Pray

Francois and Nadia Hattingh minister among the “M” people of Southeast Africa. Nadia is working with local believers to develop chronological Bible curriculum for preschoolers. Believers are teaching neighboring children using Bible materials, and there is interest in starting another preschool. Francois is working with a local team to “develop materials to train local church leaders.” The team is “trusting the Lord for a training center where believers can be equipped to take the Word of God where it has not gone before!”

Pray for wisdom, provision and perseverance in all these endeavors. Pray for more equipped preschool teachers and Bible teachers. Pray that God’s Word would penetrate the hearts of the “M” people — including the hearts of the young children.

Give towards the training of national partners.

As missionaries move to a new context and learn a new culture and language, they can experience culture stress (or culture shock). Martha Beitzel, who is advancing through culture and language acquisition in the Philippines, says that along with culture stress come “feelings of irritation, fatigue and discouragement, often accompanied by frequent illness. … The more I am personally invested and involved in participating in a new culture, the more intense the effects of culture stress.” Pray that God would grant these missionaries endurance, perseverance and encouragement. Pray that He would remind them of the bigger picture — communicating God’s Word to a people who have never heard.

Micah and Laura Myers minister among the Lembena people of Papua New Guinea. The Lembena team is reaching the end of formal Culture and Language Acquisition (CLA). “We have a very busy season ahead of us with the goal of having all our paperwork and filing done by May to wrap up the Culture and Language Acquisition phase of our ministry! We are working hard getting lots of stories checked and prepped for that first literacy class.” Pray for stamina and encouragement as the team finishes CLA and prepares to teach literacy. “Pray that God continues to prepare [the Lembena people] for the gospel.”

Greg and Kadie Ried minister among the Taliabo people of Asia Pacific. “About 18 months ago … 13 young Taliabo adults had stepped out in faith and entered the Bible school/missionary training. ... They have all completed the Bible school portion and are now back home in the village for a practicum where they minister with their local church for a semester. In the fall, they will return to the school to continue with the missionary training portion. Pray for them as they put into practice what they have been studying. Pray that God will use them greatly in the future to spread His Good News.”

Lív ministers in West Africa. This month, the translation of 1 Samuel and the first 12 chapters of 2 Samuel will be checked by a consultant. “[Praise the Lord] that one of the language helpers that we used last time says that he will be available for the check. Pray that the Lord speaks to him through what he hears. Pray for a good check, for wisdom and stamina and health for all of us. Pray also that all the practical things will come together for the check. Pray for a safe journey for the consultant. Pray that the updating of the books and preparation for printing will go well.”

Ed and Silvia Emsheimer serve in Brazil at the Shekinah Missionary Training Center. Pray for the 13 new students training at Shekinah this semester. Pray as they “adjust to a new place that they will have sensitive hearts ready to learn.” Meanwhile, the 11 returning third semester students “are currently in their village practicum time and will be back with us in the beginning of March.” Pray for “opportunities for intentional discipleship and [for] moments of fellowship on campus.” Pray for “wisdom, strength and spiritual growth for us as we raise our daughter Lillian and train the next generation of cross–cultural missionaries.”

Aaron and Bekah Kern serve in Brazil. They are preparing to live among the “K” people alongside Ed and the Borja family, their co-workers. “Pray for the ‘K’ people; [pray] that God would prepare the soil and prepare us laborers. Pray that God would provide wisdom and clarity as we figure out how to proceed with [building our houses], … humbly relying on the people’s expertise and building positive relationships. And pray for our families too as we trust the Lord to help us thrive in these transitions. Pray that we would all grow in our faith and [pray] for God’s grace with all the tropical health issues.”

The Homes of Ethnos360 in Sanford, Florida, is a home for retired Ethnos360 missionaries. Praise the Lord for the way He uses volunteers, interns, associates and career missionaries to minister to retired missionaries who have served Him faithfully in ministry over the years. Pray that God would lead more people to serve in long-term ministry at the Homes. Pray for a food service director, general maintenance personnel, personal care staff, housekeeping staff and kitchen staff. Pray that as the retirees continue to serve the Lord through official ministry and ministry to their family and friends, He would be glorified.

More about the Homes

Jezekiel and Anna Van Der Decker serve in Papua New Guinea. The Van Der Decker, Doerr and Islamaj families are preparing to live and minister among the Mian people. The Van Der Deckers recently made a trip to the village to begin milling lumber for their team’s future office. “It was really cool to see the community's enthusiasm to do everything they can to assist in our allocation. … Please be praying for the airstrip's progress as the completion of this airstrip will greatly aid in our allocation process!” Praise God as the team is already beginning to form meaningful relationships with the Mian people.

Leah Joslyn Dobbins serves with Ethnos360 Caribbean and Global Equip, a two-year Bible training program that focuses on training missionaries and spiritual leaders from limited access countries. In March, she will be involved with Ethnos360 Caribbean’s Wayumi, a missions retreat designed to mobilize and equip churches to be involved in cross-cultural missions. Also in March, Leah will be involved in the first Global Equip intensive. “This will be a time of connection, teaching and edification for our five students in the two-year online Bible school program.” Pray that these events would be informative and encouraging and would glorify God.

