Desert locusts are once again causing catastrophic crop loss, this time in East Africa and Pakistan. See below. Image via Mission Network News.
In this issue:
Day: February 19, 2020
ARAB WORLD: Global Update Tomorrow
Source: Beyond, February 2020
When: Thursday, February 20, 2020, 7:00 to 8:00 PM (CST)
God is on the move in the Arab world. We invite you to hear Beyond’s Vice President of Global Strategies, provide some key insights into how the gospel continues to spread in this highly persecuted and restricted part of the world.
Missionaries today have a great opportunity to be a part of God’s story in this area of the world, but they may be surprised to discover that instead of being called to serve in the role of an Apostle Paul, it may be time for a new wave of Barnabas-like missionaries to rise up and encourage the local Paul’s as we link arms across the global Church in order to reach this region.
» Sign up for this free, online-only event.
» See also Believer Reaches Nomadic Neighbors with the Gospel (IMB) or read about a Brazilian seeing the gospel spread in North Africa (OM).
LAOS: Pray for the Unengaged
Source: Brigada Today, February 16, 2020
Check out this four-minute video requesting prayer for ministry among the remaining (“Final 58”) unengaged people groups of Laos. Doug Lucas is the president of Team Expansion. This is his first effort at using a drone to raise prayer!
» Watch video and pray for this outreach effort.
» See also the 34-minute, 1932 silent film Siam: Land of the White Elephant (Presbyterian Historical Society). While we’re in the region, download Praying Down the Mekong River (OMF).
EAST AFRICA: Farmers Battle Desert Locusts
Source: Barnabas Fund, February 18, 2020
The UN [has] confirmed that the desert locust plague, which can migrate up to 150km a day, has now invaded southeast Sudan, entering from northern Uganda.
Many thousands are facing acute food shortages as vast swarms of desert locusts, considered the most destructive migratory pest on earth, have caused catastrophic loss to spring crops in East Africa and Pakistan.
The locust swarms were initially reported to have spread from Yemen across the Red Sea in November 2019, before spreading south to East Africa, resulting in the worst outbreak seen in 70 years. Millions of locusts also entered into Pakistan’s agricultural belt, via Iran, in late 2019.
East Africa is now on the verge of a food crisis due to the locusts devouring crops, according to the UN, with Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Somalia the worst-hit countries at this time.
» Full story includes more about locusts devastating Pakistan. Let’s pray for those in these regions.
» Also read Christians Respond as Desert Locusts Devour and Destroy (Mission Network News).
CHINA: Wuhan’s Christians Risk Their Lives to Share the Gospel
Source: Asia Harvest, February 2020
Thank you for praying for the Church in China at this time, especially for the believers at the epicenter of the virus in Hubei Province. God’s people have risen up during this crisis. Please pray for them, and ask God to glorify his name in this disaster by granting eternal life to millions of desperate people in Hubei.
Unfortunately, even at a time such as this, the Chinese Communist Party cannot put aside their anti-Christian ideology, and we have been informed that some of the teams of believers who were preaching on the streets have been arrested and their supplies confiscated.
We are now in a position to help Chinese believers living in the area through a trustworthy local contact. He wrote that their greatest need is for “medical equipment, masks, goggles, gloves, and protective coverings.”
» Read full story includes a video of Christian street preachers.
» See Justin Long’s list of articles about the impact of the coronavirus. And you may appreciate this from Israel: Hundreds Gather at Western Wall to Pray for China, End to Coronavirus (Christian Headlines).
BURKINA FASO: Pastor Abducted, 20 Killed
Source: Open Doors, February 17, 2020
On Sunday, attackers broke into a village in the northeast region of the country while Christians gathered for worship. According to the French radio outlet RFI, the attackers killed 20 people and injured 15 more. The extremists also abducted the pastor and set the church on fire. Several people are still missing.
Please pray for God’s grace on those who lost loved ones. Ask God for a safe release of the pastor. And pray for the Lord’s protection and comfort for those injured in the attack.
These attacks are horrendous, but the Christian community in Burkina Faso is persevering through Christ during extreme persecution. But they need the prayers of the global Church to be strengthened—and to know they’re not alone.