Please pray for this specific needs from LPI scholars, graduated scholars, staff, board members, and supporters.
March 2010
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Thank you for your prayer that Langham Scholar Esther has passed Comps (Comphensive exams), the last exams before PhD dissertation. Her professor told her that she got two distinctive grade which is outstanding, praise the Lord! Esther is in Taiwan, she asked us to convey her appreciations to you.
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Dear Friends,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Continue to pray for Christians in Northern Nigeria. Two weeks ago, Muslim fundamentalists invaded three Christian villages around Jos (the city where I am studying), and wiped away entirely three Christian villages (numbering five hundred persons). Many Christians are confused and angered by this recent crisis. Please do pray for divine comfort and peace of mind. We know that Jesus Christ is faithful and that He will truly comfort His people who are going through a lot of pain at the moment. Paul said, “we are often in danger of death.” (2Corinthians 11:23). Like Paul and the early church, we are everyday in danger because of our faith in Jesus Christ. However, despite the persecution, like the early church, we are here encouraging believers in Jesus Christ to rejoice in Christ for counting them worth to suffer for Him (Acts 5:41). Please continue to pray for us because it is growing difficult to profess Christianity in northern Nigeria.
Yours brother in Christ,
Matthew Michael
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Dear friends
Thank you for your prayers for the work of Langham Preaching around the world. Here are some items for this week of March 15.
Vanuatu: today the level 3 training starts in the Pacific islands of Vanuatu, but please pray for travel plans. There has been very severe weather, with inter-island ferries cancelled and flight problems anticipated as pastors travel from many locations across the islands. We are not sure how many will be able to attend. Please pray for Paul Windsor, LP facilitator, who has travelled from Auckland with a bad infection of the leg. And pray for Andy Shuddall, also from New Zealand, who is joining Paul as a facilitator; for Wendy Toulmin from Langham Australia; and Andrew Williamson, the country coordinator. There are many challenges facing them as they adjust the programme to meet the new situation.
Burundi: LP facilitator Mike McGowan is due to fly from Paris this afternoon, on his way to Burundi for the training of local facilitators. But his visa application was first lost in the post, and then, on re-submitting forms, the embassy in Paris indicated it had run out of visa forms. He has an appointment at the embassy at 10.00 Paris time this morning, and his flight departs for Burundi at 15.00. Please pray he will be able to travel, as he is the only LP facilitator. Please pray for those who are meeting in Burundi for the training, and for Zenon Ndayegamiye, the country coordinator.
Nigeria: news of hundreds of deaths in the area of Jos, due to further Christian-Muslim clashes, is further cause for urgent prayer. LP is due to hold the next level 3 training in Jos next week. Please pray for peace in the city, and for safety for all of those who will be travelling. Emmanual Oladipo, LP coordinator for English-speaking Africa, is due to travel from the UK to Abujah and then Jos on Friday this week (March 19). Please pray he will be able to leave London on a BA flight that night, 2 hours before a BA strike begins at London Heathrow airport.
Bolivia: the Santa Cruz seminar takes place this week from Monday to Thursday. Please pray for all of the level 2 participants, for wisdom and grace for Igor Amestegui who will serve as facilitator, and for the local team, led by Jaime Mosciaro and Luis Otalora. The short seminar in Oruro (on preaching from the Old Testament) went very well, with more than 50 people attending, and they are planning for a New Testament seminar next month.
Liberia: Emmanuel has received news of a local seminar recently held in the Nimba and Ganta region, bringing together 56 pastors, elders, Sunday school teachers and students for preaching training, led by 4 pastors who have attended the LP level 1 and 2 events in Liberia. Give thanks to God for the several local preaching initiatives like this which are developing in countries such as Liberia and Sierre Leone.
Thank you for your prayers.
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Please pray for Sunday Agang… his family has experienced a string of unfortunate events. And today there is a report of more killing in Jos, Nigeria.
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Thank you for your prayers for the work of Langham Preaching around the world. Here are some items for this week of 8 March.
