Gabbra pastors

Please pray for 3 Gabbra men who are serving as pastors in different villages. Each of these men have been discipled by missionaries and have completed formal Bible training. Requests have been submitted for each of them to receive a pastor’s license, but the process is being delayed. Pray that these three men would continue to grow in their faith as they teach others, and that they would all be granted licenses to be formal pastors.

Evangelists

The missionaries in Hurri Hills are starting to prepare for a home assignment, which will leave the local evangelists working on their own. Please pray for all of the details to be sorted out so that the evangelists can continue on well during the missionaries’ absence. Pray for provision and fruitful ministry for the evangelists.

And yet…

Right now we are getting good responses from our radio outreach. But on the ground people are hungry for food and drought is always at the door. Yet, on a very happy note our Radio Station and Church hosted a large soccer tournament where thousands of people came and the Gospel was clearly shared. God is at work! Yet it is still hard for many to come forward due to family opposition. Despite the opposition our Baptism classes are full in each of our outreach Churches.

Praise God for all those who have heard the Gospel! Pray for courage to believe despite opposition. And pray for rain and God’s provision for hungry people.

New Church!

Another Church is being formed in another village of Hurri Hills! We rejoice for what God is doing through the local evangelists.
• Pray for the Evangelists’ lives and witness among the Gabbra people.
• Pray for the Hurri Hills Church members to grow and mature.
• Pray for more workers for this harvest field.
• Thank God for all He has done and for all that is to come.
• Pray for the financial support of this project.

Local evangelists

One of the missionary families that have been working for 13 years with the Gabra people is finishing their assignment, and during the last 4 years, four local evangelists have been raised up and joined the ministry team in Hurri Hills.
Pray for the local workers as they continue the ministry, that they would be full of God’s grace and wisdom. Pray that God raises people to mentor and support them in ministry. Pray also for their financial support.

Church construction

A new church building is currently in construction. We have been gathering in a small building and it has become too small for the number of people that have been participating. Please pray for safety as we move forward with the construction, for wisdom for the workers and smooth logistics.
Pray that the believers of this church continue shining God’s presence among themselves and their community and many more will come to Jesus in this location.

Rebuffed

There is a village near us that hasn’t yet experienced the Truth that sets free. During this past week, one of our ministry partners went there with a team to share their faith (all from their own tribe). However, the team was sent away, as the village does NOT accept Christians among themselves.

Today, in the neighboring village, where we have weekly Bible studies, we had an amazing time of prayer, declaring salvation over the lives of those villagers.

Pray with us, cry out for God’s manifestation to them, that ministering angels visit them and that soon, we hear testimonies to the Glory of our Father God!

New group of believers

Recently we visited a Gabbra community near the Ethiopia border, and they had heard the gospel from a shepherd and are now 40 believers! We spent the day celebrating Jesus Christ with these dear brothers and sisters. It was 3 hours of non-stop worship with songs and dance. After Eddy had shared the Good News, the elder of the village said: “We want to know more about this culture of Jesus, and please don’t stop coming to teach us how to be Christians.”
Next visit, we will be sharing the Jesus film and it is our prayer that the story of Jesus’ life brings them more understanding of God’s great provision of salvation for all humans!
Pray that they continue rejoicing in the presence of God and His almighty Love.

Workers for the Gabbra land

Pray for more full time missionaries for Gabbra land. There are so many new opportunities for sharing the Gospel, discipleship, woman ministry and other projects.
Pray that soon these needs will be met. Also pray that the Kenyan church will be committed to support local workers.

Women ministry in the Hills

Many of the ladies who were once Muslim now call Jesus their saviour and follow the Christian faith, while still holding to the title of Muslim outside of the group for fear of backlash in their families and the community.
Please pray that they will feel totally free from fear and may they feel Jesus’ protection.

