Category: Please Pray (Page 6 of 10)

Update on Ministry of Todd & Angela Owen

Close friends from Uria Village, Lim Auwi and his family.

His Dream, Our Vision

November 21, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

If our dreams are intensely personal, they are also intensely fragile. But whisper a dream and the whisp might snuff it out. Our dreams are choked by the weeds of life: health or sickness, good relationships or bad ones, opportunity or lack, that which we can control and that which we cannot. Our dreams are intensely fragile.

His Dream

His dream–singular, piercing, soul-wrenching, awe-inspiring–is woven with different fabric. His dream evades capture, overcomes obstacle, penetrates enemy territory and liberates the heart of man, freeing it from enslavement to sin and self, offering life and love, even power, in its place. His dream is revealed little by little from the earliest syllables of Genesis through to the end of the Book.

It is John’s uncovering (Apocalypse) of God’s dream that speaks most powerfully to me, revealing ultimate things. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ “

In that day, man in all his variety and uniqueness, will be represented before the throne–praising God for salvation. Not for money or ease or convenience or entertainment. For salvation.

His dream pierces my right to be selfishly indulgent. His dream rips me from my excuses and forces me to consider the 6,877 languages and language groups of the world. His dream fixes my gaze on today’s 209 million people speaking 1,967 languages that do not have adequate access to the Bible in a language that speaks to them. If only His dream allowed me to look at faceless masses representing vast numbers of people–then I could ignore it, overwhelmed by the size of the group–but NO!!! His dream paints familiar faces on the canvas of my mind. This canvas is alive. These faces are tribal people, uttering exotic words in the mountain jungle where they live. They are our friends with whom we’ve had many adventures, joys and sorrows, victories and losses. They are our loved ones with names like Lim and Torenimas and Natika. The are people without the Bible in their heart language. They grow the coffee you drink in the morning and the chocolate you eat at Christmas. They cultivate vanilla which goes in all those wonderful holiday treats. They are people that God dreams of standing around His throne–wearing white robes, clean before his eyes. Their eyes are fixed on the Savior, on the throne, on Him.

Following the Dream

Close friends from Uria Village, Lim Auwi and his family.

His dream compels us to do the same, to step forward in promise, eyes fixed on the Lamb that was slain, wavering between falling like a dead man or crying out with the throng, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. . . Here we are, Lord, send us! We will go!”

Ahead is forty days, friends. When you drink your coffee in the morning, think of the Somau Garia people, without the Word in their language. When you eat your Christmas chocolates, dream His dream and see those people gathered around the throne, eyes fixed on Jesus. When you mix up a cake or bake cookies for your loved ones, remember our loved ones on the side of Mt. Somau. When you celebrate family during these remaining forty days, take your buoyant celebration before the throne of God and cry out for the people of God’s dream. As you pour out your love to friends and family over these forty days, remember us, too. Forty new financial partners. Forty new prayer partners. Forty special gifts for getting the Word out to the Somau Garia. Pray. Love. Give. Dream. Envision.

To respond in some tangible way to this challenge, click here to visit Donate page on this website or click here drop us a note at prayer@shakethegates.org and let us know of your prayer commitment.

Blessings!

Please Pray — November 19, 2013

November 19, 2013 / toddaowen / 2 Comments

Passionate prayer is often motivated by desperation. Let us just say that Angela and I (Todd) are offering a lot of passionate prayers these days. My trip to Papua New Guinea (in September) was a stark reminder of the condition of my friends living in the foothills of the Finisterre Mountains of Papua New Guinea–without the Word of God in their heart language and desperate to get it. I saw their need starkly contrasted against the fruit and power of the New Testament being available to another language group–a people with a vibrant faith, passionate about the Lord. The difference was . . . sobering.

Reunion of Todd and close Garia friend, Lim

The Somau Garia have waited long enough. Neither they nor we can wait any longer. Desperate to get to Papua New Guinea and engage the task of finishing the translation of the remaining 26 books of the New Testament (Mark was dedicated Easter, 2007) we have put together a 40-Day campaign, 40 Days to Getting the Word Out . Beginning on Friday, November 22, we will be sharing vital information, writing emails, making phone calls, making a huge end of the year push to sign up 40 new monthly financial partners, 40 special gifts partners, and 40 prayer partners to join the team. During these forty days of the holiday season, we will be sharing podcasts, telling our story on Shake the Gates Radio (here on the website), and telling the kinds of missionary stories that help inform, inspire, and mobilize the people of God.

Please, friends, join us in prayer beginning even today.

Ask God to open the eyes of many new partners to the needs of this nearly forgotten people.
Ask God to use this 40 day campaign to awaken the hearts and minds of His people and mobilize them to address the Biblelessness (there’s a word!) of the Somau Garia people of Papua New Guinea.
Ask God to grant us favor and influence with those whom He is asking us to challenge in this way.
Thank God for his generosity in caring for both our family and the Somau Garia people in this interim that we’ve been away.
Thank God for what He will do in this forty days.

I also ask you to pray for the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in our life during this forty days. Only He can convict and woo and deeply call the hearts of His people to this kind of partnership: impactful, transformational, lasting. Only He can draw the hearts of those whom He desires for this calling.

This is a desperate hour in the history of this people–pray fervently and passionately!

