Pray for Zambia & Zimbabwe, and for all the world

For a whole year we had prayed, day by day, for different countries of the world.  As you read, prayed, watched video clips in church, reflected on the vastness of the mission field for the Gospel, you have developed your own personal experiences.  Some are saddened that we will not continue this emphasis of reminding you of new countries.  Some told me that they kept the whole year stock of bulletins or newsletters and will follow the same calendar again, “reusing” the cycle of prayer.  Do what you may, but continue praying for the world harvest.  There are 13 Regions (Divisions) of Adventist Church including North America.  May I suggest that we should continually pray for our “home mission field” – North America, and take other 12 Divisions and pray for them in addition every month:

January – Inter-America (Caribbean & Central America)

February – South America

March – East Central Africa (from Ethiopia to Congo & Tanzania)

April – Euro Africa (Germany to Spain, Italy, Libya, Algeria, Turkey, Iraq)

May – Southern Africa & Indian Ocean (from Angola to Madagascar)

June – Trans European (from England & Scandinavia to Sudan and Arabia)

July – West Central Africa

August – Euro Asia (Russia, former Soviet republics & Afghanistan)

September – Northern Asia Pacific (China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan)

October – South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Papua NG, Polynesia)

November – Southern Asia (India & Tibetan countries)

December – Southern Asia Pacific (Philipines, Indonesia, Bangladesh to Vietnam)

Today we pray for Zambia and tomorrow for Zimbabwe.  These two countries have shared past history of British colonization, formerly known as North & South Rhodesia.  Zambia is a home to Victoria Falls on  Zambezi river, a place known by the work of Livingstone. Different ethnically (Zambia are 98% Bantu, Zimbabwe 70% Shona & 15% Ndebele) they developed difirently since independence.  Zambia was recognized as independent since 1964, but the socialist regime led to poverty.  Zimbabwe is in the worst possible economic situation with massive inflation, no employment, and political dictatorship of Mugabe since independence in 1980.  Pray for recovery of living conditions.

Zambia has a large Catholic presence, whereas Zimbabwe is mostly independent Protestant. Both countries struggle with similar problem – AIDS, 25% of all adults carry the virus and about 80% of hospital patients have it. Pastoral work is dominated by funerals, and churches are taking care of orphans.  As churches grow rapidly the greatest need is for mature leadership of integrity.  In spite of difficulties, today these two countries have the highest saturation of Seventh-day Adventists in Africa – 5 % of population.