Prières quotidiennes
Pray for long-serving workers whose funding has dropped as supporters have retired or gone to glory. Finding time to raise support alongside daily ministry can be really hard, and building connections at a distance is not easy. Pray for new partners to come alongside to further the work of the gospel in and through these faithful servants.
Saskia is a short-termer teaching at Rift Valley Academy for a year. She has been visiting the hospital in Kijabe every Wednesday to pray for children and their parents. She has found the lack of privacy for patients particularly striking. Saskia goes with two others, and they go through the wards together, praying at each bed. They start in the ward with very sick children. The suffering she has seen so far has had a profound impact. It puts all the discomfort and challenges in her own life into perspective. Everyone on the wards wants prayer. Last week, she was able to pray for three Muslim women who were in the hospital with a sick child. She also prayed for a boy of about eight who had just arrived and will be receiving cancer treatment. She prayed for a mother who looked very sad and was holding a child with obvious deformities. The hospital is very close to the RVA (National Emergency Medical Service), and there is such a great need! Pray that the Lord would help Sakia as she visits and answer her prayers for those she spends time with.
Jurgen and Katja Hofmann serve in Madagascar, reaching out to the Tanala people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ancestor worship and spirit veneration are deeply ingrained in the local culture and the spiritual battle is very real. Jurgen recently led a team of Malagasy Bible students on an outreach trip to the village of Maroamboka, where there are at least 15 witch-doctors, some known for cursing people to death. On the first day, a woman came asking for help because several people were very sick. “Sick” can mean many things, but in this case, it was demonic possession. They found a young woman in her twenties, who had been perfectly healthy three days earlier, but was now unable to do anything but growl and was paralysed in the legs. During prayer, she started kicking, hitting, and contorting, but “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). After much prayer, the demons left. Within an hour, she was calm. She was placed under the supervision of a local believer, to teach her about the Lord Jesus, so she can follow Him instead of returning to ancestor worship. The next day, the group continued ministering to the other “sick” people, all of whom were freed in the same way! Praise the Lord that people are being released from a life of fear and are learning that freedom is only found in the Gospel.
Elle* is part of a medical ministry team on the Indian Ocean Islands. A family on her team had a possible threat made against one of their children by a mentally disturbed man in the town. Despite discussions with community leaders, they were unable to find a way to guarantee his safety. So for the time being, this family have returned to the US to rest and seek the Lord’s will regarding their future. Please pray for them as they recover from this trauma and ask the Lord to guide them. Praise Him that they were able to say goodbye and leave with many positive memories from their time there. Elle is encouraged, knowing that they planted so many seeds in the community. Our heavenly Father knew this was going to happen, and nothing can thwart His plans for the kingdom. Please ask for comfort as Elle grieves losing teammates, and wisdom about what her priorities should be as the only team member there until January, when a colleague returns. * Name changed for security reasons
John and Zoe Putman serve at Rift Valley Academy (RVA); AIM’s boarding school, which educates and disciples the children of missionaries, in Kijabe, Kenya. They have had a great first term, with five girls returning to the dorm from last year and six brand new ones. With 11 students, they are now a little busier with more questions, more homework to help with, more sports games to support, more hearts to nurture, more hair to braid, more hot chocolate to make, more jokes to be listened to, more medications to administer, and more parents to liaise with. Their role as dorm parents is so special, and they are grateful to God for trusting them with the care of these 11 precious people at such a vulnerable age and stage. The girls are very mouldable and influenced by the world around them, and John and Zoe have the chance to step in whilst parents are away and take on the noticing; the growing of their personalities, characters, understanding of themselves and God, friendships, habits and hobbies. Please pray that their friendships with each other will be healthy and strong, that they will be bold to encourage each other in their faith, and that they will choose good study habits. There is a wide range of backgrounds and cultures within the dorm, so please pray that they can honour everyone to create a warm and welcoming environment with clear expectations and boundaries.
Pray for the 650,000 Saharawi of North Africa, who primarily live in Western Sahara, Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria and Spain. Praise the Lord that several Saharawi ladies came to a festival where they heard the gospel presentation, Christian music and two testimonies. Pray that they will ponder what they heard and believe. Keep praying for the Saharawi woman who received a Bible from a worker. May she read it and have her eyes opened to the Truth. Ask the Lord to enable efforts to mobilise the Spanish church so they can join in reaching out to Saharawi and other Muslims in their area.
Jessica Goldschmidt-Habyarimana serves as the administrator for the AIM France office. The summer saw different short-termers come and go through the French-speaking office. In mid-October, they were able to have a time of debriefing. It was good to spend time with them, hear them share about their experiences of service and what they learnt. Sometimes we know things intellectually, but our hearts remain unaffected. Teaching and being involved in the day camp in Mayotte really touched one and made her understand that God truly loves everyone! Please pray that God would help them hold on to what they learnt and that they would continue to be lights for our Lord and obey him, whether he calls them to serve in France or abroad! The AIM French-speaking office is currently undergoing an audit to look at the way the office is functioning, the tasks that need to be done, and who does what. Please pray that the outcome would give a clearer picture of their needs and helpful insights into how to reorganise things.
Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving in Antananarivo, Madagascar, encouraging and equipping the Malagasy church for mission, and reaching out to vulnerable women. They have been confronted with new levels of deceit by those they are seeking to help in these last few months. One woman lied about expecting twins when she was not actually pregnant! Another faked a robbery of her small shop to try and get more help. It’s hard to balance upholding the boundaries, but also showing grace and giving second/third chances. They’re realising that this is actually a false dichotomy: by following through and stopping support when those they are trying to help break the contract, they are helping them to realise their sin and their need for salvation and repentance. The manner in which they deal with these situations is so important, as it is through gracious and clear communication that those they are trying to help understand their responsibility to be honest and to put the effort into changing their lives, with God’s help. Pray for wisdom in dealing with deceit and for real change in the lives of those they are seeking to help.
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