We thank the Lord for his care in terms of health, encouragement and spiritual strength.

We pray that God’s power will be revealed through the church in this situation – bringing a message of love and hope in the midst of the darkness. Also, that the church in Ukraine, Russia and across the wider region will be a voice for peace; and that they will have the resources they need to help people who are vulnerable.

We’ve been invited to participate in a church retreat in northern Spain which starts today, May 27-29. B.J. will be the main speaker and Rachel will be participating in various ways during the weekend as we focus on the theme of identity in Christ: “I am who You say I am.” Please pray that God would guide us in the preparation, that we would be sensitive to His leading throughout the weekend, and that He would work deeply in those who participate.

Pray for a renewed commitment for reaching out in the church at Rovereto. After two years of not being able to do much outside of the church, we don’t want to become accustomed to how the church has been in this period, but to restart witnessing in various ways in the city and thinking about planting new churches in other towns.

Please pray for patience and progress with language and culture learning, wisdom and joy in parenting Charis and Lois after moving schools. Pray also as we support our church more while the pastor is away for 6 months. Please also pray for effectiveness in Rachel's work placing people in migrant ministries around Europe through “How Will They Hear?”.

Please could you pray for a lovely man who has been a good friend to us, Zé Maria, to be delivered of alcoholism – it’s ruining his life.

Thank God for the way he is providing workers for this harvest field in Roquetas. Pray for those new workers who are arriving, that they’d adapt well and find a clear path to serve. Pray as we try to work out what kind of team will help each to flourish in their lives and ministry and help us do so much more together than we could achieve alone. Pray for prayerful affectionate unity among the workers and churches in town.

We pray that there will be an immediate end to the violence – that peace will come sooner than anyone could have expected or hoped for. We also pray that diplomatic solutions will be found that will lead to lasting peace in the region.

At the end of May we have a meeting with our prayer partners and supporters. This meeting will have a special character, as we will be meeting with a Muslim mayor in one of the cities in the Netherlands and with representatives of churches and mosques. Pray for God’s guidance in preparing for this event and pray that our prayer partners will get a good hands-on insight in our ministry.

From tomorrow 21-29 May we are planning an artistic Installation in our city park on the topic “70 times 7 - the sails of forgiveness”. Please pray for good and meaningful ideas to do in this time with adults and kids and for protection and for God’s work in people.

Praise God that while looking for the church’s second-hand clothes shop a Ukrainian woman and her son stumbled upon our Mum & Baby Club one Friday morning in April. Pray for Samantha as she befriends her in these hard first months in Spain and that she finds a welcome in the church. Pray too for the food bank of the church that has had a massive influx of people from Ukraine in need of help.

I will be attending a Member Care conference in Christchurch from today, 18-21 May. Please pray that the conference will be helpful, and that I will make some good connections with other participants. On 22 May I am being interviewed by one of my supporting churches – also in Christchurch. Pray for the Lord to speak, and for open hearts for mission in Europe.

Please pray for the work started with the youth of Ponte de Sôr church. May the Lord raise up among these young pastors and leaders. Pray for the revitalization and planting of new churches in the Alentejo region in Portugal. Pray with us that we may begin a regular evangelistic work in the city of Ponte de Sôr.

We have a ministry in Sevilla and we focus on making friendship/relations with people here in the place we live. We have started a women’s group. We also see in the women’s groups that there is interest in each other but a lack of discipline in coming to the meetings on time. Also, they are not really having contact with each other outside the meetings, even when they know that there are difficulties in life. Pray that they will be more committed to each other and care for each other.

We give thanks for a special time with church over the Easter period last month. We were able to give out 1000 leaflets about the church and the Easter message. Pray for those who have received the leaflets and for some who have made contact. Continue to pray for Jonathan with the radio programme each week and for Nicola as she meets up with some ladies and wisdom in moving forward with this in relation to some Biblical input.

God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today. We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment, and compassion to guide their decisions. Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them.

We ask for prayer for the opening of an opportunity to share at the University that is here in Vila Real. We have applications for courses, and we ask that they be approved for us to be among the students. We praise God for the opportunity to get involved with social organizations in the city and thus witness among many non-Christians supported by the City Council.

During the past couple of months, we have been leading two married couples and one young man through the Healing Care, Healing Prayer discipleship course. Pray that Jesus would work deeply in their hearts and that they would experience the love, healing, and freedom that only He can give. B.J.'s Wild at Heart small group will bring their 6-month journey together to a conclusion by the end of May: pray that God would continue to work in and through these courageous men.

We ask for prayer for Madalena's health. She is still suffering from sciatic nerve pain. She has been undergoing physiotherapy, but the doctor has already said that it is a surgical case. Pray for divine intervention. Also, for the Evangelical Moral classes at the Montargil School. Pray for a conversion of lives among adolescents; there is a cultural barrier and prejudice that makes the Portuguese not understand the church, even if they sometimes want to.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us, especially for those times when we have to make difficult decisions. Today we have an additional meeting to our normal pattern, so it will give us more time to discuss and share, with less focus on agenda items. We will take time to reflect on the excellent material presented at the recent virtual Biennial Conference. Pray for God’s leading as we seek to understand the application of what it means to be a Jesus-centred, Spirit led, God-glorifying Mission, personally and as trustees.

From today May 9-19, we will be traveling through Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany for visits to ministry colleagues. Pray for safe travels and blessed conversations. On May 21, Bert hopes to participate in a conference on the development of Islam in the Netherlands organised by the National Platform of Moroccan mosques in the Netherlands. Pray for a discernment of the Holy Spirit in speaking.

Thanks to God that my painting of the refugees on the Mediterranean Sea is nearly finished. Pray for my furlough from 1 May to the end of August. Today 8 May I will have an exposition in my home church on an open day and a town festival. Pray that the Holy Spirit may touch hearts through paintings and conversations.

We pray for the people still in Ukraine that they will be protected from the violence; that there will be provision of essential supplies, such as food and clean water. Pray for vulnerable people who cannot flee, for example those with disabilities or the elderly.

Please pray for church as we “get social…” with increased social gatherings including a group of men walking in the mountains together and some women walking tomorrow May 7 on a walk from Darkness to Light for mental health charities. These aim to encourage one another in an easy-going way and to mix together those with and without faith. And increased social media connections – pray for a Zoom call to consider a new podcast for church and for building a team to help with social media.

Please pray for Lena from Kharkiv. In Ukraine. She now lives with her daughter and grandson (who has a physical handicap) in Patchwork Centre. Her husband is still in Ukraine. Lena is very traumatised from the war and has difficulty to cope with her emotions. Please pray that she will find comfort in God.