Pray

Elisha is an SIM missionary pilot who works with AIM AIR to transport people and supplies to several countries in East Africa. With the closure of borders due to COVID-19, planning flights to missionaries on the ground is complicated. Permission to cross borders requires an abundance of forms, phone calls, and determination, but workers in remote areas have no other way to get medical and food supplies, so he and the rest of the team persist. Pray for financial provision and wisdom for AIM AIR as it navigates this difficult season. Pray for Elisha and Crystal as they were out of their country of residence for work purposes when the closures began and are now staying with friends. Pray for safety as Elisha flies, continued good relationships, and opening of doors to return to their home. Pray also for those in remote area who are feeling trapped.

Not being able to meet together due to COVID-19 restrictions is painful, but there are blessings that Dan and Casi have experienced through this as well. Since their church can stream their services, they were able to send these links to their friends that were not comfortable attending service in person. This has opened the door for them to hear and see the gospel in their own home. They have been able to have many conversations about the messages and even the worship songs. The Lord is working in the hearts of people even in and through the pandemic. Pray God would bring these friends to faith in Jesus.

The hard-hit area of Guayaquil, Ecuador is in major need of prayer in the midst of much loss. The SIM Ecuador team reports that the emotional burden there is overwhelming. Praise God that He has provided additional trauma healing facilitators to help those already serving. Please pray for additional workers, and for strength, peace, and rest for SIM workers and their colleagues serving the community of Guayaquil.

“Normal” ministry has ground to a halt for most of those who work with First Nations people and who serve in small communities throughout rural Paraguay. It is difficult to follow mandated precautions in these rural places where the virus hasn’t yet arrived, especially as they can’t continue their ministry virtually since those they work with don’t have good—or any—internet connection. Pray for the SIM Paraguay team as they are finding creative ways to serve and are learning what it means to trust and wait on God.

In their member care role, Jimmy and RoxAnne are involved with over 150 SIM missionaries. Some have returned to the US temporarily during the pandemic, but others remain overseas. Even with the current global restrictions, they are still helping prepare new missionaries to go overseas, mentoring those who are already overseas, and providing pastoral care for missionaries. They meet "face-to-face" via videoconferencing with them to listen to their concerns, rejoice in their victories, advise, pray, and provide resources. Some of their teammates are experiencing anti-foreigner sentiment as local people assume the foreigners have brought COVID-19 to their country. Others are finding exciting platforms for ministry "virtually" during their host country's lock-down. Pray for wisdom for Jimmy and RoxAnne and those they serve.

Despite restrictions due to COVID-19, Eli and Bethany have been quite busy. Recently they helped some of the most vulnerable members of their community with some food. They loaded the truck with food for one church at a time and were able to visit 10 churches in their area. People identified by the local pastors received maize meal, beans, salt, and soap. Pray that the messages about Christ's love, the act of compassion, and the pastors’ follow-up efforts will help bring many to faith in Jesus. Eli and Bethany are experiencing a lot of spiritual activity (both good and bad) in their neighborhood. Pray for them and their community to truly make Jesus the Lord of their lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating unique challenges for Jose and Janeen as they prepare to move back to the U.S. for a year of home assignment. They need to pack up their stuff and move it into storage with a 2 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and other restrictions in effect. Their flights have been canceled twice, and they are currently rescheduled to fly to the States on June 4. Please pray for grace and strength for Jose, Janeen, and their children to finish well, find a way to say goodbye to friends and ministry partners, and that their current flight will not be canceled. The possibility of a national strike due to salary cuts could make travel to the capital city very difficult.

Despite official travel restrictions between countries in the region, SIM's Galmi Hospital in Niger still receives many patients from northern Nigeria, where currently the number of COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly. Galmi Hospital has developed a hangar for the care of COVID-19 patients. Initially these patients were being cared for in government facilities only, but given the lack of resources, Galmi is taking suspected COVID-19 cases as well. Please pray for protection for SIM missionaries, their colleagues and for health of Galmi's patients.

SIM’s health ministry team is managing a response to COVID-19 in 30 countries. In addition to managing this team, Paul has been working with a group of SIM missionaries and national colleagues to enable churches to respond effectively to the pandemic in Africa, Asia, and South America. They are preparing training materials for them to minister the gospel, show compassion to those who are ill, and safeguard lives. Pray that they would listen well to the Lord's direction and that God’s glory would be seen through the work that come out of these trainings.

We're praising God for the new team members arrived in Mali before the COVD-19 pandemic. Travel restrictions brought mandatory non-use of public transportation severely limiting movement and personal market trips for teammates who are still setting up households. Pray that God would provide two ministry vehicles to make movement easier. Pray, too, that the Lord of the harvest would send more laborers to join the team when borders re-open.

Some are predicting the wave of COVID-19 cases will hit Africa in August or September. The “state of emergency” has been extended for 15 days in Tim and Betsy’s country of service, so they will be remaining near their village clinic a while longer. Staying in one place has benefitted the clinic. It has given Tim an opportunity to teach and train in some much-needed areas. It has been very busy, with many serious cases (not COVID-19) and staff issues. They need prayer for wisdom in communicating with staff and government officials, for patience and endurance in dealing with many issues at once, and for the government to have wisdom in decisions surrounding the COVID-19 crisis. They say, “Pray for the beautiful African people as a whole, that the virus will just not be as prevalent here!”

Pray for the Asian Access & SIM team serving in Japan as they find creative ways to share the gospel and make disciples while keeping with social distancing guidelines. Recently, a young woman expressed interest in spiritual conversations. With the spread of COVID-19, she welcomed a weekly Bible study with our team by video. Following each study, she is grateful for the opportunity to learn the Bible and hear more about the gospel. Please pray for continued fruit from these interactions.

