New church begins with 10 baptisms!

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.”

Diaspora in Kentucky

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.

Lord, draw men

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.

Diaspora in UK

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.

 

Another praise!

On Sunday a young man, Ezekieli attended the service in Kilwa Masoko. He is being sent by his own church to join with another single young man, Ali, to Pande Plot, which is a community on an entire peninsula without any known church. This peninsula seems to be the “home area” to many of the people in Kilwa Masoko. Please pray that these two young men would be faithful in sharing the Good news and be good support for each other in this difficult area.

Seeking

Father, seek the Ndengereko who are wandering like lost sheep. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. He has entrusted to us the Word of reconciliation. Please save those who need to be reconciled to You.

Light

Lord, bring the Digo out of darkness and into Your marvelous light. Deliver them from the domain of darkness and transfer them to the Kingdom of Your beloved Son. Give them redemption, the forgiveness of their sins.

Ten Places

Praise the Lord He has helped a pastor identify ten strategic locations to place new missionaries to the Datooga. Pray that the Lord will raise up evangelists and missionaries to go live among them and share the gospel. Pray for sending churches who will faithfully support them month by month. Pray that the Datooga will have strong churches in every corner of the tribe.

Small Church

Please pray for a small Rangi church to continue to grow and multiply. Praise the Lord for those believers who have come out of darkness into the Lord’s excellent light. Pray for protection from persecution and boldness in sharing Jesus’ love and gospel.

Living in Darkness

One lady with clinical malaria refuses to go to hospital. “It is the evil eye” she says. Pray for “Zen” that she can be treated and above all freed from her fear of spirits, sorcerers and evil eye. Sad to say she manifests little interest in talking of God. This is not uncommon.

“Far” is very different. Although she too fears evil spirits and has charms on her baby, she is interested to learn of Jesus. But it is surprising how many activities interfere with us meeting – mine and hers. Pray that we will have some good times of sharing so that she can understand how to listen to her set of Neem Bible stories with an open ear to understand more of God and the way of Salvation.

Growing

Please pray that the Borana will grow in grace and in the knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That as they do, they will lead others to faith in Him.

Diaspora in Canada

We’re in a semi-lockdown mode right now. We’re connected with a lot of families whose kids struggle when things are “normal” at school. With schools here going partly or fully online, and families sharing computers between 5 or 6 kids, parents working two or three jobs to keep afloat, and many parents unequipped to help their kids with even the basics of elementary school but passionately wanting their kids to succeed, and kids thinking maybe it’s all just an extended vacation, and a whole lot of fear of COVid and economic concerns – parents here are really stressing. Please pray for these kids, wisdom for us as we try to help as many of our friends as we can with their kids’ educational needs and pray that we may not grow weary in doing good and be the salt and light of Jesus in the process.

Diaspora in Detroit

We are praising God for the start of two citizenship programs this past month. This has been a great touch point for many of our friends who have been here 3-5 years. Please pray they can learn both American citizenship and heavenly citizenship as we have both curriculums going.
Please pray for individual interactions during Thanksgiving, and planning for a Christmas caroling event.

May they know eternal hope

Isaiah 25:8- He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.
In response to the heartache and shame that the Y people face due to the war and reign of Islam in their nation, please join me and pray this verse over the peoples- that they will know the eternal hope in the One who has swallowed up death, will wipe away their tears, and who has carried their shame.

Diaspora in France

Praise for a small kid’s club that happened in mid-October. Pray for the truth they heard to take root in these young lives. Pray for the cases of Covid to be reduced to be able to have more outreach to children after this month of lockdown.
Praise for the city-wide prayer march on Oct 31. Though the lockdown prevented us from going far from home, we were able to cover all of Marseille virtually. Continue praying that God will bless this city, and the Spirit will blow open spiritually dark doors into HIs glorious Light.
Pray for wisdom and sensitivity and truth-filled conversations with the latest lockdown restrictions. Zoom and WhatsApp connections are not possible for many. Pray for creativity and opportunities for connections during the hour per day exercise or shopping we are allowed.

God’s armor

We know from Ephesians 6 that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world. Pray against these evil rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, pray in Jesus name and authority that they will be prevented and frustrated in their work to keep O people in fear, bondage, darkness and deception. Pray that MANY O will have courage to respond to the Good News that is broadly being shared, and that the people movement of becoming disciples of Jesus may begin yet in 2020!

