Pray

Tobi Magill ministers as a nurse in Papua New Guinea. “The good news of Jesus, or the Gospel, is the very same news as His followers received that Resurrection Day so many centuries ago! The Father\'s love poured out over us, ‘while we were yet sinners Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8), and by this grace we daily live out our dependence, gratitude and worship. In this way, this good news is to be ours every single day as believers — grace breathed in and out. And in all the world around us, we see this good news continuing to change hearts and lives around the world! In Amdu, a second Gospel Day has been reached with the Bible teachers teaching the Resurrection Day story and its impact again to a new group of hearers! In Menya, a man who was too lame to hike down to the Creation-to-Christ teaching at the meeting house really wanted to hear it. The request was put to the church, and one of the Bible teachers spent eight weeks going regularly to teach him. Upon hearing the final Crucifixion and Resurrection Day story, the man had a solid understanding of all that had been taught and a clear understanding and belief in what Jesus has done for him! More rejoicing in heaven! The church in Menya is also wading through the book of Romans for the first time! What a sweet time this must be for these sweet siblings of ours! The Pei are also working their way through Romans for the first time. Can you remember when you first heard and understood the profound truths and sweet promises in these words? Rejoice … that He IS risen indeed, in His abundant grace beyond all that we can possibly experience here, and for the power that takes us beyond death. But pray also for the very real struggles and battles of the heart, for our sibling’s growth and strength in the battle as well as our own, and for us all to be courageous in our dependence and bold in the truth! After all, He really is RISEN INDEED!”

Benjamin and Missy Hatton minister among the Amdu people of Papua New Guinea. This account is just after another presentation of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. “Our goal for the coming days is to get time with individuals who have been listening to the teaching these ten weeks. We have been spending time preparing the believers to ask searching questions that draw people\'s thoughts out. Pray for them as they suppress the Amdu urge to help people avoid looking silly by feeding them answers. We are really looking forward to being able to share new testimonies of faith in Jesus in the coming days and weeks. Thank you for praying with us and for us [and] especially for those people who are wrestling with the implications of the story that they have been listening to. Pray that each person would recognize their own personal guilt and helplessness. Pray that they would recognize the significance of the person of Jesus Christ and that they would be able to wrap their minds around the concept of belief in Jesus as the only way to be right with God. Thank you so much for praying.”

Joe and Kandi work with an indigenous people group in NW Brazil. “Sundays Joe has been bringing the teenagers to our house and teaching them using a video series in Portuguese. I think they like having their own youth group. It definitely isn’t anything light and fluffy. In fact, it is very convicting. Pray that the teens would allow God to speak to them through His Word. On Sundays I … take the kids and teach them too. It has been fun to teach them verses and songs in their own language. The reality is they use their own language at home, school and play, so why not at church too? One reason for this is that the New Testament was last printed in 1985 and needs a revision and updated orthography. Our co-worker is working on that.” Pray for the completion of the revision of the Scriptures as well as for growth in the church.

Jezekiel Van Der Decker ministers in Papua New Guinea. “Jason Williamson serves with his team as a church planter among the Iski people group. I would like to share with you some of his thoughts following a recent survey trip that he and his teammate Andre did among the K people group. The K people are the language group right next door to us here in Iski. Ever since 2017 when our missionary team presented the gospel, the K people have sent over delegates each month to request missionaries to come to their village, learn their language and teach them God\'s Story. In 2019 when our Bible teachers planted another church, about 20-30 bilingual K came, heard [the message], and many were saved. This heightened the need not only for someone to begin evangelism among the K but also to care for and disciple these new believers. Fast forward to this last November. My co-worker and I were able to spend a few days visiting every K village. This survey was to determine the best way forward to reach these people, either by sending a new missionary team in there or by leaning on the Iski church to reach them in the future. As we hiked through each village, we were greeted by countless people with fruits, tobacco (a traditional gift) and betel nut. These people would express to us (through our interpreter) that they are scared and do not know where their spirit will end up when they die. Please join me in praying for the K people and the 2,500+ other language groups around the world that are in need of a clear gospel witness in their own language. Pray that the Lord would prepare [the K people’s] hearts for the gospel and give wisdom, boldness and clear direction to the Iski church.”

