Prayer Needs for Mission Partners

2/9/2025: 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. 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:

  • Classes at the community center are back up and running after the Christmas holidays. We now have 22 students registered in the program. 
  • We continue to see growth and change in students as our teams work with them daily. One boy began the year very dysregulated and was causing lots of fights and trouble. After working consistently with him our team has seen him relax, calm down, and begin to learn. He is like a different child!
  • We are opening a volunteer program this year that will allow locals to come and serve alongside our team at the community center. 
  • We have three students in particular who are very challenging and come from challenging situations. Please pray for them to come to know Christ, find peace, and learn, and grow. Pray for our teachers to have grace and wisdom while working with them. 
  • Pray for local volunteers to come and support the work we are doing.
  • Pray for God's divine connections with other ministries and the local government to begin positively influencing the system toward foster care, which currently does not exist in the DR

    2/2/2025: Please pray for FIT Moms (Families in Training) in Waukegan, IL. Established in 1987, they are a faith-based organization designed to provide loving instruction to single moms and their children in the Waukegan area. The ministry exists to serve as a bridge to self-sufficiency and life transformation through a program of education, support, referral, advocacy, mentoring and spiritual guidance. To learn more, follow them (FIT Moms Illinois) on Facebook, or email them at to receive their quarterly newsletter. Current praises and prayer requests include:

    • Praise and thanks be to God for providing Colleen for this staff position, and for the way God is working in her and through her.
    • Please pray spiritual seeds that were planted this fall will continue to show signs of growth and will not be snatched away by Satan.
    • Please pray for a family who has been living in a PADS hotel for more than 18 months will be able to get into an apartment, and the mom will continue to have regular earnings and be able manage funds well.
    • Please pray as they begin a new study of “Habits of the Household”, the families would build habits that will result in less chaos in their households and would learn ways to look to God in their everyday lives together.
    • Please pray for wisdom and direction for the board as they seek to lead this ministry in ways that will bring honor to God.

    1/26/2025: 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 
      • The Lord has been good to us during the year 2024. During the Christmas celebration, our church was full, around 800 people attended the service and it was also broadcast through an FM Radio Station. Before Christmas, I recorded three evangelistic sermons that were aired in several FM Radio Stations. We really praise and thank our Lord for the opportunity he gives us to share the Gospel in a Muslim majority country. 
      • On December 31st, 2024, we had a night service in the church. I taught on the Christology of the Gospels in Bamanan language, the majority language in Mali. I shared the text with many Pastors since there is no book on the topic available to them in Bamanan language. 
      • On January 14 and 15, I had two full days teaching in the Bible School with some 70 alumni on the book of Ezekiel. I am now finishing a book on Ezekiel to be used as a textbook in one of our Bible Schools in French. 
      • On January 26, I am travelling to Nairobi, Kenya, where we have a meeting on the training curriculum of Africa Bible translators and Bible translation consultants. 
      • On February 26, I will travel to Kayes, one of the main cities in Mali for a three-day training with the Pastors of all Protestant Churches on the topic of Evangelism among Muslims. 
      • On March 3-8, I will be teaching a challenging course on Hermeneutics in Bamanan language. This will be the first time Hermeneutics is taught in Bamanan language. The attendants are the alumni Pastors of the Bible School that teaches in the Bamanan language. More than one hundred Pastors and Pastors’ wives are expected. I have to finish also a book on Hermeneutics in Bamanan language for the teaching of this topic in the Bible School. 
      • During the week of March 17th, we will have the joy to launch the Khassonke Bible in Mali. This the first Bible ever in that language.  
    • Prayer Requests 
      • 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 of two assistant pastors whom I can mentor before my retirement as pastor of the two churches we are taking care of. I will be retiring from active pastoral work within two years to devote myself to teaching and writing. 
      • Continue to pray our kids may walk with the Lord and be His witnesses. Eliette will be graduating in May 2025, and Awa and I are planning to attend the graduation in Illinois. 
      • Pray for me (Youssouf) as the National Board of our church denomination appointed me to lead a theological commission in order to help the church with writings and trainings. 
      • Pray for me for the completion of the two course books needed in our Bible Schools. 

