What is God doing?

There is an unhealthy increase of South Asian Muslims into Madagascar who are moving into rural areas and building mosques where churches have stood. Pray that the church leaders in Tana will see this challenge as an opportunity to share the Gospel. Pray that God will show us what He is already doing among the Karana of Tana.

Respond to Gospel

Pray that every person of South Asian origin in Tana- Muslim or Hindu- will have the opportunity to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pray for one of two believers in Tana we know of, from South Asian background. Pray that her husband would respond to the Gospel message of Hope . Pray for daily encouragement and growth in the faith.

Mr. M.

Pray for Mr M, may God open his heart. Pray for him to trust God with his financial problems.
Pray for the salvation of all Karana people of Madagascar, may the Lord help them to seek Him.

Meaningful outreach

Pray that the Church will minister in meaningful ways to the Karana during the two important dates on the spiritual calendar – Easter for the Christians and Ramadan for the Muslims. Pray for a meaningful Easter Outreach to the Karana during Ramadan.

Mrs F

Pray for Mrs F’s family that they may accept Jesus the Saviour of the world.
Pray for good discipling relationships for Mrs F: Someone to disciple her and someone she can disciple.
Pray for her relationship with Tiffany and Koloina.

Elections Nov 16th

Please pray for the Karana in Madagascar especially in Majunga because they are very worried about the political situation in Madagascar with recent elections, some of them have already left Majunga knowing that they are always the first victims when something happens. Ask the Lord to protect them and open their hearts to the gospel.
Please pray also for more workers who are willing to share their faith in Christ with the Karana.

Faith to grow

Pray for Mrs F’s faith to grow and for her family to come to the Lord. Pray for the Lord to bless their business.

Burdened and bold

Pray for spiritual dissatisfaction to grow among Karana people.
And pray for the heart of local church members to be awakened and burdened for the Karana. Pray for those who have been trained in outreach to be bold and engage with their Karana neighbors.

Love Your Neighbor

Pray for the Malagasy believers who have been through the Love Your Neighbor training to put into practice what they’ve learned and reach out to their Muslim neighbors and colleagues.

Not be ashamed

Pray for Karana who are followers of Christ. Pray they will not be ashamed or fearful to proclaim to their families and communities that Jesus is God in the flesh, died for the forgiveness of sins of all people and now lives forever in power and glory.

True God

“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites (and the Karana) is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” (Romans 10). Pray that God will show the Karana during this month of Ramadan the god they serve is not the true God, and that the Holy Spirit will speak and touch them so that they will meet the True God in their hearts, i.e. Jesus Christ.

Good connections

Praise God that a new missionary family will soon be moving to Madagascar, and reaching out to the Karana-Gujarati people there. Pray for strength and energy, for clear minds and wisdom, for good connections with K-G people through the local church; ask the Lord to provide divine appointments with those who need salvation and freedom from Islam. Pray for the local church to put aside prejudices against this people group, and instead have the compassion and love of Christ to share the treasure they hold in jars of clay.

Light of Life

As long as the Karana-Gujarati follow Islam, they are in deep darkness. Intercede for them, that the people dwelling in darkness will see a great light, that those dwelling in the shadow of death, a light will dawn! (Matthew 4:16) Ask the Lord Jesus, the Light of the World, to reveal himself to them: through the Malagasy church (pray for Malagasy believers’ hearts to be moved with compassion to reach out to the Karana people), through dreams and visions, through Christ-centered social media/radio programs, and through his very Spirit, that instead of walking in darkness, they would have the Light of Life.

No points required!

We trust God that there will be a move of God among the Karana people in Madagascar, who play such an influential role in the economy of the country, despite being a minority. Being a Muslim people group, they are celebrating the month of fasting: Ramadan. Attending ritual prayers, fasting from sunrise to sunset for 30 days, being a more serious Muslim—all in order to earn as many “good points” to outweigh the bad on the scale they’ll have to answer to on Judgement Day. Pray that many Karana will be reconciled to the God who loves them and provided the free gift of salvation for them—no points required!

Bless

Pray for the Malagasy believers with hearts to bless their Karana colleagues. Ask God to draw many to Himself.

Emptiness

The Karana-Gujarati tend to be involved in trade, or in operating small businesses, and so usually make a decent living. They maintain many aspects of their home culture and live together in large communities which can be closed to entry by foreigners/other cultures. And they thrive. What more could they need? Oh, that they would feel their need for Jesus! That the emptiness they feel–despite their success, their culture and traditions, their family ties, their financial comfort—would drive them into the arms of the Saviour. Pray that the Malagasy “market missionaries” would have the compassion and boldness they need to bring up spiritual conversations that lead to the Good News as they trade with the Karana people.

Harvest

Pray for new believers to be established in the faith, for abundant fruit to be gathered together into fellowships, and for seeds of the Gospel being planted to bear much fruit.