Eric and Wendy minister in West Africa. “We … had a translation check of the books of Esther, the Gospel of John and most of the book of Luke. This involved many long days of work. When it was over, I was talking to one of the men who helped with the checking and commented on how tiring it must have been putting in such long days. His answer was very encouraging to hear. He said, ‘Yes, it was a lot of work, but it is worth it to be able to get the truth in our language. If we can read the truth ourselves, we do not have to go to others and ask.’ Seeing people who do not yet have the complete Word of God makes one appreciate more the fact that we do have all of God’s Word in our language. What a blessing!”

Ed and Jeanne Casteel minister in church planting and regional leadership in Asia Pacific. “We were created to be God’s images and to reflect Him to the whole world. The Wana believers are little people but cast a big image. …. Four people followed the Lord in believers’ baptism, and five were handed their certificates for passing the literacy course – yes, five more now able to read God’s Word on their own for the first time. For me, this news just made a good day even better! [Our son] Geoff and I just returned from the eastern coast of the island from meeting with missionary teams working in two separate language groups. It was a blessing to work alongside some of our Wana pastors as we met with these teams to try to encourage them and help them through some of the challenges they are currently facing.”

Carmen DeVries ministers as an educator in Papua New Guinea. “Learning to read doesn’t end after the new reader has begun to read simple sentences, but reading skills must be developed through practice. As those skills are developed, reading ability and comprehension will also grow. In Papua New Guinea, as [literacy teachers] teach adults to read and write, they do it with the goal of enabling the [adults] to read and comprehend God’s Word, so that they can build their lives upon truth. You can be involved in helping new believers stand confidently upon God’s Word by writing or illustrating books that can be easily translated into the many heart languages of Papua New Guinea.” Find out more.

Tim and Rebecca Ingles minister among the Wano people of Asia Pacific. “We had a very exciting day yesterday, celebrating together with the Wano as three of our Wano Bible teachers were officially ordained. [There] would have been [a] fourth, but he is [away] continuing to teach and disciple the new believers …, so we have to wait for a different opportunity when he is back here. We are praising God for His work in the hearts of these men and their wives, bringing them to the point where they are fulfilling the qualifications for elders that is laid out in the books of 1 Timothy and Titus. Two of these men are becoming the first elders of the Wano church, while the other two will continue their focus on leading evangelism and discipleship in other outreach areas, but either way, we are so excited to see how much growth has happened in their lives over the past years and how they are already functioning in the role of leaders of the Wano church. Praise God with us for this huge milestone, and please be praying for these men as well as their wives.”

Benjamin and Missy Hatton minister among the Amdu people of Papua New Guinea. “Going through these lessons again has been very good for the Amdu believers. In fact, we have had to remind them not to answer every question we ask before the new students have a chance to think it through and answer themselves. The believers have also been reviewing each week with family members who are listening to the teaching. We challenged the believers to prepare their minds for the conversations that are coming so that they are ready to drill down into the thinking of those people who say they believe. This is not culturally comfortable for the Amdu people. But it is necessary to identify if a person is grasping the truth. So, pray for them as they work alongside us in the coming weeks. When we leave on home assignment in mid-May our coworkers, the Allens, will be here on their own to carry things forward as far as disciple making and translation are concerned. Pray that our last couple of weeks together will be encouraging as we hand things off to them.”

Barry and Denise Spor minister among the Guanano people of Brazil. “Starting the beginning of May, Barry will teaching 17 new missionaries-in-training at the Brazilian training center for [more than] three weeks, just like last year. It will be pretty intense mentally with three hours of class per morning for the first 10 days. Again, I invite your prayer support for good relationships and Christ\'s wisdom and heart to train this new generation of workers in some of the basics of how to go about starting and nurturing believers in new churches in cross-cultural ways.”

