Prayer Needs for Mission Partners

2/22/2026: Please pray for Youssouf and Awa Dembele, our MPOTW. The Dembeles are contributing to the work of the church in Bamako, Mali and throughout the world through leadership in the local church, seminary, evangelical associations, and bible translation projects. Youssouf shares the following: 

We are pleased to share an update of our ministry with you. We would like to share only praises and thanksgiving this time. The Lord has been so good to us!

• We praise and thank the Lord for Christmas 2025. We had more than 600 participants in the Church during the celebration.
• We celebrated four weddings in our Church from December 2025 to now. It is a joy to see the children we had at Sunday School some twenty years ago are now getting married.
• We thank the Lord for the weddings we celebrated last year. They are bearing fruit. We have had many new babies in the Church already at the beginning of this year. Praise the Lord!
• We are very happy about the wedding on January 17th of our son Ariel, who was a little boy, when my family went to Libertyville. Around 1000 people ate that day in my house. It was just fabulous. Our Church and many brothers and sisters helped us with abundant gifts.
• We are grateful to the Lord for the safe return home of our daughter Eliette after completing her MBA at ISU in Normal. Eliette and her sister Claudia spent memorable time with the Turners and the Petersons. They were happy to see my professor D. A. Carson. Claudia is back at Marshall for her studies.
• Praises and thanks for the ordination of Pastor Luka Traore on January 24th. He is the young Pastor I am mentoring before passing over the baton to him.
• I thank the Lord for the opportunity to share the Word of God during the Annual Assembly of the National Association of Evangelicals in Mali on February 17, 18, and 19 on the topic of the faithfulness of God toward his people.
• I also thank the Lord for the completion of the Parkwa entire Bible in Cameroon this year and the opportunity to work with two new Bible translation projects in Cameroon. I have four Bible translation projects to work with plus the Bamanan Bible project which is close to completion.
• We are grateful to the Lord for the good health he has granted us and we are grateful to the Lord for the fruitful partnership we have had with CrossLife Church.

2/8/2026: Please pray God would continue to use the Jesus Film to reach those who have not yet heard the gospel. Ask Him to guide ongoing translation efforts, prepare hearts to receive the message, and strengthen our two mission partners who serve in support roles with this ministry. 

News from Wayne and Barbara Brink:

• Please pray God would help us prioritize what is best amid many good opportunities and may He keep us healthy so we can serve and minister well.

News from Gerry Buchholz:

• Pray God will lead me as I’m asking the Lord about helping the “More Than Welcome” Christian, immigrant ministry here in Austin with their English classes. Many of the students are Muslim women. Since this new ministry uses the Bible to teach English as part of their sessions, pray they will be open to showing our films in the heart languages.  
• Praise God the director of the ESL classes told me 2 Iranian women prayed to receive Christ at the showing of “The Story of Jesus For Children” in November. Of our 3 main films, this one is the most popular. I connected with the Iranian pastor and one of the new believers is attending his church. I’m so excited about this and plan to attend his church soon and meet this new believer.
• Praise God He continues to heal my new hips. I’m so thankful to have no physical hindrances in serving the Lord. 
• JESUS film is hosting a briefing here in Austin March 19-22. I’m planning on attending. Pray God will use this briefing to stimulate the attendees to invest in the kingdom generously as He leads.

1/18/2026: Please pray for Mike and Ann Wheeler, who continue to serve with Serving in Mission (SIM) on the US Home Based Team while maintaining international ministry from Wascea, MN.

• Mike recently led a reaccreditation visit to a seminary in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and continues to work virtually with seminaries in Brazil and Argentina as they pursue accreditation. Please pray for wisdom and clarity as reports are finalized and new accreditation efforts move forward.
• Ann supports members of the SIM US Home Based Team through annual reviews and encouragement. In early January, she will travel to the SIM USA office in Charlotte, NC to meet with team leaders and staff. Please pray for her as she supports the six couples on her team.
• Ann also teaches English, coaches a missionary in Africa, and continues onboarding courses. Please pray for her students to gain confidence in English and for growing interest in the Latino Bible Study. We are encouraged by the continued growth of our church’s Latino Ministry—please pray that more people will be drawn to it.