Chile: Igor has updated us: ‘I managed to talk with Carmen Castillo de Antileo, a member of the coordinating committee for our seminars in Santiago, about the impact of the earthquake and tsunami last week. She indicated that, amongst the pastors and churches with whom LP is working, there were no personal losses, but many families have had to move home. Carmen and her family had to leave the building in which they lived because of structural damage. Her husband, Jorge, the pastor of the ‘Meet with Christ Church’ and a participant in our seminar, has written that the last earthquake has ‘changed their life’, referring to the drastic challenges they have had to confront.’ Please continue to pray for the situation across the country.
Bolivia: today and tomorrow, Igor tells us, there will be a short seminar on ‘Preaching from the OT’ for pastors in the city of Oruro who are taking part in the LP programme. The LP team there is taking advantage of the visit of Hans Breekveldt to Bolivia, and he will run the seminar in a church in the city. Please pray for Hans and Gedeon Cuellar (on the local committee), and for the participants, all of whom are taking the LP training seriously.
Finance: tomorrow there is an international skype call for the coordinators of all three LPI programmes – Literature, Scholars and Preaching – to plan for the future in the light of projected income. Please pray that these budget discussions will be characterised by the Lord’s wisdom in determining just the right priorities to serve the cause of the Kingdom.
Colombia: please pray for the annual meeting of the coordinators of the ‘escuelitas for expositors’ in Colombia. They meet from tomorrow, Tuesday 9th through to Friday 12th, in Armenia, Colombia. They meet with the coordinating committee of the seminar planned for Medellin (April 5-9). Please pray for a very productive meeting and for the growing impact of these escuelitas on the life of the Colombian church.
Norway: next weekend Jonathan is speaking at a conference for young leaders from across the country, giving Bible expositions related to the theme of integrity. Please pray for the rising generation of pastors, youth workers and evangelists in Northern Europe, who face many challenges in their continent.
Thank you for your prayers.
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Prayer for Chile
We join with God’s people around the world in praying for the nation of Chile following the recent earthquake, which has impacted 80% of the country. Langham Preaching has a programme in Chile, with some 60 participating pastors in Santiago, which has been badly affected by the earthquake. Igor Amestegui, our coordinator for Latin America, has tried to contact the team but this was diffcult as communications were down. Igor writes: ‘It is a great challenge to the pastors as they care for their congregations with so many questions about such an inexplicable tragedy. We pray that the Lord will comfort and strengthen them through his Word at such a critical time.’
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Thank you for your prayers for the work of Langham Preaching around the world. Here are some items for this week of 1 March.
Chile: we join with God’s people around the world in praying for the nation of Chile following the recent earthquake, which has impacted 80% of the country. LP has a programme in Chile, with some 60 participating pastors in Santiago, which has been badly affected by the earthquake. Igor Amestegui, our coordinator for Latin America, tried to call the team yesterday, but communications were down: he will try to speak with them today. Igor writes: ‘It is a great challenge to the pastors as they care for their congregations with so many questions about such an inexplicable tragedy. We pray that the Lord will comfort and strengthen them through his Word at such a critical time.’
Ghana: this week the LP programme in Ghana, known as NEPS Ghana, welcomes pastors and lay preachers to a level 3 seminar, and also to a training event for local facilitators. These local trainers will then develop regional level 1 training events in the future. The seminar runs from March 1-5, and will be led by the coordinating committee and by LP facilitator Rod Wood. Please pray for a positive week, and for the strengthening of the preaching movement for further growth in the future.
Zimbabwe: we are thankful for the continued work of pastors John Bell and Gary Cross in encouraging Saturday training events for preachers in Harare. Please continue to pray for them. This week, LP facilitator Gordon Woolard and his wife Marilyn move from the USA to Bulawayo, Zimababe, to take up a pastoral role in a church for the coming months. Please pray for them all, and for the work of the churches in Zimbabwe, with its continuing political, economic, and social challenges.
