Please pray for al Massira video series happening again. Pray for good attendance and lively discussion! Also pray for my Bible discussion with a Muslim friend turned agnostic. And pray for good follow-up with our Algerian friends.
looking for people to disciple
Please pray for the church amongst the Alagwa who have all been challenged to find at least one person to disciple from outside the church, whilst being accountable to a person from within the church. Some also attended the discipleship training seminar we ran. Please pray that each believer would be faithful and persevere in praying and seeking people to share their faith with and continue discipling them.
Agnostics
Pray especially for the increasing number of agnostics who exalt education, knowledge, and tolerance above truth. Many are researching on the net and find resources that are filled with clever sounding lies and barely disguised despair and yet reassurance that ‘sins don’t matter.’ Pray that the Spirit of truth would guide them to all truth, that they would discern lies, and receive eternal hope in Christ. May each one see that tolerance despises the cross; that grace honors the cross.
Diaspora in Canada
Thank you for your prayers for this summer’s four MAC Camps. We had nearly 50 mostly African kids in each! Our day camp for 5-10 year old North Africans, had 25 campers…and a parents’ BBQ!
Finally, Camp Rhino in the last week of August had 12 mostly Syrian kids. Our counselors were in awe at the trauma some of their campers have lived through. Four kids had lost their fathers in the war, 2 saw it happen. One little girl from Damascus went for a canoe ride with JB and sighed under her breath, “Am I dreaming? This is the best day of my life!”
Now for the follow up!! Please pray for the seeds of the gospel to take root.
Eid follow up
Last Monday, islanders celebrated Eid and this week many of those who went to Mecca on the hadj are now being celebrated as the return to the islands. Pray for many opportunities to continue to share the story of Abraham this month which is remembered and celebrated during this festival (albeit with significant differences e.g., the son in question is Ishmael not Isaac). Pray that the story would prompt islanders to new thinking about the character of God, and their own relationship with him. Pray for the desire to hear more stories.
Diaspora in Florida
Pray for Muslim ladies to come to JM’s sewing and cooking group “Sara’s Daughters”. A good group of ladies were coming but in the last 3 weeks, no one has showed up. Pray for wisdom and insight.
Desire for fellowship
Ask for an increased desire for fellowship with believers and an increased desire to be discipled and to disciple others. May each one know they are not made to survive alone but are created to be part of “the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grow[ing]and build[ing] itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Ephesians 4:16
Diaspora in Portland
Please pray for our last farm trip coming up this Saturday that deep relationships will be formed and spiritual interest will be generated.
Please pray for wisdom as MC has been invited to go to Cairo with an Egyptian friend. This would be an amazing opportunity to be salt and light in his life. He is asking really good questions.
Diaspora in Minnesota
Pray for our son’s friend Abbas who seems to be searching and enjoys being with our family. He was offered a soccer scholarship from a Christian college but his mother will not consider it. Pray that God would work in his life and draw him to Himself.
Pray that God will lead me to a new Somali friend who is searching for Him.
Needs to surrender
Pray for an Alagwa lady who has tasted and seen for many years that Jesus is good and is the way, but was not willing to leave her religion. She seems to be softening towards Jesus again; she is coming much more often to study the Bible and pray with another believing lady in the community. She loves listening to God’s word and thinking about how it applies to her. She is also happy to pray in the name of Jesus. Yesterday, she came for medicine for her daughter who was sick. We prayed for her and God brought healing that very evening. This lady said today that she thanked God for healing her daughter. May she at last bow her knee to King Jesus!
A Month Of Outreaches
Within the next month, there are several outreaches planned in a variety of locations in the Kilwa district of S. Tanzania. Some of them are Jesus film outreaches, another is an eye glass clinic. Pray that people would come to the outreaches and hear the word of God and the Gospel, and be hungry for what they hear. Pray that even now, God would be preparing hearts to truly hear and accept the Gospel and that the Holy Spirit would be at work in a mighty way. Pray for wisdom and boldness for the pastors, churches, evangelists, and other workers putting on these events. May God be glorified in many precious souls receiving the free gift of salvation in the next month!
Church reaching out
Please pray for the pastors: Haja, Emanoela Blandino, Albera, Tolotra, Tomoeira, Boto Filemon and Jemarí, and all the 80 Evangelists and Bible Teachers that we are training in missiology and strategies for reaching out to the Bara. Pray that God will bless them, that God will support them (financially and spiritually) and that they may become bold to share Christ to Bara people. Pray for holiness, for the Fruit of the Spirit and a fruitful ministry.
Pray also for the Church in Betroka, that God brings a revival, and the church would love Jesus with all her might.
Pray for Chief Marko’s village
Chief Marko was shot and killed by cattle rustlers recently. His wives and village continue to grieve. Pray for the believers there to stand firm in their faith and persevere in sharing the Word. Ask the Lord to raise up another godly chief to take Marko’s place.
One of the believers says, “There is much death here. Pray the Laarim will leave cattle rustling and follow Jesus.”
