May, 2013 Prayer Requests

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Romans 15:13

Personally, I have had a really hard year, and I have found that some of the hardest moments were when I felt hopeless.  There were times when I felt like my situation would never change, like God would never answer my prayers, like there was no hope. 

I wonder if Beng Christians sometimes experience hopelessness.  I wonder if they feel sometimes like God has forgotten their people, like life will always be hard, like there will never be more than .4% of the Beng population that knows Jesus.

This verse reminds us that our God is a God of hope.  As we trust in Him, he fills us with His hope, a hope we can't conjure up on our own.  His hope is real, lasting, and based in truth. 

So let's pray this verse for Beng Christians this month:
God of hope, fill the Beng Christians with all joy and peace as they trust in You so that they may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   Amen.

April, 2013 Prayer Requests

I was talking to a friend today that I hadn't seen in years, and she shared with me her story of God's work in her life. I was reminded of how God is constantly working to show Himself to people and draw them to Himself.  Just as He is working in our midst, He is working in the midst of the Beng people of Cote d'Ivoire. 

Let's pray this month that God would soften the hearts of the Beng and give them open eyes to see Him at work in their lives. Pray that many Beng people would give their lives to Him.

March, 2013 Prayer Requests

I was thinking last week about names. A Bible study I am working through brought up a link between an Old Testament name and a New Testament name and highlighted the significance of names and their meanings. There are so many names in Scripture that remind us of God's attributes and/or God's leading in individuals' lives.

We all have different reasons for naming our children as we do. My husband and I chose our children's names just because we liked them. Others choose to name their children after family members or famous people. People groups in other parts of the world have their own ways of choosing names for their children. There is a people group who live near the Beng people in Cote d'Ivoire called the Baoule. Their custom is to name the child after they day of the week on which he/she was born. Thus, all boys born on Mondays have the same name, and all girls born on Saturdays have the same name, etc. There are 7 names for girls and 7 names for boys. Many Beng people name their children the same way that the Baoule do.

 I like praying for people by name, and I thought it would be a good idea this month to pray for the Beng people by name. Granted, I don't know all of their names, but if we pray through the 14 names, we will be praying for all the Beng people with those names (which would be a good number of them).

 So... for the next week, I challenge you to pray each day for the Beng. On Monday, we will be praying for those born on Monday (named Kouassi and Akissi). On Tuesday for those born on Tuesday, etc.

Here's the list. You can print it out or jot it down and reference it each day this week.

 Monday- Kouassi (male) Akissi (female)
 Tuesday- Kouadio (male) Adjoua (female)
 Wednesday- Konan (male) Amlan (female)
 Thursday- Kouakou (male) Ahou (female)
 Friday- Yao (male) Aya (female)
 Saturday- Koffi (male) Affoue (female)
 Sunday- Kouame (male) Amoin (female)

 Let's cover the Beng people in prayer this week and pray for them by name.

February, 2013 Prayer requests

This month I'd like us to pray for the translation of Scripture into the Beng language. Several books of the Bible were translated into Beng by a missionary 20+ years ago. His work was continued, for a while, by some Beng believers. At this time, the project has been discontinued. Pray that the Scriptures that have been translated would make their way into the hearts and lives of the Beng there. Pray that nonbelievers would be drawn to read it and that God would reveal Himself to them as they do. Pray that believers in Christ would be diligent to read God's Word or have it read to them and that their everyday lives would be transformed by what they read. Pray that somehow, someday the translation of the Bible into the Beng language would continue, and, one day, the entire Bible might be available in the Beng language.

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.