November prayer requests

NICODEMUS PRAYER TEAM
NOVEMBER 2010

Francis Chan in his book “Remembering the forgotten God” says, “We
have to prayerfully seek where the Holy Spirit may be leading. I am
convinced that the Spirit communicates with us. Sometimes He lays a
person or place on our hearts and calls us to action or prayer. Other
times He convicts us of our sin and calls us to repent. He works in
many different ways, but the point is, many times we don’t hear
because we’re not listening…” As you have prayer requests for each
day I pray that each one of us would also allow time to listen to God
and what He has to say to each and every one of us.

Monday, November 1: Today is All Saints Day also known as Day of the
Dead. It is a day when the people gather in cemeteries to remember
those who have died. A part of the celebration includes flying kites
over the graves. It is a time of family gatherings. Pray that the
hearts of the people would be open to the One who can offer eternal
life.

Tuesday, November 2: Election Day in the US. Have you gone to vote
today? I encourage you to take the time to go vote today. As you go
pray for the leaders in the government in the US and Guatemala.
Praise God for the Christian leaders in the government and pray that
they would remain steadfast in God.

Wednesday, November 3: Helen and Carol are having a Crown orientation
meeting tonight for those who might be interested in doing the study
in English. Several nationals have expressed an interest in having
the study in English. Pray that they would be able to get the
materials from the states and that there would be a good interest
among the Nicodemus people.

Thursday, November 4: Praise God with us that the very day that you
prayed for George and the sale of properties, he completed the sale of
one house in Guatemala. There is another sale pending. Pray that it
will also go through in a timely manner.

Friday, November 5: Thanks for praying for the conference lead by Joe
and Yvonne Bruce last month. It was a blessed day. The Guatemalans
were so thrilled to be able to visit with the Bruces again and to hear
of the work in Cuba. The idea was mentioned about sending a group of
Guatemalans on a mission trip to Cuba. Pray for this idea. Pray that
the participants of the conference would take what they heard and
apply it to their Judea, Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth.

Saturday, November 6: Today Sharon will be leading a card making
class at Impacto Biblico Church. Pray that the ladies would have a
good time and that they would be interested in returning to church on
Sunday. Pray that the church members would invite their friends and
neighbors.

Sunday, November 7: Attendance at Impacto Biblico Church continues to
be low, and on our budget, we cannot afford to continue renting where
we are. Lack of growth is very concerning. Manuel has written a
vision statement with goals and actions for the rest of this year and
next. It is very ambitious, but we’re going to have to deal with
problems such as the meeting place, lack of musicians, and the widely
scattered membership, which make starting cell groups with co-leaders
very difficult. Please pray for Manuel and the church leadership as
we seek God’s leadership.

Monday, November 8: Please continue praying for George. He has a very
heavy schedule and is under a lot of tension. Two missionary units
will be leaving this month for their stateside assignment, and one of
them will be packing up their household goods before leaving. Pray
for him as he works with them about the details.

Tuesday, November 9: Today the missionaries and other nationals will
be traveling to attend the Guatemala Baptist Convention meetings.
Pray that they would have safety in their travels. Pray that there
would be a unity and cooperation among the participants as decisions
are made.

Wednesday, November 10: Sharon’s Wednesday night Crown study recently
finished that study. There was a man in the group who said that he
wants his 4 children who are in their 20’s to participate in the study
as well. He said that every young person needs to have this
teaching. What a great testimony to hear from the studies! Pray that
it will all get coordinated so that the young adults will be able to
participate in the study after the first of the year.

Thursday, November 11: The Rosario study is going well. Some weeks
the attendance has been down in both groups due to sickness, a death
in a family, travels; but it continues to generate much interest in
those participating. We continue to emphasize that we can rely
totally on Jesus without needing to go through anyone to get his
attention. Pray that the Holy Spirit will continue working in the
lives of those attending.

Friday, November 12: George and Helen will be going to Duncan, OK
today to speak at First Baptist Church which is interested in
partnering with us. We are talking with Manuel, Judith, Carol, and
others to try to get more ideas as to how we could best use volunteers
wisely and strategically.

Saturday, November 13: The students at the Baptist Seminary are
finishing their last term of masters courses for this year. Some of
the students in the group include some of our first ones, who will be
finished with their course work and just lack doing their thesis.
Pray for new students to start next year. Continue to pray for
Richard and the teaching and leadership, which he provides at the
seminary.

