I'm having fun teaching my 3 year old about Christmas this year. He's getting to that age where he's beginning to understand things, but doesn't quite get it all. It's fun to see him try to wrap his little mind around things sometimes. We've told him Christmas is Jesus' birthday. He loves birthdays, so he's all about that. He continues to talk regularly about his last birthday party (which was 3 months ago)- mostly about his friends all coming over. So in thinking about Jesus' birthday, he's excited about the party side of Christmas. I think he thinks Jesus is coming over for the party. (Wouldn't that be fun?!) He keeps finding things around the house that he wants to give to Jesus for his birthday.
Africans love parties too. I remember losing sleep at night sometimes when I lived there as the drums beat and the people danced into the wee hours of the morning. They celebrate all kinds of things- marriages, birth of children, various festivals associated with their belief system. How wonderful it would be if they would party hardy for Jesus' birth too.
Pray with me this month that the Beng people would come to know Jesus and experience all the joy and excitement that Christmas brings.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
November, 2009
November is the time of year we typically focus on giving thanks. Yes, we should be good at doing it all the time. But somehow the turkeys, cornucopias, and pilgrims adorning everything from grocery ads to home decorations give us that extra nudge this month to meditate on what we're grateful for.
I have a Thanksgiving journal that I write in each year and list the things I'm thankful for. Psalm 100 is written on the inside cover. Here's a portion of it:
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
I thought that maybe this month instead of petitioning God with a specific request for the Beng, we could just thank Him for the Beng people and thank Him that His love for them endures forever.
I have a Thanksgiving journal that I write in each year and list the things I'm thankful for. Psalm 100 is written on the inside cover. Here's a portion of it:
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
I thought that maybe this month instead of petitioning God with a specific request for the Beng, we could just thank Him for the Beng people and thank Him that His love for them endures forever.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
October, 2009
Do you ever read through the pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and just sit and marvel at Jesus' people skills? He knew exactly the right thing to say to each and every person that He encountered- knew when someone needed encouragement, when someone needed to be challenged, when someone needed good hard words of truth, when someone needed forgiveness. I wish I had just an ounce of that wisdom sometimes!
I've been praying for some of my friends here around me who don't know Jesus and praying for His help to know how to introduce them to Him. I feel so powerless and lacking in wisdom sometimes. I've been trying to pray in the midst of conversations, "OK, what do I say now, God? What does this person need to hear from you?".
I thought this month that we could pray for Beng Christians, who though they live in a place far from us and a culture different from ours, probably have some of the same struggles that we do. Pray that these Christians would engage in meaningful conversations with nonbelievers around them and that the Lord would give them wisdom as to how to answer each person they speak with.
I've been praying for some of my friends here around me who don't know Jesus and praying for His help to know how to introduce them to Him. I feel so powerless and lacking in wisdom sometimes. I've been trying to pray in the midst of conversations, "OK, what do I say now, God? What does this person need to hear from you?".
I thought this month that we could pray for Beng Christians, who though they live in a place far from us and a culture different from ours, probably have some of the same struggles that we do. Pray that these Christians would engage in meaningful conversations with nonbelievers around them and that the Lord would give them wisdom as to how to answer each person they speak with.
August, 2009
My youngest son is two months old. The past couple months have been a bit difficult for me. Though Beckett is generally in excellent heath, he has trouble while he's eating. He wriggles and kicks and cries and appears to be in pain. We (the doctors and us) are not sure exactly what is causing his distress. It's tough to see your child hurting and not know what to do for him.
Today as I sat down to write this prayer letter, I thought of all the Beng mothers who are so often in similar (though much more difficult) situations. Sick babies are very common in West Africa, and medical care is not so common. They often have to watch their babies suffer, not having the knowledge to help them themselves or the means to find and pay for medical care to have someone else help. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be a Beng mom!
On top of this, few of them know Jesus in a personal way, so they don't have Him to turn to in their fears, worries, and sorrows.
Pray with me this month for Beng mothers. Pray that they will come to know Jesus so that He can help them through difficult times as a parent. Pray that the Lord would bring proper medical care to the Beng.
Today as I sat down to write this prayer letter, I thought of all the Beng mothers who are so often in similar (though much more difficult) situations. Sick babies are very common in West Africa, and medical care is not so common. They often have to watch their babies suffer, not having the knowledge to help them themselves or the means to find and pay for medical care to have someone else help. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be a Beng mom!
On top of this, few of them know Jesus in a personal way, so they don't have Him to turn to in their fears, worries, and sorrows.
Pray with me this month for Beng mothers. Pray that they will come to know Jesus so that He can help them through difficult times as a parent. Pray that the Lord would bring proper medical care to the Beng.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
May, 2009 prayer requests
This month I'd like us to pray that the Beng people would one day have access to the Bible (oral or written) in their own language. A couple New Testament books and small portions of the Old Testament have already been translated into the Beng language, but a majority of the Scripture remains untranslated.
We'd love to see Beng believers be able to know and learn from the entirety of God's Word and those who are seeking the Lord be drawn to Him through the great story of God's love that is told throughout both the Old and New Testaments. So let's pray this Scripture translation into completion!
Thanks for praying!
We'd love to see Beng believers be able to know and learn from the entirety of God's Word and those who are seeking the Lord be drawn to Him through the great story of God's love that is told throughout both the Old and New Testaments. So let's pray this Scripture translation into completion!
Thanks for praying!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
April, 2009
This week, as we celebrate Easter, remember to pray for the Beng people, that each year more and more of them would come to know Jesus personally and join in the celebration of Jesus' death and resurrection as well.
