Missions Praises/Prayers
May/June 2025

Daren and Jodi Beck—ACTION International (Cambodia)

Praise: Praise God for our global gathering that took place last week in Manila! We have 350 workers from 45 countries gathered to celebrate our 50th anniversary as an organization. Thankful that God sustained my Mom’s life after she suffered a stroke; grateful that we have the opportunity to come alongside her during this difficult time. Daren will continue his role as Associate International Director with ACTION, focusing on Frontier Peoples around the world.

Prayer: Pray for many within our organization who face persecution, specifically in India, Pakistan and Nepal. Pray for new teams being deployed in the Middle East and South Asia!

Frank Erb—Capitol Commission (USA)

Praise: The California State Capitol is a very secular environment, but as I reach out, office to office, I am finding many younger staff members are interested in learning about God. Most have never read any of the Bible, so I am giving them their first Bible and inviting them to attend the weekly Bible Studies I teach in the Capitol. This is leading to many rich conversations. A former high level Capitol staff member, named Matt Fleming, wrote a moving opinion article in the Sacramento Bee newspaper about how he came to know the Lord through meeting with me years ago, and has been growing as a follower of Jesus since. It was published in the Bee online and in print over Easter weekend. I rejoice as I see all God has done in Matt’s life and how he is sharing about the Lord far and wide.
Prayer: I am continuing to reach out to share about the Lord, office to office and person to person in the Capitol. I have met with many nonbelievers multiple times this year and a number of them seem to be right on the verge of trusting in Christ. Please pray that God continues to draw many to Him and prompts them to invite others to come learn about Jesus. I am providing lunch for all at the Capitol Staff Bible Studies this year to enable more of them to step away from their extremely busy office to attend. This is a big expense for me though, maybe $10,000.00 this year. Please pray that God provides ample funds for this and the many other ongoing needs. Henry and Grace Banda—YOLEDS (Youth

Henry and Grace Banda—YOLEDS (Youth Leadership Development in Sport) (Malawi)

Praise: Thank God for His faithfulness to me and my family. My health is picking up. Praise the Lord for the successful Easter sports program that we did, and the 34 people who gave their lives to Jesus. We reached out to more people, we integrated them in the local churches. This is a special Easter program. Praise the Lord for opening the doors to sports evangelism.

Prayer: o Pray for God’s provision of funds to buy Bibles and sports evangelism materials. o Pray for wisdom for the two Timothys I am mentoring to be next to me. I’m coaching them in the duties of a leader.

Jay Devers—Dynamic Church Planting International (Worldwide)

Praise:   We have departed Lincoln, Ca for our move to Michigan. We are planning for it to take just under three weeks. A wonderful team came together to help to pack our belongings so we could leave on our trip. The Lord provides. That we are able to serve the Lord with Karen’s parents during this special chapter of their lives. They are both in their mid-80s and have health challenges.  LCC Praises and Prayers, May/June 2024 • Page 2

Prayer:   Pray for a faith filled and Christ honoring trip across the USA to meet with supporters/family/others not yet in the Kingdom. May we encourage all to seek and to find the Lord in these special seasons. Pray for ongoing trainings and connections. Please pray that our planned online training for a North African church to happen this Summer. We also have a large in-person training coming together in Dubai this Fall.

Karen Devers— Ripe for Harvest (Global)

Praise:   Already this year, I have been able to meet in person with all three of the ladies that I mentor. It was great to have lunch with Nicole Pillod, a single missionary from the USA. Nicole is the director of a school for special needs students located in Indonesia. Praise God for the training she is doing at a local Indonesian school that wants to learn how to meet the needs of their special needs students. One of the other women I mentor is Emily Froehlich, U. S. Rowing Team member, and missionary. She has been invited to the next level of competition in May. Praise the Lord for the open doors to spiritual conversations with teammates, coaches and the staff.  •

Prayer: Pray for this transition for Jay and me as we travel across the USA April 26 to May 15. For wisdom and open doors for housing and insights for the next chapter of ministry and family life in Michigan. Pray for Ripe for Harvest (RFH) conference June 23-27 in Kentucky. This will be our first global conference with other RFH missionaries. It will be a time of introduction to the larger RFH family, refreshment and fellowship.

Kennedy Salano—316 Transformational Sports Ministry (East Africa)

Praise: We thank God that a new Church has been started through the initiative of our John 316 ministry. It is amazing how God is working in the area which has many young people who had no place to go for worship and counseling o We also reached out to over 1200 school children in our community through the same John 316 tournament. The teachers are thankful for the initiative that is enabling the Gospel to be shared in their schools. We give God all the glory!

Pray: Pray for the new Church. Pray for the new pastor that the Lord will grant him the wisdom to serve in this new work. Pray for the many young people and coaches we are reaching out in the Tea Plantation community. Another new frontier we are exploiting. God is indeed helping us.

Lincoln Christian Academy, Lincoln, CA (USA)

Praise: God is always faithful! He has blessed each of us with incredible gifts, and our students had the opportunity to share theirs at our recent Fine Arts Night. Our teachers did a wonderful job highlighting their students' talents in singing, drama, and visual art for parents and families to enjoy. The event was a great success—praise God! One of our alumni recently made the decision to serve in the U.S. Navy. Despite facing several difficult challenges-including the removal of his big toenail, the loss of a beloved family pet, and the passing of his aunt-he remained focused on his academic goals. Upon graduation from Submarine School, he was named the Honor Graduate for earning the highest GPA among all students. When asked how he accomplished it, he said, “By keeping my anchor in Christ!”

