: PRAY

We continue to pray for Denis Johnston as he prepares to retire at the end of December thanking God for all his years of service and for the growth of SAMS during that time. Please pray for God’s guidance in the whole selection process for a new General Secretary.

There will also be 2 important meetings over the next few weeks and we remember these in prayer. The SAMS General council meeting will be held on Friday 25^th November and the Northern Committee will meet on Wednesday 30^th November.

BRAZIL

Monte Horebe: John and Phyllis Logan have recently returned from a trip to Brazil where they visited Monte Horebe. Please pray that Shia, the Monte Horebe school Principal, continues her recovery from illness. Give thanks that she has the energy and desire to work part-time.

We pray too that work on the Cacador community centre continues effectively as we give thanks that Adimir and Terezinha Artigas are so committed to improving the welfare of this impoverished community.

We bring before God the leadership team at Monte Horebe asking that they may continue to pull together despite the fact that Abel has left MH. Give thanks for the work Abel has done over the past 8 years.

Boa Vista: Valerie Thom is planning to take a team out to Brazil later next year.  She is currently preparing to travel to Brazil on 3^rd January to visit Boa Vista and other projects in order to put together a picture of areas that need help and support, and to put a programme in place for the team.  We pray for this trip and for Valerie as she prepares to go out in January.

SPAIN – Sue Woodcock:

We continue to pray for Sue Woodcock in Spain.  In a recent prayer letter she writes – Hallelujah! A year from the original diagnosis and prognosis and I am still here, still working a few hours each day and very grateful to the Lord for all that He enables me to do, for the way the church has responded throughout this time, and for daily grace to meet every situation.

However, the news from the oncologist this week was not good. The marker in the blood has increased quite a lot in the last three weeks, and since the current treatment is no longer working as well as hoped, and the side effects are accumulating, he is completely changing the treatment regime.

We remember Sue in prayer as she has started more treatment.  As she herself said “I still believe in a God who answers prayer, even if He doesn’t do exactly what I think He ought to!” We pray too for the prayer groups and growth groups within the church, and that more people will attend.

PARAGUAY

Asuncion – We pray for Saint Andrew’s College as they come to the end of the school year thanking God for his provision and protection over the last year.

At this time things are very busy in the school with lots of end of year special events and services.  We pray for head teacher Gwen Carlisle and Mags Southern as they oversee all of these, for all the teachers and especially for Matthew and Kim Hickmott and Hannah Taylor SAMS volunteers.  We pray too for those who will be preaching at these special events.  We also remember in prayer Bishop Peter and Sally Bartlett.

Concepcion:  We pray for Bishop Andres and Estela and all the leadership of the church in Concepción asking that God will encourage them, protect them and give them vision.  We thank God for the work with the many children and for the good group of young people who regularly attend church asking that God will help them to grow in their faith.

PERU:

Paul and Sue Tester, prayer partners in Peru write “We feel so very blessed to be able to share with you the news that Sarah is 13 weeks pregnant! We are both completely over the moon and so grateful to God for this miracle of new life.”  The following are some of their prayer requests.

Please thank God:

• For Baby! That he/she is developing well and that Sarah is generally feeling good.

• For the girls in the Children’s Home, as their social worker managed to get their birth certificates sorted!

Please continue to pray for:

• Good health, safety and protection for Baby and Sarah

• Wisdom for Sarah in organizing her days so that she has enough time to rest.

Thank you for your prayers. To read the complete prayer letters or for more information you can visit www.samsireland.com

URUGUAY

1 November Pray for Bishop Miguel and deacon Marta Tamayo and assistant bishop Gilberto, clergy and people, for godly wisdom and love as with their brothers and sisters in the province they explore a good way forward for their diocese.

2 Latin partners Gonzalo and Leticia Soria write: ‘We have recently been praying for those older people in our community who are in bad health and alone. Could you please pray for the team that regularly visits these folk? Ask that they will be a source of encouragement and the love of Christ. This year we have more people in need of food and clothes coming to the church during the cold months. Pray for this real and constant need right on our doorstep and for God’s help in our community outreach.’

