I sent a copy of Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus to a Muslim friend as a Ramadan gift. He hasn’t replied. He and I spent two and a half hours in a friendly argument about the credibility of the Bible and Christianity last year. Please pray that he would be curious enough to read the book.
May They Grow
Please pray that the Ndengereko who have come to faith in Christ will continue to grow in their understanding of the word of God. Pray that they will gather faithfully for worship every week. Pray that they may share the gospel with their neighbors. Pray that other Christians from different tribes may live among the Ndengereko and be proactive in sharing the gospel with them. Pray for a strong, reproducing church.
Diaspora in UK
Thank God for the continued participation of Muslim ladies in the weekly Zoom English lessons based around Bible stories; pray for a spiritual hunger as we explore the book of Ruth.
We praise God for the way He has unified the International Women’s Sewing Group volunteers through weekly Zoom prayer times and opportunities to sew for medical personnel.
Zealous for Jesus
Please pray again that as the Digo have been known for their zeal for Islam, soon they will display even more zeal for Jesus. Pray for one particular young Digo man who has become a believer in Christ and is being discipled. Pray that he may reach many others with the gospel. Pray also for the few Christian outreach workers who live among the Digo, that they may stay strong and continue to share the gospel without losing heart.
Diaspora in Portland
Praise God that people’s hearts are being touched by the love of God shining through Pamoja volunteers. Seeds are being planted. Pray for a great Harvest!
Pray that God will give me just the right questions to ask and words to share -words that will open hearts to Jesus.
Pray that this will be a great time for all of the Portland team to develop deeper relationships with people in their community and for continued opportunities to share the lasting hope we have in Jesus.
The Jesus Film Almost Ready
The Datooga translation of the Jesus Film should be ready by the end of August 2020. Please pray for all those who are translating, recording and preparing the video. Pray that it will be used widely and that many Datooga will come to faith in Christ as a result.
Diaspora in USA
Pray the Lord will open hearts and give me opportunity to speak truth to my Muslim and Sikh friends. I have been bold with my faith, but many have a, “That is good for you” mentality. Pray for conviction of sin and longing to know God.
Pray for the many summer outreach plans that people in the Diaspora Region have. May God show us favor and allow those to happen. Picnics, camps, and soccer tournaments are all great avenues to share truth. May they take place as planned.
A Young Man Needs Jesus
Please pray for Richard, a 19 year old boy, who needs spiritual deliverance from evil spirits, faith in Jesus and revelation of salvation as well as emotional and physical healing. Pray God would stretch out His hand to heal and deliver.
Hatred Replaced by Love
The Borana have traditionally been at war with other tribes around them who speak similar languages, and the enmity goes back for generations. Pray that as more and more people come to faith in Jesus Christ, all the ethnic hatred will be replaced with love. Pray that Borana Christians will carry the gospel even to their enemies, recognizing that while they were still His enemies, Christ died for them.
Watching the Jesus Video to Close Ramadan
On a major Muslim holiday, more than fifteen Rangi women and children came to watch the Jesus video instead of celebrating and feasting with their neighbors. Please pray that these seekers will continue to be drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ and be willing to leave behind their old religion and ways. May they joyfully embrace the salvation of the Lord!
Become Family in Jesus
Please pray for Bibi M. She has expressed interest before in coming to see the Jesus film at our teammates’ house but did not come. Then Ramadan started and Bibi M wanted to wait until after. Please pray that now that Ramadan is done, Bibi M and her husband would come and watch the Jesus film and hear the Gospel. Pray that the Father would soften their hearts and draw both to Jesus. We would love to see Bibi M and her husband become family in Jesus!
Courage despite difficulty
Please pray for one of our Karimojong sisters, who has steadily been growing in faith and obedience to the Lord. Both she and her young son have experienced abuse from her community. Please pray that she will not be discouraged, but will keep her eyes on Jesus, and continue to live boldly and lovingly.
The Bible Completed
Please pray again that the Datooga Bible will be completed this month. And pray that it can be widely distributed in both written and oral form, through all the villages and shepherding camps, and that people will be fascinated by what they hear.
Pray that the Datooga will have reproducing, indigenous, Christ-centered churches in every major village and town throughout the tribe.
Bold sisters
Praise Jesus for bold sisters who are telling their family of Christ! Their mom declares Jesus is Lord, but wants the Koran and Mohamed to also fit in somehow. Pray for continued boldness for each believer to testify to the gospel of grace. Ask for fathers and brothers to believe too.
Grieving
In two villages, Zigua people are grieving because their Christian friends who lived among them for three years and were sharing the stories of Jesus have now returned to their own countries. Please pray that all those who have heard the gospel will put their faith in Christ, and that they will keep in touch with their friends who had to leave.
Sorrow and faith
One sister’s friend was killed by militia. Another sister’s friend died of Covid and the family was shut away, unable to mourn. A third lost a long-awaited unborn baby. Pray that in the midst of death, each believer would remember that Jesus knows what it is to have a friend die. He proclaimed to the imprisoned John that the lame walk, the dead are raised, the blind see, the poor hear the good news… and blessed is he who is not offended on account of me.’ Pray that believers would trust when they do not understand. Ask that they would share in the fellowship of his suffering and the power of his resurrection.
New Team Leaders for an Unreached Village
Pray for the preparations that are being made for a new team out in one of the unreached villages in our district. Ever since we showed the Jesus film there last year, they have continued to ask us to come back. We are excited and thankful that God provided team leaders who were recently able to go out and visit this village to get a feel for it and find a house to rent! Pray for all of the preparations to go as smoothly as the Lord would allow, that God would continue to prepare the hearts of those who He will place on the team to be ready to serve Him and this village, pray for wisdom for the team leaders, and pray for the Lord to draw many many many of these people to Himself as His good news is proclaimed there!
Tourism Hit
There are currently no COVID19 cases confirmed on the island of Nosy Be, but people are still feeling its effects. The island depends heavily on tourism. Since Madagascar has closed its borders indefinitely, that source of income is completely gone. Many people pick ylang-ylang flowers and sell them to a factory to be turned into oil. But the price per kilo is one fifth of what it was last year. People are struggling to pay their loans and feed their families. Pray that the church would come together to help people. Pray that God would show Himself to them as the Great Provider.
Church Leaders Being Trained
Regarding Sandawe and Datooga, because of Covid-19 Pastor Emma Shilikale has shifted gears to accomplish his Indigenous Leader’s Training. Instead of a large gathering bringing trainees from all of central TZ, Emma is traveling around to each cluster to distribute the training materials. So he’ll teach each smaller group cluster, then they’ll continue to work on it in their locations, and he’ll follow up with them by phone and another visit. Pray for safe travels for him and that the Lord would use this format to equip His people for service.
Gatherings
Pray for wisdom in knowing how to more forward with a discipleship group on Sundays. Will it be possible to meet in two smaller groups? People are afraid to meet, but still very much in need of community. Ask for them to sense the Spirit’s leading and for unity.
Like the Samaritan Woman
Please pray for the few Rangi believers to be like the Samaritan woman, who was so excited about having found the Messiah and so transformed by her encounter with Him, she brought many others to believe in Him, too.
Denial
Despite cases now being confirmed on the islands and some deaths of prominent leaders, whose symptoms looked very much like the virus, some people are still refusing to believe it is here. They are still carrying on life as normal. Ask that they might realise the gravity of the situation and act accordingly. Ask that in a spiritual sense too, they would have their eyes opened to the seriousness of the situation and cry out to the only One who can truly Heal.
Hard times bring salvation
People in Bara land are so afraid of this virus that they are crowding into the churches! Our partner churches here are doing 4 services every Sunday to accommodate all! Starting at 4 in the morning! We’ve seen many Christians repenting from their sin and committing themselves to be faithful.
We’ve had many Bara villages pleading with us to come; they want to see the Jesus film. We can’t go but Pastor Emanuel is going. He has been in more than 6 villages the last 4 weeks broadcasting the film (and following the recommendations for COVID-19). More than 1000 people have watched the Jesus film and The Last Judgment.
So the hard times bring glory to God and salvation to people!
Passion for the Word of God
Borana churches have a passion for the Word of God. Please pray that those believers who have the Word in written and recorded form will be immersed in the Word, meditating on it day and night, discussing it in their homes and with friends wherever they go. Pray that the Word of God would find good soil and bear much fruit.
Multiply and Grow Strong
Please pray that the Ndengereko believers and churches would multiply and grow strong, and that God would send more evangelists, pastors and missionaries to carry the good news of Christ to them.
Comments and Questions
Gabbra radio listeners keep calling in to the station with comments and questions. In fact one comment that really blessed us was a caller calling to say that our sermons were too short. He said the message was so sweet he did not want it to end. Another wonderful call last week was a man saying to keep an eye out for him because he was going to spread this wonderful message of Christ wherever he went and would tell the people to tune in to our station to hear more. Praise God for spiritual fruit! Pray that the radio will continue to broadcast with a strong, steady signal.
