Pray for Joy to read the word daily and learn to feed herself with it, and not just rely on others to feed her.
Pray for Roza to be encouraged in her faith and learn to grow right where she is.

Ezra just came over for a meal to talk about his language teacher training course which starts next week. He’s excited…and a little nervous! It’s his first time to live completely independently from his family (he just completed his 3rd year of uni while living at home) and we’ve connected him to believers in that city (trust doesn’t come easily between believers here). Please ask for good fellowship, growth in character and maturity, and that he’ll grasp these unique opportunities with eagerness.

Please pray for my friend Roza. Her grandfather died this week. This is her message:

“He passed away without knowing who Jesus is. It really hurts me that a member of my family goes without talking to Him and knowing Him. I always pray for them to wake up from their mistake. But it’s a really sad feeling knowing that they go forever in the devil’s way. I’d be relieved if he had gone knowing who Jesus was.”
Praise God for Roza’s faith and pray for her comfort and opportunities to share her faith with her family.

This week millions of Muslims around the world will be buying a sheep ready for the sacrifice in remembrance of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Ishmael. It’s a big celebratory holiday where family gather…but hard for Followers as it’s a clear reminder of the lostness of their families.
Being held Wednesday this week in our country – please pray for our Brothers and Sisters.

Pray for our English Summer School for local kids. Parents send their kids to learn English and make a mess (science, art, cooking) – something they are definitely NOT allowed to do at home! Good opportunities to speak values into these kids’ lives (like don’t swear!!), get to know parents, and be involved in the community. Please pray for good connections with the parents. Thanks so much!

Pray for Stacey – a teammate met her at the gym and with follow up conversations helped her get the Word on her phone. They will start reading together.
Also, a pregnant lady fainted in town this week- teammates sat with her while waiting for her husband to come. He arrived, stayed to chat and they both heard the full gospel message – probably for the first time… including others who had also stayed around to help the lady. Pray for them to want to know more.

Calgary and Edmonton, Canada have a combined Muslim population of 230,000. Many of them come from North Africa. Some of their children will be attending an August summer camp in Alberta. Pray that the Holy Spirit would be working on their hearts, preparing them for the Gospel truths they will hear at camp.

Ask for perseverance and grace for believing spouses. And for courage/wisdom/trust to know how to meet together for fellowship.

Lord Jesus, remove the spirit of fear that paralyzes believers and keeps them from witnessing, from preaching, from identifying with You. May the charade of pretending to be Muslim for the sake of ease or safety be stopped in the name Jesus. May each believer love Jesus more than life, more than honoring their family.

Praise Jesus for the Arab men who are meeting together faithfully. Ask for couples, families, and women to be able to join in. Transportation and gender separation make this a huge challenge.

Joy’s mother’s died several months ago. She doesn’t know if her mother put her faith in Him and regrets not sharing more with her. As the family gathers for the Eid holiday on Thursday, Joy wants to share with her father and family. They know she is a believer. Pray for boldness and wisdom for Joy and open hearts for the family to really listen and engage.

A few men are meeting weekly to encourage each other and pray together. Ask that they will welcome newer less mature brothers.

Please pray for Isabelle. She’s a young Sister who has been shy to proclaim but growing in understanding of her walk with J. Her copy of the Word was stolen and pictures sent to her of it cut up into pieces. It’s really shaken her!! Hoping to see her this week and thankful that she still has access to the Word online for encouragement!

One brother is in prison now and standing firm holding tightly to Jesus . Ask that he will not deny Christ and that the believers who hear would be encouraged to be more bold in witnessing.

It’s been a difficult year financially for Miles, a landlord and business owner. He feels that if he prays enough, his god will eventually bless him. Ask that as he performs his ritual prayers, Jesus would graciously reveal Himself.

This year, Hazel is fasting extra days hoping to gain more favor with her god. Ask that she would feel the futility of such works and see that Jesus has done everything we need in order to have a relationship with Him.

Pray for Roza. Ever since this young Sister told her family about her choice to follow Jesus, it’s been a near-constant battle as they try to bully and cajole her into recanting. Ask for protection, wisdom and boldness as she continues to share about Jesus, especially during Ramadan, when the pressure will be even greater.

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.

Ask for courage for Arab believers to speak to their families of Jesus, to believe that there is new family in Christ, to willingly follow Jesus even in the valley of the shadow of death. Many have died recently. May believers run to Jesus in their grief.

Continue to ask for believers to stand firm in the battle, to not deny Jesus, to love him more than family, more than life. A few have been shaken… some because of lack of roots…some because they are lone stalks not gathered in sheaves…. ask for gathering, for discipleship.

