Monthly Archives: December 2009

Week of December 27-2009

December 27 : Bihari Muslims in need of Jesus. Bihari Muslims experience the same problems as anyone: illnesses, unemployment and financial concerns. Some listen to Christian radio programs in the Urdu language and then call the station to ask for prayer related to their problems. One of the listeners, Mr. A, called to ask for prayer for his brother who is suffering from a serious liver problem. The radio programmer was able to share about Jesus’ love and pray with Mr. A. Please pray for physical healing for Mr. A’s brother. Please also pray for the salvation of Mr. A, his brother and their families. Approximately 17 million Bihari Muslims living in India are in need of Jesus and His salvation.

December 28 : Everything for Good. A cross-cultural workers writes, “In the midst of some encouraging work to the north of our city, there have been a number of events that require prayer. Although I could list many individual things, I will just summarize by saying that both physical and spiritual oppression have been regular occurrences. Please pray for the spiritual warfare that Jesus told us would come when we do His ministry.”

December 29 : Faithful Fruit. Earlier this year, you were asked to pray for new fruit among Muslims. God has answered your prayers! This year some of the recent believers have boldly gone where Christians fear to tread. They have gone back into their Muslim communities and proclaimed Jesus! They have held  meetings with families they have identified as seekers and have shown the “JESUS” film to them while fielding their many questions. This has led to a handful of men and even full families coming to faith in Christ, and it is not just happening in one place, but in multiple places! Some of the believers who are doing this have been in Christ for two years, while others have been saved only a few months. Much of this has occurred through the faithful witness of one Christian evangelist. He himself comes from a Hindu family, but he has been genuinely saved and is devoted to Jesus. God is using him to introduce Muslim “people of peace” (Luke 10:6) to Jesus, and God is bringing them to faith. God is then giving these new believers the grace, vision and boldness to be witnesses to their family and friends. Rejoice in what God is doing, and pray that this will continue regardless of the many challenges being faced. Pray that these new believers will grow in their faith and understanding through Bible study and loving obedience to what they understand from their study.

December 30 : Training Trainers. A cross-cultural worker in K writes,  “We will be having two important meetings with organizations working in the state about training and partnering opportunities. Please pray for guidance for both parties as we seek God’s will in reaching the 30-plus unreached people groups in the state.”  Another worker in the Punjab writes, “Several pastors have been reporting new believers and baptisms. Pray for the new believers in the Punjab, and lift up the pastors who are leading them. Please ask God to strengthen these believers, and pray that they will “catch a vision” to see lost people come to know the Savior.”

December 31 : End of the Rope. Pray for wisdom and discernment for cross-cultural workers throughout India as they teach and train those who are making decisions to follow Jesus. A cross-cultural worker writes: “J is going to another city to visit a man who accepted Christ last year, and who called J to say that he is at the end of his rope, he needs help, and he wants to get serious about following Christ. J needs wisdom in how to help him. Pray that this new believer really will get serious about his walk with Christ now and lean on Christ in his weakness.”

January 1 :  New Beginnings. As newer Muslim-background believers live out their faith, pray that they will remain solidly founded upon God’s Word. Making a living is difficult work for them, as many are challenged to find time to read or listen to His Word. Many spend their energies day after day on hard labor, working long hours. Please pray that God will give them a hunger and a deep desire for God and His Word that will outstrip their exhaustion. Pray that they will consistently feed on the Bible daily, reading, meditating on it, and obeying what they understand. The only way their old ways and beliefs will change is if they get into God’s powerful Word.

January 2 : Emerging Leaders. An international brother is asking you to pray for leaders to emerge from among the new Rajasthani believers. Please pray that those who have been called to reach their own will obey and follow Scripture. Some new discipleship material is available that is very Muslim friendly and adaptable for anyone seeking to sit at the feet of their Savior.

Gospel spreads among Mumbai’s Muslims

by Erich Bridges

Mumbai MuslimsMUMBAI, India (BP)—Farooq* walked right into the trap set for him.

