Because of the bad history between Christianity and Bara people, it’s  difficult to preach the Gospel among them, or to even approach them. Finding new and creative ways to approach and preach the Gospel faithfully is very necessary. Farming God’s Way and Literacy Program, are two open doors to evangelism among Bara.

Recently we gathered 18 Evangelists and a Pastor to train them in these Creative Evangelism Strategies. Both programs went very well, and the trainees appreciated the new tools for evangelism.  Pray that God helps the evangelists and the pastor to use these wonderful tools to reach the areas where Bara people are still Unreached.

Pray for the big group of children who come every week to hear chronological Bible stories. Pray they would listen well and believe what they hear.

Pray many would listen and respond to the daily radio program which broadcasts the Gospel of Luke, Bible stories, and local believers’ testimonies.

“…my Father is still working…”, said Jesus. And He is! This is one of the greats truth Bible tells us. God is still at work.

In the village of Amatomaña, another witchdoctor, name Bera, gave his life to Jesus. He wants to know Jesus better and follow His “lalana” (way).
Please pray that Bera can understand the Gospel and doesn’t fall in any kind of syncretism.

The amazing and glorious thing about the “Malasos’” conversions is that they are Bara. Hallelujah! They are the very “traditional” Bara people. The 2 Malasos I’ve mentioned in our last prayer request are from villages that didn’t have any Christians before. Hallelujah twice! Now a church is being born!

The Malasos consider themselves to be the original Bara people. They are deeply rooted in Bara worldview, culture and customs. The malasos are the ones who know the deepest, darkest parts of Bara culture. They practice witchcraft. Often they are demon possessed. They make pacts with demons for protection through cow’s blood. So, seeing a Malaso come to faith is a great miracle among Bara UPG.

When one of these malasos, are changed by the Gospel and renounce his lifestyle, culture, and even “the richness and respect” that being a malaso brings, even sometimes being persecuted by the family, becoming very poor, to follow Jesus, indeed, it is the power of the Holy Spirit working in their hearts.

So keep praying for the Malasos. They are the ones who could be the next Pauls, Peters, Jim Elliots, or George Mullers to their own people.

Since April, 2016 when we started praying for the Malasos (cattle thieves that use spiritual evil forces to get power and protection) we have seen three them coming to faith in Christ Jesus. I know that there is a lot more and I know that God loves them as he loves us. One of them is giving his testimony and impacting the life of many here in Betroka.

Could you please pray for them? That they recognize Jesus as the Son of God and only savior? Pray that they would be set free from the power of Darkness.

Nothing is impossible for God.

Thank you for praying!

Many people have been impacted and touched by the testimony of Jean Claude, an ex-malaso (cow thief) who converted to Jesus. He left behind the old religion and its practices. He burned his witchcraft and all the tradition medicine that is used in Bara culture.

Jean Claude has been preaching about Jesus since then. However, the struggles and challenges in his Christian journey will come, as it does for everyone.

Could you please pray that God protects this Bara convert and set him free from the traps of the Devil?

May Jean Claude keep growing in faith daily. May God grant him grace to be transformed to the image of Christ ’till the day of Jesus Christ.

Paul said to the people in Listra, that God didn’t leave the peoples without testimony of Himself, but “…He did good by giving you rains from heaven, …” ( Acts 14:17).

The Bara live in a total rural society, and rain is indispensable. Even though we are still in rain season, we are not having enough rain, and that brings problems to the entire country. The crops won’t produce, the herds won’t have enough grass, there will be little water to drink, and the result of this will be financial hardship, more assaults, break- ins, famine, etc.

Please, would you pray for rain? We are in desperate need! I remember Elijah when he prayed for rain and God sent it. I remember Joshua, when the Bible says that “..there isn’t a day like this, when God heard the voice of a man…” God still hears our prayers. He still cares for us. He still answers our prayers.

Could you please cry out to the Creator and sustainer of all things, who give “..rain from heaven…” ?

We have started a new project among Bara people this year. We are broadcasting the Film Jesus in Bara language in Bara villages. Please pray that the film will impact their lives, and leave in their hearts the desire to know more about Jesus Christ.

Please pray for the villages of: Ambatomañga, Isoanala,and Manañovy, where we have already shown the film.

Please pray that God will open doors for us to project the film in as many villages as possible.

May God change hearts and that the seeds of the Gospel planted there would flourish.

If the years of little fruit were a discouragement to the missionaries who worked among Bara people, now is time to rejoice! The seeds planted have started to bear fruit and everyone is part of this harvest. Many Bara have come to faith after this malaso and witch doctor become a follower of “Jesosy, Anaky’Ndrianañahary” (Jesus, Son of God), as we posted here previously.

