This week we're praying for Bay Area - that God would use us to reach the nations, and that He would give us a heart for people all around the world to know about Jesus. Did you know that Bay Area has a vision to be in seventeen regions of the world? We're currently in 11 and praying for future relationships in the other six regions.

Joseph and Esther live in India with their four young children. They are the only Christians in their neighborhood and Joseph serves as the director of ICBM, helping plant churches among tribes where people might not even have heard the name Jesus before.

• Pray for Joseph and Esther to find community with other Christians in their area.
• Pray for ICBM to reach new tribes with the gospel
• Pray for more pastors to be trained to go out and share the gospel
• Pray for funds to build church buildings where people can gather
• Pray for protection against spiritual warfare and persecution

The Wade Center in Bluefield, WV serves low-income families to help meet physical, spiritual, intellectual and spiritual needs of elementary- and middle-school-aged children through summer and after-school programs.

• Pray for healthy spiritual leaders who will disciple the children in the program.
• Pray for unity among the board, staff, volunteers, parents and children.
• Pray for local churches to partner with the Wade Center.
• Pray for funding to improve the building and re-start the middle school after-school program.
• Pray for the staff and volunteers to stay rooted in the gospel and grounded in love as they serve.

Gideon and Joy Banda  serve unreached people groups in and around Mombasa, Kenya through Gideon's role with East-West Ministries. They are discipling leaders, sharing the gospel, and helping plant churches all around Mombasa. - Pray for their family, including their three sons ages 5, 6 and 9.

• Pray for Gideon's transition into his role as Kenya country director for East-West Ministries.
• Pray for the people groups they are serving, including those who are unreached (meaning that less than 2% of their population is Christian, and many might have never even heard of Jesus or the gospel)
• Pray for the pastors and leaders being discipled through their ministry - Pray for Bay Area as we discern a potential partnership in Kenya
• Pray for the gospel to go forward in Kenya through people like Gideon and Joy!

Korie and Alicia live in Belmopan, Belize and serve with Hearts of Christ Children’s Ministry sharing the good news of Jesus with local students and families. They provide scholarships for education and healthy meals, as well as serving families through construction projects, youth ministry and other outreach and discipleship opportunities.

• Pray for God’s continued grace and protection
• Pray for the government officials’ decision-making regarding COVID restrictions and that God’s will be done
• Pray for the church leaders of the churches in Belize to lead in the fear of the Lord
• Pray for the children of Hearts of Christ Children’s Ministry and for God’s provision for the sponsorship program
• Pray for wisdom for Korie & Alicia

Derek Koomson serves as the General Director of Scripture Union (SU) Ghana, which has a presence in over 80% of high schools in Ghana, our partner in West Africa. SU exists to disciple and develop student leaders to build a strong foundation of Jesus-centered leaders who will one day lead businesses, churches, government and more. They have a strong foundation of discipleship, evangelism, prayer and Scripture reading.

• Pray for SU to be able to purchase land to build their own camp facility. They currently use school facilities which are very difficult to schedule due to recent changes in secondary education.
• Pray for Derek and his family as he steps into his new role as General Director.
• Pray for students to have a passion to share the gospel with their friends.
• Pray for the SU staff and volunteers who are reaching out to Muslim students.
• Pray that students would grow a real love for Jesus and a strong faith that they live out in everyday life.

Bay Area partners with three families in Southeast Asia - C&S, S&H and B&B. Each family serves in a closed country, building relationships with Muslims in many ways so that they can share and show their friends the good news about Jesus. As they get to know their Muslim friends, they pray for them often and find hearts are softened to hear the good news. You won't see us use their full names to ensure that they continue to be able to serve their neighbors in Southeast Asia - but God knows who we are praying for as we pray for them!

Pray for C&S, who are discipling youth and supporting newly-arrived missionaries:

• Pray they are effective in making an impact on the youth.
• Pray they gain wisdom in leading new staff in language learning and cultural understanding, so they can be effective for the gospel.
• Pray they are effective in mentoring and counseling leaders as they help them lead in a gracious and encouraging way.
• Pray the Lord brings people who are ready to hear the gospel and that the Lord guides C&S what to share.

Pray for S&H, who are building relationships with people from many Arab countries:

• Pray that God sends Arabs who are ready to hear the gospel and that S&H develop special relationships of trust with them. Pray the Arabs have dreams about Jesus, which are important in their culture and that God often uses to bring them to faith! Pray they come to faith in Jesus.
• Pray for S&H’s children some of whom are in the US at college and some are with S&H in Southeast Asia. As children navigating two cultures, it can be more challenging but rewarding to grow up in this environment.
• Pray for S&H. The most important thing is that they abide in Christ and out of that, God leads them and guides them as they love others.
• Pray for the teachers they work with and the challenges they face in living in a different culture.

