PR - October 10, 2009

* The Dream

Recently a man was badly sick in the hospital. While there he had a dream that he died. Upon death, he went to a Beautiful place but was not allowed in. And then he woke up and was wondering about the dream. He began asking others about his dream. A follower of Jesus went to visit the man. The man then told the follower of Jesus about the dream, and ask them for an answer regarding the dream. The followers of Jesus then told the man that the place must have been Heaven. They further told the man how no man can enter Heaven without believing upon Jesus. The followers of Jesus then prayed for his healing in Jesus' Name. The man was then healed of his sickness.

Prayer Request: (1) the followers of Jesus are going back to visit the man and talk further about the Gospel, Heaven, and where this man put his trust. (2) Pray that God will give MANY, MANY more PB peoples dreams and visions such as these. (3) And lastly pray that our partners/followers of Jesus will be prepared to share Truth with those they encounter.

*The Story Going Forth...
Mr. and Mrs. Safety became followers of Jesus a few years ago. Since then, their children also have believed. Recently, Mrs. Safety was sharing with a neighbor woman about her beliefs in Jesus. This conversation sparked some questions among their non-believing relatives and friends. These unbelieving friends and relatives then asked more questions about Jesus, the Bible, being His follower, etc. It came to the point where Mr. and Mrs. Safety did not know how to further explain some things, so they called some of our friends that are followers of Jesus. This couple along with another follower of Jesus (3 in all) went to Mr. Safety's village where they expected to find 1 or 2 curious people asking about Jesus. Imagine as they found 8 people wanting to know more about Jesus. Five men and three woman. [Three couples (husband and wife) and two other men.] The followers of Jesus spent hours and hours explaining the Gospel, talking about Jesus, and talking about what it is to be a follower of Jesus. One woman responded by saying "why didn't you tell us this sooner?" And one of the men responded "Now I am beginning to understand, now its beginning to make sense." Then a few days later one of the five men drove to one of the followers' home. And then he wanted to know EVEN MORE. Praise the Lord. He is making Himself known among the nations.

Prayer Requests: (1) Pray for these 8 that they would not just desire knowledge but a life-altering relationship that is known as becoming a follower of Christ. (2)Pray that just as God used this one couple to share about Him, these eight would in turn share this Amazing News with others. (3) Pray the Gospel will spread like wildfire among our PB peoples.

Praise the Lord! We know that ALL of this is done at the hand of God, by Him, for Him, and for His Glory just as Romans 11:36 says "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen."

PR - Sept 5, 2009

Intentionality...
that is the PB team desire, to see God pierce the darkness in this PB homeland, by using us, followers of Jesus, to share His glory and gospel to this people. Since the Push, our national team also has been trying to be more intentional in sharing the Gospel. As of a week ago, a total of 40 (possibly more) have heard a full Gospel presentation. Please pray for these 40 and the many more that heard bits and pieces of the Gospel story, that they Holy Spirit would move in their lives, and that this "seed" would take root. Please continue to pray for all of us on the PB team that we would continue to be intentional in sharing the Gospel with all those we encounter and that God will save many, as only He can. Praise the Father with us for causing an urgency in our PB team. Praise the Father for those that who possibly had never heard the Story before were able to hear. And as the Psalmist says, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name give glory, because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth(Psalm 115:1)."

Forgetting his cigarette...
Recently, a friend of ours that I have mentioned several times before, Mrs. Thumper, was at her home when a distant nephew was passing through town and stopped by the Thumpers home for a visit. Over the course of the night, Mrs. Thumper shared the full story with her nephew. At one point he was so involved, so into the Story that he accidentally, unknowingly dropped his cigarette. Please pray for Nephew as he obviously was very interested in the Story. Pray that the Holy Spirit would work in his heart. Thank the Lord with us for those seeds that Mrs. Thumper planted.


