AMERICAN PEOPLES AFFINITY GROUP October, 2011

The Maya-Quich is the largest indigenous group in Guatemala. Forty-three percent of Guatemalans selfidentify as one of 23 indigenous groups, and of that number, 29% are Quich. (Until the census is finished, the exact number is not known, but estimates range between 1.2 and 2.4 million people.) The Quich live in 7 of the 22 departments in Guatemala, the majority are mountain and rural dwellers. Ninety-three percent of the Quich live in extreme poverty and many are illiterate. Exact numbers of Christians vary widely among the Quich and in many rural areas the percentages are less than 1%. The most significant social problem is alcoholism. Close to 100% of the people are affected, either as alcoholics or having close family members who are problem drinkers. Saturday, October 1 Global Mobilization Cluster-House churches, training and travel are key ingredients in a missionaries life; lift up trainers L and D as they continue to work towards a complete cross-cultural program that will help Latinos understand, withstand and STAND in these areas of their calling. Sunday, October 2 Maroon Tribes of Suriname - Four young believers in the village of Diitabiki are moving from the interior into the city for school. School only goes to sixth grade in the interior and life for a young person is hard work in the gold fields or to leave family for schooling in the city. Please pray for these new young believers, as they will be in a boarding school. Pray for their growth in the Lord and for them to stay strong. Pray they will be a witness for Christ to the young kids around them. Please also pray one day they will come back to their village and evangelize their people. Monday, October 3 Please pray for the Urban Cluster leadership meeting in Lima October 3-7. Pray for a clear vision for completing the Great Commission task working alongside our US and national partners. Pray for a renewed sense of urgency for Urban Cluster leadership as well as for those we are working with to realize the vision of "healthy churches that multiply among all people, the gospel to every person, and every believer a full participant in the Great Commission." Pray that the Spirit would give us energy, fresh ideas and renewed national relationships for accomplishing all that is before us. Tuesday, October 4 Northern Chile Team This month, Donna Mae Bobby will be leaving for her final stateside assignment before retiring. The North Chile team requests prayer for her as she says good-bye to her many friends in Northern Chile. Pray for her as she re-adjusts to life in the USA and as she looks for ministry opportunities that God has for her in the USA. We thank God for Donna Maes 36 years of service! Wednesday, October 5 WUPG Cluster Colombia - In the months of September and October there will be several families arriving to work in various parts of the country. Some are transferring while others are new and arriving from language school. Please pray for their adjustment to this new country for them. Pray for the children in this transition period. Pray for the many groups that will be engaged by these families. Thursday, October 6 Diaspora - Pray for Jim and Lori Spikes as they represent the Diaspora in a planning meeting in Peru. It will be one of the first joint meetings they will participate in as the Diaspora moves to complete the transition of forming one Global Mobilizing Cluster. Please pray for safety in travel and that the fusion of the two clusters will continue to be smooth. Friday, October 7 Global Mobilization Cluster -Continue to pray for travel mercies for all of our mobilizers as they spend many hours and days away from home. Specifically pray for the mobilizer meeting in October. We will be discussing strategy, relationships with our GCC partners and training. Saturday, October 8 North Coast Team of Colombia - God has recently opened the door to work with a local association of internally displaced people comprised of more than 100

families. Pray that God will give wisdom to Colombian nationals who will be using simple health lessons to gain the confidence of these people so that they will be receptive to the Gospel. Sunday, October 9 EUPG Cluster: The chief of a community where Racer G is working told him that he does not want him living or working there. Out of respect for his wishes G is not going into the community but is staying nearby. Praise the Lord that a group is going out of the community to meet with G for Bible studies. Please pray that the chief will have a change of heart and allow G to return and that he will have a desire to learn about God. Pray also for those who are continuing to meet in spite of the chiefs position, that they remain strong and grow in understanding of God and His love. Monday, October 10 Central America South, Costa Rica - Give thanks for the several teams that served in Costa Rica this summer. Many people heard the Good News. Praise the Lord many of these prayed to accept Gods gift of eternal life in Christ. Others have shown interest in having a Bible Study in their homes. Pray that Gods Spirit would continue to move in their lives, drawing them ever closer to Him. Please pray that the pastors and believers will be faithful to do the follow up work of visiting the families, answering questions, and discipling the new believers. Tuesday, October 11 Northern Argentina Team - Bolivianos in Buenos Aires - Recently, weve witnessed 24 people baptized in the Sinai Church. Most of them came from the Piletones Church as a result of the small groups. Please pray for these people as they continue to grow in their faith and continue to take more steps of faith in their walk. Several want to be married in the church which is also exciting as they are starting to grow and realize things they should be doing. We start up a 2nd phase of training some new leaders soon. The Sinai Church is ready to begin mission trips to the area. It is so fun to see the interest in missions as over the past year they have been receiving teams from the US and now they desire to go, serve and see how great it is to help the fellow members of their church. Wednesday, October 12 Diaspora - Please pray for the "Flat Four" group in Wood Green as they transition into new leadership. Pray for group members who are moving to another area

