Missions Hotline –
August 30, 2010
Alexey & Tonia Pankov
RUSSIA
Recent report: “We’ll be starting a Kids’ Club at the church on Thursdays, beginning on September 9. Pray for wisdom and direction, and for souls to be touched. Also, we’re in the process of making more contacts in the community and in the schools. We plan to expand the abstinence programs as the right doors are opened, so we covet your prayers for divine appointments. Tonia is starting English lessons again next week with former students, as well as possibly teaching at the local university. A medical team comes on September 6 for 10 days of ministry in various villages.
Mark & Kim Steinfield
ARMENIA
Please pray for Mark and Kim as they have encountered many difficult discouragements now that they have returned to Armenia, including car repairs, health issues, etc. Pray that God’s favour would rest upon Mark, Kim, their family and their staff as they seek to overcome these obstacles. Pray that God would bless them all with spiritual, emotional and physical strength and encouragement. Pray also that the nation of Armenia will be powerfully touched with the love of God and seek to know Him better.
Scott & Melissa Williams
EL SALVADOR
Please pray for Scott, Melissa and their children as Scott will be in Canada from September 1 to October 21. Melissa and their children will remain in El Salvador. Pray for safety for Scott as he travels as well as spiritual and emotional encouragement for the entire family while they are separated from one another.
Missions Hotline
August 23, 2010
Randy & Judy Lundrigan
HONDURAS
Update: Please continue to pray for Randy and Judy’s son-in-law, Stan, who was released from the hospital last Tuesday and will be having surgery on September 10. Pray that Stan and their daughter, Beth, will sense God’s comfort and love for them and that the surgery will go well. Pray also that God will bless the Lundrigans with wisdom and open doors as they connect with local schools.
Gary & Kathy Heinrichs
MEXICO
Update: Praise God that the Heinrichs’ house, sold less than a week before their deployment. Please continue to pray for Gary, Kathy and their three youngest children as they will be attending language school in San Jose, Costa Rica for one full year, beginning in late August. Pray that God would guide and protect their travels and that He will help them learn the language easily.
James & Christina (Chaput) Clapham
SLOVAKIA
Recent report: “Today (August 23) we kicked off the ‘I Love My City’ campaign 2010. We have one team from Edmonton and one from Vancouver. Today we started a kids’ camp, a teen camp and a work project. The Canadians have teamed up with the Nitra church, and are working together to show Nitra that we as the church, love her. Please pray for us, as we are expecting God to do big things and touch people!”
Prayer Focus: Please pray that God will bless the “I Love My City” campaign in Slovakia this week. Pray that many people would respond positively to the mission and put their faith in Christ. Pray also for the strength and encouragement of the workers involved in this endeavour.
Missions Hotline
August 16, 2010
Scott & Melissa Williams
EL SALVADOR
Update: “The doctors were confused on how to treat Neydi (the girl who was recently hit in the head by a tent mast and had to be rushed to hospital) as her symptoms didn’t match her condition. Apparently other children with this same injury and with a hematoma were convulsing and vomiting, but Neydi was acting normally. They did another CAT scan today and decided to send her home. They never did the surgery! She is supposed to rest over the next month, and then fly back to Managua for further evaluation in six weeks.”
Prayer Focus: Praise God for His healing touch upon Neydi. Please pray that she will completely recover from her injuries and that Neydi’s family will know Christ through this ordeal.
PAKISTAN
ERDO, the humanitarian agency of the PAOC, is responding to the devastating floods in Pakistan by providing food kits and emergency help to 10,000 families (see www.erdo.ca for ways to help). Official reports state that 20 million people have now been affected by the disaster, with 2 million people homeless. At least 1,600 people have died and the flood waters have damaged or destroyed many crops and livestock which could lead to food shortages in the coming months.
Prayer Focus: Pray that God will continue to comfort all of the people affected by the flooding, especially families and friends of those who have been killed. Pray for wisdom for the ERDO team in its work with partners on the ground, and that aid supplies will get to where they are needed most. Pray also that we can make the most of every opportunity to impact people with God’s love and care through this tragedy.
Gord & Anita Cooledge
ZIMBABWE
Praise God that Gord and Anita’s work permit has been granted a one year extension. Pray that He will continue to bless the Village of Hope and that all of the children there will experience God’s love for them. Pray also for peace to continue to reign in Zimbabwe as the country prepares for elections in late 2011.
