Operation Christmas Child Prayer January Week 4 Swaziland, Zambia & Zimbabwe

This week we will be praying for Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Swaziland is a small, landlocked enclave between Mozambique and South Africa. It has 12 people groups with 8 languages. 25% are Evangelical Christian. 1 in 4 adults are living with HIV and many others have Tuberculosis. AIDS has spread at an alarming rate and now Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence in the world. HIV and AIDS have had a devastating impact on the country; particularly among families and households. Life expectancy is just 49.9 years – one of the lowest in the world. AIDS-related deaths in Swaziland exacerbated existing poverty for families, and have resulted in a very youthful population. More than 1/3 of the population is under 14 years old. Pray for healing of their sick. (here is a video link from children in Swaziland saying “thank you and singing” after receiving shoeboxes at a distribution a few years ago, if you want to watch it: https://youtu.be/IZDMYz9XDyk )

Swaziland’s Specific Requests are:

1. Pray God will give the volunteer National and Regional Leadership Teams wisdom as they continue with more MP trainings.

2. Pray God will guide the teams to select the faithful and committed MPs.

Zambia is a landlocked central/southern African country; largely Savannah grasslands with forested areas with 15 million people. 46% of the population is 14 years old or younger. It has 82 people groups with only 5% unreached. They speak 72 languages in all. 25% of the population is Evangelical Christian. Leadership training is an urgent need, the natural outworking of sustained church growth. There are many more colleges and Bible schools, representing every major denominational expression. Pray for spiritually and educationally qualified leaders to be prepared through these institutions. The Zambia National Leadership Team (NLT) is an experienced team with several members who have volunteered with Operation Christmas Child for over ten years. Nelly Chikwanda serves as the National Coordinator. Ernest Mangamu leads Church Mobilization. Chanda Banda heads up Discipleship through TGJ. Chali Kasonde leads prayer. Mellbin Simangolwa helps navigate logistics and also serves as an International Field Representative in the South and East Africa Region. Shoebox gifts collected in the United States in 2015 will be delivered to 250,728 children in Zambia. Praise God that over 1,978,745 children have received a shoebox since 1999, when Operation Christmas Child began distributing gifts here.

Zambia’s Specific Requests are:

1. Pray the 200 Local Contacts will gain wisdom and will have a good strategy as they start collecting TGJ reports.

2. Pray for The Greatest Journey discipleship program Train the Trainers event.

3. Praise God for the 1,894 TGJ teachers trained this season.

4. Praise God for the selection of full new sRLT in Central Region.

Zimbabwe is a landlocked state in south of Zambia in Africa with 14 million people. 38% are 14 years or younger. It has 44 people groups with 7% unreached. They speak 22 languages. 31% of the population is Evangelical Christian. Pray for The AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwe; it is one of the world’s worst cases. A combination of inadequate government action, lack of healthcare, traditional (and modern) practices that exacerbate spread and the failure to address the stigma result in great suffering. Thankfully, prevalence rates have apparently declined to around 14%, but over 2,000 are still dying per week and there are around one million AIDS orphans. Pray for a radical change in hearts and attitudes to sex and to AIDS itself. Also pray for effective and specific programs to address the issue. Pray that all churches might face up to the moral, spiritual and economic implications of the pandemic for their ministry, and that pastors would lead the way in endorsing helpful initiatives, holy and transparent lifestyles and loving compassion for those afflicted. The Zimbabwe National Leadership Team began with its first season in 1999. Tawona Mtshiya became the NLT Coordinator in 2007. Besides Tawona Mtshiya, the Zimbabwe NLT consists of Zunga Gladman as Discipleship Coordinator, Bishop Jonathon Masamba as Prayer Coordinator, Dumisani Mtatiwa as Logistics Coordinator and Pastor Musandiri as Church Coordinator. The Zimbabwe NLT has nine Regional Leadership Teams that are instrumental in leading efforts in the different regions of the country. Shoebox gifts collected in the United States in 2015 will be delivered to 186,024 children in Zimbabwe. Praise God that over 1,522,944 children have received a shoebox since 1999, when Operation Christmas Child began distributing gifts here.