Still fasting...
We are still in the Fasting month for Muslims, Ramadan. It has been interesting to be out at night during this time. The town comes alive as they prepare to break their fast at sundown. And then to see many of them flock to the mosques, and fill them as we rarely see them filled before. Truly this is a time of searching for God and seeking His forgiveness. Please continue to pray for Salvation for our PB people, which is only found in Christ Jesus. Please pray that we will continue to be intentional in sharing where only True forgiveness may be found.

Psalm 117
Praise the Lord, all nations; laud Him, all peoples!
For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!

PR August 20, 2009

Update on Push...

After a week long push among our team, we wanted to let you know that after talking with many different men and women, as a team we feel that 15 PB peoples clearly heard the entire Gospel story. Many others heard about Jesus Christ, sin, the need of a Savior, but after much discussion we feel like 15 people clearly heard the whole Gospel presentation. Please pray for these 15 that heard the whole story and for many others who have had seeds sown. Pray with us that God will open His kingdom to these. Pray that God will work in their hearts and speak to them in ways unbeknownst to us.



Muslim Fasting begins on Saturday, the 22nd...

The website Wikipedia describes the Muslim fast below

"The most prominent event of this month is fasting. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat Sahur, the pre-dawn meal, then they perform the fajr prayer. They have to stop eating and drinking before the call for prayer starts until the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set until the next morning's fajr prayer call. Then the process starts all over.

Ramadān is a time of reflecting and worshiping God. Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Sexual thoughts and activities during fasting hours are also forbidden.[Qur'an 2:187] Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised awareness of closeness to God.

The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, self-control [6], sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate; thus encouraging actions of generosity and charity. However, A certain level of self-control can be lost by those who suffer from eating disorders.[7]

In addition to fasting, Muslims are encouraged to read the entire Qur'an. Some Muslims perform the recitation of the entire Qur'an by means of special prayers, called Tarawih, which are held in the mosques every night of the month, during which a whole section of the Qur'an (juz, which is 1/30 of the Qur'an) is recited. Therefore the entire Qur'an would be completed at the end of the month."

To read more about Islamic fasting... just google it and you will find more pages than you ever imagined. Please pray for the millions bound in darkness. How similar yet how immensely different their beliefs are than those of us that are followers of Christ. Pray for the PB during this time as they seek Allah's favor. And last pray for our team and national partners here as we share with those who are seeking Allah's favor that we may share the ultimate Truth with them.

PR - Aug 2, 2009

During August 10-17, workers throughout the island will join together to PUSH.
As the PB team, and our island wide team,we have covenanted together to boldly share into new areas and groups of people.

We are going to make a “PUSH”!
• Push open doors and seize every opportunity to boldly share.
• Push the message of salvation into places where it has not been heard before.
• Push back the darkness by the power of the Risen One!

We have committed to boldly proclaim the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. Will you partner with us in prayer during this significant week?
We invite you to begin now praying for us to declare the message boldly and clearly (Col. 4:3-4) and, “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1).

We are already praying for this PUSH. We also have a day of prayer and fasting set on August 6th as our team and an island wide day of fasting and praying on the 7th. Please join us as our teammates island-wide seek God for our PUSH, believing that God is already at work in the hearts of people within our Unreached People. Our PB team and island wide team are very excited as to what our Lord will do during this next month. May our Great God receive ALL the glory.

PR - July 13, 2009

Update and Prayer Request

I would like to begin by sharing a praise to God that there are a few new believers in the Kingdom of God. There are possibly six new believers. Praise the Lord. As excited as we are at God's working in our area, still yet these are of another people group that live inside our province. Praise the Lord that He is drawing Muslims to Himself. Please pray that He will penetrate our PB peoples and that we will begin reporting that several from Cower, KeeKeem, RuJohn, and all throughout the 13 people groups will have believed. Praise the Father that our National partners ARE SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH MUSLIMS. Pray that God will give a passion to our national partners for our PB peoples. And pray for God's will to be done here in our ministries.

