Severe drought

Please pray for the drought affecting all our districts. The Ndau are subsistence farmers, and we are in a very severe drought. Beloved brothers and sisters in 5 areas have lost all their crops due to no rain! Please pray with us in faith for God’s provision in this new year- everything from last year is gone.

Theological training

One weekend every month for the next 10 months we are having theological training for our leaders. We have 18 students, and our first sessions were last Friday and Saturday! Please pray for open hearts, minds, and growth and maturing in the Word. We are praising the Lord for this opportunity and His provision!

Blessing to the Church

Please continue to pray for our pastors and lay leaders as they grow in the word and stay strong in the Lord. May they be a blessing to the Church.

Perseverance in faith

First we want to Praise the Lord, we are seeing young women and children coming to Christ!!! But the older and younger men not only are not showing any interest but are leaving their families to pursue their own lives. Please pray that the Ndau men would come to know Christ as their Savior! Present or not they still run everything. Please pray for the women to have perseverance in their newfound faith!

New church!

We celebrated the inauguration of the church in Sambane this week! Please pray for the congregation as they are located between two refuge camps. Please pray for courage to evangelize and that the hearts of the people in the camps would be soft to receive the gospel! Please pray for Pastor Joaquim and his wife Julieta in this new step of responsibility and faith pastoring the church.

Mold their hearts

The Ndau are a polygamous culture and like many cultures today faithfulness is rare. HIV and other STDs are common. There is still a deep stigma against the hospital; traditional “medicine ” is normally the first option and because of that most cases arrive too late. Please pray for monogamy and faithfulness to take root in the church. And for freedom in Christ to get help at hospitals without fear from the lies of the witch doctors.
Please pray for us as we care for people who are very sick and without resources. Most of these diseases are very painful and there is a great lack of medicine. Please pray that hearts would be ready to hear the gospel, and that God would change the future of the Ndau for His glory, specifically in this area. Oh Lord mold their hearts like yours!

Women’s seminar

Please pray for a women’s seminar we are going to have on the 27-30 of this month and a leadership seminar in the beginning of August . Please pray for both to bring restoration, liberation, salvation and encouragement for all involved!

Praise the Lord!

Please praise the Lord with us! In the last two weeks 17 Ndau women have come to profess Jesus Christ as their Savior and 22 believers were baptized! Please pray for the Ndau men, that they too would come to Christ!
Please continue to pray for the maturity and discipleship of believers and churches.
Please pray for our youth and children, that they would come to Jesus and trust Him for their futures.

Restoration

Praise God for a wonderful conference focused on restoration of families, relationships, and ministry. Pray for practical application of the truths learned.
Continue to pray for our pastors: Ribeiro, Mateus, Joaquim, Isaac, and Inarcio to shepherd their flocks with wisdom and grace.

Restoration conference

Please pray for our first congress of local church leadership of Mossurize District. From today through the 19th, leaders of Sunday school up to the pastors will meet in Macumba. The topic will be Restoration, the main speaker Rev. António Combo. Pray we would be restored!

Light of Christ

Please pray for our three local pastors and their families. They have been tried and tested in so many ways. Please pray that Mateus & Isabela, Joaquim & Julieta, and Isaac & Lauvness will continue to persevere in their faith and continue to be light of Christ among the Ndau. Please pray for Cecilia and I and the ministries we have been given amongst the Ndau, and for more workers to be sent into the harvest!

Growth and maturity

Please pray for the churches that do exist would grow in Christ and not in religion. Like so many church problems around the world, being transformed by Christ is not popular but doing “churchy” things that look good is easy and attractive. Please pray for spiritual growth and maturity.

Please pray for Godly leaders! Polygamy is accepted here and unfortunately something not easily given up! Please pray for this new generation, to embrace the gospel and have courage to leave these practices behind.

Trapped

Please continue to pray for the gospel to be made known amongst the Ndau people who are still trapped in bondage through witchcraft and ancestral worship. Pray that they would encounter and turn their lives over to Christ Jesus and be set free from ancestral/traditional fear which enslaves them.

Youth

Praise God for moving in the lives of area youth, who form three youth groups who attended a national conference in August. Pray that those impacted would be on fire for Jesus, that they would be triumphant in Him over any physical, emotional or spiritual challenges that they face; pray that these young Ndau wouldn’t be able to withhold all that God has done for them, and share Jesus with their families and communities.

