Prayer Needs for Mission Partners

12/8/2024: Please pray for Carlos and Suzanne Tejada. Suzanne (Westover) attended CrossLife for many years growing up and then attended our Spanish speaking congregation with her husband Carlos. They have been living and serving in Cartago, Costa Rica with ReachGlobal. Carlos is involved in building relationships with pastors across the city and in other regions of Costa Rica to form collaborative partnerships among pastors and churches and provide theological and Biblical training. He is working alongside indigenous pastors that are planting churches among their people group. Around 80% of pastors do not have formal theological or biblical training. Equipping pastors helps them better prepare their teaching and preaching of the word of God more effectively. Suzanne's primary ministry is working with a Christian foster agency, Casa Viva, connecting them with local churches. Their current prayer requests include:

  • Their time spent in the US will be restful as well as opportunities to connect with family and mission partners.
  • God would provide additional partners and financial support to make up short falls due to inflation and exchange rate changes.
  • For the conferences and meetings Carlos will be attending after the new year to be fruitful.

12/1/2024: Please pray for Ben and Jeanne Beckner, who serve with International Messengers. This is our last opportunity to honor and support the Beckners and their many, many years in the harvest. Their plan is to retire to Colorado in 2025. They have been busy preparing for life back in the USA, helping with grandchildren in various places, visiting supporting churches, and continuing ministries in Europe. Ben is greatly concerned about believers in Ukraine and shares these updates from their recent French camps in Ukraine and Romania:

  • We are very grateful for all the support of every kind we have received from our US and France networks, leading up to our French camps as well as during our time “behind enemy lines” in Ukraine. Please pray with us for our 35 campers, many of whom we were able to give reason for our hope, even in a time of war, of gratuitous and genocidal violence, death and destruction of one nation by another!
  • Despite the challenges of organizing a French camp during an ongoing war (such as spotty and unpredictable availability of water and electricity!), we were very pleased with the above average social and conversational exchanges between team members and students as well as among the students, some of whom are believers. Numerous friendships developed or strengthened during the camps, and we found our students to be very motivated to gain experience in conversational French, as well as to be able to discuss existential subjects and values!
  • Please also pray our 8 team members, who are believers, may keep in contact with several campers during the year, continuing their conversations: Alain et Anne-Lise; Jean (retired Marine); Iryna; Célia, Célestin and Diane, and myself. Please pray for Célestin and Diane, who will be helping me next year for our first FSF French camp in Moldova, as they seek God’s will for their future. Pray also for the other team members, who are mostly Orthodox, but who have not yet come to a personal encounter and relationship with Christ: Zina, Inna, and Vika (Viktoria).

11/24/2024: Please pray for Ben and Beth Barthelemy, who serve with TEAM in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. In addition to teaching at Union Bible Institute, discipling young women on campus, serving at a local children's home, and learning the isiZulu language, Ben and Beth are also raising four beautiful girls (Norah, Stella, Tess, and Adele).  Some updates shared:

  • Beth and her friend Steph, also next-door neighbor, organized a Rabbit Room Housemoot Conference for a weekend in October. It was a joy to bring together people from different communities to connect and converse about the intersection of faith, art, and culture through a number of meaningful sessions. Praise God for this creative outlet for Beth, and for those who were encouraged and impacted by the conference. 
  • Union Bible Institute is wrapping up our 4th term and preparing for graduation on the 30th. We steadily march toward graduating our third-year students, which include Beth's mentees for three years. It's always bittersweet for us to say goodbye. Please pray for these students to finish well, for God to lead them after graduation, and for God to be glorified in all their work and study and future ministry. 
  • HEALTH UPDATE: While we have been healthy overall, we ask for specific prayer for a couple of upcoming precautionary tests. Ben has also sustained a hip injury over the past couple of months and we've struggled to find the help he needs for recovery. Please pray all tests would come back clear, for good health care, and ultimately, peace and trust in Christ as we continue to walk through life in broken bodies. 
  • We also look forward to spending the holidays with Beth's family as they will be here for Christmas. 
  • We're thankful for all the love and support that we receive from CrossLife.

