July 2010 Prayer Requests

Cape Town Metropolitan Evangelism Team

During these next months, July and August, many MKs (missionary kids) will be flying to the United States to begin the next portion of their lives. This is one of the most difficult times in a missionary’s lives – the sending of one’s high school graduate off for his/her college education. This is a time of tears and prayers, of congratulations and pride, and a time of hope and anticipation. The student is excited about the future, as are the parents, but the parents also grieve the absence of that loved child no longer in their immediate presence. From Cape Town, during this year, 2 teens will be heading of to college and one other will be going to finish her high school senior year in America. Please be in prayer for the immediate family of these young adults as they grieve the loved one’s absence and adjust to a smaller family, if not an empty nest. Pray also for the guidance of the young adults as they step into the God-held future.

Answered Prayer: From June 15^th – 25^th, your missionaries to Cape Town, South Africa along with the Baptist seminary students one week and mission volunteers from North Carolina another week teamed up to provide a Vacation Bible School/Life Champs Camp to three communities in the townships. During these two weeks, children from three different township schools in grades 6 through 9 encountered the incarnation of Christ and His love. There were 587 children registered at these 3 camps. Of these, 287 gave their lives to Christ. Amid the sports, music, art, and Bible study time one could hear the chants and songs of the children, one could hear the laughter of fun being had and the silence of consideration pervading the campuses. These children were offered the hope of Jesus. At the end of each week, after the kids had the opportunity to accept Christ, questions were asked like, “will I be with my parents in heaven?” At one point when asked what he was going to be when he grew up, one boy replied, “either a gangster or a missionary; it depends on who gets to me first. This was a week of joy, contemplation, fun, food and safety. These children had one sandwich a day and juice provided by a church. They had games and recreation and music. They had safe haven while they were in the confines of the schools. And, most of all, they had Jesus among them.

Communications Support Team

Mention Africa, and most people immediately envision boundless untamed land, diverse tribal peoples, scattered mud huts and exotic wild animals. While these are valid images that can be seen throughout much of the continent, Africa also has some amazing cities. Johannesburg, Dakar, Jos and Nairobi are among the urban centers that the communication team will be investigating in preparation for the IMB’s 2011 focus on the cities of the world. Africa’s cities are home to numerous ethnicities and language groups, and they are plagued by typical urban issues such as crime, overcrowding, racism, poverty and unemployment. Pray that team members will see what God sees and be able to tell the story that He wants told about the people of Africa’s cities.

Answered Prayer: Thanks so much to everyone for their prayers for the communication team during the month of June. Spirits have remained high, coverage teams have traveled in safety, and stories of God at work have been shared. What you’ve submitted to team members about your ministries and outreaches have been a huge encouragement. We praise God for Blake, Jerry and Chris who came from the Forward Communication Team in Nairobi; William who came from the US; and Will and John who came from Global Communication Teams at other support centers to work alongside us during these busy days. Pray that we will stay the course, stay focused, stay healthy and find ways to build on World Cup momentum to keep people interested in the stories of Africa after the big event has ended.

Durban Urban Evangelism Team

Durban’s brand new Moses Mabhida Stadium will be the venue for World Cup Soccer matches on June 13, 16, 19, 22, and 25. Visitors from all over the world will be flocking to Durban for the soccer matches as well for recreational purposes. Pray for safety for all who come as well as all who reside here. Pray against any elements of crime that might seek to take advantage of the situation. Pray that local churches and Christian organizations will find abundant opportunities to share Christ with visitors as well as local fans.

Finance Support Team

The FST needs to get caught up on all the work and entries into FE after many weeks of implementing the new system, training, auditors, and technology challenges. Please pray for additional personnel to help as many go on STAS over the next few months. Please pray for the development of a program soon to track the 80/20 medical as this will be time consuming.

Johannesburg Evangelism Team

After ministries with Troyville Baptist and Berea Baptist churches, pray that the members of these churches will be excited about reaching out to people in their area. Pray that children will understand the love of Jesus for them. Pray that families of those who received newspapers and tracts will desire to know Christ. Pray that many will come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and desire to be part of a Bible study/church.

Logistics Support Team

Pray for all the support staff as they settle in to the new building.

Personnel Support Team

Please continue to pray for our personnel affected by many health issues. Also pray that critical job positions will be filled.

Port Elizabeth Evangelism Team

Pray for Boyd Hall and other workers as they follow up from the ‘KidsGames’ they hosted during WC 2010.

Soweto Evangelism Team

Fifty young people came with International World Changers from the USA to work in SA during two weeks of the World Soccer Cup. Pray for our team as we do follow-up on those met, those who made commitments to Christ and those who showed interest.

Windhoek Evangelism Team

New Song Family Church in Windhoek is a young church with a very young congregation. The young couples who are part of the congregation face many of the same challenges young couples in the Sates face today. In most situations both the husband and wife work in order to provide for their families; thus, they live busy hectic lives as they strive to meet the demands of work as well as the demands at home. Many of them have young children who go to school, need help with their studies, and who participate in a myriad of extracurricular activities that keep their parents literally running from dawn until dusk. Despite the fact that both husband and wife work, many struggle financially due to the ever-increasing cost of living as a result of the economic crises that has reached as far as the African continent. And, the majority of them have little family support as they have left their town or village of origin in search of a better job or better educational opportunities for their children in the capital city.

In order for families to survive in this type of environment marriages must be strong. Career missionary, Lisa Jones, will begin a Sacred Marriage Bible study this month in an effort to help these for these young couples better understand God’s design for the marriage relationship: one that is to be modeled after the relationship of Christ and the church. Pray that the Lord would call out many couples to participate in this study. Pray that as these precious couples study the biblical concepts presented in this study that they would apply them in their marriages in order for them to grow in their faith as well as present a living testimony to those around them of God’s love and grace.

Soccer in South Africa!!

The Soccer Tournament is coming to a close fast! Many evangelistic ministries have taken place in the cities hosting the games.

Please pray that God will work in the hearts of the many people who received tracts and heard the gospel presentation.

Pray for the follow-up efforts after the Cup. Pray that many who seemed interested in knowing Christ can be found and discipled.