June 2000
Most of the time we ask with stereotyped expecta¬
tions and most of the time God answers in unique
and challenging ways.
When this happens, the fruit of the answer is deter¬
mined by how tuned our ears are to His voice and how
ready our hearts are to respond.
Anne Merricks started her Friday by taking up her
Global PmyerGram to pray. As she did, God reminded
her that she was not only to pray for the peoples of the
world but that she was to minister to them that they
might be drawn closer to Him. As she said, "Oh, yes,
Lord," He reminded her that the foreign exchange stu¬
dent coming home from college that afternoon with her
daughter would be her next opportunity.
Soon after the young Kenyan arrived, she asked a
question that opened the door to talk about God. Anne
went through that door in love, and the young woman
shared a beautiful testimony of God's saving grace in
her life. She was richly blessed by God's goodness in
bringing her into a home where she could be encour¬
aged, and Anne was blessed by obeying God and thus
seeing Him have His way. But God wasn't finished.
On Saturday morning, Anne again took up her
Global PrayerGram to pray and was astonished to find
that that day's prayer need was from Kenya! She
showed it to her Kenyan guest, and with excitement,
they united their hearts for this people who were far
away but through prayer were now closer to God.
Joining you in praying and obeying,
Randy Sprinkle, Director
International Prayer Strategy Office
Lord, at least 10 people so we can do some hands-on work
in groups.' When I returned, I took a quick head count —
the 10 1 asked for plus one more! The next day we had 14
participating. We began with the basics: Bible books, divi¬
sions of the Bible books, sword drills. Then we moved on
to steps in studying a passage, how to use the reference
notes in the Bible, use of Bible concordances, then finished
up with a study of some of the teachings of Jesus and the
preparation of simple devotionals." Your prayer support is
greatly appreciated!
UNITED KINGDOM (northwest Europe).
Baptist representatives ministering in an area that is
home to many different nationalities request prayer as they
battle against the stronghold of a major world religion.
Throughout the area where the team ministers, religious
activist groups are circulating propaganda that derides
Christianity. Pray that the team's response will be Christ-
like and that the people groups with whom they work will
not be subjected to any further deception.
BEDOUIN OF NORTHERN AFRICA (BEH-
doo-in). In a small Bedouin village, there lives a reli¬
gious leader who will be called "Shane." He is a devout
seeker of a different religion. In the last few months, Shane
has met and become friends with a worker. The two men
have shared with each other their religious beliefs and con¬
victions. Shane was very open to hearing about Jesus and
asked if he could have a copy of the Bible. The worker gave
him a Bible and another book about the teachings of Jesus.
Shane telephoned the worker this week to thank him for the
books, and he said that he has begun reading the Bible.
Praise God! Because of his religious status in the Bedouin
community, Shane could greatly influence the other Bedouin
by sharing with them about the message of Jesus. Pray that
Shane will diligently continue to study God's Word.
QUECHUA OF SOUTH BOLIVIA (KEH-
choo-ah). Missionaries Toby and Cindy Hoover
report that their "How to Use your Bible" workshop in
February with rural veterinarian technicians went well.
They were concerned on the first day that several might
not attend because of village meetings and flooded roads.
As Cindy put it: "I had visions of all that planning and no
one to teach — 'Oh, me of little faith.' As I drove into San
Julian to buy food for that day's meals, I did some serious
praying, confirming that we were following God's leader¬
ship and relinquishing control of the whole thing to Him.
However, I admit that I added a P.S. to my prayers, 'Please,
4 JAPAN (eastern Asia). Please pray for the Mis¬
sion Possible Team as they seek to reach out to the lost
in the Tokyo/Yokohama area this summer through special
seminars on topics of interest to the Japanese people living
in the cities. The seminars themselves are spiritually low-
key and are designed to attract large crowds of people in¬
terested in topics such as preparation for marriage, marriage
enrichment, child development, child training and Biblical
values in a changing society. At the completion of each semi¬
nar, a team member will extend a further invitation to any¬
one interested in attending a small-group study, which will
introduce what the Bible has to say about the seminar topic.
