Caves make great hideouts because they are dark.

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Magdalene Norris
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1 Lezgian people at a wedding DAY 11 Acts 26:17-18, NET I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Meditate on this verse. MATUMBI PEOPLE OF TANZANIA Caves make great hideouts because they are dark. The Germans found this out the hard way when the Matumbi caves in the Matumbi Hills became a strategic hideaway for rebel troops against their colonial efforts during the Maji Mai Revolution of There is a people group named after these caves, the 224,000 Matumbis. They are independent in spirit, proud, and honest. Many are forest dwellers, understanding the uses for 200 medicinal native plants. Others live in a ward of five or six villages in huts of pole and stick frames with roofs of thatched palm leaf. Those who can afford cement use it to fortify their homes. Most do subsistence farming or agriculture, though some are fisherman. Others own small shops along the main highways. The darkness of their caves affected the spiritual lives of the Matumbi people long before Europeans attempted to colonize their land. The most impressive cave in their area is Nangoma, revered as housing an important deity associated with dance and worship. The Matumbi people have a history of ancestor worship and Islam. The worship of spirits permeates their culture and religion. Ninety-five percent are Islamic and less than one percent are evangelical. There are no Bible portions, no JESUS Film, no gospel recordings, and no radio broadcasts in their language. Pray for oral evangelistic tools. Pray for messengers who will be sensitive and faithful to bring the light of the gospel to the Matumbi people and free them from spiritual darkness. GO 20

2 12 ANGAZA MISSION SCHOOL UGANDA TANZANIA ETHIOPIA KENYA Nairobi Mombasa SOMALIA Indian Ocean Full of excitement for new opportunities, the African university graduates packed their bags. They knew they were blessed to receive a prized education, and they knew that they were to be a blessing to the nations! After graduation, they had been further trained by Angaza Mission School, and were now headed for a one-month outreach to Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya. The environment of the refugee camp is challenging. It is a semi-arid area with dust storms, high temperature, poisonous snakes and scorpions. But the environment of the Kingdom they bring is full of freedom and hope. Angaza Mission School mobilizes, trains, and releases a movement of passionate African university graduates to fulfill the Great Commission. They use a variety of ministry techniques in the refugee camp. Students bring Christ s love to those who have fled wars and violence in many parts of East Africa. Most of the 180,000 refugees have fled from Sudan, and most come from Muslim or tribal religious backgrounds. Some are from places unreached with the gospel. They need the message that God is on their side, delivered by the warm embrace of an African neighbor. Pray for strength, wisdom, and divine appointments for the students. Pray that God will use this program to empower the emerging mission movement in Africa and raise leaders and laborers for the Great Commission in answer to Matthew 9: LR Mt 9:35-38, NET Then Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the Kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. Pray for graduates of Angaza Mission School to have the same compassionate attitude of Jesus, who wants all to have the chance to become part of His family. 21

3 13 Acts 2:40, NET With many other words he testified and exhorted them saying, Save yourselves from this perverse generation! Pray that the unreached peoples in Africa will understand that their only way to salvation is through bowing their knees to Jesus Christ. ILCHAMUS PEOPLE OF KENYA loud crack like gunfire pierced the air. The A Ilchamus man smiled to himself. For years, his people battled another tribe, the Pokot, living on the banks of Lake Baringo in central Kenya. In 2015, they declared a truce and together began battling a much greater enemy that threatened both tribes: extreme drought and flash floods. The sound like gunfire was his hoe hitting a rock. God had answered his church s prayers for peace. Now they are praying for a Bible in their own language. The 30,000 Ilchamus people are one of the smallest tribes in Kenya. Nearly 3,500 believe in Jesus and go to church! A poor people, many follow a nomadic lifestyle with no structure for traditional education. Most cannot read or write. They are expert herdsmen, fishermen, and elaborate irrigation developers. They have the JESUS Film in a related language, Samburu, and some audio portions. But now the Seed Company has focused on the Ilchamus to translate Scriptures into their own Maa language. Soon they will have the JESUS Film in Maa! God s Word to them would powerfully speak of the freedom in Jesus, freedom from some of their other problems. The Ilchamus battle negative traditional practices like female genital mutilation, sexual immorality, and honoring false deities. So far, the Seed Company has seven New Testament books in the translation process. They still seek project partners. Pray for effective discipleship and that God s Word in Maa will pierce Ilchamus hearts. LR 22

