Praying ‘Round the SAM Region

May 2008 | Download as a Word Document

2008 Emphasis

Dr. Jerry Rankin, President of the International Mission Board, and his grandson are coming to Ibarra, Ecuador to meet Gabriel a local church planter. The 2008 Emphasis is highlighting Gabriel and his work in the Imbabura Province. Please pray for traveling mercies for those coming. Pray that Gabriel will be able to articulate his testimony and his work to the film crew and that churches in the United States will be called to expand their ministries to South America.

The Deaf of Peru

"Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me" As Jesus said this, He was also thinking of the deaf in Peru who need a special way to hear the Word. Please pray for this group of 1.4 million people who are unengaged and have no evangelical presence. Pray that believers will use Peruvian sign language to reach this people group and let the Word of God come through to their hearts so they can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.

DAY 1
URUGUAY: (Criollo Uruguayan Team of interior Uruguay) "Proyecto (Project) America" is an interdenominational organization which uses Christian social ministries to evangelize and minister to disaster affected and lesser reached areas with the Gospel of Christ. Pray for the participation of the Baptist works of San Jose as "Proyecto America" will be in Ecilda Paullier, San Jose from May 1-4. Also, pray for Oscar Lopez and the local church in Ecilda Paullier as it prepares for those who accept Christ during these intense days of outreach.

DAY 2
ARGENTINA: G is one of several new contacts for our team. He is a first generation immigrant from Lebanon. G like so many of the Arab people group finds his identity in “being Arab” while living in Buenos Aires. G is a key contact as he speaks Arabic fluently and is also gifted in playing Arabic music. Pray that G will see that he can follow Christ without losing his Arab identity. Pray that the Lord will save G and use his gifts to reach many others like him throughout the city.

DAY 3
XTREME TEAM:  Thank you for your prayers for the Xtreme Team missionaries who are currently out working among indigenous groups. Please pray especially for Jeff and José who are learning Asheninka and building relationships. They had previously received permission to go minister in a community, but the community decided not to allow them in after all. Ask that God will soften their hearts and give them deep hunger to know and obey God’s word. Praise the Lord for the church established among the Y group, and pray for Robert and Efraín as they go in for one more trip to strengthen and encourage the church; ask that they will stand firm. Pray also for Corey and Levi who continue working among the Tigre Quichua; ask that God will lead them to those who are prepared to receive and obey the Word.

DAY 4
CHILE: It is estimated that 30% of the 44 densely populated hills in Valparaiso do not have a noticeable evangelical presence. A young man named Rodrigo who is a new Christian and his parents have agreed to open their home in an area called Rodelillo. In a recent evangelistic effort one lady accepted Christ, and several others expressed interest in Bible study. Pray for this family, new converts and Chilean missionary Viviana Faundez to begin a new church on Rodelillo hill in Valparaiso.

DAY 5
URUGUAY: The Uruguayan Deaf Team requests that you continue to pray for the completion of the John 3:16 track in Uruguayan Sign. There are still hold ups with this track, please keep praying for its completion.

DAY 6
BOLIVIA: Please pray for the lost in Bolivia. Pray that the missionaries and nationals will faithfully share their faith and disciple those that come to know Him.

DAY 7
VENEZUELA: The Mobilization Team gives thanks and praise to God for the work done on the Centro de Capacitacion Misionero Transcultural (Cross-cultural Missionary Training Center) over an eight-day period of time in early April. A dedicated and hard-working team of volunteers from the States and Venezuelan workers were able to advance the construction considerably, leaving some sections fully operational and others a short ways from finished. In fact, class met in part of the building during the last two days, while work went on in other parts. Everyone involved worked really hard, with a very good spirit, in spite of long hours and hot weather. Please continue to praise God for those who will be training in this building over the years as they prepare for missions around the world.

