We were thrilled to hear last week that some more of our friends in Yo were baptised. Three of the women that we mentioned in our last prayer letter, Hap, Kaa and Har, along with another of Ab’s daughters, Aa, made this bold statement that they are now “Jesus’ people”. Pray for them that God will strengthen their faith and help them to withstand possible opposition from their community. Give thanks that Hap’s husband was not ashamed that his wife has chosen to follow Jesus.

Pray for Am, another daughter of Ab and Ci. She is the only believer in her community. She has withstood ridicule and hardship. Pray that God will continue to protect her and her daughter Ai and make His light shine through her.

Pray for Al, he is from the community south of us. He has been meeting fairly regularly with the believers for almost a year now. Pray that he will not be afraid to follow Jesus. There are many others who have also expressed interest and even belief, but who have as yet had the boldness to identify themselves as followers of Jesus. Pray with us that God will continue to work in this community to break down Satan’s hold on people through fear.

Pray for Sa and Ha (daughter of Ab and Ci) that together they will be able to follow Jesus. Ha is very keen, and it seems like Sa believes too, but he has grown up in a very dark home- there is a long history of fear and violence in his home. Pray for Ku, our deaf friend. He came to faith, pray that the seed will take root and not be taken away by his mother who is strongly opposed to it or by the young men who would turn him away.

Pray for Ha, our neighbour to the south, she has come to faith in the past six months! Since Easter time, I have regularly had time reading through the gospels with her. Pray for her husband Da, that he too will believe. He and his brother Ma have been eagerly listening to the Fulfulde audio recordings that we gave to Ha. Pray for Ka, a widow and Ha’s neighbour. Pray that she will not be afraid to call Jesus Lord, that she will not fear community ridicule.

Pray for Ar that God will help him to remain above reproach and walk in the light. Pray that his family will be drawn to the gospel through his life and witness. Pray for Ab and Ci and Am, that they will live in harmony with one another and with their community, and continue to witness boldly.

Pray that the elders who have believed will be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that they may walk worthy of the Lord, bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.

Ask that the growing church would have an increasing desire to declare the gospel with those who have not heard… that the gospel would bear fruit and grow.

Pray for the six believers who were baptized last week to stand strong despite the scorn of the majority. May they follow the example of the older traveling Fulani believer who faithfully disciples all he meets from village to village!

Praise God for the progress our literacy students are making. They are so excited about learning to read. Several of them are also excited to read God’s word. Pray God will open their hearts to believe the Bible stories are true and they would put their trust in Jesus.

The communities that we live among only have a few believers, but we see that God is at work, and we are so encouraged by the believers’ joy and boldness. Last week S said that she wanted to be baptised like Jesus, because then, just as Jesus did, she would start her ministry! Yet, she has already begun it in the past months, sharing the good news boldly with many of her friends and neighbours. We are beginning to see ripples in the communities where we live and even in other communities as we see and hear of others who are drawn to the light. Pray for us and the believers in our community and for T (the Fulani elder), that God will sustain us in our faith in Him, that we will live wholeheartedly for Him, and that nothing will hinder us from being above reproach. Pray that our lives and witness will be such a bright light, such a sweet aroma, that others will be drawn to the truth. May we not seek the praise of men, but rather to be esteemed in God’s eyes.

Praise Jesus for the gathering of over 350 Fulani believers and for the 3 who traveled far to join them and then returned to their own village changed. Continue to pray that these men would share what they are learning and faithfully disciple new believers.

Last Sunday we met with the new believers and asked them what was so sweet to them about their new faith. One said now that he trusts in Jesus, he is at peace because he knows Jesus is sovereign over his life and so anything that happens to him is in Jesus’ control. Another shared that it is so good to be able to know and understand truth from God’s Word. His wives both expressed that now they are not afraid, before they lived in fear of spirits, of the dead, of ghosts, of going places, and of meeting new people. Now they have no fear because Jesus is with them. Now there is peace in their home, unlike their neighbors and relatives who are constantly in conflict with one another.
Praise God for these new believers and pray they will continue experience the sweetness of Jesus and share it with others.

Pray for wisdom on how to engage the people with Christ during literacy lessons, farming together, and medical help. Ask the Lord to open hearts to hear and believe the gospel.

Recently Maman asked for a mega voice recorder so he could listen to God’s word. We were glad that he wanted to hear about our God. We gave him one and since then he has been listening to it. Several times I have visited, and found him listening to it. During Easter I invited him to watch a video on the Old Testament prophecy of Jesus and New Testament life of Jesus. Pray he will believe what he is hearing.

The Fulani face lots of health challenges related to their lifestyle. Pray that they will understand what new practices they need to adopt to be healthy. Pray that openness to new ways of living will include openness to new life in Jesus!

