Swazi Monthly Prayer Calendar - March

MARCH 2011 PRAYER CALENDAR
The Swazi Team

Tuesday March 1: Todd and Deborah Hoskins arrived in Swaziland October 2010. After attending the 40/40 orientation training, participating in a 2-month language/culture study and moving to Manzini in January, the Hoskins desire to develop Swazi friendships and look to begin ministry opportunities. Pray for Todd and Deborah as they seek to find co-laborers in the work in the Manzini area. Pray for their continued adjustment to a different culture and lifestyle.

Wednesday March 2: February 21st the volunteer team from the Atlantic Association in North Carolina arrived to minister with the Myers in the Shiselweni area. A ladies’ overnight retreat was conducted as well as a weekend youth retreat and homestead visitation. Pray these contacts will reap great rewards for the Kingdom. May each team member’s life be fully blessed by their experiences in Swaziland. The team leaves tomorrow for the states.

Thursday March 3: Today Lacie Allen is scheduled for an update CT scan, hearing test and visit with her ENT doctor in Jo’burg to see how her ears are doing. Plans include surgery in her left ear in April. Pray the testing will go well and surgery will correct Lacie’s hearing loss.

Friday March 4: Continue to pray for JC Miracle’s (Barbara Myers’ great-nephew) healing from pancreatitis. Pray also for healing for Wayne Myers’ siblings, Terry, Patsy and Patsy’s husband, and Lynda, all dealing with health issues.

Saturday March 5: The executive committee of the Baptist Convention of Swaziland meets today. Planning for the 2011 Good Friday/Easter Services continue. Pray all the details of this major Swazi Baptist event will be finalized. Pray for good attendance for today’s meeting.

Sunday March 6: Pray the Mgamudze Baptist Church will grow spiritually under the leadership of Chris Msibi. Chris recently married and teaches during the week but able to stay in Mgamudze (his homestead) on weekends. Pray Chris will continue seek the Lord’s will for his life and ministry. Pray the Mgamudze Baptist Church will experience a new beginning.

Monday March 7: Pray for Nathan Allen today on his 3rd birthday!! Praise the Lord both Allen children are loving their new schools and starting the new school year off well. Continue to pray for a great school year, their teachers, great friends and opportunities to share the love of Jesus with those around them.

Tuesday March 8: Pray the rains will not stop just when crops and gardens need it the most. Pray the rains will continue until April and May and there will be enough water to fill the streams and rivers and provide food for all of Swaziland.

Wednesday March 9: Praise the Lord for several Swazis who recently accepted Jesus into their lives. Pray for their spiritual growth and their relationship with the Lord. Pray each will stay involved in a local church.

Thursday March 10: Kym Pennington, True Love Waits International consultant returns to Swaziland in May to conduct three three-day TLW trainings. The first training is scheduled for the 15th-17th; second 19th-21st and the third training 23rd-25th. Pray for Kym as she prepares for this time of training. Pray for the Swazi Team as we encourage possible attendees and prepare for the three training events.

Friday March 11: Pray for the National Youth Committee as they make plans for the Youth Leaders’ Retreat in June (tentatively scheduled for June 10-12) and the National Youth Camp scheduled the last weekend in August.

Saturday March 12: Attendance for the Vuvulane Baptist Church is really low. Until recently there was no Sunday School class for the children and therefore very few attended. To help encourage youth and children attendance an outreach event is planned for today!! Bible studies, fun/recreation, Bible book learning and fellowship are on the agenda. Pray this event will reach the youth and children of the Vuvulane Baptist Church community.

Sunday March 13: There are five Swazi Baptist churches in the Manzini area. Most of these are experiencing problems of poor leadership or doctrinal issues. As the Hoskins develop friendships and working relationships with the pastors/leaders of these churches, pray these issues can be addressed and the outcome will be healthy and spiritually vibrant churches. Pray for wisdom for the Hoskins as they seek the Lord’s help and guidance with this large task!

Monday March 14: Next month (April 21-24) the National Easter Services will meet in Manzini. This yearly special events begins the day before Good Friday and ends on Easter Sunday with approximately 200 people attending. Pray this year’s services will have a spiritual foundation and will reflect the true Resurrection story. Pray those attending will seek the Lord’s direction and guidance in their thoughts and beliefs. Pray for unity in all our Swazi Baptist churches during this special time of worshipping together for four days.

Tuesday March 15: For the last few years missionary Barbara Myers and Swazi Annah Thwala have been asked to organize a children’s program during the National Easter Services. The children come together for Bible studies, Bible activities, worship, recreation and fellowship. Pray the planning of this year’s children’s program will provide a good basis and help the children attending understand more about Jesus.

Wednesday March 16: Today the IMB Presidential Search Committee of the Board of Trustees will present their candidate selection for the Board’s new president. Please pray for this very important meeting. Pray for the committee as they present their candidate and as the voting takes place.

Thursday March 17: Smanga is a youth from the Shiselweni region now a Swazi police officer living in another area of the country but returns to his home at Thunzini twice a month. He has a desire to continue with ministry even though he has another occupation. He is also trained to present the True Love Waits message and would like to continue working with the Thunzini Baptist Church and sharing the TLW message. Please pray Smanga will be able to continue serving the Lord as well as being a Christian witness with fellow police officers. Praise the Lord for Smanga’s spiritual growth and witness.