Prayer: Our summer enrollment is currently very low, which means we are unable to offer summer employment to all the teachers who would like to work. Please pray that each of them finds the opportunity God has prepared for them during this season, and that they will be able to return to us at the start of the next school year. One of our administrators is still out as she continues to navigate an autoimmune disease. We are praying for complete healing and that God will bring her back to campus as soon as possible. In the meantime, we ask for continued prayers: that her spirit remains strong and that God keeps our school covered until He is ready for her return.

Michael and Irina—Slavic Gospel Association (Asia)

Praise: We began a new Bible Study in our local church. We have gotten approval from local administration to lead VBS programs in all six villages.

Prayer: Pray that VBS teams will continue to form. Pray for the arrival of an Aircraft Mechanic friend from Reedley, California, to help with repairs on the aircraft during the second half of May.

Paul and Grace Moses—India Sports Ministry/Sangita Charitable Trust/Widows’ Program (India)

Praise: Praise that God has been our provider and our protector towards us and our ministries in every single way. We as a family are doing well only by His grace and love. Praise that Sangita Ministries are doing well and all the children, widows, the special needs people, the roofing work, the tribal communities and many more have been taken care of by Him and by your prayers. You will never be able to imagine the intensity of this prayer support which helps us move forward in serving Him every minute. We praise and thank God for many have been blessed through our services in response to His calling. We remain grateful to each of you for your prayers and love which mean a lot to us.

Prayer: Please pray for health and strength for us, Grace and Paul especially, as we serve the very least, and marginalized, people group through the Word of the Spirit. We also need many prayers for us as we serve both Sangita and the ministries through sports - for our health and strength as we are in our late sixties doing intense work through Sangita and Sports Ministries. Please pray for our new vision to start a Tuition Center in the communities that we serve for the children of those communities during after school hours.

Ruth Veltkamp—Set Free Ministries (Nigeria)

Praise: During Ramadan, the teachers who sent their students home with Arabic Bibles were very busy answering questions from parents. Over 700 students have returned, eager to continue their studies of this new ‘textbook’. Only 17 have not returned. During March, five desert Tuareg people were baptized, including one who is respected as a religious authority.

Prayer: The distribution of those Arabic Bibles mentioned above has come to the notice of the government in a state ruled by Muslims. Pray that God will be with the teachers to protect them and to give good answers concerning the hope they now have in Jesus. Pray for the five Tuareg new believers for protection, wisdom and bold witness for Jesus among their own people, 99.5% Muslim. Pray that God will provide the up to 2000 Tuareg New Testaments that these men are asking for to evangelize their own people.

Steve and Dawn Liberti—NAB Conference/Proclaim Ministries (Germany/Global)

Praise: We praise God for a very fruitful and encouraging time off ministry to a closed country in the far east. We cannot disclose the country we interred in due to security reasons. That said, we can share that we worked with underground churches, made new contacts for our church partners and deeply encouraged pastors and believers in country. Praise God! Dawn and I praise God for the opportunity to visit our youngest daughter Sofia in Indianapolis for a few days. It was wonderful to meet people in her circle, attend the church she calls home, visit her workplace and tour the city. Both Dawn and I were very encouraged to be with her and enter her world.

Prayer: Please pray for our 25th anniversary event for our mission Proclaim International. The event was on April 25th and we celebrated what God has done these last 25 years and cast vision for the next 25! May God be glorified through this event! Please pray for an opportunity for Steve to co-lead a team to Croatia for an evangelistic ministry campaign in this Balkan country. Please pray for God’s leading and discernment in the midst of this very busy year of ministry. Steve is needed to mentor and disciple a group of young people who will join us in the ministry effort.

Sacramento Valley Teen Challenge (USA)

Praise: We are thankful for every volunteer, prayer partner and donor that comes alongside the ministry to support our students. o We are thankful for the salvation and growth that is taking place in the lives of our students. Praise God.

Prayers: For the Lord's blessing upon our “Tea for Hope” Tea Party Fundraiser at our Twin Rivers Women’s Center. This fun event is designed to raise funds for Twin Rivers and provide an introduction to the life-transforming ministry. We would also like prayer for our Redding Golf Tournament coming up on Friday, May 16th. We pray that the event would fill up and all would enjoy the day! o We are in need of qualified staff members at all three of our centers. Please pray that the Lord would call those who have a heart for ministering to the lost and hurting that come through our doors.

Ring Dilbung—East India

Praise: We thank God for the successful and Spirit-filled program held at Ukhrul, Manipur under the theme “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism”, attended by Naga church leaders and missionaries from across Northeast India and Myanmar. Praise God for the two little girls who have recently joined Angel Home. Within just a month, we have seen great improvement in their character and they are growing to be joyful and happy each day. We also give thanks to God for His continued provision and protection over the 7 children currently under our care at Angel Home.

Prayers: Please pray for my health as I was referred to a Neurologist due to neck pain. Also pray for renewed wisdom to continue growing daily in ministry and fulfilling God’s kingdom purposes. Pray for the establishment of a life skill center to equip orphans and widows with vocational skills for a sustainable future.