November 1997
I write these words to you on the eve of leaving for an ex¬
tensive trip across The Last Frontier of the
10/40
Window. With me will be three seminary professors
who teach and train many of our new missionaries. Our primary
purpose in going is to be used as strategic onsite intercessors in
countries where serving Christ is dangerous.
In one sense my mind is focused on not forgetting anything
that I need to do to be ready. In another sense, though, it is cen¬
tered on a Laotian evangelist who is being held under house ar¬
rest, a young congregation among an unreached people group
who are under intense pressure and believers in an Islamic nation
who are risking their lives to follow Jesus.
In September we observed an International Day of Prayer
for the Persecuted Church. This began a 50-day period of prayer
for our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters who live in places
far more restrictive than America. Now, this month on the 16th,
we come to the end of this period with another day of prayer.
The organizers of this interdenominational effort tell me that it
appears that people in 50,000 churches will be uniting in prayer.
Tomorrow I go to The Last Frontier. I ask you to do the
same this month . . .
By prayer,
Randy Sprinkle, Director
International Prayer Strategy Office
1 CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE. Give thanks to
the Lord that your International Mission Board was able to
help in the serious flooding in Poland, eastern Germany, Czech
Republic and Slovakia through humanitarian aid efforts. Pray for
those whose homes or churches were damaged or destroyed by
the floodwaters, as well as for the families of the 48 people in the
Czech Republic who died in the floods.
MALI (western Africa). Pray for our missionaries in Mali
as they move toward forming people group teams in January 1998.
Pray for the Lord’s leading in their understanding of what all this
will mean as a way of reaching the Malian people for Christ.
PORTUGAL (southwestern Europe). Baptist representa¬
tives Michael and Donna Weirich request prayer for a pris¬
oner named Carlos who has recently made a profession of faith.
His wife and three children live in the Weiriches’ village on the
Azores. Michael and Donna have been to see them and are pray¬
ing for more opportunities to visit and share Christ.
LAOS (south of China and Vietnam). More than 1 17 dif¬
ferent ethnic-linguistic groups of southeast Asia make Laos their
home. Of this diverse group of approximately 5.5 million people,
less than 1 percent are known Christians. Ask the Lord to call out
laborers to work among the people groups of Laos and faithfully
sow the seed of the good news.
UKRAINE (southeast Europe, north of Black Sea). Bap¬
tist representative Gwyn Page began an English class in her
apartment in Kiev, using the Gospel of Mark as the text. Give
thanks to God that 19 students are attending regularly. Pray that
many will be open to the gospel message as they study, that they
will want to continue their English study after their vacation and
that they will hunger for the Word.
COTE D’IVOIRE (western Africa). Pray for missionary
Doug Simrell who commutes to Gagnoa to teach Theological
Education by Extension (TEE). Please pray for the TEE program
and the students coming to Gagnoa to take the courses.
MOZAMBIQUE (southern Africa). Missionary Tim
Cearley is using the “storying” (chronological Bible telling)
method to help people understand God’s plan of salvation. His
wife, Charlotte, writes: “People here want to believe in God, but
it is very hard for them to recognize that He is all they need. By
beginning with the Old Testament, telling the stories of sacrifice,
the failures of the children of Israel, etc., people begin to under¬
stand. At Chief Gnome’s village, adults have been faithfully lis¬
tening for almost a year. Tim ‘storied’ Jesus’ death and explained
about repentance. One of the oldest men in the village said, ‘That’s
why we are all here. That’s what we all want to do.’ Pray that
God will deepen His message in their hearts in the days to come.”
5 SPAIN (southwestern Europe). Baptist representatives
Jerry and Gini Cadenhead asked you to pray for the seminar,
“Breaking the Chains of Addiction,” that they were leading in the
local prison in Caceres. At this eight-hour workshop, six people
prayed to accept Christ as Savior (Daniel, Tomas, Antonio,
Alfonso, Jacob and Vicente), and several others made a new
commitment to Christ! Please pray for these to grow into strong
Christians. Some time later, four more inmates prayed to accept
the Lord and one renewed a commitment after many years!
Please also pray that these would grow strong in their new faith
and be a witness to inmates around them.
6 CROATIA (eastern Europe). Baptist representatives Bill
and Debbie Steele, who are presently serving in Split,
Croatia, are moving to Sarajevo, Bosnia, to serve as the ministry
coordinator for the Southern Baptist effort in that country. Please
pray that God will provide them with a suitable house needed for
ministry and that He will anoint them in a special way to coordi¬
nate the work in Bosnia.
INDIA (south Asia). Bangalore Baptist Hospital is approach¬
ing the 25th anniversary of its dedication. Pray for the spiritual
