“ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all the saints.” Col 1:3-5
Wednesday, December 2 - Praise God for the out pouring of love by the believers in Niamey in November when twelve Woodabe (Nomadic herdsmen) huts burned down. A volunteer team from Ireland that was here with SIM (a sister mission) and the Hosanna Church and the Goudel church along with several believers helped by providing clothing, food, mats to sleep on, mosquito nets and lanterns. The neighboring compound of huts burned as well when the fire spread and the Hausa and Zerma people asked, “Why did the Christians help so much?” Praise the Lord that this has opened up the way to share Christ. Thursday, December 3 - As the ground starts to dry and the wind begins to blow dust; cold, pneumonia and bronchitis season comes to Niger. Also because of watering the gardens, many get wet! Pray for the health of the workers and the people alike. Friday, December 4 - Pray for O and I, as they’ve agreed to meet with Phil for Bible study. Pray that they would be home each week when Phil arrives and that God would open their hearts and minds to the scriptures. Saturday, December 5 - Pray for Amina as her baby is due any day now. Pray for a health delivery and good health for the baby and the mom. Sunday, December 6 – Kanesa will be sharing with many churches now that she is in the US. Pray that those that hear about the Zerma would be willing to join our team in prayer and perhaps to join the Zerma team through volunteer work. Today she will be in GA sharing with a church and some volunteers (Butch & Debi Howey) that have been to Niger and have been praying for over 10 years. Monday, December 7 - Praise God for keeping Krista in good health. She has only had a couple minor illnesses and no major problems of any sort. Pray that it continues. Tuesday, December 8 – Probably about 50 years ago the King of Simiri (Ouallam) had a vision for someone to take health, nutrition, hygiene classes to the village. His dream is being realized through the classes that Teresa teaches. The Bolls have his strong support in this area. The King also studied Agriculture work in the US and supports the work that Don does as well. Praise the Lord for this leader. Wednesday, December 9 – November was a very busy month for the Bolls. Support of the AIDS/Health project as well as opportunities for Don to sell many garden seeds kept them really busy. The King has been inviting the Bolls to his meetings with the Chiefs of many of his 86 villages for Teresa to present the AIDS/Health lessons as she would do in a village. This has helped the Bolls to go to many more villages than “normally” possible. Thursday, December 10 - K-town is lonely without Kanesa and Brandy, as are they without their family there. Pray for God to reveal Himself in ways that the people understand and would be drawn to the true light that shone in Kanesa and Brandy when they lived there. Friday, December 11 - Ask God to speak to Fati in visions and dreams and draw her into a relationship with him. She thinks she is a follower of Jesus but she has not surrendered her heart totally to Christ and has no desire to read her Bible, pray or go to church. Saturday, December 12 - Ask God to give us wisdom in knowing how to help Nigeriens to see what they are uniquely gifted to do and connect them with those who can train them in those fields. Sunday, December 13 - Baptism is usually a big step out in faith of a Zerma person to follow Christ. Hama and Hamani have taken that step in their request for baptism. Please pray they remain faithful to follow through with this big decision and that God would give them wisdom and strength to do so. Monday, December 14 - Ask God to continue to lead and direct Kanesa and Brandy as they try to discern where and what God would have them to do. Ask that as they begin this new part of life that God would show them where they can minister in the United States. Tuesday, December 15 - Pray for Cindy Sustar’s parents. Both of them are struggling with numerous health issues. Wednesday, December 16 – Tomorrow Kimberly’s mom, Kaye, leaves the states for a 3 week visit to Niger. Pray for her health and safety as she travels. Praise God for this precious family time together. Thursday , December 17 - Today Krista, a semester missionary, along with several other students with the Hands On group are leaving to return to the USA. Please pray for safe travel and health as they return home. Also pray that they would continue to learn from their time here and for them to have opportunities to share about the life and work being done in Niger. Friday, December 18 - Please lift up Brandy and her fiancé, Daniel, as they plan their wedding and spend time together as a couple. Pray that their relationship would point others to Christ and bring God glory. Saturday, December 19 - Pray for Amina’s husband who is very close to following Jesus. Pray that he will make that step of faith. Ask God to provide him with work. He has been looking for work for several months. Sunday, December 20 - Pray for the teen girls group meeting with Kimberly and Krista. Pray that they will be there and be open to hearing God’s Word. Pray that Kimberly and Krista are able to minister to them in meaningful and relevant ways. Monday , December 21 - Today is Kimberly’s birthday. Pray for her endurance, stamina, and time management in the coming year. Pray for encouragement when ministry is challenging. Pray that she would be ready with a word to share at all times and in all places. Tuesday, December 22 – Today many newly elected offices will take their place in many decisions to be made the next few years. Please pray for wisdom, safety and God’s guidance. Wednesday, December 23 – Please pray for the Literacy class that Teresa teaches at the Ouallam Church. Thank the Lord for the understanding of the students as there are some evenings that Teresa is unable to attend because of AIDS/Health classes. Pray that the students continue to learn to read and write. They are so excited! Thursday, December 24 - Pray that the Lord would send more workers to live and work among the Zerma. Friday, December 25- Merry Christmas! We thank God for His gift to us, His only Son. We are so thankful we have a Story to tell the Nations… and that we have your prayer support in doing so. Merry Christmas! We love you! Saturday, December 26 - It normally takes the seed grain of 6-7 “bokos” (Millet heads tied in a bundle about 2 foot circumference) for a 110 pound sack of millet. This year it takes 10-12 “bokos” for one sack of millet in some areas because of a bad harvest. Some farmers received 6-8 “bokos” from their whole crop – and there were some that only got one “boko” from their entire crop! Please join us in prayer for the needs around us every day. One sack, if a family of 10 eats two times a day, will last about 20 days. Sunday, December 27 – As Teresa was doing a “Presentation” for the Chiefs of villages at the King’s concession two directors from the nearby school came to ask if she could talk at their meeting. This meeting consisted of teachers &/or parents representing some 116 village schools in the area. During her presentation God opened doors to work with the teachers/parents and the Chiefs of these villages as many followed Teresa to the truck asking her to go to their village. Praise the Lord that He is still performing miracles. Sunday, December 28 - Ask God to show us the best way to guide the Nigeriens to start businesses on their own in a culturally relevant way. Monday, December 29 – The Zerma team has changed many ways this past year. We were joined by many during the year, but now we are only 3 units, the Cains, Bolls and Sustars. Please pray that we would have the strength, God’s wisdom, and the faithfulness to do the work that He has called us to do. Tuesday, December 30 - Number wise there are not many Zerma Christians. Many places there are only one to just a few. Fellowship and practicing their faith can be difficult. Pray for great peace, understanding, faith and patience for these precious few that remain faithful among a sea of lostness. Wednesday, December 31 – As we reflect over the past year we have so much to be thankful for. We have had several volunteers that have come to help share the work, we have several already that are planning to come the next year. We have had some of the volunteer missionaries that have returned to continue to work in Niger. We have also had Summer missionaries, semester missionaries, Hands-On missionaries, and we have had you… our faithful prayer supporters. We thank God for you. We look forward to “working with you” again next year! Have a wonderful Christmas and thank you for standing with us this
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