Pray

Pray for Katie Moore and her co-workers who minister in Las Moras, Mexico. Because of unrest in the region, the team has left Las Moras for the time being and is working remotely. “Please pray that God would bring peace to regions with unrest all over Mexico. Pray for the safety of people who live in these areas and for the spread of the gospel. Please pray that our team would be able to return soon to Las Moras and to trust the Lord's timing as we wait.” Pray for wisdom as the security team meets with the Las Moras team again at the end of January.

Jack and Suzie Russell minister among the Simba people of Bolivia. “The work continues daily, and once a year each of the three church plants hold a three-day Bible camp they call a ‘conference.’” In October, a conference was held in one Simba community, and “there were 24 [people] who made professions of faith and were baptized.” In November, there was a second conference in a different community “where the Simba church is a little more established, [and] there were six new professions of faith and five baptized.” Praise God for new Simba brothers and sisters. Pray for a third conference that will take place December 29 through January 1 among a large Simba community with a growing group of believers.

Wes Goddard serves in Paraguay and Brazil ministering to the Paĩ and Ava Guaraní people. In October, we prayed for Wes’s Paĩ co-teacher Edgar and Edgar’s wife. They were wanting to build a room onto their house to be used as a shop for printing Bible lesson books. Praise God that the funds were covered by donors, and some building materials were taken to the site. Continue to pray as Wes and his Paĩ co-workers teach and train members of the Ava Guaraní church. Wes was encouraged recently after a group he was teaching began to “catch the vision that God wants to use them to teach!”

Scott and Natasha Flaugher minister among the Elsengg people of Asia Pacific. “Bible lesson checking with Bop, my Elsengg language helper, has been going very well! Also, we’re hearing from various Elsengg individuals living here or in other locations [that there is] an interest in coming here for the Bible teaching program and for another literacy class. Please pray for us as we make preparations for this. … We are targeting March as the start date for the Bible teaching, and we’re not yet sure when to do the literacy program. … Please pray for wisdom and strength to do what needs to be done in here for God’s name to exalted among the Elsengg!”

Albert and Lynne Castelijn minister among the Banwaon people of the Philippines. In March 2025, the Banwaon church will have a dedication for the Banwaon New Testament. Albert is working with Bob Clark to complete the final steps before the dedication. Some of these steps include typesetting, writing introductions for each book and final proofreading. Pray for the Castelijns and Bob as they work long, intense days to prepare the New Testaments for printing. Praise God that the Banwaon people will soon have copies of His Word in their heart language. Praise God for providing the funds for printing.

A missionary couple in Brazil is learning the language and culture of the “K” people. Recently a “K” man was lost overnight in the Amazon jungle, and when he was found, he told the missionaries of his harrowing experience. “Events like this remind us how fragile life is and that these people that God loves are not going to be around on this earth forever. Please pray with us that God would give us quickness of mind as we study their language and that we will learn it well. Pray that God will preserve their lives and give each of them an opportunity to hear and understand the gospel. … Pray God might provide teammates for us or at least someone to walk alongside us while our teammates are out for various reasons."

Susie serves among the “S” people of West Africa. The “S” people want to “better promote the language and culture of the people group, including working towards understanding the grammar, working on the dictionary, writing books, promoting literacy, etc.” To get their alphabet recognized by the government, the “S” people needed to form an association with established leadership. They met together recently, and “the leadership team was voted in.” Pray that the leaders would not use their status for personal gain and that people would not “make trouble” for the association. “Pray that God would be in control of the whole thing” and that this would be used to build up the Church among the “S” people.

Coleton and Shawna Williams minister among the Kuman people of Papua New Guinea. Soon the Kuman church will be receiving God’s Word translated into the Kuman language, the trade language (Tok Pisin) and simple English. “We will also be launching Kuman comic books designed to help with literacy and keep readers engaged with Bible stories. … Please join us in praying that these resources bear fruit in the lives of many!” The official dedication for the Kuman Bible is December 12. “This moment represents countless hours of translation, prayer and partnership.” Pray that the dedication will be glorifying to God.

Derick and Rachel Bruckhart serve in Brazil. In November, Derick visited the “K” people, an isolated people group who have had missionaries in the past but have not yet understood the gospel and believed. “Before Derick visited, the ‘K’ people had been weighing heavily on our hearts, and we had a lot of interest in joining the work. After visiting, we feel the pull even stronger. In order to be able to work among them, we need to be invited by the chief to live among them, as well as discuss things further with our leadership and our potential future team (the Freitas and the Kuhns). Please be praying for us as we continue to seek the Lord and that if He wills, we will find favor among the chief and the people.”

Lucas and Jessica Rondy minister among the Cora people of Mexico. Praise God that four believers were baptized: Enedina, Stephen, Naty and Ezra, an MK (missionary kid). Enedina is described as someone who “will do the right thing even if others don’t want her to or if she is all alone.” Pray that this would be true of all four of these believers. Pray that He would continue to mold them into the image of Christ. Pray for the Rondys as they continue to work through hard transitions, learn language and culture and strive to “be a light in the community.”