Please pray for him. His name is Jean Claude, and we ask you to pray for his life, security, strength and guidance. May Jesus, through his Holy Spirit, bless and encourage him to continue being a powerful witness of the Gospel. May the Lord protect him against the spiritual forces that operate powerfully among Bara keeping them in bondage. And may Jean’s life shine as a light among his community. Blessed be the Lamb!

“…the people walking in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the shadow of death, the light has shone…” (Isaiah 9:2)

A witchdoctor converted to Jesus Christ a few weeks ago in one of the Bara villages! Many of the Bara people, and the Malasos (thieves whom we are praying for conversion), saw the transformation that took place in this witchdoctor’s life and also gave their lives to Jesus Christ. At least 140 Bara were baptized!

God is working. The harvest is plentiful. Lift up your eyes.

Could you please pray and praise the name of the Lord? He hasn’t stopped working, and HE WILL accomplish his mission. Blessed be the Name of The Lord.

The people of Betroka are being terrorized by thieves, known as ‘Malasos’.   These malasos used to steal only cows, but now they are breaking into houses and stealing everything. They harm people if they don’t find money. People are scared and bitter towards these men. Please pray for the conversion of these thieves. Nothing is impossible to the Lord. Remember the thief on the cross. God loves them. Pray also for the security in Betroka.

Dear prayer partners, God is at work. He never stops working to accomplish His plan of salvation. The Bara people are included in His plan. By God’s grace alone, there are converted Bara and more being converted. Could you please join us in praying that the Bara who are believers and those who are believing in Jesus would take responsibility to share the gospel with others in words and actions? Pray that the way they act in daily life would demonstrate to others the power of the Gospel to regenerate people. Pray  they live a life worthy of the Gospel.

“… how can they believe if they don’t hear? …”

The Gospel of Luke in the Bara language is being broadcast everyday, through a small radio station in Betroka. Pray that God will attract Bara people to listen to the radio program when the Gospel is been broadcast at 18:00h. Ask God to use the broadcasts powerfully to take the gospel to further areas.

Also, the gospel of Luke is broadcast in the open market in Betroka. Many Bara, around 10 o’clock, just hang around the market. Pray that God touches their hearts in such a way that they become interested in listening to more of Jesus’ stories. Also pray that the guy who is playing the Gospel remembers to do it!

FARMING IN GOD’S WAY AS A TOOL TO REACH BARA PEOPLE

On the 30th of September we will have the “I Encounter of Farming in God’s Way: Remembering God’s mission to all people and Farming in God’s Way as a strategy to increasing crop production and Reaching Bara People.”

We spect 35 Evangelist from Lutheran Church/Synodon of Betroka. They are coming from the villages where Bara People live. We hope that God continue to break their hearts about missions and teaching about His Love for all the Ethnicity.
May God challenge them to continue preaching, loving Bara people and living lives worthy of the Gospel, without syncretism.

May God give them grace to use the new Farming Methods overcoming their own “planting culture” and apply Farming in God’s Way and its content as a toll to evangelize Bara People.
( to see pictures go after 05/September on our facebook: Luis Fernando Basso Basso.)

God is at work. He never forgot His Special Creation the Man. We cannot deny this. He is the Ruller of the World, and all the nations will come to glorify him. In that very Day, we will see all the nations, tongues, tribes – well the word is Ethnicity – before him, worshiping the Lamb.

ONE BARA GIRL, FROM ONE OF THE MANY BARA’S VILLAGES THAT SURROUND BETROKA, AFTER COMING TO SABS (SATURDAY AFTERNOON BIBLE’S STORIES) SAID: I WILL TAKE THOSE STORIES AND TELL TO THEM ( MY PEOPLE) IN THE VILLAGE.
WHO KNOWS HOW GOD WILL WORK? COULD HER BE A MISSIONARY TO HER VILLAGE, LIKE THE SAMARITAN WOMAN WAS FOR HER IN JOHN 4?
PLEASE, PRAY THAT THE GOSPEL SPREAD RAPIDLY AMONG BARA. GOD IS AT WORK.

OBS: SABS – IS A BIBLE STORIE PROGRAM THAT JANAINE AND NARINDRA ( MALAGASY MISSIONARY LAIDY) ARE RUNNIG EVERY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE FOCOUS IS TO REACH CHILDREN AND TEACH THEM ABOUT JESUS AND THE GREAT COMMISSION. SOME OF THEM GOES TO CHURCH, BUT DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE GREAT COMMISSION. THOSE THAT DOESN’T GOES TO CHURCH, ARE BEING EXPOSED TO THE GOSPLE IN HOPE THAT, THEY WILL UNDERSTAND THE GOSPEL, FOLLOW JESUS AND BE MISSIONARIES TO BARA PEOPLE.