CHILE

3 Pray for Bishop Tito in his responsibility as presiding bishop in the Province of the Southern Cone as well as in the diocese. At the end of August he visited the Diocese of Uruguay where they have waited many years for the province to agree to their request to ordain women to the priesthood. Pray for God’s grace and wisdom for all taking part in the extraordinary synod 4-10 November to resolve the future of the Diocese of Uruguay.

4 The bishops of the province are in retreat from today until Sunday. Pray this may be a time of waiting on the Lord and receiving a fresh anointing of his Spirit prior to the synod on 7-8 November. Pray too for his guidance in the meeting of the Provincial executive committee on 9-10 November. Pray for mutual encouragement.

5 Pray for Suffragan Bishop Abelino and Paty Apeleo in their pastoral oversight of the San Joaquin church, Santiago, and in the support he gives to Bishop Tito with a wider travelling ministry. Pray for their family in the south.

6 Remember Latin partners Juan Carlos and Marisol Chamorro and their ministry in St Andrew’s, Renaca. Pray especially for university students in the congregation who are protesting over poor provision for students and looking for human and political solutions, that they may know God’s love and be encouraged in their faith.

7 Latin partners Alejandra and Cristobal Ceron pray that the members of the church plant St James the Apostle may grow in maturity, joy and numbers. Pray for good relationships and discipleship in their small group Bible studies. They thank God for good family times with daughters Belen, Jacinta and Amanda.

8 Praise God for an evangelistic movement called MOU in which 2,000 young people shared the gospel on the streets last year.

Cristobal Ceron writes: ‘It was an enormous blessing to see the new generation taking seriously the call of Jesus proclaiming the gospel with no fear or shame’. Pray for Cristobal in his leadership of MOU.

9 Uphold in prayer mission partners Alf and Hilary Cooper and the La Trinidad church. Pray for daily strength and guidance for Alf in his wider responsibilities and opportunities in the Presidential palace, his weekly television programme, as archdeacon of the metropolitan region and his teaching in CEP.

10 Pray for Latin partners Ary and Danny Morrison and sons Samuel, Michael and Andrew, as they move to a new ministry in Ipswich. Pray for the church in Gomez Carreno as they look to appoint a new pastor, for the Lord’s leading in finding the right person.

11 Mission partners Daniel and Ellelein Kirk have found it a real privilege to lead several small discipleship groups of three to four people of different ages, studying key doctrines in the Bible, sharing, challenging and praying for one another. The response has been very positive. One student realised that his relationship with the Lord tended to stagnate when things stayed between him alone and God. He found the group ‘sometimes uncomfortable, but a necessary and powerful exercise to grow in the knowledge and character of Christ’.

12 Pray for Daniel and Ellelein and their sons David and Joshua, especially praying for a home group Daniel has started with about a dozen leaders within the Gomez Carreno church. The hope and prayer is that these leaders will be equipped to lead home groups themselves very soon.

13 Pray with Bishop Tito and Christians in Chile who are hoping to form a team to plant a church in Valparaiso, the large port near Vina del Mar. There is no live Anglican community in this city, although there is a church building which seats 400. Ask for God’s guidance in this project.

14 Remember in prayer mission partners David and Jean Hucker and children Wesley and Caleb, seeking to establish a strong and mature congregation in Arica in the extreme north of Chile. Pray for a Chilean pastor to work alongside them in leadership.

15 Pray for Jose Pino in his new ministry as pastor of St Matthew’s Church in Temuco. Janet Mena writes that with only one other ordained pastor in their zone, ‘Alberto is busier now than ever travelling to take communion services, but it is a joy to have the health and strength to continue this ministry.’ Pray for them and ask the Lord to raise up new young leaders for the rural churches.

UK

16 Thank God for Jo Hazelton’s recent visits to mission partners and Latin partners in Argentina and Uruguay. Pray for her back in the office and for the people she works with as they adjust to staff changes and heavy work loads.