A new opportunity

A new ministry will open in the next month that will, we pray, provide us an opportunity to share the Gospel with a different segment of PB peoples. It is an English club. Please pray for the PB team as we work on the finishing touches in order to open the English club. Please pray that we will befriend many college students and adults, and have many opportunities to share about the Wondrous Truth that has changed our lives.

A prayer for our PB team...
Lastly, please pray for our PB team (workers and national partners alike)as many of us want to "up the anty" on our evangelism. We believe and feel that God is doing a great work here. Please pray that the PB team will be 1)in the Word and prayer 2) sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading and 3) sharing our testimony of God's mighty work in our lives, share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and calling those around us to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And pray that we will see the PB peoples REACHED. Not for our glory but for God's glory, just as the psalmist said.


Please continue to pray for those individuals and families that were blogged about last month.

PR - June 2, 2009

Praise the Lord for the seed that is being sown (as was the prayer request from the last blog) AND for those who have newly became followers of Jesus.

Please pray for:

* Mrs. Warcy, a new believer whose husband is a severe diabetic. Please pray for her husband's salvation and health. Pray for those whom are discipling Mrs. Warcy for wisdom, clarity, and boldness as they present the Gospel to Mr. Warcy. Pray for Mrs. Warcy's faith to grow deeper in the knowledge and truth of Christ.

* Mrs. Ware is a new believer. Ware is 75 years old. She is being heavily persecuted by another woman, Mrs. Su. When one of our friends goes to Mrs. Ware's home, our friends are not allowed to visit with Mrs. Ware because Mrs. Su will not allow it. Mrs. Su has told several in the community so that there is community pressure on Mrs. Ware because of her new faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God with us that Mrs. Ware has communicated that despite the persecution and community pressure, she still believes and is still a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray for Mrs. Su, the persecutor that the Father will radically save her as he did with Saul, also known as Paul in the Scriptures. Pray that Mrs. Ware will not lose faith but that her faith too will grow deeper. Pray that she will be a light for Christ in her community.

* Lastly please pray for Mr. Toluse. Toluse is a recent believer as well. However since his conversion, he is often in a state of confusion. Pray that God will give him clarity. Pray that God will bring followers of Christ into his life to disciple him and encourage him in his new walk with Christ.

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to seperate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-39 NASB

PR - May 21, 2009

Sowing seeds...

I am grateful to God for you, followers of Jesus on the other side of the world, and for our brothers and sisters in Christ here. Thank you for your prayers for the salvation of the PB people. And thank God also for our friends here who are actively sharing their faith about Jesus with those throughout the PB lands here.

Just a few examples...
A Muslim woman in a northern village was prayed for last month. The woman has been sick for a while. Some friends here knew of her health. The Muslim woman asked if they would pray for her. One of our friends here said she felt God laid it on her heart to pray for God's will to be done. So as she prayed for the Muslim woman in the name of Jesus Christ, she did not pray for healing, instead she prayed for God's will to be done. Later our friend shares that after leaving the sick woman's home she began to fear "what if God's will was for this woman to die?". As it is, God has chosen to heal the sick woman and she is up and walking around. The once sick woman sent word to our friend that she has been healed and is thankful for the prayers. Our friend sent back word that the healing "was not from man but because of God healing her in the name of Jesus Christ." Pray for the healed woman that as she has had a miracle in her life, that she will receive this as from God, that she will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and follow Him for the rest of her life.

The Gospel of Luke was given to a group of five men who work together. Gospel Truth was shared with them. Pray that the Holy Spirit will radically speak to them through the Book of Luke. Pray that God will save these men through His Word. And may they study the book together.

Our friends here seem to have an amazing burning desire for the Gospel to go forth strongly and save many in their own families. By this I mean extended families whom have yet to believe and follow Jesus Christ. They are inviting extended families to come visit them here and while the families are visiting our friends are boldly proclaiming the Gospel with them. And praise be to God, they are seeing their family members turn from Islam and embrace and follow Christ. Just this week a 70 year old mother believed and was baptised. Praise God! Pray that God will keep this burning passion in their hearts. Pray that this passion will spread to other national partners. And pray that God will turn this passion not for just their families but for all the PB peoples!

