European Christian Mission

Transcription

1 European Christian Mission Prayer Diary APRIL 2018 Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. Isaiah 51:1 SUNDAY 1 CROATIA: Bert and Daliborka Uenk in Karlovac Give thanks for answered prayer for their daughter Mia who is recovering very well from an a-typical appendicitis diagnosed very late. She has been back to school but has quite a backlog of work and needs some extra rest after school. Her diet is still somewhat adjusted. Daliborka's mother is still very weak with an infection from a hospital bacterium after her fall and is on antibiotics now. They are looking for a place in a nursing home as she will no longer be able to live on her own in her flat. MONDAY 2 CROATIA: Mario and Carla Sestak in Ivanec Mario and I have been in Brazil from 1 February to 1 April for a time with my family and visiting churches to share about the ministry in northern Croatia. It was a great and full time! We also share there some challenges and needs. Please, pray that the Brazilian Church will respond with help. Also, pray for our upcoming special evangelism activities: "Move on!" (sports and concerts, May) and "Summer camp" (June). TUESDAY 3 SPAIN: Terry and Christine Miller in Córdoba Before we moved to Córdoba, Andrés made a commitment to follow Jesus but later was diagnosed with lymphoma and spent many months in hospital, with his wife Monica caring for him. When we visited the family recently, he was desperate to talkabout his gratitude to God for bringing him through, though not fully recovered yet after 2 very difficult years. Please pray that God will continue to strengthen him both physically and spiritually and that Monica too may have a living relationship with Jesus and that as a family they may be able to meet with other believers and grow in knowledge and commitment. WEDNESDAY 4 SPAIN: Edgar and Jane Álvarez in Madrid Give thanks for good ongoing health for Jane and Edgar s dads (87 and 83 respectively). Please pray for full recovery of Edgar s dad Esteban from recent cataract operation. GBU celebrates 50 years in ministry this year to high schoolers and Christian Union students. Pray God will guide new staff in new roles. THURSDAY 5 GERMANY: Martin and Anya Teubert in Ribnitz-Damgarten Our goal is to start with children`s ministry in the city of Ribnitz-Damgarten before summer. Since January the number of people in the monthly church service had grown to 40, including up to 10 kids.

2 We meet in the middle of an area surrounded by high apartment buildings. Many people there deal with difficult living situations, We want to be a blessing to those people, meet the kids in the area, spend time with them and connect them with Jesus, our Saviour. Please pray with us! FRIDAY 6 AUSTRIA: David and Linda James in Villach In recent weeks Linda s Dad has remained stable most of the time. However, he had one walkabout at 3am in February. The police found him on the other side of the village. We cannot really explain this given that during the day he can hardly walk more than 200 meters. He is adamant that he does not want to go into a home. The care people he has at present works and is just about affordable. Please pray for his health, safety and most importantly his conversion. We will visit him before and after the Biennial conference. SATURDAY 7 PORTUGAL: Peter and Anna Crawford in Lisbon On April 7 and 8, Franklin, son of the late Billy Graham, will be in Lisbon at the invitation of the Evangelical Alliance for two days of conference in a downtown venue. Please pray for breakthroughs in the lives of those who attend, especially for the 18 people we hope to bring from the Nepali Christian Fellowship in the city. SUNDAY 8 SLOVENIA: Sebastian and Gloria Forjan in Radovlice Praise God for a great TV recording that we had on the 15 March with our national TV for an Easter program. We have shared the gospel and why we have suffering in the world from Bible. It will be on air on April 6. Pray for the people that God will move their hearts as they will hear the gospel. MONDAY 9 ECM BRITAIN: Sarah Deacon (candidate for Slovenia) Please pray for Sarah Deacon, who is raising support to serve in Slovenia for one or two years. Sarah is hoping to join the field this spring. Please pray for wisdom and strength as she follows up with potential supporters. Thank the Lord for those who have already joined her support team and please ask the Lord to add more supporters to Sarah s team, providing all that she needs to join the ministry. TUESDAY 10 Please pray for the Mobilisation Leadership Team as they meet to discuss areas of common interest and in particular, how to raise the profile of the needs of Europe and mobilise a new generation to reach out with the gospel. Pray also for safety in travelling for the organising team and for all the setting up that needs to be done before all the guests arrive. WEDNESDAY 11 Please pray for safety in travelling for everyone coming to the conference and that God will prepare us for all that he wants to do in our lives while we are together. Give thanks for the opportunity for fellowship and encouragement that a conference like this can mean and pray that we will be a good witness to the staff, management and other guests at the Hotel.

3 THURSDAY 12 Pray for God to speak powerfully to us through Chris Wigram as he teaches from the Scriptures in the morning times and that the Discussion Groups will help us to apply God s truth to our lives and situations. Pray for Grace McCarthy in leading the worship so that we are aware of God s presence and give Him the honour that is due to Him as we worship together. FRIDAY 13 Pray for the seminar leaders to be able to clearly present their material and for us to be able to take away helpful teaching and practical encouragement in our lives. We give thanks for the expertise that God has given to enrich His body. Pray too for the translators that they will be able to accurately reflect what each speaker is trying to say. SATURDAY 14 Pray for the International Board of Trustees as they meet and discuss issues of importance in the running of the mission. We give thanks for new people joining the Board and being willing to give time and wisdom to help the mission continue to serve the peoples of Europe effectively. Thank God too for the opportunity to explore and enjoy the surrounding area in the free time that is available. SUNDAY 15 Please pray for the work with the children and teenagers at the Biennial, that they would experience God's work in their hearts and lives. Pray that they would have fun and form strong friendships with each other as well as good relationships with the group leaders. Please pray for their safety in the hotel, on the beach and when out and about. MONDAY 16 Thank God for all the gifts he has given us and for the opportunity to relax together and enjoy creativity and laughter and talent in the Fun night. Pray for the Meeting Place where a number of practical issues that face many of us can be dealt with in an informal and relaxed setting. TUESDAY 17 Pray for the counsellors, prayer team and people involved in member care for whom the conference is a busy time. Pray that the Lord will give them the wisdom, insight, stamina and sensitivity needed as they listen, pray and bring people to God for His work to be done in their lives. WEDNESDAY 18 Pray for our journeys home, that we may go back with joy in our hearts, with new lessons to put into practice and new perspectives on our lives and our ministries, and that we may be able to bring fresh light and truth to the people we serve in the name of Christ. Please pray that there may be no air traffic controllers strikes or ash clouds or anything else to hinder us in our travels home!