11/17/2024: Please pray for Keith and Judy Anderson, who serve with EFCA ReachGlobal through ProMETA. Keith works with the ProMETA team, an online seminary offering master’s level education for Spanish speaking leaders. Some notes from Keith and Judy include:

  • “As we see what God is doing in and through ProMETA, we cannot help but be amazed at God's Great Commission work! Evangelical leaders south of our borders continue to build on the Gospel foundation grounded years ago by resolute missionaries who faithfully responded to the Great Commission. ProMETA is not only building on this missiological foundation but designing innovative educational practices to effectively equip faithful leaders to fulfill their call in their own contexts. ProMETA continues to focus on the leaders of leaders who are assuming or have assumed roles formerly held by committed missionaries.”
  • In addition to the first accredited doctoral cohort launched in February 2023, two new cohorts are beginning their journey. This makes a total of 23 doctoral students enrolled in this amazing program. We are so thankful for their hunger to go deeply and effectively into ministry for the Lord.
  • An accredited bachelor’s program is being cued up for a September launch (contingent on funding).
  • A new department, Education and Christian Formation, has been created.
  • ProMETA’s footprint has expanded to new on-site master’s and certificate cohorts in Montevideo, Bolivia, and Nicaragua.
  • New certificate programs have been launched in Venezuela and Chile.
  • 31 graduate/post-graduate mentors have either been trained or are being trained as faculty mentors in the new ProMETA programs which are grounded in personalized mentoring (a feature glaringly absent in many classical seminary programs). All these mentors have earned doctorates and nearly all are Latin American.
  • On December 3rd ProMETA will launch its “Giving Tuesday” initiative. This campaign is the primary source for ProMETA student scholarships.
  • The ProMETA Summit has been postponed until later in 2025 (see below).
  • In the first quarter of 2025, ProMETA will launch its new English newsletter called “ProMETA NOW.” (It replaces the ProMETA Newsbytes from a few years ago). Please sign up to receive this wonderful newsletter which will be sent every few months.

Prayer Requests:

  • Continue to pray for the visa process Dr. Sepúlveda and his family are going through. One of the reasons the Summit was postponed was there were no guarantees he would be able to travel to Costa Rica in February – the visa process could take that long.
  • Pray for the 23 doctoral students in the three cohorts. As new students in a new educational model based on competencies and not grades, the shift has been overwhelming for some. But they are pressing on to learn how it all works for the glory of God and are encouraged.
  • Pray for the mentors in training who will accompany each ProMETA student as they navigate their master's and doctoral programs. This close relationship with the students goes a long way to shape content, ministry skills, and spiritual character.

11/10/2024: Please pray for Mike and Ann Wheeler, who are with Serving in Mission (SIM) focusing on Bolivia. They are living in Waseca, MN as their home base and traveling to Bolivia regularly. These are the prayer requests they have shared:

Mike's Ministries:

  • Mike is involved in the establishing of a new theological education association in Spanish speaking Latin America (AFTH). Pray they will think through all the final issues needed so AFTH will be well positioned to prosper in the coming years.
  • Mike continues with the reaccreditation of two seminaries, both of which are in Bolivia. He will be leading one evaluation team and Steve Hardy the other team. Please pray for Steve, Mike, and their respective teams as there is much work to be done before the visits.
  • In our last letter we presented the need to help Bernardo and Clever (key members of the Cochabamba seminary's administration and faculty) finish their doctoral programs. We want to thank those who have already given to help them, however there is still about $8,000 needed. We would appreciate your prayers concerning this. Gifts can be sent to SIM for the "Bible Seminary Cochabamba" project (091828).

Ann's Ministries:

  • Ann is teaching ESL classes in Waseca. Please pray for the participants and for wisdom as we decide what to do with this opportunity in the future.
  • Ann is working with a US based missionary organization and the organizational development of indigenous Bible translators. Please pray her work will be helpful and practical, especially as changes to the monitoring process are introduced.
  • Ann has agreed to work a few hours each week with a SIM USA ministry called Alternative Pathways to improve communications with potential missionaries. Pray she will catch on quickly to this new role.
  • Ann was asked to be a Team Leader for one of the many groups of SIM USA Home Based missionaries, which includes us. Please pray for Ann as she tries to get a virtual team meeting set up with these very busy people.

Additionally:

  • One of our SIM missionaries, Beau Shroyer in Angola, was killed on Friday, Oct 25, in what has been described as an “act of violence.” Information is sketchy, but he left behind his wife, Jackie, and five kids, grade school through high school age. They have been in Angola since December 2021. The SIM USA director should have arrived Sunday in Angola to be with the family. Please pray for Jackie and the kids, to be comforted by the Lord even as they are experiencing profound pain.

