News & Prayer Items

Close to half a million persons have been affected by flooding in Chad, primarily in regions of central and southern Chad, but also in other areas to the east and west. Though the northern half of Chad is part of the Sahara desert, within that area are flooded regions also. 94,000 homes have been destroyed. The water has overflowed the rivers and mixed with the water from the wells, so that thousands of evacuees have no safe drinking water.

The people of Chad are facing a food crisis, with 3.6 million people being affected by destroyed crops and fields. This will create shortages of necessary food supplies for the coming year. In addition, swarms of locusts are breeding in the north of Mali and Niger, which could endanger the livelihoods of up to 50 million people in the region.

Flood-affected residents need items such as cooking kits, blankets, mosquito nets and emergency shelter materials, as well as sensitisation about cholera and malaria

Relief funds are greatly needed.

Give a gift of any size for emergency relief.

• Pray for wisdom as plans are made for replanting crops this month if the rains stop and water recedes.
• Pray for discovery of practical ways to purify drinking water.
• Pray that God would give encouragement to those suffering.
• Pray believers would reach out beyond their own congregations to those who don't know Christ so that God would be seen through His children.

 

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Mark Sims heads back to Bangui, CAR this week for 2 1/2 weeks of teaching in the Seminary, and preaching, from November 9-24th. He has also been invited to speak at the national pastors conference.

Please pray for ongoing recruitment for the doctoral program which needs to have eight students as they begin.

Please pray for the necessary American accreditation for the program.

 

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Mark Sims heads back to Bangui, CAR this week for 2 1/2 weeks of speaking and teaching, in the Seminary and also possibly a couple churches from November 9-24th. He has also been invited to speak at the national pastors conference.

Please pray for ongoing recruitment for the doctoral program which needs to have eight students as they begin.

Please pray for the necessary American accreditation for the program.

 

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Bruce Triplehorn is slowly making a long time dream a reality as he remodels mission housing in Uberlandia, Brazil into a ministry center, making a place for leadership training that would involve intense seeking of God through the study of the Bible, deep fellowship through living in close quarters, and training through hands-on ministry with people who do not know the Lord.

Please pray as further work is done on getting the buildings into shape. Much of the plumbing, wiring and roofing is over 35 years old and needs to be replaced.

Pray that the teaching material will be prepared in time for a February beginning of the ministry.

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Dave James, special assignment missionary with Encompass World Partners, leaves today for a month stay in Cambodia. Over the course of the next 4 weeks he will work alongside the team in Cambodia on various projects. He sends the following prayer requests -

1. Cambodians over the next several years will begin to grow two and three rice crops per year as new irrigation infrastructures are put in place. Pray for the quality of life that the additional income from growing rice will give them with hope for tomorrow for better education, health care, and other opportunities. Pray for opportunities to share where we place our hope.
2. Currently we are beset with some technical issues of the rice hull stoves we have been prototyping and testing. Pray for wisdom to resolve the issues so we can move forward with establishing a macro enterprise.
3. Pray as the team discusses the goals and organization of the macro business. For example, wow it will support ministries in Cambodia and how the business itself will be a ministry to those it employs, its vendors, and customers.
4. Pray as we begin to set up a metal working shop with the equipment we have acquired to help some men learn metal working skills. Specifically for their safety around the machinery and that their products will sell well in the stores. Pray this can provide full time employment for several men and other opportunities as they develop their skills.
5. Pray with us as we continue to encourage some men to accept the leadership roles in managing these businesses. God already knows the ones He wants in leadership. Pray they will listen to His Spirit as their hearts become moved to accept these responsibilities.
6. Pray for the growing interest in the work of development in Cambodia by individuals and churches. They see that the businesses provide not only hope for tomorrow but eternal hope as part of the core values of the businesses when the employees encourage each other’s spiritual growth.
7. Rice hulls are a highly underutilized waste product of rice production. Pray as we can continue to investigate other ways of harnessing fuel from gas hulls. Continue...

Kent Good requests prayer and perhaps even a time of fasting in preparation for contacting the landlord of the Battambang Ministry Center building with an offer to purchase at a price a good bit more reasonable than the current asking price. “We'd like to purchase the building or build on the lot next door which we already own, thanks to a number of gracious gifts given by friends of this ministry.

