OCTOBER 2018
MONDAY 1 GERMANY: Martin and Anja Teubert in Ribnitz-Damgarten During the first week of October, Martin will be at a church camp of our sending church. He helps with the children`s programme and will have lots of opportunities to talk to supporters. We are thankful for a lot of people who attend our church service. Please pray especially for a family that has been coming for 8 months and is very interested to get to know Jesus. It is a couple, their two married sons and grandson. On October 20 we will be on a public playground, again, to have a little program for the children of the area around (an area with lots of social problems). TUESDAY 2 AUSTRIA: David and Linda James in Villach What a fantastic team we had this year, sharing their testimonies and presenting the Gospel. They grew in confidence during the week and learnt a lot about God and how he could use them. During the break in the beach volleyball tournament the group performed two songs. As they started, people stopped whatever they were doing to watch (the teams who were competing and others at the beach). On the promenade in the evenings there were often crowds of 20-40 people watching our program. After music and mime we could present a simple thought-provoking input and engage individuals in discussions. WEDNESDAY 3 AUSTRIA: Stefan and Claudia Pohn in Dornbirn Please pray for good progress in our local church’s decision whether to join the Austrian evangelical union „FKÖ“. We are thankful that gathering and communicating the relevant information has gone well so far. Please pray for wisdom and unity as we’re hoping to move toward a decision in October/ November.
Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4
THURSDAY 4 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Colin and Alison Holmes, Simon and Dani Ball, Charis Tully and Ross McGaughran in Waterford In October we are having a month of prayer in the church plant in Ferrybank on 4 Sundays praying for renewal in different ways – up, out, in, together. The past year has been difficult and seen a decline in people attending and a number of people struggling with ongoing health issues. In our weakness, on our knees, we are looking to God for strength and renewal. We give thanks for a growing hope in continuing to see a new chapter. FRIDAY 5 FRANCE: Peter and Silje Lilly in Montpellier Firstly, some of you may know already but we have the most exciting of updates. Silje is pregnant and we are expecting our first child in December. Praise God for the miracle of life and please pray that God would keep Silje and the baby safe and help us to cope with all the wonderful and tiring changes on the horizon! Thank God for the opportunities we’ve had to minister to friends and colleagues through the summer and also pray for new opportunities as Montpellier transforms from a bustling touristic destination back to normal life.
SATURDAY 6 ITALY: Susanne Stoehr in Macherio Thanks for a great inspiring holiday time and a great inspiring book for my counselling course. Pray for my painting teacher who is recovering from a big surgery that he might be able to walk again. Pray for protection from thieves as there will be works been done in the next four months on the house where I have my flat. The danger is therefore greater, and I already have had thieves three times in these 20 years.
SUNDAY 7 ROMANIA: Tinu Leontiuc in Timisoara Pray with us to thank God for the camps ministry we had in August with families and teenagers. We pray God to continue to work for the faith of the campers. On October 7, we will have a referendum here in Romania for the changing of an article in the Constitution regarding the family, to be formed by a male and a female. Please pray for the success of this referendum. 2
MONDAY 8 ECMI INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR: Chris Wigram Christian leaders from across Europe are gathering in Tallinn, Estonia, 8-13 October for “Hope for Europe,” a conference hosted by the European Evangelical Alliance in partnership with national evangelical alliances from across Europe. Pray that “Hope for Europe” will extend the visibility and influence of the evangelicals in Europe in all spheres of society through strengthening partnership and cooperation between different ministries and networks and inspiring and equipping national alliances to develop collaboration. Chris Wigram, Andrew and Kate Blackwell will be attending for ECM.
TUESDAY 9 BULGARIA: Dimitrie and Maria Todorov in Burgas Pray for my wife and I as we travel to the USA, October 9 – November 12. We will be visiting friends and partners in California and Virginia. We praise God for our Syrian brother Ali who was baptized in July, while hundreds of beachgoers were looking on in amazement. Twenty more new disciples were baptized on that hot day in July! Our ministry partner Pastor Vesko and his church are making disciples out of these young men from Syria and Iraq. God is moving among the refugees in Bulgaria.
WEDNESDAY 10 FRANCE: Steve and Rosemary Cox in Veneux-les Sablons After a year's break the church has decided to organize a fair-trade weekend on 10-11 October with a new team and a new supplier. There's lots of organization to be done beforehand for an event that does attract many people. Please pray!