Oh friends, the Gospel IS going forth. I am among friends that are NOT ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for them. Pray that the Holy Spirit will save mightily, strongly, amazingly. And may He get all the glory and honor!

Keep praying in faith that He will do a great work!

PR - May 3, 2009

"Given the choice between heaven or hell, they would choose hell..."
... this was a comment we heard about an area in our PB lands that the people are described as evil and care nothing about their afterlife. And in the middle of this village is one family that are believers. How firm are they in their faith? We are unsure.
Recently we heard the testimony of this family who attended our agricultural training seminar around 10 years ago. At that time, they said they were unwilling to go further with the agriculture techniques they had learned and in turn, had no contact with the training center for almost 10 years. Just a few months ago, they contacted the training facility and requested agricultural help.
Upon traveling and visiting there, our Christian ag extentionists report that the area surrounding this believing family is evil and the people do not want to talk about anything spiritual.
Please pray for this one lone family there among the "evil" that God would strengthen their faith in Him, that this family would be used to share the Good News... the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those surrounding them, and also that God would protect them and bless their agricultural practices. Pray for our Christian ag extentionist that will travel and work with this family. Pray that his faith will grow stronger. Pray that he will disciple and encourage the family of believers. And pray for safety while he travels to this area.

Praise from the downcast...
in the last blog, we asked you to pray for the Thumpers and Jokers as they were downcast and experiencing trials and encounters of various kinds. The Father has been at work, and they have reported that they have been encouraged in a variety of ways. God is at work, and they have seen some come to faith in Christ, Mr. Joker has experienced personal healing in his life, and other issues the Lord has used to encourage their hearts. Please continue to intercede for these two families as they are on the front lines sharing the Gospel with those they encounter. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness to His children. And thank Him for His goodness.

RuJohn...
another agriculture training ended this past week. And what a motley crew the Lord put together. One attendee was a Believer that enjoyed sharing his faith and talking about how tries to share the Gospel with this person or that person, and he did so unashamedly. Meanwhile, studying right along beside him was a RuJohn Muslim man who heard the Gospel several times during the training. Five men altogether attended the training. Please pray for the four that attended and were not believers, that the Gospel that was shared with them these past several days would take root in their hearts. Please pray for the Believer that he would continue to share the Gospel unashamedly.

Lastly...
please pray for a PB Muslim woman that recently asked some fellow Believers to pray for her. She invited these two followers of Jesus into her house and asked them to pray for her because she is pregnant and has had difficulties in the past with pregnancies. The fellow Believers prayed for her in the name of Jesus Christ, then proceeded to pray for her house, family, and those that surrounded her. She was also given a copy of Proverbs. Please pray for 1) her salvation 2) the baby within her and 3) her family and neighbors that God will save MANY PB peoples through this encounter.

PR- April 15, 2009

The hunchback...
You probably have read the book or watched the movie or at LEAST seen a clip from The Hunchback of NotreDame. So you have a visual image possibly right now of the hunchback from the Disney film. Now imagine him with darker skin. That is a picture of a hunchback that lives in our town as he stands at a major intersection in town and begs for money. Often when I am thinking of who to write about, I pass "these", such as the hunchback and others who stand at the intersections begging, right up. Yet... are they in any less need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Of course not. So I am bringing them to you this week, asking you to pray for these that are physically and spiritually poor. Two specific beggars this week: Hunchback and Young mentally handicapped boy and those that accompany them asking for money at the major intersections in town. They have received tracts, so pray that God will speak to these two and those that lead them around town. Pray that the Holy Spirit will prick their hearts and God will call them, and many others in physical and spiritual darkness unto Himself.

Does this sound familiar... as it can apply to the physically and spiritually blind all over the world...

