Elle* is part of a medical ministry team on the Indian Ocean Islands. Sarah* and Elle both felt it was right to invite the local ladies to start studying with them after their gathering on a Sunday, and they all seemed to agree, but none of them has attended the gathering since! Please pray that the invitation to go deeper hasn’t put them off attending. Meanwhile, Mary* and Elle still haven’t restarted studying as Mary’s niece is getting married this month, so she realistically won’t have time until after that. Please ask that she would remember what she’s heard so far. Ma Fiona* is now back from the coast, so ask the Lord that they’ll restart studying soon. Thank the Lord that the studies with the believers Sarah*, Stacey* and Ma Fae* continue well.

*Names changed for security reasons

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

Elle* is part of a medical ministry team on the Indian Ocean Islands. Recently a blind mother, who had received no antenatal care, delivered twins at their hospital weighing 1.3 and 1.5kg. She had no money to go to the neonatal unit in the city, so they were kept on the postnatal ward, using ‘kangaroo care’ to keep their temperatures up (placing them skin-to-skin with mum or a relative and holding them in place with a scarf tied around) and a lot of prayer! Praise the Lord, they’re currently doing well and gaining weight! But it does reaffirm the need for a neonatal unit there. Pray for Elle and the team as they plan and try to ensure they do the simple, important things well. Mary* and family have been busy sorting their cloves for sale. This and other things, mean they haven’t studied in ages. Elle wondered if Mary* was still interested. But after a long conversation when she offered Mary* many ways of saying no and assured her of her ongoing friendship, Mary is firm about continuing to study once the cloves are sorted. Elle wants to ‘relaunch’ their studies by retelling the contextualised good news presentation they use (the kingdoms of light and darkness). Please pray that this would be memorable and make sense of the rest of the stories.

* Name changed for security reasons