Dan and Judy Burke minister among the Chimane people of Bolivia. Each year, they take a break from teaching discipleship courses from January to March and “completely focus our efforts on developing new materials. Dan is writing a commentary … for the book of James in Chimane. I (Judy) am continuing to write up new lessons in my series of chronological Bible lessons for the Chimane women.” Pray for wisdom as they strive to develop materials that are accurate and understandable. Pray for the Chimane elders as they “visit, evangelize and encourage believers” during a particularly “difficult season” of sickness and flooding.

Help fund the construction of a conference center for the Chimane church

Levi and Robyn Lenz and their co-workers Daniel and Rachel Hulley minister among the North Wahgi people of Papua New Guinea. The church recently held a New Testament dedication. One woman who “is very religious but not a born-again believer” immediately began reading in the book of Matthew and said, “I can’t stop reading it. It is going straight to my heart.” Pray that as she reads Scripture, she would understand Truth and put her faith in Christ. Since receiving the New Testaments, many people have asked to hear the chronological teaching and to start another literacy class. Pray for the team as they discuss with the church how to meet these needs.

Jason and Nisae Williamson minister among the Iski people of Papua New Guinea. The initial church outreach in village “S” is almost finished, and “people are believing!” One man who was hearing Truth for the first time said, “Jesus, the promised One, is the only way I can be made right with God. I have put my faith in this talk!” Praise God for those who have heard and believed. “The new believers will continue to meet as a group there (under the teaching of [Iski] Bible teachers [from the first village]) with the hope that they will become the new local church body.” Pray for those who have not yet understood and believed.

Chad and Janeene Mankins, serving itinerantly, minister among the Tobo people of Papua New Guinea. Pray for Chad and his translation co-workers as they work on Matthew “which is the last book needed for the Tobo New Testament to be completed!” He will also be bringing the church a volume of lessons on the book of Revelation. “Please pray that the face-to-face time spent there with the believers would be helpful and encouraging to them and that God would use these intentional discipleship opportunities as He sees fit to continue to grow His Church there in Toboland.”

Help fund Bible translation

Aaron and Amy, along with co-workers Guy and Keyla, minister among the “G” people of West Africa. Over 10 months, the team taught from Genesis to Revelation. In their last lesson, they taught about the new heaven and the new earth and summarized God’s plan throughout Scriptures. One woman responded to the gospel by saying, “Of course I will trust in Jesus.” It seems that the rest are not yet ready to believe. “It looks [as if] there is still more soil to till, more seeds to be planted until the crop is ripe for harvest. … Pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of those who came to the teaching and will keep reminding them of what they heard.”

New Tribes Mission Aviation (NTMA) has been supporting church planting in Papua New Guinea (PNG) since 1976. NTMA is finally constructing a second hangar in PNG to house their aircraft — a project that has been in the works since 1994 and has faced many roadblocks. Praise the Lord for His provision and pray for the team as they manage the challenges of such a long-term project. Please pray for managing water drainage during the current rainy season, especially when pouring the concrete. Pray also that unexpected issues would not come up, increasing expenses or creating delays in completing the project. The plan is to have the frame finished by March and to have the new hangar functional by mid-April.

Learn more about our Aviation Team

Susie ministers among the “S” people of West Africa. For the first time ever, they will begin literacy classes in the language of the people. “Could you pray for the right number of people to come and for them to be the right people? [Pray] that God's plans for this time will come to fruition. You can also pray for us as we still have a little over one primer to correct. [Pray] that we'd have wisdom knowing how to teach well. … Also pray that this would excite the community towards literacy and that we'd be able to see if there are changes that need to be made to the spelling system.”

Luke and Jessica Thek minister among the Uruwa people of Papua New Guinea. “Thank you for praying for our team as we learn language. … Also please pray for us as we learn the culture here. … The Uruwa language varies slightly from one village to another. Please pray for God’s wisdom for our team in what that will mean for future literacy classes and Bible translation, as well as for our own language learning now.” Pray too for wisdom as they prepare to share God’s Truth some day with Uruwa people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Brandon and Rachel Buser minister among the Biem people of Papua New Guinea. Last year, the final verses in the Biem New Testament translation were checked. “We still have lots of editing, formatting and some minor revision work to do, but the hope is to see the New Testament printed and put in the Biem people’s hands [this summer]. Your prayers toward that goal would be such a blessing. Pray that God would speed [up] the final stages of that work. Pray for good health (especially for Rachel) as we press towards that mark. Pray that He would provide finances for the printing of the New Testament.”

Help Fund Bible Translation

Jordan and Rachel Keefe minister among a people group in Colombia. They had to leave the area due to security concerns and have now returned to continue discipleship and language study. Pray for the Keefes’ safety. “Please keep praying that the Lord will keep the door open for us to continue ministering here for years to come.” Pray for the believing women Rachel disciples as they become “more bold and outspoken in their faith” and begin teaching the children. Pray for indigenous believers who are faithfully taking the gospel to their people. Pray for more laborers in Colombia.