The biggest sporting event of the year is just two days away. You can keep up with what’s happening behind the scenes as Christians gather from around the world to minister to the thousands of fans and to the people of South Africa. Your ticket is just a click away: http://worldsoccerjourneys.com .
Testimony of God’s transforming power
Alan & Jeanne Lassiter, members of Summit Church, RDU area, NC, are wonderful testimony of God’s transforming power. You will be blessed by the following video clip. http://ht.ly/1TyHH
South Asian Peoples 2010 Summit
Has the Lord given you a heart and passion for South Asians?
Join us October 3 – 5, 2010 (Kingston Pike Campus Missions Center; First Baptist Concord, Knoxville, TN) to learn how to move forward in your involvement in reaching South Asian Peoples for Christ.
If you are just getting your feet wet, our IMB missionaries will be there to help equip you. If you are already partnering with us, we will give you more training and information to help you go the next step. Everyone – pastors, prayer warriors, campus and college ministers, missions pastors, youth ministers, children’s leaders and more – will benefit from this event. For more info and to register : www.fbconcord.org/southasia; and for more information on South Asia visit www.go2SouthAsia.org
Here are a few things you can expect from the summit:
• How to connect to short-term mission trip opportunities
• How your church can be equipped to strategically reach South Asian peoples around you and around the world
• How to arrange for IMB trainings for your church to learn to reach South Asian peoples
• How to serve overseas through the IMB or in conjunction with the IMB
• How to engage in stateside prayer advocacy and other prayer initiatives for South Asian peoples
Conference Schedule:
• Check-In: Sunday, October 3, 2010 from 3 PM to 5 PM (International Meal Provided at 5 PM)
• Opening Celebration Sunday October 3 at 6 PM
• Summit ends 5 PM October 5 – (box dinner provided)
• Conference Fee: $60 (7 Meals are included in this price)
• Early Registration ends August 1 (after August 1, fee increases to $75 per person)
• Last day to register is September 25, 2010
Praying for Kyrgyzstan, 1
There is a serious uprising against the government in Kyrgyzstan, and the situation is rapidly deteriorating in the major cities of this Central Asian republic. In Bishkek, the capital city, the main bazaar has been looted and a mob is attempting to take control of the country’s White House. Other government buildings have been taken over already, including the government television broadcasting station. The police have fired on the crowd, and people have been killed in at least two cities in the country. The international airport in Bishkek is closed. So far, the phone system and the internet are still working.
Please pray for the situation in Kyrgyzstan:
- Pray for the restoration of peace.
- Pray that God would establish a government in Kyrgyzstan that would allow the free spread of the Good News.
- Pray that God would use this uprising for His glory by using it to open the hearts of Kyrgyz to their need for Him.
Her Big Brown Eyes …
“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8, HCSB).
One of IMB’s young teens living overseas–her name is Meredith–wrote this poem and submitted it to IMB’s “Kids on Mission Pray” Web page ( http://kompray.imb.org ). Her words are powerful as they guide us to pray for children on the field, for the girl with the big brown eyes, and for all those who are longing to know God’s proven love.
Her big brown eyes . . .
she approaches you with a welcoming smile
a warm heart
casual looks just like anyone else
she seems pleasant
someone you would want to get to know
you sit down with her
and suddenly her eyes meet yours
it melts your heart at this awe full sight
her eyes are beautiful and charming
loving in so many ways
they sparkle and show potential
but at the same time
these eyes are lost
ones that have had it all taken away
these eyes search for hope
these eyes search for grace
these eyes are consumed by the flesh
her big brown eyes are dark
her big brown eyes search you
to see if you are what she is looking for
“will you show me love?”
“will you give me hope?”
you stare into her eyes not knowing how to respond
for if you reach out your hand to help
you could risk your life
for if you tell her of God’s love
there is a possibility for no tomorrow
you turn head but something draws you back towards them
God whispers to you
“This is what I have commanded you to do.”
“This is what I long for, this is what I desire.”
“For I will save this city
this country
and they will serve me forever more!
So go
for this is my mission in progress.
I love these people
they are my children.”
once more I lift my head up to see her eyes
her big brown eyes
that need the Lord.
