Pray for the training in Naliel of all disciples from different parts of the land that lasts for one month. Pray that the Lord will be glorified amongst us.
Pray this week for safety and health as we collect all these disciples.
And pray for all the facilitators to be filled with the Spirit.
Trapped and Unhappy
The young S. Asian woman is devoutly Muslim. But her religious beliefs are not bringing relief from the problems and stresses in her life these days. She feels trapped, unhappy and frustrated. And she is talking to her Christian friend about it. Please pray that her stress and distress will lead her to consider whether there is anywhere to find love, joy and peace in the world, and that she will come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Principal
Today, the board of the Northern Bible Training Center will meet. They will interview three candidates for the position of principal, and then make a decision. This decision is very important for the future of NBTC in Marsabit, Kenya. The school provides biblical training for pastors and lay people from five people groups here in Marsabit County. Pray for God to direct the Board of NBTC in the choice of the right person to lead this school.
Deep Sorrow
There continues to be sorrow and doubt in the lives of believers who have experienced the loss of family members. Pray that they will believe the goodness and justice of God even in deep sorrow or difficult trials.
Diaspora in Canada
* Praise for seeds of prayer and conversation planted throughout this summer through our bike ministry. Please pray that we will end it well, and transition well to more academic pursuits.
* Pray for our Somali local brothers and sisters suffering from mental Illness and emotional distress caused by COVid isolation.
* Pray for our upcoming season of ESL classes and tutoring – we’re not sure in light of the current rise of COVid variants how much we’ll be welcomed into homes, or whether we’ll be doing much of our outreach via zoom.
* Pray for renewal of fireside chats with our Muslim neighbors, and for our Somali fellowship to be restored to unity.
Confrontations
A few weeks ago, one of the believers was confronted over the phone by her brother about her faith. He was planning on coming to her house to question her. The island body of believers rallied around her in prayer. A rainstorm came which prevented her brother from coming and he has not brought it up since!
Another young believer was confronted about his faith by a family member, who is an imam. He professed his faith boldly and pointed to his changed life as evidence of his new faith. The imam was not upset, but rather asked more questions and seemed interested.
Pray for the believers as they are confronted with questions about their faith. May they stand firm and have discernment to respond wisely.
Diaspora in Missouri
* SP will travel to Houston for a survey trip Sept. 22-24. Pray for preparations and appointments with those God would have us meet with.
* Noel ESL classes begin first week of September. Few students have enrolled. Pray for the word to get out and students to come. SP will be able to substitute teach and proctor testing. Pray for wisdom as S. and E. schedule days to serve in Noel. Ask God to lead seekers to them.
“Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.
Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.” (Ps. 25:19, 20)
Rural needs
Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ Matthew 9:37-38
There are many villages within Karamoja with no sustained Gospel witness. Some factors which contribute to this include the large distances between villages, lack of available transportation, and roads which become impassible in the rainy season. Another challenge is a lack of workers. Please pray that God will raise up believers – Karimojong, and non Karimojong – with a passion to share the Gospel with those living in rural communities.
Diaspora in Philadelphia
* Please pray for our ESL classes which will start the beginning of September.
* Pray for more teachers to volunteer. Pray for all of the logistics of coming back in person after a year and a half of being on zoom. Pray for us to be able to follow up with new students, to start new friendships.
* Pray for us as we seek to connect with people coming to our city from Afghanistan.
“May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
Redeem Israel, God, out of his troubles.” (Ps. 25 19-22)
Correct way to God
Bobby met an older Muslim man in the market that showed him a verse in the Bible about pigs being unclean. He wanted to know why Christian’s eat pigs. Bobby shared more with him and more about Christ. At the end of the conversation he said he wants to know the correct way to God. Pray he will continue seeking. And will find the true way to God.
Diaspora in Hong Kong
* Please pray for Umm K’s testing result whether she has got cancer or not. Hope she will be willing to hear the gospel and understand that Yahweh is above Allah.
* Thank God for M to share with us that his living was a life of indulgence and debauchery. We will start from there to share with Him about Jesus.
* Please continue to pray for God’s calling for more volunteers for the Children’s corner and Chinese class for Adults, and providing more opportunities to share the gospel as well.