Pray for Steven and Harmony, local believers who were wounded by the Body years ago and retreated from ministry, but are now taking tentative steps to re-engage. Pray for this family, and others like them, to have a heart for reaching their own people.

Our friend Ezra is growing in discipleship and wants to learn how to share his faith. We praise God for this step. Pray for our time together, that he will become a disciple who makes disciples.

Two believers… one for almost 20 years, one for almost 2… have recently denied Jesus because of fear of family and because of grief. Please ask that every believer love Christ more than life, more than family and share the gospel because of love.

There was a hurtful conversation between believers who live near each other- one is Berber, the other Arab. May each one see themselves first of all as lovers and followers of Jesus, in one family by the blood of Christ. May Jesus bring peace and reconciliation by the cross.

A mixture of Arabs and Berbers have been gathering faithfully to study and pray together. Praise Jesus for their love for each other and their desire to grow in fellowship. Ask the Lord to meet with them and encourage each one.

There have been two deaths in the immediate families of local believers… both were young and seemed healthy and then were suddenly dead within one day. Both believers are struggling with thoughts of family members facing eternity separate from Jesus… one had heard some of the gospel; the other was vocally Muslim. Pray for the faith of the believers… that they would not be crushed under guilt for not speaking and that they will not drift to lies of ‘all being saved’ because of their pain. May they have courage to speak the gospel to remaining family.

The mother of a still secret believer has been receiving readings about the prophecies of Jesus during advent and her daughter overheard her discussing them with her brother. They both agreed that although Islam says Jesus wasn’t crucified… they believe he was. Ask for courage for the daughter to identify with Jesus and share with her family.

Praise Jesus for believers newly willing to identify with Christ who have been hiding for years. Praise Jesus for their diligence to teach their children and their willingness to gather with other sisters from other tribes and even countries. Pray that Arabs and Berbers would receive each other in Jesus’ name.

Praise Jesus for one who asked to meet a local sister from another tribe and listened with tears as the Berber believer spoke with fire in her eyes. Praise Jesus that she spoke without guile to her family, brought her nieces and sisters to hear the gospel. May she believe and her family too. There was significant spiritual warfare. Please pray that she will be set free from evil spirits and surrender to the Lord Jesus.

A brother invited several other brothers (who are the only believers in their family and alone) to meet together to read the Word and pray. Then right before they met, he cancelled. Pray for these ones who have no fellowship with other local believers. May the spirit of fear be silenced and may these children of God walk in the fearless victory of faith.

7-9 sisters plan to gather for tea and prayer on Saturday. It will be a mix of Arabs and Berbers, 40 year olds, high schoolers, moms, singles… may they find unity and joy and encouragement from the love of Jesus. Ask that believers grow in courage and love for one another.

Tomorrow a new sister will be baptized. She has invited one local believer and two local not-yet-believers to see/hear her witness. Please ask that each have courage to come and that this step of obedience be a time that marks increased boldness and witness. Please pray for the 9 or 10 other new believers in this city who are saying they want to be baptized but haven’t taken that step yet… may they be encouraged and emboldened by her decision.

O unshakable Father, many Arabs are facing uncertainty and death because of unrest and disease. Thank you for your patience as you long for their repentance. Please strengthen your children to abide and then to speak the gospel compelled by love. Would you reveal yourself as the Rock of Salvation and shake all that is shakable.

In the name of the Lord Jesus, we ask that older Arab believers would humbly repent of
*silence because of fear,
*an unwillingness to risk discipling young believers
*choosing isolation over fellowship
Please refresh their first love and overwhelm them with a passion to disciple and be discipled.

Jesus, would you set free those holding onto Islam out of a desire to honor their families. May each one be willing to hear the truth of the only way, truth, and life— the Lord Jesus.

May each Arab believer live a life worthy of the calling they’ve received, humble, gentle, bearing with each other in love. Ask that willing humble shepherds courageously teach everything Christ commanded in love without any thought to power or position.

Two believers just recently shared their testimonies face to face with friends. Praise Jesus for their increasing courage. Ask for God to guard the truth spoken and to bring life.

Please pray that each believer would live lives according to the truth of the gospel. And may they believe and speak unashamedly of the gospel.

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.

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.

Many are willing to hear the gospel but are unwilling to believe because they do not understand the mystery of the Trinity. Ask for faith to believe God tells the truth, to delight in the infiniteness of God, to be in awe and wonder and believe by faith what we cannot fully see.