+ Chinese and Japanese students that are studying God’s word, for God to continue to draw them to himself. Pray for these students who have been really curious: Anna, Lynn, Laura, Alan, and Mikky. Praise for Dan who recently accepted Christ as his Savior. Pray for him as we come alongside and disciple him, for his faith to grow in the next 6 months before he returns to his home country.
Gospel of Mark being distributed!
The Bible translation team has gone for holiday, mainly to distribute hard copies of the book of Mark and audio both in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Pray for God’s guidance and protection on traveling.
Pray for God’s wisdom for new materials for the people.
Pray for God to open hearts of the people of the Suri Kachipo community in both countries. May they receive the Word with joy and faith!
Good start
Diaspora in Oregon: Praise for a good start to the school year at P-House. We have a full school of students. Pray for good interactions with students and opportunities to share the Gospel.
Praise that we were able to reconnect with 200 students from 10 different countries through a celebration of marriage we held at our church. Pray for good follow up and open hearts.
Elections
Praise God for the calmness in the preparation for the upcoming elections so far. Pray that the election process will be smooth, transparent and peaceful. Pray for the wisdom and security of the workers on ground during this election period. Stand against any evil agent by the enemy towards workers during and after elections.
Stay for Bible study
Diaspora in Michigan: Pray for more Bible studies. We are starting to offer a Bible study after conversation café. Please pray people would stay to study God’s word. Pray as well for spiritual hunger for at least 3 from Fox Hills, where we teach 5 English classes, to seek Jesus prayers or Biblical conversations.
Rachel
Pray for our island sister ‘Rachel’ whose father is threatening to tear her house down and take her land after hearing she has become a believer. She continues to choose Jesus over worldly possessions. Pray for a radical change in her father’s heart. May he have an encounter with Jesus and be transformed. Pray for Rachel to lean into the Sprit’s wisdom regarding this whole situation and may she have patience to wait on the Lord’s timing for her next steps. Pray too for other islanders watching what’s happening with Rachel to feel emboldened to ask questions about the great treasure that Rachel has found in Jesus.
Bible story-telling
Diaspora in Wales: Pray that ladies and their extended families (both here and in their home country) come to Christ through the chronological Bible story-telling in our English classes.
May the church send
There is a Laarim believer in Torit who wants to be out here in the village as a missionary, but his church in Torit has not been able to get enough finances together to support him. (We desire to see the local church do the sending). Pray the Lord will provide for the church to send him.
Evangelism
Diaspora in Ontario: I will advertise a free online Christianity Explored class using a large person-sized banner when doing street evangelism. Pray for true seekers in the Scarborough area to sign up and attend, to learn more about Jesus.
I want to engage in internet evangelism through testimonies worldwide of dreams and visions of Jesus through dreamsaboutjesus.com. Pray for online seekers to find the website and engage in thought-provoking conversations.
Pure disciples
Many delight to hear the gospel and the true stories of the prophets and Jesus. Some have learned well the rituals of Islam but have not read or understood the Koran. Because of this, they receive the true stories of the prophets not realizing the core of them (all pointing to Jesus) disagrees with Islam. And some even accept Jesus’ death as the Lamb of God… and some his deity! But still they quote the memorized passages of the Koran and bow as the mosque calls out the shahada. Pray that there would not be syncretism… but pure disciples.
Reach out
Pray for the local church in one of the villages. Pray that they would have a heart to reach out to the Rangi people who live all around them.
Pray for these men
Pray for our new believers. One, Abub’r had an accident and broke his leg and had an operation at the hospital. He is getting better. Pray for complete healing. And also pray for some of our friends at the hospital with whom we shared the good news of Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for Al’e, Ahm’d, Kal’ Youn’, Abedurah’, Abdul’, Ous’ Mohammed, Youn’ Har’n and others.
Reading John
Diaspora in Georgia: Please pray that the Lord will save each of my ESL students this year. Pray that they come to class consistently and that they enjoy getting to know who Jesus is and what He has done for them by reading the gospel of John together. Pray for the Lord to send Africans and Muslims to our ESL program.
Second trial
Continue to pray for believers in prison. May they endure faithfully and be victorious by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his testimony. Some will stand trial again: Nov 19. No verdict was given at the Oct 1 trial.
James 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Dry season
It’s the long hard dry season when the herdsmen are working long hours to keep their animals alive. The cows only get a drink every other day and it’s a long walk back to the scant grazing. There is little milk available for anyone! The hyenas abound and are whooping and threatening the herds all night long – offering little rest and no relaxation. Pray that the rains will come early (due the beginning of November). Pray for the spiritual reign of Jesus to be crowned king of many O hearts and lives.
Healing
Diaspora in Ontario: My friend’s dad, from a Hindu family, has been in a coma for a month in ICU. We sense the Lord can bring the whole family to Christ through a miracle. Pray for Mr. Vis’ healing.
Invitation to study
Diaspora in France: Praise for the launch of our new ministry! Continue to pray for even more students to come, particularly a girl or two. On Friday, Oct 4 we’re hosting our first student meal in the new apartment and will be inviting a couple of the students to join us in studying God’s Word together. Pray for a positive response!
Heard the gospel
Please pray for those who heard the gospel preached in remote Tsimihety villages last week. Teams of medical and evangelical workers were dropped in various locations by a Helimission helicopter. These villages are often very poor. May the seed fall on good soil and the kingdom of heaven expand in this region!