Michelle is grateful for the opportunity to remain in the West African country where she serves as a physician. She is learning in an even deeper way what it means to trust God in the face of trials. Her challenge is to take this knowledge and hope and share it. Pray that Michelle’s presence would make the people around her want to know Jesus more even in the midst of language barriers. Pray for strength to endure the heat, discipline to keep learning medical terms in a new language, and grace to continue to work as a doctor at the clinic.

The country where Amy serves is on lockdown due to COVID-19, which is extremely challenging due to its dense population. Long food and pharmacy lines due to social distancing requirements make for a long, hot day for our SIM team and proves an impossible task for families in the impoverished communities. Praise that God’s provision enabled the team to distribute two rice and protein packs to around 300 families in April. Pray God would provide for more opportunities to distribute relief safely throughout May and the upcoming months.

The international school in East Africa where Brandy teaches has moved to online classes for the rest of the year due to COVID-19. She praises God for safety and peace during this time and that the transition to online learning has been successful. Pray that the students would finish the year well and that the Zoom chapel at the end of the month for the whole school will be a good time of closure and giving praise to God.

Dan and Sharon live in a rural village. The numbers don't seem nearly as high as many other places in the world, but it's difficult to know because testing is very limited. Dan feels he might have had patients with COVID-19 but will never know for sure. They have limited personal protective equipment, but on the whole, the hospital has not been as busy since the lockdown started. Dan has stayed busy, as their full-time doctor is away and cannot return due to travel restrictions. Pray Dan and Sharon will know how to respond in wisdom. They do not want to distance themselves from those who need to be ministered to at this time. Daily laborers have suffered the most with the lockdown. The church and hospital have been working to get food to hungry families. Pray for food to get to those who need it most.

SIM workers are bringing rice, eggs, instant noodles, canned goods, soap, and vitamins to impoverished Filipino communities affected by COVID-19. Most individuals live on a daily wage, but due to the quarantine, only those who have jobs in healthcare or the food industry can continue to work. The local government has responded but cannot meet the immense demand. Please pray for relief workers, healthcare professionals, the Filipino military, and government workers to receive the Lord’s strength during this overwhelming time.

Students and staff of the School of Nursing and Midwifery face mandated closures as part of the COVID-19 restrictions. Hospital staff continue to diligently prepare their departments and implement strict protocols to ensure that staff and patients remain safe. Praise God that recent figures show there are only a small number of cases in the region; the closest in a large city two hours from the hospital. PPE equipment and supplies are urgently needed for staff to respond to any cases. Please pray for God to provide finances and needed supplies.

Thousands of Venezuelan refugees have settled in Arequipa, Peru, fleeing political corruption and poverty in their home country. They are now living in Peru under quarantine from COVID-19, unable to work, and not eligible for Peruvian government assistance. SIM workers have partnered with a local Peruvian church to provide food, New Testaments, and literature to help share the gospel. Please pray for these outreach efforts and for hearts to be opened to God's good news through this partnership with the local Church.

Trips to Niger for SIM short-term workers—most of them doctors, including surgeons—have been canceled. This puts a very heavy load on the current medical staff. Pray for wisdom to know how to cut back patient loads and finances to deal with the subsequent financial deficit. In addition, pray for both Galmi Hospital and Danja Medical Center as they work to screen respiratory patients as safely as possible. All COVID-19 cases will be treated at government quarantine centers.

Many are fearful of sickness and death as the pandemic expands daily in this country. This fear has led to a sudden openness on the part of many to talk about the Lord. Kep and Debbie are busy by phone and internet explaining the gospel and pointing people to Jesus, as well as encouraging, counseling, and discipling believers in their church. After six weeks of no work, many families suffer from a lack of food. Pray that the Lord will guide them and their church as they try to help the most needy. Pray that many would come to faith in Jesus during this time.

“Right now it feels like we are waiting for a tsunami to hit,” writes Missy in a recent prayer letter. The missionary hospital where she serves has set up tents outside to screen patients before they enter the hospital. Visiting hours have been limited, and an isolation area has been established. The hospital is short on supplies and does not have advanced medical devices like ventilators, which hinders its ability to help those with severe cases. She shares, “Our hospital and missionary community, like the rest of the world, is facing an unknown time. So we stand and we wait, preparing for the worst and praying for the best.” She requests prayer that the hospital staff will stay healthy and that her medical friends throughout the world will be strengthened.

A SIM hospital in a remote part of West Africa gives praise that parts came in to fix the oxygen plant even with the travel restrictions in place and one of their missionaries was able to repair the plant. Praise God also for donated oxygen concentrators. Pray that being able to manufacture oxygen at the hospital will help many patients

COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on the country of Ecuador, leaving many families without means to buy food and other necessities and many hospitals overrun with virus patients. Pray for SIM compassion ministries throughout Ecuador as they provide assistance for families in need and share hope in Jesus.

On March 15, SIM’s ELWA Hospital saw its first cases of COVID-19. Sadly, the first two patients died within 24 hours of their arrival, before test results could confirm their condition. Having served in the epicenter of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, ELWA knows firsthand what a pandemic response requires. Please pray for the team of physicians, nurses, and other clinical and non-clinical staff as they work around the clock to treat patients. Please ask the Lord to provide the critical supplies they need, including personal protective equipment (gloves, gowns, face masks and shields), nasal cannulas, oxygen and oxygen generators. Pray for the surrounding communities that SIM serves in Liberia through its various ministries on the ELWA campus and beyond.