November 2006
Central, Eastern and Southern Africa (CESA) is a
large and diverse part of the world that includes 23 coun¬
tries and 903 people groups. Terrain ranges from rain for¬
ests to barren deserts to modem cities and tropical islands.
Emerging democratic governments, struggling to put civil
war and poverty behind them, ignite hope for a better
tomorrow. Yet, the traditional importance of relationships,
family and tribe often cause tribalism to rival the push for
political unity. Most of the world's religions exist here;
there are Islamic strongholds along the coast, while a large
South Asian population adheres to Hinduism. In most
areas, African traditional religion rules the way people
live their lives through ancestor worship and witch doc¬
tors. Christianity, although present in some growing and
thriving churches, can also be just a veneer as church-
attending people choose not to be born again. Oppor¬
tunities for evangelism and church planting abound - 231
people groups exceeding 100,000 in population are fewer
than 2 percent evangelized, and 10 of these have no evan¬
gelical witness. However, most of these people groups are
in remote and difficult places, behind the walls of Islam or
require missionaries to learn at least two languages to
effectively share Christ. With 70 percent of all HIV
/
AIDS
cases worldwide occurring in the region, there isn't time
to reach all these people. Come join the race against time
to see "Christ ... the hope of glory" indwelling every tribe,
every tongue, and every nation in Central, Eastern and
Southern Africa. Visit our Web site at cesafrica.org.
" But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on
you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth " (Acts 1:8,
NIV).
SERVANT LEADERS IN CESA. Across the region, church
leaders struggle to achieve servant leadership as they
fight against the cultural model of the leader as tribal chief.
Pray against the natural tendency of African leaders to pro¬
tect their position by not passing on what they leam. Pray
for church-planting movements to result from leaders
reproducing and sharing all that God teaches them. Ask
God to impress on the hearts of all Christians the impor¬
tance of living and being a servant leader, (cesafrica.org)
BULGARIA (eastern Europe). Life is difficult for the re¬
tired segment of society in Bulgaria. Their pensions are
small, and prices continue to go up. Many people can't af¬
ford to pay their basic utilities, much less pay for medicine.
As they see illness and death approaching, they experience
tremendous fear and uncertainty. Intercede for believers to
reach out to these people and lead them to Christ. Pray that
they find true peace and assurance in Him so they become
people of joy and hope rather than fear and dread. Ask the
Father to call these lonely, fearful people to repentance for
salvation and true fellowship with Him.
BIHARI MUSLIMS OF BANGLADESH (bee-HAR-ree). A
survey asked 600 Christian believers from Muslim back¬
grounds worldwide how they came to faith. The results
show the No. 1 reason is they had dreams or visions in
which Jesus appeared to them. In the Bible, dreams and
visions were two ways through which God chose to share
His message for mankind. In our time, dreams and visions
have become a major means by which God begins to call
Muslims into His kingdom. Please pray that Bihari men and
women who have such dreams and visions will search after
Christian believers who can help them understand how to
receive Jesus and follow Him.
ANGOLA (southwestern Africa). Pray for important and
strategic Pioneer Evangelism training taking place Dec. 5-
10 in Angola among 2,000 nationals in 10 different locations
across the country. Pray that those trained would use this to
reach their family, friends, neighbors and nation for Christ.
Pray also regarding the logistics and safety of volunteers
from Tennessee as they travel and participate in this train¬
ing. Ask God to use this training to multiply believers and
churches across the country of Angola, (cesafrica.org)
CIRCASSIANS OF CENTRAL ASIA (sir-KAY-shuns). At a
university, the dean was having a meeting with her staff
and called local workers to join the meeting: "It ended up
being an incredible introduction to the English teachers!
They even invited us to get together and discuss lesson
plans. We were thrilled. Please ask that relationslrips can be
formed with colleagues."
PANAMA (Central America). For months, members of the
Ministry of Prayer and Evangelism /Reconciliation (MOER)
team have witnessed and ministered in the Maranon com¬
plex that houses some 460 families in eight buildings near
Panama Bay, Panama City. The MOER team has persisted in
prayer for a place to gather believers for Bible study and
worship and for a children's Saturday or Sunday School. As
many as 75 children have attended Z's Bible class, seated on
her small living room floor. But, since residents are reluctant