DAY 8
ARGENTINA: The Valentine family has been opening their home for the past several months to host a weekly Bible Study. Their business is a home sewing factory and the study has included some of the workers. Recently their business has been shut down by the government because they have not been meeting regulations for a home business. Now they do not know what they will do as it is expensive to do all the things that are required to start up again. The head of the house, Omar, continues to have a strong desire for the Bible Studies but still has not taken the step to receive Christ into his life. He knows that once he does he will be a person that will really share Christ with many people as he is a person who does not have a problem talking with people and he also knows that the devil does not want this to happen. Please pray that maybe this situation in his life now will draw him closer to God and finally make that decision to receive Christ in to his life.

DAY 9
URUGUAY: (Criollo Uruguayan Team of interior Uruguay) Roger and Rose Bear, Baptist campus ministers at Indiana State University for more than 20 years, teach and practice missions. They involve themselves and their students on stateside and international trips. They will lead a team of 13 students to do medical clinics and open-air activities in Rosario, Colonia on May 9-19. Pray for their team and the leadership team of Juan Lacaze, Colonia and Earl Quick as they prepare the community for this outreach event.

DAY 10
BRAZIL: (German Team) Two years ago youth from FBC Georgetown, Texas came to paint the police station and you prayed for them. While here the youth made the front page of the newspaper which has some 250,000 subscribers. While the goal was never publicity we wondered what might come of this. This past March the youth came to paint some homes and meet some Hunsrik personally. We were all encouraged to hear one of the ladies who was baptized last October tell the group that she had read about them two years ago in the paper. She and her husband hosted part of the team in their home for a meal, fellowship, sharing of testimonies, and the singing of praises to the Lord. Since December their home has been open to study the Word and they have been inviting their neighbors as well. Several families are involved at this time. While the team never met her two years ago God used their presence to touch her heart and then brought them together to encourage everyone and allow them to catch a greater glimpse of just how God used them. This speaks wonders for long term partnerships as both the nationals and our US partners are allowed to catch a glimpse of just how wonderfully God brings people to himself and just how uniquely God works in individual hearts. Please pray for others to know him, too.

DAY 11
PERU: (REAP NORTH TEAM) On May 11 Ingleside Baptist Church, Macon, GA will visit the village of Santa Cruz, in the Huaylas Valley of Peru. Last year Ingleside began an adoption of the Huaylas Quechua people living in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is a small farming village high in the Andes Mountains. The people there live a difficult life, surviving on what they can grow and sell. Pastor Raul Roses and his wife Lucia live in Santa Cruz serving the Lord. They have been persecuted in the past when their small store was completely robbed and their crops were burned. Please pray that Pastor Raul will be encouraged by the visit from Ingleside this month and that he will grow everyday in the wisdom of the Lord. Pray that the village of Santa Cruz will become a lighthouse of faith as more people come to Christ.

DAY 12
ECUADOR: On May 12, the Pichincha Quichua team will be receiving a volunteer team from Faith Baptist Church, Wichita Falls, Texas. This church is working with us to have a continued impact on the community of Santos Pamba in South Quito among the Quichua people. This will be the second volunteer trip to this community for this church. Please pray with us as we continue to seek out persons of peace in this community and build relationships with the people. We do give thanks for the foundation that was laid from the previous volunteer team which has allowed us to build a relationship with the director of the school and several other people in this community. Our prayer is that an evangelical Quichua church will be planted in this community where no evangelical church exists. Pray for open doors and open hearts to the Gospel of Christ.

DAY 13
BRAZIL: (Urban Center, Belem) Pray for those involved in the My Hope Brazil Project. It is a strategy used in partnership with the Billy Graham evangelistic association that has be used since 2002 in 16 Latin American countries resulting in two million decisions for Christ. Local leaders in Belém are praying and planning towards a goal of reaching 40 thousand people in our state with the gospel and seeing six million decisions for Christ in Brazil. The project hopes to involve 50,000 churches training and preparing Christians, in the coming months, in sharing their faith to reaching their friends and neighbors for Christ. In November, these will be invited into Christian homes for a meal and to watch evangelistic programs where they will be invited to accept Christ. As you continue to join us in prayer for a great harvest of souls in Belém, pray that there will be unity and a common vision among Christians to use every means available to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.

