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Prayerline

Overseas Prayerline

No 2008-19 : Issued on Wednesday 7th May 2008

Thank you for your interest in Prayerline. The 'Day' and 'Country' designations below refer to the respective right-hand page(s) in the Points for Prayer Handbook, which contains useful background information to these prayer requests. Copies are available by contacting the address below.

PRAYERLINE is a service of the Board of Mission Overseas of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, setting out news and prayer requests from our personnel and mission partners overseas and is updated weekly. This week's Prayerline is set out below.

Prayerline is also available (normally a shortened version) as a recorded message, which may be obtained by telephoning: +44 (0)28 9041 7308.

Day 4 – SPAIN

Derek and Jane French write, “Give thanks to God for the student weekend we had in April.  The camp was a great source of encouragement for those who come from smaller sized groups.  We were thankful to have students not only from Bilbao, but also Vitoria, Santander and Zaragoza.  During the camp, we taught them the “Two Ways to Live” evangelism course, and it was so encouraging to see them get to grips with ‘What is the gospel?’ and ‘How to present the gospel in a clear way’.”

• Pray that the students would be encouraged to share the gospel openly with their friends.

This month, Derek and Ned (a student from Durham, who is helping out with GBU in Northern Spain), will be taking a group of young men away for a weekend of teaching and fellowship.

• Pray for the preparations for this weekend; that the fellowship and teaching would be profitable; that the students would be encouraged to take a stand in their universities; and that God would raise up leaders from this group.

Days 12 to 14 – KENYA

Gary and Mary Reid continue to be busy in the Olkinyiei area in the Narok District of southwest Kenya.
Prayer Points –

• That the Reids will know daily, the guiding and empowering of God’s Holy Spirit as they seek to bring glory to the Lord’s Name in all they say and do. 
• For God’s Holy Spirit to work mightily in the hearts of the Maasai and that many will believe in our Lord, Jesus Christ and live for Him.
• Remember all those who come to the church meeting and Bible study, or recently started Sunday school.  Pray especially for all who are being put under great pressure by their families not to attend these meetings; that each will have the strength and faith to stand firm for Christ.

From Tuum in Northern Kenya, Stephen Cowan shares the following points for prayer:

• Give thanks for good rains in many parts of the country.
• Pray for the ongoing work of the coalition government as it seeks to bring peace in the most troubled Rift Valley Province.  Pray too that changes will be made on land policies, as many areas still have no land demarcation.
• In and around Tuum, there have been many peace meetings aimed at keeping the Samburu and Turkana living together in harmony.  Other villages at the back of the mountain have dispersed but on the Tuum side, animals belonging to both tribal groups are grazing together.
• The leadership training in Nakuru went well.  There is one student who seems to have lost direction due to some personal difficulties.  Pray that this student can refocus.
• Pray for the start this week of another term at the girls’ secondary school.  Give thanks that some of the students from down-country are planning to return, now that ethnic tensions have waned.  Diana the student who was shot last year is improving well and may also come to the school later in the year.
• There have been serious water shortages due to the burning of the forest some months ago.  Pray that the source can be protected and, also that people will use water wisely, especially the girls in the school.

From Tuesday (6th) to Thursday (8th) of this week, Thomas Leremore (PCEA Peace Initiative Co-ordinator), together with members of the PCEA's Board of Social Responsibility, will be visiting victims of the post-election violence in Nakuru, Molo, Kuresoi and Eldoret.  The aim of the trip is to assess the situation on the ground and talk with church and community leaders.
On Friday last week, Naomi Leremore helped to facilitate the Sunday School training seminar for PCEA's central committee.
Prayer Points –

• Safe travel for Thomas and the other members of the Board of Social Responsibility.
• For all Internally Displaced Persons; and that the government programme of resettlement will work well for them.  
• Give thanks for the successful Sunday School training seminar and for renewed friendships.
• Pray for Naomi and baby Aaron while Thomas is away from home this week.

Days 16 to 19 – MALAWI

There has been a good response so far, to the series of seminars for ministers and congregational training agents on ‘Sunday Worship Services’ being conducted by Robin Quinn and Stephen Bota in the Presbyteries of CCAP Synod of Livingstonia. 

Prayer Points –

• Give thanks for the good response there has been so far and pray that the seminars will make a significant impact upon all who attend.
• Pray too that the ministers and training agents who attend will pass on and implement the vision and inspiration in their congregations. 

Maggie Steele writes, “Despite it now being halfway through the academic year, students are still coming looking for fees for Term 1 and now Term 2”.
Prayer Points –

• Wisdom for members of the Scholarship committee, as to who to help and who to turn away.
• Give thanks for all who have contributed to the CCAP Scholarship Fund.  This year there are over 250 needy students.
• That the students will work hard in school and make the best of this opportunity for education.  

The founder member of SCOM, Rev Franklyn Chunga has written a short book on the history of SCOM.

• Pray for all the arrangements for the launching of this book at the end of June.  Remember Rev Chunga (and his family) as his health is deteriorating.  Last week he had to travel to Blantyre for urgent medical attention.

The CCAP Synod of Livingstonia held a Strategic Planning Conference from 28th April to 2nd May. 

• Pray that one of the outcomes of this conference may be a clear sense of God’s direction for the future mission of the Church; and that it would lead to good use of available resources.

Day 24 – NEPAL

Last week, the Nepali government introduced a ban on all food exports because of soaring prices and in response to a similar ban imposed some weeks ago by India.  Nepal traditionally imports rice from India and exports millet and other foodstuffs to Bangladesh and Tibet.  There’s now a danger of the wealthy hording food stuffs, a practice not available to the vast number of poor people in Nepal.  This would push prices beyond the reach of most, many of whom are already living on only one meal a day.

• Pray that world governments and the United Nations will make wise decisions and act soon to stabilise world food prices and the availability of essential items in developing countries.

A conference for pastors and church leaders on the theme of ‘Forgiveness and Reconciliation’ is being held in Kathmandu this week (5th – 8th May).  Some 40 participants are expected to attend, including two from each of the seven UMN cluster areas.  Emmanuel Kopwe from Tanzania, a staff member of African Enterprise, is the main resource person, together with Joe and Janet Campbell.  Emmanuel has extensive experience from working with Churches in Rwanda and Burundi.  This is a significant event in Nepal as people look for hope and change in society.  The programme is a partnership between the Association for Theological Education in Nepal and UMN.

• Pray for safe travel and for God's rich blessing on all participants, so that the Christian Church will be used by God to bring healing, forgiveness and reconciliation in the Nation.

This Sunday, 11th May, many Christians who live in the Kathmandu Valley will hike to the edges of the valley and gather together to pray in small groups for God's blessing on the city.

• Please join them in prayer for Kathmandu on that day.

Day 25 – MYANMAR (Burma)

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and up to a million have been left homeless in the Irrawaddy delta region of the country, following the passing of Tropical Cyclone Nargis over the region last Saturday.  The cyclone caused major damage in Burma's former capital, Rangoon, bringing down trees and power lines.  Hundreds of thousands of survivors are now facing disease and hunger, due to poor sanitation, lack of clean drinking water and food. 

Prayer Points –

• For all those affected by the disaster.  Pray that they will get all the humanitarian assistance they require quickly.  Remember those who have lost loved ones, been injured, or who have lost homes, possessions, and livelihoods. 
• For the Myanmar Government to allow aid agencies unrestricted access to all in need. 

Connect-4-Mission Conference Flyers, Booking Forms and Seminar Reply Slips are all available from the Mission Overseas Office in Church House, or can be downloadeded as PDFs by clicking here, where there is also a PowerPoint® file for use in congregational announcements. 

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