Young leaders
Continue to pray for leadership and discipleship among the Sandawe churches. There have been several opportunities recently for further training for Believers in sharing their faith. Ask that they will not merely listen but that they will take what they learn and apply it. There are a handful of new church plants with young leaders. Please pray for wisdom for these men and women, that they will be resolute in challenging situations and that they will shine like stars in the darkness.
Approaching Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
A few months ago we started studying with a young man who seemed to be craving access to the Scriptures despite his devotion to Islam. We started our Scripture study in Genesis and 14 weeks later, we are fast approaching the stories of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Please pray with us that as he encounters these stories in the next few weeks his heart would be deeply moved and stirred by the Spirit. Pray that he would understand this Good News is given for him and that he would receive it with great joy!
Open Villages! Correction
This post was originally posted in error under Antakarana, please pray for these open Sakalava villages!
Surveys here on the island these last few weeks have revealed three other villages open to hearing the gospel. The first village has offered to give a plot for missionaries to build their house on. The second village has offered a house for the missionaries to stay. The third village has openly expressed their desire to have a service held in their village every Sunday. We praise the Lord for these opportunities and need wisdom in organizing our time well. Praise the Lord for these new opportunities of ministry and pray for wisdom for our Malagasy missionaries (Melias, Lebaba, Noel and Jean) as they organize outreach to these villages.
Diaspora in Europe
The Alma de Africa football team has asked J. to be their goalkeeper for the upcoming season. This is the largest concentration of Africans found in Jerez, Spain and J has already had numerous Jesus conversations with several of the players. The team is also becoming quite well known throughout the country for their stand against racism. This is definitely a very public place where J. can let the light of Christ shine before the African diaspora. Ask the Lord to open many of the players’ hearts!
Sofi visiting her sisters
Please pray for *Sofi, a local believer, as she is on the third island, Clove Island, this week to meet with other believers for a time of meeting, fellowship and worship. Pray for the meeting to be fully based in the Truth of Jesus and for it to be an encouraging time for all. Also pay for safe travels for *Sofi as she returns to Vanilla Island via small fishing boat next week.
Diaspora in UK
Two Muslim men who S. has gotten to know at a local refugee centre have recently been talking to S. a lot about their faith. S. has been able to share the Gospel with them as he responds to what they are saying. Recently they gave S. the details of a couple of Muslim websites to look at over August when the Refugee centre is closed for summer break with a view for them talking more when the Centre re-opens in September. Please give thanks for their willingness to listen to S. responses and pray that through their discussions they may come to an understanding of who Jesus really is.
Fire churches
The ‘fire churches’ (groups meeting around the fire) are doing well under the care of the disciples. We thank God because they are growing spiritually too. We have two new churches planted in Kaldo area. Some have put a temporary shed to enable them to pray under it especially during this raining season and also to have a shelter during the day heat when they do their discipleship meeting. Lucino is meeting his group every Thursday. Also other disciples have their meeting days and all gather on Sunday morning at their various churches. Pray the disciples would grow strong and many would be added to their number as Christ builds His church among the Toposa!
Reject old lies
Pray for believers to stand strong in the freedom of the truth of the gospel of grace. May the old lies of the spirit of Islam have no hold over them. When they doubt the truth of Scripture, pray that they will recognize it is the voice of the enemy whispering old chants that the Bible has been changed. May each one learn to battle in the Spirit and declare the truths denied by Islam: Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus died on the cross and rose again. The Word of God is true.
Need fertilizer
If Karimojong hearts were likened to soil, we could say that the soil has been depleted of nutrients due to poor farming habits over the last decades (aka false teachers). Even when they hear God’s Word now, the soil is not fertile enough for that seed to grow well and bear good fruit. Please pray for the soil of hearts in Karamoja – that God would use His Spirit and His people to bring life back into this depleted soil so that the seed of God’s Word could take root and bear fruit to eternal life!
Diaspora in Detroit
Pray for the members of our church team to be bold in sharing the story of Noah this month with their families. Ask the Lord to open conversations about salvation.
Also pray for our ESL classes to come together at our church, which start in September
Couple sharing with family
Praise God for a couple who are continuing to follow God together, and are getting to grips with what it means to be Alagwa and follow Jesus. After a few visits to some of their wider family a few hours away, they are excited to disciple the ones amongst them who are now seeking. Please pray for this couple for continued boldness and perseverance to travel the three hours to disciple these family members and also for their protection as a couple. Please pray for their marriage and their relationships with others in their community.
Repentance
Pray that new believers would learn true repentance. May each one increasingly see the holy beauty of Jesus, and increasingly mourn over sin and recognize that it is not simply a failure to ‘preform well’ but a breach of the intimate relationship between Christ and His bride.
Open villages!
Surveys here on the island these last few weeks have revealed three other villages open to hearing the gospel. The first village has offered to give a plot for missionaries to build their house on. The second village has offered a house for the missionaries to stay. The third village has openly expressed their desire to have a service held in their village every Sunday. We praise the Lord for these opportunities and need wisdom in organizing our time well. Praise the Lord for these new opportunities of ministry and pray for wisdom for our Malagasy missionaries (Melias, Lebaba, Noel and Jean) as they organize outreach to these villages.