“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” (Ps. 25:9)
Covid
Pray for the staff in the local government hospital where we are seeing many covid patients. There is a constant battle with fatalism, denial and misinformation even amongst the qualified staff. Pray that we can all be influencers and examples of an effective and compassionate response to the pandemic without burnout.
Asking for healing
Please pray for “Rachel and Mark”- ‘dunked’ one year ago but still very new in their faith and struggling in every way.
After a cancer diagnosis and surgery several years ago, the cancer has clearly returned and seems to have taken over many vital organs. From a human perspective, this 38 year old mother of four children doesn’t have much time.
Please pray!
Persevering courage
Praise Jesus that believing men are regularly meeting together. Even after one was arrested, most continued to meet. Ask for persevering courage.
Building relationships
We thank God for 5 Som** students in our English class. Tomorrow we will visit an orphaned children’s home to donate various items. We are also in the process of drawing up a program of various activities that we plan to do together over the next few months. We thank God for the unity of this group and pray that as we bond and share in various activities (including fun outings), He will give us opportunities to share of His love for All people and that this will be another avenue of pointing us to His Word.
Evil spirits
Pray for D, a local believer who is also a school teacher. Recently on two different occasions students have manifested evil spirits in his classroom. Pray for wisdom and courage for him in knowing how to respond in these situations, and that these students would be set free.
Diaspora in France
Pray for a friend from Morocco. She has had recent discussions about faith with a few Christians. She moves to another city soon. She’ll be spending time with us August 31 and we’ll give her a Gospel of Luke. Pray she will accept it and read it. May God speak to her heart.
My book your book
My S friend is moving to Turkey and will be in Som** for two weeks to sort out his papers as it is easier from there.
We held a farewell party for him, and I gifted him with a book, “My Book, Your Book”. This is in return for a book that he had given me earlier comparing our two faiths. Unfortunately, his book has a one-sided view and was generally not correct.
We have shared our beliefs in the past and my prayer is that as we keep in touch, he will read My book and have an interest in asking good questions. Pray that God may open his heart to believe and understand the good news. He plans to come back for a short holiday in September next year when we will reconnect again.
Pastors Reaching the Unreached
I am the Secretary in the pastoral association here. From time to time we meet for meetings and discuss some needs. Please pray for these things:
1. Pastors are going through challenges in their marriages.
2. They need entrepreneurship training and help with family economics.
3. They would like more training on how to reach the lost and share the gospel of Christ, as well as in counseling.
4. They would like to find tools, such as the Bible, inexpensively.
Thank you for praying for us all as we minister.
Bobby’s friend
Pray for a friend of Bobby’s that he shared the gospel with a couple weeks ago. He said that was the first time to hear the story of Christ. He seems interested in the Truth. Pray he will continue to seek for the Truth.
Good soil
A team is preparing to go live amongst the Kanembu next year! Ask the Lord to go before them and prepare many hearts to hear and respond to the message they will bring.
Reconciliation
Pray for *Leah and *Bill. Several years ago Bill decided to follow Jesus but he is now sitting on the fence trying to blend what the Bible says with Islamic beliefs. He and his wife Leah have divorced and our hearts ache for their two children. Pray for the miracle of reconciliation and forgiveness between Bill & Leah and also between them and God their Father.
Attacks
From Timothy, a Ugandan missionary who leads a team of Uganda missionaries working with the Ik and Karamojong:
Warrior gangs have really been gradually increasing and rumors of their attacks also. The route that we travel on has had several incidents these past days. A pastor friend was attacked and narrowly spared when the gun refused to shoot. We have postponed our work in this area for now.
So pray for us, that we will continue to proclaim Christ fearlessly, and that God will continue to protect us and the Karamajong themselves. Pray that the gospel will take root in this land that has been desolate for generations.
Joy and Roza
Pray for Joy to read the word daily and learn to feed herself with it, and not just rely on others to feed her.
Pray for Roza to be encouraged in her faith and learn to grow right where she is.
Diaspora in Detroit
* Pray for good communication and wisdom for Welcome Teams for Refugees: In the past almost all of our connections with new families have been really great. This time around, everyone has blood family ties in town, which has changed the dynamics. Please pray for wisdom on how to connect with these families.