4 SCRIPTURES IN USE, KENYA 14 y wife and I wanted to stay in our community Mto share the love of Christ and reach the other village and tribal people that are unreached and have never heard the stories of the Bible and the message of Jesus. We rebuilt our home each time it was burned down. This is the testimony of a Muslim background believer (MBB) who is now passionate to share Jesus in eastern Kenya. He and other believers in the area have been receiving training from Scriptures in Use (SIU), an organization that focuses on church planting for oral cultures. SIU provides participants with tools for learning and memorizing Bible stories to tell orally in songs, dramas, poetry, and other methods. Believers learn how to communicate the message of the Bible through stories that touch heartfelt needs of the region. Recently the man who has continued to rebuild his home each time it was burned down was threatened again. But this time they wanted to burn it with him and his family in it. By God s saving grace, a fellow believer intervened and convinced the group not to do it. Pray for God to protect and provide for these strategic leaders. Pray that God would continue to open doors for Scriptures in Use to equip other believers so that the light of the gospel would continue to reach the unreached orally. Pray for these committed indigenous leaders to be strengthened with God s Holy Spirit. Cheryl Allen, guest writer from Pasadena House of Prayer Acts 17:11, NET These Jews were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the message, examining the Scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were so. Pray for those SIU reaches out to will be as noble as the Bereans, and search the Scriptures for God s answers rather than relying on the answers given to them years ago. 23

5 15 Acts 16:14, NET A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a Godfearing woman, listened to us. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. Lydia was a perfect example of a person of peace who welcomed Christ-bearers. Pray for God to raise up many such persons of peace among prominent communities in Africa. WATTA PEOPLE OF KENYA eace with you! As the Father has sent me, I Pam sending you. With this Scripture, God has thrust out African missionary Julius Wanjohi into the unreached field of the Watta people. He said, I committed my life to Christ in the year In 2011 I knew I should become a missionary among the Muslims during a Kairos training course. In December 2011, during a Commission Conference in Kabarak University, God spoke to me to evangelize the nations. After attending the Voice of Truth (VOT) Program offered by Mission Campaign Network in 2014, God confirmed His calling on my life Nestled near the Kilifi and Tana Rivers, the Watta people are over 99 percent Muslim. Some Watta people practice witchcraft and female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation. God is calling disciples like Julius Wanjohi to help start a church planting movement and community empowerment projects to help them meet their physical needs. Pray for God to empower Wanjohi and his co-workers with an abundant provision of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Pray that the current laborers in this field would be able to learn the language and culture with ease. Pray that God would continue to thrust forth more laborers to this field. Pray that God would open a wide, effectual door to people of peace among the Watta people so that a disciple making movement may soon come forth. Cheryl Allen, guest writer from Pasadena House of Prayer 24

6 SOMALI BANTU 16 husband and wife A packed up their few belongings into a couple of bags not much larger than potato sacks. They and their son are about to begin their final exodus to a land of freedom and hope. They are Somali Bantu, a people Streets of poverty without home, property, or tribal unity, now largely resettled in the United States and Kenya. A former slave people, the Bantu have endured no end of persecution and hardship. Over 200 years ago Arab traders took people from their homes in Mozambique and Malawi to become slaves in Somalia. This slavery persisted until the 1930s, but the Bantu remained severely oppressed, rejected by society. The Somali civil war of the 1990s was used as an excuse to steal land and property from the Bantu; many were raped, beaten, and killed during this time. Fleeing, to Kenya, many Bantu found refuge in camps, eventually catching the ear of the United States. Officially classifying them as a persecuted people, the U.S. opened its doors to resettle many of the Bantu in the early 2000s. Another 414,000 live in Kenya. Pray that the Somali Bantu will encounter the generosity and love of Christ through his followers in Kenya and the United States. Pray that their hearts will be opened to the gospel as their physical needs are met. Pray for peace and prosperity for the Somali Bantu, and that this displaced people would find their Heavenly Father. BK DAY Acts 9:23-24, NET Now after some days had passed, the Jews plotted together to kill him, but Saul learned of their plot against him. They were also watching the city gates day and night so that they could kill him. Pray for alertness for God s servants whose lives are in danger. Pray that they will be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 25

7 17 Acts 6:11-12, NET Then they secretly instigated some men to say, We have heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God. They incited the people, the elders, and the experts in the law; then they approached Stephen, seized him, and brought him before the council. Pray that when people slander the servants of Christ in Somalia that it will be obvious to all that they are hearing lies. Pray for efforts to distort truth will backfire. MISSION WORK AMONGST SOMALI MUSLIMS SUDAN Red Sea ETHIOPIA KENYA YEMEN Mogadishu SOMALIA Serving amongst Somali Muslims, there is a man who goes door to door sharing the gospel. This may sound unusual, and it should; the Somali Muslims are very hostile to Christianity. Doors are open, however, and professionals are welcomed, irrespective of religion. Working as teachers, this man and his associates are able to interact with young people over the course of time, and they have seen a general curiosity about Christianity begin to rise. Many of the young Somalis realize that they have been misinformed, and they ask many questions. Even so, those who remain pre-literate also remain hostile to Christians. This man and his team have established a school that is 98 percent Somali, with only five Christians. It has a mosque and three sheikhs. This group would greatly appreciate prayers from the body of Christ as they continue their work amongst this Muslim people group. Pray for wisdom, courage, safety, and security as God s servants reach out to Somali Muslims. Pray for more laborers in this harvest field. Pray for unity amongst believers on the mission field. Pray for manifestations of God s power, and that He would pierce through the veil of Islam. Pray for the Somali to overcome the fear of denunciation that comes with turning their allegiance to Christ, and for God to strengthen the underground Somali church. Pray for believers in three locations to grow in love and to reach out to their Muslim neighbors. BK 26