The Pashai
” … and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17, NASB)
By definition, history begins with written records. For the 500,000 Pashai of Afghanistan, their history is just beginning. As recently as July, 2003, their language finally took a written form. The Pashai live in the mountains along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many Pashai people are bilingual, speaking both Pashai and Pashto, the dominant language in eastern Afghanistan. More than 80 percent cannot read in either language. The Taliban prohibited speaking minority languages in public. When the Taliban regime was defeated in 2001, the Pashai could again publicly speak their own language. Decades of war and years of abusive rule by the Taliban took away their opportunity to attend school. Now, for the first time, Pashai adults are learning to write in their heart language.
- O, Lord bring stability in the hard-to-access places where the Pashai live so that more teams can minister among them …
- Father, enable a new “Church-as-Strategy Coordinator partner to build on the work of others …
- Holy One, may believers emerge from among the Pashai so that Your church may be planted in their midst …
(Excerpt from IMB’s Loving the Lost of the World through Prayer 30-day Prayer Guide, order free at http://ow.ly/1pT0R .)
Posted in Missions Prayer Request, People Group Prayer Request
Tagged Afghanistan, Central Asian Peoples, Pashai
Softly he answered, “I am dying.”
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
The missionary stood by the bed of an emaciated man whom she had known for years. He had been a leader in one of the Swazi Baptist churches. His wife had died several months prior to this visit after being sick for a long time. The missionary looked into his face that was devoid of expression. Someone asked him how he was. Softly he answered, “I am dying.” It was just a matter of time when his suffering was over.
Many people in Swaziland are suffering from AIDS. The battle rages as Swazis continue to live lives that spread the disease. Their society is in trouble, and they find themselves being carried away into a vortex of suffering, shame, guilt and death.
Pray that Swazi people will understand that their lifestyles are causing premature deaths. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak truth into their hearts. Pray that they would discover the eternal peace and joy that is only available through faith in Christ Jesus.
Praying for Chile, 3
“I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great” (2 Samuel 24:14b, NKJV).
In one 24-hour period, there were 26 aftershocks in Chile, many reaching past 5.0 on the Richter scale and three more than 6.0. “With the aftershocks comes stress and fear. Damaged buildings are damaged more, but there is an alarming increase of fear–fear of injury, fear of death, fear of another tsunami or an ever bigger earthquake. During the night, there were nine recorded quakes that caused people to awaken too many times during the night. Many people are not getting the rest they need in order to function well during the day.
Please pray that missionaries as well as nationals will find peace in David’s confidence that being in the hands of God is always a safe place to be. He loves and cares for our needs even in the midst of moments of great stress.
Pray that Christians here will share that peace with those who are greatly troubled.
Pray that through this crisis, many can be brought to the Lord as they search for the peace of heart that can only come through faith in Jesus Christ.
Pray also for missionaries and volunteers who are traveling to Talca, taking supplies to be used in a food distribution project at the El Sembrador Baptist Church. They are planning on supplying meals to thousands of people in the coming weeks.”
Praying for Chile, 2
I just received the following prayer requests from one of our missionary couples serving in Chile. Please pray as requested.
“Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.“ Colossians 4:3
- For the disaster assessment team coming from the U.S., that they will be able to get on a stand-by flight and arrive in Santiago ASAP
- For our partnership with the Chile Baptist Convention and their emergency response leadership, as we work together to provide help to the most needy in the 7th and 8th regions of Chile
- Through meeting physical needs, for doors to be opened by the the disaster response teams to minister to the spiritual needs of the people both directly and indirectly in the most affected areas
- Physical strength and safety for the IMB teams that are going out from Temuco to assess the needs of the Mapuche community; for the team going out from Santiago to the most affected areas in the south; and for the Chilean Baptist teams that are being mobilized across the country
Praying for Chile, 1
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.“ Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV)
Please continue to pray for the people of Central Chile where an enormous earthquake (8.8 on the Richter scale) struck at 3:30 am Saturday morning. Praise the Lord that all IMB personnel are safe and sound. Many of the missionaries in Santiago live in high rise apartment buildings and had to deal with shaking and swaying buildings. But in comparison to others in the country they recognize that they are greatly blessed. There is tremendous damage from Santiago to Temuco. More than 700 people have died from the earthquake or from the tidal waves that hit the coast and Juan Fernandez Island in the Pacific Ocean. One of IMB’s prayer advocates living in the area asks us to pray “with us as we attempt to find ways of helping those around us. Pray that those frightened hearts will be tender to the Gospel message as it is shared along with physical help. And pray that we will be able to recognize people who are ready to respond to God’s love at this time.”
Pray also for our merciful heavenly Father to calm fears, heal the injured and comfort grieving families & friends.
Please feel free to write your prayers as a comment.