Martha Beitzel serves in the Philippines and is learning the Bisaya language and culture. At a recent church service, “the pastor laid out a very clear gospel of grace … [and] asked who was thankful for what Jesus had done.” One lady “slowly slid her hand up, copying the motion of the people around her. My heart broke as I realized that she'd heard the gospel but hadn't understood a word!” This was a motivator to Martha to persevere in her learning to “grow closer to being able to communicate God's Word in a way that people like this lady can understand. … Please ask the Lord to use me to communicate His truth and love to the people around me, even when my language and culture abilities are lacking!”

David and Anna Hartman minister among the Y people of Brazil. “On Thursdays, we meet for a time of singing, prayer and teaching for anyone who is interested. There is an enormous hunger for God's Word, and we have heard from many that although not meeting formally in the village, the believers are talking about the Lord among themselves and to others.” Praise God for this hunger for His Word. Pray that the believers would grow in the Lord. Pray for the salvation of Y couple Daniel and Carmelita. Pray for physical protection for the Y people amidst a dangerous conflict.

Jacob and Charis Doerr are part of a new church planting team en route to live among the Mian people of Papua New Guinea. They had plans to begin milling lumber to build their houses in the village, but “it became evident that it is not possible for us to carry out that plan at this time. This sets all house building progress back several months. … Pray for all the moving parts… [like the] airplane, helicopter and boat needed to get into the village. It all feels like an immovable mountain, but we know our God moves mountains.”

- Watch the Video

Jason and Nisae Williamson minister among the Iski people of Papua New Guinea. This summer we prayed for the M church, an Iski church, as they taught literacy to the S village in preparation for an upcoming outreach. “There [were] some initial concerns that people would feel pressure not to come to the teaching from the local religious group in the area. Initially the Bible teachers and I talked about whether we should postpone the teaching or look for another area.” They decided to move forward with the teaching. S people are showing up, and attendance is increasing. “Despite the outside pressures, God is faithfully drawing in people. Please continue to pray.”

Joe and Kandi Depue minister among the Baniwa people of Brazil. Pray for Baniwa believers as they learn how to teach God’s Word to their own people. Pray specifically that the women would learn how to teach the teen girls and that young moms would be involved in teaching the young children. Praise God for those who have already stepped up to teach. As Erasto, the Depues’ first Baniwa co-worker, taught from God’s Word one Sunday, he shared, “I was born in a culture that is full of gods, just like the Egyptians. But now I see I need to trust in the Only God.”

Lance and Laura Ostman serve itinerantly and minister to the Higaunon people of the Philippines. The Higaunon church has outreaches in different villages, and the Ostmans recently received news from one of these outreach villages. Earlier this month, 26 new believers from this village were baptized. Pray that these new believers will continue to grow in the Lord. Praise God for the way He is working through these outreaches. Pray for Lance and his co-worker Ron as they continue to translate the Bible for the Higaunon people.

The Ethnos360 Member Care team is tasked with the important work of caring for missionaries’ mental, emotional and spiritual needs. Member Care missionaries often meet individually with other missionaries to pray for them and encourage them during some of the biggest challenges of their lives — challenges such as death of loved ones, chronic illnesses, conflict with co-workers, cancer, traumatic experiences and culture shock, to name a few. Pray that the Member Care team would not get overwhelmed, discouraged or burnt out as they deal with these difficult issues. Pray that God would be glorified through the Member Care ministry.

Brent and Jodi Ristau minister among an indigenous people group in northwest Canada. The community has experienced a lot of tragedy in the past few months. “It seems that each passing death in the community becomes more personal to us as we know and love these people more and more.” Pray for the Ristaus as they build relationships. Jodi has started a homeschool co-op with families in their community, including some families from the local First Nation. Brent has befriended “Big T,” a man who struggles with addictions and is beginning to show interest in God’s Word. Pray that God would use the Ristaus to “be a light to the community.”

Ryan and Cathren minister among the D people of West Africa. “In January we will be hosting our literacy workshop. This is a big deal. We will spend three weeks with a group of language helpers and a consultant, working out the curriculum that we hope to use to begin teaching D people how to read and write their language. It’s going to be a lot of work. Pray for our consultant as she prepares. Pray for us as we prepare and try to have everything straight and in order for the workshop to be a success.”

Nathaly Copa teaches at the Missionary Bible Center in Bolivia. The third-year students are learning about the “value and privilege of attending church and using their gifts … for the benefit of the body of Christ.” Nathaly says that many of the believers are like sunbathing turtles. “They just sit [in church] soaking up what they’re hearing, but [they] aren’t using their gifts to help anyone and quickly disappear after the service is over.” Pray for the students as they learn not to be “turtles.”

Nine families graduated on November 22. “Please continue to pray for the families who will finish this year and will be going out to do ministry on their own. … Let’s pray that they don’t become discouraged or forget that God is with them.”