Weekly Prayer Focus: village "ND"

Please be in prayer for the village of "ND" this week. This is a village where we have recently begun working in. It was only a few months ago, in September, that we had first ever stepped foot into this village. A group from Mt Olive Baptist Church in Knoxville was here to assist us in finding villages on a road that had little to no work being done among them.

On the first day of sharing Christ in this village with that team, 3 men immediately accepted Christ & were baptized. When we followed up a few days later, 3 more accepted Christ. And the numbers have continued to grow with those who are choosing to leave behind their false religion & trust in Christ as their one & only Savior.

For many Songhai, this break from not only their religion but also their community is a high price & many are not willing to pay it. For those that do believe in Christ, it is always a pull to return to their former life, especially when persecution arises. But, for a few, no matter the amount of persecution or temptation to return to "normal," they choose to pay the price knowing that a greater reward awaits them.

This is the case in "ND." While a dozen or so have professed faith in Christ, a handful of them are truly paying the price & making radical changes in their lives to show others that they follow the True God. Only Christ can take a man who grew up in an Islamic school, was taught to chant verses all day long, & memorize the Koran & bring him out of darkness into Light. Only Christ can cause that man to stand against persecution & make bold statements to religious leaders who persecute him so that all may know what he now believes is the Truth. Only Christ can uphold this man as he & a few others stand alone in a sea of people who bow down to a false god. These are your modern day Daniels.

Praise the Father that these men have chosen to trust in Him & follow Him at all costs. Praise the Father that He still saves & is faithful. Praise Him that He is bringing Songhai men from darkness to Light.

Pray for these young believers. Pray that they would continue to stand strong against the wave of unbelief that surrounds them. Pray that they would grow in their faith & knowledge of Him. Pray that they would be bold as they share the hope they have in Christ with others. Pray that many, many more would step away from the "crowd" & choose to follow Christ. Pray for protection of their minds as they are persecuted & pray for strength when unbelief, doubt or temptation creeps in.