June 2006

“I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11)

Thursday, June 1, 2006 – Today is Teresa Boll’s birthday. Ask God to give her strength, wisdom and to be her consistent source of encouragement as she boldly proclaims the name of Christ. Pray that God will also heal her foot. She fell 13 weeks ago and it is still painful and swollen at times.

Friday, June 2, 2006 – Ask God for His insight as we decide how to proceed in using some property in Goudel, that friends in the U.S. purchased for a previous church plant that failed in this community.

Saturday, June 3, 2006 - ANSWER: We praise God that everyone’s prayers were answered and May has accepted Christ as her savior. Pray for Melissa as she disciples her and ask God to make their time will be fruitful. Pray for Ram, one of the ladies in May’s compound, that she would be saved. Pray for May as she needs to grow strong, because persecution is sure to come.

Sunday, June 4, 2006 – Today is Shad Black’s birthday. Pray for Shad as he tries to facilitate the recording of 10 new Zarma praise hymns in the next month.

Monday, June 5, 2006 - Pray for Eddie as he returns to the U.S. this month and prepares to enter seminary this summer. Pray that God would bless him as he studies and that he would have a clear sense of God's calling in his life. Pray that the contacts he made here, and the seeds he planted, would bear fruit and multiply.

Tuesday, June 6, 2006 - Volunteers Pamela and Valerie arrive today and will be leaving June 16. Pray their time of ministry in Drama will be a fruitful in Niamey and Ouallam. Pray for safe travel back to their home and loved ones.

Wednesday, June 7, 2006 – Today, Chris, Robert and Gavin arrive from Texas to work with the Sustars until June 19. Ask the Lord to give these guys passion and boldness as they share their testimonies with the Zerma and the opportunity to see some of these same people make the choice to follow Jesus.

Thursday, June 8, 2006 - ANSWER: "We are so thankful to you and to the people in America - now we can have a latrine in our own compound - and won't have to walk so far each time we need to go relieve ourselves. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" This has been said to us several times as we do the health and Bible Story classes with a group of people that will be receiving a latrine in the town of Ouallam. What really touches the heart is that it is the elderly women, the blind and the handicapped that seem to be the most thankful. Thank you Southern Baptists for helping us help some very needy people.

Friday, June 9, 2006 - Please pray for the people of Kollo to have dreams and visions and ask that those who know the truth would say yes and start running hard after Christ!

Saturday, June 10, 2006 – Today is Jeremy Ledlow’s birthday. Pray that God will continue to help him adjust to life in the states and for Christian friends for Jeremy. Pray that God directs his every decision as he makes plans for his future.

Sunday, June 11, 2006 - As many of you know, this year the SBC is placing a special emphasis on West Africa. The goal is for at least 5000 volunteers across the region to fill many short-term and long-term positions. Pray for Niger and the other countries of West Africa where the name of Christ and the wonderful plan of God is not understood. Pray that God would equip and call out his servants to accomplish the task of making His name known here.

Monday, June 12, 2006 - The first rains of the year usually begin this month. Pray for rain to replenish the earth and provide adequate moisture for the crops. Remember that this is the time of year when last year's harvest begins to run out--and there is still four more months to the next harvest. Pray for those who are hungry, that God would provide food or the means to earn it.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - Pray for Brandy and Kanesa to have good health and a great deal of energy so that they will be able to go out to the bush frequently.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006 - Moumouni repeated, 'I just don't have the strength, I just don't have the strength'. Maybe you know at times, the Zerma people are very indirect in their conversation. So, it took me a while to understand that he didn't 'have the money'. And the money he was talking about was for some material to build a church! Pray for Moumouni and the few believers as they build and witness in their village.

Thursday, June 15, 2006 – ANSWER: The construction on the 'Ouallam Sanitation and Hygiene' project will come to an end this month because of rainy season. Bible and health classes will continue for those wanting a latrine and construction will restart after the rains about October. Please continue to pray about these classes as we share Christ and teach about health, hygiene and safety to each group. So far this project has enabled us to enter 30 compounds, helping over 253 homes, with 772 people listening to the classes. At this writing these latrines will be helping over 970 people.

