Premiers, Praise and Prayers
Prayer & Praise Report #3, April & May 2022
Continued Prayers for Myanmar!
Recent government upheaval in this nation has resulted in instability and difficulty, both for STS partners and their families.
Many children have not been able to attend school. Some ministry partners report that armed military presence at school entrances, combined with high cost of private education, has made it difficult for children to continue their educations.
Instability in the power grid affects both trainings and daily life. Travel within the country to border regions for ministry has become increasingly dangerous.
PRAISE God!
Local leaders report a decidedly successful and effective seven days of STS workshops in three locations—despite the current situation in their country and fear on the part of STS partners to gather in number. Said one member:
We were afraid to gather many together at the same time, but by God’s grace and through His presence, we did amazingly in training.
Local leaders hope to continue using the STS method with co-workers and youth, both for discipleship and evangelism, and that this would spread from building a foundation in the Word to training in other areas, including business.
Praise and Prayers for the Ukraine.
As tragic as this war has been, the Gospel has been spreading far and wide amongst all the refugees, and many are trusting Jesus as their Savior.
In early April, the Ukrainian team loved the solar audio players preloaded with God’s Story: From Creation to Eternity in Ukrainian, and they asked for more.
Pray for the safe delivery of 40 more Ukrainian audio players, 5 Hungarian players, and over 20 sd cards currently in transit to the region.
What Inspires Country Leaders?
At the recent Comprehensive Leadership Training (CLT) in Kenya, people from 10 African nations attended. These CLT leaders attended an STS Oral Bible School graduation with 16 graduates representing 5 different denominations. The president of the host church was impressed by the way the school enhanced unity among the 5 denominations. Most of the graduates were pastors and church elders. As a result of meeting these graduates, the leaders returning home now want to start STS Oral Bible Schools.
What Does Jesus Say About the Children?
STS Partner, Raafat, reports that a current Advanced Workshop at the Kenya Center feels like a living out Paul’s mission trips in the book of Acts. Daily training occurs followed by outreach using STS until 10 or 11PM.
Approximately 70 children come every day to the Kenya Center, along with some women. They both understand the Gospel and have put their faith in Jesus as a result of daily teaching for the children lasting 20-30 minutes.
In a recent visit to five villages, Raafat was told not to ask questions because the Turkana people group would not reply to him. However, as he and trained STS practitioners asked questions, 200 people attended and discussed stories, while 70 to 80 people repented and prayed for salvation.
Several new students registered for an STS Oral Bible School and will begin in a couple of weeks.
The location is very dry, last having seen drizzle a year ago. Despite the drought, students continue to learn Bible passages—some walking for hours to attend school. Pray for diligence and continued commitment in the face of local challenges.
The Bible Spreads in East Asia
STS practitioners are increasingly using STS Bible stories for study and sharing with friends and loved ones. One person reported that people at a house Bible study have enjoyed diving deeply into scripture using the oral method. Another lady shared the story of Elisha, King, and the Lady in 2 Kings 8:1-6 with three teenage girls who were considering suicide due to societal pressure to succeed, and this story gave them hope.
For friends and family members who are participating in stories, that their hearts would be receptive. Also pray for our online class for citizens of this nation, as they seek to study more about the life of Jesus.
God’s Story Premiers Leads to More!
In one area of Cameroon, there is a large temple. The STS team went to the village to show God’s Story in front of a spiritual leader’s house, which happened to be a mosque. Local Christians asked to lower the volume, but people from mosque insisted it be turned up again. One boy who was watching returned to Christianity and promised not to go back to false religion.
A Bible school asked for STS training in July before students graduated. Those who came to a God’s Story showing were church goers. However, when the person showing the movie stopped to explain some things, 350 souls from these church attendees received Christ!!
During Passover, a CRU evangelist played God’s Story rather than the Jesus Film. This resulted in salvations and brought revival, as people tasted the true Word.
A Catholic priest received Christ at an STS workshop last year after participating in the One Leper story (Mark 1:40-45). He was subsequently disciplined by the leadership and sent to anotherparish. Despite this discipline, because of his changed life, he is leading people to Christ. He uses STS methods learned the previous year.
God’s Story launched six new languages this spring in Cameroon: Perée, Moudang, MBoum. Gbaya, Massa, Tupuri. In April, we received this follow-up report:
The chief of the community listened to the Péerè solar player with all the dignitaries. Afterward, the Chief promised after the RAMADAN that he would show the video and invite whole community to watch it. He wants to help the youth of the community learn their language, Péerè.
In the Péerè community, as in many places in Africa, a hierarchy of kingships defines the political, spiritual, and civil structure. Some lower-ranking kings reported to their Governor that the chief king became a believer and accused this chief of forcing people to be Christian. As a result, the leading traditional priest in the hierarchy called the chief to try to understand what was happening.
The chief king asked for prayer but is unafraid to speak to the leaders or to the Governor. The chief asks for wisdom as he listens to the other leaders, and that God would provide a pastor to teach him and help him grow in the faith. He plays God’s Storydaily using a Solar Player in French and distributes God’s Story DVDs and SD cards to lower ranking kings in the villages, again stating that he is not afraid.
Pray for three pending launches of several other languages, including Fulfulde Adamuou, which was just recorded. Fulfulde is the trade language for most tribes in Cameroon. In using it, some are now forgetting their own languages. Because they were not preserving their own languages, leaders were recently embarrassed that a Togolese man had come to say that their language is precious. Now there is a greater interest and effort made in learning their own languages. Pray that as God’s Story is used to spread languages, that many will also be impacted by the Gospel!
Northern Nigeria – Prayers Needed.
It is dangerous to be a Christian in Northern Nigeria. Jihadists continue to attack and murder, but many still accept Christ. Pray for the teams traveling in early June in those treacherous areas, bringing God's Story and Simply The Story to people who hunger and thirst for truth and true peace. May the Prince of Peace protect his people and continue to save!
We have started the process of uploading God’s Story languages to YouTube. You can find the languages at http://www.youtube.com/DoesGodSpeak. It takes awhile to upload and add descriptions to over 400 languages.
We covet and appreciate your prayers,
Andrea & The whole staff of STS &The God's Story Project (TGSP)
Executive Director