11/3/2024: Please pray for Lonnie and Debbie Smith. The Smiths serve with EFCA Reach Global in Marseille, France and are involved in church planting and relational evangelism. Please pray for the ministries they are involved in, including the Merlan Church and the university students who had been involved in the FEU this past year. The FEU (which is the French word for fire, but also stands for Foyer Evangélique Universitaire) is the university student ministry of the Merlan Church. Requests the Smiths have shared include:

  • Thank you for your prayers for the ministry of the FEU to university students in the neighborhood of the Merlan Church, which is just off the St. Jérôme scientific campus.
  • About 12 students attend the Discovery Bible study at the FEU led by Myriam and Laetitia each Thursday over lunch at noon. According to Myriam, only one is a believer among them, and the others are Muslim, atheists, or non-practicing Catholics. Pray for their salvation, as they all understand the gospel and ask very pertinent questions such as: How is it that many of the people of Jesus' day did not believe in him, even after seeing the miracles he performed? Pray for Sabrina, Meryem, Lisa, Assitan, Fanta, Mehdi, Rachid, Nawres, Fazia, Marie, Chan, Victoire, Rocio (Catholic background) and Thomas (atheist).
  • The evening of November 15 the FEU and the Merlan Church have invited Etienne Vernaz, a former researcher for the Atomic Energy Commission here in France and a believer, to return to give a lecture on The Bible and Science: Are They Compatible? Pray this evening will have an influence on those who attend for eternity.
  • This past Wednesday evening Laetitia of the FEU planned a "Festival of Light" for about 10 of the children in the neighborhood of the Merlan Church as an alternative to Halloween. Pray for these children Laetitia and others are discipling, and for their parents, mostly Muslim families, that their hearts will be opened to Jesus Christ.
  • This past Tuesday we went on a walk with long-time friends, Eric and Annabella, whom we have known since Olivia's kindergarten days about 18 years ago. He is in a depression right now after a very troubling upheaval at his work and is re-thinking his life and way forward. They have always been eager for every activity we've proposed and through the years have come to evangelistic events at the Merlan, but no more than that unfortunately. Please pray their hearts will be opened to the Lord.

10/20/2024: Please pray for Leon & Mandy Poplawski, who serve with CRU City and work with individuals and churches in Lake County helping local churches equip “Mon-Fri Workers” for ministry through their callings. This includes leading "Work and Faith" groups and workshops in Lake County. Leon continues to be involved with the Lake County Jail ministry, and Mandy works with a local MOP's group. Leon and Mandy also coach a group of staff nationally who are innovators in their cities. A note from Leon and Mandy describes some current ministry updates and their current prayer requests:

  • Leon and I were able to take our first ever Sabbatical this past May/June/July, after 43/44 years working with Cru. It was a great time to rest and refresh and we are so thankful for the opportunity. We hit the ground running in August and haven’t stopped since!
  • We are involved in the Neighbors National Leadership Team, which gives direction to 250 staff around the country. In addition to that, we also coach eight staff members each (individually), and we also lead a virtual POD. A POD is our version of a virtual small group. Our POD includes 15 staff from around the country we shepherd virtually once a month. Last week when we met, I was so overwhelmingly thankful we get to be in these peoples’ lives, and I wanted to tell you about some of these amazing people. Josh lives in Tennessee and is brand new to Cru Staff. In Neighbors, we encourage our staff to move into places in the city where God is calling them. Josh has started a brand-new ministry in his city for men who fish! Even though he just started, he has had several men and their sons come to faith in Jesus. He’s even baptized some of them in the river where they fish! Josh has been a great addition to our POD. Matt and Amanda, in addition to raising three small children, are a part of our IIR ministry that exists within Neighbors (Internationals, Immigrants, and Refugees). They work mostly with Afghan families. It is such a thrill to hear their stories about ways God is moving in that community. Matt told us about a guy named Mohammed. There are many Mohammeds, as you can imagine, but Matt told us how enthusiastic and cheerful this “Mohammed” is. They differentiate this one by calling him “Big Personality Mohammed!” Matt has a vision for this guy’s life: that after he comes to Christ, he will reach so many others with his “big personality”! I so admire Matt’s vision and desire for this man’s life, as it can be a very slow process.
  • Leon continues his Lake County Jail Chaplaincy and is enjoying training a new Hispanic Chaplain.
  • Mandy continues her ministry to young moms.