DAY 14
COLOMBIA: The Redeemed Vessels team shares: The EK is an indigenous people of Colombia, South America, who have traditionally lived in the jungle, along the rivers and creeks. They are also known as mountain dwellers of the upper basin of the Sinu River and its tributaries. The EK are a semi-nomadic people of approximately 30 thousand who have an itinerant life style in which they move across this area of land engaging in fishing, hunting, gathering, and horticulture. However, their culture is undergoing major changes as they become more dependent on Western goods due to forced displacement as a result of a hydroelectric plant constructed in 2001. Recently a Baptist representative began a combined work with a local Baptist pastor among these people. Please pray for the Baptist representative and the Baptist pastor as they begin Chronological Bible Storing in EK communities.

DAY 15
ARGENTINA: In Barrio Jardin (Garden neighborhood), there is a brand new church-in-formation. The congregation is about two months old and we have seen three people accept Christ. This is an exciting work which differs from many of our others in that it is made up of principally MEN and pre-teen boys. This is a change because most Criollo men are not interested in anything to do with religion because they see it as a weak man’s crutch. Baptism is the next step for the new believers in Barrio Jardin; however this is a difficult decision for many because of family pressure and teaching from the traditional church. NAC strategy group members are working to build stronger relationships and make new friendships among the people of Barrio Jardin. Please join with us in prayer for Carlos, Hugo and Gabriel as they follow Jesus and wrestle with this decision to be obedient and be baptized.

DAY 16
PERU: Career Missionaries Quentin and Gina Roberts work in the inner city of Lima, Peru. Pray for the Lord to open doors in the Quintas (larger older buildings that have been divided into small single family residences) to begin a basic ESL (English as a Second Language) class so we can begin building relationships and gaining trust from this population segment in downtown Lima. Pray for the Lord to give us wisdom as we research, organize and prepare to establish a counseling ministry for the people of downtown Lima. Pray for the Bible study started in the Quinta on Ilo Street to grow numerically and spiritually. Pray for the Lord to send us committed national volunteers to train and work with us in reaching the more than 500,000 people who live in the downtown area.

DAY 17
XTREME TEAM: Praise the Lord for the 16 people who just complete the rigorous three months of training with the team! Among them are 4 new members of the women’s team. Please pray for this group of women as they continue preparing themselves to go out to minister to the marginalized women in the groups with whom we work. The women’s team will evangelize and disciple in communities with established churches. Pray for the women’s team as they learn to work together and in communities; that they will be sensitive to the culture and that God will give them strength and boldness in the Word.

DAY 18
VENEZUELA: The Andean Agriculture Team writes: Thank you so much for praying last month for our friend Alexis, who is a chicken farmer in Canagua. He had been going through many struggles with his farm, including having the roof blown off his house and many crops ruined. He was definitely seeking the Lord and we asked you to pray for his salvation. Praise the Lord Saturday night, April 5, Alexis prayed to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior. With tears running down his face he prayed to ask God's forgiveness. He said he needed God's forgiveness more than anyone and that he didn't want to run from God anymore. The next day when we visited him he had been reading his Bible, soaking it all up like a sponge. Please pray for his growth in Christ and his influence in the community. Pray that he will be willing to take the next step to be baptized which is a huge challenge in the culture of these mountain towns. Pray that he and his family would become leaders to start a church in Canagua where there is no evangelical church.