Zimbabwe’s Specific Requests are:

1. Pray for wisdom as the team reaches out to various stakeholders in government and the community. 
2. Pray for all the orphans, vulnerable children, child-headed families, and HIV positive children within the provinces. 
3. Praise God for the success of the Northern sRLT. Praise Him for enabling them to distribute the gift boxes in four of the most neglected areas in that region. 
4. Praise God there were not as many delays in the government clearing the shoeboxes this season. 
5. Praise God the distributions went well. 
6. Pray for the RLTs as several team members have experienced deaths in their families. 
7. Pray for the NLT as they develop the expansion program to reach to the most neglected areas through the training of the SRLTs. 
8. Pray they will have the resources to reach to the provinces which, due to the economic situation in Zimbabwe, OCC has been unable to reach. 

Here is one more cute video: zimbabwe-boy-with-toothbrush 

John 14:13-14: “ Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

Operation Christmas Child January Prayer 2016

WEEK 3: January 17--26^th Pray for the following OCC Requests:

NEA Requests:

1. Pray as goals are being set for 2016 collections!!! 11,000 is what we are praying about so far. We will let you know soon when God leads us to our official number to be the NEA Goal for 2016! 
2. Pray for Melinda Dixon and other Mid-South Area Coordinators as they travel to the AC Planning Conference in Nashville in the next few weeks for it to be refreshing and motivating! It was rescheduled due to winter weather.
3. Continue to pray for Marlin Dixon’s healing after a minor surgery he had on Jan 11. He is planning to go back to work Sunday Night, the 24th.

 Operation Christmas Child Mid-South Requests:

1. February 3rd is our 1st quarterly day of Prayer and Fasting for OCC this year. (the other days will be May 4, August 3, and November 2, 2016)
2. Praising God for all of the Gospel Opportunities that He blessed OCC in 2015!!
3. Please pray for the many distributions that will be taking place over the next several months and that God would be glorified and many children would come to know the Lord.
4. Please pray for God to continue to call new volunteers to partner with us in sharing the Gospel. We are seeing a great response to the new Volunteer Relations campaign!
5. Please pray for Franklin Graham and the Decision America Tour.

This week we are praying for Namibia, Seychelles, and South Africa. 

Specific Requests for each country are:

Namibia is on the southwest boarder of Africa. It has 2.2 million people with 37 different languages. 270,000 are Evangelical Christian (12.2 %). Challenges for Namibia are: Poverty – a dangerous gap separates the rich and poor; over 35% are unemployed. , Aids- Namibia has the fourth highest infection rate in the world, and Reconciliation. Namibia’s colonial past under German and then South African rule, the legacy of apartheid and the Cold War-fueled fighting and terrorism before independence have left many scars. Some good progress is being made in the area of reconciliation; pray that in Christ both perpetrators and victims might find forgiveness and peace. Namibia began receiving shoe box gifts in 2000. The current National Leadership Team Coordinator is Isak Farmer. The Namibia NLT has 2 Regional Leadership Teams that are instrumental in leading efforts in the different regions of the country.

Specific Namibia Requests:

1. Pray for the finalization of the agreement with the new consignee.
2. Pray for a new volunteer National Leadership Team Resource Coordinator.
3. Praise God for the formation and establishment of two new RLTs.
4. Praise God for the around 800 TGJ teachers trained this year. Pray the TGJ teachers and local contacts will remain faithful and committed to the call of God in discipling children. Pray for diligence in reporting all that is to be celebrated from this season.
5. Praise God for the committed local contacts who joined the Khomas Team.

Seychelles is a group of 92 granite and coral islands spread across 400,000 square km of the Indian Ocean; 1,600 km east of Kenya. Its population is 84,600. There are 10 people groups with 3 languages, 30% are unreached. 5.9% of the population is Evangelical Christian. The challenges for prayer are the less reached peoples: 1) The outer and less-populated islands are isolated and have had little challenge to make a personal commitment to Christ; and 2) The small Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim communities need loving outreach from believers who demonstrate the true gospel. Seychelles began receiving Shoebox Gospel Opportunities in 2010. Since 2010 over 14,000 children in Seychelles have received a shoebox gift. Over 21% of the population is under 14 years old. 

