Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Every Monday, some of the team plays football with Somali friends. It started as a way to relax, but it’s now a meaningful way to build friendships and earn trust. As trust grows, we have more conversations about faith. A. is one friend who has been willing to hear the Good News fully. We pray together and talk honestly about faith and life.  He doesn’t yet believe, but we know that the Lord is at work! Join us in asking for saving faith in A. as well as for more curious friends like him.

Pray for hearts to be open to hearing about the Jesus of the Bible! Pray for friends who bravely bring their faith-questions, that God would draw them to Himself and reveal truth.  Pray for wisdom in every conversation. May we know how to move toward people with grace and truth. On Mondays pray that Soccer will open doors for deeper relationships and Gospel conversations. Pray that God will use these connections to build bridges between our team and the Somali community and that many will come to know the hope found in Jesus. 

Somali of East Africa: God is opening new doors for the Gospel among S friends, both through online conversations and through growing opportunities for believers to gather locally.  Online, there have been more conversations with S friends, new ideas for worship songs, and opportunities for digital evangelism. One of the new songs created through this ministry was recently sung at the S Conference in Minnesota. What began as an opportunity to create worship music together is becoming an opportunity for S believers to find their voices and express their faith through song. Please pray that God would raise up more S believers who will sing, write lyrics, and help create new worship music that honors Christ and speaks from their own cultural context. Please also pray for the weekly online Bible study. Pray that those participating would not simply gain knowledge about Jesus, but would truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God and place their trust in Him. Locally, the team is beginning to consider how to establish regular gatherings for S believers. Pray for wisdom as they seek to build a community that is warm, safe, sustainable, and rooted in Christ.

Please pray:  For S friends participating in the online Bible study, that God would open their hearts to the truth about Jesus. For new S believers, that they would grow in confidence and discover their own gifts for worship and ministry. For the development of new worship music, that God would use these songs to strengthen believers and communicate the Gospel within S communities. For wisdom in establishing local gatherings, that God would guide every decision and provide the right people and resources For healthy partnerships with local churches, that these relationships would strengthen the growing community of S believers. For a multiplying community of S followers of Jesus, both online and locally, who will encourage one another and make Christ known among their own people. Pray that what God is beginning through conversations, Bible study, worship, and fellowship would grow into a strong and reproducing community of S believers.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Praise God for a young man who has recently placed his faith in Jesus after months of studying the Bible. Though he had many questions and wrestled deeply with the claims of Christ, God opened his heart to recognize Jesus as Savior. Rejoice with heaven over this new believer, and pray that he will grow strong in his faith, remain steadfast through every challenge, and become a faithful witness to his family and community.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Pray for a young mom as she prepares to welcome her second child. The team was able to provide many things that she will need. Pray that she would become curious about the love and care she’s received in Jesus Name. Ask for this family to become a testimony of His grace within their community.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Pray for a young woman who is being drawn to Jesus through the loving witness of believers. She has seen the peace and hope that Christ brings and is considering what it means to follow Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of the gospel to her, give her courage to respond in faith, and use her testimony to encourage others in her community to seek Jesus.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Pray for two believers who are facing serious threats because of their commitment to Jesus. Ask the Lord to protect them from harm, give them discernment in every situation, and fill them with peace and boldness. Pray that they will continue to make disciples, and that God will use their faithful witness to draw many others to Himself.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Pray for a spiritual breakthrough among the Somali people living in Spain. Ask the Lord to break down spiritual strongholds, prepare hearts to receive the gospel, and stir many believers to unite in faithful prayer for this community.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Pray for our community while we are away. The Lord has allowed us to build meaningful relationships, demonstrate his love in tangible ways, and share the hope we have in Him. In recent months especially, there have been many opportunities to sow seeds of the Gospel. Pray that these seeds would take deep root, that the Holy Spirit would draw people to Himself, and that lives would be transformed by faith in the Lord Jesus. Pray that the evil one would not snatch away what has been planted, but that many would seek Christ and believe in Him even while we are away!

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Thank God for my friend “Leah!”  Now that she follows Jesus, she has a heart to learn how to share the gospel using TikTok in Somali for her people. She has already gotten some lessons in communicating the Gospel clearly and she is super excited. I have arranged for her to have some more lessons in the coming week.  TikTok is widely used among the Somali community.  Let’s pray that the Lord will use her channel to reach her people with the Good News. May many come to believe that Jesus is Lord.

Somalis of East Africa and Diaspora: Recently, my “person of peace” invited me to her house to offer counseling to “Mary.”  When I met her four years ago, she was full of energy despite her circumstances—having four children and living with a depressed husband who beat her. She shared that the villagers had been hurling insults at her. They would call her a madwoman while she was on her way to the market, to the point that she now believes she is one. She told me that her veil covers the tears and pain, and that it has become her best companion. She told me, “women in my faith are suffering too much and have no voice.” She asked me to pray, and I asked Jesus to heal her husband and children. As we were escorting her to get her transport back to her village, I told her that whenever she feels defeated and fearful, she should call on the Name of Jesus. I don’t know how she took it, but I asked her to give it a try.

Somalis of East Africa: Recently at a dowry ceremony the bride and her mom received support and prayer in the name of Jesus. Pray that tangible service leads to deeper trust for conversations around the Word. May this mom and daughter have open hearts for the Truth and discover a Love for Jesus and the good news.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Pray for the Light of Jesus to penetrate the darkness of the minds of all those who have said yes to reading the scriptures but do not yet see and understand. Pray that the words of truth sown into the hearts of these dear ones, would bear 100x fruit. For S and M and their whole family, for A and her whole family.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Pray for H, a young follower and member of our church, who completed his university studies last year and is currently searching for employment. Pray that the Lord will provide the right job opportunity for him and guide him as he begins this new season of life. Pray that he will have a heart for sharing the good news with others.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Pray for two families (BMBs) whom we have recently introduced to one of our fellowships. The pastor will be following up with them and connecting them to a home group and discipleship groups. Pray for a smooth settling-in process and for them to develop genuine, lasting relationships with new friends. May their passion for Jesus continue to grow, along with a deep compassion for friends who are still in spiritual darkness. Pray that God will guide their steps and establish them firmly as they grow within this new community.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Please pray for two young men we recently met before football training who have shown a sincere desire to learn more about God. Though devoted to their own religion, they have agreed to study the journey of the prophets from Adam to Jesus and committing to a 13-week study. This is now on it’s third week, and each session is bringing thoughtful, honest questions as we explore Scripture together. Ask the Lord to give wisdom as His Word is shared, and pray that He would open their hearts to the truth of the Gospel.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: Praise God for 3 Somali ladies who came to a women’s event about love. We had valuable interfaith dialogue! Praise also that two Somali men were able to spend time with the pastor of the church. Please pray for deepening relationships and that hearts would be drawn toward the love of the Father.

Somali of East Africa and Diaspora: ⁠Praise God for the employment of a brother who had lost his job because of his faith in Christ. Ask God to bless him at his new job and make him a blessing!

Somali of East Africa: Pray for peace and the resolution of inter-clan fighting. Pray in the midst of conflict, people will seek and find the Prince of Peace.

Last night we had a visit from Central police. The officers came and asked us about what we doing and interrogated the students too. We told them that we are Christians and running a church discipleship program.
They said they heard there are Somalis studying with us. One police officer was a Somali and he asked the Somalis why they were studying the Bible. They threatened to take us all to the police station. We prayed and thankfully they didn’t arrest anyone but they said they will come back again. We have 15 young people with us including 3 Somalis. We believe someone is inciting the police against us because of the MBBs that we are discipling. Please pray for God’s protection and the guidance of the Holy spirit for wisdom on how to move forward.

Please for our local sister who fled to the neighboring country under threat of persecution. Ask God for peace of mind and an open door for her to return home to her family.

Continue to pray for my friend D. He now has 20k followers on TikTok. Pray that God will transform his heart to know and love Jesus and D’s 20k followers will also know, love and follow Jesus.

Pray for the Somalis being deported from the US to Kenya, that we may connect with them and show them the love of Jesus.They will most probably settle in Kenya where they have their families as well as large property investments.

I want to thank God for this Christmas greeting sent to me by a Somali friend D, who is not a believer:

“Hi,
Merry Christmas 🎄 to you brother and to your family.
I’m congratulating you on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ- peace be upon Him.
Please accept my sincere appreciation of your goodness. And my message about this holiday.”

Pray that God may open D’s heart to know this Jesus and understand why He was born.

⁠Pray for freedom of religion so that the local brothers and sisters can meet and fellowship freely.
Pray for growth and maturity of the local believers in the midst of persecution.

