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.
Translation update
Bible translation is going on well. I am still leading the team.
Four Gospel drafts are completed and now we’re doing the draft of The book of Acts.
Please pray for wisdom and help of the Holy Spirit to translate well. Pray for the translation team.
Pray for my (John) health. My lungs are weak and I am now using an oxygen concentrator to breath.
Scriptures
“The word of God is living and active” but if it is not available in a form readily understandable to people, it has little effect. Currently there is no scripture published for the Neem although Genesis has been revised and theoretically could be published. John and Matthew Chapters 1-7 were translated 15 yrs ago but never used. Now the one translator believes they should be revised before being used but she only works on Neem 40-50% of her time being involved in translation consultation otherwise. Pray for a miracle that something would change in this situation and more scriptures would become readily available. The literacy rate is about 14 % for adult females in Chad and only 31% for adult males. Obviously audio recordings are very necessary but it can be very time consuming making them.
The Good Shepherd
Please pray that the Datooga will come to know Jesus as their Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. Pray that evangelists, missionaries and pastors will be found who will move to ten key Datooga towns and villages to tabernacle among the people and share the Word of God with them so that in each town and village there will be a reproducing, Christ-centered Datooga church.
Diaspora in Canada
We just finished a camping experience for kids aged 10-13 from the Toronto area. We presented the Gospel through Bible stories from Creation to Christ, pointing them to their need for a Saviour. Pray that the Lord will continue to work in the hearts of the kids who attended – that they may be impacted by the Gospel and see their need for Christ.
August 23-27 we will be in Alberta for Camp Rhino, a children’s camp geared towards Muslim children. Pray that many Muslim kids will attend, and that they will hear the Gospel and respond to the Saviour. Pray that all the logistical things will be taken care of before the camp.
Much Unity
Please pray for much unity among Samburu churches, and that those areas of Samburu people where the gospel has not yet penetrated will receive the light of Christ. Pray that the Samburu churches will send evangelists and pastors to live in areas that still need the gospel.
Diaspora in Minnesota
* Pray for a deepening of relationships at one of our local mosques. (We have a group of ten people who met there recently to begin relationships.)
* Mr. A was able to share some deep stuff with me the other night. It was a blessing to be trusted to hear some of his stories. Pray that we can continue to connect and that I can point him to Jesus.
* Continue to pray for the Congolese family as they adjust to life in America. Pray for more volunteers to welcome new refugees who are coming into our city.
A Healing in Jesus’ Name
A Muslim S. Asian woman recently saw Jesus heal her elderly parents from the coronavirus. In the past she has said she wants to know whether Islam or Christianity is the truth. However, even when she sees evident answers to prayer in Jesus’ name, and reads Scripture that directly contradicts Muslim beliefs, she clings to her religion. Because she clings so devotedly, her family follows her. Everyone seems reluctant to let the others down by following Jesus. Please pray for a breakthrough.
Diaspora in Spain
* Pray for the refugees in our center. One of them, a practicing Muslim, came to our church service last week and received the Word happily. Pray that he would come again and begin to bring others and to begin deeper spiritual conversations in the center.
* Praise for new connections made among the Saharawi community through language classes. Ask the Lord to work in their hearts to hear and believe the gospel.
Training
We are doing training for new believers to prepare them for baptism in Darfur.
There are three new believers so far on this trip!
We started new two home churches in Darfur and one new bible study group in Khartoum. Please pray for them.
Please pray:
1- for security in Darfur
2- for the team
3- for new believers to grow in Christ .
4- for the three new believers facing persecution from their families .
5- This week is disciple- making training which includes Fongoro believers. May these new believers grow in Christ .
Diaspora in Kentucky
* Praise God for opportunities to share the gospel with Somali friends. Please pray that God would grant them repentance and faith and that these friends would desire to read God’s Word.
* Praise God for the one Somali believer we’ve met in our city. Please pray that he would grow in his faith, be bold in evangelism, and join a healthy local church.
* Praise God for our local church and other churches in the city who are reaching out to Somalis. Please pray for open doors into the Somali community and open hearts to the gospel.
One Day
Praise the Lord that He loves the Zaramo people and has sent missionaries and evangelists through the years to live with them and share the gospel. Please pray for those who are believers to keep sharing the Word with others, and that one day every Zaramo will have a church within walking distance of where they live.
Diaspora in Canada
Pray for our summer camps for newcomers. One is a wilderness canoe trip and the other is geared for Muslim youth. Please pray for energy and excitement for the staff and that the youth would experience the one true God through nature, relationships, testimony, and the Holy Spirit.
Life Through Faith
Please pray for the Holy Spirit to bring life to the Zigua through faith in Jesus Christ. Pray that they will be delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. Pray that they will realize there is no forgiveness of sins apart from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us. Pray for the Lord to strengthen and encourage the Tanzanian Christians who live among the Zigua and seek to disciple them.