A Muslim-background follower of Christ in the Indian urban giant of Mumbai, Farooq was teaching other Muslims about the Gospel in a “seeker meeting.” One of the attendees seemed especially interested. He invited Farooq to his neighborhood nearby to share more with family members and friends. Farooq gladly obliged.

Soon after he began speaking to the group, police entered the room with some relatives of the person who had invited him. They angrily accused Farooq of “forced conversions,” of bribing Muslims to become Christians, of evangelizing minors. None of it was true. But he was arrested, thrown into a jail cell with 30 felons and a single toilet, repeatedly beaten. Policemen demanded 5,000 rupees — their price to stop the abuse. Continue reading →

Mumbai is the urban future

WORLDVIEW: Mumbai is the urban future
By Erich Bridges
EDITOR’S NOTE: “WorldView Conversation,” the blog related to this column, can be found here http://worldviewconversation.blogspot.com. An audio version of this column is available athttp://media1.imbresources.org/files/77/7739/7739-43113.mp3.

MUMBAI, India (BP)–Flying into Mumbai at night, you see millions of pretty lights glittering along the curving coast, like jewels on the neck of a queen.

At ground level, in the harsh light of day, illusion gives way to reality. The elegant monarch that once was Bombay is dead. Something altogether different — both exciting and terrifying — has replaced her. Continue reading →

THE TSUNAMI: Indian couple, left childless, befriends orphans

Baptist Press, Dec. 11, 2009: http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=31857

By Shawn Hendricks

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dec. 26 marks the fifth anniversary since a series of devastating tsunamis hit the Indian Ocean in 2004. One of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history, the storm struck 11 countries and left more than 225,000 people dead. Southern Baptists gave more than $17 million in tsunami relief funds. The following articles share the journey of an Indian couple, Paramesvaran and Choodamani, in finding hope again, underscoring the help Southern Baptists were able to provide through International Mission Board representative Cole Elbridge* and Baptists’ giving through the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

TAMIL NADU, India (BP)–”Daddy, what’s that?”

Paramesvaran looked toward the ocean. Curiosity turned to horror as a 30-foot wave bore down on him and 5-year-old son Kirubasan. He grabbed the boy and ran.

But it was too late.

The wave lifted them off the ground and tossed them back down.

Paramesvaran’s son slipped from his grasp.

The water swept Paramesvaran along until he could grab hold of a palm tree. Clinging tightly against the force of the waves, he felt the rough trunk rip into his arms, leaving gaping wounds.

Almost five years later, one glance at the jagged scars stretching along his arms like tattoos can transport him back to that day — Dec. 26, 2004. The Indian Ocean earthquake, which triggered a series of devastating tsunamis, was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

As the tsunami waters receded, Paramesvaran stumbled home in shock. He found his wife Choodamani sitting on the second floor of their house. The waves had topped the retaining wall around their house, located less than five minutes from the beach, and flooded the first floor.

What about Kirubasan and daughters Rakshanya, 12, and Karunya, 9? They and seven out-of-town relatives who had come to visit for Paramesvaran’s 40th birthday had gone to the beach with Paramesvaran that day.

Paramesvaran had not seen any of them. The rest of the day, he searched the beach for his children, joined by panic-stricken neighbors also searching for loved ones. They later learned that more than 225,000 people had been killed by the tsunami that struck India, Indonesia and 10 other countries.

By midnight, Paramesvaran had found his children’s bodies and the bodies of most of his relatives. He found Kirubasan “lying like a stone statue” on the beach. Rakshanya was floating face down in the ocean. The waves left Karunya’s body entangled in a thorn bush.

The next morning he buried his children together in a grave he dug by hand.

Local Hindus said he and Choodamani were being punished for converting years ago to Christianity. His own brother taunted him, “Where is your Jesus?”

Reeling with grief, the couple considered a suicide pact.

Paramesvaran was haunted by thoughts of letting go of his son’s hand. Choodamani was angry that her husband had taken the children to the beach so early that day. It was Sunday, and they should have been getting ready for church.

God began to comfort Choodamani in those first few days following the tsunami. She realized how blessed she was to still have her husband and to be alive.

