Prayer Mobilization Line: The following are praise reports and prayer requests from Nazarene Missions International for Wednesday, 27 May 2015 "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth."[Psalm 145:18, NIV]
PRAISES:
Maximum Mission in Dominican Republic
Maximum Mission in Dominican Republic A Maximum Mission evangelistic event was held in the village of Coco in the Dominican Republic earlier this month, and it was completely led by local church young people. At least 18 adults and 60 children accepted Jesus as their savior. Thank you Lord! Read more in the NCN News story.
Maximum Mission event leads to salvations in Dominican Republic
Coco, Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic North District held its first Maximum Mission May 1 through 3 in the village of Coco. Activities included working with children, conducting ophthalmic consultations, cleaning a ditch, holding evangelistic campaigns, and showing the JESUS film.
This activity represents the beginning of missions from a local perspective. While the district has conducted other evangelistic and compassionate activities, they have never been self-sustaining. This time the entire event was lead by local church young people. At least 18 adults and 60 children accepted Jesus into their hearts. The Church of the Nazarene in Coco will follow up with these individuals.
Angely de Jesus, a 23-year-old sound engineer who attends the Santiago church, retold his experience:
“For me it was a challenge ... to hold the hand of a stranger, unbeliever, not with words but with deeds, to show them that God really loves them. It was also was an opportunity to be able to respond to the cry for help and learn to give and serve others is the highest form of life. This is what Christ came to teach us; surrender and be instruments in His hands to heal the world, help build lives. It’s learning that the gospel is not just words, but an action, a verb that moves, transforms everything it touches.
The way I remember it, I especially remember the children from the baseball game, because of the way that they understood things. For them, we were the strangers coming from another world, and what was necessary or urgent wasn’t to clean up or help them, but to see the world in which they lived. They showed me things with pride, like someone that was showing you a small piece of paradise…their homes, the road to the best river, the school, the places where they fallen down or played, their “baseball stadium” (which a man previously told me used to be a valley, on the highest part of the hill). If you ask me, yes, it was a stadium. A stadium where one dreams, one believes, one wins every single game. Seeing them so happy in what some would call poor conditions helped me understand that the truly poor were really other people. These children were the fortunate ones, the rich owners of the future and dreams.
In the end, my body was exhausted, but my spirit revived, with bags packed for the next time, I thanked everyone for allowing me to help, being a part of their lives and praise the Lord in a different way. THANK YOU!”[Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica Region]
Paty Alvarez
Thank you for praying for Paty Alvarez as she awaited word if the cancer had spread—it has not. Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray for Paty. She serves in a vital role in the North Andean Field Office in Quito, Ecuador.
PRAY FOR:
GLOBAL MINISTRY REQUESTS
Connecticut Pastor Shot
Augustus Sealey, pastor of the Hartford First Church of the Nazarene in Connecticut, USA, was shot on May 24 as he placed Memorial Day flags in the church’s yard. The shooting appears to be random. Read more in the NCN News story.
Connecticut pastor shot early Sunday
Hartford, Connecticut
NBC Connecticut/Hartford First Church photo
A Connecticut pastor was shot Sunday morning while putting out Memorial Day flags, NBC Connecticut, the Hartford Courant, and several other news outlets reported.
Augustus Sealy, 54, pastor of Hartford First Church of the Nazarene, was shot twice in the leg and once in the shoulder around 6:30 a.m. local time. The Courant reported he was found in the road.
A little over 10 minutes later, another individual was shot six times. The 27-year-old second, male victim was shot in the torso and arms, NBC Connecticut reported. He was listed in serious but stable condition at a local hospital. Police are investigating a possible connection.
Hartford First Church official Elton Adams told NBC Connecticut that Sealy was outside the church placing flags in the yard as part of an annual tradition for the church's Memorial Day celebration. A service was also planned Sunday to honor Sealy's fifth anniversary at the church. WFSB reported an associate pastor at the church canceled the Sunday afternoon celebration though Sealy requested business continue as planned.
The Courant reported American flags bordered the front lawn of the church along the sidewalk, but stopped abruptly.
Sealy was transported to St. Francis Hospital, where he underwent surgery. Tuesday Sealy was listed in stable condition. His wife, Sharon Sealy, told NBC Connecticut Augustus was in a lot of pain, but recovering.
Police are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime.
“Some language used in the incident — and given where it was, in front of a church known to be accepting of our LGBT community — it led us to have concern that this is a hate crime,” Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said in an interview with Buzz Feed Tuesday.
Members of the church arriving for Sunday services were shocked to hear the news about their pastor.
A note on the church's website requested prayer for Sealy and his family.
"There’s so many mixed emotions right now. It’s hard," Myrna Springer, a secretary at the church, told NBC. "People’s spirits are low. We just don’t know.”
She told NBC Connecticut that Augustus is a "very caring" and "comfortable person" who is "easy to get along with."
According to reports, there have been at least three fatal shooting in Hartford in the last week. Police continue to investigate.
Prayer is requested for the victims and Hartford First Church.