Tanzania: during February there have been training events in Mbeya and Mwanza. Country coordinator Frank Luvanda has sent a brief note at the close of the seminar in Mwanza to say that the training has gone extremely well this past week. ‘It is great to find that local preaching seminars funded by local preachers are increasing in number and quality as well’.
Thank you for your prayers.
February 2010
Steve Hardy, LPI’s International Programme Director–Scholars, returned to Wisconsin from Sri Lanka last week. The chest pain he experienced has been diagnosed as a major clot in his leg, part of which broke off and became a pulmonary embolism. Although he feels fine, the situation is potentially quite serious. Please pray for wisdom for treatment and patience for Steve.
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Thank you for your prayers for the work of Langham Preaching around the world. Here are some items for this week of 22 Feb 2010.
Tanzania: following the training programme two weeks ago in Mbeya, this week a new seminar takes place in Mwanza from Feb 22-26. Please pray for country coordinators Frank Luvanda and Tony Swanson, as well as for LP facilitator Rod Wood, and the many pastors who are gathering for training. Give thanks for the growing work of MVIMUTA/Langham Preaching in Tanzania.
Ecuador: Igor asks us to pray for a meeting in Quito this coming Saturday for the coordinators of the preachers groups in Ecuador, who are taking part in the three-year Langham Preaching programme. Please pray that this meeting will encourage and strengthen the work of the coordinators themselves, as well as sustain the vision for the preaching movement. Please pray for Carlos Pinto, the country coordinator, and Jorge Atiencia, who is travelling from Bogota to serve as the facilitator. (And our thanks to Igor who translates this prayershot into Spanish each Monday morning and sends it some 300 members of the Latin American Langham Preaching network. We are grateful for this family support around the world!)
Guyana: news of the launch of LP in Guyana two weeks ago has been very encouraging. LP facilitator Paul Carter wrote that some 60 participants attended, and the level 1 event was extremely well organized by the country coordinating team. There was enthusiasm to launch some preachers clubs, and to sustain the training in the future. Thank you for your prayers for this new programme.
Kenya: last night we received a text message from Kenyan country coordinator, Mercy Ireri, which read: ‘Please say thank you to everyone who prayed over the Embu event. The participants were surprised to learn that many people around the world were praying. The event went well: we had 15 people, and we were able to fit them into preachers clubs. They have set the date for the next meeting and they left with an assignment. We thank God for leaders who agreed to facilitate the new preachers clubs. We also thank God that those who travelled with me have arrived back safely in their homes this evening.’
Thank you for your prayers.
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My sister Perpetua Gimadu died earlier on Tuesday in a car accident in
Uganda. She and her husband, Bishop Dan Gimadu (Bishop of North Mbale
Diocese), were traveling to Fortportal (Western Uganda) to participate
in the burial ceremony of another Bishop who passed away last week. My
sister’s husband, is in critical condition. Another Bishop – Bishop
of Kapchorwa Diocese – who was in the same car is also in critical
condition. My brother inlaw and the other Bishop were air lifted (by
Helicopter) from Fortportal to Kampala and are now listed in stable
condition.
I cannot even begin to describe to you how devastating this is for
us. I am traveling to Uganda today to participate in the funeral on
Saturday and to attend to family matters.We would appreciate your prayers.
Philip Wandawa
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Thank you for your prayers for the work of Langham Preaching around the world. Here are some items for this week of 15 Feb.
China: from today a small team meets for 2 or 3 days with an LP facilitator to plan the strategy for training small groups of pastors from China. With many new opportunities, much wisdom is needed concerning how to develop training that will be effective, culturally appropriate and sustainable in the long term.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka: Paul Windsor reports on very positive meetings in both countries last week: please pray for the next stage of planning in each place. Thank you too for your prayers for the training that took place in Tanzania, Guyana, Croatia and Bosnia: we await news, but it would be important to pray that all participants will be committed to join small groups in order to sustain their training and shared commitment to biblical preaching.