“God talked to me in a very crystal-clear voice,” she says. “[God said,] ‘Don’t be upset. So many people died, and yet your husband is alive…. I have some purpose in your life.’

“It’s why we are still alive,” she realized.

Paramesvaran, however, continued to sink deeper into depression and thoughts of suicide.

“I went to my wife and asked her, ‘Can I drink any poison?’” he recounts. “‘Can I commit suicide? I don’t want to live.’”

Choodamani attempted to comfort her husband by sharing what God had revealed to her. Instead, he became angry. He didn’t feel God’s comfort; he couldn’t hear His voice.

Paramesvaran pushed his wife out of the room, locked the door and collapsed to his knees.

“I was beating my hands saying, ‘Oh, Jesus, speak to me,’” he says. “I asked God why He hadn’t given me a word.”

Grasping photos of his children and caressing their faces, Paramesvaran suddenly could hear them comforting him.

“They said they were safe with Jesus,” he says. “They said, ‘Daddy, don’t cry. We are OK, Daddy.’”

That day, Paramesvaran says, he felt “enormous strength” from God. He also began to feel a deep burden for the orphans in a nearby village.

A NEW BURDEN

More than 60 children in the village lost their parents in the tsunami. With no one responsible for them, they wandered from house to house, relative to relative, begging for food and living under blue tarps that served as temporary shelters.

“If we would have died,” Paramesvaran says, “I could have seen my children in this group.”

The couple initially took four children into their home. Over time, the number has grown to 20 — six girls and 14 boys.

“[God said] you were a mother for three, but now you can be a mother for so many,” says Choodamani, who has given birth to two sons — Shemaiah, 2, and Micaiah, 1 — since losing her first three children.

“Without God we’d never [have] made it through this.”

The financial burden on the couple, however, took its toll in the beginning. Though Paramesvaran works for a gas company and Choodamani is an accountant, they struggled to make ends meet.

They turned to Cole Elbridge*, an International Mission Board representative who was leading relief efforts along the coast. Southern Baptists gave more than $17 million to help tsunami victims. From a portion of those gifts, Elbridge was able to provide the couple with kitchen appliances, beds, clothing, books and school supplies, in addition to meeting other needs for the children. The funds also provided food, shelter, boats, nets and supplies to the community.

Elbridge was there, thanks to Southern Baptists’ support of the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

“There were so many needs that Southern Baptists helped us with,” Paramesvaran says. “Through that [support] we were able to spread the Gospel. Many people came to Christ.”

That support also allowed the orphaned children, all from Hindu backgrounds, to hear about Jesus for the first time.

Today, all of them have a relationship with Christ. Some are sharing the Gospel alongside Paramesvaran in the community.

HEALING IN INDIA

Residents along much of India’s eastern coast still have scars and pain from that tragic December day.

A faint waterline is still visible around the perimeter of the couple’s house. Here and there, collapsed buildings block the beachfront. A rusty barge rests in the sand where the tsunami waves abandoned it. There are now lakes and ponds where there were none.

While most of the wreckage and damage has been removed or repaired, broken hearts aren’t as easy to mend. But the love of Christ shown by Indian Christians such as Paramesvaran and Choodamani has brought the Good News into areas that were once unreceptive to Christians.

Since tsunami relief began in India and into Bangladesh, more than 1,400 house churches have been planted, 12,000 people have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and 4,000 have been baptized.

With training and support from Elbridge, Paramesvaran has started two churches and vocational training centers in his community.

Paramesvaran and Choodamani can see God’s faithfulness through all they have experienced. Some have compared their story to that of Job — a man who suffered great loss yet remained faithful to God.

“I read [in the Bible] that Job lost everything on the same day,” Paramesvaran says. “I used to wonder how it was possible. Now I understand that it is true because it happened to me.

“When we think about our children, now, I can see the grace of God,” he says. “God has given us a second life.”

–30–

*Name changed.

Shawn Hendricks is a writer for the International Mission Board. Hear more of Paramesvaran’s story at http://www.commissionstories.com/stories/277.

