“Then He said to His disciples,
‘The harvest truly is plentiful,
but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into His harvest.’”
~Matthew 9:37-38~
INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS PRAYERLINE
INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD
Monday, March 10, 2008
And He “gave some…pastors…
for the training of the saints
in the work of ministry,
to build up the body of Christ”
(Ephesians 4:11-12, HCSB).
Dear Intercessors, this is Eleanor Witcher of the International Prayer Strategy Office, asking you to pray for national pastors.
In a small, dry and dusty village in Mexico, a young man wakes up early to ride his bicycle an hour to work. Six days a week, he works 10 hours a day in a hot metal building, caring for chickens. He does this to earn money for his family. After he finishes work for the day, he begins studying God’s Word to help lead his church family. At times he feels inadequate for the task.
PT was one of the first Christians among the Tripura in his area of Bangladesh. Soon after he accepted Christ, he began to tell others about Jesus. PT has seen many Tripura baptized, but also knows many who have fallen away from the faith. He has a desire to organize the believers into thriving churches. One of his goals for 2008 is to see Sunday School classes for all ages in the churches.
Pastor C of Mtsala Baptist Church in Malawi was involved in seminary studies but was unable to continue due his lack of English; he was not able to keep up with the classes. Pray that he will not be discouraged but will continue to seek God’s guidance in his ministry, leading a Ngoni congregation.
Spring training has begun for church leaders in Luwingu, Zambia–not baseball teams, but church-planting teams are training specifically in the area of their prayer lives as they study God’s Word together every other week. Why prayer? Because it is the foundation of the work they will begin in the month of April, the work of going out in teams to start new churches in their neighboring villages.
* Please pray for national church leaders as they lay a foundation of personal prayer.
* Ask God to grant these leaders knowledge and wisdom as they invest hours in Bible study.
* Thank the Lord for pastors who faithfully build up the body of Christ.
Don’t forget to pray for Jesse and Majel Dean today as Jesse has knee surgery.
Peyton Alford, our granddaughter in Rome, GA had hit her head on the coffee table at her home. She had a big “goose egg”, but a scan showed her to be okay. Thank God for not allowing this injure to be more serious.
Pray for students all over the state as they take the state LEAP tests today. Pray the testing goes smoothly for everyone and students will be able to show what they have learned without being intimidated by the tests.
The F.B.C, Kentwood WMU will meet at 6:30 tonight. All ladies who are interested in missions are invited to attend.
DEAF OF COLOMBIA. A Colombia Hands for Life Team member shares: “‘Be patient’ is typically not a phrase we like to hear. In 2001, I was able to visit a Deaf school in one of the major cities. Shortly after that first visit, I was told that because we are Christians, we could not come back to visit. For the last seven years, we have been praying, you have been praying, and we have been waiting. Last year, this Deaf school called and asked for copies of the ‘JESUS’ film for their students. Recently representatives from the school came to visit us and asked us to take over the evangelism being done among their students and to give training in job skills. They will provide training and workshops for our teachers! Wow, what an awesome answer to prayer! Pray for us as we continue to work out the details for working together.” http://colombiandeaf.all.peopleteams.org/
HUNGARY. Easter is an important religious holiday in Hungary and is celebrated over the course of two days: Easter Sunday and Monday. On Monday, the men and boys visit their female friends and relatives, greeting them with a poem and a splash of cologne or water. The girls and women reward them with a hand-painted egg, baked goods, or some other treat. Please pray that traditions and rituals will not obscure the true meaning of this holiday. As the people are reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, may they come to a new understanding of how much God loves them and calls them to a personal relationship with Himself through the blood of Christ. http://www.heartforhungary.com
(I think we should have the same desire that people know about Jesus, not just the Easter traditions, here in America.)
LAST FRONTIER. This month, missionary women serving among Last Frontier people groups in two nations will have the opportunity to attend a retreat designed to give them a break from the stress and rigors of living cross-culturally. The women will worship and study God’s Word together, and have various workshop choices designed to meet their specific needs. And they will have time for just relaxing, having fun, talking, and praying together. Pray that both of these retreats will be a blessed time of refreshment and encouragement. Thank God for the volunteers who are making the retreats possible, both with leadership and financial support. Pray that no roadblocks will come up to hinder God’s appointed time for these women.
MISSIONARY PERSONAL NEEDS. Missionaries are looking for a house where they can begin full-time service among their people group. May God’s perfect will be revealed to them.
KneEmail
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” (Philippians 2:10).
Mike Benson, Editor
Ride
HAVE YOU HEARD the story about the family who was moving from the East coat to the West coast…?
It seems that they were going to have to drive in two vehicles. The father was driving one vehicle, and his brother was driving the other. When it came time for the children to choose who to ride with, they chose their fun-loving uncle, to the uncle’s great delight. He was flattered that they had chosen him over their own parents.
However, before they left town, the little boy asked his uncle, “What happens if we get separated from mom and dad?” To which the uncle said, “Don’t worry, we won’t.” But the boy persisted, “Well, what if we do?” The uncle jokingly remarked, “Well, I guess we’ll never see them again.” After a moment of silence, the little boy said, “I think I’m going to ride with my mom and dad.”
This world contains many things that are flashy, fun, and exciting which capture our attention, but when it comes right down to it, I wouldn’t want any of those things if it meant that I would be separated from my heavenly Father forever. Maybe we ought to take a moment and think about the one with whom we are riding. (Steve Higginbotham)
“Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life —
is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it,
but he who does the will of God abides forever”
The Prayer Link 