Kenya: please pray for local training which will take place next weekend in Embu, a large town in the north Eastern province of Kenya, and for Mercy Ireri as she takes the work forward in this part of the country.
Cote d’Ivoire: LP country coordinator Younoussa Djao asks for our prayers for the situation in Cote d’Ivoire. Last week the President dissolved both the government and the Independent Electoral Commission that was to lead the country towards presidential elections. The President has asked the Prime Minister to constitute a new government this week. Please pray that the country will come out of this crisis peacefully. Pray for the churches as they sustain their gospel witness to truth, justice and peace.
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Thank you for your prayers for the work of Langham Preaching around the world. Here are some items for this week 8 Feb 2010. This is an unusually busy week, so there are rather more short prayer requests!
Pakistan: please pray for Paul Windsor as he continues meetings in Lahore and the Punjab, meeting with LP regional leaders.
Guyana: this week, from Feb 9-12, the level 1 programme marks the launch of Langham Preaching in Guyana. Please pray for Paul Carter, who faces difficulties travelling out of snow-bound Lexington USA to reach Guyana, and for Las Newman and Grace Jervis, who are his fellow facilitators. And please pray for the local coordinating team, led by Desmond Rogers, and the pastors who are gathering in Georgetown this week.
Bolivia: Igor sends a message to thank you for your prayers for the programme last week, which went very well: 20 young leaders on an advanced training schedule of another organization worked with Igor on preaching training, and have now formed small groups to develop their study and preparation for preaching, specially in the university world but also in their cities: La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz.
Tanzania: the work of LVIMUTA/Langham in Tanzania has been growing steadily, and this February there are two regional events, the first of which is this week in Mbeya. Please pray for country coordinators Frank Luvanda and Tony Swanson as they lead the programme, specially because LP facilitator Rod Wood cannot travel to Mbeya because of family illness. Rod will travel to the next event in two weeks’ time.
Croatia: following the level 3 event last November, a small TLF (training of local facilitators) takes place in Zagreb this week, led by Mark Meynell. Please pray for Ksenija Magda, who continues to coordinate LP work, and for the small team of local trainers who hope to encourage pastors and lay preachers.
Bosnia: later this week Mark Meynell moves to Sarajevo in order to run a similar TLF programme there. Please pray that this will encourage the development of indigenous training work in Bosnia in the future.
Sri Lanka: this Wednesday and Thursday there will be a meeting of church leaders and lay preachers in Colombo to discuss the launch of an LP programme in the future. Please pray for Paul Windsor as he facilitates this discussion. There is also a meeting of the Langham Regional Council for South Asia being held in Sri Lanka next weekend.
Thank you for your prayers.
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Thank you for your prayers for the work of Langham Preaching around the world. Here are some items for this week of February 1.
Africa: we are very pleased that two people will be giving more energy to the work of LP in English-speaking Africa. Emmanuel Oladipo will be serving as the coordinator for LP across the region: he was formerly the Africa Regional Director and then International Secretary for Scripture Union, and this week he starts his work for LP. Mercy Ireri is the country coordinator for Kenya, and will now also serve as an LP facilitator for East Africa, encouraging national trainers. Please pray for them both as they embark on these new areas of ministry.
Kenya: please pray for Mercy as she helps to develop local level 1 training in Kenya this week. Pray for the small team of local trainers who now work with Mercy in developing the network of preachers clubs and regional training.
Bolivia: this week, from February 4 to 6, there will be a seminar for pastors and lay preachers in Santa Cruz. Please pray for Igor Amestegui as he continues to encourage the many groups in Bolivia.
Pakistan: at the end of this week Paul Windsor will travel to Pakistan to meet with some of the local leaders seeking to develop regional LP programmes. Please pray that his visa will be granted and that travel will go well.
Indonesia: thank you for your prayers for Jonathan’s visit to Indonesia. His meetings with church leaders continue today, before he then returns to the UK.
Thank you for your prayers.