8 HORN OF AFRICA EVANGELICAL MISSION 18 (This story summarizes what this organization is doing.) Dawit, a Christian missionary with the Horn of Africa Evangelical Mission was writing a response to a missionary friend in the U.S. You wanted to know more about my work. Although I cannot give you detailed information I can say this. The mission agency I have been serving with for the past 12 years was birthed out of a Perspectives class in 2002 by Dr. Zemede of Ethiopia. Originally the mission was named Horn of Africa Mission and then we founded Horn of Africa Evangelical Mission here in Ethiopia. God gave us the vision of planting thousands of churches to reach out to the unreached people groups (UPGs) in the Horn of Africa Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, but also including Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and other East Africa countries. Since then the mission has been committed to working among 28 plus UPGs in the region. Praise to the Lord, more than 11,000 churches have been planted among those people groups throughout the past 12 years! Currently, the mission is focused on reaching the remaining UPGs in Ethiopia by Join us in praying through Dawit s prayer requests. Acts 3:19-20, NET Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he may send the Messiah appointed for you that is, Jesus. Pray that African missionaries will never forget that repentance is at the core of the gospel. Pray that repentance will be preached far and wide among the unreached peoples. Pray that the unreached Somali people groups both in Ethiopia and Somalia will embrace the gospel. Many are very resistant to outreach. Pray that they will find openness among these unreached people groups: Hammar-Banna, Tsemay, Dasenech, and Karo. Also pray for the church planting movements among the people of Amhara and Agew who reside Ethiopia s northern and northwestern regions. PD 27

9 19 Acts 8:27-28, NET So he got up and went. There he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home, sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah. Pray for prominent people throughout Africa to seek and find the Lord, and share His ways with others. OUTREACH TO MUSLIMS IN ETHIOPIA What will it take to convince Muslims that Jesus is more than a prophet? Muslims often view Jesus as foreign. It doesn t have to be that way! When Jesus is presented to Muslims in a way that they can embrace Him using their own cultural ways, doors often open to the King of kings. Here are excerpts from a prayer letter regarding what is now happening in Ethiopia. We found the group of mostly young men sitting on the floor of a home where they were being discipled in their new faith. Among them were a couple of imams (Muslim religious leaders). Separately a group of women met. In another place there was a group of Muslim clerics. All were receiving training in Jesus Word and ways. They haven t left their culture and become Christians, which would shut the movement down in a heartbeat, and bring on persecution, but they are quietly leading their friends and families to meet their Savior. The groups of new believers are multiplying. Scores of clerics have placed their faith in Jesus, and many will follow. When the movement is large enough to withstand persecution, they plan on going public. We heard testimonies and prayed with them and then left for the eight-hour journey back. It was worth it! Pray for the Holy Spirit to move among these Ethiopian Muslims for many years to come. Pray for these Muslims to put Jesus Christ first, and not allow for spiritual distractions. KC 28

10 ETHIOPIA VISION SUDAN ERITREA Red Sea Addis Ababa ETHIOPIA YEMEN Until unreached is no longer applicable in Ethiopia: This is the motto of Horn of Africa Mission/Evangelical Mission in Ethiopia. There is a laser sharp focus on single countries with a single purpose and a vision to accomplish this goal by There are at least 25 unreached people groups in Ethiopia today, and 198 national churches reaching the unreached 96 mission workers in Ethiopia whom they support, train, and coach. SOMALIA They have witnessed God s faithfulness and power since the inception of Horn of Africa Mission in San Jose, California, USA, out of which Horn of Africa Evangelical Mission in Ethiopia was born in Approximately 300,000 people, many never before reached, are now engaged, have received good news of Jesus Christ, and have hope and a future. Since their work began, they have planted 7,000 fellowships and won 200,000 to Christ. They work among more than 40 people groups in Ethiopia alone. Contact: info@hornofafrica.org. Pray for spiritual openness among the unreached peoples on which this ministry focuses. Pray for unconditionally obedient, Holy Spirit led workers to come beside those already involved in Ethiopia. Pray for more workers to be thrust out to the unreached harvests of Ethiopia. KH Acts 8:29-31, NET Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go over and join this chariot. So Philip ran up to it and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. He asked him, Do you understand what you re reading? The man replied, How in the world can I, unless someone guides me? So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Pray for the Holy Spirit to orchestrate such divine appointments this year for those working for His kingdom in Africa. 29

ONE TO ONE BIBLE STUDY ON A CHARIOT

ONE TO ONE BIBLE STUDY ON A CHARIOT Acts 8:26-40 Key Verses: 8:34-35 The eunuch asked Philip, Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else? Then Philip began with that very