Pray for Literacy among Yanomami
Marg Jank writes, “The Yanomami need more people who can read and write with good comprehension! God’s word is now available to the Yanomami in written form, but Satan is still determined to keep the Yanomami from its life changing truth! Pray that we can find ways not only to teach individuals to read with good comprehension and write well, but also to help the Yanomami teach literacy effectively themselves.”
Bible Teaching begins for Tangguat people of Papua New Guinea
Tim and Tiffany Lanier, missionaries to the Tangguat people of Papua New Guinea, wrote on April 25th, “We have been waiting a long time to say it, so when a man called this morning to ask if it was really true, I was thrilled that I could say, ‘Yes! The Bible teaching is starting tomorrow!’ … This is not just a Bible class, but it is a journey through the Bible with the intention to use God’s Word to dislodge the old animistic beliefs and way of understanding the world around them and replace it with a Biblical understanding. This is no easy task and for those who believe the Good News it will be an earth shattering experience, one we westerners have probably never experienced. It will be a shift and restructuring of their entire understanding of who they are, how this world operates, and how they interact with it. This is something only the power of the Holy Spirit can accomplish. So please pray!”
69% of the New Testament ready for Lolo people
Matt & Debi Zook, missionaries to the Lolo people of Mozambique, write, “Praise the Lord we were able to check the translation of 1&2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Philemon, Galatians, Philippians, Matthew and 1 Samuel. This means over 69% of the New Testament is final-checked for publication. We praise the Lord for the stamina he gave us all to complete this ‘marathon’ check and that he provided the food we needed to feed everyone for the extra time. We were thankful for a bunch of good Lolo speakers, young and old, who were able to help throughout the month-long check.”
Near death experience opening doors for the Gospel
Pray for a boy named Joshua from the Ga’dang tribe of the Philippines. Canadians Chuck and Shannon Talbot and Dennis and Valerie Easton helped medivac Joshua out to town for critical medical care. Praise the Lord that Joshua’s family is seeing God at work. Pray that their desire to hear and understand the Bible grows through this difficult time.
Persecution Strengthening Biem Church
Wayne and Gail Chen, missionaries to the Biem people of Papua New Guinea, write, “Thank you guys for praying for the planned absence for the church in March. How did they do? Well, the attendance actually went UP after a month! Maybe the missionaries are the problem. Well, not so fast as the church still needs tons of teaching and discipleship. Back in February, after we explained to them that we would intentionally leave them for one month for them to exercise, the Biem believers understood what was at stake: what are they standing on? Are they standing on the strength and resources of white missionaries or are they standing on God’s power? During March, the church did extremely well. They continued to meet for Bible studies, prepped the Sunday lesson together, helped each other with food and finished some building projects in the new church building. The one refrain we’ve been hearing from the church after our return is this: ‘We experienced God’s power and it is only HIM that helped us to stand strong.’ A valuable lesson for all of us, isn’t it? I realized that I needed that reminder, too. I can water with all of my might but it is God who makes it grow. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. …
“Opposition has been the bedrock of the Biem Church. … Do NOT pray for the opposition to stop. How can we pray for something that God has guaranteed the church in the Bible? Pray that the opposition will further strengthen the faith of the church. Pray that our believers will shower their enemies with grace and truth. One of the newest believers in the church came to me to talk about the opposition with the biggest smile on his face. I asked him why he was so happy. And he said, ‘I am happy because that’s exactly what the Bible says will happen to God’s church. And now it’s happening to us. This tells me we are doing God’s work!’”
God wants Manjui people to read His Word
Gordie and Nancy Hunt, missionaries in Paraguay, write, “Praise the Lord, we just finished unloading the Manjui New Testaments that came from the capital city! They arrived two weeks earlier than the publisher had promised us, and we are very thrilled to see and to hold the finished books!
“When our mission administrator went to pay the trucking company for the shipping fees, the secretary said there was no charge. She said that they wanted to help because the shipment was Bibles. That is so awesome! We continue to praise God for each little miracle as HE works toward seeing the Manjui get His Word in their language! We are looking forward so much to taking the Bibles out to the Manjui community and celebrating with them on May 17, which is now less than a month away. Please pray for us as we work out the details for the celebration and our time with the Manjui on that day.”
Pray for Mengen Bible translation
Becky Preheim, missionary to the Mengen people of Papua New Guinea, writes, “I’ll be checking seven books of the Mengen New Testament with the assistance of our translation consultant, Wayne. There are also three Mengen believers coming out to help with this project, so I’m looking forward to seeing them again and catching up in person on all the events which have happened since the last time I saw them in December. Once this translation check is over, we will have completed 52% of the New Testament, which is a huge step for us. On top of that, we are working on another 20%, so it is encouraging to see progress being made!”
