Africa

Mark & Camille Purington (on furlough) – We are giving thanks and praise to God for a very successful trip to Kenya. What started as a scheduled two-week trip for Mark and Scott Olivett, turned into two months. Camille joined Mark in Kenya and just returned on 27 April. Praise God for His incredible provision. Through Him and His grace, and the gifts from faithful donors, a well was successfully drilled in a suburb just outside Nairobi, Kenya, which will serve the Brydges Children's Centre. This centre will house 150 orphans who are currently living in six different facilities around Nairobi. This water well will provide not only the water needed to facilitate construction of this centre, it will also provide clean, safe water for these children and very possibly provide a source of future income. The water supply is so significant that the centre could sell water to generate income. We pray that sufficient personal and project support will be provided so that we can return to Kenya by August, 2010. We pray that our daughter, Sara, will finish her freshman year at college strong!

Luke Runyon (on furlough) – Pray for me as I am back in America resting up, and looking to the Lord for guidance on my next steps on where, and with whom to go back overseas with.

Denver

New Life in Christ Church (Jack LaPietra) – Praises: We are thankful for one member coming back to church (he did 28 straight years in prison, but had attended for at least five months before getting off-track with an issue), for another member (our young lady heavily involved in prostitution) receiving leniency in her sentencing (halfway house rather than 4-12 years in prison) and attending Street’s Hope for counseling, for Joe’s citizenship status miraculously extended until the year’s end, for another team freed up to do our discipleship series and a family who seems to want it, for a strong prospect for funding our after-school, day camp programs, for an aged and dying mother and her daughter who prayed to receive Christ after eluding us for awhile, for an incredible children’s church that God raised from nothing this past month, for 4 young men and 3 young women who are signed up for college and the comprehensive discipleship/study hall, for another bus for our day camp, for a possible drummer who is also a music teacher, for two young teens who were baptized, for fire in my preaching again this past month. Requests: Pray for practicality in my preaching, for Noe’s citizenship to come through, for one member to come back to church (his wife has finally divorced him for adultery), for another member to come back to church after straying, for a huge turnout for our block party May 23, for another member, who had been on home detention for 3 months, came back for a week, and still has yet to return, for musicians, for Ramzi, who has suffered from severe, unremitting, undiagnosable headaches for the past 15 years, for Gary to be totally healed from cancer, for the repair of our gym ceiling from which insulation drops daily, for one of our high-up gang guys to get a job and give up the easy money, for apartment buildings to which we can deliver food and Jesus Tuesday nights and in which large numbers of our Chicano target population live, for one member’s bid for a halfway house from serving time in prison, and for more people to be saved, baptized, and discipled!

Dave Meserve (Urban Skye) – Please pray for our new urban missionaries, Aram and Ellen, Jess, John, Kay, Lauri and Bobbie. They are all beginning to raise some support for their different ministries. Please pray for our new website launch that more and more people would be exposed to our site and be interested in connecting with us. Please pray for our search for an administrator who can help support our growing team of missionaries.

North America

Joann Tallman – I had a balloon and two stints put into an artery a few weeks ago and I am doing well. I give the Lord praise for His watch care over me before, during and after the procedure. 

Carole Posthuma – Pray for safety as I travel a lot this summer and for good energy to serve with excellence on each trip. Pray for our Wycliffe members in Nigeria and other parts of the world where there is killing and violence. Pray for needed monthly financial support, for friends who need healing from cancer, Lyme’s Disease and MS, and for additional opportunities for our member care and counseling services team to serve our members in the Americas and throughout the world. Praise God for good health, great friends, and great family and for the support and encouragement he supplies.

Greg & Nancy Fritz – Greg was asked to significantly increase his circle of responsibility this past year to cover a second VP role. Thank God for giving us much success in that area during the year. Now as we approach the beginning of the 2011 fiscal year (July 1), the organization is preparing to again fill this position with a fully dedicated person. This will free Greg to launch a new church service/mobilization initiative within Partners International. Pray for the planning process regarding Nancy going in Oct. to help do a Kidzana training in Asia for some of our PI partners. The church has been planted and now help is needed to develop self-sustainable healthy children's programs. Pray for some health issues Nancy has been working with her doctors to correct.

