The Dorobo church start at Ilkilorit, where we dedicated the plot and some building materials in August, now has a structure. The family of Ole Moijoi gave permission for the church to be built on their land. Several of the young people in the family have become believers. Pray for the old man himself to come to a true faith in Christ. I’ve attached a photo of the structure for the new church going up at Ilkilorit in 2020.
Today one of the local brothers has arranged a Christmas celebration at an office building. About 25 local believers have said they’ll come… bringing food to share. Ask for love and grace and courage. Many haven’t met before. Two, including the one inviting had fevers yesterday. Ask for healing.
Praise God for opportunities to encourage a believer back in the Horn. Please pray for this brother’s faith and provision as he is struggling to find a job to provide for his family. Praise God that he is sharing the Gospel with his wife. Pray for her salvation.
Praise God for the growing prayer group for Somalis here in Kentucky. Although we had to postpone a special Somali engagement training because of Covid restrictions we will still meet virtually for prayer and encouragement
Pray for Osca, a young Toposa man, who has been facing persecution from people in his home village. He is abused and blamed for every problem because he is a believer. Osca is a strong leader that God is using to reach the Toposa. Pray that he will maintain his integrity and faith no matter what he faces.
Indoor socially-distanced activities have relaunched:
– Thanking God that we have relaunched indoor activities for Friends (women’s group) and the girls’ Homework Club (ages 11-18).
– Pray for God’s provision of attendees, for open hearts and health.
Christmas story presentation for Muslim women:
– Pray for friends using 6 weeks of English lessons to read portions from the Bible of the Christmas story.
– Pray for our next Zoom sewing session on the 14th Dec. We will share an Arabic/English presentation about the announcement of Jesus’ birth (Luke 1). Pray for open ears and hearts!
Pray that the Ndau people would have a full understanding of the Word of God and that their lives would be truly transformed in the Light of the Word of God.
Pray that God would destroy the witchcraft in the midst of the culture, including in the lives of Christians.
Pray against the religiousness and syncretism in the Church.
We have had to close Pamoja English classes till at least the beginning of January. We are switching back to online classes till things open up. Please pray for God- ordained conversations on our zoom meetings.
Please pray for our Sunday house church. S. from Somalia has not come the last couple of times. She is making excuses each time. Please pray that God will give her a hunger and thirst to come and hear from God’s Word. A. from Algeria has been coming regularly and is growing in his faith.
In some of our storying groups we have just shared the story of the Messianic prophecies and the Virgin birth of our Saviour. Pray the Lord will increase the Didinga listeners’ understanding and stir their hearts to hunger for more spiritual food and fruit.
Praise God for some good conversations over the last week. Please pray that as restrictions in France ease that I can meet with the friends I’ve been having spiritual conversations with.
Pray especially for a new Moroccan friend I met a couple weeks before the recent lockdown. Pray that during this Christmas season I would be able to share the Gospel with her, and that God would give her a soft heart to really hear it.
We are grateful we have been able to continue doing TEE (Theological Education by Extension) with Thomas and Clement since Robert and Carol have gone on home assignment. Pray for these men to grow in their knowledge of God and His will for their lives, their families, and their communities. Pray that their wives would see Jesus’ love lived out in their husbands and come to believe. Please also pray for Paulo, a Lopit pastor in another village who was doing TEE with Justin. Pray the Lord will provide a means for him to continue in his studies.
John D (young man working with Wycliffe) continues to suffer from poor health and was recently hospitalized in very serious condition. He has suffered much with health problems, the loss of a young child, and recently the loss of his wife. The evil one does not want John D’s tribe to get God’s Word in their own language and come to know Jesus, and seems to be trying one tactic after another to attack John. Pray for this man to know the all-surpassing power that is from God: he is “hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:7-9).
Please join us in prayer for the Mommy & Toddler class launching on Saturday mornings. We ask God to send his Holy Spirit to guide this time and trust His work in the lives of our student’s children. Luke 18:16+17
We praise Jesus! I have been able to connect with a brother in Christ from DRC during the new evening men English conversation classes. Last Tuesday during class, God provided and I used Genesis 1:2 and Luke 1:35 to explain the deity of Christ and pray with N’s family, Please pray for our friend N’s family. Her brother was recently kidnapped and is being held for ransom in her home country. We pray for his safe release and this family to find their ransom already paid by the blood of Jesus. Gen.50:20 and 1 Peter 1:19
The Ethiopian Youth Bible Club is moving to a natural point of decision, and only the Lord knows which of these dear young people truly understand the Gospel and have personally trusted Jesus. May we have wisdom to work in harmony with God’s Spirit as He invites them to receive His mercy.
