OM Bosnia prayer update January 2009

OM International

Happy New Year 2009! Let's lean on our Faithful God and let Him lead us every day. Then we can look back at the end of the year and rejoice in what He has done! The topics for this prayer update are:

1.      AT THE END OF THE YEAR OF PRAYER...

2.      BLESSING CHILDREN WITH CHRISTMAS-PACKAGES

3.      BIHAĆ, SARAJEVO... AND MOSTAR?!?

4.      WELCOME NEW TEAM-MEMBERS!

5.      GENERAL PRAYER POINTS

1. AT THE END OF  THE YEAR OF PRAYER...

160 believers gathered to the 3. Prayer-conference of the Year of Prayer  in Tuzla at the beginning of December. The three days were filled with fellowship, intercession and worship. This time, the focus was on the Northern part of the country. We prayed for the specific needs of the local churches and  blessed their leaders, but also asked for the outpouring of God's Spirit on all of Bosnia-Herzegovina. One local pastor said: "We look at our country and it is like a half-finished conference-hall. The walls are being fixed, but the wires are still hanging, the ceiling is covered with plastic, carpets smell from mold. It is easy to get discouraged by how much work is still left. Will we give up? Or will we keep pressing forward, asking God to give us strength for each day?"   The year 2008, the Year of Prayer for Bosnia-Herzegovina, is now officially over. But

PLEASE PRAY:

• That the local believers as well as friends outside of Bosnia-Herzegovina would continue praying for this country. Pray that God will bring healing, reconciliation, true repentance and revival to this country! May the whole country be filled with God's life-changing power!

2. BLESSING CHILDREN WITH CHRISTMAS-PACKAGES

It has become an annual tradition, that churches of Bosnia-Herzegovina distribute Samaritan's Purse gift-boxes in their communities. So many kids have been blessed with a beautiful package! This year was not an exception. Both OM-teams in Dobrinja and Bihać are also participating in that project. IN DOBRINJA, the OM-team received 260 packages. A team from a local church in Sarajevo came to help them with the program. Even though they had only a couple of days to organize everything and to invite the kids, everything went very well. They did an interesting puppet-show, then handed out the packages. At the end, people were invited to come to the OM team's public reading-room to receive a free book. This was a great joy for the kids to receive a nice gift. But also, it was a good opportunity for the Dobrinja-team to bless the community. IN BIHAĆ, the OM-team had already promised to the local schools that there wo

PRAISE GOD:

• For a good program in Dobrinja
• That Bihać- team could still get enough packages

PRAY:        

• For good time of distributing the packages in the schools outside of Bihać
• That these gifts would touch the families and bring them closer to Jesus

3. BIHAĆ, SARAJEVO... AND MOSTAR?!?

Yes, now there are three locations, where OM is working in Bosnia-Herzegovina. ED and MONICA moved to Mostar in November 2008. Their desire is "to do heart-to-heart discipleship with the leaders and possible leaders", offering counseling and encouragement. At the same time, they are also helping the local churches in evangelism. It is all still very new. They are leaning on God to show them step by step, what their ministry will be like. But also, they are praying that God will give them a baby. They have had 3 ectopic pregnancies in the past years, so now they are praying for a miracle! They found a good doctor in Mostar and are planning to start the process of in-vitro fertilization very soon. They really covet your prayers for that! Pray that they could be like Hanna (1 Samuel 1-2), seeing how God will give them a little "Samuel"!

PLEASE PRAY:

.         That they will daily follow God's leading in their new ministry

.         That God will bless them with a healthy baby

.         That they will see God's provision  in covering all the medical costs

4. WELCOME NEW TEAM-MEMBERS!

January is bringing us 3 new team-members!

CLOE RUTH SAMBROOKS was born Nov 4, 2008 to Trevor and Leah. They were in England since September, will be back in Bosnia tomorrow!

PRAISE GOD

• for a healthy baby girl
• that we have found them a nice new apartment

PRAY

• for protection while travelling
• that God will help them in the process of  moving back and finding their feet back in Bosnia, now as parents!

ANNETT (from the Netherlands) and GINA (from USA) are right now at the conference in Germany. Claudia went to meet them there, they will come to Bosnia on January 25. Both of them will spend their first year in Sarajevo, learning the language and taking part in a training-program. During the first three months they will live with a Bosnian family. At the end of the first year they will see if they want to stay in Sarajevo or move to Bihać.

PRAISE GOD

• for giving us some new people

PRAY

• that they will have avery good conference
• we will find them right families to stay with
• their transition-process will be smooth
• God will help them to adjust easily to new culture and give them grace for language-learning

Also, PAUL (from England) is planning to join us. There are still some things that he needs to do at home before coming here, but he is really looking forward to getting to Bosnia

PRAY

• That God will help Paul to finish what he needs so that he can come to Bosnia.

5.GENERAL PRAYER POINTS:

• Pray for CLAUDIA as she is taking over the position of the Field Leader from ANNELEA. Pray for an easy transition-process for both of them!
• In February, both Claudia and Annelea will attend ILM in Brazil. Pray for safe travels, good meetings and good health!
• While Claudia is gone, SEAN will have to balance administrative work, helping the new people get settled, outreach programs and time with his family. Pray that he will know clearly, what are God's priorities for each day. Pray, that he will also find time to rest and relax in the midst of it all.
• Keep praying for housechurches in Bihać. Especially, pray for special anointing and wisdom for CAROLINE, as she is leading the Bible-studies.
• JAEL is looking for fresh ways of involving local believers in evangelism. Pray that she will find ideas that will get others motivated to join in!

May the Lord of  hope fill you with all joy and peace in Christ Jesus!

On behalf of OM Bosnia, Jael Puusaag

Credit: OM International
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