Mark & Kim Steinfield
ARMENIA
Please pray for Mark, Kim and their family, including their newborn son, as they prepare to go back to Armenia this week after spending the last four months in Canada. Pray for safe travel and for grace and patience as they adjust to being a family of five. Pray that God will bless them with wisdom and anointing as they prepare for intense ministry back in Armenia. Pray also that the students at the Bible college will be receptive in their hearts and minds as to where the Lord is leading them.
Missions Hotline
August 9, 2010
Scott & Melissa Williams
EL SALVADOR
Please pray for Neyli Rivera Garcia, a 13-year-old Christian girl who was seriously injured in Nicaragua. Don and Terri Triplett are missionaries that Melissa and Scott have partnered with in El Salvador. Don and Terri are in Nicaragua with an evangelism team and Don was inspecting the tent of a church there which had been damaged due to heavy rain. A centre mast of the tent fell on Neyli and hit her in the back of the head. She has now been flown to Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua and had surgery this past weekend. Although she didn’t suffer a skull fracture, doctors needed to remove a hematoma and stop some cerebral bleeding.
Prayer Focus: Please pray for God’s healing touch upon Neyli’s body and that God will reveal Himself to Neyli’s family and encourage them during this ordeal.
PAKISTAN
Please continue to pray for this country that has been devastated by recent flooding. The United Nations estimates that this disaster has affected more than 14 million people and left between six million and seven million people in need of urgent food aid, clean water and shelter. More than 1,500 people have died and the flood waters have damaged or destroyed at least 288,000 homes, wiped out villages and devastated road and communication networks. Hundreds of thousands of people remain without electricity, piped water and communications. Long-term reconstruction costs are expected to be in the billions of dollars.
Prayer Focus: Pray that God will continue to comfort all of the people affected by the flooding, especially families and friends of those who were killed in the devastation. Pray that He will provide for people’s physical and spiritual needs, and that aid supplies will get to where they are needed most. Pray also that He will create new opportunities for people to hear the gospel through this tragedy.
CHINA
Please pray for the people of China that has been devastated by massive landslides caused by flooding this past weekend. The death toll is now at more than 1,100 people with hundreds of people still missing. At least 45,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. More heavy rain is also expected this week which will greatly increase the risk of more landslides. Most local sources of clean water have been destroyed or remain too polluted to use. Numerous cases of various diseases have also been reported in the area affected by the landslides.
Prayer Focus: Pray that God will comfort all of the people affected by the landslides, especially families and friends of those who were killed and/or still missing. Pray that rescue efforts will be successful, that aid supplies will get to where they are needed most, and that clean water and electricity will be restored. Pray also that God will create new opportunities for people to hear the gospel through this tragedy.
July 26, 2010
Paul & Joanna Lasante
UKRAINE
Recent report: “We recently took a 26-hour train ride to visit Alchevsk, a city on the eastern edge of Ukraine where one of our very courageous graduates, Julia, moved to start a children’s ministry. At first, she was meeting with kids outdoors because they didn’t have anywhere else to go. Now they rent a classroom in a school on Saturdays. She also visits various orphanages and does programs there. So despite being a single woman, away from anyone she’s ever known in a former Soviet factory in an atheistic society, Julia is following the will of God for her life. We are praying and believing with her that God will multiply the efforts of her hands. We are so proud to be a part of her story.”
Prayer Focus: Please pray that God will encourage Julia and bless the ministry that she has in Alchevsk. Pray that He will strengthen her spiritually, emotionally and physically. Pray that Paul and Joanna’s trip to Canada at the end of August will go well and that God would bless them with a car that they are able to use. Pray also that student enrolment at the Bible college for this coming year will be blessed.
Gord & Anita Cooledge
ZIMBABWE
Please pray for God’s touch upon the health of the children at the Village of Hope and that He would bless them with a sense of peace and stability. Pray that Gord and Anita’s work permit reapplication will be approved as the current permit expires on August 25, 2010. Pray also that God will bless and guide the ongoing developments at the secondary school and medical clinic at the Village of Hope, including building and hiring. Pray also for the Cooledges’ oldest son, Nathan, as he settles into Edmonton, Alberta and begins Bible college in September. Lastly, pray that God’s peace will reign in Zimbabwe as the country prepares for elections in late 2011.
David & Connie Buzikievich
MALAWI
Please pray for the health of the children at the Village of Hope, including Dumi, as well as the mothers who care for them. Dumi is HIV positive and has visited the hospital multiple times in the past few weeks and spent over half of the last month in the hospital. The hospital is very crowded (there are usually three babies in each crib), and someone must stay with him at all times, providing care, food, etc. Pray that Dumi will be physically strengthened and that Beatrice, the house mother staying with him will be greatly encouraged. Pray also that God would provide more godly house mothers to care for the children in Malawi.