Tammy
Continue lifting up Tammy that the truth she has heard for so long and again last week, will work in her heart and mind. Ask the Spirit to woo her to Himself, flooding her heart with the love she has seen in workers and answered prayer in her life. Lift up her daughter who still has eating problems, but doing well in school academically.
Reading the Book
Pray for a friend that is in P’s English class and is her neighbor as well. This person said he was interested in studying the Book and asked for P to give him one in French. Since she did, he has been reading and studying it on his own. She is also now sharing audio files of the Book in his local language. Pray for P’s interaction with this friend and for his exposure to the Good News to change his heart.
Jesus Film follow-up
We have been invited to broadcast the Jesus film in many Bara villages. Pray that God will use the simplicity of the Jesus film to attract many Bara to Himself. We have shown the Jesus film together with Pastor Emanoel Blandino to more the 50 villages! Pray the people would think about Jesus, and his Salvation. We hope that the Jesus film opens doors to the Evangelists as they come and preach, and also to make people think about their own beliefs.
Lahoda outreach
Give thanks for a recent outreach in the village of Lahoda. People visited homes and shared the gospel with many families. They were warmly received by some, but not all. Most were eager to attend the evening meetings in which Christian films were shown. The population in this area is growing rapidly. Please pray the church will grow in numbers and in maturity.
Outreach
The Outreach Team went to one of the remote Toposa villages where the persecution of new believers has been intense. The new believers gathered 500 Toposa to come for worship, singing and dancing. One of the new believers challenged the group to come forward with any information for WHY the Outreach Team should not be sharing Jesus in their villages. She spoke for 20 minutes and no one came forward. As a result, they all agreed that the “sharing of Jesus” would go forward without interruption. Pray for much fruit!
Lighthouse Keepers
Off the coast several kilometers, there is a lighthouse which can only be accessed during a specific time of the month when the tide is so low that there is enough open ground to walk out to it. There is a small group of local men who live there that we have been trying to make contact with. Recently, some Christians were able to walk out during low tide and briefly meet the 4 men who live out there and give them audio Bibles. They were not able to stay long as the tide was quickly coming back in and they needed to walk back to shore. Praise God that the group was able to meet the men from the lighthouse! Pray with us that they would listen to God’s word, that the Holy Spirit would help them understand and believe, and that God would open the door for future opportunities to meet and share with these men from the lighthouse. They live at a lighthouse, may their eyes be opened to their own need for the Light only Jesus can give!
Diaspora in Portland
Continue to pray for Mr. N., an Iraqi professor returning to teach in his homeland after a doctorate here in Portland. I gave him a Bible a few days ago, and he immediately began to read it there in Starbucks. We talked about how the Bible was arranged, and he intends to start with Genesis and Exodus and then go to Matthew. He was so open; I understand his wife is also. But… they leave in a few days. Some of us will have one or two chances to briefly see him again before his family leaves. Pray that Mr. N. will grow in understanding God’s Word, and be set free to follow Jesus, along with his whole family!
Outreach
We have a team of seven AIC evangelists trained in reaching Muslims arriving on Monday for one week. We find this hugely exciting that our local brothers and sisters from Mwanza want to reach out to people in our area!! We are also praying that their work will be accompanied by a move of the Holy Spirit in the lives of people here, bringing many to Christ!! Please pray with us.
A Grandma brought into the Kingdom!
Praise Jesus for the work He is doing in one of the grandmas in our village. This past Sunday, she decided to make Jesus her personal Savior! Please pray she grows in understanding fully the Gospel of Christ. Pray that she will be rooted in truth and grace and will be a light in her household and community. Pray the Lord helps us disciple her in her new walk with Jesus.
Continuing to live for Jesus
Praise God for a baptised Alagwa believer who has featured a few times in PA. She has continued to live for Jesus in her community and people are asking why she is different. Recently, after teaching about discipleship, she was so encouraged that she also could be the one to encourage and teach others. Pray that she will find people to regularly disciple in her neighbourhood.
Mark
Pray that God would lead us to people who we can test the newly translated book of Mark with. Pray for boldness amongst all workers to ask people to read/listen to passages from the book, pray that we might get helpful feedback and that people would ask to hear more.
Children watching JF
Update from Rangi Evangelist: I thank the Lord that today many Muslim children came to my place to see the Jesus video. Please pray that these children will meet Jesus.
11 delivered!
Thanks for praying for our Dorobo prayer conference to break the stronghold of alcoholism among the older generation. We had three days of teaching and prayer and singing and evening films. We had times of confession and special prayer to break what they called “the curse” of alcoholism. At the end 11 men prayed to receive Christ and for deliverance from their dependence on alcohol. There were over 300 people attending. The pastors from the Omerae family (their family name actually means drunkard) were very encouraged. They continue to pray that their family would no longer be slaves to drunkenness, but that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Kids Camps
Pray for the kids camps starting this week in Canada and running through the month. Kids originally from North Africa, other parts of Africa, and around the world are coming to camp and will hear the gospel! Pray for open hearts, for more kids to enroll, and for safety at camp.