Angelo, a young Laarim man, has been a faithful member of the team in Kimatong. He recently went for studies in a town near Nairobi, Kenya to become a clinical officer. Although he is already missed by the team and communities where he has been actively leading several groups in oral bible studies and discipleship, we trust that this is the plan of the Lord, and that God will sustain and multiply disciples where Angelo has been ministering. Angelo is eager to finish his studies so that he can return to the Laarim and continue to serve the Lord in his home community. Please pray for Angelo as he adjusts to life in Kenya. Pray the Lord will use him as a witness wherever he is.
Praise for the two zoom international cafe club meetings since lockdown. Though few in number, two stayed for the Bible study afterwards. Pray for the Word to bring fruit and the many North African students to return when we start meeting in person again the 11th and the 18th.
Pray for fruitful phone conversations with islanders in the next 10 days before I leave to the States for Christmas.
Please pray for our neighbor, a young man. This week he told us that if we moved away he would follow us. Basically he said he would change religions if he was away from his “family”. Please pray that he would see how precious knowing Jesus is – even above the relationships of his extended family and community and that he would make the bold choice to follow Him even now.
Pray that God would draw our Chiefs and sub- Chiefs and headman and their families into his kingdom. This would take a miracle of God‘s love and saving grace. May these leaders be allowed by their community and used by God to lead their families and people to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior!
On December 5th we are Christmas caroling for about 35 families in 5 groups. These are all people we have relationships with. Please pray for the message of Christ to be made clear.
As families get their food donation this month may they be fed physically and spiritually.
Pray our group would be both bold through the Holy Spirit, proclaiming biblical truth, and be willing to host someone in their home during the month.
One of our first Dorobo pastors, Katuman Lemeidimi, passed away on Sunday from complications with his diabetes. Pray for his family as they are in a time or mourning. Pray that the funeral service, which will be held on December 8th at Longewan, Pastor Katuman’s home area in Samburu, would be God-honoring and a time for many relatives to hear and believe the truth of the Gospel.
Three new villages for outreach have been identified by the church. These are areas where local practitioners in the occult, veiled in Islam, have deterred past religious endeavors and also resisted government medical clinics. Pray that these gatekeepers of the community would hear anew God’s message to them and accept the preaching of the Gospel. Pray that those held by the enemy would no longer be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing their minds. (Romans 12:2) Lord, we ask for profound change of hearts and salvation among the leaders and villagers. Amen.
Please pray for the “M” disciple makers and group leaders. Pray they will continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Pray they would continue to grow in their relationship with Christ, in the knowledge of His Word, and be bold witnesses to the lost around them.
Our street evangelism team has three more outings this year. Pray for open hearts.
Pray for a guy named Ch. I met last week while evangelizing. He claims faith but has many struggles. I am trying to start a bible study with him, but he has been hesitant. My wife has been witnessing to two Indian coworkers, one also took a job at the same clinic so will still be working with her. Pray that as she shares Jesus with them, that they will be drawn to Him.
Please pray for the “M” disciple makers and group leaders. Pray they will continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Pray they would continue to grow in their relationship with Christ, the knowledge of His Word, and be bold witnesses to the lost around them.
Mike is a strong O believer who is also a gifted Bible translator. His wife continues to struggle- She has proclaimed faith in Jesus, but has no fruit. Pray that she would whole heartedly follow Jesus and not keep trying to please her family and community. Pray that her and Mike could have real unity in following Jesus together and leading their family in godly ways.
As boldness increases in the lives of some, family members fear for their lives. Praise Jesus for these who declare freely that they follow Jesus and that they would give up their lives before denying him. But pray for fearful moms and sisters who try to change the subject as they boldly proclaim. May the Spirit of fear cripple this church no longer. May love overcome the fear of shaming family or death.
We heard that the first Zigua believer led worship in church for the first time after much encouragement. There are many Zigua who tell the Tanzanian missionaries that they want to go to church, but they are scared. Pray for courage. Please also pray for financial support and encouragement for those missionaries, as their sending church has not been sending much for them.
Praise Jesus for believers newly willing to identify with Christ who have been hiding for years. Praise Jesus for their diligence to teach their children and their willingness to gather with other sisters from other tribes and even countries. Pray that Arabs and Berbers would receive each other in Jesus’ name.