Sofia Church of the Nazarene
This spring, the Church of the Nazarene in Sofia, Bulgaria, broke ground on land for a permanent place of worship and ministry. “We can barely believe it’s actually happening,” said missionary Jennifer Mann, adding that the church has owned the property since 2001. Ask God to watch over the building of this new facility, and for the people in Sofia who will inhabit it and represent Christ in the years to come. Read the rest of the story in Where Worlds Meet, the Eurasia Region’s newsletter.
Sofia church breaks ground by Gina Grate Pottenger Eurasia Region Communications
This spring, the members of the Church of the Nazarene in Sofia, Bulgaria, broke ground on land they purchased some years ago to build a new sanctuary. After years of praying, planning and drawing up architectural plans, the construction is about to begin. Recently, Doug Mann, district superintendent for Bulgaria and interim pastor of the Sofia church, signed the architectural plans and submitted them to the government agency which issues building permits. Contractors have said the building can be complete in six months, and that the congregation can be worshipping there by Christmas. “We can barely believe it’s actually happening,” said missionary Jennifer Mann, adding that the church has owned the property since 2001. “The Bulgarian church has been dreaming for well over a decade. I think when those bulldozers roll in, it will make it very real. The planned 360-square-meter church building will be two floors; the upper level will house the sanctuary, bathrooms and a pastor’s office. The ground floor will be an open, multi-purpose space for outreach ministries to the neighborhood. There will be sliding walls so they can divide the space into as many as three rooms for things like theological education and English as a Second Language classes. Additionally, there will be a kitchen where the congregation plans to offer a cafe for community events such as moms and tots and music evenings as well as hosting community meals. The building will be disabled accessible, including a lift. “Our plan is to build something we can afford right now, and then as the church grows, there will be room on that same plot to build another building or do something else with the land if they need to. There’s room for expansion,” said missionary Jennifer Mann. The land is more than 2,000 square meters. The design includes solar panels for power, and a green water system that will clean water and reuse it to flush toilets and water the grounds. “We hope to keep our electric and water bills low in the future for the church to sustain itself,” Mann said. Local contractors will build the main structure by August. Then a Work & Witness team is expected to come in September to paint, and the Manns are looking for other teams to do tiling, install the kitchen and lay the landscaping. The congregation has stayed at a size of around 15 to 20 regular attenders for several years due to moving locations repeatedly when rental spaces became suddenly unavailable for different reasons, Doug Mann has explained. That is why they are eager to have a permanent space that they own so they will have a base of operation for consistent community ministry in the years to come, and to attract people they would otherwise lose every time they relocate. Jennifer said that they are looking for short- and mid-term volunteers to come and help when it’s time to launch outreach ministries.
June Missionary Prayer Focus
Please join with Verne Ward, director of Global Mission, in intercession for our June Prayer Focus missionaries. Also, please remember to pray for those who serve God in creative access areas whose names we are unable to list. May the Lord provide for the needs of all Nazarene missionaries.
Shekinah Bergen, Argentina
Glenn and Esperanza “Nancy” Culbertson, Philippines
Randall “Lane” Freeman, Chile
Miguel and Irene Garita, Costa Rica
Martin and Cezarina “Cezi” Glendenning, Eurasia Region
Lauren Harvey, Mexico
Leah Haugh, Chile
Ashley Huber, Croatia
Julie Kelley, Ecuador
Nick and Laura Kietzman-Greer, Dominican Republic
Patrick and Kimberly LeGrand, Costa Rica
Edwin and Wendy Lopez, Panama
Eliel and Renee Morales, Chile
David and Marquita Mosher, Malawi
Steve and Amanda Pettit, Dominica
Jonathan Phillips, Romania
Germán and Patricia Picavea, Argentina
Andrew and Gina Pottenger, Eurasia Region
John and Fonda Reynolds, Philippines
Maia Reynolds, Chile
Dwight and Carolyn Rich, Ecuador
Bernie and Rhonda Slingerland, Panama
Harrison and Jennifer (Staudt) Guamán, Ecuador
Gil and Sarah Thibault, Kosovo
LuVerne “Verne” and Rahel Ward, South Africa
Brian and Julie Woolery, Japan
PALCON 2015
This week marks the first of three PALCON events in the USA and Canada. PALCON is a gathering of clergy who are serving or have served on the front lines of ministry. Pray for every pastor in attendance at the PALCONs (May 27-29, Chicago area; June 30-July 2, Nashville; August 11-13, Calgary). Click here to learn more.
Nazarene Youth Conference 2015
Pray for the students, sponsors, speakers, performers, and staff who are just weeks away from attending Nazarene Youth Conference (NYC) in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, July 8-12. Read more about NYC 2015 by clicking here.
HEALTH-RELATED REQUESTS
Aparecida Azedo
Pray for Aparecida, the mother of Juliana Azedo, who is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer that has metastasized. Juliana translates the Prayer Mobilization Line into Portuguese and says that her mother doesn't know Christ yet.
Thank you for praying.
Let your prayer be so definite that you can say as you leave the prayer closet, ‘I know that I have asked from the Father, and I expect an answer.[Andrew Murray, South African writer and pastor]
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment