Praise

Praise God for answering our prayers. All workers who were to be deported have had those decisions reversed. But we ask for prayers of protection as the authorities have shown their hand in identifying many workers. Also please pray for the secret believers who are being
discipled by some of those caught up in this situation. God is Faithful and His hand has been very evident in all that has happened this last month.

Prayer

Please pray that the teaching of our BMBs, both in group settings and in individual disciple-making relationships, will be exciting and effective in prompting growth.

Pray for the small number of believers in our land - that God would sustain them and cause them to grow in their faith. Pray for Him to bring brothers and sisters for them from amongst their own people. Pray for each one to desire to grow in Christ and to be diligent in their devotion to Christ. Pray for God’s grace to abound in their lives.

Please pray for N, a middle-aged national lady who heard that her husband wants to marry a second wife (it is legal for a Muslim man to have up to 4 wives). N feels very sad and hopes it will not happen. Pray for her and others in the same situation who probably feel rejected, that they will experience Gods love and acceptance for them.

A group of people have been kidnapped in a northern city. Three have been killed, while the whereabouts of the rest of the group is not known. Ask that the remainder will be kept safe and will be freed immediately. Ask that the Lord will comfort the family and friends of all those involved in this incident. Ask that the kidnappings in this country will stop.

Remember “Emma”, a local believer who seems once again more interested in God?s Word. She and her friends have had a hard time finding a time to meet for Bible Study. Please pray that God would remove all of the obstacles to regular study!

Testimony

Janet first met Salaama in the elevator. They were heading up to the cafeteria at work. Janet greeted her warmly and Salaama answered shyly with wary eyes.

The next meeting was in the same place, but this time they were alone, so Janet asked her to lift her niqaab so that she could see her face. She complied and they became fast friends.

Now many lunchtimes they eat together and it was even more fun when it was discovered that Janet’s new colleague Miriam knew Salaama from college. Happy chatter fills the days, on the phone, through a quick and humourous email, and quite often Janet comes back from an errand to find Salaama sitting at her desk and chatting with a colleague from Janet’s phone. Male colleagues give the two ladies strange looks as they pass by, but they are too shy to interfere. Most of them are Indians, so the friends chat in Arabic about anything they so desire.

The other week, Janet told her the story of how she met her husband. ‘How romantic!’ Salaama was enchanted. Janet told her, ‘God can do the same for you. Pray to Him, seek Him, ask for His love. I will pray for you as well.’ The reply was immediate,”‘Would you? No one has ever prayed for me before.’ Please pray for Salaama too.

Praise

Praise God! There were 38 delegates who attended the North American AP Conference. Many of these delegates were the leaders of the various Canadian and US agencies. It was a great time to be able to introduce God’s work in the region. Most of our time was also spent praying for the people and workers in the region and strategizing about how to better partner North America and its resources with the AP.

Prayer

There has been some unrest between the North and the South. Ask that the government and those who they differ with are able to talk through problems peacefully. Ask that the task force selected to solve this conflict will have wisdom and discernment.

A bit of football in the park led to a talk with one of the bystanders who later came to visit with his family. Would you please pray that God will work in his conscience? He seems religious, happy and satisfied and has no interest to talk about it at this point. God brought them in our lives as he does with many others. Pray that we and colleagues in the region will be able to recognize our role in the life of the people God brings us in contact with

The small body of BMBs in our country are considering how they can develop into a church which is culturally friendly in order to reproduce whilst staying Biblically strong. Pray for God’s wisdom to lead to specific principles and practices. Pray for unity among the believers in these decisions.

Pray for various workers as they finish their time here. For God’s provision for the future, for a chance to ‘leave well’ in terms of saying goodbyes to local people they have related to. Please pray for the children that God’s grace would be upon them as they make these moves to new places.

Pray for a local man here who has had a LOT of input, even doing a Bible survey study with a worker here. He regressed deeper into Islam when he became frightened by inconsistencies in its teaching! After having a dream, he sought out the worker he formerly had contact with and they are renewing their relationship. Please pray for the salvation of the man and his whole house.

Testimony

She is an old woman who has recently lost her son to illness. Two foreign ladies walked into her neighbourhood and someone told them that the household was in mourning. They were invited into the humble house and sat with the women. The two foreigners told them the story of Isa’s power, how he raised people from the dead. Once he raised his friend Lazarus. Another time, he brought to life a young girl. The ladies listened with interest. Several weeks later, the two ladies were invited to sit again with the old woman, her daughters and her daughters-in-law. As she heard the gospel, the old lady repeated it word for word to the younger ladies, not giving arguments against it, just telling the story. Ask that these women will one day believe what they heard. Ask that they will repeat it to their neighbours and that all will accept the message.

Praise

Thank the Lord for some believers who are meeting together. Ask that trust will grow between them as they study the Word. Also ask that the Lord will be with one young believer who is facing much trouble from her family. Ask that she will be able to get her job back as her family has said that she cannot work.

Prayer

Our local neighbours have been married for 10 years and have no children, only 3 miscarriages. We told them we are praying for her to have a baby, but now she is going to an alternative healer who will put some herbal ointment on her belly. I don’t know if this would have a spiritual impact on her and if she gets pregnant that this healer will get the honour. Please pray that God will protect her from bad influence and that she will get pregnant but that God and Jesus will get the glory for it.

Please pray for a believing husband for a local believer in our city.

TV programs concerning the Truth are now easily available with satellite TV. Ask that people will watch them and learn about God.

