The last two weeks of September were very full with testing and reviewing portions of the Word that have been translated. Praise Him for the work that was done as well as the number of people that were able to be involved. Pray for perseverance in that work and for the Word to speak to all who read/hear it.

One of our house helpers has had some strange and unexplained things happen to her. She fears it’s because of evil spirits. She chose not to go to local religious leaders but asked our team to pray with and for her. She also may start regularly praying with the family she works for. Pray for consistency on this and for God to work in her life.

Urgent prayer request for our sister R in the islands on I2. She has become quite bold in sharing her faith. Her father has just threatened to kick her out of her house if she doesn’t deny her faith in Jesus.  He says that if she refuses to deny Jesus, then he will send for the police tomorrow to come and arrest her.  R says that she isn’t afraid for her life and she won’t deny Jesus, but she is distressed about what would happen to her 3 children if she is arrested.  She is also concerned that the police will destroy the copies of the Word that she has at her house.  Please pray for our sister for courage and peace in her heart. Pray for her father’s heart to be changed. May what the enemy intends for evil, be used for good in the name of Jesus.

Pray for many good relationships and Gospel conversations in a new village our teammate has moved into. Pray that one day there would be a group of believers meeting together there.

Pray for local believer B who was seriously injured in a workplace accident. The local body is trying to support him to seek care abroad – pray for healing and provision.

Rachel has returned from the islands so the family is reunited and we continue to visit each week as we have done for the past 9 years. They have heard many stories in that time and we have seen increasing understanding. Continue to remember them that they would recognise their need of a change of heart. Pray too for us that we would know what to share with them each week.

Pray for a friend of mine who is terminally ill. It has been difficult to visit her as she is so sedated she’s always asleep. Pray for God’s help for these visits and for more opportunities to share Truth with this woman and her family.

Pray for i3 believers, especially sister E and her family. A friend of E’s husband was at a meeting at the big gov office on i3. There was a discussion about a new faith that was spreading rapidly, and they identified E as the leader. The friend defended E as a good person, but warned her husband that they need to be careful. Pray for peace for them, and wisdom in what to do about an upcoming retreat being hosted on i3. They don’t want to cancel it, but do want to do it in a less open way than they often would.

Please pray for Jay and Zina. As the university school year ends, they are seeing more and more islanders leave to go back to the islands. Please pray for opportunities to clearly present the Message, and for the islanders to meet people who will point them to Christ while they are in the islands.

Pray for a family of believers who have been meeting together for a year with a worker who is leaving soon. Another team member will take over meeting with them (although it will be less often). Pray for this transition and that they will meet on their own and continue to grow.

Thanks for praying – the book release celebration went well. Let’s be praying that those printed words would be well used, loved, and believed. Let’s also pray for the continuing i3 translation project as they do remote checking on 1 Sam with islanders on i3, a worker on i1 and consultants abroad. Pray for good internet connection, good communication and a great result.

On Saturday July 15th we are having a ceremony to launch our newly arrived printed Word! It contains Genesis, Exodus, Luke and Acts with beautiful island-style artwork. Please pray for the launch: for things to go smoothly, for everyone to feel involved and included, for protection from unfriendly eyes. Please ask that the book and audio players would be distributed wisely and used well. Ask for an increased hunger for the Word!

The first copies of the printed books with Genesis, Exodus, Luke and Acts have made it to our island! Pray for plans to wisely distribute and celebrate these few precious copies, for them to be well accepted and used and for more copies to follow them shortly.

Please pray for Ma Dorcas and her family, whom I’m trying to start storying with up on the plateau. There is definitely interest, but it is a chaotic household. The most recent ‘setback’ is that once again a relative has taken their Book to read for themselves. In a way this is great news! But I long for us to read together. Also keep praying for Matthew and Harvey, brothers on the plateau who fell out a long time ago. There are possible plans for them to meet – please pray for reconciliation.

Praise for the wedding of two island believers this past weekend in a Jesus- centered ceremony on i1. They will shortly be returning to i3 and combining their families of 6 kids. Pray for their marriage; that they would establish good patterns of relating to one another. Pray for their kids in this big transition, especially the 2 moving to i3 after several years on i1.

We have received our first shipment of Genesis and Exodus! For the first time we have scripture in bound books that look beautiful and like respected Holy books in this island’s local dialect. Brought over from Tanzania by a friend on a boat. More coming in his next shipment. Please pray for these first books to be the start for all scripture to be made into such respectable books. Pray for the others to come without issue. Pray for safe distribution amongst believers and beyond!

Pray for two upcoming wedding celebrations, one between two workers and one between two locals. Pray that plans would come together and that there would be a true sense of a community coming together to celebrate. Pray too that these events would give a richer vision of what marriage is, and how the island body can celebrate them together.

Pray that the monthly women’s gathering this week would be a powerful time of studying the Word and praying together. Many i3 believers (both workers and islanders) will travel to i1 for the wedding of two workers, pray that this wedding would bond believers together and help model the focus for godly marriages.

Our team is continuing with monthly disciple-making trainings for local be!ievers. The next training is coming up soon. Pray for local followers to remain excited about growing in their faith. Pray for a hunger and thirst for righteousness and a daily desire to spend time in God’s word and in prayer. Pray for boldness and courage for local followers to be sharing their faith with those around them rather than giving into the temptation to hide His light.

Please pray for Jay and Zina who have shared with an island friend in Madagascar. Pray for him as he is more and more interested in the good news but also really doesn’t want to give up his Muslim heritage, culture and values.