Pray for B&B, who are working to facilitate disciple-making movements and serve families of children with disabilities:

• Pray the Lord provides enough mentors/disciplers to disciple the new believers. Pray the new believers bring many to Christ.
• Pray the disciple-making movement continues with people growing in their walk with the Lord, in evangelism and in character.
• Pray more and more Muslims have an opportunity to hear the gospel and come to faith.
• Pray that Muslim background believers that are coming to faith now are protected from family members or others who would want to cause them to recant their faith in Jesus.
• Pray that the character mentoring would grow so that Christians in this country can walk in deep relationship with the Lord and be a positive witness to the Muslims around them.

The Todd family are Americans serving in Tyre, Lebanon by sharing the gospel in word and deed with Syrian refugees. Chris and Kim work alongside other missionaries as well as Muslim-background believers to provide education for children and women, pre- and post-natal care, Arabic literacy, Bible stories, discipleship, trauma counseling, and above all, the good news about Jesus.

• Pray for Chris, Kim and their family as tensions rise with nightly demonstrations and riots outside their home and throughout the city 
• Pray for food for those living in Lebanon since the grocery stores are empty
• Pray for the Syrian families living in the refugee camps that they will come to know Christ as a result of their forced migration
• Pray that God would be glorified in the new Christ-centered war trauma therapy ministry in the refugee camps. All the Syrian refugees have war trauma.
• Pray for the young girls in the camps who are responsible for many small children while their mothers go to work daily in the fields

In South Sudan, our partner Pastor Stephen Mathiang is strategically working for peace amidst upheaval. Stephen runs the Mission Gardens of Christ in Bor, South Sudan where he brings children together from several area tribes to provide education and help them learn to work together. He also leads Shalom Chapel church, shares the gospel in the surrounding area, trains pastors and has a vision and a heart for unity, education, training and job training throughout South Sudan.
 

• Pray that the Lord will make MGC actively involved in the execution of the Great Commission. 
• Pray for durable peace in South Sudan in general and Jonglei State in particular.
• Pray that those MGC serves will be empowered to stand up for themselves and others.
• Pray for the people of South Sudan to come to know Jesus.
• Pray for health of all those connected to MGC.
• Pray for the financial provision of the MGC Phase 2 activities in Juba, the capital city.
• Pray for Pastor Stephen, his wife Elizabeth, and their adult children.

Sergey and Yulia live in Moscow, where Sergey serves as the president of Moscow Evangelical Christian Seminary. Through the seminary, Sergey trains church planters and pastors to share the gospel throughout Russia and central Asia. Each year, Bay Area sponsors several students as well as continuing our long-standing partnership with Sergey as he serves in a challenging environment.

• Pray that the training that occurs is life-giving and helpful in preparing church workers to be effective in their churches back home
• Pray for protection for the seminary from the enemy who would want this work destroyed
• Pray for the teachers and leaders of the seminary and their families that they would thrive in their relationships with God and family life
• Pray God gives the leaders wisdom as they disciple those they train and facilitate growth
• Pray the government continues to honor their license as a seminary
• Pray for Sergey, Yulia and their family through the challenges of ministry in Russia

Tomek and Damaris Otremba are church planters reaching Poland with the gospel. They are currently leading Holy Trinity Church in Cieszyn, Poland and raising up leaders there. Tomek is a passionate, apostolic leader and Damaris is a compassionate artist using her creative skill to share the gospel in unique ways. -

• Pray for Tomek and Damaris that God gives them wisdom in mentoring leaders to make strong churches that advance the kingdom. 
• Pray for the churches that they are involved in that God would bless them and protect them from the enemy.
• Pray for the evangelistic efforts of Tomek, Damaris, and the members of these churches that God would bring people ready to hear about him and that the Holy Spirit would prepare their hearts beforehand. Especially during this pandemic, more people are taking stock of their lives and wondering if there is more to life.
• Pray Damaris’ paintings inspire and communicate the truths of the gospel. - Pray for their son Kristian and his new wife Ewa as they start married life together! 

Robert and Ela Boryczka lead a mission school focused on sending out Poles as cross-cultural missionaries in Eastern Europe and beyond. Additionally, their daughter Patrycja serves cross-culturally with World Venture as a missionary in Japan.

• Pray that God brings people to the missions school ready to be a light to the nations. 
• Pray that students are well equipped, learn to recognize God’s voice and act on what they hear from Him as they serve.
• Pray for the church plant that many more come to faith and that there is a revival in that city through them.
• Pray that as students are discipled, their faith becomes more alive and they are used by God wherever they are.
• Pray for Robert and Ela’s daughter Patrycja as she serves in Japan as a cross-cultural missionary.