Daily prayers
Pray for the 15,000 Suri of South Sudan and Ethiopia. Although they are very committed to witchcraft, they are receptive to the gospel, and in the past few years, a church with around 150 people has begun in Mewun (South Sudan). There are two churches in Ethiopia with a mixed congregation of Suri from different sub-tribes. Most of the churchgoers are quite young in their faith and age. The temptation to backslide is great. The translation of the New Testament has recently begun. Some gospels have now been drafted. Pray for strength for the Bible translation team. They are working hard. Pray for wisdom to make good translation decisions, and for many Suri to read God’s word in their language and believe the message.
Pray for AIM as we endeavour to follow the model and teaching of Jesus, who became incarnate among us (John 20:21, 1 Cor 9:19-22). Ask Jesus that in our varied ministries, we would walk in humility, build relationships, adopt learner attitudes, learn languages and cultures, and strive to live as belonging members in our communities.
Cees and Mirjam Molenaar serve in Kotido, Uganda, to engage the Karimojong people for Christ. At a recent training session of 78 leaders in rural church fellowships, it was discovered that only six could read and write. The six readers automatically became group leaders for the Bible reading assignment, reading the Bible passage aloud three times and then discussing the question provided. People in an oral culture are good at listening and remembering, and some have even memorised the section! When the training had finished, the leaders asked, “Teacher, we are really hungry. God is calling us to teach His Word to the children, and we have learned how, but what are we to teach them if we don’t have His Word and can’t read it?” Matayo is one of the six who can read. His Bible is used for his seven satellite congregations, which means that once every seven weeks, the Bible is opened in one of those churches. The other Sundays are filled with singing, praying, and sharing testimonies. Cees’ Ugandan fellow trainers were shocked: “So God had to bring you all the way from the Netherlands to show us that there is so much spiritual need in our own country. Suddenly, I understand the great commission: it says GO! We didn’t know that there were still such unreached areas in our country.” Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into these fields.
Ruth* works on an Indian Ocean Island, seeking to share the gospel with people who have never had it explained to them. The team are very excited that the new Sister we have on the island, who came to faith earlier this year, was baptised last month! Her children are also showing some interest, with her daughter even coming along to the women’s bible study this month, so that’s super encouraging! Pray for Ruth as she transitions back into island life after a period of home assignment: that she would cope with the humidity (she’s returned during the hottest time), get the house set back up okay and that she would remember language! Ask the Lord for favour, meeting with the Director of the hospital, that he would allow her to volunteer there again and that he would write a letter of support so she can get a visa. *Name changed for security reasons
Kay* leads a medical team on the Indian Ocean Islands. A month ago, the community faced another tragedy when a minibus full of people going to a wedding lost control and ended up going over a steep embankment into a ravine. The busload of people was from the neighbouring town to where Kay works, but up on the plateau, communities are close, and such an accident has shocked the region. At least 11 people were killed, and more were injured, and their little hospital was on the front lines of receiving casualties. Please pray for all those grieving or recovering; may the Lord meet them in their pain. *Name changed for security reasons
Timo and Laura serve in Finland among the refugee population, sharing Jesus with them and equipping Christian refugees to reach out to fellow internationals and the Finns they live among. Most of the helpers in their food giveaway program on Tuesdays are from Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic backgrounds, and there is a nice community forming around this. One of the key needs of the helpers is learning Finnish, so Timo has started leading a short Finnish lesson. They start with a Bible reading followed by a few questions like: What does this text say about God? What does this text say about humans or the human condition? The attendees have been very attentive and participated well. After this, they have a 15-20 minute Finnish lesson, which people have really appreciated. Since that has started, a number of these people have also visited their Sunday worship, which has been a very exciting development. Pray for lives to be changed for eternity as they hear the word of God.
Pray for the South Asians of East Africa, of whom 82,000 are in Kenya, 60,000 in Tanzania and 15,000 in Uganda. South Asians in East Africa include Punjabi, Gujarati, and Kutchi speakers and often live in close-knit communities and maintain their culture and close ties to family in India. The majority of South Asians live in the big cities – Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, and Kampala. Most of them are involved in business (they are believed to control about 40% of Uganda’s economy) with their involvement in manufacturing, pharmacies, insurance companies, sugar industry, banks, real estate and hotels. Pray the Lord of the Harvest to call labourers into this harvest field. We need wisdom and guidance on how to effectively reach this South Asian people group.
Pray for AIM as we seek to foster caring communities among AIM members, ministry partners, and local believers. Ask the Lord that, in the power of His Spirit, we would love, serve, encourage and admonish each other in order to grow in unity and demonstrate the truth of Jesus to the world. (John 17:21-23)
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