Prayer Matters
Activate • Connect • Empower
Prayer Matters is published every Tuesday.
Gary & Joanne Akehurst, (NSW, DPG Day 1)
Joanne started a myeloma trial on 4-2-26 as her myeloma (blood cancer) is getting worse after 3 wonderful years without needing treatment. Apart from side effects, which or may not be severe, there will be many morning appointments, which may be as wearing as the treatment. Please pray that the Lord will guide as to which treatment she is allocated, as we don't get to choose and that the Lord will enable us both through all these appointments.
David & Tina Cannon, (Thailand, DPG Day 3)
OMF Thailand uses the digital realm to reach Thai also. One avenue for doing ministry this way is to have an ad campaign on Facebook monthly. Pray for Mam, a person who lives in a rural area in the province of Ayutthaya. She was recently connected to a church near her home after responding to an ad on Facebook. Pray that she will be welcomed and lovingly discipled by the church community, that her questions will be met with grace, and she will come to know Jesus personally.
Daniel & Emily, (Restricted Access, DPG Day 6)
Tests following Emily’s medical episode have not provided any conclusive results, and the neurologist has extended Emily’s no-driving period to 12 months due to the possibility that the episode may have been some form of seizure. This has been difficult news for us to receive, as it significantly reduces Emily’s independence and adds to the logistical challenges of family life especially when Daniel is away and the children are involved in various activities. Please pray for good outcomes and answers for Emily.
Eva Kennedy, (Spain, DPG Day 13)
Praise point – JY and I said Yes to a wonderful flat this week and we move in on March 1st. Thank you for praying. I also wanted to let you know about a difficult situation. Abdi's residency renewal has been denied. They haven't given him a time frame to leave the country, so we are not sure what the next steps are.
Elise Long, (Philippines, DPG Day 15)
Praise for the faithfulness of shepherds Jambi and Mulita,Tisito and Bibita, & Tasiyo and Nuklit. Pray for myself and our NTCP church planting consultant as we consider how best to continue to equip these couples & to seek the Lord’s direction for the church into the future. Pray For Lani and Toto, the first Menti young people heading into year 11&12, outside the community.
Darren & Meredith Lydeamore, (QLD, DPG Day 15)
We are starting preparation for the next new Cessna 208 for PNG, it’s a slightly larger model with a bigger engine and as it’s the first of this model to go into PNG there are lots of additional approvals to obtain. With the 2026 internal audit program for our Aust maintenance facilities looming I have lots of meetings/reports as part of my interim Quality and Safety Manager role. I still don’t have a replacement for this role yet but someone is interested towards the end of the year. Please pray this happens sooner rather than later, I feel quite swamped at times (often) , need wisdom on determining what needs to be done and what can wait.
Jon & Janet Mitchell, (PNG, DPG Day 17)
Praise God, that our village church has just started studying the 1st book to the Corinthians. Please pray that God will lead the two teachers & myself in preparing & delivering these lessons to the church. Also, that the believers will be faithful in their attendance and yield to God’s Word. Please pray for Janet’s health, that pain would decrease & energy levels increase. We will be doing a fair bit of travelling in February & March. Please pray for safe travels, productive meetings, wisdom, patience & accommodation needs met.
Simon & Dorcas Mubanga, (Zambia, DPG Day 18)
We continue with door-to-door evangelism and discipleship. We are praying for: Construction of a church building at the assembly in Nshenda village and house for the elder we have sent there from Good News Bible Chapel. Completion of constructing of good toilets at both Good News Bible Chapel,the assembly in Mutumwa village and Shiloh,the assembly in Makongwa village. The School ministry has an additional two teachers and two classes; Grade 4.Educating these kids who could not have been in School is a blessing.
Nara, (Restricted Access, DPG Day 19)
Be praying as Nara packs and says her goodbyes to head back to Australia in April to help with a family situation. For the moment she feels responsibility to her family takes priority. Pray that she will find suitable employment as she waits on the Lord but that she will have clear guidance for her next steps.
Simon & Ann Pyatt, (Restricted Access, DPG Day 21)
We’re moving and so is our church! Although we have enjoyed many aspects of apartment life here in the world’s largest city, we’ve missed living in a neighbourhood. This has been the case also with our church, Gereja Gospel Grace, which has been meeting in an office building. So now our church, our pastor and ourselves have moved to a little neighbourhood in West Jakarta, please pray with us that the Lord will make us salt and light here.
Samuel & Alissa Sanchez, (Colombia, DPG Day 22)
Continue to pray for Hannah. Her condition is degenerative and progressive, it is also very unknown and difficult to treat, she suffers chronic untreatable pain, muscle weakness, brain fog and more. Since the surgery, she is extremely sensitive to noise and can't stand the crackle of plastic bags or popping pills out of a blister. As a family we have all seen Hannah's genetic doctor and we are being tested to see where the genetic flaws came from and if Yelena and Dominic have the same condition that Hannah has. We now have a 2-3 month wait before we get the results.
Craig & Sharon Vanderduys, (QLD, DPG Day 27)
Sharon is still volunteering full-time with Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL Global. She has just recently made the shift from serving in the Pacific Area to now being the Director of People for the Asia-Pacific Area, which is a somewhat bigger role. A lot of Sharon’s time is spent in meetings and in helping to sort out complex personnel issues within the Asia-Pacific Area, which involves quite a bit of travel. Craig is exploring options to be more involved with Fringe Church particularly in community building, helping to enable those on the fringes, discipleship, mentoring, and generally being part of building God’s Kingdom. He is also helping to support people who have had time in prison.
Andrew & Catherine Walkington, (QLD, DPG Day 27)
Please pray for Catherine’s ongoing health challenges. She is still unable to drive, but her daily capacity is very much improved. Please pray for Andrew’ ongoing health issues! He has some further scans and a medical review coming up in the next couple of weeks. Please pray that we would have good news about his ongoing treatment. OAC will be partnering with AiG at their “Gospel Reset” events and these may be strategic for some of our volunteer networks, particularly in Queensland (14th & 21st Feb). Please pray that we would use these well. Some OAC staff will assemble in Brisbane 23-25th Feb for an in-house training program. Please pray for this time of equipping.
Daniel & Candide Weekes, (France, DPG Day 28)
Our family winter camps are starting next week, and both are fully booked. Please pray for the mix of people coming: Christian leaders, new Christians, non-Christians, thriving families, struggling Christians and broken families. Obviously, we're all heavily involved in these camps and have some great outside help as well! Candide will be cooking for the first camp and Dan will be directing the second one. Jack and Henry will be participants in the first camp (while they're on holidays).
Matt & Debi Zook, (Mozambique, DPG Day 29)
This year we are planning to hold free and open literacy classes. We did this in 2022 and 2023 and both those years we peaked at over 150 students. While it’s hard to know how many children will attend this year, we expect it will take a good effort on our part and the part of the local believers to pull off. Pray for some books being printed in China to arrive well. They are 101 well known Bible stories, each one page long with an accompanying picture. We’ve been waiting for them for a long time, and we are still uncertain of when they will arrive.
