Prayer Requests

• We just returned from our annual one week retreat and it was great providing time with the Lord in a focused way, time with each other to discuss our marriage and ministry. It was great ! Thanks to all who prayed for us. Now it's back to kingdom work. Tonight starts our new semester of Awana Clubs starting at 6:30 pm Wednesday, January 11.
• Another praise report! We exceeded our goal of $15,000. above our regular monthly support by $500. Thanks to our great donors! May your tribe increase!
• We received an email from a Korean woman who was here 8 years ago who has prayed to to receive Christ. She told us how she is having morning devotions with her children. Praise the Lord !
• Shirley just called me at my office to tell me that a woman from China prayed to receive Christ as a result of my Christmas message last week at our Friday night seekers' fellowship. Rejoice with me and the angels !
• Pray for college students and community people to register for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course starting on January 15, 2012 Sunday from 6-9 pm at Woodcrest Chapel, 2201 W. Nifong Blvd., Columbia, MO 65203. Check it out at www.perspectives.org We are praying for 45 students to register, so far we have 12. The first night is FREE. Pray that many will come the first night and 45 will end up registering.
• Pray for International Friends finances, asking God for good year end giving that will make up our $15,000. shortfall in this year's budget. Pray for our leaders to be able to find more affordable medical insurance coverage for us and several others.. Thanks for praying! Update: As of December 25 we are 72% toward our goal of $15K above regular support; only $6,300. more to go. Pray!
• Global Life Church is having only one service on Christmas Day and New Year's Day followed by a luncheon. Pray for bored and lonely international students and scholars to join us and begin coming to church regularly.Update: We had a full house at our Christmas day church service and the Good News was clearly communicated. Thanks for praying! 
• Pray for our students safety as they travel over the Christmas break. A couple have gone back to China over the break and we are saying good bye to some dear folks between semesters. Pray for folks who leave here to get connected with Christians whereever they go.
• Our last Friday Night Seekers Fellowship will  take place this Friday, Dec. 23. Pray that the students who attend will understand the Christmas story as we have dinner together, sing and then have small group Bible discussions. We will start up again on January 20. 
• Last night at our Friday Seekers Fellowship we were looking at Mary's Song in Luke 1:42-55. In verse 45, it says, "You are blessed, bacause you believed that the Lord would do what he said." I asked, "Why was Mary blessed by God?"  After a couple minutes of silence, a Chinese woman said, "Because she believed God." I asked the group, "Do you believe God when He says He sent Jesus to die for your sins and raise from the dead to give you new life?" No one answered. After a minute or so I said, "If you believe this then you will blessed or favored by God and become His child." Pray that Chinese and Korean students, scholars and their family members in my group will believe as Mary did in the Word from God - Jesus and become God's children.
• On Saturday December 17 we will be showing the movie "The Nativity Story" which recounts the events surrounding the birth of Jesus through the eyes of Mary & Jospeph. Pray for good attendance at the end of the semester and for students to get a sense of what it would be like to be there at the birth of Jesus. Pray that visualizing the events we've discussed in Bible studies would help them understand the story and it's implications.
• Pray for our Christmas Bible discussions on Friday nights. Ask God to open hearts to Jesus, for God to bring seekers to the point of decision, and for the real meaning of Christmas to be communicated clearly and effectively. We continue to have about 50+ coming each week.
• Our Awana Clubs ended our Fall semester on December 7. We ended with a Birthday Party for Jesus. We played Christmas games, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, had cupcakes and watch a NEST DVD about the birth of Jesus. Afterwards everyone received a bag full of candies, & small Christmas gifts. Our Awana Clubs will start up again on January 11. Pray for the kids to enjoy the break and that God will give them new insights into the meaning of Christmas during the break. Pray that some will invite friends to return to clubs with them in January.
• Thank You for Praying !  We believe that God hears the prayers of His people and answers them. Your prayers are precious to us. Pray for students to come to faith in Christ as their key questions are answered. Pray for a genuine work of the Holy Spirit in drawing them to Christ.
• On Thanksgiving Day International Friends sponsors a big feast for international students who have not been invited into American homes. The International Friends Center fills with about 80 people filling every available seat. After eating we play table games and watch a children's movie. Pray for internationals to be welcomed in the name of Jesus, to feel cared for and for all to enjoy the holiday together. We are encouraging local folks to donate mushroom soup, a turkey, a ham, green beans, stuffing, cranberrry sauce and other Thanksgiving types of food to us to use for this annual event. This will really help us cut some expenses. Update: we had 90 internationals attend our Thanksgiving Day Dinner !
• In this past weekend ( October 7-9) - 40 internationals came to Bible discussions on Friday, a team of 8 went to the Awana Ministry Conference in Jefferson City on Saturday, 80 internationals were given a ride to the grocery store, 100 Korean international students, scholars and their families went to to the Faith Family Fellowship Cook-Out & Hayride, and we had two services at Global Life Church on Sunday AM. A busy weekend.
• Praise the Lord for His provision in the last week (October 3-7) or so. We were able to pay all our bills this month with some kind personal gifts from some very dear people. We're forming a local committee to help us brainstorm some new fundraising ideas. Pray for wisdom and insight from this team of friends.
• Pray for our finances as this is a low point now. Pray for us to be successful in finding new donors.
• Our annual Cook-Out & Hayride will be this Saturday, October 1  from 4 to 8:30 pm at the Thomas Farm near Rocheport, MO.  Pray for good attendance (expected at 100), safety, bonding relationships and a fun time for the internationals who attend. Pray for enough Americans to come to transport students also. Every year our Friday Night Bible discussion attendance rises after the Hayride. Pray that this will happen again this year.