THE TSUNAMI: Orphans gain a new family

Baptist Press, Dec. 11, 2009: http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=31858

By Shawn Hendricks

TAMIL NADU, India (BP)–Life as Sangeedhas knew it was gone.

Her home was destroyed. Her mother was dead.

Only 8 years old, Sangeedhas was one of thousands of children left homeless by the catastrophic tsunami that hit southern Asia in 2004. Most of these children were left vulnerable to poverty, child trafficking, prostitution and hopelessness.

Sangeedhas’ father survived the tsunami, but he sent her away after he married her mother’s sister. Her stepmother refused to care for a girl who was not her natural child — a situation that happens all too often in India to children of a widowed father.

“When his wife has died and [the widower] remarries, his previous children are usually discarded,” says Cole Elbridge*, an International Mission Board representative.

The stepmother does this because she “doesn’t want previous children to have inheritance when it comes time for that and dowries. She wants it simple for her children.”

Sangeedhas, however, was one of the fortunate ones. She was taken in by Paramesvaran and Choodamani, a Christian couple who lost their three children and seven other relatives in the tsunami.

The couple welcomed Sangeedhas and other orphaned children into their home. They provided for them with the help of Southern Baptist tsunami relief funds.

Since the tsunami, the couple has provided a loving home for 20 orphaned children — six girls and 14 boys.

Sangeedhas had been raised in a Hindu home. After she came to live with the couple, she heard about Jesus Christ for the first time.

“This changed my life,” she says. “I also want to be a great blessing to others in the days to come, like my parents are now.

“Jesus told me … ‘Be here. Stay here. I will comfort you.’”

Today, all of the children have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Before dawn each morning, the children gather for worship to sing praises to Jesus. With Bibles sprawled on the floor in front of them, they listen to the daily message.

On one morning, Sangeedhas’ 14-year-old brother Saravan leads the service. He tells his family to never give up praying “big prayers.” He speaks from experience.

Saravan’s father died when he was 2 years old. Eventually his mother was unable to care for him. The boy often cried himself to sleep after arriving at the couple’s home two years ago.

“Paramesvaran told me I could go to God’s feet and cry,” Saravan says.

Now one of his life goals is to preach the Gospel to a lost world and impact those who haven’t heard about Jesus.

“Jesus is my mother and my father,” Saravan says. “[He] is everything to me.”

–-30-–

*Name changed.

Shawn Hendricks is a writer for the International Mission Board.

THE TSUNAMI: Compassion stirs Hindu hearts

Baptist Press, Dec. 11, 2009: http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=31859

By Shawn Hendricks

TAMIL NADU, India (BP)–A charred body lies in the rubble of a church. Hindu extremists had blocked the doors and burned the church to the ground.

It’s a disturbing picture — one that International Mission Board representative Cole Elbridge* has carried with him on his laptop computer. He uses the image to remind himself and others of the cost of sharing the Gospel. In some areas of southern Asia, the risks of telling others about Jesus are great, even deadly. The message of Jesus Christ, however, is penetrating those barriers. Continue reading →

Week of December 20-2009

December 20 : Personal Decision. As Christians throughout the state prepare to celebrate Christmas, please pray for non-believers who are “cultural Christians.” Call upon God to help them understand their need to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus personally and not to depend on inherited religion from family members. As Christians celebrate this holiday in a variety of ways, pray that it will not add confusion about Jesus to those who do not know Him. Please pray that believers will find creative ways to involve their Muslim friends, relatives and neighbors in this special holiday that celebrates the birth of one of their own prophets (“Isa” is Jesus’ name in the Quran, and He is mentioned most favorably).

December 21 : Man in White. As Muslims hear about the birth of Isa from the Bible and Qur’an, please pray that the Holy Spirit will soften their hearts and open their eyes to see Jesus as God’s Son and the sacrifice for their sins.  Some Muslims may already be having dreams and visions about Jesus. During the Christmas season, they may be bold enough to venture into a church to learn about this man in white. It is not uncommon for churches to send them away since the Muslim community sometimes attacks churches that participate in conversion activities. Ask Jesus to continue to reveal himself to Muslims in this manner. In addition, pray that as Muslims seek to find answers about Isa, that God would lead them to churches who will share the truth and give them Bibles in languages they can understand.

