As the construction begins among the Laarim, the chief along with his sub-chiefs, paid a visit to the building crew and the missionary leaders recently. His words to them were of great encouragement as he said that it was good for them to be coming to bring the Word of God to the Laarim and to tell them more about God as they knew very little! Thank the Lord for this acceptance and openness, pray that this would infiltrate the majority of the communities and that their hearts would, even now, be being prepared for the wonderful message of the Gospel.
Update on The Didinga of South Sudan
1 Peter 5:8 ‘Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’
This verse is a reality, and we often don’t take it seriously enough. The Pastor has fallen to temptation and left the area. The small struggling church has been floundering with no leader. Please pray for the pastor. Please pray for someone to come and lead this small congregation to salvation and maturity. Please pray that as we prepare for a new team of missionaries to come here, the ones chosen by God would be willing and enabled to come and serve here among the Didinga people.
Update on The Karimojong of Uganda
Jeremiah 3:15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. NASB Please join us in praying for true shepherds who will give their lives for their flock because they are Jesus followers. Pray that the heresy that is prevelant here because conversion was the priority and not discipleship would evaporate and the living water would run fresh and deep and be received!
Update on The Alagwa of Tanzania
Pray for a woman in our village who is recovering from a brutal beating. Pray for her continued recovery, especially that she would start to eat with her mouth, and for improvement in her speaking. She is currently being fed by an NG tube. Pray that she and her wider family would believe the good news of Jesus. Many of her family are open to hear about Jesus. As a team we are praying with her regularly. People from the local church are going to pray with her tomorrow. Pray with us for her healing, that God will be glorified. Also pray with us against spiritual attack on her life and on that of her family.
Update on The Gabbra of Kenya
Our church is in the midst of two major attacks on marriage and family. One elder has left his wife, attempted suicide, and refuses to come to church. His wife and children remain faithful. Another elder has decided to take a second wife and has stepped down from his position as elder at church. He and his family attend church, but he now sits in the back row. Please pray for them and for all the schemes the evil one is trying to bring down our church with, that they would remain faithful in difficult times.
Update on The Gujarati of Madagascar
A Malagasy pastor with the Baptist church, Nirina, is embarking on a country-wide survey of the Indo-Pakistani communities. He hopes to begin later this year and then use his information to lead a focused church planting effort across the island. Pray for Nirina as he makes his final plans for this first phase of ministry.
Update on The Tanala of Madagascar
Jesus Family has selected the 2 missionaries and they will be placed in the village of Ambalagoavy after their training is completed. A final survey in Ambalagoavy will take place later this month.
Update on The Sakalava of Madagascar
The recent gatherings have gone well. We have noticed that we do not have many new people coming, rather a few regular attendees who continue to come each week.
The two last new villages we went to, Andimakabo and Andrafia, have been very welcoming and enthusiastic, and asked that we come again. The rhythm of the Sakalava music we sing is so familiar to their ears that spontaneously they begin clapping their hands and singing and dancing.
Our next gatherings will focus on challenging people to respond to the gospel. The talks will be on the sower’s parable, and the fool and the wise building a house on sand / rock. We will perform drama of the adulterous woman, the prodigal son and the ten lepers.
OLD VILLAGES NEW VILLAGES
May 8th : Bemanondrohely May 12th: Andimakabo
May 15th: Ankotorobe May 19th: Andrafia
PLEASE PRAY for these updcoming gathering events and for people to respond!
Please also pray for this list of people who have been coming to the gaterings regularly:
COUPLES YOUNG PEOPLE
Todivelo & Lorette Blandine The band: Ladys, Matis, Edme, Tino, Fabio
Armand & Cynthia Charline Zulietta, Francine; Patrick’s dad
Alexis & Mbotizara Meva Franklin, Rivaldo, Sanahoasy, Harlin, Tombo, Patrick
Martin & Brigitte Angela Grandmas: Dady, Landry’s grandma, Todivelo’s mom
PLEASE PRAY that these people who meet Christ as their Lord in the days ahead!