DAY 19
CHILE: Over the past few months you have been praying for various volunteer teams that have come to northern Chile to work among the people here sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your prayers have been evident as Christ has been shared in neighborhoods with little or no evangelical presence. We have seen an openness that we’ve never experienced before – God is indeed moving and we have felt your prayers opening doors. During the week before Easter a volunteer team conducted several Bible Clubs with an unprecedented response from not only children, but youth and adults as well. At a couple of evangelistic services, there was standing room only with people standing outside listening as well. Pray for the missionaries of northern Chile as we follow up on those who expressed interest. Pray for true revival to break out across northern Chile.

DAY 20
COLOMBIA: The Hope for Today Team, Barranqulla, asks that we join together with them in prayer: For the 8 new works which have recently opening in the Atlantico department. Pray for the growth and stability of these works. Pray also for the establishment of Bible studies and the necessary leadership to lead these groups.

DAY 21
PARAGUAY: Missionary Tim Kunkel reports: Recently a group Southern Baptist volunteers from London Bridge Baptist Church came to Ciudad del Este (City of the East). We did prayer walking, door to door evangelism, and a servant evangelism project. We targeted a neighborhood that has no Evangelical churches, at least that we know of. In this area there is a very poor and needy school. The paint was peeling off the classroom walls. The roof had holes in it and no ceiling. They did not even have ceiling fans. Many students had to sit on the floor for a lack of chairs. We "adopted" two of its five classrooms. We painted the two classrooms, bought and painted 50 chairs, installed ceiling fans and new curtains, painted the floors, and repaired the roof. The parents, seeing the generosity of strangers, began to pitch in. They also bought paint. They came alongside us and we painted all the chairs and desks of the school. Even the students pitched in. A wealthy Paraguayan man bought paint for the outside of the school. A British missionary couple painted murals. Now each classroom has the Word of God in it! What began as something small grew! At the dedication there were about 500 people present. Over thirty folks made professions of faith as a result of this effort. Pray for Barrio San Alfredo, that a new simple church will soon be birthed in this neighborhood and for the many people who live there that desperately need the Lord.

DAY 22
CHILE: Pray for outreach activities of “Buenos Vecinos” (Good Neighbors), the recently formed community organization in Nunoa, Santiago. We are focusing on reaching young families in a middle class community that have little if any Christian background. Missionaries Steve and Mary Jo Cooke are going on Stateside Assignment (STAS) and Cliff case will work with a small group of Chilean believers using Buenos Vecinos as a platform for ministry. Pray for divine contacts with persons of peace.

DAY 23
BRAZIL: (Team Gaucho, Porto Alegre) Please pray for an evangelism training that Jeff Dunson will be leading at a large strategic church in Porto Alegre. This church has tremendous potential for church planting and needs training and preparation to see this happen. Pray that there will be good participation in the training, and that those who participate will be active in sharing their faith and in starting new congregations.

DAY 24
ECUADOR: (Deaf Team) Pray for Bob & Peggy Mulkey as they talk to the director of the Deaf school in Cuenca to make plans for the team coming in June. Pray that they will find favor in the director’s eyes. Pray that the Deaf Association in Cuenca will be willing to hand out invitations for the team.

DAY 25
PARAGUAY: Missionary Iracema Kunkel writes: It was a morning full of sunshine the day I met Erica on a street in Ciudad del Este (City of the East). She was a 6 year old girl with a sad smile, long black hair, and a very thin body. As I passed by her mother’s table-stand, she smiled at me. I stopped to talk to her mother who works on the sidewalk selling cell phone cards. Her “street office” is a table and a chair. On non-school days, E. stays beside her mother all day playing with some ragged and dirty dolls. E. doesn’t have a place to play or to sleep during the day. Her mom works 12 hours a day and E. is there beside her. During the conversation with E’s mother, I knew they needed Jesus. As I shared Jesus with her mother, Lourdes, she gave her life to Jesus. E. also gave her life to Christ. Today E. spends half a day in school and the other half at her mother’s work place. But now she has a beautiful smile (and her mother too). If you pass by L’s stand today you will see displayed, in a prominent place, a Bible. They now regularly attend a Baptist church near where they live. God has changed E's and L’s lives. Pray for E and L to continue seeking God’s grace and plan for their lives.

DAY 26
COLOMBIA: The C.A.F.E. Team shares: Pray for the Lord to provide a new national couple to run the indigenous university student center ministry in Bogotá. The Colombian couple which is currently leading the ministry has felt called to move on at the end of this year to live among and to engage a new people group. Pray that God will guide this couple as they seek His timing and His provision.

DAY 27
BRAZIL: The Mobilization Team in Belem asks : "Continue to pray for missionary Paul Lambach at the Equatorial Baptist Theological Seminary who is starting even more activities outside the classroom this year involving seminary students in practical experiences. Pray specifically for: God’s continuing blessing on our three opportunities to mobilize Brazilian students for the three weekly studies and the leaders of each group; for students in the mission club that have acknowledged a calling and that are studying Experiencing God; and for monthly student trips that will involve students in planting a church in an island community. Pray also for Paul as he motivates, challenges, and teaches students at the seminary and at the Agulha Bible Institute."

DAY 28
VENEZUELA: The Plains Team writes: A year and a half ago contact was made with several people in the town of Barinitas, nestled at the foot of the Andes mountains. Many of those people have accepted Christ as their personal savior, and several have followed in baptism. Pray for the continued growth of these new believers. Recent contact with these new believers has been sporadic. Pray that these new Christians would continue to grow, and would stand firm against Satan’s attacks. Pray for encouragers who could serve as mentors to these new believers. Pray for boldness for these new Christians as they share their new found faith with others.

DAY 29
XTREME TEAM: Please pray for those who will be joining the Xtreme Team in the next few months; ask that they will receive comfort as they say good-bye to their families and prepare to come. Pray that God will enable them to put their hand to the plow and not look back.

DAY 30
PERU: (Chiquian Quechua Team) As rainy season comes to a slow end in the Andes Mountains of Peru, missionaries Keith and Carolyn Hocutt continue traveling into the Province of Bolognesi making final preparations for teams coming this year to support the believers in this area. Pray for safe travel, as there have been many mudslides along the mountain roads during the past 4 months. Ask God to protect the Hocutts and make a safe way for the teams. Pray for preparations for the 3 teams that arrive 30 May, (teams are: medical, Bible distribution, and English as a Foreign Language). Ask God to prepare the hearts of the mountain Quechua people with whom these teams will have contact. Pray that God draws them to follow Him. Pray especially for a contact (P.A.) in Ticllos to desire to know God better than he ever knew possible.

DAY 31
ARGENTINA: The week before Easter, the NAC strategy group partnered with other evangelical Christians in the city of Corrientes Capital and a mega church from Buenos Aires for an evangelistic campaign. Through this event, we were able to make contacts in 3 different Criollo barrios (neighborhoods) and have already begun "Connections" (inductive method Bible studies) in one. Federico shared with us that the first time he went to the house where he is now leading the church planting material; it seemed to him to be a forgotten place, the only house at the end of a barely discernible path on the far outskirts of Corrientes Capital. He noticed a small garden and some chickens scratching in the dirt outside. After the grandmother to the family of 14 living there invited him inside, he noticed many statues of Catholic saints haphazardly sitting in a far corner. As he began to share the Gospel with Grandmother, she excitedly thanked him for coming because the family had come to understand that their man made statues were not helping them in any way and they had begun to read the Bible together - although they did not understand it. Federico shared with them from Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments, John 14 that Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life;" and, he went on to share from Revelations 3 that Jesus was knocking on their heart's doors just waiting to come in and eat with them. All three adults: Grandmother, Oscar & Isabel gave their hearts to the Lord! When Federico tried to give them the bag of groceries, they refused it saying, "You have fed us with the Word of God and we are full." God is good! Pray with us as we disciple the new believers in these three neighborhoods.