Faithful shepherd

This last Sunday a Christian shepherd that had participated in our Bible study for nomads in 2019, came back and told us he has been sharing the Word of God to his people in his village and now there are 25 new believers, including the main elder of the village. They are asking for more teaching and would like to become part of ‘our’ church family. His testimony is: “I used to watch my family’s animals, but because of the drought, most of them died, so now I have more time to spread the Good News, but I also need help to make my people understand better the Bible.”
Please pray for these new believers, pray that the Lord would send us more workers so we can continue discipling and building up the Body of Christ in the Hills among the Gabra people. Praise Jesus for this open door and for wisdom as we make arrangements to visit and continue teaching this new group of believers. God is moving!

Rain!

We are very grateful to the Lord for the rain that Gabbra land has gotten the last 3 days.
The dry season lasted for a long period and most of the families lost all their herds and struggled without water and food. As we celebrate the rain, we are all celebrating not just a new season, but the fact that life is coming back. Grass will grow back, animals will get stronger and people will be able to have their needs provided.
Thank you for your prayers for Northern Kenya and the Gabbra people. Please continue praying for enough rain that will fill up the cisterns.

Drought continues

Please keep our area in prayer as drought is very severe and the needs are immense! Praise God we got some food this week to do food for work to help clean up some of the carnage of dead animals. Praise God for people willing to come out for Bible study. Pray the Lord would minister to them and strengthen their faith through very difficult times.

Drought is dire

The drought in northern Kenya has been very hard for everyone to go through. Most of the families have lost their herds, many people are sick, some mothers passed away after giving birth from being so weak.
The missionaries are having to deal with several types of requests and it’s been overwhelming to all of us. Please pray that God gives us wisdom and grace to communicate how and when we can or cannot help.

Pray for rain, may our Lord be gracious to us and bring life back to this area.

Church

The Hurri Hills church is now in the process of becoming officially part of the AIC denomination. Pray for this process of chosing the elders and for the evangelist that is going to be licensed as the local church pastor.
Those are big achievements for the Kingdom of God here and there is a lot of warfare that we have been facing. However, we are rejoicing in God’s marvelous plan for the people He is rescuing for Himself! Pray for wisdom as we continue taking steps to reach out the Gabbra people.

Prolonged drought

All Gabbra land has been experiencing prolonged drought which has proved a challenge for everyone especially our multiple outreach Bible study groups who have been fragmented by searching for last patches of grass.
This last week from AIC Dukana, with the help of AIM, we have been doing work for food projects in these outreach sites which has brought more people together for Bible study as they work together to improve their communities as well as feed their hungry families.

Call-in service

Our radio station BHB Chalbi FM has been doing a good job reaching all the scattered herdsmen and mobile villages and keeping them encouraged with the word of God. Our call-in phone service had been broken, which was a real heart break for many of our listeners, but praise God I was able to fix that last week and now callers can call in with their questions once again!
The Kalacha Church is continuing to meet but struggling with to pay school fees for their children. They like the teaching they get at AIC Kalacha but are feeling pulled other places to get school fees paid. Pray the Lord provides.

Baptism report

Last weekend we had the honor and pleasure to baptize 67 believers in three different villages. It was a lovely thing to hear people’s testimonies. Those baptized believers will form the beginning of a church and leadership in Hurri Hills! Pray for them to walk in newness of life.

First Baptism!

Pray for the baptism happening in Hurri Hills on October 28, 29 and 30th. There are 68 people on the baptism list from 3 different locations!

Pray for safety and wisdom as we are working on the logistics of each church and travels.
Pray for each person’s life. May they be encouraged and protected from any temptation and evil attack.
Pray that these Churches grow stronger in faith and obedience in the Lord making the name of Jesus known among their own people.

Drought and famine

We read in the Scriptures about tough times of drought and famine and sometimes these stories seems to be so far away from our reality and we even wonder how people survived. Well, it’s been a reality among the Gabbra people throughout their history and once again so many families nowadays are struggling with illness and loss, lack of water and food. Please pray that we’d see God’s mercy and favor and miracles during this season and that people open their hearts to seek for Him. Pray that God would send us rain that quench the thirsty in physical and spiritual ways.