Update on The Antandroy of Madagascar
Jesus Family is a Malagasy-run church planting initiative that has a vision for training 24 missionaries and sending them out 2 x 2 into unreached people groups in Madagascar. The missionary trainees have been selected and their coursework will begin in July 2015. A final survey will take place this month, the purpose of which will be to make final preparations for placing 2 missionaries in the Antandory village of Antsaha in the south beginning in early 2016. Pray for the survey team and for Sedera, the leader of the Jesus Family initiative.
Update on The Mwani of Mozambique
As some people become more receptive to the good news, there are also those who visibly oppose. One of our immediate neighbours is one of them. She has been quite cold, ignoring our greetings and turning away each time she sees us pass by. The bible stories told during Kid’s Club has also raised some comments among the older kids. Pray for reconciliation in relationships where needed and wisdom and boldness to continue to speak the truth.
Update on The Rangi of Tanzania
The Rangi are like people of faith all over the world. Some are dedicated; some are nominal. The Lord knows our hearts, and if one is genuinely seeking Him, do you think he is limited in how He reaches them? I don’t think so. Muslims come to Jesus after a variety of experiences, but a common theme for many is that they were SERIOUSLY seeking truth. Pray for the Rangi to be serious seekers. Pray for a fervent spirit and a lack of peace with Islam. Pray for the Lord to reach them by whatever means He knows is best- through their own book, through the Bible, through dreams, through interactions with Christians, through interactions with Muslims… really, the sky is the limit!
Update on The Karimojong of Uganda
Please join me in praying Acts 26:18 for the Karimojong people-that their eyes would be opened so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of satan to God. That they would truly understand the message of the Gospel and receive forgiveness for their sins and a place among God’s people who are set apart by faith in Jesus.
That false teaching that calls itself Christianity would lose its hold and power and people would truly come to Christ with transformed lives being the result.
Update on The Laarim of South Sudan
Construction of housing for missionaries in the Boya Hills area has begun. The first location chosen for the work to start is in the village of Yei. Pray that meaningful relationships would be built between the missionaries and the Laarim of Yei as they work together to establish a place for the missionaries to live.
Update on The Alagwa of Tanzania
Thank God for the small church amongst the Alagwa who hosted both Good Friday and Easter Sunday services. 70 people were counted on Friday afternoon- many had never been at a church gathering before- everyone heard the good news of Jesus. On Sunday, the church and many visitors met under a tree so there would be enough room for all! Thank God for the new openness to come to church publically and hear about Jesus. Please pray for all those who heard the good news about Jesus for the first time. Please pray for those who have now heard and understood about God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus. Pray that God will move in their hearts so that they have the courage to make the decision to follow him.
Update on The Alagwa of Tanzania
Praise God actually 4 people were baptised on 27th March! Pray especially for one of the ladies- she is working through what it means to follow Jesus in a community when many still pressurise her to follow Islam. Pray for her husband to follow Jesus too.
Update on The Mbororo of CAR and Chad
Since the beginning of 2015, there has been an increase in activity by the Lord’s Resistance Army in the areas of Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. The Mbororo who are nomads living in this area have been affected. They are often looted of goods and have even had their donkeys stolen to be used for transport of goods. Pray that the Mbororo—amidst this atmosphere of fear—would find everlasting peace through Jesus. Pray that the few MP3 players which have been dispersed in strategic areas in these two countries would be understood by the Mbororo. These small devices have parts of the Bible recorded in their language: Fulfulde. Pray that out of the chaos and trauma, that God would use His Word to bring hope to the Mbororo!
Update on The Rangi of Tanzania
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)
As Christians, we walk in assurance that Jesus has cleansed us from our sins and, as our living intercessor (Heb 7:25), is still interceeding for us! Our sinful flesh is DEAD. We will stand before God with no sins to our account.
To Rangi Muslims, the issue isn’t THAT you sin, rather, it’s how MUCH you sin, or at least that your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds. But is that what God’s word says? No. ALL fall short of the glory of God and are redeemed as a gift (Romans 3:23-25). We know that no amount of “goodness” will bring us up to the PERFECT standard of our Lord.
The Rangi don’t understand that. Pray that their eyes would be opened, as so many of ours have, to the ugly fact of the depth of sinfulness that each person will be responsible to answer for, and to the fact that they CANNOT outwork their bad deeds. Pray first for understanding, then for a desire to seek a solution to that problem!
