As with many of our partners, this year has had many challenges and difficulties, trauma and heartache for Judy Mbugua and Homecare Spiritual Fellowship. But they have also found ways to still do ministry: virtual learning for the students in their program, pick-up food distribution instead of taking the food, and ministry on Zoom allowing them to reach people in Kenya, USA, UK and South Africa. Pray for them as they keep planning and looking forward to ministry opportunities next year.

For more info on Judy see page 84 of the prayer guide.

Pieter Ernst and his colleague Mischaque continue to serve the agricultural co-ops they founded in the Gaza Province of Mozambique. Pray for development and implementation of a new curriculum for the discipleship groups, one that covers the story of the whole Bible in 30 lessons. The outline is ready, and an artist has agreed to develop the pictures that go with each Bible story. Pray that God’s Word will be made known in every rural village in Gaza.

For more info on Pieter see page 81 of the prayer guide.

Pray for Lenden and Gemma and their girls on home leave in the U.S. Pray for a time of rest and refreshment as they reconnect with family. Pray for their girls doing virtual learning at a new school, and for wisdom and discernment as they seek the Lord for next steps in ministry this year.

For more info on Lenden & Gemma see page 50 of the prayer guide.

After decades of service in Japan, Paul and Violette are planning to retire and return to the U.S this summer. Pray for Paul who still deals with pain and IBS and for Violette who deals with back pain and other health issues. Pray for an abundance of strength and energy as they clean out their house and begin to pack up their lives there, and for wisdom and patience to finish well.

For more info on Paul & Violette see page 24 of the prayer guide.

Rob and Tunde share that their church is reaching about a 1,000 each Sunday with their online service, and they have over 100 people meeting in small groups. Pray for the small group leaders, for the Lord to bless them and help them to be builders of community. Rob feels God’s call to plant churches, pray the Lord will raise up workers for the harvest. Pray for development of an internship program to train these leaders. Pray for Tunde as she hopes to finish up her degree from Westminster in May.

For more info on Rob & Tunde see page 11 of the prayer guide.

Pray for Faith (Blanchard) Ludanga, now in the second half of her pregnancy. Praise Seme’s nieces have come to stay and help her. Pray for phase 2 of their house construction to add a room for the girls, and for Faith and Seme as they develop habits and routines as a newly married ministry couple. Seme’s church is also very young, pray for the church to be established with strong spiritual formation. Faith has discovered that the pastor’s wife is also the director of women’s ministry, so pray that she would learn quickly how women’s ministry is done in Bidi Bidi.

For more info on Faith see page 78 of the prayer guide.

Last month Aaliyah was beginning to miss home and family traditions. She was grateful the expat staff at Bingham provided a wonderful thanksgiving dinner for them, and felt honored that Karyn, the girl she has been discipling, invited her to join her family to decorate the tree and watch “Elf”. Pray for work-life balance & overall health, for discipleship relationships and community with others her age, and for creative ideas for outreach amidst Covid in Ethiopia.

Praise Jayden and Calvin were able to join their siblings at the International school this month. Jeff and Lynne are also pleased to report that two local pastors are joining their team as “Digital Responders”. Lord willing, they hope to fully launch their Media to Disciple Making Movements (M2DMM) efforts next month. Pray the Lord would protect these men from spiritual warfare and use them to help Mly seekers.

For more info on Jeff & Lynne see page 63 of the prayer guide.

Pray for Shankar as he leads the overall work of KTM since Raju and Catherine have moved to a different district during the pandemic. Pray that their community health initiatives, educational initiatives, and church planter trainings will lead to communities of faith being established throughout the area around Kachhwa. Pray for wisdom and perseverance for Shankar as he leads the ministry through these complex days.

For more info on Raju & Catherine see page 47 of the prayer guide.

Dean and Kyria praise God for a week of vacation to rest and regroup after their teammates left the field for the U.S. Pray for patience as they have put a pause on their plans for the immediate future and are meeting with their leadership concerning how to move forward with the work there. The small group of local believers in their home on Sundays has been a bright spot, a huge encouragement, and a gracious answer to prayer. Pray they will be able to continue these gatherings.

For more info on Dean & Kyria see page 49 of the prayer guide.