December 1997
i i I V That are you going to ask for this Christmas?” A source
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V of joy for me each December is the rising number of
Christmas pageants, parties and cantatas that give your mission¬
aries opportunity to share the great news of God’s love with large
numbers of people who are usually closed to the gospel through¬
out the rest of the year. Juxtaposed to that is my discovery that,
beginning before Thanksgiving, prayer begins to decline and
doesn’t bounce back until after New Year’s. At the very time that
opportunities and openness are increasing, prayer is decreasing.
During fall 1996, 1 led a prayer team into a Muslim country.
Standing outside the state assembly building, some of the inter¬
cessors were led to pray that praises would be sung to Jesus there.
On Christmas Eve, 800 people gathered in that same government
building to hear a Christmas program presented by children of a
new church. Afterwards 70 people indicated interest in knowing
more about Jesus.
As you pray day by day through this Global PrayerGram,
would you particularly remember to intercede for these wonder¬
ful once-a-year opportunities? You will not find them listed here
because we always receive the dates after our “to the printer”
deadline, but please know that they are happening. God will
faithfully answer and draw people to the events and through
them to Christ as we are faithful to ask.
So we know what to ask for this Christmas, don’t we?
Asking, with gratefulness,
Randy Sprinkle, Director
International Prayer Strategy Office
1 COLOMBIA (northwestern South America). Missionaries
Brian and Ronda Massey ask you to pray as they start a new
church in the Crespo neighborhood of Cartagena with the help of
Central Baptist Church. Pray for them as they prepare a Christmas
cantata to use as an evangelistic tool in starting this new work.
ISRAEL (east of Mediterranean Sea). In May we asked
you to pray for the camping season in Israel. Give thanks to the
Lord that 44 young people from Arab, Jewish and expatriate fam¬
ilies made decisions to follow Jesus during the eight camps held
at Baptist Village, a camp and conference center! Pray now for
their spiritual growth.
2KHALKA MONGOL. Pray for a small community of be¬
lievers among this unreached people group. Pray that they
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_ would add many new believers.
SPAIN (southwestern Europe). Pray as Baptist representa¬
tives Joe and Chari Vasquez minister to Germans on the island of
Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. There is a large German popula¬
tion here. Many are open to the gospel. Wolfgang, a new believer,
told Joe and Chari that he wants work among the German young
people who come to the sport center of “La Santa.” Athletes train
there for world championships and Olympic games. Joe and Chari
write: “What a wonderful door God is opening in our ministry!
We have not even thought of this ministry, but God is at work.”
3 CAMBODIA (southeast Asia). Before 1975, there were
20,000 teachers in Cambodia. By the end of Pol Pot’s re¬
gime in 1979, there were only 5,000 left. Presently, more than
70,000 teachers are being trained. Pray that during their time of
training, these influential leaders will meet Jesus, the Master
Teacher, in a life-changing experience. Pray that as they finish
their training and go out to teach in schools across the country,
they will take with them the gospel and a commitment to “make
disciples of all men.”
GAZA/WEST BANK (on east and west borders of Israel).
Pray that as workers go about daily living, they will have a calmer
week, patience and an extra measure of strength and safety.
4 PORTUGAL (southwestern Europe). Baptist representa¬
tives Craig and Jana Wright report that a mime group from
Holland was well received in Chaves. As a result, 1 7 men, wom¬
en and children said that they wanted to receive Christ as Lord
and Savior; nine more said they would like a personal visit and
more information. Praise the Lord for Cesar, 28 years old physi¬
cally and 1 hour old in Christ, when he said, “You know, one will
tell another who will tell another, and before long we’ll have a
church!” Pray for Craig and Jana as they follow up on these deci¬
sions and as Craig begins to disciple Cesar.
5 SOUTH AFRICA (southern Africa). Pray for the opening
of doors to work among the Swazi people in the Nelspruit
and Badplaas areas of South Africa.
BOLIVIA (west central South America). Among the
approximately 20,000 Guarani here, there are only a handful of
churches and congregations. Ask God to protect, expand and
deepen the current work among this people group. Erwin is the
only Guarani studying at the Baptist seminary in Santa Cruz. Pray
that he will return to his people to work after his seminary train¬
ing. Ask the Lord to provide for the gospel to be shared among
this people who have never heard the good news.
6 CZECH REPUBLIC (eastern Europe). Baptist represent¬
atives Mark and Vesta Sauter, who serve in Prague, are study¬
ing two languages: Czech and Czech sign language. They are en¬
rolled in two full courses of study. Pray for them to have strength
and endurance and to make progress!
ST. VINCENT (eastern Caribbean Sea). Continue pray¬
ing with thanksgiving for the beginning of a new work on Union