PRAYeR in action

March —June 2013

MARCH — a focus on healing nations

PLEASE PRAY:

• Give thanks that sisters-in-law Chantel and Petronille have been reconciled through their Bible listening group, and that God’s message of forgiveness spoke powerfully into their lives (WIA p6).

• Pray for the expansion of the Faith Comes By Hearing programme across Rwanda, which will engage many more people in regular Bible-listening.

Putting the Bible to work in Rwanda

We’ve seen so many lives touched by God’s message in Scripture, and how it can help restore families, communities and even whole nations.

In Rwanda, a country torn apart by genocide in 1994, we are working to bring healing and reconciliation to individuals and communities. More strategically, we’re working to develop future leaders founded on the Bible, so the terrible killings will never be repeated.

Emmanuel Kayijuka, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Rwanda, and his team are committed to this work – and they need your prayers.

Front cover photo: Bible Society/Clare Kendall

photo: Bible Society/O

livia Styles

3—9 MARCH

24—30 MARCH

PLEASE PRAY:

• For the vision for Rwanda to become ‘a nation based on the Bible’. Pray for the ambitious project to provide Bible training to high-flying students who are expected to become the politicians and civic leaders of the future.

• That the right people would be selected for training, and for diligence and understanding as they unpack Bible teaching on governance, justice and reconciliation.

• For the military-political relationships with neighbouring countries. Pray for wisdom, understanding and co-operation to work together for justice.

10—16 MARCH

PLEASE PRAY:

• Give thanks that 15,000 students have received Bibles as part of a national distribution project. Pray that the stories of Scripture would come alive for them.

• For more funding to allow the wider distribution of Scriptures in Rwanda, as Bible Society seeks to reach out to refugees returning to the country.

• For those who suffered trauma during the genocide, that they would experience the healing power of God’s love through reading the Bible.

17—23 MARCH

PLEASE PRAY:

• For Emmanuel, (WIA p15), as he directs the work with wisdom and faithfulness.

• For the rest of the Bible Society team in Rwanda. Pray for safety as they travel, and for inspiration and energy in their work.

• For unity among the churches and their partnership in working with Bible Society of Rwanda to promote the Bible and help people to encounter God through the Scriptures.

Photos both: Bible Society/Olivia Styles

Roger Sengogaa, a student on the Bible leadership programme

Literacy and distribution going hand in hand

APRIl — a focus on Bible engagement

7—13 APRIl

PLEASE PRAY:

• That many volunteers and Action Groups in the UK would use our Cambodia fundraising pack, and that it would open people’s eyes to the longing for Scripture among Cambodian Christians.

• OurAprilappealwillfocusonCambodia.Prayforitssuccess:wehopeitwillraisemoneytoexpandBibledistributionandliteracyprojects.

Across the world, time and again, we see how important it is to help people learn to read. It’s important because it allows them to read the Bible we’ve just put in their hands. It’s important because it gives access to God’s word. But it also changes communities. People become more confident, more supportive of education. Marginalised people are able to defend their rights. They get better at trading their harvest for a fair price.

In Mechrey, Cambodia (WIA p8), all this is true – and across the country we’re helping to lift people out of poverty by running literacy classes alongside our Bible distribution programme.

31 MARCH —6 APRIl

PLEASE PRAY:

• Give thanks that Christians in the floating village of Mechrey (WIA p8) have received Bibles and are attending literacy classes. Pray that lives would be transformed as people come to know God more fully through the Bible.

• For La Heng, (pictured on cover)who leads the literacy class in the village. Pray for patience and wisdom as she teaches and supports her students.

• For Sarout who recently received her Bible. Pray that as she learns to read and write she will come to a deeper understanding of God’s love through reading the Scriptures for herself. Photo: Bible Society/

Clare Kendall

14—20 APRIl

APRIl — a focus on Bible engagement

PLEASE PRAY:

• For the expansion of the distribution and literacy programmes in Cambodia. Pray for the floating village near Mechrey, that Bible distribution and a literacy programme will be able to take place their too.

• Pray that Christians in Cambodia will be able to understand the Bible more clearly through the 15-minute daily radio broadcast which includes a passage of Scripture.

21—27 APRIl

28 APRIl—4 MAY

PLEASE PRAY:

• For Arun Sok Nhep who leads Bible Society’s work in Cambodia. Pray for guidance as he helps to develop a growing team of Bible Society workers, many of whom are under the age of 30.

• For wisdom as Arun makes difficult decisions about where to direct support and financial resources.

• For the staff team at Bible Society in Cambodia. Pray for protection as they travel, and for sensitivity as they work.

• Give thanks that so many Bible Societies see the importance of teaching literacy skills alongside Bible translation and distribution.

