Daily prayers
Zac is doing Youth Sports Ministry in Tanzania for a year, having started in January. Praise God for the opportunities he has had to build relationships with local men. One of them is a Muslim man who runs a vegetable stand at the local market. He attends the mosque regularly to pray throughout each day and has a wife and two young kids. He’s enthusiastic, eager to chat, and funny. After a great recommendation from a missionary friend to take a pack of cards there, playing cards with him behind his stall has become a regular activity for them as they talk. Please pray for Zac’s friendship with this man, that the Lord would use him to proclaim the good news. Another man is called Okwi, who works on one of the nearby construction projects. He always greets everyone with a huge smile on his face, and it’s evident that he is ‘just a quality bloke’ in Zac’s words! He attended church a couple of Sundays ago for the first time in his life, and afterwards Zac found out that he had asked for a Bible! He has seen him reading it in recent days and has been greatly encouraged. Please ask that Okwi may experience the love and joy of the Lord, experiencing deep fellowship with the One who created him.
Saskia has been serving at Rift Valley Academy in Kenya since last August. Praise God that she regularly gets to have deep conversations with the class, prompted by events that the children share from their own lives. Every Tuesday, she does weekly mentoring sessions with Emma, one of the students, where they have lunch together and talk about things that are on Emma’s mind. Please pray that their bond will deepen over the coming term and that Emma will continue to grow in her faith through the mentoring sessions. Saskia does not yet know what she will do after this school year, but trusts that God will lead her to the right place. During a recent hike on Mount Kenya, the presence of the guide who led them on the right path reminded her of the leadership of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. A few times when she took a wrong path, she was immediately called back, even though the guide was walking a little behind her. Ask that Saskia may continue to hold firmly to the truth from Psalm 23 that ‘He leads me in the paths of righteousness, for the sake of His Name.’
Elle is part of a medical ministry team on the Indian Ocean Islands. Aiden, a local believer, has been having family problems since his brother returned from another island. His brother doesn’t like Aiden’s faith and has been trying to turn their father against him, saying he is doing witchcraft over his food and making him scared to accept any gifts of help from Aiden. As well as isolating Aiden from his family, it’s also affecting other new believers. Please ask the Lord to help Aiden to show great courage, steadfastness and grace towards his brother and wife. Pray for a change of heart for his brother and that those looking on would see the light in Aiden’s life.
Please pray for the 2.5 million Chadian Arabs located in Central and Southern Chad and parts of Sudan. Praise God for students taking classes that enable them to encounter Scripture and understand more about Jesus. Pray especially for four students who have begun exploring the Bible more intentionally outside of class. Ask that as they continue studying, their hearts would be open and their understanding would deepen. Pray that God would reveal Himself clearly to them and guide them toward faith.
Simon and Miriam Desborough are serving in Antananarivo, Madagascar, encouraging and equipping the Malagasy church for mission, and reaching out to vulnerable women. During their time in Antananarivo, taboos have had an impact on their work and ministry. For instance, Miriam’s organisation recently tried to help a woman receive some treatment from the doctor, but sadly she wouldn’t even attend an appointment due to several taboos that she feared. Whilst they understand that some of these taboos have come from cultural wisdom, many are a reflection of the fear-power dynamic of Malagasy culture. Many Malagasy are in fear of dreaded consequences should they transgress the taboo. Pray Galatians 5:1 over the Malagasy “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Hannah is the Child Safety Officer for AIM. The language school where she serves in Kenya restarts next week. This last month over the Easter holiday, she has been praying about whether to continue at the school each Wednesday or to explore opportunities to engage Muslim women in her own neighbourhood, rather than travelling across the busy city. Please pray for her as a couple of new options have come up which may be a good fit. Also, a woman who had previously worked with Hannah is coming to Nairobi to look into outreach work, and some of her time will be at the same language school. Ask that their time together may produce fruitful conversations as they seek the Lord’s guidance.
Simon seeks to build relationships with African diaspora in the UK as part of the Borderless team. On Tuesday mornings, he volunteers at a local Refugee Day Centre. The Centre serves the needs of the local refugee and asylum seeker population; last year 940 adults from 61 countries of origin and their wider families received support. Pray for Simon as he has weekly contact with people from many different backgrounds and faiths, some of whom he has kept in contact with long after they finished coming to the Centre. Currently, the Centre needs more volunteers, so please be praying for this need to be met. On the 13th May, the UK Borderless Unit members will be gathering for their annual Unit meeting. Please ask for Spirit-filled fellowship and sharing of ideas.
Barry and Heather work with Growing Nations in Maphutseng, Lesotho. One of the joys of being in Lesotho is hearing the testimonies that gradually come to light during conversations with the team. Examples of these include past students who are developing their own agri-businesses and others, such as Katleho Mohalinyane, who are now leaders in their community. He was a student in 2021-22, who returned home to his remote community, put into practice what he had learnt and the whole community was so impressed with his Farming God’s Way demonstrations, and the way in which his life had changed, that they asked him to be their representative on the local council in 2023. Katleho has used the leadership skills and confidence in God, which were developed during his time at Growing Nations, to influence others in a positive way and bring change. The Growing Nations team also discovered that he had a gift of writing when he was a student, which they encouraged him to develop whilst there. He has subsequently published several books and in one he included a testimony about Growing Nations. Praise God for such testimonies and ask that the Lord may transform more lives through the work that Barry and Heather are part of.
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