Cape Town

Answer to Prayer from Gail in Cape Town:
The doctor is releasing dad to go home tomorrow.  He will have an IV line hooked up into his arm for antibiotics and the nurse will visit him at home to start a drip each day.  She will also check his vitals.  My stepmom and others will be cleaning the house top to bottom before he gets home to get rid of dust and allergens so that nothing could make his coughing start again.  He is looking forward to being home for Christmas.  They know he will not be given chemo or radiation and he will not have surgery to remove the tumors so it is all about making him comfortable and healing what they can, the infection.
Please continue to pray for Gail, her dad, and the entire family, especially during this Christmas season.

Cape Town

Please pray for Gail's dad and her whole family!
Well, I have just received a phone call about Dad.  The cancer has returned in four places in his body which includes the lung and kidney he has left, as two of the places.  The specialist doctors will all get together on Monday to decide what to do.  Whatever they do, he must be rid of the pneumonia first.  Stepmom said the kidney, lung, cancer, and heart doctors will all meet and decide his case next week.  I must say I wasn't expecting that.  Please pray for the doctors. Pray that God will give them wisdom in their decision making process.

Cape Town Xhosa

"What's missing in this picture?"  We asked ourselves, as we sat in the Xhosa worship service. We saw children, mothers and even some men but few, very few youth coming to church and engaging in the body of Christ. So where are the youth? Are we as the body aware of what we are missing? Could it be that the youth are missing the value of engaging with His body? 1 Corinthians 12:27, Paul writes, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." With the partnership of FUGE, local Baptist churches, and the Xhosa Student Ministry Team, it is our desire to spend a week together in March with Christ-engaged youth leaders from the local Cape Town Xhosa schools and churches, encouraging them and challenging them to be part of the body of Christ.  Please join us in asking God to put together His team to invest into these youth. Thank Him with us for faithfully meeting all of the needs, support and prayer to make this camp possible. And most importantly, ask Him to engage the Xhosa youth leaders into His plan to be part of this week and part of the body of Christ. Thank you.

Joburg

Youth camp will be taking place the last week in December.  This is a wonderful time for the youth to reconnect with their friends from Southern Africa and strengthen their relationship with the Lord.  Please pray for safe travels for the youth and the team coming to lead them.  Pray that they will enjoy their time with friends.  Pray that the Lord will draw each of them closer to Him.

Durban

Most African congregations are comprised of women and children.  The men are happy for the women to go to church; but may not go themselves.  We praise the Lord for the many men who are attending Compensation BC and for their eagerness to grow spiritually.  Recently, they asked Barry to start teaching an adult Bible study while the children are having Sunday school.  Please pray for Barry as he starts to prepare for the adult study which will begin in January.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide him in his studies and preparation.

Please pray for two university students, F and A, who have received Jesus DVDs and New Testaments.  Pray that during their break from studies, they will look at the DVDs and read the New Testaments.  Pray that S and W would be able to reconnect with them when they return from stateside, and would be able to encourage them to consider Jesus. 

Hundreds of adults and children live in abandoned buildings or shelters in inner city Durban.  Pray that the message of hope and the love of Jesus will be shared with them.  Pray that they will know the love of God in a very real way.  Pray that the Church will reach out to these precious souls during December.

Due to conflicts between DRC and Zimbabwean immigrants at the Compound in Compensation, many of the families will be displaced in lieu of farm workers moving into the housing.  Please pray for L and her family who are faced with the task of moving out of their room. Pray that they would find suitable accommodation, and that it would be in the area so that she and the children could continue to walk to church.  Pray for this single mother of five to be able to find full-time work so that she can adequately provide for her family.

Christmas is currently a public holiday in South Africa.  However, that may not be the case for much longer.  Recent complaints and requests have been made to the government commission that say the Christian holiday is biased and unfair to other religions that do not have public holidays in South Africa.  Pray for the Christian community in South Africa as they face this issue.

Pastors L, A and S are all hoping to see new church plants in the coming year.  Pray for wisdom for each of these men.  Pray for S and W to have wisdom to know how they can assist and encourage their efforts. Pray for the Lord to open more doors of opportunity for evangelism training as S and W return from the States.

Namibia

The Namibia Teach would like to ask you to join us in praying for the following:

      For wisdom and guidance in seeking a way to assist the young pastors in Okahandja Park and Havanna in feeding the AIDS orphans in their community.

      For direction as our team begins to plan a strategy for reaching the lost and encouraging the churches throughout the country.

      For favor with the Namibian government in bringing in both short and long term missionaries to join us in the work here.

      For the volunteer team from Eastern Heights Baptist Church who is beginning to make preparations to come out and join us in ministry July 11-17, 2013.

      That we would be able to get some much needed rest over the holiday season despite the extreme summer heat and no air conditioning!

Thank you!

Cape Town

The Cape Town Baptist Seminary graduated a new army of ministers in November.  Some will return to northern Africa countries; most are from South Africa.  Pray that they will continue to follow the Lord’s promptings and receive ministry positions.  Pray that God will continue to provide for them and their families.  Pray that those who left families for four years to study in Cape Town will find family waiting excitedly and with open arms to see their returning ministers for God. 

Followup to previous request:

In the newest English class in Elsies River, Cape Town, South Africa, there are now 13 students from 2 major faith systems.  The exciting part is everyone  wants to be in a Bible study.  The even more exciting part is that a local Burundian refugee lay pastor, an elder from his church, and Gail, will be visiting all the students in their homes to prepare for this new Bible study that will be lead in their heart languages, Swahili and Kirundi.  A local Baptist church has offered the use of their building for when they want to become and official church.  Though there are only 13 students, these student with their families total almost 40 people.  Can you imagine the praises God would have when they all raise their voices in prayer and worship?!  Continue to pray for this group of refugees to grow to know and love the Lord and then, in due time, to take their faith back to Burundi.