Thanksgiving
Pray for an event to celebrate Thanksgiving with local Saharawi friends in October. May relationships be established and deepened so that gospel truths can flow.
Lord build your church
Pray for believers to be winsome and wise in sharing their faith with their Zaramo friends and neighbors. Ask the Lord to build His church in Zaramo land.
Deliver many!
Pray for a breakthrough amongst the Swahili Arabs. Islam has been a stronghold along the coast of Africa for a thousand years. Pray many would be delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.
The Hope Film -Creation to Christ
Please continue to pray for the project to translate The Hope film – Creation to Christ into Som** language. Pray that God may bring together the team that will do this job for His glory. Pray for unity in the team and correct translation of the film from English and that the process will run smoothly and the agreements that will be made between the parties involved will be honoured and glorifying to God. Pray for God’s guidance in the whole process.
Crops
Last year there was not enough rain for crops to grow. This year the rain was enough, but the birds were devastating. People are again at a loss of what to do about the lack of a harvest.
There has been progress in the last month in getting the local believers to have a plot of their own, off of the missionary compound, but there has been some resistance from the community. Pray for wisdom and courage for the believers as they move forward.
New trial date
The believers in prison for their faith are going to trial Oct 1. Please pray the trial would go ahead (and not be postponed again) and the judge would rule for their immediate release.
523 villages reached!
We are overjoyed to witness our Malagasy pastors and evangelists, our faithful co-laborers, sharing the Gospel through the Jesus Film and discipling people afterward.
Villages have been reached, witch doctors converted, cattle thieves transformed, hundreds hearing about Jesus, and, by the power of Christ, churches scattered throughout Bara land. What a joy!
Furthermore, The Antandroy and Mahafaly people are also being reached by our partners.
What an incredible harvest we are seeing, all by the grace of Christ.
This month alone, 12 villages have been reached with the Gospel. Since 2017, that brings the total to 523 villages!
Please pray for abundant fruit from these efforts.
New believer!
On the medical team on the plateau, team member J has been helping local believer
‘Harvey’ to lead a seeker through Romans. This weekend J asked the seeker if he
believed Jesus died for his sins and if he followed Him, and he said yes! Thank Father with us for this wonderful news, and ask for wisdom for ‘Harvey’ in leading him through next steps, as J leaves on home assignment this weekend.
Open doors
Pray for the Lord to go before a new team and prepare many hearts to hear and receive the gospel. Pray for many to open their doors and welcome the team into their homes and into their lives.
Leaders meeting
We want to praise the Lord for the men whom we have been discipling and who are leading the fellowship groups. Three weeks ago we came together to pray for the villages and they decided that we should be coming together to pray once a month. We were so happy for this decision. Also two men who came requested to do TEE (theological education by extension). Please pray for a way forward for them to study and that the Lord will provide books for TEE.
Pastor the flock
Pray for the Gabbra believers who pastor the flock. Ask God to fill them with His spirit daily and enable them to serve with joy. May they ‘exercise oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have them, not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those under their charge, but being examples to the flock.’ (1Peter 5:2-3)
Translation workshop
Pray for a translation workshop on translating epistles happening this week. Translators from across the three islands will be coming. May the Lord grant patience, clear communication, and insight as so many different languages and cultures will be present. Pray also for S’rg as he leads the workshop, for peace, protection over logistics and technology, and for fellowship as workshops like this one offer a chance for greater bonding between the translation teams who don’t often see each other in person.
Strongholds
Pray against Islamic strongholds amongst the 40 million Fulani people living across the Sahel of Africa. Pray the Lord would bind the strong man and plunder the house of Islam (Mark 3:27).
Wedding
Please rejoice with us. Last month we celebrated a beautiful wedding of a young couple and in 2 weeks will celebrate another wedding! God is moving in this new generation! Pray for blessing on these new marriages.
Invited to Church
I called an BMB (believer of Muslim background) friend for a meeting to discuss some issues relating to ministry. He was only available on a Sunday and he suggested that we first meet at his church and then talk after the service. I want to thank God that he came with two other BMB friends and we had a great fellowship before, during and after church. Pray that God may come through for some struggles that these brothers are going through. May He open doors that the challenges that are hindering them from getting time to do their work. May He smooth the processes that need to be done. He knows, He cares and may the answers glorify His Name.
Laarim Bible!
We are so thankful to have received the Laarim Bible several months ago, containing the entire New Testament and several Old Testament books. It has pointed to the great need for people, especially believers, to learn how to read. There is a very low literacy rate. Pray for those learning to read to persevere and for others to begin learning.
Monthly meetings
Down in the capital the local sisters were meeting monthly to read together and
support each other, but this hasn’t been happening since the main leader ‘Esther’ and
some of the other more confident women travelled. Please ask that, now more
people are back, they would get back into meeting regularly.
Meet face to face
A local believing family stepped out in faith to add a room onto their home for Bible study times. Pray for protection over them and all who come. Pray for hearts to be deeply rooted in the word.
A government official has been meeting online with other believers about 2 years. This person feels ready to meet with someone in person now. Ask for wisdom on making connections. Ask that there would be growing hunger and willingness among the followers to meet face to face
New believer
Pray for *Immanuel, the son of a Digo sheikh who has now come to Christ. He is a secret believer at the moment. Pray for him to grow in his faith and for God to grant him boldness to openly follow Christ in due time.
