An invitation...

With the new year upon us, I have spent the past couple days reflecting. I’m not really one to make a list of resolutions, but I do see January as a time of reevaluation. What am I doing with my life and why? Does what I am doing matter? Am I making a difference in the world?

Maybe you’ve decided that you are going to change your life or save the world or something like that this year. Or maybe it seems really overwhelming. You can’t see how in the world you are going to start your own charity or write a book or travel the globe this year distributing mosquito nets.

If the latter is where you’re at, then this email is for you. Because my request today may seem really insignificant and, quite frankly, boring… but it’s not. I am convinced that what I am asking you to do this year is hugely important and can make a difference in people’s lives on the other side of the globe. And you don’t even have to leave your own home.

I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s actually quite difficult. It will take time and energy and perseverance. It will require that you live by faith and not by sight.

I’m looking for people to pray. You see, there’s this little people group in the forest in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa. They need to hear about Jesus. That He loves them. That He wants a personal relationship with them. This little people group has captured my heart over the course of the past 12 years, and I am praying that they will capture your heart as well.

We won’t be able to travel there this year and see them and touch them and tell them, but what we can do this year is pray. And that’s got to matter, right? When we are powerless to do anything for them, God is powerful. I believe that if we pour out prayers on behalf of the Beng people this year, God will move in their midst, and it will make an eternal difference.

So will you join me? Will you let your heart be captured by these precious people? Will you spend time each month, week, or day praying for them? Will you live in hopes that you will someday see some of them in heaven?

If you are interested in joining the Beng prayer team and committing to pray regularly for them, send me an email at prayforthebeng@hotmail.com. I’ll send you some background information about the Beng and add you to the monthly prayer email, plus give you some other options if you want to get involved in other ways.

December, 2012 Prayer Requests

Stores filling your mailbox and inbox with promises of Christmas deals. Brightly lit Santas and snowmen clinging to the street lights as you drive through town. Children and grandchildren filling your ears with their requests for under the tree. Christmas songs flooding the radio air waves. With all these signs of the season surrounding us, it would be hard to escape Christmas even if we wanted to. In Beng villages it is much different. Many have never even heard of Christmas. Can you even imagine that? Never hearing of Christmas? More importantly, many have never heard of the Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas. Let's pray that many Beng would hear of Jesus and accept His invitation to relationship. Pray that this year and each year, more and more Beng would be celebrating Christmas with us.

November, 2012 Prayer Requests

As our country is abuzz with talk of politics this week, let's take a minute to pray for the country where the Beng live, Cote d'Ivoire. Though the Beng are removed geographically from the Ivorian center of government and commerce, Abidjan, the decisions made there can affect the lives of the Beng. The condition of the Beng schools, roads, and water pumps and the prices of the coffee and chocolate that the Beng grow are tied to government actions. Just as we desire the leaders of our own country to be wise, just, and compassionate, let's pray that the leaders in Cote d'Ivoire would have wisdom, justice, and compassion as well. Pray that they would put the needs of their countrymen above their own and uphold honesty and integrity in political dealings.