Friday March 18: Where to meet, what type of courses to offer, who should come, what should be the fee, what to eat, these are just a few questions the Swazi Team will answer as planning for the first Swazi Rural Training School May 10-13 continues. Input from Swazi pastors will also be encouraged as every detail is discussed and the Lord’s will sought. Pray as the Swazi Team works to address these issues and plan this very useful and beneficial ministry. May these schools provide much needed training that will spiritually strengthen our Swazi Baptist churches.

Saturday March 19: Today (19th of March) the Shiselweni Baptist Association meets at the Velebantfu Baptist Church. The purpose of this meeting is to encourage the Swazi Baptist churches in the Shiselweni region to provide a strong Sunday School program for all ages and to meet faithfully on Sunday for worship. Pray today’s meeting will be a good time of great encouragement and fellowship.

Sunday March 20: The Velebantfu Baptist Church will today conduct a special licensing service for their pastor, Liswe Nsibandze. Pastor Nsibandze has led this church for five years and is a strong leader and committed Christian. Pray the members of the Velebantfu Baptist Church will continue to support their pastor as he leads the congregation.

Monday March 21: For years you have been asked to pray the King of Swaziland, his wives and children will come to understand what it means to accept Jesus as their Savior. Please continue to pray this prayer request. Just think what would happen, if the King put aside unchristian culture and traditions to follow Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. Psalm 112:1

Tuesday March 22: Continue to pray for the Allen family as they seek to balance family and ministry every day. Now that Lacie and Nathan are in school, pray for Steve and Monica to use their time wisely and look for opportunities to minister to folks every day.

Wednesday March 23: Pray for the ladies’ disciple group that meets every Wednesday at the Peace Baptist Church. Over the next several weeks their study will be on 1 Corinthians. May this be a time of encouragement to these ladies as they continue to faithfully serve each Sunday with no consistent pastoral leadership.

Thursday March 24: The last week of May two volunteers, Hunter and Katy will arrive in Swaziland for a time of ministry and for Hunter the reuniting with many Swazi friends. Hunter as well as her sister Brinkley and father Jimmy have made many trips to Swaziland as volunteers. During their first week they will work in the Tshaneni area with the Myers and the month of June will find them ministering with the Allens in Mbabane and Hoskins in Manzini. Pray for Hunter and Katy as they prepare for their ministry in Swaziland. May this be a wonderful experience for Katy’s first trip to Swaziland and for Hunter as she returns to Swaziland.

Friday March 25: In Jesus we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that his love shed upon us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:7-8. For those following the Muslim faith this is not their promise. Pray Swazis following the Muslim faith will have a chance to hear and accept these words found in Ephesians and promises of Jesus. May they soon receive redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Saturday March 26: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN UNENGAGED PEOPLES: The Himba of Namibia live in a tribal setting, away from modern conveniences. Their clothes are made of animal skins and they bathe the traditional way in smoke, not water. They believe in sangomas/witchdoctors and ancestors but they are not familiar with Jesus Christ. Please pray for the Himba to seek the true God. Pray for someone to tell them that they do not need to fear the sangomas and appease the ancestors. Pray someone will come among them in their culture and share the need for Jesus Christ in their lives.

Sunday March 27: This month a Bible study began in the community of Macethuka. This community is approximately 5 kilometers from the Vuvulane Baptist Church and it is very difficult for families with small children to walk the distance. They requested someone to come to their community and begin a Bible study/church. Members of the Vuvulane Baptist Church and their pastor go every other Wednesday to this community for a time of worship. Pray the Lord will call a leader from among His chosen to guide this new work. We praise the Lord for Swazis who desire to learn about Jesus and grow in His Word.

Monday March 28: With the threat of AIDS destroying Swaziland’s youthful generation, the need for a strong True Love Waits program is great. The Swazi Team is happy to say the Lord is providing laborers to help with this task. A “Hand On” volunteer has asked to come to Swaziland for two terms (August 2011-May 2012) to work with True Love Waits in the country. Several youth volunteers have also voiced an interest for ministering in Swaziland this summer and sharing the TLW message with schools and churches. Please pray as these prepare to come and share the TLW message with the population of Swaziland. Pray many lives will be enriched and prolonged through the ministry of these “missionaries.”

Tuesday March 29: Pray for the volunteer team from the Clear Creek Bible School in Pineville, Ky., scheduled to serve in May with the Allens in Mbabane. This team first planned to arrive this month during their spring break but postponed their trip until May. Ministries will include revival services, homestead visitation and Bible studies in two specific areas of ministry. Pray for team members as they spiritually prepare for their work in Swaziland. Pray each will anticipate what God has for his/her life.

Wednesday March 30: Today begins the Two Oceans Cluster Strategy Meeting at the Birchwood Conference Center in Johannesburg, South Africa (March 30-April 4). The First Baptist Church of Orlando, Fla., will provide volunteers to work with the missionary children (MK-missionary kids) program and lead in the worship services. Your missionaries on the Swazi Team will attend this meeting. Pray for the continued preparations and logistics. Pray for spiritual preparedness for the missionaries attending, volunteers ministering and leadership leading.

Thursday March 31: The vision of Baptist Global Response (BGR) is to see people experiencing suffering and poverty to have a life of hope and peace that inspires them to raise their families in confidence, build their communities with dignity and share this life with others. BGR is conducting a conference in Jo’burg April 4-6 that Wayne and Barbara Myers will attend. Pray the Myers will be able to successfully learn ways and develop strategy that will help the Swazi Team better assist the sick and suffering in Swaziland.