THURSDAY 11 ECM AUSTRALIA & NZ: Matt George Please continue to pray for our constructions and renovations in our Croydon and Ashfield properties and for Ray as he oversees the projects. Praise God for our new candidate family and pray as we seek to help them to prepare well for long-term mission in Europe. Pray that God may continue to put the idea of Europe as a mission field into people's hearts and raise more workers for the harvest. 3
Dimitrie & Maria Todorov and family
FRIDAY 12 SPAIN: Honor Perfect in Castellón I have been having Bible studies over the past few years with Amparo, who knows and loves the Lord. Recently, the sister of her daughter in law went to the doctor feeling unwell. Almost immediately she was admitted to hospital and was then diagnosed with leukaemia. Her daughter in law asked Amparo to pray for Maribel. This is a first, as she is usually very antagonistic. Please pray that as a result of this illness all the family will come to know the Lord, and if it His will, that Maribel will be healed.
SATURDAY 13 ITALY: Richard and Pinuccia Wilson in Trento The whole Italian field team will be meeting together today at Desenzano, on Lake Garda. Pray for a good time of fellowship, prayer, and thinking about the future.
Mitch & Bekka Hamilton
SUNDAY 14 ECM AUSTRALIA & NZ: Mitch and Bekka Hamilton, Candidates for Austria Praise God for the blessing of children and please pray for us as we prepare to become new parents of our first child this October. Pray for strength, patience and that we get to embrace all the little joys and challenges of parenthood. Please also pray for our journey as candidates with ECM and that God would lead and guide our time of preparation. MONDAY 15 ITALY: Co Kaptein in Lamezia Terme We are thankful to the Lord that three members of the church were baptized in the sea in August. Pray for Stefano and Ivana who were married on 31 July. Ivana was one of the baptised persons as well as Antonella, a Gipsy, who was converted half a year ago. Her husband accepted Jesus in prison and was also baptised there. Pray that they will be steadfast in faith and that the Lord will take care of their lives, providing for work and daily care. TUESDAY 16 ECM BRITAIN: Kent Anderson, British Director On 17 and 18 October British Director Kent Anderson is meeting with the leaders of other mission organisations and churches for a 24-hour retreat. The theme of this year’s gathering is “Leading 4
from the Inside Out.” Pray that they will all be encouraged to maintain deep intimacy with Jesus, to grow in character and resilience, and to leave a positive legacy. Pray as well for strong relationships of trust to be built and partnerships developed across organisational lines.
WEDNESDAY 17 ECMI USA: George Brown, US Director Praise the Lord for His continued provision for our missionaries and ministries. Pray for the health and well-being of our missionaries and their families, many of whom have been experiencing significant hardship. Pray for the US Board as it meets October 1820, in Tremont, Illinois. This will be an important time of strategic planning. Pray for the travel and speaking engagements that Chris Wigram and George Brown will have with ministry partners in the San Francisco, California area, October 22-28.
THURSDAY 18 SPAIN: Jules Mercer-Wilson in Alcalá de Henares From October 18-21 we will be having ECM Spain Prayer Days. Including children and candidate there will be about 70 of us praying, for Spain, each other and Europe. Please that God would help us understand the times we live in and what He is doing in Spain. May we hear his voice, be encouraged, be guided and be renewed. Pray too for the many national workers we have in ECM. They are so valuable and understand the culture and people, yet many struggle financially. Often, they are working full or part time to manage to live. Father may you provide for all our national workers’ needs.
FRIDAY 19 POLAND: Doug and Lila Groth in Mikolow From October 19-23 Roland Smith will visit Doug and Lila. Pray for Doug, Lila, Natalia and Philip and their friends and family to know God's comfort and strength at this time, and for God to continue to be glorified in Doug's life. The church community in Rabka will look after Roland while he is there, so pray that he may also be able to help and encourage there. Natalia is going to be married on October 27. Please pray for her and her fiancée. 5
SATURDAY 20 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Jonathan and Nicola McCracken in Claremorris Pray as we plan for the possibility of having a monthly kids club for some of the children we have met at the summer outreach and various kids’ events over the year. This would lead up to our kids Christmas club. Pray as we make contact with parents also. As workers in Ireland, we will be having a Prayer Day on Saturday October 20 in Waterford. We are looking forward to catching up with everyone there for a good time of praise and prayer. Please pray for encouragement as we take time out to be together.