“…Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ…” ( 2 Co 4:6)

The Bara pray to “Zanahary who made hands and feet,” and numerous sacrifices are made for the living and the dead. The hazomanga velo officiates during rituals at the hazomanga (sacrificial altar place; which also refers to the person who officiates – the patriarch). The ombiasa (diviner, witch-doctor, traditional healer, astrologer) also leads some ceremonies.

Anybody can call on superhuman powers, especially on the helo, which are spirits of living nature, spirits of life, to make a vow (sareky) and ask a favor, in exchange for the sacrifice of a chicken or a sheep, for which the patriarch’s intervention is not required. In some cases a person becomes a medium for the helo and is then consulted by those in need. The helo, they believe, are small dark spirits who live in particular trees or in particular water spots, or in particular creatures such as eels, that get fed with locusts, frogs or meat from a sacrificed cow.

Pray that the Bara people will be delivered from darkness through the power of the gospel.

Pray for Jean-Pierre and Mbola, Malagasy missionaries with Jesus Family, who have recently completed their formal training and are preparing for their placement in a Bara village outside of Betroka. They have a vision for seeing a Bara church planted there.

Bara People, Still Unreached.

“…Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ…” ( 2 Co 4:6)

The Bara pray to “Zanahary who made hands and feet”, and numerous sacrifices are made for the living and the dead. The hazomanga velo officiates during rituals at the hazomanga (sacrificial altar place; which also refers to the person who officiates – the patriarch). The ombiasa (diviner, witch-doctor, traditional healer, astrologer) also leads some ceremonies.
Anybody can call on superhuman powers, especially on the helo, which are spirits of living nature, spirits of life, to make a vow (sareky) and ask a favour, in exchange for the sacrifice of a chicken or a sheep, for which the patriarch’s intervention is not required. In some cases a person becomes a medium for the helo and is then consulted by those in need. The helo are small dark spirits who live in particular trees or in particular water spots, or in particular creatures such as eels, that get fed with locusts, frogs or meat from a sacrificed cow.

Just the light of the Gospel, can illuminate their hearts to them be brought out of this Darkness.
Lets pray that the can listen the Gospel and believe in Zañahary son.

Pray for Jean-Pierre and Mbola, Malagasy missionaries with Jesus Family, who have recently completed their formal training and are preparing for their placement in a village outside of Betroka beginning in October. They have a vision for seeing a Bara church planted there.

Jesus Family Movement has 2 Malagasy missionaries who have committed to church planting among the Bara. They will be going out for an initial survey of several Bara villages in July.They will choose one of these villages to live in for long-term ministry beginning next year.

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.

The group of Bara translators is currently in a village testing the draft of Acts. Pray that they would make good progress and that God’s Word would work powerfully in the hearts of the hearers. Pray especially for one man, J.M., who was part of the translation team and has drifted away, that God would bring him back to Himself and to this work, that many other Bara would hear God’s Word in their own language.

The Bara area remains in turmoil due to cattle thieves. Pray that this would cause the Bara to turn from the animistic ways of their ancestors to the one true God.
Pray that God would change the hearts of the cattle thieves and that they would bring change to many other Bara.
Pray that the churches in the Bara area would have a burden for the Bara and that they would reach out effectively in word and deed.
Scripture: Continue praying Luke 10:2, as well as Galatians 6:9, that the workers God sends would not grow weary but persevere.

The Bara translation team continues to work on the book of Acts. They are nearly finished with the rough draft & then will begin a series of checks. Next up is the book of Colossians. Please be praying for the Bara translators to remain committed to the work & to find the time to meet together for translation. Many things interrupt the work & cause divisions among the team.sage

Due to the changes in the Bara area from the instability and outside influences, many Bara are now open to education. Our team is preparing to partner with local people to teach adult literacy in order to help the Bara adjust to these changes and give them the opportunity to read the Scriptures for themselves. Pray that many Bara who not only learn to read and write but also hear and respond to the Good News through this effort. Pray that local people would be passionate and equipped to effectively reach the Bara as well.

The people in the village of Maroraja are eager to hear the stories from God’s Word. Please pray that they would they would truly understand God’s message to them and that it would transform their lives. Also pray for the local evangelists like Tolotra who are reaching out to the Bara, that they would communicate the Good News effectively and for their safety as they minister in a dangerous area.

Praise God for the progress that was made in checking the translation of part of the book of Acts in Bara. Also praise Him for safety for the team’s travels. Pray that they would be able to continue with this much needed translation amid the challenges.