Also, you may have heard about the recent tragedy in Cote d'Ivoire's capital city surrounding a soccer game. Thousands had gathered at the stadium for a World Cup qualifier game. There was stampeding as many waited in line prior to the game and a wall collapsed. Many died, and over a hundred others were injured. Pray that this tragedy would lead people all across Cote d'Ivoire to reflect on their own lives and on eternal things.
Thanks for praying!
March, 2009
Our church's missions conference starts this weekend. We spend a week focusing on what God is doing in other parts of the world and how we can come alongside Him in His work through praying, giving, and going.
Each year there is a "theme song" of sorts that we sing throughout the week. This year it's Chris Tomlin's "God of the City". Here are some of the lyrics:
You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation...
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
There is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
I was thinking about the words to this song and what an encouragement they are in our prayers for the Beng people. (Maybe we should substitute the word "village" for "city", as I wouldn't consider any of the Beng villages a metropolis:)
God is the only one who can bring light to their darkness and hope to their hopelessness. And, as we pray, we can see greater things come to the Beng.
So pray with me this month that God would move in greater ways among the Beng and that they would come to know Him. Thanks for praying!
February, 2009
God has been showing me lately that I need to think about Him more. He's the One who made me, loves me, gives me everything I need, and is the only one who can ultimately help me with anything that may come my way, but sometimes I can go through my day without really giving Him much thought. There are lots of things in life that can keep us from thinking about God- being busy and being tired are two that come to mind readily. When you're busy, your mind is filled with so many other things that there's no room for God, and when you're tired, your mind is just too worn out to think at all.
I was thinking about how busyness and tiredness may keep the Beng from thinking about God too. Most Beng spend all day, every day working in their fields and/or getting their crops ready to eat or sell. On top of that, the women have water to fetch, meals to cook, and children to care for. Usually, they don't get a break all day- until 9:00 or so. By then they're usually exhausted. So maybe, like us, their minds are usually either filled with other things or too tired to think at all.
Pray for God to break through this cycle somehow. Pray that God would make Himself known to the Beng and turn their thoughts toward Him.
January, 2009
Did any of you make any New Year's resolutions this year? How many have you broken so far? It's true that- without God's help- it's hard to keep any of our resolutions. And I think it's also true that we need others' help as well along the way. I've found that to be the case in my own life. The encouragement and support of others helps me to be who God wants me to be.
I'd like us to resolve this year to be diligent in praying for the Beng people. I hope that I can be an encouragement and help to you in that. I'll be continuing to send out emails each month to remind us all to pray. I'd also like to provide any of you who are interested with a magnet for your fridge that reminds you to pray for the Beng. It has a magnetized picture of a Beng women and children. Email me back if you'd like me to send you one.
I wish you all a happy new year. Keep praying!
This week, as we celebrate Easter, remember to pray for the Beng people, that each year more and more of them would come to know Jesus personally and join in the celebration of Jesus' death and resurrection as well.
Also, you may have heard about the recent tragedy in Cote d'Ivoire's capital city surrounding a soccer game. Thousands had gathered at the stadium for a World Cup qualifier game. There was stampeding as many waited in line prior to the game and a wall collapsed. Many died, and over a hundred others were injured. Pray that this tragedy would lead people all across Cote d'Ivoire to reflect on their own lives and on eternal things.
Thanks for praying!
March, 2009
Our church's missions conference starts this weekend. We spend a week focusing on what God is doing in other parts of the world and how we can come alongside Him in His work through praying, giving, and going.
Each year there is a "theme song" of sorts that we sing throughout the week. This year it's Chris Tomlin's "God of the City". Here are some of the lyrics:
You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation...
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
There is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
I was thinking about the words to this song and what an encouragement they are in our prayers for the Beng people. (Maybe we should substitute the word "village" for "city", as I wouldn't consider any of the Beng villages a metropolis:)
God is the only one who can bring light to their darkness and hope to their hopelessness. And, as we pray, we can see greater things come to the Beng.
So pray with me this month that God would move in greater ways among the Beng and that they would come to know Him. Thanks for praying!
February, 2009
God has been showing me lately that I need to think about Him more. He's the One who made me, loves me, gives me everything I need, and is the only one who can ultimately help me with anything that may come my way, but sometimes I can go through my day without really giving Him much thought. There are lots of things in life that can keep us from thinking about God- being busy and being tired are two that come to mind readily. When you're busy, your mind is filled with so many other things that there's no room for God, and when you're tired, your mind is just too worn out to think at all.
I was thinking about how busyness and tiredness may keep the Beng from thinking about God too. Most Beng spend all day, every day working in their fields and/or getting their crops ready to eat or sell. On top of that, the women have water to fetch, meals to cook, and children to care for. Usually, they don't get a break all day- until 9:00 or so. By then they're usually exhausted. So maybe, like us, their minds are usually either filled with other things or too tired to think at all.
Pray for God to break through this cycle somehow. Pray that God would make Himself known to the Beng and turn their thoughts toward Him.
January, 2009
Did any of you make any New Year's resolutions this year? How many have you broken so far? It's true that- without God's help- it's hard to keep any of our resolutions. And I think it's also true that we need others' help as well along the way. I've found that to be the case in my own life. The encouragement and support of others helps me to be who God wants me to be.
I'd like us to resolve this year to be diligent in praying for the Beng people. I hope that I can be an encouragement and help to you in that. I'll be continuing to send out emails each month to remind us all to pray. I'd also like to provide any of you who are interested with a magnet for your fridge that reminds you to pray for the Beng. It has a magnetized picture of a Beng women and children. Email me back if you'd like me to send you one.
I wish you all a happy new year. Keep praying!
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