SUNDAY 21 AUSTRIA: Tobias and Esther Giersch in Villach We just started again with our teenager group (new school year). We have two new ones and our prayer is that they are welcomed by the others in the group and quickly become part of it. We want to encourage the group to become more evangelistic so that they invite their friends to come as well. Pray that they have the courage to share their faith in school and everyday life. MONDAY 22 SPAIN: Andy and Andrea Warner in Castellón We´re grateful for a safe and pleasant trip back to the UK and are now looking forward to what the Lord is going to do as we settle in to life in Castellón again. Please pray for Dave and Corinne, an English couple who moved to Spain (Castellón) on 14 September, to join in with The Bridge and our outreach/church planting here. Pray for their settling in, and that the process of getting bank account, legal documents etc. will go smoothly. Please also pray for us as we hope to connect with the newly arrived students, as this is a key time to start building relationships with them. TUESDAY 23 GERMANY: Christian and Kseniya Kooiman in Schwerin We thank very much for the new children’s playground in the Patchwork Center. The children in the Bible Class in the Netherlands were collecting money for it the whole year. And a youth group from another church in the Netherlands helped one week building it. Please pray for children who come to us every day. Many of them already young in age have experienced bad things. Please pray that with God they will grow into adults He wants them to be. 6
WEDNESDAY 24 SLOVENIA: Sarah Deacon in Ljubljana Give thanks to God for the start of a new school term and the beginning of church activities. Please pray for the people in the church as they start to settle in to their new routines. I will be starting language lessons at the language school in a group setting soon so please pray that I transition well from using a private tutor and that I will be able to build relationships with the new people I meet. THURSDAY 25 SPAIN: Raúl and Claudia Vásquez in Vitoria-Gasteiz A song of praise and gratitude for His mercy and kindness! Please pray for Claudia’s upcoming Art Exhibit in Centro Cívico "El Pilar" in Vitoria Gasteiz. Titled: ...De Amor, Horror y Salmonela... The Invisible is most real and powerful. Pray that this work will find its way into hearts and prosper in beautiful, intelligent and honest conversation with friends. FRIDAY 26 SLOVENIA: Sebastian and Gloria Forjan in Radovlice On 8 September five people were baptized in our local cold river and one of them was over 60. His wife prayed for him from 1993 and we were witnessing a miracle. Praise God for His mighty work that He is doing in our region. Pray for the continuation of training of our future leaders in our church. There are four candidates and pray that God will prepare their hearts for their role. A healthy church needs to have healthy leadership team. SATURDAY 27 SPAIN: Dan and Anna Julian in Valencia Please pray as the Julians continue their Home Ministry Assignment, that they would enjoy safe travels, good health, and encouraging times with family and ministry partners. Pray for Dan's students who are finishing their first theology course, that they'd make good use of their study of the gospel in their home churches in Murcia and the Canaries. SUNDAY 28 SERBIA: Branko & Rada Tihojevic in Zajecar Praise the Lord for the blessings and protection during Summer camps and Conferences at the Camp Timok. Please pray for the opening date for the Church in Zajecar. It took longer than we 7
PERSONNEL OPPORTUNITIES GREECE: ECMI is looking for individuals or couples in good health who are excited about being part of a new venture to establish an ECMI mission hub in Athens and other parts of Greece. Please contact your nearest ECM office to discuss the attributes needed and what the possibilities are for you to join our team. You can find details at: https://www.ecmi.org/ ecm-offices
expected to overcome all local government administrative obstacles and repairers on the building. The Church will start meeting in the new building hopefully in the end of October or beginning of November. MONDAY 29 AUSTRIA: David and Linda James in Villach Please pray for our neighbour Markus. He has recently been diagnosed as a burn-out risk and written off work for two months, including one month of treatment at a therapy centre. We have spent a lot of time with him recently and we have prayed with him and he knows we continue to pray for him. Jacqueline Stolk works in the therapy centre and she will look out for him. Please continue to pray for our other neighbours too. TUESDAY 30 CROATIA: Frank and Angelika Bosch in Zagreb We are thinking to move next summer. After visiting some places and churches and after speaking with different leaders, we are praying about 3 places: Umag, Sibenik and Zadar. Please pray for a good decision, a good acceptance from our church in Zagreb and wisdom and God’s help for all practical steps.
WEDNESDAY 31 SPAIN: Hans and Jennifer Anderson in Málaga Praise the Lord for “Lydia” accepting Christ. Pray for her continued growth in spite of many familial challenges. We are on home assignment in the U.S. but are eager to get back to ministry in Spain as soon as financially possible.
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