December 22 : Jesus: the Word of God. Pray for upper class Kashmiri doctors, journalists, business owners and religious leaders. Ask that the Word of God will be glorified as workers begin a new English-language Bible study to introduce seeking families to the Gospel of John and the life of Jesus, the Word of God.

December 23 : Loosen the Grip. Diwali is past, the most important of Hindu festivals in Mumbai, and nothing has changed in the city. Hindus still worship millions of gods and goddesses. At the same time, they seek help from and listen intently to their gurus’ and astrologers’ advice for every aspect of their lives, from a new business venture or a place to live, to an anticipated marriage partner, or when to have their first child. At the same time, they will also “try” Jesus for whatever their perceived need might be. It is a fickle way of thinking, for each family and even each individual worships whatever and whomever they choose, in any way they choose. Satan has a grip as tight as you can imagine. Brothers and sisters, please pray against that grip, asking that somehow the light of Jesus will penetrate the hearts of Hindus so they will see His truth. The grip is strong; nothing has changed–but it can!

December 24 : Light in the Darkness. M is a widow who now follows Christ. She shared that she is lacking Christian fellowship. She said there is no church in or near her village in Bihar. Give thanks for this one believer who stands surrounded by lostness. Please pray that the Lord will minister to her through prayer, His Word and the Holy Spirit. Pray that M’s body will be healed, that God will provide for her every need, and that she will find other followers of Christ nearby with whom she can fellowship. Pray that soon a church will be planted in her village and that that church will grow to plant other churches in nearby villages in Bihar.

December 25 : “Merry Christmas!!!” An international brother is asking you to join him in praising the Most High God this season. There are Muslim-background believers who will be celebrating the birthday of their Lord and Savior for the first time in their lives. What an honor it is to worship and adore the Babe born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago! Former Rajasthani Muslims will be celebrating this great miracle. Praise the Lord! Praise Jesus Christ! Rajasthani Muslims, praise His Holy Name!

December 26 : Church on Mission. Later this month, the Strategy Coordinator church will take another trip to Guwahati. The purpose of this trip is training, prayerwalking and building relationships. Please pray for the team that is going. There will be two trainings: one for the house church leaders and one for the leaders of traditional Christian churches and organizations. Each training will involve men in one group and women in another group. The children will also be cared for by two college women. Pray for the team as they prepare for the trainings. Ask God to call out the leaders to attend the training. Pray for open minds to hear and understand what it means to be a spiritually healthy leader and a spiritually health church. Pray for wisdom as the women learn how to study the Bible and learn how to use general health lessons to gain entry into the lives and homes of the lost people around them. Pray for understanding as the team leaders teach the participants how to use Bible stories to share Jesus with the lost. Pray for spiritual protection as they prayerwalk areas of the city that are bound by the enemy. Ask God to move in a mighty way to bring the lost to saving faith. May He use this trip to further His kingdom work in Guwahati!

25 make decisions for Christ at Kathmandu clinic

A volunteer nurse irrigates the ear of a young boy complaining of ear pain.

A volunteer nurse irrigates the ear of a young boy complaining of ear pain.

S.C. medical volunteers treat 1,111 Nepalis; 25 Nepalis surrender to Christ

By Dara Fullerton*

KATHMANDU, Nepal–It’s 7 a.m. and the temporary clinic is not yet open, but about 100 people wait in line longing for a cure.

Some walked as long as four hours down the steep declines in hopes of gaining relief from their ailments. Mothers with babies bundled in baskets or nestled in slings on their backs endure the sun, and children wearing tattered school uniforms wait to see a doctor before going to class.