Brian and Rachel Rich minister among the Maki people of Brazil. “[March] was full of activity. As I mentioned [before] when we were still in the big city, I also went on a trip with a consultant and another consultant-in-training. We did language evaluations for a team that is making good progress in their knowledge of the language and culture of their people group. Although we aren\'t nearly as far along, it is encouraging to see that it is possible for normal people to learn. We keep praying that God will provide language helpers with ability that will be patient enough to help us progress. Pray for good language helpers and progress in learning during this stint in the village.”

Rachel Chapman ministers among the Nahuatl people of Mexico. “Just recently, my Nahuatl daughter according to their cultural relationships came to visit with her husband and sister-in-law. I hadn\'t seen her in years since she married a man from a neighboring ethnic group. They are in town visiting her parents and came by for some Scripture materials. Her husband, Tino, was a kid when some co-worker friends of ours lived in his village representing Christ to his people. After the village as a whole rejected the message of Christ, our friends left his village. But now, Tino is curious to know what the Bible is about. We gave him and his sister Spanish Bibles. And we gave Nahuatl Scriptures to my goddaughter, Lina. Please pray as they take God\'s Word back to their village. Pray that God would open a door for the gospel that had previously appeared to be shut. Katie [my co-worker] and I in our humanness are limited in the number of people with whom we can interact in the time we have available. But God, in his limitlessness, is working through His Word and His Spirit in people in the village and the surrounding area so that many more can hear His truth.”

Jonathan and Susan Kopf minister among the Hewa people of Papua New Guinea. “We are very thankful for a successful consultant review of the books and chapters we have been working on! The good news is we are nearly finished translating the New Testament with only 2/3 of Luke and 1, 2 and 3 John left to finish. Our consultant friend has agreed to schedule the final review of the New Testament tentatively for January of next year. It will be amazing to have that finished, and we can’t wait to turn our focus to key books and chapters of the Old Testament. Thank you for your part in this project through these many years. … We are deeply grateful for your partnership with us in reaching the Hewa people with the love of Jesus. Thank you!”

Eric and Wendy minister in West Africa. “We were able to finish teaching Revelation and have now started to teach the book of Galatians. One of the things we noticed while teaching Revelation was that when talking about the Rapture we would say, ‘May we hear God’s trumpet sound yet tonight,’ and there would be a few ‘amens.’ But by the end of the book of Revelation, there were more and more ‘amens.’ Pray that what they heard would speak to them and that they would be faithful to tell their families and friends of their need for salvation. Pray as they hear the Galatians lessons that they would not just see how the Galatian church was so easily swayed into false teaching and legalism but that they would see the real danger that they … face in falling into false teaching and legalism.”

Jim and Judy Burdett minister to the Dom people of Papua New Guinea (PNG). “Jim continues to work on lessons in Dom for the book of Revelation. It requires a lot of study, digging through commentaries, checking Greek words, etc. The book of Revelation is fascinating and complex indeed. Jim is also helping with another translation project called The King of Glory, a book produced by Rock International Ministries. It is a Creation to Christ presentation with beautiful pictures and narration. The King of Glory has been translated into many major languages around the world, and now it has been translated into Tok Pisin, the lingua franca of Papua New Guinea. Jim is currently helping with the checking and editing of the Tok Pisin edition of The King of Glory along with two other men (former members of Ethnos360) who also speak the language. This will be a great way to share the gospel with those people of PNG for whom Tok Pisin is their primary language. Pray for the Dom Christians that they would walk in the light that they have and would continue to grow and for the leaders to be a good example to the church. Pray also for Jim as he prepares the teaching lessons for the book of Revelation. We will need to check it out with a Dom believer when we return to PNG for the summer.”

