Presbyterian Church in Ireland - Mission Overseas - PL2010-16, 21-Apr-10

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PL2010-16, 21-Apr-10

The 'Day' and 'Country' designations below refer to the respective right-hand page(s) in the 2010 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 5 – PORTUGAL

This weekend, (Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th), a number of Portuguese church youth groups from the Algarve will combine for an event called “be@live” (see www.bealive.com.pt). The purpose of this conference is to ‘impact the youth of today, giving them an opportunity to know Jesus Christ’. The conference is open to youth from all over Portugal and will combine workshops, worship times, Bible study, leisure activities and much, much more. A number of the students being taught by James and Heather Cochrane at the Portuguese Bible Institute (Instituto Bíblico Português) in the Algarve are involved in organising this event. 

Prayer Points –

• For José Dias who has a lot of responsibility for organising and overseeing the conference so that, together with his team, they will be able to sort out any last-minute details.
  
  
• For the large team of leaders and helpers, as they seek to build relationships with those who come.
  
  
• For the guest speakers and workshop leaders, that they will be able to communicate and engage with the young people in an effective way.
  
  
• That through the whole conference God would be honoured and many young people will be challenged about who Jesus Christ is, being deepened in their faith or coming to know Jesus for the first time.

Days 12 to 14 – KENYA

The first Christian wedding held in Tuum on 10th April went well and was a clear testimony of truth to all. Sadly on the way back to Maralal, the vehicle, which was carrying the bride and groom, was shot at, and an American missionary lady was wounded in the leg. She was evacuated by air to Kijabe Hospital and requires three operations. Local Christians see this as a spiritual attack but the village elders believe it happened because a bull wasn’t killed at the wedding ceremony. This shows the cultural significance of such events, and the intensity of the spiritual battle. 

The Senior Youth camp is taking place this week in Tuum and the Junior Youth camps starts on Saturday. A group from Nakuru will lead part of the seminar on female circumcision, while the other Bible teachings will be led by local Christians. 

Prayer Points –

• For God’s protection over all those involved as again they challenge a core cultural practice and encourage those who have refused to comply with this initiation. 
  
  
• For safety in all travel.  
  
  
• For the injured lady recovering in Kijabe Hospital, that the operations she has to undergo will be successful and that she may recover fully and quickly. 
  
  
• For a good attendance of leaders and youth at the camps, and particularly for the seminar on female circumcision.  Pray open minds to accept the truth and a willingness to change lifestyles. 

Naomi Leremore has been suffering recently from typhoid and Thomas has also been unwell. 

• Please pray for the Leremore family at this difficult time.  Pray that Thomas and Naomi would make a full recovery, and that Naomi especially will respond positively to ongoing treatment.
  
  
• Pray also that they will know God’s strength and encouragement in their work each day, and that Aaron would continue to enjoy good health. 

Days 16 to 19– MALAWI

Second term at Zomba Theological College (ZTC), commenced on 13th April. The College continues to face many challenges. Rev Mazizwa, the Principal, was granted three months' sick leave from 8th March. In his absence, Rev Silas Ncozana is serving as Acting Principal and faces a daunting task, given the very significant amount of debt carried by the College, largely due to the arrears in contributions from participating Synods, and the more limited availability of funding from international partners. There is an urgent need for the CCAP to devise a plan that would allow ZTC to become more sustainable; continue to pay its important role in theological training in Malawi; and encourage the unity of the CCAP. 

• Pray for Rev Ncozana as he manages ZTC; and for healing and restoration of health for Rev Mazizwa.
  
  
• Pray for the CCAP, that they would be able to devise a plan that would allow ZTC to become more sustainable. 

Day 22 – ASIANS in the UK

Christopher and Nivedita Benjamin send the following prayer points:

• Pray that the people who read their Easter articles published in Gujarati and English in the Gujarati news papers Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice, may experience God’s love and in their personal lives.
  
  
• Praise God for the 10 to 12 people who regularly attend the Bible study group which meets every Thursday in the Benjamin’s home and enjoy singing Christian songs in Gujarati language and taking part in sharing. Pray that more people may attend this fellowship and receive spiritual encouragement.
  