Baptisms!

Recently we baptized some new believers. One is a young boy who read Bible stories and received discipling among us. When we gave him a bible to read at home, his mother warned him against reading it. But he continued reading.
She found it and took it away, which deeply saddened him, but he discovered where it was hidden. Instead of reading it at home, he took it back to the one who had given it to him. Thereafter, every morning he would climb a tree and wait for his mentor to wake and read it to him, and pray together.
His life began to be transformed, so we sought the permission of his parents to baptize him. Wonderfully, they agreed, having seen also that the boy’s character and behavior had changed.
The parents not only allowed for baptism, but let us share the Good news with their eldest son.
Pray for these baptized believers to grow firm in their new faith, and to become powerful witnesses among their people.

leadership training

Please pray for three men who have gone with Petro from our team to attend a leadership training course in Morogoro. Two are Alagwa elders in our local church and the other is a local believer who is also receiving training. Please pray for safe travels and that the training will encourage and build them in their faith and gifting.

Diaspora in Missouri

The community garden is officially closed as of October 31st. Praise God for how He has used the garden to build relationships within the diaspora community and to open doors to collaborate and form partnerships with community agencies. Pray for ongoing relationships and gospel seeds to grow!
Pray for open hearts among my patients and hospital staff and opportunities to share Truth.

New work

Pray for Musa and Marysiana Luzali, an AICT pastor & his wife who have recently moved to Likawage to lead a new outreach team. Please pray that they would settle in well and make solid friendships as they live and share in this village with no church presence.

Diaspora in Canada

Praise: “L” (Algerian) and “S” (Tunisian) are studying the Bible!
Prayer: Please pray for our 20 new ESL students. Most of them have been in Canada for less than a year. Please pray that God would convict them of their need for a Saviour. Please pray that despite the COVID restrictions, we can have a Christmas celebration where we can share about Jesus.
Please pray for “S”, that as he goes through the Al Massira Bible study and reads his Bible, the Holy Spirit would convict him of his sin and need of a Saviour.
Please pray for “L” that as he reads the gospels for the first time (mostly because he is convinced that Jesus never claimed to be God) he would be confronted with the Truth, that he would meet Jesus and understand his need for Him.

Mangasta key

Praise the Lord for the outreach to the village of Mangasta last week. Workers showed the Luke Film in Kisandawe. Lift up those who heard the gospel in this village- pray the evil one will not snatch away the gospel seeds, but that many will believe. Mangasta is 100% Sandawe, with a lot of Muslim influence. A breakthrough in this village would be significant to reaching the Sandawe people.

Diaspora in Minnesota

We can praise God that I had an opportunity to present the gospel to our soccer team, which that day had 9 Somalis participating. Pray for the family of some of these boys, as we continue to develop relationships with them. Pray that they will be able to come to our home for Thanksgiving as they have committed to doing.
Pray that I can find refugee families to connect with some of our volunteers.

Witch doctor came to church!

Jean Baptiste reported that he was very surprised last Sunday to see the witch doctor in the village coming to church with his family. People said one of the reasons is that the witch doctor sees the transformation in Jean Baptiste. He saw how Jean Baptiste stayed calm in the midst of trouble, not turning back when he had the opportunity to do so. Praise the Lord for this testimony and pray that the witch doctor will come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Jean Baptiste is not well and under treatment for tiredness. Please pray for the return of his strength and health.

Growth is Happening!

Pray for continued growth in leadership and discipleship of our 2 Sakalava churches in Nosy Be.
And pray for the evangelistic outreach and Bible studies in Andrafia and Andimakabo villages.

Diaspora in Washington

We praise Jesus! At a recent English language learning outreach, I was sharing the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. One of the students interrupted and said “the king believed in the God of Daniel.” That same student almost immediately downloaded the Bible app in their language. Pray with us that God reaches this family through His word in their heart language. (Luke 24:32)
We praise Jesus! One of our students sought prayer about bad dreams after a recent lesson about Jacob, Pharaoh, and Joseph. Join us in praying for relief from the disturbing dreams and an invasion of the King of Glory into her dreams. (Psalm 24:7)
Pray that God sends us more and more African UPG’s to the ESL classes and outreaches. Pray that they come with a hungering for the good news of Jesus.

