June 2022 Prayer Letter

Dear Prayer Supporters,

As the rainy season gets into full swing in Chad, local families are planting their annual crops. As I write, I can see through my window a pair of oxen, plowing a nearby field to prepare it for planting. As we work in God's field, we continue to plant the seeds of His Word, and even though there are sometimes discouragements and many frustrations, He continues to cause these spiritual seeds to grow and bear fruit.

Bible Translation Update 

In my last letter, I asked prayer for two translation teams who are working on correcting parallel passages. One of those teams, the Sara Madjingay, completed this check in May. There is more to be done before their Bible can be printed but we are glad for the progress that has been made.

In June and July, we are expecting to host a large team of missionaries from Bibles International. Some are coming to conduct translation workshops, some to work on literacy with several different languages, and one will work on financial management training for the Chadian office staff. There will be a total of ten guests, four of which are interns who are largely new to Bibles International and especially to Chad. Please pray for these young people as they seek God's leading for their future ministries.

Bible School Update 

Speaking of future ministries, the Bible college here in Balimba graduated a total of ten students in May, five of whom were among my Hebrew students. Pray for Atobaye, Christian, Ozias, Bienvenu, and Josué and the other recent graduates, as they begin their new ministries.

Book Ministries Update

The Shepherd's Bag book distribution ministry has been growing: more people have been giving toward it, and dozens of Chadian pastors, college students, and laymen are receiving books which are helping them to be better equipped to reach and teach others. Because of this exciting growth, Baptist Mid-Missions has now set up a separate fund especially for this ministry. If you feel the Lord is leading you to help specifically with the Shepherd's Bag ministry, please mark your gifts for Chad Shepherd's Bag, instead of marking them in my name as you have previously done. Thank you to all who have given so generously toward this endeavor.

One challenge we have faced in recent months is with shipping reliability. For a while during Covid, I was unable to order any books at all; I am now able to order books from Europe (packages from North America are still not getting through at all), but arrival here is much less reliable than before. Please pray that packages would arrive more consistently, or that I would find a better way to get the books here.

Thank you to all who have given toward the bookstore project. Thanks to a large and entirely unexpected financial gift, the bookstore is now fully funded. However, we are still searching for a suitable location to build. Please continue to pray for this.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.

In Christ's Service,
Anna Beth Wivell