10/13/2024: Please pray for Ben and Jeanne Beckner, who serve with International Messengers and live in Perpignan, France. Ben is Professor of Intercultural Studies at a private theological training college located in Geneva, Switzerland. He is also founder and director of a French cultural nonprofit which uses French language teaching as a training tool for cross-cultural outreach and communication. Ben and Jeanne are active members of a local French Baptist church in Perpignan. Their plan is to retire in Colorado in 2025. They have been busy preparing for life back in the USA, helping with grandchildren in various places, visiting supporting churches, and continuing ministries in Europe. Ben is greatly concerned about believers in Ukraine and shares these updates from their recent French camps in Ukraine and Romania:

  • We are very grateful for all the support of every kind we have received from our US and France networks, leading up to our French camps as well as during our time “behind enemy lines” in Ukraine. Please pray with us for our 35 campers, many of whom we were able to give reason for our hope, even in a time of war, of gratuitous and genocidal violence, death and destruction of one nation by another!
  • Despite the challenges of organizing a French camp during an ongoing war (such as spotty and unpredictable availability of water and electricity!), we were very pleased with the above average social and conversational exchanges between team members and students as well as among the students, some of whom are believers. Numerous friendships developed or strengthened during the camps, and we found our students to be very motivated to gain experience in conversational French, as well as to be able to discuss existential subjects and values!
  • Please also pray our 8 team members, who are believers, may keep contact with several campers during the year, continuing their conversations: Alain et Anne-Lise; Jean (retired Marine); Iryna; Célia, Célestin and Diane, and myself. Please pray for Célestin and Diane, who will be helping me next year for our first FSF French camp in Moldova, as they seek God’s will for their future. Pray also for the other team members, who are mostly Orthodox, but who have not yet come to a personal encounter and relationship with Christ: Zina, Inna, and Vika (Viktoria). 

9/29/2024: Please pray for Francesco and Manuela Grassi. Francesco and Manuela are missionaries with United World Mission and are serving at the Italian Evangelical Bible Institute 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. With its focus on two critical needs of the Italian churches - the theological/spiritual/practical formation of believers and the education of the many bi-vocational church leaders around Italy - the school maintains the clear and ultimate goal of helping the whole church grow to maturity in Christ. Here is an update and prayer requests from the Grassis:

  • Praise the Lord with us about our daughter’s health; she is doing better. She is still seeing the doctor every week, but we can visibly see the progress she is making.
  • In fact, because of this progress, we are considering coming to the US this Christmas time for about three weeks. Please, pray with us for the logistics, accommodations, and a means of transportation.
  • Also, we wanted to share with you that Sofia and Naomi asked to be baptized; what a joy this gives us as parents. Pray they keep walking with the Lord.
  • Ministry: Pray for the new students; the branch schools in Florence/Milan/Rome; conferences where I’ll be preaching. Pray also for families we are sharing the gospel with.
  • 2025 will be the Catholic Jubilee year, so we are writing a special number of our Theological Journal (Lux Biblica) on Catholicism, followed by a conference at IBEI next February, to help evangelicals (but also Catholics) to better understand key issue of catholic theology. 

9/22/2024: 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. Many in our congregation have been to Monterey to work with them in their ministry. In 2018, they began the process of setting up a Back2Back presence in the Dominican Republic. This is an update from the Garcias:

  • Praise God: 
    • This summer we hosted our very first mission team to B2B DR! The folks from Jefferson Nazarene were absolutely amazing! They helped us put on a VBS for the kids in Cien Fuegos, gave the community center a much needed makeover, ministered to community moms, and encouraged our team.
  • Prayer Requests:
    • For God to bring the students He wants to be a part of the education program.
    • For continued connection with moms and families in the community.
    • For more staff to join our DR team!
    • For the NGO process to advance, for lawyers to respond to our emails, and for no more delays. 
    • For the Lord's wisdom as we enter a season of planning and budgeting for 2025.
    • For our family homeschool. It's been a tough transition back to the books and with an infant in hand!
    • For traveling mercies and good connections while in Ohio and for our support raising efforts to be fruitful. 
    • For spiritual protection over our family and our team. 
    • For the Lord to continually be our First Love.  

9/15/2024: Please pray for Youssouf and Awa Dembele. The Dembeles are contributing to the work of the church in Mali, Africa and throughout the world through leadership in the local church, seminary, evangelical associations, and bible translation projects. Youssouf shares the following:  