* Sunday 8/29 is our summer picnic. Pray this would be a great time to connect with many families and volunteers.
Outcry
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the Horn. One of the letters from Ministry of Religious Affairs to the court regarding the release of the prisoners was leaked on public media yesterday. Now there is public outcry at their release. There is now fear that names, videos and photos will also be leaked. Please pray for the safety of our friends and wisdom to know how to live out their faith in light of this. Thank you.
Prayer for principal
“Dear Father, we let our prayer request be made known to You about the need of a Kenyan principal at Northern Bible Training Center. Thank You, Father, for several applicants who showed their willingness to serve NBTC. The search committee will meet on 30th August to make a short list for the board interview on 7th September. Father, through the process would You show us the right person whom You have chosen for the ministry of training pastors and church leaders in Northern Region of Kenya?”
Treatments
Praise God for more and more patients coming for treatments. Ask the Lord to open many hearts to spiritual treatment and healing!
Meeting
Pray for the local believers who are meeting together. Pray for their times together to be encouraging and unifying. Pray for wisdom and insight in using the Word to grow, and for their love for Jesus, for each other, and for the lost to grow.
Blessed
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:10
Elders are the leaders of Karimojong society. They appeal to god on behalf of the people, and offer sacrifices to appease the spirits. When elders become Christians they are often ostracised and persecuted because they will not take part in worship at the shrines or ritual sacrifices. As a result they are seen to put the whole community at risk. Please pray for courage, grace and a clear testimony amidst these challenges.
Gathering
Pray for the churches among Gabbra people. During drought season and after a pandemic lockdown, it’s been difficult to get people gathering again for fellowship. Pray for a revival in each believer’s soul, for strength for those who are working on the Gospel proclamation and that in this time of need people will turn their faces to the Lord and trust in His provision.
Mama B
My neighbor, Mama B, has agreed to teach me Swahili. I asked if we could use Bible stories and she agreed, unhesitantly. Please pray that her heart will be softened through reading the Bible stories and that she will seek the Truth and not be afraid to ask questions.
Washing
The yearly spiritual washing took place this month. Many go to ask blessing for health and the harvest. Pray that this year many Antakarana will put their trust in the True God and not their ancestral traditions.
Learning to read
Praise God for a group of Fulani MBBs as they gather this week to learn to read and write. Praise God for this opportunity and ask that they can use these new skills in order to deepen their faith as well reach out to others.
Jonah
We’ve been testing a diglot version of Jonah in the local language with Roman and Arabic scripts. We’ve asked people across the island which cover and borders are more acceptable, and many details like fonts and footnotes. We’re now researching good quality printing options. Pray for spiritual impact, and for favour and protection as we release a printed booklet instead of digital media.
Drawing many O.
May God the Father draw and enable many O to come to Jesus in response to all the Gospel seeds that are being sown regularly! John 6:44 & 65
Ashura
Yesterday our community commemorated “Ashura” by enacting the brutal murder of the prophet Mohammed’s grandsons. Pray that our friends and neighbours will discover a God who experienced sacrifice, pain and suffering. A God who will meet them in their pain so that they don’t need to stay in this place of historic pain and suffering, but rather that they can receive healing from one who understands sacrifice.
Hannah
Pray for Hannah, a long-time friend of many different workers, who is dying. Pray that the many words of truth and gospel she has heard over the years will penetrate her heart and God would remove the chains from her heart and lead her to belief as she battles her terminal illness.
New Workers
Praise the Lord for new Christian workers who have arrived to share the good news with the Digo! Pray that they will meet people whose hearts have been prepared by the Holy Spirit to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Pray that many will be saved and discipled through them.
Pastoral Training
Pray for a Nyamwezi evangelist who has been instrumental in beginning new churches. Because of his enthusiasm for the Gospel and obedience to the Word, he has been invited to pastoral training. He has already completed two years of basic Bible training. Now he has gone for several weeks of intense study with 52 others also accepting the call to study to be a pastor. Pray for confirmation if this is the right next path of service for each and for their families, for growing in spiritual formation, and learning practical ministry skills. May their faith in God grow strong and may there be godly discernment in determining at the end of the pastor’s course who among these these men are indeed qualified to lead churches.