12/14/2025: Please pray for Carlos and Suzanne Tejada who are serving in Cartago, Costa Rica with ReachGlobal. Carlos leads a program which teaches hermeneutics to pastors and church leaders, working closely with indigenous pastors who are planting churches among their own people groups. Many Cabécar pastors have little to no formal theological training, and Carlos believes healthy churches can only grow when leaders are first equipped. In 2025, he trained eight pastors and leaders from different villages, and in 2026, the program will continue with hopes of training four more. Suzanne primarily serves at home with their family while also connecting with local pastors to promote Casa Viva, a Christian foster care agency.

• In October, Carlos joined the EquipLAC team in Uruguay for training and meetings with local pastors, exploring ways to support them. Uruguay is considered the least religious country in Latin America; over a century ago, the government removed religious references from holidays—Christmas, for example, is now celebrated as Family Day. While there, Carlos led a workshop on contextualization and preached at a local church. Pastor Daniel encouraged him to return to speak more on contextualization and to connect with additional pastors from Montevideo.
• Alesa smoothly transitioned to a new school and celebrated her 14th birthday, while Elijah finished 6th grade and turns 12 just two days after graduation.
• Praises for the opportunity to share about Casa Viva at our church. 
• Our faithful group of partners who support us through prayer, financial partnership and encouragement are a blessing to us.
• Pray as Carlos passes on the responsibility for the ministry in the indigenous region of Nimari to a local church in Cartago, may they will be effective in making disciples.
• Pray for a good family time over the kids' school break.

11/9/2025: Please pray for Keith and Judy Anderson. The Andersons are “retired staff” of EFCA ReachGlobal and ProMETA who equip Spanish speaking leaders around the globe. The programs include both formal and informal training using both online technologies and face-to-face teaching methods. The majority of the students study in one of the two master’s programs: Biblical Theology or Christian leadership. Leaders in the program live in 24 countries around the world. Please pray for:

• Ministry leaders who are searching for a ProMETA type equipping experience.
• Current students (time, finances, ministry, family).
• Strength and stamina in the coming weeks.
• Preparation for the upcoming doctoral module (Nov 2025–May 2026).
• Fruitful connections in upcoming church visit.
• Wisdom and grace for Dr. Javier Sepúlveda as he leads ProMETA and adjusts to life in Ecuador.
• Growth in Javier’s financial support (currently just over 50%).
• Guidance for us as we plan ministry opportunities in 2026.

11/2/2025: Please pray for Francesco and Manuela Grassi. Francesco and Manuela are missionaries with Mesa Global and are serving at the Italian Evangelical Bible Institute (IEBI) in Rome. As a missional scholar for the Theological Education Initiative (a branch of the UWM), Francesco is involved in the ministry of theological education, both residentially as well as in the various decentralized schools around Italy. Together with Manuela, they also serve as mentors, providing counseling and hospitality to students living away from home. Their passion and prayer are for Italian believers to recover the importance of a sound and holistic biblical formation for the life and witness of the church in Italy. IBEI (Rome) is intentionally and concretely invested in this regard. Here is an update and prayer requests from the GrassisPraise God Francesco successfully defended his dissertation at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School on October 6th via zoom. 

• Praise the Lord for God’s work in Sofia’s and Naomi’s lives and their decision to be baptized.  
• The last week of June, the Grassi's were able to hold a day camp at IBEI with about 27 kids. It was a blessing to do this as a family.
• Please pray for these children from day camp and their families—for the seed planted in them be protected from the evil one, and in due time it may grow and bear fruit.
• Praise God for a second successful “study vacation.” As a more educational experience, this year we chose to explore the figure of The Apostle Peter in Scripture, memory, and art. Study sessions alternated with historical walks in the heart of Rome and Pompei, group discussions, and daily meditations. It was a “family experience”—a multigenerational camp where young and older people, singles and couples, shared, prayed, and studied alongside one another. 
• Pray for Francesco as he continues to be involved in several teaching trips throughout Italy.
• Francesco's recent meeting with other church leaders wasn’t very encouraging. The leaders want to consider several things before starting a new project. They have another meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Please pray they will reach an agreement on how to take the next steps.

10/19/2025: Please pray for Cheque and Hope Garcia. Cheque and Hope spent 9 years working in Monterrey Mexico with Back2Back Ministries. Back2Back Ministries is an international Christian non-profit organization dedicated to being a voice for orphans. In 2018, they began the process of setting up a Back2Back presence in the Dominican Republic.