17 Pray for Jonathan, Hilary, Elizabeth and Benjamin Rowe, settling into their new life in Truro after 11 years in Spain, and for Jonathan’s work with the Church of England South West Training Ministry Course. Pray too for Babs Owen back in the UK after eight years teaching in Paraguay, for God’s leading.

18 Bishop Henry Scriven is at Greyfriars Church in Reading this weekend. Pray for him as he preaches and shares news of God’s mission in Spain and Latin America. Uphold him in prayer in his travelling and ministry both to UK churches and overseas. Early in December he will make his first visit to Bolivia. Pray for him and his wife Catherine as their ministry includes hospitality to bishops and people in mission visiting the UK.

PERU

19 Pray for Bishop William Godfrey and his wife Judith, for his ministry of pastoral care and oversight, for his Episcopal Council, strategy, finances, vision and planning. Pray for his physical and spiritual well-being and his pursuit of holiness of life.

20 Praise God for the growth of the church in the Ica and Ayacucho area and pray for Suffragan Bishop Michael and Linda Chapman. Thank God for his guidance in establishing several missions and in the appointment of a full-time team: Misael, Claudia and Pastor.

21 Mission partner Pat Blanchard returned to Lima on 11 November. Thank God for her UK ministry and pray for her as she takes up her work again in the Shalom Centre for children with disabilities and their families, and in the Jesus el Nazareno church. Pray she may be encouraged by God’s blessings while she has been away and ready by his grace for the challenges which await her.

22 Commit to the Lord the ministry in the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd in Lima. Pray for grace and energy for Juan Carlos and Penny Marcés and children Lizi, Rebeca and Jonny. They are busy with services, Bible studies and Alpha courses in both English and Spanish. Pray for Penny and the diocesan committee for social work.

23 Mission partners Paul and Sarah Tester thank God for more young people coming to the Compassion project and for opportunities for Paul to get to know the teenagers and Sarah the children. Pray the project will continue as it serves a great need and also for Sarah leading the youth group at San Pablo by candlelight as they wait to be supplied with electricity! They long to reach parents in this area.

24 Pray that Latin partners Alejandro and Doris Mesco may experience God’s love, encouragement and enabling as Alejandro seeks to build up the new believers in Cabanaconde and to finish building the new chapel.

BRAZIL

25 Pray for Bishop Robinson and Miriam Cavalcanti as he continues to speak out God’s truth in Brazil and gives leadership and pastoral oversight in the Diocese of Recife.

26 Pray for mission partners Marcus and Tamara Throup and daughter Rebekah in Joao Pessoa. Thank God for their gifts in encouraging other young couples in their marriages, and young people in discipleship of Jesus. Pray for energy and wisdom for Marcus in preaching, theological teaching and study and ask God’s blessing on their family life together.

27 Latin partner Simea Meldrum is constantly looking for new ways of reaching needy people in the community near the Living Waters church, Recife. Pray for her and Ian in their new morning service, that it may bring in whole families, helping them in finding the answer to their problems and in restoring family values.

28 Pray for the ongoing work of My Father’s House, committing to the Lord the urgent need for a move to a new house. Pray for mission partners Andy and Rose Roberts and the staff with the daily demands of caring for boys from difficult backgrounds, some with deep emotional problems. As the boys receive love and care, pray they may look to their Christian role models and find new purpose and faith in Christ.

29 Thank God that the ministry to pregnant women in Recife and the sewing cooperative, both started by mission partner Ruth Vilella, are continuing well. Pray for wisdom for Ruth in discovering God’s will for her now, whether to start something new or fit in with what is already up and running. Pray for her husband Efraim in his work and for their baby Max.

30 Keep praying for a full recovery for Pastor Miguel Uchoa following his bone marrow transplant. Pray for the Holy Spirit church in Recife and for Latin partners Josias and Danielle da Souza and their family. Thank God for Josias’ commitment to the young people and to preaching God’s word and ask the Lord to refresh him and bless his ministry.

Loving and believing in your goodness

I thank you for the beauty put before me.

Asking for serenity and acceptance

I will have the courage to grow.

Giving to and respecting all others

May the world be closer to peace.