• Ask God to provide willing volunteers to drive for our every other week Grocery Shuttle on Saturday morning. Today we took 85 internationals to the Walmart Super Center from University Place Apts. The numbers are increasing and we need to have more drivers to do the task. This is an act of kindness helping internationals who cook for themselves get to the nearest grocery store over 5 miles away from campus. It is genuinely appreciated by the internationals and enhances our witness considerably
• Our International Friendship Dinner on Saturday Sept. 3 was attended by a standing room only crowd of internationals including many newly arrived students. We enjoyed a good meal, learned about the cross-cultural adjustment process and learned about International Friends activities during the semester. Many took JESUS DVD's and New Testaments that were offered.
• Pray for our 25th Anniversary Fund to grow to $25,000. by the end of the academic year. We want to grow a $25K surplus to fuel the ministry when gifts are low (which is about 9 months during the year). Rent for the International Friends Center is $1,395. per month. We spend $400. per month on food for hospitality. Our insurance (life, liability, medical,  & disability)  runs $1,500. per month.  We are also hoping to save enough funds for a new vehicle (our current mini-van has 175,000 miles on it now). If we can do this it will be moving from a hand to mouth ministry (month to month) to ensuring our  secure continuance. As always, we will remain dependent on God for everything.
• Our first Fall Friday Night Seekers Fellowship starts tonight at 6:30 pm, but the Chinese Student Association is having a welcome party tonight with dinner starting at the same time. So our crowd may be light. Pray that God will bring the people He wants to come and pray for newly arrived students to come
• Pray for our finances as it looks like we won't be able to get a paycheck in September. August ministry expenses too high. Pray for God's provision. Thanks !
• Pray for people to VOTE for International Friends/InterFACE Ministries at http://givingoflife.com/browse/interface_ministries/  If enough people do it could result in us receiving thousands of dollars for the ministry. Pray and vote !
• Pray for donations to come in to help us pay for 100 Chinese Simplified Script Bibles in an easy to understand version we just ordered from Singapore. They will cost $13. each for a total of $1,300. Pray for our friends, donors and prayer partners to ask God for His provision
• Orientation for New International Students is Monday, August 15. We will have an International Friends table display and be giving out welcome bags that contain a JESUS DVD for Scholars in 16 languages, a flier about our Household Give Away, an International Friends Fall brochure, a gospel of John, a bookmark about coping with cultural change, a packet of pocorn, a candy bar, a granola bar and an International Friends pen with our website on it. Pray that these will be received well by new students. Pray that many would watch the JESUS DVD in their own language and come to IF events this Fall.
   
• Saturday August 13 we will take 7 folks to Awana Orientation at a church about 45 minutes from here. Pray that the student and community Awana Leaders will be prepared by this time to lead Awana Clubs for international kids starting on September 7.
• New students, scholars and their families are arriving daily from all over the world. Pray for divine appointments for us and the Christians involved with International Friends.
• Our Passport to School Program will be August 8 - 12. This is a half-day camp for newly arrived international kids to help prepare them for entry into Columbia Public Schools. Pray for Shirley's efforts to recruit and train teachers and helpers that will be involved in this week. Last year we had 23 kids. This year we are praying for 25+. Update: For pictures of Passport to School 201 go to www.GlobalLifeChurch.com and click the "Photos' page, then go to "Passport to School 2011"
• Pray for our finances in July and August. Our expenses were very high last month due to car repairs and an ambulance bill and they will be high this coming month due to all the New Student Outreach activities and their costs. Pray for extra giving in the months of July and August. Thanks !
• We have mailed or given out over 250 - 30 Day Guides to Prayer for the Muslim World for people to use in praying for Muslims locally and globally during the Muslim month of daylight fasting called Ramadan, August 1 - 30. Pray for people to remember to pray for Muslims during this month.
• On Saturday, August 20 we'll have our Annual Household Give Away to newly arrived international students at the International Friends Center on campus. Pray for generous donations from the Columbia community to come in during the the week before the give away. We collect and then give away sheets, towels, pillows, kitchen utensils, pots, pans, plates, table ware, clocks, TV's, microwaves, lamps, cacuum cleaners, coffee pots, cups, glasses, blankets, etc.
• In August we will give out 500 Jesus DVD's for International Students & Scholars (each in 16 languages)  to newly arrived internationals.Pray now for the students who will receive these DVD's to watch them and to respond by coming to International Friends events this Fall.
• Will you join us in praying for Muslim people around the world during the month of Ramadan (August 1-30, 2011)?  If the answer is yes then email me at JohnCraigColbert@aol.com and give me your mailing address and I will send you a 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World Guide.
• Praise the Lord! A scholar in my Bible discussion Friday night announced that he had prayed to receive Christ. He is from China and has been a seeker for 2 years or more. Rejoice with the angels in heaven! He is married to a believing wife.
• Pray for us to find 5 cattlemen, dairymen or farmers that would be willing to adopt a cow or dedicate some acres of crops to help us raise money for ministry through Steer, Inc (www.steerinc.com ) No money is needed, just a willingness to include a cow in your herd dedicated to our ministry. We need 5 to get started in this exciting program that perpetuates a donor's gift over and over.
• I just discovered that it is possible for us to raise money through InterFACE Ministries for a new vehicle. Our current one was donated years ago and is approaching 154,000. miles. Pray that people will show interest in helping us purchase a new used minivan through the Colbert car fund. Thanks. UPDATE: So far $1,650. has been donated to the Colbert Card Fund. Thank You!
• Continue to join us in praying for 25 new Christians to come out of our minisrty this year.