Church dedicated

Praise the Lord for his faithfulness to the Ndau people, and for the dedication of a church in Espungabera earlier this year. He has used the body of Christ to build this church over the years, and it’s been an international effort that’s reflected the unity within the Kingdom of God. Pray that God blesses this community and that they would trust and obey him to continue the growth of the body. And pray for all of us believers: for victory over the enemy and his schemes, for energy and strength every day, and for practical needs to be met such as working vehicles, peaceful home lives, and provision of daily necessities.

New leaders

Please pray for the Ndau Christians who are trying to live a life not dependent on their ancestors anymore but on Christ Jesus. Pray they would be strengthened in their faith and witness to other Ndau. Please continue to pray for leaders. Polygamy has such a strong hold, please pray for the new generation of leaders to have a new mindset and a Godly heart to not enter this practice.
Continue to pray for the salvation of the Ndau people. There are still so many who haven’t received the gospel.

Ndau

“…a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” We know there are many Ndau believers now, there are pastors and missionaries working amongst this people group: cry out for them, that the Lord would indeed come into those hearts that have been prepared for him. Pray that amongst the Ndau, crooked paths would be made straight, the broken would be made whole, and the sick and wounded heal, that Christ would be exalted through them and amongst them. Pray that these Ndau would then spread the gospel message not only in their own villages, but across Mozambique amongst other unreached people groups!

Hosting youth conference

The Mossurize youth have been chosen to host the country’s Annual Youth Conference in August for the American Board Church! Please pray for us as this will be the first conference out in the “bush”, and the first time for our humble youth group to host! We only have 5 months to prepare! Please pray for all of us spiritually and physically!
Please pray for revival and the Lord’s presence on this conference and the blessed opportunity to minister on such a large scale!

Polygamy

Please pray for Godly leaders. Polygamy is accepted here and unfortunately something not easily given up! Please pray for this new generation to embrace the gospel and have courage to leave these practices behind.
Please continue to pray for our adolescent/youth age girls who still don’t have rights to study or marry whom they wish. Many are still forced/sold into marriage to much older men as a 2,3, or 4th wife! I do want to Praise the Lord for the slight changes we are seeing, some families are sending/allowing their daughters to study and the laws in Mozambique are starting to change in their favor!!! Please pray for the church to be a good example in these changes.

Pastors

Please pray for our three local pastors and their families. They have been tried and tested in so many ways. Please pray that Mateus (Isabela), Joaquim (Julieta), and Isaac (Lauvness) will continue to persevere in their faith and continue to be lights of Christ among the Ndau. Please pray for Cecilia and I and the ministries we have been given amongst the Ndau; and for more workers to be sent into the harvest!

Be set free

Please continue to pray for the gospel to be made known amongst the Ndau people who are still trapped in bondage through witchcraft and ancestral worship. Pray that they would encounter and turn their lives over to Christ Jesus and be set free from ancestral/traditional fear which enslaves them.
Please pray for the churches that do exist would grow in Christ and not in religion. Like so many church problems around the world, being transformed by Christ is not popular but doing “churchy” things that look good is easy and attractive. Please pray for spiritual growth and maturity.

Pray for pastors

Pray for Pastors Mateus, Joaquim and Isaac and their churches: for grace, wisdom, discernment and endurance in every trial and situation that is ahead; that they’d be a united testimony among the Ndau people and that many would come to salvation.

God’s provision

Praise the Lord for provision of the exact amount of money needed for a roof repair of the church building in Makumba– the believers there saw God provide and their faith is increased. Pray for continued success in training and discipleship of rural pastors. One pastor, confronted with the truth, chose to obey the Lord by getting married, thus giving up the cultural right to multiple wives. Pray for more Ndau pastors and leaders to follow his example.

Hold firm the faith

Pray that the young Ndau church, it’s pastors and members, wouldn’t be discouraged or abandon their faith as the Covid-19 pandemic rages. Pray for blessing on missionaries & pastors going house to house to read the word, and pray together with Ndau believers. Pray that old beliefs would be rejected and new strength and trust in the Lord flourishes.

Rain and restrictions

The Churches are not meeting again due to Covid. Many people’s fields were destroyed with the latest rain. It has been raining again for a couple of days and has stopped a day ago. Please pray for the pastors as they try and tend to the “flock” with all the Covid restrictions. Pray for the team as they visit believers at their homes and do “mobile church”. May the Church be strengthened and blessed.

Pray against polygamy

Pray against polygamy, both among the older people and this new generation, who are following the steps of their ancestors and ending up in premature marriages.
Pray for the grandmothers and wise women who are responsible for the premature marriages in continuation of the traditions of the ancestors.
Pray for the few true Christians who battle against these cultural practices and find the pressure against them and their families huge.
Pray that God would raise up healthy churches, true churches without these cultural practices  mixed in and churches committed to the Word of God.