Prayer at Tiap Village, Papua New Guinea, September 2013

Please Pray — 24 October 2013

October 24, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

Thank You for Praying

Many of you prayed along with our family through 40 Days to Freedom. I can’t thank you enough for the commitment, the kindness, and the impact you made in making that sacrificial journey with us. Since returning to the States I’ve taken time to process and reflect on the lessons learned and to thank God for his kindness in taking me on that journey with Him. He helped renew many things, one of which was joy, the kind that is born of purpose and in walking consistently with the way He made me. This rediscovered joy has ignited fresh passion and vision for God and his Kingdom.

The 40 day season of prayer has come and gone. (For an audio update, click here .) Now it is time to do the harder work of asking God for power to complete the passion, to drive the vision, to bring us once again to Papua New Guinea for service. Would you pray with us regularly toward this end? If you pray for us regularly or would like to do so, would you drop me a line at prayer@shakethegates.org ? In the mean time, would you lift these things heavenward?

Ask God

Ask God to provide many, many opportunities for us to share the story, invite others to join the team, and to encourage the saints.
Ask God to raise up partners for Bible translation among the Somau Garia people of Papua New Guinea.
Ask God to ignite our passion, empower our spirits, and catalyze our actions in order that we might get to the field as soon as possible.
Ask God to provide for our physical, social, spiritual, and financial needs.

Thank God

Thank God for going ahead of us in all things.
Thank God for providing each month for our needs.
Thank God for his provision of righteousness through Jesus Christ, without whom we would have no opportunity to be reconciled to God.

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Epilogue

September 20, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

Thank you for praying with us during the last 40 days. Please pray the next few days as you remember; my travel won’t conclude until late Sunday night. Pray also, friends, that we’ll be able to tell the story well when Todd gets back from Papua New Guinea. Blessings!

Be watching for photos and updates in the coming days. It’ll take a few weeks to get things organized (after some significant sleep) and get the stuff up on the site. Thank you and blessings!

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 40

September 19, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

September 19 (Day 40) — Two days until return travel. Pray for safety in transit, for travel mercy, for much to be learned and gained through this brief foray back into Melanesia. Pray that our family will have a clearer idea of how to proceed from this point forward. Pray for the Father to move in our hearts that we will have the courage and resolve to re-engage this challenging call. Pray for a clearer vision to grip our imaginations about the coming days.

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 39

September 18, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

September 18 (Day 39) — Pray that Todd’s stamina will hold out. Ask God to give him wisdom as he finalizes details and has final conversations regarding a return to PNG with the family in 2014, the sorting out of the mission station at Uria, the translation work, checking, etc. to be done in the intervening months. Pray that Todd will have wisdom in choosing what to bring back to the U.S. and what to leave. Pray that there will also be lasting blessing for the Somau Garia left in the wake of Todd’s visit.

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 38

September 17, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

September 17 (Day 38) — Tuesday. Heading into Madang, God willing, today to rest and prepare for the journey home. Much has been accomplished. Pray today that Todd will have good conversations with the missionaries he has yet to get acquainted with, with old friends, and with co-workers. Pray that Todd will have strength, clarity, and ability to wrap up responsibilities in Madang before leaving on Saturday. Pray for God’s grace and mercy to rest on each word, each conversation, each encounter, that Todd will be a blessing and encouragement to all that he encounters. Pray for the Aruamu today, that the experiences of the crusade—the workshops, celebration, worship, and preaching will leave a lasting imprint on the heart of each attendee. Pray for a powerful move of the Spirit in each life.

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 37

September 16, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

September 16 (Day 37) — Today is Independence Day for Papua New Guinea. This is an afterglow day, really. Many attending the crusade will be walking home or catching a PMV back to Madang or elsewhere. Pray that the blessing that began here will accompany each person wherever they go. Pray that this will be but a beginning of much good to come. Pray for thanksgiving to ring out from this place. Pray for sustained power in the preaching, in the testimonies, in the casual conversations, in the story telling, in Proclaimer sessions . . . Pray for God to do something remarkable here.

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 36

September 15, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

September 15 (Day 36) — Today is the final day of the crusade, with preaching morning and evening and general Sunday afternoon activities—naps, soccer games, story-telling, etc. Pray for renewed energy for all involved. Pray for a tidal wave of spiritual renewal and revival to roll across the Aruamu today. Pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit today. Pray for healing for the sick. Pray for freedom for the prisoners. Pray that blind eyes will be opened. Pray for the proclamation of the Word, the year of the Lord’s favor, the victory of the Savior, the life of Jesus. Pray that this day will begin an ongoing and sweeping revival, a gurgling fountain of God’s life flowing into many streams out of Tiap and into the lives and communities wherever the believers who go out from here return to.

Taro feast, 2003 — Angela and girls visit with Garia ladies, 2003.

Praying 40 Days to Freedom — Day 35

September 14, 2013 / toddaowen / 0 Comments

September 14 (Day 35) — The crusade has been going for a few days now. People continue to arrive. At writing, it is expected that there will be as many as 800 in attendance at the crusade. Today is women’s day and there are all sorts of workshops and events for Aruamu women to participate in. Todd is continuing today with leadership workshops and discussions. Pray for God’s hand to be on Todd’s mind and heart as he interacts with the Aruamu leadership. Pray for opportunities to show God’s unique power and the power of the cross in the daily life and leadership of each leader in attendance. Pray for the preaching of the Word this evening. The theme for this week is Free in Christ (English translation). Pray that as Todd preaches this evening, many will follow in the triumphal procession of Jesus from death to life, from bondage to freedom in Christ. Pray for breakthrough in the hearts of those who are attending, that they will know what it is to have Jesus shepherd their hearts, heal broken relationships, bring children home from wandering in sin, establish households as sanctuaries of peace and God’s Spirit.