Friday, June 16, 2006 - Please continue to pray for “O” that God would teach her what it means to follow Him more each day and that He would give her joy rather than depression as she continues to wait for her husband to return.

Saturday, June 17, 2006 – Kimberly Cain's grandmother passed away last month. She was a fine Christian woman and we are grateful for the influence she had in Kimberly's life. Pray for the family members, that even as they grieve, they would experience the peace of our Lord. Pray that Kimberly would be comforted as she was unable to attend the funeral.

Sunday, June 18, 2006 – Today is Brandy Nelson’s birthday. We praise God for Brandy’s commitment to come and share the gospel with the Zerma people. Please join her in prayer asking God to lead older people to come as volunteers to show the older people here that they can have joy even in the face of death.

Monday, June 19, 2006 – Pray for the continued spiritual growth of each of our team members. Pray that we would model Christ-likeness in all of our words and deeds.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006 – ANSWER: Praise God for great favor with the prefet (government official) in Kollo, who allowed us to share the Gospel when the Univ. of Mobile and West Texas A&M Univ. were here working with us.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006 – Today is Melissa Black’s birthday. Pray for Melissa as she cares for Hezekiah and Miriam and seeks to share the gospel with Zerma people. ANSWER: We praise God for how He has been guiding us and that we now have a shape for our worship discipleship material.

Thursday, June 22, 2006 - Please pray for Brandy and Kanesa as they are going into villages and building new relationships. May they find women of peace in these villages that desire to hear the truth and share it with others.

Friday, June 23, 2006 – ANSWER: Praise God for the gossip in Kollo. People are telling others not to come to Brandy and Kanesa's, not to drink their water, nor watch their film (Jesus film). They are saying there is something in the film that transforms people. May many be transformed by the truth of the gospel.

Saturday, June 24, 2006 - Andrew Murray in his book "The True Vine" writes: "Souls are perishing because there is too little prayer. God's children are feeble because there is too little prayer. We bear so little fruit because there is so little prayer. .... To be a branch means not only bearing fruit on earth, but power in prayer to bring down blessings from Heaven." Thank you Zerma prayer team and please pray for Zerma believers to understand the power of prayer.

Sunday, June 25, 2006 – Pray for Meghan B. and Kimberly S., two student missionaries, who are here for two months investing much time in prayer walking and helping us develop prayer materials for our prayer supporters. Pray that they would remain in good health and that their ministry would produce much fruit for the kingdom.

Monday, June 26, 2006 – As the Pastor of this new church start in Goudel and another Zerma believer share the gospel, may those who hear it, receive it with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction just like those in the city of Thessalonica(I Thessalonians 1:4-5).

Tuesday, June 27, 2006 – May we as a team discover our true strengths and help the Zerma to discover their so together we can become the followers that God intended from the beginning who are fully alive every day and in every circumstance.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - Pray for Bo, David, and Hal as they hear the Word and draw closer to placing their faith in Christ. Pray that God would reveal himself to them and make the path to salvation clear.

Thursday, June 29, 2006 – ANSWER: Here's a re-cap of the health/hygiene/safety classes that Teresa taught in the various neighborhoods from November to April: We had classes for 22 weeks with 11 neighborhoods represented and a total of 236 students. If these women just teach their children, 1127 more people will be taught! But these women are also supposed to continue to teach those in their compound, their neighbors and friends, as well as their families in outlying villages. Teresa was stopped several times for someone to tell her that they have heard of the classes and that it was good and very helpful. Thank you for your prayers for these many weeks.

Friday, June 30, 3006 – Today is Hezekiah Black’s 2nd birthday. Pray that Hezekiah will grow-up to be a man after God’s own heart. We thank God for and cherish Hezekiah’s wonderful smile and curiosity about his environment.

The Zerma Team - Zerma Team Website: www.zermateam.org