Pray

Adam and Julie Martin minister to the Akolet church of Papua New Guinea. They are currently working on the Akolet translation from the USA. The Martins were able to connect with the rest of the translation team through a video call to complete the translation check for the book of Hebrews. “The Akolet New Testament is right at 50% completed, with another 30% in various stages of completion.”

Praise God for the progress made in the Akolet translation and the impact it is having in the lives of the Akolet people, particularly in the life of translation helper Toni. Pray that the Akolet believers would continue to take the gospel to their neighbors. Pray for unity in the Akolet church.

Today, in preparation for the International Day for the Unreached on May 19, please continue to pray that God would motivate and equip the Church to make disciples among the 3 billion people who have yet to hear the Good News.

This Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (May 14-16), remember to join the three-day webcast “Gateway to the Unreached.” Each session is 90 minutes long and will answer your questions about who the unreached are, why they remain unreached and what you can do to join the effort to make Christ known among every tribe, tongue and nation.

Prayer Campaign

Prayer Campaign

“Until All Hear!”

“Gateway to the Unreached”

Joanna Jansma ministers among the Nagi people of Asia Pacific. “Please pray for us each day as we are now working on comprehension checking in 1 Corinthians. It is always kind of exciting going through portions of God’s Word that are being heard for the first time. The ladies often shake their heads in amazement at how God knew just what to write for us!

“Sometimes it's also a sobering reminder of their family and friends who are still ... blind to their sin condition. Aliauku, Mamakor, Pinen, Kopina [and] Yemimaukui are a few who have asked to hear more of God’s Word. Be praying too that their family would be faithful to teach them well and that the Holy Spirit would bring that understanding.”

TJ and Lily minister among the J people of West Africa. “Please pray as we continue plugging away at language and now hone in on deeper culture study too. ... The more we learn this language and culture, the deeper and darker it gets. ... It breaks our hearts AND is a motivator to keep pushing forward ... that we may soon teach God’s Word.”

Praise God that TJ and Lily and their team have begun developing meaningful relationships with the J people. Pray for consistent language help and for good attendance at literacy and typing classes. Pray that God would give wisdom and discernment as field leaders are chosen for the West Africa field.

Linda Krieg is a retired Bible translator for the Siawi people of Papua New Guinea (PNG). “With the creep of ... ‘the outside world’ toward Siawi has come new communication opportunities.” Internet access has allowed the Siawi to keep in contact with their former missionaries. Amid a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak, Linda’s Siawi friend Joel (formerly a translation co-worker) has been able to keep Linda updated on the status of his daughter Sandra and her son who have TB.

“Please do be praying for your Siawi brothers and sisters as they face not only life-threatening illness and diseases with little medical care, but also the evils of this world that have ready access. ... I’ve been so thankful that God brought the gospel message to Siawi, along with His Word in their own language, before the doors really opened to the outside world.”

Andrew and Sara Royer minister to students through their various roles at Ethnos360 Bible Institute (EBI). Andrew serves as president of EBI. Praise the Lord that there has been an increase in student applicants for the fall semester and that the Royers have seen God working in the lives of each student at EBI.

“One of the larger projects [Andrew] is taking on this year is developing a capital campaign to revitalize the [EBI] campus. ... With rising costs and a 115-year-old building, we are seeing [this campaign] is necessary so that we don’t have to raise costs for students beyond what is affordable. This is a core value for EBI: to provide solid Bible foundation and discipleship with no debt so that missionary candidates can go to the field unhindered.” Pray that God would provide funding for the EBI revitalization campaign.

Give to the EBI campus revitalization campaign.

In this video, Andrew Royer describes the Ethnos360 Bible Institute revitalization campaign.

The Alliance for the Unreached has declared, “We refuse to stand idly by as people enter eternity without Christ when we can share the good news that transforms them through any means possible.” Please join us and the Alliance for the Unreached in observing the 2024 International Day for the Unreached on May 19. Leading up to the International Day for the Unreached, you can participate in a prayer campaign and join our brothers and sisters in praying for the third of the world who are denied access to the gospel.

Prayer Campaign

Misael and Celia Rodríguez minister among the Baniwa people of West Brazil. “We’re approaching our one-year anniversary in the Baniwa work. We thought by this time we would have established closer relationships with the people, but we don’t feel like that is happening. Please pray that God will give us wisdom as far as how to establish better friendships. [Pray that He would] provide us with language helpers who truly want to help us.”

Sadly, a young man from their village recently committed suicide. “When things like this happen, it leaves us with an even greater urgency to learn the language and culture in order to bring light and hope to those who still live in spiritual darkness.” Pray that God would continue to grant Misael and Celia strength to serve Him among the Baniwa people. Pray that God would work in the hearts of the Baniwa people.

Hans and Liliana Frank minister among the Korevaju people of Colombia and are currently in the culture and language acquisition (CLA) phase. Hans shared with the Korevaju about how the Lord cares for them and for all the nations. He encouraged them to go to other people groups to share the gospel. “But first I told them that they should be purchased by the Father through the blood of his Son, and I asked if anyone wanted to be bought. The grandfather of the community, sitting in the front row, answered, ‘Chu'u!’

“Already understanding some of the language, that moment was unforgettable for me. That simple word expressed by the grandfather had a great meaning in my life. What a joy to be able to understand a word in Korevaju and the deep meaning it had at that moment! The grandfather answered the question of who wants to be bought by saying: ‘Me!’”

Pray that God would establish a strong, mature church among the Korevaju. Pray for the Franks as they faithfully continue their CLA.

Aimee Hedrick, now living in the USA, ministered for nine years among the Tigak people of Papua New Guinea. She recently was able to speak with members of the Tigak church. The believers ask for prayer for leaders of the church, specifically Paska, Robin, Piulan and Terence. Pray that Tigak women would step up to lead the ladies of the church.

We ask that you join us in praying that more Tigaks would understand God’s Truth. An exciting thing happening is that the men of the church are teaching through God’s Word to a very interested group of their fellow villagers, and the believers are really excited about the opportunity.

Ryan and Cathren minister among the D people of West Africa. Pray for Ryan and Cathren as they continue culture and language acquisition, build relationships with their neighbors and work with their co-workers to prepare a literacy workshop. Pray that God would open doors and prepare hearts among the D people. “The sense of solidarity in this culture is overwhelming and impressive. It's beyond obvious that it requires a work of God for a church to be planted here. We are the vessels that serve as a means to this end, so we seek to find out how we can best situate ourselves to deliver [God's] Message.”

Colin and Megan Rogers minister among the Nukak people of Colombia. “Ethnos360 literacy consultants ... encouraged our team to begin development of literacy primers during the summer this year. The primers will form the basis for a course designed to teach completely illiterate Nukak people to read well. Lord willing, in June the consultants will return to guide us through this intensive primer development campaign. They say we could finish most or all of the necessary primers in the three weeks they will work with us!

“Please pray for foresight, creativity and stamina as we prepare to produce the primers. Please also pray for God's provision for this project.”

If you would like to give to this project, visit our give page. Scroll to “Give Where Most Needed” and designate the funds to the “Colombia -- Nukak Literacy Project.”

Andy and Chrissy Shaub minister among the Awa people of Ecuador. The Shaubs and their translation helper Sandra have begun a translation project for the Awa people. In the past, their former co-worker Doug Williams had drafted portions of the Old Testament, and 20 years ago, Wycliffe Bible translators had completed the New Testament. Now Andy will “translate 250 verses from scratch to go over with our Ethnos360 consultant.” Then the Shaubs and Sandra will check the drafts that Doug had done.

Praise the Lord that He provided a good translation helper for the Shaubs so they can begin their work. Pray for the translation team as they learn how to navigate the new translation software. Pray for the Awa believers to take more responsibility in church leadership.

Tom and Beth Carlton serve in field leadership in Mexico, teaching and equipping missionaries. The missionaries to the Tepehuan have recently started a “new ministry ... among the displaced Tepehuan people living on our city's outskirts. God is blessing this ministry, and a small Bible study has begun meeting together regularly! Our friends, Caleb and Emily ... [and] Kevin and Wendy, have diligently served this growing community through weekly meetings where they come together to hear teaching from the Word. It is truly incredible!”

At the beginning of this year, we prayed that Tepehuan outreach visitors would join the Sunday Bible study meetings regularly. We prayed that the Lord would grant wisdom for Caleb and Emily and the team as they determine “how to truly reach into each home.” Praise the Lord for answers to these prayers. Pray that the team in Mexico would continue to find ways to reach the Tepehuan people scattered throughout the city of Chihuahua and that this new Bible study group would grow in their understanding of the Word.

Payton and Grace Downing minister among the Taliabo people of Asia Pacific. “The church here in the village has started teaching the chronological Bible lessons on Tuesday and Friday mornings. There are three groups of rotating teachers. It will take the better part of three to four months to finish. Pray for people to come and listen and make the time to actually show up. Pray for grandmas who have already heard to be willing to watch babies so young moms can hear. Pray for people to invite friends and neighbors.

“This is a really busy time for us as well as the church here. We feel quite swamped trying to keep up with Sunday school lesson translation, language study, prep for our final eval and all the other details of daily life here. Pray for us to do well.”