Specific Seychelles Requests:

1. Pray for the Ministry Partners.
2. Pray the children will finish The Greatest Journey discipleship program.

South Africa is a republic with nine provinces at the southernmost point of Africa. It has 62 people groups with 10% unreached. They speak 11 languages in all and 21% are Evangelical Christian. The South African National Leadership Team began with its first season in 1996. Pray God will motivate all of the teams to reach the least reached and unreached children, including those in the most rural villages, with the Gospel. Peter Sekhonyane became the NLT Coordinator in 2008. The South Africa NLT also consists of Abigail Toobi as Prayer Coordinator, Mandla Nemabulane as Resources Coordinator and other additional members. The South Africa NLT has one Regional Leadership Team that is instrumental in leading efforts in the different regions of the country.

Specific South Africa Requests:

1. Praise God for the first successful TGJ season led by the new Discipleship Coordinator.
2. Praise God for healing the RLT Coordinator in Kwazulu Natal, who was critically ill and admitted to hospital.
3. Pray for the remaining TGJ teacher training events.
4. Pray that the Gospel message shared through OCC will contribute to the healing of South Africa.
5. Pray for the youth of the country who are under the attack of drugs, alcohol, and teenage pregnancy.

OCC Prayer - Madagascar 1/10-1/16/2016

WEEK 2:  January 10-16, 2016 Pray for Madagascar. 

It is the world’s 4th largest island; 1,600 km long in the Indian Ocean; 600 km off the coast of Mozambique, Africa.  It has 41 people groups with 27% unreached.  There are 20 different languages in Madagascar.  11% of the population is Evangelical Christian.  Pray for the ethnic minorities; the Muslim Comorians, Gujaratis and Arabs, with few known believers among them.

Specifically, pray for:

·         Pray for the tax exoneration process that would allow free import of the shoeboxes.

·         Pray for the children to be free from idolatry, fornication, sex, drugs, and alcohol addiction.  

·         Pray that many children will become missionaries through The Greatest Journey.

NEA Requests:

·         Pray as goals are being set for 2016 collections!!!

Operation Christmas Child Mid-South Requests:

·         Praising God for all of the Gospel Opportunities that He blessed OCC in 2015!!

·         Please pray for the many distributions that will be taking place over the next several months and that God would be glorified and many children would come to know the Lord.

·         Please pray for all Mid-South Area Coordinator volunteers as they will be coming together January 21 -23 for the 2016 AC Planning meeting.

·         Please pray for God to continue to call new volunteers to partner with us in sharing the Gospel. We are seeing a great response to the new Volunteer Relations campaign!

·         Please pray for Franklin Graham and the Decision America Tour. 

OCC Madagascar

Shoebox Delivery in Madagascar

Madagascar Children receiving Shoeboxes

 #PrayWithOCC

My Grade Report

When checking my 3 sons grade reports for the end of semester it made me think about what if God gave is grades; like a Christ-like Report Card- hmmm, what grades would God give me?  In school we had subjects like reading, writing, Oral Communications, Math and PE. Also there was always that grade for conduct and in college attendance was given points.  So here are where my thoughts went...if I were to be handed a report card from God, would I receive passing grades in the following subjects???

• Reading (The Bible) = ? 
• Writing (sending encouraging words) = ?
• Oral Communication (Praying)= ?
• Math (multiplying God's kingdom/witnessing) = ? 
• ... Conduct (living Christ-like) = ?
• Attendance (church) = ?
• PE (being the hands & feet of Jesus) = ? 

I challenge you to examine "your grades" and ask God to show you the areas that "Need Improvement" in 2016. Lord please help me to always keep YOU first in my life. Thank you for forgiving me of my sins & failures, I love You!