  • Praises and thanksgiving. We praise and thank our Lord for who he has been and for what he has done for us in Mali:
    • On June 14th, 2024, we had the joy to launch the first Maninka New Testament in Tambaga in Mali. Maninka is one of the major languages in Mali and in Guinea Conakry. 
    • On August 5-8, I had the opportunity to teach during a Youth Summer Camp with around 300 young people on the topic of God’s Calling to Ministry. 
    • On August 11-17, I was in Nairobi, Kenya to teach during a Workshop for UBS Translation Consultant in Training. The trainees came from USA, Surinam, Kenya, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania. 
    • On August 19-24, I attended a Children Summer Camp with the kids of my Church. This was the tenth Summer Camp which we celebrated in a special way. The main topic was “eschatology” which we phrased as follow: Jesus will return: Watch, pray, and work to wait for him. There were 230 children from 8 to 18 years old. I wrote a booklet on this topic in Bamanan language. Each of the children and their teachers got one copy of the booklet. The camp ended with a test on the content of the teachings.
    • On August 26-30, I was part of the teachers at the Youth Summer Camp of Ntorosso, close to my native village. More than 600 young people had gathered there. I taught for three days on the Sacredness and Solemnity of the Praise Ministry. 
    • On September 2-3, I was in Ouelessebougou for a capacity building workshop with the teachers of our Bible Schools. I taught Ezekiel 38-48 and Hermeneutics in Bamanan language. The National Counsel of our Church denomination asked me to write a coursebook on Hermeneutics in Bamanan language, the first of its kind and a coursebook on Ezekiel for the teaching in our Bible Schools. The workshop was an opportunity to share with the teachers what I have already written and to get their feedback. It was a blessed time. 
    • On September 9th, I flew to Yaounde, Cameroon where I will stay till September 20th to work with the Parkwa Bible translation team. We are almost at the end of that project. 
    • We are grateful to the Lord for the completion of the first whole Bible in the Khassonke language in Mali. The launch will take place in November this year. Please pray with us as we prepare the launch ceremony. 
  • Two Prayer requests Please continue to pray with and for us for the following issues: 
    • My Assistant, Pastor Etienne Diarra is still unable to walk after he went through surgery on October 2018. Please pray for healing. 
    • Please pray for our need for two assistant Pastors whom I can mentor before my retirement as Pastor of the two Churches we are taking care now.

9/8/2024: In 1979 Cru created the Jesus Film. Since then, the film has been translated into over 2100 languages around the world and continues to play a key role in fulfilling the Great Commission. Please pray God would guide ongoing translation projects and continue to use the film to communicate the gospel to those who have not yet heard. We have 2 Mission Partners involved in working with the Jesus Film in different roles of support.  

  • News from Wayne and Barbara Brink:
    • There are two kinds of grandparents: lonely or tired. :) Last week, we were visited by our son Daniel and grandsons Sylvan and River. The most eventful day was when we took a train ride to the Grand Canyon and were robbed by desperados. It is so satisfying to connect with your family when that happens, isn't it?
    • A New Film About Jesus In American Sign Language - This past June, a new film produced by Deaf Missions was in limited release in theaters across the USA. The actors in this film and the director are deaf. The production of a high-quality film about Jesus in American sign language has been a dream of Deaf Missions for many years. Our organization, Jesus Film Project, funded 20% of the production cost for this film. Can you imagine ... organizations actually working together? I love it when this happens, and it is happening more and more.
  • News from Gerry Buchhloz :
    • Please continue to pray the 3 Berber men will watch the Jesus Film in Tamazight and come to faith in Christ. The ESL starts again in September. Pray these 3 men can continue on with the classes.
    • I got to meet two Kurds! Finally, after many years, I met 2 Kurds in the US last night! The man is brand new in the US and he was accompanied by the sister of his wife. His wife will be arriving next month with their young child. I couldn't help but cry as I met them. The Lord continues to give me His love for the Kurds from the first day I met them in Iraq to now.
    • Praise God one of the 2 couples I was coaching financially achieved their goal and even exceeded it. The other couple saw God give favor with a new church and new individuals. They are taking a 3 week break and praying about next steps in their MPD journey. Pray for favor with new people and pray Psalm 91 over them. I am now coaching another couple who are trusting God for $3,000 monthly and have already seen God provide $1,000/mo. God is so good to meet the needs of our staff!
    • Continue to pray for my daughter, Laura, as she blew out her knee while skiing over spring break. Please pray the Lord will touch her knee and miraculously heal it or doctors will eventually be able to successfully perform surgery to mend the damaged tissues.  
    • Praise God for my 2 grandsons, who went to Japan, and had a marvelous trip. Please pray God will use this experience for His purposes in their lives.
    • Praise God I got to connect a couple from India and their child with our 3 main films. I was eating a hotdog in Costco and got to know them as we ate. When I asked them if they would like to watch a film about Jesus and His love for us, they said "yes". I asked if they would like to watch 2 more about his special love for women and children. They said yes again and they typed their email address into my phone so I could send it to them. Pray I will see them again in Costco so I can ask what they thought about JESUS.