Diaspora in Portland

Please pray for A. from Algeria that he would grow in his love and knowledge of the Lord.
Please pray for S. from Somalia that her eyes would be opened to the truth of the Good News.
Please pray for D. from Gambia that he would be able to attend our Sunday fellowship. Please pray that God would open his eyes to the truth.
Please pray for safety and health for all of our students and teachers as we continue to hold English classes each week at PH.
Please pray for fearful hearts among our diaspora friends to turn to the one who can bring healing.

Pray for Breakthrough amongst the Ndau

Pray that the strongholds of tradition, ancestral worship, and the dependence on witchcraft will be broken in the name of Jesus.
Ask the Lord to bring up a new generation sold out for Him.

Diaspora in Brazil

Pray for the relationships that our teams are making with Muslims refugees.
Pray for the Portuguese classes that are starting up again in Passo Fundo and Tabejara.
Pray for the contacts and visits that we are resuming with our partner churches and that are interested in our refugee outreach training.
Keep praying for the health and safety of all our members, even though the situation of Covid-19 is much better, we still have many cases and everyone needs to take care.

Lord have mercy

Two Ugandan missionaries in Karamoja (Timothy and Mark) report that for many days they have been hearing from their house villagers dancing all night long to worship and appease spirits. The witchcraft in their district of Kaabong runs much deeper than they had anticipated. Please pray for a breakthrough in this district! Please pray for two church plants situated in this district in the villages of Lotim and Narogos! Please pray for the Bible studies being conducted! Please pray for the healing of Mark who is down with typhoid right now. Please pray for the strengthening and encouragement of both missionaries and local believers!

Reconciled

“All this is from God who reconciled us to himself in Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Pray for the believers to passionately abide in God, who has reconciled them to himself. Pray that they would know too that they are ministers of reconciliation in their families and communities and help others also be reconciled to God.

Diaspora in South Carolina

This month I will begin making home visits to members of the diaspora community with chronic health issues and both expectant and new moms. Pray for opportunities to both demonstrate and proclaim the love and hope of Christ.

Learning

Pray for Simon Lokualong, a Laarim man who has recently heard the whole message of the gospel. He shared that “he had not heard God’s Word before, but he was learning.” Pray that he will continue to be open to hearing and receiving the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Diaspora in Portland

Continue to pray for the Sunday Zoom class of Ethiopian youth who for the last 4 months have followed God’s Story through the OT. Nov 8 we pick up the Story in the NT. May the truths of salvation through faith in Messiah Jesus’ sacrifice now become real to their hearts!
Praise God that little things are sometimes surprisingly caught, just through life on life. Last week our Ethiopian evangelist friend shared how he was “storying” Acts 12 in segments to his family in the evenings, and they were loving it!

Diaspora in Philadelphia

Continue to pray for GROW ESL classes and attendance on ZOOM. Pray for wisdom when to have in-person classes. Pray for relationships to grow during COVID.
Pray for plans to invite several Muslim friends to a Thanksgiving meal. Pray for good conversations with each of those who attend.

Initiative to grow

Praise God for the gathering of believers in Torit to pray for the Latuko and Lopit last month. This is a new initiative among the Christians to meet once a month for early morning prayers. Pray that those who have committed to this will be faithful, and that nothing will hinder them from meeting. Please pray for this initiative to gain momentum and grow!

Using local language

Pray for the awareness among pastors of the importance of preaching in the local dialect. We have finished 41 stories in the Antanala dialect, but pastors still think they should preach from the official Bible.

Glory

Pray that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ will shine in the hearts of S. Asians so they will recognize who Jesus is and come to the Father through Him.

Drawing natural leaders.

Pray for H and his sister Z. They are both natural leaders in the O communities. They both have serious health concerns, high BP, diabetes and strokes in their recent past. Pray that God would use these stressful concerns to draw them to himself, that they would repent from following I$lam, and lead their families and community in following Jesus, and making disciples.

New church!

Praise God for the launch of a brand new church plant through AIC Korr! Amos, a recent Rendille graduate of NBTC (Marsabit Bible college) is planting a church in Farakoren, which is about an hour outside of Korr. We praise God for a successful launching weekend as a group from AIC Korr went to Farakoren and traveled village by village introducing Amos as the pastor of the new AIC church. We had our first church Sunday service under an acacia tree! Our group left Farakoren with agreements on where the church plot will be and now plans are being made to build a house for Amos and supply his monthly needs so he can begin. Please pray for Amos and the new church out there.