Please pray for a small crew of Somali young men, all of whom have family in other countries who they are providing for and trying to protect. We invited 5 of them over on Good Friday, we did an Easter Story scavenger hunt, as well as a few other activities. Pray that they would be receptive and that the Story of Christ’s death and resurrection as well as the hope that we have in Him would touch them.
Diaspora in UK
* What looked to be a closed door last month, God has re-opened! He has provided 2 new Christian volunteers for the Homework Club in the Somali area of the city! At the request of the Community Centre director, we hope to restart this month! This is truly an amazing turn of events in response to our prayers last month. Please pray the logistics of this restart, for more volunteers, and especially for open hearts among the Somali community.
* Ask God to stir hearts during the devotional and discussion in our next online sewing time (Monday April 12th).
Classes on Zoom
Please pray for our Somali students and classes. Now that the government has issued a new directive that prohibits all in-person classes and meetings until further notice, we have had to turn to training our students on zoom.
Pray that although this is impersonal, and with no physical contact, that we will be able to convey our lessons with clarity and the students will be willing to join the digital/virtual classes. Pray for wisdom on the best way to communicate and when time permits, to get to meet each student on a one-on-one basis at our training centre.
Diaspora in California
Easter weekend we had a picnic with International Students from California State University. Pray for 9 students who heard about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Pray for many to become followers of Jesus.
Slippery Roads
Praise the Lord for Pastor Josphat Musanga showing the Jesus film at Oloolbung’aiko as part of last weekend’s Easter celebrations. Seventy people attended the film service amidst a heavy downpour. Two people prayed to receive Christ after showing the film. Continue to pray for Pastor Musanga as he shows the film around our Dorobo villages several times each weekend. Pray for safety as he negotiates steep and slippery roads on his motorcycle.
Ruhatwe
Approximately 50 people attended the Easter Sunday service in Ruhatwe. Some came from other villages where they had heard about the church in Ruhatwe and came to check it out. They clearly heard about how the resurrection is the foundation of our faith. About 15 people came up afterwards to be prayed for. Please pray that each person who attended would be drawn to the Savior and would carry that testimony to family and neighbors. And pray that the church in Ruhatwe would continue to be a light in the community there.
Diaspora in France
* Praise God that our French classes have been going well! I help with the beginner class, and I’m a language partner with a lady from the Horn. She came to my house for the first time last week, and I’m excited to continue developing this friendship and language help. Pray for the Lord to open her heart.
* My North African friend is eager to connect with a church friend of mine here, as their kids are about the same age. Please pray that God would forge deep friendships between the three of us, and that the kids would connect well.
* Please pray for my study via text with “Rose.” She’s convinced that the Son of Man is a prophet yet to come. Please pray that God would give me clarity to explain the truth, and that He would open her eyes to see Jesus for who He is.
* Pray for the French government as they debate in the Senate the new proposed law and its amendments regarding religious activity. The debates will be March 30-April 8.
Diaspora in Hong Kong
* S had a high fever and pain which might require admission to the hospital but she needed to go register at the Immigration Department first. She delayed and ended up with a serious infection, and stayed in the hospital for 11 days. Please pray for her recovery.
* J has been in Hong Kong for 11 years as an asylum seeker. Her status doesn’t allow her to work. She has been frustrated during Covid-19. Pray for J to find her true purpose in Jesus.
* Pray for the Lord to give wisdom and patience to four tutors helping African Migrant kids do homework. Pray the tutors will become friends and share the Gospel with them.
Training Leaders!
Please pray for the upcoming Indigenous Leaders Training taking place at Nassa Theological College from April 18th to May 8. Pastor Emma Shilikale has organized it, and is hoping for 65 attendees from various people groups, including Sandawe, Datooga, Alagwa, Hadzabe, and Sonjo. They plan to cover the following topics: Pentateuch, Hermenuetics, Cross Cultural Communication (Christian world view), Christian Family, OT survey, World Religion – Islam, Homiletics.
Four Evangelists
Dear Father, watch over four evangelists who are doing their evangelism among Borana in Kenya and Ethiopia until the end of this week. Father, put your word into their mouths and fill them with the Holy Spirit and open the hearts of the people who hear the gospel and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Father, watch over their journeys and provide for their needs and protect them from the enemy. Amen.
Desparate situation
The water situation in Jiye land is very desperate and needs urgent prayers. No rains and very high temperatures (up to 47 degrees (116F) during the day) are making the situation dire. Encouragingly, the disciples are still keeping the groups and churches going even at this hard time. Missionary Elia and two other Toposa leaders have gone to the Jiye to strengthen the believers for three months, from April 1st until June. Pray the Lord will flood this land with rains and with His Holy Spirit.
Kilwa Masoko
Please pray for Amina who came to church about 2 weeks ago for prayer. She has been coming regularly ever since. She says she is bothered by spirits in her house. Please pray that she would find freedom in Jesus, and be able to fill her hunger with His word.
Ministry continues
Luka and Umjuma are now leading the fellowship of believers who are meeting for Sunday worship in Iboni (Lopit). They are also continuing with the Discovery Bible Study groups that meet during the week. Please pray for the new believers to “flee evil desires…and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). Also, please pray for healing for Luka – he has suffered a terrible skin rash since arriving in Iboni two months ago.
Year of response
“O Lord, open the blinded eyes, give life to the deadened hearts, that they may see, understand, turn and be healed by You.” May 2021 be the year of response, and a movement of people coming to know Jesus as Savior!
Ramadan
Pray for the Harvest Team- We have two young men, and our Malagasy Co-worker Petera is participating too. They are eager to learn and doing great. God is good because the Antakarana hold a lot of prejudice towards the Merina people and they are Merina. However it’s amazing how serving and showing love breaks it down. We are studying 4 fields CPM and helping the community during the rice harvest time. We have been sharing bible stories weekly as a group meeting and inviting the community. Our hope is to do it several times a week when people are gathering to break fast in the evenings during Ramadan.
Pray that these young men will be a testimony in word and deed. Pray for the Antakarana as they seek God during the time of fasting.
Ruhatwe
3 new people attended a service on Good Friday: Mohammed had met some believers in another town who prayed for him and then directed him to look up a church when he got home, so he came to the only one in town.
Salma needed prayer for some physical issues but also prayed a prayer of repentance.
Shigela is a neighbor to the church building and was initially against its presence. But today was prayed for that he would grow in his faith as he has chosen the path of Jesus!
All 3 were assigned another believer to walk with them in these next weeks. Please pray that all 3 would stand strong and would feel God’s presence in their lives. Also pray that the community would see how God is working in their lives.
Diaspora in Portland
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.
