Presbyterian Church in Ireland - Mission Overseas - PL2009-32, 12-Aug-09

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PL2009-32, 12-Aug-09

The 'Day' and 'Country' designations below refer to the respective right-hand page(s) in the 2009 edition of the Points for Prayer Handbook, which contains useful background information to these prayer requests.

Click on these links for further information on Countries, Partners and People.

Day 2 – BRAZIL

Helen Johnston (Personnel Officer) and Rev Prof Bill Addley and his wife, Dr Ruth Addley had good meetings with Naomi Keefe and leaders of Casa Caiada Presbyterian Church, who run Project Proclamacao, in Recife from last Friday (7th) to Monday (10th).  Helen, Bill and Ruth are now in Rio de Janeiro representing PCI at the 150th Anniversary Celebrations of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPB), taking place on today (12th) and tomorrow (13th).  Helen is due to leave Brazil on Monday (17th) and Bill and Ruth are due to leave next Thursday (20th).

Prayer Points –

• Give thanks for the opportunity to meet with Naomi and Church Leaders. 
  
  
• For the IPB anniversary celebrations to go well. 
  
  
• For health and safety for Helen, Bill and Ruth throughout their trip. 
  
  

Day 5 – PORTUGAL

James and Heather Cochrane have been attending Vale Judeu International Church in the Algarve and are becoming more involved in the activities of the church.  James will be preaching on 23rd August, Heather will be leading the Sunday School children through the story of Moses during the month of September. 

Alana and Lucy will be attending a summer camp for Portuguese children aged 5 to 12, taking place at the Church from 24th to 29th August.  The following week at the same venue, a youth camp for 40 teenagers from various locations in Portugal will take place, at which James Cochrane will be the speaker.  The theme for the week is a Bible overview presenting God’s great plan of salvation as we find it in scripture.  James will be delivering two 20 minute talks each day.  This will be his first major Portuguese speaking engagement since leaving Brazil nearly six years ago!

Prayer Points –

• For children’s camp; for the children who will come from all over Portugal and for the leaders and organisers in their final preparations for the camp.
  
  
• For Alana and Lucy, not Portuguese speakers (but learners), that they would understand enough to make the week at the camp beneficial for them. 
  
  
• For James’ language ability and that his message will connect with the Portuguese young people and that it will be an encouragement and challenge to them.
  
  
• For unfolding plans for the Cochranes to become more involved in the area of theological education in Portugal. 
  
  

Day 8 – ROMANIA & UKRAINE

Csaba and Ilona Veres begin their last camp of the summer this Sunday (16th).  A team from Groundlevel England will assist them in an English Bible camp for university students.

Prayer Points –

• Clear and challenging teaching of the Word of God.
  
  
• The young people attending camp to respond to the gospel and that others would deepen in their faith.
  
  
• For a sense of unity and common focus for the leadership team.
  
  
• That this short term mission would also change the lives of the Groundlevel team as they are called to serve in new situations and as they lay their gifts and talents before the Lord. 
  
  
• For deep friendships and many opportunities to share personal testimony with the young people.
  
  
• Give thanks for the YAC Romania team and their ministry over the last couple of weeks in July.  The Lord really shone through them and their servant hearts have been an example to all in Algyogy and Cluj.
  

The appointment procedure for a new house-parent(s) at Caleb House has been long and demanding.  Final interviews are now scheduled to take place at the Board Meeting next Tuesday (18th). 

• Pray for the Board of Caleb as they make their choice of leader for the work there; that the person appointed will have appropriate skills, necessary qualifications and relevant experience; and that the needs of the young people will be taken fully into account in the decision-making process.
  
  

Jenni Wolfe, who is a member of First Islandmagee Presbyterian, was accepted in June for short-term service under BMO’s ‘Ignite’ category.  Tomorrow (13th), she leaves for Transcarpathia in South-western Ukraine, where she will serve as an English Language Assistant at the Reformed Church School in the village of Nagybereg.  All the teaching in the school is conducted in Hungarian and Jenni will be helping the students develop their spoken English.

Jenni has visited the school on a number of occasions and has been part of previous teams from the Islandmagee area that have led English Camps at the school for a couple of weeks each time. This year, Jenni is again a member of this team departing tomorrow for Ukraine and will stay on after the team and begin her work in the new school year. 

Prayer Points –

• Safe and trouble-free travel. 
  
  
• Jenni to settle in well to life and work in Transcarpathia. 
  