All are hoping to obtain medical treatment from the “American doctors” that they likely would not receive otherwise. Continue reading →

Week of December 13-2009

December 13 :  Obedient Disciples. Please pray for a training that will take place on Dec. 14-16. Five national workers are scheduled to attend. Pray that all five will be able to come, and ask for safe travel. These workers will be trained in church planting and church formation principles, spiritual warfare, a biblical view of money and possessions, and basic biblical doctrine. Pray that these five workers will be obedient in practicing the spiritual disciplines of prayer, meditation, Scripture memory, sharing their faith, and church planting. Pray especially for S, who has been dabbling in underworld activities. Ask that he will make a clean break with his past, be delivered from temptation to greed, and learn to follow Christ faithfully.

December 14 :  Families of Peace. As you have been asking God to call out laborers to serve among the Muslims of Karnataka, He has slowly been answering this prayer. It has been challenging to find qualified and capable language teachers for those workers who must learn a new language to minister here. Please continue to pray that these needs will be met and that language proficiency will come quickly for all who are studying. There are a handful of national church planters throughout the state who have a burden for Muslims. Some are meeting weekly for discipleship and accountability. These church planters have seen a limited number of Muslim households come to faith. Continue to pray for them as they try to disciple these groups, using what they are learning. Some workers are already experiencing persecution and threats. Please pray for their safety and continued boldness. Please ask God to prepare “families of peace” (Luke 10:6) in Muslim communities where workers serve. Ask Him to provide part-time jobs and other creative access opportunities into these areas. There is a need for other church planters in the state to receive training to reach Muslims. Pray that God will help workers to develop a plan to get this training to them using those who are learning it now.

December 15 :  “Jammin Jamaats.” Thank you for your prayers! The Holy Spirit led a group of Muslim-background believers to a special outreach to their “oikos” (family members, friends and acquaintances), and He has gifted them with fruit beyond what they imagined possible. More than 1,000 Muslim seekers are meeting weekly in 78 meetings across the city to hear more of God’s truth. Please continue to pray that these Muslims will respond to what they hear, have their questions answered, and become as those who shared so faithfully with them: Muslim-background believers in Jesus. Praise God for the priesthood of the believer, and His indwelling Holy Spirit!

December 16:  Faithful Followers. While the global economic downturn has affected the ability of missions organizations to provide funds, God is raising local believers for the task! The local body of Christ in and around the Deccan is beginning to rise to the occasion. This response still remains small, but God is using those small amounts for the increase of His kingdom. The need of money for food and travel of local evangelists is being met by local believers. Also, some of the new believers themselves are freely using their vehicles and taking time off from their jobs to travel across their state to meet with seekers to proclaim Jesus! Most of those coming to faith are poor, but some are not. God is pairing some of these poorer believers with others and is reaping a harvest. Mission funds have been used for Bibles, tracts and “JESUS” films, but the rest is coming from the new believers themselves. This still seems to be an exception to the norm, but it is a beginning. It is where this is happening that the most fruit among the Deccani Muslims is occurring! Please pray for the continued indigenous work, asking that it will multiply as God matures the new believers into solid disciples and laborers for the Deccani Muslim harvest field.

December 17 : Displaced Receive Good News. Thank you for your prayers for the “displaced peoples” of Pakistan. Because of recent relief projects being carried out by cross-cultural workers and national partners, there are two households that are seeking Truth. They each have a New Testament and have seen the “JESUS” film. Each household has approximately 15 people. Please pray that these groups will become two strong fellowships of believers.

December 18 : From Curses to Blessings. Pray that Y, a local believer, will grow in faith and knowledge of God through effective discipleship.  Recent attempts to distribute literature in the local language have been thwarted. Pray that God will turn the “curse into a blessing” and use the incidents to accomplish His purposes.

December 19 : Open Hearts. On Dec. 20, Jat Sikh pastor S will get to speak to approximately 200 young professionals. Many Jat Sikhs will be among this crowd. S will share his testimony and the Gospel. Pray for S as he prepares to speak and for the others involved in organizing this event. Please lift up these young men and women as they hear the reason we celebrate Christmas. Pray that their hearts will be open to the Savior of the world.