Preparation for Baptist

Soon we are going to have the first baptism event ever in the Hills. This is a huge step for the ministry. Most people have never seen a baptism and it is our prayer that the Holy Spirit minister to people’s hearts as we teach them about the meaning and importance of baptist for believers.
Also praise God for those who are eager for the date that they will be baptized. Pray for the ministry team. We have been facing so many spiritual forces, may God give us strength and wisdom as we move forward to establish a Christ Centered Church in the Hills.

Gabbra workers

After so many years of work and prayers, we are excited to see God raising local workers among the Gabbra community in the Hills.
There are two youths that have been doing evangelism and teaching at the current churches and recently a young lady has joined us for women’s ministry.
Please pray for these three local workers and for their financial support. May they persevere and grow in wisdom to reach their own people.

New workers for the Gabbra community

Currently, Hurri Hills is hosting two appointees for a site visit, and they are willing to return to the field as full term workers.
Pray that God continues opening doors for their support, language learning and they will be able to return early the next year.

Shepherds in the Hills

Lately several shepherds have been around our location in Hurri Hills and it’s been a great opportunity to share about Jesus. They have watched the Jesus film and gotten the solar audio bibles to listen to as they travel around leading their herds.
Some of these shepherds had never heard about Jesus and now are understanding the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. One of the shepherds declared: I didn’t know how sinful we all are, now I understand how to be clean of wrong things I do.”

Pray that as these shepherds carry the bible and listen to it, they feel the Holy Spirit ministering to their hearts and many others will come to Jesus.

Radio station

Pray for the church-run FM radio station that broadcasts gospel programs all over Kenya, and also broadcasts our programs. There is a management issue that threatens to shut down the station. Please pray for the Lord to intervene.

New areas

Pray for our outreaches into new areas. Ask the Lord to go before us and prepare hearts to hear and respond to the good news. Group sizes are down but groups asking for Bible studies are going up. We are struggling to fulfill all the invitations. Also, on a good note we have gone live with our second radio tower. We’ve had some technical issues which we hope to solve this week. If we can solve the issues we should double the reach of our radio outreach! Which will reach more unreached pockets! The drought continues and people are suffering. Pray for rain and provision.

Women Gathering

We praise Jesus for the Women’s Gathering that recently happened. Ladies from 5 different Gabbra communities came together to pray, worship and be ministered to by the Word of God.
Many women came to an Evangelical Church for the first time, women who are starting a new journey in their relationship with Christ, because they are understanding that our choices today can change the entire course of our history.
They were very moved by the fact that the men prepared their meals and served them (which is not part of their culture).
Continue praying for God’s transformation in the hearts of Gabbra families and may many be a witness of God to others daily.

Jesus Film testimony

The Jesus film was shown in a new Gabbra settlement where the majority of people worship Ayana (a god of darkness).
As we were visiting and getting prepared to start the film, a group of Ayana believers started playing their drums and worshiping evil spirits. We stayed in prayer and played Gospel songs that declare God’s salvation. After starting the film, the loud drums stopped and we had a great number of people coming to watch the Life of Jesus. Afterwards we asked for questions or comments and an elder said: “We had heard about the name of Jesus, but now that we’ve seen Him, can start to believe in Him”.
Pray that Jesus’ power be manifested in this village, that the light of Jesus shine and darkness flees. And that as they remember the story of Jesus and His sacrifice, they turn their lives to our Savior Jesus Christ.

Now we believe

This past Friday we showed the Jesus Film in a Gabbra community where we are establishing new relationships and there is only one Christian family. It was a beautiful moment of fellowship. After the film, one of the elders declared, “It was very good you shared this story with us, for before we had only heard of Jesus, now that we have seen we can believe in Him.”
Pray with us that many will hear, believe, and become followers of Christ Jesus in this village.

Loss and gratitude

Today on the way to the church, we found several flocks that died during the rain because they were too weak from the long drought. It is very difficult to explain the feeling of loss and gratitude for the rain at the same time.
Pray for the families who have lost their entire herd, since for most of them it is their only source of income. Pray for the Lord’s provision and that in the midst of all this, we can see the manifestation of God’s Power for the salvation of many.