    1/19/2025: In 1979, Cru created the Jesus Film. Since then, the film has been translated into over 2,100 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 with the Jesus Film in different roles of support. 

    • News from Wayne and Barbara Brink:
      • We were able to visit our middle son in Longmont, CO, who just moved into his first home. Barbara and I were able to watch our grandsons so Dan and Sarah could move all their boxes and furniture.
      • In a couple of weeks, we will meet with our national team for vision and training. May each of us experience God's blessing in new ways in the coming year.
    • News from Gerry Buchholz:
      • I was invited by a pastor (whom I met at Costco) to attend the Iranian Christmas church service and lunch, and I loved connecting with many members and friends there. One of the new believers has a beautiful voice and sang a new song he has written. PRAY I’ll get to attend the January diaspora service (1 of approx. 400 churches in Austin) the last Sunday of January, and that God will connect me with pastors and other leaders I can assist by making them aware of the JESUS film in 2,200 languages and many other tools we can offer. PRAY God will give me access and favor. PRAY I can continue to connect and share the JESUS film with people from all over the world here in Austin at Costco and other places.
      • PRAY for my God’s perfect healing of my grandson’s foot. He broke his foot at gymnastics practice about 8 weeks ago. No weight bearing for 3 months – 4 bones in the middle of the foot were broken and 1 ligament torn. The doctor removed the two stabilizing metal wires and was pleased with the healing progress.
      • I can’t imagine life and ministry without your prayers and partnership in fulfilling the Great Commission. HAPPY NEW YEAR, my dear friends, Gerry
      • PRAY for the couple who are raising their support. Praise God he is so good to meet their needs through the holidays. Pray God will give us wisdom as they will continue their journey soon. Pray I will get to coach more staff to full support.
      • The church that wanted to use the JF QR code/app card this year at a Christmas parade ran into several challenges. The weather was bad so there was poor turnout. But they did get to minister through praying for some people and giving children’s tracks. PRAY God will give them more ideas and opportunities.

    1/12/2025: Please pray for Mike and Ann Wheeler, who are with Serving in Mission (SIM) in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Mike is involved in training Seminary students in central South America and assists in accreditation of regional seminaries. Ann is involved in several ministries teaching and assisting administratively. They have transitioned back to the United States in Waseca, MN as their home base. These are the prayer requests they have shared:

    • Mike has been working with a committee to establish a new theological education association in Spanish speaking Latin America (AFTH). In addition, with Mike's assistance, two seminaries in Bolivia are working on reaccreditation. Please continue to pray Mike will guide this process in an effective way and that both seminaries will be able to improve the training of their students for the ministry.
    • Ann's involvement with English classes is slowly developing. Please pray the classes go well, and they will be a bridge for sharing the gospel.
    • Ann's work on developing an evaluation system for a ministry in Asia is coming together. Ann was encouraged to see templates a colleague created based on Ann's work. Pray for the training sessions which will introduce these new templates.
    • Ann has begun to hold regular meetings with her SIM USA home based missionary team. She holds regular meetings as a group and as individuals, performs routine administrative work, and attends a monthly meeting with other team leaders in an effort to develop them into a cohesive virtual team.
    • At the request of a friend, Ann has begun putting her governance course notes from Bolivia into a booklet format. Please pray for her to complete this task by January 20th.

    1/5/2025 : Please pray for Francesco and Manuela Grassi. Francesco and Manuela are missionaries with the 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 goal of helping the whole church grow to maturity in Christ. Here is an update and prayer requests from the Grassis:

    • Pray we can serve with passion and humility, helping students to see and live the Word as they also grow in their faith and love for God.
    • Pray we as a family bear witness to the gospel of our God with courage and zeal, and see people come to a genuine, saving faith in Christ.
    • Pray our children would be strengthened in their faith and grow into women of God.
    • Finances

    12/22/2024: Please pray for all our missionary partners this Christmas season. Many are far from home and this time of year can be especially nostalgic. Pray they experience the miracle of our Savior's birth in a new way and renewed love and care for the field they harvest. Click here to view our list of 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.