Praise that in recent days and weeks, islanders have helped lead three new people to Jesus: two older men (including the father of an island believer) and a friend of a younger believer. Praise that the commitment and prayers to share and see new people come to Jesus are being answered. Pray for even more fruit and for these new decisions to be followed up with steady growth.

God is doing something! 8 more were baptized today here on i1! Five with the local group, and then Ma A, her daughter A and their neighbour! Ma I had invited them so they could see what baptism actually involves, and then they decided that they were all ready to make the decision themselves!

Praise for a meeting that was called last week, gathering representatives from all the different believer groups both expat and islander. There was sharing, discussion, and prayer. It was encouraging that areas of disunity were addressed. The hope is to start doing these meetings quarterly. Pray that these meetings might lead to greater unity and encouraging one another in the good news and work of the kingdom.

Praise God for a wonderful time breaking the fast with some local believers last week. We met in the morning with one group (at their invitation) to pray together – a first, and it was good! Then some of them came in the evening to eat together. Before we ate we dedicated & shared an app with 9 translated scripture books in it – this was also a first. Some newer believers sang a new song they had written (People of God, be not afraid). There was confession and testimonies shared, and a lot of food eaten! It was a good day! Pray for more!

We will have another training seminar this week. Pray for wisdom in selecting the day, time, and location. Pray there be good attendance and deep desire for more growth and learning.

Jay and Zina in Madagascar, during a prayer walk, met an islander who they shared the gospel with. She is interested in learning more. Pray for her to continue to seek the truth and find Jesus.

The last week of fasting is often chaotic with Eid shopping as well as people greatly anticipating the end of the fast. Pray for opportunities for both us and local believers to share personal testimonies with many in the midst of the chaos. Pray for intentional, bold sharing to happen. May the Lord open hearts to receive His Good News.

Pray for island believers on i3 as they gather Friday to remember and celebrate together Jesus’ death and resurrection. We expect around 70 people. Pray that it would be wonderful time of fellowship, filling all with this good news and the joy to share it with others.

We continue to have trainings for the local followers about once a month. In the trainings, we teach the importance of abiding, prayer, sharing the Good News, and Bible study. Pray for discernment in how to encourage participants to hold each other accountable  Pray for the participants to continue growing in their love for His Word and may their lives be continually transformed by His Good News.

Pray for a new brother who has been meeting with others. This new group has experienced some persecution, including being taken to the police and forced to pay a fine. Pray for wisdom for them as they make decisions about where and how to meet without giving in to fear.

Please pray for Clive, a brother up on the plateau, who has stopped meeting with the other believers and started going to the mosque again. There are no other believers in his town that we know of. Please ask God to renew a right spirit within him, cast him not away from His presence, take not his Holy Spirit from him, restore to him the joy of his salvation and uphold him with a willing spirit. (Ps 51:10-12)

There is a translation consultant here for two weeks doing a check of some of the translated Scripture. They are working alongside team and local translators. Pray for wisdom in this process as they make decisions about the text. Pray for good communication and for sessions to be led by the Holy Spirit. Pray too for the local translators who still haven’t trusted Jesus to be drawn to Him through this process. Pray for the translation project to continue to bring His truth and grace into this dark place.

An app of the gospel of Mark has been released on the islands. Pray that it would be shared from islander to islander and that many would be drawn to Jesus as they read and listen to the gospel.

We have been giving out calendars this month, which feature local proverbs alongside proverbs from the Bible. Pray that as we give these out we might have good conversations, and that these proverbs would spark a desire to read more of God’s word.

The 5th training meeting for local believers is this month. Ask God to bless it. At the January training, the local believers took turns practicing leading a simple Bible study. They were then challenged to ask the Lord to help them invite people in their neighborhoods to join them in studying the Bible together. Pray for courage and perseverance for the local believers as they step out in faith and invite those around them to join them in studying the Word. Pray for wisdom and discernment as they interact with their small groups. May they grow in confidence as they allow the Lord to use them to expose others to truth.

Rachel (an island sister) and her children are facing a difficult situation with Rachel’s father. Several months ago, he beat her daughter so badly that she is traumatized and fearful of people and leaving her house. Recently he beat her son severely because of a misunderstanding. They are fearful of his unchecked rage. Unfortunately the court system is often corrupt and whoever is willing to pay the most can win. Pray for protection, divine intervention and a change in his heart. Rachel asks for prayer that the Lord would move her father far away from them. Pray for wisdom as we do our best to encourage and point Rachel back to Jesus.

Pray for a new brother just back from being in the nearby Big Island country. Pray that he would be able to connect with local believers here and that they would be an encouragement to one another. Pray that God would provide him with a job here.

Continue to pray for the local believers here, that they would be marked by grace and truth, a deep hunger for the word and a heart that listens to the Holy Spirit.

The believers on i3 are really wanting to see the work move forward this year, so they are praying that each of them will bring a new islander to faith. They are also hoping to do more to shepherd and teach their kids. Let’s pray with them that these efforts would be empowered by the Holy Spirit and there would be an increasing desire among them all to see the kingdom grow on i3 and all the islands.

Continue to pray for island brothers and sisters we have mentioned in the past, like Jonny whose wife died this fall leaving him as a single dad of 4 kids, and Dorcas who was kicked out of her family home because of her faith. Continue to pray for her relationship with her family. The crisis moments may have passed, but they continue to live in challenging situations in need of prayer.