Please pray with us for the translation project and the big printing we are expecting to do. Pray for good communication among the people involved and the unit. Also praise God for everyone who is going to engage with the word in the local language, for all those who are going to learn about Jesus from the printing and for all the brothers and sisters who are going to grow in their relationship with the Father because of it.

Pray that the men’s gathering in the capital would restart now that team member T is back. Pray as planning for Christmas starts: that the local believers could plan an event that encourages and unites them.

Our new recording of a song in the traditional style of this island has ‘gone viral’ with over 13,000 views. We are so grateful. The track was even played in a restaurant! Pray that its message of finding hope in the good news would spread far and wide.

We are working on finishing up the audio recording for the book of Matthew. Pray that these final recording sessions are quiet and productive. Pray then for the final editing of the audio files to go smoothly and for the Matthew and Luke apps to be made before the end of the month. As always, pray for the hearts of islanders to be open to hearing from the Holy Spirit as they interact with God’s Word in all its forms here on Vanilla Island.

Pray for the group in the airport town which we have heard has not been meeting regularly with ‘Esther’ on i1 and there are concerns that the young men aren’t taking their faith seriously and are falling away. Pray for the group to meet, to see faith as a priority, and for them to grow to maturity.

Pray that our seekers would grow in their desire to read the Word and prioritize it, even during the busy clove harvesting season.

Praise the Father for Mtsa and Muki who continue to meet regularly with team member T. Mtsa says he’s sharing with 5 people and they are calling him eager to study more! Pray that Mtsa and Muki would fully embrace who Jesus is and give their lives to him, and that their passion would spread to the others they share with.

Our island sister ‘Rachel’ is asking for prayer to know what words the Spirit wants her to use to clearly communicate the Good News in such a way that it touches islanders’ hearts. Recently she’s been coming face to face with groups of angry religious men who have caused her some discouragement. Pray for perseverance and encouragement for her heart. She is also asking that her son would find a job to give him purpose and to help support his family.

Please pray with us that the Lord would bring peace and prosperity to Madagascar. 80% of the population is living in poverty.There have been protests against the government since Sept 25th and now the president has fled the country and the military has seized power. There are many people from Madagascar living here, and we have many links with the country. Pray for the Lord to intervene!

Praise the Lord that a new version of the app- building program became available and we were able to get all our apps updated! Pray for islanders to continue to engage with the Scripture that is available to them. We have been advertising the Book of John. Next we will advertise the Book of Acts. Pray for more islanders to be exposed to these apps and may His Word not return void.

Pray for the girls who took a Bible home recently. One of them came to the office to read it. She was very moved and touched to see God’s love through the Book of Genesis. Let’s pray for her to  continue to come and read. May God grant her understanding and faith.

We have been able to start up Scripture audio recording again after our island recorder was off the island for over 2 months. We have just finished recording the book of Luke and we will be starting recording the book of Matthew. Please pray for a quiet, uninterrupted environment for recording.

Praise that on the plateau we are now studying with Ma Fiona and her husband together – our first couple’s study. Pray that it would serve both their needs and be a springboard for them sharing with others and adding to the study in their home.

Please continue to pray for the kingdom to be built up in powerful ways on i4 where the challenges of I$lam, French secularism, a huge undocumented population, and gangs have created a complex and challenging place to work. Pray for perseverance of the workers, for the empowerment of the body through the power of the Spirit, and for the Lord to build His Church.

We praise God for the new fellowship group that has started in one of the neighborhoods here. The M family is now hosting a Monday meeting for Swahili speakers and islanders. We pray that this fellowship will encourage people to share the reason for their hope, that many more islanders will be drawn to this fellowship, and that many people will be saved.

Pray for ‘Ma Rhoda’ (aka ‘Sarah’), a mature local believer on the plateau. A friend of hers found healing in her marriage after Ma Rhoda prayed for them, and now she and 4 friends will start studying with Ma Rhoda! Pray for a regular time to meet and wisdom in organisation.

Pray for follow-up from the medical outreach that happened at the end of June. At the beginning of July, the local body divided up the villages where the medical team was and said they would follow-up with islanders who were interested in hearing more. It sounds like no follow-up has been done yet. Pray for wisdom in how to help this happen. Pray for those who were interested to keep seeking Truth and may the Holy Spirit continue to draw them to Jesus.

Pray for the local body. There is a small group that has been meeting every Sunday at Rachel’s, our island sister, for the last several weeks. There are 3 regulars and a few that come every now and then. Pray the Lord would meet with them and encourage them. Pray for wisdom from the Spirit about how we can best encourage and exhort them.

Music is an important part of worship for most if not all of us. Praise God for the new songs that are being written by local believers on the islands. Pray for wisdom how to produce good-quality recordings of these songs so that they can be widely shared. Pray that they would be used in outreach and to teach and encourage believers.

Pray for the local body to be motivated to meet together regularly in small groups weekly and as a large group once a month. The capital group has been meeting nearly every week for the last month. Our island sister, ‘Sophie’, has been meeting with her sisters and neighbors in her village on Friday afternoons. Pray for the westside contingent to be meeting as well.

Pray for ‘Hadassah’, who is meeting regularly with team leader M. She says she is sharing with her mom and asks lots of questions. She does seem to be reading and trying to understand. Pray for her to be able to forgive those whom she feels have mistreated her in the past – that she would see how in Jesus she can have forgiveness herself, the power to forgive others, and the great freedom that comes from both of these things!

Recently we heard that some people from the local body were unhappy with the leadership and decided to break away and start a new group. We pray that the Father would give both groups wisdom to navigate this situation. We also pray for unity of the Spirit — that despite their differences, they may work together as one body, being guided by the same Head. May both groups be rooted in Jesus and live out a biblical experience of being part of the body.

Praise God we have started studying the Word with some new people! Pray that it would not just be a passing interest but that they would be drawn to Jesus and His Word and want to keep studying.

Islanders who can find the money will try to complete the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lives. This year’s Hajj is just finishing and islanders who have gone are returning. They may bring gifts of clothing or holy water for family and friends, and maybe a framed photograph of their time on the Hajj, which will have pride of place in their house. Family and friends will visit them to congratulate and be blessed by them. Please pray with us that many would come to know the God who made the greater journey, who came all the way from Heaven to save us.

Give thanks for ‘Mary’ and ‘Elisheba’ who are reading with L and A on the plateau. We just read the story of Abraham offering Isaac. Of course they know this story a little differently- as Abraham offering Ishmael, and aren’t sure of the significance. We shared how we believe that Jesus is our sacrificial lamb, taking our place. Ask that they would remember and think on this as we prepare for Eid al-Adha next week, (the annual celebration of Abraham’s sacrifice).

Pray for ‘Hadassah’, the friend of a former teammate, who has been meeting with other team members recently. She has had many dreams about Jesus but never committed to studying the word. But last week teammate M was able to give her a book and a link to our Gospel of Luke app. Please ask that she would read or listen and respond in faith.

Pray against fear in the local body. Pray for holiness and repentance that they might shine as lights in the midst of this culture. Pray for island believers to be filled with joy this week leading up to Easter. May they be unable to be silent about the hope they have found in Jesus.