North America (continued)

Jimmy & Cathy Webster (Texas) – Athletes In Action (AIA) will be ministering with collegiate athletes from across the country to youth and adults in inner city Los Angeles June 5-27. Please pray that we are able to recruit 40 men and women student athletes. As of this writing, we have 31 commitments. Pray that they all will be able to raise the funds ($1,300 each to cover room, board, and ministry expenses) to attend this missions opportunity.

Europe

Leah Cox (Czech Republic) – Praises: Christian and non-Christians were touched and challenged by the truth at our recent girls retreat on Identity. Our Strakonice Sunday church service a few weeks ago went well. It was mostly a concert of prayer and the atmosphere was full of God's love and a sense of family. We finally have an in to volunteering! A large retirement home is very excited about us coming in to read to, speak with and walk with their clients. Prayer Requests: Application forms for youth English camp are going like crazy! Please pray that the Lord will even now be softening and preparing their hearts for the seed of his word! People are also signing up for Family English camp. Please pray that the Lord would remove any barriers of belief that they may have and bring the right people to the camp. Pray for wisdom. I feel like there are many opportunities and open doors. Please pray that we would be wise in making decisions and also empowered by the Holy Spirit!

Deb Heefner (Germany) – Due to some changes in how we as missionaries are viewed by the government here in Germany, we now definitely have to pay taxes here and we will very likely have to join the social security system here as well. There's potential that we'll need to pay back taxes and SS as far back as 7 years, so there's great concern for a bunch of us financially. It could mean we need to raise around 65% more support to cover a year's worth of what we owe, not to mention back taxes and SS. Pray that the tax lawyers and all working on this would be able to find the best possible law abiding solution for all of this. Also, pray for new ministry partners to join my support team, in light of the additional support that I need to raise. Campus Crusade for Christ Intl. is currently going through some major restructuring globally, in hopes that we will be able to better go after the mission that the Lord has given us. That means that there are a lot of changes happening on the European level where I work. Please pray for great wisdom for those who are leading the changes, and for God's lead in finding the right place for each person to serve. There's clearly change in front of me, but it's not yet clear how that will look or what that all means, so please pray also for me as I listen for God's guidance in the midst of all the transition.

Asia

Dale & Elaine Rhoton – Elaine and I will be in Malaysia and Singapore June 21-August 31. The OM leaders there are arranging many church meetings. We will also be visiting supporters of the ministry. Pray that we connect with the Lord and one another. Some other meetings are now being arranged for us in the autumn in the greater Chicago area and possibly Portland. We appreciate prayer for His putting together the program. We appreciate prayer for our second son, David, who pastors a church of 40 people just outside of Barcelona.

Rita O’Hara (Thailand) – Pray for the government of Thailand. There continues to be a great deal of unrest in Bangkok, the government seat. The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (the red shirts) is holding demonstrations in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. There has recently been loss of life and blood shed in Bangkok. The high-ranking military officials held a meeting within the last couple of weeks to discuss the countries options. Please pray there will be resolution without further incident. Pray for my mother, Jennie who has cysts on her ovaries and kidneys that may be cancerous. Pray God will bring in extra financial support to cover the recent deficit I have experienced. Continue to pray for the salvation of three people I have been in relationship with. Also pray for further opportunities to share the Gospel with them and open hearts to receive the truth. Please pray for me as I continue to study the Thai language. Reading, writing, and speaking together is very difficult. I sometimes grow weary of taking classes, however I want to speak proficiently to communicate with the Thai people.

Dave & Connie McBride – From Monday, May 10th until May 30th Dave will be on a mission to east Asia with 10 guys from Memphis. We are trekking to bring God's good news to people in the villages. Pray for strength (it will be hot and hard work) and receptive hearts to the Gospel.