in London that they will continue reaching out to others that God puts in their path. Pray for the continued spiritual growth of each group member as they share their faith. Thursday, October 13 Bajio Team State of Quertaro, Mexico - Please pray that our Evangelism and Discipleship Team will continue to share the Good News boldly and will also train others to be sharers, disciplers and follow up workers. This way many colonias will have opportunities to hear the Gospel. Friday, October 14 Uruguay Coastal Team Please pray for the volunteer efforts of the Southern Hills Baptist Association near Cincinnati, Ohio. Their team leader, D, along with seven others will be targeting an area of Montevideo, Uruguay that is less than half of a percent evangelical. It also is an area where part of the University of Uruguay is located. They will be working in this area from October 14 -21. Pray for the world view contacts, prayer walking and workshops that will be going on. Pray also for the EL ANCLA Baptist Church that is helping with the follow up and their pastor J. Continue to pray for the partnership that has developed between this Uruguayan church and the association in Ohio. Saturday, October 15 Caracas for Christ Team -Please pray for a team from Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church who will be with us Oct.15-22. They will be doing a basketball clinic and street carnival in a professional area of Caracas where we want to start a new work. Pray that the professional families would come out of their apartments to be a part of this event. Pray for open hearts and minds as we share the love of Christ with them. Sunday, October 16 EUPG Missionary E asked for prayer for one of the guys that has been part of some of his Bible Storying classes, T is from a tribe in the state of Amazonas and has been struggling with alcoholism. He is in his early 20s and started drinking in the village at the age of 9. T is married with a young son. I have committed to meet with him at least once a week and any other time when he feels tempted to drink. Ask the Lord to give E wisdom and that His name would be glorified. Pray for T and others who battle against alcoholism. Ask the Lord to give them the strength to resist temptation to drink.

Monday, October 17 Guatemala - The Tajumulco Mam People of western Guatemala have been described as a "fierce and war-like people." They are steeped in darkness and witchcraft, shackled by their ancient Mayan beliefs covered with a veneer of the traditional religion. Even so, one by one the people are coming "out of darkness, into His marvelous light!" (1 Peter 2:9). Please pray that there will soon be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit among the Tajumulco Mam, so that thousands may come to know Christ as Savior! Tuesday, October 18 Bajio Team Jalisco, Mexico - Pray for the spiritual growth of the churches in Olivos, plus church starts in Puerta del Sol and Residencial de Capilla Wednesday, October 19 WUPG Cluster Mexico - In August, a Natuatl church had a VBS in their village. This year, rather than buying materials, they told Bible Stories. They had a great response and even some of the parents stayed around to listen to the stories. Two men from one of our missionary's Bible institute told the stories. It is very exciting to see how nationals are using what they are being taught in the institute. Thursday, October 20 UP Team Panama -Intercede for C, a national church planter, who is working in an area called Santa Fe. C is surrounded by a team of Panamanians who are eager to share Jesus with their communities. Praise the Lord for these national brothers and their excitement in sharing Christ. Ask God to protect, guide and give them divine wisdom. Pray for open doors and for the Word of God to be proclaimed boldly in Santa Fe. Friday, October 21 Urban Team and Mobilizers in Asuncion Paraguay - Terri and Bill Baer praise God for a growing missions movement in Paraguay. He is calling Paraguayans to His harvest! Please pray that these missionary candidates will be led by the Lord as they seek to follow His call. Saturday, October 22 WUPG Cluster - There are many missionaries who are in the process of learning a 3rd language. Please pray for them as they balance ministry, homeschooling, and family time. Pray they would celebrate the good days and victories, and stand firm while they struggle during the hard days. Pray that the language helpers would show up and be willing to help.