PLEASE PRAY:

• That those who receive Bibles will be helped to read, understand and engage with the Bible.

• That new Christians will develop a love for the Bible and a perseverence to to use it in their personal spiritual growth.

• That Scriptures distributed will bring change not only to the person or family who receive them, but to their community.

Photo: Bible Society/Clare Kendall

Arun Sok Nhep leads Bible Society’s work in Cambodia

Overcoming fear

MAY — a focus on the good Samaritan project

Good Samaritan is a Bible Society project which uses Scripture to address the significant health and social issue of HIV/AIDS.

The programme instils compassion, care and mutual support in communities fractured by fear and ignorance of the virus. It teaches basic facts, blows away the myths and shows God’s love to those living with HIV. And through it, we’re seeing lives completely turned around and communities transformed.

Already, the Good Samaritan programme is running in 14 African nations. But with 23 million people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa, there’s a huge need to meet – and your prayers are vital.

12—18 MAY

5—11 MAY

PLEASE PRAY:

• Give thanks that the Good Samaritan programme has been so successful across Africa. Give thanks that, through just one parable applied to real issues people face, the Bible is coming alive for communities.

• That more communities will be transformed by the Bible and moved by compassion to care for the sick and love the poor.

• For the expansion of the project, both within countries where it already runs and wider to more areas of Africa. Pray for the funding to make this possible.

PLEASE PRAY:

• For Cecilia and her future as she works towards becoming a seamstress. Pray that she will trust that her future is in God’s hands. (WIA p5).

• For Cecilia, as she volunteers to help other people in her village with HIV/AIDS. Pray for her health and for her ministry with other sufferers of the illness.

• For those suffering with HIV/AIDS. Pray that they would come to know a deep understanding of God’s care and concern for them. Help them to know that they are loved and cherished in God’s sight.

Cecilia Mwangatua

Photo: Bible Society/Clare Kendall

30 JulY — 5 AuguSt

19—25 MAY 26 MAY—1 June

PLEASE PRAY:

• For Hilda Ntiya, in Malawi (WIA p4), for energy and wisdom as she cares for 111 AIDS orphans and elderly people whose families have died in Kasarika.

• 365,000 people across Malawi have heard the Good Samaritan message over the last three years. Pray that each one would be changed and restored by God’s love through the programme.

PLEASE PRAY:

• She’s My Sister is another of our African projects, which brings Bible-based trauma healing to people touched by war or violence. Pray that many people would be restored through this programme.

• For abused women and child-soldiers already benefiting from She’s My Sister. Pray they would be reached and touched by God’s love in unmistakable ways.

photo: Bible Society/Clare Kendall

Role play, group discussion and readings are used as part of the Good Samaritan programme to help bring the Bible’s message of compassion, care and God’s love

Bible Society Stonehill Green, Westlea, Swindon SN5 7DG T: 01793 418222 F: 01793 418118 PBPM1389Donation Hotline: 08459 272120 biblesociety.org.uk Charity Registration No 232759 Patron: Her Majesty The Queen

Your prayers changing lives

23 - 29 June

June — a focus on refugees

PLEASE PRAY:

• For Bible Society of Austria’s mission, that it will continue to ensure every refugee entering Austria will have the opportunity to receive a copy of the Bible.

• Ask God to be with those who are living with uncertainty and possible deportation.

Your gifts and prayers in 2012 made all the difference when we launched an emergency appeal to help Syrian refugees in Jordan.

The response was overwhelming, and as a result hundreds of families have been helped with food, blankets and spiritual support.

One refugee, Faraj, asked us to pass on this message to you: ‘I thank you, and I thank God for you. You help many – not just me, but many Syrians.’

Please continue to pray for peace and justice in Syria, and for refugees like Faraj.

PLEASE PRAY:

• 60,000 migrant workers in the Gulf were given Scripture booklets recently. Pray that, away from their homes and families, these workers would find security in God’s love for them.

• For those coming to faith. Pray that their faith will grow stronger, and that they would share it with others.

9—15 June

16—22 June

PLEASE PRAY:

• For the Bible Society team in Jordan. They feel their actions are a drop in the ocean, as hundreds more refugees come over the border every day. Ask that God will be their ‘ever present need in times of trouble’.

• For opportunities for the team to talk about their faith with the refugees, as they offer words of comfort and hope from Scripture.

Faraj’s daughter

PLEASE PRAY:

• Give thanks that Faraj and his family are being supported, thanks to people like you (WIA p12). Thank God that Faraj ‘knows Jesus more’ as a result of the help he’s received.

• For the family’s future; for safety, protection and continued provision. Pray especially for the children, who have received Bible story books and read them avidly!

2—8 June