  
• Please pray that Wembley Park United Reformed Church, (the Benjamin’s home congregation in London) may soon have a new minister, as it has been is without a minister for a long time. Remember the members who face tremendous challenges.
  
  
• Please pray for the Benjamin’s friends – for Wilina, a Christian student from Ahmedabad who attends the weekly prayer meeting, as she prayerfully waits for her husband to get visa to come to UK; and for Ronald, the beautiful one-year old son of Mr and Mrs Patel, for his health as he undergoes a third operation later this year.

Day 24 – NEPAL

Joe and Janet Campbell are thankful for prayer last week. Their time in Rukum and Bajhang respectively went very well and road travel while always dangerous was relatively uneventful. The small UMN staff teams in both locations face enormous challenges in situations that are often highly charged political.

With only 37 days to the end of the current life of the Constituent Assembly in Nepal, political tensions have increased around the country, since it now seems clear that the new Constitution (so eagerly awaited by the people) will not be written, because the three major political parties cannot agree on implementing some elements of the 2006 Peace Agreement. While a return to outright violence seems unlikely at this time, lower level tensions and strikes will leave the country a very unstable state, and make travelling and working more difficult. A national strike, which has been called by the Maoists for May 1st, is designed to exert more pressure on the parties currently in power.

Tansen Hospital is facing some legal challenges from a patient, now a very common experience in many hospitals in the country.  While it seems the hospital is entirely blameless its increasingly difficult to explain that to angry disappointed patients.

UMN's Board meets tomorrow, Thursday 22nd, and Friday 23rd.  While some members from the UK have been unable to travel, the meetings will go ahead as planned.  The Board will review the strategic plan for the next five years and guide the leadership team in taking clear and decisive decisions for the organisation.

Prayer Points –

• Give thanks for safe travel for the Campbell's and pray for the UMN staff working in remote locations. The cluster team leaders are young Nepali men and woman and need our prayers for wisdom and guidance in their day-to-day dealings with the local community.
  
  
• For political leaders that they will show restraint, leadership and partnership; and that they would guide the country through the difficult weeks ahead. Pray for the politicians who visited Belfast and Dublin last September.  They will be getting together next week for one of the regular meetings, away from the media spotlight.
  
  
• For Tansen Mission Hospital which is under pressure from a patient’s family trying to claim medical compensation, even though there was no negligence by the hospital. Please pray for protection and a just outcome.
  
  
• For the UMN Board that they will have wisdom and courage to make good and right decisions for the organisation and for the people of Nepal.

Day 25 – THAILAND

In Bangkok, the anti-government protesters known as the ‘red-shirts’ continue to demand the resignation of the Prime Minister, the dissolution of parliament and fresh elections to be held.  Whilst the protest has remained mainly peaceful, with the exception of the government crackdown on 10th April in which around 20 people were killed, it is feared further violence may soon break out with both sides appearing increasingly militarised. 

• Pray that people will remain calm and that a peaceful and just solution will be found. 
  
  
• Pray for long term reconciliation, that Thailand will once again be united for the common good. 

Days 27 to 29 – INDONESIA

Rev Agustinus N Aesh, a former Moderator of our partner church, Gereja Masehi Injili di Halmahera (GMIH) – the Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera – is seriously ill in hospital in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

Agustinus, who was Moderator of GMIH from 1997 to 2002, gave outstanding leadership to the church at a time when Christian and Muslim communities in the Moluccas Islands or 'Spice Islands' (of which Halmahera is a part) were set against each other in a vicious inter-faith conflict, where previously they had coexisted peacefully.

Agustinus is suffering from throat cancer and is receiving treatment in a church hospital in Jakarta. Given the nature and seriousness of his illness, his medical expenses are understandably high and beyond the means of his family to meet, so they need help from those who can assist.

Any who would like to contribute towards these costs, can channel their gift through the Mission Overseas Office. Cheques should be made payable to The Presbyterian Church in Ireland and accompanied by a letter or note explaining that the money is for ‘Aesh Medical Expenses’ and making clear who it is from.

• Please pray for Agustinus and his family at this time; and that, in God’s providence, the treatment he’s receiving may prove successful and that he will be fully healed of his cancer.

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