4 THURSDAY 19 PORTUGAL: Peter and Anna Crawford in Lisbon In Lisbon we have been able to start an Alpha Course in the church plant in Alta de Lisboa. We are sharing the leading of the course with Rui Ribeiro, our Portuguese colleague. Please pray for three key women in the group, that they will discover fresh truths out of God's word. One of the members of the Alpha Course attended a gathering of the Association of Evangelical Writers with Peter, (a movement recently established by Alan Pallister) in Porto and was encouraged to meet other authors. Pray that the links made will encourage her in her professional writing as she is a relatively new believer. FRIDAY 20 AUSTRIA: David and Linda James in Villach The last three evenings have been very quiet in the town centre and consequently visitor numbers to the Teabus have been very low (maybe an answer to prayer about the drink-yourself-stupid culture that used to prevail). Our desire is to make an impact among the youth in Villach so please pray with us. The next date is 21 April. We have between 5 and 10 non-christians coming to our sport evening each week. Please pray especially for them. We still need a garage solution for the bus. SATURDAY 21 ALBANIA: Murray and Féy Cotter in Tirana Please pray for Féy on 21 April as she will be speaking at a women s meeting in the church in Patos, where she and Murray were church planting from Pray also for our church leaders meeting that we will meet together more regularly, and for wisdom as we seek to encourage more people to take up different responsibilities in the church. SUNDAY 22 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Jonathan and Nicola McCracken in Claremorris We are glad to have a new family meeting regularly with us in church and it has been a real encouragement for Jonathan to sit with Richar (Paraguay) and Cassia (Brazil) to explain and discuss the main points of the Christian faith. We give thanks for the outreach events on St Patrick's Day and over the Easter period. MONDAY 23 AUSTRIA: Ministry in Vienna Pray that a fellowship of Eastern European believers in Vienna resolves legal difficulties regarding their rental contract. Originally ECM used this premises for mission purposes and the rent contract was signed by a missionary who retired and left Austria a long time ago. However, the contract was never updated. Transferring the rental agreement is proving difficult for all sorts of legal and administrative reasons. We need a breakthrough. Please pray that the church s attempt to form a legal association succeeds and that the landlord does not put any obstacles in the way. Thank the Lord for recent voluntary help of an Austrian believer who is qualified in Law. TUESDAY 24 ECM AUSTRALIA: Matt and Louise George Praise God for good connections to the Bible Colleges nearby and the conversations we've been having with some of the students. Pray that God would move hearts so that people would want to be sent into the harvest field. Pray for wisdom in how to best use the new meeting room that is currently under construction. Pray that it would become a tool to support the work we are doing in our office in Sydney. WEDNESDAY 25 NETHERLANDS: Roland and Carolien Smith in Maastricht On 25 April Roland will begin a course of psychotherapy to help deal with the consequences of half a

5 year of leg pain and limited mobility. The MRI scan was normal, so the orthopaedic surgeon has referred me to a physician specialising in rheumatology and related diseases. THURSDAY 26 SERBIA: Branko and Rada Tihojevic in Zajecar Praise the Lord that after six months, since we bought the Church building in Zajecar, the local official came to evaluate it and eventually we paid tax. Please pray before we use the building we need to do inside work: To open the door through to the back, to build another toilet for people with disabilities, renovate the heating and the kitchen. Pray for another car we need, the present one we have is small. We put before the Lord to get second hand smaller van with seven seats, to use it to bring people to the Church and travel around, visiting believers and Churches. FRIDAY 27 ECM BRITAIN: Sarah Hay ECM Britain has 3 new part-time staff joining the office team. Annette Bull will be Fundraising and Marketing Manager, Vreni Briggs will be PA to Director Kent Anderson, and Ruta Obrubko will be a Finance Assistant. Please pray that they will settle in quickly. SATURDAY 28 SPAIN: Dan and Anna Julian in Valencia Pray as Dan wraps up the Evangelism and Discipleship course, that the students would go evangelize and make disciples. And pray for Anna as she builds friendships with the other mothers at our church, that these would be good for mutual encouragement and edification. And pray also for our former neighbor, who is soon to move to Valencia, that he would trust in Christ. SUNDAY 29 ECMI-USA: George Brown Praise the Lord for the team of board members, volunteers and staff in the USA who serve Him and ECMI so faithfully. Praise the Lord for ministry partners who pray and give so faithfully, and without whom, we could not carry out this ministry. Pray for ongoing efforts to mobilize a new generation of missionaries for service in Europe; in particular we are focusing on finding college or seminary students who need internship or apprenticeship opportunities. MONDAY 30 ECM BRITAIN: Sarah Hay Pip Thompson retired from ECM Britain in February. She was our longest serving member of staff and since she has retired, she has had some surgery on her brain. She is recovering well but please pray with us, thanking God for her faithful service and asking for continued healing and a full recovery. Pray too for Nicola Strang who is now covering Pip's role temporarily.