Sunday, October 23 Diaspora - Pray for many opportunities to share Jesus through the English Conversation Club meeting in Harlesden, a community populated with many UPGs. Monday, October 24 Bajio Team State of Guanajuato, Mexico - Pray that the eyeglass clinics held in September would allow doors to be opened for effective evangelism and would result in church growth. Tuesday, October 25 The Quich Core Team led by Dr. Roger Grossmann requests your prayers as they work in the Nahual area. This area is composed of many villages with a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants. The majority of residents are predominantly Quich speaking with low educational attainment. The existing churches have a marked Christo-paganism, and most who attend do not understand the true message of salvation. Poverty, malnutrition, and alcoholism are common throughout the families which decreases internalization of the Gospel message. In addition, they have a watchful suspicion of anyone from outside of the village. The team enters a village after requesting permission from the village leaders and gatekeepers. The team goes in with an evangelism/church planting strategy coupled with Christian public health/development interventions. The health interventions open doors to naturally share the Gospel to the inhabitants. Once opened, the Gospel is clearly presented. Please pray for Roger and Vicki as they lead in this outreach, as well as the five Baptist lay community health promoters who comprise the team. Wednesday, October 26 Central Chile Team Huechuraba is a new and growing community located in north central Santiago, Chile. A few weeks ago two summer missionaries had the opportunity to share the gospel with the 9th graders at Grace College, a private school there. 19 young people indicated that they prayed to receive Christ as Savior. Please pray for these as Cliff Case and two Hands On students begin to disciple them. Pray for a deep and lasting commitment to Christ and for boldness to share with classmates and family. Thursday, October 27 Misincol team of Colombia - N and L recently began studying Gods word and are growing in their understanding of what it means to be a child of God. Since they are studying the Bible with

Christians, they are beginning to experience persecution from the majority who still maintain traditional beliefs in the town. They dont want anyone to change their faith. Persecution came to this family recently in the form of theft. They had 40 Guinea pigs and 18 rabbits stolen from their home which constituted their life savings. Two other Christian families heard of their persecution (they too have suffered similar events) and gave this family a pair of guinea pigs and rabbits to breed and begin again. This is something new that God is doing . believers who stand up for one another and help one another in the face of persecution. Pray for these families that want to study God's word and to begin to follow Christ as the cost is great. Friday, October 28 Caribbean Itinerant Team A H is the director and M R is the strategist of the Mission Board of the Eastern Baptist Convention of Cuba. Pray that God will give them wisdom, insight and stamina as they help develop strategic plans, encourage and train missionaries to plant a congregation within walking distance of every Cuban. Saturday, October 29 Global Mobilization Cluster - Pray for our Latino team members who work with us that their lives will be blessed and that any cultural barriers involved in their work will disappear. Sunday, October 30 Pray for a Missionary couple of EUPG Cluster that recently moved to their floating house and have begun to make initial contacts with their people. Pray for their safety and security. Ask the Lord to open doors and provide for the first relationships with the people. Praise the Lord for the opportunities that they have to share the gospel among a group that is unreached. Monday, October 31 A volunteer team from Kentucky worked recently in Haiti at three house construction sites in over 100-degree heat putting up trusses, gutters, and doors. These willing-to-do whatever-needed workers were eager to serve. At lunch and break times they took time to play with the children and develop relationships with Haitian adults. The team brought with them evangelism soccer balls on which Bible verses were written in Creole. The children eagerly accepted the balls, but much to the workers amazement, the children would not play with them. Rather than putting the balls on the ground and kicking them in a game of soccer, the children wanted to put them in a

secure place in their house because they had the Word of God written on them! Some adults asked if they could have a soccer ball. When one Haitian lady almost dropped her soccer ball, she scrambled to make sure it did not fall in the dirt. Pray that the Haitian peoples respect for Gods Word will permeate their hearts and help them to understand and surrender to the One True God.

American Peoples Affinity Group vision statement: Our vision is a multitude of disciples among all peoples of the Americas, equipped to fulfill the Great Commission to the ends of the earth.