Word and Deed
R is still in Ambondrona, a different part of the island, working on translation. It’s harder without a team. Pray that God would bring the right words to her mind and that He would use this story for His glory. The church in the village of Ambatozavavy is handing out packages of rice and beans to help old and frail people, and Christians in the village. The need is so huge at this strange time! Pray that people would be drawn to hear more from the church.
Translation Work
Praise God for the way the translation project has been able to continue despite lockdown.
Three-hour long phone conversations have meant drafting can continue each day, another
bel has been reading and testing finished drafts and the other local translator is finished up
an epistle by hand in his home village. With the extra time we have also been able to put
more time and thought into other aspects of the translation project – praise God for how He
continues to move us forward!
Faith Lived Out, Visible and Attractive
We ask that the Lord would protect our little group of believers, that He would fill them with His Spirit, growing their confidence and trust in Him. That their faith lived out would be visible and attractive to those around who don’t believe and trust in Him. We ask Lord that there would be an increasing distrust in and dissatisfaction with the old beliefs that the locals have traditionally held to. We ask that the Lord break down the barriers that have held people captive, that they may be able to hear and accept the truth of His Word.
Persecution
From Mark Keter among the Toposa: Urgent prayer needed!. We are in time of trial and persecution, especially the disciples and their leaders. Already 3 other churches have been burned down by Toposa warriors. Pray that the believers may stand firm in the faith.
Praying for true faith
She is still trying to gain a reward by suffering to feed the poor in Ramadan, but she studies daily the truth of Jesus and knows that He is Lord. She prays to him for true faith and sincere repentance. Please ask that she and others who are seeking let go of all the lies of Islam and surrender completely to Jesus and follow Him.
Diaspora in UK
Praise for Bible stories being shared over Zoom as part of the English lesson with women from
the “Friends” group. Pray for a spiritual hunger and realization of their need to accept Jesus as their Saviour.
Denying Jesus
It’s been a long month of Ramadan with increased isolation for believers bc of Covid and war… and two new believers wrote with doubts, denying Jesus, praising Mohamed. Both are being swept along by the raging stream of Islam as all around them dance around the altar of Mohamed. Pray that they will repent from fear and stand firmly on the rock of Christ. Pray that they will wait for fire from heaven and declare: The Lord Jesus: he is God! Please pray against fear, weariness and doubt.
Believers being discipled
Pray for Angelo and Noblesse as they begin using the newly developed discipleship material with some groups of believers. Pray for wisdom as they disciple oral learners to know and follow God’s Word. Pray for these Laarim Christians to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way…growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might” (Colossians 1:10-11).
Ten Women
Ten unsaved women, mostly South Asians, have been listening to short Bible stories by WhatsApp every night for a month. Tonight, they will hear the last story, which includes an invitation to put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and to respond by messaging that they have done so. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to work mightily in their hearts and bring them salvation.
Diaspora in Detroit
Pray that our students will continue online ESL classes during Ramadan. This has
provided a great way to stay connected with them. Pray God will soften their hearts and they will seek after Truth.
Pray that as a team we can continue to find creative ways to share hope during this time
of COVID-19 “sheltering in place”. Praise for the technology that is allowing us to stay connected with our friends during this time.
Strangely Dissatisfying
Please pray that the Digo people will find that Ramadan this year has been strangely dissatisfying. Pray that they will realize Islam has not brought them peace nor the hope of eternal life. Pray that they will long to know the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Pray that they will find Him and follow Him zealously.
Night of Power
Ramadan is coming to an end for our Mu$lim community here. Tonight is the 27th day of Ramadan, known as the night of power. Tonight, while Mu$lim’s are diligently trying to please God and hear from Him, let’s pray for the people in the world of Islam, and specifically for many O here to have revelations, dreams and visions that will lead them to Jesus, and cause them to seek for Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Savior!
Stuck at Home
A family of staunch Muslims are spending months together in a small apartment, fearful of Covid-19, fasting all day, feasting half the night, suffering occasional power and water shortages, seeking to gain merit with God and draw close to Him through their prayers and fastings. Pray that the Spirit will reveal the futility of trying to make themselves good. Pray that they will read the Bible they have in their house. Pray that their eyes will be opened to see the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Pray for them to talk together as a family about the hypocrisies and disappointments and contradictions and unanswered problems in their religion. Pray that they will admit it does not satisfy the deep longings of their heart, nor make them feel close to God. Pray for the God of salvation to break through to bring them His salvation through faith in His Son.
Diaspora in France
Pray for good conversations by phone with islanders during this month of Ramadan. Pray for a dissatisfaction with Islam and a longing to know God personally.
Plead for those islanders who are sick, for their hearts to turn to Jesus, and for some, even with
their last breaths to remember any truth they have heard and respond in trust.