Girls are married when they are still very young, from the age of 12 years old. Pray that the light of God will shine and change people’s attitude and worldview. Women have long days. They work from 5 in the morning till late evening. Pray for them, like Hagar, to see the God who sees them.

A gifted Fulani teacher was asked to go to a nearby village to share of Jesus. Over 30 men and women and children gathered to listen for over an hour and then asked questions. Ask that these truth seeds would take root and grow to abundant fruitfulness!

Sunday we will meet together with Fulani believers to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. Pray God’s incredible sacrifice will become more meaningful to all of us.

Please pray for the Fulani women who have shown interest in the gospel but whose husbands are not yet open. Their husbands have not permitted these women to come to the believer gathering. Ask for the lives of the husbands to be surrendered to Jesus!

Pray the Fulani would understand and embrace the good news that we were created to be sons not slaves of God.

A man with two wives lived a bit out of town, but when expat believers visited him, they found that he already had the Word and other literature about Christ. He said that he wanted to believe but wasn’t sure how! A respected traveling brother stopped by to explain to him the way of salvation and he surrendered to Jesus! The leader of the same community also chose to follow Jesus and rejected any suggestions to turn back to Islamic or animistic solutions when there was trouble. There was a gathering of Fulani believers in this community in a Fulani home for the first time this new year. Both of these leaders explained to those who came that they need to be 100 % committed if they want to follow the new way. Then the leader asked each believer by name to pray. Pray for growing faith and courage for these who have believed!

There was another first in our Fulani community! A baby was born to believing Fulani parents! This is a beautiful new opportunity! Pray for the parents as they make decisions about celebrating the birth of their child, and as they teach their child the way of Jesus from the beginning. Pray for their marriage and for many more to learn from their example as godly parents.

Pray for the believers who are suffering for their faith. Pray they would stand firm. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed…. Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” 1Peter4:12-13, 19.

The few believers are struggling to read the Bible for themselves. Pray that they may know and understand the truth as they struggle to read the Bible.
Pray that they will overcome rejection from the society and their close family because of their new faith.

Fulani are pastoralists and they depend on pasture for their animals. Pasture is very scarce. Pray for enough rains in order to harvest sufficient animal feed during the short rains in the months of July- September.

Many Fulani follow their religion more as a lifestyle and hence stick to that religion as part of their culture. Pray they may have hunger for God and seek Jesus Christ.

Fulani, being a small ethnic group, feel inferior to other dominant groups,and are neglected by society. Pray for God to help them overcome this feeling of inferiority.

On many occasions as we interact with Fulani, they have shared with us about their desire to know how to read and write.The Fulani feel segregated by the country’s type of educational system because they are a minority group. Pray for them to have a system in which they can feel they are part of the community.

Pray for the four new believers to grow in their understanding of the scriptures and have courage to share what they’ve experienced with others. Pray their families would believe. Pray for those who are listening to the scriptures to believe. The chief recently shared that he had prayed and asked God to show him the true path. That night he had a dream and God showed him the way of Jesus was the true path to God. Pray that many more would have similar dreams!

Praise God for 4 new believers among the Fulani! Pray for them to be bold and tell others what the Lord has done for them. And praise the Lord for the dedication of the scriptures in the Fulani language. May many read it and believe.

Praise God for a team of Christians who have recently settled among the Fulani in order to live and proclaim Jesus among them. Pray for quick adjustment, for the learning of the language and culture, for good team dynamics and that even early on, God will be leading the team to those who can be receivers and transmitters of Jesus’ love.

There have been deadly clashes between Fulani nomads and farmers in Northern Nigeria for decades. Hundreds have been killed the past several months. The Nigerian military is meeting with representatives from the Fulani community today to find a solution to the violence. Please pray for God’s mercy and wisdom for those involved in the meeting, that a fair and lasting solution can be found. May they find true peace by bowing the knee to the Prince of Peace.

Praise God for a team of Christians who have recently settled among the Fulani in order to live and proclaim Jesus among them. Pray for quick adjustment, for the learning of the language and culture, for good team dynamics and that even early on, God will be leading the team to those who can be receivers and transmitters of Jesus’ love.

There have been deadly clashes between Fulani nomads and farmers in Northern Nigeria for decades. Hundreds have been killed the past several months. The Nigerian military is meeting with representatives from the Fulani community today to find a solution to the violence. Please pray for God’s mercy and wisdom for those involved in the meeting, that a fair and lasting solution can be found. May they find true peace by bowing the knee to the Prince of Peace.

Ask God to prepare the hearts of the Fulani to hear about the One He sent to save them. Pray they would have eyes to see in this One all the high moral integrity they value so much.