Update on The Gujarati of Madagascar
The Diego FOCUS Team hopes to develop relationships with Malagasy churches who have interest in reaching their Indo-Pakistani neighbors, providing them with training and practical tools. We hope that the team will be ready to begin in January 2016. Pray for the team members as they continue to prepare and develop their support teams.
Update on The Antandroy of Madagascar
Pray for Robert, a member of the Tuelar FOCUS Team, who is trying to learn the Antandroy dialect and build relationships with the bicycle-rickshaw drivers of Tulear, who are mostly all from the Antandroy people group.
Update on The Tanala of Madagascar
Jesus Family Madagascar has a vision for training 24 Malagasy missionaries and sending them in pairs to 12 villages in areas where there are unreached people groups. The training begins in July 2015. AIM will be partnered with them in the training, logistics and survery work. Jesus Family has committed to placing missionaries in a Tanala village south of Ikongo. Pray for Sedera, the director of Jesus Family, and for the workers going to reach the Tanala.
Update on The Sakalava of Madagascar
Pray for Sam and Ashley, who have just moved Belitsaky, a Vezo Sakalava village north of Tulear. They will be living there for 2 years as part of the Tulear FOCUS Team with the hope of seeing a multiplying Vezo church planted.
Update on The Mahafaly of Madagascar
IMB reports that they are praying for rain so that they may have water to baptise the several new believers who have come to faith in the remote areas around the church plants south of Tulear.
Update on The Antandroy of Madagascar
A preliminary survey was done in the southern areas around Tsiombe, in partnership with the Biblical Baptist Church of Madagascar. The FBBM has a vision for placing church planters in this area. Pray for the right team leaders to come along, and for a good relationship with this church partner.
Update on The Mwani of Mozambique
We recently witnessed two individuals who told us that they accept Jesus to wash away their sins. Praise the Lord! This is the first step; there is still much teaching work to be done, including the importance of accepting him as God as well. Please pray for these hearts to be soft to the Spirit, and for eyes to be opened to see the full truth. We also give thanks for Mr. A, who had professed the same thing last year. Recently, he was really sick and in the hospital and while visiting, we asked if he was scared (because in the past, he was scared of dying). We were so encouraged when he said, “No, because I know I will go to heaven”. Pray for spiritual growth.
Update on The Zaramo of Tanzania
1. Continue to pray for the teachers who are so diligently working at spreading Jesus’ love among the Zaramo in this area. Praise the Lord that two of them have been given positions of leadership in the school and are working quite closely with the very muslim Principal – one is the Assistant Principal and the other is in charge of Academic Affairs. Pray that God shines through in their interactions with the Principal and that he will come to know the One True God.
2. Pray for the Zaramo kids of this town. Between the preschool, the Christian teachers they have at school, and kids’ club each Saturday, the kids here are hearing God’s Story. Pray that as they hear, God would plant His Word and His Truth into their lives and that they would become a generation who blesses His name.
Rainy season has begun – and with it, I’m reminded of the verses in Isaiah 55:10-11: For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, … so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Update on The Alagwa of Tanzania
So many Alagwa are held down by fear and spiritual oppression and social pressures- only Jesus can set them free. So please join us in praying for FREEDOM for the captives.
Update on The Alagwa of Tanzania
Please pray for the two Alagwa believers who are getting baptised in our local river this Sunday. One is the woman mentioned in the last update: she IS standing strong! You can see on her face the freedom she now enjoys in Jesus.
Please also pray that many friends and neighbours will gather with the church on Good Friday afternoon to hear the good news of Jesus. Pray that God will call many to himself.
“…but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” 1 Corinthians 1, v 23-4
Update on The Nyang’atom of Southern Sudan
An initiative in 2014 by an indigenous group began training Nyang’atom believers in using the Discovery Bible Study Method (DTS) for planting churches. However, the cost of bringing the trainers to this remote place has proved almost prohibitive. Therefore another group will be giving training in the T4T method (similar to DTS) to South Sudanese Nyang’atom believers and the Kenyan missionary couple (working with the AIC Church of S Sudan) later this year. Pray that those in training will be keen to use this training and to begin a church planting movement among their people, and the Kenyan couple will be encouraged to persevere.
Update on The Gabbra of Kenya
Please continue to pray for Ibraia, a 7 week old baby, with a severe neural birth defect that we shared about last month. We hope he will be able to receive a palliative surgery to make caring for him easier.