Week of December 6-2009

December 6 : Totally Committed. As you have prayed before for those who have been cut off from their families for their decision to follow Christ, know that God is at work among them in answer to your prayers! One young man, Hafiz (Muslim who memorized all 114 chapters of the Quran in Arabic), came to Christ last December. He has been maturing in leaps and bounds in his newfound faith in Christ. Since his father-in-law and wife refuse to relate with him anymore, it has been a traumatic experience that has left him discouraged. Yet he remains faithful to Jesus. By God’s grace, just last month his wife softened to him, speaking to him kindly for the first time in months. She opened the door for communication even though he remains adamant about his faith in Jesus. Praise God for the love this young Muslim-background believer has for Christ Jesus and his wife!

December 7 : A Baby Named Boaz. Thank you for your continuing prayers for the Bhutanese refugees in the United States who need to know Jesus! In August, an entire family prayed to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. Praise God! The next morning, the mother of the family gave birth to a new son. A Christian friend was given the honor of selecting a name for the newborn. She chose “Boaz.” Pray that Boaz will grow into a kindhearted man like his namesake. Ask God to use Boaz and his family to be “kinsman redeemers” for other Bhutanese families.

December 8 : Butter Tea and Jesus. She rises before the sun to start her daily chores. The first thing she does is light the fire that will gradually spread warmth throughout her home. Next, she puts water on to boil for the morning butter tea. Before she begins preparations for breakfast, she pauses to express her gratitude to God for another day of life. Glancing out the window, she sees a glimmer of light in her neighbor’s home across the way and smiles as she remembers her neighbor asking her, “What is Christmas?” She asks God to give her another opportunity to tell her neighbor about the gift of Light she found in Jesus. As Bhutanese believers celebrate the birth of Christ this month, pray that they will seize every opportunity to light the lamp of their own testimonies in places and ways that reveal the Light of the world. Pray against any fear that might tempt them to hide the light. Ask God to give them boldness bathed in generosity so that they will share the gospel freely and abundantly. Pray for those who hear the Good News to welcome the Son of God into their hearts and homes this Christmas season.

December 9 : A Child Shall Lead Them. B is a 12-year-old Bihari girl who gave her life to Jesus this past summer. Please pray that she will continue to experience and yield to the Holy Spirit in her life. Pray that B will be obedient to the Lord when temptation comes her way and that she will find deep joy in that obedience. Pray also that she will be a witness for Christ to her two older sisters and all her family and that they will bravely place their trust in Jesus Christ just as B has done.

December 10 : Jesus and Salvation. In October, P your Baptist representative, gave a 15-minute presentation on “Jesus and Salvation” at an interfaith women’s event attended by 200 immigrant women of a major world religion. Thank you for your prayers. Those women heard about what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, what the name of Jesus means (“Yahweh saves”), and what Jesus Himself said (He came to seek and to save). Continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will use His Word to draw many of those women to the Savior.

December 11 : Peace for Pakistan. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed. . . .” “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him” (Psalm 2:1-2 and Psalm 2:10-12, ESV). Pakistan is raging and people are plotting in vain and many are living in fear. Pray that the rulers and people will be wise and serve the Lord with fear. Ask that the Prince of Peace will reign over this land. Pray that many believers will rise up and be bold, as Queen Esther did–for such a time as this.

December 12 : Motorcycle Mama. In one of the most colorful places on earth, a 63-year-old motorcycle-riding widow is making a difference. Here’s what she writes: “I talked with a man the other day in a shop, and I told him that God would bless him for helping a widow! His English was very good. I was serious when I told him that. He kept asking me where I had heard that. I told him that it was from the Bible. Three times he asked me what that word was. I kept saying, ‘Bible.’ He had never heard that word. When I told him it was God’s Word, he just stared. It’s so hard for me to believe that grown, educated people in this country do not know what a Bible is. What an opportunity!” Pray that God will work mightily through this 63-year-old widow who is unashamedly sharing the gospel with all the men, women and children she encounters. Pray that as the Good News goes forth throughout India, many will choose to follow the Light of the world–Jesus.