Please pray for a book that is 95% finished, full of stories of God’s amazing activities over the past dozen years in one Arab Muslim neighbourhood of the AP. It promises to be a source of real encouragement to those who are praying! Ask that it finishes well, and that the right publishing arrangements will come through.

Please pray for two of my Arabic friends, Dee and Harriet who have recently received an Arabic Children’s Bible upon the birth of their new child. Pray that in each case, the whole family will read and believe.

Testimony

As we watch God on the move, we have seen a number of family members come to faith. Two of the believers, Samatha and Emma, are cousins. Being close in age, the families have compared these women to each other their entire lives.These comparisons have created a rift in their relationship and a strong amount of distrust. It is sad to watch how Satan has taken advantage of this situation. Their dissention has affected both of their families and also the kingdom of God. It seems that their reconciliation is one of the keys in the furtherance of the gospel in our country. Please pray that God would break down walls of mistrust, hurt, and misunderstanding. Pray that God would instead build friendship, love, and respect between them.

11 May 2009

Praise

On their own initiative, a number of the local believers met and celebrated Easter together. They had a traditional Arab meal and enjoyed fellowship honouring their Saviour together. Hearing about this brought such hope to all of us. It is a glimpse of what is to come as God builds His church in our region.

Prayer

Pray this week for the follow up of a local person who had a lot of good contact with Christians in the past year or more. Pray for a positive meeting, in terms of friendship, desire to continue to get together and openness to discuss deep things of faith.

Please remember a woman in our neighbourhood who seems to have believed in Christ. God gave a “sign” to a worker that He was working in the woman’s life, then the woman asked for Christian materials! She wants to talk more, but always she is “accompanied” by watchful family members. There may be others like her, we don’t know. Pray that her and the worker will be able to talk privately and that God will build a church from this seed!

Pray that the tentmakers here will not be discouraged through the trials of seeing friends forced to leave, through sickness, through depression and repression, and that God in His faithfullness will continue and finish the work He has started in our country.

Pray for a local family whose son has been diagnosed with Leukaemia. Ask for God’s mercy in the midst of this crisis and that they will find comfort in the presence of Christians and not in their Muslim faith. Pray that our God will make clear that only in Jesus there is forgiveness of sin. Pray that the Spirit will spark a desire in the whole family to know and walk with God more closely, and that they will be given a Bible.

As the church grows, so does persecution. Ask that the Father will be with a brother who is fearful right now and wants to leave the country. Ask that he relies on the Father to help him through this hard time. Ask that he will believe that he will never be given more than he can handle, as he has been promised in the Word.

Testimony

Mohammed came to Christ last year watching Christian programs via satellite television. He is being discipled, and is continuing to grow in his faith. Recently a close relative died and some “Tentmakers” attended the “azza”, a three-day period of visiting and comforting the family.

During one of those visits, a tentmaker, “Dan”, walked in, just as Mohammed’s uncle was posing questions which cast doubt on the reliability of Scripture. The uncle turned to Dan and asked about the four gospels. Dan explained that the four gospels were not variants on the life of Jesus, but complementary testimonies to His life. In response to another question, Dan said he had some idea of an answer, but would do better to go back to sources before venturing a solid answer.

Abu Mohammed (Mohammed’s father) then spoke up, saying that even Muslims too often take what someone else has told them, without checking out the facts for themselves. He said we need to do our own research, a comment with which Dan heartily agreed. The interaction between Dan and Abu Mohammed continued warmly, and in the end, the two exchanged telephone numbers with hopes of getting together more to discuss these spiritual matters. Pray for the work of God’s Spirit to bring Abu Mohammed to Christ.

05 May 2009

Praise

Thank you for praying for the theatre group who performed for several thousand children last month. The children left singing the songs that they heard, and were still heard singing them long after the performances were over. The messages of the Father’s love and the fact that we should love one another were clearly given (even the officials in charge of the event reinforced these words). The actors were deeply touched by the needs of this nation, and committed to pray for those who they met.

Prayer

Ask God for the continued safety of secret believers as they deal with the fact of western Christians being removed from the country.

In our workplace, students come for work placement and learn many things. As we pray and share the bible everyday, we are able to introduce concepts that are new into their lives. One current student has been very keen to participate in devotional times. She agrees with what we share and adds her comments. We pray that the Word that is being sowed will bear fruit soon and not die away.

Continue to uphold Joseph, we have prayed for many years for him. He has a believing wife and children but is very resistant and aggressive. Pray for his wife, who is in the pit of despair at the moment, and wondering whether she should she give up. “How long, Oh Lord” she cries, “before you answer?”

The unity of our small fellowship of BMBs is being threatened by petty offenses and withdrawals. Pray that Satan’s work will indeed be destroyed by the love of Christ and work of God’s Spirit, and that the young believers will learn the principles of peace-making.

Recently the AP Network members met for a weekend. Ask for continued wisdom and boldness as these men and women seek to implement plans and strategies in partnership to usher the Kingdom of God to the AP.

Testimony

There is a lady who was born in the west of country but is from a mixture of nationalities. In most of the country, the people stick to their tribe, but, because she doesn’t come from any tribe, she is considered an outsider. No-one from the local crowd wants to have a relationship with her.

She is relatively open minded, doesn’t cover her face all the time and loves relationships with foreigners. One of the intentional workers has had an opportunity to share some things about our faith with her - about why Jesus had to die and that why He instructs us love our enemies. Pray that she will think more about this mysterious Lover, Jesus who wants a relationship with her. Please that she will begin to search for the Truth.