Sunday, November 14: Pray for Englebert. He is a young guy who owns a
restaurant where Carol has eaten several times. The last time she
went she wondered if he would be open to having a Bible study at the
restaurant or allowing a church to meet there. Pray for her to have
more opportunities to share with him and pray that she will have
wisdom in following God’s direction for this potential opportunity.

Monday, November 15: Many of the cell group members assure us that
they have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ; however, they still
depend on the Virgin Mary to intercede for them, the sacraments,
etc. Pray that as we study the Bible together, they will come to see
Mary as a wonderful example of faith, humility and obedience, but
recognize that her true role was to be a servant that God used to
bring His Son into the world, as she herself said. Pray that they
will recognize that Jesus is our true high priest who made the perfect
sacrifice and now reigns victoriously to intercede for us.

Tuesday, November 16: Carol and Helen have been communicating with
several teams who want to come and minister in the universities in
Guatemala. Pray that they would have wisdom about how best to use
these teams. Pray that they would find appropriate housing for the
teams and the logistics of preparing for the teams.

Wednesday, November 17: Saying goodbye seems to be a part of the
Christian life as you meet friends throughout the world. Pray for the
Hammonds family as they are in the midst of saying goodbye and packing
their things in preparation for their stateside assignment. Pray that
they would have wisdom about what to sell, what to keep and what to
give away. Pray that they would have opportunities to share Christ
with their neighbors.

Thursday, November 18: Carol received an encouraging email from a girl
who she met in Mozambique who now lives in Austria. Her friend said,
“I prayed, I cried, and I accepted Christ as my Savior”. Continue
praying that the hearts of the Nicodemus people, which includes
university students, lawyers, construction business owners,
secretaries, doctors and other professionals, would be open to the
salvation of God.

Friday, November 19: Pray for wisdom for each of us that we would us
our time wisely. It is easy to get stuck in front of the computer
writing reports, Bible studies, communicating. Pray that we will be
intentional in looking for ways to meet and interact with people who
need Christ.

Saturday, November 20: Today is the last meeting of the Crown group,
which Carol has been meeting with. It is a group of ladies who have
been friends since they were in elementary school. Pray that they
would understand that they can have a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ without going through anyone else.

Sunday, November 21: Richard and Sharon had a very enjoyable time with
their daughter and grandson in for a few weeks in September and
October. They had a great time with them however there is always a
sadness and “quiet house syndrome” when family leaves. Praise God
for the good visit which they had and that they will be able to see
all their kids and grandkids at Christmas.

Monday, November 22: The Adam Hammonds family and Carol Wilkinson will
be leaving today for stateside time. Both families will be going to
North Carolina however to different parts of the state. Pray that
they would have safety in travels. Pray for them as they visit with
families and friends and as they share in churches about the Baptist
work in Guatemala.

Tuesday, November 23: Helen is exploring other studies that might be
used to draw new “Nicodemus” people into Bible study. There is a
course on grief share that has been highly recommended, but it is only
in English. Many of these people are sufficiently fluent in English
to be able to handle this. Pray for us as we seek the Lord’s guidance
concerning these decisions.

Wednesday, November 24: After the first of the year Sharon’s
Wednesday night group will begin studying the book, The Gospel of the
Rosary. Praise God that this group wants to continue studying
together. Pray that their hearts would be open to the study.

Thursday, November 25: Thanksgiving Day.

(KJV) Psalm 95:1-6
"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the
rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with
thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the
LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are
the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our
maker."

Friday, November 26: Some of the missionaries are gathered at Lake
Panajachel to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Pray that they would
have a blessed time of fellowship and rest. Travel to Panajachel has
been affected because of the rains and mudslides. Pray for safety in
their travels.

Saturday, November 27: Pray for the university students. They are on
break until January. Pray for them as they gather together with
family and friends. Pray that their hearts would be open to the love
of God. Pray for the teams that are preparing to come and work with
them in 2011. Pray that Carol would have wisdom in the activities
that she offers when she returns from stateside time.

Sunday, November 28: Pray that Manuel (and other leaders in Impacto)
would have wisdom about decisions he is thinking about and will be
making. Pray that he would have a clear understanding of what God
would like for him to do.

Monday, November 29: George will probably be making another trip to
Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama toward the end of this month or the
first of December to meet with the other Logistic Coordinators. Pray
for him as he tries to work out his schedule and the details.

Tuesday, November 30: On this last day of the month why not take time
to say thank you Lord for this month and for the blessings of this
day. Many times we forget to stop and simply say thank you Lord for
all that we have.