An encouraging report

I received a call 3 weeks ago from the couple who leads our training for believers in the marketplace. They excitedly shared that God is at work drawing more Muslims to Himself. There are some who have made a commitment and others who are interested to know more. Please pray for these seeds of the Gospel that are being planted to bear fruit 100-fold. Pray for effective discipleship for the new believers. Pray for our team of marketplace believers that the vision to reach the unreached in the marketplace will grow and that there will be a strong prayer movement for the Karana emerging this year.

May friendships grow

The Karana (Gujarati) are known as being astute business people. Not all Karana are mega-rich, though. Many of them are smaller business owners just making a living. The Karana started coming to Madagascar in the 17th Century, so have deep roots here and a tight community. Pray for friendships to develop among Christian colleagues. Pray for Malagasy believers to reach out and continue to build relationships with the Karana in their communities.

Seeking recognition

There are 18 Malagasy tribes. The Karana (Gujarati) are calling to be recognised as the 19th tribe of Madagascar. Madagascar is the home of many Karana families who have lived there for generations, largely unreached with the gospel. God recognizes them! PLEASE PRAY THAT EVERY KARANA PERSON WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND TO THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST. And that the Malagasy church will have a burden to reach out to them.

Equipping the local church

An urban church has expressed interest in being involved in outreach to the Gujarati population in its community. There are many cultural barriers that the Malagasy church will have to overcome to make inroads with their Gujarati neighbors. We are praying for the right training opportunities and partnership possibilities with the Malagasy church. Please pray with us.

Neighbors

Remember the Karana-Gujarati of Madagascar. Pray that their Malagasy neighbors who love Jesus will reach out to them with the love of Christ. Pray for the KM and BT families.

Thirst for Truth

Please remember the Karana (Gujarati) of Madagascar. Friday was the end of Ramadan. Please continue to ask that God will place a thirst in their hearts for Truth and the God who is able to truly forgive their sins. Pray for the AK and HJ families.

People of Peace

The Gujarati are called “Karana” by the Malagasy people. It has been difficult for the Malagasy to gain entrance into their communities, finding little common ground. Please pray for a pre-Venture trip being proposed with business professionals from South Africa, going to Madagascar in September. Pray for People of Peace among the business community and other marketplace sectors, and the softening of hearts among the Karana of Madagascar. Pray for an open door for fruitful ministry.

Love your neighbor

Pray that the people who attended the “Love Your Neighbor” seminar in Tana, will be motivated to begin building relationships with the Indian population so that they can share the good news with them. This is difficult as there is very little interaction between the Malagasy and the Indians. About the only meeting place is in the shops the Indians own. Pray that churches and believers in Madagascar will use this opportunity to reach out to their Gujarati neighbors.

Transformed to Serve the Gospel

A family has come to Christ through the witness of missionaries in their area. They have invited unsaved family members and friends to attend a Christian outreach concert on Saturday night, where they hope those people will hear the gospel. Pray for encouragement as they share Christ with the people they love.

Update on The Gujarati of Madagascar

Anna Jarmy AIM missionary in the capital writes”Please pray for the discernment needed as we seek to reach the Gujarati population. we also need to have updated info regarding this UPG” pray for these two requests, also for Anna as she mobilizes and supports local Malagasy missionaries who may be willing to reach out to the Gujarati, in the future.

Ramadan Day 20

There are many Indo-Pakistani Mu$lim communities scattered around Africa. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into this harvest field. “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I (Jesus) speak to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63) Pray this Ramadan many Mu$lims would realize the flesh profits nothing and would hear Jesus’ words of life.

Pray for the Gujarati to be open to the gospel

Ramadan Day 4
The Gujarati of Madagascar (called Karana) have been in Madagascar for over 100 years and control much of the economy through their businesses. Despite having been in Madagascar so long and often being fluent in French and Malagasy, the Gujarati live very separately from most Malagasy. They retain much of their original culture including language, food and religion. Praise God the Lord has given a Malagasy pastor a burden to reach the Gujarati of Madagascar. Ask the Lord to give him wisdom as he investigates the best way to reach them. Pray the Lord would open Gujarati hearts to the gospel.

Update on The Gujarati of Madagascar

Ramadan Day 20
There are many Indo-Pakistani Mu$lim communities scattered around Africa. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into this harvest field. “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I (Jesus) speak to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63) Pray this Ramadan many Mu$lims would realize the flesh profits nothing and would hear Jesus’ words of life.

Update on The Gujarati of Madagascar

Ramadan Day 4
The Gujarati of Madagascar (called Karana) have been in Madagascar for over 100 years and control much of the economy through their businesses. Despite having been in Madagascar so long and often being fluent in French and Malagasy, the Gujarati live very separately from most Malagasy. They retain much of their original culture including language, food and religion. Praise God the Lord has given a Malagasy pastor a burden to reach the Gujarati of Madagascar. Ask the Lord to give him wisdom as he investigates the best way to reach them. Pray the Lord would open Gujarati hearts to the gospel.

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 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 Gujarati of Madagascar

Ramadan Day 13: Pray many Muslims would join the four living creatures and the 24 elders, and sing a new song to Jesus, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” (Rev 5:9)

Update on The Gujarati of Madagascar

Ramadan Day 2: Ask God to speak to fasting Muslims, “Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sack cloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:5-6)