Please also pray about the drought. The situation in northern Kenya is very grim right now. Kalacha and the surrounding area received a mere 3 inches of rain for the entire year last year and it has not begun raining even now. People are getting sick and their animals are dying. Please pray that the Lord would open the flood gates and pour down water of the dry and thirsty land and for continued opportunities to share with the Gabbra about the Living Water found only in Jesus!!
Update on The Bara of Madagascar
The situation for many Bara has become increasingly desperate: drought, failed crops, increased violence from cattle thieves and an often corrupt military presence trying to control the situation are just some of the current struggles. Compounding these challenges is the flooding happening around the capital of Madagascar which is driving food prices even higher. Please pray that God would use the difficulties the Bara are facing to turn them to the One who gives real hope.
Update on The Karimojong of Uganda
The prayer for police should have explained outside circumstances are what seems to be keeping the study from success, the police want it but duty keeps them from being able to come.
Update on The Karimojong of Uganda
Isaiah 40:3-5 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the cucrves and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken.”
Join us in praying this for Moroto district, specifically for us to have inroads with the Moroto police, who have welcomed us in for Bible study but have not shown up for any but one of these times. May the glory of the Lord be revealed and all the tribes of Uganda see it and embrace it together.
Update on The Ik/Teus of South Sudan and Uganda
The Ik are not hungry for the things of God. Matthew 5:8 states “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” The truth is that the Ik hunger NOT for righteousness, but to satisfy the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These offer no lasting happiness; these yield fleeting pleasures of sin which are short-lived. The righteousness of God is in Christ, and this brings us to eternal life. Pray this for the Ik!
Update on The San of Namibia
Zeka wries from Tsumkwe, NE Namibia…
“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your god” Josh4v24 Many San are yet to know about this God of creation that we worship. can we pray taht the San will come to experience the power of the Lord and know that He is mighty to save them from their everyday struggles.
Pray for Zeka and Anita and their twins Sally and Sarah as they settle in the San community. Praise the Lord that they are picking up language fast!!
Update on The Mwani of Mozambique
Pray that the Mwani would personally take as a challenge to love their own people by sharing the good news with their own family units. We desperately long to see them reach their own people with the incomparable love of our Lord Jesus.
Update on The Alagwa of Tanzania
Thank God for many people who are hearing God’s word in their own language, Alagwaisa, through the Bible stories. Praise God for the impact this is having on individuals and spreading out to family and friends. Pray that many hearts will be opened as they hear God’s word,
Thank God for the woman who has been released from demonic possession. She is clear that she wants to follow Jesus, despite pressure from others. Pray for her that she will have the strength to stand strong.
Pray for the Alagwa believer who is seeking to follow Jesus in difficult times, with all sorts of cultural pressures and questions. Up till now Islam has always mixed seamlessly with traditional ideas about healing and the spirit world. Pray that he will have God’s wisdom, and that he will be guided by a deep sense of the Father’s love, and drawn to obey Him.
Update on The Laarim of South Sudan
This month the chiefs in the Boya Hills will be approached about land options for housing for the future team of missionaries. Please pray for clear communication, mutual understanding, and for wisdom in choosing locations that will be suitable for the missionaries and strategic for reaching the Laarim communities with the gospel.
Update on The Ik/Teus of South Sudan and Uganda
The Ik are a peace-loving people, but are subject to exploitation and violence from the neighboring people groups. Pray for the protection of this people and for their relationships with those who are taking their land and their forests…but most of all, pray that the people will know the God who created them and is sustaining them daily!
Update on The Sakalava of Madagascar
Rosina speaks from the island of Nosy Be…” A baby boy was born with a growth between the eyes. Everyone in our village views it as a curse. We want to help by taking him to a Neurosurgeon, 24hrs away. please pray as we interact with the family, that the love of Christ would be seen, Christ would be made known and that the surgery would be a success.”
Update on The Karimojong of Uganda
We are praising the Lord that the Karimajong has now been defined as an Unreached people group, which has been our reality while here in Moroto District. Please Pray Ez. 47:1-12 for this land, as we fully believe that our Elohim is preparing this land and people to be fruit of His for the rest of the world.