Purify your church Lord

Pray that the Ndau people would have a full understanding of the Word of God and that their lives would be truly transformed in the Light of the Word of God.
Pray that God would destroy the witchcraft in the midst of the culture, including in the lives of Christians.
Pray against the religiousness and syncretism in the Church.

Pray for Breakthrough amongst the Ndau

Pray that the strongholds of tradition, ancestral worship, and the dependence on witchcraft will be broken in the name of Jesus.
Ask the Lord to bring up a new generation sold out for Him.

Turning to God

Please pray specifically that people will turn to God (and not to the witchdoctors) in these difficult and challenging Covid days. Early on, a large quantity of Government advice leaflets were distributed throughout the community and we began a program of teaching people how to wash their hands effectively. We made two short videos – one in Portuguese and one in Chindau– demonstrating this technique and giving advice. Before lockdown, a number of churches were also visited to give a short presentation. This was followed by a scriptural message pointing people to Jesus and encouraging believers to share the hope we have for eternity. Ask that God will continue to bless these efforts and that souls will be set free from bondage.

Desperate

Please pray for Mozambicans walking through extremely hard times. Famines, floods, sickness, and extreme hunger have been the reality the last couple of years. Please pray! Pray for understanding and against despair. It is so hard to explain that the Bible tells us these things are the beginning pains of the return of Christ Jesus and to remain strong! Please pray for perseverance, and great faith in the provision of the Lord to sustain us all until His return.

Food shortage continues

Please continue to pray for the folks that are still battling with food shortage after the cyclone. We praise God that we were able to buy another truckload of maize and beans but that doesn’t go very far and will be finished quickly.

Still suffering

People are still suffering from the devastation of the cyclone. Please continue to pray for the food distribution. The folks are still going to need help until early next year when they harvest. We praise the Lord for all the help that has come in enabling us to buy the food.

Continued suffering

Please continue to pray for the Ndau who are piecing their lives back together again. Life continues in the outside world but they are still struggling. Please pray for the new believers to stand firm and resist giving up under hardship. Food continues to be a problem.

Post cyclone

Please continue to pray for the Ndau who have been affected by the cyclone Idai in our area. Many lost family, their homes and their fields. Pray for them as they rebuild their homes and for the World Food Program to continue bringing food until they can harvest again early next year. Pray for our team as we help them -for strength and wisdom in who to help. May we use every opportunity to spread the Good News and for the folks to see Jesus in us.

Food crisis

The waters are receding after the cyclone, but there is food scarcity and the threat of cholera and malaria. Pray for our team working hard to distribute food. This afternoon they took food to the prison. They had no food! Pray the Lord will be glorified among the people as His servants show mercy and love in His name.

Ministries starting again.

All the ministries will be starting up again this week-children, youth, men & ladies. Please pray for the folks leading the ministries, and that the folks attending will be committed for the year. Too often they start off well and then fade away to only a handful. We also pray that the Lord will bring those forward who will be future leaders in the Church.

Exalting Jesus, the propitiation for our sins

“The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation. ”
Oswald Chambers

Our prayer is that we will continue to teach the Ndau who Jesus is and why he came. In this world today there are many promises being made by false prophets and leading people down the wrong paths. We pray that we will be true to the message throughout our race until we are gone from this life…Pray many Ndau will follow!

May the Spirit tend His crop

Formal ministry is closing for the year as the Ndau are subsistent farmers, and will be in their fields all day working. The children, youth, & ladies’ ministries are already closed and the little Bible School will close at the end of October. Pray for the folks to stand firm, remember what they’ve learned, encourage one another, and continue to desire to have a deeper knowledge of who God is and who Jesus is. The break is a long one- until February. Pray the Spirit will continue the work He has begun in these precious lives.

Fires

It has come to the time of year again where the folks are burning their fields in preparation for planting. The downside to that is that they don’t control the fires and many people lose their houses and all their belongings. One of our members here in Espungabera has just lost everything she owns. Please pray for the folks to be cautious and for Mai Bongai as she rebuilds her house…and for the many others that will need to do the same.

Losing our young leaders

We are struggling to teach the young adult leaders as many of them leave to South Africa looking for money to pay the bridal price. In these past 2 months we have ‘lost’ 4. A lot of time has been invested in training but the future father- in- laws set the bridal price very high and as there are no means of employment here they go to SA. Pray for the Lord to bring the right youth leaders to be taught. We are losing a future generation which is disturbing.