Pray that God will transform the heart of my friend who regularly walks with me. Pray that our spiritual conversations will draw him closer to see and know the Saviour. We plan to continue meeting on other sports platforms.

Daily interfaith debates in our city are always a men’s affair. These are organized by Somalis who are always the majority. Last week a Somali lady boldly joined and shared that she no longer belongs to the other side. She was called names and almost beaten up. We thank God she was escorted away to safety. Pray for her boldness to continue and that she will connect with other believers who will strengthen her through prayers, connections, love and fellowship.

What a joy it was to have two children of an MBB being dedicated with other children on Sunday. For obvious reasons, the dedication of the two was performed in private.
Pray that the children will grow to know and love Jesus as Lord and Saviour. May they mature to serve Jesus all their lives.

Recently several believers and a couple of workers were arrested for promoting our faith. All have since been released. The workers were deported. Pray for the believers to remain steadfast, to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves as they navigate difficult times and persecution. Pray the Lord will strengthen and encourage them and continue to build His church.

A Somali girl is in Kenya for a life saving vascular surgery. She will have the operation tomorrow. It’s a complicated surgery- pray for wisdom for the surgeons. And pray for the impact on her family- for them to really know the love of Christ. Christians have paid for her transport to Kenya, her stay the last couple of months, and for her surgery. Many “cousins” are following her story.

Most of our MBB’s are struggling financially. Please pray that God will open doors for them to support themselves and their families. The majority are not engaged in any form of employment or income generating schemes.

The visit by pastors from 9 different African countries plus Brazil and the USA was very successful. Their presence in prayer within our city and their interaction with MBB’s was a blessing and an eye opener to many of them.

We want to thank God for the successful recording/filming of The Hope film – Creation to Christ in Somali language. Continue to pray for the final editing and uploading of the film on sttn.org website. This will bring it to be part of the +70 languages that have already been completed.

Pray for this short-termer who will be with us for about a month, that he will be able to engage with the many S* teams that play football most of their free time. Pray that this may be the beginning of starting a football academy to reach these youth with the love of Jesus. After one month, he will move to another city to do the same.

We have a S* friend who has been praying with us. She had dreams of vying for a political seat in the next general election. Instead God has opened the way to becoming an assistant police chief. In the eyes of other S* and the community, it is a big post!  She will be influential. Please pray that she will hear the call to follow the Saviour and use His Word to influence her community and all those that she will be leading.

Finally, after delays and some challenges in starting to film this ‘Creation to Christ’ story (sttn.org – school to the nations), dates have now been fixed. Pray that all S* actors will be available on the dates selected. And that the whole program will run smoothly. This includes transport, accommodation, food, proper working of the production equipment, constant supply of power/electricity, etc …

We will be hosting 30 African pastors from 9 different African countries, and pastors from the USA and Brazil. They are coming to our vineyard on a day visit for a prayer walk and interaction with the local Somalis. Pray for God to answer their prayers and for miracles to happen and for the people’s hearts to be opened to know the Truth. May the seeds of the Word that they plant last and give growth and may eyes be opened to God’s work.

A student from Mali is studying in Nairobi and gave her life to Jesus. Her family back home have disowned her after hearing about her transformed life. Pray that a friend she was referred to will be able to build lasting friendship and disciple her to be rooted in Christ and His Word. Pray for provision for all she needs especially resources to continue studying/working. Pray for her family at home to know Jesus and to be reunited with her.

Pray for Sharon, a local sister, who is under threats of going to prison because of her faith. Pray for courage and wisdom and mercy.

Pray for Cush, a local brother who has strayed away from the faith. He is currently threatening to expose the workers and our local brethren to the authorities. Pray that God will silence his voice, the he will repent from this evil and turn back to God, and that God uses all this for His glory.

A former Sheikh has become a believer! He is well known. Pray for protection over his life, for a new home with good and loving friends, for discipleship and for God to guard his heart. We pray that this victory will draw more of his former friends and associates to God’s Kingdom.

Diaspora in England: Pray for a Smli woman from our English class who says that she cries at night because she’s scared of going to hell and she has no way of knowing where she’s going after she dies.  She’s heard how different this is for Christians and how we have assurance of salvation.  May she reflect more on this difference and be curious to find out more, and decide to put her trust in Jesus.