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn..."
-The Messianic Servant in Isaiah 61:1-2

Downcast...
This past week two families that are good friends and national partners, whom have a great burden to see the lost come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, have said that they are downcast. Both families. I have mentioned the Jokers and the Thumpers in the past. In the past year, they took on new positions moving from a primarily agricultural trainer to now a more front line evangelist. They have experienced troubles of various kinds. Please pray specifically for these two families this week. They are also facing a trial in which they did not expect to experience: ridicule from other believers. It is hard to understand how this happens, believers ridiculing other believers, such as the Thumpers and the Jokers because they have taken a new role, not necessarily working with their hand to the physical plow anymore but sowing seeds of Truth. Possibly this trial from other believers has been one that has brought the most hurt. Please pray that these two families will hold to Christ as their life and hope in this sinful world. Pray that they will forgive as the Lord has forgiven them (see Col 3:13), and thus give no foothold for the devil in their lives and ministries(see Eph 4:27). Pray the Father will embolden them and strengthen them according to His Word. And may many come to faith and worship our Risen Lord Jesus Christ because of these faithful few. I pray you will be as Paul in his letters, and join us giving thanks to the Father for these brothers and sisters(see 2 Thess 1:3 and many of Paul's letters). Pray that God will encourage their hearts and they will not give up the "good fight of faith" until He calls them home. (1 Tim 6:12)

Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus...

Dear PB partners,

At the time of writing this two thoughts lay heavy on my mind and heart, and these will be what we will focus our prayers on for the next two weeks. One thought.... mind-boggling, possibly, for some of you and the second a common topic that I ask you to pray about here.

*I hope you will read the entire blog, and pray for those mentioned below, but if you are pressed for time, please read the portions that are in bold, and these are the prayer requests for the next two weeks.*

The first.... dreams and visions (see I told you this might stretch some of you)

One thing we have been hearing about lately and we ourselves are seeing happen even among a few (but possibly more) of the PB peoples... Muslims dreaming dreams and visions about Jesus Christ. How many of us, Westerners, have actually had dreams and visions of God? How often do we, in the Western society, hear about those in the West coming to faith in God because of dreams and visions of Jesus inviting people to come unto him? Thus the very reason I say that perhaps this may be stretching or mind-boggling for some us. I wish that I could paint a picture for you of those are who dreaming the dreams and having visions of Christ, yet I feel that any words I could say would be insufficient. Yet I can say, that it TRULY IS happening. It is happening among other people groups on our island, and the reason I am writing is to ask you to pray that the PB Muslims WILL REOCURRINGLY have life altering dreams/visions/encounters with Jesus Christ. We want Jesus to make HIMSELF known here among the PB peoples, by whatever means. And to pray that as we, followers of Jesus Christ, hear of those having dreams and visions will follow-up with these Muslims and challenge them and question their beliefs and call them to believe in Jesus Christ.

You see God is Almighty. It is HE that calls sinners unto Himself. May we be faithful to testify to Christ.



And the second thought is on the beauty of hobbit feet...

Have you ever seen Lord of the Rings and noticed the hobbits feet... flat, spread out, bare feet? That is the feet I see most every day. Feet that have spread and flattened from living in a society where shoes are not allowed to be worn in the home and so the people have feet that flatten and spread on the concrete floors over time. Anyway, I hope this description isn't offensive to you but that you get where I am going here. I find some of those feet just... beautiful. Does this sound familiar..."How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns'" (Isaiah 52:7). You see, those feet that I think are beautiful hobbit feet, are those of our national partners. I know that I bring them to you as a prayer request almost every month but I pray that you will NEVER tire of praying for these brothers and sisters who are sharing the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ to Muslims/animists/ and a mixture of both.
Brother Paul says "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worth of the Lord, fully please to Him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Col 1:9-10

Please do not "cease" to pray for them. And do not cease to pray for the salvation of the PB peoples.

"...His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col 1:14)