Penny ministers as a translator in West Africa. “In spite of the challenges, we have made some good progress in translation. All the epistles have had their comprehension checks now. We just finished 2 Corinthians this morning. We were working on the third [check] for that [book] the other day when our language helper essentially was falling asleep. I said, ‘It is time to quit.’ Our helper is sharp, but not when he is asleep! I have a few of the last epistles back translated for the consultant, but there is still another couple checks to be done before they can be sent to him. Mammadu and I have gone over the first 11 chapters of Matthew. They are taped. We are getting them adjusted and ready for comprehension checking, hopefully starting that this week. He will begin the comprehension checking, as it is going to take a while to check 28 chapters three times! Lord willing, I will be able to draft the remaining chapters. So, we are in somewhat of a routine which feels like it mostly consists of translation, translation and more translation! But Lord willing, the New Testament will be completed this year — not all consultant checked, but ready for it. Please keep praying for us.”

Paul and Bella Gervasi minister among the Sekadau people of Asia Pacific. “We started [the translation check] as planned. I was very sick for the first week, and then just mildly sick for the second week. Normally the goal for checking translation is 80 verses a day in epistles and 120 verses a day for narrative. We started with Romans and then 2 Corinthians. Our first week, we averaged about 108 verses a day. We were really hoping for better than that. Our checker had never done more than 152 verses in a day checking other translations. We averaged 179 verses a day with two days over 200 verses. Needless to say, we were pretty happy with that. We finished up all that we had ready to be checked in just a little over two weeks. We ended up checking 1,818 verses.

I thought about why [we were] able to check the translation as quickly as we have. It would be easy to try and take some credit for that. But we had to make a few pretty major changes along the way, and every day I was making minor adjustments. I know we have good translation checkers. I also know we have some really excellent native language helpers. But I also think the Lord knows we haven’t got that long to get this finished. I truly believe that this check was a gift from God, from first to last. And lest I be inclined to want to take credit for things going well, I was sick as a dog during much of the check. I was certainly not the reason that things went well. God is good. Pray for the continued work on translation. I have to check Colossians and Galatians with my native language checkers. That will be the last of the New Testament that I need to do. I am also drafting Old Testament passages. I am about halfway through what we are planning on translating.”

Caleb and Emily Arnold minister among the Tepehuan people of Mexico. “We have begun adjusting to mountain life as a young family learning from the Thomases where to get groceries, who sells the best tacos and where Tepehuan communities are in relation to the little town. We have also begun studying Tepehuan — the language that the people speak. It is a very challenging language, and we know it will take many years of hard work to be able to speak well. Please pray that the Lord would open our minds to understand and remember the new words and phrases we are learning. We desire these people to hear and understand God’s Word in their heart language. We have enjoyed getting to know a few of the Tepehuan believers as well as some others who have come to our gate looking for work opportunities or clothing. It is a step of faith every time we open the door! Pray for the people that live here and the surrounding communities. They live in fear and darkness and need the hope that comes from the gospel. Pray for us to continue to adjust well to this new culture and that the Lord would make it clear where he would have us move for our ministry. We are living in a temporary house and are prayerfully investigating other places that are closer to the Tepehuan people and more advantageous for our ministry goals among them.”

Chad and Janeene Mankins minister among the Tobo people of Papua New Guinea. “Ambox just called me … to ask people to pray. He and his wife Nailen have been invited to M village (one of the three villages that make up his home village and is a quick 15-minute hike downhill from their house). A sizeable group of people in that village have been listening to the evangelistic lessons on their little MP3 devices and are now ready to have Ambox and Nailen come answer some questions they have. This is an answer to prayer and a neat opportunity. Ambox said that they were heading down there later [that day]. He is asking that we pray that God will help Nailen and him as they share the truth of God\'s Word and answer questions, and also that God will do big work in the insides of the people who have invited them to come.”