We met Sam last year. He started attending some Bible study classes with us, but then we lost touch with him. We trusted he would contact us when he was ready. So we continued to pray. Then just a few days ago God answered our prayer! Sam reached out to us after several months of silence to say he missed us! We hope this will lead to our being able to meet up with him again, where we can continue to encourage Sam and share with him who Jesus is! This young man has the heart of a peacemaker, and if God gets ahold of him we can only imagine what he could do for the Kingdom! Please continue to pray for Sam’s salvation with us!
Samburu men in general, are more resistant to the gospel than women. Most Samburu churches consist of women, children, some youth, and a few men. The Samburu elders of Lchakwai are known to be very resistant to change and development. Earlier this month, the elders of Lchakwai told us, and a Samburu pastor, to leave Lchakwai, and take all our belongings with us. They gave us one week to leave. They said they do not want us to build a church in Lchakwai. Pray for the Samburu women of the church in Lchakwai. Pray that they will continue to meet to worship God and will continue to follow Jesus. Pray that God will work in the hearts of Samburu men at Lchakwai.
One woman and one man are extremely bold. Both are separately proclaiming the gospel to their own families face to face and to strangers online. Over these last few weeks each have rejoiced to see new ones surrendering to Jesus. Pray for continued abiding in the Word, humility and boldness and lasting fruit.
Pray for the Indigenous Church Leaders Training that is going on in Morogoro. We have 9 tribes represented, 53 participating. We are praying for 30 people from this group who will be pastors.
Praise Jesus for one who asked to meet a local sister from another tribe and listened with tears as the Berber believer spoke with fire in her eyes. Praise Jesus that she spoke without guile to her family, brought her nieces and sisters to hear the gospel. May she believe and her family too. There was significant spiritual warfare. Please pray that she will be set free from evil spirits and surrender to the Lord Jesus.
A lady “Zam” with HIV was becoming sicker and sicker but refusing to go to hospital. “It is a curse”, she said. Or, “It is too cold!” or … many other excuses. Praise God, she finally agreed to be taken to hospital. I treated her severe malaria and she is now taking her antiretroviral medicines. She has a solar player with Maba Bible stories, some of which the children can recite to me! Pray that she will regain enough strength to listen again herself and that she will recognise the wonderful gift which is being offered to her.
Please continue to pray for the church in Madebe- that the believers would be continually filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and grow in their passion to share the gospel with their family and neighbours.
A lady was drawn to Jesus by the changed character of her brother who is a believer.
When she decided to follow Jesus, her husband threatened to divorce her and chase her off.
Though the family no longer wanted her, she continued to believe, and remained devoted to Jesus regardless of the challenges she faced.
Because of her love for prayer, one day the husband asked her to pray for him.
He then allowed believers to come fellowship in his home, welcoming us very warmly.
He also attended our fellowship meeting.
Pray this woman will remain strong in her faith, and her husband will come to follow Jesus.
We continue to have good fellowship with 3 Somali young men. Br. is helping one learn to drive and another has asked to do English practice. One young man named “A”, who was previously a bit guarded, has started talking about his story and the trauma he experienced in Somalia. Pray that we would be the listening ears he and others need. We pray regularly with two of them, please pray that Jesus would become real to them and we would have opportunities to share more of the gospel.
Praise God for a Nyamwezi evangelist’s enthusiasm and initiative to reach out to four unreached villages. In one such village, ten believers were baptized in August, Praise God!! They have joined together to build a place of worship where they are meeting regularly. Pray for continued efforts to reach and teach in this village, for God’s lovingkindness and truth to be evident, and that men repent of their evil ways. Proverbs 16:6 “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.”
Praise God for Somali friends we are making and the relationships that are developing. One of the couples we met in Walmart lives in an apartment and has a business close to our house. Please pray that these relationships grow and bear fruit.
Pray for other Somalis who have shown interest in English help through Refuge International. Pray also for volunteers from churches to meet this need and to be witnesses.
Praise God for a core group of people who have overseas experience in the Horn here in Louisville.
Please pray as we develop a training to help the church confidently engage Somalis with the Gospel.
Praise God for His great faithfulness.
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into this harvest field.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to draw hearts to the truth, to remove the veil, and open blind eyes.
Pray specifically for men to come to the Lord so that they might lead their families.
One of my language students who had previously left Islam told me this week that he had attended an Arabic speaking church last week for the first time. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to open his eyes to the new life that Jesus has to offer him.
Praise God for the increased attendance via Zoom for Women’s International Sewing group this past month. Ask God for a spiritual harvest from devotions provided during sewing time.
Praise God for the arrival of a family now getting involved with ministry in the “Somali” area of the city.
