Dear Friends
Thank you for your prayerful support of the work of Langham Preaching around the world. There is so much for which to be thankful as God does his work among us and through us. Here is one example from Paul Windsor, our Programme Director, based in Auckland, New Zealand.
I am writing from the farm where my daughter and her family live. Her husband has been a dairy farmer, while she is almost finished with her training to be a consultant in Obstetrics & Gynecology. It is an interesting mix of vocations. He needs to be in a rural area while she, ideally, needs to be in an urban area, close to a hospital—and not too far from mothers going into labour! A few years ago I gave them a verse that seemed appropriate—and now I see it in a frame on a shelf in the room where we are staying:
But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture (Mal 4.2).
Can you hear the interests of both the doctor and the dairy farmer in that verse, a verse so full of hope and joy and freedom? This week it has caused me to stop and give thanks for the wide diversity of vocations into which God calls his people, each of them part of his mission in the world. Let’s be thankful, too, for the gracious privilege we have as preachers of the word of God to serve them by feeding them and helping equip them for that mission.
Please pray for the work in various places around the world…
Peru: A Level One seminar finishes today in Arequipa. About 100 participants were expected, with Alex Chiang and Efraín Medina as the facilitators. Please pray for strong outcomes, especially for a determination to make this the start of a lifelong learning experience.
Togo: Running through this week, at the Wycliffe Guest House in Lome, is another Level One seminar. Armand Dzadu and Rosine Agrippa are the facilitators and about 40 participants are expected. Please pray that they return to their ushirikas, or preaching clubs, with a renewed commitment to grow in their preaching ministries.
Philippines: The week is also filled with a Level One seminar in Manila for 20-25 Campus Crusade (CRU) missionaries gathering from across the country. They have the potential to be trainers of others and so the hope is that this might be the first step towards a partnership with CRU. Please pray for the facilitators as they seek to make the most of this opportunity: Abby Galzote, Let Malaluan, Rico Casilag, Rene Futalan, Ronnel DeLima and Iljo de Keijzer.
Colombia: From Tuesday until Thursday, a Level Two seminar takes place in Valledupar, with Mercedes Quintero and David Parra as the faciltators. They are expecting 90 people from the nine escuelitas in the region. We are asked to pray for a variety of needs—permission from employers to participate, financial provision and protection for participants and wisdom for leaders as the work moves forward.
Liberia: An Ushirika Coordinator training seminar takes place in Buchanan on Thursday and Friday, with Samuel Moses, Jeremiah Zweh and Matthew Gonkerwon as the facilitators. Matthew asks us to pray that ‘participants will fully grasp the whole idea of leading a preaching club and commit to helping others.’
Nigeria: About 60 participants are expected for a Level One seminar happening from Thursday until Sunday in Port Harcourt. Most of the people come from Pentecostal churches and we are asked to pray that ‘God deepens their convictions about Bible exposition … and that they catch the vision to start ushirikas in their churches’. Pray also for wisdom and grace for the facilitators: Dominic Lawrence, Samson Nitonye, Femi Oyekan, Godswill Chinemerem, and Hankuri Tawus Gaya.
Costa Rica: Level One and Three seminars take place from Friday until Monday in San Jose. The Costa Rica team, led by Edner Porras, will facilitate the training for 55 participants. We are asked to pray ‘for the protection of all individuals attending the training and for the financial needs associated with the event.’
Zimbabwe: The third stage of the monthly training—with 44 participants spread across Level One, Two and Three—takes place on Saturday in Harare. Keep the facilitators in your prayers—Arnold Marunda, Omega Ndekha, Clarkson Chidemoro, Verengerai Mavesere, John Bell and Gary Cross—and give thanks to God for the consistent attendance that has marked the training so far this year.
Thank-you for your faithfulness in this ministry of prayer.
The Langham Preaching Team