Grieving and illness

Many families are facing loss recently, lots of people have lost relatives because of tribal conflict, illness, and because of lack of water and food.
Pray for comfort for so many who are grieving. Pray for those who are sick and that they open their hearts to the only One Healer and Way. Pray for Salvation and that they find strength in the Lord in midst of hard times.

Needing help

Please keep Gabbra land in prayer. Tribal conflict in the midst of severe drought has left us in worse condition than usual. Grazing is gone so animals are hardly surviving and raiders have been steeling what is left which has caused revenge and road attacks, which is also causing traders to refuse to travel because fear, resulting in communities without food even if they have money to buy it. The food relief project managers have not been able to find food to buy to feed the hungry masses.
We desperately need prayers for rain, peace, provision for the poor, wisdom as we spread the word of God and especially that people humble themselves to the Almighty Power of Jesus Christ as their Savior.

needing water

All families in Gabbra land are struggling with the lack of water. It’s been a very long drought, all water reserves are empty and most of the families no longer have resources to purchase water from tankers. It’s been extremely hard to see people getting sick because of dehydration and lack of sanitation, and their livestock are getting weak.
Please pray for God’s mercy on sending us rain. Pray that people get thirstier for the Word of God and that Jesus be exalted in the midst of all despair.

Gathering

Pray for the churches among Gabbra people. During drought season and after a pandemic lockdown, it’s been difficult to get people gathering again for fellowship. Pray for a revival in each believer’s soul, for strength for those who are working on the Gospel proclamation and that in this time of need people will turn their faces to the Lord and trust in His provision.

Pray for peace

Let’s unite in prayer for peace among the tribes of our district (Marsabit). There are many conflicts happening recently, including between family members of the Gabbra and Borana people. Houses have been burned, people killed by shotguns and others seriously injured.
In our region it’s been peaceful, but the fact that it is happening to family members of the tribes we work with consequently affects our community and people are concerned. Pray for peace, protection and for God’s manifestation among these tribes.

Two Praises and a Prayer

Praise the Lord! Yesterday some tricky issues of power at the Christian radio station were fixed, and now we should have a much clearer transmission of the good news far and wide over the Gabbra. Another huge praise, this Sunday morning at the church in Dukana 60 people came forward desiring to take the next step of public baptism! Please pray for these Gabbra people who are coming out of Islam desiring to become followers of Christ.

Unity

Please pray for unity between our Christian church leaders from the
different Gabbra clans. These traditional allegiances tend to tear the Church apart and
stifle its growth.

Four Tribes

Pastors and evangelists from Gabra, Samburu, Rendille, and Turkana are coming to the March module (1st ~ 26th) at Northern Bible Training Center. May the Lord grant the students good health and give them understanding of the word of God, and may they apply it to their lives. May God provide their families’ needs and protect them while the students are here to learn God’s word.

Needing rain and workers

We got about 2.5 inches of rain Monday morning. People were able to collect some water, and they are very happy for that. Please pray that this is just the start of more rain.
There are many villages in Gabbra land with open doors for the Gospel. However the workers are few. As the Lord has taught us to pray for more workers to His harvest, we would appreciate you joining us for more passionate, bold and equipped workers to engage reaching the nomadic and other people in the desert and mountains of Northern Kenya.

Calling and Begging for Rain

The combination of high elevation and volcanic rock mean that there are no wells in Hurri Hills. Everyone completely relies on rain water to run off the hills and fill their underground tanks. We haven’t had a heavy enough rain to have runoff since May last year. We have been doing what we can to have water brought in, but transportation is expensive. A water truck divided by an entire village only gives each family a few small oil drums of water. That doesn’t last that long. Everyone is asking us for help at the moment. Everyone here is getting to the end of their money buying water and they are now getting desperate. And there have been a lot of fires. And there is a leopard hanging around our house wanting water. A couple nights ago I heard a noise, got up and found a leopard sitting on our deck right outside our window. It sat there squinting at me as I shone the flashlight on it. Please pray for rain for the north region of Kenya.