October, 2012 Prayer Requests

Yesterday I took my oldest son to the pediatrician for a check-up. On these visits, I often thank God for the access that our family has to medical care. I think of so many of the African mothers I met who had to watch their children suffer through illness, powerless to help them in any way. There was no doctor in their village. They didn't have the money necessary to get them to a doctor and pay for any needed medications. So we may say, "Send money to Africa. Send doctors. Help them!" Well, it's not quite so simple. I am reading a book at the moment. It's by an anthropologist and her husband who lived among the Beng to study their culture and beliefs. The husband often treated people who would come to them with injuries or illnesses. He tells of a neighbor who came to him with a gash on his hand that had become infected. He washed and dressed the wound and sent the man on his way, telling him to keep it clean. The man returned each day to have the dressing changed, and each day he came with a dirty bandage. "[The author] began to lecture him again about proper bandage cleanliness. Jean translated Kouassikro's reply. "He wants to know why." "Because," I said, but then stopped. How to explain bacteria? "Well," I started again with Jean's help, "there are these little animals, so tiny that you can't see them without a..." I paused: what would "microscope" mean to Kouassikro? "Without a special machine. But these little creatures are so dangerous they can kill you if you don't keep your wound clean." I watched Kouassikro's face slowly harden into a deeper and deeper skepticism. "Little animals?" "Yes. Very, very tiny ones." Clearly this was one of the most ridiculous stories he'd ever been told, but as I was kind enough to give him medicine, Kouassikro nodded politely, thanked me again, and returned to his compound. How could I blame him? Murderous, infintesimally small animals and special detection machines sounded implausible even to me." (from Parallel Worlds, by Alma Gottlieb and Phillip Graham) You see what I mean? It's complicated. We can't always just rush in with our Western methods and medicines and expect those of other cultures to wholeheartedly accept the knowledge we have to offer. The Beng usually correlate sickness with spirits and/or witchcraft. When they are ill, it's because they have angered the spirits of the earth or because someone has bewitched them. It's what their parents have told them. And their parents' parents. And their parents' parents' parents. I start to think about this and get so overwhelmed by the needs of the Beng- physical and spiritual. But then I am reminded of Matthew 19:26. "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God, everything is possible." So pray with me this month for the Beng. Pray that God would bring physical and spiritual healing to this precious people that live half a world away. Thanks for praying.

September, 2012 Prayer requests

I was reading an article today about a seminary in another part of Africa that is training church leaders in sound Biblical doctrine. One of the students commented on how common it is in their country to hear incorrect theology preached because pastors and leaders have not had adequate training. I thought about how most Beng Christians have not had access to Bible classes and prayed that God would lead them to a correct understanding of His Word. Then it hit me... not only do Beng Christians not have access to Bible classes, they don't even have access to a Bible in their language. Imagine your life as a believer in Christ without having God's Word to live by. Can you even imagine it? A few books of the Bible and various other portions of Scripture have been translated into the Beng language, but much remains to be done before the Beng have a complete Old and New Testament in their language. Let's pray this month that some day Beng Christians will have access to the entire Word of God in their heart language.

August, 2012 Prayer Requests

About half of the Beng follow traditional religious beliefs, largely animistic. About half follow a major world religion (though they often mix in animistic beliefs as well). This world religion is in the midst of its holy month, in which adherents spend the day fasting. It would be hard enough to go without food and water all day, but take into account the fact that most Beng spend all day working in the fields, carrying water, and/ or preparing food, and this month becomes an especially grueling one. Pray that, in the midst of the physical weakness they experience during this time, they would be aware of their spiritual weakness as well, seeking God in new and fresh ways. Pray that God would speak to them. Pray also that Beng Christians would be used by God to show love and grace to their friends and family members during this time. Pray that they would have wisdom to know when to share the truth with words and when to share through deeds. Pray that they would stand strong in the face of persecution (such as alienation from friends and family) they may face this month.

July, 2012

Recently I read an interview with a pastor from a country in the Middle East. His church's vision is that "... the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). Recognizing that there are many areas of their country that the church can't preach at this time, they are praying that God will declare Himself to the people of their country, including those of other religions. Even though their church can't physically visit people in an effort to reach them, this pastor says, "Jesus, He can reach and visit people in their dreams." When I read this, I immediately thought of the Beng people. Even though there are no outside missionaries in their midst at this time seeking to reach them with the Gospel, Jesus can still reach them. Jesus can and does visit people in their dreams, revealing Himself to them. God's power is not limited by human constraints such as politics or geography. He is at work among the Beng, even as I write this. That thought is so exciting to me. If we never get to visit the Beng in person, we will get to hear about God's glory revealed among them when we get to heaven. So, let's pray this month like this Middle Eastern pastor, that "...the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" and pray specifically that He would reveal Himself to the Beng people and visit them in their dreams.