"We'll be meeting together on Monday, November 5th as our Day of Prayer to request God's intervention in opening or closing this door to make His will known. He's big enough to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

"Since 2007, the Battambang Ministry Training and Student Center has served as the hub of the Encompass ministry in NW Cambodia.

· It is used every day to house up to 8 students,

· every weekday to teach English to 100+ students,

· every Wednesday to Saturday morning for devotions before the CMPs head out to villages where they teach the Bible,

· every Tuesday for theological training,

· every Sunday for the worship activities of the Battambang City Church,

· once a month for gatherings of the entire Cambodian/American team

· and throughout the year to host leadership training, outreach events and camps."

 

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Dave and Susie Hobert, who usually serve as missionaries in France, have enjoyed their first couple of months as missionaries in residence at Grace College.

They meet and interact with the students, attend classes, mentor future missionaries, and get involved with student groups such as Mosaic Internationals. This group encourages students to share their experiences in other countries.

The Hoberts will continue in this role throughout the 2012-13 school year. Please pray for them as they help plan the conference on missions to take place on campus in November. Continue...

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Kent Good reports the sad news that their plan to create rice-hull gasifying stoves that convert one of SE Asia's most abundant waste products into cooking fuel "has, well, encountered a problem.

"In August, when we returned to Cambodia from our home assignment, we were dismayed to discover that six months of test burning rice-hulls to extract gas had all but destroyed the stoves. The man who introduced us to the process of rice-hull gasification tells us that our burner is defective, not eliminating corrosive tar from the gas and the tar is what is causing rapid corrosion.

"So, the R&D team (my neighbor Ham Anoch and myself) are back at work. We've not given up but we are well aware that this may be more difficult than we thought.

"While it's too early to give details, please pray with us as we investigate an entirely different approach to harnessing the power of rice-hull fuel. US teammate, Dave James, arrives this Saturday to help us figure this out."

 

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Larry DeArmey sends an update on session 4 of the Chad School of Missiological Studies, which is now history.

"This session saw some traumatic experiences for a few of the students. Not a session goes by where several of the men do not suffer the loss of loved ones.

"This time was no exception. Midway through the session one of the pastors (Louis) received news that his adopted son of 24 years of age died as the result of a snake bite. Another (Brice) lost a cousin to lightening striking him during a very violent storm. I am always struck by the very stoic response to these deaths, but I know that they are suffering deeply.

"On a very sad note, Matthieu (blue shirt middle front row) is apparently terminally ill. This was a very difficult situation as he had to leave the course in the middle of the session. We had a very moving time of prayer for him and many tears were shed. Please pray for this brother and his family during this difficult time. Pray for God's healing touch!! He has been one of my favorite Chadian brothers for many years now.

"I praise God for the good work that He accomplished through the teaching and the example of Dr. Augustin Hibaile. It was very interesting to observe an African professor communicating with African students. In addition to the excellent content of his teaching (Ethics and Spiritual Leadership), he was able to directly address issues that are unique to the African culture and world view. Continue to pray for fruit to be borne in the lives of these Chadian students. It is clear that the teaching of the first four sessions of the school is beginning to have an impact on the thinking and behavior of the men involved.

Dave Guiles, (who was scheduled to teach next) has had to postpone his trip to Chad until May. God opened the door almost immediately for fellow missionary, Gary McCaman, to join me. Praise God for the rapid answer to prayer.

We ended the September session in the red. I would like to ask you to consider an end of the year gift to the Chad School of Missiological Studies. This is a very strategic investment in the leaders of our Chadian church. Donations can be made directly on line by opening the following link to the Encompass World Partners web site.
http://www.encompassworldpartners.org/ministries/689-school-of-missiological-studies-chad

Please pray for Gary McCaman as he gathers support for the trip and prepares lessons

Pray for the finances of the school

Pray for the students who suffered loss of loved ones. Pray for all the students as they meet the challenges of their difficult lives

Pray that the Spirit would continue His work in the hearts and lives of the students so that their manner of living shows forth the holiness and glory of God

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