ABC's of Godly Character - Z

Z is for Zeal! Zeal or being zealous is energetic enthusiasm; a strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to accomplish something. When Jesus performed miracles he often asked the people not to tell, yet it made them want to tell it that much more. “Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. Mark 7:36”. Today, Christ commanded us to tell everyone about Him to the utmost parts of the earth, but do we? Revelation 3:19 says “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent”. We are all guilty of sin, of not obeying His Word, and of having less Godly Character than we should at some point in our lives, but the secret is to learn to me more zealous and to repent. Sincerely ask God to forgive you, and He will. 

Well we have made it from A to Z with Godly Character. Remember the Bible says Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, which is the Greek letters for the beginning and end of the alphabet. Revelation 1:7-8 says “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Jesus is the beginning and end of life, of everything. He is the Eternal Ruler of past, present, and future. He is the A, Z, Alpha, Omega, Beginning, End, First and Last! Does your zeal show this to others today? We need to be on fire for God because one day this world will be no more and everyone will either go to Heaven or Hell. Are you a True Follower of God or just a fair-weather fan? Get your priorities in line with what really matters in life. It’s all about Jesus! Do you have the zeal of DC Talk as they sing 

“What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak? What will people do when they find that it's true? I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak. There ain't no disguising the truth. No I ain't hiding the truth. People say I'm strange, does it make me a stranger, that my best friend was born in a manger? What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak”? 

Does your attitude have enough zeal to live out loud, or do you feel like you are hiding your “Christian-side” from others? What is God calling you to do with your life? What zeal has He placed upon you?

Prayer starter: Dear Lord, stir in me a zealous longing for You. Unsettle me, so that I must seek a deeper relationship with You. Thank You for Your Word. Help me to understand all I need to out of it and help me to grow in Godly Character daily. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to realize we were created for such a time as this! Now be bold like brave Queen Ester and stand up for what is right and for what you believe in. Live you’re A-Z Godly Character out loud today! Esther 4:13-15 “Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

ABC's of Godly Character - Y

Y is for Yearning! Yearning is a deep, tender and urgent longing; an appitite or craving. Do you have a yearning to know more about Jesus and the Bible? Isaiah 26:9 says “My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you”. The old hymn More About Jesus describes yearning well: 

“More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me. More about Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern; Spirit of God, my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me. More about Jesus; in His Word, Holding communion with my Lord; Hearing His voice in every line, Making each faithful saying mine. More about Jesus; on His throne, Riches in glory all His own; More of His kingdom’s sure increase; More of His coming, Prince of Peace. More, more about Jesus, More, more about Jesus; More of His saving fullness see, More of His love Who died for me”. 

They got it…MORE ABOUT JESUS! Life has to be more about Jesus, not about us! Do you yearn to know Him deeper? Psalm 42:1-2 says “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”. We have to crave, thirst, yearn for a relationship with God. Are you doing that today?

Prayer starter: Heavenly Father, help me to crave a relationship with You. Create in me a yearning for Your Word. I want to be more in love with You than anything else in this world. Thank You for never giving up on me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to work on developing a yearning for God. Make it a goal to spend more time in prayer and reading His Word. Crave Him today!

ABC's of Godly Character - X

X! I know if you have been following my ABC's all month, then you have probably been wondering what is an X word that deals with Godly Character….well, here are a few: X is for X-alt (exalt) Him, be an x-ample (example) x-hibit (exhibit) Godly Character, or x-pand (expand) His Kingdom. However, there was only 1 true X word that would do, so here we go! X is for Xerox copy! We should be a Xerox copy of the of the beatitudes in the Bible. Matthew 5:3-16 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”. Are you a good example of these traits? Are you living a life that is a Xerox copy of the True Light of the World?

Prayer starter: Dear Lord, please help me to be more like a Xerox copy of the life You lived on earth as an example for us. Help me to develop more and more of Your character traits by Your Holy Spirit filling me and guiding me each and every day. In Your Name, Amen.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to let your light shine for others to see! Be a Xerox copy of God’s commands today. Live out loud for Him!