  
• For God’s guidance in effective teaching and witness to the young people and the community in Nagybereg.
  
  

Days 12 to 14 – KENYA

The PCEA Pre-school Teacher Training course in Nairobi has opened for second term and some new students have arrived.

• Thank God for the increase in numbers and pray that the new students will be able to catch up with the work from last term.
  
  
• Pray for Naomi Leremore and the other trainers involved as they seek to provide quality training.
  

The Junior Youth Camp in Tuum began on Monday (10th) and is going well.  The Senior Camp will commence after it has finished on Saturday (15th), and will run until next Thursday (20th).  A team from Magheramason and other congregations is helping to lead the camps.  Some people from Nyahururu will come to assist in the senior camp.

Prayer Points –

• Give thanks for safe travel and that more young people than usual have come. 
  
  
• For continued safety for all those involved in the camps, especially as they travel. 
  
  
• For many on the fringe who God is speaking to and for the annointing of the Holy Spirit to flow in Tuum. 
  
  
• For the new head teacher for Tuum Girls’ Secondary School who is due to arrive in Tuum soon. 
  
  

Days 21 and 22 – INDIA

Rt Rev Vinod Malaviya, Bishop of the CNI’s Gujarat Diocese, reports, “The whole country is worried about the lack of rainfall and we may have to face very severe drought all over the country.  Yesterday the Government has announced that in 126 districts in Northern India there was no rain at all.”

• Pray for rain to fall in all areas of India in the right amounts and that a severe drought can be avoided. 
  
  

Day 24 – NEPAL

UMN Executive Director Mark Galpin recently wrote to staff, “Many things that we are involved in and facing we can do something directly about and influence by our own actions – they are in our own ‘sphere of influence’.  But many other things are outside this sphere and our most worthwhile activity when this is the case is, I believe, to place them in God’s hands and trust Him to resolve them in his own way and in his own time.  The situation in Nepal at the moment with on-going political turmoil, ethnic and religious conflict, disease outbreaks and a looming food crisis is one that can either fill us with feelings of hopelessness and despair - or drive us to our knees in prayer.

In the face of these I believe God is calling us, as the UMN Family, to have a week of focused prayer. I would therefore like to invite you to join us in prayer during the week of the 7th to 13th September 2009.  In Kathmandu we will be having a daily morning and early afternoon time of prayer and praise during that week.  Do think about how your own teams around the country could do this.”

Many churches have been mobilised in response to the outbreak of both diarrhoea and cholera in the midand far west of the country.  Now almost 300 people have died.  Churches are financing from their own resources the sending of volunteer doctors and nurses as well as medicines.

This coming Sunday (16th) and Monday (17th), Joe Campbell will be involved with Nepali colleagues in a Forgiveness workshop for a large Baptist church in Kathmandu.

Prayer Points –

• For UMN, its leaders and staff in all the challenges it faces in the coming months and years.  Pray especially for Mark Galpin as he leads this drive for a greater commitment to prayer.
  
  
• Give thanks for the way the local churches have been responding to the disease outbreaks in the mid and far west of Nepal.  Pray for those giving time and expertise in the name of Christ.  Pray for safety in travel at this time of monsoon.  Pray also for poor people who often feel no one cares.
  
  
• For the workshop this coming Sunday and Monday, that where there is anger, hurt or the withholding of forgiveness, that God will by His Spirit minister His grace to effect healing and reconciliation.
  

OVERSEAS TEAMS

A number of teams are overseas over the next week. We would encourage you to remember them in prayer.

CROATIA – An all age team, six from Portrush Presbyterian, and one each from the PCI congregations ofBallywatt, Hazelbankand Gardenmore are in Porec, Croatia helping to lead a CEF camp, teaching English and leading worship, games, crafts, beach activities for Slovene children aged 5 to 14.  They are due home on 18th August.

UKRAINE – A team of 13 adults from the PCI congregations of First Islandmagee, Ballyclare, First Larne, Second Islandmagee, Whitehead and Woodlands, and Ballyclabber Reformed Presbyterian, leaves tomorrow 13th August.  They will be helping to run a two week Summer Camp at Nagybereg School in the Transcarpathia region of Ukraine, teaching English to 14 - 18 year olds.  The team is due back on 27th August. 

Prayer Points for these teams –

• Good health, safety, strength and energy for all the team members and those they are working with.
  
  
• The work that each of the teams will be involved in.
  
  
• For the Word of God to be explained clearly and for spiritual fruit in the lives of those the teams are going to help or work alongside.
  

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